Arn’s muffled voice played through Ulysses’s communicator, clipped to his belt. “You know I’m still on the line, right, Ulysses?”
“Yes, Arn,” Ulysses said and put the communicator to his face to speak. “I haven’t forgotten about you. Yes, I’m aware I’m not in your fucking will. Don’t worry, mon ami, you won’t be dying. Prepare to land at the beach close to my signal.”
Ulysses was serious. He was ordering Arn to bring the Seraphim down.
“Wait,” Guy said, reaching out to Ulysses. “You’re bailing?”
Ulysses lowered the communicator. “What else can we do? This is a bust and…” The star-elf gestured to the fae princesses behind Guy. “… and it looks like you found Averyl and her double. Thanks for finishing that Mirror Princess quest, by the way. The surprise experience points were nice. But, yeah, the quest is finished. We found Averyl and Nijana. Isn’t that what we came here to do? Your timing is impeccable.”
“What about the others?” Guy said and upped the volume of his voice. “We can’t leave without them!”
Ulysses rolled his eyes. “Oh, here we go again!” Then pointed his index finger at Guy. “You are not the captain of the Seraphim. I call the shots, and I say we’re done here. Do you even know where to find them? Because Rachael and I couldn’t see any signs of them—”
Guy pushed Ulysses back and stole the communicator out of his grip. He backed away from the pissed-off star-elf and spoke into the device. Guy had to keep the Seraphim in space longer while it was a safe option.
“Arn, this is Guy!”
Arn’s voice replied. “Did you punch out Ulysses and steal his communicator?”
“Hey, give that back!” Ulysses yelled from behind.
Guy heard Ulysses’s footsteps thump toward him.
“No,” Guy continued. “But, since we’re talking, that means you’re above us, right?”
“Kinda, you want me to scan the area?”
“Please . . .”
“Guy . . .” Ulysses snarled, his left hand pulling on Guy’s shoulder.
“Sec,” Arn’s voice said. “Okay, there’s a bunch of airships heading south from the mists.”
“Is one of them the Sirocco?”
“Yeah, yeah, it looks like one of ‘em is—”
“Give me that!” Ulysses took back his device, then shoved Guy to the side. “Arn, come and land at the beach near my signal, now. We are leaving, end of discussion. Noted.” Ulysses ended the call and stored his communicator away. He pointed at everyone watching. “It’s done. Arn powered the Seraphim’s reactors, and the energy spike is probably about to appear on sentinel sensor scans. You better be ready to board because there’s no turning back. We have to enter hyperspace right away before we get shot down. Now, you can come with us or stay behind searching for people who are probably dead.”
“We can’t abandon them if they’re still alive,” Rachael spoke up. “And what about Tempeste’s people? Sorry, Ulysses, I can’t turn my back on them, especially when the Seraphim had twelve hours left.”
Ulysses exhaled and shook his head. “Listen to you. Do you honestly think we could have won this in twelve hours?”
“I don’t know,” Guy said. “You never gave us the chance to see if it was possible.” Guy stood his ground. “I’m staying.”
Averyl stood at his side, nodding. “Indeed.”
And to Guy’s right, stepped Nijana. “I’m partially responsible for this mess . . . so I got to fix it.”
“Take a second to think about what you’re about to do.” Ulysses crossed his arms. “You will be stuck on Alfheimr forever when the Seraphim leaves. I doubt the sentinels will allow any other star-dweller ship to land, and I will not risk losing the Seraphim and Arn’s life because of you.”
“That’s fine,” Rachael said, and stood with Guy, Averyl, and Nijana. “I’m staying.”
Ulysses shut his eyes and facepalmed, sighing between his fingers. “Why do you all have to play the role of some intergalactic heroes?”
“If you want to leave, Ulysses, then that’s fine,” Guy said. “In fact, this is probably the better option. We’re probably gonna need more than twelve hours to finish this, and leaving Arn to die and losing the Seraphim won’t help in the long run. So, get out of here, and save yourself.”
Ulysses shrugged. “Well, since you put it that way.” He reached for his communicator again and spoke. “Arn, it’s just me coming back, so take off once I board.”
Guy dropped his jaw. “Bruh . . .”
“What?” Ulysses said, turning to Guy. “You thought your reverse psychology thing was going to work? ‘Oh, just go, Ulysses. It will be fine. Oh no, wait, you know what, I’ll go with you!’”
“I guess Spell Lancers have shitty charisma,” Guy said drily.
Ulysses walked to the beach ahead. “You four better be gone after I leave. This place is going to be swarming with sentinel patrols.”
Guy and Rachael followed Ulysses. He wasn’t sure why they did it exactly. Perhaps it was because he hoped for a stroke of good luck to hit, like maybe the sentinels didn’t detect the Seraphim as they suspected. If that were the case, then they could still operate on Alfheimr and have their own ship to use. Or maybe it was because Guy and Rachael wanted to return to the Seraphim. It was a starship, and they were star-dwellers. Guy, Rachael, and Ulysses belonged in space, not on an underdeveloped planet for long periods.
The Seraphim descended from the sky. At first, it looked like a small silver object, barely visible because of the fog. It splashed onto the ocean and sailed to the beach as if it were a large boat, spun to place its opened entrance to the beach’s sand, and deployed its ramp. Arn stood at the entrance with a laser rifle slung over his shoulder and waved for Ulysses to get aboard. Guy resisted the urge to join, and he could tell Rachael had to do the same. She handled it by waving goodbye, then looked at the forest to put the starship’s sight behind her.
Ulysses climbed aboard the Seraphim and stood at Arn’s side. He gave Guy and Rachael one last fleeting look, one last chance for them to leave and return to space.
Guy waved goodbye to not only Ulysses and Arn, but his life as a star-dweller.
“Well, see ya, Ulysses,” Guy said, his hand still waving. “PS. You’re a dick.”
Ulysses snorted. “Right back at ya.”
Arn and Ulysses vanished within the corridors of the Seraphim as its doors slid shut. About a minute later, the Seraphim drifted across the ocean at high speed, blasted off, and angled upward to the sky. A rush of air from the Seraphim’s sudden launch blew Guy and Rachael’s attire. That was it. He and Rachael were stuck on the level 20+ planet of Alfheimr. Rachael hugged Guy from his side, laying her head on his shoulder. He wasn’t sure if she had started to cry or not and just held her head consolingly.
Together, the two childhood friends returned to the woodlands inside the mists, rejoining Averyl and Nijana, who sat on a fallen tree waiting for them.
“Let’s get out of here before the sentinels search the area and find us,” Guy said.
“Where do we go? Rachael said, her voice full of emotion and maybe a hint of regret.
“We chase the Sirocco,” Guy said. “If Arn’s scans are correct, it hasn’t reached Lumière yet, but will soon.”
Rachael joined Guy’s party. He held back a smirk as he traveled with three ladies with fairy wings dangling from their backs. It looked like he made a harem of fae girls, and Guy hoped Rachael couldn’t hear his thoughts because she’d slap him silly for thinking that.
Chapter Sixty-Six
The journey from the mists to the Antoinette Mountains near the Lumière Kingdom’s capital took the better half of the day, with little to no breaks. Xanthe thought Henrietta would give up and pant, demanding a break. But she did not. The human librarian kept up with Xanthe’s party. It must be that high strength from her Berserker class. Strength Henrietta continued to gain quickly.
Someone, probably Guy, completed the Mirro
r Princess quest, granting everyone in Xanthe’s party bonus experience points. Add in the experience points earned from killing the numerous monsters during their multiple-hour trek and everyone, Henrietta included, gained a few levels. Xanthe and Kam reached level 18, Zuran hit 19, and Henrietta arrived at 16.
Zuran had shared a quest with Xanthe and the others, given to him by Tempeste. She wanted them to travel straight to the Antoinette Mountains and investigate what the Autumnfall Empire was doing. Xanthe had argued they should warn Lumière initially, then realized that the Antoinette Mountains were closer to their traveling party than the city. To warn Lumière would force them to walk away from the Antoinette Mountains first. It would take too much time to walk to the city, then back to the mountains to investigate the fae. They would lose the opportunity to stop the fae in time. Splitting the team came to mind. Xanthe’s party had comprised of Zuran, Kam, and Henrietta. One party could explore the Antoinette Mountains, while the other could run to Lumière. Of course, that would leave them vulnerable to the PKers lurking in the darkness and imperial soldiers. Oh, and they had no healer.
Sticking together was the agreed-upon plan. It was a plan Xanthe had a hard time following based on her recent track record.
“Shush.”
That was Kam. The faun slowed his footsteps up the mountain’s hill and crouched behind a large boulder. He saw something. Xanthe hid behind a tree, then peeked around its trunk to view what Kam spotted. There were three, perhaps four, imperials wandering about on the mountain’s path. The imperials’ information floated above their head as Xanthe gleamed closer at them.
Imperial Scout (Assassin) | LVL: 20 | Rank: C
Imperial Scout (Assassin) | LVL: 19 | Rank: C
Imperial Scout (Assassin) | LVL: 22 | Rank: C
Zuran joined Xanthe at her side and watched as Henrietta hid with Kam behind his boulder. The four had the advantage.
“You were right, Zuran,” Xanthe whispered to him.
“Yeah . . .” Zuran said, as he peeked again. “These mountains must be crawling with imperials.”
“Everyone,” Xanthe said to her party. “Keep your eyes sharp!” She withdrew her dual Aspirant’s Blades and scrutinized their opponents blocking the path. Three Assassins . . . we outnumber them, but they will vanish with their Stealth skill the moment they get AP.
“Are we seriously going to challenge three Assassins?” Zuran asked.
“I dislike the idea as much as you do, but we have little choice,” Xanthe said. She spread her large raven wings from left to right and grinned. “Fly with me, Zuran.” Then to Kam and Henrietta, she added. “You two, wait for my signal.”
Kam and Henrietta nodded with their weapons in hand, a shining Aspirant’s Lance for Kam, and a two-handed axe, the Aspirant’s Splitter, for Henrietta. Everyone was ready. So Xanthe flapped her wings and flew high above the three fae Assassins on patrol. Zuran joined her in the sky, his dragonfly wings buzzing. She hoped the sound didn’t give away their position. Xanthe fingered the three enemy troops.
“Hit them with everything you have,” Xanthe said.
Zuran consulted his glowing tome, the Aspirant’s Spellbook. It shone with enough light to brighten the dark area they flew in. Enough light to make the three imperial Assassins look up at them, wincing. The Assassins spread their fae wings—
Crackle.
Zuran cast Hailstorm and a flurry of razor-sharp ice pellets rained upon the Assassins, covering their legs, arms, and wings in a thick layer of ice.
Boom.
Zuran cast Firestorm, melting the ice that encased the three Assassins, and bathing them in a blast of flames that lit their wings on fire.
Boom.
Zuran followed up with a Fireball that soared to the lead Assassin. The burning ball of flames exploded on his chest.
Xanthe gave the signal. “Now, you two!”
Two Assassins sat at 67 percent HP, the other at 52.
Henrietta and Kam ran from their cover with weapons drawn and darted at the Assassin who ate Fireball, the one at 52 percent HP. They dismembered him with lethal efficiency. The two remaining Assassins retrieved their daggers, turned to Kam and Henrietta, and began swinging and stabbing. With each hit, the Assassins removed Kam and Henrietta’s HP and increased their own AP. They had seconds left before the Assassins got enough AP for Stealth. As Kam and Henrietta fought with their targets, Xanthe flew above and behind one, then pointed her left Aspirant’s Blade at them while gesturing to Zuran. Blow him up next.
Zuran prepared to cast another Fireball and sent it hurtling down at the Assassin Xanthe pointed out. As his Fireball exploded, Xanthe dropped from the skies like a swooping hawk, her twin Aspirant’s Blades positioned to impale the burning Assassin. Her blades hit the mark, piercing through the Assassin’s back. They wailed in pain as she withdrew her stabbing weapons, backed up to form a dramatic sword pose, then cleaved the twin Aspirant’s Blades again, increasing her AP.
The Assassin twirled to meet Xanthe, parried two slashes, plunged a dagger into her belly, then another into her left shoulder, leaving behind a red mark. Behind, Henrietta had swung her Aspirant’s Splitter into his back, once, twice, three times, and scored a critical hit on the last. It knocked the Assassin away. As they pushed back up, Xanthe slashed him high and low, rotated to his side as the jewelry around her limbs and torso jingled. She cut off his fucking arm, executed another stunning whirl to get behind him, held a spectacular pose, then made a wide left-to-right cleave with her left Aspirant’s Blade. The cut removed the top of the Assassin’s head from behind. It flipped right off like the lid to a jar. So much blood poured from the wound that his entire head was red and reflecting the moonlight above.
The Assassin collapsed.
Xanthe rotated to engage with the last Assassin, only to find that Henrietta and Kam had put him down, and were removing their blood-soaked weapon edges from his chest and face. Xanthe sheathed her Aspirant’s Blades, and Zuran came down for a landing behind. She assessed the party’s status.
Xanthe | HP: 376/790 | MP: 0/0 | AP: 80/100
Henrietta | HP: 231/785 | MP: 0/0 | AP: 60/100
Zuran | HP: 542/542 | MP: 918/1216 | AP: 0/100
Kam | HP: 240/686 | MP: 270/475 | AP: 80/100
They lost a lot of HP, and with Zuran, MP.
Despite getting the jump, the hits the Assassins landed were quick and deadly, giving them little time to drink their limited supply of HP potions.
“Zuran, how close are you to level 20?” Xanthe asked.
Zuran summoned his Status screen and studied the experience points bar. “I still have a while to go,” he said, sighed, and closed the glowing screen. “Without subclasses, this is going to be hard.”
“Not to mention lack of any healer,” Kam added.
Xanthe had the highest maximum HP in the group, had the power to fly when needed, and was quick to dodge and parry enemy attacks because of her 71 points of agility. Between her speed and duel-wield prowess, Xanthe also received AP faster than anyone in the party. She put her left hand on her hip and faced the party with a wince.
“I shall be, as Guy would put it, the tank,” Xanthe said.
Her party encountered several imperial scouts on the path up. There was no doubt about it. The empire was undertaking an operation there, and it was part of Remy’s plan to attack Lumière. Most of the imperials they confronted were Assassins on patrol, and at least half of them leaped at her party from the shadows. Zuran’s Firestorm spell played an integral role. If an Assassin had entered Stealth, he would cast that, and if the sod were in the spell’s area of effect, it would burn the Assassin and unveil their presence. Stealth’s invisibility always faded when an Assassin received damage. Burning or freezing their wings also prevented the Assassins from flying away.
Xanthe assumed the role of a tank, daring the Assassins to dance with her and her blades. When attacked, she undertook quick dives and twirls to escape from their daggers, posed elegantly, and chall
enged them to try again. It looked like Xanthe was dancing circles around the Assassins, and her agility guided her hands to slice them with the Aspirant’s Blades or raise them to parry. Xanthe’s Lightning Dash AP skill only enhanced her ability to do that, as it boosted her movement and attack speed and faded after she delivered six hits, or if Xanthe took damage, whatever came first. Usually, it was the former.
She became the most threatening force to the imperials. If left unchecked, Xanthe built AP extremely fast, and when they chose to engage her, she became a hard target to hit. Kam managed to hit level 19, too. That was now two people in her party who were on the last stretch to getting a subclass.
Her party claimed many victories on their way up the mountains, but it came at a cost. Their supply of HP and MP potions shrank dramatically. It was impossible to walk away from a battle without losing some HP.
Xanthe grimaced at her inventory and shook her head. “I cannot do this much longer.”
“What if I take the role of defense?” Henrietta offered.
Xanthe looked at the human woman readjusting her reading glasses. How Henrietta kept them on was a mystery to all.
“You?” Xanthe said, one black eyebrow raised.
“Aye, might not be a bad idea,” Kam said. “Plate armor has high defense, no?”
“Indeed,” Henrietta said, then waved her hand to view her status screen. “My defense is 39.”
Xanthe shook her head no. “My agility has gotten us this far.”
“But your support dances will make up for the lack of healing,” Zuran said.
“Hmm.” Xanthe narrowed her eyes. “Henrietta, are you up for it?”
“I, I suppose so,” Henrietta said and scratched her chin, her face lost in thought. “Tempeste could do it. Why not me?”
Kam grinned. “Okay, you’re up, lass!”
Xanthe and Henrietta pulled various sigils off their bodies and reached into their Inventory screens to acquire stored ones. Xanthe ended up settling for a sigil build of Enthrall, Swiftness, Shock, Vampire, Heart, and Manipulation. The sigil setup granted her the skills of Brisk Strike, Exotic Samba, Mesmerizing Dance, Celestial Ballet, Vigorous Mambo, and Sensual Tango—a support build.
Mirror Princess: A LitRPG Space Fantasy (Sword of Asteria Book 2) Page 51