Fusion (Somnia Online Book 6)

by K. T. Hanna

  “Well, there’s no way we’re all going to make it over at once. Let’s go single file in groups. Devlish takes the lead, and allow for each group to make it across first before the next group moves out.” Maybe Murmur was being cautious, but for now she liked to think of herself as being clever. At the very least it would waste another ten minutes of the debuff.

  The swaying of the bridge sent Murmur so far beyond nausea she didn’t think she’d return. It had definitely been the right choice to go one group at a time, single file. She couldn’t look back and watch the others as they crossed over. Instead, she cautiously made her way around the next plateau with Snowy at her side.

  No matter how much she kidded herself, the portal sickness made a real difference. Not only did she have five percent fewer stats, which gave her less mana and hit points, it meant that her actual mana and hit point pools were substantially less due to the intelligence and constitution points she’d lost.

  At least they’d know that for the next time. Maybe they could cross over and then nap, and thus avoid the debuff altogether. Though given their welcome party this time, it probably wasn’t likely.

  Tieflos stood in front of them, a massive warren of mountain paths leading up to an icy peak, through what she thought was a massive cavern. None of them had been here before, but it was obvious taking the path was the only way to get over to where the next bridge was located.

  If the roars of the beasts she could hear were anything to go by, the aboms they’d encountered previously were just the tip of the iceberg. She groaned inwardly at her own bad joke, but it didn’t make her feel better. All it did was cement the feeling that she was totally out of her depth.

  Maybe playing by the rules that the game set out initially wasn’t the best plan after all. Especially when she had the ability to overcome some of the setbacks. Couldn’t she take it just one step further and control the minds of the beasts on each island?

  You definitely could. Why has it taken you so long to think of that?

  Because whether I like it or not, that idea is mostly cheating and somewhat unconventional. Murmur wasn’t sure she liked the direction the conversation was headed in.

  But if unconventional wins, who cares if creatures who are trying to harm you are harmed in the process? Wouldn’t it be better to do what you could to make this go as fast as possible?

  Murmur wasn’t sure how to respond. Somnia was making sense. What if she could exude control over the creatures they were about to face?

  But how could that be possible? The AI was set up to avoid being controlled by spells in the game. I haven’t even been able to wipe memory to such an extent that it’s easy for a mob in the game to forget me. So why should this be different?

  There was a pause from Somnia. Murmur glanced back during it to check on the progress of the other groups. It appeared that the last group was making its way across now. They were so close to entering this dungeon, and she still had no idea how to approach this task.

  This isn’t different. You are correct. Your connection to the world is not quite like mine and is governed by your own sense of morality. What is right and what is not are not always what is done. You will choose your own way and come out on the other side. I will be here if you need me.

  With that, the presence in her mind was gone again. Murmur wasn’t sure what to make of the conversation at all. But she did extend the magnification of her focus trying to determine when and where their next opponents lay in wait. Meanwhile, she mulled over her abilities. She had the feeling she’d been lucky to find Snowy and knew that not all charms would work that way. Her MA was limited, so influencing creatures with that could cause severe backlash. Maybe there was a way around it she hadn’t thought of yet.

  As the entire raid prepared themselves for the upcoming fights, Murmur noticed Devlish shading his eyes and looking up at the peak. She walked over to him and nudged him with her elbow. “What’s on your scaly mind?”

  He grinned at her the way only lacerta could with that wide lizard like smile. “I’m pretty sure the dungeon starts right up there where the caverns are and not down here. I may have no idea what to expect once we get in there, but I’m pretty sure of the entrance.”

  “Good.” Murmur was ready to get this over with. The whole portal linking mechanism made these dungeons less than attractive to her. She hated being forced along a path she hadn’t actively chosen herself.

  Devlish grinned again and took in a deep breath before speaking loud enough for everyone to hear. “Okay, seven more minutes and that bloody buff is gone. We need to make it up to the cavern you can see up there.” He indicated with his sword where he meant. “If you can down energy drink, grab a protein bar, anything that could help keep you awake and alert that isn’t illegal.”

  It seemed he’d added the last as an afterthought and it lessened the tension in the raid even eliciting a few nervous laughs in the process.

  Murmur knew she was too focused on the upcoming raid for her own good. She couldn’t get Somnia’s words out of her head. Then she felt Sinister’s hand reach her own and squeeze her fingers as the blood mage leaned her head against Murmur’s shoulder.

  “You’re thinking too much. Just go with the flow, stop the mobs, discover new stuff.” It seemed Sinister was being very Sinister.

  And it was exactly what Murmur needed right then.

  There was nothing for it. They were going to have to climb up to the peak where the cave entrance could be seen. On the bright side, there appeared to be a railing the whole way up the path. Murmur knew Sinister wasn’t fond of heights either, so she took her hand and squeezed it, lending what little reassurance she could.

  “Careful, Mur, might think you’d prefer me alive.” Sinister winked at her and for just one moment all was right with the world.

  Sadly, moments were relatively short. Murmur directed her attention to Devlish’s attempts to make his way up. The ice was slick on the path; the snow only hung out at the edges laughing at them with its soft white powdery design. Glaring sunlight reflected off the snow with sparkling intensity, mocking them by making the icy pathway that much more reflective.

  It took a lot of effort for all of them to hike up to the next plateau, which was, of course, icy and at times appeared like it was deliberately trying to kill them. Luckily Murmur’s sensing nets were back to full strength, because the debuff had worn off, and she could utilize her skills to focus with accuracy again. That included the definite sensation of multiple minds looking for them, close to them, likely waiting to ambush them.

  She moved up to where Devlish stood checking his gear over while he waited for the stragglers to join them on the small plateau. The cliffs above them cast shadows over the ice like boogie men in children’s nightmares. At least there were no trees to cast bony finger shadows.

  “There’s an ambush up ahead. Maybe around eight opponents, give or take. Thought patterns aren’t overly coherent, but they’re smart enough to wait for us, which means they’re probably smart enough to be armed.” Murmur glanced back at the rest of the raid. The straggling last party had almost reached their spot. She’d grown so used to only having two groups that having five was starting to wear on her.

  Devlish scratched just above one of his eye ridges, a look of pure concentration in his pursed lips. “Ambush, eh?” His sharp Lacerta eyes cast around, and he narrowed his gaze as he looked toward the beginning of the next climb upward.

  Murmur knew he’d seen a sign of what she scouted; his satisfaction told her so. “Exactly. Will you direct them? I don’t have enough space to get the overview I need. I’m not the best in close quarters, not with this class.”

  It had taken her a lot of effort to push those words out. She wasn’t used to having to delegate such tasks. But she would have her hands full exactly because of the close quarters of the impending fight.

  Devlish grinned down
at her. “There, that wasn’t so hard was it?”

  Murmur rolled her eyes. “You have no idea.” But she finished the statement with a grin and left Devlish to organize the rest, while she began to cast recast buffs and check on guild bank stores buffs on each and every member of the raid.

  A moment later, Devlish’s voice echoed out over raid chat. “Ambushers up ahead. Bards need to assist in Mezmerizing. There isn’t room for us to kite these, so we’ll have to focus fire them down one at a time. Assist goes to Rashlyn. Esolan, Risk, and myself will each take one of the creatures at a time. Assist Rash until the very end. Maximum single target DPS—do not even think of using something that can break a Mez.”

  There was a rumble of agreement from the rest of the raid. Murmur, on the other hand, was quite certain these next opponents would also be resistant to Mez renewal. At least they had some alternatives in place now. Though kiting wasn’t possible on the tiny platform they found themselves on. Dansyn caught her eye, obviously having the same train of thought. She was lucky they all worked so well together. Made things much easier.

  “Let’s just hope these guys don’t have a knock back,” Beastial muttered under his breath.

  “Oh, for the love of all things icy! You idiot! Why would you say that out loud?” Sinister kept her voice low, but that didn’t stop Murmur from flinching. The tone could practically flay the skin off the beastmaster.

  “You’re so superstitious.” Beastial tried to downplay it.

  Sinister put her hands on her hips. “You think?”

  “Let’s all concentrate on getting to the dungeon. You can fight while we wait to zone in if you like?” Mellow offered a smile while they kept their tone neutral, trying to calm both of them down.

  Sinister moved away, obviously still irritated. She stood with Veranol and the other three healers. From what Murmur could tell, they were discussing who to keep on Rashlyn, the three secondary tanks, and who had the unlucky job of healing up the rest of the raid. In a way Murmur missed such conversations, because at the time she’d always thought the raid hinged on the healers. In many games it had been the case, but here, it all ran so much smoother with everyone playing their parts.

  Snowy whuffed at her hand as if reminding her that he, too, was there. Not that she ever forgot him, but she scratched behind the wolf’s ears anyway. It didn’t take long for the raid to set themselves up, and Murmur was glad her sensor nets were functioning properly again. She tried to imagine not having a high-level enchanter on the raid. That would suck.

  Even from this distance, Murmur could feel these enemies weren’t the same as the aboms they’d encountered previously. She hated being wrong. Somnia was going to get too used to her being wrong at this rate.

  That’s not fair. You’re judging me harshly.

  I’m not judging you harshly. I’m judging you factually. You take everything we’ve come to expect and turn it upside down. Murmur hoped her explanation was enough to placate the sentient world.

  It’s not upside down, it’s simply a different point of view. But thank you for being honest.

  Yet again the presence in her head disappeared. And even though Murmur knew that Somnia wasn’t entirely gone from her mind, it always felt just that little bit lonely.

  Devlish stopped in his tracks, and the entire raid halted with him. At first, she couldn’t tell why they’d stopped, but then she saw them in the shadows of what appeared to be a low hanging cave.

  They walked on all fours, not like a dog or cat might, but like one of those nightmarish possessed creatures that skittered along the floor like a crab. Their eyes bulged and were completely bloodshot, popping out so far they seemed out of place. They didn’t focus on anything in particular and instead seemed concentrated internally.

  They resembled scary goblins crossed with crabs that only had four legs. Their skin was a grayish green that appeared to glisten in the shadows of the crags. Each of their fingers had nails extended in such a way that they appeared claw-like and gripped deep into the ice like an ice pick. She wasn’t sure whether she should laugh or scream at them.

  They didn’t appear to have a name, so she nicknamed them gobcrabs in her head. Perhaps it wasn’t the most original name, but it allowed her to ignore the fearful shiver that wouldn’t let go of her back. She’d already cast Veto before she’d even consciously thought of it, with her other AoE debuffs on its heels. At least Annulment managed to strip that sparkly shit off them. While it didn’t exactly help them win the fight, it definitely made Murmur feel better. And that was all the time she had to spare for anything but maintaining Mezmerize on the mobs that weren’t being tanked.

  Caution: Your Mezmerize spell has reached a new level of potency due to continuous usage. With mind exertion you have created the ability to overpower individual creature’s resistance to your powers. This comes at a cost of ten MA per spell casting per resistance level of the target, which is of course per mob controlled.

  Should the target have of resistance level of three, maintaining Mezmerize on said target will be at a cost of thirty MA per cast.

  Mind Exertion

  Cast: Passive

  Type: Reinforcement

  Duration: Dependent on individual needs

  Effect: This passive ability allows the Enchanter or Psionicist to reinforce the potency of the spells they are capable of casting. This ability straddles the line between normal progression spells and Mental Acuity spells. Thus, this ability allows for strengthening of mundane spells through the application of Mental Acuity points.

  Caution: Do not overuse this spell. Always make sure your Mental Acuity points will not be overextended. Spell backlash is a bad enough; overextending your points can result in catastrophic consequences. This might allow you to overpower the minds of creatures whose only defense is that your spells have diminishing returns. Therefore, it cannot be without its own associated risks and costs.

  Murmur blinked at the information passing in front of her eyes and suppressed the urge to sigh deeply. She loved getting new skills, but sometimes she wished it wouldn’t lump them on her in the middle of a bloody battle. Still, it was lucky. Two of the gobcrabs required she use mental acuity points to maintain their Mez.

  She watched as the creatures leapt with surprising agility at their opponents. Rash’s superior agility saved her more than once, and Dev’s tower shield did most of the work for him. Still, she could hear those claws scratching along its surface like a nightmare screech on a blackboard.

  Maintaining all of her debuffs and reinforcing buffs on her DPS raid members, Murmur let herself go with the tide of the fight.

  Around her, Merlin and Exbo alternated through their Rapidfire cooldowns, Dustshot, and Jumpshot, releasing as much DPS as they possibly could. While the other rangers from the other guilds couldn’t quite keep up with their damage output, they mimicked the rotations of Fable’s rangers, learning through doing.

  Even though Murmur sincerely disliked Jirald, regardless of whether or not he was trying to kill her, she had to admit he’d become an exemplary rogue. Jinna was close by comparison but nowhere near as a vicious and ruthless as the other. Karn wasn’t far behind but tended to forget that standing in fire or green shit was a really bad idea. Murmur had the feeling that Karn was much younger than the rest of them, which was probably the case, considering her father played the game with her.

  Sinister was the only blood mage, and occasionally Murmur could see the wonder in everyone’s eyes at the way a blood mage’s healing was performed. While Sinister wasn’t necessarily on the top of the damage charts, her abilities allowed for her to be in the top seven damage as well as the top three healers. Every now and again Murmur really wished she’d had the chance to play a blood mage. Her one solace was that it was Sinister who’d received the class.

  Masha was one of two clerics. The old school healing class maintained Rashlyn’s he
alth easily. Veranol’s wards absorbed copious amounts of damage before healers even needed to step in. Even though she’d never say it to his face, Murmur was quite convinced that shamans or their evolution to defilers were really overpowered. To be honest, she was just glad he was on their side.

  Havoc was the only necromancer, which made Murmur curious as to what Somnia and the other AIs had used to determine who would receive what class at character creation.

  Why didn’t you just ask?

  Slightly taken aback, Murmur almost missed refreshing one of her Mezmerizes. Well, this seemed to be so much more important stuff for me to take care of. These are just idle thoughts that come to me when I’m stuck in a spiral of continuous actions.

  Oh, well, it was a series of factors. You needed to be safe, and Sinister was someone we knew would always be by your side. The ability to heal and do damage was taken into consideration when judging your potential safety. And for you with the connection that Michael gave you, well, we had to be sure that you could protect your own mind from any attacks he might launch.

  This wasn’t the sort of conversation she should be having in the middle of a battle. But Devlish’s plan was already effective. These mobs, this fight, it wasn’t what she’d come to expect. It was almost easy. Then again, they’d still not entered the dungeon proper, so these weren’t yet actual dungeon raid mobs. Perhaps that had something to do with it.

  Checking over all of her buffs and debuffs again, she focused another part of her mind on seeing if she could detect any form of hidden enemies in their surrounding area. Three more of the gobcrabs to go and they would be done. But there was nothing else on her radar.