(Author: So much hate for the last chapter. Well, I am a writer and everyone knows you can't please everyone. He can transform into either form but is essentially a purple king slime. He still has his powers such as the lightning, black dragon flames, and the Shadow Flare spell. He is still part dragon and demon. I never said he lost all the traits. He just can't learn any more. Well, this story is my own so I will write it as is. Odin starts his voyage and begins to learn under the tutelage of Trillion, the lion spirit and son of the Primordial Beast. He begins to notice things as a monster that he never noticed before. Meanwhile, the Thousand contend with the many assaults of the Chaos, led by the Witch King. None of them know that Odin is the source of their problem. Changed the level up table. Well, enjoy.)
--------Chapter 5: Body Strengthening--------------
Odin had a private cabin and was admiring the ocean as the ship set sail.
He had been on a short cruise once around Lake Tahoe when he was young. He had never been to the beach or on an ocean cruise.
"Okay enough sightseeing. It is time to train," Trillion said.
"You're a spirit that was trapped in a statue who knows how many millions or billions of years you said you were," Odin replied. "I only accepted to call you master due to you being the son of the Primordial Beast. Wouldn't so many years trapped in a prison break you mentally?"
"Just because I was stuck in some statue, doesn't mean I can't experience the world and learn new things," Trillion sighed. "To you Mortals, years mean something. To immortals like me....years mean sh*t. I have become part of your mind and you can see my spirit. Who can say that I am not just a figment of your imagination that your subconsciously created to rationalize your current situation? Hell, how can you believe that the Primordial Beast led you to me or that, by some random chance, you were turned into a purple king slime? This could all be some crappy a*s nightmare for all you know. No being can truly explain or prove that they are self-aware. The world is full of absurdities and I'm afraid your very life is full of it."
"I see this world as if I am a player in a Virtual MMO. I don't think training can do very much," Odin said.
"Listen to me for a second. Just because you see it as a game, it doesn't mean it's not real. People die here. People kill each other, rape each other, eat each other, love and hate each other, and whatever the hell it is they do. That's how they live their lives. You noticed that some aspects of this Virtual MMO is different that other games right? That's because you are living an integration of that system in real life," Trillion said. "Being a part of your mind, I accessed your miniscule fifteen years' worth of experience. From the moment you popped out your mommy to when you came to me. Was your life easy? Compared to many who live in a world where only the strong and the obedient survive, it was. You may not get any levels, but you can gain stat points right? Your body is not the same as it was before right? The form you prefer is the body you chose before you came here. You're five feet ten now. That's about four inches taller than before. You have a six pack now. You only had two and that's just me being nice about it. You have black horns and light brown hair and glowing blue eyes. You were a very ordinary, blonde haired kid with blue eyes. Don't get me started on your true form as a slime. You really think you don't need training? Even martial arts masters in your world needed years of training despite so much natural talent. Now, let's get to it. You only have three months until you enter a continent where the weak get eaten or worse. There is less civilization there. Only the strong are heard. Let's get started."
Trillion had Odin wake up at dawn and jump off the ship after tying a thick rope to his waist. He would swim and keep swimming after the sip until he broke his limits. Once he did, he would keep swimming until the ship dragged him by the rope. Some days there was no wind so Odin would have to swim around the ship. The crew and passengers saw his training as a sort of entertainment until they got used to seeing it. He also gained a title.
Title unlocked: Swim Junkie You constantly swim in the ocean as if it is your drug.
You persist in swimming, even after being called a fool by others.
Gained the ability to breathe underwater.
+10 STR
+10 VIT
+10 Prestige
Odin didn't know what the prestige was for and assumed it was just reputation.He also studied the rune books he got at the capital and learned about the world through Trillion. Trillion may had been trapped, but the lion spirit was trapped in an ancient temple and many adventurers would go and pray to the statues of the Primordial Gods and talk about their lives, dreams, and experiences. He also got a title for constantly studying runes.
Title unlocked: Rune Archaeologist You spend most of your free time studying runes. No matter how old the rune is, you still continue to study it.
Gained the ability to detect runes.
Gained the ability to extract runes from items.
+10% higher effects when you use enchantment magic.
+10 INT
+20 WIS
+10 Prestige
Odin spent the entire morning swimming and most of the afternoon reading runes and getting lectured by Trillion. He would spend the rest of the afternoon to midnight practicing his forms and stances with his shield and lance. Some members of the crew and guests on the ship started sparring with him to pass the time on the voyage. Eventually, people started betting on who would win with the ship's captain getting a portion of the winnings.
Instead of sleeping, he would sneak of the ship and turn into a purple king slime under Trillion's instructions. Slimes did not get tired so Odin would feel extremely refreshed in his new form. Trillion told him that people never killed slimes near water. Slimes were part liquid and actually expanded and became stronger when near water. Odin felt as if he was one with the water, letting the ocean currents direct his body below the ship.
Being a slime was different. He could visibly see mana in the air. Mana didn't just exist in the body. Mana was everywhere. He could see strands of mana all around him. He began to differentiate the strands and saw two kinds of strands. The green strands were mana. He could follow the strands and it would lead him to other life forms. The azure and crimson mana strands didn't point at any one location. He realized that they were pure and impure planetary life force. The strands were in perfect harmony and seemed to blend together as they flowed around him.
"Beautiful isn't it," Trillion murmured. "This is what monsters see everyday. It's why monsters and beasts, like myself, make our homes in places where these strands are thickest. The beast kin have the ability to sense the strands somewhat but only a monster can see what you see. It's not really seeing with the sense of sight but rather gaining the ability to sense and detect it through your monster core. Monsters and beasts absorb impure planetary life force, but we do not become part of the Chaos because it is natural to us. I suppose the reason is the monster core, but for beasts, it a kind of instinctual ability."
"Then why do the Chaos live so deep underground?" Odin asked.
"The deeper one goes towards the planet's core, the thicker the azure and crimson strands of mana are. Mana is life force, but only the azure and crimson strands naturally belong to the planet and its creations. Gods made humans, demons, and dragons. The planet needed life and made monsters and beasts." Trillion explained. "The Chaos feed on impure planetary life force in order to survive. Only the weak ones are sent above ground by their masters to increase the amount of Chaos monsters and hopefully form a Chaos Beast. The creators and masters of the Chaos, like the Witch King, kill the weaker Chaos monsters for their monster cores and absorb and refine the impure energy into their bodies. The more Chaos Beasts, the more people can be turned into monsters to serve as their energy source. You are not able to harness its power yet so you do not understand the obsession of being able to gain more planetary life force and use it.."
"This reminds me of a spirit world I saw in some anime and movies," Odin muttered.
Odin spent the next two months constantly repeating the cycle of training. He was lucky enough that a few monsters ventured near the ship and gained enough experience to level up once to level 11 and distributed his five selectable stats to DEX. The more DEX he had, the more agile he was. That way, he could swim farther from the ship and still make it back fast enough before he was stranded at sea. Knights automatically have their two class stats as DEX and VIT for a reason. Knights needed to protect others and themselves with their shield and be agile enough to deftly block numerous blows and projectiles with their shields.
Odin also mastered his demonic ability over lightning. He was exceptionally more dangerous in water as the damage was magnified and he was immune to lightning and would suffer no backlash if he got wet. Essentially, he could become the best lightning user as he could shape and condense the lightning however he pleased and was not restricted into a parameter like spells and warrior arts. The same went for his dark purple demon dragon fire. Save for the highly explosive and concentrated Shadow Flare spell that consumed a lot of mana and half of his HP, he also had no limits in its manipulation.
However, Odin still wasn't able to cast Comet or learn any details. It made him wonder how overpowered the spell was to require so much mana. Comets were giants blocks of ice moving in a fast velocity in space so it had to be an ice spell. Probably the most powerful ice magic ever. His spells and warrior arts become more powerful as he leveled so he wondered how destructive the Comet spell was.
Either way, his body strengthening really paid off and Odin was really adjusted to his new body and capabilities. The perfect body had to five aspects in perfect harmony. Those aspects are strength, flexibility, toughness, explosiveness, and agility. Of the five aspects, only flexibility was not affected by a stat. Strength spoke for itself. Explosiveness was tied to strength and intelligence which determined how effective his warrior arts and spells were. Toughness was determined by his vitality and agility was determined by dexterity.
Using his knowledge on runes, he enchanted the azure coat and white chain mail shirt he always wore. Enchanting always made them clean so he didn't need to clean them. He always remembered to change his boxers, pants, and shirt with the spare clothes he got from the palace and the spare clothes he made while learning crafts. He laughed as the real world would obviously have restrooms and undergarments of sorts.
He enchanted his azure coat to be indestructible. It did not block any attacks like a normal coat, but he would not need to replace it. It was also enchanted to create a ordinary curved blades to sprout out of his body at will. If he was attacked from behind, he could sprout giant curved blades in a straight line down his back toward the enemy. He could create a curved blade on both of his arms in case he was disarmed and needed to fight barehanded. Shields did not protect his back and he was almost killed back at the castle once a stronger foe disarmed his shield.
As for his white chain mail, he enchanted it to deflect projectiles and be indestructible as well. While it couldn't break, the damage could still go through. He also enchanted it to reduce effects by spells or warrior arts and absorb a small amount of damage as well like a magical armor would. He was able to cast such powerful enchantments due to his extensive studies as well as some help from Trillion. One very special affect he put on the white chain mail was the ability to fly. He would practice late at night when no one was awake.
In the end, the last two months were very productive. His coat and chain mail were indestructible so no one would be able to see the monster core and azure veins of planetary life force on his chest. He also knew that many of the heroes would buy magical armor and weapons with powerful enchantments of their own, but he did not choose to stay in the kingdom he was summoned in, did not join a guild either, and chose to explore the world. He could only depend on himself and Trillions knowledge and experience as he while he was dead and after to survive.
As he finished his training, Odin relaxed at the ship. They suffered five thunderstorms so the voyage would take a lot longer than three months as planned. They planned to stop at an island on the way to Uzalga. It was an island famous for its location as a trade center between the Kingdom of Baos and Uzalga. Ships that paid a tax to the island and received official papers were allowed to travel to the island and its waters. Naturally, that gold was paid in part by the fees Odin and the passengers had to pay to sail to Uzalga.
Uzalga was about three weeks away from the island by ship so the voyage was near its end. The ship would stay a few days to pay the gold, resupply, and allow the passengers to buy and sell items before leaving once more. Sea bandits didn't dare attack the island and ships could pay another fee for extra protection to their destination. However, the protected waters of the island were about ten miles. Many sea bandits attacked outside those perimeters and all ships were fair game so long as they also gave 40% of their gains to the island or faced annihilation. The island was called Sea Wolf Cove as it tolerated bandits and many powerful and wealthy people lived on the island under its powerful protection.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Odin was sitting in his room, reading a rune book, when he heard a loud bang on his door. Odin put his book in his spatial ring and opened the door. He saw a pale faced sailor sweating down his brow.
"A ship of sea bandits lies just outside the island's waters. It is heading toward us and we'll be under attack. Get ready to defend yourself!" the sailor cried. "The sea bandits are not allowed to kill those on the small wooden boats, but you'll have to defend yourself if you want to keep your valuables. Abandon ship or abandon life. Choose quickly! The captain says they'll be boarding us soon!"
"Finally!" Odin laughed. "I have finally have a higher chance to gain experience. I'm just going to use my fists and lightning. No need to reveal my fighting style."
"Here they come!" one of the sailors roared and a black ship with a black flag sailed into view. Many mages must have been on the ship as ice javelins and fire balls came from the bandits and were aimed at the deck of the ship. The hull was not damaged as the bandits obviously did not want it to sink. Odin blasted apart ice javelins and fire balls with lightning as they approached his direction. He was glad he still had his demonic powers. He felt so OP in that moment under the constant barrage of fire and ice, yet he was unharmed while others died. As a Witch Knight, he was able to recover his mana faster as he was soon surrounded by dead bodies, he did not recover any HP as he was uninjured.
He laughed as he remembered he was immune to fire and only blocked the ice javelins. Those who struggled to avoid both looked at him in surprise and fear while the barrage continued until the sea bandit ship arrived at the ship's starboard side (right side) and the sea bandits began to board. Odin's pants and shirt were charred but he put out the flame before they charred.
"Gentlemen," Odin grinned, rolling his neck as lightning crackled throughout his body. "You'll make a stress reliever after all my training."
Odin charged at the knights, surrounding his fists with lightning as he sent them flying due to the voltage. He laughed as they tried to hurt him, their swords hitting his coat, but not drawing blood. He had resistance to pain and only felt his HP bar drop a little as he continued his slaughter. Sometimes he threw spears of lightning at them, pausing a moment to admire the weaker leveled bandits incinerate to ash. Heroes were always OP until they met a boss and Odin, after two months of training, was even more OP with his abnormally high stats despite his low level.
"Your cur! How dare you enter my ship!" the sea bandit leader roared as Odin walked into the cabin with a bandit in both hands.
"Boss!" one weeped.
"He's a monster!" the other said.
Odin, as he had the Heartless title, felt no guilt as he tightened his hold on one bandits head and blasted him with lightning. The bandit's body convulsed several times under the lightning before it became still. He dropped the bandit and had lifted the other bandit in the air using his monstrous strength. He turned the bandit's head so he could see the leader out of the corner of his eye before breaking the bandits neck and tossing him aside.
"Level 8 and 9 bandits are nothing but cannon fodder for my experience. I hope you're more of a challenge sea bandit," Odin sighed. "I haven't had enough experience to become level 12 just yet. It seems hidden classes require enormous amounts of experience as they increase in level. Will I gain a title after I kill you? Maybe learn a warrior art or spell for my class? Do you not have a mouth and a tongue? Are you so frightened that you cannot talk back?"
"That title really makes you different as you fight," Trillion laughed. "Glorious. Just like a beast. Eat or be eaten! Kill it and be done with it. Better yet, kill the crew from the ship we are at! Then become a slime and travel to the island unnoticed with all their treasure! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Odin didn't realize it but the more he killed, the more heartless he became. Whether it was the influence of the demonized dragon blood in his veins or the fact that he had become a monster, he didn't know. All he thought, like any other gamer did, was that killing mobs gained experience and that the more you had, the easier the game got. The sea bandit captain was level 10 and cast three giant spears of ice at Odin. Odin used his warrior art, Lion's Roar, to damage the ice spears and cast fear into the leader. He grinned as he saw that that the captain was a beast kin.
"Oh I'm gonna have some fun with you," Odin said cruelly and sat down while staring at the frightened leader in the eyes. Beast kin were part beast and part human. As Odin was a higher level than the sea bandit captain, he used Eyes of the Beast to not only see through the sea bandit's eyes, but control him as well.
"What have you done to me? Why can't I control my body!" the bandit screamed as Odin controlled the body and heard the bandit's mind.
"I am the Avatar of Beasts. You made a mistake attacking me. Now I can kill off everyone. I'll kill the rest of your men and kill the passengers of the ship, leaving the sailors alive," Odin said using the bandit's mouth. "Just enjoy the last moments of your life. Be grateful that you died at the hands of a Witch Knight. Witches are stereotypically evil and I never wanted to be a hero. I just want to be the strongest knight in the land. The strongest warrior, just like how I wanted to be the best martial artist on Earth. Well, time for the grand finale."
Title unlocked: Tyrannical Knight You are a knight that only cares about your own interests. You don't see the value of life and are a knight of death.
Churches and temples all over the world will feel tremors of an ancient evil.
They do not know that the ancient evil that walks among them is you.
Paladins all over the world will hunt you down once your identity is discovered.
The Primordial Beast is pleased with your actions over your weaker prey.
+10 Luck
+100 Prestige
"And there it is," Odin grinned in the bandit's body. "I suppose a little part of me died upon getting the Heartless title. I wonder if I can still get a girl friend? I don't wanna die a virgin."
"That's what you're worried about?" Trillion roared with laughter. "Don't worry. Some girls like boys with a dark side. Just finish killing the bandits and passengers, but why leave the sailors alive?"
"I need witnesses to see that I didn't kill them to avoid suspicion. They'll think I was cast off the ship during the fight once I appear on the island a few hours after they leave," Odin said. "I suppose being a part of my mind makes you visible to me, even in another body."
Odin made short work of the rest of the bandits as they foolishly turned their back to him as they believed that it was their leader in front of them.
Level Up Current level: 12
Stat points unused: 5
Class stat points rewarded.
Racial Stats rewarded.
After Odin killed the remaining bandits after he got the notice, he turned to the people on the other ship. He easily killed the ones who chose to fight and let the bandit's body take many blows. As he was resistant to pain, he felt only some of the pain before he sent smaller, more accurate ice spears at the passengers in the wooden boats. He let one sailor on the boat think he got a lucky shot as he let an arrow pierce the bandit in the neck, his real body's eyes opening as the bandit died. He quickly scoured and put in all valuables into his spatial ring before sparking a few lightning to ignite a fire and jumped out of the ship and changed into a purple king slime.
He roamed the depths of the ocean while he waited for the sailors to return to their ship and leave. It wasn't an event of the main storyline so the bandit leader was not an overpowered mini boss. As he was a higher level, killing an entire ship of sea bandits with levels lower than him was simply like grinding on weak mobs. As the sun set and day turned into night, Odin traveled in his slime form to Sea Wolf Cove. He turned into his demi-human form and let his body float and appear on the beach. The guards on the beach saw him and Odin kept his eyes closed as they approached him and felt his pulse.
As a guard felt his pulse, he lifted Odin's unconscious body and took him to his own home which was closest in town to the beach. Trillion described what was happening around Odin and told him he was taken to a small shack and laid down on a couch. Trillion also whistled and said a cute girl was tending to him.
Unable to resist the temptation after many jokes of harassment, Odin opened his eyes and pretended to be confused. He rubbed his eyes as his vision adjusted and saw a girl about his age stare at him with medium brown hair and emerald green eyes. Odin was temporarily lost for words actually looked like a lost puppy.
"Who are you?" Odin gasped before the moment passed and he recovered his wits. He noticed she had slightly pointed ears and wasn't human.
"My name is Lana and you are at Sea Wolf Cove," the girl answered. "My father found you and brought you here. He is one of the guard captains. A ship came by earlier after an attack by sea bandits. We got their logs and found that you matched one of the people described on their passenger list. You're lucky my father found you. Take a moment to rest. You nearly drowned and must be very exhausted. Don't worry. No one touched your clothes. I see you have a spatial ring on you left hand and very ancient ring with a lot of mana around your neck. You should change your clothes and replenish your mana. Demons and dragons are sluggish and feel weak if they have low mana."
"That girl is no ordinary elf and the guard who found you is definitely not her father," Trillion warned. "Bandits pay tribute to this island for a reason. Never assume anything by appearance or trust any words of people who befriend bandits."
Odin changed into a plain white shirt and pants with brown leathered shoes. He kept his white chain mail shirt and azure coat as they were enchanted and could not be dirtied. He put his used stat points in DEX and STR. He needed to be quicker and more powerful if he wanted to fight as he did on the ships. His ability was his demonic racial trait and did not consume mana. His lightning was a part of him as was his dragon flame with the exception of his spell, Shadow Flare. He shook his head and stretched his muscles before walking out of the room and heading downstairs where Lana was cooking.
-------------------------------------------
"It has been several months since the Chaos have been attacking. The Witch King, himself, has led every charge!" King Reyard snarled. "Why does that monster keep attacking us?"
"Calm down father," princess Reina said as they sat in the restored throne room. "We have three heroes who have assisted us in killing the civilians who turned and many elite knights and mercenaries who kill the stronger Chaos Beasts. The Witch King will grow tired of losing so many Chaos Beasts and turn his focus elsewhere."
"The source of his wrath is that mysterious light that appeared and stole his ring out of thin air," Thomas agreed. "The Witch King has spread out his forces in order to find it, making it easier to defeat his army."
"Your Majesty, don't worry. My brother and I are level 21," Mariko bowed. "Our levels are increasing due to killing the newly turned Chaos monsters and the weak leveled ones."
"Only the civilians who lived in isolation while people in the more populated areas were able to be evacuated without harm," Toshio continued.
"I am also healing the injured knights on the battle field and have become a level 34 War Cleric. I have access to more widespread healing spells and support spells to aid the knights fighting the stronger Chaos Beasts," Elizabeth said.
"It is true, thanks to the heroes, many of the areas attacked by the Chaos suffer less fatalities than other areas. Sure, almost a quarter of the Thousand have died, but we are enduring," Thomas said.
"But for how long?" King Reyard asked. "How many more people have to die until the Thousand become strong enough to face, much less kill, the likes of the Witch King and the rest of the masters and creators of the Chaos. My people are suffering Thomas and am powerless to stop it."
None of them said anything as they watched the king grieve. They all hoped that the Witch King would give up his search soon and that the constant attacks by the Chaos would end. They didn't want the Witch King to attack other kingdoms, but felt that the people of the Baos Kingdom had suffered enough.
(Author: This is a head's up on the status of the heroes of the Thousand.
Currently 741 heroes have survived and gained a class.
361 of those heroes have hidden classes.
Odin is a level 12 Witch Knight
Elizabeth is level 34 War Cleric (them healers....)
Mariko and Toshio are both level 21
Marcus and Johnny are still alive.)