( Turtle shell planet )
" So you were alive after all…. I thought you perished alongside others after the great war, " Kremeth said as he took a sip of the soup he was previously enjoying, not bothering to offer a bowl to Angakok.
" I was not truly alive, I was not truly dead either, because of Memphidos's curse, I felt like I was being forgotten, my memories from this universe erased, as bit by bit I fell into divine slumber.
I only woke up recently because of a new follower, a boy, I assume a student of yours " Angakok said as he removed an old copper pipe from his inventory and began smoking some tobacco mixed with marijuana.
" Are you sure that you were put into slumber by your evil student and not because of your habits? '' Kremeth said, taking a jibe at Angakok's passion for drugs and illicit substances.
" Also, I have no students, I'm just an old coward, waiting for the end of my time, '' Kremeth added, as he wanted to test the other party's depth before revealing anything.
" Interesting…. How many others in the universe have mastered the way of the wind?
With the Vayu- Astra still in your possession I'm inclined to believe not many, " Angakok said smiling as he knew the cautious nature of the old turtle.
" Hmmm, I don't seem to recall " Kremeth said, feigning ignorance, however his disposition was much more serious now.
" Let me jolt your memory then old friend, The boy is young, should be in early 20's, a primordial vampire, should have undergone dragonification, rings a bell? " Angakok asked, his tone containing an icy edge as he revealed that he was done playing games.
" What do you want? " Kremeth asked as he studied the other party seriously, he clearly knew a lot and Kremeth could no longer deny his involvement about being Max's teacher.
" He's my chosen, the only mortal who remembers my existence, he's the link that allows my clones to project themselves into the mortal world.
This corporal body of mine in front of you, I've assimilated it with great troubles today, surely you haven't mistaken it for my real body, have you old friend? " Angakok said as Kremeth nodded
During the great war, Angakok was one of the top god's, while he was a mortal rookie, the difference in power between him and Angakok was like heaven and Earth, and today even after his long slumber his corporal projection was strong enough to give Kremeth a headache.
Their friendship was a result of an unlikely event, as after Kremeth killed Odin, he gained universal infamy and became a wanted man.
It was at that point that he traded secrets to a tier 10 treasure to Angakok in return for temporary asylum and a favour to be named in future.
The reason why Angakok was able to find Kremeth was also related to this old trade, as it was the Shaman God who had helped him make Turtle Shell planet his home.
" The boy is not suitable to be your chosen, he has his own troubles and will not be able to propagate your church " Kremeth said softly as he suggested to Angakok that he had made a mistake by naming him the chosen.
" No- that boy is unique, I'm sure you know it as well but he is walking the path of fire, the path of the warrior and the path of the wind at the same time.
I've never heard of any individual capable of advancing on three different paths at once.
Setting aside the secrets and the difficulties of walking on these paths, the requirements are ridiculous and get harder and harder at each stage.
The individuals in control of these paths are extremely limited.
For him to learn the way of the wind from you, even though it's just the first phase is a huge accomplishment, it means tutoring him through the further ranks won't be impossible.
As long as he reaches the fourth stage before he becomes a god, I can guide him into becoming something more than a mere god.
If he can master the path of the water and the path of soil alongside the three paths he is already walking on, he will be the first warrior since the chaos era to be eligible to walk the path of a celestial " Angakok's corporal projection said as it's purple eyes flickered with intensity.
Kremeth could feel his heart thumping wildly at the prospect, however, he also knew that the matter that Angakok discussed was not as easy as he made it to be.
Aside from the fire god's path, which Max would master via the Agni-Astra, the other paths were not so easy to master.
The stat maximisation at tier3 would take him at least 2 years of intense training if not more despite him being an inherent genius.
The path of the perfect warrior was hard in and of itself to walk on and to reach the zenith one needed to train themselves to the utmost limit day after day for years on end, and even if Max did manage to do so, for decades and eventually stand at the peak of tier 5 with all of his stats maximised he would still need to spend two or three decades mastering the way of the wind to level 4.
By the time Max would be done with these 3 paths, he would already be into his fifties or sixties, mid-way through his life cycle, with two other paths yet to master from scratch.
Even if Angakok managed to find the corresponding pathways, Max would be 120-170 years old before he mastered all 5 paths, assuming he could learn 5 of them and it would take him over one and a half centuries of persistent effort to do so.
All of this just for the 'chance' of becoming something more than just a god, a chance of someday stepping beyond the tier8 threshold set by nature and becoming more than a monarch.
" It's unreasonable, we would rob him of his dreams, ambitions and life. Nobody can master 5 pathways in this day and age Angakok, the universe has changed a lot since your slumber " Kremeth said revealing his weakness in the form of his compassion for Max as he refused to help Angakok choose such a life for his disciple.
" Of Course, I'm not unreasonable, old turtle. Even though you might not believe it, I no longer derive joy from making the lives of my followers miserable. I quite miss them now.
I've mastered the concepts of the time seed in my slumber, I'm confident in creating a time-flow chamber where a single day outside will be akin to spending a decade inside.
Although I cannot control the tier 10 treasure completely, I can control the seed enough to harness it's powers and build a structure that can channelize it.
I've already started construction and should be able to complete it in 2 years time.
The only reason I'm here is to recruit you as the teacher of my chosen.
Afterwards, I'm going after the keepers of the path of soil and the path of water as well.
I wish for you to train him in the path of wind when the time comes.
I hope you do it voluntarily since he is your boy too, however, if you refuse then your corpse will be the one teaching him.
He will do as I will him to do, I shall respect his dreams and ambitions, but it won't be an excuse to not make him do as I say.
I'm no longer interested in re-expanding my believer base and having a religion, I've learnt a lot in my slumber and the things I want now are greater than you can imagine
Think about it, or be prepared for war " Angakok said with a smile as he vanished into thin air.
Kremeth was silent for a while as he felt his hands tremble for the first time in a long time.
Kremeth was the one who had given Angakok clues about how to obtain the time seed, however, he never expected the old god to have succeeded in his endeavour before falling into his slumber.
Kremeth was now sure that it was one of the reasons, if not the reason behind Angakok looking like he had not aged a single day despite him being much older to Kremeth in age.
When Max chose the Blood Shaman class, Angakok thought that the only problems he would face was getting the relevant tier progression and spell aids since the class was long lost.
Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that his student would become Angakok's Chosen, a new favourite pawn to his grand scheme.
Kremeth did not have much choice as to accepting or rejecting Angakok's proposal, as while he could still afford to offend the Archangel Michael over an issue, he could not offend Angakok when he had the tier 10 treasure the seed of time within his grasp.