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

by Eddie R. Hicks

  “Do not take it personally, lass,” Synaria said. “Vix is always a cunt like that.”

  “I thought my high charisma always got people talking?”

  “Did you not see his level? If your target is too high of a level, then it will not work.”

  “Figured so . . .”

  “Bard’s gain 4 points of charisma each time they level up,” Synaria explained. “Outside of being a higher level, if you wish to use your natural charm to get your way, then you must put charisma asteriarite in your gear or use equipment that gives bonuses to charisma.”

  A scheming smile stretched on Nijana’s face. Better gear, levels, and asteriarite meant higher charisma. In time, she’d become a singing temptress who could play all sorts of songs to get the weak-minded to empty their pockets full of gold.

  Nijana thought of all the money she’d be able to scam out of the elves, starting with the sale of Wylume’s soul crystal. And Synaria? She was going to be Nijana’s teacher. Nijana had to level up and fast and hoped to do it by the time they met with Vix again to make the sale.

  He was looking at her strangely for a reason.

  Chapter Twenty

  Averyl, Remy, and Pierre crawled through Antoinette’s Cauldron, a subterranean volcanic landscape with a foreboding aura that made her wings tremble. The two elven men led the way, following the blood trail that had gripped their attention, and led them into the dungeon. The path pointed the party into its hellish depths, full of lava streams and rocks with waves of steam lifting up.

  As with all dungeons the reality corruption created, roaming monsters of varying levels blocked the fire cave tunnels. They were challenges thrown at adventurers to test and prepare them for the dungeon master at the end, typically a powerful monster that yielded significant experience points and items. The packs of monsters they frequently encountered resembled scorpions covered in robes of flames, Flame Scorpions.

  The Flame Scorpions snarled, then swiped their claws at the three before crawling toward them with haste in their stride. Remy would raise his twin swords during the many fights and take a stance that allowed for upper and lower parrying. Pierre clenched his flintlocks and fired them from a distance, and Averyl brought white glowing light to her Silver Wand.

  They defeated the first pack of Flame Scorpions with minor incidents. The second pack granted Averyl enough experience points to reach level 16. And she was glad for it. Leveling up restored her MP to full. They were crawling through a deadly dungeon with no MP potions on hand.

  “Why would anyone make their hideout in here?” Pierre said, as another group of Flame Scorpions neared.

  Remy snorted. “For the exact reason you want to run and piss yourself, boy!”

  Remy dashed in with his blades swinging, drawing the Flame Scorpions’ attention to him. The Flame Scorpions slashed their claws and thrust their tails at Remy, inflicting minor damage and igniting his body with flames. She saw him wince and shrug off the pain, then resume fighting. Averyl waved her Silver Wand, casting Heal Up to dim the fire rippling on Remy. The fires from the burning debuff subsided, reappearing seconds later when the Flame Scorpions struck him again.

  It was pointless to use Heal Up, so Averyl opted to chain cast Starlight Recovery over and over to keep Remy’s HP full. She was thankful Pierre was a Gunner and kept his distance from the Flame Scorpions. She just had to monitor Remy—

  “Hey, pixie!” Remy bellowed amidst his swordplay. “You gonna do something about these fucking flames, or what?”

  She nodded nervously. “Ah, yes, of course.”

  “Faster!”

  Averyl removed Remy’s flames with Heal Up and saw them return when the Flame Scorpions struck him. “It is no use,” Averyl said. “They will burn you with each hit.”

  “Try to parry their attacks,” Pierre yelled to Remy amidst his guns blasting. “Or at least avoid getting hit—”

  “I do not recall asking for your opinion, boy,” Remy sneered. “The longer I stay on the defensive, the longer these fights take. You are one level higher now, pixie. The two of you, do your fucking job.”

  What has gotten into him? She wondered. Oh Asteria, please bless me with a party leader and defender who is better than this next time. Averyl focused her mind’s thoughts. The sooner this fight is over, the sooner we can relax and develop a better strategy.

  She had to shut Remy up, so she used Heal Up, followed up with two back-to-back Starlight Recovery casts, topping up his HP. She glanced at the Flame Scorpions with the smallest HP bar, brought light to her Silver Wand, and cast Chastisement on it.

  Flame Scorpion | HP: 58%

  The damage over time spell slowly ate its HP. She hoped Pierre clued in that it was the one closest to death as she recast Heal Up, shutting Remy up once again—

  Flame Scorpion | HP: 0%

  Pierre clued in.

  He had unloaded his AP upon the Scorpion, suffering from Chastisement, killing it. Healing became easier with one Flame Scorpion left. The burning debuff did not cover Remy in flames as frequently, and managing his HP was less stressful. It opened the chance for Averyl to use Asteria’s Judgment, run in, and smack the final dying scorpion with the head of her Silver Wand, knocking down its HP, eventually killing it.

  Averyl and Pierre stopped to offer suggestions to Remy. The elven Berserker just charged deeper into the hellscape, challenging the next monster that noticed his presence. Thankfully, it was just a solo Flame Scorpion. The deeper the trio moved, the hotter it got. They had to stop every five minutes to battle the packs of monsters walking around in the waves of heat. Averyl felt the moisture build upon her forehead, wiped it away with the back of her hand, and flicked off the beads of sweat.

  Remy offered the two little time to rest as he followed the bloody trail. Averyl kindly reminded him they lived or died depending on her MP. He sighed and slowed down, giving her the chance to let her fae racial trait regenerate her MP one tick at a time. Turning the corner brought them to an unopened treasure chest. Dungeons were full of those for reasons unknown. Most chests gave them potions. Others gave hyposprays, which was useless as none of them were star-dwellers. Nobody objected to Averyl helping herself to the Greater MP Potion found in one chest, though it gave Remy the encouragement to run off without waiting for her.

  One particular chest gifted them with a glowing sigil. Averyl held the sigil in her hands, its light shining on her pale skin.

  “The Area sigil,” Averyl said to the group. “I could use this.”

  “So could I,” Pierre said. “With that sigil, I could learn the Run ‘n’ Gun skill.

  “And I could cast Purifying Starlight,” Averyl said.

  “And what does that spell do?”

  “It is an area of effect healing spell that also removes status effects,” she said, grinned, and looked at Remy. “Such as the burning effect you continually remind us of.”

  “Take it then,” Remy said. “Maybe my life will stop flashing before my eyes now . . .”

  Hmm. Averyl glanced at her Temple Dress. As revealing as it was, the outfit did not expose more of her body to place another sigil. I will have to remove the Wrath sigil for now.

  She did so, and pulled the Wrath sigil from her left elbow, stored it into her inventory, and put the Area sigil in its place.

  New Technique Learned: Purifying Starlight

  Wrath was one of the three sigils needed for Chastisement. She lost the ability to cast that spell while learning the spell, Purifying Starlight, a handy spell she had her eye on. Nearly all the Clerics in Lumière learned Purifying Starlight. Finally, Averyl joined their ranks. Just viewing the tooltip made her smile brightly.

  Purifying Starlight

  Heals and removes all debuffs on allies standing around you.

  Casting Time: 3 Seconds

  Healing Potency: 200

  Cost: 220 MP

  When used, Averyl would conjure a rippling wave of blue and green energy around her. Any party member close to her r
ecovered a generous amount of HP as the spell stripped all adverse effects, like the annoying burning effect. It allowed her to heal and cleanse with one spell cast, though it came at a cost. One, it had a longer spell casting time, two, it cost 220 MP. It was not a spell she could cast back-to-back, not without a large store of MP potions at least. Finally, her party members had to stand close to her to receive the effect, or she had to run and stand near them.

  The blood trail led them to a pile of uncollected loot on the burning surface, likely left behind after someone else killed a monster. Remy kneeled to examine the spoils, grunted, and stood from it.

  “The bastard did not even bother to pick it up,” Remy said and looked at the tunnel ahead. “We must be close.”

  “They may be weaker now and closer to death,” Averyl said. She lowered herself to look at the loot, since it was clear Remy had no interest in it.

  Flame Priestess’s Robe [Cloth Armor]

  Rank: B

  Defense: 6 Magic Defense: 15

  Wisdom: +4 Magic Attack Bonus: +2

  Sigil Space: 8

  Requires: 69 Wisdom 60 Intelligence

  I suppose entering this dungeon was not such a bad idea.

  Obtained: Flame Priestess’s Robe

  Remy and Pierre moved deeper into the flaming cave, giving Averyl space to strip down to her bra and panties, slip into the Flame Priestess’s Robe and readjust where her sigils needed to be. It was a distinct look, dark red like a sorcerer made it from fire, and it had a deep v neck cut on its front, extending down to her abs, exposing half the shape of her breasts. A matching red veil and tiara magically appeared on her head too. Instead of having sigils on her arms and legs, Averyl had to put them on her chest, abs, and hands, and two on her lower back.

  She ran to meet up with the two, then stopped as a warning screen flashed ahead of the three.

  Warning: You are now entering a hazardous area - Heat

  Averyl grimaced as she checked her inventory. She had no survival water. The heat would slowly eat away at their HP when their gauge failed. Good thing she had learned the Purifying Starlight spell. Averyl could recover everyone’s HP with one cast of it.

  “Beyond is a heatwave,” Averyl said to them. “Unless you two have survival water, it will slowly deplete your HP.”

  “Perhaps we should turn back?” Pierre said to Remy.

  The party leader shook his head. “Naw, their hideout has to be nearby. We stay the course.”

  “They might be dead already,” Pierre said.

  Remy walked ahead anyway. “Yeah, and?”

  “There are monsters beyond, plus the heatwave,” Averyl said, her words stopping Remy’s footsteps. “I doubt they are alive now.”

  “She is right,” Pierre said. “We are just chasing a dead body that would not point us to their hideout.”

  Remy looked at Averyl, then shifted his gaze to the left to scrutinize Pierre. “Fine, I shall go alone.”

  He sprinted forward.

  Pierre reached for Remy. “Captain, please! Think this over!”

  Remy ignored his plea and walked backward to face Averyl. “I could use your healing magic when the heatwave reduces my HP, pixie.”

  I ought to leave him and let him learn the hard way.

  Why? So that the elves trust you less? Earn your keep, or they hand you off to father. Averyl sighed. “Very well . . .”

  Heatwave Resistance: 100%

  Reluctantly, Averyl entered the hazardous heat area and followed Remy. Behind, she heard Pierre protest, groan, then follow her. Remy smiled at the two as he led the way forward. “Ah, so you changed your mind?”

  “I would rather not go back alone . . .” Pierre said. “And I would rather not be the one to tell Lady L’Aignelet that you died and changed into a soul crystal.”

  “You speak as if I have feelings for Tempeste, still,” Remy snorted and kept his face forward, hiding the sudden emotions that graced it. “We took a vow, boy.”

  “I know,” Pierre said. “No love, no marriage, no children.”

  “Such a sad law to force on your people,” Averyl said, her eyes keeping track of their shrinking survival gauge. They would be taking environmental damage soon. “The men in the imperial army were allowed to find love.”

  Heatwave Resistance: 70%

  “Eh, it is not so bad as it sounds,” Remy said. “I can still bury my cock in a whore. There are no laws against that! I just cannot get her pregnant or feel anything for her.”

  Averyl heard the story of Remy and Tempeste far too many times. A princess and a nobleman engaged to be married. Then the corruption afflicted them, changed their lives, and the two ended up in the military, pledging never to marry or love anyone. She wondered why Remy and Tempeste never just made love and kept it as that. That was allowed. Probably fear of feelings developing, or accidental pregnancy, which was punishable by the law. Even if you were a princess serving in the military.

  She felt sorry for Tempeste. Like Averyl, Tempeste was a princess who could not be with the person she loved because of her father.

  An alert pulsed in her vision.

  Heatwave Resistance: 0%

  The party lost HP steadily. Lucky for them, they were no monsters in this part of the dungeon. It was likely a trial to see who could survive and reach the end. And what a trial it was. The three stood on the cliff ledge where a river of red lava flowed at its bottom. To move forward, they had to make an enormous leap across and hope to not fall. Easy for Averyl. She buzzed her fae wings, floated off the ground, drifted across the gap, then came down for a landing.

  She gave Remy a conceited grin. A hidden message. It was okay to turn back. It was not like they could see the blood trail anymore.

  Remy refused, took three steps back, ran, and leaped over the gap.

  His leap did not carry him across it.

  “Oh, shit . . .” he cursed.

  Remy plummeted out of sight. She was half tempted to let him fall. But what would Tempeste think of me if I did that?

  Averyl buzzed her wings once more and dove to reach for Remy’s hand pointed up at her. She grabbed him, kept him steady in the air, but that was it. She lacked the strength needed to pull him up. The two were slowly falling toward the lava. Had she been a Berserker, Averyl might have had the strength to carry him or perhaps drinking a strength potion—

  A hand from above grabbed and pulled her up.

  Pierre had leaped across and tugged her to safety, along with the brute in her shaking grips. And the burning continued to drain their HP.

  Remy | HP: 457/977

  Averyl | HP: 341/440

  Pierre | HP: 395/796

  Averyl idled and released the ripple of green and blue light, recovering her party’s HP with Purifying Starlight.

  Remy | HP: 726/977

  Averyl | HP: 440/440

  Pierre | HP: 664/796

  They looked to the drop that nearly killed them and would have made short work of their LP and reduce them to soul crystals.

  “Careful,” Averyl said to the two men. “I lack the high strength you two have. If you fall, do not count on me to pull you up.”

  “We need wings of our own,” Remy said, and proceeded to the next cliff jump. “Has anyone figured out how to get them?”

  Pierre joined him. “I heard a rumor there’s a level 30 dungeon in the northern lands that gives them as a reward.”

  “Northern lands . . .” Remy groaned and vaulted over the gap. This time, he did not plummet to the lava below.

  “Aye, New Svartálfar territory,” Pierre said after he leaped.

  Averyl was still in flight and flew over the drop, then stopped the buzz of her wings, giving them the rest needed to recover her flight time. The three strode to the next jump, stopped to let Averyl brighten the cave’s walls with Purifying Starlight, and drink the Greater MP Potion she had pulled from the treasure chest earlier. It brought her MP up to 473.

  “So wait,” Remy said, his eyes sizing up the
jump across the lava. “Are you telling me, once the dark elves hit level 30, they’ll potentially be able to fly like our pixie here?”

  “I have a name, you know . . .”

  “Yes,” Pierre said. “I think we are still a way off before the first dark elf groups get that high.”

  He leaped and made it, barely. Remy jumped next, missed, but his swift hands reached out to grab ahold of the ledge. He dangled his legs about as he pulled himself up, then brushed off the ash that covered his polished cuirass.

  Remy continued his rant. “Fucking stupid that the corruption created so many opportunities for New Svartálfar, but few for us.”

  Averyl flew again, her feet hovering inches above the surface. “Asteria’s ways are mysterious,” she said as she drifted past the cliff, landing with her party.

  “Heh,” Remy said. “Dark elves are no creation of Asteria. They are vile beings that came to our world from another and refuse to leave.”

  “So the legend says,” Pierre said, and moved to the exit and the last jump across.

  “No legend,” Remy said. “It is true. The star-dwellers did not bring the dark elves to us. Hell, the star-dwellers did not even exist when the dark elves first appeared here.”

  Averyl lifted her eyebrow. “Is that so?”

  “Yes,” he said, nodding to her. “There are countless books that talk about glowing circles in the skies that spat out the dark ones. Our ancestors pushed them to the northern lands and kept them there for eons. But the corruption changed that. Now the dark elves have classes like us, access to dungeons that give better equipment, mining, and harvesting nodes.”

  “And no people killers to disrupt their operations,” Pierre snorted.

  Circles in the skies brought the dark elves to this world. And they came from a world the star-dwellers knew nothing of? I wonder if it is the same place the sentinels came from. It is quite clear the star-dwellers know nothing of the sentinels even though both groups use advanced machina and come from the stars.

  “Something on your mind, pix?”

  She gasped and shook out of it. Remy and Pierre had jumped over the last lava pit and stood near the exit, waiting for Averyl as the heat burned their HP away. She made her wings flutter once more and flew across to join them, then cast Purifying Starlight.