Chapter Forty-Five

Attracted by the discharge of lightning, Ione crept up behind Elysia. While purring up a storm, she weaved around Elysia’s legs.

Elysia smiled down at her kitten, only for her eyes to widen as Ione leaped into the water. At the top of her lungs, Elysia screamed, “Eva, stop!”

As Umbra slowed, Elysia dove into the water after Ione. With a splash, she plunged into the dark depths. Her glowing veins provided light as she scanned the water, spotting something silver streaking through the water. She kicked her feet, propelling herself toward the streak of silver but failed to catch it.

After several minutes of chasing, a thought came to her. Shouldn’t she need to surface by now?

That thought paused as the silver streak circled back, shooting back toward her. The silver streak turned out to be Ione, effortlessly swimming through the water. Her fin-tipped tail waved, propelling her through the water with her legs tucked close and ears folded to reduce drag. She circled Elysia, giving off a feeling, screaming ‘look at how amazing I am’.

Unable to resist, Elysia smiled at her kitten while treading in place. She sent a pulse through their bond before swimming back to the surface to find Umbra floating a dozen meters away. Joe handed her a towel when she climbed aboard.

A minute later, Ione shot out of the water, landing on board. She shook out her silky soft fur before directing her attention on Elysia. Her purr motor fired up as she leaped toward Elysia.

Elysia caught her kitten with the blanket, wrapping up the purring fluff ball on her way inside to change. After throwing on a tank top and shorts, she wandered back up with Ione following close behind, fin-tipped tail proudly raised.

They found Umbra exiting the inlet with the Salish Sea in view. Elysia tensed as she entered the now tidy control room to find Eva and Joe staring out the front windows. “So, where do we go from here? I think I’m sick of human society for a bit, and I’d rather not get arrested, so either we tackle some small dungeons or head toward the massive turtle.”

Eva pointed to the right as she suggested, “We should stay close to Vancouver Island shore. Maybe we can sneak past the turtle. Even if they try to turn us back, Umbra might be fast enough to get through the blockade.”

Before agreeing, Elysia scooped up the atlas, flipped to the Vancouver Island page, and ran her finger up the western shore. “Do you think we could weave around the islands past Long Beach?”

Joe shook his head. “I don’t think so. The turtle is floating a kilometer south of Ucluelet. The only chance of us sneaking around is if a river lets us connect to Kennedy Lake.” Joe’s eyes widened as an idea came to him. “Actually, there may be a way around. Even better, if they sent patrols in the Salish Sea, we may be able to dodge them.”

Elysia looked down at the atlas, zeroing in on Kennedy Lake, but then she glanced back to Joe in confusion as there wasn’t a waterway connecting them without going near the turtle. “What do you mean?”

While staring out the window, Joe added, “During our initial exploration, we found a new river just past Ucluelet that cut toward Kennedy Lake. It was on the narrow side, but Umbra should make it.”

At the thought of Umbra getting stuck again, Elysia stiffened. “Are you sure? Is it worth the risk? Maybe we can sneak around the turtle on the Salish Sea.”

Joe frowned as he replied, “No, but it’s our best option. The chance they sent patrols waiting for us is high. Especially after downing two Changed teams and an officer. If we reach Kennedy Lake, we should be able to sneak past both the turtle and the patrols.”

After a few seconds, Elysia released a sigh. “Fine, I hope you’re right.”

With the decision made, Elysia’s eyes landed on her bag of crystals, prompting her to ask, “So, if I can’t use the skill crystals, what should I do with them? I can’t exactly go to human civilization to sell them.”

Without taking her eyes off the windshield, Eva commented, “I’d love to have one. My class didn’t give me any offensive skills, and there’s no way I could afford one.”

With a shrug of her shoulders, Elysia said, “Sure you can have one. Think of it as an investment in case someone attacks Umbra. You need a way to defend yourself. Which one do you want?”

Eva brightened instantly, turning away from the console to the four crystals laying on the couch. “Thank you so much!”

She surveyed the crystals in indecision. “Where did you get each crystal?”

While pointing at each crystal, Elysia responded, “The black one was from the Lich. The only skills it used against me were necromancy and a nasty black orb that burned like hell. I got the metallic one from Neah Bay from a massive crab with metal legs, but I have no idea what it could be. Really, the only one I have an idea about is the white one from Ucluelet. Ucluelet had a bunch of spiders, and the only thing they used were webs, though I didn’t give them a chance to use anything else. The last one was from a massive serpent in Port Alberni which ate me, but I got lucky and killed it from the inside.”

Eva perked up at the mention of a web skill, then glanced out the window as an idea formed. “We could stop by Ucluelet for a quick clear on our way to Kennedy Lake. Maybe we will get another crystal, then I could pick that one.”

Elysia frowned at the suggestion, not wanting to deal with spiders again. “Is a web skill really offensive though?”

Her mind made up, Eva argued, “No, but I could use it to restrain until one of you return.”

Despite the seemingly clear water, Elysia looked out through the window, scrutinizing everything. “Should we stop? What if the Changed teams catch up?”

With a thoughtful expression, Joe asked, “How long did it take you to clear it the first time?”

“I don’t know. At least a couple hours, but I didn’t know where the boss was, so I set every spiderweb I could find on fire.”

Refusing to give up, Eva continued to press, “But now you know you could clear it in no time.”

“I’m recovered enough to hide us if they find us again,” Joe added.

Elysia mouthed traitor before slumping in defeat. “Fine, I wanted to test my new skills anyway.”

In case the dungeon changed, Elysia retreated downstairs to change into another set of armor. As a test, she activated electrify on the spear, but to her dismay, the spear instantly burned up. While juggling the smoking spear, she dashed upstairs and out onto the rear deck before chucking the spear into the water. She needed to find a better spear. Or maybe try a different weapon. Despite the futility of it, Elysia unsheathed a throwing knife and electrified it, but like the spear, the metal blade melted.

Giving up on the provided equipment, Elysia returned to her bedroom, ignoring her amused crew.

While crossing her fingers, she electrified her crab dagger. A smile spread as the crab dagger crackled with electricity but held the charge. She stuffed the crab daggers into the throwing knife sheaths, finding they just barely fit.

As armed as she could get with her available equipment, Elysia returned to the control room to find Umbra pointed toward a familiar peninsula. Paranoid, Elysia climbed to the roof to spy on the turtle city visible off in the distance, but nothing appeared to be approaching them.

Still, she stared at the turtle city until the Peninsula blocked her view.

By the time she returned to the control room, Umbra pulled up to a pier. “Are you sure you want to park here? When I conquered the dungeon the first time, I hid Umbra around the bend.”

“Unless you want to swim, we have no choice,” replied Eva.

Elysia directed a questioning look at Joe. “What happened to my new raft?”

While looking sorry, Joe revealed, “I couldn’t get it started, so I used my team’s raft to return from China Creek.”

“Crap,” muttered Elysia.

Elysia hopped off Umbra onto the pier. She moved to tie her to the pier, but she stopped when Joe waved her off. “Just in case we will float offshore. If they find us, we could act as a diversion.”

After nodding her head in understanding, she turned to Ucluelet. The moment she stepped through the barrier, a flash of silver dashed past her.

Welcome to Ucluelet! 10% bonus experience as the third group to attempt Ucluelet.

Warning! The dungeon is far beyond the party’s current level.

She waved away the notification as she frantically scanned her surroundings for Ione but found her nowhere to be found.

On instinct, she sent a pulse through their bond, finding Ione was to the south. Elysia took off in a sprint, following the bond down Peninsula Road, only to stop a moment later. Her eyes scanned the destruction with bewilderment. Unlike her arson, the buildings were crushed as if a wrecking ball had its way with them.

She glanced at the first building she burned but found it a pile of rubble with no sign of fire. With renewed urgency, she sprinted after Ione, trying to keep her eyes off the devastation.

Nothing jumped out at her as she ran south in her combat suit. Why didn’t she bring her bike? And why the hell did Ione run off? This wasn’t the time to be naughty.

The sound of an explosion sent her sprinting to the right up a side street and past a sign stating little beach to the left. A minute later, she skidded to a halt in front of a smoking pile of rubble that was once a building.

To her relief, her bond told her Ione was to the right, back toward Peninsula Road. How was she so fast? She could barely walk a couple of days ago.

Elysia put that thought out of her mind as she focused on chasing her wayward kitten, who veered northward back toward the way they came. Out of habit, her breathing fell into a cadence, but like when she swam underwater, it appeared unneeded as she glided over the pavement and past the warehouse housing the boss.

Every building surrounding the warehouse suffered the same fate as the rest of the dungeon, yet the warehouse remained standing.

Finally, she spotted Ione sprinting down the street. She opened her mouth to call Ione, but she froze when her eyes landed on what she was chasing. A massive figure clad in red-scaled armor wielding a war hammer lumbered down the street. It stayed just ahead of Ione as it casually crushed buildings with its hammer, each with a single swing.

Elysia grasped a thread of lightning out of instinct, but it felt slippery. Unable to focus on wrestling control, she instead queued up a smite as she sprinted after Ione and the figure.

No matter how hard she pushed her legs, the duo remained ahead of her.

The figure slammed its war hammer into a particularly large two-story brick building, forcing him to take two swings to demolish it.

Taking advantage of its delay, Ione struck. She leaped into the air, landing on its shoulder, then tried to take a bite out of the armor, only to jump off with a whimper.

Driven forward by her bond’s pain, Elysia closed the gap, smite at the ready. Before the figure could turn back, she lifted her hand, then released the devastating streak of lightning. Her ears popped and her vision turned white as the colossal lightning bolt shot into the air, then descended on her target.

The figure stood still as the smite struck. It flinched as lightning arced off its armor before grounding itself on the pavement.

Ione dashed behind Elysia as the figure turned toward the duo. A rumble emanating from the figure reverberated through the ground as the glowing red eyes locked on Elysia.