Mirror Princess: A LitRPG Space Fantasy (Sword of Asteria Book 2)

by Eddie R. Hicks

  “Good luck,” Bordeaux said, his hand raised to salute her. “I would send others to assist you, but as you can see . . .”

  Tempeste looked at the busy crew repairing damage or recovering from their wounds and seated against the walls.

  “I am the highest level available anyway,” Tempeste said. “Everyone else would slow me down.”

  “Well, well, well.” Bordeaux crossed his arms across his sleeveless leather jerkin, his bare arms covered in sigils like hers. “Someone is confident.”

  “This is the Verte Woods,” Tempeste said. “It is full of monsters that are level 20 or higher. Not even our Mages could handle that.”

  “Yet, one of our Mages accidentally shot down a star-dweller ship,” Bordeaux said smugly.

  Tempeste nodded and stroked her smooth and thin chin. “Yes, that is . . . most strange that our magic brought down something powered by their machina.”

  “And our magic was not enough to repel the dark elf’s fleet,” Bordeaux said. “Well, I shall leave you to this. Safe travels, Lady L’Aignelet.”

  Tempeste approached the railing, found the rope ladder, and climbed down to the grass below. The crew waved their goodbyes to her, and she walked into the forest, stepping away from the airship.

  Airship.

  That got her thinking. Tempeste faced the skies, her eyes as green as the tree leaves. She searched the blue and partly cloudy sky for signs of the New Svartálfar dark elf airships. Should they strike now, the Sirocco would be done. She spotted no enemy forces, nor did her horizontal elven ears pick up the rotors of airship propellers. It was just her and nature now, a solo Spellsword venturing through the forest.

  Tempeste could not get over how much the Verte Woods had changed since the reality corruption infected Alfheimr like a virus. As a child, Tempeste used to play in the woods with no fear at all. Travelers once walked the paths to deliver goods to and from René’s Cove and Lumière City. The corruption had transformed its harmless animals into beasts, altered the terrain, added paths where there were no paths, removed existing roads, and grew extra trees while making the tree leaves look greener than usual. The reality corruption was not the work of the goddess Asteria. No, it was another intelligence’s work, one that sought to change the entire realm to fit its own needs.

  Speaking of beasts . . .

  Two humanoid creatures lurked away from the enormous tree trunks they had hidden behind. Light brown fur covered their bodies and they had pointed antlers upon their heads. Tempeste could tell that they used to be deer, but thanks to the corruption, they became a beast that stood on two legs and bore features like them, brandishing long swords and round shields.

  Buck Raider | LVL: 20 | Rank: C | HP: 100%

  The two beasts challenged her to combat, and she answered it by unsheathing her Spellsword Saber and selected a spell to cast.

  Ice

  Deals ice elemental damage to a target you face.

  Potency: 85

  Cast Time: 3 Seconds

  Cost: 55 MP

  She shut her eyes to focus, waited three seconds for her cast to finish, then opened with the spell Ice. An icy pillar surged up from the ground, striking and encasing the Buck Raider in a block of ice, and knocked off 8 percent of its HP. The spell consumed a lot of her MP—she was down to 245 out of 300 MP. That was the downside to using a Mage subclass as a Berserker. Tempeste lacked the MP needed for continual spell casting. But that was okay because the fight turned into a one-on-one bout.

  Tempeste and the remaining Buck Raider met in a bladed duel in the forest’s path, their weapons clanging, her long blonde hair waving as she leaped to the side to escape from cleaves and stabs. The creature put up a good fight, deflecting her attacks with its shield and sword, denying her the AP she needed. The Buck Raider was slow to keep up with Tempeste as she hurried to its sides or behind, slashing it up and down. Then there was its partner, still encased in ice, and the sunlight beaming down through the tree leaves was melting it fast. It would join the fray soon. After getting 50 AP, Tempeste dashed to the frozen Buck Raider, slashed it five times in rapid succession, shattering the ice that held it. Tempeste had freed it, and she had 100 AP. It was all part of the plan.

  The two beasts stood ready to attack her simultaneously.

  I was going to dispatch this one with Thundering Blow, but . . .

  She opted to use another AP ability instead.

  Slashing Rage (Rank C)

  Repeatedly slash the open area ahead, delivering multiple hits and deflecting all incoming attacks aimed at you.

  Potency: 150

  Cost: 100 AP

  And she used it.

  The sigils of Gladiator, Blade, Safety, and Wide glowed, making the fair flesh on her exposed arms and navel area glow white. The astral circuits within her body forced Tempeste to guide her sword in an attack that made her cleave the air furiously. She swung so quick her arms, hands, and Spellsword Saber looked like a blur of colors. The two Buck Raiders lunged, but their weapons did not damage Tempeste, not while her assault was still in motion. She was swinging her blade so fast it parried the Buck Raiders’ blades. She was more or less invincible so long as the attack was in progress. All the while, the monsters received multiple slashes from her since they tried to attack.

  Slashing Rage brought the two targets’ HP down, one was at 23 percent, the other 15. She leaped backward to cast another spell.

  Avalanche

  Blast targets directly in front of you for ice elemental damage.

  Potency: 20

  Cast Time: 1 Second

  Cost: 35 MP

  She idled for a second as her hands glowed blue. A rushing surge of snow and ice partially buried the monsters, inflicting minor damage. But since the spell had a one-second cast time, and the Buck Raiders were close to her, Tempeste repeatedly cast it until they froze solid. Then she drove her Spellsword Saber into their frozen form, shattering them to pieces. She sheathed her sword to her split dress, exposing her long legs covered in sigils.

  The dead monsters evaporated, gifting her with 50 experience points each. She knelt to collect the reward their bodies had transformed into.

  Obtained: Asteriarite: MP +30

  It was just the thing she needed too. Tempeste’s base MP and intelligence were low as a Berserker main, stats vital for Mage spells. Intelligence and MP asteriarite and accessories helped make up for that shortcoming, at a sacrifice for strength and dexterity. Tempeste continued onward and pulled a mana potion from her inventory. She yanked off the wooden cork, then drank the blue liquid within the bottle. It dissolved in her hands afterward as her MP rose to 300. Tempeste went through more MP potions than HP. She had to keep her alchemy skill high to craft them, same with gathering.

  Speaking of which, Tempeste stopped when she encountered a set of flowers brimming with a gold aura. It was a harvesting point for herbs, a key ingredient in synthesizing mana potions, intelligence potions, and other consumables to make her Spellsword build function. She pulled out her harvesting tool and gave the bright flowers a slice. They hit the ground and morphed into herbs.

  Obtained: Azure Flower x4

  The harvest point still brimmed with energy, so she gave it several more slices.

  Obtained: Azure Flower x4

  Obtained: Medical Herb x4

  Obtained: Crimson Flower x4

  It faded away and returned to a normal plant, causing her to sigh. These points were another strange phenomenon added to the world thanks to the reality corruption.

  She resumed her trek to the village of René’s Cove, moving past the rays of sunlight that shone from the treetops. Periodically, various Buck Raiders and Raging Boars ambushed her, forcing Tempeste to use her ability to wield a sword and cast magic while in battle. One particular fight ended with her collecting loot she was not expecting to find for some time.

  Obtained: Sigil: Lightning

  The Lumière Kingdom required people to donate Lightning sigils to Mages in the
military, making it impossible to purchase them from the trade broker. Today was her lucky day. Tempeste kept the sigil for herself. Once the monster encounters became less frequent, she sat on a large rock, drank an HP potion, then reached for the sigil glowing between her breasts, visible by the cleavage her breastplate gave her. It was the Ice sigil she had been using. She pulled it off and replaced it with the Lightning one, granting her new spells.

  New Technique Learned: Lightning

  New Technique Learned: Spark

  New Technique Learned: Elemental Weapon: Lightning

  The ice sigil’s removal resulted in her losing the ability to cast the spells Ice, Avalanche, and Elemental Weapon: Ice. She stored the Ice sigil in her Inventory screen for future use. Sadly, her armor did not expose enough skin to keep another sigil on her. Even if it did, she would lose defense as a penalty. The more skin you showed, the more sigils you can put on it while losing survivability. The less exposed, the fewer skills you had, and as a Spellsword, she needed the sigil space to cast the spells of a Mage.

  Tempeste used the back of her wrist to wipe away a build-up of sweat. The summer heat glazed her skin to the point she felt her blonde hair stick to her shoulders. She would take a break, but she had just walked past the city gates to the village of René’s Cove, the fishing town the star-dweller ship most likely landed at.

  She stood out as she wandered through the tiny village, its residents peeking through the windows of the wooden homes to view the elven swordswoman and her elegant and revealing breastplate shining when the sun touched it. The village’s dirt path led her to the docks where a sizeable star-dweller ship idled in the waters outside it. People she assumed were its crew rummaged before the vessel and paid no attention to her as she stepped toward it.

  Tempeste glanced at their information. They all had classes and levels. The reality corruption had touched them, even the star-elf. It was good news. The champions she came seeking were there.

  “If you are looking for passage on the Seraphim,” said the voice of a woman with a foreign and exotic accent. She sounded like a shadow angel. “You may want to consider asking another star-dweller ship. This one is having problems.”

  Tempeste twisted around to glance at who had approached her on the docks.

  Land-shadow angel (Blade Dancer) | LVL: 13 | Rank: C

  The shadow angel was wearing a revealing red bedlah adorned with exotic jewelry from a faraway realm. Tempeste kept her distance from the shadow angel, her wings especially. She had no plans on letting the shadow angel’s influence coax her into becoming a whore.

  “I am not seeking passage, shadow angel,” Tempeste said. “I am looking for the leader of this ship. Do you know where I can find them?”

  “That’d be me,” said a male voice from above. They looked up to see a star-elf standing on top of the ship, his bare chest covered in sweat. The star-elf jumped down and approached.

  The shadow angel laughed at him. “No, Ulysses, that would be Guy.”

  Ulysses snorted. “I’m the captain of the Seraphim. Guy’s just the party leader.”

  She studied the information that appeared over his head.

  Ulysses (Ranger) | LVL: 2 | Rank: D

  Level 2 Ranger . . . This will not do at all. “You are level 2 . . .” Tempeste said, with a slight wince, “and you are the captain?”

  “Hey, I’m new to the club,” Ulysses said, and crossed his arms. He leaned closer, likely viewing Tempeste’s information. “Judging by your level, I’d say you were looking for someone higher?”

  “Yes, I need your help . . .” Tempeste said. “But I am not sure you can assist with your levels.”

  “Guy is the highest level,” the shadow angel Blade Dancer said. “Maybe he can?”

  “Where is he?” Ulysses asked.

  The shadow angel pointed to the village. “He left to explore the village with princess Autumnfall—”

  Tempeste gasped and stagger backward. “What?!”

  Ulysses and the shadow angel looked at Tempeste, both shooting confused glares at her. “Eh?” Ulysses grunted.

  “The fairy princess?” Tempeste asked the two.

  “You know Averyl Autumnfall?” The shadow angel said.

  “Yes,” Tempeste replied with a quick nod. “Averyl came to our world seeking asylum with the Lumière Kingdom.”

  They glared at her with wide stairs, and she could not blame them if their story was accurate. Averyl became a resident of the Lumière Kingdom a month ago, yet the Seraphim’s crew, which landed hours ago, claimed she just arrived. Something did not add up.

  “Xanthe . . .” Ulysses said to the shadow angel. “We better find Guy.”

  Ulysses and the shadow angel, Xanthe, led the way to the village. Tempeste followed behind as the two searched for a man named Guy.

  Xanthe pointed at a tavern. “There he is!”

  Tempeste looked and saw a human man leave the tavern. He was wearing a black, long coat with a longsword strapped to the back, its blade shimmering blue. He had his sleeves rolled up to give his sigils space to breathe, and somewhere under his coat was plate armor. Guy was a rather handsome young man too, for a human, probably the same age as Tempeste, perhaps a year older. She had to use a lot of willpower to look away from him when his eyes met hers, and she was certain her cheeks turned pink.

  That was when Tempeste gasped for a second time. She had viewed Guy’s information.

  Guy (Paladin) | LVL: 15 | Rank: D

  A Paladin . . . she had assumed he was a Berserker like her since he wore plate armor and had a sword. He was the champion she had to recruit. She was sure of it, storming over to him, pushing past Xanthe and Ulysses, eager to get acquainted with him.

  “Bro,” Guy spoke to Ulysses, shaking his head. “Who do you think you are walking around without a shirt? Zuran?”

  “I was going to work on the Seraphim,” Ulysses groaned and pointed at the sun. “And it’s fucking hot in case you didn’t know.”

  “And you look like a character from a fuckin’ romance novel,” Guy said with mocking laughter. “Put a damn shirt on!”

  Tempeste held back a chuckle. The Paladin was also a humorous man. “You are the one called Guy, correct?” she asked.

  “That’s my name,” Guy replied, staring into her green eyes. “And you are?”

  She put her clenched fist to her chest. “I am Lady Tempeste L’Aignelet, Spellsword maiden of the Lumière Kingdom, executive officer of the Sirocco, daughter of François.”

  “Cool,” Guy said nonchalantly. “I’m Guy Sutherland. I haven’t figured out a fancy title yet. But for the time being, you can call me the Paladin who got suckered into being the hero of this story.”

  “Where is Averyl?” Xanthe asked Guy.

  “Ah.” Guy paused after looking left to right. “She was here . . . Shit, where did she wander off to?”

  Tempeste had the answer. “My kingdom.”

  “Uh, no,” Guy replied, shaking his head. “She just got here with us. You must be mistaken.”

  “Are you saying we have a fraud with us?” Tempeste asked him.

  “Don’t know. We came here to figure that out,” Guy answered. “We have a quest that suggests there’s a second Averyl who came to your world.” Guy gestured to the docks ahead. “Then some magic knocked out our ship, somehow.”

  Recruit the Star-Dwellers – Quest Updated

  Objective: Find where the star-dweller ship landed, speak with its crew, and ask them to help save the Lumière Kingdom from the dark elves.

  Find the star-dweller ship to speak with its crew. [Completed!]

  Ask the crew to return with you to Lumière City.

  Guy leaned forward, watching as she read the new objective to the quest.

  “I see you have a quest,” he said.

  “Yes,” Tempeste said, as she pushed the screen’s “close” button, making it vanish. “My kingdom is in grave danger, and I need your assistance to protect it from the dark elves of New S
vartálfar and beings from another realm.”

  “What sort of beings?” Guy asked, his tone sounding more intrigued by her story.

  “Fairies,” Tempeste replied. “I think the fae have come for the Averyl in our kingdom and allied themselves with New Svartálfar. Please, I beg of you, speak with our king.”

  “First thing is first,” Guy said. “Let’s find the Averyl we brought here. Her going missing is concerning—”

  A Quest screen appeared just then, causing Guy’s face to contort as he viewed the details. She read the screen that had his attention.

  The Planet of the Elves – Quest Updated

  Objective: Travel to the elven homeworld and investigate the second Averyl.

  Arrive at Alfheimr and search for clues [Completed!]

  Accept Tempeste’s offer and travel to Lumière City.

  “And,” Guy added, “the White Dragon agrees.”

  Chapter Four

  Sunlight from the heavens shone through the second-floor bedroom windows of a midsize Chateau at the far edge of Lumière City, reserved for visiting nobles and honored guests to the kingdom. Or, in today’s case, a runaway fae princess from another world, brought to Alfheimr by a star-dweller ship, the Gabriel. The sun’s light shined over Averyl Autumnfall’s sleeping face as she lay in her elaborately decorated bed—its sheets red as roses.

  Averyl awoke and sat up yawning. She stretched her arms in sync with her fae wings, reminiscent of autumn leaves. The left half of Averyl’s silk camisole nightgown slipped down her arm, exposing her breast and a pink nipple. Averyl paid no mind to that as she rolled out of bed and approached the window with its curtains drawn, letting in more of the morning light that woke her. She peered through the glass, looked at the buildings making up the Lumière Kingdom’s capital, then glanced at the level 12 and 14 groundskeepers below, tending to the chateau’s sizeable front garden and operating the Quest screens that floated ahead of them.

  The quests were likely given to the groundskeepers at the start of the day to keep them focused on their duties, granting them experience to level their noncombat classes.