Nathan Hill, the resident mortal hunter of New York was sitting at his couch, slurping up some corn flakes from a bowl. Beside him sat Reuben, who was also eating corn flakes while rubbing his eyes and overall, appearing very very sleepy.
"You weren't kidding when you said you get sleepy during the day." He chuckled. Reuben let out a groan that sounded either like a 'yes' or 'help.'
Freddy the squirrel was nowhere to be seen but that lack of activity gave Nathan time to think.
What did he want to do with this demigod he had saved?
Should I send him to camp? But he doesn't have dyslexia or ADHD... Maybe he's not greek or roman? In that case I can't really send him to a camp. I need to confirm which Pantheon he belongs to before continuing. If he turns out I can't really send him anywhere I'll have to figure something out...
I can't raise a kid. I've only just turned 18.
With those thoughts in his mind, Nathan also thought about the release dates of his two books, 'Animal Farm' and '1984.' In hindsight, writing such politically sensitive books, especially when the world was transitioning into the period of progressive cold war between the world superpowers; leading to more paranoia and scrutiny from the government was maybe not a good idea. In his past lives, he remembered hearing about the cold war periods, where you had to be nationalistic to the point your whole identity was your nation; otherwise your own neighbour would sell you out.
It didn't take a genius to figure out that writing such books in such a time was not the brightest of ideas. But Nathan wasn't too worried. When he wrote the books, he had been well aware of the presence of his system. He was sure that he would eventually be able to get through it all; especially now when he had the power to control the mist.
After having breakfast and putting Reuben to sleep again, he moved to the living room and sat down on the floor. He folded his legs, sitting in a lotus position.
Each breath filled his lungs with air and vitality, nourishing all of his cells with a flood of energy and power. In such conditions, given enough time, his physical capabilities would naturally increase over time, even if he didn't exercise for his entire life. In fact, he was pretty sure he could live well past 100 with these lungs alone.
But the Method... well, let's just say the practitioners of the method do not die from natural causes. Let's just say that.
Cain, the first murder and the founder of the method had been alive since the dawn of creation and persisted into the modern day before being taken care of by Luther Strode, the protagonist of the comics. And even then, the way Cain died had been absolutely bullshit, with many things just naturally falling into place and inconsistencies in the power logic because of Luther's plot armor.
Unless one suffered a direct killing blow to the head, those who practice the Art of Murder were unkillable biological superweapons.
Shaking his thoughts, Nathan first pulled up his system panel.
[Name: Nathan Hill
Occupation: Hunter
Earned Titles: None
Loaded Items: Titan's Lungs
Perks: Monster lore; Hunter's Instincts(+++); Blessing of Mana-Yood-Sushai
Skills: Melee Proficiency; Ranged Proficiency; Mist(+); Concealment; Runic Enchanter(+++)
Physical Conditions:
Fitness: ++
Spirit: ++
Insight: ++]
[Items: Leviathan Axe; Quiver; Arrows(30); Transmutation Cube; Compass of Desire; Bow; Guardian Shield]
[Customization Points: 612.5]
He had gained quite a lot on his trip to the Labyrinth. But the most important part was still lying inside his inventory.
Nathan grabbed into the air and the Transmutation Cube and Hydra Head appeared in his hand. The scales of the Hydra and it's still open eyes were terrifying to behold at such a close distance. In the better lighting, Nathan realized just how terrifying the Hydra had been.
"This is something only a mother could love..." He muttered before taking out every other trophy from his inventory and throwing them all into the cube.
[You have gained 1124.8 Customization Points!]
[Customization Points: 1737.3]
"Wow."
The Lernaean Hydra had one immortal head which couldn't be killed. It was what comprised a part of it's immortality in the myth and why two heads would sprout out of one stump when a head was cut off. If someone managed to cut off all heads like Herakles did, the last head would be the immortal one.
Being unable to kill the head due to its immortality and fearing its poison, Herakles squished it below a large boulder, putting an end to the Hydra's reign of terror.
Considering all those facts, it was evident that the Hydra's head held huge value as a trophy, comparable to things like the Pelt of the Nemean Lion or Medusa's head; not only in terms of Mythological Significance, but also in terms of individual power.
The Pelt of the Lion could not be pierced. Medusa's gaze would petrify anyone who gazed at her. And a Hydra's saliva could inflict pain that would make an immortal wish for death, enough to the point that Chiron was willing to sacrifice his immortality for the sake of being relieved from the pain.
Among the monsters, Hydra was a being that made even gods wary, not because it was particularly powerful, but because of its poison.
And so, happy about the points he had gained, he got to work.
He invested 60 points to upgrade Fitness, Spirit and Insight once and then 120 more to get it one level ahead.
Instantly, he felt a tingling sensation under his skin that soon disappeared. His vision and other senses seemed to have become suddenly sharper and he closed his eyes from the sudden influx of information.
"Oh crap... that'll take some time getting used to." He groaned. Shaking his head, he first made a very important perk for himself.
[Personal Elemental Resistance: Makes one Resistant to any elemental power from the weapon in one's hand.]
The Perk had a base cost of 1.2 points, but Nathan spent a total of 30 points into it, getting it to [Personal Elemental Resistance(+++)].
Next, he pulled out his Leviathan Axe and took a look at all the things on it. [Frozen Embers], [Sharpness] and a whole lot of enchants.
Thinking for a moment, he added another feature.
[Elemental Inversion: Inverses the Elemental Power stored in the axe. The frozen embers burn cold, but the inversed fire scalds just as hot.]
The effect cost 35.8 points.
With this, he would have not only frost resistance, but also flame resistance; with the added bonus of being able to switch elements when he pleased.
After that, he began to edit Monster Lore.
[Pantheon Lore: Instantly gain simple information about any mythological being, place or object when looking at it.]
The upgrade was 80 points.
Hunter's Instincts also got an upgrade, costing 50 points as well.
Next, he modelled another skill.
[Rage: When desired, explode with sudden fiery intensity, rapidly increasing power and physical abilities at the cost of rapid muscle degradation.]
It was an ability he had wanted to make before. The offset of the muscle degradation was a way to save points and it wasn't that big of a deal since he was always constantly recovering from breathing. The skill cost 1.5 points at the base and he invested a total of 12 points into it, bringing it to [Rage(++)].
Next, he modelled a very important skill for the future.
[Wild Breathing: A breathing style that summons the power of the wild and natural beasts and elements. Through efficient breathing, the body is able to explode with many times the normal strength output.]
A breathing style from Demon Slayer. This was exactly the kind of thing he needed to increase the output of his Titan's Lungs explosively. The cost was an astonishing 44 points.
Nathan scratched his chin in thought for several seconds. A whole minute passed and suddenly, he had some more ideas.
He upgraded runic enchanter again for 100 points and gave another level to Instincts for 80.
Then, he modelled the Celestial Bronze Dust Armor he had been trying to make before. His Guardian Shield was what had been transformed into it, so that shaved off some of the cost.
[Divine Dust Armor: Dust made from Celestial Bronze; able to transform itself into Armor, weapons and anything the user desires.]
The cost was 950 points.
[Concealment] got an upgrade, allowing it to mask a single target, whether demigod or mortal, from all senses for 30 points.
All those upgrades left him with 315.5 points.
And now, Nathan wasn't sure what to make anymore.
He had already gotten a lot of upgrades he wanted, more than that he felt like he would be going in too many directions at once.
After giving everything a one over, he upgraded his equipment.
His bow got an aim assist feature, meaning as long as he fired in the general direction and was at least somewhat close to the target, the arrow would hit the desired point - costing 20 points. He upgraded the sharpness on his axe again and made some mundane adjustments into the design and the handle; costing 40 points.
Then, he wondered something.
"Can I make titles or Jobs?"
He tried it, and indeed, that was also an option.
[Title - Monster Slayer]
[Job: Assassin]
It was worth mentioning that the titles and jobs gave added bonuses based on his specifications and the names given to them, so he not just go crazy and give himself some cool title with a weak effect. A title like the God of Hunting would give him abilities and powers befitting of such a name and be known instinctively by others. It could not have a lame effect like increasing running speed by 10% or something.
The same could be said for Jobs. If he made something like an Assassin, he would get Assassin like powers and bonuses. And if he made something like a God-Killer, he would get the bonuses that the name of the Job entails.
All of that to say that the names reflected the strength, unlike skills or items which could be named whatever without worry.
Nathan did not end up making any of them for now, willing to save up 255.5 points for later.
[Name: Nathan Hill
Job: Hunter
Earned Titles: None
Loaded Items: Titan's Lungs
Perks: Pantheon lore; Hunter's Instincts(++++); Blessing of Mana-Yood-Sushai; Personal Elemental Resistance(+++)
Skills: Melee Proficiency; Ranged Proficiency; Mist(+); Concealment; Runic Enchanter(++++); Wild Breathing; Rage(++)
Physical Conditions:
Fitness: ++++
Spirit: ++++
Insight: ++++]
[Items: Leviathan Axe; Quiver; Arrows(30); Transmutation Cube; Compass of Desire; Bow; Divine Dust Armor]
[Customization Points: 255.5]
...
A/N: Apologies for the late uploads.
Comment what he should make next.
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