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

and Shir-Khan flitted about as much as swimming animals could. And all the while, Murmur’s stomach roiled against the simplicity of it all.

But fifty percent came and went, and Murmur, despite her best intentions, tried to relax. Maybe she was just being paranoid because so many fights had ended up going differently than originally anticipated. Or perhaps because there was a virus attached to a human consciousness running rampant throughout the game and mucking things up.

Then again, she could just be completely right about everything, even if she didn’t want to be.

You are a bit full of yourself sometimes.

You’re getting better at colloquialisms too, Murmur shot back and then took a breath, making sure she didn’t miss anything this time around as they approached forty percent. But there were no tell-tale signs, nothing that indicated there might be some unexpected adds coming, or that there might be an ability Pivya had kept hidden until now.

Nothing.

And that probably scared her the most.

Somnia suddenly spoke up again. I am. I think. I’m also getting better at delving into myself and figuring out just what I’m missing. Right now, I can automatically filter out things that don’t belong through many of the systems that make up what I am.

There was brief hesitation, and Murmur took that moment to take a chance. I need to concentrate right now. Can we chat about this once we either kill this or wipe?

Somnia sounded surprised. Oh, I am sorry. I didn’t realize. I’m just used to popping in.

The voice quieted, and Murmur turned back to giving the raid her full one hundred percent again. As much as she expected the fight to be more, as much as she wanted it to be more so it was a challenge, the same mundane interrupt, fueling the three abilities inside of five percent, occurred again at forty and then twenty percent.

The fight wasn’t just easy, it was anticlimactic. Sure, the mechanic was cool, but it didn’t take Einstein to figure out how to best deal with the damage. Pivya fought with the same energy it had fought with the entire time. There was nothing remarkable about it, and as it approached ten percent it even seemed to give up.

And still that damned feeling that something wasn’t right wouldn’t let up on her.

“Most lackluster fight ever,” Risk grumped over raid. The thing was, Murmur had to agree with him. It was a very disappointing fight.

She didn’t even think it was going to do anything worse in its death throes. And she was right. By the time they got down to two percent, it felt like they were bullies picking on the poor innocent sea creature. She almost didn’t want to kill the poor thing. The frill that stood out initially running down its spin had wilted. It had holes in it. And the scales that covered its body with iridescent mermaid-like shine were dulled, bleeding, and seemed to be peeling in some places. Like it had given up totally. Even the horn appeared to have cracks in it.

“This doesn’t feel right, Mur.” Havoc leaned over as Pivya’s health whittled down.

Murmur nodded. “Yeah. There’s something off about this whole thing.” She could almost feel it crawling up her spine, like it was underneath her skin. Premonitions were one thing, but her entire body was certain this fight wasn’t supposed to go down like this.

Really though, as Pivya hit zero hit points, the creature began to shake. Its body, already lackluster and beginning to fall apart, cracked down the center of the scales. They peeled back to reveal something underneath the outer coat along with the innards and stomach lining. Murmur knew she should have trusted her gut the entire time.

The ground around them trembled just as Pivya’s body opened to reveal more of what lay underneath. Dark blue liquid poured out of the body cavity like oil in water coming out in thick globs, somehow sucking in all of the tissue surrounding it and becoming one with it.

The sight of it churning in on itself to become a mass of shining dark blue in the middle of the ocean felt surreal. It also smelled really bad. As if decaying flesh had been repurposed and given new life through melting its essence.

You have roused the wrath of Venotzi.

There were no notifications that usually popped up when the raid defeated a boss. No experience swapping for money or crafting items. Absolutely no mention of having defeated a boss mob. Which seemed to infer that Pivya hadn’t been a boss mob.

Venotzi didn’t appear to be very threatening at first. Instead, it was more of a blue blob of bodily remains. But gradually it became more like the mermaids of legend. The ones who lured young sailors to their deaths, the part siren, capable of driving those who sailed the seas mad. Her body rose up scales and flesh interchangeable until it reached her waist where her tail’s scales gained a level. They weren’t those smooth and harmless fish scales either, no, these scales were far more reptilian in nature.

Each scale appeared thick and sharp, and from what Murmur could see, damned difficult to penetrate. Venotzi’s hair wasn’t thick and luxurious like Murmur had originally thought, but instead made up of eels, their bright electric gazes piercing in their intensity. Fangs finished off the look barely concealed behind almost translucent skin.

Mur got the distinct feeling those eels could turn people to stone. Acid was probably their best bet for something that might eat through those scales. There was no time to test out theories yet, because Venotzi screamed, sending most of the raiders to their knees.

You dare to vanquish my child?

The words floated out above the raid as Venotzi let out another scream. Murmur shook her head, her only thought of relief at the time that the transformation had allowed them to regenerate some of their mana. She hadn’t been expecting this type of storyline from Telvar’s zone. Venotzi was more twisted an encounter than she’d