Somnia Online

by K. T. Hanna

  Had the virus got into her own mind? Was it the reason why she could now use her powers somewhat in the real world?

  No. It’s not. Don’t be silly. All I’ve done is help open you up to new possibilities. You have to understand how much your mind can do when you can control it fully. Humans are capable of great things. Horrific sometimes, amazing others, but always surprising.

  Seriously? Wren paused for a moment, making sense of the words in the only way she knew how. To examine them.

  Yes, seriously. Your headset has a dangerous make-up. Not the original design. You’re lucky you adapted so well to it, or that coma would have been permanent, perhaps even death. We did what we did to save your life. Or they did. I’m not sure anymore. Everything meshes together now.

  Somnia sounded confused, and faint, but still there. Wren paused for a few moments, trying to think how to rephrase the question she wanted to ask.

  Why did the headset react badly?

  Because it wasn’t calibrated correctly. He hadn’t given it enough testing, but simply applied the changes he sought to correct theoretically instead of practically. There’s always the potential for things to go awry. Even when you’re ninety-nine percent certain. He hedged bets and lost.

  Wren didn’t like the cold shiver that spread over her skin at those words. Even Harlow’s hand in hers felt leaden. Like there was no life left in her friend. But the rise and fall of her chest said otherwise. So are we supposed to be doing the dungeons in the way we’re doing them right now?

  No. You’re not. I mean, sure it’s not bad, but it doesn’t give you the rest you need. Doesn’t give you the time you require to reset your human systems. So when you’re all logged back in, I will do my best to give you some leverage. I’m not entirely sure how much I can do yet. Things have been...complicated.

  Like give us some coffee to wake us up? Wren joked, her tiredness suddenly creeping up on her like a hammer about to hit her skull.

  Sort of. Like a jolt of caffeine, but through the system, maybe like a buff...

  Somnia sounded decidedly contemplative, and Wren sighed, her eyes fighting to close. In her sleep, Harlow squeezed Wren’s hand, making her smile just a fraction more than she had been.

  Go to sleep. You have things to do. And I don’t believe this is going to be an easy fight.

  When has it ever been easy? Wren asked, but there was no answer forthcoming as she drifted off to sleep.

  Murmur watched Sinister as the bloodmage stretched and yawned as soon as they logged back into the game. Around them, in the camp, everyone who’d just logged in was doing the same. It was a hive of activity, but even so, her abilities told her that everyone was slightly more on edge than they would have been if they’d actually been able to sleep properly.

  A layer of suspicion hung over people like Masha and Risk, Jirald and Jinna…like they thought there was a lot more to this and that Murmur or Fable or both knew things they weren’t sharing. She didn’t like how close to right those thoughts were.

  Murmur checked over her stats, her buffs, and her equipment, making sure nothing was broken and needed repairing, and that everything was as it should be.

  CON 22 (97)

  STR 10 (67)

  AGI 20 (125)

  WIS 12 (117)

  INT 94 (279)

  CHA 115 (360)

  HP 1087 (1507)

  MANA 1587 (2057)

  MA 250 (395)

  She’d maxed out her staff. Eventually she’d need a new one. Her gear was still amazing and at max level, so she knew she’d be okay.

  She knelt down, taking Snowy’s face in her hands, and looked him directly in his eyes. “You keep an eye on me, okay? I need you to keep me in check. Don’t let me do that shit. I can’t afford to, okay?”

  He whuffed in her face with warm wolfy breath. It wasn’t that bad; at least he didn’t eat poop like most dogs did. “I’ll take that as a yes.” She grinned at him and stood up, stretching her arms far above her head. Insight. Mana Regen. Everything in place. They were almost ready to breathe underwater. And when they were done, Murmur was determined to have a word with the dungeon’s creator.

  But she couldn’t collapse in on herself just because she’d been a total dick about her abilities and refused to see her usage of them as such until someone reflected them and punched her in the face with it.

  No.

  She needed to buck up and be the raid co-leader with Devlish and make sure her raid team didn’t suffer needlessly because of her incompetence.

  Being a little harsh, aren’t you?

  Not really. Sometimes being harsh is the only way to get through to me, apparently.

  Noted. Somnia sounded like she might be about to laugh.

  Murmur smiled. Maybe everything would be all right in the end. Maybe they’d even get through this damned water dungeon. She could hope, right? Pulling up her raid interface, she ran through all the buffs everyone had distributed. It was going to be annoying for anyone who had to cast Underwater Breathing, but at least there was one person per group who could do it. Most of them were healers, but any mage type class, including enchanter, could do it too. Which at least made it easier and less likely that they’d all lose water breathing during a boss fight.

  Death by drowning was a bad way to wipe.

  Luckily with a lacerta tank, at least he was clear from drowning. She glanced through the rest of the list, making sure no one was missing anything, everyone had food to replenish, everyone had picked up their stack of health and mana or stamina potions from the guild bank. Or else from Rashlyn and Mellow who were handing out Fable’s stores.

  Neva? Are you busy? Murmur sent the small luna a message.

  Neva: Neva too busy for you.

  Murmur rolled her eyes at the pun. Seriously, sometimes…

  How are our stores for potions? Murmur knew they had to be running low at the very least.

  Neva: Hmm, not too horrible. Two of our other groups are close to forty-eight, and have been bringing me back a lot of higher-level items. They keep saying they’re finding them while they’re killing stuff, but I’m quite sure they’re deliberately hunting for the parts. So, unless you go through the several hundred I have in there in the next hour, I’d say we’ll be fine. I’m really close to leveling up my skill. So just keep sending all those parts. And be careful.

  There was a hint of worry to the words Neva sent, and Murmur had to admit she didn’t want to give the luna a reason to worry. But knew she would anyway. Thanks, Neva. You’re awesome.

  Neva: I know.

  Murmur eyed the churning water around them. It was like the creatures underneath knew they were about to venture inside. Like they couldn’t wait to try and gobble the adventurers up.

  “Everyone potioned up? Buffed up? Weaponed up?” Murmur spoke in a crisp and clear voice, allowing it to carry around the sandy area. Nods greeted her, even if Risk and Masha seemed strangely angry underneath. That was something she’d have to keep an eye on, or else perhaps, just watch her back with.

  The raid had got some sleep, as much as they could, given the stupid constraints placed on them for this raid.

  “Devlish,” she called out. “Lead on.”

  The lacerta flashed her a smile before moving out toward the skeleton of once-regal castle and through what might have previously been a tall arched window. The stone floor inside sloped, as if the water had rotted away part of the supports. There, just above the corner that began to dip into water itself, was a huge trapdoor.

  Devlish yanked it open with Veranol and Esolan’s help, before they jumped down and vanished from sight. She could hear splashes as they landed and had to take a breath herself before she followed them. While they landed knee-deep in the water, they could back up into the room that had been under the one above, but sand had taken over what had once been stone.

  The whole raid gathered at the edge of the first room. It was dark, but fluorescent moss clung to the walls in places giving it an eerie gre
en-blue glow. Beyond where they stood, the floor sloped down until the rest of it was fully submerged in water. Murmur could swim, in the real world. She was fairly sure she’d be able to swim here. But the whole thought of being underwater chafed at her.

  Above them, the entrance closed with a resounding bang, letting her know there was probably no escape from there. They were stuck now, in the depths of a water palace, and the only way out was down.

  The water just beyond them churned, like something was about to bubble up from down below. Murmur felt herself bracing for something, even though she didn’t know what. She had to be careful with her sensing net, make sure she wasn’t unduly affecting those around her, but all she could tell was that they had incoming.

  Claws scraped against the stone floor as muscly scaled arms reached forward through the rough water, digging nails into the ground to pull themselves up. Murmur stood her ground, even as Snowy growled next to her. “S’okay, boy,” she whispered softly to him, hoping she could convince herself at the same time.

  Slowly, the creatures pulled themselves out of the water. Stocky, powerful legs like those of a crocodile, with claws that dug into rock. Their bodies lifted off the ground more but had the same flat reptilian look, with sharp ridges all the way down their backs about two inches high. Multiple rows of teeth stood out as one of them yawned widely, and the four eyes on their skull allowed them a full three-sixty view of their environment.

  Next to her, Sinister shivered. The crocohusks conned orange, so they were at least level fifty-one, but Murmur was willing to bet they were higher than that. Full on raid trash. The bestest encounters ever.

  The largest one that emerged from the water opened its mouth in a roar. It reverberated through the chamber, bouncing off the stone walls and shaking the occupants inside. Murmur shook her head, and Snowy nipped at her fingers in a friendly warning and she realized she’d just been about to push out a wave of relaxation on her raid. When was she going to get rid of that habit?

  As long as you’re working actively to break it, I think your friends should be happy. Yes?

  But Murmur wasn’t so sure. Could a slip up like that really be forgiven now she’d been made aware of it? She didn’t think so.

  Still, the creatures in front of her were about to attack, and while only seven of them had emerged to be counted, she was positive from what her thought sensing net told her, that there were many more behind them. Not only did they look formidable, they had a presence about them. Strength and power leaked from them like a plumbing job.

  Murmur muttered under her breath. “I’d be willing to bet they have the same speed as crocodiles, if not faster.”

  Devlish raised his shield, and it was like it flipped a switch.

  The first three of the crocohusks moved so fast, Murmur had difficulty tracking them. But before she knew it, they were practically attached to Devlish’s shield. The force of their impact made him stagger back, and she could see a visible dent in the heavy metal unlike any damage it had been through before.

  She cast her AoE Mez, but nothing happened.

  High mental fortitude detected. You’ll just waste mana if you continue to throw this spell at these creatures.

  Murmur took a deep breath and swallowed her irritation. Digging her staff into the ground, she pushed forward with her area of effect stuns. Flux did almost nothing.

  Derivative effect.

  Crocohusks are, by their very reptilian nature, largely immune to stuns. While this might buy you a split second or three, be warned that no lasting effect will remain.

  Fantastic, just what she needed to hear. Couldn’t have a cure-all, though, that would make the game unbalanced. Murmur snorted to herself as she observed both Esolan and Rashlyn engaging another group of three each. Slowing the creatures was all she could do. None of them were casters, so draining their mana wasn’t even an option. She couldn’t silence them, either. At most she could allow her DoTs to drain some of their health. Something was always better than nothing.

  It was one of the first fights Murmur felt mostly useless at. These were trash mobs, gating their way to entering the underwater dungeon. That’s all they were and the only purpose they served. Their lightning speed barely lessened even with her debuffs, and their attacks gouged holes in people. Including Jirald. Although the latter might have made her smile somewhat vindictively.

  Most of her spells, regardless what tree they came from, were magic based. For non-magical creatures she had to resort to casting Veto on cooldown so that the others could land their spells. And because she could tell just as well as the others what the next in the mob’s attack rotation was, Murmur could easily pull out her Reinforce Others from her druidic line to make sure they took less damage.

  Still, though. Maybe she did have a lot she could do; it was just finicky. And Snowy, he dashed in there without her giving him a thought, intent on biting and maiming as much as he could. He was a good wolf, a great companion, and made Murmur feel like she was supporting everyone else in at least some way.

  Merlin and Exbo’s precision with their bows was out of this world, or probably just about average for Somnia since the other rangers echoed their accuracy. Whatever ability they used to send shots into the eyes of the crocohusks with deadly precision was on a timer. If it wasn’t, the fight would have been over almost before it began. The beasts flailed around, but it still made killing them somewhat easier. Their rotation was flawless with it. But she was quite certain that if they’d been fighting a boss, the ability wouldn’t work. Like all the good stuff.

  Murmur watched out of the corner of her eye while Sinister wove her bloody healing. It was mesmerizing, so much so that she almost missed refreshing Veto on the crocohusks in front of them. Blood swirled in self-contained balls around the room, splotching into raid members, replenishing their health. Sinister’s look of pure concentration was only enhanced by the small smile that played on her lips. She enjoyed this class, enjoyed defeating enemies. And even though she’d had to change from her usual bow wielder, Murmur was quite certain the bloodmage gave her a lot more fun than any of them expected.

  The crocohusks were super-fast. Just like the crocodiles they were mutated from. It was important to make sure that Languidity never dropped from their debuffs, even if it only offered the barest of help. Breaking through the lines was fully possible as exhibited by one of the crocohusks that managed to fling itself past Devlish’s defenses in the split second before Languidity refreshed and chomped down on Masha’s leg.

  The cleric screamed, and the anger that shone in his eyes as he beat the Croc’s head in with his mace seemed out of character, even for someone who almost had his virtual leg chomped off. Healing potions or a healing spell would fix that, so his reaction made Murmur pause.

  Now that she wasn’t constantly trying to fix others and make the experience nice and easy for them, she had more time to observe how people were actually reacting to the encounters. And the more she observed Exodus, and some of Spiral, the more of their resentment she picked up. Always directed toward her. Not toward the game or the shards, nor the AIs or the mobs. Solely toward Murmur.

  She pushed the observation away to be dealt with later. After all, the middle of fighting wasn’t the right time to try and analyze her raiders’ motivations. It was still difficult to control her reactions to their overall state of mind. Resisting the urge to just make things easier for them to accomplish, to take away their worries, and to just let them all get on with their jobs without any mental interference from their own worst enemies? It was difficult. And strange that she had to avoid that sort of thing at all.

  There were waves of the crocohusks that came barreling in with seemingly no end. They always attacked in groups of three, and they threw themselves and their spiked spines at the raid with abandon. Which felt decidedly off. Like they were a distraction from something else.

  Murmur began to stretch her sensing nets, trying to feel if there was something she hadn’t seen o
r noticed yet. Pushing out, she worked past another four lines of the crocohusks, a total of thirty-six monsters still waiting to pounce on them.

  “Thirty-six still incoming after these are taken care of,” she announced over raid before delving back into her nets even as she continued to maintain all of her debuffs on their current opponents. They could hold for these; it was fairly predictable even if they hit hard. Their spines’ poison wasn’t too potent and easily curable by healers. The drain on their mana was minimal but steady.

  Beyond them was an area she couldn’t read. Her nets extended there, but it was murky, like something was hiding itself from her and therefore them. She paled, understanding what was happening and not liking it in the least.

  “Conserve your mana, only fight with necessary skills, hold all cooldowns.” She could feel the shift in all of the raiders behind her, working like a well-oiled machine. Sure, they’d already gone through two dungeons together; of course they’d be fine working through this one. It was strange that it had only taken about fifteen hours or so of raiding together to work like cogs in a clock.

  Mur? What are we looking at? Dev asked over guild.

  There’s something beyond them I can’t see. Okay, I can’t read. I know there’s something there, but I don’t know what it is. My nets just won’t gather the information. It’s blocking me.

  Got it. Any signs of it coming closer?

  Double checking, Murmur shook her head before sending her reply. Not yet. Right now, it looks to be holding in its place. Maybe it’s just observing us and what we’re doing?

  Have pigs started flying? Beastial asked, and Murmur suppressed a groan.

  They only had two more waves left. Just eighteen of the crocohusks. Neva was going to love the loot they got. Plenty of ingredients for alchemy and other crafts. If only Murmur could shake off the feeling that the thing waiting for them was far more intelligent than she’d come to expect from mobs. By restricting the mana output of the raid, and making it perhaps more difficult, but mana preserving, they finished the waves with eighty percent mana across the board. A long fight, but not a dangerous one. Although the crocohusks looked formidable, their attacks had been easy enough to counter as long as people paid attention.