Veil Online - Book 3: An Epic LitRPG Adventure

by John Cressman

  “I am not blinded,” Mika said defiantly. “And Jace is no monster!”

  “Hmm,” the voice said. “Are you… Jace? Are you no monster?”

  “I try not to be,” Jace said hoarsely. He remembered his parents and sister dying in the car accident on the day of his graduation. He’d wanted to go out with his friend instead of them. Because of that, they’d gone home instead of to the restaurant. They’d died on the way home. All because of his decision. Maybe he was a monster. But he’d tried to be a good person since then. The person his parents would have wanted him to be.

  “I guess that’s as honest an answer as any of us can give,” the voice said. The voice paused and then said. “You are looking for treasure on the island?”

  “Yes,” Jace replied. “Buried treasure from a pirate captain.”

  “And then you will leave the island?” the voice asked.

  “Yes,” Jace said cautiously. The person had still not asked him about how to become human. Were they crazy like Big Cheese?

  “Then, I will lead you to the treasure and then you will leave me,” the voice said.

  “Don’t you want to know how to be human again?” Diana asked.

  “I was human for almost sixty years,” the voice said. “I had a wife who cheated on me and left me for my brother. I had children who ignored me except when they wanted more money. And my dog, Rocky, died two months before I did. What’s really so good about being human?”

  “I’ve already contacted support,” Jace told him. “They’ll find the bug and fix it and then set everyone back to the way they were. You’ll become whatever you originally asked.”

  The voice sighed. “Then, I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.” There was silence for a moment. “Let’s get you to your treasure before the natives wake up.”

  With those words, the mist began to clear. Over the course of a minute, the mist evaporated entirely. When it had dissipated, the three of them found themselves staring at the enormous head of a turtle the size of a jet airliner. And not just any type of giant turtle, this was a dragon turtle. One of the powerful creatures in the seas.

  Chapter 13

  The three of them followed the massive dragon turtle to the west. With the mist gone, it was easy to see.

  “You created the mist?” Jace asked.

  “Yes, one of my many special abilities,” the turtle answered, bobbing its gigantic head. As it opened and closed its mouth, Jace realized the thing could swallow him with one bite. Curious, he looked at the dragon turtle in his HUD.

  Tieghosdirth (Fabled)

  Race: Dragon Turtle

  Class: Warlock

  Level: 100

  Jace almost stumbled as he read the description. This turtle was an epic raid monster. And not just any epic raid monster, a Fabled monster. They were the most powerful creatures in the game. It was probably on par with the Black Dragon that had threatened Whitecliff. And Jace was walking next to it.

  “Geez!” Jace breathed. “You’re a Fabled monster.”

  “Am I?” the turtles murmured. “I’m not even sure what that means.”

  “It means you’re probably one of the most powerful monsters in the game,” he told the turtle. He suddenly felt awkward referring to the person as a dragon turtle, even in his mind. “Do you have a name we can call you?”

  “Bob.” The turtle smiled. At least, Jace hoped it was a smile.

  “Are you… serious?” Jace asked hesitantly.

  “Well, my name is Robert,” Bob replied. “But everyone called me Bob.”

  “It is very nice to meet you Mr. Bob.” Mika smiled up at the dragon turtle. “I am Mika! He is Jace and this is Diana.”

  The turtle chuckled, a low rumbling sound that seemed to vibrate every cell in Jace’s body. “Just Bob little one. Not Mr. Bob. Just Bob.”

  “Okay, Bob.” Mika beamed.

  They followed the turtle for almost half an hour and despite turtles having a reputation for being slow, they found themselves struggling to keep up with him. His long, even gait kept them moving at a brisk pace the entire time.

  The entire time they have been traveling, they’d been getting closer and closer to the volcanoes. When Bob finally came to a halt, they were between the two volcanoes on a raised area of what appeared to have been a lava flowed that cooled long ago.

  Bob tilted his head and brought one of his great eyes to a hole that looked barely large enough for a human to pass through. He blinked a few times and then raised his head. “Down there is where my treasure is. I add to it as I find more and now there is so much.”

  “Lair?” Diana asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “Yes, I found a very large underground cave that I like to rest in when I’m not floating around the ocean. It is warm from the volcanos and the hot water feels good,” he grinned, as if imaging being in the warm water.

  “There is much treasure down there and you may take what you wish,” Bob told them. “I find it on the bottom of the ocean. In the hulls of sunken ships. I bring it back here and put it in my cave. But maybe if there is less treasure here, there will be less visitors.”

  “Visitors?” Jace asked.

  “Raiders,” the giant turtle replied, a sad expression on his face. “For almost a year, they would not leave me alone. They came, always forty of them.”

  “You killed them?” Mika asked curiously.

  “Yes, little Mika,” the dragon turtle bobbed its head. “I killed them. They came ready to slaughter me, but I was not ready to give up this body. They could not stand against me. The ‘raiders’, as they called themselves, tried many times before they gave up. Each time, they hurt me, but each time I prevailed.”

  Jace realized raiders had probably found out his locations and came here to kill him. But because an AI wasn’t controlling him, he had no limitations on when or how he used whatever special attacks were at his disposal. Just like the black dragon that had almost destroyed Whitecliff.

  “No more questions,” the turtle said, looking to the sun in the west. “You are almost out of time.”

  “Out of time?” Diana asked.

  “The kroakers are nocturnal,” he told them, glancing back the way they came. “They sleep now in the lake you passed, but they will wake soon and they will smell you. Then they will come for you.”

  “Oh dear,” Diana replied and glanced nervously behind them. “We should get going.”

  “Hurry little ones,” he said. “I return to my cave. Please do not tell others of me. I only wish to enjoy the sun, the ocean and the heat of my cave. I do not wish to fight.”

  “We won’t,” they said, nearly in unison.

  “Farewell little humans,” he said. “Be safe… and hurry.”

  The giant dragon turtle ambled off down the slope, walking straight into the ocean. He walked out a good hundred yards before the ocean dropped off and he disappeared under the water.

  “Jace?!” Diana nudged him with her elbow. She seemed almost frantic again. “Let’s get the treasure and get out of here.”

  “Right,” Jace nodded, tearing his eyes away from the spot where the thing had disappeared.

  Taking his rope back out of his inventory, he tied it onto a nearby palm tree and climbed down into the darkness. Once he got to the bottom, he pulled out the magical longsword, Ardmore’s Bane, they’d found in the sewers of Whitecliff. It was too low level for him to use in combat, but it did shed light and allowed him to see more with his Cat-Vision.

  What he saw was an enormous watery cavern. The cave stretched out towards the ocean and although the center of the gigantic passage was underwater, there were twenty feet of stone on either side where Bob had stacked up treasure.

  The air was hot and humid and stank of brimstone. Down the giant passage, he could see the yellow-orange light of lava pools. The close proximity of the lava must heat up the air and the water around them, which is why it felt like a sauna.

  He looked around his side of the passage. It was he
aping with gold, treasure chests and items. Jace found a number of big chests. He grinned. Everyone loves big chests. Taking two of the chests of gold, he dumped them into his inventory.

  You are mildly encumbered.

  Movement reduced by 10%.

  Stamina usage increased by 20%.

  You are encumbered.

  Movement reduced by 20%.

  Stamina usage increased by 40%.

  You are heavily encumbered.

  Movement reduced by 30%.

  Stamina usage increased by 60%.

  He didn’t just see the system messages. Jace felt the change. It was as if he was suddenly Atlas, bearing the weight of the world on his shoulders. With his sensory input stuck at maximum, he literally felt like he was about to be crushed under some unseen burden. He pulled one of the chests out of inventory and set it on the ground.

  You are no longer heavily encumbered.

  You are no longer encumbered.

  You are mildly encumbered.

  Movement reduced by 10%.

  Stamina usage increased by 10%.

  Dropping the second chest greatly reduced the strain he felt and also reduced the movement penalty. If he wanted to take two or more chests back to the ship, he was going to need help.

  “Mika,” he called up. “Can you come down here?”

  The lithe girl answered by shimming down the rope and then dropping dexterously next to him. When she stood up, she glanced around the cavern with wide eyes. “This is a lot of treasure.”

  “Yes,” he told her. “But, carrying just one chest encumbers me. Two chests severely over encumber me.”

  “It’s hot down here,” she observed.

  “Yeah,” Jace agreed. “This must be part of the cave that Bob likes.”

  The Japanese girl looked around at all of the treasure that lined the walls and floor. “How did Bob get this much treasure?”

  “Raiders,” Jace told her. “This place is out in the middle of nowhere. Chances are, their bodies expired before they made it back or, they made it back and Bob killed them. Most raiders carry a decent amount of gold on them, potions and other stuff for the raid. The only reason this place isn’t filled to the brim with gear is that at raider level, most items are soulbound, so they’d reappear with the player.”

  “Oh,” Mika nodded, still looking at the treasure. Suddenly her eyes went wide and she rushed over to a pile of gold and grabbed a small pouch. As Jace looked closer, he could see it had been partially open and had spilled out gems of all shapes, sizes and colors. “Can I keep these?”

  Jace shrugged. “Sure. I don’t see why not. I promised to bring back the treasure and that they could have what I brought back. I never said anything about giving them whatever you and Diana brought back.”

  She clapped her hands excitedly and gathered up the gems. Then she made the pouch disappear into her inventory.

  “I want to look around a bit,” he said. “Can you do me a favor and climb back up, give this chest to Diana to carry and then come back and get another one?”

  “Sure,” she flashed him a grin. Then she made a chest disappear and started up the rope.

  While she was gone, Jace took a long look around. He had no idea how much gold was down here but he knew it had to be millions of gold. If he had some way to get it out of here, they would never have to want for gold any longer.

  His foot stubbed itself on something and he looked down to see a flawless green emerald in a silver setting. He reached down to pick it up and found it was a ring. Then he received a message.

  Ring of Arcane Storage is a Soulbound item.

  Do you wish to permanently bind this item to your character? (Yes or No)

  Warning: This action cannot be undone.

  Excitedly, Jace examined the ring.

  Ring of Arcane Storage

  Type: Ring

  Level: 1

  Wt: .1 lb

  Special: Wearer can store a single non-damaging spell of any level.

  Description: These rare rings are crafted by the arch mages of the mage’s guild. Their construction is a heavily guarded secret because of the power these rings can give the wielder. Because of the possibility of abuse, they are only given to the most loyal of allies.

  Current Spell: Teleportation

  Jace looked at the description more closely and his eyes went wide as he read the current spell. It was a teleportation spell! With that, he could teleport himself and his entire group to any city he’d been to!

  He quickly chose Yes, to bind it to him.

  Ring of Arcane Storage has been bound.

  You received Ring of Arcane Storage.

  The ring was incredibly powerful since it could store a spell of any level. Unfortunately, if he remembered correctly, once the spell was used, it was gone until you cast a new spell into the ring. So if Jace used the teleportation spell, he’d have to find a high level wizard to recast the spell into his ring and they’d charge him the going rate: 10,000 gold. And that was if he could even find a wizard who would do it.

  He sighed as he slipped the ring on his finger. For now, they’d need to be extremely judicious about using the spell. For all he knew, they’d only ever get to use it once. After it was gone, they may or may not ever get it recharged.

  Mika scrambled down the rope and grabbed the other chest. A moment later, it disappeared into her inventory. She turned to him and smiled. “All set!”

  “Great.” He smiled. “I just found a powerful magic ring! Maybe we should look around and see if there are any other…”

  “Um,” Diana’s nervous voice called from the entrance. “It’s kind of getting dark up here. I really think we should go!”

  Jace looked around the huge treasure chamber and swore. If only he had more time - and more carrying capacity! He wanted to stay but he knew if they didn’t leave, they risked the chance of running into the kroakers and if they died, then they’d lose more than just the treasure.

  “Okay,” Jace said reluctantly, casting one more glance at the treasure. “We’d better go.”

  Chapter 14

  Jace climbed up after Mika. As he cleared the entrance, he understood Diana’s concern. The sun was already dipping. Into the western horizon. Bob had said the kroakers were nocturnal. But he didn’t know if that meant they woke up once it was fully dark or if they were already awake at dark.

  “You have a chest?” Jace asked Diana.

  She thrust out her ample bosom and smiled. “So nice of you to notice.”

  Rolling his eyes, Jace turned to gather up the rope. “You know what I meant.”

  “I did, dear one,” Diana said and her brief playful voice disappeared, replaced by the nervousness he’d heard before. “And I am carrying a chest. I got a message about mild encumbrance.”

  “Yes,” he confirmed. “We all have it. It will slow us a little but we should be okay.”

  “All the more reason for us to get the heck out of dodge,” Diana said, once again glancing back towards the lake they had passed. Even though she hadn’t been down in the sauna-like cave, he could see beads of sweat on her forehead.

  Luna seemed to share Diana’s concern. Her tail was puffed out and it swished back and forth, while her ears were twitching and rotating, as if trying to home in on some unseen sound.

  Jace nodded and brought out his compass. He pointed north. “Ok, let’s head north to the shore and then follow it back east to ship.”

  Without any more talk, they followed Jace as he circled north around the volcano. Because of their encumbrance, the going was slower than he had hoped. By the time the jungle opened up into the beach, the last rays of the sun were disappearing into the west.

  At the beach, they turned right and began to circle to the east towards the ship. They hadn’t taken more than a dozen steps when they heard a loud croaking coming from the jungle. It was answered by a croaking from a different location. And then another. Soon, it was an unnaturally loud chorus of croaks that filled the night
air.

  Diana went pale and Jace wondered if her dislike of frogs was more like a phobia. She seemed terrified. Or, perhaps just the thought of facing giant, bipedal frogs on the beach at night was terrifying.

  Within a few seconds, as if they had coordinated it, they all had their weapons out. Jace looked at the girls. “If any of us die, remember, we’ll respawn in Lasthaven. Stay out of sight until the others can come for you.”

  “That’s encouraging,” Diana quipped.

  “Come on,” he said and they hurried along. He wanted to run, but with the mild encumbrance, their stamina usage would be 20% greater. That meant if they got into a fight, especially a long fight, they could easily run out of stamina. Running out of stamina during a fight was tantamount to death. At zero stamina, they’d collapse and be killed by the enemy.

  They raced along the beach as the croaking seemed to move throughout the jungle next to them. It had taken them hours to navigate through the thick mist Bob had created. Jace hoped it wouldn’t take nearly as long on a clear, open beach. They didn’t have that sort of time.

  Just then, two kroakers burst out of the jungle and launched themselves towards his group. Jace reacted out of instinct, born from years of playing the game, he immediately popped his Evade.

  He realized the second one was aimed at Diana but couldn’t do anything in time. The older woman just wanted, wide-eyed, as the olive skinned kroaker flew at her, spear first. Then an orange blur collided with the kroaker and they both went tumbling into the sand.

  Moonlake Kroaker Warrior uses Springing Attack on Diana Knightly but is interrupted.

  Luna uses Pounce Attack on Moonlake Kroaker Warrior for 23 damage.

  Luna had leaped at and intercepted the kroaker in midair, knocking the thing into the ground and saving Diana was what would have been a painful charge attack. As the kroaker who had launched itself at Jace approached, he blurred to the side and the kroaker soared past him.