Mountain of the Immortals

"I'm done," I announced. "I'm seeing smiles. Did you all get powerful skills as well?"

"I certainly did," Aphrodite said, and her eyes refocused on me. "I got four new skills actually."

"What?" Ares exclaimed. "How is that even possible? Four new skills at such a high level?"

"Apart from the usual upgrades, I got two new skills that provide protection against certain attacks. One provides resistance against light-based attacks and the other against darkness-based attacks."

"Why aren't you showing them to us?" I asked.

"Because those aren't even the best ones," she replied, and pushed another skill over to us.

* * *

Name: Superior Fortitude

Level: 1

Type: Active

HP Consumed: 0

MP Consumed: 54

Power: 0

Range: 700 inches

Precondition: None

Description: An additional layer of mana operating at a higher frequency envelops the recipient's body, acting as a dampener for physical blows. Increases Physical Defense by 5% for 20 minutes.

* * *

"Why is that so great?" Ares asked. "I thought you had another skill that increases your defense by something like fifteen percent?"

"Does the higher frequency mana layer mean that it stacks on top of your other buff?" I asked, and she nodded. "I must say, that's kind of a big deal. An extra five percent for all of us."

"If you liked that, I guess you're going to love this," she said, and sent another skill notification.

* * *

Name: Superior Might

Level: 1

Type: Active

HP Consumed: 0

MP Consumed: 54

Power: 0

Range: 700 inches

Precondition: None

Description: The recipient's muscles are infused with an additional layer of mana operating at a higher frequency. Increases Physical Attack by 4% for 20 minutes.

* * *

"This is really good, Aphrodite," I said, giving her an approving nod.

"Are you serious right now?" Ares said, not being able to hold back his enthusiasm. "We're going to be unstoppable with these!"

"If only you'd gotten something that might make you more useful as well," Aphrodite teased.

It looked like this was exactly the reaction Ares was expecting from his sister. A wide smile formed on his face.

"Oh, but I do have something, sister," he said, and sent us a skill notification of his own.

* * *

Name: War and Fury

Level: 1

Type: Active

HP Consumed: 0

MP Consumed: 66

Power: -

Range: 700 inches

Precondition: Only usable with dual swords.

Description: The boiling of blood, heavy breathing, and the fog of rage during battle manifest as a force that enhances the fighting spirit of the user and their party members. Increases Attack Speed by 15% for 5 minutes.

* * *

"Increased attack, defense, and attack speed?" I said. "You know what this means, right? Even faster XP."

"No, no, no," Aphrodite said and started on the path back home. "I'm done with that. We've got the level, now we take a well-deserved break."

Ares followed her and so did Artemis. I didn't expect any of them to want to do any additional XPing today but thought they might at least want to test their new skills. It seemed that the past few days had been enough for them. I did find it odd that Artemis still hadn't even mentioned anything about her leveling up though.

"Hey, Artemis," I said, catching up. "Didn't you get any new skills? Is that why you didn't say anything?"

As powerful as Artemis was, she sometimes needed that little extra push to express herself. I wasn't one to meddle and put pressure on other people, but I knew Artemis well enough to notice that when she needed it.

"No, I got a few upgrades and a new skill," she said.

"Then why didn't you share them?"

"It's nothing great," she said. "Nothing that will help the group as much as what Ares and Aphrodite got."

So that was the issue. She didn't get a skill that would benefit the whole group. But her role wasn't that of a supporter. She was responsible for bringing the pain in most of our battles. Even though I dished out the most damage while XPing because I could attack multiple monsters at once, I was nowhere near her power levels.

"I would have been disappointed if you got a support skill," I said. "You're not there to support anyone. Ares and Aphrodite are there to support you and me."

"They... what?" she asked, confused.

"You and I are the damage dealers of the group."

She raised her head to look up at me.

"And if I'm completely honest," I said, "you and your +17 bow are the stars of our real battles."

"But without you we wouldn't be able to XP as fast as we have done these past weeks. Especially the past few days," she replied.

"Yes, but that's because of my style of fighting," I said, and smiled at her. "You can one-shot almost every monster we've encountered so far. And I saw the chunks you were cutting off of Typhon's HP with each critical hit of yours."

"If it wasn't for your hundred lightning strikes skill, we would certainly have died."

"That was a very specific skill for a very specific enemy," I said. I stopped walking. "Artemis, you are incredibly strong, and both Ares and Aphrodite are happy to help you become even stronger. So show me that new skill of yours."

Her demeanor immediately changed, her cheeks flushing slightly as a smile curled her lips.

"My main problem in long fights or battles with multiple enemies is that I run out of MP," she said. "I have auras I need to keep toggled on and they continually pull MP from my pool. Then I've got a few skills that are powerful but also require a lot of mana."

"So you need to hold back to reserve your MP?" I asked.

"Exactly," she said, "but if Aphrodite is alright with healing me, I can start using this new skill and I won't have to worry about MP as much."

* * *

Name: The Sacrifice of the Bow

Level: 1

Type: Active

HP Consumed: 120

MP Consumed: 0

Power: -

Range: Self

Precondition: None

Description: Being the hunter takes discipline, continuous training, peak physical state, and massive amounts of MP. The user can sacrifice some of their own health and convert it into mana to continue fighting to the fullest of their abilities. Converts 120 HP to 120 MP.

* * *

"This looks good," I said, "but you need to be careful not to overuse it. Have you tried it at all?"

"I did. It has a few seconds cooldown before I'm able to use it again, so I definitely won't be able to abuse it too much," she replied. "It will be more of a continuous thing. Something that I can use between skills so that my MP lasts longer. That way Aphrodite will also have an easier time managing my HP level."

"I'm happy for you," I said. "I don't think we've got anything to worry about even if we go up against the whole guild of titans. As long as you are there."

"And as long as we get those sweet buffs from the goddess of love and the god of war." She giggled.

"Did I hear our names?" Aphrodite asked, and the siblings stopped and waited for us to catch up.

"Aphrodite, I was wondering if you would be able to heal me a bit more from now on?" Artemis asked.

"I barely ever heal you now," she replied. "Nothing can touch you."

"I will be touching myself from now on," she said, immediately regretting her choice of words when I burst into laughter. "I mean... Let's go, and I'll explain it to you."

The two headed off, leaving Ares and I behind.

"They're quite a lot of work, aren't they?" Ares asked.

"They are quite a lot of awesome is what you mean," I corrected him. "Without them, this place would have been... well... all over the place. They're both great at what they do."

"No doubt about that," he agreed. "Just a lot of dynamics to keep in mind to keep them both happy. I envy your patience."

"I'm sure you could also find someone to share your days with," I said.

Immediately he started shaking his head. "No, no, no," he said with confidence. "That life is not for me. You know, I used to think that there was something wrong with me. I didn't feel the urge to find a partner. The whole flirting thing always seemed boring and even sex only provided me with very temporary enjoyment. Trying to fit in with what was expected of me, I pushed myself into relationships. It never worked."

"You didn't like the idea of being in a relationship?"

"I think not liking the idea is too active an expression of the feelings I had," he said. "It was more like, I just didn't give a fuck. I never woke up feeling lonely. The sun never set with me desperate for a partner."

"What do you care about then?" I asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" He opened his arms, displaying his armor and the two swords on his belt. "War. The battle for power. The machinations and the backstabs for supremacy. That is what I yearn for. It took me hundreds of years to understand that love and sex is my sister's thing, and probably that of many other mortals and gods. But not mine. I want war and mayhem."

His last words came out with such passion that I thought he would unsheathe his swords then and there and challenge me to a duel. His pupils were dilated and his breathing was shallow, all signs that he was enjoying even the mere mention of these things.

Over my centuries of meeting and interacting with other people, I'd encountered thousands if not millions. Most of them were easy to predict. Their needs tended to be the same--money, power, respect, sex, and ego. Give one or two of those to any person and you would be in their good books for a while.

Those few people who escaped this rule, however, were always the most interesting ones, the ones that stuck with me over the years. And I was always of this opinion even though I wasn't one of them. I might not care much for respect or having people stroke my ego but I knew damn well that money was power and I craved power. Sure as the hells, I loved sex too.

Ares was exactly the person I needed at this point, that the guild needed. He was devoted to war and to gaining the advantage for us. I wasn't going to be all judgmental about what he wanted to do with his love life or lack thereof. As long as he was the absolute general that he was supposed to be and was happy doing it, I didn't care about any of that.

"Look, man," I said, and put my hand on his shoulder. "As long as you're happy with what you're doing, I'm all for it."

"And as long as you want this guild to become stronger, I will have things to keep me busy and webs to weave," he said as we reached the outskirts of the city. "I'm going for a drink before meeting our agents. Do you want to join me?"

"I need to look at two upgrades," I said, pointing vaguely in the direction of the walls. "Maybe later."

"Alright. Have a good day, brother," he said, and we parted ways.

As much as I would have enjoyed more of that ice-cold Dion beer he somehow had a seemingly endless supply of, there were a few things that required my attention. The first was visiting our newly upgraded barracks, so I wasted no time and headed straight there.