“Welcome to my domain, mortal.”
A strained female voice spoke directly into Dagon’s mind, shocking him into focus. He was fairly certain that, should he have had a body, he would have pissed himself right then and there. “Who the hell are you?!” He yelled toward the Abyss, hoping to find some kind of information about whatever kind of hell he was in.
“Oh you are not in hell yet, boy, I have much for you to do. To answer your question, I am Ponos, Greek Goddess of Hardship and Toil.” Dagon stood there, shocked that he was speaking to a goddess. “Y-you said there was much you wanted me to do, right? But I’m dead, there is not much I could do for you.” Dagon nervously spoke.
“That is what I will change if you agree. You have been through much in only 16 years of life; birth parents murdered in their sleep; foster parents and the village that took you in razed by bandits; and you even sacrificed any attempt at survival to save a little girl instead. You have suffered much Hardship and that makes you perfect to be my champion.”
Dagon was convinced he was in some sort of lucid nightmare as he bled out. A goddess wanted him to be her champion? Ridiculous, what did he have that some gladiator in the Capital didn’t? He wasn’t especially strong, he didn’t have knowledge on the arcane, he was a farmhand for fuck’s sake! He repeated this to the goddess, yet he was left with echoing laughter and an amused reply:
“You have will, champion. The will to endure like no other can, and this will excel you to greater heights under my patronage. I only ask you endure said Hardships when they come to pass, for that is my tenet.”
“Look, while that all sounds great, I can’t help but be unenthused at suffering through endless ‘hardships’ or whatever with no reason. Why should I agree to become your champion?”
“Most would agree as soon as I asked, mortal. It amuses me to see you so sceptical. As my champion, you would receive a unique power of my choosing to help you on your holy quest for turmoil. I will not give you a power to make you strong immediately, for where would the hardship be in that? You must suffer and endure to grow stronger with this power. I call it: The System.”
A-and what does it actually do? Dagon thought, getting rather tired of the divine beings overcomplicated answer.
“As you suffer in battle, you will grow stronger. The harder the fight, the higher the rewards. The more effort you put in to advance yourself, the more you will advance. The System has infinite potential as long as you keep enduring and survive the Hardships.”
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At this point, Dagon was willing to accept the deal just to make her shut up, but he had to admit that infinite potential was quite tempting. The only downside that he could see was that she wanted him to ‘endure Hardships’ in return, but wouldn’t that make him stronger anyway? With these thoughts at the front of his mind, he accepted Pronos’ deal.
“Then I will now revive you, Dagon Trent, Champion of Hardships, with one skill to help you survive; after all, what Hardship is to be had if you do not possess the strength to struggle?” Laughter echoed throughout the dark void as Dagon slowly passed out, only to awaken exactly where he had died.
A large, gruesome scar lined all around his neck and up onto his right cheek, showing how he was beheaded minutes prior. Sitting up, Dagon noticed a box appearing in the air in front of him. Instinctually, he knew this was ‘The System’ and that he could minimise the box at will.
Preparing himself, Dagon read what was on the screen before him.
Congratulations! As the champion of Ponos, you have been gifted with the skill Body Strengthening magic (level 1) and the skill Inspect!
Dagon felt new knowledge force its way into his mind and he suddenly knew how to move his newfound mana into his body. Feeling slightly overwhelmed, he opened up his status.
Name Dagon Trent Title Champion of Hardships ( +10% Endurance and Willpower) Class None Sub-Class None Skills Body strengthening magic (level 1) Stats
Vitality: 30
Regeneration: 5
Strength: 25
Agility: 18
Perception: 20
Endurance: 55
Willpower: 11
Intelligence: 20
Wisdom: 25
Piety: 5
Display body strengthening magic, Dagon thought, and was instantly greeted with a blue box explaining his new gift.
Body Strengthening magic (level 1):
Your body is frail, yet the magic within you is not. Use your mana to reinforce and strengthen your body at will. Focusing on one specific part of the body will make it much more powerful at the cost of losing any strengthening applied to the rest of the body.
Dagon smiled as he read the information, feeling his body gain a stone-like hardness. "Let's kill some bandits" he said aloud, no one left alive to hear him.