The Apprentice of Ouroboros [Monster Evo LitRPG Adventure]

Neska remained motionless. She knew this place was just the ritual doing its work, looking for a timestamp and a place this dagger, and its owner, had been to. In the ‘real’ world, she was sitting in a coil in the middle of a ritual circle, remaining perfectly still, safe for breathing.

The scratchy whisper continued, inches from her ear canal.

"So who are they?"

"A nuisance and a pest. One that needs dealing with."

"She isn't one of the lost children, is she?"

"No. They're all gone."

Off in the distance, Neska heard a scraping, scratching sound. She listened to the strokes of something either tearing or scraping, something that didn't sound quite like rock or gravel. No, maybe something like tearing paper, but deeper. Then, she heard a grunt as somebody tore something away with a splintering sound.

“You think that's going to be enough to kill someone? It's just bark.”

“Won't be effective until I process it. It’ll take a day to boil and concentrate.” Neska realized there were two distinct scratchy whispers, each with a slightly different inflection. She peered around and realized the scraping sound she was hearing was coming from the trees, yet she saw nobody in the near-pitch-dark.

She let her vision go out of focus and switched to her thermal sense. Ever so slowly, the world came alive with a wash of dull blues and pale grays. She saw a faint outline of an indistinct blob near one of the trees. As her vision sharpened, the cool blues became greens, dull yellows, then a slow bloom of orange–a heat signature. The person looked roughly human, based on their movement and body proportions.

Their repetitive motions were a curiosity. They kept scraping their arm against the tree, then she realized they must be using some tool. What were they doing? Carving the tree?

No. Maybe harvesting something from it?

The first voice continued. “The witch had contingencies. We need to stop all of them, by any means necessary. Otherwise, everything that we've become so far will be for nothing.”

"What's your deal with--"

"Don't ask questions."

There was doubt in her mind that they were referring to Risha. She craned her head slowly and found the second source, a distinctly warmer blur, resting or leaning casually against one of the trees of the grove.

Another scraping sound started; this one sounded like they were whittling or carving something. Repetitive, regular, like a hand plane, or a carving knife.

"Why not just take care of this the easy way?”

"The easy way that you're talking about is also quite difficult. My guy told me she took out three tunnel vipers. Direct confrontation is risky. Better to start removing other problems first, then work our way up.”

The scraping against the tree continued, then the person let out a contented sigh. “I have enough. Let's go.”

A shadowy gray mist started to cloud her vision. When she blinked, the room came back into focus, and she saw Brent, Syra, and Juni all staring at her, looking anxious. Juni clutched her tail and was shivering.

“Why are you guys staring?” Neska asked, glancing at the dagger and setting it aside in the leather wrapping.

“Were you just having a conversation out loud, with yourself?” Juni was the first to snap to her senses. She snapped her fingers in front of Neska's face, who arched her body backward a little.

“I'm right here, Juni, no need to get so up close.”

She let out a grunt of frustration. “Cassia, you were out for an hour. You were sitting there, perfectly posed, I thought you'd gone in a trance!”

She blinked. Had it been an hour? It could only have been a few minutes. Vivi also had something to say.

Here's an odd one: you leveled up other aspects of your ritual. that was...quick.

Ability Proficiency Increased

Ritual Potency 1 > Ritual Potency 3

Ritual Precision 1 > Ritual Precision 3

“What exactly did I say, anyway?” Neska asked, delighted to know her ritual had gone off with...well, almost without a hitch.

“Cassia, really?” Syra asked, looking worried. “You were full on having a conversation with two different voices. It was super witchy. I mean, weird. Or witchily weird.”

“I heard something about a false idol, and that it sounds like you have some fans who are not exactly thrilled about your presence here,” Brent added.

Crap. This was not what I was expecting to happen. How did I not account for this? She pointed at the textbook. “This is...unusual. Also, Brent, Syra? There’s a lot of weird stuff that happens either to me, or weird things happen when I’m around.”

Syra raised a brow. “Weirder than this? You were as motionless as a scarecrow for most of that hour.”

“It only felt like a couple of minutes.”

Juni had grabbed the textbook off the desk and thumbed through the pages. She narrowed her gaze and ran her finger along a page of text. “Whispers and language capture are uncommon, and a sign of a highly effective diagnostic ritual for tracing the history of the focal object. Looks like you were right about using your blood, it made it super effective.”

Brent and Syra looked at each other. "Is there any chance that she could become possessed?”

Juni snorted. “Unlikely. Cassia is strong-willed.” She helped clean up the rest of the ritual materials and finish writing notes in her notebook.

“No, no, we are not losing focus.” Syra jabbed a finger at Neska. “What did they mean by a lost child? Child of whom? Why do these people want you dead?”

“Uh…I got nothing,” she said. Instead, she was worrying that she was the daughter of someone very important. If my father is Ouroboros? That means I was never fully human to begin with.

Double crap. Maybe Risha was getting busy with snakes.

That sounds as illogical as it does disturbing. Try to stay positive?

Syra didn’t buy it. “You have no idea at all?”

“No. My witch went out of her way to keep me in the dark. And it’s starting to scare me about why she did that,” Neska said calmly. “Syra, I don’t like intentionally lying to people, but in this instance, I don’t know with absolute certainty what they’re referring to. Yet. I am filled with a looming dread that whatever these discoveries lead to will be awful to behold, probably for me, personally.

"Juni, let’s review the notes. I think there are a few things I can add to this discussion.”

Juni waved her notebook, looking cheerful. “I think I got most of it. Take a look.”

Neska spent a few minutes recounting the area and the sounds. She pointed to her alchemy book, also sitting on the desk. “They were using tree shavings. Sadly, I couldn’t get names. But they were definitely humanoids, or monstrous humanoids. They spoke Common, as well. I think that was their harvesting spot for materials.”

Neska snapped her fingers. “Perhaps he was trying to strip something from the tree, an alchemical product. A natural toxin, something that you couldn't trace easily. I wonder…”

She regarded the dagger, still sitting on the table, and ran her finger over the hilt again. She brought it up to her face again and took a quick sniff. “Well, this will help narrow it down.”

Syra shook her head. “Don’t test it, please. Pretty please, with a sweetroll on top. Because I don’t want to have to call Selkie and tell her the snake poisoned herself by doing something reckless.”

Neska ignored her. She couldn't quite place the smell, but with the information that she had, if she knew the effects of the toxin, she might be able to figure out the rest.

She ran her tongue gently along the flat of the blade, with everybody gasping. Juni frantically reached towards Neska, who continued to sample the oil on the blade. It had a bitter taste, something that smelled like tannins, and I left a tingling numbness. She felt a tremor run along her spine, and then a soothing warmth.

Toxin resisted.

Didn't anybody tell you not to lick poison?! Or stick a knife anywhere near your mouth? I mean I shouldn’t have to, it should be kind of assumed, Neska!

Neska shuddered and tried to note the symptoms. “For the record, I knew what I was doing.”

Juni's eyes were bulging. And her teeth are chattering. "That did not look like you knew what you were doing, you crazy lamia!”

The warmth faded. “Okay, numbness, tingling. Slightly paralytic, and…possible hemorrhage inducing.” A trickle of blood leaked from one corner of her snout, which she wiped away. She went to her book, trying to look up symptoms, and cross-referencing what she knew from alchemical products.

"Glad to know you treat internal damage or blood loss as mundane," Syra said with a drawl to her words, before handing it to Neska.

Then, it dawned on her: she knew what it was.

“Elderwood.”

Brent snapped his fingers. “You know what, you might be right! I heard about this!”

“Whoa, hold on, I’m still behind on alchemy and self-poisoning lessons,” Syra said, giving Brent an exasperated look. “What’s elderwood?”

Neska thumbed through the pages, confirming what she thought she had already seen and witnessed Risha use in her shop. Except that she had used it for a curative for blood thinning and pain relief. “He's using the concentrated sap of elderwood, and he's using the shavings to bind it together. It matches the symptoms! It’s got multiple uses, depending on the concentration and what you bind to it! Normally, it's a pain reducer and blood thinner, but with the right stuff? It becomes deadly."

She coiled lightly and hopped in excitement, making a loud thud on the flooring, and her hat briefly scraped the ceiling. “Bouncy snake is bouncy,” Brent commented.

“This is Cassia for ya,” Juni sighed as Neska let out a contented hiss. Her small celebration was interrupted by another message from Vivi, and it was quite moody.

I really shouldn't inform you that you're going to be rewarded for this recklessness, but you just got a title, Neska.

Title added: What Doesn’t Kill You, Makes You Weirder: Your efforts to protect your body by sampling deadly things builds an increasing resistance to the same effects over time, with sufficient long-term exposure making you immune to a given toxin type.

Note this will not prevent the side effects of other beneficial alchemical solutions, or toxins with other effects such as corrosion or hemorrhage. Also, you still won't be able to avoid a chemical hangover if you imbibe in certain medicinal herbs or spirits too much.

Please lick responsibly.

Neska narrowed her eyes and scrunched her brow. “That has to be the most condescending title I have ever earned.”

Syra and Brent looked at her with skepticism. Syra eventually sighed and waved to Neska. “You got a title for deliberately endangering your health?”

“Yep. Apparently.”

Syra started laughing uncontrollably. “You know something? You are now my designated taste tester. You know, in case anybody else tries to poison or assassinate us. Which I just put much higher on my list of likely ways to die."

"What other ways did you have as means of expiration?" Juni asked icily.

"Crushed by an eldritch abomination, evaporated by a giant fire monster, or blown up by the snake in alchemy gone horribly wrong," Syra said, squinting at Neska. "Though that last one might be slightly less likely than the others."

Neska sighed. “I'm not fully immune to all poisons and venoms, or alchemical mishaps, but I can build resistance. This is exciting, regardless! We now have a trail to follow. I think they're local, within a few hours of the academy, which puts it somewhere in the valley. I also think they're probably a student still on the campus with egress in and out by covert means. This also aligns with what Kasfew told us about hidden caches and likely, secret pathways.”

“What about the griffin getaway? That’s at least three people in this conspiracy,” Juni pointed out.

Brent snapped his fingers. “It lends itself additionally to the persons of interest being a student, able to blend in, and come and go without raising suspicion. Most of the people here are young, unassuming. Veteran killers would stand out. What else? Probably male, late teens, early twenties. The other two are a mystery, but probably the same age bracket, proficient in poisons. I’m thinking it might be an alchemy student. Or maybe someone who knows plants, like an herbalist.”

Neska pointed to the wolfling. “Brent, where would we find all the groves of elderwood where somebody could gather ingredients in secret?”

Brent scratched his ear and made a soft hmm sound. "You know, this would probably be the point where you could call a druid, or somebody else who knows plants. Do your roots help at all?”

“No. I can conjure them, but I'm not a plant whisperer. If they do start talking to me, I'm going to keep that part to myself,” Neska replied with the sound of contentment. “Okay, it’s late in the day. Let's get a meal, and then figure it out tomorrow. I think we've done good work. At least we don't have to do the alchemy right now. I will probably need it later.”

Syra let out her breath that sounded like water gushing. " That ritual was freaky. Let's not do this again. The whispering part made me think you were someone else, Cassia. Are all your powers like that?”

“No. Some are more direct, like my [Ember Hex] or my snake evolutions.” She paused as she thought about it from Syra’s perspective. “I want to use my abilities to stop the Varadur, or rip out the control of whoever leads them. I think there’s more and more evidence that they think I can pull it off. These assailants likely tried to pin this on me to discredit me.”

“Is Kasfew trying to spread lies, or is he just a useful idiot, then?” Juni said in a sarcastic tone.

Neska shook her head. “Unknown. But if he has connections as he claims, he might already have crossed paths with people like this. I hope he’s not part of the conspiracy.”

“If he is, I’m turning him into roast chicken dinner,” Brent growled, but softened his expression when Syra scoffed, turning her head away. “Oh come on, you hate him, too.”

“Just because you hate him does not automatically make him an enemy. I’m with Cassia; we need to follow the evidence, and not jump to conclusions.”

Syra sighed. “Well, for what it's worth, you definitely keep it interesting. I might know someone who can help us narrow it down. Were there any other landmarks to go by?”

“No. It was at night. I could make out the glow of the Umbral Shoal in the sky, but nothing else. Let’s go eat and figure out more tomorrow.”

They cleared away the remaining ritual material and wrapped it up in the parchment paper. Neska reached for Kalloway's book and Thistle's books about ritual effects. After scanning for a few minutes, she frowned.

She should not have been able to get so much information from a single diagnostic ritual. But what did that say about her, specifically?

---

The next day, the small group gathered for breakfast after Juni suggested they needed to pace themselves. Investigators were still combing the campus, looking for clues.

They didn’t have the clues Neska had unearthed. Not yet, at any rate.

Neska piled on eggs and fish, and strangely, stuffed prawns. She took a sampling of those, too, with the line worker looking at her in dismay.

“Do you actually eat all of that?”

“All this body takes energy,” she said, pointing to her serpentine lower half. “Casting is energy-intensive, too. That’s the part they don’t tell you.”

“Oh, I see. Do you taste it?”

“Not all of it. I mean, we are far, far removed from humans,” she explained. “Not so much for the nibbler next to me.”

“Hey, I like my harvest fruits and vegetables. It has to have a nice crisp texture,” Juni said with a wag of her hand. “I’ll have eggs, too. As a peace offering for the snake.”

“You’re going to train me with food?” Neska decided to play along with it. “That could work. I should start charging a fee for using me as your serpentine express transport.”

The boy laughed. “Well, the spirit of humanity is still strong in you. That’s gotta count for something.”

A moment later, and with a tray in hand, Neska peered around, looking for familiar faces, and her eyes brightened when she spotted two of them. Syra and Brent had already gotten there, with the wolf whispering to Syra. He kept jabbing the air with his fork as if he were pretending to fight something.

“No way. You did not use a goblin to beat another goblin to death,” Syra laughed.

“Hey, I can’t help it if they had spikes on their helmets. Goblins are also remarkably dumb, even after they somehow evolved. They’re also lightweight, until they turn into nastier things like hobgoblins, chieftains, champions, or shamans. Fortunately, the smart ones are vastly outnumbered by the dumb ones.”

Neska frowned. “How many different monster species are joining the Varadur? Do we know the exact mechanism of how they’re converted?”

Brent shook his head. “No. The professors have theories, but the problem is that proof is lacking. We know they send hunting parties to look for native monsters, just like we do for mana cores, and they bring monsters back to their lairs in Arivol to convert them. We're still not sure how."

"Given the size and ferocity of some monsters, I find that a stretch," Juni commented.

"Regardless, we don’t have insight into the process; we only know the outcome. It's why you see goblinoids among the Awakened now,” Brent said softly, tilting his head to indicate the goblin trio Neska had seen on occasion, talking and occasionally laughing. “Any luck on finding our assassin’s camping spot?”

Neska unfurled a quickly sketched map, showing several circled areas. “I had to theorize on several locations. And consulting Rowana about the local farms and forest areas."

She drew a large, loose circle around the academy and Rivilat. “Assume they are within a day’s ride, based on the ritual. Factor in that they need someplace secluded, and that elderwood grows in acidic soil. They typically prefer the shade of larger trees or terrain, like the valley slopes or other sharp hills. I’ve narrowed it down on paper, but…”

“No luck?” Syra finished. “That is also astounding investigative skills.”

“It’s applied knowledge. Anyone can do it with time and training, even you,” Neska said in a low tone. “The thing I’ve been told about witches is that, despite the mysticism surrounding the class, there is a great deal of logic and deductive reasoning in their rituals and alchemy. Their abilities reward creativity.”

She let out a hissing sigh. “We need a mission or training exercises to coincide with checking these locations. I need to narrow it down. Preferably before they strike again, and I get this feeling they will target me again, one of the professors…or…”

“Us?” Juni’s whiskers flattened against her cheeks. “Like hell they’d sneak up on me.”

Brent leaned in, amber eyes flicking to her, then to Juni and Syra to lean in. “I might be able to narrow it down. Get me a sample of elderwood, maybe I can follow a trail. But scent trails dry up fast."

"I can do one better," Syra beamed. "I think I know someone who might be able to help, now that I've thought about it."

“What, you know a druid?”

“Uh…something like that. Not sure how much she’ll be able to help. She’s a little…strange.”

Neska squinted at her. “Define ‘strange’ for me.”

Juni let out a giggle. "I've known Cassia for a few weeks, but let me assure you: there is no one stranger than her."

“Well, for one, she is a plant," Syra said casually.