Arcane Apocalypse [LitRPG]

Mia wore a deep scowl on her face as Zeigler finished listing the teams he would 'prefer' being part of the Raid delve. All that talk about how being able to work together was just as important as pure firepower, and the man had the gall to name both her team and the one led by Jeff himself.

There was also the High Elf Tristan who avoided her like a plague and three whole squads of beastkin, one of which was Rex's group. The latter wasn't that unpalatable to her personally, but she knew Rex had gone through the majority of the gathered fighters, testing them all like he had Brent and Mia. Most of them got beaten into the dirt and were understandably pissed about it.

"I will, of course, not force anyone to take part and fight," Zeigler spoke, his raised voice barely managing to cut through the grumpy murmurs and the sparse few shouted curses. "Before you stomp out and leave the Raid up to whoever remains, I'd like to share a report with you that I've kept to myself so far. I'd also appreciate it if the general populace remained in the dark about this to avoid mass hysteria. Two weeks ago, refugees fleeing the erstwhile General's war on the Goblins and Ratlings decided to take their chances at traversing the countryside and heading for Vienna.

"Two days ago, three survivors of that group ambled out of the woods, dehydrated, starving and half-dead. They spoke of monsters beyond any we have encountered on our way to Graz and said only they remain of their hundreds-strong group." Zeigler paused for a second, letting the tension build. "I suspect, if we fail to destroy this Rift in the next two days, we will all die. We will have no hope of escaping into the wilderness, since monsters have already laid claim to it all. Victory is our only hope."

Mia's previous worries suddenly felt small and childish, almost insignificant as the weight of the new information settled on her shoulders. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she was still thinking of running for the capital as a possible Plan B.

He might be lying to keep us here and make us fight for him. A cynical part of her said, urged on by a hint of desperation and a want for an out in case she needed one. Or maybe he's just overselling the strength of those monsters. The refugees could have all been level 1s and 2s. It wouldn't take much to wipe a few hundred of them out.

"What are we thinking?" Mark asked, breaking Mia out of her brooding. "This is going to be a shitshow, but … "

"We were going to fight anyway," Mia said, imagining the disgusted look people would be throwing her if she put her foot down and refused to fight together with Jeff just because she thought he was an absolute asshole. People would be panicking after Zeigler's speech, and if even one of the people spread the rumour that one of their foremost mages was being a childish little nuisance … she might just get lynched the next time she left the house, or ran out of town, into the claws of the supposed monsters infesting the Austrian forests and mountains. "This changes nothing. We just have to keep alert and grow eyes on the backs of our heads."

Camie grabbed her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. Looking up, Mia found a simple, calm smile on the vampiress' face, not a hint of doubt or anxiety shining in her ruby eyes. Mia's anxiety didn't quite evaporate, but the edge had been taken off of it. If Camie was calm, she could be too. They could watch each other's backs. With both of their skill sets, they could watch the whole team's backs and beat any beastkin or tyrannical demonspawn into the ground if they tried something. With their hearing being as good as it was, no one could speak a whisper in their vicinity without them knowing.

We can handle this.

"With that in mind, I'd want any of you who are parts of the teams or squads I've mentioned and want to back out to tell your spokesperson or leader," Zeigler called out. "We have little time and I want to have the final list of fifty we are sending in yesterday. Any team leader who has a member that wants to back out, or wants to pull out their whole team, please come forward."

"Last chance to back out," Brent said, turning to look over his shoulder and running a gaze that was likely supposed to be encouraging over them. To Mia, it was crystal clear the man would take any of them backing out badly, and would likely consider it something of a personal failure on his part.

Mia just shook her head, mouth pressed in a thin line as she held a serious frown on her face. She appreciated that Brent gave them the option to back out — as he should — but she wasn't leaving. Not now, not this deep into it.

I really should grill Nikki about any way we could still use to get stronger, even if it's just a slight boost. It could be well worth it. Her thoughts went to her Spirit Genesis Ritual in particular and the Class Skill upgrades Mark had been asking about. The latter was iffy at best, Nikki would have probably said it if it was possible, but the prior … she'd been wanting to go to Vienna and cast it there, making use of the apparent spiritual imprint of all the battles throughout history that had played out there.

Would a fresher spiritual imprint work? Mia mused. The Ritual would give birth to a pair of pseudo-spirits tied to her own Spirit, ones without sapience or sentience. From the description, they would be the White Guardian, a spirit of protection and heroism and the Black Knight of Carnage. The name of the latter spoke for itself. I might not be able to call on any for the White guardian … but there is plenty of carnage in the near past, right here in Graz.

Opposites balancing each other was an important aspect of the Arcane element, which was why she was doubtful about the ritual working if she only managed to cast half of it. Could she use history books as conduits to call on some heroic last stands and such from far away to balance it and cast the complete ritual?

Probably not. The Lexicon wouldn't have specified needing to cast it 'near' a place of significance for that specific thing if it would work that way … I'm just guessing, I need to look into it … but there is no time.

The likelihood of both ideas she had of getting stronger before going into the Raid being busts was pretty high, so she decided to set her expectations to just that. That way, if any of them worked even just a little bit, it'd be a pleasant surprise.

There had been twelve teams Zeigler had named, some as large as ten fighters strong while some were just pairs. Still, when only three of the leaders stepped forward at Zeigler's call, Mia found herself mildly surprised. She'd assumed the majority of people just wanted the safety that came from levels, which was why they fought against the relatively killable monsters in the city and signed up for the push towards the now-Raid.

But only three out of twelve wanting to ditch the fight was a surprise, even if logically, they all should know it was either victory or death. If Zeigler wasn't lying, that is.

"Do you think he was lying?" Mia asked, her voice a hushed whisper as she leaned closer to Camie. She had a damned human-shaped lie detector right next to her, so why didn't she think about asking her sooner? It could have saved her some worrying. "About the monsters outside, and how it's hopeless to run for Vienna."

"No," Camie said grimly. "At least he didn't seem to believe he was lying. He doesn't know exactly what we can do. I'm confident we could travel there … the two of us, at least. Probably."

There was a brief flicker of doubt in her tone, lips twisting into a frown before she wiped it away with what had to be conscious effort. Leaving sounded tempting, even if it would just be the two of them, but Mia just knew she would never forgive herself for leaving behind her mother and/or Mark. Even Lina or Brent, for that matter. Mom can fly, but we have metallic birds practically ruling our skies. What if there are fucking dragons and stuff higher up in the mountains we would have to cross? Could she follow us on the ground? … maybe.

That line of thought was absolutely worthless, she knew. She was not leaving, and if the Raid went sideways, she'd likely end up as a hundred tiny, gory chunks of flesh that metallic wolf puppies nibbled on as snacks. If fifty of their best fighters couldn't beat it, she didn't think it likely she'd manage to escape. Still, she'd try and she'd try to do so with most of her friends alive.

If the Raid got decimated, they could still try their chances in the wilderness. Vienna was safe, safe as anywhere could be on this new Earth. With its Obelisk and that Marshal who might or might not be Rank 3, there was nowhere else Mia would rather be.

*****

Mia stood before the gathered crowd, her spine stiff but straight and her palms clasped behind her back to hide her shaking hands. Her face remained impassive — at least she was hoping it did — as she waited for the last few slowpokes to sit their asses down.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The series of events that led to her current plight were short and she should have foreseen this happening. Alas, maybe she'd been hoping it wouldn't have to be her who told the gathering about what they knew of Rifts.

Unfortunately, Nikki was the best choice, and while the woman accepted the role, Mia was the only person who could translate her words for the locals.

At least we are getting paid for it. Mia consoled herself, trying to think of Zeigler's promise of a larger slice of natural treasures going to her and her team if they did this little lecture. Think of all the stats. You're going to have all the stats in the world.

Even after fighting, and beating, so many monsters, standing before hundreds of people and giving a speech was something that even the thought of sent a shiver of dread down her spine. She just hated it with her entire being, all the eyes roaming her body, judging, leering, but the worst were the ones she saw look at her with hope in their eyes.

They were hoping that she would tell them something that'll save their lives. They were looking at her like some sort of saviour. At least that was what it felt like, and it was terrifying, terrifying to think about what would happen if she disappointed them, if her words led to their deaths.

"I'm ready to begin," Nikki said. There was not a single flicker of doubt or anxiety to be seen on her. Mia was jealous. "I'll make it short. I doubt they are interested in what the academics think the process of Rift formation is or how Rifts affect the ecosphere and the economy of their surroundings. Practical as the Adventurer's Guild's lectures should be best. What do you think?"

"Probably," Mia said, her voice as level as she could make it. "Short and practical. I agree."

"Nervous?" Nikki asked, giving Mia an encouraging smile when she nodded after a moment of hesitation. "My father always said it wasn't worth worrying about the gazes of those you could kill with a thought, or in my younger self's case, with a word to him. Not the most fitting for our current circumstances, but remember how formidable you are, you deserve to keep your head held high. Whatever they are thinking, it doesn't matter one bit."

"Your father sounds like an asshole," Mia said before her mind could catch up to her treacherous tongue. Freezing in place, she glanced at Nikki.

"Oh, he is," the woman said with a dark smile on her lips. "He really is. That's largely the reason I'm here, to be honest. But enough about him, any questions before we begin?"

"What if what I tell them here ends up killing them?" Mia asked. Maybe it was the stress or something else, but she felt like sharing her worries and anxiety with whoever was near. Misery loves company, after all. That's a shitty thing to do though.

"Then that's on me." Nikki shrugged, entirely unbothered. "You're just my translator, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to up their chances of survival, even if just by a little bit. The foolish might still blame the few deaths that are inevitable on my lacking educational skills, but they are not worth worrying over. There is nothing we can do about that."

That's not very helpful, is it? Mia thought sourly, already imagining some grieving fighter coming to kill her after the Raid. It was a paranoid thought, but paranoia kept people alive in the past, and she thought it was only prudent. I'll just have to be careful. Even more careful than I already am. Never sleep far from Camie, always have the Familiar summoned and keep the Alert Ward up whenever I can't keep focused on keeping a lookout for enemies.

"Thanks," Mia said, nodding at the blue-haired woman despite her cynical thoughts. Nikki was trying to help, despite having no reason to do so besides trying to be nice. "I'm ready to begin. Sorry for holding you up."

"No worries," Nikki said, stepping forward on the flat podium of condensed earth Mark had made in a hurry just as Zeigler finished up telling the gathered crowd about the alien woman who was going to hold a quick lecture for them. Mia dutifully stepped up next to her, just a step behind and to the right. "Tell them to keep silent, if possible. Also that if they want to ask questions, they should raise their hands instead of shouting them at me."

Mia took a calming breath and did as Nikki asked. There were a few grumbles about being back in preschool, but that was it. People were tense, and most of them knew knowledge was important and could keep them alive. When the woman started speaking, Mia sank into her role as the translator and focused on it, letting everything else cluttering up her mind sink into the background.

"The most important thing you must know about Rifts is that the last moment you can know you are safe is the moment before you step through the portal," Nikki said. "Once inside, you will always be in danger. Rifts are dimensional prisons made to hold back monsters, their insides are like tiny worlds specifically made to suit the prisoners: the monsters. There is nowhere inside where you are safe, every second of every hour, monsters will be hunting you. In an environment specifically made to be the perfect hunting ground for them.

"I will skip over the theories I know of about Rift formation and their impact, instead I'll focus on a few important things that if you keep in mind, you might just survive the Raid," Nikki continued, pausing for a moment as she let Mia catch up with her translation and take a breath. "There will be fifty of us going in, so organising ourselves into proper roles, squads and formations will be even more important than usual. There will need to be a set hierarchy, roles given to everyone and you will have to respect that, whether you get assigned as a scout, a frontliner, ranged support or battlefield commander. Any questions so far?"

"I don't want to be ordered around by one of those self-important military bastards who couldn't even kill a tied down level 1 goblin!" A woman wearing ragged iron armour shouted, not bothering to raise her hand and instead crossed her arms. Around her, people murmured in agreement. "Worse, if we only have so many slots in this Raid! I don't want one or more of those to be wasted on 'commanders'. We can fight well enough."

"Tell them that this is the last question I will answer that wasn't asked by someone properly raising their hands," Nikki said, a scowl worn on her face as Mia relayed the question. "One, I said 'battlefield commander', not regular commander. Those are two very different roles, and a battlefield commander should be someone who doesn't have to be coddled even in a fight and should be able to pull their weight. Like how all of you have team leaders, there should be a Raid leader giving commands to all team leaders. Otherwise, all the different teams will be running around like headless chickens, getting in each-other's ways and accomplishing far less than if they worked together properly under a unified command structure. Refusing to do so will just result in you and your comrades' needless deaths."

There was something about Nikki's no-nonsense way of speaking, like she was almost unconcerned with whether they would die horribly that Mia just couldn't even begin to replicate in her translation. Where the woman's voice was calm and steady, as if she was talking about the weather, Mia's trembled a little as she indirectly threatened the crowd to behave.

Some threw back curses and others grumbled, the woman who'd asked the question looked to be unable to decide whether to be offended or chagrin, but a few raised their hands. Some hesitant, others unbothered and confident.

Nikki pointed at one of the latter, a man dressed in robes one might see on a Buddhist monk sitting with his legs crossed.

"By your previous words, the most dangerous part of the delve besides fighting the Guardian itself will be while we are entering it," the man said. "We'll be especially vulnerable to attacks while only a portion of our fighters are on the other side, they'll be disoriented and confused as they gather their bearings. Is there a way to know exactly what we are heading into? To scout ahead, or to predict the surroundings, or at least to minimise the risks?"

"There are ways to scout ahead," Nikki said, nodding with a pleased air about her. Likely happy the man had manners. "Summons are the best, and divinations spells are a close runner up. Unfortunately, I am unaware of what everyone's capabilities are, so I can't say whether we have anyone with the right spells and Skills to do proper scouting. The Colonel's divination specialist can't pierce the dimensional barrier of the Rift's portal though, so if any of you think you could provide some scouting, that'd be appreciated."

Mia thought of her Familiar. It was technically a summon, though it was pretty useless as a scout. It might be able to tell her whether there were enemies nearby, but she'd noticed it sometimes identified regular rats as 'enemies' and went to butcher them. It wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, and even if it was, communication would still be a problem. There was no way for her temporarily bound elemental to relay what it'd seen inside the Rift.

"I have a Skill called Eye of the Magi, it … might help?" Another man- boy, rather, raised his hand. He looked like he should be in highschool. "It lets me see through it and I can send it around to scout. I don't know whether it can go through that freaky portal though."

"It is worth a try," Nikki said with a smile. "Thank you for speaking up, and telling us about your capabilities." She then returned her gaze to the monk cosplayer. "If that doesn't work though, we can extrapolate some information based on the name of the Rift and its inhabiting monsters. Here, we have Metallic Wolves of the iron and rust variety, dwelling in a Rift called 'The Forest of the Wolf King. Thankfully, Metallic Wolves are a well-researched Rift-born species since their metallic bodies are excellent materials for enchanting and alchemy, so we know Rifts with them tend to have an environment heavily affected by the Metal element and its many Aspects. Expect trees with iron barks, grass made of steel so sharp it cuts through your boots, leaves that can be used as knives and so on and so forth."

"I see," the monk replied, nodding thankfully with a thoughtful look on his face. "If the species is so well-researched, are there any easily exploitable weaknesses to them we could make use of?"

"Lightning," Nikki said with a casual shrug. "Metal conducts Lightning, which is really bad for any of the wolves that have any organic bits. It doesn't do anything to the ones entirely made of metal, though, like the Ex-Guardian my team fought. Besides that, they are heavy so Earth magic to weaken the ground might work, but nothing else comes to mind. As for your other question, I have not yet answered, we can minimise the danger while entering the Rift with even just a few mindless summons sent forward as cannon fodder to distract any monsters nearby. If that answered your question, I'll continue because I'm sure many of your questions will be answered by one of my later points."

Monk-dude nodded, and Nikki got on with her speech. She spoke of getting used to unfamiliar environments, making sure you had the proper gear at hand from food, water and snacks to bedrolls and tents in case the delve took longer than a day.

As Mia translated, she memorised everything she was saying and didn't let the words just travel from her ears to her mouth without stopping by in her head. There was a lot she still had to learn, and Nikki was pretty good at this teaching thing in her opinion, even if the woman herself seemed to disagree.

Can I ask questions, too? I should ask the Class Skill thing sometime, it'll help these guys too for sure.