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

by Eddie R. Hicks

  “Figure it out,” Nijana said. “Trust me, this will be worth it.”

  “How do you know?”

  They stepped into the backyard and paused for a second to admire its size and beauty. The corruption had granted the groundskeepers incredible skills.

  “I’ve spent the last several months impersonating her when I was on Faeheim,” Nijana said. “Averyl is a princess with many, many jewels, expensive and custom dresses, and other treasures.”

  “Faeheim jewelry is quite rare in this world,” Synaria said.

  Nijana looked at the druid Assassin, and she looked up at the fairy Bard. They shared a scheming grin and rubbed their hands simultaneously. Nijana got Synaria addicted to the world of thieving, and Synaria got her addicted to the world of PKing.

  The two stood closely, staring at the chateau’s back wall and windows, then prepared themselves to take their first steps into becoming Alfheimr’s most notorious bandit women.

  “But before we go any farther,” Synaria said. “I want a sandwich. I’m starving. Can you fetch one for me?”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  With Arn stuck on the Seraphim and in a decaying orbit, airship travel remained the only viable means of exploring Alfheimr. Guy revealed his plans to the Lumière Kingdom’s king, François; he needed an airship. The king agreed without a second thought, granting them the privilege to use the Sirocco once she was ready and supplied. It’d take a day, forcing Guy and his friends to spend the night in Lumière.

  Averyl was kind enough to allow them to stay in her chateau for the time being. Guy claimed the first vacant bedroom he saw, which gave an excellent view of the Antoinette Mountains beyond the city’s walls. Guy pulled the bedsheets off and tossed them to the floor to signal to everyone that the bed was his. It’d been over a month since he slept on a bed, an actual bed and not cramped bunks in the Seraphim’s sleeping area. Guy had his own bedroom, decorated for a rich elf, all to himself, temporarily, of course. He wondered if Xanthe would sneak into it at night. She made it clear during their voyage to Alfheimr that the two had some . . . unfinished business. The Seraphim’s open living space lacked privacy.

  Guy spent the rest of the day doing what any normal Paladin would do while waiting for an airship to resupply. He went shopping.

  He bought thermal crystals for crafting and two sigils off the trade broker, Transmogrification, and Area. Guy wasn’t sure if he needed them, but they were cheap. Apparently, someone placed them up for sale in a rush and didn’t care how much they listed them at. The same went for the chainmail he purchased.

  Steel Chain Vest [Chain Armor]

  Rank: C

  Defense: 16 Magic Defense: 6

  HP: +20 MP: +20

  Sigil Space: 6

  Requires: 47 Strength 21 Vitality

  It was a marginal upgrade, Guy was giving up 2 vitality to gain 1 magic defense and a boost to HP and MP, and got two extra places to put his sigils, namely because it had no sleeves, so long as Guy kept his trench coats sleeves rolled to his shoulders.

  Later in the evening, Guy received word from Marguerite that the local tavern invited him to attend a small party as an honored guest. Free drinks and food for him and his companions. His presence brought newfound hope to the light elves, the Paladin from the stars who came to protect Lumière from New Svartálfar and the empire. “They will win this war!” he heard some elves chat as Guy walked into the tavern. News traveled fast in Lumière.

  Drunken cheers and laughter made up the tavern’s ambiance, drowning out the music played from various elven instruments. Zuran feasted on a large bowl of fresh berries. Kam sat with three blonde elven women clasping an ale glass in one hand and told stories of the worlds beyond Alfheimr. Ulysses kept to himself and leaned against the bar while nursing his drink. Guy couldn’t see Henrietta; she might have still been reading that book in Averyl’s chateau.

  He relaxed at a table with Rachael. His childhood friend beamed at him the whole time. The elves fixed Guy a nice chicken and potatoes dinner, and a generous glass of beer. Wild berries and a fruity beverage for Rachael. He patted his mouth dry after he finished eating. A waitress approached their table to collect their plates and glasses.

  “Any desserts?” Rachael asked.

  “None, I am afraid,” said the waitress. “We were not expecting guests such as yourself to visit our establishment tonight.”

  Guy opened his crafting menu screen and scrolled through the saved recipes he had. He stopped at the recent one acquired, a whole cheesecake that Averyl’s maid gave him along with the ingredients. He had enough ingredients to make one.

  “I’ll take care of dessert,” Guy said as the waitress cleared their table.

  Rachael leaned back, raising her eyebrow. “Oh?”

  Guy pulled the ingredients from his screen, laid them on the table, and fetched two thermal crystals required to start the synthesis—

  “Oh, what is Guy going to make for us tonight?!”

  That was Henrietta.

  Guy spun to see the warrior librarian standing behind him, leaping up and down with excitement, her eyes twinkling at his crafting screen. She must have finished her book and realized there was a party going on.

  “Yes,” Rachael said dejectedly. Henrietta’s sudden arrival soured her mood, and Guy couldn’t blame her. The last time he crafted a meal, Rachael missed out.

  He confirmed on his screen that he wanted to make the cheesecake, held the two thermal crystals together, and tapped each ingredient. Seconds later, he finished the synthesis. The crystals and the ingredients morphed into a cheesecake covered in a thin red layer of strawberry sauce and multiple dollops of whipped cream.

  His cooking skill rose to level 7.

  “And we have cheesecake,” Guy said as he presented his creation to Rachael. “Dig in.”

  And they did, fetching slice after slice. Kam, Zuran, and Ulysses strode over and took a piece of each as well. There was one slice left, and everyone had their share.

  “So, what brings you here, Henrietta?” Guy asked her. “Got bored with that book?”

  “Oh, I almost forgot,” Henrietta said, and patted her mouth clean of the cheesecake’s sauce. Henrietta faced Rachael. “Averyl wishes to speak with you, Rachael. She has extra sigils, and it turns out Clerics and Medics use a few of the same.”

  “Spare sigils mean new spells to cast,” Rachael said, and eyed the last cheesecake slice. “If you’re not going to eat that slice, Guy, then save it for me.” She stood from her chair. “I’m going to chat with Averyl and see what new spells I could learn. It might be handy when we travel south in the morning. I’ll be back in a few.”

  Rachael vanished into the crowded tavern and made her way to the exit. Guy grabbed the last slice of cheesecake, opened his Inventory screen, and tossed it inside before someone else snatched it. He had to make up for the blunder in the Seraphim’s galley when Rachael missed out on his breakfast platter. With his luck, Xanthe would take the last slice of cake.

  Speaking of Xanthe, the shadow angel pulled a chair next to Guy, and leaned her head on his shoulder as if they were a couple. Xanthe did it two seconds after Rachael slipped out. That was no coincidence.

  “Hmm,” Xanthe purred.

  “No, I’m not giving you that cheesecake slice,” Guy said.

  “Oh, I would never dream of asking for it.” Xanthe looked at the entrance Rachael had walked through. “You should go with her.”

  “Why?”

  Guy turned his head toward Xanthe. His nose and lips nearly brushed against hers since she was so close. His heartbeat sped up. Xanthe smiled while shutting her green eyes as her bronze cheeks flushed.

  “Averyl might seduce Rachael, that’s why,” Xanthe said. “You don’t want to lose Rachael to Averyl, now do you? Not that I care. It means I can have you.”

  “We’re friends.”

  “Keep telling yourself that.”

  “You sound like Arn.”

  “And you sound
indecisive.”

  Guy replied with a soft grunt.

  Xanthe opened her eyes and peered into his. “You cannot hide things like that from me. I can smell you and Rachael’s pheromones, and they are telling me interesting stories.”

  “And I can smell the drinks you’ve had. You’re drunk, Xanthe.”

  “I am, and.” Xanthe leaned away, opened her inventory, and retrieved a bottle from it, presenting it to Guy. “I charmed the barkeep to give this to me.”

  Guy examined the bottle she held. It was a bottle of elven wine, expensive wine, and no information screen appeared over it. That meant it was untouched by the corruption, a legit item still bound by the rules of physics, kind of. Wine from Alfheimr were hot items back on the fleet since Alfheimr, for most star-dwellers, was too far of a trip.

  Xanthe beamed an intoxicated smile at him. “Want to help me drink it in my room? Could be fun.”

  “Eh, both you and I know what would happen if we did that.”

  “We might fuck all night long.”

  “And turn Averyl’s home into a place of devious sex on the first night.”

  “She already did that with her maid. We will just be adding to it. So do not waste this chance. You and I have gotten no privacy since we left Faeheim. And before you ask, yes, your pheromones told me that too.”

  He looked away. “Just got a lot on my mind.”

  “Like what?”

  Guy gestured to the table in front of the two. Tempeste sat alone at the table and had been since Guy arrived in the tavern.

  “Why is she by herself?” Guy said.

  Xanthe shifted her gaze to Tempeste, grinned, and then turned to Guy. “Go talk with her then.”

  He chuckled. “About what?”

  “Anything, just talk to Tempeste, because she is clearly distracting you. Go on, chat her up, and get it off your chest. Then come back to me when you are done with her.” Xanthe’s drunk grin returned. “Do not forget about me, though.” Xanthe looked to the side as her grin faded. Her voice changed to a more serious tone. “I have been thinking about my future, and I would like your input on it.”

  Guy left Xanthe at the table and walked to Tempeste. Xanthe reclined in her chair, held the bottle with both hands to her impressive bust, and spread her raven wings from side to side in a relaxing manner. He wondered if he was the one who was too drunk. If there was any woman he should talk to, it was Xanthe, not Tempeste. He should be taking Xanthe up on her offer, not talking with an elven woman who probably didn’t want his company. A woman who looked at him in a way no other woman had during that night when the two fell on each other. What would Tempeste have said or done had Rachael not found the two in that position?

  Tempeste wants company from someone—anyone. Sitting alone, nursing a drink when there’s so much going on and people to chat with, is odd. I’m the outsider. I’m the one who should be sitting alone, not Tempeste, one of the locals. Guy sighed. You’re also the Paladin that the elves are revering.

  Guy dragged a chair across the wooden floor, brought it beside Tempeste, and sat with her.

  “Hey, you look like you can use some company,” he said, with no hesitation too. The booze was working.

  Tempeste looked away from her drink and toward him, smiling. “I am fine, but I appreciate your offer.”

  “Just thought it was odd for you to keep to yourself, nursing that drink while everyone else chatted.”

  “I am trying to suppress my worries for the future,” Tempeste said, and glanced at her drink. “Months ago, this kingdom, this world was vastly different. They were no classes, no corruption, and the dark elves lacked the power to push deep beyond the mists. Then the corruption dramatically changed it all. Then star-dwellers delivered Averyl to us, further escalating the rate at which things transformed.”

  “And now I’m here, and you’re wondering if our presence will change the world even more.”

  “Before the world changed, I was nothing more than a princess,” she said. “I touched a corrupted sword by accident. Now my body and mind feel as if I had been a fierce warrior woman my entire life.”

  “Same,” Guy said and tapped Asteria’s Sword resting on the back of his trench coat. “I wasn’t always like this. I used to be a starship pilot. Now I feel like a gallant knight of the galaxy, who can’t go back home out of fear my enemies will follow and destroy it.”

  “And I cannot go back to the ways of the old.” She gripped her drink and gave it a somber look.

  “Hey.” Guy held her hand that touched the glass. “We’ll get through this.”

  “How . . .”

  “By giving the empire and the dark elves a bloody nose, then offer that same gift to the sentinels pulling their strings.”

  “And undoing this curse the corruption brought on us?”

  “Eh.” It was a good question. Could they remove the astral circuits wired into their bodies, giving them their powers? Could they ever go back to normal? He didn’t know, but hoped to find a way. The sentinels are advanced. Maybe they have tech that could undo the affliction? Hell, maybe it was their tech that made this happen. Had the sentinels not chased Xanthe and Rachael off their ship, perhaps they could have found out—

  Tempeste wrapped her fingers around Guy’s.

  They were holding hands, sharing an embrace. Her hands were softer than he expected. Tempeste smiled and brushed a lock of blonde hair behind a long, pointed elven ear with her free hand. Her green eyes were hypnotic, almost like Xanthe’s, just a lot more vibrant, welcoming, and were seconds away from making him have a heart attack. Guy and Tempeste were drunk and were going to regret their actions in the morning.

  “I see how it is,” sneered an elven man from behind.

  Guy and Tempeste, still holding hands, glanced up at the third party. He was an elf wearing armor bearing the insignia of the Lumière Kingdom’s aeronauts. Two swords were dangling from his left and right, a Berserker using an Assassin subclass, Guy figured. Or perhaps a Blade Dancer subclass. Guy chuckled at the thought of a dancing Berserker.

  The elven man frowned as he viewed Guy and Tempeste’s embrace, then looked Tempeste right in the eyes. “Is this outsider from the stars my replacement?!”

  Tempeste pulled her hand from Guy’s.

  “Remy,” she said to the elf. “I—”

  “This corruption is ripping us apart!” The armored aeronaut, Remy said. “It changed the rules on everything, and you know that. You should be my wife. And we should be living in a kingdom with no fear of those from the north.”

  His breath smelled like booze, more so than Xanthe’s. Remy was seconds away from having an alcoholic fit.

  “But we both serve in our armed forces now,” Tempeste said. “And vowed to never marry or have children.”

  “Wow,” Guy said. “That’s pretty rough.”

  “The weakest soldier is one who has loved ones to lose,” Tempeste said.

  Guy snorted. “Who the fuck came up with that rule?”

  “I do not know,” she replied. “It has always been the law, and my father strictly has it enforced.”

  Guy shrugged. “Yeah, that seems legit—”

  “Silence!” Remy screamed at Guy. The outburst killed the tavern’s cheerful laughs and music. The elves in attendance whispered murmurs amongst themselves as they spun to watch Remy push Guy and jam his finger in his face. “I do not know what you are trying to do . . . but if you think you are a match for her because you are both experts with the sword, then—”

  Guy stood up so fast his chair fell over, then he slapped Remy’s finger away.

  “Go home, Remy,” said to him. “You’re drunk—”

  Slap.

  Remy had removed his glove and slapped it across Guy’s face. “Speak, when spoken to, star-man.”

  Guy rubbed his red cheek. “Oh, hell no—”

  Slap.

  Remy backhanded Guy again, using his glove.

  “Did this motherfucker just slap me with his g
love?” Guy asked Tempeste.

  “He did,” she replied as she stood with Guy.

  “Why?” Guy asked as he rubbed his cheek again, then returned to Remy. “Bruh, the time it took to take off that glove, you could have—”

  Remy unsheathed his sword. Both of them.

  “He is challenging you to a duel,” Tempeste said. “That is why.”

  “Oh, you want to duel? Okay.” Guy forged his menu screen to appear, found, and selected the dueling option. He extended his finger forward to issue the challenge. “All right, motherfucker, let’s dance.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Remy lunged his left sword for Guy’s face seconds before Guy hit the screen’s option to issue the duel challenge. The screen changed to a message stating that the duel request had been canceled. Guy wasn’t sure why since he was now in combat and just lost HP when Remy’s blade struck his chest.

  Seems like we’re in a duel to me.

  Guy pulled Asteria’s Sword from his back, clenched the hilt with both hands, and brought it up to deflect Remy’s swords. A crowd had gathered around the two men within the tavern as they fought. Tables and chairs crashed to the floor, plates, and glassware shattered. Guy and Remy’s sword fight turned the tavern’s dining area into a chaotic mess. Kam took bets in the crowd.

  Remy’s big leather boot kicked Guy in the chest, pushing him outside into the streets where their scrap continued. It was hard to build AP off Remy. His twin swords were always ready to parry and deflect Guy’s cleaves. Remy’s level and access to a subclass weren’t helping. His higher agility and attack speed rating made Remy a more challenging target to strike.

  The tavern’s crowd joined them in the streets, cheering and laughing.

  “Who would win? The star-dweller Paladin?”

  “No way, that is Captain Remy Larrivée. He is the best frontline defender this city has!”

  “Aye, he has a higher level too.”

  “And rank.”

  “But that Paladin has skills nobody else can use.”

  Yeah, skills I can’t use because I have no fucking AP! Although.