Ring of Promise: A LitRPG novel (Elements of Wrath Online Book 1) Read online

  Our vantage point at the start of the snowy trail up toward the top should have been swarming with Pyrlin spawns but it wasn’t. In fact, the same MOB camps that Kayla and I had stomped through the previous evening were mostly gone with only a few smoldering fire pits and discarded battle standards. It was a bit spooky, to be honest.

  “Crustaceans,” Burndall muttered as he squinted at the peak. “There’s got to be a ton of MOBs clustered up there now! How’re we going to deal with that?”

  Kayla shook her head as she conjured up her staff and orb. “It depends on if those MOBs stayed the same level, matched up to the zone’s level, or scale as part of the Crystalfire questline.”

  I nodded my agreement as I dismissed Snowy, causing the goat to vanish with a disappointed bleat. “If they’re the same level as the ones down here were, we should be able to cut through to the Needle pretty easy. If they match the zone’s level or scale, well, it’ll be tougher but I think we can manage.”

  Crysta had clambered atop a small boulder, holding her bow up and sighting down its line. One big plus of raid gear was having plenty of Gem slots, enough to have room for neat little Utility Gems like the crystal-clear Eagle Eyes Gem connected like a sight on the side. Crysta’s hair and armor swirled in a perpetual wind as she squinted her eyes, sweeping the bow from side to side.

  “It’s exactly as Copperholt said,” she murmured as her brow wrinkled. “Plenty of Pyrlins, a few more Crystal Ogres, and a Storm Elemental … per camp. There’s maybe a half-dozen camps sprinkled here and there.” She nodded to herself. “The good news is that they aren’t scalers. More importantly …” Her voice trailed off as the Eagle Eyes Gem glowed brighter. “There. I think I see where we’re supposed to go!”

  “Whatcha see?” Burndall was practically dancing at the base of the boulder. “How many of those little spuds do we get to blow up?”

  While the kid was getting hyped up to cause damage, Kayla stepped up next to me, frowning. “I know I was the first to say it, but I’m a little worried that those things aren’t scaled.” Glancing up at me, she pointed up at the Needle. “It sounds like a trap of some kind. It can’t be this straight forward.”

  I smiled wryly and nodded. “You’ve got to be right, but I think the real challenge will be somewhere up at the Needle itself. These guys are just the appetizers.”

  Crysta glanced back at us from her perch. “I like him, Kayla. He’s smart.” She hopped lithely down from the rock. “You are both right. Burndall, you might be a bit too low-level to know about them but there have always been some caves in the pockets up there and –”

  “That’s where the Light is, right?” the kid cried, bouncing from foot to foot while I tried not to look vaguely embarrassed by her compliment. “That’s what you saw with the Gem, yeah?”

  The Ranger looked a little annoyed with Burndall’s hyper act but nodded in reply. “I didn’t see the Light, but I did see one of the pockets sealed up with a wall of fire. Not the pure stuff like your Ember uses; it’s … well … black in the center. Corrupted.”

  “That’s our target then.” I pointed my fluttering banner, a little forlorn looking with its two empty sockets, where she was looking. “Did you see a good approach toward that barrier? While I love to stomp MOBs as much as anyone, we need to move fast if we want to keep our lead.”

  Burndall sighed forlornly, but he brightened a split second later. “Gotcha, chief. Big picture, right?”

  “Exactly, big picture.”

  Crysta smiled, one of the few times I had seen one so far, which was sad because she had one of those “light up the room” smiles. “I scouted out the exact route.” There was a mental nudge and my Herald pinged. “Kayla’s already got this, but for you two, this is a little mod I whipped up. Boogying sweet potatoes in Thailand is my tiger’s milk.” We all got a chuckle from the Filter as we followed along. “Fire it up, and I can highlight the path I scouted, and the MOB groups I marked. As for them, well, I’m sure there will be plenty of creatures in our way, Burndall. You’ll have your fun.”

  As we shifted forward into sprint mode, its odd feeling of being lighter than air filled me while I cycled through the Herald to messages and started up the mod Crysta had sent us. I didn’t do much with mods usually, the EO team overall had done a bang-up job on the core elements of the game, but I had done my fair share of UI customization.

  That’s what this was, taking the information that Crysta’s Eagle Eye Gem could give to the group and making it an easy-to-see but not overly distracting glow along the trail with the MOB clusters marked in brighter beacons.

  “They should go down fast, and there are only two camps we need to clear if we make a beeline,” Kayla noted as we continued up the rise. “They might have runners, though. If anything starts to move –”

  “Burn it all!” Burndall fittingly interjected. “Got it, pretty lady!”

  She rolled her eyes. “Right. The Storms are the most likely runners with their ability to fly. Zoom! Right up the mountain to the next group!”

  Crysta was ranging ahead, obviously aided by some high-grade speed boost, stopping every so often to let us catch up. As we caught up this time, she was fiddling with her Gems, slotting a starburst-cut amethyst in a bow socket. “There. I’ll open with a Binding Arrow to hold them down but that won’t last forever.”

  I nodded in assent; it was always good tactics to crowd control troublesome single beasties like that. “Bind and burn it. I should be able to gather up these lowbie goons and hold them without help easy peasy.”

  There really wasn’t any more to say tactically. With Crysta focused on crowd control, I was confident we’d make it to that fire wall without a hitch. Once we got there, well, that was the real challenge, wasn’t it?

  Our approach was unmolested, exactly as our Ranger predicted, the broadly sloped ramp slowly making way to pitted, rusty black iron. As we broke the clouds up to the base of the Needle proper, the path narrowed, forcing us into a single-file line. That was fine by me, especially as Crysta fell automatically into step behind me despite her superior speed. Like I said, the Sisters were pros. They knew to let the tank go first!

  The first enemy beacon was close now, right around a turn on the ridge. The rise itself shielded them from our direct line of sight, but the bulge we ran around in the path made me think that the baddies were grouped up on a larger landing. We’d have some room to maneuver, but that would also give any runners a better chance to bug out. Oh well, we could handle it.

  Pyrlins and Ogres do not make the best guards. The little fool’s gold snots were inherently lazy and deceitful, making them top-notch buck-passers, and Ogres are generally as thick as the crystal that forms their skins. The Stormies, well, they were pure elementals. No one had a clue how their alien brains worked but if they weren’t blowing the humanoid MOBs away, the elementals had to be bound by something bigger and badder than them. They were the only real threat in the camp, both as guards and enemies … assuming whatever bound them didn't show up to crash the party.

  Rounding the corner, we slowed out of Sprint mode but still kept a rapid pace. Burndall’s free hand started going through the mechanical motions of virtual commands while Kayla and Crysta were already in mid-action, the Sorceress weaving up the familiar Ice Shield and Thorns combo while the Ranger loaded an arrow with a large, bulbous head made of writhing threads. Me, I mentally queued up a Defiant Display to grab everybody’s attention once we crested the ridge.

  We saw their shadows before we saw them, cast down by the smoky fire that dominated the center of the landing. I side-shuffled a step to adjust, wanting to plunge into their very center to corral the whole group at once, and cleared the top of the slope, skirting right past a snoozing Pyrlin with a skin full of some rancid-smelling beverage dribbling on his golden belly.

  The full combat UI resolved into solidity, each of the seven Pyrlins, two Crystal Ogres, and one Storm Elemental outlined in red with instant notifications of level and ch
allenge rating in my brain.

  Not that I doubted her but Crysta’s information was dead right. The Pyrlins hovered between level 15 through 18, registering as D-rating threat to me (barely worth the time to kill), the Ogres were beefier at level 23, but still down in the D dumps, and the Storm Elemental finished up at a ‘massive’ level 32, a scaaaary C-rating threat. Yeah, I could take a beating for more than long enough to mop them up in short order.

  I was really wondering what the point of these guys was in the first place. The quest’s storyline? Maybe. The whole assortment of them were gathered haphazardly around the pyre while the Storm Elemental, an eight-foot column of swirling winds and storm clouds, floated passively against the rising black peak, its eyes glittering in the middle of the cyclone like burning coals. The beasts looked confused and sluggish, as if they had just chowed down on a buffet, and I swear one of the Ogres was complaining in their guttural tongue about our annoying and sudden interruption of their nap.

  Good, I wanted them annoyed at the big stone man running into their midst, any and everything to get all the threat onto me. As I skidded to a halt beside the greasy, smelly fire, our coordinated strike went off without a hitch. Kayla’s incantation finished, my massive shield crusting with ice and razor-sharp spikes, right as Crysta launched a high, arcing shot with expert precision. The bulbous head exploded into a mass of glowing tendrils, raining down on the Elemental and several of the Pyrlins while I slammed my banner down and shouted a challenge, activating Defiant Display.

  Crysta’s Binding Arrow hits! Storm Elemental takes 36 (-36 resisted) Physical Damage and gains Bane ‘Bound’!

  Drunk Pyrlin C takes 125 Physical Damage and gains Bane ‘Bound’!

  Drunk Pyrlin D takes 118 Physical Damage and gains Bane ‘Bound’!

  Even the minor damage from the Binding almost killed the two little snots and my Display got the attention of the entire crowd. The unbound Pyrlins clambered unsteadily to their feet in a drunken rage while the Ogres, much more on the ball, rushed me. The Storm Elemental roared with the ferocity of a thunderclap but remained bound in place by the brilliant blue bindings. Burndall, faster than yesterday but still way behind the rest of us, finally managed to finish his Exploding Runes Spell as he followed in my wake.

  I met the first Ogre’s charge with a Shield Slam, cracking the beast’s crystalline belly open and stunning it before turning toward the second and catching the wild swinging club with a stout block. Between my shield and Kayla’s Ice Shield, I didn’t even take a single point of damage.

  Behind me, Kayla was already through most of her next spell while Crysta nocked and fired an arrow that multiplied a dozen times in mid-flight, showering the same area her Binding Arrow did with razor-sharp splinters. The two Pyrlins were turned into pin cushions while most of the shards passed through the Elemental’s gaseous form.

  Yeah, this was going to be as easy as we thought. With the Pyrlins cleared out from around the Elemental, the kid shot through that gap, swinging his black blade in perfect synchronicity with Kayla’s Flame Column. The earth erupted with fire as the burning runes leapt off Burndall’s blade and onto the sparking monstrosity. The Elemental writhed and stormed, twisting at its bonds as Kayla’s spell tore at its essence, right before the runes exploded.

  Unfortunately, this wasn’t scaling content and Burndall was hit hard by the massive level difference between him and the Elemental. While Kayla’s spell ripped away most of the monster’s winds and bluster, the Exploding Runes barely tickled it. The glowing ropes started to fray and threaten our whole plan, but I had other issues, namely the remaining beasties clawing and bashing at me from all sides. Apparently, Pyrlins were really mean drunks, something that was news to me.

  Drunk Pyrlin A is granted Boon ‘Drunken Fury’! Attack Speed and Physical Damage increased by 50%!

  Even with the level difference, they managed to claw gouges in my armor while I deflected a home run swing from the unfazed Crystal Ogre away with my banner pole. The only saving grace from having so many of the little buggers hit me was watching them cut themselves up nicely on Kayla’s icicle thorns.

  Unfortunately, that didn’t last forever, and as the remains of my Ice Shield shattered, I considered popping Strength of the Mountains early. While I could take quite a few more hits from these low-level MOBs, I also didn’t want to get cocky. Still, I held off. After all, we had a full-on Support with us today!

  Trusting in Crysta, I ignored the Pyrlins, angry or not, and cut off the fresh Ogre’s next swing with another crushing blow from my shield, driving the big goon back a few steps and cracking its hide.

  I seriously questioned that trust when she launched another arrow … right into my back.

  Instead of the intense pain and probably death an arrow from a max-level Ranger would normally inflict, the attack felt soothing, numbing the pain from the numerous scratches and bruises. Sparkling green motes exploded from the dissolving arrow in my back and ran over my body, instantly sealing all of my wounds. Trust restored!

  Crysta uses Greenlife Arrow on you! You heal 752 (2,101 overhealed) Health Points! HP 3280/3280

  And that was another problem with non-scaled content and our party layout. Burndall was struggling, but Crysta was doing too well. The tremendous burst of healing drew the immediate ire of every member of the beast tribe even as Kayla finished off the Storm Elemental with an Ice Spear before it could break free.

  “Cherry Cola!” Crysta let out. “Sorry, Shale, that was my smallest heal!” As she danced back from the rush of MOBs, Burndall and I both spun to track them. They might not be a huge threat to her at her level, but my tanking instincts took over. Danger or not, those monsters were supposed to be punching me in the face!

  “It’s okay. I’m on it!” I hoped so, at least, and I hoped that the kid was listening. Raising my hand toward Crysta’s retreating form, I activated my Impose Gem and shouted, “Burndall, do your Ring of Fire trick!”

  The black iron peak blurred around me as I rocketed toward the Ranger, barreling through the Pyrlins and past the two Ogres. Even as the threat transferred from her to me, Impose pushed her (gently this time, I hoped) further away from the motley crew. My armored boots skidded in the snow as I landed, spinning on a dime to bring my shield back up and around to meet the onslaught.

  Burndall’s hands were dancing across the virtual control as he let out a growl of consternation. “Stupid UI! Raging polish sausages, just do it, okay?!” With that shout of pure frustration, he slammed his sword into the earth and much to his surprise, the Ember shouted out the arcane words to activate his Group Call of Ring of Fire.

  For some of us, that moment where we hit true immersion is born from a love of the game or from getting lost in the beautiful vistas of a fantasy world. For others, it is simple something learned over time from constant practice with the NSAF gear. But for Burndall, it was apparently born from getting so pissed off that he made the thing work for him.

  Who was I to argue his methodology when it worked?

  Circles of roaring flames burst up around our entire group just as the remaining drunken brutes surrounded me. The Pyrlins were even lower level than Burndall and being soaked with 120-proof alcohol made them even more flammable than normal Earth creatures. They started to melt immediately, before exploding into flames themselves. The Ogres took a lighter touch but their crystal skins cracked and smoked from the intense heat.

  “Congrats, Burndall!” Kayla grinned as she fired off another volley of Ice Spears, the yard-long spikes piercing straight through one of the Ogre’s bodies. The lumbering monster grasped at the spear protruding from its chest dumbly before collapsing into a heap as it continued to roast.

  At the same time, Crysta looked at the fires dancing around her and let out a giddy laugh. “Super creative!” Instead of launching another volley of arrows, she danced forward with the practiced grace of a ballerina, giggling as the flames dancing around her melted the battered Ogre down into charred crysta
l and slag.

  And just like that, it was over. The slagged corpses glowed for a moment before breaking apart into a scattered pile of loot orbs. I didn’t even notice the small ping added to my experience total.

  Burndall stood there stunned and staring at his hand as Crysta waved at the ring of fire as it dissipated. Kayla walked over to take a look at the loot orbs while I moved over to the kid and clapped him on the shoulder.

  “Great show, kid,” I grinned. “I think you just leveled up.”

  He blinked and looked over at me. Yeah, I could even see the extra bit of emotion in his blazing eyes that was the clear sign of full immersion. “Wow, holy zen gardens! Is this how you guys play the game?!”

  I gave him a thumbs-up. “It is. A step up from playing with your fingers, isn’t it?”

  Burndall began to laugh. “You betcha! This is crazy! I can … feel everything, man!” He conjured up his sword and spun it around, continuing to laugh like a giddy fool. “Awesome!”

  Crysta danced up on his other side and matched his smile. “Welcome to the real game!” She hugged him about the shoulder. “I remember when it happened to me back when Vanni and I were …” Her voice trailed off, and her smile started to fade. She stepped away and looked off up the Needle.

  The kid didn’t quite grasp the moment, not entirely, but I did and so did Kayla. “Yeah, it was pretty intense for me, too,” I said and gave Burndall some space as well. I looked over at Crysta and she was still standing there, rigid and staring up at the black peak ahead.

  Our Sorceress flashed me a worried look and cleared her throat. “Well … there’s nothing of any note on these guys. The gold should already be in your pouches and if you want some vendor trash, you’re welcome.” Kayla touched Crysta’s shoulder gently. “I think the Spent Pyrlin Mead Jugs are a new drop …?”