For the next few days, my mother taught me to access and manipulate holy power.
The Holy power was one of the most purest form of energies, said to have been originated from god of bible himself. It could be weilded by angels and fallen angels alike, and was particularly harmful against creatures of darkness, including devils, vampires, mythological monsters, youkai etc.
After two days of relentless attempts to wield the power, my system finally came through, creating a skill for it.
[Skill Created: Holy Power Manipulation] (Lvl 1)
My control over it was basic, but by the end of the first week, I was finally able to create a weapon from it; a double edged spear that glowed pure white, just like my wings. It was like holding a glowing L.E.D stick in the form of a spear but that radiated pure power and warmth. It was amazing, and I loved it. Holy spear became my first choice of weapon and after successfully creating it, I barely even touched the wooden spear that I'd been using.
[๐ฆ๐ธ๐ถ๐น๐น ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ: ๐๐ผ๐น๐ ๐ช๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป] ๐๐๐น ๐ญ
Especially throwing the holy spear was a lot of fun. It took some practice, but I can skewer a straw dummy in the chest from a 100 yards after the end of that week. Launching it was almost instinctive, the massive strength behind my arms powered the throw and my inhuman dexterity and senses made sure my aim was true. The Holy weapons themselves could be used at any range; Melee, short-range, mid-range, or even long range. It made them ideal choice of weapon in a forest filled with monsters.
After the first week, my mother deemed me good enough to travel. And thus started out journey from the ancient forest of Cedar in northern Iraq, to the kuoh city of Japan.
For the first few days, my mother kept a slow pace, and we barely covered 10 miles per day. After that, we started picking up pace, and mother finally realised I was showing absolutely no sign of fatigue even after we pushed more than 35 miles in a day. The huge power-up has made me superhuman, including my endurance and constitution. I was sure we could've gone much faster, but the monsters attacked us almost daily after my genetic revelation. It was so unnatural, that I'd ended up asking mom about it.
"Demigod's aura starts spreading once they know about themselves, which was the reason I did not reveal the truth before your sixth birthday. Your aura was already attracting monsters, give it a few more days and we might even have to fight dragons."
The monsters didn't give us a break. But this also meant mom was training me very seriously. Though our traveling time was now cut off by a large amount due to monsters and training montages, we made it up by going extra fast, covering over 5 kilometres per hour steadily.
After three weeks of relentless workout, most of my skills had increased. And mother finally let me face my first monster with a promise to not interfere. I've been stealing her kills for the last three weeks, and now it was time to hunt a monster on my own.
๐ ๐ถ๐ธ๐ฎ๐ฒ๐น
๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ: ๐๐ผ๐ฑ/๐๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐น/๐๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐น ๐๐๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฑ
๐ง๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฟ: ๐ฎ (๐ฆ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ต๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ป)
๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น: ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ญ
๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ: ๐ด๐ฌ๐ฑ๐ฌ/๐ด๐ฌ๐ฑ๐ฌ
๐๐ผ๐น๐ ๐ฃ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ: ๐ด๐ฌ๐ฑ๐ฌ/๐ด๐ฌ๐ฑ๐ฌ
๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ: ๐ด๐ฌ๐ฑ๐ฌ/๐ด๐ฌ๐ฑ๐ฌ
๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ: ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฌ/๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฌ
๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ต: ๐ฑ๐ต๐ฌ๐ฌ /๐ฑ๐ต๐ฌ๐ฌ
๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐๐
๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐๐ต: ๐ญ๐ฌ๐ณ
๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ: ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฎ
๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐: ๐ญ๐ฏ๐ฌ
๐๐ป๐ฑ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ: ๐ญ๐ญ๐ญ
๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐๐ถ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป: ๐ญ๐ญ๐ด
๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐น: ๐ฏ๐ญ
๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ถ๐: ๐ญ๐ฒ๐ฌ
๐ฃ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐๐: ๐ฒ๐ฌ
๐ฆ๐ธ๐ถ๐น๐น๐:
๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐โ
๐๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ-๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐น๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด (๐ณ/๐ญ๐ฌ)
๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐น๐ ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ถ๐น๐น๐โ
๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ฝ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป (๐๐๐น ๐ฎ)
๐๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ฝ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป (๐๐๐น ๐ฏ)
๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ถ๐น๐น๐โ
[๐ฃ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป] ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ
[๐ฃ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป] ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ
๐๐ผ๐น๐ ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ถ๐น๐น๐โ
[๐๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ]โ ๐ง๐๐ผ-๐ช๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐น
๐๐ผ๐น๐ ๐ฃ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ฝ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป (๐๐๐น ๐ฎ)
๐๐ผ๐น๐ ๐ช๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป (๐๐๐น ๐ฎ)
๐ข๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ถ๐น๐น๐โ
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ:
๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ (๐๐๐น ๐ฐ)
๐ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐:
๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด: ๐ณ๐ฌ/๐ญ๐ฌ๐ฌ
๐๐ผ๐น๐ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐: ๐ณ๐ฌ/๐ญ๐ฌ๐ฌ
๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด: ๐ต๐ฌ/๐ญ๐ฌ๐ฌ
๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐: ๐ต๐ฌ/๐ญ๐ฌ๐ฌ
Air and lightning manipulation was something mother encouraged me to use as much as I can. They were my divine skills, inherited from the god of sky, lightning, and thunder.
But for my first fight against a monster, mum wanted me to end the thing quickly.
๐๐ผ๐-๐ฐ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐น
๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ: ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐น
๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น: ๐ญ๐ฒ๐ต
๐ง๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฟ: ๐ฎ (๐ฆ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ต๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ป)
๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ: ๐ณ๐ฑ๐ฌ๐ฌ/๐ณ๐ฑ๐ฌ๐ฌ
๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ: ๐ด๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฌ/๐ด๐ณ๐ฑ๐ฌ
๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ต: ๐ต๐ฑ๐ฌ๐ฌ/๐ต๐ฑ๐ฌ๐ฌ
๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐๐
๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐๐ต: ๐ญ๐ด๐ฌ
๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ: ๐ญ๐ฑ๐ฏ
๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐: ๐ญ๐ฒ๐ด
๐๐ป๐ฑ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ: ๐ญ๐ณ๐ฑ
๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐๐ถ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป: ๐ญ๐ต๐ฌ
๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐น: ๐ญ๐ฎ
๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ถ๐: ๐ญ๐ฑ๐ฌ
I knew this creature, mom had told me countless stories about them. Especially considering she herself was a stray devil now. Just the thought of her becoming a mindless zombie creature like this one was panicking for me. I wanted to go down into hell itself and drag ajuka Beelzebub here to fix this.
Still, the fight was anticlimatic. I launched my holy weapons at the thing as it ran towards me. It had good enough instincts to dodge the first couple of them, but could do nothing when I manipulated the wind around us to hold it in place. It didn't actually work of course, my air manipulation was too low for that, but it did make him stumble. And the next Holy spear was lodged directly in its brain, killing it instantly.
[๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐จ๐ฝ] ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฎ
[๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐จ๐ฝ] ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฏ
[๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐จ๐ฝ] ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฐ
I dismissed the rapid notifs of level ups, instead beaming up at my mother happily.
My mother cheered and clapped for me, and proceeded to throw a huge party; which consisted of boar meat, orange juice and blueberries. She did try to make a cake out of those blueberries, but the attempt had been...less than successful. She was decently proficient in using demonic power, what with 6 years of practice, but a cake was something that she had no idea how to make. She just didn't have a complete enough image in her mind to make the cake.
I, the other hand, got another skill in that same day after trying to copy her. She'd already explained that part to me, on how to use the power of imagination and creation. I accessed the well of energy inside me, the demonic power flowing throughout my body. Then, using my will and imagination, I simply needed to envision the thing I wished to create. See, it might seem simple, but it wasn't. I tried going easy, and create a simple wooden sword. And thus realised, that a 'simple wooden sword' wasn't as simple as it looked. Your imagination needs to beย Perfectย for you to get the desired item. If I didn't imagine my sword having an appropriate length or width, the sword came out looking like a block of wood. I had to imagine it's shape, form, colour, curves, everything that makes a sword, a sword. It will definitely take some practice. But hey, atleast I got a skill!
[๐ฆ๐ธ๐ถ๐น๐น ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ: ๐ข๐ฏ๐ท๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป] ๐๐๐น ๐ญ
Noice.
Our journey east was like an adventure that everyone wished they experienced in their life, but knew they never could.
Demonic power was seriously a game breaker. Most of the mundane issues in such a journey like this were instantly solved by a clever use of object creation. You need a place to sleep? Just imagine a comfy tent and bam! Problem solved. You need water to wash yourself? Demonic power got you covered again. Though our immortal bodies should get some credit too. We didn't need a bathroom, cause our bodies never produced waste. We didn't need to bath too much, cause our bodies didn't produce sweat. Brush your teeth? Nah, your angelic mouth's gonna smell fresh and clear everyday.
It was an ideal adventure we all imagine as children. The breathless rush of danger and chillโ knowing there's are monsters out there looking for you in the night. The excitement and satisfaction coursing through your veins when you fight and slay the same monsters in the day. A trusty companion at your side that you know will do everything to protect you. No need to worry about the mundane things that usually made your trips a living nightmare. Damp ground? Nah, demonic power's got you covered. Mosquitoes? They're bloodsuckers, not ichor-suckers and whatever the hell angels and devils are made up of.
I dare say: I enjoyed the journey. Especially the time me and my mother spent together, figuring out more uses for demonic power. She knew that devils could cast spells using this stuff, but didn't know how to go about doing it.
Another enjoyable moment we spent together was when she taught me how to fly. The wings weren't just for show, you know. Not surprising huh? Well, it was to me. How can anyone use these precious beauties to do anything but admire them? But still, I didn't complain. Especially not once I finally managed to get in the air.
Flying.. another dream every child dreamt. The absolute freedom to go anywhere you wish, not being bound to the land as you leap to the sky, adding another dimension in your path. The absolutely liberating feelingโI will not be bound, for I'm free! No one can catch me! No laws will bind me! No struggle for money, no emotional crap, just sheer freedom and ecstasy of ascension. I felt it all. I experienced it all. I cherished it all.
And thus I treasured it. Especially the memories of my mother holding me, teaching me to fly slowly as she let go. The soft wind caressing my face, the currents of electricity sparkling in my golden blonde hair that I'd inherited from my mother.
I loved it.
And of course, I also loved the skill it gave me.
[๐ฆ๐ธ๐ถ๐น๐น ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ: ๐๐น๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด] ๐๐๐น ๐ญ
Except flying, I also learned to use my divine side of skills. Namely;
๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ (๐๐๐น ๐ญ)โย which came from my lightning manipulation. I could now coat my wooden spear in electricity, shocking my enemies.
๐ช๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ฝ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป (๐๐๐น ๐ญ)โ This was just a subset of air manipulation. I just willed the air to flow faster and it became wind. But it did took a few seconds of concentration to turn air into wind. This skill however, enabled me to directly produce gusts of wind. My control was still barely enough to launch the wind through a one foot tunnel, blow away a few leaves from trees. After which it became wild and out of control, spreading back in the surrounding.
Still, it was weirdly satisfying in just using your powers for mundane things. The food is too hot? Here, I'll use my godly abilities to blow it cool. Even though using my own lips would've been better, the simple fact that I can actually use these cool abilities could never get old.
My training and slaying continued. For a month whole, I killed wild animals and weaker monsters, including low-class stray devils. At the end of our second month in the journey, we came across a herd of bull-men, with muscular bodies and heads of bulls. My mother informed me they were a herd of minotaurs.
Needless to say, I was quite surprised.
"But I thought there was only one minotaur? The Minotaur." I asked my mother, confused.
"They are different entities, Mikael. The one you speak of was the greek Minotaur that was trapped in the labyrinth, only to be slain by the hero Theseus. It was not the last time he was slain by a hero, neither will it be stopped by it's constant deaths at the hand of other Demigods. These minotaurs however, have no form of immortality. They do not disperse to tartarus, but instead die like mundane creatures. They are his subspecies, that wanders the world in herds like mundane cows. Be wary still, for they are carnivorous creatures and will not hesitate to attack you."
I used my observe of them as mum finished her explanation.
๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฟ (๐๐น๐ฝ๐ต๐ฎ)
๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ: ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ/๐๐๐น๐น ๐๐๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฑ
๐ง๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฟ: ๐ฏ (๐๐ป๐ต๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ป)
๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น: ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ฎ
๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ: ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌ/๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌ
๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ต: ๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌ/๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌ
๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐๐
๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐๐ต: ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฑ
๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ: ๐ญ๐ต๐ณ
๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐: ๐ญ๐ต๐ด
๐๐ป๐ฑ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ: ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฌ
๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐๐ถ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป: ๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ฌ
๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐น: ๐ญ๐ณ
The herd of bulls seemed to have sensed my presence, even though we were scouting them from the sky.
Damn the curse.
I wanted to fight them, and tried to convince my mum to let me handle them alongside her. Up to no effect it seemed. My mother won't deny my any request...unless it posed a threat to my life. Then she showed me how strong her Will really was.
But I still persisted. And after a lot of begging and pleading, my mother let me fight the alpha. But only after she decimated the rest of the herd running towards us.
After that came my match. And I was excited...for the first few minutes of fight. Afterwards it became boring.
In the end, it wasn't much of a fight at all.
The only way the alpha minotaur could pose a threat to me was if he got anywhere close to me, cause he was way superior to me physically. He could probably crunch my bones into powder if I ever got in his grasp. But melee had never been my intention. I'd already mastered my holy spear throwing when in the air, and so I relentlessly peppered the thing. He was dexterous enough to dodge a full volley of my spears but with a skillful use of wind manipulation, a single holy spear went straight through his shoulder, crippling him, and another through the chest made sure he'll stay stuck to the ground. I then rained a volley of spears, ripping into his head and throat before finally putting him down for good.
[๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐จ๐ฝ] ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ญ
[๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐จ๐ฝ] ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฎ
[๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐จ๐ฝ] ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ
...
...
...
[๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐จ๐ฝ] ๐ญ๐ฑ๐ฎ
It wasn't really a fight, but more like a hunt. Perhaps if the beast had been smarter, It could've thrown stones at me. Considering its massive strength, it could've probably hurled some small boulders too.
What a disappointment.
I still got the levels though, and that's all that matters