Useable by: Star-dwellers
Sigil: Target
Sigil of Target, place on your body to learn new abilities if you meet the requirements.
And last but not least:
Oak Staff [Battlestaff]
Rank: D
Attack: 3 Healing Potency: 2
Asteriarite Slot: [EMPTY]
Requires: 30 Wisdom
He placed all the items into his Inventory screen, then tried equipping the new sigils. He stopped halfway into it. Guy couldn’t find any place on his body, and he really didn’t like the idea of putting a sigil on his forehead.
“So, where am I supposed to put these sigils? Am I supposed to go shirtless or something and put them over my chest?” There was no reply. “C’mon, White Dragon, quest-giver thing. I’m alone, talk to me. Clearly, you’re some kind of AI, dishing out these quests like it’s a game.”
“Guy, please tell me what’s going on.” It was Rachael. “And who are you talking to?”
He turned around, shocked to discover that she had found him in the jungle. Rachael had spread her fae wings and landed ahead of him. She gave them a rest. Flying was like running if he were to understand, and she flew from the city to his location in the forest. Rachael’s flight had exhausted her.
She pointed at the screens he had opened. “What are those? I’ve seen people in the town with them too.”
“Well, uh—”
“The truth!” Rachael examined his screen closer, looking at the contents of his inventory. “I don’t see any holo projectors or . . .”
He wasn’t going to lie his way out of this. “Something happened to me on Mennaze,” Guy said reluctantly. “I passed out, then this started happening.” He brought up his Status screen, pushing it for her to view. “It says I’m a Paladin.”
She took a frightened step backward, shaking her head. “This is too weird.” Still shaking her head. “No, no, we’re going back to the fleet! You need a deeper examination!”
“Wait,” Guy said, extending his hand to her. “There’s more. I keep getting these quests.”
She cocked a cherry red eyebrow. “Quests?”
“Yeah, check it out.” He showed her his quest log, namely his two active quests. “See?”
With crossed arms, she leaned closer to the screen, reading its list. “Recruit the Medic . . . and Investigate the Land-Fae . . .”
“I got that one after looking at the Jane Doe you showed me. This White Dragon thing knows what’s going on. I think it’s an AI, trying to communicate with me.”
“Why are you getting them?”
“Don’t know.” He shrugged. “But like, when I do certain things, it keeps track.” Returning to his Inventory screen, Guy pulled out the staff—
Rachael leaped back, screaming.
Guy couldn’t blame her since he basically pulled a wooden staff out from a floating screen. The act broke so many laws of physics.
“Where did that come from?!” she asked, aiming a trembling finger at the staff.
“My inventory. The quest says I’m supposed to give it to someone, a Medic.” He paused, giving the wooden staff a long look up and down. “I guess that’s you.”
Guy offered the staff to Rachael, and she took it, holding it with both hands, staring at its fine craftmanship—
Rachael collapsed.
“Oh, fuck!” He knelt to her, placing his hands on her shoulders, shaking her body to wake her. “Rachael? Shit, I’m sorry. I should have known better. That’s exactly what happened when I touched . . . this sword.”
Chapter Eleven
“The beasts roam the desert too . . .” Xanthe murmured to herself.
She sheathed the Bronze Scimitar to her side, dusted her dress free of the desert’s sand, and marched to her recent kill. It was a Giant Moth blocking the path to Holt, one of many she encountered since entering the arid Eucanous Desert. She wondered how long the horses would last in the heat from the twin suns.
The Giant Moth had evaporated as expected. It was suffering from the affliction that was changing the planet's ecosystem, its people . . . and her. The evaporated monster left behind gifts.
Obtained: Sigil: Swiftness
Obtained: Silver Dagger
Hmm, a dagger? She tried to bring the weapon to her face to examine its elegant silver blade and hilt closer, then gasped. It was heavy, and that made no sense at all. Xanthe had to use both her hands and all her might to lift the one-handed dagger up. It must be afflicted too, so that means . . .
She viewed the small screen that appeared over the dagger.
Silver Dagger [Dagger]
Rank: D
Attack: 1
Asteriarite Slot: [EMPTY]
Requires: 20 Strength
Xanthe glanced at her strength attribute.
Strength: 13
I am not strong enough to wield it . . . Xanthe opted to store the weapon in her Inventory screen. It was the only way to carry the heavy dagger without holding it.
Her path to the city was not clear yet. Ahead roamed two bipedal lizards, their frilled necks expanding as Xanthe eyed them.
Hunting Lizard | LVL: 2 | Rank: D | HP: 100%
Hunting Lizard | LVL: 2 | Rank: D | HP: 100%
She grinned, pulled her Bronze Scimitar out for another bout, and met the aggressive beasts, tainted by the affliction. The two Hunting Lizards made the first attack using their claws, which were aimed for her face. Xanthe’s agility helped her escape the assault, and then with a swift four-folded strike, she drew first blood. She swung again, hitting the first Hunting Lizard’s left arm.
Critical hit!
An arm covered in scales fell to the sand, soaking it with red juices.
That’s new, she thought as she pivoted. I barely slashed the arm, yet I managed to cut it off.
Xanthe lunged again, this time aiming for the Hunting Lizard’s remaining arm, slicing with all her might. It remained attached. There were special rules in place for severing body parts. She would think about it later. The second Hunting Lizard was about to strike. Xanthe rolled across the sand to escape from the attack, got to her feet, and resumed her assault, striking the lame Hunting Lizard until her AP hit 100 and ignoring the fact that the second had clawed at her back.
Her HP was dropping from each rear attack.
Xanthe | HP: 31/75
And as for her target missing an arm . . .
Hunting Lizard | HP: 23%
It was close to death and not much of a threat, but the other was. Xanthe pivoted to the Hunting Lizard and used Brisk Strike. The skill forced her to stab the second Hunting Lizard in the front, perform a leaping twirl to get behind and hit it again. It roared in pain, so she put it out of its misery using the 15% damage increase Brisk Strike granted her.
Obtained: 25 Experience Points
Then she shared that gift with the lizard missing an arm and leaking blood across the sand.
Obtained: 25 Experience Points
The dead left behind the spoils of combat.
Obtained: Asteriarite: Strength +1 x2
The path ahead was clear; Xanthe returned to the carriage and sent it on its way. Later, as the journey through the desert continued, she would encounter other Hunting Lizards or Giant Moths. Their levels were increasing the farther she traveled. So was Xanthe’s level and experience points as she proceeded to slaughter the monsters and clear a safe path for the carriage. Level 1 only required 1000 experience points total, level 2 needed 1100, level 3 required 1210, level 4? 1331. The experience point requirements increase with each level . . .
She lost track of hundreds of beasts and hours spent. The sole reason she was standing was because of the random HP potions the monsters left behind after death and because whenever she leveled up, her HP would reset to its maximum amount.
Xanthe has attained level 5!
Just like now.
HP +39
Strength +1
Dexterity +2
Vitality +1
Agility +3
Intelligence +1
Wisdom +1
Charisma +4
New trait unlocked: Dual Wield
Dual Wield . . . and that is?
Dual Wield
Enables you to equip a second one-handed weapon in your secondary weapon slot.
A smile stretched across her sweat-drenched face. The beasts she was killing to clear a path and get this far granted Xanthe her 5th level.
Two bodies lie at her feet now, slowly evaporating into nothing and leaving behind their gifts.
Obtained: Sigil: Manipulation
The second was an alluring outfit. Just holding it, Xanthe could feel it radiate with energy that connected with her astral circuits. She viewed the outfit’s stat screen floating above it.
Black Lace Belly Dancer’s Dress [Dancer’s Attire]
Rank: C
Defense: 14
Charisma +2 Attack +2
Sigil Space: 3
Requires: 47 Charisma
She stored it all in her inventory for now. Clearing a path for the carriage wasted too much time. Xanthe returned to the carriage, peeked in to see Averyl asleep on the floor, then sent the horses on their way. The rest of the ride through the scorching desert went without incident. The Giant Moths and Hunting Lizards were busy moving up and down the sand dunes to her left and right.
The carriage approached the stone walls of Holt, bringing the long journey to an end. Holt was an oasis city by the looks of it, a modest settlement set up by the fae near a small patch of grass, trees, and a tiny river in the middle of the desert. Most of the fae in Holt had bronze skin, like hers, kissed by the twin suns. Just like Xanthe, the fae seemed unaffected by the heat. It had been a part of their life—
A screen appeared before her eyes.
Journey to the East – Quest Updated
Objective: Take Averyl to the city of Holt, located in the Eucanous Desert.
- Arrive at Holt [Completed!]
- Go to the Inn
Dressed like this? She looked at her outfit, the same one she had been wearing since arriving at Faeheim, the same one she had been fighting in and staining red with the blood of beasts. Xanthe brought the carriage to idle beside the Inn, climbed into the back, and pulled the Black Lace Belly Dancer’s Dress from her inventory. It was clean and revealing, with its wide midriff and multiple slits on the dress to expose the whole shape of her legs; the bra half of the outfit gave a direct window to her bust.
Xanthe stripped naked, freeing her breasts with their dark nipples and revealing her soft raven black pubic hair that matched her wings’ color. She could not care less if Averyl woke and saw her. It would not be the first time a woman viewed Xanthe unclothed. The thought sent a brief surge of excitement between her thighs. Despite Xanthe’s best efforts, she could not get into the new dress. It was as if someone had cast a spell on it, preventing her from wearing it. She fought with the outfit for twenty minutes, her breasts shaking during her struggles.
Why the fuck can I not wear this? Xanthe sat her bare arse on the carriage’s floor. This outfit is afflicted, so that means there is a certain rule that I must obey to wear it.
She glanced at the outfit’s information again, noting the one line she overlooked.
Requires: 47 Charisma
She checked her charisma.
Charisma: 46
I gain four points of charisma with each level, adding it to the 30 base I started with. Xanthe was one point of charisma away from equipping it. I guess I will have to wait until I hit level 6 then . . . She groaned and facepalmed, stored it back into her inventory . . . and paused.
Xanthe’s Inventory - 05/50
Asteriarite: Charisma +1
Sigil: Blade
Sigil: Manipulation
Sigil: Swiftness
Silver Dagger
That’s it!
She yanked the asteriarite gem from her inventory with one hand and held her Bronze Scimitar with the other. On the blade’s hilt lie a tiny indent, small enough for her to place the asteriarite into. This was the asteriarite slot she had seen earlier and was mentioned in the tutorials. The asteriarite fit into place and the weapon’s details changed.
Bronze Scimitar [Scimitar]
Rank: D
Attack: 1
Asteriarite Slot: [Asteriarite: Charisma +1]
Requires: 30 Charisma
That bumped her total charisma to 47. Grabbing the newly gained outfit again, Xanthe put it over her naked body. There was a brief sparkle of light, and the outfit added other details to her appearance, such as elaborate necklaces and matching heeled shoes. Even new undergarments magically materialized on her—black lace, just like the outfit.
Xanthe left the carriage with her Bronze Scimitar at her side. The men in the streets could not angle their eyes away from her cleavage and belly as she strode into the Inn. Entering the Inn yielded the same sights, endless stares from the men and a few jealous glares from the exotic dancers entertaining the tavern’s occupants. Xanthe was the show now, and having raven wings on her back did not seem to miff them.
Now what? Xanthe wondered. The quest did not update her, so she walked to the tavern’s bar, luring the fae bartender to her with her green eyes, though his wings and hair were grayed with age. He approached like she was a magnet. Is this the effect of the charisma stat?
“Are you the owner?” Xanthe asked him.
The bartender gave her a nod. “Yes, shadow angel. What can I do for you?”
Xanthe glanced at the trio of dancers behind, no older than eighteen. They were waving their arms about in a seductive dance, swaying their bellies, twirling to scatter the slits of their dresses matching the color of their azure fae wings, unveiling their lack of undergarments. Xanthe knew all about that life. It was one of the first duties she did as a slave at the pleasure temples. She had a feeling the White Dragon knew that, and that was why the quest asked Xanthe to enter the Inn.
“I want a job,” Xanthe said, pointing at the young woman. “Like them.”
“Not hiring entertainment girls anymore.”
Her quest screen reappeared.
Journey to the East – Quest Updated
- Arrive at Holt [Completed!]
- Go to the Inn [Completed!]
- Convince the owner for a job
Xanthe snorted. “Fuck.”
The tavern owner saw her secret as she waved it away, embarrassment reddening her cheeks. But he did not wince or look at her strangely. He just smiled. “Hmm, you afflicted too, eh?”
“Afflicted . . . you are not the first fae I heard use that term.”
He pointed to three fae men sitting at a table, ale cups in one hand, the other interacting with screens like hers. “Some new sorcery going around like a virus. Those who are infected blackout then wake up with new powers like that. Nobody has been complaining about it though. It is the only way to slay the new beasts popping up all over, who are also afflicted by this sorcery.”
“Beasts . . .” She knew all about them.
“Normal weapons do fuck all against them,” the bartender continued. “But the afflicted? They can kill those beasts with their new abilities and gear. You see them axes those three got? They say they killed a monster, and its body turned into axes. They have been using it since to keep the paths safe for the unafflicted. And him over there. He has opened a new shop after becoming afflicted. Sells strange potions and wares that magically appear to him from that menu screen.”
Half the tavern’s occupants could create the screens, and when looking at them long enough, Xanthe saw their basic information.
Land-fae (Berserker) | LVL: 2 | Rank: D
Land-fae (Ranger) | LVL: 1 | Rank: D
Land-fae (Mage) | LVL: 4 | Rank: D
Land-fae (Blacksmith) | LVL: 6 | Rank: D
The list went on.
“What is going on . . .” she asked after turning away from the occupants.
“We are entering the ag
e of light now,” he said. “During this time of the year, there are two suns in the sky during the daytime. Must be gifts Asteria left us for having to endure the previous season with only one sun, giving us less light and allowing the shadow angels to plot our demise—” She cleared her throat while spreading her raven wings. “But not all shadow angels are evil, of course!”
“Since I am afflicted,” she said, “and I am clearly not evil, does this change your mind?”
“Naw, if anything, I think you would be better using your afflicted abilities to protect me business.”
- Convince the owner for a job
She had more persuading to do and arched her chest slightly, giving him an unrestricted view of her cleavage. “I am better than those girls, you know.”
“I can see it.”
She ran her fingers across the top of his hand, circled the knuckles twice, then held them. “So then, do I have the job?” Her direct eye contact flushed his face and probably hardened his cock. For good measure, she made a cheery smile.
He returned the smile. “Oy, Kam!”
Behind the bar was a faun—half-man, half-goat—holding a broom. The faun looked up at him. “Yes, boss?”
“Cover me post,” the bartender said. “Got a job interview to conduct.”
Xanthe was glad to have found the outfit, hit level 5, and used the charisma asteriarite. None of this would have happened without it. She was a shadow angel, and most establishments like this would have kicked her out, but not here; her charisma manipulated the owner.
And it was her charisma stat that was going to manipulate the tavern’s occupants to reveal the location of the man she came to this world to meet, and maybe fetch a reasonable price for the fae she had tied up in the carriage.
But first, I need the job, and I would rather skip the interview and just get it. She gave his hand a squeeze. “Listen, darling, you know you need someone like me here. So why not just skip the interview? It looks like you are having a busy day too, yes?”
“Hmm, yeah.”
It was working. Xanthe grinned. “And I am available right now.”
“I think I can fit you into our schedule for entertainment.”
“Are you sure?”
“Oh, yes, for sure.”
Star Paladin: A LitRPG Space Fantasy (Sword of Asteria Book 1) Page 9
