Crimes of transmigration

After lashing my pent up stress at Odysseus, helping the crew to bord the ship with the various necessities and cursing the entirety of the Pantheon for setting up this travel straight to hell, we finally departed.

We are all going to die.

That was my only thought and nothing could change that, not Odysseus' clear advances to try and get me in his cabin, nor the weird stares from the crew when I blatantly refused. I just kept doing whatever chore I was asked mindlessly until night came and I was left alone wondering the ship and looking at the sea in front of me. The fresh air and the sound of waves crushing was relaxing indeed and even knowing what was in store for us, I couldn't help but feeling a little happiness, I had been living on an hospital bed until yesterday after all.

I should try that mana breathing technique, what even is mana anyway?

It was obvious I couldn't wrap my head around it, of course having some knowledge from reading a lot of fantasy I could imagine something about mana, but I still was perplexed about all those stories about forming a mana core, or magic circles around the heart. Was there even space to put something like that into the body? How could something that shouldn't be there not harm the body? Resolving myself to understand what and how in the world could mana work I started the breathing technique imprinted in my soul, at first nothing of notice happened, but slowly I could feel something was wrong with me, my mind immediately brought me back to my days in the hospital with countless IV bags connected to my blood vessels.

[!attention! Mana is coursing through your blood, resist the discomfort for the creation of mana circuits in your veins]

So that how it works, well this does make a lot of sense, better then having a circle rotating around my heart or a bead somewhere inside my body, that shit is honestly kind of scary.

It also helped a lot that I was used to the sensation of having extra stuff thrown into my blood, so I didn't really react to the discomfort and continued my breathing uninterrupted. The sound of wind and waves accompanying me through the night and the air I was inhaling never felt purer. Losing myself to this newfound bliss I didn't even realise the sun was rising until someone pulled me interrupting my breathing session.

"Dimitris what are you doing out here? Did you even sleep? The bags under your eyes could hold a shield."

"Captain, I was just breathing, I'll go straight away"

"What a lame excuse, if you just didn't want to sleep with me there was no need to stay outside the whole night, you don't have a cabin other then mine anyway here"

That shook me to the core, not only did I not have a cabin, but I've been sleeping with this man every time we were on this ship.

And what about a lame excuse? I was just breathing!

"Captain, I was honestly just exercising a mana breathing technique I received from your patron."

Odysseus finally understood what was happening, but that only confused him more.

"Why though? Didn't you already have an aura training from The Boar who roars?"

What the fuck? Aura? There's nothing like that in my status?

And I finally understood what and how this man couldn't understand what was going on. The previous Dimitri had aura, and apparently that was the standard for all combat units here.

Nobody used mana except for Odysseus himself.

Now how should I get out of this, Odysseus should be some kind of genious or at least a very crafty snake bastard.

Clapping my hands I decided to feign ignorance and with a dumb smile I hit him with the good old: how would I know, gods know better before running away to sleep in my, the captain's cabin. Completely unaware and uncaring of the confusion gnawing at my boss.

"How could a patron give a mana breathing technique and make someone with aura-body develop a mana circle? Nobody can have both, he'll die if his body contains both… no mortal vessel can adapt to mana and aura simultaneously; and he's been acting weird, even refusing my touch…

What is happening The Eternal Owl?"

[!attention! The Eternal Owl can't answer without the sacrifice of a huge amount of probability]

An astonished look painted Odysseus face and while his man went to sleep he was left alone, waiting for his comrades in the mid of that unforgiving sea.

________________________________________

As I woke up in that unfamiliar room I was stunned to see the man himself slumped on a chair sleeping soundly and the now familiar blue screen blinking in front of my face.

No lights coming from the door, the room barely lit by candle lights. It was clearly nighttime again.

How long did I sleep? Am I allergic to the sun or something?

[thanks to continuos practice of the mana breathing technique - breath of life, mana circuits have been engraved in your blood vessels]

[mana +1]

[you are now ready to form your first circle]

[your magic strength and efficiency will now be strictly related to the number of your circles]

Fuck. One of my biggest fears came back to hunt me. How can I fit a circle ANYWHERE inside my body, this doesn't make sense.

Now with my newfound anxiety and terror I looked around and decided to leave the room. I couldn't possibly stay here and let the captain sleep on a chair the whole night since I was good to go, so making up my mind I thought if I should just wake him up or leave him be to not risk anything.

I mean, surely I can't lift a fully grown man with my basically decaying… body…

Hold on!

And as the epiphany of not being on death bed hit me, a surge of adrenaline rushed to me. I had a completely normal and healthy body, hell I could even consider this body fairly strong!

I soon put myself together, lifted the asleep Odysseus in my arms and put him in the bed.

"So… you're not afraid of my touch, then what is it? Are you the only one allowed to touch me?"

I froze on the spot.

"When did you wake up Captain?"

I tried my best to make a dumb face, but irritation is the only emotion I'm unable to mask, and it clearly showed.

"Hahaha don't be so angry, I woke up as soon as you moved out of the bed and just wanted to see what you'd do, at least now I know is not my body you are afraid of, then what is it Dimitris? Have I made any mistake?"

This foxy crafty sly bastard.

I was honestly furious. Betrayal was something I could not accept for I've suffered from it too much in my previous life.

My family, my friend and my girlfriend all betrayed me and left me to rot.

If it wasn't for my luck on being a test subject for new medications I'd have died long ago.

I just couldn't stand it.

"Don't you have someone waiting for you in Itaca Captain? Maybe a wife or a son?!"

I was so furious I didn't even notice the complete shock on Odysseus' face, and his shock rapidly turned into anger as well.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! YOU KNOW THERE'S NOBODY IN ITACA WAITING FOR ME!"

"HOW DARE YOU TALK LIKE THAT? WHAT ABOUT PENELOPE AND TELEMACHUS?!"

"WHO THE FUCK ARE THESE PEOPLE NOW?!"

And that was the moment everything I thought I knew crumbled.

[!attention! Detected false knowledge and incongruity within the soul]

[please remember that the odyssey from your world is a fiction created several hundreds years after the story took place]

[this is not a book]

My blood run cold, sweat started to cover my entire being and my figure fully dropped to the ground.

This was not a book.

Everything I knew of the Odyssey was either made up or a strange coincidence.

Every little clue that could bring me to survival shattered instantly.

At this moment I finally realised.

I know nothing of what's to come.

Odysseus with shaking eyes promptly reached out and hugged me.

"Dimitri, what's wrong? You're feeling bad?

I knew I should have stopped you from breathing mana… Mana and aura can't coexist in the same body, let me absorb it from you."

I didn't even realise what this man was doing until he stopped with his hands on my chest.

"Dimitris… there's no Aura in your body… what?"

"Uh? Ah… yes I guess my body changed a little, I was stripped of everything since I ended my contract with Are! Mph!"

Odysseus with terror in his eyes was covering my mouth with his hands.

"What are you doing?! You can't use their true name, you're a mortal!"

Freeing myself from Odysseus I shot him a glare.

"I don't give a fuck! I am already dead as is, that boar can come and finish the job himself for all I care. I'm leaving."

"Dimitris wait, we still need to talk! Who are those people you mentioned before? How did you end a contract with a constellation? And why are you talking so freely of death!"

"NO WE DON'T. YOU NEED TO SLEEP NOW, WE'LL TALK TOMORROW"

[skill: negative answer successfully casted, the target willpower is lower than yours]

Odysseus, clearly dejected and still trying to figure out what was going on, just nodded, freed me and went to sleep.

I on the other hand was shocked.

How low is his willpower?

And the system answered my call.

[Odysseus, rank A- has selective willpower due to personal trait]

Wait I can discover other people's rank just by asking the system?

[No Klaus, ranks can only be discovered from the system with permission, not that you have any at the moment.]

Is this actually a personal system? Why does it react this way, and why did it tell me just how weak I am compared to that men?

[Klaus, you are the weakest now. Train and survive. This is my last message, no more probability can be used for you dear.]

[Klaus, live as Dimitris, survive.]

As a deep sense of longing enveloped me, I could not understand what was going on. It felt like I lost the most important person in my life, yet that feeling soon disappeared.

What just happened? It feels like… I can't remember something important.

Still shocked by the fact that no Penelope awaited mr. Handsome and that I basically knew nothing of this world I decided I needed some form of security to survive this world.

I needed strength, desperately.

So I started to use my breathing technique still trying to understand how mana worked exactly and how to use my circuits.

Since there's a voice for magic knowledge in my status I assume the use of spells is possible… Am I gonna start shooting fire from my hands like all those characters? That could be fun.

Absorbed in my fantasies while breathing I didn't notice how time flied and soon morning came, my mana did increase a little, but I still held no knowledge on how to use it whatsoever and the only person using mana in this ship was the one I wanted to avoid the most at the moment.

For now I should allocate those waiting points to my stats, hoping my body doesn't explode like in those murim novels. Should I pray to someone? Nah it's just a 5 points spread nothing grand will happen.

"Status"

[•Name: Dimitris

• Affiliation: Itaca

• Constellation: -]

[• Variable stats:

•strength - 2.4 -> 3.4

•constitution - 2.1 -> 3.1

•agility - 3.5

•dexterity - 3.2

•intelligence - 10 (limited to general rank)

•mana - 1.2 -> 4.2

•general rank - F

•free points - 0]

[!attention! Rapid growth of mana detected, please form your first circle as soon as possible]

[!attention! Adjusting magic circuits to new mana income]

I didn't even have time to curse in my head for planting such obvious flags everywhere that extreme pain shot through my veins, first like fire melting its way to my heart and soon after like ice ready to shutter ever inch of my being. I wasn't even able to breath, let alone scream, all I could do was endure and beg the heavens I didn't die from this.

Hecate was the goddess of magic here, wasn't she? Should I pray to her? I don't even know the false name they use, should I just try and get myself killed?

At that moment Odysseus came out of the cabin and looking at me writhing in agony rush over asking what was going on, I on my side could only mutter slowly asking for Hecate's moniker.

"Name… Heca… help…"

"The eye looking for the real world, you need to offer her your blood for help, I'll draw the circle for you… just endure it"

This crafty bastard really has selective intelligence.

Leaving all my curses for the captain aside and trying to focus I grabbed the dagger he readied and slashed at my palm to make my blood flow.

Meanwhile Odysseus was already moving my mana to his will and urged me to pray for a blessing.

"The eye looking for the real world, I beg you to bless a foolish bastard like me so I don't end up dying uselessly like a moth attracted to fire, I honestly just wanted to experience magic"

"What kind of messed up prayer is that Dim?! Do it properly!"

But against all logic we both could form a green serpent appeared out of thin air drunk my blood and bit its tail before disappearing.

"Ouroboros?" I blurted out.

"How do you know that name but not the moniker for the queen of magic? This doesn't make sense! Anyway let's focus now, we'll talk later!"

Odysseus begun to form my circle god only knows where while I focused on sensing the movement of mana inside my body.

When all the pain subsided I noticed the mana focused on my chest area while still circulating through my veins, it just wasn't what I was expecting… the circle was on my skin… yet it wasn't… it was like it existed and that was it.

Uncovering my chest I noticed a green circle vaguely resembling Ouroboros on my left pectoral.

Looking up at Odysseus who was now clearly starring at my body, I quickly covered again before miserably failing at trying to stand up.

"What the…"

"Don't worry, you handled it perfectly even with that messed up prayer of yours, your blood must have appeased the goddess. Anyway, a circle of nature as your first circle, as expected of your name Dimitris."

Still not understanding what was going on I just leaned back and lied down looking at my new notifications.

[The eye looking for the real world has blessed your research for the truth]

[congratulation on forming your first circle!]

[The eye looking for the real world bestows you with the book "basics of nature magic" saying your blood was indeed delicious]

While I was both scared and grateful to the vampiric goddess licking her finger at my blood, a panicked voice came to us with a sense of urgency as clear as the sky.

"CAPTAIN WE ARE LOST!

Even though I accept the fact that I knew nothing about this voyage, Poseidon's quest accompanied with his laughter was still ominous at the very least.

So it begins, a travel through this endless sea.