Isekai Magus: A LitRPG Progression Saga

by Han Yang

  “Everything okay?” I asked.

  “Tenuous at best. You’re famous, a chosen champion of the gods heading into battle. King Hartinger was suddenly stuck in a really shitty situation. He failed to kill you with a direct strike, and then you won your battle. Well, that part was fine, but you brought the gods to his city, not him. The amount of minotaurs trying to join your ranks surged to the point he put the city on military standing in case another portal opened,” Nick said.

  “He needs to show dominance,” I muttered, and Nick nodded. “He won’t strike me, will he?”

  “Six hells no. Just like King Karn won’t openly strike Toneba. Honestly, the best thing about this situation is the fact you’re leaving for a distant land. It literally gets you out from under his problems.”

  I smirked and said, “Tell me about this unit.”

  “Twelve minotaur bolt casting siege weapons. In minotaur society, those with mundane magic get mundane details, like manning siege weapons. And before you get any ideas, we’re allies with the nearby cyclops. So are you, to an extent. Then there is Baroi and I, so fourteen minotaurs with our own supplies and capabilities in case we need to get home. And… you’ll need to turn Mini into a living being again. Suppressing memories is fine, but no minotaur skeleton. I can let it go, but others not so much,” Nick said.

  I grumbled but didn’t fight it.

  The carriage jostled on its way out of the city. After all the excitement, I quickly grew antsy, wanting to see what I had missed. I closed my eyes to project myself out of my body.

  I soared forward, finding a target at the front of the caravan. The betrayer rode on a mammoth in front of a massive wagon hauling thick hide. I saw Tarla on the driver’s bench, bundled up with a mopey frown.

  I quickly dove into ogre’s frame. When I gave a friendly wave to Tarla, she caught on instantly. I drew a heart in the air, and she blew a kiss with a radiant smile. I zipped out of the ogre’s frame, heading east.

  My flight over the trees was incredibly quick, and the seven-day journey only lasted a minute or two in my current form.

  I found my command banyou stationary in the middle of our conquering army. All around the north and south side, trolls, goblins, and skeletons toiled to ready for a departure. All the looting had been consolidated into the roads, and the reorganizing had begun.

  I slid into one of the human skeletons set aside for my returns. The transition locked in, and I dug into the satchel on his side. I grabbed a pencil and paper then wrote - update please.

  I found Yermica talking with a frustrated female orc and tapped her on the shoulder until I had her attention.

  “I cannot bring orc males into the camp unless they swear to Caitlyn Moonguard and our rules. That’s final. If your mate won’t keep following, then best to find another tribe,” Yermica finished then turned to me. “Ah, the Necro Lord himself. How’s the vacation been?”

  I handed her the paper, wishing I could give a smartass reply.

  “We leave tonight. Lumpy and the cats are having to go further and further afield. The chill is getting worse, but we’re sleeping in buildings. The centaurs left behind a lot of items for all sorts of living, including smithing. We repurposed two of the four banyous into production platforms.

  “Famo bitched, but we put the orc siege engines on matogators and squeezed the other two until there were three each on the siege ones. What else? Oh, all the wagons are filled with supplies, meaning everyone is walking now. The fields from magus magic are incredible, meaning we’ll have food for months if not the whole winter... However, a few thousand more goblins, a few hundred more trolls, and a few dozen more orcs joined our tribe and continue to come.”

  I smiled with a nod. I quickly wrote - On my way with hundreds of wagons, new tribe members, and a whole lot of winter supplies. Was there any fighting?

  “Excellent, we should meet you south here soon. Asha has slain a few scouts, but that is it. Our treasury is at…” she paused, grabbing a paper from her bust. “12,119. That’s both from hunting, fighting, and the dead you left us to deal with.”

  I scribbled - Best to do this right. Stuff the wagons, and leave when done. Oh, um. Asha had a wife. An elva. I may have her in my caravan.

  Yermica nodded and said, “I’m a proud and strong female troll with much status. I can find a new mate or make it work. As for this, I will find Nee and tell her to sound the drum the moment we march. I look forward to camping in Tarb during winter.”

  I hung my shoulder and wrote - We have to win our High Priestess back.

  “I understand and this will get done, thank you for bringing the good news. There will be high spirits knowing supplies and reinforcements are coming,” Yermica said. “For Tribe Moonguard, in Caitlyn’s name.”

  I left the skeleton’s body, knowing the coming weeks would be tedious. I just had to hope that when we reached Toneba, he didn’t have any surprise up his sleeve.

  CHAPTER 73

  Tafo

  23 days later

  “I won’t miss him,” Tarla said with a grunt.

  “Could be worse,” I admitted, watching the dragon fly away. That would hopefully be the last time I’d see the golden scaled behemoth and his pompous rider. “Didn’t much like that Earl Marin fellow. The Prince paid in full and told us we’re doomed. I can deal with that. He never lied to my face as of yet, and I generally think he wants us to go south without further issues.”

  Asha shook his head. “I think he overestimates the power of Toneba’s forces.”

  “Maybe,” I admitted. “We’re not here to fight Toneba’s forces, just to get Bell. I’m still shocked he gave up their slave labor without demanding the same from the minotaurs.”

  I bent down to once again inspect the chest of Z.

  “We both counted it. There's no way to fake Zorta,” Asha said with a grunt. “Forty-five thousand is impressive, but I don’t want to think how they got it. Well, I know some of the how. Speaking of which, what is the plan with these slaves?”

  The Prince had honored his deal. After three weeks of hard marching through snow, we had arrived at Tafo. At first, I expected to have an army greet me when I entered King Karn’s realm. I did indeed find a few thousand strivian arranged around a company of slave masters.

  They came to be under my charge, the unit of slave masters trotting their cavalry to the south. It was no surprise that the slaves used to mine for the human kingdom were pitiful. I couldn’t help but fear sending this rabble to Seqa or even marching them with my army. They needed rest, recovery, and some well-fed meals.

  That wasn’t the worst of my problems. Prince Tao had confirmed what my scouts had discovered, Toneba had amassed at least thirty-thousand warriors who were holed up in Tarb. Prince Tao was in shock because not only had Toneba sped home with no infantry to drag him down, but the faithful were ready to leave when he showed, making for a quick turnaround. Tarb had defenses set, the walls mostly repaired, and deep within the city - they had imprisoned Bell.

  We were only a few days from Bell, closer than I’d been in months. But this was the toughest part. A lot of Tarb’s residents still were prisoners in Xastriban. The rest who escaped the initial sacking had returned.

  And why wouldn’t humans flood into Tarb? The city suddenly held vacant openings, and the poor and downtrodden saw hope in Tarb. All that was needed was some elbow grease and you would have someone's nice home. The preaching against my demonic ways and certain defeat had brought hope to the desperate, but now they stood in the way.

  Except I was given an option. One in which not even Toneba himself knew about, or so Prince Tao had said.

  I could smash the poorly fortified walls, storm the breaches, and slaughter the defenders. Or I could trust Prince Tao and use the tunnel network. Honestly, Tafo was empty. The former slaves would die from a hard march, basically forcing me to occupy the outpost for a few days.

  “Thoughts on the tunnels?” I asked.

  “I don’t trust him,
but that is for you to decide, having fun mulling over the decision. At least we had a smooth trip up to this point,” Tarla said.

  I grunted, mulling over our trip up here.

  Additionally, the last three weeks had been a mad rush. A few key events happened, but they were minor in the greater scale of things.

  Every time I visited Caitlyn’s church, she never answered my calls. Even though the silence was deafening, I gave a donation and my full mana. Now that she was above this planet, there was no rip in space and time, allowing the gift to transfer easily.

  Our goblins birthed another rotation of babies, and we stopped receiving new arrivals right around the time we reached human lands. For certain, we needed a few days if not weeks to properly winterize. It was one thing to have a jacket and another to march in snow. I could heal frostbite, and fire mages could warm feet, but the process was tedious. We needed boots. Bad.

  Our new wagons rotated between caring for the babies and moving supplies. All the crap gear went to great use, but still needed to take up the wagon space. That meant I had bought a few hundred wagons, filled them with gear, and defeated the purpose of having easy transportation.

  The silver lining was each day that passed meant more hunting. We had reached our quota plus some for winter-stores. We had traded the yabbi farmers for a few wagons and additional sheep, not nearly enough, but every little bit helped.

  I had also ordered a few raids into old dwarven holds, but never having the teams delve deep enough to have the army outpace the minor adventures.

  Between Lumpy and Zhogath with their hunting packs, a few skirmishes, and the odd cave kills, we had earned almost twelve thousand Z. Now with the Zorta from Prince Toa, I had enough to move to necromancer eight. A full fifty thousand Zorta.

  Or, I could change a few things. Not all was wonderful.

  Bell’s mother Nim, refused to come out of her carriage I gifted her. She had a lot to deal with and her outlook certainly darkened. I tried to talk to her, but she lost a baby from Toneba and she bawled when we asked what happened. Making matters worse, when we mentioned Bell, she broke down further. I tried a few different tactics but I grew worried of a suicide.

  The other problem was Asha’s kin. The elva demanded freedom the second the King released them into my care. While I planned to honor their wishes, they refused to part from the army until we were far away from their sacred grounds. It was a catch twenty-two, and for the most part the elva were a pain in the ass.

  Asha was scorned and hated by his people for what he was, an abomination in their eyes. His wife remarried, his absence taking over a year, and this was common enough. I could still see that he didn’t care, he wanted to protect his people, his eyes always darting to wherever their wagons were.

  Today was the first day I could comfortably return him to life. I had to assume that Terfi would bring him back, but… I didn’t have a church for her. Something we could remedy in Tafo.

  Everything came down to us needing a short break as a greater army.

  “This is it,” I said in a stern and heavy tone. “Nee, spread the word. You join Tribe Moonguard and leave with it in a week, or you find your own way in the world. No more free rides, and no more demanding. We camp for a week.” I paused, pointing to an ominous brewing cloud that rolled in from the east. “It looks like a blizzard is coming anyway. Ensure the former slaves know they can start to leave now if they want, but if they stay, it's my rules or my punishment.”

  “As the Necro Lord commands,” Nee said with a nod.

  “Boss, Nee, I prefer Boss. Hold on, I’m not done. You’re to elevate five of the shield goblins to magus,” I said.

  Tarla gasped.

  “There’s korbs who -”

  “May leave us when we march into the blizzards in a week,” I interrupted. “Korbs who aren’t sworn to me, and we know where the goblin loyalty stands - unwavering. My greatest asset will be my greatest weapon, always. Famo.” I turned to the gruff dwarf. “Where do you stand?”

  “When you conquer this port city, you’ll have portals?” he asked, and I nodded with two fingers up. The dwarf’s armor clanked as he rocked on his feet with encouraging nods. “Right, right, if not more. Yer the kind of man who seems to collect Zorta like it’s rain.”

  I shrugged, not loving his analogy but catching the gist of what he was saying.

  “I can promise upgrades, but the trip will be brutal,” I said.

  “Aye, we know it. However, King Dimus is thinking the cyclops and the minotaur are out for dwarven blood. While they may be, I know we don’t want to fight the races who farm Zorta in the millions. Even our honed blades and sharp skills won’t overpower leveled foes from limitless Zorta,” Famo said.

  I patted his shoulder and replied, “Get in the city, set defenses, and prepare for a siege. Just in case.”

  “Aye, part of the reason we’re coming is because ye make some sound tactical decisions,” Famo said then departed.

  I held in my smartass comment, instead watching him yell at his goblin underlings. He was a captain in my army, and the goblins respected both him and my decision to elevate him.

  “Lady Tarla,” I said, and she stopped rocking a little korb baby. “Get the children and supplies in the middle of the city. Nice and tight, no pun intended. We have over twenty-thousand to fit into an outpost meant for a few hundred.”

  “I’ll scout and -”

  I halted Asha, shaking my head. “You and I are going to the grain silo.”

  “And my people?” he asked, his breath frosting the cool air. My white-haired friend was still possessive over his kin, even if they had ostracized him.

  “Crafting bows for food. A promised bargain that I’ve kept,” I said. “After the silo, we’ll talk.”

  “You mean it?” he asked.

  “I need Bell, but if you need to leave now, we can do it now,” I said, the two of us standing shoulder to shoulder. I saw the pain in his eyes, his vision shifting to the three wagons the last of his people shared. “Now it is.”

  “I… I… -”

  I left my stuttering friend, heading into the outpost that my undead had already secured. Most of my troops had established a perimeter hours ago, clearing the interior as well. The wagons still crawled forward. The process was slow, and most of them were forced to stay outside the outpost.

  I navigated the busy traffic, my guards following my path. Up high, motion caught my eye. I waved to Nick who worked on the top of the inn I had visited so long ago. The minotaurs didn’t waste time, always rushing to establish their siege weapons.

  I passed the gate where I remembered explaining how Benny died. Memories flooded back into me until I had to shake my head, knowing I was becoming emotional.

  The thought that Asha may not be friendly crossed my mind, and I paused.

  “Head to your people and wait with them,” I ordered.

  This hurt him, and he embraced me like a brother before leaving to join his kin.

  I entered the outpost, looking for a church. The wooden buildings quickly passed by until I reached the city center. Near the arena, I found a church for Arax and kept going. The next church just said church, which I knew was common.

  This shared worshiping building consisted of an old wood, as if it were from before the cataclysm. I ran a hand down the grain, hesitating.

  This was a big deal. I relied on Asha as a key ally, but the truth was that he was forced to obey, Even if I was a necromancer, I wasn’t a slave master.

  When I crossed the threshold, Terfi appeared. The young goddess wore a lovely toga with a flower of lilies in her hair. Her smile told me she likely knew what was coming.

  “So much for never seeing you again. How is she?” I asked.

  “A fighter. They… they did things to her that we’re still undoing. Honestly, I think if we were at war actively, she’d be put down and replaced. The fact is we’re busy, but not ‘by the creator we can die tomorrow’ busy. If she fades, which I doubt sh
e will, you’ll likely meet the six. However, she is growing stronger, we think. I hope,” Terfi said, and I could feel the powerlessness of her words affecting her. “How can I help you?”

  I could only imagine the frustration a divine being must feel when there was actual stakes involved.

  “Asha back to life, and I take it you’re not willing to revive my parents?” I asked.

  She shook her head, the girl's eyes gazing upon me with sadness. “Trust me, you want the full cost of 110,000 Zorta. Those numbers were accurate. Four for Asha. He left a note in your satchel that you should read first.”

  I strode to a pew, plopping down to remove the note.

  Dear Damien,

  I’m going to lead my people to a new home. We know of another den we should have joined a long time ago. They actively farm, war, and defend their realm from invaders. A strong group of elva and a topic on the tip of frightened tongues for too long. It was daunting to travel there and now we have the means, the motive, and a purpose, all thanks to you. I had this long goodbye planned, and then I realized you might very well avoid that because of a coming mission or simply because you tie off your emotions when you can.

  I certainly appreciate you saving me, my people, and giving me a future. I tried to convince Yermica to join us and she declined. She wants me to return to her. I’m conflicted. I may arrive when you need me the most, and I may retire and hide as I have before. Either way, I’ll never forget and will always be grateful for you saving me.

  Your friend, Asha Stormbringer

  “Why have me read it first?” I asked.

  This is what I had expected our goodbye to say.

  “He wishes you no ill will, and is an ally, but this is your chance to change your mind. He is a highly skilled warrior and losing him will lower your mission’s odds. As in, he will leave today if you convert him back to the living,” the young looking goddess said.