Arcane Arctic 5: A Harem LitRPG Dungeon Crawl Adventure, page 1
Arcane Arctic 5
Peter North
Northern Edge Publishing
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Arcane Arctic 5 Copyright © 2025 by Peter North/Northern Edge Publishing
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.
For more information, address: contact@peternorthauthor.com
First e-book edition August 2025
First paperback edition August 2025
ISBN: 978-1-990306-33-4
Cover Artist Wei Chang https://www.artstation.com/weichenstudio
www.peternorthauthor.com
Contents
1. Back to the Grind
2. Temporal Promotions
3. Claws and Effect
4. Wild Horses
5. Division of Labor
6. Poor Timing
7. Watching and Waiting
8. Ring of Power
9. Pack Mentality
10. Hunger
11. Status Reports
12. Spawning Pools
13. Dragon’s Roost
14. Ninefold Path
15. Lost
16. The Heart Decides
17. Garden Remedies
18. Some Assembly Required
19. War Council
20. Root of All Hungers
21. Revelations
22. Moving On
23. One Final, Minor Detail…
Recommended Groups
Also by Peter North
1
Back to the Grind
Jay had seen Aurora create dozens of portals, but he'd never seen one collapse like that. It made a thunderous clap so loud that for a second Jay thought reality itself had broken. The flash of unstable magic that followed left him temporarily blinded by kaleidoscopic fireworks. With his ears still ringing and his vision swimming, Jay felt a bit like that time in his first year of college when he’d taken a buddy’s ‘study break’ advice, consumed some questionably sourced psychedelics, and came to his senses hours later, buck-ass naked in the Ag-Sci department’s forestry farm having a heart to heart with a pine tree.
At least this time, once his mind began to clear, he was relieved to find he still had his clothes on. They’d made it back to Skyehold in one piece. Lyra’s tail was puffed out like she’d stuck her tongue in a light socket. Molly’s sea-blue eyes had taken on a greenish hue that was now traveling into her cheeks. Dahlia immediately sat down and hid her face in her arms, like she also hoped the room would stop swimming.
Jay was tempted to make a crack about travel sickness, but one look at Aurora's pale, sweat-drenched face told him she was hanging on by a thread. Now wasn’t the time for jokes.
"Fuuuuck.” Molly’s groaning voice echoed off the stone walls. "I forgot how much I hate that."
Lyra leaned against the wall, looking queasy. "Did that feel worse than usual, or is it just me?"
Dahlia nodded without picking her head up, her long, black bunny ears drooping over her arms. “Definitely.”
Jay was already moving toward the unicorn Portal Sorceress. She was still standing, but barely. She fought to maintain her dignified posture, her horned head held high. But the effort was undermined slightly by the way she swayed on her feet. Her hands trembled as she tried to steady herself against the stone wall, and Jay could see the effort it took just to remain conscious.
"Aurora." He stepped toward her. Concern overrode his own disorientation enough that he managed to cross the room without falling on his face. "Hey, are you—"
"I'm fine," she whispered, but her voice lacked its usual steadiness. She pushed herself away from the wall, trying to stand without support. "Just... give me a moment."
She wasn't fine. The trembling of her legs belied her words. Jay could see it in the way her shoulders sagged, too, and the careful way she moved, as if she was afraid of falling from a high ledge.
The portal to rescue Felicity had been a strain. That, combined with their desperate fight with the Bog Hag and their escape from the swamp floor had taken its toll. Aurora had been pushing herself beyond her limits for days.
They all had.
For now, their struggles had paid off, however.
“Come here.” Jay pulled Aurora against his chest, hugging her and supporting her at the same time. “Take it easy for a second, okay?”
Her cheek rested against his chest as she melted into his embrace. Fortunately, she was quite a bit shorter than him, so her horn spiked up toward his opposing shoulder rather than piercing him under the chin. She sighed deeply. “We made it.”
The familiar stone walls of the Skyehold’s Black Howl base surrounded them. It was the only rebel outpost in the Shattered Seas Dungeon, worn and well-lived in.
“We made it.” Jay found the ancient craftsmanship of the weathered stone a comfort after the cold, somewhat sterile halls of the Temple of Forgotten Virtue on the Ice Dungeon’s third floor. “And now, it’s time to get some real rest.”
Torchlight flickered against the stone walls, giving the impression that they’d seen centuries of use so far and would see centuries more to come. The air smelled of oil lamps and the faint mustiness that came with being deep in the lower quarter of the floating city. It was as homey a place as Jay had encountered since accidentally getting transported to another world, being thrust into a new life as a dungeon delver, and becoming embroiled in a rebel uprising that had been brewing for decades. Which wasn’t saying much, but it still felt like something.
"No offense, Aurora,” Dahlia said softly. Her deep golden eyes filled with worry. "But you look about as fine as that Bog Hag we left behind in the Stygian Swamp.”
"By the Light Eternal!” Aurora's tone sharpened, as if she meant it as a curse. “I said I’m fine, and I mean it!”
Dahlia flinched, not used to being shouted at by the newest member of their group, and the female she’d become closest to during their journey. “I’m just worried,” she said. “That’s all.”
Aurora’s stance immediately softened with regret. "I apologize, Dahlia. That was uncalled for. I'm just... tired."
Molly pushed herself off the wall, some of her usual energy returning. "Well, we're all beat to hell. Maybe we should—"
Her words cut off as the door opened suddenly. Everyone in the party jumped with surprise.
"Jay." Alphonse Howler appeared in the doorway, his weathered face creased with concern. "Good to see you back and intact. How did it go?"
Jay felt a stab of guilt. In all the chaos of their desperate fight for survival in the Stygian Swamp, the rescue of Felicity from Dax and his party of traitorous dogs, and their defeat of the Bog Hag he'd completely forgotten to update the Black Howl leader as to their progress. "Alphonse, I'm sorry. I should have sent word—"
"No apologies needed, son. You look like you've been through the meat grinder." Alphonse's sharp eyes took in their bedraggled state, lingering on Aurora longer than they others. "Mission successful, I hope?”
"Yes and no.” Jay ran a hand through his hair. "We rescued Felicity. She and Pardus are safe, but..." He glanced at his party members, all of them showing the wear of their ordeal. "It's a long story."
"The important parts will do for now."
Jay took a breath, then gave Alphonse a condensed version of their recent adventures—the treacherous swamp monsters, the artifact Dax had in his possession which made his mercenaries so powerful, the confirmation that the corrupt party leader was in direct communication with King Wenshire, Felicities rescue, the brutal fight that had nearly killed them all.
The hardest part was telling him about Wren, about how the young woman had died protecting them and how the resurrection spell had failed. Throughout the recounting, he was acutely aware of Aurora swaying slightly on her feet, stubborn pride keeping her upright.
"Bloody hell," Alphonse muttered when Jay finished. "That Bog Hag sounds like a nasty piece of work. No wonder you didn’t have time to send me a message. You're lucky to be breathing.”
Molly attempted a grin that didn't quite reach her eyes. “Not the first time we’ve punched above our weight class.”
“Could have been the last.” Lyra flattened her ears. “It was a close call. Too close.”
“It was the last,” Jay reminded them. “For Wren.”
An uncomfortable silence settled over the group.
They were all thinking the same thing—how close they'd come to losing everything. Again. How bad it would have been for the Black Howl and the rebel army if they hadn’t made it back.
“Pity about the girl,” Alphonse said. “I’m sorry."
“Me too.” Jay pushed the words out through his tightening throat.
Molly put one hand unconsciously to the horn-shaped carrier at her belt where her Ghost Weasel pets, Ross and Rachel, small heads barely poked out. Even their usual curiosity was dulled by exhaustion.
Alphonse cleared his throat. "Right then. You all look dead on your feet. Why don't you get some rest? We can discuss the details when you've had a chance to recover."
Lyra gave Dahlia a hand up off the grou
“I can carry her,” Molly offered. “I’m tired, too, but I’m still stronger than the two of you put together.”
“I want to say something snarky to that.” Lyra’s tail swished in irritation. “But I don’t have the energy.
As the party began to file out toward their quarters, Alphonse caught Jay's arm. "A word?"
Jay nodded, following him a few steps down the corridor, out of earshot of the others. The old man’s scarred and weathered face was graver than Jay had ever seen it.
"Losing someone under your command," Alphonse said quietly. "It's the hardest part of leadership. I can see it eating at you."
Jay's jaw tightened. "She trusted me to keep her safe. I failed her."
"Aye, and if you let that guilt consume you, you'll fail the rest of them too." Alphonse's voice carried the weight of hard experience. "People are counting on you to be steadfast, Jay. They need to see strength in you, not self-doubt."
"I understand that," Jay said, though his voice was strained. "But caring about them, feeling responsible for their lives… Sometimes I think that’s the only thing keeping me human in this place. If I stop feeling guilty when I lose someone, what does that make me?"
Alphonse studied his face for a long moment, and Jay saw recognition in the older man's eyes. A flicker of understanding that had been absent from similar conversations with the girls. Of course, Alphonse knew what it was to be a leader. He’d probably lost more people than Jay could imagine.
"Guilt's a poisonous thing, son. It'll eat you alive if you let it. But hope?" He paused in thought. His forehead wrinkled as he puzzled out what he wanted to say. "Well, even in a place like this, hope ain’t a foolish thing to hang onto.”
“Hope?” Disbelief made the word come out like gasp.
“That’s right,” Alphonse said. “Hope. Don't ever let go of the hope that sometimes—just sometimes—the dungeon sees fit to right wrongs."
Jay thought of Raina, brought back from the dead, changed but still here. Still fighting alongside them, if only in spirit.
The resurrection spell hadn't worked to save Wren. At the time, it had felt like a cruel trick. Like Nova was deliberately being cruel. But… Jay had seen enough proof that Alphonse’s words were true. That singular failure didn't mean all hope was lost. Maybe there were other ways, other possibilities he hadn't considered yet.
Hell, Nova still needed him to build her body, didn’t she? Jay wasn’t without bargaining chips. If there was something he could do, in his power, to bring Wren back, he vowed he would do it.
For the first time since the Wingblood’s death, he felt some of the crushing weight on his chest ease. Not all of it. But some.
"Thank you," he said quietly.
Alphonse nodded and stepped back. "Now then, let's check on Kalasi before you get some rest."
Jay blinked. Kalasi. He’d almost forgotten about her, though she was the reason they’d entered the Stygian Swamp in the first place. They’d rescued the cat-woman, a powerful melee fighter called a Windreaver, from the Mad King’s Castle Gaol at the same time as they’d invited Aurora to join their party. Unlike Aurora, however, Kalasi had never recovered from her time as a prisoner. She’d been sapped by another of King Wenshire’s ancient artifacts, a power-siphoning net that had rendered her so weak she’d fallen into a coma. Felicity was the only one who might be able to save her.
As they climbed the stairs to the guest wing and moved toward Kalasi's room, Jay found himself wishing Nova were here. He’d been so angry with her, with the riddles, games, and distractions she always seemed to be throwing their way. Worse than that was the careless way she treated the other members of his party—first trying to manipulate their feelings for him with creepy perks and achievements, then putting them in danger at every turn.
But without Nova’s caustic, slightly unhinged voice whispering in his ear at inopportune moments, Jay had to admit the dungeon was starting to get him down.
He didn’t like it. But a part of him really did believe that Nova cared about him in her own crazy way. He hated how she went about it. He hated the feeling of being constantly watched and manipulated. But he also valued her insights and her ability to mess with the dungeon’s rewards system.
Fuck.
As much as he’d been pissed at her, he had to admit that he needed her as much as she needed him. Maybe that was why she’d left. So he would realize that without her, Jay was just another delver.
No. Jay gritted his teeth. He wasn’t going to accept that.
If that was her aim, it was just another form of manipulation, this time in an attempt to make him feel insecure instead of the girls. She might be more powerful than he was, she might have unique skills that made her an asset in this fight against King Wenshire, but she still needed him.
He wasn’t about to step back into her realm of influence until he was certain he could maintain some sort of balance, if not the upper hand. She was too dangerous otherwise. He hadn’t tried to contact her since she’d disappeared, but he had a feeling that if he sent her a message through the Posthumous Consultation chat, she’d be right back, love-bombing him to oblivion.
She was biding her time, now, seeing if he’d crack. And if he did, he could kiss any hopes of a level playing field with the deranged dungeon spirit goodbye.
No. They’d have to figure this out on their own until he had a plan for how best to handle Nova.
“How is Kalasi?" Jay asked as they reached the door, pushing the other thoughts from his mind.
Alphonse's expression didn’t waver. "No change, I'm afraid. Still unconscious, breathing's still shallow. I've been checking on her every few hours, just in case, but..." He shook his head. "Whatever those golden nets did to her, it's beyond my expertise."
Jay wasn’t surprised, but the news still disappointed him. "I need to see her."
"Of course. Third door on the left." Alphonse paused, studying Jay's face. "But first, let the rest of your party get settled. They need rest as much as you do."
Jay looked around at his companions who were gathered on the landing, trying to sort out who was bunking with whom. Molly had carried Aurora up the stairs and was now setting her down next to the first door on the left. Lyra sat on the wooden balustrade, her silver ears drooping with exhaustion. Dahlia stood uncertainly in the middle of the landing, like she didn’t know where she belonged. Even simple decisions like these seemed like a challenge.
Jay stepped up before decision fatigue could set in. “All right, Aurora and Dahlia in the first room,” he said. “Molly and Lyra in the next. I’ll be on the other side of Kalasi’s quarters. You’ll come see me in that order, too, unless you want to pair up. That work for everyone?”
Molly perked up a bit. “I might need a Stamina tonic to get me through, but sounds good to me, Boss.”
The others nodded sleepily.
Jay was the only one who got his own room, though he’d technically be sharing it all night. His Sex Fiend ability demanded that he satisfy his sexual needs at least once a day in exchange for a +15 Constitution buff and, more importantly, keeping his balls from literally exploding. Another little gift from Nova. Each of the girls got a buff of their own, too, and the nightly schedule had become a sort of ritual for them. Aurora was still new to the rotation, and she was the most exhausted, so he would tend to her first.
"We know better than to give Lyra any [Fizzy Swamp Juice] before bed," Dahlia said with a tired laugh. "But I think there’s some [Go Juice] in the party inventory. Don’t keep us waiting too long, though, Jay.”
Jay chuckled, remembering how hyper the fox-girl had gotten when he’d used his Research and Development menu to concoct a powerful Stamina potion out of [Fizzroot Powder] and [Brightspark Berries] while they were in the Mad King’s Castle. “Actually, some Stamina boosters don’t sound like a half-bad idea.”
The fight with Bog Hag had taken everything they had, and there seemed to be a lingering exhaustion effect when coming down from the massive power boost they’d gotten from the [Rod of Temporary Hardness], which even Jay was feeling though he hadn’t received the extra levels. Their recovery in the Temple of Forgotten Virtue had allowed their bodies to heal but they were still depleted. And the rough portal journey hadn't helped.
