Micheal stood there dumbfounded. Where were the insane power ups? The massive stat boosts? There wasn't even a cheat item or anything overpowered at all. He eyed the goddess curiously.
The goddess pursed her full lips, sensing his dissatisfaction. "My divine power is limited in this world, as is that of the other god." She began. "But this body I created for you is twice as strong and fast as a normal man, and my blessings ensure that you will grow fairly quickly." She finished her explanation with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
Micheal took a second to process this. Reading the blessings again, he could see how they could be useful, but seriously? How was he supposed to defeat this other champion with just this?
"So…" Micheal started. "10 is average for a stat then I'm guessing." The goddess nodded. "And I have mana so I should be able to learn and cast spells right?" The goddess nodded again.
Micheal's face became set as he faced a realization. This was going to take a lot of work and training. But where would he start? He had only played sports for fun in high school, and since he started work he hadn't had time for anything else. He looked down at his arms. His new body seemed very strong and large. Maybe this wouldn't be too bad. After all, if he could learn magic, how freaking awesome would that be?!
"Well, where do I start?" Micheal was excited, he couldn't wait to see what Gothica had to offer. The mountains and rivers and valleys were beautiful, but there had to be civilization somewhere.
"Follow me." The goddess began to walk up the hill that the tree he woke up under was on. When they reached the top of the hill, he saw it.
"Whoa, is that?" Micheal was shocked.
A sprawling city surrounded by a massive wall encircling it was dotted by what looked to be huge castles, and in the very center was a large fortress that completely dwarfed the buildings around it. The city sat in a relatively flat set of ground, with mountains seeming to surround it off in the distance. The white and gold of the cities and castles and fortress gleamed in the sun, and even the duller smaller buildings speckled throughout gave off embers of warmth.
"It is the great city of Ghen, one of the three great Human cities" The goddess nodded.
"There are two others like this?" Micheal asked. And did she say Human? "What other races are there? Other cities?"
The goddess smiled. It was good that he was showing interest in this world, she wanted him to win after all. Then she could become the goddess of this realm and do as she pleased. "Yes, there are also the great cities of Aryndale and Trost. For races, this world is inhabited by humans, elves, demons, angels, vampires, and the beastfolk."
Micheal nodded as he looked off into the distance, lost in thought, dissecting what he heard. Elves, pointy ears and magic for sure. Demons? Like the good kind or the bad kind? Angels? Like good guy angels or neutral? Vampires? Like traditional or some other weird variety? Beastfolk? Does that mean lizard people and cat people and dog people?
"Ok" Micheal said. "So which ones do I need to watch out for? And how am I supposed to beat them? And how do you know so much anyways if you're not goddess of the realm?"
Micheal hoped she didn't think he was being disrespectful. He could feel her divine power and authority clearly, but that's just how he was. Brutally honest and to the point. He remembered when he almost got fired after telling a customer she shouldn't have another burger after she had asked him. He remembered that he wasn't fired because of the time he had told his manager who was stealing money from the cash register after she had asked him.
The goddess smiled at him again, and Micheal felt something from her. Compassion? Mercy? Understanding? Whatever it was it was something he hadn't felt towards himself in a long time, definitely not from work or from school.
"Although I cannot directly interfere with this world until I am goddess of the realm, I can still gather information and talk with others to assist you to victory." She began. "You will see Angels and Humans in this city, as well as Elves and Beastfolk."
Micheal nodded. They must all be friendly then. That just left two other races.
"Vampires and Demons should be avoided. Vampires are ambitious and hoard wealth in the form of blood, gold, and slaves. They keep Humans and other races as sources of food. From what I have heard they live in mountain fortresses and attack in the night to add to their wealth. One vampire is said to be as strong as ten men and their supernatural powers are quite frightening. To defeat them you must either completely destroy their body, drive a wooden stake through their heart, or expose them to sunlight."
Micheal took it in. Sounded a lot like normal vampires from movies and books he was familiar with. He inferred that they must have some sort of mind control, repelled by garlic, the usual. He would ask more specifics if he was preparing to fight one, god forbid. As strong as ten men? He knew he definitely couldn't take that on right now.
"Demons are even stronger, and are rumored to be Angels that have fallen. How or why they fall, I do not know, but when they do they are said to be extremely hostile and brutal. They are said to torture Humans and other races as well as eat them for sport. Their weaknesses are not known for the most part, directly overpowering them seems to be the only way to defeat them. There is a rumor that one of the Human kings was able to bind a Demon to his will." The goddess paused, letting him drink in this information.
Wow. A Demon bound to a kings will huh? That must've taken a lotto pull off. And there's no way it would end well, it could escape or go rogue or just overpower everyone it sounded like.
"Ok, I think I'm ready to go in." Micheal motioned to the city of Ghen in the distance.
"Very well." The goddess smiled and turned about, leading the way.