Reunion a litrpg apocaly.., p.1
Reunion: A LitRPG Apocalypse Adventure (Electrified Book 2), page 1
Reunion
©2023 J.D. OLSON
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CONTENTS
Also In Series
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Thank you for reading Reunion
Groups
LitRPG
ALSO IN SERIES
REBIRTH
REUNION
REVOLUTION
1
Under the cover of darkness, Eva turned Umbra toward the east and pushed the throttle forward, which fortunately listened to Umbra’s bond with Elysia.
Everyone’s heads were on swivels, trying to spot movement in the dark waters, including Ione. Nothing jumped out at them as they entered the Salish Sea, but they kept their guard up as Eva turned Umbra toward the west. She kept them near the shore of Vancouver Island as all eyes locked on to the massive turtle, looking more like an island floating off in the distance.
Movement to the left drew Elysia’s attention away from the turtle, and her eyes widened as she spotted the silhouette of a boat. Before she could warn her crew, a blinding light shined down on them from above.
“Eva, gun it!”
Not needing to be told twice, Eva shoved the throttle, jerking Umbra forward as several boats and the sound of a helicopter neared.
Elysia and Joe locked eyes before Elysia ran out onto the front deck while Joe went to the rear, both priming their magic to defend both Umbra and themselves.
Fortunately, the new and improved Umbra easily outran the boats trying to surround them, leaving only the helicopter. Within minutes, the attempted barricade fell behind. The only sign it ever existed was lights shining over the dark waters. Still, the distinctive chopping of air remained fixed above them, the helicopter turning night into day with its floodlight.
Repel lines dropped from above, followed by several dark-clad soldiers landing on the rear deck. Suddenly surrounded, Joe flashed into motion, drawing his swords, but without his tactical gear, he appeared to be at a disadvantage. The floodlight then shut off, bathing the deck in darkness, further weakening Joe’s position against a squad with night-vision goggles.
Drawn by the sounds of fighting, Elysia turned to give her support only for another set of repel lines to drop from the dark sky onto the front deck. Like Joe, the sudden ambush caught Elysia unarmed, but lightning sparked, awaiting command.
Unlike the assault on Joe with weapons intent on killing them, the five dark-clad soldiers moved to surround Elysia, then planted dark metallic slabs in a pentagon formation around her.
Even in the dark, Elysia instantly recognized the shields as the same material they made the cuffs out of. Her mind flashed back to when she exploded the cuffs, causing a vicious smile to form as she called forth a Lightning Bolt.
Lightning burst from her palms into the shield directly in front of her, but it vanished without a trace. Undeterred, Elysia let loose another Lightning Bolt toward the same shield, this time causing the soldiers to stumble back as the shield cracked. Before the rest could take advantage, Elysia queued up a Smite, targeting it between two shields to her right.
The night sky lit up, causing the fighting on the rear deck to momentarily pause. Joe took advantage, gasping for breath as he shot forward. He hamstrung two of the soldiers before the other three returned their attention to him, but no longer on the back foot, he pressed his advantage.
Back on the front deck, the Smite struck home, instantly shattering two shields but leaving the soldiers behind them unharmed.
Before she could take advantage, the remaining two shielded soldiers slammed the shields together as the other three drew swords of a similar material.
Elysia caught sight of Ione sneaking behind the new formation, causing Elysia to ready another Smite to finish the shields in one blow before her kitten endangered herself.
She raised her hands to release her payload, only to flinch as a booming voice filled her head — and presumably, everyone else’s from the reaction of the soldiers.
Humans, I warned you what would happen if you intruded upon my territory.
Even in the dark night, the towering turtle loomed just ahead. Its head lifted from the water and turned toward them. Its car-sized dark eyes bore down on them, radiating disdain as a tidal wave crashed down on Umbra. The water split around Elysia and her crew, washing away the squad. A moment later, a jet of water slammed into the helicopter overhead, sending it careening away.
Before Elysia could process what happened, an impact under Umbra caused her to stumble, then scream as Umbra shot airborne, propelled upward by a geyser. The geyser held Umbra aloft at eye level with the turtle, who bore down on them imperiously.
“Greetings, Young Elemental.”
Elysia stumbled back.
The pressure vibrated almost like it was laughing as the voice spoke again. “What does a young elemental such as yourself want with my city?”
How should she respond? What could she even say? She didn’t want to be squashed. Thrazk said to be respectful, but what was respectful to a massive turtle?
“Little Thrazk is still at it? Maybe I should use my well-known anger, thanks to him, to kick him off my shell for a while,” commented the voice now known to be Urus.
Elysia tensed, lightning flaring in her core. Was Urus reading her mind?
“Of course, how could I not? Cute little beings like you have such simple minds.”
Anger ignited at the perceived insult, but Elysia smothered it in the name of survival. Still, an errant thought snuck through. I’d rather be simple than the size of a city.
Elysia’s eyes widened, cringing for the backlash only for the pressure to flutter in amusement. “That’s what I love about young beings. The random thoughts are quite entertaining.”
With tremors running through her body, Elysia prodded, So, you aren’t going to crush me if I think the wrong thing?
The turtle stared down at the ship for several seconds, causing Elysia to fidget. “Maybe.”
Already exhausted from the interaction, Elysia shifted the conversation. So can we pass?
“Nope.”
Elysia deflated, running through other potential routes to survival and freedom before Urus continued. “Adorable. I think I’ll keep you and your companions for a little while. Though I suggest you keep your ravenous kitten away from me.”
Before Elysia could respond, the geyser shot Umbra higher into the sky. Elysia hung on the railing for dear life as they then descended into freefall. Despite knowing better, Elys
At the exact center of the city was a lake with perfectly smooth waters, which took up almost a quarter of the shell. Surrounding the lake were buildings of all shapes and colors. The only similarity between the buildings was their construction material. Every building appeared to be made of scales as if grown out of Urus’s shell. For all Elysia knew, they could be.
Any further thoughts of surveying the city vanished as Umbra neared the surface at a terrifying pace. Elysia clenched the railing of her ship with a death grip as her life flashed past her vision. Just before reaching the surface, another geyser sent Umbra shooting upward once again before gently lowering her to the lake. Then an artificial current pushed Umbra next to a pier where she stilled with no anchor points.
The sound of retching brought Elysia’s mind back into focus. She pushed herself upright, swaying for a moment with vertigo. After recovering, her eyes snapped toward the windshield to find Joe appearing unaffected, but Eva was leaning over the railing, puking her guts out. Elysia rushed inside, zeroing in on Ione licking her puffed tail while still on the couch.
Unfortunately, unlike her mostly unaffected companions, Umbra was a mess. The once-tidy control room looked like a tornado had landed… or an uncontrolled Eva. She cringed upon checking the kitchen. A perfect job for Eva or Joe. They had to earn their keep if the massive kidnapping turtle didn’t eat them first.
Done with inspecting above deck, Elysia wandered down toward her inner sanctum, breathing a sigh of relief upon finding her room mostly unaffected — other than her bags of clothes scattered about her closet. Good thing she didn’t unpack the clothes Eva ordered.
Elysia scanned her bedroom as Ione trotted in, tail back in order. The silvery kitten hopped onto the bed and stretched while facing Elysia with an expectant twinkle in her violet eyes.
Without thinking about it, Elysia lay on her bed, then started petting Ione as her thoughts wandered. Well, I made it here. What to do now? She was probably safe from the Changed teams, but now she was stuck on a massive turtle. Elysia froze, then corrected her thoughts. Sorry, I mean no disrespect, Colossus Urus.
A fluttering of the ever-present pressure eased her nerves. Still, she resolved to censor the word turtle from her thoughts just in case. If the turtle didn’t squash them, it probably wanted to keep them alive for now. Until she knew more, she should consult her crew. She didn’t want to look like a fool in front of Urus, after all.
With her mind made up, she crawled out of bed — much to the dismay of Ione. She attempted to jump into Elysia’s arms, only for Elysia to dodge the now-heavy kitten.
Elysia stared down apologetically at the droopy-tailed cat. “Sorry, Ione, but you are too big to carry now.” Unable to bear Ione’s depression felt through their bond, she added, “Don’t worry, though, I’ll try to make it up to you with more head scratches. If you grow big and strong enough, we can go on adventures together, too.”
Thoughts of hunting delicious prey flashed through Ione’s mind, perking her up as she followed Elysia out into the bedroom with her tail and head proudly raised.
Once upstairs, she found Eva and Joe in the control room — as always. Eva still appeared slightly green, but she was in no danger of puking again it seemed. The pair directed their attention to Elysia as she opened her mouth to speak. “So, we made it here. What do you guys think we should do now? I think it’s safe to say we are stuck here for a bit, but I think we are safe from the Changed and President Burns. Though we do need to keep our guard up, just in case.”
Joe remained silent in contemplation, but Eva blurted out: “Shopping!”
With a deadpan expression, Elysia stared at the now completely recovered girl. “With what money?”
“The skill crystals, of course! Joe said they could buy almost anything.”
Elysia’s gaze gravitated to the bag filled with the skill crystals on the end table, then shifted to Joe with a judgmental look. “What did you tell her? We can’t just go on a spending spree. Besides, Urus might squash us if we leave Umbra.”
With his hands raised in defense Joe replied, “In my defense, I didn’t say we should sell them yet, only that they could fetch a great price in Seattle or Vancouver.”
Elysia’s gaze intensified, prompting Joe to add, “She has a point, though. When we find out if they are worth something here, we could sell a few to fund better gear. Don’t you have some monster materials you want turned into weapons and armor?”
Eva nodded along enthusiastically, but Elysia frowned. “Yes, I do, but I have no idea where to go for that or where to sell the skill crystals.”
The ever-present and nosey turtle that she was, Urus spoke in the trio’s minds: “I will send someone over shortly to act as an escort.”
With a victorious smile, Eva added, “Even better. An escort to help us find the best shops in which to spend our money.”
Elysia raised an eyebrow. “Our? Last time I checked, I earned those skill crystals myself before I even met you.”
“Whatever. You said so yourself that you need to keep me safe so I can protect Umbra. That means I need better gear and supplies to work on repairing Umbra’s systems,” argued Eva, refusing to back down.
A groan escaped Elysia’s mouth, and she turned to Joe for support, only for him to smile in silence. “Fine, but I have the final say in anything we buy, and when I say no, that means no.”
Before Elysia could back out, Eva nodded excitedly. “Deal!”
Already exhausted from the conversation, Elysia dropped onto the couch and petted Ione, who had been loafing while watching the trio talk amongst themselves.
After a minute of silence, with Eva staring out the windshield, practically vibrating the childlike excitement, Elysia turned to Joe, who was watching Eva with a soft smile. “So, while we wait, do you mind if I ask you some more questions?”
Joe shifted his gaze to Elysia with a friendly expression. “Of course, ask away.”
Elysia took a moment to formulate her thoughts before beginning. “So, one thing that has been bothering me since I ran into a captain outside Neah Bay is how they were so much stronger. After entering the path with my class evolution, I understand there is a big boost but not to the point I couldn’t even see the captain move. Did normal humans get another advantage with their class evolution?”
With his full attention on Elysia, Joe explained, “I don’t know what you received, but we receive several options, with a focus on a specific life path. For example, that captain probably had a class evolution focused on protecting his ship or doing his job. From what I’ve read, these skills may be powerful but only work in specific circumstances. The stronger the skill, the more limitations it has. The Illusion skill I used may be powerful, but I can’t move while performing it, and it has a high mana cost. If someone were to resist the illusion, I would be a sitting duck. Each skill could have different limitations like the Illusion skill I used to trick the nightcrawlers doesn’t work on sentient beings, and I need to have a line of sight.”
“Weird. As far as I can tell, I don’t have any limitations, though my skills aren’t as versatile as those,” commented Elysia.
Joe’s expression turned thoughtful as he continued, “Maybe they will grow as you level them. I can’t say for sure as I wasn’t privy to class information about Changed, and even if I was, we can’t be sure you follow the same rules after your evolution.”
