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2:49:38
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Centuries of scholars have debated this for years, but there still isn't a clear winner. Do you value the ability to dissect your opponent's style and pick apart their defenses, or do you trust your own intuition and let your body keep moving on its own? The answer, well, my answer is that you do both.
I just showed you. Delta's swordsmanship is deadly for sure, but he also favors longrange mana blasts. That makes him a threat from both close and far, so I have to pick my poison with him to survive this battle. I might have some insane abilities, but I'm nowhere near the power of some of these other people yet. Logically, I should stay away from him if I want to win. However, as someone who is quite skilled with a sword, I know that I can also invade his personal space to deal some damage if I do it right. When I disappeared, I knew I'd be right behind Delta in a second or two.
The danger was that there was a very real chance that he'd be able to turn around and stop my attack in its tracks. That's why I knowingly threw my spear at his left side—I knew he'd have to move his sword across his body to deflect the hit. Strategy and experience, hand in hand. I picked up Malice, sheathing it on my back. I twirled Riptide in my hands a couple of times as I waited for him to get up. Might as well test that swordsmanship.
"Not bad," Delta commented, wiping some blood from his mouth. He rolled his neck and stretched his arms out as a grin formed on his face. "Let's kick it up a notch, shall we, my lord?"
I mirrored his expression. "I thought you'd never ask."
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2:12:27
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The third principle: power.
CLANG!
Delta and I met in the middle, our swords colliding in a shower of sparks. I felt him push against me as Riptide began to shake a little. Athena's third principle of battle was perhaps the least important. I know what you're thinking, but let me stop you there. Power is sort of like buying a high-end pc. When you're talking budget, the first two thousand or so dollars make all the difference.
A $400 build compared to a $1000 build? Come on. You're going to want the $1000 build every day of the week—it'll run better, and look better.
I broke the stalemate, dropping low and slashing downwards. If I was lucky, I'd catch him lacking and cut right into his upper thigh. He parried my slash, aiming a strike at my face. I ducked under it easily, trying to kick out his leg from underneath him. I smashed my sneaker into the backside of his knee. Delta snarled, switching stances fluidly, completely ignoring my attempt to catch him off balance. He lunged forward, stepping on myConversewith his heavily armored foot. Ouch. My leg went a little weak at that hit, and Delta capitalized, making me see stars with a vicious bash from the hilt of his sword.
"Not bad," I echoed Delta's words from earlier with a smile, ignoring the ringing sound in my ears. My head felt like it was hit by a metal chair.
Where were we? Oh yeah. PCs—take it a step further. A $2000 build will be even better. You'll be able to run any game you want on the highest settings, without worrying about any sort of overheating or frame loss. Past that, though, you're starting to lose some money. You've already reached an insanely high level of performance. I'm not saying your machine won't be better if you spend more money. A more expensive build is better, yes, but marginally so.
You can keep spending money all you want, but your performance will only get a little bit better each time. To put it simply, it'll plateau. Eventually, you'll end up spending much more money on a pc that does just a bit better than a slightly cheaper one. Power is kind of like that, too.
In the earlier stages, power makes all the difference. If you look at me compared to your average twelve-year-old, for example, the difference in power between us is so wide that it easily wins me that battle, regardless of their strategy or experience. Similarly, if you look at me and then at someone like Hercules, he'd probably overpower me very quickly. I've never met the guy, but for the sake of example, he does the job.
The only thing is, the higher you get up in the food chain, so to speak, the more power falls off, just like in our PC example. Take my dad, for example, versus Ares. Ares, without a doubt, has the most physical power out of everyone on Olympus. He's the literal embodiment of war. It's like fighting an atomic bomb in a humanoid shell.
Against my dad, though?
Ares would get his leather-clad ass handed to him.
Fast.
While Ares has an insane amount of power, my dad has just enough that it doesn't make a difference. He doesn't have nearly enough power as Ares, yes, but he's got enough that Ares' insane amount of power won't automatically decide the battle in his favor. While he might have more power than my dad, my dad has more strategy and experience, no doubt. Even if those two aspects of them are similar, the mana difference isn't even close.
My dad, based on what I've seen, has one of the largest pools of mana in existence. He can obliterate anyone.
I began charging mana in my left hand as I eyed Delta warily. I knew the battle was going to be over soon, but I wasn't trying to take any chances. And, our final principle: mana. Mana is essentially the life force of everything. According to Hestia, mana is formed by combining two other energies: physical energy and spiritual energy. Physical energy is sort of like stamina and durability. You can increase this through training and exertion, whereas spiritual energy is only increased by experience and meditation. I don't know much about the theory of mana, but I do know its uses. You can use mana for literally anything. Shoot it out of your hands like our friend Delta? Sure. Use your own to meditate and see everyone else's? Yeah, why not? Charging it into different parts of your body for all kinds of different results? Yep. Mana can decide the outcome of a battle in a second. If you have more mana than your opponent, 9 times out of 10, you should win that battle.
Mana can fortify your body. It can make you stronger, faster, and more durable than previously possible. If you're skilled enough, you can literally yank someone else's mana out of their body, leaving them feeling weak and drained.
Against a mana monster like my dad, most beings wouldn't stand a chance. If he really wanted to, he could bring everyone in Atlantis to their knees in a moment. I have yet to see another being like him fight, and I truly hope I never do. That's the kind of battle that you don't usually walk away from.
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0:13:16
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Time to end this. I ran at Delta, my entire left fist glowing blue with the familiar hum of mana emitting from it.
Delta raised his sword but then threw it into the ground. Wait, what? What sort of move was that? He ran towards me, jumping into the air. To my surprise, his sword went shooting out of the ground and into his hands as he brought it down in a sparkling slash. A fine distraction. He really crossed me with that one! Unluckily for him…time means nothing to me. The clock on the top right of my vision stopped ticking as I entered [Accelerate] and used my [Time Dilation] at the same time.
Everyone's movements began slowing down. My movements streaked in this sped-up bubble of time. My body blurred. I flashed behind Delta, time slowed to a near standstill. His head barely started moving to face me as I slammed my fist into his lower back. Delta's armor crumpled under my punch, curling around my hand. There was an audible crunch as Delta went careening into the wall, the force of the impact causing one of the chandeliers to shake.
"That's quite enough," My dad decided to step in, his sea-green eyes sparkling with mirth. Yeah, yeah. Leave it to him to step in when his dining hall starts getting wrecked. "Delta, I trust you've tested my son enough?"
"Yes, my lord," Delta replied, standing up and walking over to his spot on the table, completely unbothered, despite the mess we'd just made. I fought the twitch in my left eye. I did all of that just for him to get up and shrug it off. I knew he was holding back, but that was just insulting.
"You fought well," Poseidon said pleasantly, his arms outstretched. I took a quick look around the room and saw that everyone was looking at me expectantly. I knelt at the spot I was standing, my eyes trained on the floor.
Look man, I don't get why the Greeks are so big on kneeling, either. I just sort of do what I'm told. Plus, Hestia told me, there was some sort of ritual I'd have to take part in when I got here, something about being recognized by the ocean as one of its true heirs. A bunch of pretentious nonsense, if you ask me. Anyways…
"Prince Perseus," Poseidon boomed, the room deadly quiet. "We have watched your conquests, seen your journey. Can anyone refute the fact that my son is worthy?" Silence. Pure silence. Even Delta shot me a grin. My dad cleared his throat and shot me a cautious look.
"Be still." It was beautiful. One by one, every single member of the table started singing. There weren't any audible words, though. It was like the Whos in Whoville around the Christmas tree. As everyone began singing more and more, I felt my body go rigid. A sudden weight settled over my body like there was an invisible hippo sitting on my shoulders. It wasn't painful, or unpleasant, though. It just…was.
Little beads of mana started forming in front of everyone, growing from the size of little almonds to tennis balls to the size of a small dog. They slowly floated toward my dad, who had his own mana ball. His "ball" was more of a pulsing, multicolored mass of mana that was the size of my mom's old minivan.
It gave off a visible heat, sparking some of the silverware on the table. Was I about to be blasted? Poseidon smiled. "Then, let me be the first to officially welcome you to your birthright—" The door slammed open.
"You could never know what it's like…your blood like winter freezes just like ice and there's a cold lonely light that shines from you," A voice belted out from behind me. I couldn't move my body, but the look on my dad's face spoke volumes. He looked annoyed. More annoyed than I'd ever seen him before. "You'll wind up like the wreck you hide behind that mask you use!" I felt someone's hands clamp down on my shoulders. Their grip was firm but unsteady as if they were holding onto me more to keep themselves upright than anything else. The sharp, pungent stench of alcohol hit me like a wave, making my stomach churn. "And did you think this fool could never win?" the voice continued, slurred but mocking, with a strange, drunken rhythm to the words. The hands tightened slightly, and I tried not to flinch.
"Well, look at me, I'm coming back again!" Wait a damn minute. That was Elton John! My mom used to sing this song around Christmas when I was a kid. Poseidon sighed loudly, the mana still flowing off of his body.
"Triton…" Triton? The dude rubbing on me like a cat and singing Elton John was supposed to be Triton, the powerful god and rightful heir of the seas?
"Don't you know I'm still standing better than I ever did! Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid!" Triton hollered, skipping in front of me with his guitar. "I'm still standing after all this time… picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind! I'm still standing!" Triton started running alongside the table, whacking everyone's goblets and plates as he screamed.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" As my dad's nostrils flared, I closed my eyes to the sounds of Triton's guitar slamming into random things. Atlantis was…something.
— - —
Quest Complete!
[SIDE QUEST] {The Greatest Showman!}
[Quest Prompt]: You have arrived in your father's court, after a short, yet confusing journey through Atlantis. Right as you've attempted to get your bearings back, you find yourself challenged by one of his commanders! Put on a show and demonstrate your natural aptitude as a warrior until your father decides to step in!
[Time Limit]: 5 minutes!
[Hidden Objectives]:
- Land a hit on Delta! [X]
- Force your Father to intervene in the fight! [ ]
- Get Alpha and Omega involved! [ ]
[Total Rewards Earned]:
- [Variable] boost in reputation!
- [+][40,000][EXP]!
- [+][Skill][Atlantean Swordsmanship]!
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[Skill]: Atlantean Swordsmanship
[System Denomination]: Active
[Attribute Group]: DEX
[Level]: 1
[Description]: Forged through the ancient martial traditions of Atlantis, this form is used to wield a blade with the grace and precision of the deep-sea warriors. Atlantean Swordsmanship emphasizes fluid motion, adaptability, and sudden bursts of power—like the rolling tide.
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