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

by Eddie R. Hicks

  Guy scratched the back of his head. “We kinda got separated, but we’re good—”

  Rachael playfully hit his shoulder.

  “You had me so damn worried!” Rachael said. “I thought I’d be picking up your soul crystal any moment . . . Averyl’s too . . .” Rachael stopped to glance at the two, then narrowed her eyes at Averyl standing close with Guy.

  It must be because of their level, he assumed.

  “Yep,” Guy said, flexing his muscles. “Hit level 20 as well.”

  “So did we,” Rachael said.

  He glanced at Rachael and Ulysses’s information as it appeared above their head.

  Rachael (Medic) | LVL: 20 | Rank: B

  Ulysses (Ranger) | LVL: 20 | Rank: B

  I guess that explains why Averyl and I didn’t recognize them at first. Rachael and Ulysses are wearing the gear we looted from the PKers in the Verte Woods. Their levels gave them the stats needed to equip them. “Level 20, nice,” Guy said with an impressed tone.

  “We ran into monsters and PKers while searching for you two,” Ulysses said. “Killing party leaders is a surprisingly good source of experience points. I can see why they do it.”

  “The White Dragon helped with a few quests to guide us here too,” Rachael added. “Between that and the fighting, we hit level 20.”

  “The White Dragon guided us too,” Guy said. He unsheathed Asteria’s Sword and held it out for Rachael to peer at its information screen. “Upgraded the rank on this, and Averyl got a new scepter, one she could upgrade into a stronger one.”

  “Now what?” Ulysses asked.

  “Plan was to go search for Guy and Averyl,” Rachael said. “But since they came to us . . . I guess we head back and hope Remy didn’t force the Sirocco to leave without us. Otherwise, it’s going to be a long walk to Lumière City.”

  Guy checked his inventory and grinned at the astral cluster.

  “If that’s the case, then it’s time to test this,” he said, then retrieved the heavy and oversized crystal. Naturally, Guy couldn’t use the astral cluster to change classes as it floated ahead of the four. He pulled out a spare tent from his inventory and deployed it. “Let’s get on our subclasses.”

  They crawled in the tent while Guy dragged the astral cluster behind. The massive crystal recognized that they were inside a sanctuary and allowed them to use it.

  “Hmm, about switching to our subclasses,” Rachael said, wincing. “I don’t have any low-tier weapons to touch.”

  “Same,” Ulysses said, shrugging.

  “Don’t worry.” Guy rechecked his screen. He still had the Recruit’s Dagger, Pike, and Claymore in his inventory. “I think I have you covered.”

  He pulled out the three weapons and laid them on the ground, side by side.

  Ulysses looked at the dagger, lance, and two-handed sword. “Three weapons for the three of us in need of a subclass.”

  “Averyl needs a weapon too, however,” Rachael said, looking up at her.

  “Indeed,” Averyl said. “I have a Medic battlestaff at home, but I left it there as I was not expecting to reach level 20 so soon.”

  “You wanted to use Medic as your subclass then?” Rachael asked.

  Averyl nodded to her. “Yes, now more than ever after witnessing your healing capabilities, Rachael.”

  “Okay, easy fix,” Rachael said, opening her Inventory, and yanking out the Oak Battlestaff. “I don’t need this anymore since I have a better one.” She offered it to Averyl. “Take it and become a Medic.”

  Averyl’s face lit up with joy. She clenched the staff with both hands, held it up, and let the astral energy modify her circuits. Thankfully, Averyl didn’t pass out. Guy assumed that was just a onetime deal after getting afflicted.

  He looked at the three weapons awaiting their new owners.

  Hmm, what class should we pick? Technically, since I touched all three, I could select Assassin, Berserker, or Spell Lancer. Hell, if I let Rachael and Ulysses do the same, they could as well. But we still need to level those classes, meaning we’ll need to keep those respective weapons until we get better ones.

  He gave the three classes deeper thought.

  Assassin would give me the dual wield trait, Stealth, and increase my dexterity, agility, and strength. Remy used Assassin as a subclass and was pretty good at it. It turned him into an evasive tank that could parry with two weapons. But . . . he made that work well because his main was a Berserker. And, come to think of it, Berserker was what I had my eye on and what was recommended by Tempeste. High strength, HP, and vitality should complement Paladin.

  Guy eyed the last option, Spell Lancer.

  I saw Kam kick a lot of asses as a Spell Lancer. He could use AP and MP skills . . . just like a Paladin. And all Kam needed was one elemental sigil to use Become One with the Elements. And I have that, a Light sigil, since I need it to use spells like Blinding Flash.

  Guy gave the weapons one last glance and made his decision. He reached for the Recruit’s Pike. “I’ll use Spell Lancer if you two don’t mind.”

  “No, that’s fine,” Rachael said with a wide grin. “I was afraid you’d take Berserker!”

  “Why’s that?”

  Rachael swiped the Recruit’s Claymore by the hilt. “Because I want that!”

  “You? A Berserker?” Guy chuckled.

  “Medic has a lot of combat potential,” Rachael said. “I figured a Berserker subclass would boost that. And . . .” She looked at everyone, “And once we roll with these new classes, I think I’ll be the main tank! Keep close to me Guy, I need some tanking tips!”

  And that left the Recruit’s Dagger for Ulysses. He plucked it up and studied the less than stellar blade. “The stealthy Ranger, eh? Might not be bad, and both classes use leather armor, right?”

  “They do, yes,” Averyl said.

  “Okay, that works for me,” Ulysses said, and laughed at Guy and Rachael. “Unlike you two, I won’t have to carry two sets of gear in my inventory.”

  Ulysses was right. Berserkers wore plate armor, and Spell Lancers used chain armor. While leveling subclasses, Guy, and Rachael would have to grind to get appropriate gear.

  Whatever.

  With their new weapons acquired, each of the four touched the astral cluster and switched to their new classes. Guy saw he could switch to various classes, Paladin, Assassin, Berserker, and Spell Lancer. He selected Spell Lancer as his primary, then went to choose his subclass and grimaced. The option was grayed out; he could only use Paladin as a subclass for his Spell Lancer. Strange.

  The four switched their primary classes, and their armor fell from their bodies. They lacked the stats needed to equip them. Luckily for Guy, he kept his trench coat on. As for Ulysses, Rachael, and Averyl, they had to turn their naked bodies around and quickly slip into something their level one classes could use. Rachael opted for her nurse uniform, rolled-up the sleeves so that the sigils on her bare arms could breathe and function correctly. Ulysses used the gear he had from his low-level days as a Ranger, and Averyl slipped into an old Cleric gown she had.

  Guy reformed the party and shot out invites for the two.

  Guy | HP: 165/165 | MP: 70/70 | AP: 0/100

  Averyl | HP: 115/115 | MP: 150/150 | AP: 0/100

  Rachael | HP: 145/145 | MP: 50/50 | AP: 0/100

  Ulysses | HP: 150/150 | MP: 0/0 | AP: 0/100

  They were all level one . . .

  “Ah, shit . . . here we go again . . .” Ulysses groaned.

  “At least we’re in the plains,” Guy said. “This is the lower-level area, right? If we stick together and not get PKed, we should be able to gain a few levels.”

  The four crawled out of the tent, and took their first steps in their new roles. And nearly collapsed.

  “Whoa,” Guy said and had to steady his wobbly balance.

  Rachael held him stable, and damn, she was stronger than he was. “You, okay?”

  “Feel a bit weaker,” Guy said. “I got so used to Paladin and its p
owers.”

  “Your level one now,” Ulysses said. “And Spell Lancers have lower vitality than Paladin. You got too used to your power.”

  The four stopped to review their skills and adjust their sigil setup. There was no point in running into combat at level 1 without even knowing what you could do.

  Damn, Tempeste wasn’t kidding. Even though I’m a Spell Lancer, I could use my Paladin skills and gained a slight boost to my base HP, defense, and MP. Technically, I’m a stronger level 1 Spell Lancer than Kam when he became one.

  “All right,” Guy said as he finished looking over his new abilities. “Let’s head back to the Sirocco before they leave.”

  “Yeah, I don’t like the idea of Remy forcing our friends into a battle without our support,” Rachael said.

  “Battle?” Ulysses asked.

  Guy remembered. “Yeah, the New Svartálfar airship fleet should still be approaching Lumière. Maybe that’s why Remy was in a rush. He wants to intercept them fast before it’s too late.”

  “Makes sense on paper,” Ulysses said. “But, the Seraphim’s end draws closer each hour we waste . . . so.”

  “And what if Serzax and the empire show up to help New Svartálfar?” Guy said. “Serzax is weak against light. If he’s anything like Wylume, then I’m the one who has the best chance at taking him down. Going into a scrap without me on Paladin is suicide.”

  “Then let’s get to it,” Rachael said.

  The star-fae clenched her Recruit’s Claymore and led the way back to Alita. Rachael was the main tank now, and Guy kept close to offer her advice.

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Nijana and Synaria raised utter chaos in the Plains of Alita.

  It all started when Synaria brought Nijana to a small hamlet at the end of the plains called Bleu Fleuve. It was a modest settlement full of elves and was where many of the PKers lived in secret. Because of that, the vendors were okay with supplying Nijana and Synaria with whatever supplies they needed to purchase with the francs in their inventory. And boy, they had a lot of money looted from the odd elf they killed on their way to Bleu Fleuve.

  Synaria had switched her class by using the hamlet’s public astral cluster. More specifically, she changed her subclass. Synaria was now an Assassin using Blade Dancer as her subclass. The bunny ear druid wanted to try something with the class and use the Blade Dancer AP skill Dance with the Music, which increased AP accumulation when under the effect of a Bard song. After that, the two women meandered into Bleu Fleuve’s local café and purchased several cups of ginseng tea. They each drank one and stored the rest in their inventory.

  Every sense in Nijana’s mind told her the cups of tea would spill inside her inventory. But they didn’t. They remained inside and in suspended animation until pulled out.

  Since the corruption tainted the tea, it gave Nijana and Synaria a buff.

  Ginseng Tea

  Regenerating 1 AP per second.

  Duration: 30 Minutes

  They got 1 AP per second, even if they weren’t doing anything.

  Synaria wasn’t done showing Nijana her secret—a simple BLT sandwich. When eaten, those, too, gave the duo a buff.

  BLT Sandwich

  Attack, Magic Attack, and Ranged Attack are increased by 30.

  Duration: 30 Minutes

  It was a game-changer.

  Eating and drinking certain afflicted food beverages before a battle increased your performance.

  Synaria escorted Nijana into the plains with a cunning smirk while seeking the blood of lower-level elves leveling their combat or gathering classes.

  The two left few survivors in their wake.

  Nijana played notes using Dianna’s Ocarina, depending on Synaria’s requests. Most of the time, however, the druid wanted Swift Carol for the increased speed. But Nijana kept the sigils needed for Requiem of War in her inventory for attack power. And if things got dicey, like town guards drawing their blades at the PKing duo, Nijana would switch her sigil set up to enable her the ability to play Symphony of Protection and boost their physical and magical defenses.

  Synaria dual-wielded her Marauder’s Dirks, so she naturally gained AP fast already. That combined with ginseng tea’s auto AP regeneration, stacked with the AP skill Dance with the Music, Synaria became an AP machine. The druid Assassin chased down targets and obliterated them with her daggers, then faded away with her Stealth skill. After that, Synaria would find and attack an unsuspecting elf with Backstab, plunging the Marauder’s Dirks into them, perform a leaping flip over them if they tried to fight back, then followed up with a fatal cut across their throat, splitting it open.

  Nijana reaped the experience points rewards. As Nijana’s level increased, she played a more offensive role, poking their opponents to death with her rapier. The duo hid behind trees as the local Clerics and Medics, dispatched by the city, cast Resurrection on the dead. Never permakill victims. It was the PKer’s code.

  They continued their rampage throughout the plains, targeting party leaders or higher-level and rank elves. The higher their rank and level, the more experience points upon death. Said points were multiplied if that person was a party leader.

  And with Nijana’s ginseng tea’s effect granting her full AP every 100 seconds, she always had a song ready to be played without having to attack.

  An angry elven Cleric had enough of the two.

  Easy kill.

  Nijana lured the Cleric into the woods. Her nimble hands tossed the Marauder’s Chakram at the Cleric. The Cleric flicked her scepter at Nijana, infecting her with the painful Chastisement damage over time debuff that slowly reduced Nijana’s HP. The Cleric stopped to heal themselves with Starlight Recovery and grinned as Nijana’s skin bubbled. They thought they won.

  They thought wrong.

  Synaria appeared out of nowhere with Backstab, interrupting the Cleric’s spell cast, and danced around them with dagger strikes so fast it looked like a shiny blur of white. Ignoring Chastisement’s damage over time, Nijana ran to the shocked Cleric, repeatedly threw the Marauder’s Chakram at their face, got AP, used Dazzling Throw, and took off their head.

  Minutes later, a Spell Lancer entered the fray.

  I guess the town of Alita is sending their strongest to fight us. How utterly delightful.

  Synaria gave the Spell Lancer a flirty wave and vanished with the Stealth ability. The Spell Lancer turned around and ran. The elven man knew what the Assassin was cooking. Nijana spread and buzzed her fairy wings and soared toward the fleeing Spell Lancer while hurling the Marauder’s Chakram at them. The Spell Lancer couldn’t do much with their ethereal lance.

  Become One with the Elements was a different story.

  The Spell Lancer used that skill and transformed into an elemental wind spirit and cast Elemental Rain to call forth a small twister of winds upon Nijana. She wasn’t expecting that. The mini-tornado picked up the fae and threw her up and into the sky, hitting her for wind damage.

  Nijana was still alive, despite crashing to the ground. She pushed up and saw the elven wind spirit shimmer with a green glow. He was going to use Elemental Rain again. So she countered by playing Lullaby and put his ass to sleep. Synaria caught up and hit the Spell Lancer in his wind spirit form with Backstab. The strike woke him up to the sight of Nijana cutting into him with her Marauder’s Chakram as Synaria stabbed him from behind, got AP, and killed him with two strokes from Brisk Strike.

  Later in the afternoon, an elven Assassin, and a Berserker challenged the duo. Synaria did her usual act: vanished with Stealth, stalked the Berserker, hit them with Backstab, then slashed out their legs with a critical hit to inflict the crippled debuff. The elven Assassin dashed for Nijana, but with Swift Carol active, they couldn’t keep up with the running fae. Nijana laughed and ran in a wide circle, jumped around to piss off the Assassin, and threw a chakram or three into his face to chip away their HP. She got full AP and used Dazzling Throw, gained full AP again in less than a minute, and used another Dazzling
Throw to slice a gash through the elven Assassin’s throat. He collapsed to his knees, holding his bloody wound, then looked up.

  Nijana clenched the Marauder’s Chakram and swung it like a blade across his forehead, cutting right into the skull. She kicked his corpse back and ran to Synaria. The druid battled with the furious armor-plated Berserker; his axe raised to chop her head. Nijana tossed the Marauder’s Chakram and watched as it cut through the air, past the trees, and sliced off the Berserker’s arm with a critical hit.

  The severed arm landed beside the elf, then later his axe, as it was too heavy to hold with one hand. A horrified look of shock twitched the Berserker’s face. Synaria stabbed him three times in a quick flash of strikes, leaped up and above him, landed behind, and pierced him with Backstab. The armored man fell over and never got up.

  And just in time, too.

  The violence drew the attention of a Gunner and Ranger duo. The Gunner charged in with her twin flintlocks popping as her partner nocked and sent a volley of arrows forward.

  They were shooting for Nijana and ignored Synaria. Nijana wasn’t sure if she should be proud or scared. Nijana pivoted to run and hide behind a tree, but never made it far. The bullets perforated her body all over, filling her with bloody holes, and at least one shot pierced her left knee, inflicting the cripple debuff. Five arrows plunged into her back and wings.

  Behind, Nijana heard the Gunner laugh.

  Synaria scurried behind the Gunner when they aimed to shoot at her and sliced the tendons in their leg, crippling them. Since the Gunner wasn’t going anywhere Synaria used her Blade Dancer subclass skill. The druid performed a sexy jig, Alluring Waltz, and charmed the Gunner. Synaria pointed at the Ranger, and the Gunner obeyed and made their pistols blaze to punch bloody holes through the Ranger’s leather jerkin.

  All that bought Nijana time to hide behind a tree, drink an HP potion, and pull out the arrows in her wings. She gave them a test flap, and they fluttered. Nijana could fly again, so she did and floated before the treetops. She looked down at the Gunner who killed their Ranger partner because of the charm’s allure. When the charm faded, the Gunner limped to escape, wincing and leaking a trail of blood. They hadn’t seen Nijana in the air with her wings buzzing, her hand bringing Dianna’s Ocarina to her lips to play Lullaby.