Chapter 3: Chapter 3: The Hoplite

The Sacrifice Altar collected a heavy commission fee for its service, but Athena firmly believed the service was well worth the cost. In addition to the many other services, the Altar helped its users determine the energy level of other entities using a class system. The classes went from F- in the lowest level to SSS+ in the highest. 

Granted, the classes only dealt with energy levels. A combatant with a higher power level wasn’t necessarily stronger than one with a lower level. For example, a fat man might be identified to be of a higher level than a teenager, but maybe the teenager had a firearm or a knife that made him stronger than the man. 

Still, these classes usually served as a good reference, and entities with higher levels were usually more valuable. The body of a dragon would obviously be priceless to a horde of goblins.  

The Altar informed Athena that the mutant she killed mid-transformation was Class E-. This made Athena really glad she killed the mutant before its mutations could finish. If she hesitated for even a few seconds or tried to save the woman, she wouldn’t stand a chance against the mutant. 

On the other hand, the hoplite the Altar just brought to the bargaining table was a Class E combatant. Despite looking like an ancient warrior, he was on a similar level, if not stronger, as the mutant abomination. 

Athena knew the Altar didn't make a mistake. She had seen Roman legionnaires from one dimension who cut open towering titans from another with their swords. She had seen demons who were mowed down by a group of shieldmaidens who came from a world where Odin himself existed and blessed his warriors with the strength of gods. The Alter wasn’t wrong. It was never wrong. Appearance could hardly be trusted when dealing with visitors from different worlds. 

Of course, she has yet to secure anything yet. The Alter only set the bargaining table. It was up to Athena and the hoplite to strike a deal. 

The two of them, the summoner and the summoned, started communicating their offers and demands. Athena couldn’t speak Greek and the hoplite couldn’t speak English, but the Altar helped them understand each other perfectly. 

Once again, 10/10 customer service.

The hoplite was willing to sign an Equal Pact. In exchange for the sacrifice, he was willing to fight for Athena for 45 minutes. Within these 45 minutes, the hoplite would theoretically obey all commands from Athena. Of course, Athena knew from experience that if she sent her summons into certain deaths, they might try to reject her command. 

Athena wasn’t satisfied by an Equal Pact. She was hoping for a Superior Pact, where the summoned would be permanently connected to the summoner and be obliged to follow the summoner’s orders whenever they were given. Unfortunately, such a strict contract was extremely costly and difficult to get, and the hoplite made it clear that he wasn’t willing to sell his life to her. Not at this price. 

As the negotiation continued, despite the relaxed look on her face, Athena knew she didn't have too much time to waste here. With the changes going on in the outside world and how dangerous things have become, she had to sign this pact as soon as possible. She needed his service more than he needed her offer. 

She could get the Altar to search for a new summon and hope to get a better deal, but she also knew this would result in the Altar taking an even larger cut and making the next deal even more difficult. 

As Athena pondered her options, she still nonetheless maintained her cold demeanor. Thankfully, that was when the hoplite budged. The ancient Greek warrior, not as proficient in the art of negotiations, agreed to make a little concession. He was still a warrior, and fighting over these seemingly small differences made him bored out of mind.  

Athena took the opportunity. Soon, a deal was struck. 

The Class E hoplite would fight for Athena for an hour. 

As the hoplite disappeared, along with the body of the mutant and the Sacrifice Altar, Athena could feel a psychic connection between herself and the hoplite. Using this psychic connection, she could summon the hoplite into battle with just a thought. She could also give the hoplite orders that the warrior had no choice but to follow to the letter in the agreed upon time period. 

Theoretically, if there was too much of a power difference between Athena and those she summoned, it was possible for the summoned to ignore Athena’s commands or even turn on her. That being said, as far as the hoplite went, he was far from being powerful enough to refuse Athena’s orders during the hour. 

Just like that, Athena had secured her first Summoned in this dangerous new world, giving her at least some ability to keep herself alive. 

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Now that she had completed her first summoning ritual, Athena took a moment to think about what to do next. Even now, as she opened the window, she could hear the distinct sound of chaos from all directions. Screams. Car horns. Gunshots. 

If things went similarly to last time, then billions have been mutated already, with billions more soon to be killed and devoured by the fresh mutants in the days to come. The sudden deaths and mutation would cripple the government and the military. After the first few days, minor police and military units would attempt to rescue survivors and establish safety zones, but this would be an uphill battle. By then, the mutants wouldn’t be their only foes. 

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In the meantime, the world would be thrown into chaos. Wherever there were people, there were mutants. Making things worse was the fact that humans weren’t the only ones touched by the mutations. So were plants, animals, and insects. Even the animals and insects who didn't become mindless mutants still underwent evolutions that made them deadly to human beings. 

Was that the full extent of the threats to humanity? Nope. As the barrier between the dimensions gradually falls apart, invaders from other dimensions will find their way to Earth. For the first months, it’s just small groups of visitors who were accidentally transported to the new world. After that, temporary portals would manifest, allowing raiding parties to get to Earth and loot and plunder. Within a few years at most, permanent portals or breaches will allow entire interdimensional civilizations to come across. 

These invaders had the coordination and tactics that mutants didn't. While they might not be as numerous as the mutants, they were a much larger threat to the survivors of Earth. Ironically, at that point, the mutants would be the least of the survivors’ concerns. Even the invaders from other worlds preferred purging the mutants they came across. 

For the vast majority of people, this would be hell. There were so many horrific ways one could die. Yet for the chosen few who became the gifted, this new world was not so bad after all. Many gifted would create their own factions and become kings or emperors while others would offer their service to factions in exchange for food, shelter, and women. Without anyone to enforce the law, many gifted would descend into crime and brutality. Athena had seen this happen way too many times to count. 

Eventually, different human factions would attempt to survive against all the threats out there while trying to grow their own influence. Last time, Vigilance, under the leadership of Tori and Athena, was the faction that claimed the final victory. As a price, countless factions were crushed beneath the war machine that was Vigilance. 

Of course, that was still very far away for Athena. In the immediate days following the start, most people would still be trying to survive by hiding in their homes. The gifted would only start to discover their powers. Most mutants would still be relatively weak, given their powers and senses increased the more they devoured. 

Athena’s end goal was quite simple. Rebuild Vigilance. Rebuild a faction that could unite the forces of humanity against the numerous threats out there. She knew it was possible, for she had done this once before. She didn't look forward to what she had to do to achieve this again, but it was possible. 

However, she had no intention of jumping out and trying to take control now. It was too early. She had to wait. Wait for the people to realize the horror of what was unfolding around them. Wait for the survivors to understand what they must give in exchange for safety. Only when the survivors were exhausted and desperate would she offer them Vigilance’s helping hand. This would be the best way to secure their loyalty. 

In the meantime, she would do everything she could to hunt down the mutants, preferably ones as powerful as possible, and sacrifice them in rituals. This would allow her to make more pacts with powerful assets so that when the proper time came, she would be able to build Vigilance once again with overwhelming force. 

Having made up her mind about what to do, Athena turned and headed up the stairs into her parents’ bedroom. She opened a closet and pushed a few boxes to the side, revealing a locked metal safe. 

She gave a silent order, and the Greek hoplite appeared in front of her in a fraction of a second. 

“Cut open the safe.” Athena ordered through the psychic connection, and the hoplite obeyed. He drew his sword and, in one swift strike, cleanly sliced off the door.

The moment the safe was breached, Athena returned him to whichever world he came from. 

Now alone once again, Athena reached into the safe and retrieved its content. One Glock handgun and 8 magazines, each with 6 rounds. Athena took a few minutes to get used to the weapon. There were firearms back in Vigilance, but they were all heavily modified and utilized interdimensional assets such as magic runes, space-folding and time-accelerating spells, and deadly alien venoms. This handgun was hardly familiar to Athena. 

The former owner of this body discovered that her parents kept a Glock in their home when she once overheard one of their conversations. Apparently they bought this weapon after having Lauren. Athena was glad this was the case. A handgun wasn’t much for mutants, but it was still a valuable asset for now.

Athena went through the house again. She packed a number of easy to preserve food and bottled water into a backpack. Another visit to the kitchen produced two more kitchen knives. With the knives in one pocket and the Glock in the other, Athena headed for the door. 

Before leaving, Athena gave the house a long look. She knew she might not have the time to come back to this house again. For what it was worth, she had a great time in this building. The family might not be her own, but they took care of her and she, in a sense, cared for them. 

Athena was hardly heartless. If possible, she would try to save them and protect them, but Athena has always been someone who put her logic first. As soon as she realized the mother was beyond saving, she beheaded her without a second thought. Even now, she wouldn’t go out of her way and put her plan at risk by trying to find her sister or her father. 

Her goal, her plan, came first. Athena wouldn’t let anything stand in her way. 

Athena turned and headed out of the door. It was time to start hunting. 

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