3 Chapter 3
"From the corpse of Ymir was the realms created, so let it be known! The things of old must be sacrificed for the new to be born, so let this sacrifice turn the wheel of creation once more!"
Before me laid every single weapon I have ever gathered with the exception of Gungnir, the instinctual feeling that came along with my Authority, [Grímnismál], told me that only this sacrifice would be sufficient for what I desired.
From the dozens of melee weapons I've taken from various warrior-type monsters, to the enchanted firearms of my adversaries and the remaining rare weapons I've gathered from my dungeon conquests.
And finally the shattered remains of the 'fake' weapon, the life-stone of the blade that played its role as my instrument of death. A death of a god.
This sensation was different. The difference between magical power and divine power immediately springs to mind as I truly called upon my Authority for the first time.
Divine energies poured out of my being and smothered the top of the mountain where the sacrifice was made, then it swirled around the sacrifice and devoured it.
I felt the power break down every part of its being, and once the sacrifice was consumed thoroughly, the divine clump of energy expanded once before condensing itself into a shape of a sword.
Taking a hold of the blade, the divine power began to slither off it, revealing the reforged blade in a newer, much greater form.
[Sigðir Whitting (Ascended / Anti-Deity)]
"Welcome back, old friend. I apologize for not testing you out just yet, but I haven't even placed the real enchantments yet. And also, there's something I must try..."
Reaching out with my hand I commanded the remnants of spent divine energy to return me.
Slowly the motes of divine energy gathered in the palm of my hand, various notifications sprang forth denoting my more than competent natural skill in handling the new power, I only skimmed through them before bringing forth my own magical power to envelop the divine power.
I could feel it, the patterns within the energy, how I could shape my own magical energy to resemble divine energy in part… and so I did, I absorbed the energy back into myself then combined the two, after that I stood still for a long moment to refine my magical energy patterns as optimally as I could.
I lost a good amount of the initial divine power in the attempt but I was still somewhat successful by the end of it, being awarded a new skill in the form of [Pseudo-Divine Magic Power] and a mere 5 points in that new power.
[Pseudo-Divine Magic Power - Passive, Lvl. MAX]
The magic power of beings who failed to ascend to Godhood. You convert Magic Power into something that resembles divine power, a power that empowers spells to the point where challenging the gods is possible. This power is beyond mortal magic but below that of Authorities.
Current conversion rate is based on quality of Magic Power skills: 2500 MP to 1 DMP
This power is stored in your MP pool and takes the place of the normal magical power stored there. Cannot exceed a 10% of your Max MP until higher Magic Power skills are gained.
"Partial failure? I consider this an absolute win! Well, at least for now… so Magic Power skills huh? It must be talking about the INT passives."
Turning into a Campione didn't exactly give me the stat bonuses I was expecting, which was somewhat expected as my combat capability was pretty ridiculous compared to a normal human.
I gained a massive flat boost to my Magic Power in the millions, on the other hand, I wasn't granted a single point increase to my INT stat. It makes sense when I consider how Salvatore Doni would become magically powerful but still remain an idiot in non-combat related activities.
My WIS score increased by a good 150 points, I was confused at first, until I looked at the [Transcended Battle Wisdom] skill and went "Ah right, Campione's got stronger battle instincts!"
The increase in WIS also netted me the [Sage Wisdom's] passive skill that quadrupled my MP recovery so I definitely had no reason to complain.
Similarly, I've gained various other "Transcended" skills relating to muscle power, reflexes, recovery (regeneration) and endurance.
The biggest increase in stats was in Vitality, which doubled in the aftermath of the fight to 700 points! Campione's were after all, lauded for their insane vitality, so it was only natural that my gains would be the highest here.
The same cannot be said with my Strength, Dexterity and AGI. The most significant gain among those three was the 100 points I gained in Dexterity.
I only got 25 points each in STR and AGI.
As much as I didn't like it, I had to face the fact that it wouldn't make any sense for me to gain a lot in those stats. Campione's had their body optimized and turned into superhumans, but their strongest feats were their vitality, magical power and authorities… not speed and pure strength.
Just take Godou for example, without his Authorities, he would take 30 minutes to climb a high mountain while someone that can consistently move at several times the speed of sound could do so in seconds. From an odd mention that I seemed to remember from a wiki walk or forum mention, Salvatore Doni could climb the same mountain in a single minute in comparison using magic.
I had superspeed naturally without using any form of magic or Authority. It was the same in terms of strength, should no Authorities come into play I was probably the only one that could swing a giant metal blade using a single arm with casual ease. Even more so now with these additional stats and skills.
That said, I was far from achieving "Godspeed" or whatever crazy feats of speed and strength compared to other Campiones. In the story I recalled that Campione could see lightning in slow motion and react to speeds much faster than what they would normally be capable of moving. With certain Campione's dodging lightning and other high-speed attacks is perfectly doable.
This was a common trope in Shounen-styled battles where scaling goes completely out-of-hand.
Thankfully, just because I worked with a different power system didn't mean I was left out in the "light novel overpowered feats" department. For someone that uses a numbers-based system like me that would be a nightmare, thankfully, this was covered in the [Transcended Reflexes] skill which specifically boosted my physical speed and combat processing time by insane multipliers when I was in combat or if any attack was made against me (or in my area).
I was on my own, however, when it came to dealing with strength boosting and movement speed boosting authorities. My Runes should be able to solve those issues, but I wasn't sure if those strength and speed buffs will be enough to equal a dedicated Authority or not.
"If I used one my Authority over runes I might have a chance but if possible I'd rather not waste a 'chant' and rely on my pseudo-divine magical runes for buffs instead. Man, that's a mouthful, I'll just call it DMP from now on."
Speaking of DMP, let's get those Magic Power skills using the nearly 1000 status points I have accumulated from Levelling all the way to 282 in one go. I really love EXP Multipliers.
The Level 200 bonus gave me an additional +20 in all stats which made me glad that I won't have to spread my points around as much as I thought initially.
Spending 155 points was sufficient to bring my STR and DEX all the way up to 500 points, upgrading my passive skills to the [Legendary] series.
Adding 150 points to WIS gave me [Legendary Sage's Wisdom] with mana regeneration so high that even I wanted to complain to the game designer's. I know I'm supposed to be a cheat character but this is kind of overdoing it.
Then again, considering that it's highly unlikely my magic spells can take down a god, it won't be an early "I Win" button for my fights until I find a way to make it work. It could take years of refining a special runic combo or magical skill until the multipliers make up for the difference in power between Authorities and DMP powered spells.
Regardless of that, I could certainly use more magical power since I need to improve my DMP pool to the point where I can actually use and train it, with that in mind I placed 30 points in VIT and 550 points in INT to bring both up to 750 points, netting me the new upgraded passive skills [Demigod Endurance], [Demigod Recovery], [Demigod Magic Power] and [Demigod Magic Control].
Just as I hoped, jumping in Magic Power tiers improved my self-made skill by significant levels.
[Pseudo-Divine Magic Power - Passive, Lvl. MAX]
The magic power of beings who failed to ascend to Godhood. You convert Magic Power into something that resembles divine power, a power that empowers spells to the point where challenging the gods is possible. This power is beyond mortal magic but below that of Authorities.
Current conversion rate is based on quality of Magic Power skills: 500 MP to 1 DMP
This power is stored in your MP pool and takes the place of the normal magical power stored there. Cannot exceed a 40% of your Max MP until higher Magic Power skills are gained.
I immediately converted my MP to as much DMP as I could, my mana regeneration near-instantly refilling all the MP spent!
"Wahahaha! Yes, yes, with this power I shall grant you great power!"
I held up my beloved [Slime Hat] and used my DMP to enchant it with greater runes!
[Slime Hat (Semi-Divine / Ascended Comfort)]
Placing it atop my head I instantly felt the exhaustion and stress slipping away, I even felt like I could fall asleep on the top of this mountain wearing nothing but this hat and still feel comfy!
I have become more comfortable than any Campione.
The +100 All Stats is a nice bonus too.
Naturally, I did this with the rest of my favorite low-level equipment, at least all the ones that filled me with a sense of joy and excitement.
I idly noted that there were some mages climbing up the mountain in order to meet with me but felt that they were of lesser importance than my [Runecrafting] sessions.
A couple of minutes later I finished enchanting my [Cool Shades], [Cape of the Bat], [Bling-Bling of the Dance Master], [Soft Mittens of Resist All Elements], [Lava Demon's Aloha Shirt], [Drake-scale Leather Pants], [Orc Leader's Boxers of Virility], [Black Socks of Greater Anti-Tickling] and my [Blessed Bouncy Crocs].
With the power of my RunecraftTM even the lowest leveled equipment can grant great power and comfiness!
Deciding to take a break while waiting for the mages to climb up the mountain, I laid on the ground and took out my Japanese language books to learn the language.
Thanks to my Campione's innate ability to learn languages at an accelerated pace and my own 5X EXP multiplier I easily learned Japanese to a basic-intermediate level, which should be sufficient to understand anime without subs half of the time!
Hmm, since this is the year 2000, I should go check if Bible Black has been made already.
Guess I'll need to take a trip to Akihabara to check it out.
"Haa… haaa… finally! We made it!" A young woman raised her hands in victory when she reached the top of the mountain.
[Otohime Kohinata Lvl 18]
A married woman with a young daughter in elementary school, joined the History Compilation Committee twelve years ago where she met her husband there. Decent Martial artist, average first-generation magic user. She's smiling and showing enthusiasm to hide her fear of the new Campione (me), especially after having felt my power when I used my Authority and spells (runes) earlier.
"You wouldn't be this tired if you took the fitness refresher courses." A slightly older-looking man said to his co-worker while quickly adopting an unassuming posture, deferential even...
[Amakasu Touya Lvl 42]
Trained Ninja with some magical spells underneath his sleeves. Married with a son attending middle-school, disapproves of his son's hobbies in playing dating sims. Actively thinking of ways to survive an encounter with the new Campione.
"The two of you have come a long way to meet with me. Come, take a seat."
Pulling out two of my training boulders from my inventory, I placed them on the ground and casted a runic chain that would soften them up and make them comfy.
At their confused and shocked looks, I gave them a reassuring smile and said, "Don't worry, it's safe. Extra Comfy. Please."
I flared up half of my available normal mana (30%) as I spoke the last words, keeping it at a respectably low percentage to offset the increased quality of my Mana Power bestowed upon me by The Gamer.
"Aa-!" "GAH!"
Both of them fell face flat to the ground immediately, completely unable to move their bodies!
I gaped in horror as I realized I was crushing their bones through sheer pressure and immediately pulled back all my magic power.
"My apologies. I didn't intend to hurt you both. I believed that using a third of my power would be just enough for my status as Campione to be recognized, but I was mistaken. Here, let me heal you both."
Using one of my Authority's chants to heal them would be overkill, so I just used my MP to cast normal runes to fix them up immediately instead.
The two of them stood back up in fear and wonder before turning to me and quickly bowing at a respectable 90 degrees… then they thanked me for my mercy.
Guess it was too much to hope that they would be able to brush it off and forgive it as an honest mistake. It's becoming more and more likely that they think it's some sort of power-play while I really didn't expect them to get crushed by my aura as if I was an OP Bleach character!
"J-just sit down. You're very welcome but it wasn't so much as mercy as me just fixing my mistake. Again, sorry about that."
I had to mix in a bit of English in the sentences since my Japanese wasn't fully at conversational level yet.
"No, certainly not. It was wrong for us to look at a great Devil King with such disrespect and… uh, suspicion!" Touya was already being an overly polite Japanese person with me! Please don't!
Wait, did he want to say something about my appearance and merely settled for 'suspicious looking'? I hope he just thought I was eccentric, because I really wanted to go for the "eccentric looking but actually serious" image, if only so that I can abuse my position to force them to try not laugh at whatever ridiculous outfit I put on.
It will be just like the old "No Laughing High School" game show, except whatever bizarre punishment will be dealt with by my hand.
Wow, I'm already thinking of abusing my position, power does corrupt! And I kinda like it.
I still won't take it too far, however, as I want to be known as the most peace-loving and least destructive Campione since it's better for business.
"Y-y-yes! It was our mistake. O-oooh! This rock is comfy! How is it so soft? The texture isn't like a cushion yet it bounces like one!" Otohime went from fearful apologetic to enthusiasm and wonder in 3 seconds flat.
"Haha, that's Runes for you. With a bit of imagination and talent you can do anything." I laughed at her genuine reaction, glad that she was enjoying it.
I also threw them a bone by letting them know that I knew magic. This should give them enough to start with.
"Right, *ahem* Kohinata-san. Don't be rude."
"Ah! Sorry!"
"But don't be overly polite either. I'm fine if you both speak more frankly with me."
Thankfully, they seemed to understand my words despite how broken it sounded, or perhaps I'm getting better at Japanese rapidly as this goes along.
"Thank you, oh great king. My name is Amakasu Touya, have you heard of the History Compilation Committee? I do errands for that organization, pleased to meet you."
"Ah, Kohinata Otohime! I'm from the same organization too, pleased to meet you!"
"I'm pleased to meet you both too despite the god awful start, which is 100% my fault, don't deny it." The moment they were about to open their mouths I quickly pointed my finger at them with my "I dare you to do that" look.
They quickly shut their mouths and I gave them a thumbs up in approval before continuing with my introduction.
"Thank you. I know you all have questions so I'll do my best to answer the most pertinent ones right now. My name is William Gump, excuse my Western greeting, Gump is my family name. I'm what you would call a backpacker, hobo tourist or a travelling homeless person if that's more understandable. I was travelling around the world when I ended up in Sweden, ran into a god, killed him, managed to get away to another country before I died. As I expected, Mom revived me as a Campione not long after and I decided to come to Japan to celebrate. Why Japan? Well, I really like visiting Japan, I love the food, the people are good and I like anime. It's one of my favorite countries. But before I did my wandering about I stopped by here to do some experiments with my Authorities without endangering civilians."
I clapped my hands to signal that I was done.
Otohime's mouth was opened wide with a big "O" shape whilst Touya continued to look at me with a pleasant look, nodding his head slightly to show that he heard me perfectly while considering the meaning of my words and how he could take advantage of this.
"We are honored that you have come to enjoy our country, Your Majesty. If you are willing to tell us how long you plan to stay here we, of the History Compilation Committee, will be happy to arrange a luxury one-of-a-kind tour gourmet tour across Japan just for you."
Smart move. He obviously noticed the unnatural jump between countries during a short time frame since my becoming a Campione, but instead he decided to first address the fact that I am fond of Japan, then quickly followed up with offering me their services while at the same time giving me the unsaid question of "are you going to stay in Japan for a long time?"
Japan was technically under Luo Hao's territory, as far as I recall, until Godou came along. Though with typical Campiones taking days or even weeks to arrive on scene to battle a Heretic God I would think that most countries or mage associations would like to have a local / home Campione to call on, so long as they aren't unreasonable.
I wouldn't mind hanging around on a more permanent basis or just being closely associated with Japan's HCC, after all, they do have connections everywhere and I could use them to influence the production of anime series.
"That's a very kind and generous offer. I will have to decline, however, if only because I'm a simple man that prefers sampling local specialties rather than luxurious foods. Not that I will turn down the chance to indulge in Matsuzaka Beef once in a while, but food often tastes better if paid for from one's own wallet."
I declined politely, informing him that I don't want unnecessary expenditure for vanity's sake, while also not-so-subtly hinting that I do have strong financial resources for indulging in expansive top grade beef.
"That is understandable. If you would like, we could arrange for a local guide to show you to the best local restaurants."
Throwing him a bone, I smiled widely and enthusiastically nodded once, "That would be very much appreciated. Thank you. So far my favorite restaurant is that ramen story a few minutes to Kyoto station, I can't remember the name but I once queued up for half an hour with my family just to get in, then waited another 20 minutes for the food to arrive. We already had dinner at the time, yet I still finished the entire bowl. I came back the next morning! The funny thing is, I found out soon after from a local that it was just one ramen store among the Top 10 ramen stores in Japan. Who would have thought? Anyways, we can start with hitting the next Top ramen stores then trying different kinds of foods, how about that?"
Touya was smiling widely, either matching (or faking) an equally enthused expression, "A fantastic idea Your Majesty. I can contact our Kyoto office and have the people informed immediately."
And also do a background check on me after I mentioned the "family" bit.
"Wonderful. Now, let's talk about payment. If you can loan me a blacksmith of some skill for a few days to teach me how to make weapons properly I wouldn't mind making one or two Rune-forged blades or other arms for your organization."
"I beg your pardon?"
I took out Sigðir Whitting from my inventory, not bothering with hiding that part of my powerset since I was planning to do a bit of a showcase of my goods one day.
With just a bit of my will, I activated it's innate Anti-Deity aura, which was already powerful enough to put the fear of (heretic) god in them.
"Now, I haven't placed my main enchantments on this blade yet, and I skipped a few steps to make this blade by sacrificing countless other magical weapons that I owned. While I won't be making anything equal to my dear friend anytime soon, I do hope that one or two blades at a fraction of this level would be sufficient. Ah, perhaps a showcase then, on what I can do without any preparations!"
Without giving them a chance to react I instantly a long runic chain of enchantments and forcibly engraved them onto their clothes while enlightening them on their long-lasting, ambient mana charging, defensive and strength enhancing features.
"You can check with your magical specialists later on, but I assure you that those are permanent, though you will need to make sure they're charged every few years or so for best effect. Now, go on, run back down the mountain and test it out. I'll be waiting for you down there."
"EH!?" "HUH!?"
I jumped off the mountain and casually floated down at a high speed (thanks to my cape), they immediately started running after me, unable to catch up but still made it down the mountain in less than two minutes. Although it's much easier going downhill, they had been moving slowly until they gave up on being careful, once they realized that their suits protected their whole body from being damaged no matter where they hit their head.
"Ahaha! Being a ninja is fun! Is this what running with the wind feels like?"
The younger member of the HCC, Otohime, clearly had her own ideas on what ninjas do.
"Kohinata-san, shut up."
They seemed to enjoy the speed a lot.
"Oh yes, aside from having some property to keep my less important stuff in-" My inventory was really running out of space and I had to dump a lot of my weaker loot over the months, "I was also thinking of studying various fields like engineering, materials sciences and the arts. If you could make the arrangements for me I would gladly receive and deliberate on any wishlist you might present me. As a fair and reasonable man, I will ensure that your organization will be properly compensated for your service."
Otohime started taking notes as I outlined other "nice-to-haves" on my own wishlist as Touya asked me questions.
"Your Majesty, out of curiosity, I don't quite recognize your accent since you're speaking Japanese so fluently. Are you American?"
"Hmm… I suppose I was. My parents… well, they aren't around anymore, and I never had any reason to stay in one country for long since then."
I made it sound like I've been through a terrible tragedy, getting him to quickly offer his apologies.
"My apologies, I didn't intend to bring up bad memories…"
"It's fine, Amakasu-san. I've had some time to make peace with that fact, besides, I have a new mother in Pandora now. I may not have known mom for a long time but she's really sweet. She's nice, caring, scolds me for getting in danger and loves me a lot. And if anything happens to her I'll definitely kill everyone who did her harm with extreme prejudice."
I gushed about Pandora and talked about inflicting great violence all in the same happy tone.
Sensing their spike of fear, I quickly toned it down and started talking about Pandora a bit more. I was definitely going to make a Netherworld Phone just so that I can talk to her anytime, then it will turn into video-calling… Then the next stage will be making a magic golem that she can connect with to interact with the mortal world through. After that I will see how I can get her to visit Earth and have fun together!
… Wow, I never thought I would be so enthusiastic about this sort of thing. I suppose I'm sort of projecting my desire for a family that has been lost to me on Pandora, but a part of me really does want to love her because of the thing's she's done for me… namely, being really nice and giving me all these awesome powers.
Also, she's really cute but sad and lonely. I don't like seeing her sad.
"It's really sad for mom, you know. She told me that none of my siblings have acknowledged her as their mother for over a millennia. I can tell that she's been through a lot, and despite their lack of love towards her, I'm certain she's grieved for the hundreds of Campiones slayed throughout the ages. There must have been hundreds…"
"W-wait, apologies, Your Majesty, but you recalled your time in the Netherworld where Lady Pandora dwells in?" Touya questioned with great interest and haste, he tried to sound calm but he really didn't.
"I remembered every moment I was there. Mom really knows how to make me reflect on my reckless decision making in killing a god like that."
"Mom? You consider Lady Pandora your mother?" Otohime asked with an odd glint in her eye.
I smiled and chuckled back, "Yeah. Why wouldn't I? She's a bit apprehensive about playing favorites between her children but I fully plan on making her proud and becoming her favorite child. You can tell my siblings that if you want, hopefully it will get them to be nicer to her."
They had a doubtful look in their eyes but it wasn't really my problem. They will find out when I start getting serious about my Netherworld Phone and begin to make portraits of Pandora through my [Art] skills.
"By the way, where did the two of you come from? Tokyo?"
The two of them nodded and said that they would be happy to host me for the night there. I accepted graciously before asking if we could make a stop to Akihabara first.
Recalling that I mentioned my liking for anime he began to make some small-talk on what I enjoyed watching.
"I enjoy watching all sorts of anime and I read manga too. Have to read the dictionary for that though… I'm really into Inuyasha now, I've heard rumors that an anime is going to be produced soon based on the manga." I mentioned off-handedly while trying to recall what kind of series were popular in this year and the year before, "Oh right, I want to buy some games too… I heard there was this recently released visual novel called… Bible Black."
I didn't expect them to recognize it but to my pleasant surprise, Touya did, and had an expression of shock and horror on his face.
"Amakasu-san, what's wrong?" Otohime innocently asked her co-worker.
"Hmm, did you buy the game? Or perhaps… your son?" I asked and made a show on reacting to his expression, "Oh no, is he too young for it? I've heard that it's quite extreme."
"I-I would be… happy to remove it from my son's possession."
"I don't mind a second-hand copy."
His female co-worker continued to be confused about the matter. She looked to Touya for answers only to get a firm "no" in the form of a shaking head.
"By the way, I just remembered something!"
"What is it Your Majesty?"
"I haven't heard anything about Zeus lately, he had fought the god I killed some time before I encountered him, from what I gathered Zeus is still present on Earth."
"Zeus? The head of the Greek Pantheon? King of the Gods?!! Th-that means you killed Odin!"
"Yes, quite so. If you hear anything about him then do let me know. I have unfinished business to settle."
