War God for Hire- Mercenary: A Reincarnation, Cultivation, Litrpg Adventure

by David Burke

  He experimented with different weapons. Each one acted slightly differently, but they all affected reality at more than just the visible level. Slashing seemed to have the most visceral impact, but there would obviously be reasons different forms had different effects. He lamented the fact that there wasn’t time to study the phenomenon more now but promised himself he would do so later.

  For now, he took away two lessons from this. His weapon could adapt to any form he needed in an instant. And, for all the damage his physical attacks did, the real battle lay at a different level. The closer he got to open conflict with the other gods, the more important it would be to remember this second lesson. It also freed him up to worry less about the shape of his weapon and to focus on more practical issues.

  That made him wonder about what might impress the self-important, rich mortals at this luncheon. He chuckled. Hilde would be proud of him for thinking of them as mortals and, more than that, for separating them from himself. He did, however, take a moment to think about what this culture seemed to find impressive.

  A sword was the most common weapon, but he wasn’t a fan of the shorter, gladius style that the guardsmen here favored. He preferred the look of a long sword. It also had the advantage that he could wear it as part of his armor, rather than having to hold it, banish it to his soul space, or set it down somewhere. He very much liked the idea of going to this luncheon armed.

  It didn’t really matter one way or the other, but he wanted to make a statement.

  With that in mind, he decided his gladiator armor wouldn’t do the trick. It made for a good visual display of his physical power, but he didn’t want to come off as some sort of boy toy. He wanted to be every bit the imposing warrior. Try as he might, the best example he could think of was Krig.

  The armor the dying war god had appeared in, when Kyle had first seen him in the parking deck had been impressive—even in those circumstances. He wondered if he could create such a set for himself. He caught himself. Why should he wonder?

  He possessed the same power as the beings who created this world. No, they had created this very universe. It might be small, in comparison to the universe he had known about before, but creating Verden and the planes associated with it, along with all the stars in the night sky, was no small achievement.

  That meant creation had to be possible for him. He simply needed to tap into that power. Krig would have had to work with others to create, as he only possessed raw essence and war essence. Kyle wasn’t so limited, though. What was earth essence but the very substance which made up every bit of dirt, rock, or ore—not to mention every type of metal that he could imagine?

  Except, that was where his idea broke down. He realized he had no idea about the composition of metal. He’d done well enough in school, but as chemistry was never going to be his career, he had learned enough of it to get a decent grade, and then promptly forgotten it.

  Kyle thought about experimenting. Unfortunately, he didn’t know what potential side effects that might cause. The last thing he wanted was to destroy the guild hall or create something that he didn’t properly understand.

  Of course, this raised another question. He hadn’t known anything about creating a weapon, so how had he been able to make a soul bound weapon? It had been connected to Krig, before. Was that the difference? Maybe, but he didn’t think so. He had still formed it from the pickaxe.

  When he thought back to when he had first summoned it in the quarry, it had been all about intent. That was the key, he just knew it. With a thought he summoned his soul bound weapon again and used his divine awareness to peer into it.

  Sure enough, he was right. The weapon wasn’t actually made of metal. It wasn’t really a physical object, at all. Rather, it was a manifestation of the idea of a weapon—along with all that came wrapped up with that—the strength to block as much as the will to slice.

  He guessed, though he couldn’t go back to confirm his hypothesis, that it had originally been composed purely of war essence. Now though, it had veins of Earth, Sky, Death, Sea, and even a thread of Deceit Essence running through it. Each component was representative of the amount they made up of his essence wheel.

  The same should work for his armor. He focused on what armor was. It was protection, for him, but also for the others that he stood as a shield for. It was strong and durable, yet there were a host of other values in it related to mobility, flexibility, and even an offensive spark. Only a novice didn’t understand that armor could be used as a weapon itself, under the right set of circumstances.

  Kyle formed a clear image in his head of what he wanted the armor to look like. A host of different essences flowed out of him as quickly as he could regenerate them, along with a significant amount of raw essence, too. Plates of armor began to form around him. But unlike physical armor, there was no need for padding or other such considerations. Instead, what formed was a majestic set of form-fitting, half-plate armor.

  The only thing he wasn’t happy about was the colors. No matter how he tried, he couldn’t seem to change them. Apparently, he was stuck with the red and gold of the war god. It seemed appropriate and it would definitely send a message. The only distinction was that along each arm he had small stripes the colors of his other essence types.

  A knock at the door was his first indicator that Meeka was ready to depart and had been waiting on him. It wasn’t until they were walking down the street towards the Governor’s mansion that he realized something. He hadn’t detected her presence until she’d knocked on his door.

  This heightened awareness was harder to get used to than he had expected. But with everyone else, he realized that he’d sensed their approach long before he heard a knock at the door. It had been different this time. For some reason, he’d not had any awareness of Meeka until he heard her knock. Strange.

  Too many coincidences were starting to pile up around the noblewoman. She had not done anything which even hinted at hostility towards Kyle, though. Quite the opposite. She had offered him her wealth and her services to facilitate the growth of the guild under his control.

  More than that, she had practically thrown herself at him. Repeatedly.

  There hadn’t been anything odd about that. He was used to women throwing themselves at him back on Earth. It was a cross he’d been only too willing to bear. Even here, where they not only threw themselves at him but were okay with him being with multiple women, he was almost coming to expect it.

  Yet there had been something different about this. Meeka’s desire was expressed more as a primal desire, than simple attraction or infatuation. As Kyle thought his way through the conundrum the beauty at his side represented, they made their way through the city. He caused quite a stir in his new armor. She had complimented him on the choice, as well as for wearing a sword.

  Now, though, they were approaching the Governor’s mansion. It was a small castle—nothing the size of some of the grand palaces in Thena—but clearly a place of wealth and opulence. Out front, there were a doorman and four guards.

  Kyle stopped and watched Meeka hand a colored piece of paper to the doorman.

  “Ah, Lady Meeka, and is this the esteemed war elemental, Kyle Krigson?”

  She answered before he could say a word. “Yes. I finally managed to get him to take time out from protecting the city to attend this event. But I fear he will only have so much time before he must get back to the guild’s work. Monsters don’t slay themselves; you know.”

  “Quite right, I’m sure. Master Krigson, you can leave your sword here with the guards, and they will see it returned to you when you depart,” the doorman said with polished ease.

  Kyle simply looked down at the man and said, “No.”

  Initially at a loss for words, the man stared open mouthed first at Kyle and then at Meeka, who was no help. He turned to the guards and then back at Kyle again. “I can understand if the weapon is valuable. I can have a guard specially assigned to protect it. Y
ou are the guest of honor today, after all.”

  “No. I meant I surrender my weapon to no man unless he can take it from my cold, dead hand.” Kyle’s glower practically froze the man in place.

  Meeka leapt in at that moment. “As you say, he is the guest of honor. If the man protecting our town from trolls and sea monsters can’t be trusted with his blade, then who can?”

  Kyle didn’t know if the doorman was persuaded by her argument or intimidated by his presence. Either way, the flustered doorman waved them through a moment later. It didn’t escape Kyle’s notice that all four guards audibly sighed as soon as he was through the doorway.

  Once inside, he noted every bit of decor was of the finest sort. Thick carpets, beautiful tapestries, and finely carved wood were everywhere—along with an excess of golden trim. None of it was very practical, but apparently the people of Nargossa were less warlike than those of Thena. It might be because they were not as close to the wild northern tundra, which were home to barbaric humans and lycans alike.

  When they entered the grand hall where the luncheon was to be served, there were about forty guests seated at various tables with an equal number of slaves scurrying about to serve them. It wasn’t hard to pick out the Governor at the central table. There were two spots open at the head table, while the other six spots seated the Governor and his wife, a mage of some sort, a pair of priestesses, and a heavy-set man.

  Kyle could see the essence flowing through the three casters. One was a priestess of Jordan, god of the Sky and the other of Begaer, the goddess of lust or love as some called it. The mage was the true oddity. He was the first mortal who Kyle had sensed Monster Tier essence in. The man controlled Sky, Justice, and Sea essences from what Kyle could see.

  All conversation stopped when Kyle and Meeka were announced. They were then guided around from table to table to meet various nobles and merchants. He didn’t have to say much as he watched a master at work. Meeka never committed to anything but elicited multiple offers of wealth, land, and knowledge from those they spoke with. For his part, Kyle just focused on letting out enough of his aura to be intimidating.

  It seemed to work very well until they reached the head table. There, Meeka bowed her head to the Governor, but Kyle stood upright. The entire room grew deathly still to see how the Governor would respond.

  Kyle estimated the man was in his late forties. The Governor had weak, watery eyes, and a bit of a gut jutting out in his toga and Kyle took an instant dislike to him. Kyle simply wasn’t about to bow to someone so inferior.

  The locked eyes but not for long as the man called out, “Welcome to our newest hero, Kyle Krigson. I’m sure we can all agree he knows how to make an entrance.”

  Some of the other tables laughed politely while Kyle and Meeka took their seats. Slaves began to bring them their food. Kyle held a massive hand out over his plate, indicating he wasn’t going to be eating.

  The priestess of Begaer was the first to speak. “That is quite the costume you are wearing there. If you ever want to take off the trappings of a dead god, I’m sure we could find a better use for what's underneath.”

  The woman was every bit as beautiful as he had come to expect from a priestess of his slutty sister, but this time the tendrils of lust essence she sent out to entice him were completely destroyed by the aura of power around him. Her eyes grew wide when she felt her power so suddenly rebuffed. Kyle doubted she would flirt with him again until she got a better read on him.

  “The War God may be gone, but I think you will find that Kyle and his adventuring group are the sharpest sword that Nargossa could ask for,” Meeka was saying. “They have been here less than a month and are already working tirelessly to rid your city of monster threats.”

  The Governor said, “Yes. I have been anxious to meet you. I would like to come to a more permanent arrangement.”

  Arching an eyebrow, Kyle asked, “What is it you have in mind?”

  “Straight to the point. Always the same with you warrior types. Nargossa is prepared to pick up all your housing costs, pay you and your team a generous salary in exchange for you signing a contract to protect the city for ten years,” the Governor replied.

  “We are not interested in giving up our freedom. But I will commit to protecting Nargossa from monster threats for one year… in exchange for a permanent plot of land, and salaries of three silver per day for each of my warriors, with one gold per day for each of my officers. We’ll still be free to take on other jobs, so long as we to leave a sufficient force here in Nargossa to handle any monster attacks.”

  “What we won’t do, is become a police force or an extension of your limited military. We will not be citizens of Nargossa or Calrissi. Instead we will remain independent contractors. Oh…” he paused, hoping he wasn’t missing anything. “The plot of land will need to include the Adventurers Guildhall—which will no longer pay rent to the city—and at least a block in each direction for supporting buildings,” Kyle said.

  “Preposterous! Who do you…” The Governor began.

  But the old mage cut him off. “Yes, who do you think you are? I can sense a powerful aura about you, but it is masked in some way.”

  Kyle was already missing Hilde. He hated the rich owner types and was getting tired of playing political games. “I am the reincarnated…”

  Now though, it was Meeka who cut him off.

  “What the esteemed chapter head means to say,” the noblewoman interrupted, “is that he is your only option. The roads outside the city are crawling with undead from what I hear. You are going to need someone to clear those roads if your merchants are going to continue business.”

  “How do you know that? It has been kept secret. Only the people at this table know the extent of it,” the Governor protested.

  “And thus, why we are included at this table,” Meeka replied.

  “You must pardon me. I have a great deal of work to do and very little time to do it in,” Kyle said. “I will leave Lady Meeka to bargain on my behalf, but you have heard what I am willing to offer. We will not be under the control of anyone. And if you can’t reach an agreement with her, then my price will double when you eventually come begging for my assistance.”

  As he strode out of the room, he felt confident, overwhelmingly so. But a part of him worried he was being unduly influenced by his power. He didn’t like any of this political crap, but normally he had more tact.

  All he knew now, was that he needed to hit something.

  Chapter 9 - New Recruits

  The walk back to the guildhall didn’t take long, though the entire time, Kyle’s mind was racing. He really had felt sure of himself, but it wasn’t like him to lord it over the mortals. He blamed it on the fact that they were do nothing, political figures who couldn’t even wipe their own asses without a slave to do it for them.

  He blamed it in part on this sense of dread that had been building within him. Something was coming, that much was certain to him. But the thing he wanted to avoid thinking about, was… what if this change in his personality was simply coming from inside him?

  He had grown in power steadily over the past few months. He might not be able to go toe to toe with one of the gods, but there was little doubt that he’d long ago left mortal limitations behind. Even his team was becoming less and less necessary. He could have cleared that dungeon by himself. They certainly hadn’t helped him during his interaction with Hav’s son.

  Kyle still felt possessive of his team, especially the girls. But was that his desire speaking, or his respect for them? They all trained and worked just as hard as he did. Even Saber and the former trainers who’d come with him were working hard. They didn’t take on big jobs but did their part to drive off bandits and scare away bears.

  It wasn’t about effort, though. He loved being on a team where everyone was trying. The simple fact was that their ceilings were much lower than his. Kyle didn’t have enough divine splinters to supercharge every
one of them. And what if he did? Even Gilthan, Kierra, and Nyda weren’t able to keep up with him.

  Maybe he should do more. He needed to raise their limits. He had done it with Skrug without using a divine splinter, so why not with Saber? This gave him an idea, and with that idea, came a smile.

  Kyle really could do this. He could push them to be more. No… he could remake them to be more. Humans had all been born from the fallen remains of a goddess, so even if they didn’t have a draconic or fiendish bloodlines, they had to have more potential buried inside of them.

  Now, he just had to find it and tease it out.

  Saber met him before he‘d entered the guild training area. It was still mostly outside but there were also indoor areas. It was just another way in which Meeka had improved their facilities.