Lion's Quest: Trinity: A LitRPG Saga
Page 43
“Let’s go tomorrow,” I said before they could answer. “We need to rest.”
“Very well. Yes, it has been a long day for all of us. I will come and get you after breakfast tomorrow.” The herald exhaled and then nodded to the three of us. “Thank you for saving my life, and the life of my queen. I am forever in your debt.” The man turned to me. “I hope we can continue our friendship for the rest of our days.”
“Me too, Sharles. We’ll talk tomorrow,” I said before I walked inside of our wing.
“I must return home,” I said to Cornalic.
“Go, friend Leo, I will keep an eye open here. I do suspect the worst of it is behind us. I will await your return.”
“Tell your family that I said hi, and that I can’t wait to meet them some day,” Allurie whispered to me. “I want to give them hugs!”
“Leo, is your family far from here?” Chrysa asked. “Would they consider traveling to Tylue?”
“Ahh, I’m not sure. I’ll leave you all now. See you tomorrow,” I said as I walked into my room and closed the door behind me.
I went to my bed and pulled both of the Pieces of Heliotrope out. The sun had set long ago, and I guessed it would be dawn soon, but the armor still seemed to glow in the emberbrand light.
Then I noticed something odd about the metal.
The designs of the flowers each had one petal that seemed to be shaded a slight amount more than the others, but both of the locations of the petals were the same location on each armor.
When I moved the armor, the petals that were shaded moved to continue to point in the same direction.
I played with the two pieces some more to confirm my findings. The shading was so slight; I wouldn’t have noticed without seeing another piece of armor side by side and turned them both. Yes, the petals were pointing north.
It was where the next relic must have been. The question was: did it lie in Sanduport or Binna?
I’d look at a map tomorrow. Something in my bones told me that the relic was in Binna. It would be a short trip there and back. Perhaps I could get the third piece and then return to help Chrysa.
Did I want to marry her?
The idea made my emotions spin, and I realized I needed to talk to Zarra. Part of me knew that she would tell me I needed to focus on finding the relics, but I did recall the conversation where she said she wanted me to fully experience the game. Would becoming king be the ultimate play test?
Did I want to marry Chrysa? Did I love her?
Why did that matter?
I let out a sigh and put the relics back in my pack, then I opened my UI status window to double check my stats:
Leo Lennox
Body (Overall) - 33
Body (Magic) - 0
Body (Stats) - 33
Brawn - 17
Quickness - 16
Mind (Overall) - 31
Mind (Magic) - 0
Mind (Stats) - 31
Intelligence - 15
Willpower - 16
Light (Overall) - 70
Light (Magic) - 14
Light (Stats) - 28
Perception - 14
Charisma - 14
Shadow (Overall) - 32 (35)
Shadow (Magic) - 0
Shadow (Stats) - 32
Comeliness - 16
Luck - 16 (19)
With 45 unspent attribute points.
Then I opened my abilities tab and reviewed what I had:
Impart - Returns the user to Earth. The description read. Beneath that part was the writing: user lies down and closes eyes for 20 seconds.
Ember - Light 1, Mind 1, user causes item held in hand to gently glow. If spell is maintained for eight hours item will glow permanently.
Rwunidar's Might - Body 25. Stance. Take on the fortitude of Rwunidar. Attacks that hit you do 50% damage. Stance is broken if you speak, or use another ability. If stance is broken you cannot use the ability for another eight hours.
Breath of Life - Light 25, Body 10. Enchantment Spell. Intended target is healed for 1% of health every second for 100 seconds. Once Breath of Life has ended, target cannot be healed by another Breath of Life spell for 10 minutes.
Guardian of Fortune - Light 55, Mind 25. Enchantment Spell. Intended target is enchanted with Guardian of Fortune . While enchantment is active, attacks against target will do 0 damage 75% of the time they hit. Enchantment lasts caster’s Light attribute divided by 20 in seconds. (3.5 seconds).
Minor Heal - Light 30, Body 10. Spell. Target is healed for 15% of their total health.
Spirit of Stone - Light 65, Mind 30. Enchantment Spell. Intended target is enchanted with Spirit of Stone. While enchantment is active, non-magical attacks against target will do 0 damage. Enchantment lasts caster’s Light attribute divided by 10 in seconds. (5.6 seconds). Once Spirit of Stone has ended, target cannot be enchanted by another Spirit of Stone spell for 180 seconds - caster’s Light attribute. (110 seconds).
Mark of Healing Drip - Light 40, Body 15. Area of Effect enchantment. Lay a mark on any surface. That lasts for seconds equal to twice you Light rating (140). All living creatures gain 1% of their health per second when they stand within a 10 foot radius of the mark. Undead minions lose 1% of their health for every second they stand within a 10 foot radius of the mark. Healing effects of Mark of Healing Drip stack with other healing effects.
Healing Touch - Light 40, Body 10. Touch Spell. Target other than you is healed for 50% of their total health. You must touch target. Target cannot be healed by you again for the amount of seconds equal to your Light attribute (70).
Remove Curse - Light 40, Mind 20. Spell. Removes single hostile enchantment/hex/curse from target. If multiple are on target, the last to be applied is removed first.
Shroud of Divine Light - Light 70, Mind 30. Enchantment Spell. You are enchanted with Shroud of Divine Light for seconds equal to your Mind attribute (31 seconds) and all your Light ability mana fatigue is reset. While enchanted with Shroud of Divine Light, you move at half speed, cannot speak, and feel four times the mana fatigue from any ability that does not use Light Attribute. All enchantments with Light attribute used while you are enchanted with Shroud of Divine Light heal target for 25% of their health in addition to the effect of the enchantment ability. When Shroud of Divine Light ends, you are healed for 100% of your health, but cannot use another Light ability for 200 seconds - your Light attribute (130 seconds). You can end Shroud of Divine Light before the (31 seconds) have passed.
Then I double checked my equipment by first looking at the armor that I had borrowed from Sharles.
Fine Leather with Plates
Armor Rating - 6
Durability - Standard
Br--
Qu--
In--
Wi--
Pe--
Ch--
Co--
Lu--
Then I looked at my other equipment.
Bracelet of Deflection - for one minute every four hours, the user can generate a three foot by three-foot weightless shield that will deflect all non-magical missiles. The effect appears on the users outside forearm as if it was a worn shield. Trigger word is ‘shield.’
Broadsword of the Charming Mind
Damage: 20% above standard - long blade
Durability- Magical
Br--
Qu--
In +2
Wi +2
Pe--
Ch +3
Co--
Lu--
Once every thirty six hours, a user can either reset their mana fatigue, or charm a person of equal or lower Charisma attribute.
Longsword of Chilling Edge
Damage: 20% above standard - longsword
Durability - Magical
Br +2
Qu +2
In--
Wi--
Pe--
Ch--
Co--
Lu--
Opponents hit with the Longsword of Chilling Edge have a 20% chance of bein
g chilled. While chilled, they move 25% slower and take 10% extra damage.
Wielder of the Longsword of Chilling Edge has a Light Resistance to cold and fire elements.
Short Sword of Balance
Damage: 10% above standard - short sword
Durability - Magical
Br +1
Qu +1
In--
Wi--
Pe--
Ch--
Co--
Lu--
Wielder is harder to knock down and is resistant to minor snare effects.
Ring of Minor Mana - When user says “Mana” their next ability will not cost fatigue. Can only be used once per every four hours.
Ring of Luck - Grants +1 to luck.
Necklace of Minor Luck - Grants wearer +2 to Luck.
On my belt, I had 2 more healing potions and another potion of Cat’s Grace.
In one of my pockets, I had the:
Bracelet of Summoning - Your first two summoning abilities give no mana fatigue.
That I would need to sell to the right buyer.
I also carried another ring in my pocket that I never bothered to use, but I double checked the stats again and wondered if I should give it to Allurie.
Ring of House Yinnia
Armor Rating - 2
Durability - Magical
Br--
Qu--
In--
Wi--
Pe--
Ch--
Co--
Lu--
If injured, wearer of this ring recovers 1% of their health every ten seconds. Wearer must be standing in sunlight, and be wearing at least one article of green clothing. Each additional piece of green clothing worn grants another 1% of health regeneration, for a maximum of 5% every ten seconds.
The problem I had with the ring was that it didn’t really heal fast enough to matter in combat. It also required the sun and a lot of green clothes. The extra armor rating was decent, but I was probably better off selling it and then using the money to buy an ability for Allurie. The ring would be worth a fair amount to a ranger type player or NPC who was out in the forest a bunch.
I thought about checking my friends’ equipment, but I didn’t have a party status or equipment screen. It would be so much easier to manage everyone’s abilities and skills if I had one, so I decided to tell Jennifer when I logged out of the game.
I took off my equipment, set it carefully on the table next to my bed, and then closed my eyes.
Then I opened them again and checked the room. I didn’t know how Moryana had known about me disappearing, but I didn’t want her, or one of her spies, to see me leave. I didn’t find anyone in my room, so I closed my eyes again and counted to twenty.
Chapter 30
I climbed out of the tank and handed my mask to Ky.
“How did it go, Champ?” He asked.
“I got the second relic!” I raised my fist in the air and smiled at the man.
“Yeah! Great job!” He looked like he wanted to give me a high five, but then he reconsidered when he remembered that I was naked.
“Leo, I just sent a message to Ms. Zerne. She is out of town right now, but asked you to call her when you are able, so she can congratulate you.” Jennifer’s voice came out of the speakers.
“Great. I’ll do so. I have a lot to talk to her about,” I said as I put on my robe.
“Is there anything I can help out with?” Jennifer asked.
“Yeah, actually. I just went through and checked out all my equipment. I’ve got Cornalic, Bolverk, and Allurie in my party. Is there a way I can see all of their equipment and abilities? It seems like I should be able to.”
“Oh, no. Ms. Zerne doesn’t want that. We’ve designed it so a player’s UI can only see their own equipment because we want to encourage interactions between players and their party. If there was just a window where you could see everything easily, players might not want to talk to their NPCs or the other players in their group.”
“Couldn’t someone lie about their equipment and abilities?” I asked.
“Yes! We think that is very interesting. It adds a whole new dynamic to the game that Astafar Unlimited, or our other competition doesn’t have. For example, you don’t know much of anything about Cornalic or Bolverk. If you could just look at their abilities and equipment, it would take some of the mystery away.”
“Or it could be a bit of a pain in the ass,” I said with a laugh.
“You could ask them,” Jennifer pointed out. “You have the ability to identify all their items.”
“Yeah, I guess I could just ask Cornalic to see all of his gear. Seems like an invasion of privacy though. Even if he is an NPC.”
“But you are fine having a window which just shows everything to you?”
“Point taken,” I said with a laugh. “I’m going to go talk to Zarra and grab a shower. What time is it?” I asked.
“Eight in the morning. This is your longest session yet,” Jennifer said. “How do you feel?”
“I feel great. Maybe a bit tired and starved. Let’s take today off. I’ll see you both tomorrow at seven. Cool?”
They both agreed, and I stepped into my room, went to my phone, and dialed Zarra’s number.
“I’m glad you called. Congratulations on the relic.” Zarra’s words blurted out as she picked up the phone.
“Thanks, I--”
“I’ve been thinking. Sorry to interrupt you. I haven’t been happy with our last few conversations. I feel as if I’ve been unfair.” Zarra sounded a bit upset.
“You haven’t been. I shouldn’t have pressed you about Sal,” I said.
“No, damn it, Leo. You should have. I should have told you. I was afraid you wouldn’t come work for me if I told you. No, I was terrified, and I made the wrong decision. I owe you an apology. I also think I made you out to be the villain when we spoke. You don’t deserve that.”
“Let’s talk about it more in person. Where are you?” I asked.
“I’m in Japan at a game developer conference. I’m recruiting. I’ll be gone for a few days,” she said.
“Can you jump home quick in a jetpod?” I asked, but I realized that it would be quite a trip from Albany to Japan, even in a jetpod.
“I want to, but I will be speaking with people non-stop. We will spend some time together when I get back. I thought that maybe we might take a day off and we go somewhere private where there is no work.”
“That sounds great. There are some things I want to talk to you about in the game. I have this strange opportunity, but I wanted to get your thoughts about it.”
“Is this about Chrysa?” Zarra asked.
“Yeah,” I said as my stomach dropped a bit. “I’m surprised you know about that.”
“Well, I had an idea about it. I do watch your sessions.” She laughed. “I haven’t seen the latest one, of course, but you may be surprised to know that I’m a woman, and I do have a bit of intuition about these things.”
“So, you’ve thought about this?” I asked.
“Let’s talk when I get back. I have to go. See you soon.”
“Okay. Bye, Zarra,” I said.
“Bye, Leo,” she replied, and then the phone went dead.
I stared at the device for a few seconds before hanging up, and then I took my shower. The hot water made me feel exhausted and I found my eyes closing while standing under the downpour. I realized that I wouldn’t be able to stay awake through dinner, so I brushed my teeth as soon as I got out.
There was a knock at my door, and I threw on a pair of shorts before I went to answer it.
“Hey, Leo,” Chip said as he held his fist up to his face in a yawn. I saw letters written on the bottom of his hand, and it took me half a second to read them.
Invite me in.
“Come on in,” I said as I gestured for him to enter. My friend smiled and took a step inside.
I opened my mouth to ask him what was going on, but he made a quick shake with his head
and pointed to my small dining room table. I took the cue, and we both sat down.
“How have things been going?” he asked as he pulled a flash card out of the sleeve of his uniform shirt.
“Good. I just got the second relic. Had to complete all these different challenges.”
Act natural. Talk about the game. I’m going to show you something on my phone.
“That’s cool. Were any of them tough?” he asked as he flipped over the card. He was kind of hunched over the table, and I saw that his back was to my TV.
I snuck into one of the security rooms that had the video from the break-in. I’ve slowed down the video. Watch the bullets.
“Yeah. I almost didn’t win the first match. I lost the second one because I didn’t hack the rules, and I managed to somehow win the third,” I said as Chip took out his phone and showed me the screen.
Zarra was charging down the hallway toward the gunmen while I was chasing behind her. The beautiful woman’s rifle was firing in slow motion, and I saw the streaks of bullets fly past us.
Then I blinked, and my mouth fell open.
Two bullets obviously bounced off her.
There was no mistaking what I saw. One hit her in the shoulder and ricocheted off, and the other hit her square in the chest before it bounced away. The woman’s eyes were fierce when she ran, and it appeared that she didn’t even know she had been hit.
“I’m surprised someone could hack the rules over you,” Chip said with a laugh as he slid another flash card out of his sleeve.
I had some time alone in the room, so I messed around with the settings. All the cameras record with a wide wavelength. Look at this when I show UV waves.