Perla Online, Book One: Toris (A LitRPG/GameLit Adventure)

by Shawn Wyatt

  The creature's face twisted into a grin once more. It lifted an arm and launched a volley of sharpened stakes at the raid group. I dove. The spikes slammed into the ground. I heard someone grunt in pain.

  When I stood, the raid group had already begun to reform. The Jubokko stood and loomed over us, but Bastion stood in front of it, his sword drawn, the flames a roar of fury and heat. The monster, for all its strength, eyed the blade with a healthy caution. "Try that again, you overgrown shrub," Bastion growled.

  Abracadabra had been pinned to the ground with a spike through her calf. Poison had begun to seep through her body from the wound, and LastRites had set about purging the debuff. Even though she was rooted in place, Abracadabra readied spells and flung them at the treant.

  LeeRoy and Cathbad charged forward, sword drawn and claws outstretched. Cathbad taunted the monster and drew its attention. Bastion planted the sword in the ground and closed his eyes. His hands around the hilt of the blade glowed as he began to channel his magic through the blade. The spell worked its way into the ground and rose up around the two tanks and the melee fighters that had closed in, a golden globe of light that flashed with each blow the monster landed.

  "That will absorb 50% of your HP in damage," Bastion called. He closed his eyes once more and channeled more magic through the blade. A single, concentrated orb of power focused at the hilt of the blade and blasted into the Jubokko. The tree thrashed as the spell hit, and then its movement speed dropped to almost nothing. "Penance," Bastion said. "Damages and slows movement speed. Prophets of Truth are more than just healers, you bastard."

  Rage tinged every word he spoke, but Bastion used that energy to fuel his magic. I watched in fascination. I had never seen him fight like this before, but this was no normal battle. This was revenge.

  The Spellweavers had caught on and began to blast the monster with fire spell after fire spell. The bark of the tree crackled and burned as the magic slammed into it. The Beserkers hacked away limb after limb, and though the monster regenerated over time, they dealt damage faster than the creature could counter.

  Shinkicker had placed a necrotic curse on the tree. Its leaves turned black and fell from the branches. For the first time since the fight began, the Jubokko looked distressed.

  Bastion caught the expression and grinned. "Worried? Afraid you might lose this fight? Afraid you might die like the others you killed?"

  Its HP dropped to 80%, and the tree roared. Dark spores burst from its top and fell over the raid group, and all but the healers were afflicted with poison. For each tick of damage, the Jubokko regenerated HP.

  Bastion cursed. "Purge the poison," he said. "Its damage heals the boss."

  I stood beside Bastion and fired a shot at the tree, though the poison blurred my vision. "Let's bring it down," I said. I could just make out the seed pods in its upper branches and directed my fire there. "I promised you we would."

  "And I never doubted that," he said. I glanced at the HP. No one had dropped below 85% HP, and I realized then that Bastion had channeled Prayer of Healing throughout the fight. "And you're right. This fight is better when we're stronger."

  He had changed. I had noted the change before, but it had never been more apparent than now, as he stood and brought low his enemy and healed his allies in the same breath. Man, was I glad to have Bastion on our side.

  The healers purged the poison and the DPS resumed their attack in full. When the Jubokko had dropped to 60% HP, vines burst from the ground and grabbed two of the fighters, enclosing them in a tomb of vines. HP bars appeared over the prisons. I turned and fired at the plants, my Desert Bullet igniting the vines and dealing damage over time.

  One of the two fighters captured by the vines was Scope. The barrel of his musket still protruded from the vines, and a moment later, he fired. The shot slammed into the treant's open mouth and caused the monster to stagger back. I heard a muffled insult come from inside the vines, moments before MeWantPizza slashed them open and set him free.

  The vine prison ability activated every 10% of HP damage he took. Fighters had to be freed periodically. Evey emerged from the vine prison with a sour expression. "Those vines do not smell great," she said. "Let's finish this off."

  At 30%, the Jubokko launched itself backwards with its roots and propelled ten seedlings into the center of the battlefield. The fighters moved back from them.

  Five of the seedlings exploded into a poison mist that gagged and blinded anyone that came in contact with it. After Jenkins purged the poison from her, LeeRoy shouted to the party. "It absorbs through the skin," she said. She spat, the flavor still on her tongue. "Don't let the clouds touch you."

  The other five seedlings exploded into smaller trees, miniature versions of the Jubokko with twice its movement speed. They charged the player nearest them when they emerged, and though their HP was low, their damage output was high. Several fighters were knocked to dangerously low levels before the trees were felled.

  "Anyone that got hit, back up," I shouted. "Let your healers work until your HP is restored. Take no chances."

  "I'm not going to avenge anyone else here today," Bastion added.

  Wish summoned her wolves, and the beasts swarmed over the branches of the tree and snapped limbs clear at any chance. They howled and darted around the monster's attacks. The wolves' HP could only handle one or two hits, but their dodge rate was high and kept them on the battlefield much longer than a comparable summon might last.

  The monster's HP dropped point by point by point until only 10% of its health remained. Any attacks it launched were countered and healed through. It had no chance of victory. When only 5% HP remained, I ordered the raid to hit it with every stun and root ability they had.

  The attacks brought the Jubokko to 3% HP and froze it completely in place. The monster could move its eyes, but nothing else. Bastion pulled his sword from the ground and stalked toward the tree. "You're frozen in place. Those debuffs are layered so they won't wear off for 25 seconds. You can't defend against me. You can't strike me. What can you do?" He leaned closer to the tree until his forehead touched it. "What do you do when you stare into the face of the devil himself?"

  The flames on Bastion's sword roared and flared out. My eyes jerked to his HP gauge, but the flames dealt no damage to him. The Jubokko was struck with another debuff, a burn effect that knocked away even more of its HP.

  "You're pathetic." Bastion spit. "You can't even talk. You're nothing more than a worthless plant. At least Kalia fought until the bitter end. You don't even have the strength to do that."

  The Jubokko rumbled, its branches vibrating as it fought the constraints. Bastion gazed up at its branches until his eyes locked on a single one.

  "There. That's the one you speared her with. The one that stole her life." He lifted his sword and strode calmly toward the bough--and in the blink of an eye, swung the blade with enough force to sever the limb completely from the tree. Despite the stuns, the Jubokko managed to make a sound of pain.

  "Oh, does it hurt?" Bastion stared at the monster, the sword held in front of him. "Good."

  Evey started forward, but I caught her arm and shook my head. "Let him finish this," I said. "He's fine."

  His gaze did not drift from the monster's face for several seconds. The debuffs would wear off in seven seconds. I raised my pistol, ready to finish the monster off if needed.

  Finally, Bastion screamed in fury. "You think you'll survive the last few seconds to strike back? You think you have hope?" He leaned close once more to the monster. "There is no hope for you, monster. This is for Kalia."

  He lifted the sword above his head. The flames boomed and danced away from the blade, a conflagration centered on one man, and coalesced into the shape of wings. The fire stretched at least twenty feet across, if not more. Bastion grabbed the hilt with both hands and ran the tree through. The flames surged inside the wound and exploded outward, and the tree shattered into pieces.

  The jagged shards burne
d to ash before they could deal harm to anyone in the raid group. When the smoke cleared, Bastion stood, an icy look in his eyes as he stared at the pile of ash in front of him. "Good riddance," he spit. He lifted the sword and gazed at it, whispered something I could not hear, and closed his eyes.

  When he opened them, a tear drifted down his cheek. "Thank you, Ren."

  I nodded. The rest of the raid group sent up a cheer, and the other Prophets of Truth rushed forward to question Bastion.

  "How did you do that?"

  "What skill is that?"

  "Can you teach me the ability?"

  Bastion blinked in surprise, then waved them off. "Later," he said. "And most of that came from the sword. You'd have to upgrade your weapon to do that." His gaze drifted up to the top branches of the tree. "Let's finish this."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: THE FINAL FIGHT

  We stepped onto the platform once more. A solemn mood lay heavy on the group, but even the fear was tinged with a sense of power. Bastion's display over the Jubokko had reaffirmed the belief of every man and woman present that we could win. And everyone wanted to see the way opened to the other realms.

  Other players existed out there. Maybe they had set up bases on the other realms like we had here on Toris. The only way to find out would be to travel to them, but that would be impossible as long as the Waldgeist lived and breathed.

  The platform rumbled once more and began to rise. I turned to Bastion, Evey, and Wish. "This is it," I said. "All or nothing."

  Bastion nodded. "I can fight without reservation now. You've helped me do the one thing I set out to do."

  Evey shot a glare at him. "Don't get any ideas. We're walking away from this," she said. "All of us. No one dies."

  I met her gaze and smiled. "I don't plan to go down here. This is the final boss of a raid. Just think of the loot he'll drop!"

  Evey rolled her eyes, but I saw a bit of the tension leave her body. I looked around at the rest of the group. Friends spoke to each other, clasped one another on the arms, and psyched each other up before the fight. And then everyone turned to me.

  I blinked in surprise, but the platform had almost reached the top. Any words that needed to be said, had to be said now. "Thank you all for coming this far," I said. "There's one fight left. Just one enemy left to be defeated. And once that's done, well. We might not get to go home, but we will be one step closer." I took a breath. "Just think of home. Think of what you fight for. And think of your party member closest to you. Fight for them. Fight for yourselves." The platform came to a halt in front of stairs that led up, to a too-bright sky. "Let's do this."

  The walk up those stairs felt like the final steps of death row. The monster that waited at the top would be stronger than any we had faced before. It had been weakened by our fights against its underlings, but the Waldgeist would have more than enough strength on its own to defeat an unprepared party.

  We were prepared. We were ready. We could do this.

  Airships hung around the edges of the landing, suspended by ropes that swayed in the breeze. Far below, birds chirped in the branches of the trees. The sun shone too bright for the mood that lay over the raid group. And in the center of the landing area, the Waldgeist sat cross-legged, its lower body supported on a floating cloud of smoke.

  A deer skull sat where its head should be. Two gnarled antlers protruded from the skull, and empty eye sockets, their interior so dark they seemed to drink the daylight, turned to gaze on us. A pair of massive wolves, each the size of an elephant, flanked the demon. Their growls rumbled the ground beneath our feet, and each huff of their nostrils exuded more black smoke.

  The Waldgeist raised a bony arm too long for its body. The sun glared off the white of the bone. "Welcome, adventurers," it said. The creature's voice echoed as though from the bottom of a deep well, and rasped like the well had been filled with gravel. "You have shown tremendous strength to stand here before me this day."

  I stepped forward and stared the monster down, but said nothing.

  It leaned forward, an almost imperceptible movement. "Ren, was it? You have caused me no end of headache. But your crusade against me has earned you a grudging respect. You may call me Azelbub. You will die here today, make no doubt of that." Azelbub paused. "But your death will be quick. You will think it not quick enough, but it will be quick."

  I leveled my pistol at the monster's skull. "Not likely."

  Azelbub made a rumbling sound, almost like a laugh. One arm hung beside it. The other remained hidden within robes the color of an overcast sky at night. It lifted its free arm and gestured forward.

  The wolves sprang forward. I fired the bullet I had loaded. It flew true, but sizzled to nothing against a barrier around Azelbub.

  LeeRoy pulled one wolf while Cathbad pulled the other. I heard the now-familiar notes of Finn's Staying Song burst to life behind me as the spell landed over the tanks, and Bastion channeled his own shield around them. Even with the additional layers of protection, the wolves' initial strike tumbled the two tanks end over end and dropped them to 75% HP.

  "Group Four, pick a wolf and cast a spell every five seconds. Keep most of your attention on Azelbub. When that barrier goes down, light him up. Group Two, take the right wolf. Group Three, take the left. Group One will lend a hand where it's needed."

  The wolves had no special mechanics. They lunged forward and swiped with their claws and bit with their teeth. Their main asset was their overwhelming size. The attacks hit with enough power that it dropped the tanks by 10% to 15% each time. The healers strained to keep up. The melee DPS took harder hits than that when the wolves landed a blow, and both Jenkins and Apoc burned through mana at a dangerous rate.

  "Change of plan!" I shouted. "Melee DPS, fall back. Use whatever ranged attacks you have. Focus on just one wolf at a time. That goes for everyone. Burn down the one on Cathbad. Bastion, you and Jenkins make sure LeeRoy stays alive."

  "You got it, boss," he said. Jenkins twirled a sickle attached to a chain and lashed at the wolf with it, each blow channeling healing magic into LeeRoy.

  With the melee DPS out of range, the fight began to go more smoothly. The healers could focus only one the tank, and though the attacks still hit with devastating force, it did not tax the healers as much as it had previously. IndianaCohones cast Aura Song to bring their mana back up.

  I landed the final shot on the wolf. My passive ability activated and fired two Lightning Shots back-to-back, and the beast fell to the ground with a tremendous crash. The group's attention turned to the one wolf that remained.

  It's HP hovered at 54%. The focused attack power brought it down by 5% with each round of attacks. As it dropped lower and lower, I kept one eye on Azelbub.

  The demon watched the fight with unconcealed interest. It did not seem to care that its minions fell before it. "The second this wolf dies, turn your focus on the boss," I shouted.

  The beast fell in four more seconds. I leveled both pistols at Azelbub. The air shimmered as the barrier that surrounded him fell away, and then the demon stretched. "Now the real fight begins," it said.

  A wave of darkness burst from its outstretched hand, and pain washed over my body. I could just make out the cries of pain from other members of the raid group.

  When I focused on the HP gauge, everyone had been dropped to 50% HP. My eyes widened in shock, and a pang of fear gripped my heart. "AOE heals, now!"

  Bastion had already plunged his blade into the ground. When he did that, it amplified his spells. They hit with greater power than they otherwise would. His Prayer of Healing brought the group up by 10%, and the combined heals of the other healers put us back into the safe zone.

  "Healers, don't let anyone drop below 75%! We don't know what attacks he has."

  Bastion cast Holy Shield on the five players in front as Azelbub drifted forward. The cloud he floated on made it seem as though he teleported. I struggled to see any sort of a tale that indicated movement. Shadows swirled around its arm
and solidified into a pitch-black sword. I knew my eyes weren't playing tricks on me.

  The blade pulled in the light around it.

  Azelbub swung the blade down toward Cathbad. He rose to meet it and clasped it with his paws. A swirl of green magic burst from his body as he caught the attack, but the force of the strike pushed him back. Cathbad tossed the blade to the side and swiped with his claws.

  "Hit him with everything you've got," I shouted.

  Two fireballs flashed past my head and slammed into Azelbub. His attention had been focused on Cathbad. Both spells caught him unaware, and he growled in annoyance. Neither spell seemed to have left any outward mark on the pitch-black robes he wore. I dropped to one knee and fired shot after shot at the monster. The twang of Evey's bow could have served as a metronome at 144 tempo. Wish channeled Spellshards as fast as she could.

  P!xel tumbled underneath the Waldgeist's cloud of smoke and he brought his axe down against the back of its skull. The crack reverberated through the battlefield, and he followed it with another heavy strike before he leapt back and let Rune take over. The two Olympian Beserkers traded turns, their movements a dance of cool down timers.

  Underneath this assault, Azelbub's HP dropped. LeeRoy and Cathbad focused on parrying and blocking its attacks, but any strikes that made it through hit with the same force as the wolves'.

  At 75% HP, Azelbub vanished in a puff and reappeared at the edge of the arena. He growled in anger and held up an arm. "I grow tired of this play," he said. A small ball of darkness, no larger than an orange, formed in his palm. It pulsed and began to grow.

  "Defensive spells!" I shouted.

  Both Harmonists cast Staying Song over the group. Bastion cast Holy Shield. I hoped it would be enough to withstand this AOE strike. As the ball grew in size, Evey gasped. "Ren, that's the same attack the Night Raven used. We can't let it get to full power."

  Bastion turned to the rest of the healers. "Prophets of Truth, use Brace or Flash Mend. Brace will keep it low-power, and Flash Mend will reduce its strength. Just watch your mana."