It was impossible, so I attempted to refuse to believe the words Osidon had spoken.
How could someone possibly reach physical mastery already? It had barely been a week.
For the first time since becoming a god, my head began to actually hurt.
After calming myself down, I was able to think through the situation in more depth.
Even on Earth, there were those that were more inclined towards physical endeavors. It only made sense that such things would transfer over.
It was what I told myself to make sense of things.
But such a disparity between myself and the God of Deception... Could such a thing truly be due to simply physical inclination?
At that moment, my resolve steeled stronger than it had before. Lucifen, the deceitful, did not sound like the name of a good god, which meant that he would most likely become an enemy. And a capable one at that.
I knew that I needed to gain strength, to master my physical body, so I decided to pay someone a visit.
---
I knocked on Zerlos' door, still showing him respect despite being his god, and once the man glared out of the window to see who it was, he rushed to let me in.
"You do not have to knock, Great Vale. It is an honor to have you here. This house is yours as much as it is mine," the man said with an honest tone.
Once inside, I sat in a chair by the table. Zerlos stood, a way of showing respect.
"What can I do for you?" he asked in his monotone voice as he bowed his head.
In the corner of the room, I noticed a surplus of swords crafted into all different kinds of shapes, as well as the stone sword we had taken from the fallen invader's corpse.
"You are a capable man with the blade, Zerlos, I can tell," I said, watching the man's eyes light up. "I wish for you to train me. I may be physically capable, but the ways of weaponry are unknown to me. Every morning starting tomorrow, in the fields."
Zerlos paused for a moment, taken by disbelief before bowing from the waist again.
"It would be an honor, Great Vale," he said, and I ordered him to rise with a smile on my face.
I had still yet to grow used to the respect shown to me by my disciples, but I could not let that be known.
"I look forward to training with you, Zerlos. I am sure you have much to teach me."
I was not sure of the benefits that learning the sword would bring, but it felt like a smart step to take if I hoped to master my body.
Afterward, I left the house and headed back towards the field.
---
As I sat on red the plains, I decided to attempt meditation.
It was one thing to master the body, but the mind must not be neglected.
The mind is everything. What you think, you become. A fellow god once said.
I closed my eyes, focusing on all of my other senses. It was a strange feeling, as I had expected to become completely unaware of my surroundings once my eyes had closed.
But somehow, I was able to sense things taking place in my vicinity.
The swoosh of the wind, the insects croaking in the blades of grass that danced gracefully around me.
My focus group deeper as I pushed my senses further. My mind was clear.
I heard footsteps upon the wooden floor coming from inside the five houses around me.
The quiet murmurs of the seven disciples as they prepared for sleep.
I heard the magical construction of the new house as it became complete, then a strange indescribable sound coming from within.
I opened my eyes and turned to see that the building had finally erupted from the earth. Much like the others, it was a windowed house made from wood, though its size was larger than the others.
Suddenly, bodies began to emerge from the house, one by one.
Three were women and two were men.
I rose to my feet and headed over towards the confused newcomers, prepared to introduce myself, but before I could, they prostrated themselves to the ground and bowed before me.
"We know who you are, Great Vale, and we thank you vehemently for allowing us to reside in this world."
I seriously need to get used to this.
I wondered what Osidon had instilled in their heads before they were created and guessed that they all had some sort of intrinsic devotion to me.
I also wondered whether this devotion could be swayed or turned against me, and what it would take to do so.
Surely drama and politics would arise in this world once its population grew, and I did not look forward to such a time.
The men and women introduced themselves, and none of them stood out to me more than the others, except for one of the young ladies.
She was a dark-skinned woman with matted hair that fell low to her back.
She was also muscular, and she explained that she felt she had some sort of affinity for the ways of war and martial arts.
Her name was Laomi.
This relieved me, as not enough of my people were fighters. That would need to change fast.
Afterward, they showed me the inside of the building that had been built. It was structured like a barracks, with a curtain through the middle that separated the beds, most likely for men and women.
There were five beds on each side, which meant more than enough for the newcomers.
In terms of equipment, the barracks was bare; only a chest lay at the end of each side, though what was inside was even better than what I expected.
We found dried meat and more bread in each chest, enough to last us until our lettuce and newly planted potatoes were ready to be harvested, if we rationed them well.
I put Loven in charge of the distribution of the food, and he stockpiled it in his house.
Pleased with the way things were going, I allowed my disciples to rest and headed back to where I had begun my meditation on the field.
---
As I sat, a strange feeling began to settle on my body. It took me a while to notice what it was as it had been so long since I had felt it,
but upon further inspection, I realized I was certainly fatigued.
Not incredibly, but it seemed that pushing my senses during meditation had taken a toll on my body.
It was then that I noticed again that I had no chambers to sleep in.
What sort of god am I? I joked with myself.
Back on Earth, I remembered that my house had been plain. The bed I slept on was hardly a mat that slightly covered the roughness of the floor.
I pushed my hands against the dirt beneath the crimson grass and felt it sink against my press.
Good enough. In fact, this is good.
I lay down on my back and rested my head upon the grass as I stared up at the moon.
I remained that way for a few minutes, admiring the sky above.
Then, finally, I let sleep take me.