THEOS

He had stopped walking on the ground. The giant corpses of his defeated enemies that littered it made finding stable footing a challenge. The deep gauges they left as they dug into the earth for more ammunition, also didn’t help matters.

Instead, he relied solely on his boots and trusted in his plentiful mana to see him through the battle. Walking over five feet in the air, as he darted from foe to foe.

Nikitas and Rex had found the area where most of the new giants were spawning from, and had worked out a method to kill them while they were still finding their bearings. Leaving Luke alone to thin the crowd from the back end.

A role he was happy to fulfill. So long as he listened to the song of the First Stance, he was nearly untouchable.

An arc of light escaped the edge of his golden blade and chunks of loose gravel scattered as it intercepted two different projectiles headed his way. Another swing of the same blade, produced another wave of light that split the neck of the creature that had thrown them.

An unsatisfied frown settled on Luke’s face as he was forced to kill another of the monsters with the wrong sword, and consequently miss out on the Stat Points. He had learned however, that it was better to kill the ones smart enough to try and fight him from a distance, right away. Their harassment was mostly ineffectual, but sometimes a projectile would come at him that was inescapable. Whether it was through luck or skill on the part of the giants or a weakness of his skill, he didn’t know.

What he did know was that whenever it happened, it interrupted the flow of his Technique. Pulling him free from the rhythm of the battle, and leaving him with nothing but his own ability to fend with. Something that had led to more than once close call, before he could re-enter the Stance.

The more he killed though, the more he began to realize that something was missing. After the initial rush from finally unleashing the Technique to its full potential faded, an inkling that something was wrong permeated his thoughts. It started as a small voice at the back of his head, but as the minutes passed, and the giants fell, the sense grew.

The inaudible song of Truth began to feel incomplete and hollow. It was incomplete, and Luke thought he knew why.

He killed one more giant, before retreating to the spot where he had left his spear.

“Are you tired?” Yelled Nikitas. Rapidly firing two more arrows, and killing the stragglers that had chased after Luke. He nodded in appreciation as he opened his Status.

Status | Skills | Quests | Inventory

Name: Lukas King

Tier: Mortal

Mana: 361 421 / 499 000.5

Rate: 15% per hour

Strength: 999

Agility: 999

Constitution: 999

Arcana: 999

Stat Points: 96

Bloodline: Locked. Conditions not met. (131/10 000)

Charges: 7/10

“No, I still have some juice left.” Luke said.

“Then why are you here?”

Returning the sword Cyzicus had given him to his sheath, he pulled his spear out of the ground. “I just wanted to test some stuff out while I have the chance. Do you know much about Techniques?”

“Is that how you walk on air?”

“You can just say no, if you don’t.” He twirled the weapon around in his hands, taking a moment to get accustomed to its shape and weight, before slipping into the First Stance of the Spear. Picking a Giant out of the crowd, he leaned back, and with a textbook perfect stance, launched it at the creature. It whistled in the wind with the force of his throw, and he grinned in satisfaction when it pierced all the way through the monster's torso. Before burying itself at an angle in their midst. Perfectly delivering on the vision of death fed to him by the Technique.

“That was nice. Is that a Technique?”

This guy. Luke shook his head and ignored the question.

Unhooking his shield from his back, he slid his arm into the strap and re-joined the fray with a slow jog, entering the First Stance of the Sword as he moved towards his spear in the thick of the army. Surrendering himself once again to the Truth at the heart of the skills.

Now, how do I use all three weapons at the same time? Using a shield and a sword is easy enough. Using a shield and a spear is also possible, but it isn’t the best way to engage the giants. The best way in this situation is definitely one sword and one shield. The bigger reach from the spear won’t do me much good against a horde. I also only have two hands, and as much as I want to, I don’t think putting my sword in my mouth is the solution I’m looking for.

So the question I really should be asking is how to best use the Technique. How do I make it flow even better?

It’s clear that no matter what stance I use, the result is the same. I feel their body like I do my own, and I can read their posture like a book. Every twitch, every breath, every thought that they express through their stance I can predict and react to.

The description of the skills say that there is a Truth infused in them. I know that whatever it is, it's the same for all three Stances.

In a way, they aren’t even three different Techniques. It's one. Just reskinned into different contexts, and different forms. With all three weapons drawing on different aspects of it, but for what is ultimately, the same goal. Killing–

Understanding sparked on his face.

That’s why the Song felt wrong… I wasn’t trying to kill, I was trying to harvest points.

And it’s not just killing either. Killing with efficiency. There is no playing around. The three Techniques always guide me towards the fastest way to end someone… His thoughts strayed, as one by one, more and more giants fell to his hands.

It's honestly, freaky how easy killing something is with them.

Something tugged at his consciousness. Something big.

He deflected a boulder with his shield, and pivoted midair, and sank his sword into a giant's throat. Batting away the outstretched hands of another giant with his shield, he stabbed into a third giant’s heart.

Killing is easy.

His eyes widened, as his mana started draining by the tens of thousands. A prompt from the Seed flickered in his vision before vanishing. He felt the far off but ever present resistance, fade away into nothing, as something clicked into place. Even without opening the Skill tab in his Status, he knew that the percentages of each Technique were rapidly shooting up.

Killing is easy. That was the Truth that the Empress had constructed her three stances around. Luke struck down another giant. Surprised to find himself agreeing.

In a different life, a split second accident had seen him die. Arke had killed Aeolus effortlessly, in a single exchange. Him, Mykonos, June, and Spiros had found it simple to kill that snake. The harpies had posed little to no challenge when pit against Laxas’s and Arya’s preparedness.

He had killed Nafik, and an unknown number of foes in the Tomb. Even leaving Yjarn immobilized, and on the verge of death had been a simple, if heart rending affair.

Things were the same on Sylcra. From Cyzicus killing that Warrior-tier giant to Nel killing Jax. It was all the same.

As one giant fell to his blade after another, he realized that the Truth was irrefutable. No matter how hard he searched his memories, he couldn’t find one instance of when killing something was hard.

Even when it was him almost being killed. All it meant was that killing him was easy. It meant that survival was hard.

A barrier he didn’t even know existed faded.

Merging Skills.

First Stance of the Sword 99.9…% (Mortal)

First Stance of the Shield 99.9…% (Mortal)

First Stance of the Spear 99.9…% (Mortal)

Merged.

First Truth of Death 0.1% (Warrior)

For the briefest fraction of a second a tapestry unfolded within his mind's eye. A large sprawling thing, filled with uncountable colors, rested at the edge of his awareness. On it were inscribed all the Truths in the world, waiting to be discovered. He shied away from it. Knowing instinctively that it wasn’t something a mortal should gaze upon. Doing so came with a promise of madness.

He dismissed the messages, and cut the flow of mana to his boot, dropping onto the ground to avoid a giant grabbing at him, only to climb back up a moment later with an upward swipe aimed at its belly. Nearly splitting the giant in two above its waist.

Did I just… I did. He grinned. Realizing that he had successfully, after weeks of no progress, managed to clear yet another requirement for surpassing the Mortal-tier. Leaving only his bloodline as the last hurdle.

How is it different though? And do I just…

The world gained a gray tint.

Ghost appeared in his vision. Shadows of every giant that was targeting him, moving half a step faster than the actual creature. Making bare not only their future position, but the best way to kill them.

Practically it’s not the biggest difference, but future sight… that’s a game changer. And the way the ghosts are only from the giant’s actively trying to kill me, that’s huge.

He frowned, as his mana dropped nearly sixty thousand points in the span of a second.

It’s costly too. Guess my mana troubles are nowhere near over, but I should have expected that from a Warrior-tier ability.

He released his hold on the upgraded Skill, and once again entered the First Stance. Grinning as the world regained its former hue, and a song singing the death of his opponents came alive in his head. He continued his slaughter.

“I think somebody killed the Prime.” Rex said, his face twisted in disgust as he climbed over the mutilated remains of the dead to reach Luke. “A new one hasn't spawned in a few minutes.”

“There’s not many of them left either.” Luke climbed a dozen feet into the air, and surveyed the battle field. Suddenly aware of just how close he was to the town’s wall.

Half an hour later, Luke saw an archer shoot down the last of the Gegenees, and almost on cue Clite appeared in the sky above them.

“Good job. You did well for your first time fighting back the Tide. I will warn you though, not to get complicit. Today is merely the first day of a long series of battles. The strength of the giants will continue to rise, the longer the tide persists. Mid and Peak stage giants will become more and more common, and eventually even Warrior-tier giants will begin to spawn. Do not let today’s victory make you arrogant.”

“We won’t.” Rose grumbled.

“Good.” She nodded. A moment later, her ring flashed, and a talisman flew into the town. The gates flew open, and dozens of the townspeople walked out and began loading the dead onto carts. Moving them into a large pile for them to be cremated.

“How are we getting back to the Capital?” Asked Nikitas.

“Lord Cyzicus is connected to the altar we arrived through. Once we all climb onto it, he will teleport us to the castle.”

“Oh. Well, that all works out pretty nicely then.” Nikitas grinned.

It did work out pretty nicely. A few more of these, and I should have no trouble breaking into the next tier. If the giants do get stronger, then it’s even better in a way. The faster I can gather points, the closer I become to not having to fear Arke. The closer I get to holding my own fate in my hands.

Mortal, Warrior, Hero.

At the Hero-tier seemingly everyone can become an Emperor. And if the way Arke treats Cyzicus is any indication, then Emperors get some level of protection from the gods.

If I can get to that level and shake Arke off my tail in the meantime. Then I can take it easy. Maybe even do what Cyzicus is doing, and sponsor mortals to fight for me in the Olympics and use the prize to cultivate to higher levels.

He gave the Seed a mental nudge. Any ideas on how to get her off my back? He asked it, not at all expecting it to reply.

Quest Alert: An Angel’s End

Oh shit.