I grabbed my toolbelt, tossed it into the rusty bed of my truck, and got into the driver’s seat. My left hand grabbed the steering wheel, a rag tied around my knuckles from where I’d scraped them when I’d punched a wall. Catching sight of my dark, angry eyes in the rearview mirror, my hand reached up to adjust its odd angle. It was broken, secured in place with duct tape now constantly falling off, but I didn’t have the money to replace it.
By now, I was hot, sweaty, and tired, mentally and physically. It had been a long day filled with the usual bullshit and I just wanted to go home, shower, and play video games for a few hours. I didn’t mind the work, but like every other job, it just took one asshole to ruin your entire day and make you consider bringing a gun to work the next time you showed up.
Sighing, I put my truck in reverse, backed onto the street, and headed home.
Opening the door of the rented downstairs apartment, I took off my boots and went into the bathroom, stripping out of my clothes which were soaked with sweat from the July heat.
Under the blissful, steaming hot water, I lathered my hair and body with soap, letting the torrent rinse it off me. Then I turned off the water, letting the excess moisture drip off me before grabbing a towel and drying off. Next, I wiped the steam off the bathroom mirror and looked at my long, dark, sodden hair. The mirror was still cracked from when I’d punched that too a few months back, the fissures throwing my features off, giving me an exaggerated, violent appearance. I quickly ran a comb through my hair, which hung down over my forehead and nearly to my shoulders.
A cut was in order, but laziness kept insisting I put it off.
On the underside of my chin, the stubble was starting to grow into a full beard, and I winced upon touching a faint bruise acquired in a fight with a coworker last week. There were bags under my sunken, dark brown eyes from lack of sleep too, from going to bed way too late and waking before dawn. These only served to make my eyes look even darker. Then there was my nose, slightly crooked from the many times it had been broken in fights I’d gotten into as a kid. A scar adorned my lip, busted open back in high school.
I rolled my neck, its vertebrae cracking satisfyingly.
Having donned boxers, gym shorts, and a T-shirt, I finally stepped out of the bathroom.
But wait—what?
There was someone in my goddamned living room! My first thought was, where’s my gun? I had left it in its case under the bed, too far away for me to grab it. My second thought was that the person was a woman, and my third thought: she clearly isn’t human.
My mind tried to overlook the fact that she had an extra pair of freaking arms, and her eyes were red, not as if she was wearing red contacts. No, blood red with an inner glow that some shitty costume contact lenses couldn’t explain away.
“What the fuck are you doing in my house?”
“Greetings, mortal,” the woman-thing said. “Please try to keep your fear to a minimum. I am not here to harm you.”
“What do you want? What are you?” I edged toward my bedroom. Could I get to my gun before this thing got to me?
She wore armor made of some reptile’s hide and metal plates, and she was strapped with at least half a dozen swords. Her skin was as white as paper but stained with dirt.
No, those were bloodstains.
Oh, shit! There is an alien, sword-wielding psychopath in my apartment!
I moved closer to my bedroom door.
“I am here to make you a proposal. I am Kelesa, Goddess of War and Conquest.”
“What kind of proposal?” I asked. That’s right, Mark, keep the crazy sword-wielding alien talking. Just a few more feet…
“Please stop trying to go for your weapon,” Kelesa told me.
Shit! She can read my mind. I had not properly dried myself and was freezing.
“I require a champion to serve me. I am offering you the chance to gain all you have ever desired,” Kelesa said, placing my gun on the coffee table in front of the couch.
“Why me?” I asked, the only question I could think of at that moment.
“There is nothing special about you,” Kelesa said.
Ouch! That hurts!
“I have already asked four others in several different worlds, but they turned me down. If you do also, I will simply ask one of a thousand other candidates,” she continued.
“Is that why you’re covered in bloodstains?” I asked.
Kelesa looked down, seeming surprised.
“Oh, that’s not from this.” She said it as if absently dismissing the thought from her mind. “No, I simply wiped the memory of our meeting from their mind and went elsewhere. It would be against the rules to kill a potential candidate.”
She could be lying, but I have no reason to disbelieve her.
“What does being a champion mean?”
“The world I am from has many gods. Every five hundred years, we each may select a champion who aligns with our ideals. These champions engage in a contest. Whichever one wins will become a new god in the pantheon of their patron god.”
“You said you were the Goddess of War and Conquest. How do I align with your ideals? Shouldn’t you be asking some African warlord?” I asked.
“I have tried such people in the past, but their methods have always failed me. I am experimenting with something new, looking for someone with the traits of a great warrior but who is more adaptive and less set in their ways.”
“And how do I fit that?” I asked, somewhat curious.
“I have looked through your memories. You have some combat training, some leadership potential, a desire for power, and a bloodthirstiness you have always been forced to suppress,” Kelesa said, her voice the exact tone you would use to praise someone for building orphanages and feeding the homeless.
“And what do I get out of this?”
“Otherworldly powers and the chance to ascend to godhood and gain immortality,” Kelesa said, smiling, revealing jagged shark-like teeth.
“What kind of powers?”
I forced my mind to overlook her fangs in order to preserve my sanity.
“You will be given three of your choice. They will not be immensely powerful at first, but you can gain more and increase their potency with effort, time, and bloodshed. You will also be given a fourth power of my choosing.”
“Any three powers of my choosing?” I asked, pushing this critical issue.
“Yes, but be warned, powers such as instant death or time travel are god-level powers. It would be best to choose something to help enable you to survive in your early stages,” Kelesa warned me.
I thought about her words. Hadn’t I always wanted magic powers? Who didn’t, but at the same time, this sounded dangerous. She had implicitly warned me I might die if I became her champion. That said, what did I have going for me here? A shitty job that I came home from, day after monotonous day, only to escape into video games and pretend I did have those magic powers. Through video games, I could become someone else. I wanted to matter, to be powerful and significant. Now, I had a chance to escape my humdrum existence and acquire magical powers for real, to become a champion, someone to be feared and respected.
There was a chance all of this was not real. I could be in a coma or the unwitting stooge of some elaborate prank by a TV show that had broken into my house. But if it was real…
“What does it mean to be your champion? What do you want from me?”
“That’s easy,” Kelesa told me with her shark grin. “I want you to win at whatever cost.”
“Then, I accept,” I said, instinctively, without hesitation. I couldn’t pass up this opportunity, even if it did have some strings attached.
“Good,” Kelesa said, stepping forward and pulling a curved knife from her belt.
I almost had a heart attack when I realized this goddess was several feet taller than me and coming at me fast with a knife. Before I could do anything, she slashed a line across the palm of her hand and mine. Then she joined them together.
***
I felt space warp around me as I was yanked out of my apartment, finding myself standing on what looked almost like a ziggurat. All around the pyramid’s base were corpses pierced with weapons as far as the eye could see in an endless aftermath of battle.
The flapping of wings and the cawing of birds created a white noise in the otherwise silent landscape as crows and other carrion eaters devoured the flesh of the slain.
“Where are we?” I asked, struggling against retching due to the all-pervading stench of death.
“This is my realm,” said Kelesa, grabbing a chalice. “Now kneel.”
I dropped to my knees as if someone had shoved me.
Kelesa raised the chalice above my head and poured a thick, red liquid over me.
I shivered and felt the blood quickly soaking through my clothes and skin.
Congratulations!
You have been chosen as the Champion of Kelesa, Goddess of War and Conquest. You have received the blessing of Kelesa, the Blessing of War (Mortal).
Blessing of War (Mortal): You are the mortal embodiment of war and carnage. You regain 3 Stamina and Mana per second to fuel you as you carve your way through the battlefield.
I blinked as the text superimposed itself over my vision. But it disappeared as soon as I finished reading it
You have been granted the ability Dominion by your godly patron as part of your pact.
Ability gained.
Dominion (Rank 1): Several times per day equal to your Spirit Attribute, you can, as a spoken command, force a creature not bound by another creature into your service. A creature may choose to serve you willingly or attempt to resist by opposing their Mind Attribute against your Spirit Attribute. You can, at will, see the Abilities and Attributes of any creature under your Dominion. You may have a maximum number of creatures under your Dominion, equal to your Spirit Attribute x2.
Cost: 1 Mana per creature.
Upgrade this ability to increase how many creatures you can dominate per day and the multiplier for how many you can dominate at any given time. Each upgrade increases your Spirit Attribute by 1.
I blinked as I looked at the ability. Ok, that is definitely an evil power.
“Are you evil?” I asked, though as she possessed the title ‘Goddess of War and Conquest,’ that realization should probably have struck me sooner!
“That is an entirely subjective question,” Kelesa said, amused rather than offended. “Do I consider myself evil? No. Do others? It depends. In the world you are going to, the gods are divided into those who revere civilization and those who revere chaos. I am a goddess of chaos; I revel in and enjoy it. Those who revere civilization consider me evil, but ironically to oppose me, they must engage in war, the very concept they claim is anathema to them.”
I supposed that was as good an answer as I would get.
“How do I choose my powers?” I wanted to know.
“First, you must choose a new name. Names have power in my world. This is why we gods typically choose those from other worlds as our champions since no one here will know your true name. Never tell it to anyone; consider it dead to you from now on. I will help with that.”
“It’s not like I was that attached to it anyway,” I said. Then, I thought: this wasn’t like picking a name for some video game where I could just go around calling myself Yuri Nator or Ben N. Syder or some other joke name. I was apparently now in the service of an evil or at least bloodthirsty goddess. Anyone (or anything) I encountered would therefore have certain expectations of me. I would need something imposing and easy to remember. I thought about all the games I had played and the books and movies I’d seen.
“Mordred,” I decided, going with one of the better-known villains. It also started with an M, so was similar enough to Mark for me to quickly get used to it.
“Very well, Mordred,” said Kelesa.
My head was suddenly dizzy, and I sat on a square, stone block as everything became foggy and hazy around me. What had happened? I had just changed my name to Mordred and suddenly could not remember my real one! I looked back through my memories, but everyone had called me Mordred for as long as I could remember. Hadn’t they?
No! That was impossible because I did just recall picking it only moments ago.
“What did you do to me?” I asked as the haze began to dissipate.
“I erased your first name from your memories,” Kelesa explained impassively. “It wouldn’t do to change your name only for someone with a mind-reading ability to pluck it from your thoughts.”
“How much have you messed with my mind?” I asked, afraid of the answer. “Was it even my own decision to become your champion?”
“I have only altered your memories and thoughts once,” Kelesa stated. “It is against the pact we gods made to force or coerce someone to become our champion. I also don’t want to alter your mental state. In the past, I used to be very hands-on with my champions, but it never ended well so that clearly wasn’t the right route. I have learned it is best to offer only occasional, subtle guidance and let you forge your own path.”
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“What is the pact you mentioned with the other gods?” I asked.
If she was messing with my thoughts, I could do nothing about it.
Kelesa sat on another stone block in front of me. “Long ago, the first gods created a system to create champions to settle disputes between us. We are able to guide our chosen champion to do as we need as long as we stay within its restrictions. Tell me what powers you want, and I will convert them through the System into your abilities.”
I thought for several minutes about what I wanted to be able to do.
Fireballs were cool but limited, and any situation that didn’t call for absolute obliteration would turn one of my three powers into a useless ability. Invisibility had some practical and exciting possibilities but didn’t interest me much. Flight? That might make me an easy target for archers. Ultimately, I decided to go with my powers the same way I’d gone with my name and make a decision based on movies and mythology. What sort of powers were wielded by the bad guys in my video games and movies? I thought of black knights, villains, and warriors and knew just what to pick.
“I want Telekinesis. The ability to pick up people and objects with my mind and move and throw them at will,” I said.
“A versatile ability,” Kelesa said, momentarily staring into empty space.
A shimmering silver and light blue ball of energy appeared in the air before me. Then, it moved toward my chest and soaked into it.
Telekinesis (Rank 1): You can, at will, lift 1 object or creature weighing 30 pounds or less and move it within 50 feet of your body; or 3 objects or creatures weighing 10 pounds or less and move them within 50 feet of your body.
The speed and power of objects are based on your Spirit Attribute.
Cost: 1 Mana per 10 small objects/sec; or 1 Mana per large object/sec.
Upgrade this ability to increase the number of items, their weight, and the range at which you can move them.
Every upgrade of this ability increases your Spirit Attribute by 1.
As soon as the words appeared in my vision, they blinked away and something else appeared beneath them.
You have absorbed the remains of a divine wraith which has bonded to your Spirit Attribute and will fuel and guide your soul’s mutation when you pass the Mortal limit for your Spirit Attribute.
I was somewhat disappointed I wouldn’t be able to force-choke people right out of the gate, but remembered Kelesa telling me that abilities would start off weaker and need to be upgraded. I could still do a lot with this; I could throw spears and rocks at my enemies, and once upgraded, the ability would let me do even more. The second notification was weird.
“What does this mean about me absorbing the remains of a wraith and my soul mutating?” I asked. “Also, what does it mean by Mortal limit for my Attribute?”
“There are six ranks. The first is Mortal, which you are now. The limit for a Mortal Attribute is twenty. Once all your Attributes are past twenty, you will enter the Veteran rank. From there, it proceeds to Hero, Exarch, Hierophant, Demigod, and the ultimate rank, God.
“I want a passive ability to see into the future to avoid surprise attacks and be able to predict my enemies’ attacks,” I said, wondering how weak this ability would start.
Kelesa said nothing this time but stared into space as she interacted with the System and did whatever god thing was giving me my powers.
Then, something else materialized in front of me.
This time, it was a black-faceted eye like that of a spider or fly. It dissolved into mist.
Before I could protest, it hit my eyes, passing harmlessly through, filling me with a clarity of vision I had never before experienced.
Ability gained. Foresight (Rank 1): You passively see 3 seconds into the future and know what will happen to yourself and the space within 9 feet of you at all times. This ability is based on your Perception Attribute.
Increasing it will increase the time you can see by 1 second per rank in Perception above 10 to a maximum of 15 seconds in the future.
This is a passive ability, costing 1 Mana/sec.
Upgrade this ability to increase how far you can see into the future and how far around you can see. Every upgrade to this ability increases your Perception Attribute by 1.
I dismissed the notification and read the next one that popped up.
You have absorbed the eye of Fate Spider, which has bonded to your Perception Attribute and will fuel and guide your eyes’ mutation when you pass the Mortal limit for your Perception Attribute.
I clutched my skull, becoming engulfed by an excruciatingly intense headache. I was totally unprepared for it; the first two abilities hadn’t done anything like this.
I gritted my teeth, but already, the pain was beginning to fade. But now, disorientation set in as I saw double around me, like watching two screens playing the same movie but not in sync with each other. The dizziness faded, and although I was still aware of it, I could push the double image out of my mind.
It was like going nose blind or stepping into a pool of water, overwhelming and freezing at first, but once you were all the way in, you didn’t notice it anymore. It simply ebbed away.
“What was that?” I asked.
“Abilities that directly affect you will have an impact on your body when you gain or upgrade them. Try to be in a safe place when you do so, or you may be killed while you are vulnerable,” Kelesa warned me. There was no sympathy in her voice. Neither did she seem amused, more that she was devoid of humor. It occurred to me that her previous withholding of information had not been for her own entertainment.
My physical and mental discomfort was a matter of supreme indifference to her.
Looking at the ability in my mind again now that I had recovered, I was happy with it. Whilst it was not insanely overpowered, this was about what I had expected to be able to do. It would act as both a defensive and offensive ability if I could use it correctly.
“For my last ability, I want to move faster and have sharper reflexes,” I said.
There was no point in being able to see into the future if I couldn’t move fast enough to take advantage of it.
Kelesa nodded and stared into space again.
A massive scale the size of my hand appeared. It was black, but the edges of it glowed red-hot. It turned to mist, similar to the eye-spider, passing right through my skin.
Ability gained.
Heightened Speed (Rank 1): You move faster and can react more swiftly. Instantly, your body acts and can move at max speed without needing to build up momentum. The speed at which your body can move is increased by a multiple of 2.
This is a passive ability, costing 1 Stamina per second, and will cost more Stamina in combat depending on how fast you move.
Upgrade this ability to increase how fast you can move. Every upgrade of this ability increases your Speed Attribute x2.
I nearly fell over as the ability hit me. It felt as though snakes were burrowing through my muscles, and my heart was racing as if I’d just consumed thirty energy drinks in a row.
My entire body shook and spasmed, pins and needles pricking me all over.
Eventually, the feeling subsided, although my heartbeat remained faster than before. I sat up too quickly and had to pause to regain my equilibrium. Pushing myself up more slowly, I was now more controlled, trying to account for the effect of the increased speed on my body.
You have absorbed the scale of a world wyrm, which has bonded to your Speed Attribute and will fuel and guide your fast-twitch muscles’ mutation when you pass the Mortal limit for your Speed Attribute.
“Wow,” I said, clearly able to feel the results. “I feel like I could run a dozen marathons.”
“Well, you cannot,” Kelesa informed me. “Although faster, you lack high enough endurance to keep up your speed for long periods.”
“Then how do I raise my other Attributes?”
“You can spend rank points equal to the rank of the ability you are trying to upgrade or directly spend them on the Attribute. Although the second option will only raise your attribute, it is less efficient than raising your Attributes through your abilities,” Kelesa told me. “Before you ask, there are several ways to gain rank points. First, you can complete objectives related to your patron.”
Quest gained.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 5 monsters or humanoids. Current progress: 0/5. When you complete this quest, you will gain 1 rank point. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Quest gained.
Whip and Chains (Repeatable): Conquer 5 monsters or humanoids by bringing them under your Dominion. Current progress: 0 out of 5. When you complete this quest, you will gain 1 rank point. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
“So, is everyone in your world just trying to kill and enslave everything?” I asked, apprehensively looking over my quests.
“Not all, but as the Goddess of War and Conquest, my quests will be related to my domain. The God of Smiths’ quests will have his followers craft swords and armor while the God of Thieves will require his champion to steal certain items worth particular amounts.”
So even my quests are evil? I shrugged.
There was nothing to do about it now. I had already signed up without reading the small print, evidently. “You said there were other ways to gain rank points. This seems easy at first, but I will have to massacre and enslave entire cities to keep gaining rank points from it?”
Kelesa nodded. “The second method is to kill others like yourself—known as the Gifted— who have also earned rank points. Each time you do so, you will gain half their total rank points, and there is a one-in-five chance of gaining one of their abilities, although it will adapt to suit you when you acquire it.”
“And how many people like me are there? How many other chosen are there?”
“There are over seven hundred Gods of Order, each with a chosen champion,” Kelesa said. “But they are not the only ones with powers. Abilities are hereditary, although your children will inherit only a few of your abilities based on how many their parents have when they are conceived. You cannot pass on your Dominion ability since that is only given directly by me.
“There are thousands of descendants of the champions over the millennia. They have bred like rabbits even if they do kill each other by the score to gain higher ranks. Also, any common man or beast can steal abilities if they manage to kill one of the Gifted.”
“So, there are thousands of Gifted I have to look out for as well as the other champions?” I said. “What are my actual chances of winning this thing?”
“Poor,” Kelesa said with a vicious smile. “There is a reason I am trying to switch up my method of selecting champions. Those I have chosen in the past have been over zealous in their bloodshed. When we first began this game, there were six gods, I being one of them. Two others revered chaos and three more who revered civilization stood in opposition to us. Over time, numbers of civilization-revering gods have increased dramatically but now, only fourteen gods are on the side of chaos.”
She smiled and waited for my feedback. But I was still listening, so she continued, “You see, the problem with chaos is we make individually powerful champions… But, how shall I put it..? You really don’t play nice with each other. I approve, of course. Who wants a champion who will bend the knee to the other? Still, the champions of the Gods of Civilization band together and will choose leaders from amongst themselves democratically,” Kelesa said, the last word escaping her mouth as if she’d had to swallow a fat garden slug.
“You're saying I have to worry about hundreds of champions ganging up and coming to kill me?” How badly have I screwed up by accepting this job?
“Not all will live long enough even to reach you. The world you are entering is dangerous, filled with monsters in scale and fur and some in human skin. There is war and famine, and many will not be able to adjust to it. Royal families will take from the chosen for breeding.
“A champion like you will produce powerfully Gifted children. But yes, you should know your enemies and prepare for them, grow in strength, and find artifacts, powerful servants, and allies. Above all, though, never hesitate to kill. Amongst the gods of chaos, I am one of the most hated because although I have only ever had one successful champion, every last one has left a deep and lasting mark. You will be considered one of the biggest targets.”
“You’re not painting a very bright picture for me,” I said. “It’s not sounding very enticing.”
“Life is painted in shades of blood and shit,” Kelesa responded bluntly and without sympathy. “So, I would make sure you are the one with the paintbrush in your hand.”
Suddenly, I realized something, casting my gaze downwards. “I’m barely dressed.” I was still wearing a pair of gym shorts and a T-shirt. “I get some starting equipment, right?”
Kelesa reached into space. One of her arms seemed to disappear, and then suddenly produced a backpack which I recognized as the one I used for backpacking and hiking. She pulled out a drawer from my dresser and then another drawer, tossing them on the ground.
I quickly put on black cargo pants, two pairs of socks, and running shoes.
The shoes were ragged, and I looked at them disapprovingly. I had meant to get around to replacing them but had kept putting it off.
“What about weapons?” I asked, hoping she’d toss me my Glock pistol.
“We are forbidden from letting champions bring any weapons from their worlds,” Kelesa told me, reading my mind. “However, we can each create one artifact for our champion. I suggest you create a weapon to help you survive.”
Maybe I could get a lightsaber or a mini railgun? Or maybe some armor, a suit like Iron Man’s, or a breastplate that deflects attacks back at whoever hits it.
“The artifact must be within limits like your powers,” Kelesa said, glimpsing casually through my thoughts.
Ok, so a magic tank is out of the question.
Could I still get the lightsaber or some other weapon or piece of armor? No, every champion will probably pick something similar, which means I could just take it from them whenever we fight. In any case, there must have been so many champions in the past, so who knows how many artifacts are hidden away somewhere?
Looking down at my shoes again, I came to a decision.
These shoes probably wouldn’t last a month of constant use and this world most likely didn’t have nice concrete roads like my native world. I remembered hearing somewhere about people on those survivor shows in which they were forced to start with nothing.
The one thing they all wished they had was a pair of modern shoes. I didn’t know if that was true, but I wasn’t looking forward to going anywhere without practical, contemporary footwear. Actually, let’s raise the ante here. “I want a pair of magic boots, something with a multiplier on my Speed attribute and the ability to teleport a few dozen feet,” I said.
“You’re sure you don’t want a weapon?” Kelesa asked, seeming disappointed.
“I’m guessing most of the other chosen in the past have picked weapons, so they must be out there to find, so I should pick something that other people wouldn’t have chosen.”
Good reasoning, surely!
“Very well. It’s your choice. Picture the item in your mind, and I shall try to create it as you imagine,” Kelesa instructed.
I closed my eyes and imagined a pair of knee-high boots.
There was a thought to fold the tops over to create a cuff I thought would look nice, like a swashbuckling swordsman’s footwear. I pictured thick cord laces up the front, solid rubber soles with good grip, a steel protective toe, and a steel guard over the back of the heel.
I kept the image in my head, focusing on the details as hard as I could.
“It is done,” Kelesa said. “I have added some features of my own. I hope you don’t mind.”
I opened my eyes. There, right in front of me, was a pair of obsidian black boots resting on the ground. They appeared to be made from some reptile skin , similar to what Kelesa’s armor was made from. It was a detail I hadn’t imagined, but they looked all right.
I reached out and grabbed them.
Boots of Midnight Wind (Artifact: Rank 5): Gives a +2 bonus to the wearer’s Speed Attribute and gains an additional +1 bonus for every 10 ranks you have.
You can double your Speed Attribute for 10 minutes with a cooldown of 1 hour. Duration and cooldown period are reduced and increased by 5 minutes every 15 ranks. You have a max of 1-hour duration and a 5-minute cooldown.
Once per minute, at the cost of 15 Mana, you can teleport 30 feet to a place you can see. The range is increased by 5 feet, and the cooldown is reduced by 5 seconds and increased cost by 1 Mana to a minimum of 5 Mana.
Created by the Goddess Kelesa for her champion Mordred, these boots are made from the hide of a black dragon with a mithril alloy for the toe and heel guard.
These boots are infused with the power of Kelesa’s will and are indestructible except by another deity.
Weight:
4 lbs.
“Nice,” I said, ditching my running shoes and putting on the boots. They fit perfectly, and I almost felt as though I was walking on air. I could feel the increase in my speed and could only imagine the effect of my Speed Attribute being doubled.
“I have another question: how am I supposed to win? What’s the goal?”
“You are racing to Godhood. You need to raise all your Attributes to 600,” she said with a viciously gleeful grin.
“I need to raise my abilities to Rank 600?” I asked disbelievingly.
“Rank 20 is the max level for abilities, apart from the divine ability that I gave you,” Kelesa said. “You will need to unlock and earn more abilities to raise all your Attributes or spend rank points on your Attributes directly. Also, you will need to find items or pieces of monsters to absorb when you unlock new abilities. I provided the three for you today.
“Your Dominion ability is divine, and so it doesn’t count, but for every ability, you need to absorb a treasure of some kind to fuel the changes made to your body. If you don’t have one, then the System will pull the closest available rare material to you. This, however, will have a distinctly adverse effect on your physical prowess.”
I had a myriad more questions but at that moment, could only summon one.
“What happens now?”
“Now, I send you out to kill and conquer,” Kelesa said with another shark smile. “There is a place I know that should give you an excellent start… If you can survive it.”
“That doesn’t sound…” I began, but Kelesa pushed me backward, and I fell through a portal. She tossed my backpack and clothes after me, and the portal shut.
“Son of a…” I began, but the portal closed, and I could hear Kelesa’s laughter no longer.
***
Arthur took Viviane's hand and she pulled him through the portal. They emerged on the shores of a beautiful lake, a ring of mountains surrounding them.
The goddess looked at her champion, her golden hair flowing down her back.
She was wrapped in a spotless white dress and wore a silver breastplate molded to her chest and showing her curves. Her wide eyes were pure blue, the naiad features of her original race evident. A singe rapier hung at her hip.
“Your ancestor served me well,” she said. “Even though he did not win the game of the gods, he came very close. More importantly, he upheld my beliefs and vindicated my choice in choosing him as my champion.”
“You honor my ancestor,” Arthur said, bowing.
“He too was polite,” she said, smiling. “I am glad to see his sword still serves his family well.”
Arthur felt the weight of the heavy two-handed sword on his back. He had been given Excalibur by his father, King Arthur, when he had turned sixteen some two years ago. He still marveled at the wonder of the blade but turned his focus back to the goddess.
“He was my first champion, and very important to me,” Viviane said. “When he died, I promised him I would pick one of his descendants as my champion. Some of my peers in the pantheon have called my oath reckless but seeing you now, I do not regret it.”
“I will not let you down,” Arthur promised.
“You are a native to our world and born with abilities, so I cannot grant you new ones beside my divine ability,” Viviane said. “However, I can give you an artifact. Your family already has many lesser artifacts in their armory, but this one will be yours alone, tailored to your needs.”
“I want an amulet to reduce the effects of going beyond my abilities,” Arthur said.
“A wise choice,” Viviane agreed. “You already know the divine ability and are preparing to fully utilize it. This is good, and you will need it. You will battle against dragons as did your ancestor. You will encounter monsters the size of castles, but you will find your greatest foes are the ones who walk on two legs.”