8 God of War
[Lian Yu, One Month Later…]
Beep~Beep! Beep~Beep! Beep~Beep!
Inside the underground chamber, a watch let out urgent beeps as its screen lit up with a green hue and displayed the time at 5:00 am. If one were to take a few steps back, they would notice that this watch had been worn by David, who opened his eyes at the beeping.
His current position looked like something reserved for advanced yoga practitioners. Think of a normal push up, but instead of every limb supporting your weight, your arms do all the work. Instead of straightening your body, you twist and fold it at the waist, wrapping both legs around one arm and staying still for as long as possible.
To keep pace with his mind meditation, David started on the body practices and found them to be his cup of tea. This pose for instance, was one of the many dictated in the body section of the meditation technique.
He had gone through a number of them, each more complicated than the last, and found that the more complicated the pose, the more it challenged and agitated the muscles. And just like the mundane exercises, they gave him the experience of a full workout just by maintaining them for long periods.
Compared to doing endless pull-ups and sit-ups, he preferred this, where he obtained the same results with minimal to no movement.
Another, or perhaps, the main advantage of this was how his mental state had no effect on it whatsoever. His mind could be anywhere and that wouldn't decrease or affect his progress. That's why he practiced the mind techniques alongside the body ones, killing two birds with one stone.
The mind ones allowed him to channel the entirety of his focus into a single direction, detaching him from the screams of protest in his muscles. This in combination with his healing factor gave him the necessary strength to persist for hours on end.
Unwrapping both legs from around his arm, he raised both and pointed them at the ceiling, entering a perfect handstand. He then went low like one did during a push up and came back up with greater force, recoiling off the ground like a spring.
He shot up into the air, his face mere inches away from the cave ceiling as he flipped forward and landed on his feet with only a slight bend in his knees.
THUD!
Wearing only underwear, the light sheen of sweat covering his skin began to evaporate as he neared a small and silent fire. The light of the flames illuminated his body, providing a proper look at the changes it had gone through.
He remained as handsome as ever, but his hair had grown longer, and his face now featured some stubble. Going further down saw the muscles around his chest, abdomen, and arms sport visible changes in definition, with his abdomen even showing a hint of abs.
His physical appearance had improved for certain, but it wasn't a Steve Rogers to Captain America level of improvement. And while some may perceive this change as astonishing for just a month of training, what would truly leave them flabbergasted were the glowing red markings that now lined his body.
In fact, calling them tattoos did not do them justice. They were more like channels or paths for the bright red energy flowing through them. These channels wove and intersected all over his body, going over his chest, back, limbs, and even up to his neck.
They formed a beautiful esoteric pattern that gave him the presence of something violent, yet divine at the same time.
Picking up a knife near the fire, he walked up to a wall covered in carved strokes. A quick count revealed they numbered 29. Scratch that, they were now thirty, as he added one more to it. 'It all ends today,' he thought as he lowered his arm and moved his gaze down to his body.
Watching the channels and periodic pulse of the sanguine energy, his mind swam with a plethora of thoughts, both on his new abilities and the attack tonight. He wasn't worried about the latter, just envisioning how it would go now due to his new abilities.
With regards to the former, he could not stop thinking about the severe underestimation he'd made of what being a Human/Isu hybrid entailed. He'd assumed wrong, and for the umpteenth time in this world, it made him glad.
...............…
Name: Oliver Jonas Queen
Race: Human/Isu
Bloodline: Isu (50.00%)
Strength: 8
Agility: 8
Durability: 8
Vitality: ∞
Senses: 8
Mind: 8
Radiant Energy: 10
Available Points: 3
Abilities:-
1) Killer Instinct
2) Ultimate Regeneration
3) Inventory
4) Eagle Sense
5) Son of Ares
...............…
Each of his physical statistics, save for vitality had evened out at eight, the peak human threshold.
How did he know this?
Let us go back to the 28th day of his "training arc," when he practiced with the sharpened katana, swinging it around such deft movements one would think he had practiced for over a year. In the middle of one of these swings, the pervasive tingling, which had become background noise after all this time, re-announced its presence with a bang.
Instead of using its "normal voice" however, it used a megaphone, assaulting him with waves of shock and pain that floored and paralyzed him, leaving him unable to let out a single sound. He just lay there, choking and spasming as the tingling transformed into gnawing and biting, an unholy amalgam of sensations he would never forget.
It lasted no more than ten seconds, but each second felt like an hour. And even though his powerful regeneration extended to his mind, it took him a whole day to get over the feeling of being chewed by hundreds of starved rodents. However, even if he hadn't gotten over it, he would still be glad at what the pain brought him.
When he regained consciousness to his new and striking appearance, a notification awaited him alongside the value changes in the system.
[Congratulations. You have reached the peak of the mortal boundary.]
Even though his body trembled and shook from the torture he had just endured, his mind conjured up an image of a shield wielding superhero once he read the contents of the notification. If the system were to be believed, his physical and mental capabilities matched up to that legendary figure.
Such a premise not only astonished him, it also overturned his expectations for the Isu bloodline, making him realize how much he underestimated it. 'Were the assassins like this?' he wondered, thinking back to the impressive physical abilities of the various Assassin's Creed protagonists.
Finding nothing of note, he focused on his own situation.
In addition to the Captain America package, he had obtained abilities that made the former look like a bonus. For one, his theory concerning [Eagle Vision] turned out to be true. The advancement in his bloodline bestowed him with some of the ability's known variations, grouping them together as [Eagle Sense].
Eagle Sense:
a) Eagle Pulse: Release and maintain a pulse that reveals targets and objects of interest in its radius. Red represents enemies and spilled blood. Blue is law enforcement. Green represents allies. White is for hiding spots, and gold is for targets, objects, or persons of interest.
b) Master Tracker I : The past and future paths of anyone are revealed to you.
c) Master Tracker II: Mark anyone with your vision and keep track of them, even with Eagle Sense inactive. Note: Marks fade over time.
d) Enhanced Synesthesia: Your senses combine to give you a higher level of awareness.
'Lets see… Eagle Pulse is from Arno and the Fyre twins. Master tracker I is from Ezio, and master tracker II is from Connor's grandfather, Edward. The last one though is…. I've never seen it before.'
"Enhanced Synesthesia…" he muttered. "If I'm reading this right, I should be able to taste and hear images, feel colors and sounds, and even visualize scents. Huh… I wonder what it'll be like to taste a color…" he wondered, imagining a visible scent trail in front of him.
As he thought of the endless possibilities, he shifted his focus onto [Son of Ares]. As impressive as they may be, the abilities of [Eagle Sense] surprised him just a little bit. Apart from [Enhanced Synesthesia], he predicted the rest.
This was not the case for [Son of Ares] though. Its name alone shocked him, as this meant his fleeting thought of becoming a demigod had been made a reality. The situation left him bewildered on what to expect, and his impatient side loathed such ambiguous situations.
That's why he didn't hesitate for even a second and jumped right into it.
Son of Ares:
a) Limiter Removal: When you find yourself lacking strength, remember that your body holds untold power. Effect: Upon activation, removes the brain's restraints on the body, increasing strength and agility by 35%.
b) God of War: A battlefield is where you shine the brightest.
Effect 1: Your talent in fighting and war is unmatched.
Effect 2: Upon physical contact with any weapon, you will gain complete knowledge on how to wield it.
c) Reinforcement: Your blades will be sharper, and your shields tougher.
Effect: Channel radiant energy into any object to strengthen its atomic bonds.
1 point of radiant energy equals 50% increase in hardness and sharpness.
d) Weakening Curse: Your foes will soon learn that clashing with you is folly. \
Effect: Reinforced objects weaken the atomic bonds at whatever point they strike.
..................
'They were actual gods?' Is what he wondered after seeing this?
In Assassin's Creed, the Isu themselves clarified that they weren't what the ancients perceived them to be. They were just a highly advanced species. But, judging from the powers he possessed now, he had to admit, the people of old were onto something.
'Now that I think about it, in mythology isn't Juno the Roman counterpart of Hera?'
Feeling more curious than ever, he delved into his memories of the Assassin's Creed lore, searching for anything to shed light on this issue. His search yielded no results however, just more proof that indeed, the Isu were just a highly advanced species.
Their impressive and almost magical technology, their long lives and last but not least, their creation of humanity, elevated them to god status in the eyes of the ancient people, not powers like he currently possessed.
But still, David could imagine how his current abilities would be perceived as godlike in a time period where men fought with swords and shields. The thought made him chuckle, as he could see the primitive and uneducated people hailing him as a God of War.
