Arcane Apocalypse [LitRPG]

"This is a disaster," Lars Zeigler murmured, as the acting general commanding the war-front — if it could even be called that — in Graz, every setback, every death and every failure weighed on him. His responsibility was to minimise them; he knew preventing them wholesale was impossible … and yet he couldn't help but feel like he had failed as he watched people emerge from the Raid's portal.

Listless people carrying the corpses of their friends and loved ones. Broken people. Some of the best combatants the city had now looked haunted, and he would be surprised if they ever took up a weapon again in their lives.

Zeigler had been a soldier for three decades now, he knew that look in their eyes, knew that they either worked through it and became true soldiers — something he somehow doubted a few of the previously civilian Delvers would manage — or they would never work through them.

Hope was fraying, slowly vanishing from his heart. The accursed beastkin were advancing quickly, following behind those green monsters of theirs, and more and more of the city was falling under their control.

Zeigler didn't have the manpower to hold the city in its entirety, not with the newly reclaimed zones being so massive. The northern section had already fallen, and now the monsters were advancing through the suburbs, going around the city centre, where the stronghold of the military's power was.

It had become clear what their goal was hours ago: the raid. They controlled one of the remaining rifts already in the east, out in the farmlands beyond the city, but they were moving towards the Raid that lay down south near the river. Now, that was something he couldn't allow.

The best fighters and mages of the city were inside, fighting for the future of Graz, for its continued existence. He still hoped they would succeed, and he suspected the Werewolf 'King' leading these traitorous furry bastards did too, and he wanted to be the one to greet them when they emerged.

The raiding group would be exhausted, weary and likely injured, and the Beastkin would wait in ambush with an armed welcoming party. He didn't know whether the Werewolf wanted them dead, imprisoned or subjugated, but neither option was palatable.

Luckily, while the men and women under his command didn't luck into the best classes, they were resourceful. Even now, nearly a hundred of them sat in a hidden warehouse, producing enchanted ammunition. His diviner was tracking the enemy's movements. Others were setting up traps, using magic to hide and conceal them, or make them have a bigger bang.

Their largest advantage to date was that the Beastkin seemed to tend more towards physical classes, leaving them with very few mages.

Magic. Zeigler almost snorted in disbelief at his line of thought. Here he was, thinking how great it was that his own forces had more mages in their number than the half-beasts he was fighting. The him from a few months ago would have thought him a lunatic; everyone would have. Who could have known the world would so spectacularly turn on its head? Certainly not him; he had been planning his retirement, looking up cosy little cottages in the southern Alps he could afford from his savings.

With a grimace, he turned away and let his subordinates deal with this mess. It was regrettable that he had to ask civilians to fight in the military's stead. They might have the power, but the temperament? The strength of will to continue fighting when things got hard, which they eventually always did? That was hit or miss.

He was at least glad to hear that while a handful died, another three gave up on fighting, four remained behind to continue the fight. Among them was one of the Unionists' leaders, Lori, whose sister, another pair, carried out in her stead. They described the grieving woman to be on a warpath, seeking vengeance on the monsters.

It was not the preferred mindset for a combatant, but Zeigler was glad for anyone who dared to risk their lives in that dimensional hellhole. God knew they didn't have anyone to send in if the first group failed. Their best and brightest were already inside.

He would have even considered threatening them to go back and fight, no matter how apprehensive that action would have been, or how guilty he would have felt about it.

An entire city depended on this group destroying the Raid; hundreds of thousands of lives hung in the balance. Yes, there was little he wouldn't have resorted to if it meant making sure they succeeded. He just hoped Brent would be able to handle the emotionally charged group..

He had sent in soldiers after the main Raiding party, and realised that the Raid was 'instanced', as the younger soldiers describe it. A video game term, presumably, where a single 'dungeon' existed a thousand times over, each instance allowing in only a set number of invaders.

Or something. He didn't quite get the explanation, but he got the important bits: sending in more people, or threatening those who came out to go back in, was meaningless. If the group in the first instance didn't beat the Raid, no other group he sent in would, and he wasn't overflowing with manpower anyway, so he couldn't waste more fighting men and women on a fool's endeavour.

He could only hope that while he fought off the Beastkin, the Raid would be destroyed and Brent would be able to handle whatever treachery they pulled.

"Sir," the soldiers gathered inside his command tent, straightened, snapping into a salute, but he waved them off.

"Anything new?" Zeigler asked, clasping his hands behind his back. He counted himself fortunate that he had been blessed with a commanding presence, both his stature and voice helping him in that matter. Here, it was more important than ever to present an image of competence and unflappability. He had to be the pillar the whole military could lean on, even when the eradication of all non-monstrous life in Graz was a very real possibility.

"Our lines are holding for now, sir," his second, a newly promoted colonel by the name Auer, reported. "The enchanted ammunition is making short work of the plant monsters, especially those enhanced to burn or explode. The alchemical Molotov cocktails the alchemists cooked up also show promise, burning through any of the Rank 0 monsters in seconds. Only our tank shells, anti-material rifles and RPGs seem to do any substantial damage against the Rank 1 monsters. Luckily, only a handful have shown themselves so far."

"We suspect the Werewolf is having trouble subjugating monsters of a higher level than himself," Kelvin, his trusty aid, reported. "We have managed to get our hands on a System book on Tamer-type Classes, and it is clearly stated in it that to subjugate monsters above one's level is an extreme rarity. It usually only happens when the Tamer can subdue the monster both physically, mentally and spiritually, or when they have some artifact that makes the subjugation much easier, or at all possible."

"How many of those are we looking at?" Zeigler asked.

"Six sighted so far," Auer reported, his mouth curving into a thin, satisfied smile as he continued. "Two remain now, four we killed; they clearly underestimated our firepower. Our casualties had been lower than expected, too, especially since they learned that those Rank 1 beasts won't be enough to grant them an easy victory. They had been more cautious since."

"Good," Zeigler said with grim satisfaction. Time was decidedly on his side. He was sure those Beastkin contingent inside the Rift were powerful, but he doubted they were as ridiculous as Brent's group or Jeff's group. He just worried about what might happen if those greedy cunts ambushed Brent inside the Rift. Surely they couldn't be that shortsighted, right? "What are they doing with the captured territories?"

"Looting, pillaging," Kelvin said calmly. "It doesn't seem like they expect to hold the territories. They are taking everything useful that isn't nailed down and carrying it back up to their stronghold atop the hill."

Thankfully, they had had enough forewarning to evacuate the parts of Graz they had to abandon beforehand. The western side of the city, across the Mur river was not beset by any Beastkin or plant monsters, so that's where most people were sent. Though some remained in the city centre, partly for protection right around the military's base of operations, or to assist in some way.

It was honestly heartening to see how people could come together when times get harsh. Communal kitchens were run by the dozens, housewives worked to relearn how to wash clothes by hand, and working men worked together with the soldiers to erect barricades, while mechanics worked on maintaining the military's vehicles.

It was good to see that despite the emergence of magic, the System and the upheaval of everything these people knew, they were still human. They didn't devolve into anarchy. They didn't jump at the chance to steal from their neighbours.

Well, most of them didn't. There were outliers,s of course, but by and large, the Beastkin under the Werewolf 'king' were the biggest problem, and the largest source of crime in the city.

Sighing deeply, Zeigler found his hand idly tapping at his pocket, inside of which he still held the mysterious note. A note which he had found in his pocket, with no memory of ever having put it there.

He had read it, after making doubly sure it was not deadly in some way, and to say his feelings were complicated on the contents would be an understatement. It was a request for cooperation from a self-proclaimed 'envoy' of Starhaven.

One hiding in his city, probably the very same one that had botched the assassination attempt on young Mia.

Perhaps they didn't know he had already found out about their involvement in that ugly matter. Zeigler knew he would have been much more willing to go along with whatever this was if his first impression of them wasn't so horrid.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

Still. If they didn't know he was aware of their crimes … perhaps this could be used to his advantage, pretend to be clueless, in need of rescuing and then act properly appreciative until they revealed their actual intent.

The note had claimed they too were enemies of the 'Beast Kingdoms', and that they would love nothing more than to remove their foothold from Graz.

Zeigler's thoughts were a mess, a chaotic swirl of plans and ideas. He had to use this, if only to have a Plan B in case the raid failed. They wanted something from him, from Graz, likely a foothold for themselves. He could use that to make sure they took care of the Rifts for him in case the unfortunate Delvers currently fighting for their lives failed.

He hoped they wouldn't, with all his heart, he truly did, but he was already hating feeling so helpless, having put all his eggs in a single basket. Hoping for the best and doing nothing did not sit well with him.

With his resolve hardened, he decided he would gather his general staff and then follow the instructions on the note to get in contact with this … 'envoy'.

*****

Objective Progress Updated: Destroy the three dark effigies guarded by the Guardian's three Lieutenants. ( 2 / 3 )

***

[Rift Quest: 'Dark Effigies']

Objectives:

Destroy the three dark effigies guarded by the Guardian's three Lieutenants. ( 2 / 3 )

Bonus Objective:

Kill all three Lieutenants before challenging the Guardian of the Rift. ( 2 / 3 )

Rewards: The loss of the three effigies will weaken the Guardian, robbing it of its dark magic.

Bonus Reward: The Rift will remain stabilised at Rank 1 as a Raid for an additional 12 hours.

***

"It went up," Mia said under her breath, glancing up at Mark. The dwarf wore a satisfied grin, dusting his hands off after a job well done. Behind him, the once towering effigy lay collapsed inside a hole that had been dug out with Earth magic. "Only one remains of each objective."

With the Wendigo dead as can be, the group retraced their steps and went back to take care of the actual objective: the Dark Effigy. It took some doing, as the whole thing was a sculpture of welded scrap metal infused with Storm, Lightning and Metal mana, but gravity and its own weight finally accomplished the task.

Truth be told, watching the Arcane Blasts that had been her most destructive spells thus far struggle to blow apart a pile of scrap metal made by up-jumped mutts was a bit disheartening.

It worked well enough against the Wendigo. Mia consoled herself at the time.

"Alright people, form up!" Brent shouted. "We are heading back to the base and hopefully meeting up with the rest. After a few hours of rest and catching up, we should be heading for the last Effigy, then hunting down the weakened Guardian."

Mia could almost hear the collective sigh of relief at that. They had only been in the Rift for a few hours, but the constant fighting was wearing on everyone. Humans weren't made to operate at top performance for that long, and of course, adrenaline crash was also a very real thing all of them had to deal with.

It would be a lie to say she wasn't feeling jealous of the more physical fighters who, while looking tussled, still moved with a certain energy to them. In contrast, each step felt like an effort to Mia. Having confirmation that they were progressing at a good pace, that two out of three Effigies and Lieutenants were dead, made her relax, which in turn finally allowed the exhaustion that had been piling up to crash down on her shoulders with the weight of a mountain.

It's such a scam that I don't get any body enhancements. Mia grumbled inwardly, sending a mild glare towards the annoyingly spry Mark, who was practically bouncing along on his short, stubby legs.

'Being practically immune to hostile enchantments placed on you trumps whatever lame physical enhancements other base Elements get.' Mia almost jumped as Sparkle's voice sounded in her mind. 'What's the point of being able to punch a smidge harder when the shittiest Fae can enthral you with a whisper?'

It's not helping me move my body, though, which I need much more at the moment. Mia continued to grumble, just for the sake of it, and because exhaustion frayed her nerves. She knew, intellectually, that Sparkle was right. It didn't mean she wasn't dreaming of having some fancy magic to recover her stamina and banish her fatigue.

'Meh. Physical enhancements are lame anyway. Just learn telekinesis or conjure an arcane armour around yourself, then move that with your mana manipulation.' Sparkle huffed, sounding dismissive. 'With some effort, arcane can mimic the majority of enhancements other elements grant. If you want to be fancy about it, you could learn how to merge with arcane constructs through your Wisp Form. What's the point of enhancing your body when you can build a better one to drive around?'

That's a thing? Mia asked, her eyes twinkling in interest and even her exhaustion forgotten at the notion of such an interesting application of magic. Then she deflated. I can barely hold that for a second or two.

'Practice holding it, and choose the right Traits when you Rank Up.' Sparkle sent her the equivalent of a mental shrug. 'Your Bloodline has a bunch of useful Traits. One of them should be making maintaining Wisp form much easier … though practice, Will and Manifestation also help.'

Practice. Great. Another time sink. Her schedule had already been overflowing with stuff to do before the Raid turned it all on its head. What was one more thing to practice?

Though I'm worried I won't progress much at all if I spread myself too thin. Meditations, spell craft, combat practice, mana practice, base attribute training, sensitivity training … and now this. I probably also forgot about something … spell-casting practice? Yeah.

From what she understood from reading between the lines and feeling out the unsaid implications in her training manuals, becoming a proper Mage was usually an endeavour that took up years of one's life. That was doubly the case for long-lived races like elves, Fae and, of course, Halvyr.

Hells, little Fae supposedly started learning to mould mana and sense energies as soon as they could understand speech.

Once everything calmed down, Mia knew she would have to spend a long time going back and hardening her foundations to help them catch up.

But for now, having sufficient power was crucial, and she needed to have as much of it as possible now.

Mia shook her head, dismissing thoughts of the future for now. Another question popped into her head, one much more pressing for the 'here and now'.

Is there anything I need to know about this Bond? She asked her feline Sprite. Like, right now? I kinda just accepted it without knowing what it really meant.

'Not really.' Sparkle said cheerily. 'You get to enjoy my glorious company till the end of your days. That is the main selling point, which you probably grasped already. Beyond that, there is the stuff from that Spirit-Bound Trait, which is nice, I guess, but pretty self-explanatory. There is some other minor stuff, but nothing you need to concern yourself with now. Dying would be pretty detrimental to our Bond, so I recommend focusing on not doing that, if possible.'

Right. Mia almost snorted, amused by the sheer level of sarcasm the little Sprite managed to layer into his words. So the main thing is that I get to talk to you telepathically, and that I can cast spells through you.

'Yes.' Sparkle confirmed. 'And I can do the same. Though I was always more focused on pure arcane manipulation than spell-casting.'

So any recommendations for the whole 'not-dying' part? Mia asked, a sarcastic smirk tugging at the edge of her lips, overwriting her exhaustion.

'Keep that Ward on yourself at all times, with the Bond, I'm able to meddle with the spell-weave and reinforce it. You should have just gone with Mage Armour, but I guess I can make do with this shitty Ward for now.' Sparkle said. 'And stay close to your pet vampire. You should focus on surviving long enough for her to rip your foes to shreds.'

She's not a pet. Mia said, frowning a little.

'Right.' Sparkle said, not sounding convinced at all. 'Whatever she is, she's a nasty little killing machine. If you can make sure nothing one-hits you, you should be fine with her around. Besides that, keep me close too, of course. With our Bond, I'm practically immortal as long as you're alive, so I can be even more suicidal in protecting you than your no-a-pet vampire. I don't think there is anything else you can do to increase your chances of survival in this Raid.'

Backtracking a bit, you said I could learn telekinesis? Mia asked.

'You can already turn arcane mana into kinetic energy. That's usually the hardest step; now you only need to apply it in a reasonably useful manner to be offered the Secondary Skill, which you should also be able to merge with your Class Skill if you want.' Sparkle said. 'But that's not something you should be trying in a Rain an entire Rank above you. Surviving should be challenging enough. Please focus on that.'

Mia was surprised by the hint of desperation in Sparkle's mental voice and gave a slow nod in response. She barely knew anything about her new companion, but the one thing she was certain of was that he really wanted her to survive.

I know. She said, But I'm currently halfway through a boring hike back to camp, so distractions are welcome. What about that other thing you mentioned? Covering myself in arcane armour and controlling that? Wouldn't I need something like 'Arcane Manipulation' for that?

'There isn't a skill called Arcane Manipulation,' Sparkle snorted. 'Arcane is not an element that exists in nature in any form other than mana. Its most natural state is the vast oceans of prismatic mana flowing in the Astral Sea. Arcane Mana Manipulation is all you need. If you really want to, you can try casting a Ward on yourself and attempting to control one of your hands entirely through the Skill. That should be good practice.'

Well, Lesser Ward of Protection covered her in a film of protective arcane mana that hardened in response to incoming damage. If she understood it right, Sparkle was suggesting that she could mimic increased agility and speed through puppeteering her own body using the arcane mana coating it when she had the Ward active.

If he could also strengthen it, that could mimic endurance and maybe even strength-based enhancements. Hell, she might even be able to fly by dragging the Ward into the air with the Manipulation skill.

That would be awesome.

That only leaves mental enhancements. Mia mused. Can those also be replicated somehow?

'I said the majority of them can be.' Sparkle huffed. 'You can just use psychic skills for that. You already have Multitasking, that's a good start. Your arcane mana protects you even from psychic attacks, so you can focus on utility Skills on that front. They will never be as powerful as enhancements given by pure Mind magic spells, but they'll be better than anything else if you keep raising your Mental attributes. Telepathy would be overkill, but you could probably fuse the useful mental enhancement skills to make something nice. Enhanced Cognition, Multitasking, Parallel Mind, Combat Focus and the like. If you can make a Main Skill out of those, you should be done on the mental front.'

Psychic Skills. They were a weird case, from what little she knew. A subcategory of General Skills that everyone had access to, if they had the required Attribute-Level ratio in the Mental stats. She supposed there were similar skills locked behind Body and Spirit attributes too.

The books didn't speak of them though, even Psychic Skills were only mentioned in her training manual — which was written by a member of the Astral Court — while the other books only called them mental enhancement skills.

People couldn't learn every Skill under the sun, even if they didn't have a limited number of Skill slots. General Skills were available to everyone, and Classes also gave access to an associated library of Skills that could be unlocked by fulfilling hidden requirements. So Mia could earn General and [Arcane Mage] Skills.

And ones connected to her Bloodline, because having a Bloodline was a cheat. Though if what Sparkle said was true, those Traits she might unlock at her Rank-Up would be the true prize.

With her head filled with daydreams of a better future, a future where she no longer suffered from muscle aches and exhaustion, where she could wipe Raids like the one currently ruining her day out of existence with a swipe of her hand.

I'll get there. Mia promised to herself. Sooner or later, I'll get there.