Magic is fucking Hard!
Enjoy!
THE GAME OF DIVINITY
CHAPTER 15: I wake up naked in a hot blonde's bed!
You woke up in a divine bed your health and mana has been restored to 100%. All ailments and negative status effects have been negated
I woke up with a groan. Every inch of my body felt like it was beat upon by a very angry giant. I opened my eyes and I found myself in a cottage or chalet would be a most appropriate definition.
The whole place was made out of wood, with a stone fireplace in one side of the room. There were animal pelts everywhere and a small bookcase filled to the brim with big leather bound books. Also on the other side of the fireplace there was a window showing a very green landscape and hanging from small strings on top of it there were a lot of herbs left to dry. Possibly for medical remedies or cooking.
I would have continued inspecting my surroundings some more but I was interrupted by the front door opening. The vision of beauty that came in stole my breath away for a moment. She was tall for a woman, around 5' 9" and she had long golden hair made into a French braid with two other smaller ones at the side of her head flowed all the way down her back until it reached the very top bottom of her waist. She was very voluptuous but you could see from her sleeveless top and her pants that she was full of corded muscles. Lastly her face with her sea green eyes and her pink lips, was one that could inspire men to go to war for and throw kingdoms at her feet only for her acknowledgment.
Clearly I was dealing with a Goddess here, and not a third rate one either considering the sheer presence that filled the whole room the moment she stepped inside.
"You are finally awake, you have been sleeping for five days child and I was starting to worry." said the Goddess, the musical tilt of her voice.
Before I spoke I used observe. Whatever information I could gain would be useful in figuring out how to deal with this.
Freyja Njorddottir "Lady of the Slain"
Race: Goddess
Gender: Female
Affiliation: Vanir
Level: ?
Status: ?
Info: Freyja is the Vanir Goddess of LOVE, BEAUTY, FERTILITY, SEX, WAR, GOLD, and MAGIC. You are not strong enough to know more.
"Well that was a very interesting spell, but if you wanted to know my name you only had to ask you know, I don't bite." Said Freyja with a smirk, surprising me. Just like Loki she is the second God that managed to detect observe.
"Forgive me my lady, but I was in an unknown place with a Goddess I hadn't seen before and I became somewhat defensive" I said trying not to offend the very powerful immortal in front of me.
"Eh no worries, I can understand your point of view and I don't hold it against you." She said waving her hands in a 'whatever' gesture and continues.
"Now though you know my name but I don't know yours. You appeared on a crater inside my garden in a very spectacular show of spatial magic I might add bearing Runes of power and being half dead, I didn't know if I should be fascinated or horrified about your condition." she said in a very peppy voice, creeping me out about her happy smile when she mentioned my injuries and confusing me as well.
"My name is Alexandra Bellum and my appearance here was completely accidental I assure you. Also what was that about Runes of Power?" I asked, not understanding what she meant.
"Nice to meet you Alexandra, you have been marked with 5 Elder Runes on your body, probably when you passed through Yggdrasil to reach Vanaheim here, which is kind of spectacular really.
None aside from ol' One-Eye has managed to connect to even a single Elder Rune and for a little demigod child to connect to five is nothing short of extraordinary." she said happily in one breath that if I didn't know she was immortal I would be afraid she would pass out from lack of oxygen.
I immediately looked down and two things became apparent. First I was butt naked. The only thing I could feel on me was my ring and my glasses. Thankfully I was found by a female, I don't think I would have reacted well to a male seeing me in the buff and most importantly touching me in any way *shudders*.
And second I had 2 Runes tattooed on my torso. One was above my left breast and had the shape of an hourglass lying on its side. The other had an almost exact resemblance to the letter B and was positioned right underneath my navel. I searched for the other three but I couldn't find them anywhere so they must be on my back.
"Yep they are fascinating I know but I think you should lay down." she said pushing me down on the bed while I tried ineffectively to protest.
"You had been very battered when I found you and your magical reserves were almost nonexistent. I had to pump some of my own in you to keep you magical core from shriveling up and killing you, you know" see continued in a stern motherly tone that made me quickly shut up and deal with it causing her to nod in satisfaction.
"I am going to hunt for a while to get you some more filling food. Don't you dare get out of bed until I come back or I will tie you up for the next month if I have to." threatened the Goddess making me gulp a little.
The moment she left I got a series of alerts from the system. Probably the completion of my quests. What I saw made my eyes widen to comical proportions.
PING*
Heroic Quest
Main Objective: Find the child of Athena and lead her to the safety of Camp.
Bonus: Prevent Thalia from becoming a tree
Rewards:
3000$, 100D, 500.000 XP, Olive laurel
800.000, 300 D, Luke will no longer join Kronos.
(QUEST COMPLETE)
Quest: Hades Divine Wrath
Main Objective: Survive
Bonus Objective: Shatter the army of Hades and show the Gods that you are not to be trifled with.
Rewards:
300.000 xp, 400 Drachmas.
1.000.000 xp, 600 Drachmas, Necklace of Despair
(QUEST COMPLETE)
Total Quest xp: +2.600.000 xp, 3000$, 1400D, Olive Laurel, Necklace of Despair
Monster Army xp: 500.000xp
Furies: Bonus for soloing all three together: 1.500.000 xp
Grand Total: 5.600.000 xp, 3000$, 1400D, Olive Laurel, Necklace of Despair
NEW FEATURE: RUNES OF POWER: You have been blessed from your trip through Yggdrasil with 5 Elder Runes. Every one of them represents a facet of yourself and by permanently bonding to you they awaken and grant you specific boons.
Eihawz(Nape of neck): Clairvoyance(D-B), +10 DEX, Light affinity
Haglaz (Middle of spine): Nature affinity, +10 INT, +10 WIS
Uruz (Above tailbone): +20 STR, Unbound Perk
Berkana (Bellow navel): +20 CHA, + 25 VIT, +2% HP Regen
Dagaz (Above Heart): Locked until special conditions are met ?
Level Up x3
Status
Name: Alexandra Bellum
Race: Demigod
Gender: Female
Title: Daughter of Ares
Level: 20 (1.910.375/2.900.813)
HP: 12.300 HPReg= 12 % /h
MP: 5260 MPReg= 34 mp/min
STR: 197
VIT: 100 (Your health points, gives you 28 hp per 5vit * level)
DEX: 110
INT:60(70) (your ability to absorb and retain information as well as your Mana
12 mp per 5 in * level)
WIS: 53(63) (Mana regeneration +2 per 5 WIS)
CHA: 66
LUC: 12(17)
Status: 15
For reaching 50 WIS and meeting special conditions you gain.
New Perk(Special): The Average One: You have opened your soul to the energies of the cosmos doubling your rate of replenishing your magic (+1 MPReg for every 5 WIS) and gaining an aptitude of all core elements of magic. (fire, water, earth, wind, death, life, space, time, light, darkness) WARNING: This perk gives you an aptitude for these magics, NOT an actual affinity.
For reaching 50 CHA and meeting special conditions you gain.
Perk UPGRADE (Special): Attractive Perk(Minor- Major Alter):Your godly blood makes you attractive enough to compete with the most beautiful of nature spirits (nymphs, naiads, etc.). Through special conditions the perk has been altered and your body through puberty will take the shape and type of beauty of a fertility Goddess (So beware of love sick Gods, you poor shod).
For reaching 100 VIT and meeting special conditions you gain.
New Perk (Special): Divine Constitution (I): Your whole body has been upgraded to hold a small part of the unlimited potential of a God without turning you immortal. You gain +14 HP for every 5 VIT, also your whole body is way more durable than before increasing all physical and magical defenses by 300%. WARNING: Due to this perk after you reach your prime (21 years) your aging rate will be reduced by 99,99% and Godly Scent perk upgrades to Godly Scent+
New Perk (Special): Unbound: Through this perk you gain +50% negation to all binding and sealing magics.
Perk UPGRADE: Clairvoyance (D-B): Clairvoyance is the ability to flawlessly perceive and observe the world around you, objects, people, locations, events, with one's mind, with no mistakes and 100% accuracy. Your gift is Grade-B so you can only do it in a 13 miles radius (21.000 km)
NEW FEATURE: GRIMOIRE: This new information page will contain all your spells and magic skills separating them from the physical in order to better catalogue and categorize your new abilities.
GRIMOIRE:
MISC. SPELLS:
Warlord's Fang(Lv13-Lv17): A long raged slash used by focusing your mana into a fine blade around your weapon, aim and swing. Legend says that true Master's of this skill could cut armies in twain with a single slash of their blades. + 480 dmg/per slash, cost: 60 mp.
Observe(Lv11-MAX): Gain basic information about the target . the higher the level of the skill, the more information you gain, targets 50 levels higher than yours can hide from the skill. You can now see stats.
Through inventive use and special condition your skill has leveled up x20
Aura of Dominance (Lv10-MAX): Unlocking this skill you can sense the auras of everyone around you in a 15 meter radius. Actively using this skill you can project your own aura of dominance and make those weak of will falter and fall to their knees in absolute terror. Active use cost 300 MP WARNING: This skill can now be UPGRADED.
MIST:
Mist Control (Locked) : Your ability to use the Mist, you need a practitioner to unlock your skill or being a child of Hecate which is naturally unlocked
Through special conditions you skill have leveled up x10.
Mist Resistance(Lv8-Lv18): Because of your divine blood you have a natural resistance to the mist. Monsters of 17 levels higher than you and bellow can't fool you with the mist .
ELEMENTAL:
Through special condition you gained an affinity for secondary element Nature(water + earth). As a result you have unlocked Water and Earth Affinities.
Water Affinity: +20% xp when using water natured spells and rituals.
Hydromancy(Lv1): Your ability to control water (-1MP to all water spells). Cost: 30 MP/sec
Earth Affinity: +20% xp when using earth natured spells and rituals
Geomancy (Lv1): Your ability to control earth (-1MP to all earth spells). Cost: 30MP/sec
Fissure(Lv1): By focusing earth energies in your hands and hitting the ground you create great fissures on the earth destroying landscapes and obliterating enemies. +500 DMG + 200 per 100 STR. Cost: 500(499) MP. Can be combine with other elements for extra effects.
Nature Affinity: +20% xp when using nature related spells and rituals
Chloromancy(Lv1): Your ability to raise and control plants (-1MP to all plant spells). Cost 60 MP/ sec
Light Affinity: +20% xp when using light based spells and rituals
Special: Lumiomancy (Lv1): Your ability to control light(-1MP to all light based spells). Cost 40MP
Fire Affinity: +20% xp when using fire natured spells and rituals.
Through your mastery of higher ranked fire magic you gain and meeting special conditions, your pyromancy levels up x24.
Pyromancy (Lv1-Lv25): Your ability to conjure and control fire (-25MP to all fire spells- Doesn't affect FOW). Cost: 18 MP/sec
Special: Flames of War (Lv19-Lv25) : You have the ability to use the Flames of War. This type of fire magic is incapable of anything but destruction .These flames are impossible to be used in forging cooking or even to give warmth in a cold night. The only thing they bring is death. 500 dmg/sec cost: 10 mp/sec
Warfyre Imbuement (Lv17-Lv25): Coat your weapons with the Flames of War and enhance their destructive capabilities. +45 dmg cost 1 mp/sec.
Warfyre Napalm(Lv4-Lv5): Overcharge an item with the Flame Of War causing it to become unstable and turning it to a bomb. Blast radius: 2,4 meters Damage: 200, 26% chance of setting enemies on fire cost :110 MP
Axe Mastery(Lv25-MAX): Your ability to use an axe in battle without chopping yourself in pieces. +41% dmg with and +21% attack speed when wielding axes. This skill can now be UPGRADED.
Necklace of Despair
+15 DEX
+10 WIS
Special: Night's Chosen: +50% effectiveness to Aura of Dominance skill and all upgraded forms.
Info: A necklace blessed by Nyx herself and gifted to her daughter in order to help her in her duties. All fear inducement spells are enhanced greatly by this powerful artifact.
Olive Laurel
Info: A laurel made by Athena's first created olive tree capable of granting great wisdom. Upon being sacrificed to said Goddess you gain +20 to your INT and WIS stats.
I can with no shred of shame say that by the time I was done reading the update, I was gawking like an idiot. I didn't just move one step higher on the power ladder, I fucking flew to the next floor, and considering all the new skills and perks that are just waiting to level up this is just a prelude. So many things to level up, so little time.
I was admiring all my new features when I noticed one of the rewards from the quests. 'Luke will no longer join Kronos'. Damn I knew my existence will bring changes in the story but I didn't expect such a drastic change. Luke was the lynchpin of both Kronos rise, as well as his fall. I can sufficiently say that with this, cannon was viciously kicked out of the window. I only hope I didn't ruin all of the plans THE Fates had for the survival of humanity and the defeat of the Titans.
(Flashback: The Fates after Thalia reached Camp safely)
The Fates resided in their personal dimension locked away and inaccessible to almost all Gods bar the Primordials themselves. They are the lynchpins of life itself, making sure the world continues to carry on and using prophecies guiding the world from time to time to prevent world ending calamities from succeeding in the destruction of all creation. They are the epitome of grace and elegance fulfilling their duties with calm dispassionate postures never showing on their faces even a hint of emotion or doubt. Or they used to do so until now.
"CUT THE CORDS! CUT THE CORDS! THEY ARE GOING TO SHALLOW US WHOLE! "shouted Clotho in a panicked voice trying to get away from huge blue glowing threads that were trying to tie her from head to toe.
"I AM TRYING, THE BLASTED THINGS SEEM INVICIBLE, IT HAS RUINED 3 PAIRS OF SCISSORS AND-" was interrupted Atropos after a literal wave of multicolored thread consumed her and started carrying her away to who knows where.
As for Lachesis?
"WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIIIIIEEEEEE! "she kept shouting as a thick cord of strings had tied her from her ankles and was rotating her like a demented helicopter, occasionally smacking her on Clotho who was by now tied into a very kinky bondage position and was glowing gold from all the humiliation she was suffering.
(End of Flashback: Back to Alexandra)
'Nah I am sure we are alright. The Fates probably have at least 10 back up plans ready for every occasion' I thought with a nod if my head.
The question is where do I go from here. I am in Vanaheim of all places, a whole other world governed by a foreign pantheon with no way to go back. I already tried to summon Ruin but he doesn't answer so he is probably blocked from coming here.
My contemplations were put to a stop by the door opening once again and Freyja coming in with a trio of dead hares tied at her waist. Rabbit stew is on the menu for today it seems.
After that the day passed quickly. Freyja's stew was divine (pun not intended) and we started sharing stories.
I told her about my mother's death and all my adventures since then, including Hades quest because at this point I don't care to spare him from the embarrassment. He made his bed now he can lie on it. I also told her about my friends,my relief that they managed to reach safety and also my slaughter of Hades army and my theory on how I ended up in her backyard.
She, in return told me about her life in her father's Njord Vanir God of the Seas court, as well as her disastrous marriage to Odr God of Innovation, Desire, War and other minor domains and his habit of running away from their home chasing adventures and women through the nine worlds that caused her in the older days to search for him all the time while weeping.
At some point though, she couldn't stand it anymore and beat him almost to death after he caught him fucking a Giantess before divorcing the moron that didn't appreciate having the most beautiful Norse Goddess as his wife.
After her long time coming divorce a few centuries back, she started focusing more in her domains and has been leading a quiet life until now, not really interested in having a relationship and generally has been living in solitude in her cottage in the wilds of Vanaheim. 'Well quiet' she said with a teasing grin 'until a little naked demigoddess fell from the sky in my backyard' causing me to groan a little in embarrassment.
It has been a month since I ended up in Vanaheim and I have been having the time of my life. Freyja gave me a new outfit because all my old clothes have been disintegrated while moving through the Yggdrasil. I admit I teared up a little at that. My whole Huntress outfit and my coat that protected me from Zeus's sight, completely gone. All this effort to gain them completely wasted and I brooded for a few days because of it but after a while I got over it and moved on.
My new outfit didn't have any special properties but it made me feel so cool wearing it. It was a small blouse that went around my breasts leaving my whole belly and navel bare and I had a wolf fur cape on my back. Bellow my waste I was wearing animal leather pants and boots with a cool red shash tied at the front of my leather belt. Lastly my hair were made in braids and then tied altogether in a tight ponytail that flowed down my back giving me an overall very hot Viking chick look.
Every day we wake up at dawn and we go hunting, running around the lush forests trying to find game for dinner and exploring the wilderness.
I haven't seen such untamed nature before in either of my lives. The very air was teaming with energy wild and free, something that is extremely reduced in the forests of Earth or Midgard as they call it here due to the interference of man. Ha, who would have thought that in a single month spent with a Goddess I would make me start to feel so separated from humanity. It was both exhilarating and quite scary, no wonder the huntresses of Artemis felt so detached.
On another matter I had been trying to experiment with my new magics with minimal results. It seems the game will not make it easy for me to learn new skills that are outside my parentage.
Geomancy (Lv1-Lv2): Your ability to control earth (-2MP to all earth spells). Cost: 29MP/sec
Hydromancy(Lv1-Lv2): Your ability to control water (-2MP to all water spells). Cost: 29 MP/sec
Lumiomancy (Lv1-Lv2): Your ability to control light(-2MP to all light based spells). Cost 39MP
No matter how hard I tried, I could barely make a few pebbles or drops of water move. As for light control? Forget it, my attempt at a lumos spell was so pathetic that I could feel the whole firefly colony that lives near the house look at me in pity. I have never felt so humiliated in my life, being so noob that even bugs were pitying me. Freyja when she heard of this started laughing so hard that she fell from her chair.
All these gamer fanfictions that I had read in my past life had lied to me. You read about the main character taking control of his mana and start making spells left and right and you think that magic is easy or something, just make some mana move and think what you want and voila, skill made.
Freyja made sure to dissuade me from this misconception. Magic is fucking hard. Yes demigods usually can instinctively use their Godly parent's gifts to some degree and with some training they become better, like I did with my Warfyre, but if they want to learn magic outside their parent's sphere of influence then they must try very hard through trial and error and spend years honing their skills.
Thankfully, the beautiful Vanir promised me to teach me, saving me from unending hours of miniscule results. I gained and an awesome title out of this too.
Freyja;s Apprentice: You have become the disciple of the Goddess Freyja. When this title is equipped you gain +50% exp to all skills taught to you by your Mistress. Also all divines will recognize you as your teachers student, gaining positive reputation with her allies and negative with her enemies.
Though the catch with this is that I have to stay for at least 5 years with her in order reach a level that I would be able to use my magic effectively enough. According to her I need to reach a certain level of skill to not be a danger to others and myself when using my magic.
I know what you will say. What about Camp half-blood? Don't you need to return to the Greeks?
Frankly, I can't be bothered right now. I am quite miffed with their stupidity and I am not going to throw away this spectacular opportunity to go cook smores in a campfire, singing silly songs and waste away to a place that every little bit of progress or achievement is scrutinized and punished if you reach too high.
For the first time in this life I feel completely carefree and safe and I am not willing to give it up so soon and its not like I would miss everything. The norse realm's time flows twice as fast as Earths but all mortals age by Midgard's standards. That means that 5 years here are only 2,5 years on Earth, meaning that Annabeth will be 9,5 by the end of my apprenticeship and I have another 5 Norse years until Lightning Thief begins and I have to go back to help with that whole cluster fuck so I am not really worried. And so, without further adieu, my apprenticeship began.
The first year was spent doing countless hours of meditation in order to familiarize myself with the mana inside me and learn to differentiate between my affinities. Apparently he reason that I couldn't perform almost anything from my new affinities was because I was mixing them together and as a result handicapping myself. The mediation is helping me fix that and now I can manage to recognize the different feel of the flavors for luck of a better word of the different elements. Though spell casting was still not possible for me aside from Warfyre and Pyromancy that I could use as easy as breathing, making a few new spells that gave me some really badass versatility.
Pyromancy (Lv25-Lv27): Your ability to raise and control fire (-27MP to all fire spells- Doesn't affect FOW). Cost: 16 MP/sec
Fireball(Lv20): You can conjure great balls of fire that can incinerate your enemies with. +600 DMG, Cost: 81(54) MP
Fire Imbuement(Lv20): Imbue your weapons with magical fire for extra damage. +60 DMG, Cost: 30(3) MP
I was surprised at the beginning about the really high damage of the new skills. How could simple fire magic have higher damage rates than the Flames of War, a type of magic that even the game declared as higher ranked?
The answer is simple. Basic Pyromancy inflicts magical damage and all supernatural beings have a certain amount of magical resistance that reduces the total damage you inflict upon them .The stronger the being, the higher the resistance it has to magic to an extent, though esoteric spells and rituals are capable of bypassing those. The Flames of War on the other hand can't be stopped like that. They inflict true soul deep damage that the only way you can avoid is to dodge. Once hit even Gods are unable to truly recover from serious wounds.
Magic of course wasn't the only think that I trained during the year. Countless hours of hunting had made my tracking skills exemplary inside a forest, though there is no official skill for that because there are too many factors involved to it to be able to be counted in numerical value (season, wind, terrain, senses of the prey etc,). What I gained was a mastery in the bow and the dagger.
Bow Mastery(MAX): Your ability to use bows. +60% dmg when using bows. This skill can be UPGRADED.
Dagger Mastery(Lv21): Your ability to use daggers. +31% dmg and +15,5% attack speed when using daggers.
Freyja told me that while my gun was powerful, it wouldn't serve me well if I wanted to kill someone silently and its range while greater than simple mortal ones doesn't stand a chance compared to magical bows that if well made enough can reach distances that can be counted in miles.
It was better according to her to use it as a mid-range weapon and learn archery as a long range option. She also proved that point by using her bow to strike a tree that was positioned 15 km away from where we were standing. My improved Clairvoyance being the only reason that I could even see it.
So after this badass show of skill I made sure I just couldn't not try to master the weapon and with my aforementioned perk I could pick apart monsters from miles away leaving me safe and capable of defending great territories without having to run everywhere non-stop.
My second year my magical training took a completely different road. According to Freyja the next step in mastering my mana is to be able to perform rituals which are the most ancient and powerful magic in existence aside from Elder Runes but that is something she couldn't really help me with so we focused in rituals.
Through different mediums, like the elements, the celestial bodies, parts of living creatures and even your own or others blood you can create greater spells that can be charged through the ambient magic of the world itself. They can be augmented by the phase of the seasons like the summer solstice for light rituals or the winter one for dark ones or even fertility in the spring equinox and numerous other things that will take centuries to explain all. This type of magic is also sacrificial by nature so you must always respect the equivalent exchange rule or the results could be cataclysmic if the ritual is powerful enough.
Most of the year was spend in theory and recognizing the different effects and possibilities countless mediums and ingredients gave a ritual as well as the times and events that ritualistic magic become stronger and the pitfalls that an inexperienced practitioner could fall into.
By the end of the year I was capable of performing 3 rituals. One for scrying, one for fertility and the last one was for breathing underwater which I performed first, giving me a new perk and giving me a pair of new runic tattoos, this time in the widely used language of runes in vertical lines on the sides of my neck just bellow my ears. They were basically gills made by runes and empowered by sacrificing some of my blood, pain, and a magical fish corpse. All in all, extremely worth it.
Rituals:
The Searcher: A ritual that can be performed with the use of a map and some kind of solid medium, usually a pebble of obsidian to locate a person the caster wants to find inside the maps borders. Skilled practitioners of magic can hide from this ritual, unless the caster has in his possession some of their blood.
Earth Rejuvenation: Through this ritual the caster can bless the Earth, either of a wild forest or of farmland in order to rejuvenate the plants making them grow rapidly and yielding more numerous and healthier corps. Performed in spring equinox or by people with nature affinity can increase the results of the rituals exponentially.
Water Breather: Through this ritual the caster can give themselves the ability to breath underwater. Beware that while you will not be capable of drowning anymore, water pressure is still a factor that the ritual cannot protect you from. (Permanent)
I also managed to increase some of my stats. The extreme study sessions as well as the foraging and the hunting of the last 2 years had helped me raise them but not too much on the physical side. It seems I will have to really try to increase those stats after they reach their one hundred thresholds.
+15 INT
+10 WIS
+3 STR
+5 VIT
+10 DEX
I also managed to max out all my weapon masteries as well but the way to upgrade them still eluded me.
Lastly I managed to accomplish a new feat of magic that admittedly was the coolest thing ever and I couldn't wait to explore more possibilities with it in the years to come.
New Skill: Shape shifting(Lv5): Your ability to transform yourself into various animals. It needs an exceptional amount of knowledge about the physiology of the animal in order to transform. Current number of forms: 1 Form(s): Red-Tailed Hawk
The feeling of flying under your own power, the wind touching your wings and watching the whole landscape from above was indescripable. I started spending so much time at some point as a bird that though that Freyja had to temporalily curse my skill in order to stop wasting time and start taking my studies seriously.
The third year was spent working on my core element affinities and by that I mean Fire, Water and Earth. Light even though it is one of the core elements needs special training and focus so it was left for later.
Fire was simple. I had such a great ability for it that maxing it was achieved in only six months and the other six I mastered the few spells I learned. Warfyre was unfortunately completely ignored though because my teacher didn't want me to mesh with higher ranked magics when I was filling my mana with lower leveled ones. It seems it reducing the progress made by replacing the elemental flavor in my magic or something like that.
Water and Earth were harder to deal with. It took me a huge amount of time to learn to transform my mana in the respective natures and my casting speed is still somewhat shaky, though Loki's ring helps some with that when I am allowed to wear it. Apparently Freyja doesn't believe in shortcuts or stupid artifacts from snake faced assholes. Her words not mine.
Both elements I managed to raise to level 15 control wise and I was able to make some pretty free element manipulation with them, though only parlor tricks according to Freyja. Spell wise I only learned one for each elemnt plus I managed to train my other earth spell a bit. They were pretty weak though and they maxed out only in 5 Levels.
Geomancy (Lv2-Lv15): Your ability to control earth (-15MP to all earth spells). Cost: 16MP/sec
Fissure(Lv1-Lv5): By focusing earth energies in your hands and hitting the ground you create great fissures on the earth destroying landscapes and obliterating enemies. +600DMG + 240per 100 STR. Cost: 495(480) MP. Can be combined with other elements for extra effects.
Earth Wall(MAX): An earth type spell that is used to raise a rock solid wall in order to defend the caster from attacks or to be used as a stepping stone depending on the shape conjured. Cost 20(5) MP
Hydromancy(Lv2-Lv15): Your ability to control water (-15MP to all water spells). Cost: 29 MP/sec.
Purification(MAX): A water type spell that is used to purify small bodies of water. Amount of purification: 100 Liters, Cost:100 (85) MP.
They were quite situational but in the right moment and with creative use they can be a quite potent and I was happy with them all the same. After all who wouldn't want to use magic?
The last two years were each used for Light and Nature magic, with the second left for last because of how complicated it was.
Light after some clarifications I took like a fish to water and I was really happy with it. Aside for making flashlights obsolete and enabling me to walk through forests at night without being afraid of creating forest fires for some light, it is very effective against creatures that have a darkness alignment as well as cursed beasts like Lycaons brood, Ghosts and many others. I only learned 3 light spells even though I was really talented with it. The first was two were basically the same spell but for different uses and very minor.
Lumiomancy (Lv2-Lv20): Your ability to control light(-20MP to all light based spells). Cost 20MP
Flashlight(MAX): A light type spell that depending on the amount of mana used it can illuminate a set amount of area. Cost: 1 MP for every 10dm of area
Light Ball(MAX): A light type spell that creates a palm sized ball of light that can remain alight alone for 5 minutes and illuminate in a 10 meters radius. If an illumination rune is carved bellow the spell then it can remain as long as the rune is intact. Cost 100 MP.
The last one though was awesome.
Laeshi (Lv20): A light type spell that imbues weapons and projectiles like arrows or bullets or even your body with light causing them to deal extra light damage. + 60 dmg, Cost: 40(20) MP/ min. Special: When used against dark aligned creatures or beings then there is a +100% damage dealt.
Freyja didn't let me learn any other light spells because they were too advanced for me at this point.
Nature magic was the most difficult of all. Unlike all other elements that you had to transform your raw mana into them and use them, with nature you had to transform both water and earth at the same time and combine it flawlessly in order to use it. It took me 6 months to manage that and another 2 to be able to keep it stable enough to cast spells and by the time I did it I cursed Hashirama Senju to the deepest pits of hell for making it look so fucking easy to create fucking forests from nothing when it took me 8 months of nonstop training to even make a fucking flower bloom.
I only learned 1 nature spell, though unlike the other elements this one was very cool.
Chloromancy(Lv1-Lv10): Your ability to raise and control plants (-10MP to all plant spells). Cost 50 MP/ sec
Thorn Binding Death(Lv10): A nature type spell that sprouts thick steel hard thorny vines that bind and shred your enemies at the same time. 300 DMG, Cost:100(90)MP per enemy bound.
Yep it was utterly badass. Seeing this spell it makes me really reconsider Demeter's danger level.
So here we are now. After five years of rigorous training my magical studies under Freyja are over and I am kneeling before my Mistress ready to receive the mark of sorcery and with that her blessing in using my magics without supervision. With this mark I was recognized as a fully fledged magical practitioner though a young and inexperienced one. The prestige of graduating from an apprenticeship from the most well known and powerful sorceress of the Norse pantheon is a huge accomplishment and a feat I can boast with pride. I even got a title out of it.
Sorceress: You have been educated in the ways of the Arcane and have been recognized by a master of the arts with the mark of graduation. You gain +20% effectiveness to all mana based skills.
As a graduation gift Freyja made me a whole outfit created by Vanir armor smiths and a bow made and enchanted from her, capable of reaching great distances fully supplementing my improved Clairvoyance perk.
Vanir Battle Armor
+1000 MP
+50% to physical defenses
+30% to magical defenses
Special: Transfiguration: When pushing some mana in the center of the belt with the intent to transform the armor changes to a jeans and hoodie ensemble making it capable of fooling even clear sighted mortals. WARNING: When transformed the armor gains a +80% reduction to all enchantments.
Info: A battle armor commissioned by Freyja and made by Vanir master armor smiths. This armor made from enchanted leather is a work of art that can serve the wearer in battle splendidly, giving him the defense of a full plate heavy armor without the extra weight, protecting him without sacrificing their mobility . The armor will grow with the wearer.
Yew Raptor Bow
+1200 Damage
Range: 65 miles (105km)
+100% damage to monsters
+30% damage to divines
+50 dmg when imbued with light
Special: Freyja's Love: The bow is capable of turning into a ring when not in use and it can summon an unlimited amount of arrows capable of harming the supernatural. It can only be used by Alexandra Bellum.
Info: Made from Freyja herself for her beloved apprentice. The enchantments of the weapon grants it tremendous power and range and makes it capable of harming even the most durable targets. It is neatly indestructible.
I was amazed by the gifts. They were both as powerful as they were beautiful and I was itching to wear them and start a hunting expedition to test them.
The armor was all leather aside from the pauldrons, gauntlets and belt buckle that were made from Uru steel, the Norse pantheons signature ore. The top was a crimson red (my signature color) and the leather pants were grey while the boots were brown with the Uru made parts being a rippled silver, like Damascus steel but way better. Of course every part of it was decorated with runes giving it an even better appearance.
The bow on the other hand was white and inscribed with crimson runes. At both ends were the string was tied to the wood there were decorative hawk heads that were probably the reason for its name. Their beaks were gold while their heads were black and for eyes they had clean cut emeralds.
I was ready to run into the forest for a test drive when I was held back by the scruff of my neck by Freyja.
"Wait a minute young lady, we don't have time for you to hunt today . We have other obligations" she said the word 'obligations' like it was a poisonous viper biting her on the neck.
"What kind of obligations?" I asked surprised. In the 5 years I have spent here we have never left the forest so this change came out of the left field.
"We have to go to Asgard for the annual celebratory feast" she continued with an expression of a prisoner walking towards the guillotine.
"Annual Feast? First if its annual then why didn't you go the last 5 times it was done? Second, what changed that made it necessary for you to attend this year? And third and most important, why do I have to come too? I asked freaking out a little bit on the inside about going to Asgard and meeting all these Gods.
"Well, my cute little apprentice." said the Goddess with a serene smile "The last five years I ruthlessly took advantage of your apprenticeship to make an excuse of important and sensitive circumstances that gave me an out. Unfortunately for me your apprenticeship is now over and worse of all my father knows it so I can't really use you as an excuse anymore to stay away from that rowdy and headache inducing celebration." explained Freyja and then continued.
"Also unfortunately for you, you are my latest apprentice and as a result you must make an appearance with me in order to be introduced to the Divine world as a whole. Just so you know there is a possibility of more than Norse Gods being there." she ended with a smirk that promised the pain of a thousand tortures if I embarrased her.
The horror at the explanation must have caused me to take a very funny expression because the sadistic Goddess with an angelic face started cackling and muttering about now not being alone in her suffering and that I would have to suffer with her this year, creeping me out and making me even more nervous for this event.
After she finished taking enjoyment out of my trepidation, she summoned her chariot drawn by giant cats of all things (and I don't mean lions or tigers, they are literally cats that are the size of small horses) and we headed for Njord palace in the capital of Vanaheim in order for us to get ready for the feast.
Thankfully I didn't have to wear a dress, the Aesir are apparently really into the whole warrior culture thing and as long as you were a recognized warrior wearing your armor in official events was more than acceptable which suited me just fine. The only prettying up I had to do was to bathe and then sit down while some servant fixed my hair from their ponytail into a more free flowing shape with some knots at each side of my head above my ears that kept them flowing behind my back and not in the front of my face. I also checked my status in order to check my parameters while wearing my new armor.
Status
Name: Alexandra Bellum
Race: Demigod
Gender: Female
Title: Sorceress
Level: 20 (1.910.375/2.900.813)
HP: 14860 (+3000) HPReg= 12 % /h
MP: 7430(+2000) MPReg= 38 mp/min
STR: 200
VIT: 105
DEX: 120(135)
INT:75(85)
WIS: 63(83)
CHA: 66
LUC: 12(17)
Status: 15
So here we are now, a company of dozens Vanir Gods and officials plus a ten year old looking demigoddess way out of her depth, standing in a huge circle of Runes and waiting for our time to get beamed to Asgard through Bifrost.
I even met Freyja's father and brother, as well as her two daughters that were admittedly almost as beautiful as their mother.
Njord was a very handsome man looking around his mid-forties with light brown hair and sea green eyes and a long beard that was decorated with norse knots. He had an easy going smile and when he saw me wearing the Vanir armor he gained a very amused tinkle in his eyes.
Hnoss and Gersemi, Freyja's daughters were both blonde and beautiful. They had their hair done beautifully and wore tailor made dresses that probably cost a small island each in Midgard. Though they were acting pretty aloof when I tried to talk to them and for a moment I thought they didn't like me or something but Freyja informed me that they really didn't like these official events and were using a cold façade to steer away idiotic suitors, which was understandable really.
As for Frey. Well Frey was quite of annoying.
"Gods Freyja, its been a while" he said hugging his sister and then continues "Is this your mysterious apprentice that we have heard so much about?he said pointing at me with his finger "Isn't she a little young to be trying to learn magic though? Does she even have enough seidr to cast a spell yet?
My eyebrow started twitching at his words. His tone didn't have any arrogance or contempt so he was really just curious and not malicious in his question, but it pissed me off all the same. I didn't train my butt off for 5 years to have some blonde pretty boy fop try to diss me and Freyja's teaching skills, so I did what every self respecting apprentice should do to defend the honor of her Mistress and prove her skills as well. I set his girly hair on fire.
It took him 5 seconds to comprehend what I had done. After that he started running in circles screaming his head off about his luscious locks getting ruined and trying to put the fire out all the while everyone else were laughing their asses off with Njord being the loudest.
Freyja proud expression when she looked at me really made my day. After all brother or not the first thing she taught me was to not take shit from anyone and my actions proved that I had learned my lesson.
Following the amusing incident, one of the soldier escorts informed us that we had only 5 more minutes before the Bifrost started so everyone took their positions and put the serious faces on. Though funnily enough Frey kept sending me nervous looks from time to time, probably fearing that I will try to burn his magically restored hair again, which was absurd because I won't burn his hair on a whim. Probably.
Five minutes later a great rainbow beam descended from the heavens and hit our position and with a slight disorienting feeling we were teleported to a fully golden observatory that was looking towards the starry space and I couldn't help but gawk a little.
After Njord traded pleasantries with Heimdallr and Freyja promised him that if he ever peeps on her while she baths she is gonna use his intestines to hang him from the edge of the observatory by his balls (there was an incident a while back said Hnoss to me that had the watcher almost beaten to death because he peeped on her mother and she sensed him, though she said to never ask because it was a sore spot) which made every single male in the vicinity wince and clench their butt cheeks a bit, we started walking towards the golden city of Asgard.
~ChildeOfWar