Arcane Apocalypse [LitRPG]

Sparkle stalked the high branches of this weird, metallic forest he had found himself in. A Rift. There were stranger places in the Astral Sea, but most of those were far too dangerous for a newborn Sprite to explore, not so these Rifts. His sense of adventure was singing in glee, a part of him wishing to run off and leave his summoner behind for a while, just to explore this temporary pocket space.

He might have done so, had his summoner been anyone else.

As things stood, he had to curb his curiosity and satisfy himself with the things he could see from the halvyr girl's side. Or from her shoulder, though that silky inner pocket of hers was also nice. He just had to shrink his body a bit, which was simple enough for a Sprite of his talents.

It was warm, snug, and comfortable. It also kept him close to his summoner's body, letting him feel her cozy spiritual presence and taste some of the mana seeping out of her body. More importantly, it also kept him close enough to react to any threats in time.

It was nerve-wracking to be so far from her for the first time in a while, and he'd almost dashed right back when some moron bumped into her. The moment he felt her pain flashing through their temporary Bond, he almost had a heart attack — despite not having a heart — expecting someone to have betrayed her, shanked her with a knife the moment they knew her mighty protector was away on a scouting mission.

Luckily, it was just an idiot who couldn't walk properly. Humans. They should either grow wings to fly or walk on all fours if they couldn't walk on their two legs properly. His current feline body was clearly superior, as was the Sprite form he liked to take on with its pair of prismatic wings.

The monsters are approaching. He mused, sending a note of warning through the Bond as he watched some of the mutts with their bipedal mutt riders dashing out of the distant encampment. Thoughtful, he sent a question again once his summoner acknowledged his previous message. Attack?

There were only three mutts with riders on the front, with a small platoon of twenty mountless mutts marching behind them. His body was weak as it had been created by a Rank 0 spell, but his magic was not. He could slaughter them all … probably.

Hesitance. Denial. Sparkle huffed as he felt the emotions from his summoner, but complied nonetheless and turned to head back. He hopped from branch to branch, then scuttled down the side of a tree, sticking his paws to the tree's surface with a bit of mana to make tripping impossible.

He dashed towards the gathered fighters, most of them silly humans who stiffened at his approach, as it was proper. They should fear him and adore him occasionally. He liked praise after all, and getting scratches and pets in this feline body felt strangely satisfying.

One of them looked to be preparing to halt his advance and stop him from reaching his summoner. The idiot stepped forward and held out a spear, sending flaming fire mana surging down its length and coating its tip. Sparkle watched, unimpressed, and didn't slow his run.

His summoner had given clear orders to avoid killing her 'comrades', and so he wouldn't, no matter how much he wished to teach this stick-twirling idiot how little that pointy garbage would protect him from Sparkle. Alas, he'd have to make do with making a fool of himself.

Jumping just a few metres away from the man, he conjured a platform of firm mana under his paws and leapt higher, easily avoiding the spear thrust. Kicking off from another conjured platform, he landed on the man's head and kicked off again, sending him sprawling as he infused the kick with a dubious amount of kinetic energy.

Others moved to attack him, but a man bellowed a warning at the idiots and ordered them to stand down. At least the lead human leading this 'raid' thing had some intelligence.

A few quick hops later, he saw his summoner and jumped again, landing softly on her shoulder where he took up his spot. It was a nice perch, though he had to shrink his body mid-flight so as to fit and not bowl over the girl.

"Welcome back," his summoner said, smiling in amusement as she no doubt listened to the idiot he had made a fool of swear up a storm in the distance. He even got scratches under his chin as a reward! He'd have considered Bonding with the girl just for the way she treated him, even if she wasn't who she was. "Someone's having a mischievous streak. Naughty kitty."

Sparkle purred, feeling only amusement through the Bond and so not bothering with what might have sounded like a reprimand. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and his impromptu petting session was put a stop to not by the damned monsters, but … by that annoying Storm Sprite.

Opening an eye, Sparkle saw his summoner's mother approaching and preparing for the oncoming battle by her daughter's side. She was not what held his attention, though; that would be the pair of sparkling yellow eyes he could see floating above her shoulder, shrouded in a thin mist. A pair of eyes that were staring at him. Gloating.

He hissed, and the pair of eyes narrowed in fright. Then the other Sprite jumped back into its summoner's Core. Timid as the thing was, it never missed a chance to gloat at him for having a proper Bond while he was just a temporary summon, the gall of that Sprite!

He would have already Bonded to his summoner … if … well … if he could work up the courage. According to his Sire, the girl's Bloodline and strength of Spirit were great enough that a fully formed Bond wouldn't strain her overly much, but Sparkle just couldn't figure out how to do it properly.

Should he just … initiate the Bond? Would she accept? What if she didn't!? He'd be left utterly humiliated, and his failure would be the prime gossip among the other Sprites of the Astral Court! Sparkle couldn't have that, not at all! He had to make sure he had to endear himself to the girl and show her his mastery of the Arcane and his power! He'd make her initiate the Bond! Yes, that's right, he will not be a Sprite shamefully begging for a Bond like some of the weaklings had to!

It was the perfect plan, and it had nothing at all to do with the fact that just the mere notion of getting rejected made him anxious beyond belief. His Sire had entrusted him with protecting the girl, which would be impossible if she dismissed him and sent him back to the Astral. Would she be angry if he revealed himself now? Would she be angry with him for not doing so sooner? Would that be enough for her to reject him?

He didn't know, so he could take no chances! Not only his Sire, but the Great Spirit King himself had his eyes on him and his mission! He could not disappoint them.

So he would wait.

Satisfied with his wise and extremely well throughout decision, Sparkle purred happily. Yes, he was so good at this. He just had to show the girl his mighty powers and how great he was, then it would be her who came begging for a Bond. The great-great granddaughter of the Great Spirit King himself would be begging him to Bond with her! His name would become a legend among the other Sprites!

Then, when they were Bonded, he could shower her with all his endless wisdom and magical knowledge. He'd seen the effects of her Attunement rising; the fact that she already had Wisp Form unlocked clued him in just how rapidly it was increasing.

That was perfect. Wisp Magic came naturally to Spirits, since it was basically just dis-corporating a material body into pure magical essence and then doing stuff in that form. Spirits were born in that pure form, which they then had to gather and materialise in a visage to interact with the world around them properly. He could teach her that. She'd be so amazed, he could already imagine it! She'd have stars in her eyes and all, then she'd praise his wisdom and magnificence!

Yes, the plan was perfect. Purrfect.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

*****

It started well at first, giant wolves ridden by armoured smaller wolves wielding metal pikes crashing against the front line and being brutally slaughtered in short order. Strong as they were, only the most powerful fighters had been selected to come into the Raid, and they easily killed the monsters when ten human — or ex-human — fighters ganged up on every single mounted monster.

Mia had even managed to blast a leg off an Iron Wolf and a head off one of the riders before they even clashed into the warriors on the front. She could have hit more of them, but Helene was learning how to use her newly Bound spirit to cast her Lightning Bolt, using it as a point of origin instead of her own outstretched hand. With the monsters ignoring the small Sprite until it started spewing lightning, it was very effective, especially since both kinds of monsters were still vulnerable to lightning.

Besides them, there were at least a dozen more ranged fighters who did their best, only one managing to outright kill a monster by themselves, but even the rest managed to make sure no monster reached the melee warriors unscathed. They were all limping, bleeding, deaf or blind, perhaps all of them at once or some other deliberating injury. They were easy prey for the warriors.

Then the main force arrived, a platoon of foot soldiers wearing plate armour and marching in formation and surrounded by a vague circle of mounted Wolflings. Mia peered at them, using her Spirit Sense too, and yet she couldn't feel or see any monster that could have been the Sub-Boss, or Lieutenant thingy that they had come to kill.

What she did feel, though, was powerful magic shrouding the group like a cloak wrapped around each and every member. It felt potent, violent, and powerful. Familiar too, and it took Mia only a moment to realise it was her mother's mana it vaguely reminded her of, just twisted and strange in some way she couldn't quite put into words.

The effect of the magic quickly revealed itself as Helene sent a forking bolt of lightning as thick as a wrist blasting towards the group the moment they came within sight. Mia, like everyone else, expected the lightning to chain between the tightly packed platoon of monsters and fry every last one of them from the inside out.

That didn't happen, not even close. Not only did the lightning fail to harm them, not even causing the monsters to pause their march, it wrapped around them. Arcs of lightning danced and curled around the metallic monsters like serpents, lovingly caressing them, causing the beasts to let out mocking cackles and bestial snorts in response.

"That's not good," Mia murmured, sending a hesitant glance towards her mother, who now sported a dark frown.

"They tore the magic out of my control," Helene said, sounding more than a little peeved. "Tempests says they are covered in a powerful elemental blessing of some sort, an enchantment. It's waning, but not quickly enough. It'll hold for half an hour even if I make it work overtime by throwing lightning at it."

"I think it only works against lightning," Mia said, then to confirm her hypothesis, she sent an Arcane Blast towards the lead plate-wearing monster. Lightning flared around him, a tongue of electricity arcing towards the approaching missile of crackling pink magic, but it couldn't quite stop it.

It exploded half a metre short of the monster's chest she had been aiming at, but the blast still sent the beast stumbling back with its chest plate charred and dented.

"I WANT EVERY MAGIC AND ARROWS YOU HAVE SHOT AT THESE BASTARDS!" Brent roared, a hint of fear and worry in his voice. "No lightning. Everything else."

Mia did as she was commanded, and the warriors standing before her split into groups to give a clearer line of sight for the mages. She shot off an Arcane Blast, now blowing and hitting a monster in the head and causing its neck to snap around with a painful crack from the shockwave. The monster went limp and dropped dead on the spot, spasming as its body realised it was dead.

She was not the fastest, though, nor the most efficient. A thick sphere of fire roared towards the tightly packed platoon, and the lightning cloak did little to dampen its effect as it exploded into a whirlwind of flame less than a metre away from the monsters. There were no mocking cackles now, only screams of pain; the only cackle filling the air came from Aiden, the man who had thrown the flaming sphere.

Arrows glowing with magical light whizzed through the air, most bouncing off the metal plates, leaving behind only dents, but some found the seams in the armour and lodged into the flesh beneath.

Powerful blasts of wind blew the riders off the giant wolves' backs and sent them tumbling in a heap, their heavy plate armour and weaker bodies ensuring they weren't standing back up for a while. Maybe ever, if the other mages had anything to say about it.

Mia saw flying spikes of hardened earth coming not from Mark but from Lori, the friendly summoner girl's sister and team leader. Those seemed most effective as the arcs of lightning did little against them, merely slowing them, but not enough so that they didn't embed into the weaker parts of the armour at the knees and shoulders.

Taking that as an inspiration, Mia swapped out her Arcane Blasts for the piercing variant of Arcane Bolt, hoping its more condensed and firmer structure would allow it to likewise fend off the protective lightning better. She was right, though not to the extent she wished. Her Bolts were manifested mana, not earth, and so they dissipated when the magic broke within them instead of continuing their flight. One out of three Bolts hit home, but those that did were lethal as she had aimed at the gaps between the chest plate and helmet. Monster or not, a finger-width hole through the neck was enough to kill them, though not instantly.

"It only protects them against magic!" someone shouted, and though Mia couldn't tell who it was, she heard the words clearly enough. That was … troubling news. She had no means of attack that weren't magic. She was a damned mage after all.

She had a knife, but what was she going to do with it? Get up-close and personal and then try to stab them like some Rogue would have? No, the knife was non-magical too, so she had doubts about whether it could even pierce the metallic fur of the monsters, even if by some miracle she could lodge it in a place where no armour covered the monsters.

No, even trying that would be stupid. Her spells worked pretty well, even with the lightning cloak working against them. Plus, she wasn't alone. There were others to pick up the slack if her spells were not enough to end the monsters.

Aiden managed to send two more spheres flying before he kneeled over and planted his face into the dirt, the idiot. He might have devastated this platoon and killed about fifteen of the forty armoured monsters outright, but there would be more to come, and mana deprivation was not an affliction that went away quickly or just because you refilled your mana. It was like emptying out your entire circulatory system and depriving it of blood, then expecting everything to be the same once you send some back in.

Horrible analogy, but that was the only thing Mia could compare it to that didn't diminish the severity of the affliction. Though … perhaps that was overly dramatic. Mana deprivation didn't kill, not unless you were monumentally stupid and pushed through it into getting a mana burn, then even further until your Core exploded. Mana burn was a permanent affliction, causing burning pain in the energy channels every time mana touched them, and Core explosion afflicted the victim with an even more permanent health condition: death.

You didn't get back up after the magical core of your being exploded with the power of two kilograms of TNT right inside you, then tore your Spirit to shreds as it went. Though apparently merely cracking your Core was more common, which only permanently robbed you of the ability to store mana in it. Well, you could store mana in it, but it would hurt like a bitch and drain out of it in short order since the crack was basically a hole in the bottom of the bucket that was the core.

When Aiden got back to his knees as grabbed a mana potion with a grimace of agony on his face, muscles spasming out of control as he went, Mia felt he was both surprisingly resilient if he could get through the pain and unsurprisingly moronic because he forgot to research what pushing through mana deprivation can do to the body.

"Aiden!" Mia shouted, causing his hand to miss his mouth and instead pour the potion down his chin as his hand spasmed again. "Don't drink that shit, do you want to get a mana burn? That's the permanent version of what you are going through now. I don't recommend it."

It wasn't drinking the potion in particular that was the problem; that could have even helped if done in moderation — replenishing the missing mana and all — but casting spells afterwards. The energy channels were sore now, torn and pained in places. Exerting them was the problem.

"Fuck!" Aiden cursed, but one of his fellow union mages grabbed the potion in his hand and pried it out of his unresponsive fingers, saving some of the magical liquid inside. "Give that back!"

The mage looked askance at Mia, ignoring his leader.

"Give him a little," Mia said, glancing back at the fight. Spells were still flying, and she, too, was throwing a Bolt every now and then, though none hit vulnerable spots, distracted as she was. "Just a sip so there is some mana in him, but don't let him cast anything. Those fireballs must have ravaged his mana channels; the tears and strains will become permanent if he continues abusing them now."

The mage nodded, surprisingly enough, and gently poured maybe a spoonful of potion into Aiden's mouth. The pyromaniac shuddered, his convulsing muscles relaxing a little, though the painful grimace on his face only deepened into a picture of sheer agony.

His channels must have been worse off than I thought. Mia grimaced, hoping she hadn't doomed the man's future as a mage just because she wanted to relieve some of his pain. Big spells are dangerous. Let's keep that in mind. Three spells did that to him, just three.

"It gets worse for a bit before it gets better," Mia said when the mage sent a questioning glare her way as Aiden let out a silent scream. The mage nodded, relieved, and Mia really hoped she was right.

What she said wasn't a lie per se … but it was more of an educated wish than the factual truth she had confidently portrayed it as. Let me be right. Please. I don't need any more enemies; beastkin, assassins and monsters are enough for me. No more.