"Val!" Yin's voice had lost its earlier euphoria, cold dread once more in place. "Did that clang mean what I think it did?"
Val smirked. "What, that we just got locked in, and we're now in a fight for our lives against a mad necromancer deliberately trapping poor souls like we almost were and bringing them back as Frankensteinian horrors? Pretty much."
"Shit. I was afraid of that."
"You're cute when you curse."
Throaty laughter. "If I wasn't seeing someone, I'd kiss you in a heartbeat. Oh wait, that's right, that asshole cheated on me, so I kicked his ass out and logged on instead of spending the night crying over that loser. Shit, I guess I am single. Get us safely out of here, Val. That's an order."
Val quirked a grin, feeling better for the banter, hoping Yin did as well, preparing himself for a long wait.
They didn't have to wait long.
A hideous howl preceded three more undead horrors comprised of lizard corpses walking upright with writhing tendrils for arms and humanoid legs shambled into the corridor, followed by a figure robed in black carrying a wand in one hand and what looked like a shimmering reflective shield in the other.
Val didn't hesitate, his primed Ice Spear streaking right through the lead abomination to no effect, but that hadn't been his target. Rather, the man behind him, shrieking in sudden surprise as Val's spear blasted through his left leg, below his casually held shield.
The fierce blast of fire Val followed up with stopped the foremost zombie in its tracks. The other two were unfazed by their leader falling and charged, one stumbling back as Yin's blaster speared its eyes with a bright flash of light. The other snarled and charged Val, who immediately torqued his body into a low roundhouse kick, sweeping the zombie's legs out from under it, the most humanoid and vulnerable part of its horrific body.
It was risky, left him on the ground and vulnerable, and his shin throbbed like fire, but his foe was down. And so was Val. And this inhuman monster was the living dead, and could probably tear his throat out.
"Burn!"
Searing hot flames roared from Val's right hand as his boosted spell streamed out in a crimson arc, Val maintaining the spell long enough to roast the zombie only inches from a shrieking Yin into smoldering ash...
Duck!
Jerking back as a mass of sticky ethereal strands streamed through the air from the necromancer's hand, only catching his left leg, yet the strands clamped as tight as steel.
"Val! My blaster doesn't work, something's wrong!" Yin cried, and Val understood instantly what had happened, even as he whipped his still roaring column of flame around, near instantly melting off the face of the zombie he had tripped, a heartbeat from launching towards Val with its hideous fanged mouth gaping as wide as a python's, now feasting upon liquid flame, the tightly wound cords of magic stabilizing its existence snapping near instantly under the terrible heat, the abomination slumping lifelessly to the ground as the entire body crumpled to flame and ash, scalding his skin as well.
You have suffered 5 points of damage from burns. Next time, wear some clothes! -1 penalty averted with adrenaline surge. Carry on!
Maintaining a boosted Firestream spell had eaten into his mana and he had paid a price in burns and pain, but it had definitely been worth it.
"You singular fool! Do you know what you've done?" cried the horrified looking necromancer, one leg pooling blood and pinning him to the ground, yet he hardly seemed to feel it in his tirade. "Do you know how many hours of work, the energies I poured into those constructs before catalyzing them fully? How many adventurers' souls it took to master the technique? All of it, wasted! And now you'll pay for that, fool!"
The man's face lit up with an unholy grin, even as Val's left hand tingled with the complexity of magics his mind was desperately entwining and locking into place as best he could. But he knew that alone wasn't enough as his mind felt for, then saw, the sudden stream of necromantic magics, twisting black snakes in the ether, all aligning in his direction, darting forward like a sea serpent for his heart even as the black tip of the wand began to glow the color of liquid night. There! He could feel those icy currents slithering towards him! Val tried with every ounce of his will to shove those ebony cords aside.
Test of wills with necromancer engaged! -4 penalty to you, since you are stupid enough to multitask at a time like this!
A tie! Necromancer has the advantage! Death is coming for you, Val...
"Val, what's happening?" An anxious Yin cried, gazing at Val with panicked eyes, not understanding, and it was entirely his fault since his panicked Firestream hadn't been properly contained and had blown out his friend's laser. Of course, if he hadn't cast it, that zombie would have torn her face off just before the necromancer's own spells took out her gun.
And Val groaned softly, struggling against the growing column of twisting black death spiraling toward him, the vile tip of the wand promising a hideous demise, no doubt much like the desiccated guard clasping his throat in the room beyond.
Test of Wills engaged! Still distracted, Val? Necromancer wins by a hair! The column's getting closer...
Val grimaced, hating that snarky voice so like his own, and knowing it was absolutely right. He had to focus... it was getting closer... but if he didn't end the threat now...
And with a desperate burst of effort, the spell web he had been struggling to hold together while fighting for his life at last came into being.
Glacie Pilum! Val roared in the depths of his exhausted mind. The bolt was by no means boosted. He doubted he had ever cast it with less force, but it was still enough to streak through the air and plunge through the suddenly startled looking necromancer's chest, his shield discarded when he had attacked with his web spell.
And suddenly the terrible weight grinding against Val's psyche was gone as if it had never been, rays of light after a storm, the black column fading into nothing, the ebony tip of the wand inert once more as it slipped out of the dying man's fingers.
Cautiously Val approached, Ice Spear held ready with one hand, arcane shield with the other. The necromancer's eyes widened and rolled back as he began to vomit a stream of blood, fingers grasping at nothing as his feet kicked the ground in his death throes.
And then he was still.
Experience earned. Congratulations on surviving death yet again and claiming your enemies' potential as your own!
Val frowned, the ethereal webbing that had trapped his leg fading with the man's death, even as Yin's eyes widened. "Val, do you feel that? Val!"
Val turned her way, tilting his head. "Yin? Are you okay?"
Her eyes widened in awe. "Val... all those spells you cast, the way you weaved all those magical strands together... I think I understand, now. I think I just leveled up!"
Yin's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she slowly toppled over, Val quickly catching her and placing her on the ground as she began to seize.
"Bloody hell!" Val hissed, scanning around, making sure there were no more imminent threats before carefully positioning Yin, making sure she could breathe okay and was in no danger of hurting herself as her seizure eased into a tremble. He could somehow feel her intense awe and exhilaration through their connection, as she slowly came to understand her own inner truth a bit deeper, modifying herself in ways that were, in a sense, who she had always been destined to be.
He could feel the changes. More than that, it was as if she had always been that way. And then she slept.
Val frowned. It seemed like you could sleep in this game after all. At least for purposes of leveling. After seeing to Yin's comfort, Val cautiously approached the fallen necromancer, gazing carefully at the man's ebony tipped wand and translucent shield. He saw no trace of any arcane traps, so happily took them both, finding several small vials he sensed were healing potions, and a bag containing a number of electrum coins and a few pieces of silver.
He frowned down at the recently dead mage and did what he had to do, clothed once more within mo
ments after drinking one of the healing potions and immediately feeling soothing relief for his burns, trying to ignore the sticky rent pressing wetly against his chest.
The man's black cloak he saved for Yin, already coming to with a dreamy smile on her face.
"Is that for me?" she whispered.
Val nodded. "So, you leveled up, huh?"
She grinned and nodded. "I got four points with which to redefine myself, and some other prizes as well."
Val nodded. "What did you modify?"
"Well, what's so cool is that because you and I have a Spirit Link, my high Scholarship allows me to learn from studying under you at an accelerated rate! I think part of my mind was already beginning to understand how fire worked, at least, and since we are connected, it will let me pick up arcane skills on a two for one basis, up to your level of skill."
Val whistled. "That's incredible!"
"I know, right?" She smiled happily. "I decided to go all out mage. I spent one point boosting mana 10%. I know that's small potatoes now, but look where it got you, Mr. 343 mana points, whatever level you are." Val had the grace to blush at that. "And I now have level one in Creation, Manipulation, Fire and Water, Earth and Arcane Perception." She chuckled softly. "Seeing you struggle against that mage... how you were fighting for your life just to avoid those weird strands of necromantic energy, well, our link helped me understand it a bit, and I'm glad I can sense it so clearly now, but still, I really need to learn how to make a magic shield and, well, cast a spell." She gazed hopefully up at Val. "I don't suppose you can teach me?"
Val blinked, taking in the burning bodies and fallen mage, air acrid with smoke. Fortunately, most of the flames had gone out. "Okay. As soon as we clear this building, I'll be happy to teach you what I can. But let's flip that switch first, and see if this necromancer had anything resembling supplies. I don't know about you, but game or no, I'm dying for a drink."
Her eyes twinkled when he presented the reflective shield and wand before her. "For me? You shouldn't have." She stood up on her tippy toes and kissed his cheek, her cloak tied tightly around her. She gave an approving nod at the shield. "Elite troops carry these. They're expensive to forge, but block all laser fire that's not tank or mecha caliber. We could get a pretty penny for this, but, well, I sure as heck wouldn't mind it. As for the wand? Hmm..." She pressed it to her forehead, suddenly shivering. "It's necromantic, or uses death energy somehow, in addition to water and corpus." She swallowed "I'll have to be careful, but yes, I think I can use this. And thank you."
As she spoke Val focused himself, repairing her blaster once more. "I don't know how many times we can knock the electromana converters offline before we do irreparable damage, but for now it's okay. I even used my Power Manipulation to charge it back up to full."
She grinned at the news. "That's fantastic, Val! Of course, pretty soon I won't be able to use it since I guess I'm going full mage after all."
Val winked. "So I'll train you in Personal Resonance Mastery and then you'll be incredibly cool, just like me."
"Ha. Have you ever trained anyone at anything before?"
"Only in the arts of death," he grinned, Yin laughing at the implied joke. "Come on, laser and shield ready, no... hold on..." He subtly adjusted her stance and walking posture. "There. That will provide better coverage and accuracy."
Yin nodded. "You're right, thanks. Who trained you?"
"Best mercenary on the planet," Val bragged, then blinked, suddenly realizing he had no idea at all who he was talking about. "Never mind that, let's go." And after a thorough inspection of the underground corridors and chambers they found no further signs of life, only desiccated corpses, inert archaic looking computer banks, and at last, the surge breaker. "Here goes nothing," Val murmured, before plunging his psyche into the machine, tasting its incredible network power conduits, hardware, and software of such complexity that his brain synergized it all by somehow incorporating it, becoming one with the battered building.
With as hot a stream of mana as Val could ever remember drawing, the blown circuits, panels, and electromana converters began to fix themselves as if his own body was regenerating back to true, Val sensing his reserves dipping at an alarming rate as he manipulated a structure that he could feel was actually the size of a Terran office building.
Congratulations! The damage was actually much more significant than had first appeared, no doubt from hosting a necromancer for so long, but you've managed to repair it! Of course the damage went far beyond the standard limits of this spell, but when has that ever stopped you before? You have successfully learned L30 Greater Dominion Catalyzation! Cost to cast: 50 mana per minute. Now you can repair damaged buildings, ships, and mech units! Small glitches will self-correct in seconds, but massive structural damage will take much longer to repair, so be careful, or you really will knock yourself out! Critical failure avoided. Extended Boosted Dominion Catalyzation cast and maintained!
Congratulations! Transformation magic is now Rank 2!
Congratulations! Water magic is now Rank 2!
And when a now dizzy Val opened his eyes once more, gripping a nearby panel tightly, Yin was gazing at him with naked wonder, the entire building alive once more. Val took a deep breath as cool, filtered air began to remove the charred stink of burnt flesh, smiling as he saw Yin bathed in soft pink light, free of all shadow. As if the light came from no particular source, in direct violation of all the known laws of physics. One of the first major flaws he had seen in this game, besides the whole full pain sensitivity and possible fatal feedback loop should one die in game, of course.
He looked at his mana reserves and grimaced. He had less than 50 points! Fortunately, it was recovering at a decent clip, a little over 3 points a second. At least the power was back on, and any players coming online could count on one facility being safe to manifest in, assuming no one else shut off the power or otherwise damaged the security, now that the necromancer that had been holed up in here was dead.
"We did it!" Yin cheered as they made their way back to the first floor, both of them now fully dressed in what Val supposed passed for starting adventurer gear in this world; finding blasters, sabers, reflective shields similar to what the necromancer had been using, even a few sets of reflective armor very much like what the armored security troopers had worn, back where their characters had first spawned. Yin spun around in a form-fitting armored suit, looking every inch the dashing battle pilot sans the helm she would put on when they left.
Val grinned in agreement, similarly attired, sword and blaster both in their respective sheath and holster, a reflective shield similarly in hand. "I think the extra gold pins we have molded to our armor marks us as players or the equivalent. Maybe we'll be offered extra missions?"
Yin shrugged. "I don't know, and frankly, I think we should be careful. We could be behind enemy lines even now. If there was any other gear to wear I would... best I can do is wear my cloak over my armor."
Val nodded. "You have good instincts, Yin. That's why I gave you the cloak, and hopefully I can get another."
Val felt a certain satisfaction as they crossed the first floor to the front entrance, pleased to see the pods up and running, all of them beeping and flashing green lights, and he could almost sense how the gloop was now being recycled, sterilized, and filtered, leaving Val with high hopes for whoever might come along.
Quest update: What about me? II! Is now complete! You've managed to restore the facility and repair the massive damage it had suffered. Countless humans foolish enough to enter this realm won't die quite so fast now! Far too complex a matter for a simple simian brain like your own to solve, so of course you jammed your entire soul in there, healing it as if it were a reflection of you. And it almost became you! How close, you'll never know.
Val felt sickened by those words, Yin wincing as well.
Congratulations! Experience distributed, for now you resonate with all the retroactive potential of all the souls you saved. Reputati
on bonus! You are now considered a Team Player by other Terrans whose minds are lost in a universe so alien to their own that they actually think is a game. All party members receive a permanent +2 reaction bonus to all Terrans they interact with, even if they think it's free will controlling their actions. Well done!
"I heard that," Yin softly said. "I'm now half way to level three! But I never felt so creeped out by a game reward before. It's like the universe itself is, well, mocking us."
Val smirked. "Tell me about it."
She took a deep breath. "Shall we?" she said, pointing to the door. Val nodded, and lead the way.
The first thing Val noticed when he opened the door was the brilliant sea of stars twinkling in the night sky high above. The air smelled of loamy forest, citrus, oil, and death, and he could see trees waving nearby. They were on the outskirts of a small city or a large town, surrounded by buildings of pearlescent stone with arched doorways and windows that flashed every time laser fire flared across the streets separating the buildings, men screaming and falling to the ground.
Val blinked and immediately yanked Yin out of the doorway as she came out, gazing around her with the same wide-eyed wonder he had felt just moments before.
"What the hell?" she glared at Val as he covered her mouth, pointing at once to the bodies on the street, seared by laser fire so badly that limbs had been cleaved free of their now smoking corpses.
"Shit," she hissed. Val nodded, both of them leaning back in the darkness between the stairs leading up to the cloning facility and the side of the building as what looked to be a contingent of soldiers, the lead ten carrying shimmering reflective shields and light blasters, the twenty behind carrying heavier laser carbines. The uniforms worn were almost identical to their own.
Val took a deep breath, easing his racing heart, focusing on the darkness all around him. As if he could slip into the night, become one with the night.
Endless Online: Oblivion's Price: A LitRPG Adventure - Book 3 Page 14
