Neck-Deep In It: A LitRPG and GameLit Series.

by Jason Cheek

  “Go, Or-re,” Minny resolutely said, as she stood up to her full three and a half feet height, “and I’ll make sure they give you the time you need to work your magic.”

  “Thanks, little mouse,” Orion said, gently kissed the top of her head. Before he could pull away, the Gnome woman spun around and pulled his head down for a proper kiss.

  It was surprisingly tender and erotic all at the same time, Orion thought, as he felt Minny’s blanket slide to the ground. Pressing her naked body fully against him, she wrapped her strong arms around his neck and gave him a kiss to remember. Not that he didn’t give as good as he got. To his relief, Minny didn’t push it further than that. Pushing him away, she stood tall in her natural beauty and pointed towards their pile of clothing.

  “Get moving, loverboy.”

  Orion didn’t waste any time in getting geared up. To his surprise, Minny joined him without any hesitation. They were both finished and ready to go within a few minutes. Orion was once again impressed with the Gnome woman. She didn’t bat an eye with the cold nor was she overtly distracted by skin. Though, she did give him an appreciative wink as he was pulling up his pants. As he finished strapping on his Katar punch-daggers, Orion gave Minny a nod before striding off for the Sulfuric Springs.

  Some people might think that it was odd that he didn’t offer Minny any further words of love or encouragement, but that was not how he rolled. First off, Orion wasn’t completely sure how he felt about their relationship. After having a taste of her loving, he was down with having a physical relationship with the Gnome woman. Though, after everything his cheating ex-wife put him through, he wasn’t down with anything more complex than that at this time. That, and how was he supposed to feel about a digital relationship like this.

  In truth, it was honestly more than a simple Marine like him could easily make sense of. So, Orion did the only thing he could which was take it one step at a time. Besides, his momma didn’t raise a fool. He wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth, especially not when it was a sexy hot Gnome named Minny.

  As soon as he made it to the first Sulfuric Pool and felt the air begin to foul around him, Orion decided to try something that had been tickling the back of his mind since he’d made the Airzooka spell earlier on the spot. Ignoring the DOT that had started ticking in the corner of his HUD as he began to be slowly poisoned to death by the toxic fumes, he focused on his Air Shamanism as he thought back to Naamro’s lessons. Concentrating on the air touching his skin, Orion used his mana and the force of his will to push the air into motion.

  Somewhat similar to the Airzooka spell he’d created earlier to clear out the Dread Herd’s smoky camouflage, Orion focused on getting the air to spin around his body. As the speed of the moving air began to pick up, it felt like his clothing was going to be shredded as the wind’s velocity began to build. To counteract the effect, Orion pushed the moving air away from him into a secondary bubble. Visually, he pictured it as almost a wind tunnel that was moving just an inch away from outside of his armor inside a foot-wide corridor that covered him from head to toe.

  Immediately, an explosion of dirt and stones was kicked up into the air around him. Coughing at the dusty film that instantly covered him, Orion slowly was able to rework the vortex to be a few inches off the ground. As soon as he managed that, the debris in the air quickly cleared out around him. Knowing he was close to figuring this out, Orion began increasing the speed of the whirling vortex as he shrunk the wind tunnel down to an inch in width. As soon as he managed that feat, two system messages popped open before his eyes.

  Congratulations! You have learned the new spell Wind Shield.

  Wind Shield (30 Mana) – Instant cast – Shield’s caster for one minute, absorbing 1400% ranged spell damage. Non-stabbing or piercing melee attacks against caster reduced in damage by 50%. Armor Class is not increased. Requires Air Shaman skill level 20. Can only be cast on self. 20 second cool down.

  “Holy shit!” Orion exclaimed, as he read through the message. That was freaking cool as hell. How would a whirling vortex just outside of his skin fuse with his martial arts ability? Could he use this as a modified weapon somehow? He thought while grinning like a fiend, Orion forcibly calmed himself down and dismissed the spell. While this was cool, it wasn’t what he needed to keep the toxic fumes that were slowly killing him at bay. Also, recasting the shield every minute would be a pain in the ass. No, what he needed was something a little more subtle and long lasting.

  Clearing his mind, Orion did his best to ignore his slowly dropping health as he tried again. This time, instead of a swirling vortex, he focused on his ability to feel the air around him to create a magic field that only allowed the air he wanted in. In this case, it was the breathable air that he needed to live. Orion didn’t know if his scientific understanding of H2O would help him come up with a workable magic filter or not, but he visualized removing any of the contaminants and particles in the air around him.

  The process took a lot of trial and error. While removing the contaminants and particles in the air was relatively easy, it was a whole different story to filter out the actual gasses involved. It’s not like he could see the gasses or molecules that made up breathable air. After a particularly nasty choking fit where he’d nearly suffocated himself, Orion came up with a better idea.

  Hurrying back the way he’d come, Orion got far enough away from the Sulfuric Pool that he wasn’t being constantly poisoned by the toxic air. Taking in a deep breath of clean air, he sat on the rocky ground in a lotus position to help him concentrate. This was exactly what he needed. As his health began to slowly tick back up to full health, he focused on breathing in and out slowly.

  Using his magic, Orion focused on the air in his lungs. He didn’t particularly need to understand what it was made up of, he just had to create a one-way magic valve that could differentiate between breathable and non-breathable air. Using his Air Shamanism to make a sort of blueprint of the air he was breathing, he focused on using that to create an air shield that was one-inch away from his skin.

  Luckily, The World allowed him to do this by feel and sight with the Air Shaman magic running through and around him or he would’ve never figured this out. Using this comparison method, Orion began to make out the subtle differences in the air itself around him. With a little bit of trial and error, he was able to alter the air shield to only allow the gases he was breathing to come through, while allowing everything inside the field to expel out. As soon as he accomplished this, four more system messages popped open before his eyes.

  Congratulations! You have learned the new spell Alter Air.

  Alter Air I (20 Mana) – 5 sec cast – Most Air is essentially made up of different gases. The spell enables a shaman to alter the composition of various gases. Can be used to remove contaminants from the air. Can be used to separate or combine gases. If used in combat the damage to the target is 200% Spell Power. Requires Air Shaman skill level 10. Range 40 yards.

  Congratulations! You have learned the new spell Air Filter.

  Air Filter (50 Mana) – Instant cast – Shield’s caster for one hour from toxic gases and airborne particles by filtering all particles other than the gases needed to breath. This spell does not block or absorb any other direct ranged spell damage, nor does it reduce melee damage. Also, this spell does not create breathable air. Armor Class is not increased. Requires Air Shaman skill level 20.

  Seeing that he’d finally learned the Alter Air spell, Orion let out a sigh of relief as he thought back to all the time that Naamro had spent on trying to teach him the concepts needed to learn the spell. He now realized the problem had been the whole theoretical exercise in trying to see air. At the time, he’d thought it was a ridiculous concept. Now though, after having a practical need for just such a spell, he’d been able to make the mental jump needed to understand the odd concept that she’d been trying to teach him all along.

  Giving a silent thanks to Naamro for not giving up on teaching
him the basics of being an Air Shaman, Orion stood up and stretched his stiff muscles as he prepared to move out. If this really worked out the way he hoped, then he most definitely owed that GILF something special. His internal contemplation came to an abrupt stop when he suddenly noticed the sun was much higher in the sky than it had been when he’d started out this morning.

  Bringing up his HUD in confusion, Orion was shocked to see that it was a little after fourteen hundred hours. He’d literally been sitting here for over four hours in deep meditation trying to figure out how to craft his new Air Filter spell? That was insane, Orion silently complained, as he looked around in stunned amazement. Okay, to be honest, it was more like three different spells in one, but still, what the fuck. How could he have not noticed that he was sitting here for so long?

  Realizing that it was well past the time when the rest of the raid should’ve been back, Orion hurriedly began making his way back to the Sulfuric Pool. Unsure if that meant his friends were impatiently waiting for his return or something had happened to them on the trip across the Plains of Atoll, he silently crossed his fingers in the hopes that he hadn’t wasted everyone’s playtime. That, or they weren’t giving Minny a hard time for his absence. As those thoughts ran through the back of his mind, he came to a stop at the bubbling edge of the same Sulfuric Pool from earlier as a shit-eating grin spread across his face upon checking the status of his HUD and seeing no toxic DOT affecting his health anymore.

  "Oorah!" Orion shouted, punching his fist into the air at his accomplishment, “How do you like me now, mother fuckers!”

  Taking a deep breath, Orion forcibly calmed himself down as he focused on the rocky path that headed deeper into the Sulfuric Springs. Cracking his neck and the knuckles of each hand, his eyes narrowed as he felt the combat instincts that had been honed in the sandpit kick in. In that moment, any conflicting thoughts or worries were stripped away as his full focus turned to the task at hand. While he was ready for combat if it were necessary, Orion knew he didn’t stand a chance in hell against any of the Dread Herd if they chose to attack him. Nonetheless, if he was wrong about the Matriarch, Orion silently promised that he wouldn’t go down without a fight.

  Most people who never served as a Marine would find such a concept to be completely illogical, especially when faced with certain death. In Orion’s experience, that was one of the main differences between a warrior and a civilian. Whether you were risking life and limb to take a military objective or going after a goal in your life, your mindset made all the difference. Being “all in” as many soldiers like to put it allows you to see opportunities for success that would otherwise be missed.

  Walking around the outer edge of the bubbling sulfuric pool that Minny and he had water-skied across, Orion saw the first signs of the Dread Herd. Standing guard atop two of the larger boulders to the paths that led deeper into the area were two level 35 Dreadstallions. Unlike before, they proudly stood in all their glory for him to look over.

  Coming to a stop, Orion took a moment to look them over. Both monsters were impressive as all get-out. He could now clearly see the shiny, black chitinous armor on the front-half of their upper legs, chest, head, spine, and hindquarters. The last of which ran down to cover both the front and back of the lower rear legs that ended in odd pointy hooves. Interestingly enough, the lower front half of their legs were shaped similar to that of a Hippogriff’s, except they were covered with solid black chitin.

  The bodies of both stallions were made up of fine scales rather than the thick skin of a terrestrial horse. Also, with being this close, Orion could also see that both male’s antenna-like manes were much shorter in length than those of the Matriarch. Not only that, instead of a scorpion tail, both males had fleshy protrusions that were more lizard-like than that of a horsetail. Another oddity was the solid chiton protrusions coming out from their shoulder blades. They were tucked up against the stallions’ muscular sides and looked more like the beginnings of the vestibular wings you see on young baby birds. Obviously, they would turn into the deadly weapons that the Matriarch had that could shoot out like spears to catch an unwary enemy by surprise.

  Curiouser and curiouser, Orion thought, as the Dreadstallions’ glowing eyes challengingly stared back at him. Finishing up his quick once-over, he began striding towards the wide path between the two deadly beasts. As he passed beneath where they were perched, he didn’t even flinch when the beasts threateningly flared out their shoulder spikes and let out Hydralisk-like hissing roars from their fanged mandibles. Outwardly ignoring the terrifying sound, he calmly continued on his way even as the hairs of his neck stood on end.

  Orion knew better than to show any fear or weakness around such predators. Like any aggressive creature guarding its territory, to react with fear would’ve only invited an instant challenge if not death. So, with his back held straight, he proceeded down the rocky path before him with a casual swagger heading to where his friends had previously been ruthlessly slaughtered.

  All around him were numerous rich nodes of the larger mana accumulation crystals that they needed for powering the Fire Spitters that Startum had told them about. Not only that, there were a number of other unique metals that were readily available to be mined. Some of which, Orion immediately recognized from Minny’s earlier lessons as deposits of Loadstone iron that were mixed with varying amounts of naturally occurring carbon and what was most definitely pure Cobalt. The entire area was truly a gold mine … err … mineral mine that BrokenFang Hold needed for the coming battle.

  At the sounds of falling stones, Orion’s mental survey of the area was brought to an abrupt halt at the sight of a familiar creature stepping out atop the same outcropping of rock that he’d first seen her standing upon during the battle. Looking up at the proud visage of the level 61 Matriarch, he was once again taken aback by her lethal beauty. She was truly monstrous; easily twice the size of the Dreadstallions that were guarding the pass. Not only that, the fat scorpion-like tail that curved over her immense head and fully-formed articulated chitinous spiked arms gave her a deadly aura that made him question if they could take her down even with the extra-large raid his friends had brought along with them. Just another reason why his current errand was so important.

  As the fleetfooted Dreadmare Matriarch sprang down from atop her perch in one massive leap to land in front of Orion, all around the base of the outcrop, the surviving members of the Dread Herd came trotting out to surround the two of them. At least, that’s how Orion thought of them as his mind took in the fierce-looking level 34 and 35 Dreadstallions and Dreadmares staring back at him. Though they looked like nothing more than mindless monsters, from his earlier empathetic connection with the Matriarch, he knew them to be so much more than that. Silently hoping that he wasn’t being an idiot, he respectfully dipped his head to the towering Matriarch, before looking deep into the beast’s glowing red eyes.

  This time, instead of simply accepting the flickering images coming from the Dreadmare Matriarch, Orion sent the images he’d been slowly formulating in his mind since the last time they’d met. In his mind, he pictured BrokenFang Hold and the various races of humanoids and demi-humans that were working together to build the defenses against the approaching Hobgoblin army. In his mind’s eye, he showed them as free individuals and tribes all sworn to the House of Kayden. He did his best to picture the alliance as a relationship of equals mixed with the feeling of pride and security from the different species working together as one. To cement the message, he visually added the Dread Herd living amongst them as allies fighting for a common goal.

  Orion didn’t know how well he’d communicated the meaning and emotions of his thoughts as the Matriarch’s glowing red eyes intently held his own. Let alone, if an MMO like The World would even allow him to establish a relationship like this with what was basically monstrous creatures. As he did his best to communicate his desire to combine the Dread Herd with the House of Kayden.

  For a moment, Orion wasn’t
sure if he’d made a grave mistake or not. Tilting her head to the side, the Matriarch thrust her muzzle in close so that her glowing red eyes could focus on his anxious face. Knowing the devastating effectiveness of those fang-filled mandibles at tearing flesh, he silently gulped hoping against hope that he wasn’t going to have his face eaten as he opened himself up so that beast could taste the truth of his emotions. As he held his breath waiting for his inevitable death, a slew of new images began flickering through his mind almost too fast to catch.

  “You’ve gotta slow down,” Orion said, falling to his knees on the frozen rocky ground as he was overwhelmed by the alien intelligence that was trying to communicate with him.

  The flurry of images and emotions were too intense for Orion to take as he gasped for breath while trying to take it all in. Closing his eyes to reduce the amount of input flooding through his consciousness, he felt his body begin to uncontrollably pitch forward. Instead of hitting the ground though, he was shocked to find himself collapsing on top of the Dreadmare Matriarch’s massive head.

  Antenna-like hairs reached out to stroke his face and neck as Orion did his best to make sense of the flood of information. Concepts such as allies, defenders of life, working together for a greater future, fellow warriors fighting under the same banner, groups and raids working together, the concepts flowed from one image to another as he did his best to match the corresponding emotions and images to fit the flow of their conversation. The hardest thing to communicate was the concept of what a newfar was and how that could help both of them in the fight against the approaching Hobgoblin army.