The Rise Of A Porter

'What a load of crap...' Arnold shook his head in dismay. Arnold's joyful mood had turned sour once again, 'I guess it's fine that the lesser gods aren't joining the fray yet. Also, I thought Tiamut said all of the demigods would chase me to hell. So how come there are only two who want me dead?'

<Ah, I think you're missing something. I said, two of the demigods have declared war on you. But it doesn't mean the others wouldn't harm you.>

'So, I guess since I killed one of the demigods before ascension, thus this time they are sending two of them to gauge my strength?'

<Sometimes, I feel your brain cells actually work. As for your question, yes. They are most probably sending two among them to both test your strength after the ascension and to kill you if possible.>

'That solves one of my questions... Ok then, what's the deal with the paladins and us then?'

<It's as I stated before, all of the paladins have had their ascension quest frozen. And the only way to undo it is to kill a Vassal.>

'As if they'll be able to kill ascended beings-'

<Keep up that attitude of yours and you'll be the first one to die. Still, your confidence isn't misplaced. I don't think it'll be possible for a paladin to kill a vassal under usual circumstances, but then again, maybe there's someone like you among the paladins?>

'What do you mean?'

<You are known for going up against unbelievable odds and win. Thanks to that your growth has been exponentially better than the other five paladins. Even though two of them ascended long before you did. Who knows if there's another such individual among the remaining paladins?>

Arnold sighed heavily before sitting on the chair once again. Just when everything was going right, a random notification made Arnold's mood do a 180. He felt his head getting heavy from all the thinking, thus decided to place his head on his hands and closed his eyes before once again going into thinking mode. 

"Master, are you okay?" Talos asked Arnold after seeing his mood go from the happiest to the crappiest. 

"I'm fine Talos. Thank you for your efforts. Now if you don't mind, I'll like to be left alone for a while." Arnold said without even looking at anyone. 

"As you wish."

Both Talos and Alice knew not to disturb Arnold whenever he asked to be left alone. But Devon was desperate for help and had clung on to Arnold's promise of helping his son. He wasn't going to let Arnold back down now that he had helped him. 

"Oye! I won't let you go back on your word now! You said you'll help heal Gary once I was done with the arm-"

Arnold had been trying to ignore everything around him but Devon's constant squeaking only put him in a worse mood. Arnold raised his head, glaring at Devon. Suddenly the air in the room felt heavier. For a second, Devon even forgot to breathe. The pressure he felt chilled him to his core. The next second, he was on his knees, blood trickling down from his nose and mouth. 

"I don't think you require hearing aids, Are you?"

Arnold didn't leave the chair he was sitting on but his gaze... His eyes filled with bloodlust. Like a mad beast who hadn't eaten a proper meal in a long time. 

"I know what I had promised to you, Devon. I'll help you when the time comes. Don't try to push your luck any more than you already have. Now... leave before you regret it. We'll talk when the time comes."

Devon wanted to move. He really did, but he was petrified. He, a powerless human, was just exposed to the unfiltered aura of a man who was known as one of America's strongest warrior. His body was in a state of shock. Arnold hadn't used his aura to threaten Devon back during their fight, thus it was the first time Devon had felt Arnold's merciless aura... And Arnold wasn't holding back anymore. 

Talos being a machine was not affected by Arnold's display of strength and dragged Devon out of the workshop before he pissed Arnold off even more. Once everyone was out, Arnold resumed his discussions with system-sama. 

"You're right. I shouldn't get cocky. Especially after knowing that the demigods are out for my blood. The threat of demigods along with the paladins is more than what I want to have on my plate."

<Well, the situation is certainly all gloom and doom.>

"What do you mean?"

<Do you think the gods would enjoy this game if 5 vassal were going against 4 paladins?>

"... I guess not. Wait did you say, 4 paladins? I had killed Jake off, remember? Paladin of the dead one?"

<I don't have a pea brain like you. I do remember what you did, better than you do. And as I said, 4 paladins are remaining. When a paladin dies, the gods can pick another one to represent themselves. But if a vassal dies, then the God is out of the game. Remember that.>

"I see... Now, what were you telling about the paladins?"

<Ah right. I was saying the situation will get worse for you since all of the vassals will be given a quest similar to those of the paladins.>

"Let me guess. The vassals would have to hunt down the paladins?"

<I cannot reveal any details until later, but that's only half of your quest.>

"Fine. I can wait. But do you mind telling me how will these paladins find the vassals?"

<Since the paladins are at a disadvantage strength-wise, thus to make it fair to them, a rough location of the vassals would be provided to them. And once they enter within a certain distance, they'll know who the vassal is.>

"So essentially, I'll have to be on my toes at all times. That's just great. What about us? Since it's 'half' of our quest to kill paladins, how will we be able to know who's who? I can just go on killing everyone around me, can I?"

<Of course you have a way to figure that out. Just kill anyone who attacks you. Simple. Considering your recent feats I doubt anyone without a reason as good as becoming a vassal, would try to jump you.>

"That's convenient. Killing people and hope they are the ones I had to kill. What could go wrong?" Arnold shook his head, "With greater power comes a bigger headache."

<Now you'll know how I feel fostering a man-child.>

Arnold ignore the system's comment and proceeded to test his new arm more. He couldn't waste any time. There were too many threats around him, he had to get ready to face whatever enemy shows up first, a paladin or a demigod.