The Apprentice of Ouroboros [Monster Evo LitRPG Adventure]

Gurigea croaked in surprise. “Elaborate for me, if you will?”

Neska took a long, calm breath. “We were pursuing leads regarding Serkin’s attacker, and I met someone who lent some insight into my powers. A nymph. I think we’ve got a candidate for the attacker, or a location for their operations, and possibly both.”

Harvine looked to Gurigea, brow raised. “What have we got so far, other than dead ends? We know it’s one of the students, more than likely. Or someone with a way on and off campus that isn’t known to us.”

“We are not involving our students in this. How can you even say such a thing, Melissa?!” Gurigea declared. “We, as instructors, must prioritize our students’ safety! This is the exact opposite of that!”

“But–”

“No. I will discuss this in the morning, Professor Harvine, after Resalio hopefully gets the Seekers off the premises. In the meantime, you four need to stay out of trouble,” she said sternly, pointing at each of them in turn.

Syra let out a soft tsk. “That’s like asking water not to be wet.”

Gurigea raised a brow, agitation crossing her face. “Watch your tone, young lady. No more field trips over to the satellite branch or off campus until cooler heads prevail, am I clear? I do want to hear more about your leads, since you’ve already taken the initiative. Right now, I need to go make sure Resalio doesn’t murder some fools.”

Harvine attempted to get a word in, but the frog flicked her extended tongue and pulled the professor out of the room by her wrist before politely closing the door. “Lara, seriously, the tongue is so gross. It’s like…sticky.”

“Perfect for catching flies and professors who defer too much to their students,” Gurigea quipped as their footsteps faded down the hall.

Neska clasped her hat with both hands, hissing angrily. “I cannot believe that. We have leads! We should be pursuing this now!”

Juni scoffed. “When have you ever been stopped by stern words, Cassia? I think the answer is never.”

“Too true,” she replied, tapping her snout to try to calm herself down. She needed a rational, logical response. “Okay, she didn’t say anything about us doing things on campus. I have a few ideas. Brent?”

“Well, I can tell you one thing you shouldn’t do: going to Kasfew for help. You will never gain the upper hand on Kasfew, and it’ll cost more than you’re willing to pay.”

Neska summoned up her Interface to the forefront of her vision, looking through her evolutions and abilities. “I wasn’t planning on that anyway. I need eyes and ears off campus, plus Hadley and Jurik. They can go where we can’t right now. I think if we push our luck, we will get locked down further. Let’s use our resources.”

She laid out the map and detailed her findings with Brienne, along with confirmation of the known elderwood groves. “There are only a few of these groves within a day’s ride. They’re fairly uncommon. I also could stand to learn a few more things from Brienne. And have tea.”

Juni poked at the sketched map and pulled out her own findings. “Cassia, there’s an overlap in our research. Syra, Brent, see if our logic is sound. We know the assailant is likely a student or has connections to some. They either held a grudge against the professor or knew he had information they didn’t want to come to light, which is why he was likely targeted. They knew the layout of the campus, given their hasty egress, like they had a plan.”

“I follow, makes sense,” Brent affirmed. “That guy’s getaway was too clean. He had some preparation work, especially whoever let out the griffin to pick him up. Still nothing on that.”

“Alright. So we have elderwood groves marked. Now comes the hard part: specialized equipment for processing elderwood is difficult to make. This was funded by an affluent family or company. Equipment like that isn’t exactly mobile. If you were to produce a toxin with a short shelf-life, you’d want the two bits together.”

Neska blinked. “There’s a manor or some other recluse on the northwestern end of the valley that has a grove in or near it.”

Brent let out an audible groan. “Ah, son of a bitch. Is that where I think it is?”

Neska knew that whatever he was about to say next could not possibly be good news. “Okay. Who lives in the giant manor on the edge of the valley?”

“Someone whose kid comes to the academy. The guy’s name is Renly Marisano. And, I know him, because he’s only one of the biggest opponents of creating more Awakened, and someone who will otherwise use and abuse the law to further everything he does. Currently, that involves manufacturing armaments and equipment for the Valos armed forces in his various magical tech factories.” Brent’s teeth edged out at the mention of the name.

“Is he a reptiloid?” Neska asked.

“No. But that doesn’t matter. He hates the idea of the Awakened stealing the glory of humanity. So he sells the latest and greatest in magical tech gear to the military, and currys favors in the Lord’s court here in Rivilat and the capital.”

Brent’s upper body sagged lightly. “His son is also my friend, Travor Marisano. He’s not exactly well-loved in his family, and he keeps to himself a lot. He’s a human, same as his dad, though his mother definitely has some fey-touched in her. At least from what I saw when all the lords started fawning over their prodigy during the last big event.”

Syra chuckled. “So much for looking like a slacker. You were paying attention, weren’t you?”

“Yeah, it’s what I do. The best kind of scout is the one you either ignore or never know was even there, and my big pointy ears aren’t for show,” he shrugged. “Alright, back on track. This theory is shaky. Are we to believe that this guy would go so far as to undermine the academy with an assassination attempt to push his own currently unknown agenda? That makes no damn sense.”

“He might not have motive, but he might have means of manufacture, and the two main bottlenecks are within spitting distance of one another there,” Neska reasoned. “We don’t have enough evidence for a motive. We do, however, have an overlay of two elements needed to have pulled this off. There could be others, but it’s the most solid lead.”

“Question: we’re on lockdown, and pissing off professors who are barely out of our dorm sounds like a bad idea,” Syra said, folding her arms. “Options?”

“Hadley and Jurik can scout it out,” Juni suggested. “Our scout likes the wilderness a lot more than she likes people sometimes.”

Brent blinked. “A fellow scout? Ooh, sounds like someone I’d like to meet. Politely, mind you.”

Neska felt a nervous smile cross her face. “Brent, you might want to delay that. Hadley has…issues.”

“Oh, she’s shy?”

“No, this is more of a ‘she might make you into a pelt’ kind of situation, were you to approach her unannounced,” Juni explained. Brent splayed out his hands for further detail. "Uh, she has history with Felix."

His jaw gaped. "No kidding, huh? Boy, what a damn small world. I guess I'll wait on introductions, then."

Juni continued. "Yeah, that’s a solid plan. We can see if there are other viable candidate locations our assassin uses for his precursor work. I haven’t ruled out that our shitbird is involved. He has influence and connections.”

“But no motivation,” Neska sighed. “I have a better use for my time while we gather information. Juni, did you grab those books I asked about?”

The mouse rubbed her paws together, cackling. “Oh, I was wondering when you were going to pursue this, given your prior interest.” She opened her backpack and dumped a few books onto the table, looking proud. “This was a sampling of witchy classes, summoners, and other information. It’s far from complete, but it’s a good start.”

Brent canted his head. “Okay, nerdettes, I’m lost. What’s the snake cooking up this time? Are you going to build yourself a minion? Automatons are few and far between, experts even rarer, and witches don’t exactly build stuff like that.”

“Nah. A biological helper, actually.” She snapped her fingers and pointed to the pages. “I’m getting a familiar.”

Brent and Syra stood there, jaws slack. “I’m sorry, you can get a familiar, too? The weirdness doesn’t end, does it?” Brent said first. “What can you summon as a familiar?”

“Unknown. But we’re doing it as soon as possible. I think I might need to perform a binding ritual and a little transmutation, no biggies. Oh, and I’ll need rare ingredients; those might be tougher.”

Syra blanched. “Dare I ask what these rare ingredients might be?”

Neska hummed contentedly, running one claw along the lines of text. “Oh, nothing big. Only an egg, amethyst powder, deathcap, mana-laden salts for the ritual lines, and mithril shavings. Easy enough–”

She peered at the lines of text closer and frowned. “I don’t want a chicken as a familiar, so chicken eggs, while plentiful, are out of the question. I need something bigger, and probably more dangerous.”

“Cassia, if your next suggestion is that we go find a dragon egg? I’m going to say no. Not that it’s impossible, but taking a dragon's eggs is essentially a death wish,” Juni said, twisting her whiskers worriedly.

Neska gave her a dismissive wave. “Oh, come on, Juni, that’s suicide. I need a bird's egg, though, if I want to get my ideal results. The bigger and scarier, the better.”

“Thunderbirds, maybe? I mean, they’re on the cliffs to the east, and they’re a nuisance to cattle farmers nearby,” Brent suggested. “Good eyesight and hearing, too.”

“Nah. Something bigger.”

Juni groaned. “I know this isn’t going to end well. Lay it on us, Cassia, what candidates do you have in mind?”

“Well, first…” she trailed off, and skimmed through the lists of familiars commonly seen in the Witch class. “This list is incomplete. At least for me. I think I can get a monster as a familiar.”

Everyone took an interest. “And you want a bird? Why?” Juni asked.

“Mobility, good eyesight, and I find a certain irony in keeping a familiar that could grow to become a natural predator for snakes,” she said confidently.

“That also includes me,” Juni bristled. “Sometimes I worry about you.”

“You know why plans fail? Doubt.” She brought up her interface and browsed down to the familiar option.

Are you sure about this, Neska? I don’t have insight into what the exact outcomes will be until we…you know, pick it. And this costs two essence points. It’s a scarce commodity.

Worth it to me. Let’s do this, Vivi.

Two Essence Points Consumed. Enhanced Witch Familiar Ability acquired.

Neska felt a surge of power run along her body, and her fingers trembled from the force. She felt shaky for a second, but steadied herself, while everyone looked on expectantly.

“Did it work?” Juni asked.

“One second.” Her interface flickered, and a new display popped up.

Ritual abilities modified. You can now transmute a monster young or egg into a familiar. Compatibility and result will depend on the resources consumed. A simple channeling ritual is required to initiate.

You may keep one familiar at a time. Upon the genesis of your familiar, they will be soulbound to you. Should your mana-based familiar expire, you will suffer a severe depletion of your Soul attribute until you perform a ritual to revitalize it. Please treat it with care.

Note: Your familiar's Tier increases relative to your own Tier, up to your Tier - 1. In this case, it may pick evolution abilities, though from a reduced pool. Designation of Abilities will be dependent on the personality of the familiar. Remember, they have a mind of their own and feelings, too.

Neska startled and let out a gleeful laugh. “Oh, this is amazing!”

Syra canted her head, looking at her queerly. “Okay, spell it out, Miss Lamia, I can’t read your mind. How good is this?”

“It can evolve.”

Juni’s fur stood on end, and her pupils shrank to tiny pinpricks. “Oh, so this is great. We’re about to create a little fluffy nightmare horror that only gets more horrifying as you increase in levels.”

“Don’t bad-talk my cute little future familiar. She will be adorable!”

“You are going to grow an apex predator,” Juni said, glaring at Neska. “You don't do subtle. Your plans involve danger and blowing things up!"

Brent let out a howl of laughter. “I don't know where this is going, but this sounds fun! So, what do we need for it?”

Neska continued examining the suggestions. “So, I can only partially control the outcome. I can set the base with the sacrifice or tribute. But the familiar will also take aspects of myself…physically, or personality-wise. So we might end up with something with some snake aspects, and a little weird.”

“Isn’t that a bit oxymoronic?” Juni said, squinting at Neska. “Okay, does the Interface call out specific items?”

She peered at the list. “Ideally, something equivalent to my tier, or higher. I do not, fortunately, have to keep upgrading my summon, should it endure. But I will need something on my level. Tier two. Maybe Tier three, if we get lucky.”

“Could we…get an egg from the dining hall?” Brent proposed.

“Great idea, but also, no. It must be a fresh egg, and I think…” she trailed off. “It must be fertilized. So, that is a bit of a limiter. Do we have any other big, nasty birds around here?”

Syra glanced at her, fuming. “You mean other than the shitbird and his posse? They have a firebird, a hydrobird, an aerobird, and a terrabird. Toss in a soul bird, and with their powers combined, we’re totally boned.”

“Could it come from an Awakened? Only because I’m morbidly curious and currently documenting all of this. There is a small chance we can talk about all the weirdness someday,” Juni commented.

“What, like using my eggs?” Neska asked, her brow twitching. “First off, that’s assuming the Awakened could procreate. Second, that thought disturbs me immensely."

“Uh, the Awakened can uh...get busy,” Brent said, sounding rather subdued. All three sets of eyes turned on him, giving him a suspicious look. “It’s…complicated?” he said, ears drooping and all the confidence gone from his smile.

“Brent, I would like for you to never bring this up again, in the presence of our witch. Because she gets ideas, then wild things happen, that usually put my life in peril,” Juni said, teeth on edge.

Neska rubbed her snout gently. “Fascinating. And utterly useless in our case. Let's put a pin in treading deeper into horrific mental trauma."

Juni rolled her eyes. "You're just glossing over the fact that the Awakened can get busy?"

"Yep. A topic for another time. If only to satiate my academic curiosity."

Juni scrunched her face as if this topic pained her, before continuing. “Any other supplies we need?”

“All the things I listed before are valid. Securing a viable monster young or egg, that’s tougher. I really prefer it to be an egg, though, because transmuting something already born? That’s…grossly further than I am prepared to go,” Neska admitted. “What about ingredients? I need to ask about the stipend, but now is probably not a good time.”

Brent pulled out a notepad. “Okay. Give me the list. It was…amethyst dust, deathcap, mana-laden salt, and what else?”

She consulted her interface and double-checked against the manual on the table. “Three black tallow candles, with fat from a Grifthorn. Their fat is ideal, since it has trace mana embedded. Lastly, the mystery egg. But how am I going to acquire those?”

“These aren’t that expensive, I can easily get this on stipend, plus I have a little savings. Don’t sweat it, I think this is important,” he assured her. “It might take a couple of days on the amethyst dust and mithril shavings. I know a guy at one of the alchemist shops who can get it. What do we do in the meantime?”

“Keep training. I also need to produce an antitoxin against the assassins' poisons, because I doubt he’d change it up,” Neska affirmed. “Let’s meet up tomorrow after class. We probably need to keep our heads down and tell Gurigea what we’ve found, along with Hadley and Jurik.

Soon after, Syra and Brent departed, with Juni tucking into nightwear for the evening. You think we might be doing something a little…too dangerous?” she asked. “I mean, no one's ever had a monster as a familiar. Will it behave the same? Will it listen? What if it takes a giant chunk of your soul to power it?”

Neska pondered this for a moment. “That seems unlikely. All we need is one special egg that isn't a dragon. How hard can it be?”

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