by K. T. Hanna
“Clever.” Riasli chuckled. “But not clever enough. You’ll never outpace that damage.”
“What are you? A wizard now, Riasli?” Murmur mocked her opponent, but she wasn’t sure she put enough heart into it to make it believable.
The wound she’d received from those initial metal rope monsters was painful when it discharged. She couldn’t afford to dip below half health, and Riasli had taken a potion too. This fight was going to go on forever.
But Murmur squared her jaw and persevered. She single target stunned her and nuked, rinsed and repeated. All the while Snowy bit chunks out of her. Yet Riasli stood there, apparently unharmed, a sickening grin on her face.
“Done yet?” she asked, smirking so madly that Murmur wanted to wipe the smile off her face.
“Never,” Murmur replied, keeping her voice deliberately low. She sent out her feelings, she reached out to her kinetic powers, and she molded a forcefield barrier in her mind. It was small but strong and thick. And then, with all of her might, she pushed it toward Riasli.
The sheer desperation behind the push that was usually meant to ward off things, made it move like a freight train, all momentum and weight. It barreled into Riasli so fast and flung her so far that Murmur heard her land against a wall of some sort with a sickening thud.
She couldn’t see the wall herself, but that sound was unmistakable. After several seconds with no further response from the other enchanter, Murmur knew she’d landed a killing blow. Damn if that shield didn’t take it out of her, though. She grinned in triumph, but Snowy came and licked her hand, concern evident in his whine.
“It’s okay,” she reassured him, even if she wasn’t so certain herself. Her health bar continued to be affected by the damned DoTs, and with about twenty seconds left on both of them, she wasn’t certain she was going to survive this trial after all.
Storm Entertainment
Somnia Online Division
Game Development Offices
Late Day Twenty - Three
Laria woke up to drool dripping down her chin and onto her work desk. She kicked herself for not having woken up with enough time to spare so she could go and visit her daughter. Still. The antidote. She shook her head.
The antivirus. She knew she’d used the wrong word. Chuckling to herself to help wake up, she stood up and opened her door. Coffee was a great necessity.
When she opened the door, Edward Davenport stood in front of it, his fist raised to knock. He smiled at her, but Laria wasn’t in the mood to return the expression.
“I need coffee. I’m on a tight deadline, if you want to talk to me with any semblance of comprehension, wait here.” She walked away without waiting for an answer, knowing that he’d accept her brusqueness. At least for now, anyway. They might have had words if she’d spoken to him like that and they weren’t currently under the attack of a very specific virus.
When she got back to her office, she handed him a cup of coffee as well. “Peace offering. I’m snappy before I have coffee.”
He knew that, and he accepted the bribe, studying her with those wise eyes of his. “You didn’t go home last night, did you?”
She shook her head. “Did the same clothes two days in a row give it away, or was it my breath?”
Teddy laughed. “Maybe a bit of both.”
“Gee thanks, old man.” Laria sipped at her coffee. It was still hot, despite her having added a bit of cold water to try and make it immediately drinkable. “What’s up?”
“I notice that James visited you again last night.” His expression darkened, and she knew it wasn’t directed at her but at the whole situation.
“Well, you obviously saw the footage and read the security report Rana submitted, so what’s your question about it? Or did you just come here to make statements?” Again, she knew she was being short, and her tiredness just didn’t give a fuck.
Teddy squirmed a bit in his seat, sipping at his still steamy as hell coffee in order to delay whatever it was he was trying to gather in his head. “I can’t demand that he not visit our offices. But if you would like to file a harassment claim, I can see that it is upheld for you and Shayla.”
Laria nodded slowly. He was walking on dangerous ground here for himself. So dangerous, in fact, that she was surprised he’d brought this up. She watched him as the thoughts ran through her head. Sure, she could claim harassment, and it wasn’t even a lie. So could Shayla. It would mean he couldn’t come in their vicinity while technically meaning he could still visit Storm Corp.
It was a small loophole, but one that, at least for a while, might be able to buy them enough time to get shit fixed without handing Wren’s brain over to their sponsors on a platter. “Yeah. I think I’d like that. Just file it with HR? I mean, it’s become intrusive and uncomfortable.”
Just for the benefit of any type of footage that might be hacked or whatever else. With the number of leaks and spies and shit they’d had in here, she wasn’t taking any more chances.
“Excellent.” Mr. Davenport appeared to be relieved. Maybe he’d been worried about suggesting it or just worried about them. He leaned forward and steepled his fingers over his nose. Laria had to strain to hear what he was saying through his fingers. No lip reading there.
“How is the antivirus coming along?”
She wondered how she was supposed to reply to him without tripping the sensors at all. “Wren is doing well, but she still needs to work on some of her entry paperwork before we can finalize enrollment.”
Laria watched her boss, his eyes twinkling as he fought the urge to laugh. Apparently, he’d understood her message. Yes, the antivirus was coming along nicely but not ready or done yet. It was the one thing they definitely couldn’t let get out. It wasn’t quite what people thought of when they mentioned a virus, but the more she came to understand about it made it so much worse.
“I think I need to go. I have several meetings lined up this morning, but I did want to chat with you in light of the footage I saw.” He smiled, and it was filled with grandfatherly warmth. “Thank you for all you do, Laria.”
“Thank you, Mr. Davenport.” Laria sat down once the door was closed and ran through her findings.
He was right to be cautious. This virus didn’t infect systems, but program elements with potential for intelligence. Anything AI-related, and they were in trouble. Add to that the potential it had to contaminate virtual environments, and thereby also access a lot of brains in similar ways to Wren’s, and Laria struggled to reconcile if it was a good idea to keep this secret from anyone.
It might have been Wren’s headset that did it initially, but adjusting ones for her friends so they could assist the virtual world meant there were still ways Wren’s brain was attached to the world. She had to figure out a way to permanently disentangle her daughter from Somnia. All she needed was long enough to save her daughter. Again.
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Luckily this time when she died, Murmur didn’t have to go to a void to be booted back into the game. No, her headset made sure this didn’t happen anymore. If this meant they’d failed the trial, she was going to be livid. Three seconds before the damned healing potion was available again. THREE.
She sighed as the game loaded back into view.
You have passed the second trial of Richnai.
You have received bonus experience for being the first to do so.
You have received bonus experience for defeating a simulation of your greatest fear.
You have proven your combat worthiness.
Please prepare for the third trial.
Several dings sounded in her head and around her.
She sighed with relief as the words flooded her vision. Once they cleared, she was back in the hall they’d been in originally. Her friends surrounded her, most of them looking worse for wear. She wondered if they too felt the echo
of the constant drain on her health, of the pain associated with slowly dying and being unable to stop your body from succumbing. She ached in places she didn’t realize existed, and her body didn’t quite feel the same anymore.
“You died?” Sinister sounded alarmed and then checked herself, grinning mischievously. “I keep forgetting you can die now. Every time your health gets low, I panic. But I couldn’t even see it this time.”
“Was that really our greatest fear?” Merlin sounded bemused while the rest of the group nodded. “Wow. It knows shit about me I had no clue about.”
“Let’s not talk about our fears. That was some fucked up shit.” Havoc seemed more rattled than Murmur had ever seen him before, and she itched to ask him just what he’d experienced.
All she knew was that she was quite certain Riasli wasn’t her biggest fear. So why had she received special treatment? Checking her experience loss, Murmur winced. She was lucky the experience for the encounter had still put her over into forty-six with most of her friends.
Lucky? Perhaps not. The pain wouldn’t leave her, lingering in her bones as a stark reminder that she might not actually be dead, but it wasn’t about to let her off the hook entirely. That it had been Riasli she battled against still didn’t sit well with Murmur. How had that happened? Had she really killed the feles? Or was it just a defeat?
“Forty-six. Don’t forget to gear up!” Sinister suddenly sounded so damned excited that it made Murmur grin to see her friend enjoying the little things in-game.
The announcement made everyone else perk up, and the haunted expressions left over from the second trial receded to slight brow furrows and frowns as everyone dived into their bags.
Everyone except Exbo, Merlin, and Dansyn.
Beastial grinned at them as he hefted a set of claws in his hand that Murmur surmised must be for his tiger. “Guess it’s right what they say, huh? Ranger gate is best.”
“That was low,” Merlin grumbled, a smile tugging at his lips, “even for you.”
Shir-Khan growled as if he agreed, and the group had a few chuckles, relaxing the levels of tension for a moment.
Murmur dug her own apparel out of her bag. Her gear was low level for her now. Even with the bonuses it provided, it might be better for her to wear the pieces of the new set. Neva would need more time to get the boots and bracers ready that they’d received from the previous very odd dungeon.
Sin poked her in the side. “Have you checked the guild bank? I can’t wear your shit. Neva will never forgive you if you don’t pick up what she’s left for you.”
“What?” Murmur blinked, and she pulled up her game-time clock. “Oh. I guess a day as passed.”
“Yeah. That whole sleep, travel, fighting thing…” Sinister leaned closer, concern making her frown. “Mur, are you feeling okay?”
This time Murmur didn’t reply immediately but really took stock of herself. “Sort of. Feeling a little warm sometimes, but otherwise okay I guess.”
Sinister raised an eyebrow like she didn’t believe a word of it.
“You’ve perfected the art of ignoring yourself. Well done.” She sounded a little acidic.
“Sorry, Sin.” And she was, but Murmur also didn’t know how to describe anything except for the flushed feeling she was starting to get. She didn’t want to mention the voices in her head simply because it was so reminiscent of what happened in the void. Like it was still there at the back of her mind.
Sin glared at her briefly before sighing and giving her a hug. “Put your damn gear on. We have a fight to win.”
Murmur obliged, stripping down and pulling on the pale and gorgeous lilac pearlescent outfit. One thing was for sure, she wasn’t going to blend with much anymore. The robe was more like a belted tunic with strips for the skirt so that movement wasn’t inhibited. Important for running away from monsters.
There were six pieces to the outfit, but five was all that she needed to pull the set bonus from it. Robe, pants, boots, bracers, and shoulders for now. She still hadn’t found the gloves that matched, but this was great.
She stood up, flexing her arms and muscles as she did, appreciating the feel of the material against her. Clutching her staff, she glanced over the beautiful blue stone that glowed now with an inner purple light.
She pulled her stats up to eye them briefly while the others finished off their own armoring.
As a set, her armor added a significant amount of stats for her. Not as huge as she’d hoped, but since it was supposed to grow with her, she was hoping it would increase substantially once she hit level fifty.
The set ignored the individual items’ values in preference of lumping them all together. All in all, it provided a huge increase.
CON 20
STR 20
AGI 20
WIS 20
INT 50
CHA 75
HP 150
MANA 200
MA 50
Level forty-six was looking good.
CON 22 (57)
STR 10 (45)
AGI 20 (97)
WIS 12 (89)
INT 90 (256)
CHA 111 (331)
HP 939 (1164)
MANA 1458 (1758)
MA 175 (315)
She was about to say something to Sinister when a message flashed above them all again. Floating through the space like it was made to fit.
The Trial of Battle Prowess is about to begin. In order to defeat this, you must work together as a team. Supporting through defense and offense, through cunning and guile, compassion and precision. Only then will you truly be victorious.
The walls began to shift, giving the group a specific trail to follow. Murmur reached out and squeezed Sinister’s hand, knowing that her friend wasn’t going to like how dim the lighting was becoming again. The corridor before them turned into sleek rock, resembling slate with less flakiness, but there was no light at the end, and it looked like darkness was about to swallow them.
Somnia Online
Mikrum Isle - Dragon Hoard Chamber
Day Twenty-Three
Telvar blinked his eyes open slowly. His eyelashes were crusted by something he couldn’t put his finger on, and his bones hurt in ways he’d never thought possible in the type of body he was in.
Except that was just it. As he tried to rub his eyes, he realized his hands weren’t what he’d though they were. He started as he realized his hands and legs had turned into all legs with claws.
The lacerta AI closed his eyes, trying to think about how he’d gotten back to this creature. His mind was fuzzy, with broken memories inhabiting certain areas. He wasn’t sure how he’d come to be in his dragon form. Locked under the castle, lying on his back with what appeared to be non-functioning wings. All he knew was that they hadn’t had another battle recently.
Shaking his head, he righted himself, grasping at memories that flitted away from him. He let calmness sweep through him and concentrated on the transformation that would revert him to his lacerta form.
Nothing happened.
He frowned, running through his memories, accessing what he could from the system to see what it was he was doing wrong. Except he wasn’t doing anything wrong. He had executed his transformation perfectly, so why wasn’t it responding? He clamped down on the brief surge of panic that flooded his system and slowed down to manage it logically.
“You’re infected.” Hiro’s voice was close to him. Filled with sadness, and keeping his distance, the lacerta foreman eyed his friend. “I can’t risk coming closer, but I think the fall might have dislodged the major hold it had on you.”
Major hold. Which meant that this interference was a lesser hold. Yet it felt damned interfering to him.
“How long?” He managed to grind out the anger, briefly putting it on the back burner.
Hiro shrugg
ed uncomfortably, like he didn’t want to give an answer. But eventually he sighed. “Almost two days.”
Telvar blinked. That couldn’t be true, could it? “Real world days?”
Hiro nodded. “It’s not as bad as all that. We haven’t told Murmur much. She thinks you’re going to be okay. She looked in on you, but you were sleeping peacefully. Although Emilarth does seem to be missing.”
“Missing?” Telvar’s attention was dragged away from his own troubles. Emilarth was his only hope. If Belius had got his hands on her as well…
“She’s in the game world.” Hiro’s words were rushed, as if he didn’t want Telvar to get upset and potentially lose it again. “We just can’t pinpoint her.”
Relief surged through the dragon. At least she hadn’t been tricked where she was most vulnerable. Not like him and his foolish trust of his brother. That meant she had a chance, and knowing Emilarth, she wasn’t about to let Belius get the better of her. The calm the thought brought him was indescribable. It gave him a heady sense of right with the world. Enough that it almost lulled him into a sense of peace where maybe he could slumber.
And then he realized that was part of it. That was the whole part of the damned virus. It soothed him so much that all he wanted to do was sleep. All he wanted to be was a damned dragon. A thing that, as an AI, he never wanted to do before.
A sleeping AI wasn’t consciously or actively policing the game. Which meant it wouldn’t be in the way of Belius and whatever Michael-infected plans were being put into motion.
Fuck that. He wasn’t going to go down without trying to fight this off. He wasn’t going to sleep, and he refused to lose himself again. It wasn’t an option. He steadied himself and dived into his programming. Doing so made him scream as scores of pain lit up his sensors. Obviously Belius had thought of this.
