Three days later, I was sat in our usual spot, being interrogated over lunch by Tobias. The boy's enthusiasm over my having fought a horror was only slightly dampened by the wheeled chair I needed to move, an aftereffect from that very same fight. Apparently, I'd strained just about every weight-bearing muscle in my body. The System would assist with my recovery, especially given my recent major attribute increases, but that only brought the timeline down from a month to somewhere under a week.

"So cool!" Tobias gushed, "And then what happened?"

"They pushed the thing off of me, and I slumped out."

The end of my so-called 'epic battle' had actually been rather underwhelming. In my unconscious state, I'd been loaded up onto a wagon and driven back to Alewife. I'd slept for a day straight. When I awoke, both legs felt like they would give out after a step. They took me to the House Doctor, who wasn't an expert in dealing with strange, system-caused ailments. He could diagnose a torn hamstring with ease, though.

"Did you get the nanites? You look like you got the nanites."

I shrugged. I wasn't sure what he meant when he said I looked like I got the nanites. It was never my style to show off. I changed the subject.

"Might've. What've you been up to over the past few days? Let's hear it."

Tobias had had a generally boring week establishing himself within the garrison at Alewife. His father had sent him there to whip him into shape and instill a sense of discipline in his errant son, but, the feeling I got was that Tobias simply viewed this as the training-arc before he undertook an epic quest. He almost always had some book of adventurer's tales with him.

"Say, Ghul, would you wanna check out the Spineback's remains with me?"

I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Don't you think it's going to smell horrible? It's been sitting in the sun for days. Besides." I motioned with my hands down towards my legs. "Doc says I'm supposed to be off of 'em for at least the next day."

"I don't mean now! Just soon. If it's half as big as you say, it'll still be there in a few weeks." He thought it over briefly, and then continued. "Maybe longer. Could even be years, if the shell's that tough."

That was a funny thought. Tobias was right, though. There was no chance that any of the native wildlife of Mane would be able to do anything with a large amount of the bony mass of the horror. The thought of accidentally creating a local landmark amused me.

"Sure, Tobias. We can go and check it out once I'm walking."

Tobias pumped his arms in celebration. The longer I hung around this kid, the more I thought that nothing would put a restraint on his attitude. It was hard not to feel like a wet rag compared to him. Some people just liked bringing positivity into the world. He left shortly thereafter, going off to whatever task he had next, and I found a secluded corner to inspect the changes to my [Status] for what felt like the thousandth time. My eyes had probably skimmed it once every hour since I woke up.

Ghul

Vestige: The Behemoth (Active)

Might: VI

Arcana: I

Intellect: III

Dexterity: IV

Authority: -

Traits: Strong, Durable

Abilities: Empower I (42.05%) Inflame I (00.03%)

I mentally commanded my System to pull up the description windows for both Strong and Durable.

Strong (Trait) - The User has proven their ability to perform physical feats of impressive magnitude. Grants an elevated muscular set-point and greater ease of both contraction and recruitment.

Durable (Trait)- The User has undergone intense physical trauma and survived relatively undamaged, making their form more resistant to future harm. Increases the strength of skin, bone density, cartilage, and connective tissue.

I didn't understand most of what either description entailed. What was a muscular set-point? Why did I care about contraction? I already knew that I was stronger than most, and my explosive growth in Might seemed to prove that. On paper, I knew that a trait was a good thing for my System to provide. I was just stir-crazy after having unlocked but being forced not to use it.

[Durable] sounded like it had the potential to be hugely useful. If I could shrug off normal blows more than I already was, I'd be a fiend on the battlefield. I was just so badly beaten up that I was unable to get an impression of the changes it had made. If the effect was anything like my father's [Flesh of the Forge], which made it so he was capable of palming live coals, then I had a good feeling about it.

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Concerningly, the new ability that I'd unlocked, [Inflame], was unavailable to be used. The System had drawn a line through it in my [Status], and I had no idea what that meant. I'd earned inflame by doing something when the Spineback was going to crush me. I just wasn't sure what that something was.

* * *

After lunch, I had Statecraft with Voltani. Voltani was a tall, lanky fellow with fair skin and sharp features that I thought made him resemble a fairy. Furthermore, I wasn't sure if I was a horrible pupil or he was a bad instructor, but I'd been struggling with the content of his lectures for the entirety of my time at Alewife. That'd been exacerbated by my current condition, giving the impish man a captive audience. I had no choice but to learn.

"Zeus has three groups that report directly to his Divine Personage. Who are they, and what function does each serve?"

I mulled the question over in my brain for a second, and then responded.

"The first is the Assembly, Jacobi's a part of that. I think they're supposed to represent Zeus to the people? The next is the Sword, the highest ranking member of the Imperial Legion and Zeus' personal champion. Finally, there's the Temple Authority, who spread Zeus' word to the masses."

Voltani clapped his hands together. "Correct on all accounts, Ghul! Now, who's the current Sword?"

I couldn't remember. I knew his name was strange and overly traditional. It didn't stand out as remarkable, and I knew that I'd probably never meet the man.

"It starts with an S," I said noncommittally. "but I can't remember. Is it Sev..?"

My voice trailed off. Voltani shook his head.

"No, but close. Servius Tullius currently holds the position of Sword. It's rumored that he'll be stepping down soon, as he's getting on in years and is looking to start a family before the end of his 2nd century."

"What happens to him then? Who's the Sword?" It didn't sound like the type of job they'd leave up for grabs.

"That's a good question. Usually, Swords of Zeus aren't in a position to retire, and he's served honorably for over a century. It's simply never happened before. The System may have halted his aging, but I'm certain he's not divine."

The unspoken remark was that Swords of Zeus usually weren't in a position to retire because they often died on Zeus' behalf. A few had become folk heroes within the Imperium, like Hipponous, who was known to have died fighting a massive, fire-breathing lizard

"Now, who leads the Temple Authority?"

This was a hard question. I had no idea who led the Temple Authority. I had no idea about their practices except for the fact that they often distributed bread from the steps of their temple in Lille.

I shrugged and shook my head. Voltani groaned, and then began to draw a visual hierarchy of the Temple Authority on an erasable slate. I tuned out shortly after he explained how paladins existed separate from the usual pyramid, and as such shouldn't be included in what he's about to tell me.

* * *

"You had something that's called a breakthrough. It's by no means a technical term, and it's definitely not one that scholars of the System agree on the existence of. One school of thought preaches the idea that each attribute increase is a miniature ascension to a higher state of being, their argument being that the event of a breakthrough identifies distinct stages in a person's progression. I've made it further than most that I'm aware of, and have never had a 'breakthrough' as significant as the one you underwent. So, choose to believe what you will."

Class with Delta that day was odd, but not in a way that wasn't normal. He was having me bend various materials, attempting to define the limits of my new strength. I wasn't able to do much walking yet, but that didn't stop Delta from insisting on finding a way to make our sessions productive.

"It is only by knowing yourself and your own limitations that you can make the most of your strength." My teacher said. "So, you better be twisting as hard as you can."

An interesting mix of philosophical nonsense and cold practicality. Yup, that was Delta.

The rod of mystery material that I held in my hand was highly resistant to being bent. It was dark black in coloration and felt rough to touch, the uneven surface closer to rock than any forged metal I'd ever felt. I tried very, very hard to bend it but the closest I got was the dark color where I was applying the most pressure beginning to turn gray. I gave up, and let out a breath that I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

"This one's definitely got me beat."

"Interesting. You can bend tungsten, but not Trollium. That's impressive, especially at your age. What'd I do if I was capable of that at eighteen.." Delta blinked rapidly and shook his head, correcting his train of thought, "nevermind that."

He continued on, "You're going to reach a point in your strength soon where you will constantly be needing to hold back outside of combat. It's a problem many Users face, specifically those who begin to come into power young. You don't want to go to shake someone's hand and end up shattering their fingers." He wiggled his hand in front of his face.

"How do I control that?" It wasn't like I wanted to cause anyone harm.

"Delicate tasks like knitting, gardening, or maybe even painting. Anything that involves applying the least amount of force in a deliberate manner. Once, I knew someone who excelled at pottery because they had the annoying habit of shattering stone like glass."

I wondered if the person he knew was another immortal, probably if they were capable of shattering stone like glass. By Zeus, that sounded like something out of a myth. Half of the things that Delta spoke of sounded like they could come straight out of a story book.

"Your task whilst I'm away, and whilst you recover, is to get a hobby! There's no point in having this strength if you can't control it."

I looked at him in dismay. "Whilst you're away? Where are you going?"

Delta took the mysterious bar, Trollium, and stuffed it into a leather satchel. "I'm not going to be gone for long. I've just been called away for an engagement in the Imperial Court of New Rome. It's the kind of event you're not allowed to miss."

"When do you think you'll be back?"

"If Zeus permits it, I'll return within a week. If something rash happens, like a declaration of war, I'll probably be delayed for a little while longer."

I furrowed my eyebrows. It'd been well over a decade since the Empire was last involved in a conflict, and the last had been a resounding victory that ended in the annexation of the region known as the Lakelands. None of the neighboring powers had been willing to taste the wrath of Zeus since. Although, things had been getting antsy both towards the Kanaadian North and divided South.

"A declaration of war?" I had no idea that the Empire was anywhere near that close to conflict.

"Like I said, it'd probably be rash given the current circumstances."

I wasn't sure how I felt about him leaving. I still had no idea what role Delta served in the Empire, let alone how he'd been recruited to instruct me. I knew it had something to do with Calliope, the girl I was supposed to protect, but anything beyond that was baseless speculation. I got the impression from our conversation that he was being deliberately misleading, keeping something important from me.

If Delta wanted, I thought, he could keep his secrets. I wasn't going to let them effect me.