The memory fragment that Angakok had provided Max with today was a special one.
The shaman god's greatest accomplishment seemed to come from the fact that he had killed the sea god Poseidon and enslaved his pet beast the Kraken.
This feat was a part of the chant that was used to summon him, and today it was a small figment of that battle that he had decided to share with Max.
Once Max delved into the memory packet, he seemed to be in the middle of the ocean, for as far as his eye could see there was only water with a small island not more than a few hundred metres in length, being the only piece of land all around.
The sun seemed to be dipping below the horizon, painting the sky in a breathtaking tapestry of oranges and reds as it gave way to twilight. Waves lapped gently against the shoreline, the salty sea breeze carrying with it the scent of distant lands. The moon, a silvery crescent, began to ascend in the sky, casting its ethereal light upon the restless ocean.
Angakok, the mighty Shaman God, stood atop a towering cliff, his eyes fixed upon the horizon. His long, flowing robes rustled in the wind, adorned with runic symbols written in a language that Max could not understand.
' He looks handsome…. I thought he was always as boring as he is now ' Max thought as he continued watching patiently.
The air around Angakok hummed with energy as if nature itself was bending to his will, a newly ascended tier8 god was here on Poseidon's home planet to challenge his hegemony and settle old grudges.
Far below, the sea foamed and churned, as if anticipating the battle that was about to unfold.
Suddenly, the tranquillity of the scene was shattered by a deafening roar that echoed across the vast expanse of water. The ocean swelled, and from its depths emerged Poseidon, the formidable sea god. A great, spiralling whirlpool formed around him as he rose, the waters parting to reveal the mighty figure clad in shimmering armour, his trident gleaming ominously.
Beside him, the Kraken emerged, a monstrous leviathan that dwarfed even the largest of ships. Its colossal tentacles writhed and coiled, causing the waters to froth and boil in their wake. Its eyes, like burning embers, blazed with fury and loyalty to its master.
' Whoa, that's the real Kraken? It's much more impressive than the one Vice Guildmaster Karna had in Omega ' Max thought as he marvelled at the size and power of the Kraken.
Water was literally boiling around its body, the aura it exuded enough to paralyse even tier4 warriors with fear.
Angakok raised his arms towards the sky, and the heavens responded. Dark clouds gathered, blotting out the stars and plunging the world into shadow.
' The fuck?, The guy casually blotted all light out? I can't see shit anymore ' Max swore as he could not comprehend the ability needed to completely plunge a planet into darkness.
Just as Max thought he would see nothing more than flashes of attacks used from here on forward, the Kraken suddenly began glowing with a white moonlight shade, showing Bioluminescent properties.
' Of Course the terrifying monster is a glow lamp, I should have known ' Max thought as he clapped his hands and prepared to watch the epic battle unfold.
Poseidon, sensing the shift in the atmosphere, grinned malevolently as he met the Shaman God's gaze. The two divine beings stared each other down, the tension between them palpable, like a bowstring pulled taut. The first move was yet to be made, each god assessing the other, their strategies formulating in the silence that preceded the storm.
It was Poseidon who struck first, thrusting his trident into the sea. The ocean roared in response, and it seemed like the entire sea had split into two, as two towering waves about 100 metres high came towards the cliff where Angakok stood from both sides threatening to engulf him in their watery embrace.
Angakok, unperturbed by this, just casually flicked his wrists and the two massive waves coming towards him turned into a rain of harmless flowers.
Max who watched this scene grabbed his own face tightly and stared in disbelief. The power that prime Angakok had was next level.
As the rain of flowers cascaded around him, Angakok locked eyes with Poseidon, a wry smile playing on his lips. The sea god's expression darkened, his pride seemed to have been wounded by the Shaman God's effortless display of power.
" Don't be too smug boy, I'll send your ass packing just like I did to your father " Poseidon said as he commanded the Kraken to attack.
The monstrous beast roared, its glowing tentacles cutting through the darkness like ethereal whips. The ocean surged around the creature as it propelled itself towards Angakok with frightening speed.
Angakok, still calm and collected, raised his hands to the sky, summoning a gale of wind that swirled around him like a tornado. The Kraken's tentacles collided with the vortex, the force of the wind shredding through its outer layers and sending the beast recoiling in pain.
Max watched in awe as the Shaman God demonstrated his mastery over the elements.
Poseidon, enraged by his pet's injury, unleashed a barrage of water spikes, each one as sharp and deadly as a spear. The sea god's control over the ocean was precise and devastating, the spikes hurtling towards Angakok with unerring accuracy.
Undeterred, Angakok conjured a wall of ice, in an attempt to intercept the deadly projectiles, however, a colossal wave crashed into the ice wall out of nowhere, severely damaging it before the torrent of spikes destroyed it and hit Angakok's armour causing him to take some damage.
Max could hardly believe the spectacle unfolding before his eyes. The raw power and skill displayed by both gods were unlike anything he had ever witnessed.
Just as he was getting really into the fight, feeling his blood pump with the most primal rush, the memory fragment ended as Max was ejected out of the loop.
Devastated, Max glared at Angakok in a moment of raw emotion, but the Shaman God's cold gaze jolted him back to reality, as he quickly lowered his glare and pretended to enjoy the beautiful surrounding scenery.
" That memory fragment you saw was playing out at a roughly 20 times slower rate than the normal flow of time.
Had it been at the normal speed, you would not be able to make heads and tails of the fights going on " Angakok said as he tried to educate Max the best way he could.
" What did you make of that battle? " Angakok asked Max, hoping to hold a candid discussion to spark his learning.
" Well, you definitely looked very strong back then, and Poseidon seemed to say something about killing your father so, I'm sorry for your loss … '' Max said, scratching his head as Angakok sighed in disappointment.
" After tier7, the landscape of battles shift significantly.
Once god-hood is achieved and an individual is capable of manipulating divine essence, in a way he/she becomes powerful enough to rip apart planets at will.
If you let any god at tier6 land an open shot on any other god at tier6, he/ she will kill them with a single attack, there is no question about it.
Divine essence is essentially a cheat, anyone who can wield it can use it to fuel ridiculous spells that they could never hope of conjuring with normal mana.
Everyone becomes extremely powerful and has the power to hurt their opponents, so the battles at that level are often decided by the moves in one's arsenal.
The physical prowess, the intellectual prowess, strategy, defence everything becomes secondary.
The most important thing is the ability under one's belt and their mastery over it.
It doesn't matter how fast I am, in the memory fragment you inspected which was 20 times slower than reality, there were two occasions where evading a spell was impossible for me.
I could not have outrun the attack where Poseidon chose to crash the two colossal waves into me and I could not have dodged his precise barrage.
At that moment it did not matter what my Agility stat was or what my Physical or constitution stat was. If the move crashed into me and Poseidon was able to drag me into the bottom of the ocean, I would have died in that battle.
At that level, the only thing that can counter a spell is another spell.
And it's not just the spell itself that matters, but also one's mastery over it.
At your level right now, it seems like using a tier4 spell is always better than a tier3 spell and that's all you focus on.
But when it's a battle of split-seconds, the casting time difference between a spell that you have ( Intermediate ) mastery over and a spell you have ( Advanced ) mastery over is like heaven and Earth and can decide whether or not you live or die.
Having a lot of spells is not as important as mastering a few trusty ones, but also if you have too few spells you will eventually be outmatched and outmuscled.
The point I'm trying to make here is that you need to be very careful from here on out about the attacks you want to include in your arsenal.
If the attack is something you can't master or practice again and again to raise its mastery, then it will betray you once you step into the domain of the gods.
The ice wall I made in that battle that was pierced, was a move I had only (Advanced) mastery over, but had I perfected it, I would have never been hit by Poseidon " Angakok said as he gave Max an invaluable lesson about the fight at the level of god's.
While he had his own motivations behind shaping Max properly, the advice he gave him today was worth its weight in gold.