Achilles appeared on the Elysium monitors scattered throughout the different islands. He cleared his throat and pointed to the wall behind him that had a map of a continent on it.

“Judge Achilles here, I’m going to explain to you all the factions and kingdoms of Helioan.”

Helioan was divided into four kingdoms; these kingdoms had a treaty amongst themselves that held peace in Helioan.

There was a fifth “kingdom” that existed outside of the treaty; this so called kingdom was the land of slaves.

Before the retainers entered the Fantasia world, Achilles let the world play out with the souls of humans randomly selected from the cycle.

These humans lived out their lives and made Helioan their own. Slaves, legendary heroes, and wars had been introduced by the humans.

Well Achilles didn’t like the idea of humans owning slaves. There was one retainer whose background was that of a slave, so they decided to just leave it alone.

After all the human souls placed in the Fantasia world had free will, something God was very adamant they were allowed to have in Helioan.

The four kingdoms were known as Tir, Daan, Elena, and Grenadale. The land of the slavers was known as Noin.

They each had their own kings that governed their lands, while the slavers had three leaders known as the all-powerful Trinity, leading Noin.

The Fantasia world had a system in place to shrink the world. Let’s say the dstance between the kingdoms of Daan and Elena was about a four month walk of constant movement. The more years that passed, the shorter the distance would become.

Once the battles officially started in the year 875, that same walk between those two kingdoms would now be just under two hours. Of course, only the retainer could feel the difference and understand it happening.

The Fantasia phase was to enjoy a new life, train, and try to build up a stats (which was quite difficult) or even gain physical godsends placed in the world. Plan and even defeat retainers before the royale truly even began.

Or make alliances.

All of which was shown on ETV for the deities to see. Of course, Achilles would be blocking certain activities that the retainers would get into.

Apparently there was already a black market forming to try and get uncensored feeds of the Tryfing. Something that Achilles was going to be on the lookout for.

The retainers themselves were blessed by God’s light; it allowed their bodies to be at the upper echelon… the peak of a human physicality. From their hormones to their metabolism and the system in their bodies, God’s light relegated and elevated the retainers to be able to always be battle ready.

They still needed to sleep and eat, which helped their natural healing factors. If any part of their body was cut off with a godsend weapon, they lost that part.

So, getting your head cut off with a godsend was an automatic loss. They could use other weapons created by them, or in the world, as long as they didn’t have weapon restrictions preventing them from using it.

Achilles cleared his throat and then pointed his finger straight at the camera.

“The Fantasia phase starts now!”

///

835 F.R.

Kingdom of Elena

There was a mini celebration currently happening in Elena. A rebellion force was thwarted before any big casualties could occur.

The rumors said that a nobleman was able to systematically figure out the plan and devise counter measures to stop the rebellious army from launching their attack on the kingdom.

The boy looked to be about ten years out with black hair under a fedora, and in his right hand he held a walking cane. Although, he didn’t need it to help walk.

He and the older man wore clothes that represented them as nobles. Yet the boy looked more like a mobster boss with his fedora, cane, and a scarf that laid around his neck.

“Young master, you need to understand that we need you to have a personal body guard,” the older noble said.

“I want someone strong and loyal. You lot don’t have an eye for true men or women of caliber to be my aids.” The young boy’s speech and tone was so strange, if you didn’t see him it was as if it was two older gentleman were speaking to each other.

The boy looked around and then whispered out “advent, eye of the general”. His right eye turned dark purple and ather started to pour out of his iris. No one could see it though.

As he scanned the many souls of humans in the kingdom, he landed on a young man who was slumped over a table. He had a fresh eyepatch on his face and had been drinking his troubles away.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Radcliffe F Radiesse

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“That man right there? He’s a strong soldier. I want him to be my personal bodyguard.”

The older noble moved up closer and squinted to get a better look at the drunk knight. “Oh, that is Sir Radiesess’ son. He lost his eye in the battle to contain the rebels you warned us about, young master.”

The older noble turned to the boy. “Are you sure? He is a bit crass, rude, and slow-witted from what his father tells me.”

The boy smiled as if he found the perfect loyal soldier for him to control. “Nonsense. I can see a true knight in him, and if anything, you already know I have the capacity to mold him into exactly what I need.”

The older noble shook his head in agreement. He knew that the young master’s mind didn’t function like a normal child.

The young master was a genius, a once in a lifetime savant born into the Bianchi family. The sister family of the royal family.

“Let us go and speak with his father, Master Alessandro. We must hurry you have another ather mage lesson today.”

///

855 F.R.

Sanosuke’s memories had finally settled. He was on his way to Helioan to be a blacksmith after the death of his parental figure, a priest named Saito.

He had carried only three objects onto the boat; one was the strange guitar case Achilles gave him and Inari; the body of the holy priest Saito, which was wrapped up and preserved for him to bury; and a satchel that held money and clothing.

He found it quite odd that he nonchalantly had the body of his apparent guardian with him, but he guessed it made sense that he would want to bury the man near him. He then realized he had spent all his aurum to get on this boat.

“I’ll worry about the money once I get on lan—”

WACK. He felt a sharp pain on the back of his head. A water bucket was flung at him causing him fall on to the floor.

“Hey start swapping the deck you Nippon,” the sailor who threw the half-filled bucket said. He also threw the mop his way.

Sanosuke clenched his fists but ultimately decided to let it go for now. He started to do his tasks. As he swabbed the deck, he also noticed the extra swords the crew had and just how dull the blades were. He took it upon himself to clean and sharpen them in-between his other tasks.

“Oye Nippon, who told you to do this?” a sailor asked.

Sanosuke said nothing and finished the blade he was sharpening and gave it to the sailor. He immediately was able to see just how better the blade was.

“Color me surprised, you got a real talent for this. Keep doing it. I’ll tell the capt I did it.” The man gave a deep laugh before walking away.

Honestly, the chores of cleaning and even the handling of dishes and the weapons reminded him of working at his old shrine. He worked tirelessly for weeks to make sure no one else was abused. He didn’t sleep with the other foreigners, instead, he was forced to sleep on the deck or in the lookout tower of the ship.

As he was working one day, two of the sailors came together near him and spoke in a different language. This was the first time he heard them speak this language.

At first Sanosuke played them no mind, but then listened to what they were saying. And figured out that the language they were speaking he knew fluently!

Was this a divine will Inari gave me? Or was it something that my role as Polymath allows? he thought. He decided to think about it later and instead listen in on the sailors.

“They are almost here, make sure you tell the others to be prepared.”

“Yeah, how much silver aurum did the captain set this time for our cargo to stay on the boat?” The sailor laughed.

Sanosuke stopped working. “These horrible people,” he muttered in his native tongue. He squeezed his right fist and then did a quick twist of his wrist, which revealed to him his blue retainer bracer.

He summoned the screen out of the bracer but was surprised to see what it said.

“You are too far from the main battle arena, you cannot reach your deity. You have a limited access to any divine wills and abilities. For the time being, you have one godsend you can use. Please enter the battle arena to establish your connection with your deity.”

Sanosuke remembered Lady Inari telling him this but assumed at the very least he would still have all the abilities and powers Lady Inari taught him.

For now, it seemed he had his polymath role abilities and the one godsend that Achilles bestowed on to him.

SMACK.

Another hit, this time harder than the other times. A sailor had smacked the side of his head with a beat stick, then grabbed Sanosuke by his bun and smashed his head into the ground.

“Who told you to stop working? You were the one to tell us you would do all the work so the other Nippons didn’t have too.”

He slammed Sano again causing him to bleed from his nose. “Get up to the deck, we got a surprise for you all.”

///

Sanosuke was pushed up onto the deck of the ship. He saw the other foreigners that had come on the boat with him. He counted about fifteen to twenty, which included seniors and children.

Now that he got a better look, there were barely any men around his age, or at an age that they could work the harsh labor the captain of the ship demanded.

He was glad he took that burden away from them.

One of his few foreigners, an older women looked at him with tears in his eyes. “They are selling us! If we can’t pay we are being sold to Noin!” she shouted to him.

The captain walked up to her and slapped her. He looked at Sanosuke and shouted to him, “What did she say, Sanosuke?”

Sanosuke slowly worked towards the group, looking around his surroundings he noticed two other boats around the boat he was on. These men wore battle armor with different weapons strapped on their sides or back. They each had the patch of the Noin stitched on their armor.

They hadn’t yet boarded the main ship, which is why Sanosuke was unaware any ships were nearby when he first got out on the deck.

“These people paid for this ride. Why are you attempting to sell them?” Sanosuke asked, his brow furrowing with rage at the captain and the sailors.

They had swords on their sides as well, ready for anything. The captain chuckled and posed nonchalantly, looking at the young retainer. “Yes, they paid for the ride but this a separate payment. See the slavers of Noin are ransacking us! Oh how could we survive! The only thing we could do is give up some of our cargo.” The sailors all laughed.

The slavers finally boarded the ship and proceeded to “attack” the sailors of the boat. They all started to mock Sanosuke and pretend to fight.

“Oh noo, the slavers are beating us,” one of the sailors said, as he laughed and hugged one of the men.

“Now listen up, two hundred silver aurums per person. That’s how much it will be to protect you lot from the slavers. Anyone who can’t, either you get taken by them or their beast devours you.”

The boat started to shake and the waves rippled around, giant tendrils of tentacles appeared around the boat. A giant octopus beast raised out of the ocean, the Noin insignia was branded on the monster’s face.

Sanosuke wasn’t surprised by the beast, after all, he had been with deities for a few days. He was more surprised at how evil these humans were, maybe it was because he existed in a modern era and either was ignorant, or oblivious of these events happening in his time period.

Or maybe it was because he just didn’t want to believe evil degenerates like this existed.

“Sansuke, don’t worry. I like you we want to keep you on this ship as a member of our crew. You should be happy.” The captain’s laugh boomed around them.

Sanosuke watched as the sailors and slavers pushed and beat the other foreigners. One foreigner was lifted up by the octopus and was almost eaten; it seemed to be a scare tactic. But Sanosuke knew that at least a few of these people would be fed to the monster after they left.

“I don’t have enough! Just take me and leave my kids,” an older women said in broken common tongue. She had two daughters and one son. The three looked to not even be teenagers yet.

The captain took the aurums and the main slaver captain whispered in his ear. The captain shrugged his shoulders and ordered the sailors to grab the children.

“NO, I PAID THE MONEY!” the women yelled. “Take me!”

“Sorry lass, they don’t need any more people your age. Blame the gods for your lack of luck.” The captain took all the silver aurums the older women gave him.

The kids and their mother screamed out as the sailors and slavers tore them apart. The captain came next to Sanosuke and put his hand on his shoulder.

“You're one of us now, kid. If you want you could keep one of the girls… or boys if that’s your thing.” He smiled, he had a few gold tooth’s in his mouth.

“I don’t want to watch this…” Sano replied.

“Yeah, you're dismissed. I’ll call you back to work once the Noin slavers leave.”

Sanosuke slowly walked down the stairs, then proceeded to run the hallways into to the cargo bay. He urgently opened the door and slid to the corner where his items had been.

The prepared body, his satchel and the case. The case he was told only to open in the Fantasia world. Sanosuke placed the case flat on the ground and unlatched it. He opened the case and stared at the weapon inside. A screen popped out as he focused his ather on the weapon:

Kogarasu-maru: Believed to be the first katana, the base of all katana’s to come after it. This godsend is special, while sheathed it is a regular sword and can exist on your person. Unsheathing the blade summons the godsend itself and activates using your ather. Also known as the crow circle katana.

Kogarasu-maru's sheath and handle was all black, like a crow. When Sanosuke lifted the katana it simultaneously felt light and heavy in his hands. The sheath had rope around the sword and sheath itself that gave it a regal but destructive look.

He opened the katana and felt his ather flow into the weapon, the blade was pitch black with silver accents and feather markings on the blade.

Sanosuke couldn’t believe he held something so historic in his hands. He knew about Kogarasu-maru, knew the legendary black smith Amakuni had created it in his world.

It felt like he was created to hold this sword. Achilles had chosen a weapon that not only represented the Japanese but also represented Sanosuke and felt right for him to have.

“Achilles… thank you.”

He slid Kogarasu-Maru back into its sheath, ready for battle.