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

by Eddie R. Hicks

  Guy looked away from the fluttering shadow angel behind, facing the two once again. Zuran pointed at the paper he had brought. “This is a wanted poster . . .” he said. “Imperials are posting these all over town.”

  “Right,” Guy said. “The empire is the sworn enemies of your people, right, Zuran?”

  Zuran made a slow nod. “Yes . . .”

  “Oh, I get it,” Guy said. “You can’t leave so easily now. The empire isn’t just here in the Inn. They have goons patrolling the city.”

  “I almost got caught by their soldiers,” Zuran said. “If it were not for me facing the post they pinned this notice on, they would have caught me.”

  Kam held the notice, bringing it to his face. “Says here the empire is looking for several star-dwellers. The crew of two ships.”

  “Yeah, my ship and a rival’s, Ulysses Archambeau.”

  “Eh,” Kam read closer while pointing at the bottom of the notice. “It mentions they destroyed one ship already.”

  “Which was mine. Wait . . . that means . . .”

  “There is another star-dweller ship you do not know of, eh?” Kam said.

  “Maybe,” Guy said. “I left all my communication gear on board my ship. If they transmitted a message, then I would have missed it.”

  “Bloody unfortunate for you then,” Kam said. “The empire wants all you star-dwellers dead.”

  “Why?” Guy asked, but got a shrug from the two as a response. “And doesn’t the empire know our technology is far more advanced? If we wanted, we could nuke this planet into dust. And we trade some of our tech and medicine to them. Why bite the hand that feeds?”

  “Like I said, I think the sentinels are influencing the empire,” Zuran said.

  The sentinels. The other star-dwellers I knew nothing of until today. Who the hell are they? They’re not from the fleet, that’s for damn sure. “Assuming that notice is up to date, that means Ulysses Archambeau’s ship is still here, plus one other. So, I have two chances to get off the planet, so long as they remain on the surface.”

  “And the imperials do not ambush them,” Zuran said. “You star-dwellers might be advanced, but are hardly invincible. A sword through the gut will kill you.”

  Guy snorted. “Lasers can prevent that.”

  “What good is a laser when its energy is depleted?” Zuran retorted. “What do you call those things that bring life to them? Batteries?”

  Zuran made a good point. The Seraphim wasn’t a battleship. Ulysses and Arn weren’t packing enough weapons to fight a war, only enough to defend themselves. Ulysses and Arn wouldn’t make it if the empire’s army caught them out in a field. And toss in the fact almost everyone on this planet has a powerful class . . . “I gotta get to Ulysses’s ship, the Seraphim, or that other one.”

  “Do you know where they are?” Kam asked.

  Guy shook his head. “I vaguely remembered it . . .”

  “Spend the night here—you too, Zuran,” Kam offered, and Guy was glad for it. He forgot that booking a room was the reason he needed to speak with Kam initially. “Since I am not wanted by the empire, I shall ask around. When star-dwellers land to trade, word of that travels fast. Hopefully, I will learn it before the imperials do.”

  Kam left to retrieve keys for the two. Guy glanced at the tavern, smiling that the soldiers still hadn’t taken notice. Tits and beer were the best way to distract men from their duties.

  And the alluring shadow angel behind was the best way for Guy to forget how long it had taken Kam to fetch the keys. He made eye contact with her again. She was art itself, her attire giving away the full view of her leg, from her feet up to her thigh, even the side of her ass cheek. Then it was gone, covered by the fluttering ends of her dress as the belly dance continued, her fingers moving in a way that suggested she wanted him to get closer to her. As she danced, Guy noticed sigils on her skin, shining with faint light. The shadow angel was like him, afflicted.

  He viewed her information.

  Land-shadow angel (Blade Dancer) | LVL: 5 | Rank: C

  And she was more than a tavern belly dancer. She had a combat class, unlike the other girls—

  The hand of a faun waved up and down ahead of Guy’s sight, blocking out the olive flesh that made his cock hard.

  “You there, lad?”

  It was Kam. Guy turned back to the bar, noticing that Kam stood there with the key. Zuran wasn’t there.

  “That was quick,” Guy said. “Where’s Zuran?”

  “Took the key and checked into his room,” Kam said. “Been trying to get your attention for the last three minutes.”

  “Three minutes.”

  “You are in a trance.”

  “Uh—”

  Kam pushed the key into Guy’s hand. “Well, do not forget this.” Kam walked away to serve more drinks. “I will leave you two alone. Fair warning, she is a wild one!”

  “That is an enticing idea,” the shadow angel spoke. Her voice and accent only firmed Guy’s cock more. She was closer to him, not dancing, just standing there and looking at him with a hypnotic smile.

  He pocketed the key and scratched the back of his head. “Well.”

  She held the smile. “Stand with me.” Then offered her left black-lace-gloved hand.

  Guy accepted it without thinking, stood up, and paused.

  Tame the Temptress.

  This was supposed to happen, and perhaps she had a quest involving him too. That’s why she watched him; the White Dragon was carving out their destinies. Who would she become to him? An ally? Lover? Harem girl? The possibilities excited him.

  Or someone to backstab me when I lower my guard. Maybe this quest wants me to convince her to stand down from something like that.

  That possibility he didn’t like and gave little thought.

  “What is your name?” she asked.

  Her accent is fucking hot! “Can’t you just examine my information?” Guy asked as he stood with her. “You’re afflicted, aren’t you?”

  “I avoid using that. It is so impersonal.” She resumed dancing again, almost grinding her backside on Guy, using her body and wings to shield him from unwanted eyes. From behind, she said, “You are a swordsman. Never seen them.”

  “I’ve heard that line before,” Guy said. “The Paladin class is rare.”

  “And supposed to be heroic, noble.” Her wing brushed against his left arm, sending chills across it. “And not stimulated or tempted by fiends like me.”

  “I don’t want to be some legendary hero,” Guy answered. “I just want to find my friend Rachael and go home.”

  “But you are a hero. Word is spreading about your deeds. The Paladin who defended the town of Muruai from the Autumnfall Empire.”

  And now the empire was looking for him and knew he was from the stars. Someone from the empire snitched about Guy and Rachael—and Rachael not being there, nor any stories being spread about her, made him worry more. Did the empire find Rachael? She still wore the nurse uniform; there’d be no question in anyone’s mind that Rachael was a star-fae.

  The shadow angel’s dance spun her in front of Guy. He leaned forward to ask, “What else do people know about me?”

  “That is it from what I heard.”

  What she did next was fucking hot. Some exotic move that had her arms around Guy, one fully exposed leg and thigh pressed against his leg, and her front pressing up and down against his. He was 97% sure she wasn’t wearing any panties.

  Guy looked down into her eyes, a big giddy smirk on his flushing face. “You normally do this?”

  “No,” she said, looking up at him. “In fact, I might get in trouble for this.”

  “Might wanna stop then.”

  “I could do more . . . but after hours, in private.”

  “Well, I dunno.”

  “Please.” She reached behind his head and pressed, pushing his face toward her face, noses touching. She parted her glossy, painted lips. “You will not regret it.”

  Tame the Temp
tress – Quest Updated

  Objective: The shadow angel of Holt is the talk of its Inn. Earn her loyalty by fulfilling her needs.

  - Meet the shadow angel [Completed!]

  - Invite her into your room for a private meet up

  He wanted to say no, given how fragile things were and the fact that an imperial soldier’s sword could enter his back at any time.

  “Sure,” is what he ended up saying, and was positive his brain had said no thanks. The high charisma of a Blade Dancer had manipulated him into doing what she requested.

  “I shall see you tonight,” she said, and backed away from his sweating body. “Leave the door unlocked for me.”

  Guy took one step toward the stairs, stopped, and groaned at his sore dick. “Oh, fuck . . .”

  Walking with a full erection in your pants hurt.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Guy sat up from his bed at the Inn, having realized that the dual suns had set. Rachael would have loved to see that. He had finished eating his meal, if you could call it that. Fae lived off berries and cream—no wonder they were so light. The wooden floors to his room creaked as he walked across them to shut and lock the window and pull the curtains closed. There was a murder recently, and the person came in and left via the window.

  A knock on the door thumped. Guy wondered if that was the murderer, and the dangling bedsheet rope was just a trick to throw people off. Maybe the murderer had come from the front door, like the one he left unlocked at Xanthe’s request.

  Behind and on the floor lay his chain mail, coat, and sword. He took them off to take a quick bath in his suite’s tub. Guy was wearing nothing but his shirt and pants now. It’d take a few minutes to run to his gear if things got bad and hoped his laser pistol strapped to his side was up for the challenge. He went for the pistol with one hand and opened the door with the other.

  Zuran and Kam stood behind it, the muffled cheers and music from the tavern downstairs entering his ears.

  “You planning to kill someone?” Zuran asked Guy.

  “No.”

  “Then why are you holding your star-dweller weapon?”

  “Huh?” Guy looked down; he was still reaching for the pistol. “Don’t worry about it.” He left it hanging on his side and stepped back to let the two men into his suite. Guy took a glimpse of the empty, dark hallway. No murderer in sight, just the downstairs music. He shut the door. “What’s up?”

  “Wanted to let you know what we learned today,” Kam said. Muffled cheers echoed from below, drowning out the faint music. The imperials must have been having a wild after-duty party. “Two star-dweller ships arrived at the city of South Town.”

  “One of those ships has to be the Seraphim,” Guy said. “I wonder what the other is.”

  “It could be a sentinel ship, mistaken as a ship from your people,” Zuran said.

  “Was afraid you’d say that,” Guy said, sighing. “But if that’s the case, and the sentinels are working with the empire, wouldn’t they have started shooting?”

  Kam shrugged. “Who knows? This is just what I heard from the travelers who swung by today.”

  “Where’s South Town?” Guy asked.

  “Past the mountains to the southeast . . .” Kam said. “. . . and past a patrol of sentinel ships.”

  “Sentinels . . . maybe that second ship was one of them,” Guy said. “I wonder if they brought the imperials here?”

  “Most likely,” Zuran said with a nod. “The empire has been advancing on the territory controlled by my nation faster than we predicted. They have to be getting a lift there from sentinel ships—”

  Two quest windows opened for Guy and Zuran, their contents the same.

  Southbound to South Town

  Objective: Have Kam escort you to South Town, located past the Eucanous Desert and Mountains to the southeast.

  Issued by: White Dragon

  Reward: 500 Experience Points

  Accept quest? Yes/No

  “Looks like South Town is our new destination,” Guy said and accepted the quest.

  Zuran nodded, also accepting the quest. “Same.”

  Kam chuckled, crossing his arms. “But not for me.”

  “Because you’re not like us,” Guy said.

  “Because as a faun, Asteria must find me unworthy.”

  “Except . . .” Guy brought up his Quest Journal and looked at the one he just accepted.

  Kam had to come along.

  “Maybe not,” Guy said. “Says here you’re supposed to guide us to the city.”

  “Guess that makes sense,” Kam said. “I know how to get there. ‘Tis the port where the star-dwellers dropped me off years ago when I arrived on this world.”

  Zuran yawned. “Anything else, Guy? I heard you got a little close to that shadow angel.”

  Guy grinned. “I wouldn’t worry about her.”

  Kam cut in, laughing. “Yeah, right. Every man who watches her dance leaves this place with a smile brighter than the stars Asteria created.”

  “No, that’s it,” Guy said to them. “Thanks for the update, you two.”

  “Zuran tells me you saved his life in the desert,” Kam said. “That makes you an ally in this conflict.”

  “Conflict? I just want to find Rachael and go home.” And find out why Uncle Matthew gave me that sword. But mostly go back home, much safer there.

  Kam looked at Zuran. “You didn’t tell him, did you?”

  Zuran shook his head. “Still not sure it is wise.”

  Guy looked long and hard at the two. “Tell me what?”

  “Better you do not know, especially if you are planning to return to your world,” Zuran said. “I am going to get some sleep. We can head out in the morning and search for a path away from the sentinel patrols.”

  Kam and Zuran left, shutting the door behind them. Guy’s heartbeat increased as a slight tingle of nervousness traveled down his spine. Soon, he’d be alone with a woman. Was this the night he was to lose his virginity? Maybe. Was this the night Rachael raged at him for trying to build a harem and attempt to cut his dick off as punishment? Maybe.

  An hour after the cheering and music from downstairs ended, Guy’s door opened. In stepped the shadow angel Xanthe, shutting the door behind her, not making a noise. If he hadn’t been staring at the door, he wouldn’t have noticed her enter.

  “Thank you for inviting me in,” Xanthe said. “You are going to love this, I promise.”

  He couldn’t stop looking at the way she moved, her outfit, jewelry.

  And the decorated silver hairpin in her black hair, keeping it in place.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Xanthe started with a dance that magnetized Guy’s face to her torso and hips. When she moved, his head did too. When she began losing garments, his face moistened. When she spread her wings, he did not know which one to look at. Slowly, his guard lowered, providing her the window needed to complete the quest. Well, one of them.

  The White Dragon gave her the quest Subdue the Stalwart, and it seemed like she was to fulfill Guy’s needs and become his ally to finish it. The quest Leafblade gave her made it clear she was to kill Guy and take the sword. The White Dragon’s quest had a less violent approach. Xanthe reached a branching path. She had two quests that involved Guy, and she had to choose one to complete and one to abandon. She had no idea what would happen to the quest she would abandon.

  She opted for Leafblade’s quest. At least that made it clear what she needed to do: kill Guy, take his sword, and give it to Leafblade. After that, Leafblade will be easier to manipulate, and he’ll willfully tell me who the general is.

  As Xanthe danced half-naked, she doubled-checked Guy’s level—level 8, a little too high for her to take in direct combat. She would have to deal with him like Slather, a surprise attack from behind. Or perhaps get Guy to voluntarily hand her the sword. He cannot fight her without it, and her handing the sword over to Leafblade was part of the quest objective, anyway.

  She sw
ayed and twirled, arms raised, belly and hips moving enticingly. Xanthe finished the routine by dancing near Guy, just close enough for her wings' edges to brush his cheeks with the feather tips. Another whirl brought her chest to his face, and pulling the tie string of her top released her bouncing breasts. Her top floated into his lap, covering the enormous bulge between his legs, growing larger and larger. Her bare breasts jiggled, numbing his mind even more with her waving curves, his eyes magnetized to her nipples. She kept the Red Choker on, of course. The strength from it and the asteriarite was necessary for her to wield the dagger.

  Xanthe finished her dance as Guy remained seated on the bed. He was close enough to touch her and close enough to reach for that sword if he were fast enough. Something else needed to occupy his hands.

  “Do you not want to touch me?” She leaned closer, pressing the tip of her nose against his and felt her nipples squish on him.

  “Wait! I’m allowed to?!”

  “You can do anything you want.”

  She crawled behind him on the bed and got on her knees, then reached for his shirt and tugged it off him. “You could take this off too. It must be sweltering under it.”

  “It is.”

  His shirt hit the floor. Guy was topless like her. Such a sexy back, Xanthe bit her lip and grinned. She slithered ahead of Guy and ran her hands up the grooves on his abs, inching them up to his chest. She held her hands over his firm pecs for a minute. Been a while since Xanthe touched a man like that. She clenched his hands, guided them to her breasts, and pressed them there. Guy’s face turned red instantly. She squeezed his hands so he could feel the shape and warmth of her bust, the hardness of her nipples, the fact they had weight, and that his grips were not large enough to hold each tit. Xanthe released his hands. Guy did not release his hold on her curves. He groped her then toyed with the nipples. A surge of lust shot through Xanthe, awakening her ancient shadow angel desires and forgotten pleasure temple talents. It took a lot of willpower to stay in control.

  His hands were occupied now.

  “Holy shit!”

  “Let me do something about my hair,” she said and reached for her Silver Dagger masquerading as a silver hairpin, her fingers inching toward the deadly weapon’s hilt—