Pantheon Online

227  And The World Keeps Turning...

Exile groaned as he watched Allyce leave the temple. She had given him a lot to think about. It was only now that he began to see a correlation between the time skips during maintenance, and certain features of the game.

'It could be to give the demigods time to grow up.' Exile thought as he wondered if the time skips would get longer. He silently worried that Ania could die of old age before they reached the end of the game. 'Maybe I should take Allyce up on her offer. Even if I'd prefer to create a demigod with Ania, with what Allyce said, it's practically next to impossible.'

Exile wondered if there was a god out there that could cure Ania's condition. As far as he was concerned, it should not be impossible. The only problem he had with that approach was that there was no telling how much time would pass before he found a cure.

Exile called for one of the priests. He decided to tell Ania about the condition she was born with. He could only hope that by being transparent with his intentions that she may accept them. As he waited for the priest to fetch Ania, he navigated his menu to check his stats.

[Tier: 2]

[Level: 7]

[HP: 690/690 (210+480)]

[DP: 208/208 (66+142)]

[Strength: 128 (32+96)]

[Endurance: 138 (42+96)]

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[Speed: 128 (32+96)]

[Authority: 208 (66+142)]

'I'm stronger than ever. Yet the majority of my power comes from my equipment now.' Exile sighed as he studied the difference in his base power compared to the bonuses. 'I still have much to do. I need to reward everyone for their services. I should be able to create a companion for Skovi and a new hero now.' His list of things to do seemed to keep growing as he cursed in his mind.

"You wanted to see me?" Ania called out with a sorrowful tone.

Meanwhile, in a hidden room of the dwarven kingdom, deep below the earth. Bargrux stared at the strange tools the wisest of his people had crafted.

"Are you sure this will work?" He grumbled as he handed over the cube that held his grandfather's divinity.

"Most certainly, Your Majesty." The wizened old dwarf nodded as he placed the cube inside a piece of machinery. "The procedure will be painful and difficult to endure. However, if you prove worthy of this power, you'll become as powerful as any demigod."

King Bargrux nodded as he stripped himself of all his belongings. 'My people need this power. Our actions lately will have alerted the dwarven kingdoms to our location. It won't be long until they come for us.'

Bargrux frowned as the old dwarf bid him to lie down on the table. He clenched his jaw as he felt the dwarf strap him down before fires raged in the furnaces.

"You should prepare yourself, Your Majesty. I shall begin the process now."

The equipment hummed with magical energy as the old dwarf stuck needles into his skin. Bargrux felt a cold wave of energy flow into his body. He felt heavier as the sensation swept its way to his extremities where sharp pains began.

Agonising screams filled the corridors of that dark area of the kingdom. Some dwarves working in the deep mines heard the echoes and immediately stopped their work, as they believed the spirits of the mountain were in pain.

Bargrux lost track of time as nothing but pain filled his body. He spasmed on the table as the old dwarf watched over him. Patches of his skin fell away, revealing the muscles below before rebuilding themselves. Blood poured onto the floor throughout the entire procedure, forcing the old dwarf to clean it up before it could cause any accidents.

"This is taking longer than I thought," The dwarf said as he monitored the king's condition with a worried expression. "We're about to reach the final burst. There's no turning back now."

He flipped a switch as some doubts as to whether Bargrux could survive filled his mind. However, if he stopped the process now, then Bargrux would fall apart from the energy. Several of the straps holding Bargrux down snapped as a fresh wave of pain wracked his body. His body attempted to shut down to deal with it, but the old dwarf would not allow it.

He assumed Bargrux would die if he lost consciousness. So he had to do everything he could to keep him awake. Bargrux's eyes melted into his skull, fingernails, and toenails fell off and regrew. Two new eyes formed in the holes of his skull as the old dwarf grimaced at the gruesome scene.

Bargrux's body was rebuilding itself to become a fitting container for the divine energy. He had suspected something would happen to elevate his king's natural body. But he had not expected it to go through such a radical method of improvement.

He worriedly glanced at the machine that held the cube. The runes on the side of it told him the process was almost over. 'Just a little more, Your Majesty! You've almost done it!'

Another hour had to pass before the energy contained in the cube ran dry. Bargrux felt as though he had spent centuries enduring that torment as the pain receded from his mind. Before the dwarf could free Bargrux from his restraints, the straps snapped as the king sat up!

A feeling of power like no other ran through Bargrux's existence as he tried to understand the changes in his body. He clenched his fist several times as he felt as though he could crush a skull with nothing more than his grip.

"The procedure was a success, Your Majesty." The old dwarf beamed as he studied Bargrux more closely. "I suggest you take several days to adjust yourself to your new status. We can announce it after that."

"No," Bargrux grinned as he slid off the table. "We'll wait until the other kingdoms challenge us."

In another region of the mortal realms, M'Throk recovered his composure before entering his goddess' temple. The temple was a hole, dug into the earth where the roots of a mighty tree hid its entrance. M'Throk had to descend onto all fours to fit through that tunnel.

The tunnel twisted and turned until it opened into an underground cavern. M'Throk stared at the underground lake as he kneeled before it.

"Forgive me, but I seek your guidance," M'Throk said as he waited for a response.

The waters surged as a throne emerged. However, the woman sitting on it was covered by a large pair of twin fans. M'Throk could only see the reptilian eyes and patches of black scales on the crystal-clear skin of the woman's face.

"Tell me what has happened." The woman said with a voice that resembled the gentleness of rain in spring.

The goddess listened to him recount the hunt. Her expression changed several times. However, M'Throk noted the excitement on her face when he described the female from the eagle clan. He lowered his head when he described the events that led to his escape.

He expected to be punished for his failure. However, the fans shrunk and snapped shut as the goddess' eyes brimmed with enthusiasm. She swept her long, black hair behind her pointed ears before revealing a ravishing grin.

"A wolf that heals you say?" She chuckled as she reached down to trace a circle on the surface of the water. "It seems the Skardian god Exile is poking his nose where it doesn't belong. If he has the eagle, then we need to bring him to the negotiation table. Prepare a diplomatic party and head for the other side of the mountains."

M'Throk nodded as he stood up. "Who should I take?"

The goddess chuckled for a moment as a scaled head broke the surface of the water. "Don't worry about that. I'll send Dretheir to make sure they understand the consequences if they don't take me seriously."

Meanwhile, Clay's eyes narrowed as hundreds of Deep Stalkers rushed out of the forest! 'It's not another wave. This should just be them testing us.' Clay sighed as he sent a runner to inform Mikari there was no need for reinforcements.

They were using mixed groups to monitor the situation for the next attack. Winter was even with a group attempting to scout out the interior of the forest. Clay sent a silver sword flying into the sky to give the signal to open fire.

Spells rained down on those Deep Stalkers and tore them apart before they could even come close to Valheim's walls. He watched the treeline for any movement as the retrieval team rushed out to collect the drops. However, no more of those creatures appeared.

He could not help but wonder why they would send small teams just for them to be killed. At that moment, several flashes in the sky around Valheim caught Clay's attention. 'Damn! They're looking for other ways in!'

He realised the enemy army likely now entirely surrounded the city. The reason they held out before was that they could focus everything in one spot. However, if the Deep Stalkers assaulted the entire perimeter at the same time, he did not believe they would be able to hold them off.

"You there!" Clay yelled as he turned to a player further along the wall. "Send word to Mikari to summon Exile! Be quick about it!"

Clay cursed as he barked orders for the players to spread out more and report any changes in the forest. That was when the sound of low buzzing filled the area around the city...