Somnia Online by K.T. Hanna (reading strategies book txt) 📕

There were so many questions floating around everyone right then. So much confusion. It traveled along her sensing nets, alerting her to practically everyone. Even Fable’s members were apprehensive.

Time seemed to slow down. She could sense every single person gulp, their heart rates, glean the top of their thoughts. Every single person in the raid.

The raid still, technically, included Jirald.

He felt different. More confident, angrier, yet determined to execute his own sense of justice. Determined to prove to everyone that he was so much better than them.

Murmur wondered if he indeed knew she could sense him. Probably not. Hadn’t he somehow overridden Riasli and just basically deleted her? In which case, he wouldn’t have the enchanter capabilities to even sense what it was she could do. She had to count on that, and use it somehow to find a loophole, some way to stop him.

And then he smiled, showing every single one off his sharp locus teeth.

“Well, then. I believe you’ve all regained your mana. Wouldn’t be any fun if I didn’t beat you at your best now, would it?” He flashed a grin and disappeared.

QUEST ACTIVATED: SEE THE LIGHT

You must help Jirald see the light. That not all enemies are evil, and that not all friends are good. That when crunch time comes, sometimes it’s better to just believe in the people you’ve known the longest.

Be cautious. If Jirald dies, this quest will terminate, and punishment will be metered out.

You don’t want punishment. Choose the reward. Trust us.

Murmur accepted the quest without a second thought. Somnia had told her his headset had been adjusted similarly to hers. She might hate the guy, but killing him in-game without being certain it wouldn’t harm his actual body left her feeling nauseous. She’d experienced that fear herself and wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

There were ways to defeat him without actually killing him. She’d talk to Somnia about that quest later. She could sense Masha hovering close to her, wanting to talk about it, talk about everything. How could Jirald be a boss mob? Why had a quest about it been given out? All questions she didn’t want to answer, but she knew she’d have to eventually.

“Fucking rogues,” Devlish muttered immediately sending out a loose AoE taunt that spread across the ground, useless for holding aggro usually, but it would be enough to break stealth as long as Jirald walked through it.

But the rogue was clever and sly. Especially in the last few weeks. There were portions of him that Murmur hadn’t ever witnessed before. He’d grown from a petulant, spoiled healer into a vindictive and skilled assassin.

Probably not the best growth in the world.

She’d only just finished reinforcing her shielding when she felt the first stirrings of Snowy’s hackles begin to rise. Tossing herself instinctively to the left, she felt a knife glance off her shielding, almost piercing the thick substance that surrounded her. That was far too close for comfort, and diving left had put Devlish’s DoT on the bastard.

Jirald just chuckled. “Oops. Got a bit ahead of myself there.” Not being able to vanish right then didn’t deter him even one bit, and luckily, every single person in the raid who could cast a DoT did so then, inundating the rogue with them. But he shrugged it off.

“More ways than one to skin a Murmur.” He grinned and threw himself into an aerial feat of acrobatics just this side of impossible, only to come up right next to Sinister, his blade already digging into her side before Murmur or anyone else could react.

Suddenly, Snowy in all his huge furry wolf-ness was there, attached to Jirald’s wrist with his hulking, shark-sized teeth.

The rogue released the blade with a howl of agony, and shadow-stepped away from the massive wolf. Murmur could have sworn Snowy was grinning, even as she rushed to Sinister’s side where Veranol was already helping her pull out the dagger.

“What the fuck?” Sinister grimaced with the pain as it came out. “What the fuck are you all standing here for? Go and kill that dickhead.”

Murmur smiled. Sinister would be fine, but Jirald wasn’t any sort of boss they’d fought in the past. He was in their raid—and in one of their guilds. He’d played with the majority of them on some level for years. Armed with knowledge about how they all fought, especially after three dungeons of teamwork, he likely had a very good idea what he could do.

Not to mention the fact that he didn’t seem to be restrained by the system at all. His moves didn’t telegraph, and his effects seemed to be what he used as a rogue in battle.

Murmur had an idea but couldn’t send it over raid and risk him seeing it, so she sent Karn a personal message, knowing Jirald at least wouldn’t be able to see that.

Meanwhile, the massive locus shook himself off and glared at Sinister, who held his dagger in her hands like daring him to come get it. Snowy stood next to her, remnants of the locus blood dripping down from his fang.

Jirald laughed. “Now this is more like it.” Adrenaline echoed around him, like this was pumping him full of energy he wouldn’t have otherwise had.

A visible shiver ran through him, and the sensation of murderous glee floated over to Murmur so strongly she wanted to retch. He stretched once again and reached out his right hand toward Sinister, before looking directly at Murmur.

“Kulu.” He spoke the word, and the dagger jumped from Sinister’s hand, cut a thin line across her palm and dragged a pained gasp from her. It flew in a high arc through the air to land in Jirald’s outstretched hand.

“Much better,” he said, as a glimmer of electrical energy charged around his frame. He crouched into a fighting stance and grinned. “Come get me, if you can.”

The alarm that flooded Murmur when Jirald taunted them shook her right down to her bones. He would aim for Sinister if