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

by Shawn Wyatt

  The girl smirked, but her victory was short lived. The monster recovered and lashed out toward her with its remaining limbs. She rolled to the side and dodged the savage blow.

  It attacked with a different ability for each of its limbs. Most were easy enough to dodge, but one caused shadowy arms to burst from the ground and hold her down. Only luck had saved her from the first wave of attacks.

  But the limb capable of that attack now lay on the ground, its form already dissolving away into dust.

  The girl sized up the creature. Nothing in this nightmare realm had any HP meter. The only way she knew monsters were dead was when they stopped moving. And the only way to gauge how much health any creature had left was to look at the physical damage on its body.

  Aside from the stump that still bled numbers and colors, it did not seem to have suffered any damage. Unlike many of the creatures she had encountered, however, it had one clear weakness: a long, distended neck.

  She cast a look at the portal behind it. The circle still burned with a bright light but had begun to shrink.

  She had no time to waste.

  The monster lurched forward again and brought its arms together to crush her. The girl leapt skyward. Her ponytail soared behind her as she spun her body toward the creature. Her blade sang as it cut through the air bit through the creature’s neck and removed its head from its body.

  Her attack placed her behind the monster, its body already beginning to slump to the ground. She gave it no second look as she darted forward.

  Her skin tingled in the bright light of the portal, its shining warmth a welcome and unfamiliar feeling after so long in this world. She plunged blade-first through the light and closed her eyes as the golden glow flooded over her.

  Chapter Thirty One: King Lizard

  Boris sprinted onto the beach in a spray of sand. In the jungle, the Tyrannosaurus roared.

  The sound only spurred the bear to move faster.

  “Is he going to stop?” I asked Evey, my eyes on the fast-approaching water.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “Boris? Slow down, buddy.”

  The bear paid no heed to our words. He tensed and launched himself through the air and into the rowboat. The impact drove it into the waves. The Spirit Wolves followed his example and leapt into the water.

  The boat sped through the water away from the shore. The Wolves dropped their passengers into the boat and leapt into the water to push. The Tyrannosaurus burst from the trees and stomped onto the shore, but he was too late.

  Despite its long legs, the monster did not try to swim out after us. It stood on the shore and roared in futility as Evey and I slumped against one another, laughing in relief.

  We had made it. We were safe.

  Betsy’s welcoming bulk floated a hundred yards ahead. Quinn grabbed the lead-line of the rowboat and held tight. We slowed and bumped against Betsy's hull. "I don’t know why we didn’t think of using the Wolves as mounts sooner,” he said.

  “Hey,” Wish barked. “Don’t get any ideas. My wolves are not mounts. They just happened to work out that way in this case, that’s all. Don’t get used to it.”

  Boris reached the side of the ship and hauled us straight up the hull. His claws found easy purchase in the damp wood. “I hope that doesn’t put any holes in that we have to fix later,” I whispered. Evey laughed.

  “With any luck, Quinn won’t even notice.”

  The rest of the party climbed the rope to the deck. A few moments later, we all sprawled on our backs and breathed huge gulps of air. The stars shone overhead and a soft sea breeze caressed our faces as we relished in the fact we had survived.

  No one spoke for a while, until a loud snore and a snort from Rune shattered the silence. I sat up and stared in disbelief at the Berserker. “He fell asleep in that heavy armor,” I said. “I can’t believe it.”

  “We’ve got a long sail ahead of us tomorrow,” Quinn said. “It’ll take the better part of the day to reach Rawaki and Banabi again and turn in this quest. And after that, it’ll be time to go find Kiribati and lower the last barrier.”

  Boris had already settled into a pile on one side of the ship, and Nova dozed on one of the mast lines overhead. “Rune has the right idea,” Evey said. “Goodnight, everyone. And good job.”

  Everyone made their way to their respective sleeping quarters. Betsy didn’t have much room for a crew, and the party had taken to sleeping in hammocks strung up in the main cabin. Evey slept on deck with Boris. Having used the bear as a pillow on occasion, I had to admit she had the most comfortable accommodation.

  I watched everyone disappear away to get some rest, but I stayed on deck and stared out at the island. We had put enough distance between us that nothing from the island would be able to reach us during the night. The entire mass was nothing more than a dark shadow against the sky, aside from the dull red glow at the top of the mountain.

  The volcanic cone glowed no matter the time of day. I found myself thankful it had not erupted while we were on the island. It seemed like the thing a sadistic game designer would include, especially for a group retrieving two mysterious artifacts from the island.

  “Ready for what comes next?”

  I pivoted on a heel and dropped a hand to my weapon. Bastion stood behind me, his hands held up in front of him.

  “Sorry,” he said, a smirk on his face. “Thought you knew I was here.”

  “You almost caught a bullet for that,” I said. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. “You aren't going to sleep?

  “Too wired.” Bastion shook his head. “That island guardian was something else, huh?”

  “Not what I expected to see, but I can’t say I’m surprised. This game has held nothing but surprises for us so far.”

  “And what do you think will be waiting when we reach the final boss of this realm?”

  I raised an eyebrow at his question. “That’s what’s on your mind?”

  He shrugged. “Can’t say it hasn’t crossed it a time or two.”

  “Same here.” I stretched my arms behind me and tried to loosen the tension in my neck. I’d never be able to sleep unless that went away. “But I don’t think it does any good to speculate. At least not right now. We still have to get back to the twin turtles and complete whatever quest the last one has before we can enter that area.”

  “I guess you’re right.” Something about the way Bastion phrased the question, about the tone of his voice, made me think he had something more to say. Before I could ask, he gestured at the ocean. “You’re taking first watch?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. I figure someone needs to stay on guard, even if we aren’t expected too much in the way of trouble.”

  “It’s when you don’t expect it that trouble always appears,” he said. “Wake me up when you get enough. I’ll take second shift.”

  “You got it.”

  As the Prophet walked away, I turned my eyes back to the horizon. With no pirate threat to worry about, I kept a look out for any strange creatures that might decide to make a meal out of a lone vessel floating at sea.

  Morning came without incident. I had fallen asleep with my back against the masthead, and Evey woke me the next morning by shaking my shoulder. “Rise and shine.”

  I squinted against the bright sunlight. “It’s morning already?” I licked parched lips and shuddered at how dry my mouth was. “That didn’t feel like enough sleep.”

  She tossed a water skin at me. “That’s because it wasn’t. You took the first and second watches. Bastion found you out here near dawn. That’s on you.”

  I grinned. “I guess you’re right about that. Where are we?” I looked around, but the island was nowhere in sight. Only clear blue sky greeted me in every direction.

  “Quinn woke early and set sail. Said he wanted to put some distance between us and Tuvalu as fast as he could.” Her face fell for a moment. “I think yesterday shook everyone up more than they’re letting on.”

  “I can’t blame t
hem,” I said. “Our most primal fear is being eaten. It’s one thing to fight mythical creatures in this game. It’s something else entirely to fight a monster we’ve grown up fearing. Especially one that was too strong for us to defeat.”

  “I guess you’re right,” she said. “But hopefully that will be the last of that kind of encounter. With the tailwind we have, Quinn said we should reach Banabi and Rawaki in a few hours.”

  “That’s good news,” I said. I uncorked the water skin and took a deep gulp, relishing the cool liquid on my throat. In the corner of my vision, a buff appeared. “Thanks for the water.”

  Evey grinned. “You’re welcome. You’d think the designers would have gotten rid of inconveniences like dry mouth in the game, but I guess anything goes for realism.” For the hundredth time I pondered how Perla Online had managed to blur reality.

  If we had several hours to go, I had some time to kill. I pulled up the character screen and reviewed my stats. I had leveled three times between the fight against Scarlet, the Lavaback, the demon horde, and the escape from the T-Rex.

  The last boss for Toris had not been a pushover, and I had no reason to think the last fight on Shella would be any different.

  <<<>>>

  Character: Ren

  Class: Marauder (Subclass Duelist)

  Level 28

  Strength (STR): 16—160 lb. Carry Capacity

  Dexterity (DEX): 47 (+13 Equipment Bonus)—+60% Accuracy

  Constitution (CON): 45 (+10 Equipment Bonus)—550 HP

  Intelligence (INT): 25—250 Mana

  Wisdom (WIS): 13—29.5% Mana Regen

  Luck: 5—Unknown

  (15 Points to Distribute)

  <<<>>>

  I dropped another five points into Constitution. More HP was always a smart choice. I put three more points into Dexterity to bring it to an even 50, before the equipment bonus. I dropped two more points into Luck. The last five I held on to. I wanted to find out what information I could about the final boss before I used them.

  I would spend those points when I knew how I needed to fight.

  <<<>>>

  Character: Ren

  Class: Marauder (Subclass Duelist)

  Level 28

  Strength (STR): 16—160 lb. Carry Capacity

  Dexterity (DEX): 50 (+13 Equipment Bonus)—+63% Accuracy

  Constitution (CON): 50 (+10 Equipment Bonus)—600 HP

  Intelligence (INT): 25—250 Mana

  Wisdom (WIS): 13—29.5% Mana Regen

  Luck: 7—Unknown

  (5 Points to Distribute)

  <<<>>>

  I leaned back with a sigh and closed the character screen. With that done, there was nothing more to do except wait to arrive at Banabi and Rawaki.

  Chapter Thirty Two: The Tempest Bow

  “You have returned.” The words of Banabi and Rawaki rumbled in the still air. The Great Turtles welcomed us back from our quest with little preamble.

  “We have, Great Ones,” Evey said. She removed the two artifacts from her pack and presented them to the turtles. “And we have brought the two items you asked us to find.”

  I felt a sense of approval from the two deities.

  “So you have, but I—

  “—am not surprised. You were more than capable of completing the task.”

  Evey nodded. “Thank you for the vote of confidence,” she said.

  “Now it is time for us to fulfill our end of the agreement,” Banabi said.

  “Place the two items down and step back,” Rawaki continued.

  Evey did as instructed. She arranged the bow string so that it lay inside the curve of the bow frame.

  “Are you sure you do not wish to use these items on an existing weapon?” Rawaki asked.

  Evey shook her head. “You said we needed this to defeat whatever awaits us at the source of the corruption. I’ll defer to your wisdom.”

  “Then watch as the ancient magic works,” Banabi said.

  The two turtles began to hum, a sound that carried on it the depths of the sea and the lightness of the ocean breeze. Light swirled around the two halves of the weapon. Both pieces hovered a few feet above the ground as a soft wind began to blow.

  The wind wound the bowstring around the frame again and again and pulled it taut at one end. With each twist, the wind increased in strength and intensity. It took on a damp quality, and storm clouds dotted the sky overhead. Lightning cracked above us as the frame of the bow rotated in the air. The string latched to the other side of the bow and the process repeated. It drew tight once again as it twisted and spun itself into a firm knot.

  The platform creaked under the force of the wind. Waves washed up and over the wooden planks. Rune shot a nervous look my way, but I shook my head.

  I dared not speak, not now. Not with the events taking place in front of me.

  The storm transformed into a hurricane centered on the observation platform. Towering cumulonimbus clouds, black as the night itself, swirled around the Great Turtles, but their cities remained untouched.

  I squinted against the wind. This ceremony had to end soon or I feared the platform would break apart.

  The bow twisted one last time. The bowstring shivered and thrummed until its frequency matched the hum of the Great Turtles.

  Bolts of lightning raced out of the eye wall of the hurricane, one after another, and struck the weapon.

  On the last strike, the humming stopped. The winds died. The storm clouds vanished, replaced by blue skies.

  I blinked against the sudden bright sunlight and looked around. The bow still floated in the air in front of us, but it now shone with a light all its own.

  The Great Turtles spoke in unison. “Take the bow, child. It is yours.”

  Evey glanced at me, then turned towards the bow. Her hands shook as she gripped its frame. Light flooded out from the bow and wrapped around her.

  A prompt appeared at the bottom of my vision—and ostensibly, in the view of every other player in the game.

  <<<>>>

  Player Evey has obtained the unique item “Recurve Bow of the Ocean Tempest!”

  This is a unique, one-of-a-kind item obtainable only by following the quest chain “The Walls That Bind.”

  Recurve Bow of the Ocean Tempest

  Bow, Legendary, Scalable

  25 DMG/sec (Base 5 DMG + LVL bonus)

  5 Lightning DMG/second

  This weapon has a chance to stun enemies on hit and cause them to drop their weapon or be held in place. Deals additional damage to enemies in water or those with weakness to Lightning damage.

  <<<>>

  I whistled. “That’s quite a weapon,” I said. I felt a rush of jealousy. I wasn’t a bow user, but I might reconsider for something that powerful.

  Evey grinned. “Isn’t it?” She held it in front of her and tested the feel of the string. “I bet we could have taken down the Tyrannosaurus with this.”

  “It couldn’t have hurt our chances any,” I said. “You realize that was a game-wide announcement?”

  Her eyebrows raised in surprise. “Really? Great.” She sighed. “As if we hadn’t attracted enough attention to ourselves already.”

  The Great Turtles rumbled in laughter. “That weapon is truly one of a kind,” Banabi said.

  “It will serve you well, and grow in strength with you,” Rawaki said.

  Evey looked back at the bow. “It scales with me.”

  "Just like my pistols," I said. "But I imagine yours is exponentially more powerful."

  “Go now to Kiribati, our mother. She waits for you in the central sea.” Banabi inclined his massive head to us and sent a spray of water across the platform.

  “We thank you for all the aid you have lent. Consider us in your debt.” Rawaki mimicked her brother’s motion.

  Another prompt appeared in my vision.

  <<<>>>

  Quest Updated: "The Walls That Bind"

  Lower each of the magical barriers that surround the crashed vessel a
nd cleanse the corruption that sleeps there. Prove your worth to the five Great Turtles and free Shella of Foscor’s grasp.

  Barriers remaining: 1/5

  <<<>>>

  Four down, one to go. “Thank you,” I said. “Without the aid of you and your siblings we would never have made it this far.”

  “It is you we should thank,” the two chimed in unison. “Your efforts have restored an ancient weapon to this realm and helped to purge it of many wrongs. Finish the quest you have begun and free these waters from the corruption that would take them.”

  “Consider it done,” Evey said. “We want nothing more than to defeat whatever evil lurks in the depths.”

  “The seas and winds will aid you on your way to our mother,” the two said. “Go now. With only one barrier remaining, the corruption spreads faster than ever before.”

  Their heads parted, and Betsy floated under her own volition to the observation platform—a place that, if I had to guess, no other ship had ever come so close to. I guess they intended for us to leave as soon as possible.

  “Looks like it's time to go,” I said. “Quinn, is everything ready?”

  The Swashbuckler cast an appraising eye over the sails and rigging, then nodded. “Aye. We’ll make good time.” His eyes sparkled. “Shella is full of interesting places, but none of them come close to Kiribati, the Jewel of the Sea.”

  “Then take the helm and take us there.” I gestured to the ship and grabbed the first rail of the ladder. “Let’s see this gem.”

  If I could ever describe a trip as too easy, it would be the voyage from the twins to Kiribati. With their magic on his side, Quinn broke free of the serpentine current of Shella. He guided Betsy straight toward Kiribati faster than any ship had ever gone. We cut through the waves, the gentle up-and-down movement of the deck enough to lull me into a stupor.

  I had not realized how much the current affected our movement, but in calm waters the lack of its insistent tug became clear. It was the difference between riding in a vehicle with well-maintained shocks and one with square tires.