Artemis, who was also fighting titans, got bored of keeping an eye on him, so she decided to move to another area and hunt some on her own.
The titan swung his bronze blade downwards, aiming for her petite body, but she moved away and loosed her arrows, striking the eye of the titan. The titan roared in anger and spun around, sensing she was behind him.
**BOOM**
The titan felt lightheaded. Seeing his severed body and the many holes in it, he realized Artemis was the one responsible. Her bow, powerful and precise, along with her arrows—runic ones she had bought in Draconia—made quick work of him. She had bartered nearly 23 of her winter supply of food and some ores to afford them.
Artemis picked up the arrows carefully, as they were expensive. If one snapped, she'd be subject to heavy taxation in her realm.
After confirming she had all her arrows, she breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to move to another area. But before she could take her first step, she noticed four titans running towards her. Their expressions showed pure terror, fleeing from something worse than death.
Moments later, a black figure appeared behind them, snapping his fingers. The first titan on the right was skewered by semi-iron rock pillars, killing him instantly. The next titan stopped moving as cold air escaped its mouth. Alex, with his mastery over the elements, had frozen the titan's blood, killing him. Thunder roared, even though the sky showed no signs of rain.
**CRACKLE CRACKLE**
Black lightning struck the next titan, and within a millisecond, the body inflated and exploded, spraying blood and guts everywhere. The last titan fell and tried to get up, but when he looked down, he saw his legs were gone. Alex, the black figure, appeared inches from the titan's face, his fear overwhelming.
"M-Merc-y," the titan begged.
"None." With that one word, the titan gasped for air, suffocating before passing out from lack of oxygen.
Alex pulled his revolver from its holster and killed the titan.
"Damn monster!" Artemis muttered, collapsing to the ground after witnessing what had taken only 10 seconds.
---
**Two hours later**
They returned to the camp, where Alvos was cooking alongside Artemis' companions.
"So, you're back. Rest up, dinner will be ready in 30 minutes," Alvos said.
Alex and Artemis sat on makeshift seats and drank water. Then the questions began.
"Tell me, Alex," Artemis started, "how are you able to reach the human threshold? You're pretty young for your age, and those ranked below you are much older. How do you have such great control over your powers down to the tiniest detail?"
Everyone in the camp leaned in, including Alvos, eager to hear the explanation.
"Well," Alex began, "I have an artifact that helps me grow. It has a different dimension inside it, where time moves more slowly. One hour in that dimension equals one minute in real life. I can dilate it even further, so one second in the dimension becomes one millisecond in real time. I don't age physically there, only mentally, and I stopped counting the years around 180."
Everyone's jaws dropped.
"What age were you when you entered?" Alvos asked.
"I was 17," Alex replied. "My grandfather was governing the realm at the time. When I returned, I was given command of the city."
He sighed and, with a snap of his fingers, a blue jewel appeared. Everyone who saw it felt something ominous.
"I found this while looking for training material in storage. I felt compelled to input some of my energy into it, and when I did, I was sucked in. Now I can choose who enters and eject intruders at will."
"Damn, what a cheat!" Artemis exclaimed.
"And you use the titans as experimental bodies," she added.
Alex smirked for the first time. "Well, in my spare time…"
"Hunting titans is like a hobby, you know?" Alex said casually.
Artemis glared at him. "What utter bullsh*t! To us, they come and kill us!"
"Okay, that's enough," Alvos interrupted. "Dinner is ready."
Alvos served them slabs of steak and mashed potatoes, and the group ate, talked casually, and rested.
---
**Three days later**
Alvos and Alex were sparring in the private training hall. Alex switched between different weapons, and Alvos struggled to keep up.
Then a voice interrupted.
"Hey, Alvos, mind if I spar with you?"
"Just a spar? Sure, why not?" Alvos responded.
The speaker was Ares, the god of war, with slicked-back blonde hair, light brown skin, and medium build muscles.
Alex, who was choosing his next weapon, decided on a war mace.
Ares stood on the other side of the training hall, wielding a great sword with two curved blades near the base, almost resembling a warhammer.
Alvos glanced at both of them.
"Okay, ready? Go!"
**BOOM BOOM**
---
*Next chapter…*