In the void of space outside the Earth's influence. A blob of pure energy was undulating as if trembling from extreme anger or frustration.
This slight trembling was like a radio wave that traveled to millions of kilometers to reach other blobs of energy laying dormant elsewhere.
Some of the blobs of evil gods were awakened by this and responded with a wave of their own. It wasn't an intentional action from the evil god that targeted Earth but a discovery of an ability that it had, not knowing the consequences of using it; conscious or otherwise.
Now, evil gods of the same strata as it was responded to its call and were offering help for a stake of the Earth as the price.
The evil god, young as it was felt relief when others responded to it. And immediately told other evil gods his frustrations. The evil gods among those that responded continued to console the evil god before offering to help. And this had become what awaited Earth: a coalition of evil gods combining their powers to encroach upon Earth and the winner takes all. The young evil god had yet to know the price of its blunder, to itself and to its fellow evil gods.
Soon, the Earth advanced into a state of being sieged on all sides. And the Divine Realm couldn't simply watch. They alerted their heralds.
…
"Yes, goddess." Gideon was receiving a call from Bia. Although their connection was cut, since they knew each other, they kept contact.
"Gideon, it seems the evil gods have gathered and are planning on working together to expedite the process of devouring Earth. Even the deities affiliated with what mortals would deem 'evil' are moving their heralds in gathering strength by any means.
"If this is left alone, those heralds would plunge the world in more chaos and feed the evil gods instead of deterring its growth."
Bia paused and her face was bare in front of Gideon. Gideon was able to peer into the Divine Realm with his divinity and authority. Bia was indeed a goddess. Even the most ugly goddess would still be magnitudes higher in beauty compared to the Earth's most beautiful women.
As she scrunched up her brows, Gideon asked, "And, what is it that you want to tell me, goddess Bia?" Gideon asked patiently.
"That is… please, have it within your heart to expand your influence on Earth. Even though we are many in this Divine Realm, we are powerless in interfering with the mortal world. You are a god among men, literally. Please."
"I see no problem with this request, goddess, however, I wonder what I can get for this transaction? I know it's not very 'godly' to ask for compensation, but I do need it here in the material world."
"I can give you the location of one of my divine artifacts when I was yet ascended. With my divinity lingering on it, it should serve as a unique and powerful weapon for whoever wields it."
"Hm. Tell me the location first. I'll decide after seeing it for myself."
"Sigh." Bia could only give him what he demanded. She was the one asking for help. Not for selfish reasons but for the good of all. Gideon was not compromising his own life for the sake of many as well. Although he's done this before, he still needed compensation to motivate him, not necessarily to make it hard for Bia.
The conversation ended in silence as Gideon retracted his gaze.
Back in the Divine Realm, Bia was wiping the sweat on her forehead. "How is it that Gideon surpassed me instantly in divinity when he only contracted with me on the same day?" Bia's sole unanswered mystery.
When she felt Gideon's gaze even though they were a realm apart, Bia truly felt stifled and her breathing turned ragged but she had control of herself, so it appeared as if nothing. She was battling the urge to bow down in front of Gideon as she would at Zeus.
"Gideon…" All she could do was to ponder.
While Bia was pondering over Gideon's strength…
Rebecca had achieved what could be called a milestone in incorporating the memories' knowledge about magic into her own and progressed significantly.
Magic in the other world was already so advanced that it touched each and every aspect of life. Even other knowledge and systems were deeply interconnected by the median that is magic or in its essence the manipulation of energy.
That's why Gideon was able to progress so fast when he was taught by his master cultivation, because he was already far superior in energy manipulation, he only needed to integrate his will to properly acquire Qi.
And this knowledge helped Rebecca greatly causing a minor feedback to happen. This feedback though, triggered something that had never been quiet for the whole duration of his stay on Earth after he acquired rights to manage Johnsons Enterprise.
{Gained Minor Divinity Feedback}
{Ten Orders of Magnitude in Gains activated.}
{Gained Supreme Divinity.}
{Supreme Divinity duplicate detected.}
{Enhancing Supreme Divinity by consuming duplicate skill.}
{Enhancement Complete. Divine Presence skill added to Supreme Divinity as a sub-skill.}
{Please set, Divine Presence sub-skill's effect:
· Power Bestowal
· Submission
· Divine Territory
· Divine Familiar}
"Divine Presence? I never had the experience of having a skill within a skill before this is a first.
"Let's see. Submission and Power Bestowal are achievable even without divinity. Divine Territory, assuming it has the same function as I imagine would be a defensive or supportive effect. And Divine Familiar would be something like an automatic defense mechanism or entity that can fight and protect at my behest."
"I'll go with Divine Familiar then. Since it's better to have two extra hands than just one."
{Divine Presence subskill Divine Familiar added. Please select Familiar's form:
· Humanoid
· Bestial
· Spiritual
· Artifact}
"Let's go with Humanoid so I can allow it to carry out my will with deft hands."
{Summoning Humanoid Familiar.}
{Summoning Complete.}
When Gideon blinked, the familiar had already materialized in front of him. It was naked and looked exactly like him down to the deepest details.
Even its own aura was similar to him.
{Because of physical restrictions, Divine Presence Skill's effects have been inhibited. Subskill Divine Familiar is autonomous and thus is not affected by the restrictions.}
"Oh? As expected, even though I'm already at Supreme Divinity I can't fully exert my divinity because of this impure body. The only way for me to use divinity even with my fleshy body would be to ascend to a higher cultivation realm.
"Reaching that realm is extremely ill-advised though, so until then… I'll have to make do with Transcendence Realm strength and Pure Spiritual Qi."
Gideon found the artifact left by Bia on Earth before she ascended and took it into his hands. He handed it to the Familiar and let it keep it. He will modify the spear later to make it more efficient.
It was a spear. Gideon held in his hand and felt the entirety of its existence. Then he swung with a might that dwarfs even the strongest fighters of the S-Class.
While he was in the vicinity of Greece, Gideon went for a little tour in Thebes. However, just as he was entering civilization, he encountered a dying boy whose eyes were all but dead and given up.
When Gideon saw the boy, he was reminded of the hardships he'd been through in the otherworld. He was also like this. Brought to a place he was unfamiliar with, Gideon suffered from all kinds of biases and bullying.
However, all that changed when he entered the goddess's temple and was brought to that same pure realm where she stayed. It was her territory and sanctuary.
There, Gideon was given the chance to fulfill what his sister Deborah was called for and his life changed for the better, or at least according to how he'd compare it with his previous life before this.
Going over to the boy and squatting beside him, Gideon asked the boy one question.
"I see the fire in your eyes, boy. Do you want power that would take you beyond your wildest imagination?"
"H-Help!" From this answer alone, Gideon knew the boy's will.
"Since you want to survive, them show me your will to survive and continue to survive in this world of the strong." Gideon then patted his head as energy left his body to be transferred to the boy.
In but a few seconds, the boy was able to stand up and walk properly. As if the dying image of him was a lie.
"Come with me. Leave everything behind and serve me." Gideon said the same words the goddess used on him.
The boy was puzzled, but he was certain that if he followed this man, he would be able to live a life worthy of storytelling.
"I will follow you, sir!" Yelled the boy.
"Good. However, call me master from now on. What's your name?"
"Atreus, master."
"Atreus, come with me now. We will have to prepare for training."
…
Atreus was born to a single mother; she was a prostitute. Although she wasn't abused by clients, there rarely were times when the condoms broke and pregnancy ensued. Atreus was a product of that. Since determining he father was not ideal, she left her job to take care of him until he was a toddler. All that time, she kept her figure and beauty well maintained as a force of habit. That was why, when Atreus was able to take care of simple chores as a little child, she returned to her job.
Then, an accident happened. She was drunk and her client had been too intoxicated as well. They played with some toys and used ropes. However, in their drunken stupor, the client used too much force when he'd tied the rope to her neck for chock-play.
She died and left Atreus an orphan. No one took him in, so he had to learn to scrape for food on the streets. Then, as time went by, he resorted to stealing and then by the time Gideon found him, he was beaten on the brink of death yet he still hadn't given up on life.
To some who had experienced the vicissitudes of life already, death would be welcomed instead of rejected and resisted strongly. But to this boy, who hasn't even began to truly live life, he was fighting for it.
This was the reason why Gideon, when he saw his eyes, had compassion for him.
Gideon brought him to a company owned villa and washed him, clothed him, and fed him.
Then he slowly explained what needed to be done in this place. The chores and how to take care of the place.
He then grabbed the boy, Atreus' arm and seriously asked him, "Are you willing to go through fire just for the chance to become stronger and gain your own freedom?"
"Yes!" without hesitation, Atreus answered him.
"Good. Come here. I'm making you one of my heralds." Gideon held the boy's head as he used his authority to awaken Atreus and made a contract with him after isolating the villa from prying eyes.
When everything was over, Atreus opened his eyes and saw the world with a new perspective. He looked at Gideon and bowed to him to say, "Master!"
"Good. What did you receive?"
"Martial Arts!"
"Oh? That's a good thing." Gideon praised. His Martial Arts knowledge and mastery was far superior to his mastery of magic. Magic was deeply engraved into his being as a means of manipulating energy, but Martial Arts had been ingrained into his soul. In a way, if he started practicing martial arts again in this world, a single flip of his hand would be enough to turn the world upside down, literally.
If the boy, Atreus had received his martial arts knowledge and memories, then it is only a matter of time before he would be able to fully utilize it and dominate the Earth with his fists.
One has to remember, that energy circulation techniques and spiritual arts are indeed part of Martial Arts in the otherworld, however, it is only a means to which Martial Arts become even more deadly. The essence of Martial Arts is to fight with every fiber of your being efficiently, to maim with your body, and to kill with your every move. The intent to harm will always be the essence of Martial Arts, not discipline, not honor, nor glory. Martial Arts is called the Art of Murder.
"Atreus, from tomorrow onwards, you will follow my instructions without fail. In training you will only have 3 chances to protest against my orders. And your protest must be valid, or it will be a waste. Do not ever forget this.
"I now give you those 3 chances. Once you use it up, your life, your thoughts, and your very being, will become something that you possess only because I permit it to exist.
"I am your master, I am your father, and I am your worst nightmare. Live with that knowledge for the rest of your life. How you interpret my words is part of your training. Now, go and rest. We'll start at 4 in the morning tomorrow. Go."
Gideon gave his instructions and also his baptism. Throughout the entire time, he had released his presence and locked the whole area of the villa within it. Those who were unfortunate enough to come close to the villa at this moment would have suffocated and fainted. However, Atreus endured it all like a soldier that endured torturous training for the sake of the country, their family, and lovers.
Seeing this determination, Gideon released a smile as he turned around and retracted his presence. The presence here is not the skill he received recently but the presence of a Transcendence Realm cultivator.
Once Gideon retracted it, Atreus who had barely been holding on silently stood up and as he took a step, he fell on the floor, unconscious.
Thud.
"Good endurance, kid. You're worth grooming. Truly."
Today, Gideon had found someone to nurture randomly as he took a stroll. He was about to enjoy himself after taking the spear of Bia, yet he found a treasure in the end.
After calling home using the satellite phone he had Rebecca order for him, he explained about Atreus and his plans before they agreed to let him stay in Greece for a few months. In this few months, his goal was to take Atreus to at least Nascent Soul and the furthest Transcendence Realm.
It wasn't going to follow the growth plan he had in the memories, but it would be greatly pushed forward, starting with the foundation.
The next morning, three figures were standing outside the villa. There was Atreus, Gideon, and another Gideon.
Atreus was confused at first, but Gideon gave no explanations. It seems this strange phenomenon is nothing strange in front of Gideon and Atreus forced himself to adjust to this strange reality.
Atreus and the Familiar stood facing Gideon and Gideon gave instructions. The guardian was only as powerful as Gideon. However, it couldn't use skills like Gideon, but relied on things that Gideon knew as techniques and practiced them before it was summoned.
Right before it was summoned, Gideon had not used any martial arts techniques so the guardian only had the power of a Transcendence Realm cultivator without techniques to better utilize its power. To Gideon, this kind of familiar was useless and so he would teach the Familiar and Atreus at the same time for efficiency.
Atreus was put into an illusion which pushes his perception of time to a ratio of 1000:1. Which meant that inside the illusion, Atreus would spend 1000 days, equivalent to 1 hour. This was not excessive in Gideon's eyes. Each hour, Gideon would only give Atreus basic forms and execution methods. Practicing only that for 1000 days each. The same went for the Familiar.
2 years and 7 months for each basic form and execution.
This was akin to giving them the experience of punching, kicking, and every basic form including stance, worth 65 years every day.
Gideon was not worried that Atreus's body couldn't keep up with his mind in executing the technique later on, after all, by the time his 24 hours are up, Gideon would teach him to cultivate spiritual energy and his will to form Qi, not perform it in reality.
It was a trick to make Atreus believe his improvement inside the illusion was reflected in reality. In the illusion his perfect execution and form would truly translate into reality, however, if his body couldn't keep up with his mind it will be useless.
So, unless necessary, Gideon did not allow Atreus to perform the forms and execution outside of the illusionary space.
It was different for the Familiar though who had a firm foundation in cultivation but no foundation in Martial Arts. Its execution in the illusion would perfect its execution in reality because of his body and mind's compatibility and synchronization.
Gideon patiently taught the two and saw to it that at each day that passes, Atreus's cultivation was pushed forward by relying on his instruction. And through his injection of Qi into his body, Atreus learned to form his own Qi and circulate it according to Gideon's instructions.
On the days that Gideon set as cultivation days, he would make pills for him to consume, stabilize his cultivation and allow him to consolidate his realm by exposing him to the pressure of standing face to face with a Transcendence Realm cultivator whose presence is terribly heavy.
Like thus, Atreus, the boy Gideon found coincidentally, became his first disciple on Earth. His sword and his hands and feet. His representative. Legends would be written of Atreus the Martial Saint.