Isekai Magus: A LitRPG Progression Saga

by Han Yang

  Each step required me to place my feet between the main trunks of trees when I could. My efforts failed, my foot catching on a stubborn trunk. I fell forward, catching myself.

  Sprinkles had a known path from his home to his traps. Years of effort and toil had garnered him the desired result of a cleared area.

  For me, I had to blaze a trail. Being a giant skeleton made that exceedingly difficult. I crawl-walked like a toddler for the last mile or so to the coast. When I arrived, I found a few hundred matogators. It was the largest congregation yet, and I noticed the area teeming with fish.

  They recognized me for a predator and waded into the water, slithering out to sea. A few infants tried to keep up and fell behind the adults.

  I could have started my murdering spree, but I wanted to understand my prey. The lesson here was to approach from the island side and then chase into the waters.

  I noticed they stayed near the coast, watching me but fearful of the greater depths. The schools of fish they chased away had no problem diving into the black abyss, and I wondered what rested in the deep.

  I regained my feet, glancing up and down the beach.

  To the left, I saw a shifting shoreline where sandy beach became rocks. The density of the rocks increased until a cliff face formed. Along the cliff face, a long stretching brownie village dwarfed the size of the one we had defeated earlier.

  To the right, the beach quickly went to another section of rocks. Inland of that jagged shoreline, brownie villagers cooked lunch and went about their day.

  The entire shoreline was littered with lively targets. This was the point of no return, and I needed to solidify my resolve to their massacre. Brownies were vicious little creatures, and the matogators certainly couldn’t be stuck into a formation… unless they died.

  A few of the larger creatures bobbed in the waves, eyeing me with hatred. I hoisted the club, walked to the right, and paused a few hundred feet from the brownie village.

  I used my body to bend over for an extended long swing.

  The weapon arched out, zooming down on the village of unsuspecting brownies.

  CRASH!

  The impact jarred my arms and sent distant birds into flight.

  I lifted the club only a dozen feet or so, executing quick smashes. Each of my hits resulted in quick kills, a merciful end to the terrified creatures. There would be no option to claim these dead brownies. Enough jumped into the ocean to save themselves that I felt confident a new village would grow in time.

  Sharks, fish, and even smaller matogators corrected my assumption, eating the floundering brownies quickly.

  Can’t win them all.

  I proceeded down the rocky beach, continuing to slaughter this extra-large village. My initial attack had triggered the next set to be prepare. So, I walked around the group with spells at the ready, killing every other village I found before they even realized I was a threat.

  A few spells zipped out at me during the slaughter, requiring minimal repairs. The mana costs weren’t too bad, and I didn’t slow my progress, executing the repairs between villages.

  When I neared a sandy section, another group of matogators rested lazily, basking in the midday sun.

  This was a great stopping point. I retreated into the jungle and left the skeleton’s body.

  My aura zoomed across the landscape until I returned into my body.

  I propped myself up on my elbows, seeing Jark reading a book and Tarla missing.

  “Where’d she go?” I asked.

  “She delivered the reports and is helping to drop Zorta from the kills arriving. Bell said her church is filled with the dead and she only has so many people she trusts to gather the earnings,” Asha replied.

  “Uh… speaking of which, I killed a few hundred brownies in that direction,” I said, pointing to the beach area. “Plus, there’s more in the water where the orbs might be resting. I assume if a shark consumes a brownie whole, they gain the Z.”

  “Yes, that is partially why Sprinkles was so big. He is different, though. Any matogators?” Asha asked.

  “Umm, no, I did get a snake stuck to my body. Speaking of which… Sprinkles, remain calm in the jungle until I return,” I ordered. “Hmm… Did anyone see why he was so bad at hunting the gators?”

  “He never went into water higher than his ankles,” Asha said. “I… I don’t know Ostriva oceans. They did come here, though, and I would have to assume they’re dangerous to even a cyclops. Or it could be that there were urchins in the water that he feared. He did use a raft and made it here without getting eaten.”

  “Interesting. Yeah, I scattered the gators fairly quickly, not loving the fact that I needed to get wet to catch them. The brownies were super easy to kill, to the point I feel a smidge bad,” I admitted.

  He clasped his book, setting it onto an end table. “Death brings power. Unfortunate, but the island is overpopulated as it is. Want me to send the goblins to harvest, or do you want me to go?” he asked.

  This was the crux of the issue. I trusted Asha, and I trusted the goblins to get the job done… just minus a few kills they’d steal. The work was too much for a single person, and I’d unfortunately would have to eat the goblin tax.

  “Nee!” I shouted.

  The goblin waddled into my tent a minute later, her brown robes had been upgraded with a patch insignia of a crown. She also appeared younger than before. I guess the excess of Z we had piled here on the island had already gone to good use.

  “What’s that mean?” I asked, pointing to the golden decal.

  “That I’m the goblin Queen of the Necro Lord’s army,” Nee said.

  I kept my snarky reply in check. “I need unwavering loyalty,” I said.

  “I’ll bear your child after this one. But it will be a goblin, my Lord,” Nee replied.

  “Uh… What!?” Tarla exclaimed from outside the tent. “I think he wants an oath for a Z bribe, Nee, not another child. He already has one bastard in Tarb.”

  I opened and shut my mouth, realizing I had gotten into trouble with women without even trying to. It was definitely time to go back to my murder spree.

  “There’s at least three hundred plus Z that way,” I said, pointing to the destroyed villages. “Have my goblins collect it and keep the taxing low. I assume you have a parsing mage in the goblin ranks?”

  “We do, my Lord.”

  “Call me Boss, but great. Get to work. Follow the cyclops skeleton and have everything selected as drop,” I commanded.

  “As the great Boss commands, it shall be done. Thank you for trusting us with this. Our loyalty does not waver when we are happy. Trust in your goblins, and they will never betray you if you’re good to them,” Nee said, exiting the tent.

  “Odd species,” Asha said.

  “Reliable and underrated. They’re perfect,” I said.

  “With good hearing! Thank you for the compliment, Boss,” Nee shouted.

  I smiled, laying back down. In all my adventures I found while reading books, goblins tended to be vile beings, and to some extent they were. When you made them happy, though, they achieved feats I couldn’t help but be proud of.

  I chanted out my incantation to eject out of my body. I raced above the jungle canopy, seeing Sprinkles sitting upright.

  I dove into his frame, careful to let the transition complete with minimal inputs.

  The gentle crash of waves hitting rocks provided a serene setting. I knew a whole bunch of dead brownies rested nearby. That helped kill the gentle vibe.

  Eventually, I would have a choice to make. Risking the depths…

  Sprinkles and I were different. I didn’t care if he died, and I earned value from his corpse. I doubted there was a monster who could swallow my nearly 900 Z minion whole.

  I made up my mind, deciding to stick to brownie killing for now. After awkwardly standing, I scanned the beach. A bright day brought warmth to the bones that I could feel and enjoy.

  With a grinning glee, I used sand as a sho
rt cut to easily walk to the next section of brownies. My sudden arrival sent matogator scattering into the lapping waves. Clearly they feared my giant skeleton. The short trip led to another brownie settlement.

  A few dozen brownies pointed at my approach. A few even fired their darts and started casting.

  I swung my weapon with enough force to end them before their spells could harm me.

  Smash!

  The club lifted, revealing a splattered mess. I proceeded to quickly slam the club down in tighter swings. The big swing to start was never actually needed and only a quick way to open my attack.

  The club smushed the brownies exceedingly well with light hits.

  With another village razed, I navigated a bit of jungle before repeating the process. The work became mindless and numbing. I tried not to focus on the death I created.

  Instead, I had to wonder if Sprinkles, the living version, never did this because he never needed to. It was likely that, and I bet the brownie’s poison hurt or his need for Zorta simply not a driving force in his life. He retired on an island with unlimited food, not the worst thing to do.

  The skeletal frame deflected a few hundred darts during my murder spree. I cleared over fifty villages by dusk, never slowing. The night made it easier because the brownies never saw me coming and every village was clearly lit by evening cooking fires.

  The moon continued to rise into the sky after I had cleared half the island. Before I left Sprinkles, I gave him strict orders to continue killing brownie camps. His instructions were to follow my methodology.

  When I exited his form, I watched him destroy two camps before my spirit forced me to return to my body. He might fail when the sun rose, but at night he did okay.

  The trip back to my resting body was quick, and I smiled when I returned to tent.

  I sat up, seeing Tarla sitting in Asha’s chair.

  “How’s it going?” I asked.

  She smiled, racing to join me in bed. My red-haired vixen pounced on me like a cougar, refusing to answer my question. In short order, I lost my robes, and her soft skin pressed tightly to mine.

  Apparently, things were going really well. I lavished in her attentive kisses and affections.

  After amazing sex, she nestled into my armpit, tracing my chest hair with circles.

  “I… you make me a better man. I love you. After killing a few thousand brownies, I lost a bit of my soul that you filled in a different way.” I kissed her forehead.

  “Yes, well… I do delight in the rewards, not considering the costs,” Tarla said, rapidly kissing my cheek. She playfully bounced her eyebrows and patted her tummy.

  “Oh! Double entendre. I like it,” I said.

  “Yes, you do know how to fulfill a woman’s desires, at least mine,” she said, and I yawned from exhaustion.

  “Sorry, not boring, but I do need to sleep for the morning. Flip over so I can stick you into my body,” I said, and she happily flipped to be my little spoon. “How delightful were the Zorta rewards?”

  “Very. I sent over five thousand Z to add to the treasury. Some of the brownies were ancient and there were so, so many. When you factor in the catches from Lumpy and the jenix, this island is better than a gold mine. I had to shift the minions to work on collecting bodies. The entire time, the jenix traps have piled up to the point it is better if they don’t travel back and forth.”

  “Excellent news,” I said with a smile.

  “It is. Frighteningly good news, actually. We can invest in our situation or go home soon at this rate. Especially if you start farming the matogators,” Tarla said.

  “And Delsy?” I asked about my fellow necromancer.

  “She is raising the dead and then turning them to dust to gain skills. She stopped once she reached level four. There’s three and half days left on Kalo, and everyone is working full tilt. So… I know you want to get some rest, but I think you should go to necromancer five,” she said.

  I smirked at her batting eyelashes. “That’s five thousand less Z toward going home or freeing Asha.”

  “Yeah,” she shifted to a whisper and a frown, “I wouldn’t free Asha. He’s your friend, but that may only be because he is a minion with a desire to please his controller.”

  “I’ve considered it. I still want to free him if we leave,” I said with conviction. “Let me see how farming matogators goes before I make any decision. There’s at least ten thousand brownies on this island. I’ve killed a bunch, and you’ve only gathered so many. I bet we end up with enough to go home with.”

  “Or to build a really nice army. This is our big moment, and you have some tough choices,” Tarla said.

  She had a fantastic point. What was I going to do?

  CHAPTER 54

  Kalo Island

  Sprinkles Moonguard: Replace missing hand 144/165 Mana

  I accepted the cost, not sure how my minion lost his hand, but knowing it was best to repair it now.

  I left my body to occupy his. When I neared his frame, I saw bones zooming from a brownie village.

  The skeleton had taken damage and followed my orders - if you get hurt, go sit somewhere safe until I heal you.

  Based on his location around the island, I deduced the cause. The fact that I had slept in had resulted in his injury. The sun was already well above the horizon. Tarla, well, the woman didn’t want sleep. She was all sorts of loving lately.

  Get a girlfriend.

  The words rang in my head. To be honest, they never truly departed. Initially, I had rejected the notion as foolish, a ploy at domestication.

  Now, I loved Tarla, and would shout it to the gods themselves. We had each other and after today, we could be closer to a beach with my parents or a mighty army that would help ensure our eventual success.

  I let the pros and cons angst about in my mind while I returned to the wholesale extermination of the brownie population. The map on the church’s table indicated this was the largest island in the archipelago chain. That fact left me willing to continue my murder spree in a mindless manner.

  A colony from the other islands would eventually arrive and restore the damage I created, and if not, oh well.

  The big question on my mind was - is Nordan home or was Earth.

  I couldn’t tell. Honestly, I hated cowering in a mine. Yes, Seqa was nice, and yes, we put a lot of work into improving it, but I wanted a nice home with a view.

  I grumbled at these thoughts, smashing the brownie village before they could cast spells.

  Toneba had the right idea. A nice village, a small home with a great view, and a quiet life. I could have that on Earth… except, I had this foreboding sense I would return to my native planet and find it invaded with aliens, strivians, or some other tragedy.

  I lacked any hard evidence of this and simply deduced the gods would tinker as they saw fit. If I returned to Earth… I was a nobody - a guy who still didn’t know how to shoot a gun or hotwire a car. Trying to be positive, I reminded myself that I at least could survive in the woods now.

  Smash!

  Another village was destroyed. I moved on, finding the very first village I had totaled. The sun indicated it was likely noon, blazing directly overhead.

  A quick glance over the island revealed two large trials of billowing smoke. One was burning brownie bodies, the other was for our food.

  I pondered taking a break, only to remember I’d eaten a rather large breakfast that morning and decided to keep going.

  The real challenge began now with trying to kill matogators. They weren’t going to let me club them, killing thirty in a single swing, and I would risk death in the water.

  No matter what, Sprinkles had paid for himself. With that thought in mind, I lowered my frame off the cliff and into the water.

  I angled my toes down as I lowered my body, hoping my toes would find sand. When they never touched bottom, I knew it must be one hell of a drop off. Deciding to risk it, I made a leap of faith.

  I let go, sinking into the wa
ter. My free float descent disturbed me until I finally found the bottom. The crown of my head was at least twenty-feet below the waves, and my skeletal frame had just been slow to descend.

  Even with the surface near, internally I freaked out a bit. It was dark, it was deep, and the gore from killing brownies enticed all sorts of fish to nibble at my lower legs.

  I closed my eyes, finding my Zen. I waited for some leviathan of the deep to attack me, but that attack never came.

  My night vision didn’t work in the deep depths. I tried to see the bottom terrain to figure out a path toward the beach and failed.

  I didn’t want to rush anything and studied the diving cliff face. Large mollusks adorned the wall. I plucked a big clam type creature from its resting place.

  Shifting my body, I compressed the shell, crushing the shellfish. An orb appeared, but I couldn’t interact with it in this body. This island was unreal in its treasures.

  I decided to walk towards the nearest matogator beach section. My first step in, I tripped, catching myself. I had landed in sand and rocks inclined with jagged edges.

  My skeletal feet managed the pointy bits with ease, but I could see how Sparkles would have hated stepping onto sharp rocks. A few steps later, I breached the surface, walking uphill.

  Smaller mollusks clung to the steep drop off. I ran the flat of my palm up the wall until my hand filled with the shellfish. For the next twenty minutes or so, I simply cleaned the seafood off the wall and chucked it onto the shore.

  I had no idea what these were worth, but I assumed they’d be yummy. My breaking of the mollusks created a frenzy in the water, and I wanted to vacate the area.

  When the wall laid barren, I had to walk around a jutting cliff face. When I rounded the corner, the matogators immediately reacted, retreating to the beaches.

  If I had to guess, they sensed an ocean predator, not a skeleton that could walk on land and wade in water. I let the distraction of my arrival give me a moment to survey the area.

  The beach wasn’t wide here, only becoming sandy for a few hundred feet. The slope climbed steeply near where the waves broke, then inclined in a uniform manner until it reached the jungle. The sand region only went a few dozen feet, before it reached the jungle, and even from here, I could see nests as well as bedding areas.