Crystal Shards Online Omnibus 1

by Rick Scott

  “Good,” she says.

  Silvi comes forward to stand next to Val Helena. “I’ve got something for you, too, Reece.”

  “Huh?”

  Silvi wishes to trade with you.

  Silvi offers you:

  Koga Mask : +5 Shadow Magic +5 TP

  Koga Scarf: +5 Dodge +5 Evasion

  Koga Gi: +75 HP +10 STR +10 VIT

  Koga Tekko: +25 HP +5 STR +5 DEX

  Koga Hakama: +75 HP +5 STR +10 VIT

  Koga Kyahan: +25 HP +5 STR +5 AGL

  My eyes nearly pop out of my head. “What’s all this?”

  “After yesterday, we all figured you could use a little pick-me-up,” Silvi says. “But you can thank Gilly, really. She got me all the material I needed to craft this for you. It’s the Level 75 class-specific set, so it should be pretty useful.”

  “Gilly?” I look to her. “When did you even do this?”

  “This morning, before you logged on.” Gilly grins back. “Thought you could do with looking like a real Ninja for your first true boss fight. And don’t worry. I took the expenses out of your pay.”

  Everyone laughs at that.

  “Guys . . . this is amazing. Thank you!”

  “Well?” Val Helena says, nudging me with her hip. “Try it on!”

  I complete the trade and put on the gear piece by piece. It’s an all-black set with purple trim that has bits of steel mesh underlayer and metal plates on the shins and forearms. The scarf is a contrasting white that billows on its own, just like Aiko’s does. Finally comes the mask, which is more of a half-mask that covers my nose and mouth and is made from a hard black material decorated with silver trim.

  “Now that looks badass!” Zeke says.

  Team SVR all give me a thumbs-up as well.

  I check out my character in a full 360 view through my status screen and have to agree. I’m a true Ninja now. And I have the stat boosts to prove it!

  Name: Reece

  Class: Ninja

  Level: 75

  Strength: 6+25

  Dexterity: 80+5

  Agility: 80+5

  Intelligence: 4

  Mind: 6

  Vitality: 16 +20

  HP: 902/902

  Stamina: 247/247

  TP: 149/149

  I’d gotten nine attribute points from leveling last night and had decided to put them all into Vitality to get some more HP. And now, with this armor on, I feel like I can actually mess up a couple of times and not let the entire guild down by getting one-shotted. Plus, the added Strength from the set should really help me out, damage-wise.

  “Thanks, Gilly.” I give her a quick hug. “This is the best gift ever. And thank you, too, Silvi. This is just fantastic!”

  “You’re welcome.” Silvi beams at me, looking well-pleased with her creation.

  “Okay, one last thing before we head out,” Val Helena says.

  There’s a pregnant pause before we all get the same message.

  Gilly has been added to the guild Ragnarok.

  (RNG)Val Helena: Please welcome our newest honorary member to team Ragnarok. Gilly!

  (RNG)Val Helena: FYI, she’s Reece’s girlfriend in real life. So, to the three stooges: don’t get any ideas ;)

  That gets a bunch of laughs both in-chat and on the pier.

  (RNG)Gilly: Wow! O.O! Thanks so much for the invite, guys! ^_^/

  Gilly looks up at Val Helena then, and the two share a warm smile. It warms my heart to see the two of them finally getting along so well.

  “Okay, let’s roll!” Val Helena says. “Time to slay us a Beast King.”

  We board one of the ships, which is really more of a ferry, and each pay a few credits for it to depart. We sail from Swifttide and head south, propelled by the ferry’s massive paddlewheel. On deck, the sea air is strong and refreshing, and Gilly and I lose ourselves in idle chitchat as we stare out over the rolling turquoise waves.

  After a few minutes, the ferry starts to slow. We’re still in the middle of the ocean, so I wonder what’s happening for a moment. But then I see some rocks sticking up out of the water in roughly the shape of a ring. As the ferry pulls into the middle of the ring, the words “Tukaiti Atoll” appear on my HUD.

  “We’re here,” Val Helena says. “Gear up and hop in!”

  I check the Seashell Necklace I bought for 2k earlier.

  A Seashell Necklace

  Grants water-breathing and free movement while underwater.

  Unfortunately, I have to remove my new scarf to equip it, but as I do, I see a buff appear on my HUD. I follow the rest of the guild’s lead and jump over the side while holding Gilly’s hand. We plunge into the deep water together, and although it feels like water for a second, we enter some kind of loading screen and are instantly transported to a new area.

  We materialize in a world that steals my breath away.

  Rays of twinkling sunlight cascade down from a mirrored “sky” that’s actually the underside of the waves. Deep, blue-green water stretches in all directions, serving as backdrop to a coral reef that feels more like a pastel-colored jungle. Vivid pinks and purples combine to make underwater trees that grow atop the rockier stone like coral. Even those seem to glow with a bright aqua-marine bioluminescence. Once again, I feel privileged to experience this. I can definitely see how people would want to spend their entire lives in the game.

  We form up into parties and leave the sandy bottom where we entered to head into the rocky coral.

  “Gilly, you can just hang back and watch the show when we get into combat,” Val Helena says in the party chat. “Silvi will be keeping an eye on you, just in case.”

  “No problem,” Gilly says.

  “The boss is at the end of the zone, but there are a lot of trash mobs to fight through to get there. We can just have fun with those. Reece, I’ll aggro the group first, and then you can pull any of the bigger mobs off me to get some practice in.”

  I nod as excitement and anticipation build within me. Just the fact that I’m in a big group and about to tackle a true raid boss has me thrilled. We cross a few stray mobs that Zeke and the melee party take out with ease. The creatures kind of remind me of the Kappa I fought in Bangōr, but where those were frogs, these ones are fish. And instead of shells on their backs, they have a large dorsal fin topped with sharp spines. They’re as colorful as the coral about us, though. Some are bright red, others are purple, blue, or green, but they all share the same scaly skin.

  As we approach a group of live ones, I focus on them to see exactly what they are.

  Sea Sahuagin

  Level 75

  These beast-men are thought to have once been humans who worshiped the ancient gods of the deep and were cursed as a result. They are the bane of seamen and the stuff of nightmares to small coastal towns, where they emerge periodically to drag the unsuspecting back into the deep.

  Affinity: Water

  I shudder at the description and am thankful that, while awesome, it’s still only a game.

  We progress through the brilliant coral jungle until we come to a large group of maybe twenty Sahuagin. In the center of them is a massive red crab the size of a truck.

  “Here we go!” Val Helena says, and charges ahead. “Let’s have some fun!”

  She jumps into the midst of the mobs and uses her War Cry, drawing their attacks to her. Zeke and the rest of the melee group then jump in, dispatching the fish-men with battle cries of their own.

  Five seconds of carnage go by as I cast Shadow Tendrils and ignite my blades with the purplish-blue flame. I perform a Charge Strike on the big crab and hit for about 3% of its Health bar. The massive crustacean is as tall as Val Helena. It turns to face me, and I duck as it snaps at me with one of its supersized pincers. I use War Cry to make sure it’s focused on me, and then start slicing into its shell with my glowing blades. After a minute or so, the fish-men get killed off and the guild turns their attention to the big crab I’m tanking.

  Its HP drops rapidly
as it turns to face the melee team who chop into it from behind. I see a bunch of their HP bars drop by about a quarter as the crab does a swipe with its claw.

  Oh crap!

  I use War Cry again and the crab turns back to me. I blow Active Dodge on one of its hits and eventually, the crab expires when Zeke and his team unleash a couple of Power Attacks. I get zero XP from the kill. Same as I did with the fish-men. I wonder if something might be wrong, but then I remember that Val Helena is Level 85, and that the XP wouldn’t be shared due to the level difference.

  I feel a bit bad for Gilly, since she probably didn’t get any, either. But she claps and looks happy enough cheering for us when the battle ends. I guess this is how it must be for Gilly when she parties with me. I promise myself to go back to Thief, or start a new class when this is all over so I can level with her. I want her to experience the fun of leveling a class, too.

  I get a PM.

  Val Helena: Not bad, but try to land your debuff magic as soon as possible. Ninja has some of the strongest debuffs in the game, even more than Elemental Mage. Damage over time debuffs, like poison, generate a lot of threat.

  Me: Oh, okay.

  Val Helena: Use your elemental wheel, too. It’s another debuff. Use the element opposite the monster’s affinity. Should be fire for most of the stuff in here. It’ll be especially important for the boss.

  A debuff? Important?

  I check the spell again.

  Elemental Shadow Wheel

  Use Shadow Magic to lower the elemental resistance of your target.

  Cast time: 0.5 seconds.

  Recast: 30 seconds

  Cost: 10 TP

  Me: Okay, so if I use fire it will lower its fire resistance?

  Val Helena: Yes, and since fire is strong against water, when the Mages use their fire spells, they’ll do more damage.

  Me: Cool! I’ll try it on the next one.

  We move on and find another team of monsters. This one has a big purple octopus-looking thing sitting amongst the fish-men. I focus on it to see how tough it is.

  Kraken

  Level 80

  These giant beasts have been known to attack and destroy entire ships. While often seen with Sea Sahuagin, their exact relationship with the beast-men is unknown, as at times they have been seen cooperating with them, but at others, devouring them.

  Affinity: Water

  When Val Helena runs in, I recast Shadow Tendrils, and then use Charge Strike on the kraken before backflipping to cast Shadow Mist.

  You cast Shadow Mist!

  The Kraken is poisoned.

  The Kraken resists the slow.

  The Kraken resists the paralyze.

  Woot! It worked! Sorta . . .

  I follow up with War Cry and when the kraken zooms toward me to close the gap, I get a nasty shock as all eight arms flail at me like a blender. I duck and weave, but I can’t miss all of them.

  A Kraken hits you!

  You take 237 damage.

  Your Evasion increases by 0.6.

  A Kraken hits you!

  You take 243 damage.

  Your Evasion increases by 0.7.

  Skill up! Your Evasion is now 214.

  A kraken hits you!

  You take 228 damage.

  Your Evasion increases by 0.6.

  A heal from Silvi washes over me right before I’m about to die, and I use an Active Dodge to avoid the last of its arms. I wasn’t expecting that! Now I see how the mobs feel when my Triple Attack kicks in. In between another duck and weave, I cast Shadow Copy, just in case, and then try to focus on predicting its attacks. I do better, but one arm still gets me. My shadow disappears.

  Crap!

  I cast Decoy Shadow as a last resort and get hit right when I finish casting.

  A kraken hits you!

  You take 122 (244) damage.

  You gain the effect of Shadow Cloak!

  The giant octopus stops attacking me, and then turns toward Val Helena, who just used another War Cry. Uh oh! I prepare a Backstab and jab my glowing katanas into its bulbous head for a whopping 20% damage.

  It faces me again and unleashes a move that does AOE damage.

  Kraken uses Ink Storm!

  You take 564 Damage!

  You are blinded!

  The world goes black, and I panic. I blow Active Dodge and am not sure if I even dodge anything or not. My Awareness kicks in again, and I start to sense things flying at me. Its arms, I guess.

  A Kraken hits you!

  You take 226 damage.

  Your Awareness increases by 0.3.

  I use Retreat to give me some space and recast Shadow Copy.

  Then, thankfully, my sight is restored.

  Gilly casts Cure Ailment.

  You are no longer blind.

  Good ole Gilly!

  My vision returns just in time for me to dodge another round of attacks. I get through them all without losing my shadow and then Zeke and his team chop the kraken’s HP down to zero.

  You defeated the Kraken!

  You gain 0 experience points.

  I’m breathing hard from both excitement and exertion. I realize that, in my panic, I never even got a chance to use the elemental wheel spell. I look for Gilly and give her a smile.

  Me: Thanks for the save!

  Gilly: No prob, babe ; ) <3

  I then send a message to Val Helena.

  Me: Sorry, I really messed up on that one.

  Val Helena: Those guys are a bit tough. Don’t worry. There are a few more you can practice on.

  I almost don’t want to experience it. I feel bad for getting hit so many times and give a salute of thanks to Silvi for saving me from death.

  We face a few more groups of monsters as we continue through the coral jungle. It begins to get darker, and more dense, as we head down a tunnel of sorts. I face a couple more groups with crabs, which I eventually find fun and easy to tank, but the ones that have the octopi still give me trouble.

  It takes us about an hour or so, but we eventually arrive at a large sandy area that’s surrounded by a wall of glowing coral. Within the center of a roughly circular clearing the size of a football field are two groups of Sahuagin—one with a crab, the other with a kraken.

  “This is it,” Val Helena says. “Prep up.”

  I see everyone in the guild busting out food items to begin eating. Darn. I didn’t think to bring any food. Suddenly, I get a trade request.

  Thanus wishes to trade with you.

  Thanus offers you a Serving of Sticky Rice.

  Effect: +1%HP +3 Evasion

  Duration: 30 mins

  “Thanks,” I say, smiling at the small Halfling that looks like an old man.

  Thanus shrugs. “Probably won’t do much, but at least it’s something. It’s Ninja food. Had it left over from when I was in Kuze a while back.”

  I laugh. “Appreciate it.”

  I eat the rice ball-like thing, which tastes pretty bland, and get the small buff symbol on my HUD.

  “Okay, here’s the plan,” Val Helena says. “I’ll run in and grab the octopus and the fish-men. Reece, you take the crab and the main boss when it spawns. Kite both of them until we kill the other mobs, then I’ll pull the crab off you and help you tank the boss once we kill it.”

  “Kite?” I ask.

  “Just aggro them both and run like heck. Stay out of their attack range and run around the arena. But keep using your ranged magic and hit them with your War Cry to keep their attention.”

  Eesh, that doesn’t sound easy at all.

  “The mobs will respawn every now and then, so when that happens, we need to repeat the process. Got it?”

  I nod, but it sounds like a nightmare task to me. I wonder if I’m up for this. I’m starting to understand what Aiko meant when she said soloing was easier.

  “Gilly, I’ve got a job for you, too,” Val Helena says.

  Gilly points to herself with shock. “Me?”

  “Yeah, if Reece gets blin
ded, remove it like you did before. The other mages will probably be too busy healing me and might miss it.”

  She perks up at that. “Sure thing!”

  I’m surprised anyone even noticed Gilly curing me.

  “That’s not your main job, though,” Val Helena continues. “There’s a phase where the entire floor will erupt on either the left or right side. The only indication is a light that will flash on the coral wall right before it goes off. We’ll be in the mix, so if you can be our spotter and tell us which side to run to, that would be awesome.”

  Gilly beams. “I can do that.”

  “Okay, then let’s do it,” Val Helena says and leads us all forward.

  Tension knots my stomach as we approach the boss lair, then doubly so as the ground trembles beneath my feet. Huge bubbles erupt from the arena floor as something begins to emerge from it. Jets of sand shoot upward to cloud the water as a massive shadow emerges within.

  When the cloud clears, an octopus the size of Gruzug looms before us. Its skin is mottled and gray, and covered in barnacles. Just looking at it makes my flesh crawl!

  Ullithilli

  Beast King Legendary Monster

  Level: ???

  An ancient being from before the dawn of time, the dark sea god Ullithilli is the keeper of the ocean realms and king to the Sahuagin. Only the strongest of champions dare challenge his might.

  “Hope you had enough practice, Reece.” Val Helena grins at me with a wink. “This will be your toughest octopus yet.”

  I sigh, exasperated, as Val Helena just laughs. The regular ones were bad enough, but tanking one as powerful as a LM?