Mountain of the Immortals

Regardless of the potential of my own guild and capturing the place of power on top of Mount Olympus, the artifact would be a sure-fire way to grow stronger than Cronus and take him out myself. I wouldn’t need to wait to grow this place from scratch, nor need to be responsible for recruiting people and finding new followers. I could just take over all of my father’s followers and sit at the top of Mount Orthys instead.

“You’re not seriously considering it?” Artemis said, her tone now angry.

“What?” I said, acting confused. “Of course not.”

“Then why are you holding it?” she asked.

I hadn’t even realized I’d placed my fingers in the skull’s eye sockets and was holding onto it tightly.

I had made a promise to Artemis to get rid of the corruption, but surely destroying such a precious artifact wouldn’t reverse the damage and death that had already spread over this place. And it’s not like I wanted to use it forever—just long enough to be able to exact my revenge against Cronus.

“Zeus?” Aphrodite said, and touched my shoulder. “Talk to us.”

“About what?” I said, bringing the white skull up in front of my face and looking straight into its gaping eyeholes. “About this thing? To destroy or not to destroy?”

“Of course you’re going to destroy it,” Artemis insisted. “You made a promise.”

“My promise was to eliminate this corruption,” I replied firmly. “The corruption was down to a fallen angel sucking the life of this place and pumping it back into its minions. And that angel is now gone. What good would destroying the artifact do?”

“You’re not considering keeping it for yourself?” Artemis said.

“The beasts that were killed will never return to life,” I explained. “But the forest will grow again, and I may be able to use this for my cause.”

“I believe it’s your decision to make, Zeus,” Aphrodite said, her voice sounding calm and logical. “But do you really not see how what you want to do is the exact same thing Belial was doing?”

“Just because you won’t be sacrificing this forest doesn’t mean it’s fine to destroy any other,” Artemis added.

“Belial too was wronged and forced into exile—” Aphrodite continued.

“He was an asshole,” I interrupted. “I doubt his siblings did anything foul to him. They probably just put him in his place.”

“It does not matter,” she replied. “He believes he was wronged. In his head, he is just as much the victim as you are. And he used this item to get stronger so he could take his revenge.”

“But he sucked this place dry and didn’t stop. I’d only use what I needed,” I countered.

“Do you know how much you’re going to need in order to defeat your father?” Artemis asked.

“No, but I’m not going to abuse its power,” I said, though my resolve was already cracking.

“Belial said he was going to stop sucking the life out of this place,” Aphrodite continued. “He needed just a bit more juice to regain his angelic form and claim the place of power.”

“Only he was evil,” I said with conviction. “He wanted to mount an offensive against one of the heavens.”

“How is that any different from what you want to do?” Artemis exploded. “Are you really that blind?”

“You want to attack Mount Orthys and kill your father,” Aphrodite said, more calmly. “Different realm, but same story.”

“And even though I’m bound by my promise to you,” Artemis said, “what makes you think that nobody else would care if you start sucking away life to gain levels? Either someone would stop you and destroy the artifact or they would use it for themselves.”

By all the fucking crows, she was right. As much as it pained me to admit it, what I had in mind was no different than what Belial had been doing. Only I had fallen from Orthys instead of the heavens and I wanted revenge against my father and not my siblings.

I could only imagine the disappointment Demeter would feel if I did take my revenge using this terrible artifact. Artemis was right.

Using such an item would bring me great power, but sudden power fluctuations created ripples across the Apocosmos. Ripples that would stir other beings, notifying them of what I was doing. And I had more than enough on my plate with a titan trying to kill me. I didn’t want to attract any more cosmic attention.

“You’re right,” I said finally, and looked at them both.

Aphrodite smiled with satisfaction, probably because she felt like her words had influenced me and made me change my mind. Artemis, on the other hand, looked ready to continue protesting and was taken by surprise by my change of heart.

“I... We are?” she asked, a bit confused.

“Yes, you are,” I said, and couldn’t help but smile at her efforts to control her ferociousness. “Using it would bring me unwanted attention. And this isn’t the way I want to do this. I will not destroy to get my revenge, lest I become my father.”

“So you’re going to destroy it?” she asked hesitantly.

“I will,” I replied with confidence, “but I doubt I can do it with my weapon right now. We’d better get out of here and wait until I gain back a Divinity Point so I can smite it.”

“You don’t have any left?” Aphrodite asked, as we started walking back the way we’d come into the cavern. “Is that why you didn’t use your smiting?”

“I used them all on the skill that got me back to full health,” I said. “And I can’t summon lightning indoors. At least, not yet.”

We readied ourselves for the same process of getting back through the traps but realized when we reached them that they weren’t working anymore, either because they only activated when someone was coming in, or because they’d become completely inert since Belial wasn’t around anymore. The rest of the way out was equally uneventful and we were soon standing outside under the midday sun, on the side of Mount Olympus.

“How long before you get one Divinity Point back?” Artemis asked.

I could tell she was being careful not to sound too aggressive or demanding, though I wasn’t sure if it was so that I wouldn’t somehow change my mind or because she had changed her mind about me. Either way, I didn’t mind her softer side, especially because I didn’t expect her to have one.

“I have no idea,” I said honestly. “But we can start ascending the mountain. As long as we’re out in the open, I’ll be able to use it.”

“I’d rather we waited here,” she said, almost too timidly to hear.

“We shouldn’t spend the night here,” Aphrodite said. “It might be too dangerous. Zeus’s father might not know where he is right now, but he will attempt to divine his location again at some point and we need to go higher up the mountain to make sure we’re hidden.”

“Not the whole night,” Artemis replied. “Just a couple of hours, if that’s okay. I want to see what happens to this place after the artifact is destroyed.”

I looked at Aphrodite and she just shrugged in reply. Well, if she wasn’t going to be the mean one, I wouldn’t either.

“Alright,” I agreed. “Two hours and then we’re gone.”

“Thank you,” she said, now looking more excited and grabbing my arm in appreciation.

“I guess I’d better check my skills then,” I said, sitting on the side of the path, which was completely devoid of live plants.

“Right. I’ve got twenty skills to upgrade too,” Aphrodite said casually.

“What in the crows?” I said, immediately dismissing my skills interface. “Twenty? How did you get twenty?”

I waited a few moments for an explanation, but she looked like she was already accessing her upgrades and didn’t pay me any heed.

“The number of skills spellcasters get is just nuts,” Artemis said, shaking her head. “Did you get anything good?”

“Let me check,” I said, and opened the list of upgraded skills. “I got upgraded masteries mostly. Here.”

I sent her my most important mastery skill first.

* * *

Name: Lance, Spear, and Polearm Mastery

Level: 27

Type: Passive

HP Consumed: 0

MP Consumed: 0

Power: 0

Range: Self

Precondition: Only active when wielding a lance, spear, or any type of polearm weapon.

Description: Fighting with weapons that have a larger reach than the typical longsword comes easily to you, enabling attacks with a bigger range as well as sweeping strikes. Physical Attack is increased by 66.4 when using a polearm weapon.

* * *

“Is that why you can attack multiple enemies with each swipe?” she asked.

“It might not be as versatile as a sword but it’s got reach,” I said, and flashed a wide smile. “And yes, I can attack multiple enemies.”

“What else?” she asked.

“Well, the usual armor mastery,” I said and sent her the next one.

* * *

Name: Light Armor Mastery

Level: 32

Type: Passive

HP Consumed: 0

MP Consumed: 0

Power: 0

Range: Self

Precondition: Only active when wearing light armor.

Description: Continuous use of light armor has increased its efficiency both in terms of defensive abilities as well as flexibility and agility. Physical Defense is increased by 47.8 and Physical Evasion is increased by 6 while wearing light armor.

* * *

“Level thirty-two?” she said, surprised. “And you get a much higher bonus in defense too.”

“Why? What’s the level of your mastery?” I asked, glancing at Aphrodite who was still looking over her skills.

“Mine’s level twenty-nine and I get ten less in the Physical Defense boost,” she replied. “But I guess it makes sense, because I get three more in Physical Evasion and a smaller chance to receive critical hits.”

“Hey, that’s not fair,” I protested.

“Is it not?” she asked, and looked at me sideways. “Why don’t you show your heavy armor mastery then?”

I opened the next upgraded skill and did as she asked.

* * *

Name: Heavy Armor Mastery

Level: 32

Type: Passive

HP Consumed: 0

MP Consumed: 0

Power: 0

Range: Self

Precondition: Only active when wearing heavy armor.

Description: Continuous use of heavy armor has increased its efficiency in terms of defensive abilities. Physical Defense is increased by 46.3 while wearing heavy armor.

* * *

“Just as I thought!” she cried. “The Physical Defense bonus is almost as high as the one you get from your light armor mastery.”

“Yeah, but I’m not getting any evasion boosts, am I?”

“I don’t even have heavy armor mastery,” she replied. “So not only would I not get any boosts with heavy armor, I’d also get a penalty for using it.”

“I’m sure you’ve got your own amazing skills,” I said. I was being overly flattering in hopes of persuading her to show me some of them, but it didn’t look like it was working.

“What else?” she pressed on as I stared at her. “You said you got five skill upgrades. What are the other two?”

“It’s just the two skills I showed you already,” I replied. “Maelstrom of Steel went up one level so it increased in power and so did Spear of the Thunder God. No increase on stun duration or anything special.”

“It all adds up though,” she said sympathetically.

“How come you didn’t level up?” I asked. “You got the XP right?”

“I sure did,” she said proudly. “I did most of the work with those raid bosses. I just didn’t get enough to level up.”

“Yeah, about that...” I said, looking her straight in her eyes. “You were amazing back there. The way you always hit your target. Your speed and reflexes. The way you moved. I felt lucky to be able to see you in action.”

Every single word I’d just told her was of course the absolute truth. But that didn’t mean that I wasn’t curious to see how she’d react to my confession that I’d admired her while she was doing what she loved the most.

She seemed to feel a little bit uncomfortable, as she grabbed her left elbow with her right hand and broke eye contact, looking up at the sun and trying to hide a smile. Exactly the reaction I was hoping for.

“You were quite good yourself,” she said finally. “You’re a very skilled fighter. The spear is a great choice of weapon.”

Either she had genuinely admired me while fighting as well or she was good enough at the politics game to know that the best way to reply to a compliment was by complimenting the one who gave it to you. From the little that I had gotten to know her over the last few hours, I could be pretty sure that her diplomatic and social skills weren’t the best I had seen.

“It really is,” I started saying. “I like the spear because it’s long—”

“Done!” Aphrodite said energetically. “You won’t believe what I got.”

“Something good?” Artemis asked, her voice a bit higher than before. “Something to increase critical hits? Evasion? Speed?”

“For starters, I upgraded a passive skill I’ve got that boosts my casting speed,” Aphrodite explained. “So instead of a seven percent boost, I now get a ten percent increase.”

“That’s good,” I said, and shrugged. “For you, I guess. What about us though?”

“Take a look for yourself,” she said, and I received a skill window.

* * *

Name: Enforced Body

Level: 4

Type: Active

HP Consumed: 0

MP Consumed: 52

Power: 0

Range: 400 inches

Precondition: -

Description: A concentrated amount of mana is absorbed by the receiver’s pores and travels through their body, invigorating it and making them feel healthier for a limited period of time. Increases Maximum HP by 25%.

* * *

“You got an upgrade for that?” I said, surprised. “And a five percent increase too? That is amazing.”

“And not only that,” she continued. “I also got an upgrade for the one that increases MP too. Twenty-five percent boost there as well.”

“That’s great for my Vandalier aura, which sucks MP continuously,” I said.

“Same here,” Artemis added.

“You’ve got it too?” I asked.

“Something similar, yes,” she said, and turned to Aphrodite. “You got more?”

“Have I got more, you ask?” Aphrodite said, her tone still excited. “Let’s see. How about increased HP Regeneration Rate or Physical Accuracy? Increased resistances to mental attacks or bleeding effects? Or how about this?”

A new notification was pushed into the periphery of my vision and I smiled as I absorbed the information.

* * *

Name: Twist the Blade

Level: 3

Type: Active

HP Consumed: 0

MP Consumed: 52

Power: 0

Range: 400 inches

Precondition: -

Description: The senses of the recipient are heightened in a way that means their strikes deal more damage in vital areas. Boosts Critical Damage by 35%.

* * *

“Damn, that is amazing,” Artemis agreed. “This, with my self-buffs, will bring me even closer to striking critical hits all the time.”

“What kind of self-buffs do you have?” Aphrodite asked, but Artemis crossed her arms defensively.

“I’ll show you some other time,” she said.

At the same moment, I received a small notification.

* * *

Your followers revel and prosper under your rule. You have regenerated 1 Divinity Point.

* * *

“We’re ready,” I interrupted.

Aphrodite gave me an annoyed look. She clearly wanted to show off a little more.

“Let’s get rid of this thing and start moving,” I said.

“You got a DP back already?” Artemis asked.

“I did,” I said, and placed the skull artifact on the ground. “Are you ready?”

Once both of them had nodded in agreement, I called forth my divine power and attacked the artifact with a thunderbolt formed by clouds that were so high in the sky we could barely see them. Regardless, the bolt was as powerful as any other one I had ever summoned and the sound was loud enough to make my eardrums hurt.

Aphrodite and Artemis both covered their ears reflexively, but I welcomed the pain. It was part of me and by now it felt more like a sweet tingling in my ears than torture. Especially knowing the amount of damage I commanded with it.

Once the initial flash of the lightning disappeared, the skull was nowhere to be found. Or rather it was everywhere, completely blown to smithereens. The biggest piece I could locate was smaller than the nail on my little finger.

I wasn’t really expecting anything less from an attack as powerful as this one, but I was surprised to receive a prompt from the Dark Energy after I destroyed it.

* * *

You have successfully completed “Secret Quest - Cast a Deity to Eternal Oblivion”. You have been awarded 1 Divinity Level.

You have successfully completed “Secret Quest - Destroy a Minor Artifact”. You have been awarded 1 Divinity Level.

* * *

Not only had the Dark Energy registered my destruction of the skull, but it had also rewarded me for completing two quests I didn’t even know I had.