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

by Eddie R. Hicks

  Cross the darkness to find the light at the end of the chamber.

  Guy looked at the energy field within the room, black mist reverberating through the chamber with a haunting sound.

  “Dark elemental energy,” Guy said as he approached the field. “We have to cross this . . .”

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Guy spotted no other means to pass the enormous field of dark mist. The dark mist was so large he felt its strange prickling sensation in his arms and legs, like his limbs had fallen asleep because he had slept on them in a weird position.

  Guy reached into the dark field as a test, and it lit his fingers ablaze with purple flames.

  He yanked his hand back as the pain struck. “Ah fuck!”

  He wasn’t even at low HP, yet he could feel the pain of the darkness as it swallowed his HP fast. 1072, 982, 892, 802.

  Guy had seconds to live.

  Averyl reacted quickly by holding his hand, burning with dark fire.

  762, 722, 682. It wasn’t enough and only delayed Guy’s approaching death.

  “It is draining your HP faster than I can transfer mine to it!” Averyl panicked.

  She held his hand with both of hers, smothering the purple flames with her tender embrace.

  Guy glimpsed at his health and grinned.

  682, 692, 702.

  “It’s moving faster.”

  “Level two transference,” Averyl said as she read the notification screen that appeared. “I wonder how we get a level 3 transference.”

  “Let’s hope we don’t have to use it,” Guy said. “That’d mean we ran into a big problem.”

  Averyl released Guy’s hand from hers after his wounds faded and the purple flames vanished. She touched the darkness ahead, then pulled away. It singed her, but only mildly. The darkness didn’t burn Averyl as bad as it did to Guy.

  “Hmm, it does less damage to me,” Averyl said. “Once again, my magic defense is proving to be helpful.”

  “It’s not just your magic defense this time,” Guy said. “I’m a Paladin. My class takes extra damage from any kind of dark magic.”

  “And we Clerics have no elemental weaknesses or resistance,” she said. “Then it is decided then. I shall cross the field, Guy. It is far too dangerous for you to do it.”

  “Okay,” Guy said and tried to peer at what lay beyond the cloud of darkness. “I’m guessing there’s some kind of light you have to find.” He narrowed his eyes and pointed. “There. That white glowing orb, that’s our objective. That’s the light at the end of the darkness.”

  Averyl crossed into the black mist of darkness, taking damage over time, but nothing major. Though the longer she remained in the field, the closer to death she’d get. Averyl had a limited amount of time to find the light orb. She arrived at the white glowing orb at the chamber’s edge, tapped a screen above it, and commanded the sphere to orbit around her, shining its bright light to cast away the dark mist. Farther up was the chamber’s locked exit with a sphere-shaped cavity on the wall to the left and right of the door. When Averyl approached the left slot, a screen appeared asking if she would like to have the light orb float into the opening.

  Averyl selected yes, and the orbiting orb floated into place on the wall.

  Nothing happened other than a new screen flashing ahead of her with red flashing letters. Guy wasn’t able to make out what that screen said. Averyl read it, gasped, and stepped backward as the darkness resumed taking her HP away.

  “Oh, my,” she said.

  “What’s up?” Guy asked.

  Averyl reread the screen. “It would appear that they are two light orbs,” she revealed. “I can only make one circle me. Guy, you must get the other, and then.” She studied the screen’s last paragraph. “We must both insert the orbs into the grooves here at the same time.”

  Guy grimaced. “That means I have to cross . . . awesome.”

  He braced himself for a whole new world of pain and stepped into the black mist. It felt as if something had rammed six thousand needles into every inch of Guy’s body, then twisted them around.

  Guy’s HP was falling faster than Averyl’s as he wandered through the dark fog, his eyes on the lookout for the second white glittering orb. He made it to the halfway point and fell to one knee. The pain was too much.

  “Oh . . . boy,” he groaned. “Sorry, my allergy to darkness is rough, and I didn’t bring an EpiPen.”

  “I am coming!” Averyl shouted. She waved to him. “Over here!”

  Averyl dashed to him through the darkness, one hand reaching out for his as the orb she first found rotated around her tiny fae frame. Guy held his hand up as she approached and felt her soothing touch once again. Her transference wasn’t enough. As Guy stood up, Averyl wrapped him up in an embrace and started the level two transference.

  He looked at her HP and noticed it didn’t move since he last checked.

  “Why isn’t your HP falling?” he asked.

  “Oh. This orb, it is protecting me.”

  “Hmm.” Guy glanced at the white orb shining its light as it orbited Averyl. “Pass it to me, and then you get the second.”

  Averyl nodded and unhooked her arms around his body. She fingered the screen to command the orb and sent it to Guy. The white shimmering sphere circled Guy and negated the darkness’s damage over time effect. He was no longer losing HP; Averyl, however, was. But since she wasn’t weak against the dark, it wasn’t a big deal.

  He ran to the slot to the right of the exit wall and waited for Averyl to collect the second light orb. She lost some HP as expected, but not much, and having the second orb around her negated the dark curse. Averyl stood to the left of the door, Guy to the right.

  A screen opened, asking if the two would like to insert the orbs. And they had to stick them in simultaneously. Guy angled his gaze to Averyl. “On the count of three,” he said, one finger close to the confirm button.

  Averyl nodded to him. “Very well.”

  “One . . . two . . .” He inched closer to the button. “. . . three.”

  They tapped the command and ordered their orbiting orbs to float into the groove—

  A flash of white erupted from the two orbs, blasting Guy and Averyl in the chest with a beam of light elemental power.

  It did little to Guy, being a Paladin. The trade-off to being weak against dark made him resistant to light.

  Averyl had no light resistance, and it showed.

  Averyl | HP: 0/518

  The beams of white light got rid of the dark fog, though.

  “Fuck!”

  Guy dashed and caught Averyl’s body before it hit the ground and held her in his hands. Meanwhile, the door refused to unlock. The chamber declined to grant them the clear experience points.

  “Oh, c’mon, why?!”

  He got his answer via a notification screen.

  All companions must be alive to proceed farther.

  Guy was panicking now. He had no means to resurrect Averyl. That was her job, and now she was dead in his hands. His heart raced again as terror sweat drenched his face.

  Fuck, what do I do? If I can’t bring her back, then I’m stuck here forever. And Averyl . . . she’d bleed away her LP and turn to a soul crystal while I starve to death.

  Think, think, think. Guy had until Averyl lost all her LP to figure something out.

  Okay, this trial has different rules . . . so, maybe I can transfer my HP to her even though she’s dead?

  Guy looked at Averyl’s corpse, and realized he was already touching her. Her HP remained at zero, so that didn’t work. Or did it?

  He noticed a label stating that he was using the level 2 transference.

  Why would it tell me that if she’s dead? I think I’m onto something here. Maybe level 3 would do the trick? Perhaps, but how the fuck do I do that? She was hugging me last time, and that only counted as level 2. So that means you need to use at least both arms to trigger a level two transference, which I’m doing right now by holding her like
this.

  He glanced at her lifeless face staring up at him, her pink, glossy lips parted slightly. A random thought flashed into his mind. Guy was back in the forest, pulling Averyl’s lookalike, Nijana, back to him. Nijana had spun and kissed him.

  Averyl’s lips reminded him of Nijana’s.

  Would a kiss count as level 3? No, there’s no way that’s how this works.

  But time was running out. Guy grew desperate for a solution, so he held Averyl’s body still and lowered his face to hers. He angled his lips to her parted ones, then kissed her. Kissing, after all, was another form of physical touch.

  Level 3 transference in progress.

  It worked.

  Guy kept his lips pressed to the princess’s and soon afterward saw her HP raise. And all you needed was at least 1 HP to be alive.

  Averyl opened her eyes to the sight of Guy kissing her. She never moved aside and allowed him to hold her in his arms and kiss. Her cheeks reddened as her HP crawled up. Guy pulled away, then lay Averyl down, giving her the space to get to her feet.

  “That’s a level 3 transference,” Guy said, scratching the back of his head.

  “I see,” Averyl said while standing up. She touched her pink lips. “Oh my, oh my . . .”

  “Both of us need to be vertical to complete this trial,” Guy explained.

  The door unlocked, and the two received experience points for clearing the chamber.

  Obtained: 1000 Experience Points

  Averyl has attained level 20!

  A Quest screen appeared ahead of Averyl, congratulating her on reaching level 20 and offering her the ability to use a subclass. Guy felt jealous before remembering that he wasn’t far from level 20 as well. According to his Status screen, Guy was 402 experience points away from the next level. The two entered the door side by side, practically holding hands to prepare for what was next. Guy and Averyl entered a small room with a massive crystal floating in the center.

  The door didn’t lock behind.

  Guy and Averyl walked circles around the massive and floating crystal, stopping when its light had shone so brightly that they had to raise their arms to shield their eyes. The chamber flashed with bright white light. After a minute, the crystal’s flare of brilliance faded, allowing them to watch as the dimming spectacle unleashed waves of astral energy, and wave their hair about as if the two were in the ocean.

  Guy placed his left palm upon the crystal’s warm and glossy surface, holding it there as a screen flashed ahead of him. It was standing by and waiting for Averyl to touch it along with him.

  He cocked his gaze back at the fae princess with her hand before her rosy lips. “Averyl,” he said. “The crystal wants you to touch it too.”

  Averyl gave him a slow nod and trotted to the crystal’s opposite side, laying her left palm on it like Guy did. The astral winds changed direction, blowing in toward the crystal rather than away from it. Inside the translucent crystal was a small glowing sphere that twinkled and dazzled their shocked looks.

  A flash of sparks appeared on the crystal’s surface, etching the words “Cleric” onto it. Nothing else happened after that, so Guy and Averyl pulled away from the crystal. It transformed to mist and lifted to the ceiling. Two items flashed into existence on the ground where the crystal had hovered.

  Guy examined the first one.

  Evolution Gem

  A gem infused with intense light elemental energy. Use it to enhance the rank of Asteria’s Sword.

  The other was a scepter called the Stellar Rod.

  “I guess that’s for you,” Guy said and offered the Stellar Rod to her.

  Averyl took the Stellar Rod, glanced at its sleek design and the information screen that appeared over it. She gave it a long pause.

  “Perhaps, but.” Averyl pointed at the scepter’s stats.

  Stellar Rod [Scepter]

  Rank: D

  Healing Potency: 3

  Grow this scepter’s power to unlock its true form.

  Asteriarite Slot: [EMPTY]

  Requires: Averyl Autumnfall as a Cleric

  Good for a level 1 Cleric. However, the equipment requirement gave Guy the same pause that Averyl had.

  “I don’t think it’s useless,” Guy said. “I’d keep it for now. It sounds like something that could grow to a stronger scepter in the future. Kind of like Asteria’s Sword.”

  Averyl placed the Stellar Rod into her Inventory screen, tapped the close option, and stood with Guy while giving the chamber a long stare.

  “I have a feeling that dungeons like these will be the key to doing that,” she said.

  “I think this was the White Dragon’s doing,” Guy said. “It created this trial for us. It’s trying to help us grow to fight in the conflict.”

  The two walked to the chamber’s exit that led outside. Just like the entrance, an astral web prevented anyone from passing through it. Guy touched the web to bring up its operation screen.

  Congratulations on clearing Companion Trials – Alfheimr!

  Obtained: 3000 Experience Points

  Guy has attained level 20!

  “Fuck yeah!”

  A new quest appeared, the same one Averyl got seconds after reaching level 20.

  Subclass Tutorial

  Objective: Learn the basics of the subclass system with this easy-to-follow tutorial.

  Issued by: White Dragon

  Reward: Astral Cluster

  Accept quest? Yes/No

  He accepted it.

  The text on the next screen explained to Guy that he could unlock subclasses or switch his class to another. He knew the basics of it already, thanks to the explanation Tempeste had given him, and skipped the text. Once he did that, the tutorial rewarded Guy with an astral cluster that entered his inventory. Guy was glad for that, since the astral cluster was a heavy motherfucker.

  He double-checked his inventory to ensure it was there, then noted the weapons he had stashed in it, the Recruit’s Dagger, Pike, and Claymore. They were a low rank, but he met their low equip requirements. Guy had three options for his subclass, Berserker, Spell Lancer, or Assassin. He chose to debate it later, not that he could select it, anyway. As Tempeste mentioned, you could only change your class or subclass in an area deemed a sanctuary, like a town, airship, or tent.

  “Shall we depart?” Averyl asked.

  Guy shut down all the screens hovering ahead of his face. “Yeah, let’s get out of here.”

  Guy and Averyl stepped past the faded astral web and into the beam of sunlight their eyes had missed. The two resumed their search for their friends in the flat expanse of grass and trees that the dungeon’s exit deposited them in.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  The Evolution Gem lay in the palm of Guy’s hand as he glanced at it and wondered what it would do to Asteria’s Sword. He and Averyl took a break from their search and sat on large rocks in the middle of the grasslands they had been wandering through. It gave Guy the chance to use the Evolution Gem and getting it came at the perfect time. Guy reaching level 20 also meant he got notifications from the system, informing him it was time to enhance his sword’s power.

  Multiple screens flashed ahead of Guy seated on the rock, listing the various blades Asteria’s Sword could become. He ignored them all except for one, Asteria’s Sword as a longsword. Guy tapped that screen, then accepted the reward. After that, Guy used the Evolution Gem. It turned to blue energy and floated onto the blade of Asteria’s Sword. The blade’s shape, the sharpness of its edge, and the glow intensified. And changed its rank. Finally, Guy wasn’t swinging around a rank D weapon.

  He smiled at the final results, a screen hovering above the weapon in his hands.

  Asteria’s Sword [Longsword]

  Rank: C

  Attack: 100

  Vitality: +6 Defense Bonus: +3

  Asteriarite Slot: [EMPTY]

  Asteriarite Slot: [EMPTY]

  Requires: 106 Vitality 77 Strength

  Averyl pointed out that
she learned a new Cleric passive trait called Divine Boost. Turns out, Guy got a similar trait after reaching level 20.

  Guardian Boost

  Enables use of rank C Paladin abilities.

  Is that so?

  He viewed Storm Slash’s tooltip and noted that its potency was 45 rather than 30. His other skills were the same; all of them became stronger. Averyl reported that Starlight Recovery’s healing potency and MP cost increased from 50 to 75.

  After that, he and Averyl resumed their journey as a trench coated Paladin and Cleric princess wandering the Plains of Alita together. The shining sun above shifted into its early afternoon position. It turned out that Guy was right. The exit of the Companion Trials also brought them to the plains. The trials weren’t just a convenient means of progression the White Dragon led them to. It was also a shortcut to the Sirocco and a way around the higher-level monsters and probably a few PKers. Guy and Averyl were a party of two and, despite their recent power gain, they still had a while to go before they could face the challenges as a duo.

  Their travels had pointed them toward civilization. Far on the horizon was the city of Alita, and the airship Sirocco parked just outside the town’s limits. And ahead of that were two adventurers running to Guy and Averyl, yelling and waving their hands. At least Guy assumed they were adventurers. Looking closer, the two people waving at them looked like PKers.

  But they were Rachael and Ulysses.

  “Guy!” Rachael yelled jubilantly.

  Rachael ran to Guy and Averyl. Ulysses just crossed his arms, snorted, and walked over.

  “Thank Asteria,” Averyl said. “It would appear you and the others made it to safety. I am so relieved.”

  “Yeah,” Ulysses said as he approached. “Remy wanted to ditch you and take the Sirocco back to Lumière ASAP.” Ulysses gestured to Rachael. “She insisted we stay behind and search for you two.”

  “Where are the others?” Guy asked.

  “Safe in Alita,” Ulysses said. “Again, Remy, that fucking douche, took control of the team and forced everyone back. The only reason he didn’t object to Rachael and me staying behind was that we’re star-dwellers. So, mon ami, what happened with you and the princess?”