Crimes of transmigration

The great sage was offering me help in completing my spear art. Everyone would faint just thinking about such a possibility, but my mind was somewhat troubled. Of course having such a master help me would give me unbelievable strength, but my guts where churning.

"No."

"No?!?!?!"

Sun Wukong was bewildered, never in a million years he would have expected someone to refuse his teachings and here I was, doing just that.

"Are you completely crazy? Who in their right state of mind would refuse me? ME?"

I knew this was foolish, but…

"I'm sorry, it's just. The name of this spear art is Dance of Damocles. It was created by the first patriarch of my family and… I want to complete it myself."

Having his help would undoubtedly speed up my process and possibly even create a stronger art, but this was another matter all together.

"I wouldn't refuse training, but this, is my blood and my blood alone."

The monkey king was looking at me with eyes full of curiosity. Maybe my answer was unexpected, but those were my real feelings and I don't lie.

"You know what? For a brat that thinks too much, your heart is in the right place. Give me a minute and come back here."

I blinked away as soon as his words came through and reappeared in front of Odysseus.

"Master's real name is Emery Ambrose, give a prayer to research the ritual for the thunderbird spirit formula, if he doesn't answer pray to the King of knights, ask him if he's the king of Camelot if not, the real name is Arthur Pendragon, I don't have much time, but I think our stay need to be prolonged a little."

Odysseus grabbed my face and kissed me with a vigour I didn't know he possessed. His tongue slithering into mine, relentlessly attacking and coiling around. This was new. After he was satisfied with his reclamation, he parted and looked at me clearly offended.

"Don't even joke about being with another man. I don't care who they are."

It seemed my little joke went too far, but his wording awakened a mischievous thought in me.

"So women are- ok ok! I'm joking!"

"Dimitris Damocles. You better know your place."

His frown was so cute, he was actually scared and I didn't find it in me to keep teasing the man.

I slung my arms around his neck and brought our foreheads together.

"I'm sorry."

I freed the man and turned to Hali and Aaron.

"Hali, go with Aaron and buy necessities for camping, we're starting a training camp. Aaron, tell the family we'll be away for a little longer, but don't tell them why. I have 0 trust in them."

The two of them started to leave, but Hali stopped.

"Dimitris, the energy you use… I know I shouldn't pry since it's a teaching received from your master, but will I be able to use it too."

"I don't know Hali… Merlin said there's a way when you reach S rank, but you should talk with your father when we're back."

She nodded and hurried the saddened Aaron to leave, when everything was settled I turned back and approached Wukong. The minute had just passed.

__________________

"Since you don't wish to either form a contract with me or accept my help with your reaserch, I really don't have much choice do I?"

I lowered my head embarrassed, truly he could just leave and I should be at peace with that, who was I to request anything at all to begin with?

"So I decided, I'll teach you weaponless combat. Just the basic! I'll give you the book later, but everything will then be up to you."

"You're going to teach me taekwondo?"

He smirked at me confidently, but I was honestly confused.

If not taekwondo then what?

"That is a nice martial art, but you can't really use it well with Archana. It would be counterproductive. I'll teach you the basics of illusion fighting."

Illusion fighting? Wasn't that part of the 72 divine transformations?

For as much as I would welcome it, being taught even a speck of dust belonging to the 72 divine transformations couldn't be free.

"When you say illusion fighting-"

"Well, it's the closest thing I can teach you to match your weird 'here I am here I'm not' technique of yours."

"Wukong. Is this part of the 72 divine transformations?"

He stayed silent and watched me for a couple of seconds before finally sighing.

"This brat knows too much for his own good. Yes, it is one of the 72 transformations indeed, but I barely ever use it and I think it could help you reach enlightenment faster."

"You can't possibly be teaching that for free though, I'm not that stupid."

His smirk grew wider, his perpetual annoyingly smiling face grew even more disturbing, if that was even possible and he simply nodded.

"What do you need me to do?"

Wukong's eyes gleamed suddenly and I felt a rush of information flooding my brain. The detailed explanation of the illusion fighting technique wrote itself on my grimoire and my soul along with a mission to complete in my original world.

"Fuck."

______________________

-Odysseus' POV-

"I call for your advise, accept this sacrifice, Emery Ambrose, the mage of flowers."

On a makeshift altar made in the outskirts of the clearing Dimitris was now using to train what looked like basic spearmanship, I sacrificed some of the fruits we started cultivating on the ship after all the Eëä fiasco. The fruits were consumed, but no response was given to me whatsoever. It seemed that lazy motherfucked was busy with something or couldn't intervene here.

Fuck do I have to call that other constellation? Dimitris seemed to know them but…

I didn't have anything to lose at this point. It was better to strengthen myself as quickly as possible. The simple fact that a rank B enemy appeared here, even if in those dungeons nothing was stronger then rank D, was frightening to say the least. What awaited us in the temple of time? How strong were our enemies?

I left all my doubt behind and sucked it up. Changed the sacrifices from fruit to mana stones and prayed that whoever this fella was, he was not a lazy bastard like master.

"I seek your guidance, King of knights."

Nothing.

"Arthur Pendragon."

As soon as the name was called, a reaction from the fire came through. It enlarged and made a huge circle at the center of which, the astral projection of a man with long golden hair and deep blue eyes appeared with a frown.

[It's too soon for someone in this dimension to know of me. Who are you?]

Doesn't he already know?

"I'm Odysseus, king of Itaca and yes, I do not know you, but I've been instructed by the mage of flowers' disciple to call for you if the former wasn't available."

The frown on his face relaxed a little when he heard my explanation, but he still was visibly confused.

[Merlin only has one disciple, and he is not in this dimension. Are you trying to fool me?]

I started to understand why Dimitris couldn't bring himself to respect these constellations. They were always oh so right.

A nerve snapped in my core.

"Listen, I don't give a flying fuck if you believe me or not. Are you really that stupid? You fucking said it yourself, nobody should know you yet here, and ops I DO. How much is 2 + 2?"

[4]

"Bravo, it seems you at least match a child. Now call for Merlin, answer my fucking questions or give those mana stones back. It's not exactly easy to find them around and I need them for crafting."

I was stunned at myself, Arthur was stunned as well. Who would have thought Dimitris' foul mouth would be contagious. Even Hali had gone from soft spoken princess to curse master, why would I believe I'd be exempt from such transformation.

I, however, tried to stay as calm as possible, there wasn't much this constellation could do to me right?

[Hahahahahaha! That's much better.]

Once again, I was left speechless.

[you must be that captain of the ship one of his avatars is staying at. Very well chosen one, make your request.]

Chosen one?

Merlin had some explaining to do, but now was not the time.

"I need the ritual to absorb the spirit formula of the Thunderbird."

[how should I know? I'm not a mage, cores don't use spirit formulas, they use spirit subjugation.]

Useless informations were thrown my way like it was mere reed, of course this could be helpful for Hali, but that was not my exact priority.

[I can give you the tools to make the correct research however, and when you'll reach the right conclusion, the Akashic records will tell you.]

As soon as he said so, he snapped his fingers and two books appeared before me.

One was: "encyclopaedia of the spirit world" the other was "Ritual formations 1"

The encyclopaedia was mostly blank except for a few pages. There was a page for each spirit I had encountered or heard of: the Aurea, the Dryad, the Salamander, the Long, the Nemean Lion and the Thunderbird; filled with their traits and description, even with pictures about their appearances.

The ritual formation 1 was much more interesting. It was filled with formulas, circles, calculations, you name it it was there; I was so hypnotised by the knowledge on that book that I barely registered Arthur giving me farewells and continued my research.

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-Hali's POV-

Dimitris was growing stronger by the day and the fact that he was already stronger then me who was basically born training after only less then a year of training, was a deep gush to my pride. Sure one could argue that luck was by his side with having a master of magic even my father was afraid of, but I saw firsthand how crazy the man's training was. He wouldn't stop until he almost reached death's doorstep, healing up with that beautiful crown in a matter of seconds and then start training again. He was obsessed. I was so lost in my thought I didn't even realise I had stopped walking untill Aaron called for me.

"Lil sis, you shouldn't compare to Dimitris, he has always been a monster."

Lil sis?

A strange warmth enveloped my chest and I looked at Aaron. The man was the firstborn of House Damocles, but always lived in Dimitris shadow. How could he be so loving of a threat to his position.

He shook his head.

"Even when he was Klaus, he never cared for power, he actually despises it, but you know what he wants?"

I shook my head.

"He wants to bring honour to his family, he wants to be acknowledged by any means and he wants to protect those he loves. One day, Sarah said to him that she poisoned father's drink with a poison so strong that he'd die on the spot. You know what he did? He flipped the entire table, ruining dinner for everyone, getting a beating, but in his mind saving his father."

"Well that's questionable."

"Hali, poison doesn't work on the body of a Damocles, we only eat poison."

"…"

"The family took it as a sign of him, not wanting to train and beat the shit out of him and since he didn't want to eat, they shattered all his teeth."

"…"

"What I'm trying to say is: if his father in your world is who I think he is, Dimitris won't be satisfied until he reaches a strength that makes it possible for him to protect him."

"That's stupid, nobody can be stronger than-"

"I know, but he doesn't. He thinks it's the duty of a child to protect and care for his parents, he's not wrong, but things change when your dad is motherfucking Zeus."

This man is dangerous.

Aaron was too dangerous, he had put everything together before even knowing people could be born from the divine and he was treating it like the most natural thing in the world. The level of understanding, the ability to put clues together without prejudice…

"It seems the entire House Damocles is made of monsters."

He said nothing at first, his eyes shook a little before calming down.

Blush crept on his cheeks and with the most innocent smile I had ever witnessed, he faced me directly.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think my ruthless bloodthirsty little sister was flirting with me."

Yes, this man is dangerous.