Veil Online - Book 2: An Epic LitRPG Adventure

by John Cressman

  He couldn’t see Charlena because of the hulking brute in front of him but he heard her arrow thud into him and saw it wince.

  Almedha Pressalor Precisely shoots Ironfist Orc Brute for 18 damage.

  Then the orc brought its club down again but Jace’s left hand moved to deflect the blow with the buckler.

  Ironfist Orc Brute crushes YOU but you Block.

  Ironfist Orc Brute Bleeds for 3 damage.

  Even as Jace deflected the blow, the glow of restorative magic surrounded him as Diana and Mika both cast their healing spells.

  Raajoget heals YOU for 6 health.

  Mizzlethain-galliegarde heals YOU for 7 health.

  Feeling better, Jace retaliated at the creature, aiming one weapon high and the other low.

  You stab Ironfist Orc Brute for 1 damage and 3 acid damage.

  You slash Ironfist Orc Brute for 0 damage.

  Unfortunately, that tactic didn’t seem to work. The Kraken’s Claw scored a burning line of acid across its breastplate and then across the thing’s arm. His sword clanged into the brute’s greaves without scratching them.

  The red-headed elf loosed another arrow from Stealth. She was getting good at using her Vanish and following it up with a Precise Shot.

  Almedha Pressalor Precisely shoots Ironfist Orc Brute for 3 damage.

  Unfortunately, her shot merely grazed the orc and the thing raised its club for another strike.

  Ironfist Orc Brute crushes YOU for 14 damage.

  Ironfist Orc Brute Bleeds for 3 damage.

  Jace deflected much of the force of the blow, but enough of it came through that it felt like the bones in his arm might break. The other girls got their own attacks in and Jace saw that Diana had switched to her wand. Hopefully, she was saving some mana for more healing.

  Mizzlethain-galliegarde shoots Ironfist Orc Brute for 4 magic damage and 2 acid damage.

  Raajoget slashes Ironfist Orc Brute for 6 damage.

  Ironfist Orc Brute is Bleeding.

  Jace got his own attacks in, going for the creature’s left arm, above its vambraces.

  You stab Ironfist Orc Brute for 8 damage and 3 acid damage.

  You slash Ironfist Orc Brute for 7 damage.

  This time, he blades found bare skin and the orc snarled. “I will kill you human!”

  “Not, I think, today,” Jace replied as Charlena’s arrow thudded into its shoulder.

  The orc’s eyes opened wide for a second, but then narrowed. “Your head will decorate my belt little human!”

  Almedha Pressalor Precisely shoots Ironfist Orc Brute for 11 damage.

  Trying to make good on his promise, the huge creature wound back with a two-handed grip on his club as if about to hit Jace’s head like a baseball and the club was his bat.

  Ironfist Orc Brute crushes YOU for 12 damage.

  Ironfist Orc Brute Bleeds for 3 damage.

  Jace got his buckler up in time to deflect the blow over his head, mostly. The blow still rocked his head and he momentarily saw stars. In the back of his mind, he appreciated that level of detail the developers had added. At the same time, he wished some of them would have tried it at their sensory level set to 100%.

  “Need more healing,” Jace said, but even as he finished his sentence, the girls cast their spells and he was bathed in light. He grinned, impressed with how much progress they’d made playing together. That was especially true of Diana, who had never played the game before being inserted.

  Raajoget heals YOU for 8 health.

  Mizzlethain-galliegarde heals YOU for 9 health.

  He didn’t waste any time but retaliated with his own blades, trying to slice at the orc’s right thigh, which was now exposed from its swing.

  You stab Ironfist Orc Brute for 0 damage.

  You slash Ironfist Orc Brute for 0 damage.

  Unfortunately, he was still off-balance from the blow to the head and hit blades skidded off the creature’s greaves again.

  Almedha Pressalor Precisely shoots Ironfist Orc Brute for 8 damage.

  “I’m out of mana,” Charlena yelled out as her arrow struck the brute in the leg. Without mana, she couldn’t use her Vanish. If she couldn’t use her ability, Jace knew her damage would drop off. His mental count of damage should put them somewhere close to a quarter of the orc’s health, so hopefully they didn’t have much more to go.

  Ironfist Orc Brute crushes YOU for 17 damage.

  Ironfist Orc Brute Bleeds for 3 damage.

  This time, Jace wasn’t able to deflect as much of the blow and the impact against his shoulder rattled his entire body. He grunted in pain and forced himself to stay upright.

  Mizzlethain-galliegarde shoots Ironfist Orc Brute for 5 magic damage and 2 acid damage.

  Raajoget slashes Ironfist Orc Brute for 5 damage.

  Ironfist Orc Brute is Bleeding.

  A bolt from Diana’s wand flew over his head to strike the orc in the cheek while at the same time he heard Mika yell as she sliced at the brute from behind. Bringing his own weapons up, Jace sliced at the creature’s arm as it pulled back its club.

  You stab Ironfist Orc Brute for 7 damage and 3 acid damage.

  You slash Ironfist Orc Brute for 1 damage.

  The orc grunted but otherwise didn’t seem overly bothered. Still, Jace knew its health had to be low. A few more hits and it should go down - hopefully.

  Almedha Pressalor shoots Ironfist Orc Brute for 5 damage.

  Charlena’s arrow scored a hit on the brute’s shin but it didn’t even flinch. It swung its club sideways again, like it wanted to knock Jace’s head out of the park, but his body moved of its own volition.

  Ironfist Orc Brute crushes YOU but you Dodge.

  Ironfist Orc Brute Bleeds for 3 damage.

  Jace dodged the attack and the orc was momentarily thrown off balance. Then a blast from Diana’s wand hit square in the face, just a Mika’s katana sliced it across the back of the neck.

  Mizzlethain-galliegarde shoots Ironfist Orc Brute for 4 magic damage and 2 acid damage.

  Raajoget slashes Ironfist Orc Brute for 7 damage.

  Ironfist Orc Brute dies.

  You gain 200 experience.

  You have gained a level.

  You are now level 6 in Mage.

  Jace side stepped the brute’s body as it collapsed onto the ground. They’d managed to do it. They’d killed a level 20 monster.

  “Is that all the experience we get from that fight?” Diana scoffed.

  Jace looked to the edge of the forest. “Let’s back up really quick before another one appears!”

  The others, who were out of mana or nearly out of mana, nodded and followed Jace back to the hill. There, they all collapsed on the ground.

  “That was fun!” Mika said, bright eyed. “We killed a great foe!”

  “With not much to show for it,” Diana said sourly.

  “I hit level 8!” Charlena said excitedly.

  “Congratulations!” they all responded.

  “Good job!” Jace added. “You did a great job! Thanks for the healing! You guys stayed on top of it!”

  Mika beamed and even Diana offered a genuine smile.

  “Now what?” Charlena asked. “I still have a couple of hours.”

  Looking back to the forest, Jace grinned. “I say we kill more orcs!”

  Chapter 39

  His group killed six more orcs before Charlena had to log out. They would have killed more but they were nearly party wiped when an Ironfist shaman appeared. The orc’s magic blasts had ignored Jace’s armor and he hadn’t lasted long. Once Jace died, the shaman had turned on Charlena and killed her before Diana and Mika had finally brought it down.

  Despite the deaths, his group had fun and were learning to work together better. Plus, they were earning decent experience without any competition with other players. Mika and Charlena seemed to be getting along better. At least Jace thought they were. He decided he’d ask Diana what he should do about the two girls. After all, she was a 90-
something-year-old and romance writer. She should have some tips.

  Charlena was now half-way to level 9, while Mika was level 5 in Rogue and Diana was level 6 in Priest. Jace had also leveled up again. Along with level 7 in Mage, he had gained a new special ability, Enhance Familiar I, that came with choices. He had seen it pop-up but had ignored it while they fought so he would have time to think about it. He brought up the ability again as they walked back to Whitecliff.

  Enhance Familiar I

  Range: N/A

  Cost: N/A

  Description: As your arcane power grows, so does your connection with your familiar. Your familiar gains one of the following abilities.

  Available abilities:

  Armored Familiar

  Channel Spell

  Remote Viewing

  Resistant Familiar

  Share Spell

  Special Ability Enhancement

  Jace looked at the abilities. Armored Familiar didn’t seem very practical since she wasn’t a frontline fighter. While it would grant her some protection, it just didn’t seem worthwhile at this point. Maybe later.

  Channel Spell had possibilities. Being able to cast spells through Luna could come in very handy. Unfortunately, any aggro she gained would be transferred to Jace, so he wasn’t sure how useful it would be except to pull creatures.

  He looked at Remote Viewing as a candidate too. Luna was small and could get into tight places. Seeing through her eyes would make her the perfect scout.

  Resistant Familiar gave some decent resistance to magic or elemental damage, but it only applied to one type of energy. Jace wasn’t sure he would have chosen it even if it gave resistances to all energy. Not at this low a level.

  When he looked at Share Spell, he almost took it right away. It would allow any spell he cast on himself to be shared by Luna. At the moment, that only covered Air Armor, but that alone would give her more armor that Armored Familiar.

  Special Ability Enhancement was a little vague, but it seemed to be intended to enhance the special abilities of the prestige familiars like Imp and Faerie Dragon. He wondered if it would enhance the ability Luna had gained from the ritual blood in the saurian village.

  The saurians had made Jace their shaman and he had killed a huge alligator, enchanted its blood, and used the blood to anoint the new chief. He’d also been forced to drink the remainder of the blood, which had granted him 2 additional mana permanently.

  What the villagers hadn’t seen was that Jace had left some blood on his fingers. He smeared it on Luna, hoping it would make her stronger. Instead, it had given her the ability to grow many times her size but at the cost of burning through her mana in less than a minute. Would this improve that?

  He looked down at the cat, trailing him. “Any ideas which of the abilities I should choose for you?”

  Luna glanced up at him. “No.”

  “A lot of help you are,” he said and went back to looking at his HUD. He debated on Share Spell and Special Ability Enhancement. In the end, his curiosity got the best of him and he chose Special Ability Enhancement just as they reached the gates of Whitecliff.

  “Alright,” Charlena said. “I have to log for the night. Thanks for the fun. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

  She hugged Jace and kissed him. As was her habit, she disappeared in mid kiss, leaving him holding nothing. Luckily, he was used to it and the passing NPCs completely ignored players logging in and logging out. It was part of their programming.

  “One second,” he told Diana and Mika. He looked down to Luna. “Do you feel any different?”

  Luna seemed to consider that question and then gave him an expression that Jace could only be the cat equivalent of a shrug. “No.”

  “Hmm,” Jace said. He thought she might automatically know what the ability had done. Now, there was only one real way to find out. “Luna, turn into your big cat form and see how long you can hold it.”

  “Yes,” the cat said and then suddenly transformed into a cat the size of a cougar, maybe even a lion.

  Mika and Diana both jumped back with a start as the giant form Luna appeared.

  “Since when can she do that?” Diana asked. It was only then that Jace realized they’d never seen her giant form before. Charlena had seen it a couple of times before they had reached Whitecliff but never the other two.

  “I sort of gave her a special ability by smearing blood on her in a lizard man village,” he replied.

  Diana and Mika both gave him blank looks. Nearly at the same time, they both said, “What?!”

  Jace relayed the story to them of the saurian village and how he had become the shaman. He told them about the alligator, enchanting the blood, marking the chief and then how he’d been expected to drink the blood. The girls looked a little squeamish about the blood drinking and he couldn’t blame them - he’d been squeamish too. Then he relayed how he’d kept some of the blood to see if it would make Luna stronger.

  He’d just finished the story when he noticed that Luna was still giant sized and still here. “You’re still big?”

  Luna seemed to raise her chin at the question. “Yes. Big.”

  “She can stay big!” Mika said brightly and began rubbing Luna’s big head behind the ears.

  “Do you know how long you can stay this size?” he asked her. Already it was minutes longer than before. If she could maintain this size for this long, she might be a real asset in a fight. Especially since she could have essentially the same amount of health he had, minus one.

  His familiar was maneuvering her head to try to get Mika and scratch certain spots. The cat stopped for a moment and looked at him. “No.”

  “A giant orange tabby cat,” Diana said, coming over to stroke Luna’s fur. “Even I have to admit, that’s pretty cool.”

  Jace had to agree. Of course, he was thinking of it from a purely tactical standpoint. But that was the way he had learned to think of the game. Some people called it meta-gaming, but he thought of it as good decision making and getting the most from what you had.

  Looking at Luna, he had to admit Diana was right. Having a giant cat was pretty cool. “She is pretty cool.”

  His familiar looked from the girls to Jace, giving him a smug expression. “Yes.”

  As they walked to the inn, he watched the reactions of the people they passed. Most of them didn’t give Luna more than a passing glance. Jace guessed that in a world of dragons, ogres, griffons and more, a cat the size of a tiger didn’t really phase people much.

  Once they got to the inn, that was a different story. Luna was still able to maintain her size but Jace didn’t think having the equivalent of a tiger sitting at the table would be okay with the owner or the patrons. He turned to Luna. “Can you shrink back down?”

  “Why?” Luna asked, causing Jace to raise an eyebrow. Did Luna actually like being larger? That was interesting.

  Mika giggled. “I think she likes being big.”

  Jace glanced at Mika and guessed she was probably right. Somewhere in her code, she realized she was more formidable as a large cat. He’d need to give her some incentive. “Because I don’t think they will let you in while you’re so big. And that means we can’t order you any fish.”

  That huge cat seemed to consider that and then suddenly shrunk down to her original size. “Fish!”

  With Luna back to normal, they went inside and ordered waffles for them and fish for Luna. As they ate, they talked about ideas to get into the palace. It didn’t take long for the conversation to devolve into some ridiculous ideas. At one point, one of them suggested a catapult and possibly even a trojan horse. The ideas went downhill quickly after that.

  After dinner, if waffles could truly be called dinner, they split up to do their guild quests. Diana went off to the temple, while Jace and Mika went to the thieves guild.

  When they talked to Webley, the guildmaster had congratulated him on becoming Baronet. Apparently, the man didn’t miss anything that went on in the city.

&n
bsp; “So, what does that make you?” the guildmaster asked. “The gentleman bandit?”

  After a little talk about his new status, Weblety had given them the night’s quests. The quests were simple breaking and entering jobs. Once again, because they were grouped, they were based on Mika’s level instead of Jace’s. He found that annoying, but at least they were able to do the same quests.

  Jace made sure they took their time with the quests, giving Mika a chance to max out her Stealth skill and giving her access to the Vanish ability. With that, she could at least get in critical strikes. She’d still need to save some of her mana for healing, but with Diana also healing, Mika might be able to do some serious damage with her two-handed katana on a critical strike.

  Despite the quests being at Mika’s level, they were enough to push him to level 8 in Mage. Mika was only 50 experience away from 6th level in Rogue, so after they had gotten back with Diana, they killed two beetles before breakfast.

  Luna had grown and helped them with the fight, though against the thick armor plating of the beetle’s exoskeleton, her claws didn’t do much damage. Even so, every little bit helped and given how long she was able to remain in the giant form, he guessed her ability was now toggleable. She could grow and shrink at will and stay in her giant form as long as she wanted. But he would test more later to be sure.

  While they were eating breakfast, a man in the king’s livery appeared. The man spoke briefly with the owner, who pointed towards their table. Jace began to get nervous. Now what?

  The man in livery walked over to their table, cleared his throat, and then said in a loud, firm voice. “Sir Dedrurrurth, Baronet. You are cordially invited to attend the birthday party of Her Royal Highness, Princess Katerina, at the Royal Palace, this Weeksend at 7pm.”