Endless Online: Oblivion's Price: A LitRPG Adventure - Book 3

by M. H. Johnson

Finesse 13

  Quickness 12

  Perception 11

  Scholarship 17 (Congratulations! You meet the requirements of Psion assisted advanced training! You can easily learn new skills from fellow Mech Pilots and advance your training! Link in party, or cash in Dominion Conquest Awards to receive specialized training in the skills of your choice. Your intellect might not allow for true literacy comprehension, but you're certainly a cut above the standard Terran primate!)

  Willpower 10

  Charisma 12

  Luck 12

  Health 10xVit+Str = 120

  Survival (Health+(10xLevel)+Luck) = 142

  Stamina 10xVit+Str=120

  Mana 30 (-Warning! %$^&77 Cybernetic / Mana Discordance-) (Congratulations, magic abilities are now open to you!)

  Psion 0

  Cybernetics 30 (-Warning! %$^&77 Cybernetic / Mana Discordance-) (Congratulations, you have the ability to manipulate AI & Cyber systems with the power of your mind alone!)

  Insight 12

  Base Appearance 14 +1 (12 Charisma) You are prettier than 90% of the competition! A combination of looks, aesthetics, and good health has made you beautiful, and your natural charm makes friends out of girls who would normally hate you! +5 to reaction rolls with romantically compatible individuals, +2 to reaction rolls with all others.)

  Skills of Significance

  Grappling (Jujutsu) Rank 3 / Meditation Rank 1 / Small Arms Rank 1 / Laser Carbine Rank 1 / First Aid Rank 1 /Spirit Link (Form a party with Terrans like you!) Rank 1 / Mech Pilot Rank 1* / Starship Pilot Rank 1* / Synergized Combat Systems Rank 1* / Synergized Power & Shield Systems Rank 1* - *Missing Nodes needed for advanced piloting. Contact administrator or conduct quest-line necessary to purchase advanced node implants and Dominion licenses.

  Greater Skills Learned

  Interface Rank 1 (You have the rare and highly sought after talent of interfacing! Now you can interface with all mechware, cyber-systems, and Sentient AI almost effortlessly! +1 to skill checks with all Mech and Starship skills!)

  ____________________________________________________________________________________

  Val opened his eyes and smiled. "You're quite the package, Yin Silverstrike. Mech-warrior does sound like a cool class to enjoy."

  "Sure, assuming you know how exactly to get me my missing cyberlinks, I'm great. And I get the distinct impression that mixing tech and magic is a very, very bad idea. But considering I'm in god knows where, with no set plan or Dominion Conquest path open to me, playing beside a badass with over 300 mana and multiple cool spells, I sure as heck don't mind trying a new build."

  Val grinned at that.

  "Seriously, though. How the hell did you get all those abilities? I couldn’t find any sign of your profession at all, not even your level! Are you really playing some backdoor hacked class?"

  Val gazed her way, seeing only the faintest silhouette.

  "Not that I care, mind you. You saved my ass, my lips are sealed. And since you're partying with me, it's like I got Patron and Mentor perks for free, so you're all good in my book." She raised her hands in mock surrender, but Val could taste the undercurrent of genuine fear she felt.

  Val winced, suddenly feeling guilty. "Honestly, Yin, I haven't been playing this game for more than a few minutes longer than you have. These skills, well, they just sort of populated when I catalyzed my own existence. Not easy pushing against oblivion. Frankly, I think the game isn't crediting you with the willpower you probably have in real life."

  She frowned at that, and somehow Val could taste her puzzlement. "What are you talking about? Rich and I just went to the leftmost corridor, the staff smiling at us even as they all looked nervously at where you and Hankro were PVP Dueling. They stripped us of everything, said the gear was now imprinted, and all we had to do was relax and go to sleep and we'd wake up a minute later... and next thing I know I'm near dying in this vile gloop still stuck to me!" A tentative hand touched his cheek. "Was it different for you?"

  Val sighed. "You could say that. It was strange, though. As much as I felt like I was fighting for my very existence, it somehow came easier to me than it otherwise might have. As if I'd done it before."

  Yin whistled. "Weird, Val. I halfway think it was some glitch... maybe you imprinted someone else's entire neuro-network?"

  Val shuddered at the thought. "I hope not. I don't even have memories of using half these skills and spells, I just sense how they work."

  "You should definitely practice as soon as we get out of here. Especially the spells. They look uber cool."

  Val nodded. "I agree. And now, before any other poor sucker gets caught in these pods, let's see if I can find a way to shine a light on whatever is down there."

  "That would be nice," Yin said, but Val had already closed his eyes, tasting the intricate flow of his Firestream spell, as well as his Lesser Power Manipulation. Deliberately stepping away from Yin, he clenched his will tightly around the fountain of magics flooding into him, pushing out with his will in the gentlest of whispers.

  "Bloody Hell!" Yin gasped, and Val couldn't help grinning.

  In his hands was a madly dancing lick of flame filling up the palm of his hand. He could tighten his will on it at any time and it would go out, or with the slightest of shifts, pour out a stream of fire to wash any foes in. The drawback was that it needed constant attention not to just flare into a gigantic pillar of flame.

  Congratulations! You have designed a new light spell, completely unlike any other! (Because light summoning spells are level 1 and nobody bothers with a high energy drain unstable battle spell variant to see in the dark, but there you are!) Burning Light Level 20 C+M/F Learned! Cost to cast at your level of skill is 5 mana. Cost to maintain is 1 mana per minute. Finesse skill check needed whenever startled or caught off guard to keep your spell from dissipating in a pillar of flame in whichever direction your arm is pointing!

  Yin gazed up at him in awe, face illuminated by the flickering flame Val carefully held straight up so it wouldn't singe either of them with an accidental discharge. "Val, I felt that! Somehow, I felt that harmonization of arcane energies you were channeling and tying into the strangest of knots." Her features were filled with sudden excitement. "You have to teach me. As soon as we get out of here, promise me you'll teach me magic! I can almost, almost taste how it all works!"

  Val smiled. "We'll see, Yin. For now, let's head downstairs and see if we can reset the main breaker."

  Val could sense her nervous nod through their link, and they slowly began their descent, Val's flickering flame leading the way.

  8

  The first thing to strike Val was the smell. The stench of death was unmistakable as flickering shadows washed over a chamber naked of ornamentation, pipes and wiring showing from torn roof panels, large banks of ancient computers lying quiet and inert. Immediately before Val and slumped over a table with what looked like a vacuum tube monitor was a desiccated corpse, skeletal limbs gripping its emaciated throat.

  Yin choked back a cry, her breath coming in sharp ragged gasps.

  "Be calm," Val ordered. "Keep focused. It isn't him we need to worry about, and you hyperventilating will only put you out."

  She said nothing, only clasping his free hand all the tighter. Gently, Val slipped his hand free. "Let's investigate this room for anything useful before we proceed down the corridor."

  She nodded but refused to actually get close to the desiccated corpse. Val eyeballed the remains, eyes widening as he saw what could only be a blaster in a cracked leather holster. He didn't hesitate to approach and pull it free, nor to grab the sheathed saber by the foot of the corpse, leather sheath as desiccated as if it had been exposed to the elements for decades. Fortunately, closer inspection showed the blade to be sharp and well serviced, though made of an unidentified polymer, of a weight and balance very similar to his 1796 cavalry saber.

  "Oh god, how can you touch that?" Yin winced before her eyes widened at the find. "Nice sword. An
d you found a blaster!"

  Val nodded, frowning at the blaster. "But we don't know if it works."

  Her lips tightened and she nodded. "Let's find out."

  Before he could say anything, she had dropped and pivoted into a shooter's crouch, aiming down the hallway.

  "Damn. It's broken!"

  Val frowned. "Let me see it? I have an idea... but come up the stairs a moment. I gotta put out my flaming torch of a hand, and I'd rather not be caught off guard."

  She frowned but didn't hesitate to follow when he went back up, though he could sense her sudden alarm when he quenched his burning light. He focused a moment, imagining himself putting up a tight screen of will and refracting energy before he cast Dominion Catalyzation, bringing down his own mana emissions to the barest trickle before touching just the tip of the barrel, carefully pointed away from himself.

  Dominion Catalyzation successful! Electromana coupling disengaged, no doubt due to arcane radiation much like the spell you're casting now! You radiate a mere two centimeters, and the generator is in the pommel, so you can feel that coupling sliding back into place! That which one spell blew off line, yours has fixed!

  Val smiled and handed Yin the blaster. "It should work now, so long as I keep a tight rein on my own spells."

  Yin's look, however, was one of amazement. "Val, you know what you just did is impossible, right? Mages can only destroy tech. They might make or repair arcane items, but this is tech, not magic at all!"

  Val winked. "That's because most mages radiate more arcane energy than a fusation reactor. Everything tech within ten yards is cooked. But I have a level 9 in that skill, so my radiation is only 2 centimeters."

  Yin blinked. "Personal Resonance Mastery. Holy fuck, you do have a tier 9 skill! That's incredible! You could be casting spells fit to blow up entire city blocks if you had tier 9 in flame, or that's what I hear, anyway. How the hell did you get that, Val? And more to the point, what does it do?"

  Val grimaced. "I'm not sure how I got it, but I know it reduces the radiation I leak a hell of a lot, and, well, I guess at this level it actually lets me skirt around the tech/mana dichotomies."

  Yin whistled. "You might not be a town killer, but can you imagine how useful you'd be assisting a squad of battle-mechs? Healing us all on the fly, in seconds!"

  Val smiled. "Kind of a cool thought, but I still discharge some radiation, so I have to touch the machine away from its electromana converters."

  Yin grinned. "I think we'll make an awesome team. Come on! Sword is yours since I have no idea how to use that, but laser carbines are a different story. Let's go downstairs and try a practice shot with this gun, just to make sure the repairs took."

  Val grinned and before he knew it, he was blinking at the sudden flash of light, Yin having carefully aimed the gun down the hallway into the blackness beyond.

  "Did you see that, Val? It worked!" Val grinned as Yin gave a happy little dance. "Finally, I'm a girl with a gun, and I can put these implanted skills to use! Come on, Val, let's explore!"

  And her jubilation lasted her halfway down the corridor until a low groan could be heard beyond. She stood stock still and slowly pivoted behind Val as he cast his Burning Light spell with one hand, holding his saber in tierce with the other.

  The groan continued as a hideous creature of twisted flesh and massive jaws smashed open the far door Yin had burned a hole through, milky yellow eyes oozing from a mask of shiny scales and gangrenous flesh peered straight at Val, its crocodilian face splitting open in a hideous roar, flakes of flesh crackling and shredding free as the elongated skull opened wide, revealing rows of black needle-like teeth dripping caustic ichor.

  And then from fifteen feet, it charged.

  "Glacie Pilum!" Val roared, a spear of ice suddenly blasting down the corridor and smashing the abomination off its feet, pinning it to the remains of a now shattered door. The stench of decay was now so bad, it was all Val could do to keep himself from heaving.

  Critical failure for casting magics with weapon in hand averted! Successful hit with boosted spell! 56 mana spent! Undead Abomination knocked off balance. Undead Abomination has taken minimal structural damage! Only 1 of 7 cords cut!

  And dark cackling could be heard far behind as the hideous horror of lizard and human flesh slowly tore itself free of the spear that had pierced its heart.

  "Val, it's still moving. Oh god, it's still moving. It's a zombie. It has to be! " Val could taste Yin's panic but paid it no mind. He forced himself to look, really look at the hideous thing, somehow looking beyond the flesh, sensing the tight weave of brilliant, shimmering magical strands holding the construct together, like vibrating strings on a marionette, the chords of arcane music and the dark cords of power entwining the thing into existence being somehow one and the same.

  And Ice Spear, useful as it was at tearing through Dominion armor and piercing flesh, was minimally effective against a creature of magic. Val braced himself, knowing what he had to do.

  "Burn!" He shouted as he channeled every bit of himself into his weapon, somehow filling his saber with the force and fury of his Firestream spell while lashing out with his suddenly super hot blade, cleaving through the abomination's thick scaled hide as he ducked and wove under whipping tendrils before his sword abruptly ruptured in an explosion of shrapnel and flame, Val instinctively crashing to the floor as hot polymer shards ricocheted past his head.

  The lumbering horror was suddenly a pillar of fire, the intricate tapestry of power holding it together completely ruptured, the blazing corpse still lurching forward several steps before collapsing in a sudden pyre of smoke and ash that instantly stung Val's nose, and he could hear Yin coughing behind him.

  Congratulations, you have learned Fencer's Fire! This spell will heat up the blade of any weapon you wield to such a degree that paper and cloth will burst into flames. Also good for cutting through the arcane cords holding summoned constructs together! This Level 20 C+M/E+F spell costs 15 mana to cast and 0.6 mana per second to maintain at your level of skill. You must also hold tight to the matrix of your weapon, or it will rupture under the strain of the spell.

  Fencer's Fire successfully cast! 15 mana spent. Stabilization check failed! Undead Abomination has taken fatal wounds from exploding shrapnel! You're lucky you didn't, Val. All cords successfully seared. Experience earned!

  "Yin, are you okay? Nothing hit you, did it?"

  "I'm fine, Val. And god, what a rush! Feeling that fire magic whipping through your soul, tasting that bastard's life force flooding through us. I was scared for a second, but now it's just... wow! Did you just design another spell on the fly? Incredible!"

  "Except for the part where it might have killed us with flying shrapnel, had my sword not been conveniently lodged in our enemy's body when it exploded," Val noted, dropping the hilt of his broken blade, looking down at a few cuts on his skin. "Last time I'm using that spell without a hell of a lot of practice. Still, what a rush, right?"

  She chuckled throatily and Val couldn't help smiling with dark approval. No matter how hard one trained, you never know how combat is first going to hit you. Some of the toughest men he once knew couldn't stand the bloodshed and left his unit within just a handful of weeks. Others reveled in it. A dark calling that some might find monstrous, but Val had learned with his first engagement that the key to surviving the hell of battle was to savor that dark paradise like no other. To replace horror with jubilation and revel in the madness, embracing it like a woman's caress or the wildest of vices. It was the only way to endure. To survive. And even if one fell, one did so laughing at death, immune to all enemy attempts to infect with fear or despair.

  "Good," Val said. "Revel in it, like the sweetest and darkest of all games. Battle is the ultimate hunt, Yin. Outsmart your foes, savor every kill."

  "Damn straight!" she crowed.

  "But Yin?"

  "Yes?"

  "Next time use your blaster, okay? And only if you can get a clean shot. What
ever you do, don't hit me in the back."

  "Got it, boss," she said, and Val could sense her rueful smile through their link.

  He nodded, secure in her much-improved morale.

  The hideous laughter once more echoed down the corridor from the chamber beyond.

  Yin raised her eyebrow. "What now?" she mouthed.

  "We wait," Val whispered. "It's pitch dark, and he has the perfect ambush point and knows the terrain. Also, once we get past that pyre, we'll be temporarily night blind. Better if we wait, draw him out, and blast him or his henchmen as they come."

  Yin frowned, then nodded her agreement. Not as exciting as crashing through each room and blasting away, but this was survival, and tactics were everything.

  They then hunkered down patiently, Val allowing his Burning Light spell to go out, only the still burning zombie corpse providing any light at all. Once more squeezing tight on any magical radiation, he carefully and deliberately building Ice Spear in one hand and Firestream in the other, using insights gleaned with Burning Light to hold them ready just an instant before they would be catalyzed into existence.

  Skillcheck: Firestream successful! Skillcheck: Ice Spear successful! You are now holding both spells ready for instant casting!

  The silence grew, pressing down upon them both, and Val could sense Yin getting itchy to move. He gave a curt shake of his head.

  And suddenly he hissed and had to fight for control over his carefully held spells as a loud clang could be heard echoing through the chamber.

  Skillcheck made! Barely, Val. You need a lot more practice at this.

  "It is a chilling thing having to face death itself, no? Too terrified even to scream? Does my creature feed upon your flesh even now?" Dark laughter echoed strangely through the corridor. "In war comes ripest opportunity. As Dominion and Rebel forces seek to destroy one another, they leave their greatest prizes unguarded! 'Tis a pity you had to interfere. Had you simply left when you had the chance, I would have let you. But alas, I can't have you telling those Dominion fools that the clones trapped in the vats make the best of all thralls when fused with my pets in the sewers below. Such a shame. You might have made useful pawns, had your sworn allegiance to my coven and not the Dominion."