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

by Eddie R. Hicks

  She had slain twelve before retreating to the carriage, her HP had dipped to 21, and the bodies of the beasts yielded no potions, only experience points. Their bodies turning into items was not a guarantee. She had gained 300 experience from that, bringing her closer to level 2 if she understood the rules.

  She was back inside the carriage now, smiling down at Averyl, who had been eyeing Xanthe’s left arm. “What is that?”

  “A sigil,” Xanthe said while looking at the glowing symbol on her arm. “Something that is granting me strange power.”

  “I think I saw Dolnir have something like that.”

  “As did the fae imperials who killed Dolnir and his men. So, Averyl, does this mean you are ready to talk?”

  Averyl shook her head no. “I know nothing about this new magic.”

  “I think the affliction is related to it,” Xanthe said. “Is that why the bandits wanted to take you off this planet, or rather, why you wanted them to bring you to star-dwellers who will take you?” No reply. “I see.” Xanthe kneeled, extending one hand out to stroke Averyl’s tender cheek and lovely high cheekbones. “You will tell me what I want to know . . . in time. Everyone tells me their secrets when I finish with them.”

  Averyl looked away, her face a bright red again, just like her shoulders and exposed back covered by her tied wings. Xanthe winced, having remembered viewing flight stats on the screens. Was that the reason the imperial fae could fly so long without their wings tiring? She wondered if this affliction would let her overcome that too. Being able to fly for hours on end . . . Excitement swirled in Xanthe's chest, fueling her desire to gain more levels and harness the new power. Her enemies would die faster now, the people who took part in the crusade against the shadow angels. And for slavers? She would force them to free their slaves or face her new powers.

  Xanthe sent the carriage on its way again to the Eucanous Desert and the City of Holt. She had to because the quest told her to, and after what she experienced with the tutorials, she had a feeling this White Dragon wanted to help her. It wanted Xanthe to take Averyl to Holt and not the star-dwellers. It wanted Averyl to stay on the planet. Hours had slipped by, forcing Averyl to waddle her tied body to Xanthe and watch as the terrain slowly grew drier and devoid of vegetation.

  “Where are you taking me?” Averyl asked.

  “Holt,” Xanthe said.

  “What?! No, take us back! Bring me to the star-dwellers!”

  Xanthe laughed. “Tell me why you need to depart from this realm. And maybe I will change my mind.”

  Chapter Ten

  The Blue Star’s hyperspace voyage had ended, bringing the ship into the void of space within the binary system of Opmutia as the twin stars shined light upon the planet Faeheim. It was your typical habitable planet, a blue atmosphere making the vast oceans look blue as white fluffy clouds circled the planet. Three large continents provided most of the land on Faeheim, two in the northern hemisphere and a massive one to the south with dozens of islands above or at the equator.

  Guy brought the Blue Star into orbit around Faeheim, then sat back on his chair while debating where to land. A computer screen directed Guy’s attention to the port city where Ulysses’s ship, Seraphim, had docked, confirming that his rival had arrived before him. Ulysses must have had the Seraphim’s engines upgraded. According to the transponder data, the Seraphim was on Faeheim for a while. Ulysses and Arn had a head start collecting supplies to bring to the fleet. Taking the Blue Star to the same city crossed Guy’s mind, but he had a feeling his quest wanted him on Faeheim for something else. He found his quest’s menu screen and accessed it to see what to do next.

  Investigate the Land-Fae - Quest Updated

  Objective: Travel to the fae homeworld and search for clues for Rachael’s mysterious land-dweller fae in the hospital.

  - Arrive at Faeheim [Completed!]

  - Land at the city of Muruai

  Guess I’ll have to land at Muruai. Hopefully I’ll find some goods there to bring to the fleet while I work on this quest. Two birds, one stone.

  Muruai was an island city north of Faeheim’s equator. South Town, where the Seraphim was, wasn’t too far away either, just a quick flight to the northwest. He targeted Muruai and brought the Blue Star into Faeheim’s atmosphere, making the vessel descend through the skies and clouds.

  Rachael arrived on the bridge, stretching her arms and fae wings, yawning. “Thanks for waking me up, Guy!” she spat sarcastically.

  “Sorry, Rachael, I had a lot on my mind.” Like what’s so special about Faeheim and that level 5 Cleric back on the fleet. “Oh, by the way.” Guy pulled a small device from his trench coat, small enough to fit inside your ear. “This is a universal translator,” he said, handing it to Rachael. “It’ll allow you to understand the fae language, and when you speak, it’ll sound like you’re speaking their language.”

  Rachael took the device and slipped it into her left ear. She laughed. “I’m a fae who can’t speak our language.”

  “Correction, you’re a star-fae who speaks the star-dweller language. Land-dwellers got their languages, and we got ours.”

  The island of Muruai was close now, close enough to see it on the horizon through the windshield, its size growing larger with each second. Rachael glanced over Guy’s shoulder, reading the computer’s data and the map of the planet.

  “Hey, this says Ulysses landed farther north, across the ocean,” she said.

  “I know, but we got to start here.”

  “Why?”

  He made a quick wince. “Can’t explain it.”

  “You’re weird.” She sighed and stepped away. “And I swear you’ve gotten weirder since you came back from Mennaze.”

  The Blue Star hovered over the city of Muruai, a small town with houses in trees and a few buildings on the ground. Stone paths connected buildings to the markets or led travelers to a jungle forest sitting at the foot of a grass-covered mountain. The fae in the city noticed the star-dweller ship and parted aside when it lowered into the city’s main square, plumes of dust scattering thanks to the landing thrusters.

  Landing in the middle of a city was of the many advantages of the Blue Star. You just needed a small place to touch down. Because of its size, the Seraphim had to land in the ocean and then sail to a port. It was rare for Ulysses to find space in a city to land, and that’s what gave Guy the advantage. He could park in a city, load up on supplies, then leave while the Seraphim was busy visiting oceanside cities or docking near a beach, only to waste time traveling on foot to the town they wanted to trade with.

  “Guy, are you sure it’s a good idea to land in the middle of their city?” she asked him.

  He shrugged. “It’s a small island and I couldn’t find any good parking space nearby. It shouldn’t be an issue though. Most land-dwellers think we’re people who live in magical cities that float in the night sky.”

  “Hence the term star-dweller.”

  “They believe the night stars are lights from our cities. Most don’t know about space and think this is some vessel that takes you to another realm.” He pulled on the trench coat. “Which is why I have to keep this coat on. I need the fae to think I’m one of them. If anyone asks about wings, I just tell them they’re under the coat. By the way, try to avoid speaking with contractions, most land-dwellers aren’t a fan of that.”

  “Aren’t there other races on this planet?”

  “A minority of fauns, shadow angels, and humans—and their presence is frowned upon unless working as a slave.”

  The moment the Blue Star came to a full stop, Guy’s quest had updated.

  - Arrive at Faeheim [Completed!]

  - Land at the city of Muruai [Completed!]

  - Explore the region for clues.

  And there was a new quest awaiting his eyes. He’d accept it if Rachael weren’t behind. He quickly shut all screens and spun. She didn’t see them—good.

  Rachael collected her medical bag and stood at the exit. “Oka
y, now what?”

  “Eh.” Guy scratched his hair. “Explore the region for clues” was pretty vague, then there was that second quest he flicked away without reading. “I’m going to get the lay of the land. Check out the town and see if there’s a farmer who wants to trade.”

  “Sounds easy enough,” she said, tapping her ear. “And I guess it will give me the chance to test this translator too.”

  And keep her away and busy while he fiddled with the screens. The Blue Star’s entrance had lifted open; the two suns shone bright light and radiated heat, giving everyone two shadows on the ground. Rachael tied her hair back to make it look like she had it cut short. Fae women with long hair were uncommon. She stepped off to explore the city of the underdeveloped fae. Guy walked off to pull up the quest he had flicked away. Murmurs from the townspeople echoed in the air. None of them were expecting a spaceship to land in their city’s square.

  As for the new quest . . .

  Tutorial II

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

  Issued by: White Dragon

  Reward: 100 Experience Points

  Accept quest? Yes/No

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake, another tutor . . .” Guy looked up “. . . ial . . .”

  He had an audience, seventeen fae whispering amongst each other and pointing at him, while others pointed at Rachael in the distance. They stared at him with shocked faces, and he couldn’t figure out why. The fae knew of the star-dwellers, like the other races. His ship shouldn’t have caused them to act this way. They should be excited at the chance to gain medicine, tools, and various other essentials their civilization wasn’t able to make.

  Something else had them acting like this. Guy examined them closely, then noticed one man wearing a green tunic with a pair of daggers at his side. The fae man fingered a floating screen, one just like Guy’s. He eyed the man longer, forcing information to appear over his vision.

  Land-fae (Assassin) | LVL: 2 | Rank: D

  To the left was a woman with a large staff strapped to her back.

  Land-fae (Cleric) | LVL: 1 | Rank: D

  Behind the crowd stood a tall man, no older than forty, selling goods from his shop.

  Land-fae (Item Merchant) | LVL: 1 | Rank: D

  Guy took a step back. “Oh, shit . . .” he murmured. “That’s why the quest wanted me to land here . . .”

  He heard the fae speak, their words translated by the universal translator in his ear. “Hey, look, it’s a Paladin . . .”

  “Star-dwellers can be afflicted too . . .”

  “Right . . .”

  Smile and nod. It was all Guy could do as he walked past the crowd of the fae.

  “Do you think Asteria sent the Paladin to us?”

  “Asteria’s power comes from the stars themselves. She must have.”

  “Praise be to Asteria!”

  “Indeed, praise be!”

  Guy continued walking, following the markers in his vision from the Tutorial II quest. It wanted him to leave the city and travel into the tropical forest beyond. It kept his mind off the fact that he wasn’t alone. Guy wasn’t the only one in the galaxy who had a class, and he had a feeling he’d be explaining his situation to Rachael sooner rather than later; that was going to ground him forever once he returned to the fleet and the doctors prodded him with tests.

  He was deep in the forest now, its tropical leaves swaying back and forth from the winds falling off the nearby mountain.

  “Okay, now what?” Guy asked as he came to a stop where the quest directed him to.

  Initiating combat tutorial.

  Three wolves appeared around him, almost out of thin air.

  “Well, that’s just fucking great . . .”

  Strike your targets as fast as you can to build action points or AP.

  “I got a better idea!” Guy unholstered his laser pistol and shot the nearest wolf three times in the face. It shrugged off the blasts, snarled, and charged him. “What the . . .” He shot it six more times. Nothing. The animal kept coming. “Sword it is . . .” He holstered the pistol then pulled Asteria’s Sword off his back and stood in a defensive stance—

  Three jaws mauled him from all sides, dropping his HP from 100 to 97.

  As a reminder, if your HP drops to zero, you will die.

  “Well, that’s just fucking great times two!”

  If you are killed in combat, however, a resurrection spell can bring you back . . .

  “Well, that’s cool.”

  . . . so long as you have LP.

  “What happens when I lose LP?”

  No answer, and the wolves continued to pounce, maul, and bite. Guy felt no pain but figured that would change once his HP got closer to zero. Holding Asteria’s Sword high, he brought it down on the first wolf, bashing its head in. It didn’t die because it still had HP to keep it going, though the sword swing knocked off a lot more HP than the laser pistol did. He noticed his attack rose his AP to 10. Hit the wolves ten times to get 100. Easy.

  Guy repeatedly swung, hitting the wolves each time, grinning as their bites only removed 1 HP each from him.

  It’d take a while for these fuckers to kill me. That must be the advantage of the Paladin—high defense and HP. No point in running from them. It’d slow down my AP gain. Better to take the hits and keep attacking!

  So he did, assaulting high, low, left to right, upward and downward strikes. Guy’s attacks were relentless, and the wolves kept circling and biting him, unfazed by the pain. His AP was at 100 now, and the quest had more to say.

  Now that you’ve acquired 100 AP, select Storm Slash.

  Storm Slash wasn’t available for use according to his display.

  Why the fuck not? He equipped the Guardian sigil already and remembered getting the notification that he learned the skill. Oh.

  His clothing couldn’t cover sigils.

  Ignoring the pouncing wolves, Guy rolled his trench coat sleeve up, unveiling the sigil. With the symbols on his arm uncovered, he felt his astral circuits link with it, giving him the power to use Storm Slash.

  Guy spun around with Asteria’s Sword out, moving like a spinning tornado and smacking the wolves. His attack knocked all three back, sending them tumbling to the ground, their wounds oozing blood everywhere.

  AP: 0/100

  Another ten hits ought to change that!

  He ran for the fallen wolves and targeted the middle of the pack, then leaped and came down with a massive slash. His blade split the wolf’s head in half, and blood gushed down as the wound revealed how its brains looked from the inside.

  Defeating hostile targets will yield experience points. The amount varies based on their rank and level. These wolves will give you 25 experience points each—

  “Okay, shut up!”

  The two remaining wolves got to their feet. Guy swiped the one to the left and took its head right the fuck off, then spun to the last and cleaved upward, knocking the wolf up and down. It never moved again, just spilled enough blood to form a pool around its body.

  And that concludes this tutorial. Stay safe out there!

  Tutorial II - Quest Complete

  Obtained: 100 Experience Points

  100 experience, plus the 75 I got from the three kills . . . not bad. He looked to his rolled-up sleeve. I gotta do something about that sigil.

  He placed his sword to rest on his back and tapped the sigil, making it remove itself from his arm, then put it on the back of his neck, a spot not covered by his attire. There, that should allow me to use Storm Slash anytime I have 100 AP.

  He turned to leave, then stopped. The dead wolves evaporated, leaving behind tiny gems. He collected them while viewing their information.

  Obtained: Asteriarite: Strength +1

  Obtained: Asteriarite: Wisdom +1

  Obtained: Asteriarite: Vitality +1

  Recruit the Medic – Quest Updated

  Objective: Recruit a Medic by acquiring a battlestaff and giving it t
o them.

  Acquire a battlestaff from enemies.

  “Uh . . . what enemies?” Guy asked nobody in particular.

  He wandered through the forest, looking for the path he took to enter, and encountered wolves like the ones fought earlier. The first one leaped at him, gnawing away six HP.

  That one hit a lot harder. He yanked Asteria's Sword off its rest from his back and held an intimidating pose. “I guess those are the enemies . . .”

  Guy ran and struck the wolf, killing it with three hits. The wolf might have hit him harder, but it had less HP. Two minutes later and three new wolves growled from behind. He gave them the same treatment. Three appeared to the left, then two farther back. They kept popping up, making it hard. He could only attack one at a time while getting mauled by multiple ones.

  Okay, I need to change up my strategy. Guy looked at his AP.

  AP: 100/100

  Storm Slash hits anything around me, so why don’t I just wait for them to get close, then hit them with the good stuff?

  Seven wolves encircled him, their fangs ready to get what they thought was a free meal. Guy waited for the wolves to make their strike. They did, so he used Storm Slash and spun with his blade out, knocking the seven wolves away. Some hit the trees and died instantly. Others tumbled about on the ground, stopped, then bled out and died. Others were dead before they hit anything.

  “That was fucking awesome!”

  By the time he finished, twenty-one wolves had lain dead, their bodies evaporating into nothing. Guy searched where they had fallen, collecting what random items had remained behind.

  Sigil: Blade

  Sigil of the Blade, place on your body to learn new abilities if you meet the requirements.

  Sigil: Wrath

  Sigil of Wrath, place on your body to learn new abilities if you meet the requirements.

  Hypospray: HP

  Recovers HP equal to 20% of your max HP.