Unigaea is on the brink of destruction, yet I am happy, content.
Maybe it’s that I finally have human companionship, that I’m no longer feared by those in Stater and Tangka. A little less fear goes a long way. This coupled with my double-sided personal quest – to rid Unigaea of the Drachma Killers and to save the entire world – has me on cloud nine, even if it is technically a cloudless day.
I glance up at the maroon sky, determined to stop the spread of the Red Plague, the sourcecode bomb. Fools rush into things, and I’m no different. My only plan is to figure out a plan once we get in the Rune Lands, and this improvised plan may be the best we’ve ever had.
There are other options available, such as visiting the great libraries in Solidus to see if anything like this has happened before, but that’s what I would do if I didn’t know the cause of the plague.
The source code bomb, or as the locals put it, the Red Plague. Slow moving, but if someone doesn’t do something about it soon …
Sam Raid yawns and turns to her side.
“Getting comfortable?” I ask her.
“Are we there yet? Wolf and I don’t like being on the raft.” She reaches her hand out and lightly scratches behind Wolf’s ear. He thumps his leg, remembers he’s on a raft, and then slowly lowers his leg.
“Since when have you had waterfright?”
“Since you started paddling.”
“I’ve kept the raft steady and I haven’t strayed off course. What more to paddling is there?” I smirk at Sam, who is too bothered to even remove the hat covering her face and look at me.
“If you really want me to paddle … ”
“You just relax and keep Wolf company. I’ll see to it we … ”
A sweeping rain approaches from the east, faster than any rainstorm I’ve ever seen. It’s over us in seconds. Lightning cracks in the sky; black clouds billow overhead.
“Hold on!”
A frothy wave lifts into the water, buzzing and bubbling as it slaps against our vessel. The wood beneath us trembles. Wolf yelps as another wave comes and lashes against the deck. Sam hops up, her hands out for stability.
“What do we do?” she shouts over the sudden thunder and lightning.
Another wave forms, lifts us into the air, and carries us to the east. We almost capsize, but I manage to keep the raft stable. The water settles, sizzling, as series of medium-sized waves approach.
“Damn!” I try to stabilize the raft with my paddle and stop it from drifting east.
Wolf is soaking wet now – we all are – and he’s scratching at the surface of the raft as if he can dig a hole in it and hide from the water.
Another wave whips into the raft, and I lose my balance. Sam is at my side moments later, helping me up.
“Paddle away from it!” she shouts as another wave comes.
“I have no idea what I’m doing!”
“Clearly, Oric!”
“Fuck!”
The wind whistles around us, slinging hail and whipping up more chaos. Cold water sprays into our eyes as the raft is lifted yet again by a giant wave.
A thought comes to me as I try to hold on.
We’re nearing Hashmonean.
And at that thought, I notice a clawed, female hand lift from the water. It drops onto the deck of the raft and another one follows.
“Shit! Sam!”
A vampiric mermaid with wild red hair pulls herself onto the deck and bares her fangs.
She claws forward, her nude body scraping against the deck as she advances towards Wolf. I instinctively swing at her with the paddle, smashing it onto the deck, missing her only because of the shifting raft.
“Oric!”
Something yanks my feet out from beneath me.
Another vampiric mermaid presses her body into mine, the weight of her scaly tail heavy as her arms pin down my shoulders. She hisses, licks her lips with a forked tongue, and locks her dark-green eyes onto me as she comes in for the kill.
I push her to the side just in time; her long brown hair and her tail whip at me as she slaps against the deck.
I press myself up to see Wolf lying on his side, completely subdued. Panic rises in my heart. The raft trembles as I wipe water from my eyes, trying to get a grip on what’s happening.
“Oric!” I glance the other way to see the redheaded mermaid has pulled Sam down. My St. Lucia crossbow pistol appears in my hand and I’m just about to fire my shot when another wave shakes the raft and I fall backwards onto the deck.
“Dammit, Sam!” My vision pane flashes as I squeeze the trigger; it’s only after I’ve fired the bolt that I feel the vampiric mermaid next to me, her arm under mine and her hand on my chest as she again digs her fangs into my neck.
Chapter Two: The Obelisk of Unigaea
I stir, my vision blurring into focus. Is someone singing? I blink rapidly, trying to take in my surroundings, trying to process the soft, melodic singing taking place all around me.
I am in a lagoon by the looks of it, resting on a small swath of land in the middle. Blooming wetland plants jut from the calm water, which is partially concealed by a fine mist. Insects buzz around my head, flies, mosquitos, and a few dragonflies with pink and blue bodies.
Something scurries into the water and I try desperately to focus on it. Again with the singing in my head.
Images come to me of the vampiric mermaids scrambling onto the deck of the raft. I gulp and press my hand into the side of my neck to find …
Two bite marks.
“Fuck,” I whisper, my throat parched, my soul heavy with fear of what comes next. I press myself off the ground and sit up.
I touch the bite mark again. It has already scabbed over; there’s no telling what will happen now. I careen my head forward, willing my fangs to grow.
Nope, I’m not a vampire.
I chuckle at my own stupidity, realize where I am again, and quickly sober up. I place my fingers on the bite wound, as if touching it will somehow unlock its secrets and simultaneously erase it.
“I’m not craving blood,” I tell myself, but I am craving something. My inventory list comes up and I chomp down a piece of blue melon jerky. Halfway through my supply, but at least something’s now in my belly.
I find the energy to stand and cup my hands around my mouth. “Wolf!” After yelling his name a few times, I go with a whistle. “Where are you, boy?”
The sun is out; I can tell by the blips of light-crimson light peeking through the foliage. But the wetlands are so dense, and the vines hanging from the trees so thick, that the area barely gets any sun. It’s dark here, cold too.
It’s time to go.
Just as I’m about to wade into the water to hack my way out, the vampiric mermaid with red hair pops up from the water, the same one that attacked our raft.
“Fuck no, lady,” I say, unsheathing my Splintered Sword. “Keep back!”
She doesn’t have a handle, I think as I look her over.
Nude from the waist up, the vampiric mermaid has small, pointed breasts that work against her otherwise soft features. Her clavicle protrudes from the top of her chest as she swishes her arms in the water.
She’s toying with me.
“Keep back, dammit!” I grit.
I’d peg her with an arrow, but I don’t know if that would do the trick. Better to see if I can lure her onto dry land, and then we’ll see who’s calling the shots. The brunette mermaid from earlier emerges from the water, also nude, prettier than the first.
She grins wickedly at me and licks her lips with her forked tongue as the first one speaks. “Oric Rune,” the redhead practically sings. “Oric … Rune.”
I bristle, the hairs on my arms and neck standing to attention, my breath suddenly shallow, my nerves short-circuiting.
Her companion laughs. “There’s nothing to be afraid of, Oric Rune; we’ve already bitten you.”
“It was good. Your blood is wonderful, rich, and sweet.”
I instinctively lift m
y hand to my wound, glaring bitterly at the brunette. I cast my hand away and return my focus to the two, ready for them to try whatever it is they intend to try.
“The Obelisk will see you now,” the redhead says.
“The Obelisk?” I shake my head. Impossible.
The women step aside as a prismatic dragonfly zips between them.
The dragonfly stops at the water’s edge and pauses before me. Its wings balloon in size and slap together, creating a woman’s torso as they trail down to the water and outward to form arms and hands.
The head is the last to materialize and not a second later, I’m looking at a strikingly beautiful female in a spike-laden helm.
The vampiric mermaids open their mouths in unison. Their fangs grow in size as an eerie utterance spills forth from their pale lips.
(^_^)
“There is nothing to be afraid of, Oric Rune,” the Obelisk says, her voice the buzz of a million crickets. Her large eyes have fly-like qualities, reflective, and closer to her temples than to the bridge of her nose.
“Where are the others? Wolf and Sam!” I keep my weapon trained on the Obelisk, if that’s what she really is. Unigaea’s main AI? Impossible! I suddenly feel delirious; my hand trembles as I swipe my Splintered Sword in front of me. “Answer me, dammit!”
The Obelisk is next to me in a flash, staring out at the lagoon with her disco-ball eyes.
I jump back as more vampiric mermaids rise from the water. My weapon disappears. I go for my inventory list. The option is no longer available.
The Obelisk turns to me.
“Please, relax, Oric, I’ve called you here for a reason.”
“Tell me where they are,” I say, my hands trembling. I swallow again, trying to contain the anxiety blossoming in my chest. “You’re the NVA Seed, you … you keep this world together. Tell me, goddammit!”
“They’re asleep on the raft.” She raises her long, prismatic fingers and an image appears between us, broadcast from her open palm. In the image, Sam Raid rests with her back against Wolf. A few mermaids surround the raft, keeping guard.
The Obelisk snaps her hand shut. The image disappears.
“So … they’re okay.” Relief comes over me in waves.
She nods, her disco-ball eyes still trained on the horizon.
“Why did they bite me, then?” I ask, pointing at mermaids behind her. “They attacked us!”
“Because I asked them to. Have you noticed any changes yet?”
“Aside from a scar and a pounding headache, no. Have any aspirin?”
The wit returns.
Even though I’m on pins and needles, I still have the wherewithal to be a bit snarky, all thanks to the attribute points I tossed into MIND. “Actually, I don’t have a headache, and it’s my heart that’s pounding.”
“Fear can be a good thing,” she says, her face still expressionless. “My mermaids have given you a new ability, one of a few gifts you’ll be given today. Next time you are in a body of water, you’ll understand why the bite is important.”
“Sam and Wolf too? Were they bitten?”
“Yes.”
“And they have this power?”
“Yes.”
“But Wolf hates water.”
“That’s not something I’m at liberty to change.”
“But you’re the NVA Seed, the Neuronal Visualization Algorithmic Seed. Last I checked, you control everything.”
“Not free will, aside from my mermaids. But enough mindless chatter. We need to discuss Unigaea; this is why I’ve called you here. As you know, something is happening in the Rune Lands that is destroying the world.”
“The source code bomb, the Red Plague.”
“Yes.” She takes a few steps towards the water and turns back to me. “I am unable to get close to it. Seeing as how you’ve made it your personal quest to stop it, I am putting my faith in you.”
“You’re putting your faith in … me?” I raise an eyebrow at the former dragonfly. I can see my reflection a thousand times in her mirrored eyes. “Why would anyone in their right mind do that?”
“You love Unigaea, do you not?”
I think about the fact that I’m permalogged in to Unigaea, that I’ve been here over a year, continuing to explore the expansive continent. I’ve played many roles, culminating in the building of the village of Ducat. It has been a long and arduous journey, and there is still so much more to experience.
“Maybe I should rephrase that: You enjoy Unigaea, do you not?”
“Immensely, more than anything I’ve ever experienced,” I say with fatal certainty. I’ll never forget my life up there, but this is better – much better.
The NVA Seed clasps her hands behind her back. “Out of all the Player Characters logged into Unigaea at this very moment, you are the only one that has made it a personal quest to stop the destruction of this world. Your personal quest has inspired two others, as well as an NPC Tagvornin Wolf.”
“Two others?”
“Sam Raid and Deathdale, even though the latter’s intentions are more aligned with the revenge you seek against the Drachma Killers. This is why I’ve called you here today, to place my faith in you and give you all the assistance I can, which was why I instructed my mermaids to bite you.”
“So I can become a ... merman?”
“The bite will allow you to breathe underwater, which may be helpful in the future.”
Breathe underwater? I press my hand against the bite mark again.
“It is not the only thing I will give you today. I am unable to go any higher than five – a rule set forth by the developers – but five levels should aid you in your journey; this will also allow you to assign the attribute points your kind so desires.”
Level up! Level up! Level up! Level up! Level up!
+15 attribute points!
Before I can say anything else, I’m swept a few feet backwards by a searing flash of light.
I scream as I tear my armor off my chest. The burning sensation grows in intensity as I run to the shoreline and splash cool water onto myself.
“What the hell did you do?” I ask as smoke steams from the fresh wound on my chest. “This is how you give me levels!?”
“That is how I give you rage,” she says, and even though her eyes are impossible to fully understand, I get the sense she is staring right at me, through me, even.
The singed flesh on my chest boils, hardens, and blackens into something that is a cross between a tattoo and scarification. The water before me suddenly flattens, my reflection crystal clear.
“What’s it say?” I ask, immediately recognizing it is Unigaean script.
“Its direct translation is Last Warrior.”
I run my hand along the scar. It no longer hurts, but as I touch it, I feel a tingling sensation at the depths of my gut. All around me now, the vampiric mermaids begin humming, their jarring sound like a million subsonic crickets trapped in a broom closet.
I raise my hands to my ears and they stop before I can stick my fingers in.
“With this, you will be able to rage once per day.”
“How do I activate it?”
A thin smile forms on her face. “Think the word ‘rage’ and it will activate itself. When you do this, your attack power and your defense power will double. You will also get a SPEED bonus. It will last the duration of whatever battle or trying situation you’ve found yourself in, so use it wisely.”
“Rage,” I say as I flit my fingers along my new scar. “Got it.”
“At this time, at your new level, I’m unable to give you any more advantages. I’m unable to give you armor, better weapons, or an infinite amount of lira. This was a handicap placed on me by the world’s developers, so I wouldn’t make the same mistake other NVA Seeds have made in other worlds in the past.”
“So you called me here to give me power?” I return to my Stater armor and start to put it back on.
“I did.”
“And that’s it? The
re’s no catch?”
The mermaids start to drop into the water one by one. As they do, the Obelisk reaches her hand out to me. “There is no catch, but please choose what you do next wisely. Come now, I will return you to your traveling companions.”
She reaches her hand out. I approach her as a halo of splintered mirrors forms around her head.
We clasp our hands together, I feel an electric sensation twist around my spine, and I’m suddenly back on the raft.
(^_^)
Quest update!
You’ve met the Obelisk and she has given you a new ability. The Obelisk has pledged her assistance to you in your personal quest to stop the spread of the Red Plague.
I swipe the quest reminder away.
The weather is calm now and the vampiric mermaids I saw earlier are gone. Sam Raid rests with her body against Wolf. She’s more beautiful than ever, her skin bright and pink from the afternoon sun and strands of her short blond hair beating in the breeze.
I pull up my stat sheet to find I’ve indeed moved up five levels.
Oric Rune
Class: Level 14 Player Killer
Subclass: Level 3 Herbalist
INFAMY: 45 Players killed
HP: 1899/1899
HP recovery rate: 3% per minute
ATK: 213 +90
DEF: 193 +69
Fifteen attribute points, huh? Rather than process the craziness that just happened to me, I think for a moment about how I’d like to assign the points.
I definitely want to put more in MIND just to see what will happen, because hell, I didn’t work for these points so I might as well do some experimenting.
So I shoot five points straight into MIND.
If the chaotic ending sequence of the classic Beatles’ song “A Day in the Life” could be put into a physical context, it would aptly describe what it feels like to get a sudden boost of MIND.
As my consciousness expands, so does a sense of compassion within me, which will be totally at odds with my Player Killer class and something I’ll have to come to grips with. Minute concepts of being, semantics, combat knowledge, and physiology come to me.
My brain expands, triggered by a neuronal atom bomb, swelling with ideas and emotions I’ve never had as an avatar. My ability to greatly manipulate my visual thinking makes itself known as I see my body in the dive vat back in my hometown of Cicero, Chicago.
The Last Warrior of Unigaea Box Set: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure Page 21
