"Ki?" William's eyebrows were raised and his eyes glittered as he asked with enthusiasm.
Athena rested her back on the seat and said, "I've never seen your father fight but I'm sure it must have something to do with ki."
She sighed and continued, "Ki is what we call the surplus of raw energy present in every living thing. Every species from the Fourth Realm is given the exact ki it uses to function, there's no surplus. So you cannot wield ki."
"Huh?!" William exclaimed with a perplexed face and thought out loud, "Then… Then how can my father use ki?"
"Well, either he did a ritual or he's not from this realm." Athena answered plainly.
William thought for a few seconds before he confidently said, "There's no way he is not from this realm. And what do you mean by ritual?"
Athena facepalmed herself and spoke with underlying tiredness, "You're asking too many questions. I'll just explain everything at once. I can see that you know nothing of this world. Although I can't use ki, I understand its principles. So listen attentively!"
William folded his arms and nodded his head spiritedly. Athena massaged her temples and got up from where she sat then paced around as she explained.
"There are three types of energy. Ki, Mana, and Divinity. Raw energy or Life Force, as some might like to call it, is what makes your heart beat. This energy or 'force' gives you the strength you need to function from what you consume from nature, but when the energy you have is more than you need, this remnant is what is called Ki.
"One can transfer this surplus energy to certain parts of their body to make their muscles produce more power, make their bones and skin stronger, and possibly make them heal faster.
"Mana is what they call the result of the transformation of Life Force to spiritual energy which lets them control the properties of nature and in most cases, change them. The spiritual energy allows one to produce magical effects using elements and forces of nature…
"And lastly, Divinity, I'm not telling you much about that, only that it's given to fourth-realmers as a Blessing by us, the gods. So, humans could either do a ritual to gain Ki or Mana or become devout believers of a church and receive a blessing." Athena let out a heavy breath as though she had just run a marathon.
William raised his left hand and asked, "How hard is it to perform a ritual?"
"Well, you need to get your hands on an other-realm beast for Ki and a spirit creature or at least a magic beast for Mana." Athena said.
She explained that there were different grades of beasts that went from grade-1 to 10. Grade-1 to 3 beasts could only use Ki, but grade-4 to 7 can use magic; hence the name, magic beast. Spirit creatures start at grade-7 but Athena said that was all William needed to know.
William thought …To travel realms doesn't sound easy, talk less of capturing a magic beast… "Then without magic or ki how do humans capture them?"
"They can't. Hence, the impossibility," Athena said with a slight look of disgust on her face before she added, "Other realms overlap with this one once in a while, and creatures from other realms come here but the intelligent ones are extinct and the dumb ones wouldn't dare enter. Don't ask any questions that have to deal with other-realmers."
"Is there really no other way for humans to surpass their limits?" William asked with a hopeless expression.
Athena shook her head.
"Damn. That's kinda messed up…" William fell deep into thought and then exclaimed, "Wait! Doesn't this make things worse for me, a human celestial?"
Athena sneered as she sat back down, "Why do you think I have no faith in you? Humans are hopelessly weak. No matter how they train and work hard their only option is to scream to the stars for help in the face of an adversary. There's nothing they can do by themselves."
William placed his elbows on the table and grabbed his hair with both hands, "That's… That's so depressing. This isn't like regular isekai. My system is sh*t and my race is powerless compared to others..."
Athena chuckled and folded her arms as she confidently said, "But you're lucky I'm here. I have faith in my skills and expertise. I am the personification of wisdom, after all. Hahahahaha…"
Athena's laugh full of pride irritated William greatly, "Urgh, are you done? So what now? You can't even use ki and you won't enter your divine form…"
"Who says I need to enter my divine form? I bet my knowledge of magic is greater than all lower realms combined. Even the leader of the Sisters of Theoma will bow and beg to become my slave just to grasp a piece of what I know."
"Who are the Sisters of Theoma?"
Athena stood up sharply and walked towards the door, "It doesn't matter. Get ready, let's get to work!"
William sat up straight and asked, "Where-Where are we going?"
"Just obey! Don't ask questions!" Athena screamed in response.
A Y-shaped vein appeared at the side of William's forehead, he stoped and said, "I just have one more question… Why on earth are you wearing the maid outfit?!"
Beads of sweat started dropping down Athena's forehead, she stuttered, "I-I work here now!"
"Wh-Who approved of this?"
"What does it matter anyway? You think I want to be stuck babysitting a disgusting, perverted young master?!"
William banged the table hard then stood up fiercely and pointed grudgingly at her, "Then leave, you stupid midget!"
Athena ran and leaped into the air with a flying kick headed towards William as she screamed, "We're the same height, you disgusting perv!"
❈ ❈ ❈
At night time, about a few minutes after the 11th hour, two figures were seen draped in concealing clothing in a lonely alley.
As they moved through the darkness in silence, one of the figures grabbed the other and asked in a hushed tone, "Where are we going? You've just been taking me through dark and scary alleys!"
The other figure forcefully released its hand from the grip of the former and replied in annoyance, "Can't you use your brain a little? We're wearing dark cloaks to conceal our identity and going through uncrowded areas so no one will see us, do with that what you will."
It was William and Athena.
William retorted, "I can see that! That's why I'm asking where we're going!"
"Don't ask questions, disgusting perv." Athena walked faster.
"Hey! Call me 'young master' when we're in public or else you'll live on the streets!" He yelled and ran to catch up.
"Whatever, Selene won't even allow that."
"What does Selene have to do with anything?" William countered before Athena came to an abrupt stop.
Standing in front of a two-story building with the words 'Three Horns Tarvern' written boldly on the wall above the wooden door, "We're here." Athena said.
William quickly scanned the structure and blurted out, "A…A bar?"