Star Paladin: A LitRPG Space Fantasy (Sword of Asteria Book 1)

by Eddie R. Hicks

  I can’t use Provoke, and Fortification and Stand Your Ground are useless if I don’t have the bear’s attention. Hmm, Storm Slash it is then. It will hate me for knocking it back.

  He spent his AP on Storm Slash, and a quick twirl of his body knocked the Dire Bear away, sending it tumbling into the chamber’s wall. It snarled at the Paladin who smacked it from its target. Guy got its attention and stood ready to block its incoming bites and claw scratches. The Dire Bear pounced Guy and drew blood.

  Guy | HP: 131/586

  He was losing HP fast and didn’t have time to open his inventory and pull out another hypospray. He needed his hands on the sword’s hilt, guiding the blade to deflect as many attacks as possible. Zuran had to finish this.

  The Dire Bear stood on its back legs again, raising its forward paws up, its eyes glowing red. This was it—the moment it gathered the strength to use its clawing barrage. This time, Guy spun around the bear as it unleashed the attack. The bear remained in its spot, ripping the air, thinking its victim was still there.

  Stupid bear. “Okay, new plan. Unload on it when its eyes are red!”

  The three put their strategy into play. Guy swung at the bear until his AP was full, and Zuran held back on the casting to avoid drawing the bear’s attention. Kam sat cross-legged and pulled out his pipe for a smoke.

  When the bear’s eyes glowed red again, Guy sped away, forcing the beast to rapidly claw the air, and hit nothing until its attack finished. Zuran sent out his barrage of Fireballs. As long as the bear kept clawing the open, it would remain stationary. Guy dashed to the bear’s back, waiting for Zuran to run out of MP and reach for an MP potion.

  He did, then Guy knocked the bear away with Storm Slash to the sound of blood splattering the floor. He saw why.

  Dire Bear | LVL: 15 | Rank: A | HP: 23%

  Its HP was low enough for it to feel the agonizing feeling that pain brought. Guy could draw its blood. And Zuran? His Fireball spells could light the bear’s fur on fire.

  Guy stabbed a bear who couldn’t fight back, its body too busy trying and failing to shake off the fires that burned it. A slash to the left, and blood sprayed from the bear’s head; Guy lunged again and chopped off its jaw, sending it flying from its head.

  The bear collapsed, evaporated, and turned into a lance, waiting for the hands of the three who stood victorious.

  1,800 experience points for Guy.

  Guy has attained level 11!

  2,000 experience points for Zuran.

  Zuran has attained level 8!

  Obtained: Bronze Lance

  Recruit the Spell Lancer – Quest Updated

  - Acquire a Bronze Lance [Completed!]

  - Deliver Bronze Lance to a Spell Lancer candidate

  Guy looked at the lance he held. “This is the weirdest planet I’ve ever been to.”

  He opened his Inventory screen and pushed the lance inside, making it vanish.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  A flock of gulls, or at least Faeheim’s equivalent, annoyed the men lifting sacks off docked boats, with their chirps and prodding beaks. South Town was as Guy had envisioned it, a city parked at the edge of the coast, providing a spot for fae sea travelers to deliver or receive goods. And with star-dwellers, a place to intercept some of those goods for the fleet.

  Southbound to South Town – Quest Complete

  Obtained: 500 Experience Points

  Free experience just for walking into the city was cool too.

  Experience Points: 1107/2593

  I still got a while to go for level 12, and Zuran’s level 8 now. He’s probably hit that same wall that I did recently. Case in point, he had this same quest and got the same 500 experience points and didn’t level up.

  Guy and his party, comprised of Zuran and Kam, walked across South Town’s stone roads, past concrete structures, and arrived at the city’s docks, hoping the starship Seraphim was there and that the other rumored starship wasn’t a sentinel ship. Past the various anchored boats was a starship floating on the waters like a boat. It wasn’t the Seraphim, and judging by its star-human crew, they weren’t sentinels either. It calmed Guy’s head. The second star-dweller ship was one of two options for his departure.

  Farther up, at the far end of the dock, was the familiar hull design of the Seraphim. Ulysses and Arn had stood in front of the ship’s open entrance, taking in the twin sunlight, and feasting on their lunch—microwaved spaghetti and meatballs, judging by the scent entering Guy’s nose. That alone made Guy swallow his pride and run to the two star-men. Guy grew tired of the diet of berries and cream the fae offered.

  “Ulysses!” Guy sprung his hand up in greeting.

  Arn looked at Guy running ahead of Kam and Zuran, eyes narrowing. “Well, well, well, Captain, look who we have here.”

  Ulysses grinned. “Sutherland? What the fuck are you doing here? Coming to steal business from us?”

  “No, it’s—”

  “Where’s Rachael?” Arn cut in. “And why are you with land-dwellers?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know why you’re walking with the land-dwellers?”

  “I mean, I don’t know what happened to Rachael!—”

  Arn pointed upward. “And what’s with the sword?”

  Ulysses pointed at Guy’s chest. “And the chain mail.”

  “And your coat,” Arn added.

  With a nod, Ulysses added, “You look like shit.”

  “Definitely,” Arn said, looking up at Guy with his fists on his hips. “You tried to make a harem, and Rachael found out and beat your ass, huh?”

  “Both of you shut the fuck up and let me explain!” Guy roared. “When I last saw her, she was on an island town called Muruai. The keyword: was. That place got fucking torched by the empire. Rachael might still be there with the survivors.”

  “Don’t tell me you got involved with fae politics, mon ami.”

  “Because that’ll destroy your ability to do business with them,” Arn snickered.

  Ulysses concurred. “Yep.”

  Guy took a minute to bring them up to date on everything that had happened since his arrival on Faeheim. He excluded the reason he had Asteria’s Sword, and didn’t mention his powers or the affliction. That’d just take too long to explain, and at that point, he really wanted to get aboard the Seraphim, eat some microwaved spaghetti and meatballs, find Rachael, and go home. Sure, his career was over, as he envisioned doctors prodding him with test after test to learn more about the astral circuits in him, but that was okay and way better than being chased by imperials.

  Ulysses and Arm finished their spaghetti and meatballs, gave each other a nod, then waved for Guy to join them on Seraphim.

  “Let’s fly over and look,” Ulysses offered.

  Arn angled his head toward the second star-dweller ship at the docks. “We should let the other ship know what’s up. The Gabriel, right?”

  “Good call,” Ulysses said. “I’m not worried about some fucking land-dwellers. But those sentinels you talked about, Guy? Yeah, let’s avoid fighting with them. Who knows, maybe Captain O’Connor will thank me by explaining what he plans to do with the faes he’s smuggling.”

  Ulysses left to speak with the Gabriel’s captain, O’Connor; his was the second star-dweller ship at the city’s port. Guy faced Kam and Zuran, the land-dwellers who helped him get this far, the two he was about to part ways with. He went to say his goodbyes.

  “Well, guys—”

  The town’s people erupted with worrying murmurs.

  The four spun around to find out why. Over the mountains loomed the silent running sentinel ship. It flew to hover above South Town, darkening the streets and buildings with its shadow.

  The sentinel ship's side doors slithered open, releasing the armored sentinel men wearing advanced battle suits.

  “Oh, c’mon,” Guy sighed.

  Arn eyed the sentinel ship. “You didn’t lure them here when you escaped, did you?”

&
nbsp; “Pretty sure we were good,” Guy said to him.

  “Then why are they conveniently here!?”

  Zuran watched the spectacle with his arms crossed. “I think the sentinels are heading for the docks.”

  “What makes you say that?” Arn asked—

  And Arn got his answer right away when two sentinels dropped ahead of them, making a dramatic three-point landing on the wooden platform below.

  — “Never mind!”

  “Shit!” Guy yanked Asteria’s Sword from his back. “The sentinels followed us.”

  Zuran grabbed and flipped open his tome, and Arn pulled out his assault rifle. Kam ran and hid behind the three who were about to find out how hard it was to kill sentinels.

  If that were even possible.

  The two sentinels aimed their wrist-mounted pulse guns at the gathered four, sending everyone for cover. The explosive blasts that followed knocked them from it—except for Guy, as none of the pulse shots hurled him down. He ran and made a jumping cut to the first tin man.

  Clang.

  Guy barely put a dent in it. That didn’t stop him from swinging over and over, then hopping to the side when pulse gunfire came at him. Guy slashed again and missed. One sentinel activated their jet pack, and the flaring thrusters propelled them into the air. Coming about, Guy spun for the second sentinel, striking its helmeted head with his sword.

  Clang.

  Only minor damage.

  But the slash gave Guy the 10 AP needed to hit 100.

  Storm Slash sent that sentinel tumbling onto the docks, its armor sparking from the attack. Above, the remaining sentinel shot at Guy with their wrist pulse guns. Guy couldn’t do anything about that. He just ducked and ran while keeping a close eye on his HP.

  Guy | HP: 613/640

  Despite not being afflicted, the sentinel’s weapons were able to damage him. Zuran came to and chanted while his tome glowed red. A casting circle shimmered below his feet. When the cast finished, Zuran hurled a Fireball up at the sentinel gunning at Guy, making its armor blaze when the spell hit.

  It stopped shooting, then looked down at the group as the one with its damaged armor took to the skies and joined it. The two sentinels gave the group below a long stare, their emotions hidden behind their helmets—assuming they even had emotions. Guy still didn’t know if men were in those suits, or they were just self-aware machines.

  “There they are!” shouted the authoritative voice of an imperial soldier. Multiple members of the empire’s army marched onto the docks, their weapons drawn and pointed at them. “Do not let them escape!”

  The sentinels withdrew from the fight, fired their jetpacks, and joined other sentinels hovering in the skies. The imperials were just cannon fodder for the sentinels. Why risk their men when they can risk land-fae?

  The imperials were rushing the Gabriel, the starship Ulysses went to. Ulysses pulled out his laser rifle, ducked behind a wooden crate for cover, and rose to shoot. A barrage of arrows soared to the star-elf and he swerved to avoid them, then returned fire. His laser hit three imperials dead on, but they kept charging. It reminded Guy of the time he shot an afflicted wolf with his laser pistol. The beast had shrugged off the red beams of light and kept coming. Conventional weapons did nothing against the afflicted.

  Unless you’re a sentinel. Guy grimaced and gave his opponents a quick examination.

  Imperial Trooper (Ranger) | LVL: 10 | Rank: C | HP: 100%

  Imperial Trooper (Berserker) | LVL: 10 | Rank: C | HP: 99%

  Imperial Trooper (Ranger) | LVL: 11 | Rank: C | HP: 100%

  Imperial Trooper (Medic) | LVL: 10 | Rank: C | HP: 99%

  Imperial Trooper (Berserker) | LVL: 9 | Rank: C | HP: 99%

  Guy and Zuran possessed the only means to stop the imperials and the only way for Ulysses to escape the Seraphim. He led Zuran to the chaos and stood in the imperials’ path, staring them down with Asteria’s Sword reflecting the suns. Arn and Kam followed behind, not that they could do much. With gritted teeth, Guy assaulted with the edge of his sword, parried strikes aimed for him, leaped away from arrows, then dashed and slashed down the Rangers.

  With 100 AP, Guy entered the cluster of the imperials and used Storm Slash, knocking them backward. One half ended up in the water, and it didn’t look like they could swim. The remaining imperials got to their feet—

  Then went back down when Zuran blasted them with his Fire spell. The soldiers were engulfed in flames and flailed their arms about as they panic-ran off the dock’s platform and into the water. It didn’t look like they could swim either.

  Arn had regrouped with Ulysses as they continued to shoot their laser rifles, aiming for the head of the last standing soldier. Somewhere behind, Kam was hiding.

  “What the hell?!” Ulysses looked at his rifle, wincing.

  Arn snorted. “I think your gun is broken, Captain.”

  Guy and the last soldier danced in a deadly bladed duel. The imperial kept his eyes on Guy, and Guy kept his eyes on their wrists. The soldier dove forward and lunged, then Guy side-stepped, slicing and cutting the imperial’s wrist. The imperial’s hand hit the deck, and the stump squirted crimson gore across his face as he examined the wound with a frightened gaze. Guy thrust Asteria’s Sword through the imperial’s cuirass, shoving it deep into his chest. The blade’s blood-dripping end came out of the soldier’s back and left wing. He yanked Asteria’s Sword free, then booted the body into the water.

  Splash.

  The second wave of imperials marched in. Above, the sentinels regrouped. Hopefully, not to assist them. I don’t think we can fight imperials and sentinels simultaneously.

  Ulysses held his laser rifle's trigger, making it blast line after line of red. The imperials hit by the lasers just shrugged, laughed, and kept charging.

  “Let me try,” Arn said and raised his laser, pulling the trigger six times.

  Six red lines hit six different imperial soldiers in the face. They just staggered for a second then resumed their charge and screaming war cry. Arn grimaced, aimed at the floor, and fired.

  “What the fuck!” Ulysses jumped. “Hey, watch it!”

  Arn’s laser blast had missed Ulysses’s feet.

  “Sorry,” Arn said, shrugging. “Was convinced mine was broken too.”

  Ulysses sneered. “Obviously it’s not!”

  Arn and Ulysses looked to the incoming soldiers—worried and unsure of what to do, Guy figured. Guy and Zuran had the answer.

  “Stand back,” Guy said, inching toward the action. “We got this!”

  He held Asteria’s Sword high and entered an epic pose with Zuran at his side.

  “With that fucking sword?” Ulysses spat. He stared at Zuran. “And a book? Have you two lost your goddamn minds?!”

  “Bruh . . .” Guy said and sighed. “Didn’t you two see us kick ass just now?!”

  “We were kinda busy shooting, mon ami.”

  “Something you should be doing, instead of using that silly sword,” Arn snickered. “You know, Captain, I think he has lost his mind.”

  Ulysses rolled his eyes. “Well, that’s just great!”

  “Indeed, as he’s throwing himself at them,” Arn said and gestured to the Seraphim. “This is our opportunity to flee, Captain!”

  Arn and Ulysses stood to do that, leaving Guy and Zuran alone. Guy wished there were a third among them who was afflicted and could help—

  Hold on, I could change that. Guy thought as he remembered his recent quest. Recruit the Spell Lancer. This is my chance to finish that quest. The White Dragon probably knew this ambush was coming. “Ulysses, wait!”

  Ulysses froze and spun toward Guy. “What?!”

  Working quickly, Guy opened his Inventory screen and withdrew the Bronze Lance. The sight turned Ulysses’s face pale. Guy did pull a weapon out of thin air from his point of view.

  Ulysses pointed at the spectacle as the imperials drew near. “How the hell . . .”

  Guy held the Bronze Lance with one hand and
offered it to Ulysses. “Take it!”

  Ulysses looked at it, then at his rifle, then at the imperials. “And I’m supposed to do what with a fucking spear?!”

  “Actually, it’s a lance, Captain,” Arn interjected. “You see, the lance is longer than a spear, and so—”

  “It’s useless like your useless facts, Arn.”

  “I’ll have you know, I studied medieval weaponry in high school! It is far from useless, Ulysses.”

  Guy waved the Bronze Lance. “Fucking take it!”

  “How about we deal with this first?” Zuran said, as he held his tome then began to cast.

  Guy dropped the Bronze Lance, held Asteria’s Sword with both hands, and pushed into the fray, striking the first imperials with deadly stabs. He kicked one into the water, then turned to have a sword fight with another. Somewhere behind Guy, another imperial soldier exploded in a blaze of fire, thanks to Zuran’s spellcasting. Ulysses and Arn ran to the Seraphim while bickering about the correct term for medieval weapons.

  Maybe it was for the better. Getting afflicted means passing out for a bit. I should have given one of them the lance earlier.

  Zuran and Guy battled the imperial soldiers, keeping them from the two starships and slowly filling the dock and water below with unmoving bodies. If it weren’t for their levels and classes, Guy and Zuran would have died a long time ago. Guy was starting to understand why Wylume made such a big deal about Asteria’s Sword. If left unchecked, Guy could become a force that could single-handedly take on the whole imperial army solo.

  The last imperial fell over dead, his body covered in flames from Zuran’s Fireball spell. Guy checked their party status.

  Guy | HP: 321/640 | MP: 160/160 | AP: 70/100

  Zuran | HP: 218/218 | MP: 14/534 | AP: 0/100

  Not good. Zuran’s out of MP for spellcasting and I got eleven hyposprays left. At this rate, I’ll be out of those soon.

  The bodies at his feet didn’t evaporate. Guy wasn’t sure why monsters vanished upon death, but everyone else didn’t, at least not right away—