Ultima: A LitRPG Journey (Legends Online Book 4) Read online

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons— living or dead—is entirely coincidental.

  Ultima

  Legends Online Book Four

  Jonathan Yanez

  Ross Buzzell

  Contents

  Stay Informed

  1. Glitch

  2. Canyons

  3. Xlotos

  4. The Aid of a Necromancer

  5. Manama

  6. Guardian

  7. Truth of the Matter

  8. Through and Out

  9. Oasis

  10. With Friends Like These

  11. Scouting Party

  12. All Luck, No Skill

  13. Keepers

  14. Goddess of Love

  15. Words of a Mortal

  16. God of Death

  17. New Village

  18. Night Flight

  19. New Oasis

  20. Order of the White Moon

  21. Moon Forge

  22. Boat Ride

  23. Returning the Favor

  24. Returning Home

  25. Repel

  26. Dragon 2.0

  27. The Price of Treason

  28. Scars

  29. Love of a Brother

  30. Order of the Phoenix

  31. Ocean Breeze

  32. “Ghost” Town

  33. Vampire Masquerade

  34. War of the Dead

  35. Yo-Ho Yo-Ho

  36. High Seas

  37. And Monsters

  38. Escort Mission

  39. Moot

  40. Stubbornness of a Dwarf

  41. Home

  42. Reunion

  43. The Field

  44. Charge

  45. War

  46. Of Gods

  47. Endgame

  Epilogue

  Stay Informed

  Stay Informed

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  1

  Glitch

  Whistles sang out as dozens of swords cut through the air. Rows of men, women, and even children stood in perfectly formed lines twirling their weapons in unison. Illume walked up and down the rows inspecting their form. Most had come a long way but the Cryomancer had sent emissaries for anyone who wanted to learn.

  Over the past few months, he’d trained hundreds how to fight with a sword. Those who bested him without any magic or powers were put in charge of training others back at their home villages. Nari assisted in dual-wield training, while Ingrid helped those who didn’t have an affinity for swordplay learn how to use axes and hammers. A select few broke off with Melpomene to learn archery.

  “I think that’s enough for today!” Illume’s voice echoed off the walls of the Dark Tower’s courtyard. “You all have made great progress. Go home; teach what you’ve learned here to anyone who will learn.”

  With that, the group of trainees sheathed their weapons and dispersed. Some loaded up their horses and wagons and left. Others hunkered in for the night. Moving across the courtyard, Illume approached the forge, where several dwarfs worked Mobrebalku metal.

  “How’s the project coming along?” Illume asked.

  “Smoothly, but it’d be a lot easier if we could get the forges of Strang, Mobrebalku, the North, or even Cryo’s Quarry involved,” the dwarf manning the bellows replied.

  “That’s not an option, I’m afraid,” the Cryomancer mused. “There could be eyes anywhere.”

  “Whose?” the hammering dwarf asked.

  Picking up a sword and giving it a swing, Illume inspected it closely. It was perfectly balanced, its blade so sharp, it would cut a piece of silk. Most importantly, it was sturdy.

  “If I’m being honest, gentlemen, I don’t know,” he admitted. “The threats on this land keep getting bigger, and I’m not about to be reactive this time. This time, I’m taking the fight to them.”

  “Again, who, sire?” the bellowing dwarf asked.

  “I’ll let you know just as soon as I find out,” Illume replied.

  Walking past the skeleton of the old forge toward the Dark Towers massive wooden doors that were left open, Illume was met with the scent of burned wood. The clang of a hammer echoed from within, accompanied by a series of sparks.

  Illume entered his tower and saw Ingrid using Mjolnir to forge a set of armor. From the size of it, he figured it was for her. Urtan pumped the bellows as he watched in awe of her work. The new forge took some time to build as the tower itself underwent heavy renovations for the smoke and fumes to escape safely.

  “You almost done with your project?” Illume called out.

  Ingrid stopped hammering. She set the hulking weapon down and wiped her brow and slid the armor to the side of the fire. Urtan stopped working the bellows and leaned against them instead.

  “Just putting those last few touches you gave me onto it,” she replied. “It’s looking really cool, though. Thank you for the design input.”

  “No problem.” Illume offered her a thumbs-up. “Heard anything back from Melpomene, Urtan?”

  “Pretty phoenix lady asleep in bed,” he replied. “She got back long after Urtan went to sleep. Mumbled something about dogman, but Urtan heard no more.”

  “Thanks, big guy, I’ll check in with her before we leave,” Illume said.

  He continued his path forward and ascended the stairs. Passing the room that belonged to Urtan and Melpomene, Illume would have sworn Urtan was asleep in there from the snoring that nearly vibrated the door off its hinges. Continuing up to his room, he found Nari studying her book. Sparks leapt between the fingers of her left hand and formed a small ball of electricity in her palm.

  “That’s an interesting trick,” he pointed out.

  Nari yelped and jumped at the sound of his voice. She turned to face him, her cheeks flushed as she let out an embarrassed laugh. Looking at her hand, she moved her fingers, which caused the ball of electricity to dance around in her palm.

  “It’s a trick provided to me by this lovely ring you made me,” she replied, looking at her engagement ring as the electricity faded. “I find it helps streamline the process of reading the coding.”

  “And what have you read?” Illume inquired as he approached her.

  “The strange readings are growing stronger as if something is forcing its way into the games code,” she shared. “I’m hoping that Melpomene’s scouting trip brings back some helpful information.”

  She handed the book to Illume, who took a look at the pages. He never understood what Nari or Ingrid saw in its text. To him, it just a
ppeared to be scratches of ink on old paper. It never “came alive” to him as it did for the women.

  “It just looks like chicken scratch to me,” he relented.

  “Right; you’re not an administrator,” Nari confessed. “From what I’m seeing, I’m thinking we should all go east today. We’ll get as far as the canyons before we have to set up camp, but if our reports are true, then we’ll be able to set up camp in a cave.”

  Illume handed the book back to Nari. He walked across the room, where his cloak and boots sat on a dummy. Frost danced off of his armor as the temperature of the room dropped with each step he took toward it.

  “How’d you manage to get the stands to stop snapping from the cold?” he asked as he began to inspect it.

  “Well, the wood kept shattering like glass, even the heavier-duty stuff,” she explained. “So Urtan and I began experimenting with metals. Poor guy almost lost a finger to frost bite because of that thing. It turns out a mix between Uru and Mobrebalku metals is sturdy enough to withstand those extreme temperatures.”

  As he took the cloak off the rack, runes flared to life within his “Cryo-Spectral Robes.” Illume threw it over his shoulders and slid his arms into the sleeves before fastening the flexible metallic material firmly in place. The frosted smoke dissipated as he donned the armor that hugged him and seemed to fuse itself onto him.

  Cryo-Spectral Robes

  Armor: +52 (+17 when hood is up) Weight: +17 Worth: 2600 Polis

  With the metals of Mobrebalku fused with both Cryomancer and Plane Walker magic, this cloak is always freezing.

  The wearer of this cloak will experience a boost in frost magic tenfold. Plane Walking will no longer come at a cost and channeling frost into the clothing increases armor rating three times.

  Mana regenerates 100 percent faster.

  Stepping out of his leather boots and into his armored ones, Illume held out his hand. A rattle of metal filled the air as a flamboyant flutter of blue accompanied the sound. His spear, Ascalon, attached to the sheath of his Blade With No Name slammed into his fist. Hastur’s now blue robe draped off the scabbard in a tasteful flourish as Illume slung his weapons over his shoulder.

  Cryo-Spectral Boots:

  Armor: +12 Weight: +3 Worth: 400 polis

  These boots have a constant cooling effect. The wearer can traverse small bodies of water with ease. Movement, speed, and physical combat involving the feet are greatly increased.

  Cloak of the King in Yellow:

  Weight: -12 Armor: 0 Worth: Unknowable

  Whomever wears this cloak is king indeed.

  Name: Ascalon

  Weight: +10 Damage: +18 (+200 when wielded against dragons)

  Worth: 3000 polis

  This spear was made by the magical dragon hunters of old. When inflicting damage on a dragon, a disease known as dragon rot sets in. There is no known cure. This extends to the father of all dragons himself.

  Blade With No Name:

  Damage: +35 Weight: +12 Worth: 18000 polis

  The perfect blend of the Shattered Blade of Valcoth and that of the Cryomancer, this weapon brings a balance between the frost and the Plane of the Dead.

  Undead enemies touched by this blade will fall under your command while ignoring 30 percent of an enemy’s armor.

  Stone Sight affects 12 percent touched by this blade should they be vulnerable. Damage is boosted by 300 percent while in the Plane of the Dead.

  “Thank you for being my little scientist,” Illume said in a tone of adoration as he approached Nari and gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Although I should probably apologize to Urtan for him losing his finger.”

  “You probably should!” Nari laughed as she patted his chest. “Why don’t you do that? I’ll wake up Melpomene.”

  “She’s snoring loud enough you may need earplugs,” he warned.

  With a laugh, Nari pushed Illume to leave the room. On his way out, he grabbed his satchel and bow he’d retrofitted to be larger and hit harder in almost every way. The arrows attached to its connected quiver were thicker and heavier than any he’d shot before.

  Descending the stairs and passing the room of snoring, he was greeted with a clap of thunder and a bright flash of light in the main hall. Urtan flew past him and slammed into the wall. As the orc fell to the ground, smoke rose from his chest as his clothes smoldered, leaving a black scorch mark on his green flesh.

  “By the gods, I’m so sorry!” Ingrid yelled. “Are you okay?”

  Ingrid stormed past Illume, fully adorned in her armor. It was of heavy leather with scales of metal interwoven throughout. The scales ran down her arms unobstructed by the leather and somewhat visible on her legs.

  Disks the size of Illume’s palm ran down either side of her front, six in total. The disks were engraved with runes and sparked with each movement she made. The electricity died down as she reached Urtan’s side, an electric blue cloak flowing behind her.

  “Urtan good!” he exclaimed. “Urtan not pay attention to shocky lady; he learned lesson.”

  The massive orc groaned as Ingrid pulled him to his feet. Urtan looked down at his chest and ran his fingers over the scorch mark. His health bar was visible but hadn’t fallen. Ingrid looked at Illume with a sense of concern on her face.

  “He’s fine. I’m sure he’s had worse,” Illume assured her.

  “Urtan has had worse!” he declared.

  “The armor looks good, Ingrid. I like the touch you made to the cape,” Illume said as he pointed at the addition.

  “Thank you!” she replied. “I thought I’d take a page from your book of fashion.”

  Walking over to Urtan, Illume inspected the wound. It was superficial enough that he didn’t even need to use healing magic to make it better. Illume extended his hand and presented his bow to the orc.

  “Melpomene said that you’ve been getting really good at the range. I don’t have need for this bow anymore, so I made a few adjustments to fit you a little bit better,” Illume said.

  A look of wonder filled Urtan’s face. Tears welled in his eyes as his lips curled past his tusks. His massive hand took the weapon that was now designed to fit him. He gave the string a few test pulls before grabbing Illume in his massive arms. It was like being constricted by a Titanoboa. Urtan bounced up and down in joy, causing Illume to bounce with him as he felt like his head was about to pop off.

  “Urtan!” he gasped. “Urtan buddy, I can’t breathe!”

  Urtan stopped jumping and set Illume back on the ground. Illume gasped for air as he leaned forward and rested against his knees. He offered the orc a smile as Urtan patted his back.

  “Urtan sorry for crushing frosty man,” he apologized.

  “No need to be sorry,” Illume replied. “You’re just really strong.”

  “Thank you for bow. Urtan will have fun with it!” he exclaimed.

  “You’re welcome, big guy. Now why don’t you practice in the courtyard with that thing?” Illume instructed.

  Like an oversized overjoyed child, Urtan bolted from the main hall and toward the courtyard, still smoking. Catching his breath, Illume leaned back and extended his arms. His back cracked as his spine re-aligned itself from Urtan’s hug.

  “You okay?” Ingrid enquired.

  “No harm done,” Illume said. “Nari is getting Melpomene up, then we’re heading west.”

  “I know,” Ingrid replied. “I couldn’t tell heads from tails, but I saw the disturbances in the book.”

  When she extended her hand, a soft metallic groan filled the air as Mjolnir flew back into her hand. Ingrid slung its lanyard around a hook on her hip. She nodded toward a dooron the far side of the main hall.

  “What do you say we get everything packed up, then?” she suggested.

  “That way, we don’t have to wait as long?” Illume replied.

  Ingrid nodded and both set off toward the door that once led to the dungeon. Opening it revealed a pantry of food had been added. Both grabbed a bag and fil
led it with salted meats, breads, and jarred fruit. Illume even grabbed a few handfuls of carrots. Eating might not be mandatory for him or Nari, but Ingrid and Melpomene still needed to. After loading up the sacks, they re-entered the main hall to find Nari and Melpomene present and both fully armored.

  Nari was elegant and breathtaking as always. Melpomene had frazzled hair and bags under her eyes. Illume had never seen the phoenix like this before. She yawned as she patted her frizzled hair down. She’d grown it out over the past few months because Urtan asked her to. Nari was right, she did look like Wonder Woman with her hair long.

  “Find anything interesting while you were scouting, sleepy head?” Illume asked teasingly.

  “The Order of Light have rallied around a being referred to as the dog king,” she replied. “It’s done in a derogatory way, but if they are on the move, this dog king is something that needs to be checked out.”

  “I agree,” Illume concurred. “Let’s get the horses and head out.”

  Illume slung the bag of food over his shoulder and headed toward the front gates. Nari fell in by his side as Melpomene and Ingrid moved in behind him. As they exited the tower and entered the courtyard, a heavy THUD filled the air. Urtan’s arrow slammed into the bullseye of a target with so much force, it folded the circular pad in half.