Perla Online, Book Two: Shella (A LitRPG/GameLit Adventure)

by Shawn Wyatt

  Quinn steered Betsy toward the right island and docked the vessel in a waiting berth. “Welcome to Nui, ladies, gentlemen, bird, and bear. It’s an interesting little place. Not a lot of action.”

  “After the last few days, a lack of action is exactly what we need,” I said. Even from the dock, I could smell food cooking in the city. Sizzling meat and fresh bread teased my nostrils. “Now let’s go before I starve to death. I can’t take any more ship food.”

  I followed my nose to a food stall set up at the edge of the docks. The man behind the counter flashed me a grin when I approached. “Smelled the food, did you?”

  “I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that’s how you get most of your customers, right?”

  Another grin and a thumbs up. “You know it. No one eats more than a hungry sailor fresh off the sea. And the storms that spring up between here and the Great Turtles mean people have to take long routes to reach Nui, so they’re usually sick of their rations by the time they arrive.”

  “I’ll take two,” I said.

  “Two what?”

  “Whatever you’ve got that smells so good.”

  The cook laughed and tightened the strap of fabric he used to tie back his hair. “Sure thing. That’d be the pork.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Pork? I thought there was only fish out here.”

  He gestured to the island across from us. “There are wild pigs over there. Really fat ones, too. They’re great for food, so the people on Nui eat pretty well. That’s why a lot of us set up shop here.”

  I handed over the coin and bit down into one of the skewers. Rich, fatty juices exploded in my mouth, aided by the more subtle flavors of the seasoning. “I don’t think I’ve ever tasted anything so amazing,” I said. “How did you manage this?”

  “Max-level Cooking abilities! Everyone else focused on leveling up, but I’m not much of a fighter, especially when there is real risk involved. I figured all that grinding would make people hungry, so I focused on improving my Cooking. Other players can handle the dangerous part of things. Now they like my food so much that they bring me ingredients without me ever needing to leave the island.”

  “Smart,” I said. “But I can see why. Where do they hunt at?”

  “Mostly across the way, but some people manage to nab wildlife on some of the far-flung islands of the realm. I haven’t ventured out that way, naturally. I do wish someone would bring me some more of those wild pigs from the other island.”

  “Why not go get them yourself? They’re just pigs,” I said. “Their level can’t be that high, right?”

  “Right, but the pigs aren’t the problem.” The chef laughed. “If it were just pigs, I could handle it without a problem—but there are other critters on that island that taste a whole lot worse than pigs, and have a much worse bite.”

  “Like what?”

  “A bunch of little lizards. They’re not friendly, and they’ve got a real knack for spitting flame out at you when you least expect it. Believe me. A few times getting hit by that and you back off.”

  Flame-spewing lizards? Clint scurried around under my collar. He had leapt onto my head as I left the ship and took refuge under my vest. An island full of Clints would be worth checking out. “Thanks for the food. If we happen to head over that way, I’ll try to nab a few of those pigs for you.”

  “Do that, and I’ll fry you up some rations that are actually worth eating once you hit the sea.”

  “Deal!”

  After that encounter, Bastion and Rune went off to find the Berserker more armor. Quinn and Wish left to browse the marketplaces.

  "I guess it's just us," I said.

  Evey shrugged. "And the bird and the bear. Do you need anything?"

  “More Caster Shells,” I said. “Or at least the ingredients for them. I doubt there are many Marauders on this realm, but I should at least be able to craft a few myself if I can find the materials."

  “Then come on.” She settled into a comfortable position on Boris' back. “This why I can keep him out of trouble. So we don’t have to walk so much.”

  I laughed and climbed on. Though she would never admit it, I knew her body ached from taming the falcon—although she would hurt me if I said anything. The falcon made lazy circles in the sky above, held aloft on warm updrafts. “Do you have any idea what to name your new companion? What about something like Striker?”

  “Striker? Ren, that’s a lady bird.”

  The falcon looked the same as any other bird of prey to me. “How can you tell?”

  Evey blinked. “Come to think of it, I’m not sure. I just know. What about Nova?”

  “Nova?” After what the falcon did to that Spellweaver, it sounded appropriate. “I like it.”

  “Nova it is, then.”

  The marketplaces of Shella all looked similar: a central bazaar with narrower alleys like spokes on a wheel. Stalls lined the bazaar, but even the busy marketplace paled in comparison to the one in Napari.

  I looked around the marketplace for a weapon dealer. The majority of stalls sold every kind of crafting material or reagent imaginable. Crates of iron ore, copper, and other alloys stood beside beginner-level crafting equipment. Pickaxes, mallets, and jeweler's tools gleamed in the sunlight.

  Finally, I spotted the telltale sign with a sword across the front. The dealer had already caught sight of us and stared at Boris with an appraising look. "Ever thought about mounting a turret on that bear?" he asked.

  I laughed. “Believe me, the last thing we need is a bear-mounted turret. He’s hard enough to keep up with as it is. That would just be cheating.”

  “Yeah, but it would be fun cheating.” The dealer replied. “If you ever change your mind, let me know. What can I help you with?”

  “I need a gun.” I held out my starter pistol and Serpent’s Fang. “The starter pistol has to go. It’s way too underpowered for what I need now. And although Serpent’s Fang has served me well, I wouldn’t mind something with a bit more bite.”

  The dealer held both guns to the light and turned them over in his hands. “Yeah, I can see why. But this one is a unique item." He ran an appreciative hand over Serpent's Fang. "How did you get it?"

  "It was a reward for a quest on Toris. It was a bit of a unique quest, so the item is randomly generated.”

  “Toris?” The dealer whispered and looked up. The dark shape of the other realm was at its furthest point, but it still took up a significant portion of the sky above us. “So you guys managed to cross realms. Impressive. If we had that, we could definitely expand how far the Merchant Marines reached.”

  "We defeated the final raid boss in the realm and restored travel from Toris to Shella. And we hope to do the same here."

  The dealer gave a bright, if somewhat greedy, smile. "Then maybe these will help you."

  The man set two pistols down in front of me.

  <<<>>>

  Children of Lir

  These handcrafted twin revolvers are made with the finest materials the seas of Shella have to offer. Completely resistant to wear from the elements, each item has a chance to imbue elemental water damage to enemies when fired.

  Chance of water damage -> 5%

  Base elemental damage -> 20

  Base physical damage -> 95

  Durability -> 100/100

  <<<>>>

  I whistled. “These are incredible, but I'm afraid to ask how much they cost.”

  He laughed. “They’re a pretty penny, but worth it. Look closer.”

  I looked back down and saw the “Scalable” attribute next to them. The weapons would grow stronger as I did. They wouldn’t compare to better quality weapons ten levels from now, but they would at least get me to the mid-30s without a problem. “Alright, you’ve sold me. Name a price.” Time to negotiate.

  “10,000 gold pieces.”

  “Not that price. Name another.”

  The merchant grinned and threw out another number. We haggled the weapons down until I forked over 3,
000 gold. Parting with that much money hurt, but the pistols were a smart purchase. They would last me a long time, and the higher rate of fire would come in handy. I also managed to walk away with enough ingredients and reagents to make a month’s supply of Caster Shells.

  Well, a month’s supply if we didn’t run into constant combat.

  When I climbed back into my seat on Boris' back, Evey turned and smiled. “Nice job. I debated putting an arrow through him when he said 10,000 gold.”

  I laughed. “Well, the Merchant Marines are successful for a reason. They're shrewd businessmen. See anything in the market you want to take a look at?”

  She shook her head. “No, they don’t really have much for Beast Tamers.”

  I caught sight of Rune and Bastion in the distance, but Quinn and Wish were nowhere to be found. “We’ve got time to kill. Want to go check out that other island? Nothing over there should be that powerful. Between the two of us, Boris, and Nova, I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

  Evey narrowed her eyes. “You want to find some pigs so you can get more food from that guy.”

  “Don’t you?”

  She hesitated for only a moment. “…yes.”

  “Then what are we waiting for?”

  Small vessels ferried passengers between the two islands all day long. The Merchant Marines scoured the other island for ingredients in small parties—no more than a single DPS and a tank or healer.

  A sailor took us over on a small raft and tied it to a piece of driftwood. “I’ll wait here for you to return,” he said.

  “Thanks. We shouldn’t be long.”

  Evey sighed. “You know, that’s the sort of thing you say right before we ended up stranded here or fighting some sort of giant monster.”

  “That would be our luck, wouldn’t it?” I laughed. The jungle on the island was lush and thick, but cut with clear paths through the brush that made it easy to travel. “Remind you of anything?”

  "It’s a lot like Toris. Remember I came tumbling out of a forest with that werewolf thing on my tail?”

  I shook my head. "I still have no idea what that monster was. Who would have ever thought one encounter would be the start of all this?”

  “Yeah, I should have just logged out then.” Evey laughed. “Then again, I guess this isn’t all so bad, you know?”

  Overhead, a seagull cried out. The sun beat down on us and sweat beaded on face, but a soft sea breeze kept the temperature bearable. Evey was right. All things told, we had been to worst places in this digital world. “Not all bad,” I said.

  I needed her attitude. Evey managed to put a smile on my face when the stress of surviving this game got to me. She had done it on Toris, and now she did it here.

  The appearance of four small lizards interrupted my thoughts. The creatures sprinted onto the beach, each bearing the same color pattern as Clint, before facing me. Clint leapt from my shoulder and spewed a gout of flame into the air.

  Despite their small size, Evey eyed the creatures with caution. “Should we run?”

  “Not yet.” I moved in front of her. Until her wounds completely healed, I didn’t want her taking any more damage.

  The lizards chittered in a sing-song quality. Their song stopped, and one by one, each lizard aimed a burst of flame into the air above their head. The flames reached three feet high, each a different color and temperature.

  Clint joined in the display. The other lizards increased the intensity of their inferno, but Clint's flame overpowered theirs. The longer the flames burned, the more homogenous they became. One of the flames shifted until it matched Clint's in color and heat, and then all four abruptly stopped.

  The other three lizards retreated into the jungle. Clint moved forward and linked his tail with the other lizard. As one, the two spurted flame into the air.

  Before I knew it, both Clint and the new lizard crawled up onto my shoulders. A prompt appeared in front of me.

  <<<>>>

  Class Quest: "Alternative Weapons"

  You have befriended the Fire Lizard, a distant relative of dragonkind. These lizards contain catalysts that allow them to breathe fire. They are often drawn to the smoking barrels of a Marauder’s gun, but the creatures are capable of breathing more than simple fire. In the past, clever Marauders have augmented their weapon abilities through friendships with the creatures.

  <<<>>>

  "I didn't expect to find a quest here," I said. At Evey's expression, I realized she had not seen the prompt. "You weren't offered one just now?"

  She shook her head. "You found a personal quest? Maybe class-related?"

  Interesting. Class quests always meant better weapons or abilities. “I guess I have a new pet. I already have Clint. Should I name the new lizard Eastwood?”

  Evey rolled her eyes.

  Chapter Twenty: The Twin Turtles

  Evey and I wrapped up our tasks on the uninhabited island—specifically, we hunted several wild pigs. And in the process, I had leveled up. We dropped them with the chef on the way back. As promised, he turned them into travel rations with a speed and skill that left me in awe.

  Juices bubbled from fat on the freshly-roasted skewers. I had to fight the urge to devour them then and there. “Dry them with salt and they’ll last you for a good while,” he said. “Or eat them right away. If you aren’t careful, your four-legged friend there might help out.”

  I snatched the treats away from Boris’ curious nose just in time.

  The rest of the party returned. Rune had an armful of new armor that glowed with the soft light of magical enchantments. He grinned. “I’ve got plenty of new gear. Should keep me well protected throughout anything this realm has to throw at us.”

  “Is that enchanted?” I asked.

  “You know it!”

  “How much gold did you even spend on that?”

  “Not too much!” “Too much.”

  Rune and Bastion answered in unison. The latter shook his head. “I think he dropped more gold than all of us have combined.”

  “No way," Rune said. "It was only 15,000 gold pieces. That’s not bad for gear like this.”

  My inner scrooge curled into a ball. “15,000 gold pieces.”

  “That’s almost the full amount of the bounty on us,” Evey said. “You spent all that much on armor? What is that enchantment? No way is it actually worth all that.”

  “It’s a lightness enchantment! Makes the armor weigh almost nothing. That way, if I do happen to fall into the water, I’m much less likely to drown.”

  “You’re an idiot.”

  Evey’s voice held no emotion. Rune stared at her, dumbfounded.

  “What? It seems like a good investment!”

  “Are you planning to dive with that armor on? There are so many better enchantments you could have chosen that would give you more value. Somewhere there’s an enchanter giggling at the sucker he just ripped off.”

  “Do you think so?” Rune lifted his coin purse, still filled to the brim. “I had plenty to go around, so I didn’t mind spending a bit.”

  “How much gold did you start with?” Wish asked.

  “I don’t know. 40,000. Maybe 50. I had a lot.”

  “How? What were you even doing on Toris to make that much gold?” I asked.

  Rune grinned, and I shook my head.

  “On second thought, I don’t want to know.”

  “As enlightening as this conversation is, are you all ready to get underway?” Quinn asked. “We’re losing light.”

  “Is it safe to sail in the dark?” Rune asked. "Seems dangerous if you can't see."

  “Safe? No. Efficient? Yes. We can reach the next Great Turtle at dawn if we leave now. You all rest overnight, and then you’ll be ready to go when we arrive.” Quinn yawned. “I’ll take the first shift, and then we can swap out. We’ll split into three hour shifts.”

  “Then let’s head out," I said.

  Bastion shook me awake a few hours before dawn. Bags hung under his eyes and he yawned
as he spoke. “Your turn,” he said. “Don’t bother me unless we get attacked. And maybe not even then.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” He had made his dislike of early mornings clear time and time again. The stars shone bright overhead. Constellations carved their mark into the sky, clearer and more distinct than the other stars.

  I knew only a few of the constellations in this world, but I picked out the ones I did: Daru, the Tree, a collection of stars that stretched high and branched out across the entire sky. Seilide, the Turtle. Its shape was self-explanatory. Before I could see any others, a dark shape crossed the sky and blocked out the stars. Another realm.

  I turned my gaze back toward the horizon. That’s where trouble would come from. The first rays of dawn had not yet started their journey across the sky, and the stillness below reflected the stars above. I watched them twinkle, broken here and there by the waves.

  Motion caught my eye. Far to the west of the ship, the stars began to move. I peered at the spot before I realized what I saw wasn’t stars—it was a creature. Bioluminescence illuminated the beast. Pale red and light blue shimmered along the length of its body.

  An impossibly long body arced through the waves. And then it broke the surface.

  It looked for all the world like a leviathan from legend. An internal glow lit the long, slender body. Two arms reached out from below its head. The creature turned in the air, and for a moment, I felt its gaze lock onto the ship.

  But there was no hostility there. Only curiosity.

  It vanished into the water with the same speed it first appeared. I watched that spot for the rest of my shift, but it never again showed itself.

  Quinn woke with the first rays of dawn, and soon, everyone else joined us. “See anything?” he asked.

  I decided not to tell him about the leviathan. I’d spent the rest of the night convincing myself that I had actually seen anything at all. “All quiet. But there are two islands on the horizon.” I gestured north.

  Quinn laughed. “Yeah, those aren’t islands. Those are turtles.”

  The masses resolved into shell and fin as Betsy grew nearer. Two turtles circled one another in a perfect dance with all the grace of Olympic swimmers. A city rested on the back of each turtle, connected by a bridge that spanned the distance between them.