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

by Eddie R. Hicks

  Guy groaned, holding his sore belly. “That would have been nice to know beforehand . . .”

  “Anyhow, I think that should do it . . .”

  Zuran stood with his two arms folded over his dark, brawny chest. “Now what?”

  Kam smiled at the jail cell bars. “Watch and be in awe.”

  He explained his plan. First, Kam used the AP skill Elemental Attunement, allowing him to attune to a specific element—in this case, water. A swirl of water bubbles lifted away from Kam’s clenched fists. With that done, Kam cast the spell Become One with the Elements, and his body became translucent like he was a faun made of water. Kam became an elemental water spirit.

  Since Kam was water, he flowed past the bars, making it look like someone had thrown a bucket of water at it. His liquid form reconstituted on the other side, and he shot Guy and Zuran a grin made of water.

  Guy shot a grin back. “Perfect, now get us out.”

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Kam looked at his hands made of water. He could see the stone floor of the prison hallway through them. He shifted his attention to the side, noting his stats.

  Kam

  Class: Spell Lancer LVL 10

  HP: 362/362

  MP: 205/275

  AP: 0/100

  LP: 10/10

  EXP: 2299/2357

  Kam winced. He was down 70 MP, yet the spell he cast cost 50—

  Correction, down 72 now, then 74. Kam’s MP was slowly draining, and he had no idea why. Is it because of Become One with the Elements? He checked that spell’s tooltip.

  Become One with the Elements

  Transform into an elemental spirit, based on current attunement. The effect fades if you run out of MP. Physical attacks cannot be performed until the effect ends. Drains 2 MP per second.

  Cost: 50 MP

  Oh, shite! It is!

  And with no gear, Kam would lose his advantage. Kam stormed into the halls, moving in the same direction he saw that imperial Cleric Veronis move. Since his feet were water, his hooved steps only made soft splattering sounds like water was dripping. His run alerted none of the imperial guards on patrol farther up. He was confident a faun made of water would be something to look at, though, and kept low.

  He glanced out a window as he passed. Smoke lifted away from the city of Coldhorn. The imperials and sentinels razed it to the ground. Veronis told the truth; the prison was inside the keep at the city's edge, now occupied by the imperials. What a pity. He hoped the land-humans of Coldhorn fought back using their powers after the imperials captured him and Zuran. Bad enough that the imperials slit Laurence the farmer’s throat, then mutilated his body until it turned into a crystal.

  And to think, this was not Faeheim. It was Mennaze, a land-human world. The sentinels were not just there to give the Autumnfall Empire an advantage over the fae. They were there to take them to other worlds and conquer them—and the star-dwellers knew nothing of it. The few who did were likely dead or in Guy’s situation.

  That was going to change if Guy told the empire and their sentinel overlords where to find the home of the star-dwellers.

  Kam shook off the thoughts. His MP was still draining and was now at 175.

  Ye cannot help the dead, only avenge them.

  A door at a dead end concluded Kam’s journey, and next to that door stood a lone imperial fae on guard.

  Kam sized him up.

  Imperial Trooper (Berserker) | LVL: 12 | Rank: D

  The door the guard remained at was the only way forward. Kam put up his dukes made of water, imagined that he was in a bar brawl, and threw the first blow, if you could even call it that. He could not perform physical attacks while he was a water spirit. Slapping his water arms around had to make do, arms that boiled when he came in contact with the guard, burning him. Kam looked like a faun made of boiling water, fighting an imperial.

  Kam | MP: 0/275 | AP: 80/100

  His MP ran out, causing a wince as Kam’s body returned to normal. He was not a water spirit anymore, though his water attunement remained. His fists should still inflict additional water elemental damage.

  Steam lifted from the imperial’s face. It looked like a scalding hot pot of water burned it. The imperial angled his sword and grinned that he could now slice at faun flesh, rather than a faun water spirit.

  Not caring that he was unarmed, Kam threw his fists forward. His right connected with the guard’s jaw. He felt and heard the bones inside shatter as his water-imbued fist splashed steaming water upon the man’s face. Kam’s strength stat was at work and he barely felt anything on his fists. His intelligence stat made his elemental water damage inflict extra damage. He hoped his vitality and HP would save him from the tip of the fae’s blade.

  Stab.

  The sword staggered Kam for a second as he watched his HP go from 362 to 301. But he was still breathing. Kam jabbed again—this time with his right, then his left; he grabbed the guard’s hands and spun around, bringing him along for the ride. Kam let go. The guard’s weapon hit the wall with a clang, then landed on the floor. The guard’s body went the other way.

  As the imperial got to his feet, Kam charged him, cracked his forehead open with his knee, then gave him a spinning kick with his hooved foot.

  Crack.

  Obtained: 30 Experience Points

  The guard remained on his knees, unmoving—hard to when your head got kicked so hard it twisted backward.

  With the threat out of the way, Kam opened the door to glance down another long winding hallway, its walls glowing red-orange colors from the flaming candle lights. He found a lone guard patrolling it.

  Imperial Trooper (Ranger) | LVL: 12 | Rank: D

  Kam hid behind stone pillars and waited for the guard to pass. He was out of MP, lost some HP, and had no means of recovering either.

  Or do I?

  Experience Points: 2329/2357

  He was about to level up.

  Kam cracked his knuckles, meandered behind the guard, grabbed his head, and hoped the 47 strength he had would be enough. He bashed the guard’s head into the wall until his face looked like a hacked piece of meat cut from livestock. A smear of crimson gore dripped off the wall and pooled on the floor where Kam tossed the body.

  It seems my strength is high enough for lethal takedowns.

  Obtained: 30 Experience Points

  Kam has attained level 11!

  HP +33

  MP +25

  Strength +3

  Dexterity +2

  Vitality +1

  Agility +1

  Intelligence +4

  Wisdom +1

  Charisma +1

  Gaining a level had restored his HP and MP too.

  It pained Kam to discover that he was right. The battle that had transpired during the raid bloodied this end of the keep’s hall. The imperials killed the humans who used to control the fortress. There were no bodies because they likely turned into crystals. He wondered why he never shared the same fate as the humans.

  Because they probably know that Zuran and I have knowledge about the resistance . . . The empire wants information from us, as they do from Guy.

  A locked door held Kam up. He had the key: his body. With his MP full again, Kam cast Become One with the Elements, and his body morphed into the elemental water spirit. He turned into a puddle and flowed under the gap below the door, entering the room on the other side as his body took shape as a water-faun. The empire locked the door for a reason, and he found it in the corner. There was a lone storage chest in the room.

  Kam opened the chest and pulled out familiar items—his Heavy Lance, Iron Hauberk, and Silver Spiked Bracelets were among them. Zuran’s and Guy’s equipment and the contents of their inventory were inside too. It had surprised Kam that the chest could hold it all. He just kept pulling the items out, one by one. It was like a magical bottomless pit. The affliction had altered the chest, so the laws of the universe did not apply.

  There was a mess of items on the floor, so Kam
opened his inventory and tossed them all in—except for his gear, which he stood to put on. His MP continued to drain, so Kam cancelled the effect of Become One with the Elements, and his physical form returned to normal

  Much better, he thought as he slung the Heavy Lance to his back and lowered himself to collect the last items—

  The door behind unlocked.

  “What the!” Then came the sound of a sword coming out of its rest. “Who let you in here?! Guards!”

  Imperial Trooper (Berserker) | LVL: 11 | Rank: C

  They found Kam, but he did not care. If he killed two guards barehanded, surely the one behind him would be no match for his Heavy Lance. A grin spread on his face, and Kam met the Imperial Trooper with his Heavy Lance held forward.

  Elemental Attunement was still active, giving his Heavy Lance the power to inflict boiling water damage with each thrust, which he sank into the soldier’s armored chest. Kam’s opponent staggered. Keeping the Heavy Lance balanced, Kam struck the soldier again, then leaped backward to maintain his distance. He had the range advantage, and he had to keep that.

  Thrust, leap back, and repeat. The imperial’s short sword could not connect with Kam—

  Kam leaped into a wall.

  “Oh, shite!”

  The imperial closed the gap, then slashed up and down, thrusting hard and fast.

  Kam | HP: 279/395

  His HP would not last.

  Kam sidestepped and plunged his polearm’s tip into the floor while holding it up vertically. Grabbing the vertical lance stuck in the ground, Kam used it to keep his body steady and dropkicked the guard. The blow hurled the imperial some four feet back. Kam pulled the Heavy Lance free, aimed it at the guard, and smiled.

  AP: 100/100

  He used Astral Swipe and cleaved the air ahead, releasing a small tidal wave of boiling water. It burned and pushed the guard to the wall. The imperial never got up after that—hard to when your HP is sitting at zero.

  An easy kill, he thought. If only the imperial had sent troops like him to sack the city. One on one, I could have taken them, and with Zuran’s help, we could have saved those poor humans.

  Kam looked at his recent kill and remembered the door. They had locked it when he first arrived. The man he had slain had the key to open it. He searched the steaming body, ignoring the blood that stained his fingers with gore. Kam yanked out a keychain from the guard’s pants. One of the keys would let Guy and Zuran out from the jail cell. With the keys in hand, Kam returned to the bottomless chest and resumed gathering the last items that the imperials had stored in it. The final item he plucked out caused him to wince. Kam held it and brought it to his face for a closer look.

  Dianna’s Ocarina

  A woodwind instrument for Bards.

  The instrument entered Kam’s pocket as he ambled to the jail cells, walking past the blood-squirting dead he left behind. The dead imperials did not turn into crystals because they still had LP. Kam wondered if leaving them like that was a good idea. Sure, the deceased were not a threat, but if that Cleric returned, they could cast that Resurrection spell. Kam armed himself with his Heavy Lance, stopped at the first imperial he killed, and aimed the tip down. If his understanding was correct, mutilating the dead removed their LP faster, forcing their body to change into a soul crystal—

  Armored footsteps clanked behind, lots of them.

  Someone heard the dying cries of the last imperial he had slain. The newly arrived imperials were bound to find and overrun Kam soon. He hurried down the hall and left the bodies where they were. No time to kill the dead.

  Kam ran to the jail cells in a hurry, and his arrival brightened Zuran’s and Guy’s faces with smiles and hope.

  “Kam!” Guy said, wrapping his hands around the jail bars. “Did you find it?!”

  Kam nodded, grabbed the keys, and moved to the cell. “That, and much more.”

  Zuran stepped forward. “Such as?—”

  “There he is!” the voice of an imperial cut in.

  “Company, that is what,” Kam said nonchalantly.

  Kam slipped the first blood-soaked key into the cell lock and turned. It did not work. Panic struck as he tried each key, hoping that one of them worked. He really did not want to face the incoming imperials alone.

  He unlocked the jail cell on the fourth attempt; Guy and Zuran rushed out and motioned their hands at Kam. They wanted their stash fast.

  To the side, the roars and sabatons of the imperial soldiers were a lot louder.

  Zuran waved his hand at Kam. “Hurry, man!”

  Kam opened his Inventory screen and handed Guy his items and equipment first. “Asteria, grant me the speed to do this faster!”

  Guy moved quickly, got his armor and accessories on, held his magical sword, and then stashed the rest of his items into his Inventory screen.

  Zuran’s jaw dropped. “Really? Me last?!”

  Kam shot him a smile. “This is strategic, my friend.” Kam found Zuran’s items next and went to complete the trade—

  The imperial soldiers arrived with weapons raised.

  Guy ran to meet the imperials and stood ahead of them, ready to fight them all, even though they overwhelmed the lone Paladin.

  Zuran sighed. “It better be . . .”

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Sweat moisten Guy’s eyebrow as he clashed with the imperial soldiers. The sounds of their blades striking echoed through the prison’s halls. His intense focus put him in a furious state of mind, one where the words uttered by Zuran and Kam went in one ear and out the other. Guy watched the soldier who came for him. If he could step away from the strike, he did. If he could parry it, he did. If he couldn’t, he had to rely on the defense his vitality and equipment gave to mitigate the damage and then make that loss of HP count for something, like a follow-up slash. And when slashing Asteria’s Sword, Guy had to ensure he hit as many troopers as he could in one attack. That was the only way to build AP faster than his opponents, and he was fighting four of them.

  That meant four different AP moves were going to hit Guy soon, and he was pretty sure eating four AP skills from the imperials would kill him or bring him close to that, high defense or not.

  AP: 100/100

  Guy’s AP was ready.

  Fortification or Storm Slash? If they jump away from Storm Slash, then it’d be a waste of my AP. But if I land it, I’ll knock all four of them back and they’ll take damage. But then . . . they’d be free to dish out their AP skills if I can’t finish them quick. Fortification could save me a lot of trouble.

  Guy was running out of time to think. The four imperials rose their swords. He studied their feet . . . they were all shifting their body weight forward. There was no way the imperials could change their direction.

  He used Storm Slash with a big smirk.

  Four bodies hit the walls around. And they were all spread out . . . Fuck, I won’t be able to get lots of AP per attack now.

  Guy looked at their HP.

  Imperial Trooper (Berserker) | HP: 20%

  Imperial Trooper (Berserker) | HP: 21%

  Imperial Trooper (Berserker) | HP: 36%

  Imperial Trooper (Berserker) | HP: 29%

  The one with 20 percent HP was the lowest among them, so he savagely put Asteria’s Sword into their chest, repeatedly.

  HP: 0%

  He ran to the one with 21 percent HP as the others got to their feet, made a three-folded slash, and cut their throat open. Blood colored the walls.

  HP: 0%

  Guy still needed another 40 to reach 100. He had to make every shot count going forward. He raced to the soldier with 29 percent HP, leaped, lunged twice, and took his fucking head off with a critical hit on the second slice. Guy landed from his leaping kill, kicked the severed head into the wall, and spun with Asteria’s Sword held out.

  Clang.

  He parried an attack just in time, followed up with a horizontal slash and an upward swing, then cut the man in half from dick to head. The imper
ial’s body folded open, exposing the internal organs of a fae and his still-beating heart, pulsing in sync with the jets of blood squirting left and right.

  He heard voices chatting in the halls.

  “Are the prisoners escaping?”

  “Sounds like it. You and you, with me!”

  Guy turned to his party members. “Shit, we got more coming! Zuran, please tell me you have mana potions?!”

  “I got three left.”

  “If your mana is gone, then so are we. Killing these assholes fast is our only way out of here.”

  “Sheesh!” Zuran snorted. “No pressure, bro.”

  It was a hard lesson learned from Guy’s last battle. Guy led his friends into the jail’s hallway, stepping over the dead Kam had left. He had no idea where he was going but kept up the image anyway, the brave Paladin leading his friends out of a dungeon crawling with Imperial Troopers—like the three who ran ahead and drew their swords.

  Imperial Trooper (Berserker) | LVL: 13 | Rank: C

  Imperial Trooper (Berserker) | LVL: 13 | Rank: C

  Imperial Trooper (Berserker) | LVL: 13 | Rank: C

  The empire seems to love the Berserker class . . . Guy waved Asteria’s Sword. “Bring it on, motherfuckers!”

  He used Provoke.

  The three imperials brought it on, lifting their blades for Guy, and only Guy. Provoke angered the trio of fae soldiers’ minds, making them sacrifice their defense to attack Guy. It was up to Zuran and Kam to kill the imperials before their swords removed his HP. He was already down to 587.

  Zuran and Kam were the primary sources of damage. Zuran, with his devastating fire spells, sent a lot of imperials running around and flailing their arms about as they burned. The soldiers wanted water, so Kam gave it to them with his mixture of lance thrusting imbued with the element of water—boiling water, at that. Zuran showed off the power of one of the new sigils he got, Adversaries. With that, Zuran could cast a spell called Firestorm that burned imperials in a selected area. It did less damage than Fireball and Fire, but it made things faster since he could barbeque multiple targets with one spell cast.