"What?" I said, jumping up in surprise. "You can buff us too? And yours stack with your sister's?"
"They do, because they interact with you differently. And they sit in different Dark Energy spell frequencies," he explained. "But I need to use the skills every five minutes."
"I assumed that the god of war would be someone that has nothing but attack skills," I said honestly.
"But what would that make me?" he said as he sat back down. "The god of battle? Offensive skills alone do not win wars."
"Stacking buffs do," Aphrodite said, and winked at me.
"Exactly right, sister," he replied. "Let's see what else I've got. I have one that increases casting speed and decreases magic cancel rate, but I don't suppose you're interested in that."
"That would suit your sister better," I said.
"How about this?" he asked and pushed over a skill window for me to inspect.
* * *
Name: War and Precision
Level: 1
Type: Active
HP Consumed: 0
MP Consumed: 66
Power: -
Range: 700 inches
Precondition: Only usable with dual swords.
Description: The mana explosion emanating from the clanging of swords enhances the battle perception of the user and their party members, making them more focused on their enemies. Increases Physical Accuracy by 4 for 5 minutes.
* * *
"I wish I had this one while I was fighting that fog elemental," I said. "So many of my strikes went straight through that thing, even when I thought I was hitting it true."
"You can never have enough accuracy," Ares said. "Especially if you come across a party of dodge tanks."
"Aren't they the worst?" Artemis said. "I know that nine out of ten of my successful strikes on them are going to be critical hits and my critical is so high that I can mostly put them down with just one arrow. But I miss all the time."
"Dodge tanks are very frustrating to fight against," Ares agreed. "But if you've got the Precision aura on, and this buff, you'll be fine."
"Wait a minute," I said, after reading the description of the skill again. "The buff is for the user and their party members? Does it mean that you only have to cast it once for your whole party to benefit from it?"
"Exactly," Ares said with pride.
"Didn't you see that we all got the 'War and Mayhem' buff icon?" Aphrodite asked.
I looked at the party view and right there at the end of the buff icons was the one he had stood up and cast.
"Your skills are really useful," I said, nodding with satisfaction that we had someone like this in our party.
"Just don't make me spend all of my MP on them, because I like to get a piece of action. And I've got attack skills too," he replied.
"Are those all of the buffs you've got that can stack with mine?" Aphrodite asked.
"You know they aren't," he replied playfully to his sister. "You just want me to show all my cards, don't you? I've got another one that boosts your attacks with holy damage."
"I know holy damage is especially effective against the undead, but does it also hurt normal monsters?" Artemis asked.
"It is indeed most powerful when used on undead or evil creatures," Ares said, "but on any other target, it acts like any other additional damage. It's as if you had extra fire damage. It deals extra damage in its own right."
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"I never say no to extra damage," I said.
"What I think would the most interesting to you, goddess of the hunt," Ares said, before sending us a new skill window, "is this buff. Especially since you're big on critical hits."
* * *
Name: War and Torture
Level: 1
Type: Active
HP Consumed: 0
MP Consumed: 66
Power: -
Range: 700 inches
Precondition: Only usable with dual swords.
Description: The frequencies of the swords' blades grinding against each other accelerates the mana channels responsible for the perception of the user and their party members. Affected creatures can see the weaknesses in their enemies defenses and use that information to their advantage. Increases Physical Critical Damage by 35% for 5 minutes.
* * *
"Thirty-five percent?" Artemis almost fell off the sofa she was sitting on when she absorbed the information. "That's a massive boost. If I add that to my self-buffs and Aphrodite's, a critical hit would mean death to anything without B-grade armor."
"With that powerful bow of yours, even B-grade armor might not be enough," Ares said. "Is that +16?"
"It's +17," she said and showed it to him.
* * *
Name: Bow of Artemis +17
Type: Bow
Rarity: C Grade
Physical Attack: 571
Magic Attack: 176
Special Ability: Defining Shot
Attack Speed: Slow
Durability: 12621/13200
Weight: 1880st.
Description: Once a C-grade bow, this majestic piece of warfare has been enchanted to levels few mortals or even gods have seen before. Breaking the +16 threshold, Artemis was able to change the bow's original name and forever mark this world with her courageous presence. The bow's previous characteristics were lost in time once it changed its name and manifested its unique ability. Once per day, the wielder of this weapon can unleash a devastating attack that has 100% chance of finding its target, ignores any shield, armor, or magical bonuses, and always strikes a critical hit.
* * *
"This is one of most powerful weapons I have ever seen," Ares said. "I'm glad I'm joining you, Zeus, for I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of this goddess's arrows."
"A wise decision," I remarked, smiling at Artemis.
We spent the rest of the journey talking to Ares about how the three of us fought--what we did when we were against one powerful enemy or a swath of smaller ones, when we stopped for rebuffs, who was tanking, who was kiting, and everything else that we thought might be useful in case of a battle. The plan here, of course, was to get in and out without anyone knowing, but we couldn't be too careful.
"Here should be fine," Aphrodite said eventually, and we all headed back up the stairs as the oyster opened.
The scenery hadn't changed significantly. The biggest difference was that there the mountainside we had climbed down was no longer visible here, nor Ares' bonfire. We were now standing on the shore of what seemed to be the same lake, which still looked endless from here, and the atmosphere was equally humid and foggy.
We walked away from the lakebed, taking cover between the thick bushes and trees ahead of us. There were no other boats that we could see in our vicinity but we didn't want to risk being discovered immediately.
"This road leads straight to Holhemein," Ares said, pointing down a wide path further inside the forest, where carts and horses could be seen.
"Are we going to join one of the merchant caravans?" I asked.
"Four Greek gods together? No, that would be too suspicious," he said. "We're going to travel through the thick vegetation and only come out when we reach the village."
"This job sounds like a better fit for one person," Artemis said.
"She's right," I agreed. "Why do you need us?"
"If anybody stops me," Ares explained, "you can create enough of a distraction for me to slip away unnoticed and continue with my task."
"That's why we're coming with you?" Aphrodite asked, getting angrier by the second. "As potential distractions?"
"As a failsafe that significantly increases my chances of success, sister," he said. "It's not like the mission you want me to join you on involves saving the world or anything. You're only helping me in this selfish cause of mine because you've got your own selfish motivations."
"Let's get going," I said, trying to break off their argument.
Artemis followed me and within seconds, the two siblings stopped arguing and fell in line behind us. I kept my eyes on the road, noticing the large number of carriages being driven by horses twice the size of those I had back on Mount Orthys, or oxen that more closely resembled rhinoceroses than beasts of burden.
My few interactions with the Norse realms had involved lavish dinners in the palace of one god or another, occasional festivities, or a competition of some kind. I had never seen how the mortals lived and what kind of animals they used. By the looks of it, there was a lot more to the Norse than initially met the eye.
"Is this place a center of trade?" Artemis asked.
"It isn't," Ares replied, sounding a bit concerned. "Holhemein is mostly a place of worship for Modi. There are some travelers every now and again that come to do their pilgrimage, and they sometimes bring their merchandise too, but there's very little organized trade taking place"
"Then why are there so many people on their way there right now?" Artemis asked. "They all seem to be bringing a lot of stuff with them."
"It is a little alarming, but it's also something we can use to our advantage," he said. "A busier-than-usual town will make our task so much easier."
Upon reaching the entrance of the town, we saw that the term "gates" was only very loosely defined here. There was just a big arch through which the carts traveled, and that was only to show where the path was smoother for their wooden wheels. There was no wall or even fence on either side of the arch to prevent people from entering the town unseen. In fact, that was what most of the people headed into the city seemed to doing.
There was something on the arch that gave Ares pause, however. A couple of long banners hung from each side, almost touching the ground.
"Crows damn it," he cursed.
"Is there a problem?" I asked.
"Those banners bear the symbol of Modi," he said. "That's why so many people are coming to Holhemein today. It's a day of festivities in his name."