Tyr God of War, Valour, Honor, & Oaths:
Invites you to His Realm
ACCEPT:
Y/N
Caleb was shocked seeing this for more than just a single reason. One part because this meant gods were real. Another thing that was shocking was that Tyr had been a Viking god of war. Assuming that this god and the one from earth's mythology was the same god it raised the question of why there weren't gods running around before the whole Tutorial thing. After some mild hesitation Caleb shrugged his shoulders and accepted, maybe this way he could get some answers.
A silver light flashed and Caleb disappeared from the dungeon only to instantly appear sitting in a chair beside a large arena with a rock floor. In front of him he saw a 7 foot tall bulky man with blonde hair and crimson golden eyes. Caleb starred at the man a moment before casually asking, "Does it ever stop feeling so damn weird going instantly from standing to sitting".
"Hahaha. I had forgotten how annoying that could feel to humans. And yes that discomfort will disappear after reaching C-grade. To be honest though I am surprised that was your first question. " the bulky man said with a smirk.
"Well I figured it was a decent icebreaker. I do have to ask if you are the Viking god of war Tyr from the myths from my homeworld?" Caleb said while returning the smile.
"Ah that is quite possibly the case. See every planet has mana allowing people to do amazing things. Unfortunately a Cradle of Life's mana is stagnant and very near to impossible to use. But certain people are still influenced by it even if they can't use is. These people are called psychics, augurs, or prophets. These people are used by gods to send messages to a planet to shape it's growth and increase their religion. Gods do this to increase the amount of faith they have. Some saints send their families to a Cradle if their enemies are to strong. Zeus did so back when he was still a saint. I can feel his blood in you though it is faint. I am one of the very few gods who could tell his connection to you." Tyr informed, finding Caleb's lack of reverence refreshing.
"So why did you ask me to come here? While talking to a god seems fun I seriously doubt I am that interesting to someone of your power level. And if you want me to worship you that's not going to happen. " Caleb said, he was never a fan of religion and his new bloodline felt only disgust and contempt at the thought of worshiping another.
"You are more interesting than you know. I assume you have some kind of arcane or ritual related bloodline. These bloodlines are very rare and extremely valuable. No need to worry though as no one can steal your bloodline as it is currently only located in your soul. But if you can become a god your bloodline will combine and become a part of your physical blood. At that point some gods will try to harvest your blood while others will try to trade for your blood. During an ascension to godhood the bloodline will mutate into a completely unique bloodline that will then be flavored by who you are." Tyr explained. "Now that isn't why I am interested in you. My interest in you stems from your soul resonating with my godhood when you made your oath. My interest was further peaked when I saw the ritual you were forced to go through. "
Caleb thought over what Tyr had said before asking, "Why would people be interested in my blood even if it carries my unique bloodline?"
"Well technically there are two reasons. First the bloodline you have now will be given to any descendants you have giving them a step up. As for the mutated version that will become unique to you? Well it can allow certain gods to walk further along their own path if they can study it's composition. I can't share more as you are to weak to bear the karma it would invoke. Just know that you should try to hide the specifics of you bloodline. I imagine that one if my friends may reach out to you later as well". Tyr said while choosing his words with care.
After considering the god's words for a moment Caleb inquired about what he meant when he said that his oath had resonated with his godhood. "To cause a resonance with someone's godhood you need to be a powerful individual who choses to pray for help from that god. Yet you are pathetically weak nor do you know my true name meaning it should have been impossible. Yet because of the Eldritch Ritual of Empowerment you were able to cause resonance. You can think of it as an extremely powerful and special kind of prayer."
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"Ok. I don't fully understand all of that but I guess I can get the gist of it. But I am assuming that was an actual purpose in me coming here?" Caleb asked. While Caleb could at times be dense or arrogant he was so foolish to believe a god would take time out of his day just to have a chat with little ole him.
"Haha. Yes there is a point. I wish to offer you the role as my Champion on you new planet. Of course you will need to earn the right to be my Champion just like for any other god. And don't worry there is no need for any sort of worship or trying to get followers for me, that is the job of my Prophet. Being a Champion will bless you with benefits that will only help you grow stronger. If you manage to become powerful enough I will get a return on my investment. " Tyr said chuckling, he found this mortal to be very amusing as most gods would treat him with reverence accept some of his old friends or enemies.
"Ok then but if you want me to be some kind of choir boy or preacher for you I have two words for you: Fuck That!" Caleb said. From what Tyr had told him it seemed like a pretty good deal so he decided to just go for it.
Tyr grinned with a somewhat sadistic smile that sent shivers up Caleb's spine, "Good we will start the test then. You need to choose 5 forms of combat not involving magic. If you pass all of them in the allied time you will receive my blessing. If you fail you will die."
Caleb was actually relieved finding out that he would die if he failed. See he believed that every good thing came with a catch, now that he found the catch he was far more relaxed."Single handed sword, dual handed sword, staff, sword and shield, unarmed." These were the choices that caleb had decided on. He had been trained in other forms of combat by his grandpa and by his godfather but these were the five he was best at.
"Good. You will fight a training robot for 10 hours in each martial form, even if you manage to pass before the time ends you will continue the battle until the end. You will not have any breaks the formation on the arena will keep your stamina above 10% no matter what you do and should you die you will be revived with full resource pools. This will give you the added benefit of learning to endure through a long battle. If you can't pass the skill requirements at the end of each 10 hour period I will kill you. Permanently" Tyr said with solemness. "Should you give up at any point I will also kill you although you may chose that path as it will be far less painful.
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Caleb grit his teeth in pain as his left arm was once again cut off by the robot he was facing. He had died 89 times and had lost count of the times he had lost limb to his steel faced opponent. But in the last 8 hours he had increased his skill in using a sword exponentially. His right arm flashed and he heard the blade make contact if only barely with the robot. Finally he had passed the first test, before he could continue though a sword pierced through his skull killing him.
Seconds later he appeared on the other side of the arena once more completely healed and all resource pools full yet unable to use Skills or spells. But that was to be expected this was a test of martial skills not the supernatural. Without hesitation Caleb once more charged at the robot. All he hoped to do was land one meaningful blow upon his enemy before he had to switch to a new weapon.
He parried the first blow ducking under the second while allowing the third to slide down the length of his own sword. The next second his instincts screamed at him to move but because he didn't have the skill to get out of the way these instincts failed him. A millisecond later his head flew into the air as his body crashed to the ground.
This was something he learned early on; instincts will allow you to best use whatever you already had. Ergo if he wanted his instincts to be helpful he had to train his combat skills or he'd be no different than a chicken with its head cut off.
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Caleb managed to pass all five tests of martial skill. Sword and shield was his worse showing as he had trouble putting his shield at the right angles to block without absorbing to much of the blow. Sense the robot had 15 more stat points in every single stat tanking a blow meant almost instant defeat. He was only able to beat the test with ten minutes to spare
His two best showings were in staff and unarmed combat, allowing him to beat the robot in less than 5 hours in both events and in staff fighting he was able to dominate it completely by the final 30 minutes. Dual wielding swords allowed was almost as good allowing him to beat the test after 5:47 minutes.
When Caleb asked why the bots had more stats Tyr had calmly responded, "what is impressive or honorable about beating a weaker opponent or even a stronger opponent if he has zero skills? I as a mid-rank God am feared by most high-rank gods as I've slaughtered thousands of high-rank gods who were skilled in combat. I did this through skill and not through power. While power is important skill is just if not more important.
"Caleb you have earned the right to be my Champion so receive my blessing" Tyr said before placing the his hand on Caleb's shoulder. Caleb felt a warm energy enter his body and seep into every cell of his being.
"Our time is just about done. When you go back check the changes to your status screen. Your bloodline should have given you some unique skills and you can come to understand the blessing I have given you." Tyr said with a smile. He was very proud of his new Champion as his growth rate in martial arts was amazing and from what he had seen he was an even more powerful in the magical arts. With that the god of war waved his hand sending the mortal man who became a friend back to his Tutorial. Hoping that his new friend could grow to become a god so they could enjoy conversations like this for eons. Speaking of friends he should tell his buddy Groknar about Caleb as they both could help each other.