I thought the trip would take weeks, especially since we only had a vague idea of the rivers we would have to follow to reach the northern seas. But Aphrodite, or rather her oyster, was able to navigate the waters and travel upstream as easily as it could move through the still waters of a lake.
Not only did we seem to know exactly which aquatic path to take, we also traveled at incredible speed. I couldn't see what was happening outside, of course, but during our short breaks from the inside of the shell when we climbed up and out of our vessel, I could tell we were moving many times the speed of horseback traveling.
At this rate, it would take us only a few days to reach the portal leading to the realm of Niflheim. Nothing much happened during these two days. Aphrodite took care of navigating the oyster, Artemis was resting or working out, while I managed the city.
The guildhall menu was available to me even at this distance and whenever I tried to build something, I momentarily adopted a bird's-eye view of the city. I occasionally checked on the notifications I got from the guildhall, the first being the completion of my construction projects.
* * *
The construction project "Blacksmith's Workshop" has been successfully upgraded to level 3.
* * *
I was sure the pygmies would be over the moon about having their facilities upgraded, and I could only hope that this would increase how fast they would be able to start producing gear for our citizens. As good as a level three workshop was, however, I knew they might still feel left out compared with the other buildings that had already caught up with the guildhall's level.
I also remembered mentioning to the chief pygmy that I would examine whether it made sense to upgrade their workshop further once I knew what it would cost. Thus, I pulled up the information and looked at the new requirements.
* * *
Name: Blacksmith's Workshop
Level: 3
Level-Up Requirement : Settlement Level 4 (Met)
Level-Up Cost: 800x Lumber Units (8,000 MP)
400x Iron Units (4,000 MP)
200x Stone Units (2,000 MP)
Level-Up Time: 960 minutes (576,000 MP)
Description: The blacksmith's workshop is what separates hamlets from organized village communities. Tools, weapons, and armor are only the beginning of what a smithy can offer to a settlement. Owning a blacksmith's workshop unlocks weapons and armor research, as well as crafting equipment and tools. At the current level, the blacksmith's workshop is also able to produce small-sized machines of war.
* * *
The amount of lumber and iron required was negligible, especially compared to the satisfaction and pride the people working there would feel. I focused on the words "Level Up" and accepted the next prompt, which asked me to confirm my choice. I could only imagine the joy of the blacksmiths when they saw the upgrade schematics forming as a translucent outline around their workshop.
There wasn't much else to build after that, but I made sure to update the research projects when the first one was finished.
When I woke up on the third morning, I was greeted with a very pleasant notification.
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* * *
You have gained a Divinity Level. Congratulations, your Divinity Level has increased to 11.
You have unlocked 2 divine skills.
* * *
It had been a while since I'd gained divine skills after leveling up, and I was happy to see that things were moving again. Or perhaps things had started moving because I did. I couldn't help but wonder if I gotten these new skills now because I'd moved out of my comfort zone and pursued the next part of my plan. Perhaps this was the Dark Energy's way of rewarding me.
Remembering that I'd wanted to build the worshipping temple in my name, I looked at my available DP.
* * *
Divinity Level: 11 (Minimum 2)
Followers: 45,033 / 50,000
Divinity Points: 7/11
* * *
I still needed three more DP to craft the secondary portal in the sea, but I was pretty sure I would have them by the time we reached Niflheim. Then again, perhaps it wouldn't be a good idea to spend them just yet, just in case we found ourselves in trouble while we were there. The wisest choice would be to keep all of my DP and only use them once we were safely on our way back home.
I was curious to see my new divine skills though, so I brought them up into my view, one at a time.
* * *
Name: Instant Divine Teleport
Level: 1
Type: Active - Divine
HP Consumed: 0
MP Consumed: 100
DP Consumed: 3
Power: -
Range: 700 inches
Precondition: Not magically silenced.
Description: The tether connecting a divine entity to their realm knows no distance. In the blink of an eye, the god Zeus can teleport back to the top of Mount Olympus and away from any danger. Other willing individuals may join Zeus in teleporting to Mount Olympus as long as they are within range. The cost for additional targets is 1 DP per person or entity. The tether also works between realms but may have trouble piercing through certain planes with intense anti-magic properties.
* * *
Now that was the ultimate trump card. I had a skill already that would return me to full HP when I was close to dying, and a way to be brought back to life completely rejuvenated thanks to the ambrosia. If all of these things didn't work, this new skill meant I could still flee with my life to the only place that I knew would be safe.
After my retreat from Mount Orthys when my father was trying to kill me, I hoped that I would never be in the position to have to run for my life again. But I wasn't stubborn enough to stay in a fight I couldn't win. If there was no way I could possibly beat an opponent, I'd much rather live to train and fight another day than die an honorable death in battle. For there was nothing honorable about a dead god.
The fact that I'd gotten a divine skill that would send me back home after I'd left my divine realm for the first time in over two months further proved my point that the Dark Energy was somehow pushing us to become better based on our choices. At least that seemed to be the case for us gods. I didn't know, nor particularly care, if the same was true for mortals.
I pulled up the second skill and a wide smile spread over my face as soon as I absorbed the information in front of me.
* * *
Name: Thunder Switch
Level: 1
Type: Active - Divine
HP Consumed: 0
MP Consumed: 300
DP Consumed: 1
Power: -
Range: 700 inches
Precondition: None
Description: Entangling Dark Energy particles by utilizing the tremendous energy discharge of thunderstrikes can make pairing two individuals possible, as well as switching their positions in space and time. By utilizing this skill, the god of thunder, Zeus, can switch places with any member of his party, even if that party member is unwilling or incapacitated.
* * *
As much as I liked pure damage or condition-inflicting skills, the ones that left things open to interpretation and creative use were my favorites. This skill would allow me to switch places with anyone in my party. The most obvious use for this would be to swap places with Aphrodite in case a powerful enemy decided to concentrate its attacks on her.
In such a scenario, I would do best to run the opposite direction as the enemy approached Aphrodite and as soon as I was at the edge of the skill's range, I would use it and surprise them with a strike at the same time as keeping our buffer safe. A non-combat-based use might be if we needed to reach a place that was either too small for me to fit through, or required difficult climbing. In the example of climbing, I would be able to go up the cliff--or whatever required climbing--teleport with the goddesses and do it again until all of us had reached the place we wanted.
More sinister and creative uses of the skill came to mind too, however, and had me giggling. Inviting an enemy into our party to make peace with them before flying off a cliff came to mind. A simple thunder switch later, the battle would be over or rather completely avoided by such a trick. And that was just what I'd been able to come up with on the fly. The possibilities were infinite, and infinitely interesting.
I started going through the rest of my notifications from the guildhall.