7 The Second Odyssey(1)

A half-hour later, Al entered the odyssey station, garbed in the same long cloak that he had chosen as his villainous attire in his first odyssey.

'It was the best I could find in the wardrobe I was given…but I like it. Maybe it's my lucky charm? Let's see.'

Thinking of lucky charms, he remembered the armament he had just left at his home. They were strange things, still being studied by humans even though they had been created by the human race using spells given by the gods. Armaments needed immense amounts of energy to function, and it was said that they were the most useless when they were young. This was because they went into long hibernation periods where they might look like they were doing nothing, but in reality, they were absorbing power from the air around them.

One of the most shocking things for humans to accept after the descent of the gods was that the air around the entire planet had power that they had been blind to for thousands of years. The first man who had absorbed it was famous to have said, "We were such fools. We had all the power in the world around us… but we kept searching for it everywhere else."

The moment he had laid it down beside his bed on a hastily pulled out blanket, the little thing had curled up and gone to sleep, entering one such hibernation period. He didn't know how long it would last, but the way its eyes had crinkled every time he stroked its fur had made him smile all the way on his journey to the station.

After checking whether the voice modulator was working properly, he began to walk to the villain side of the station. The hero side was always busier. He had reflected on this phenomenon the last time he was here, and attributed it to the general image in society where heroes were seen as, well, heroes.

The good thing about this was that he didn't need to wait long for his turn. Odysseys were given by the system, which manifested in the form of a large, glowing orb of light, with swathes of mist flowing around it like ribbons made of congealed air. There were two orbs, one for the heroes and one for the villains, and to be given an odyssey, a person needed to step into them.

He had read all about it even before the first time he had been here, so now, he did it as if he had arrived to begin his hundredth odyssey. Without flinching, he walked into the orb, and a moment later, his eyes were filled with bright light and he felt the familiar sensation of being teleported.

When the teleportation ended, the first thing he did was take a deep breath. Without opening his eyes, he tried to find out where he had been sent to, and thereby, what kind of odyssey he was going to take part in.

There were many sorts. The location didn't really affect the difficulty of an odyssey, but it was a fact that places that were familiar to heroes or villains might let them hit the ground running. After all, a city dweller would be lost in a village, and a villager would be stumped about what he should do if he found himself in the middle of an urban jungle.

'Freshly mown grass. Manure. Sweat. And…blood?'

His nose wrinkled at the last scent, making him snap open his eyes.

In front of him hung a body, its entire length stained with blood and the clothes it had once worn torn to shreds.

Al's eyes traveled up the mangled legs, the stomach, and intestines that were hanging out from it, the rib cage that was visible due to the torn flesh… and finally, a face so brutally tortured that none of its features could be made out.

He staggered to the side, and retched.

He had felt the bile rising in his throat, but he had scarcely been able to pay attention to it. Seeing images in pictures and in reality were two completely different things, and as he took support from the wooden wall beside him and stood up, he had to clamp his hand on his mouth to stop the rest of his breakfast from getting out.

'Buck up! You're 18! You're a goddamned adult! And a villain, to boot! Stuff like this shouldn't faze you!'

The pep talk didn't work, so Al chose to turn around. Fumbling in his pocket, he found a scroll of parchment, so deciding to use it as his savior, he took it out and began to read.

"Welcome to your 2nd Initiate Odyssey! All relevant details have been given below. Please read carefully, as this scroll will disappear after five minutes of it being opened.

Setting: Medieval England.

Time limit of odyssey: 30 days.

Role of Villain: Mayor of the town 'Bellview'. Cruel individual who has been terrorising the town for years.

Role of Hero: Orphan who grew up in the village and left to gain power. Returns to the village to free it from the villain's clutches.

Primary objective for villain: Retain role of villain.

Bonus objective for villain: Kill hero.

Primary objective for hero: Kill villain.

Bonus objective for hero: Become the mayor.

Type of supporting characters: indoctrinated.

Danger: null.

Magic items in possession of hero: None.

Magic items in possession of villain: None.

A time period of two minutes shall begin after you are done reading this scroll where outside calls can be made. Good luck, and remember:

'Please the Gods, and the world is yours'"

With a sigh, Al closed the scroll and fumbled in his other pocket. Taking out the cell phone he found there, he called a number and said, "Nurse Joanna! It's Al. Yes, it's a long odyssey… 30 days. Please take good care of her."

After a short conversation, he hung up and threw aside the phone. Odysseys had various lengths, and he had been hoping that his second one would be short, too… but his luck had run out. The first one had only taken two days, but now, he would be away for an entire month.

Every hero or villain was told to make preparations in case something like this happened. His was in the form of a nurse he trusted to take care of his mom, and now, he saw that it was a pretty good thing that the armament had gone into hibernation.

The scroll disappeared after the time period ended. Understanding that he couldn't ignore reality any more, he braced himself and looked up.

He was in a small wooden shed. Shafts of golden light shot through the gaps, illuminating the area before being swallowed up by the grassy ground. He could hear voices outside, whispering about the fate of the hanging man.

"Damn, the boss was pissed! 3 pennies say that old Ralf won't live."

"No one's stupid enough to take you up on that wager! Serves him right for stealing from the boss."

"Yeah, it's just dumb to think anyone can live after touching his gold…but what could Ralf have done? His son was dying!"

"He could have-"

'Hmm…a cruel villain who gives no quarter. Well, it's a good thing that any villain or hero can change things like that as they wish. Is it good or bad that this will be a straightforward odyssey with no magic? I guess I'll find out.'

With a smile, he cracked his knuckles, and after raising his hands…he pushed, and opened the door to begin the odyssey.