Chapter 38 Powerful And Limited

  Lenna was in over her head. Isaac had led her into plenty of situations where she had felt like she was in over her head before, but this was a whole new level. She felt like she had switched worlds, again, only this time she had actually changed what planet or plane of existence she was on. This was different from the world switch that was moving from Contantis to Safeharbor, this was like stepping straight into Celestia and being welcomed in by a divine being. The worst part was, for her sanity anyway, that it was not too far off.

  “Unfortunately, not very much.” Isaac replied honestly. He was in too deep with Ori Jikan and Judgment to be lying to another demigod. The truth was simply his best option to get what he wanted so the truth was what Isaac gave.

  “Good, good, that means that there has not been a containment breach.” Klein nodded to himself. “When you both reach level twenty, if you agree to be Identified by a very specific version of the Identify spell, then I will answer every question you have about being and becoming a demigod. Until then, I must insist that you wait. I cannot stop any other demigods from telling you, but a few of us have strongly discouraged the spreading of information of that sort.”

  Isaac frowned. He was hoping to get actionable information out of the ancient demigod, not a promise of information in the future. It was better than nothing though so Isaac wasn’t going to complain aloud. “Why both of us? Why then?” Isaac wondered.

  “Because you are fused.” Klein answered. “As for your other question, I am afraid that the answer must wait until that time as well.”

  Isaac hummed in thought. “Alright.” He conceded. A small concession would paint him in a positive light which would help him get what he wanted later on. “I know this is out of the blue, but would you be able to help us track someone down?”

  “No.” Klein replied instantly. “That would be involving myself directly in the affairs of mortals in a way that actively chooses sides in a non cataclysmic conflict, unless, of course, you are looking for someone capable of crushing countries underfoot, in which case, you have my attention.”

  “Well, that limits my list by quite a bit. A specific group of drow raiders is out of the question?” Isaac asked.

  “Indeed.” Klein replied. “But not for the reason previously stated. You see, there are ancient evils locked away and hidden deep within drow territory and society that only a select few are aware of. Those ancient evils are held at bay by a treaty that was signed by yours truly, all of the human demigods who were alive back then, and the drow emperor. In exchange for us never directly involving ourselves, they would keep their own world shaking monsters in their cellars until the next dragon surge.”

  Isaac’s face paled. “I haven’t…” His voice trailed off.

  “Oh stars no.” Klein laughed. “They are just as aware as I am that you are not a demigod. You could be in the future, sure, you certainly have the potential, but you are not one right now, otherwise both of you would be.”

  Isaac let out a breath he hadn’t realized that he was holding. “Good.” He breathed.

  “Was there anyone else of real import that you are looking for, young dragon slayer?” Klein asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

  Isaac froze, dumbfounded for a moment before he just shook his head and sighed. Of course Klein knew, he was one of the demigods that were certified dragon slayers after all. “A dragon, Chatohsha.” Isaac informed the older dragon slayer.

  Klein hummed in thought. “I can let you know if I ever come across her. I can even bring you to her for a rematch if you would like, but I do not have the ability to Divine her location. She is blessed by a dragon divinity, for all intents and purposes, she is immune to having magic be directly enacted upon her. Witchcraft might work, maybe a sacrificial curse, but nothing that I would be willing to try. Even then, those means of divination are not very comprehensive.” He took another sip of his tea to wet his throat and lips. “In short, I will keep an eye out but that is the best that I can do.”

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  “Even you have limits, huh?” Isaac asked with a slight smirk. It actually comforted him to know that the Demigod of Space had limits to his abilities despite his power veiling Primatia from all of the other planes of existence.

  “Demigods are the most powerful and limited that a human can become. Elves have the opportunities to become Great Spirits, which are similar but different to demigods. Great Spirits come about by one reaching level twenty one.” Klein informed them. Apparently that path to power was not one that he was concerned about sharing. “The only way to reach that level, as far as I am aware, is to become one with an entire concept and then push that concept to greater heights. Take Rey’gon Dra’als for instance.”

  “Who?” Isaac wondered.

  “The first dragon slayer.” Lenna answered.

  “That both is and is not correct.” Klein replied. “He is the current head of the Dragon Slayer order and has been for at least two millennia. He is actually the grandson of the first Greatbowman to kill a dragon. But he pushed the concept of being a Dragon Slayer Greatbowman to a level where he transcended what level twenty looked like. He reached a point where his levels could no longer even hint at his real power, but leveling stops at twenty, so instead of leveling up again, he became two beings that were still yet one, that is what all Great Spirits are.”

  “What does that even mean?” Isaac wondered. If he had a good read on his own power level, which he thought that he did, then he was far beyond what a level sixteen should be capable of. Way more than twice as much if his guestimations were correct.

  “His body and soul have their own levels.” Klein explained. “His body is that of the twentieth level warrior known as ‘The Dragon Slayer’, and his soul is a Warlock whose power comes from The Dragon Slayer.”

  “Huh?” Was all Isaac could utter. That level of system abuse was just, just- “That’s just bullshit.” Isaac swore with a shake of his head. “How does that even happen?”

  “I’ve actually explained everything that I know on the subject.” Klein replied with a shrug.

  “Ah, that is why you were open to sharing.” Isaac thought aloud.

  Klein shook his head. “No, actually, it is quite the opposite. If there was a way to create human Great Spirits, other than a druid inheriting an entire great forest from multiple other druids at the same time, then I would be the first to push their creation. In fact, during the last dragon surge, we had six grand master wizards all turn into liches just to ensure that they could continue to fight the dragon scourge.” He explained. “I was there, I watched them, I even fought alongside them.”

  “What happened to them?” Isaac wondered.

  “They all died for good.” Klein replied with a sad smile. “Some of them were finished off by the dragons, others, we had to put down. Some of them voluntarily let their souls fade away, those are the dearest friends who will always be missed.”

  Isaac nodded in solidarity. “That is why I am looking for a specific group of drow raiders.” He told the demigod. “They are the reason my two oldest friends are gone forever.”

  Klein returned Isaac nod. “I would help you, honestly, I would if I could.” He said with a sigh. “But the collateral damage from us going to war with the empire would be astronomical. It would be so bad in fact that all non-draconic civilizations would have to be rebuilt from scratch. Dozens of demigods and Great Spirits going to war against the empire and its unknown number of ancient evils would turn the bedrock to topsoil and the topsoil to molten rock. Actually, now that I think about it, there would be one non-draconic civilization that would still be intact.”

  “Which one?” Lenna wondered. She thought that she knew her planet and its major powers decently well.

  “The giants living inside and under Stryke Mountain.” Klein explained. “The being known as the Demigoddess of Strength to all races of Primatia. Not even I would be fool enough to piss her off.”

  Isaac furrowed his brows. “I have heard of her before, and everyone speaks as though she is the most powerful being in all of existence, but if she is that powerful, couldn’t you help her ascend and then she wouldn’t be on Primatia anymore?”

  Klein smiled and shook his head. “No. Where do you think I got the idea to use my power to keep myself from ascending? Of course, that eventually spread to me using that power to keep my closest friends from ascending as well and everything else that the veil entails.”

  Isaac’s brows furrowed. “But… that doesn’t make any sense?” He said with complete confusion.

  “How can someone whose whole thing is Strength, keep herself from ascending to the godly plains on a soul level?” Klein spoke Isaac’s question aloud. “Easy, she simply strong-arms the laws of existence. She is just so unreasonably strong that not even universal laws and other concepts can force her to do anything she doesn’t want to do.”

  “Huh?” Isaac honked. His brain was not comprehending the execution of the ‘logic’ that Klein had just explained.

  “But, as fun as our conversation has been, we have kept Gil waiting long enough.” Klein said and got to his feet. “I was only supposed to fetch you, though I am sure that he was aware that something like this would happen, it is still a good idea to not keep the old bastard waiting for too long.”

  Isaac and Lenna got to their feet. “That makes sense.” Isaac nodded absently. He was still trying to wrap his head around Strength and her bullshit ‘strength’.

  “Indeed.” Lenna agreed. “One last thing before we go,” She stopped Klein with her own question. “Is the Guild Leader really an ancient dragon?”

  Klein just smirked a knowing smile. “Who knows?” He obviously joked and snapped his fingers. In a blink, Isaac and Lenna had crossed half of the Kingdom of Altia. It was time to meet with the Guild Leader.