The Apprentice of Ouroboros [Monster Evo LitRPG Adventure]

The world was a blur of uncomfortable white and yellow. Neska groaned and tried to move, but felt an aching pain throughout her body, even down to her tail. She didn’t think that rituals involving diving into her soulspace and making a nascent soul were supposed to make every bit of her hurt, but that was apparently the cost of such an endeavor.

Her vision continued swimming with starbursts of light in an overwhelming glare, and she felt something cold and hard on her back and neck. She surmised she was lying on the floor, her belly facing the sky.

A pulsing headache rattled through her skull. She winced and rubbed at one temple, hoping that irritation would go away on its own in a minute. She tried calling out, but her voice was faint, barely audible.

It was enough to elicit a response and rouse everyone else. “Are witch rituals supposed to be as blazing bright as the sun, and risk burning out my retinas? Because if that's a common occurrence, I think I'll pass on future ritual participation.”

Yep, that was Syra. She was alright.

“No, that was definitely all Cassia. Weird stuff happens around her routinely.” An irritated squeak from Juni confirmed that she, too, was unharmed.

Neska opened and closed her eyes, and slowly, the world came back into focus. “You know how they say don't stare at the sun, or you’ll go blind? Well, that was just like that, but worse. Is everybody okay?”

She saw Brent, his fur all frazzled, rising to his feet. The normally sure-footed wolfling was unsteady, holding his head with one hand. “Yeah, I think I’ll be alright. But your egg is cracking and vibrating violently. Whatever you did, I think it worked.”

He still sounded quite disoriented, based on his halting speech. A sharp cracking sound echoed throughout the room before he could continue.

Neska curled herself upright, seeing the outline of the egg in her hazy vision. Fortunately, it had remained undisturbed throughout the ritual. It shook, and she saw several large jagged cracks now running from top to bottom.

Stranger still, the shell had taken on an almost scaly texture, the coloration having morphed into lightly striped green and blue, not unlike herself. And, there was a swirl of red coloration. She mentally filed away that transmutation magic like this definitely should come with a warning tag.

Kalloway had recovered, kneeling next to the egg, and fixing his askew glasses. “Fascinating. I regret never getting a familiar. I know Risha had one, along with several other members of the coven. The ritual transmuted the entire egg and its contents. That’s…rather unusual.”

“I’m fine by the way,” Neska reminded him.

“Oh. Sorry. You might want to take this after that endeavor.” He offered a small vial filled with a fluorescent blue fluid, and she gulped it down as if she were dying of thirst in a desert. Immediately, all the pinpricks and bones-deep ache in her body faded. "Feel better?"

"Surprisingly. What was that?"

"Supplement for excess mana use. Long rituals often are stressful."

Her eyes finally finished adjusting. The tallow candles had been blown out, so it was quite dim except for the sunset filtering in through one window. “How long was I casting that ritual?” she asked.

“Like six hours?” Juni waved a paw in front of her face. “You were totally out of it, in a trance. What was that like?"

“I was…um…elsewhere,” she said, not quite sure how to put it into words. “I was watching the birth of a universe inside my soul core.”

Juni's ears went on end, voice higher-pitched than before. “I have absolutely no idea what that means, but I’m sure I’ll regret knowing when you tell me later.”

Another sharp crack ripped through the ear, and Juni cringed before pointing at the egg. “The only thing I hear is the cracking of the shell of a potential apex predator. If it nibbles on me, I will bite it back. Just saying.”

“Be nice to my familiar. She’s not even born yet! Wait, is there a tradition, like a birthday? I feel like this should be important. Someone get a pictogram!" Neska ordered out. The birth of her familiar should be captured, purely for academic documentation, and totally not for a hypothetical scrapbook.

Another loud crack interrupted Juni's speech, and this time, Neska saw a flash of something green from a large opening that cracked open. Another crack; the egg splintered wider, until the entire surface was riddled with cracks. Everybody else took a cautious step back, except for Neska, who took a cautious slither forward.

She saw a flash of scales, and then with one last heave, the entire egg splintered apart, the fragments flying to the sides as the creature stirred.

Neska stared wide-eyed and let up a soft trill of delight as she took in the sight of her familiar. Everyone cautiously peeked in, while she inched a little closer. “She is absolutely adorable!” she declared, clasping her hands together.

Juni quivered with terror. “It is all my natural predators rolled into one. What is wrong with you, Cassia?!”

Brent let out a chuckle. “Well, it's at least half bird. I have no idea what to call this thing other than… well, yeah. I got nothing.”

Syra was giggling manically. “So, is that what I think it is? Dear divines, Cassia, I don’t know whether to adore it or be terrified of it!"

“There, there. Hi, little one." Neska offered a hand to the creature. What had once been an egg was now a serpentine creature with green and blue scales, with a color pattern not dissimilar to her own. She would have said it looked like a snake, except for a few key differences.

The biggest difference was the giant feathery wings on its back, with teal feathers already starting to come in. Like the Roc, it also had the wing claws that acted as primitive digits. What surprised Neska was the bloom of bright orange and cherry-red feathers on its head crest, like the feathers of a jaybird. The feathers on its neck and wings were ragged, just like the Roc's, and darker. Unlike the Roc, it had vibrant green eyes. It peered up at Neska, letting out a soft trill and flapping its wings excitedly.

Kalloway looked awestruck. “It's a coatyl! Or, something close to it. I don't think I've ever actually witnessed one in person. Many people haven't; they're usually quite shy."

Neska froze. What should she do first? Would the familiar know anything, or was it truly like a newborn child, unaware of the world? What would its first instincts be? She’d read at least a few things, knowing it would hatch and be famished, and would bond strongest with physical contact.

She reached out her hand, then motioned to the wolfling with the other, making a grasping motion. “Brent, I need that bucket of meat. I’m a mother of a familiar now, which means I have to care for it."

Juni let out a groan. “Wait, hold up a second! Cassia, this does not make you a mother. This makes you the soulbond of a familiar. Please treat it responsibly. And by that, I mean keeping it locked in a box. Because it will probably try to eat me!”

The familiar glanced at her and stuck out its tongue, and Juni’s fur bristled. “It’s trying to taste me, and determine what I pair with on a menu!” Juni shrilled.

Brent patted the terramouse on the head gently. “Relax, we will teach her to eat only certain things that are not mouse or rodent-shaped. Like fish. Who knows? maybe if she gets big enough, you could have yourself a flight assistant snake, too!" he said, grinning broadly.

"Not helping, wolf-boy."

“Brent, meat please,” Neska insisted as the creature wound gently around her hand. It was surprising how large it was–Syrona was already a good four feet long, with a wingspan almost matching that length. Neska gestured for the small package. “I figured after hatching, Syrona would be very, very hungry. Hang on, it is a she, right?”

Kalloway spoke up, currently tipping his head toward the pages of a large tome with depictions of varying monster species. “I believe she is a she, yes. In most instances, females are typically smaller and have duller coloration. But monster females are often larger and have more pronounced coloration than males. Dragons, in particular.”

"Whoa, whoa...you named it after me?!" Syra gasped, eyes wide. "I'm flattered."

"Well...I mean, I guess I was angling for one of the lesser serpents associated with Ouroboros. They're like...mini-divines?" Neska expanded upon. "Okay, maybe a teeny bit you, too."

"You name it after her and not me?!" Juni snarled.

"I thought you were all for fearing this all-in-one predator," Neska pointed out. "Josoli would have been my other choice, were it male."

"Which is..." Juni trailed off, furrowing her brow, before a smug smile returned. "Hey, that's like the male version of Juni. Your second familiar better be named after me!"

"Someone's jealous," Syra teased.

"Am not! I...was caught up in the moment," Juni huffed.

Brent handed Neska the wax paper-wrapped cubed bison. The winged serpent saw this and let out a trilling hiss, winding its body around her arm. Then the creature opened its mouth wide and hinged its jaws over the cube in one bite.

Everyone stared as the chunk of meat, nearly as big as the coatyl’s head, disappeared in one swallow. Neska saw its belly distend ever so slightly, trilling contentedly and nuzzling against Neska’s hand.

Even Brent was shaken. “Okay. That’s my sign. It’s gonna grow into a monster killer, because this is how this story always starts. A cute, adorable monster with floofy feathers becomes a bona-fide apex killer, devouring every foe in her path.” The coatyl turned its head away from him and let out a soft hiss of protest.

“She’s adorable!” Neska protested, waving him off dismissively. “We will ensure that she only eats our enemies."

"That did not sound any better, crazy witch," Brent grumbled.

Kalloway gulped. "Let's just focus on how we're going to sell this. Lamia with...yep, more witchy stuff. I'll say we were working on monster studies, and this little chimeric floof factory hatched early and imprinted on you. Birds do that sometimes; they imprint on what they see first when they hatch."

Juni dared to get closer. “Okay, she’s fed, which means the odds of me getting devoured went down. My goodness, how do you even know what she’ll evolve into? Can you control that aspect?”

“Uh…”

Neska had to thumb through the book on witch classes and the best documentation available for an answer. “Yes and no. According to what we know, the familiars have autonomy, but we can influence their behavior and personality to an extent. The abilities they take will be reflected in that. And, probably evolutions, too–” she stopped as Kalloway approached with a long metal reel that he placed just over Syrona’s wings. “What are you doing to my familiar?”

“Measuring it. Think I can convince her to sit on a scale?”

Neska glanced skeptically at the measuring scale by the alchemy bench. “No.” The little creature had wound around her arm and neck and closed its birdlike eyes, and was breathing softly. “Goodness, she’s all tuckered out after that endeavor.”

“As are we.” Brent rubbed at his lower back. “I don’t know how you sat so perfectly still for six hours. I’m glad that didn’t run any longer, or I might have had to do a–”

“Brent,” Syra warned him.

“What, you ever had to do something that took so long, you gotta take a leak in the middle of it?” he protested. Syra was balling her fist and pointing at him agitatedly.

“It was Cassia’s ritual. Next time, if it takes that long? Bring a bucket.”

A gentle knock on the door drew everyone’s attention, and the coatyl’s eyes opened to narrow slits, peering at the doorway as if this annoyance had bothered her naptime. Kalloway approached the door and threw it open, letting out a sound of surprise.

Neska stiffened as she saw Jurik and Hadley dirtied and weary. And, covered in mud. “Good gods, are you two alright?” Neska gasped. She moved slowly so as not to startle the coatyl.

Hadley stared at the creature. “Buh. What is that?”

“Why do you two look all beaten up?”

Hadley wagged her finger. “Okay, first off, we ran into a little scuffle, no big deal. Second, what is that cute, floofy thing resting on you?”

“My familiar?” Neska asked, tail twitching. “She’s sleeping. She’s had a very busy day being hatched. Also, you have a pretty big bruise on your cheek."

"Long story." Hadley rubbed at it, looking frumpy. "I think we all need to get filled in on what's been going on."

Jurik raised his hand. “We only stopped briefly to check in with the garrison and came right here. Harvine told us you were here today for this endeavor. Is that a coatyl? How’d you get that from a Roc egg?”

“It’s a long story. Can we clean up Hadley? She looks like she took a trip through a mud puddle,” Juni said, with Syra grinning from ear to ear as she sprinkled a jet of water upward.

“Happy to oblige.”

Hadley gave her a contemptuous look. “Do it, and I’ll train you on the physical course until you evaporate. Cassia, Syra, everyone, follow me. You’re going to want to hear this.”

Neska did her best not to jostle the coatyl, who wrapped its tail snugly around her own neck and arm before nodding off again, feathers occasionally twitching. Before long, they were at the garrison barracks, where Captain Nevin was already waiting, looking grim.

“You two look like shit. Did you go to the tavern along the way like that?”

“No. This happened after we reported in. Hadley’s long-range arcane relay was broken. We...had an altercation not of our choosing," Jurik said uneasily. "We also come bearing...uh...well I wouldn't call this a gift."

Neska hadn’t said it, but she smelled something that reeked of carrion. Brent waved his hand in front of his muzzle as Jurik had removed a bag from his horse's saddle. “Take a guess what’s in here?”

“I don’t do theatrics,” Nevin said stiffly. Neska nearly gagged when he revealed the contents.

Jurik turned to her, looking proud. “You were right on track, Cassia.”

Nevin closed the bag and waved for someone to take it away. “Okay. You two, start at the beginning. Cassia, I’ll need your input on what you saw in your diagnostic. And Kalloway, I may need you to run another tracer ritual on that…item,” Nevin said, clenching his teeth gently.

Kalloway let out a deflated sigh, and threw up his hands in resignation. “Great. This day gets better and better. Cassia, any objections to doing this in my stead? You might have a stronger stomach than I for this one.”

She let out a measured breath, but her twitching tail betrayed her agitation. “I want extra credit for my class if I do this. Using severed heads as a focal item should be an instant ace.”