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SM : [100] Avenger
🕑 Added 2024-05-13 16:29:15 +0000 UTCName: Kratos Sparta
Class: Avenger
Strength: ?
Endurance: ?
Agility: ?
Mana: EX
Luck: EX
Noble Phantasm: ?
Infinite Arms Mastery: B
Your combat arts, in this era where the art of combat has yet to reach its zenith, are undoubtedly unparalleled. They are not taught by others but are a manifestation of the skills honed by your own soul.
Infinite Arms Mastery allows you to overcome the strong with the weak. Unfortunately, in this world, there is no creature stronger than you.
Mana Burst: E~EX
The vanguard of the wandering star has taken over the data calculation of your entire body, supporting your bodily movements with vast magical energy, forging a body fueled by magical propulsion.
Its strength varies according to the amount of magical energy you possess, and it grants corresponding enhancements to your Strength, Endurance, Agility, and Magic Resistance.
When developed to its extreme, as long as it can contain it, you might even be able to fit the sun within your body.
Avenger: A+
You embody the malice and evil of humanity as an Avenger, where the negative emotions of humans are considered poison to other Servants but are a source of power for you. You have made peace with malice, and no amount of evil in this world will bury your true nature.
Forgetful Correction: A
Humans are creatures adept at forgetting, but Avengers never forget their hatred. Even if their souls are shattered in chaos, they will never completely forget their loved ones.
Crimson Fury: A+++
Your immense rage is on the verge of burning through hell, through the world, through the skies. However, at the height of your fury, you maintain an extreme level of calmness.
The angrier you get, the less likely you are to lose your sanity. It can be said that your Spartan rage has turned into a terror and slaughter of all things twisted in hell. You gain a special attack bonus against enemies with the Devilish attribute.
Demonic Sword Companion (Vanguard of the Wandering Star): EX
Authorized by the vanguard of the umbral star in the moon, you can unleash its eroding power anytime, anywhere. After connecting with the river styx of the underworld, your magical energy reserve becomes virtually limitless.
By combining with Aatrox, you can even evolve into the ferocious and devastating Crimson Titan form, replenishing your magical energy through slaughter.
Limiter: EX
As a human, you surpass humanity. By surpassing chaos with human flesh, this is the meaning of the limiter. Constant progression, constant improvement, this is the battle and survival of the godslayer.
The cost of bearing this burden has already manifested. Although you disguise your baldness with magic, you can never conceal the cruel truth of your balding.
Throne of Chaos: EX
Neither white nor black, it is gray... the color of chaos.
Neither god nor devil, it is humanity in between, sometimes possessing holiness and divinity, sometimes descending into devilish nature.
Remembered as the godslayer but not by name, you will ascend not to the throne of heroes but to the throne of chaos.
Goodness will no longer pull you back but only strengthen your resolve. Despair will no longer crush you but only serve as your driving force forward.
From now on, whether it be mercy or sanctity, desire or malice, all will become an inseparable part of you.
Embraced by the throne named chaos, you shall reign as a god.
Your name shall tremble this planet, a symbol of courage and victory, Kratos.
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- Afterword
First, introspect, then repent.
Author earnestly reflects and repents.
First, about the structure of this volume. Unlike the glamorous Greek tours imagined by many, Kratos stays in Sparta and hardly moves from his nest. Why was this volume arranged this way?
The reason is, author didn't want to write a travelogue (damn).
Frankly, there are too many travelogues about Type-Moon's Greek myths, where every mythological event must be involved, and every god must be showcased to seek blessings and favor. Author has read enough of these Type-Moon Greek works, it's time to move on.
So, I made an effort to seek a breakthrough.
Unfortunately, this effort made author realize his weakness in character development.
In a travelogue, there's a balance of what to include and what to exclude.
In developing a sprawling narrative, characters pile up, but what could be a volume in someone else's book is just a chapter here, I can't let the farming elements overwhelm the story.
I can't just sketch out a vivid and memorable character with a few strokes, ultimately, it's a matter of author's writing ability.
When shaping a character, author's habit is to plant hooks first, then reel them in when it's time to showcase the character's arc. This method is effective, but the downside is that both the hooks and the bait need time to develop.
This, in turn, results in author's character development relying heavily on the volume of the narrative.
In the first volume, only Alvin, Morgan, and Artoria were described, so it was relatively smooth sailing, and the reception was good.
In the second volume, the characters became crowded. The Sparta volume involved more than a dozen characters, with twelve gods alone and four in the harem.
Damn, I overestimated myself.
When you try to do everything, it ends up as if you've done nothing in particular, leading to characters becoming mere extras, which greatly affects the overall impression.
Looking back at the second volume, due to the limitations of space, many areas that I wanted to describe delicately were deliberately rushed. I believe everyone can feel it.
Actually, this was meant to portray Athena's emotional transformation. I wrote two chapters, but they were criticized, so I started rushing the pace from there. Considering the strong feedback, author didn't want to torture Athena further.
Regarding the issue of being too verbose, some readers might have vaguely sensed it, and some might feel uncomfortable. This discomfort is intentional on author's part, aiming for a surreal sense of confusion.
This isn't an excuse for verbosity. The penultimate chapter actually discusses this issue.
Compared to Alvin, Kratos' living environment is extremely harsh, burdened with the responsibility of a godslayer, making revenge a duty. His life was dictated by the gods in the first half, which affected his mental state. Besides killing, what else could he do to vent his suppressed emotions?
Alvin is actually happy. With Vortigern's support, a teacher like Morgan, he often teases the witch, persecutes Artoria. Taking over the city actually means he's grown up, he's married and developed enough to shoulder responsibilities.
Kratos, on the other hand, is screwed. In the Greek environment, the heavens are unkind, and the earth is unforgiving. His initial stats are that of an ordinary soldier, Zeus' guardianship only ensures his basic safety. All his buffs depend on his own struggles, kills, and fights.
Alvin was teasing Artoria when he was twelve, while Kratos had to take over the city's responsibilities before he fully matured. Although his soul is that of an adult, fundamentally, he's still an immature child.
Humans are actually fragile creatures.
In such circumstances, a little bit of tenderness can actually reach his heart.
So, to emphasize this immaturity, author deliberately let him complete his romantic journey as a child. (This isn't author's fetish, okay? 🥰)
However, to some readers, Kratos starting a harem in Greece might seem like a deviation from his character? This might... be author's problem with writing.
As a thoroughly evil antagonist, Reinhard's simulation of a harem can't be something good (laughs).
In fact, when writing about the godslayer in the Greek volume, there's a very awkward question after 2.5... Type-Moon's Greek Machine God settings basically subvert the characters' personalities in the original Greek mythology.
In short, Type-Moon's Greek gods are too fond of humans.
The Zeus from Lost Belt basically treats humans as his children, so it's hard to criticize this old man.
What were the mythology gods like? It's needless to say, in Greek mythology, most of them are quite high and mighty.
The mythology gods have destroyed humanity more than a few times, humans are basically playthings. They're fond of humanity, fond of industry, more or less (laughs).
Author really liked 2.5, so choosing to respect Type-Moon's Machine God settings brought up a problem.
Since the machine gods love humans and are willing to sacrifice for them, if you give them a few nudges, wouldn't they become even more valuable than the mythology Zeus?
So, fallen gods, hoping for a destined godslayer, is a good theme. This is also why Kratos has EX Luck.
Therefore, the oppressive tone of the entire worldview in the second volume was basically determined like this... the setting of the world, in the end, serves logic.
Author's principle in writing is: characters can be flat, but logic can't falter. Flat characters can be said to be poorly written, but if the logic falters, then it becomes a joke.
So, based on this principle, author designed a series of worldviews for Greece. But it seems author's ability to manage the ensemble cast is lacking, or rather, easily influenced by feedback, leading to either acceleration or deceleration.
For Caenis and the others, author was relatively satisfied with the initial romantic scenes. But later, jumping to hell, the pace suddenly accelerated, making it seem like they turned into ordinary silver-haired, brown-skinned side characters, with no space left for tenderness.
The busty girl Hecate (seriously not author's fetish 🥰) would have had more interaction, like details on teaching magic, discussions about plans, strategy discussions about the underworld, slow heating up of emotions with the teacher, and some playful teasing.
But then, it was criticized for having too much romance and being too fluffy.
Damn, too much. author admits it's too much... why are there fewer words when writing the fluffy parts? Writing high-quality fluff is so damn hard, if only there were a thousand words an hour. Author humbly accepts, but the lessons aren't sticking 😅.
With books, there's length, without books, there's brevity. If it didn't provide a good reading experience, author is sorry. First introspect, then repent, I believe everyone can see that author has realized the problem.
Honestly, dissatisfaction, indeed dissatisfaction. Author was quite satisfied with the chapters at the Clock Tower, but very dissatisfied with the Sparta volume. The big scenes didn't feel like they dropped in quality, but it felt like there weren't enough standing characters, which affected the immersion.
The only thing to be satisfied with might be Kratos' characterization. Only this, author is truly satisfied and proud.
So, having learned from this, the next volume will be about the sinister Three Kingdoms, focusing on intrigue and Tzeentch. It will depict the scenes between a certain incarnated elements girl and a certain fox girl, but for ensemble casts, author will choose to avoid them. Hopefully, it will bring back a better reading experience.
Next, there will be some daily life scenes with Morgan and a storyline about Babylonia singularity.
After updating, it skyrocketed back to the top. Damn, stop scolding, let author rest for a day and organize the outline. I don't care about this month's perfect attendance, see you tomorrow night.
The deepest feeling after writing the Sparta volume is, if your head is feverish and unclear, don't force yourself to write. Author will focus on quality next and appropriately reduce the update frequency. I won't push myself too hard, don't worry.
A slight spoiler, the three talents simulated in the next volume are: Mind Essence, Forgetfulness, and Fate.
I believe everyone can see, the next volume will be wild.
Author is best at going wild, so it's his forte 😇!
