"The power of Divinity." Mathan's words hung heavy in the air. David felt like he had heard something forbidden.
"It separates the ordinary from the divine. It allows one to break and even reshape the fundamental rules of the universe." Putting one his hands palm up on the table, Mathan slammed his fist closed.
Crack
The space in between Mathan's fingers seemed to crack apart, with slivers of empty space appearing. Within a few moments, the space closed itself.
"The more belief is directed towards a being, the more divinity they possess." Now, as David looked at Mathan, it felt as though he was talking to whole different being.
Over the untidy, shaggy man, he could see the faint vision of a proud warrior, wearing a helmet that was shaped like the head of a bear.
And when David blinked, the vision was gone.
"Worship? But the Heroes aren't worshiped? We don't pray to them?" It was odd, unlike the demons he had come across, David didn't feel any sense of discomfort or fear from Mathan.
"Ah. I didn't say worship did I? It's one way to gather Divinity, but not the only one. Humans believe their heroes are powerful."
"And so belief can be any type of feeling, emotion or thought. What matters is your presence in their consciousness."
"Admiration, hatred, fear, love, hate, even curiosity. You name it, it can accumulate Divinity."
"It has always been a part of the universe, and this word. The great lords of the past, the feared murderers and the famous performers. They all utilized Divinity, mostly without knowing." Now, Mathan stopped for a moment, letting his words sink in.
"Ok. So, can you teach me how to use this power?" There was a hint of excitement in David's voice, he had already found the way forward.
"Look kid, actually learning how to feel the power of Divinity and then manipulate it, can take an eternity. Some gods have been around since the dawn of time and still struggle." Shaking his head, Mathan's rumbling laugh shook the table.
"My advice to you is, spread your name, become loved, admired, feared. Whatever your choice. Then, as you accumulate Divinity, it'll grow easier to feel." Mathan snapped his fingers, the distorted barrier around them falling away.
[User, this concept of Divinity. I feel a great resonance with it. Please, ask this man where you can learn more!]
The system called out, David had never heard this kind of neediness in its voice. He hated to follow the requests of the system, but just as much as it, he wanted to ask.
Perhaps Divinity would mean he didn't need to rely on this twisted being, and he could make his own path forward.
"Sir, please tell me, where can I learn more about this?" Careful not to directly reference Divinity, David could tell that Mathan didn't want to anyone to overhear them.
"Ah, a curious one aren't you." Grinning, Mathan raised a bushy eyebrow at David.
Deep in thought, Mathan picked at the bits of food that were in his beard, it was a long time before he spoke.
"You could become the subject of any powerful being in the world, but I can tell you aren't the type to be anyone's subject."
"My advice, when you become a strong enough that you wouldn't die just going for a walk, would be to head to Atlantis."
Now, Mathan stood, and David automatically took a step back.
Mathan was enormous, his heavy frame had been hidden behind the mass of hair.
"I'll see you around kid." Like an enormous bear, Mathan rolled over the door of the inn, giving David a cheeky wink when he left.
"Hold on!"
David ran to the door, he still had so many questions for Mathan.
The beaming morning sun blinded David for a moment when he burst out into the street. All around, was the constant stream of people that filled the streets of Lightharbor.
There was no sign of Mathan.
"Shit." David muttered under his breath, turning back inside.
"Hahaha! Mathan sure likes you kid!"
Inside the inn, Nina was collecting the countless empty plates left behind by Mathan.
"Also, sorry to bring this up, but this place doesn't run itself. The room is 7 copper pieces a night, and food is another 3. You're all paid for the next week." Nina tossed David a small key hanging from a piece of wood with a little pig carved on it.
"That'll do as a gate pass for now."
"I know you're going to get lost out in the streets, just ask anyone about where the Dancing Pig is, and you'll find your way." After wiping off the table, Nina disappeared back into the kitchen behind the bar.
"Huh?"
What was she talking about? David had seen a copper coin before, when they'd come into Lightharbor, but he had no idea where he might get more.
All he'd experienced before was bartering for things. How was he going to earn money?
[User. You can complete your mission and acquire money if you were to hunt monsters. From the stalls that we saw on our way in the city, it appears we can trade monster materials for currency.]
The system showed David a short video of a man receiving a bag of coins for a bundle of horns.
'Right. That'll do it.'
David walked out into the street, and immediately headed west, eventually he had to end up near the city wall. He could find his way from there.
ping
With a soft sound, a half filled map appeared in David's vision. Showing a red line that would lead him to an exit.
'I guess you can be useful.'
As David walked, the map grew more and more detailed, while the system gathered information from all around them.
The sun was burning David's shoulders by the time he reached the city gate. As before, there was a mass of people coming in and out of the city, and as before, they all ignored David.
Walking out onto the road that led away form the city, David stopped in his tracks, where would he go now?
He had little to no knowledge about this place.
David turned to look to the south.
'Coppervein. I could go back.'
'No. What's the point of going back. I won't grow any stronger, and Brogan and Cherie are gone.'
David shook his head, though what he had said was trued, he wasn't being fully honest with himself. There were so many others at Coppervein that he missed.
'No. I need to get stronger. I've learned more about the world in one day here than years at Coppervein.'
Without noticing, David was becoming more and more power hungry.
[User, I advised continuing west, It seems that there many armed groups of a similar strength to you heading in that direction.]
There was a series of pings, the system highlighted clusters of coreless signals in the CoreScanner window.
Again, the pings sounded out, and the system highlighted the various groups in David's vision.
Only a few meters to David's right, was the most powerful of these groups.
At their head, was a lanky teen, who had monkey like features. He carried a wooden on one shoulder, and wore bright orange clothing, like a martial artist.
He was probably one of the many mutants that had appeared after the Convergence. They were known to have a greater mana affinity than ordinary humans.
'Similar strength? That guy's a nine star'
[User, your body and mana capabilities have been enhanced, please do not only compare your amounts of mana.]
If the system had a tongue, it would be clicking it at David.
"Hey! Where are you guys headed today?" David walked over to the lanky teen.
The teen continued staring off into the distance, completely ignoring David.
"Come on, Dean! Don't be rude." A high pitched voice came from underneath them.
Next to David, at about the height of his knee, was a girl with large ears, like a bat.
'Hey! I'm Banbuliana! But you can call me Bubbly!" The small girl thrust out a hand a David, smiling from ear to ear, her fangs poking out from her mouth.
'Huh, a seven star, mutants are strong.'
"Lovely to meet you Bubbly. My name is Da-" David began to introduce himself, before a sharp pain in his tongue stopped him.
[User, I advice against sharing your name. Their intentions are unclear.]
"Hahaha, Da! Would you like to join us on our expedition?" Bubbly enthusiastically shook David's hand.