THEOS

I’m guessing I can put them in now, because the people they belonged to are dead. Hmm.

I’ve been reluctant to really test my inventory, mostly because I don’t want my secrets getting out, but this is interesting, but this kind of proves I need to spend some time on it. It should be easier now though.

Luke thought to himself, as he retraced his steps back to his bed. Opening up his inventory screen, he surrounded himself with mana, and let himself fall slowly onto it.

Status | Skills | Quests | Inventory

Storage Ring (unbound) (armed)Tier - Hero

A storage ring created by Emperor Cyzicus of Sylcra.

Items:

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Storage Ring (unbound) (armed)

Tier - Saint

A storage ring created by Primarch Asius of Samos.

Items:

[Expand]

Reading through the descriptions, he had a hard time keeping a smile off his face. Even as the details and the fact that they were armed gave him pause. Truthfully, he had already suspected that to be the case.

The warrior’s ring being made by Cyzicus wasn’t a surprise either, considering that the Emperor ran a merit exchange. It wouldn’t be strange if the warrior traded for it prior to the Rebel returning, or perhaps even received it as a gift from an older warrior, considering his young age. Cyzicus had been ruling Sylcra for centuries at the least, and there was probably an uncountable number of items he had crafted floating around the island.

What was a surprise was that the Seed had identified the creator at all.

Thinking back, it hadn’t done that before, and by itself, it wasn’t a huge concern.

The descriptions it provided tended to be all over the place, and Luke had given up on trying to solve the mystery of what the Seed told him and didn’t tell him. What it said was what it said, and up until now at least, it hadn’t withheld anything that Luke would have wanted to know, with a single notable exception.

Knowing that Cyzicus had crafted his boots and would be able to recognize him from them, definitely would have changed how he interacted with the man. At the very least, he would have kept them stowed in his inventory, in spite of the utility they provided.

Afterall, the way he thought about it, the whole point of leaving Carim was to get out from under Nefkha’s thumb. If someone could discover that connection, then that just meant he was replacing one vulnerability with another.

As it was, they had allowed the Emperor to not only know where he came from, but instantly determine who had taught him his Techniques. Which had prompted the man to invite him to compete for him in theT Tournament. An invitation that had since directly led him to rapidly advance through the Mortal-tier, and make substantial progress in the Warrior-tier not long after.

It was far from a bad result. Cyzicus had proven to be a trustworthy ally, and it had served the Seed’s purpose of guiding him towards godhood, but a chill ran down Luke’s spine regardless.

I already knew that the Seed was stacking the deck in more ways than one. Putting me on Carim in the first place is an example of that, but…

Frowning, he looked at the name with renewed interest.

I should be paying more attention to this kind of thing going forward.

The situation with the shoes worked out in my favor, but if it’s telling me about this person, then I have to assume it’s significant. Considering that Clan Skyscar are descendants from one of Zeus’s predecessors… Well, I don’t really know enough to speculate. All I can really do is keep an ear out and avoid this Asius if I can. Just being aware of the connection now that I know about it, is bound to be useful.

I’ll also ask Cyzicus if it’s even safe to use the ring– assuming there's a way to get into it, and I even can with its tier being so high.

The last thing I want is this guy doing what Cyzicus did, and recognizing me as the man who killed one of his buddies. I’ll probably be fine considering I have the God Seed, but still, not really worth the hassle, and if it makes me use a Charge?

Yeah, no thanks.

I wonder what a Primarch is though? If nothing else, it sounds more distinguished than an Emperor, and considering that Asius is creating, and presumably handing out Saint-tier items, stronger than one too.

The obvious answer would be a Saint-tier equivalent of an Emperor but with bigger territory. If I’m being honest though, I’m not even sure what an Emperor really is.

Sure, they rule the land, and the people, but didn’t Cyzicus say he could teleport around the island because he was one. Called it a perk of the job, if I’m remembering right.

Shaking his head slightly, Luke discarded the train of thought for the moment. Making a note to research it later, preferably in a library if he ever found one, and had the time to peruse it.

Books, as far as he knew, wouldn’t grow suspicious at the strange gaps in his knowledge.

The subjects themselves weren't likely to be taboo or anything of the sort, but any knowledge accrued from the Seed, was knowledge that he couldn’t explain having, and a single slip to the wrong person could have consequences that he didn’t want to deal with. Things had turned out fine so far, but it wasn’t best to push his luck. As far as he was concerned, paranoia was a virtue. At Least until he became strong enough to not care.

Now that I think about it though, if I spend enough time with the Argonauts, people will think that one of them let something slip. If nothing else, it’s a good excuse for any random bits of trivia I have bouncing around in my head, but it isn’t an infallible excuse.

It’s probably a good idea to ask them questions while they’re here too. As travelers I bet they’re more likely to not question the quirks in what I know. Hopefully.

Taking a deep breath, he scratched the back of head, and stared nervously off into space, before firmly putting his worries aside for the moment.

Rabbit holes of existential dread definitely put a damper on his mood, but the thought of all the loot he had waiting for him, was more than enough to make up for it.

Best for last, so warrior first. He thought to himself, and prodding the Seed, he expanded the contents of the storage ring.

Scrolling through all the items, he couldn’t help but be disappointed.

Whoever the teen was, he was poor. Incredibly so.

Did this guy spend every dime he had on the ring? Luke thought miserably, as he skimmed through one description after another. The most valuable items in his possession were three vials of Warrior-tier healing potions. Other than that, it was just small bunches of talismans, a Warrior-tier bow, a bunch of arrows, some odds and ends like camping equipment, preserved food, spare clothes, and a veritable armory of mortal weapons. Things like spears, swords, and shields. Not useless by any stretch, but they were things of limited utility to the current Luke.

I guess the ring itself isn’t a bad prize… but fuck. Am I spoiled? I would have to be, right? All this time, I never thought too much of it, but I’ve been chugging down fortunes in healing potions, and I don’t even know how much all the talismans I have are even worth.

Collapsing the list, he pulled the ring out of his inventory. Briefly, he considered putting his mana into it, in spite of the ring being armed, before shaking his head, and immediately discarding the thought as stupid.

Besides, risking injuries for the trash this guy kept isn’t really worth the risk.

Stuffing it into his pocket, he began to look through the Rebel’s ring.

Status | Skills | Quests | Inventory

Storage Ring (unbound) (armed)

Tier - Saint

A storage ring created by Primarch Asius of Samos.

Items:

Limitless Thunder Bow

Tier - Hero

An artifact forged by Primarch Asius of Samos. Allows users to mold their mana into lightning darts.

Blastguard

Tier - Saint

An artifact forged by Primarch Asius of Samos. Reduces damage done by explosive talismans.

Stasis Amulet

Tier - Hero

Prevents injuries from worsening at the cost of mana.

A Guide to Sheep Husbandry

Tier - Warrior

A journal written by Sophia of Ovesis, detailing the steps required to breed sheep with mana rich milk.

Flame Blade

Tier - Hero

A Sword, enchanted with both durability and sharpness along with the ability to alternate between tangible steel and intangible flame.

Blood

Tier - Hero

A vial of blood belonging to a Cyclops

Headless Female Corpse (Cyclops) x1

Tier- Hero

Headless Male Corpse (Human) x 3

Tier - Warrior

Headless Female Corpse (Human) x 16

Tier - Warrior

Headless Female Corpse (Human) x 13

Tier - Mortal

Headless Male Corpse (Human) x 4

Tier - Mortal

Teleportation Plate x 9

Tier - Hero

A clay plate, when broken and filled with sufficient mana, allows for teleportation to a preset location.

[…]

Talisman Paper x 5000

Tier - Mortal

Luke skimmed through the entire list of hundreds of objects with disgust. Before backing out of his inventory, and staring at the ceiling. In his excitement, he had forgotten who exactly the ring belonged to.

In spite of her macabre liking for keeping the headless corpse of her victims and allies, it was a good haul. He just couldn’t bring himself to be happy about it.

I should have expected it… but for fucks sake. Did she really have to keep so many bodies in her ring? And why did the Seed want me to take it? He thought, his mind flashed back to the circlet.

This stuff is valuable, and there’s no questioning that. Just with the Amulet and the Blastguard alone increases my survivability by tremendous amounts. Especially considering how well they’ll synergize with my mana levels, once I’m back at the top of my tier.

Except, as good as they are, they aren’t game changers. My sword is going to be with me for my entire journey, and the mask will let me hide myself whenever I need to. These things, while useful, are all at the Hero and Saint tier… which is high, yes, but I’ll outgrow them.

Shaking his head, he called the ring from his inventory, before closing his fist around it.

Or I guess, this is just me being spoiled again. I already have the low hanging fruits I needed, and now the rest of my journey is going to be staying alive long enough to make it to the end.

And I suppose, I can’t really blame the Seed for sending me off to kill the Rebel for this stuff. It offered me a charge, and I refused– maybe this is just it correcting for my risk assessment? Being harder to kill isn’t a bad thing.

Whatever. I won big. He forced a smile on his face, and opened his status.

Time to see how big.

Status | Skills | Quests | Inventory

Name: Lukas King

Tier: Warrior

Bloodline: Eyes of Insight

Mana: 3234 / 3234

Rate: 17% per hour

Strength: 36 > 41

Agility: 41 > 43

Constitution: 66 > 77

Arcana: 71 > 84

Stat Points: 812

Charges: 7/10

I’ve been a Warrior for what? Less than a week, and I’m already more than a quarter of the way through the tier.

That’s… wow.

If I wasn’t a Paragon, I’d only be exactly one-hundred and four points away from becoming a Hero.

A week one, for sure, but this is… incredible.

Feeling his mouth go dry, he took a few moments just to stare blankly at the screen. Deciding how he was going to spend all the points.

If I can get another manasink, then adding every free point to Arcana would be worth it. If it maxes out, then I’m just converting time to points. But, I also have to factor in my other stats. Having a lot of mana is good, but raw attributes have their own place.

I’ll be competing in the Olympics soon, and honestly, with these kinds of numbers I should even have a chance at winning. Even if there are people comparable to Heracles, I should have the time.

That said, my growth has been much too fast.

Going from Mortal to Warrior is whatever. Lukeus is only a year older than me, and he’s a one too, and I think Rex will reach the level in time for the Olympics as well, but if I show up in front of a bunch of gods as a sixteen year old kid, and curb stomp their kids– kids that have grown up with a silver spoon in their mouths and basically every resource imaginable, then that might be a problem.

Potentially a big one. Not to mention that Prometheus is also now someone I need to worry about.

I’d assumed that because he told me not to tell anyone about him, that there wasn’t a way to find out. Which is out of the window now, Cybele knew I was a descendant of his, probably the moment she saw me. A dumb one, but one nonetheless. Then again, she didn’t seem to care too much either, so there is that.

She also said I look just like Posiedon… which is really fucking bad. Luke thought, as he floated in front of the mirror. The face I’m wearing, was one that was preloaded into the mask.

A mask belonging to a woman who got killed by the Atlantians. Atlantians who are very likely to be ruled by the god who I happen to look like.

What the fuck was she doing, what does that mean for me, and was using the mask a mistake?

A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts.

“Luke, I was informed that you’re awake.” He heard Cyzicus say from outside his door.