Hero of Darkness
chapter-9

Yes, the War Deity. The goddamm mudafriggin War Deity. The being standing in front of him was the one who reached the level of a Demigod by mastering all forms of War, all types of Weapons and all types of Combat Techniques. Otherwise, he wouldn't have earned that title at all. If there was a Title of God of War, Kravel would be it.

As soon as Elric came to know Kravel's real Identity as The War Deity, he started looking at him differently. As someone who grew up reading books about great warriors of their Era on Earth & then later getting hooked up on War-related novels & other forms of platforms, Elric had developed a form of respect towards such individuals. These were the real men.

Elric diverted his attention towards the Blessings he received and he was left speechless again.

BLESSINGS OF THE WAR DEITY

1. WAR DOMINANCE [Active]

Emits an aura of Dominance & Supremacy 5 times stronger than the targeted enemy. No matter how strong or weak the targeted being is. The pressure & murderous aura will be sensed by all those who stand in the perimeter of the host. The area affected will keep increasing with an increase in the host's personal strength & emotions.

2. WEAPON MASTERY [Passive]

Mastery over all weapons and things that could be used as a weapon.

The mastery over all Weapons existing in the world keeps increasing with the level of host's strength.

Current level : A Rank (Master Level) [Passive]

Example : For Swordsmanship, the host is already at a level of a Swordmaster.

Mastery Levels : Amateur, Intermediate, Expert, Master, Grandmaster, Saint, Deity.

3. COMBAT TECHNIQUES MASTERY [Passive]

Grants the user knowledge and experience over all forms of close combat techniques. Also allows user to understand & copy any target's combat techniques after practicing them.

Current Rank : Master (In all known Combat Techniques by the War Deity)

Mastery increases only when the user practices & performs these techniques to meet certain understanding & experience.

4. SURVIVAL INSTINCT [Passive]

Grants the ability to sense Extreme Danger & Killing Intent directed towards the user. The range of this ability will keep increasing as the user gets stronger.

Note : Ability is Upgradable & can be Merged with other similar abilities.

5. BERSERK GOD MODE [Active]

Allows user to achieve 5 times the Physical Strength & Stamina for a short time.

Note : Not applicable to Magical Skills or Mana Capacity. The host will be in a weakened state (only having 30% of the user's strength) for the next 24 hours after the activation period ends.

6. WAR DEITY BODY [Passive]

Grants a body capable of becoming two times stronger than the previous stage every time the user goes through long & tiring battles and breaks the threshold of his capabilities.

After going through the Blessings he received. Elric simply forgot how to speak. Because what Kravel gave him wasn't just Mastery of Weapons or abilities to dominate his enemies in battle.. What he gave him was the biggest headstart anyone will ever get if they were thrown into an unknown world.

Elric was born with a weak body & never had physical training at anything. Not even normal sports or self-defense techniques. He could hold a Sword in a video game or in his dreams only. Hell, he didn't even know how to properly hold a sword either without looking like an idiot or ending up hurting himself instead.

Unlike what God of Darkness gave him through the 3 Divine Abilities he chose. These Blessings wouldn't just help him become stronger or help him survive. Rather, they'd be far more useful than just gaining abilities or creating his army who will serve him. With these blessings, he'd save years of time spent on learning & practicing different types of weapons & how best to use them.

Also learning combat techniques was no joke. It took many people dozens of years to perfect them or reach just the rank of a Master. But not only Elric would already have built-in knowledge & understanding of these, but he'd also be proficient right when he entered Vantrea. He was already at Master rank which was way just unbelievable for a guy like him who never had an actual combat experience or killed anyone in his life.

Survival Instinct would help him sense if someone was targeting him from behind or following him from the shadows. That way he could be prepared to face a sudden attack or an ambush and might as well dodge a sudden arrow shot at his head. This was just too useful in his opinion. Survival Instinct was something developed only by people with decades of experience in hunting or someone who had been through thousands of battles in their life.

For someone like Elric who would be hunted down sooner or later if the word of his true identity as chosen Hero of God of Darkness were to be leaked; Survival Instinct would save his life on many occasions. Not on just the battlefield, but it will also alert him in random & normal places if someone far stronger than him was targeting or wanted to harm him based on their killing intent. He'd know whom not to fight with and simply need to run away for his life.

And there was also Berserk God Mode. Like the description implied, he'd be 5 times stronger for a short time and it could save his life when he was truly in a pinch. Let's say somehow his Dimensional Law ability didn't work or he couldn't escape inside the Void for some reason such as the surrounding area being sealed by Spacial Law or some type of Barrier or Formation, Elric would be left at the mercy of fate.

But with Berserk God Mode, he'd receive a huge spike in his strength & it could be helpful enough to let him escape or even face his enemy head-on who could be much stronger than him. This was a Lifesaving Cheat Code indeed.

And let's not even talk about War Deity Body. This thing would just make him a total T-Rex compared to other heroes of the other Gods. Because whether he liked it or not, Elric would be put in situations where he'd need to fight someone in authority like forces of the empire or even people from the church operating in that Empire given his identity. He could see himself clashing against the other Chosen Heroes in the future because they too would be well informed about the act of his predecessor, the 8th chosen hero of God of Darkness. So these heroes will naturally think of him as someone serving the evil or someone they had to exact revenge upon for their predecessors.

So, with the War Deity Body he'd become Twice as stronger every time he went past his limits, which naturally will require him to fight a lot of battles and go beyond his capabilities and also will be on very rare occasions; most likely in the battle for Life & Death. But this can give him an upper hand over the other Heroes in terms of Physical Strength alone. So it will also be extremely helpful in the near future.

Elric finally broke out of his fazed state and looked at Kravel again. He didn't hold any of his mocking or disappointed expression and said,

"I take my words back." after saying so, he bowed towards Kravel with utmost sincere expression.

Kravel was left with a puzzled expression again (inside his helmet). This mortal was questioning his loyalty towards his Liege not a minute ago and now retracted his statement and bowed half his body in front of him. Kravel, who was of the size of 5 stories building at the moment could see Elric's way of showing respect.

God of Darkness humphed slightly without showing the jealousy he was feeling. Because Elric didn't do that to him so far at all. Instead, he said fuck off, bastard, motherfucker, stupid, moron & many things he forgot to count.

And because of this, Kravel was happy with Elric again. He said, "Stand up. No need for such formalities. Anyway, did you like my Blessings ?" Kravel asked without masking the smugness in his tone.

Elric simply nodded like a puppy in response.

"Well then, here's something else. It's not a Blessing but some of my knowledge you will find very useful while venturing inside Vantrea." Kravel said. Soon, a Divine formation appeared over Elric's soul form and light made of different & bright colors descended towards his head. Elric started processing the gift he received. As he opened his eyes, he was again left with a joyful expression on his face.

What he received wasn't any Ability or Skills. For the first time, he received a form of information & knowledge that he would be needing no matter where he went.

KNOWLEDGE OF ALL LANGUAGES in the world of Vantrea.

Elric had worries about this from the beginning, just that he didn't speak about it at all.

He was going into a different world. Where existed different cultures, races, species, different regions & things he didn't even know about yet. So naturally, this world wasn't going to be someplace where everybody for some reason spoke in English.

He was certain that God of Darkness & Kravel weren't talking with him in English either as their gestures & body language acted very differently in accordance with their words & tone. They were using some type of magic or conversed with him using a telepathic connection.

Many Manga & Novel Authors always skipped this part in their work. In their stories, even the most ancient civilizations which existed tens of thousands of years ago also spoke in English. As if this wasn't a different world but a Hollywood movie where even Wakandans spoke in English despite having their own mother tongue.

What Kravel gifted him had saved tons of trouble as not only he would be able to converse with people inside Vantrea, he'd be able to communicate with, understand all the residents & species existing that resided in those regions. This also included understanding various types of Languages whether in form of verbal speech or writing. So he won't be lost in the world if he went somewhere unknown.

After calculating everything that has happened so far ever since his Reincarnation. Elric found himself extremely lucky.

He was going to get another chance at life despite him refusing & wanting to die again. Neither was he randomly thrown into a different world without any prior knowledge nor suddenly woke up inside someone else's body. He was given a choice to even choose in which way he was going to enter inside Vantrea. And unlike hundreds of reincarnated people in the stories he read, he was actually clear on his goal and how he will make his approach. Although he wasn't given some OP system or someone like Soul Remnant of some heaven defying monster's will to accompany him on his journey, he still had the option to choose his Divine Abilities and had the time to plan how he will ensure his survival. He received enough superficial information about Vantrea and how things worked there. And what not to do if he wanted to stay alive.

Kravel's Blessings gave him the biggest headstart and also an upper hand against those who will be or already were summoned inside the world of Vantrea. So he can fight against them as well if the situation arose.

After evaluating everything happened so far. Elric was content & truly happy. It felt like Fate or Destiny, whatever it was called tried to make amends for his Former life which he didn't find worth living at all. This time, he was given the choice in which way he will live his new life. Elric wanted nothing more than freedom & control over his own fate.

He looked at God of Darkness & Kravel and said,

"I'm ready."

God of Darkness & Kravel both nodded at him.

"Have you thought of how your new body should look like? After we're done with that, I can send you inside our world." G.O.D. asked.

Elric then started giving him specifications of his new body and after 1 hour of going over every minute detail and many redos. Elric's final physical body was ready. For some reason, Kravel approved more of it while God of Darkness found it very lacking. Elric on the other hand was drooling over his new look and the body he was going to live with in his new life.

"From now on. Elric Johnson no longer exists. From now on, my name is Kahn." Elric declared.

"A new Name. A new Life." he said with a newfound will to live.

Suddenly yellow intrinsic patterns appeared on Elric's body and were ingrained into it. They disappeared without a trace the next second.

G.O.D. spoke, "This is a link between you & me. Also the way for us knowing that you're still alive."

"Let's do it." Elric said, ready to embark on his new journey.

Unbeknownst to Elric, Another Red ancient & divine pattern appeared on his back but didn't emit any light. Both G.O.D. & Kravel noticed it but didn't speak as if nothing happened and it wasn't intentional.

God of Darkness didn't waste any more time and simply merged Elric's Soul form with the newly created physical body. And after they were merged perfectly, he opened the very crack in the void from where he & Kravel entered inside the world boundary.

"I'm sending you somewhere remote and safe. Somewhere other Gods, Archmages of Empires or Popes of Churches won't be able to detect your arrival. What happens from there will depend on you. And we won't be able to talk after this unless you find a way to recreate Monastery and Temples for me again. And do remember the most important thing..." God of Darkness paused his words and continued..

"Trust nobody and never let your guard down."

G.O.D. commanded in his firm and majestic tone as if it was his Decree.

Elric nodded back in affirmation. He understood the importance of not revealing his secrets & relying on only himself more than the beings in front of him.

The crack exerted a form of gravitational pull on Elric, now Kahn.

Inside the world of Vantrea, in a deep jungle unknown. A small void crack appeared 5 meters above the ground covered with dark green and lush grass. Suddenly a naked body of a man jumped down from the void crack and landed on his right knee & right fist on the ground. Stabilizing himself in just a second.

"Finally!"