"…Who are you?" Artemis started.
"An Immortal of Magic or Immortal mage." Alexander gave an immediate response.
"Why do you call yourself an 'Immortal'? Shouldn't it be god of magic?"
"Nope. Immortals and gods are very different. Hm… its difficult to explain… I guess the biggest difference is that no matter what you do to an Immortal, they will always come back. Not even time can shackle an Immortal. Gods can be said to be semi-immortal, but they can still die one way or another. There are other differences, but that is probably the most relevant." Alexander explained before taking a sip of his wine.
"You should try the wine, I made it myself." Alexander interrupted before Artemis could ask more.
He wasn't really stalling for time, he truly wanted to hear their opinions. They hadn't taken a sip once yet.
They both glanced at the wine before cautiously taking a sip. When the wine hit their tongues, a wave of flavor washed over them. The wine flowed smoothly down their throats. They were so surprised by the flavor, they finished the whole cup before they knew it.
"Well, it appears you both enjoyed the drink." The mage teased. He couldn't help it, they practically finished the glass the moment the first drop hit their tongues.
Hearing his voice, Artemis face was still expressionless but her aura shifted as if it wanted to blend into the background and be forgotten. Zoe, on the other hand, was blushing slightly. She herself couldn't believe she had finished the wine so quickly.
The floating bottle flew towards the empty glasses and filled them up again. This time, the goddess sipped the glass slowly and enjoyed the taste, but no matter how much she tried, she couldn't identify what was in the drink.
"What are the ingredients to this wine?" She asked curiously.
"Well, I used fruits I found during my last exploration and a little secret ingredient I don't think you would want to know about." He answered mysteriously.
"What is thy secret ingredient?" Zoe blurted put before she could stop.
"I'll tell you if you really want to know, but I assure you, you don't want to know." He said, but he could see that Zoe was way to curious to back down and he noticed the little goddess's ear twitch slightly as if she wanted to hear it.
"Ok then, don't say I didn't warn you… it's my blood."
They froze. Anyone would really. Only the oldest of beings could calmly accept using their own blood as an ingredient, though they usually use them for potions and research. It is because the stronger a being is, the more valuable its blood becomes. Alexanders blood is full of mana, so it is actually very beneficial to those who drink it.
"…You use thy blood…in the wine thou gifted?" Zoe asked as she shakily put the glass filled with wine on the table.
Artemis does the same although she doesn't shake much. They are hunters, so they use blood of the animals and monsters they hunt occasionally, but never have they ever used their own blood for anything.
"It sounds bad when you say it like that. On the bright side, you should probably feel a surge in strength in a few moments. My blood is practically saturated with mana, so it is very beneficial. For you, my dear Artemis, your divinity over the moon should be strengthened a bit, though you won't feel as much a change as little Zoe over there. You are way stronger than her after all."
Both women narrowed their eyes slightly at the way they were addressed, but before they could say anything, they both felt a rush of energy flow through their veins. They both opened their eyes wide as they stared into the palms of their hands. After the rush stopped, they can both feel that they have become stronger, although Artemis didn't feel it as much as Zoe.
"You have quite the peculiar blood, Alexander. Not many things I have encountered can increase the strength of a god like this… however I must clarify I am not 'your dear' anything." Her voice at the took on a slightly colder tone, which made Alexander curious.
He thought for a bit before something clicked in his mind. He wouldn't jump to conclusions, so he asked.
"Do you have something against men? Is that why there are no men in the camp?" He asked slowly.
"I do not accept men into my Hunt. Only maidens." She clarified.
From there, Alexander could guess the rest. She is a goddess that took women away from the claws of men. In almost every civilization, women would have been treated no more than items in the earlier days. It is possible that in ancient times, she began to rescue young maidens from being sold by marriage or otherwise.
"I see." He answered. He said nothing and just stared at the goddess. He could see even with his blindfold, so he could see her eyes while the goddess couldn't see his. Zoe became angry again at the way he is brazenly staring at her mistress.
"Don't stare, it is rude." She said sarcastically.
"Ah! My bad, Lady Artemis just reminded me of my wife a little, that's all." Startled back into reality, he just said what was on his mind. The future him would look back and facepalm. He said to a goddess that hates men that she reminded him of his wife… not the smartest decision. Alexander could practically feel Zoe eyes stabbing into him after saying these words. He could only laugh awkwardly.
Suddenly, the golden deer that was resting on the lap of Artemis woke up. It raised it's head slightly to look around before it focused on Alexander. It jumped off of Artemis and walked towards him. Alexander already noticed the deer and he was also staring at it as it came and gently nuzzled his hand.
Artemis and Zoe were frozen in place as Alexander gently petted the golden horned deer.
"Hello, little one. Quite the beautiful antlers you have there." Alexander said and the deer puffed it chest slightly in pride. It was very cute, he laughed slightly. He raised his hand and a small purple and with whirlpool appeared before he plunged his hand inside. He rummaged a bit before pulling out a leaf with glowing blue veins that pulsed every second, as if it were alive.
The little deer looked at the leaf with shining eyes and looked back at Alexander.
"Haha, here you go little one." He laughed slightly as he gave the leaf to the deer, which gobbled it up straight away. A slight gold aura enveloped the deer as gold markings appeared on its hide. The deer looked back to inspect it's new hide before jumping in happiness and licking Alexanders hand in thanks.
"No need to thank me little one. Now run along." Alexander said.
When Alexander was talking to the deer, his voice was calm. No sign of the playfulness he had with the huntress and goddess could be seen. The women were shocked at how the deer approached a total stranger and even took the initiative to greet them. Alexander obviously noticed this.
"Animals usually have greater instincts about certain things than even some Immortals. It's because they have no need to suppress their desires, so they often sense things we can't." He explained
"Anyway, I think I overstayed my welcome, so I am going to leave soon but before that…" he pulled something out of the still opened portal"… Zoe, catch!" He said as he threw the object at Zoe.
The huntress Obviously caught it and inspected the object. It was a pure white orb. The orb shook a little before it glowed purple with a small white center.
Zoe was shocked. She wasn't as good as her mistress, but she could still say her magic senses were top-notch, yet she couldn't sense anything from the orb at all. As a matter of fact neither could Artemis.
"Rune master, Talent: Divine level. Well aren't you a hidden gem?" Alexander said as he stood up. His shadow extended and sucked in the table before returning to its usual state. This woke up the goddess, that has thus far been dumbfounded at what was occurring. First, her sacred animal greets a total stranger and now, her subordinate is holding a magic item that even she can't see through. She is certainly no Hephaestus, but she is still a goddess.
The ball floated back into the whirlpool before the small portal closed. Alexander himself was walking out of the tent and is greeted by the scene of the group of hunter staring and clenching their fist in awe.
'Looks like they drank the wine.' He thought to himself. He walked forward and exited the camp only to be stopped by Artemis who teleported in front of him.
"Yes?" He said in confusion.
He thought that Artemis hated men, so he chose to cut the conversation short and leave them be. Chances are the other hunters also hate men, so there is no reason for her to stop him from leaving.
"What is your objective? And what was that orb you gave Zoe?" She asked. She couldn't get any relevant information out of him during the whole chat, so she should at least know what exactly he is here for.
"To have fun, I guess? And the orb is a analyzer. Your second-in-command has a great talent for runes." He answered. By now, Zoe was behind behind him after running out of the tent. She was slightly surprised that she had talent in runes but it didn't change anything. She will stay next to Artemis until her last breath.
Alexander walked past the goddess and found a relatively open space. He open a whirlpool on the ground many times bigger than the one in the tent. He pulled out a bookcase filled with books from apprentice level rune theory all the way to Immortal level rune theory. Anyone who mastered all of these books would have the power to bend reality through runes... if they have the sufficient mana, of course.
The hunters who witnessed Alexander open a portal for the first time watch in awe. Although gods can bend space, they don't usually have clearance to use their full power in front of mortals and even though the hunters are immortal, they are not gods, so Artemis can't show them everything.
They were shocked out of their reverie when Alexander moved again. He held his left index finger with his right hand and pulled. The hunter could hear a sickening crunch as Alexander pulled his finger straight from his hand.
They all paled, even Zoe, the oldest one of them all. Artemis herself was stunned. The youngest of the hunters ran to a nearby bush and puked. The hunters were even more shocked when a new bone grew out of the stump and flesh began covering it once more until a new finger replaced the one in his hand. He flexed it a bit before constructing a complicated magic circle that spun over his left had. After injecting mana into it he placed the finger over the circle where it floated for a moment before a white glow that blinded everyone except Artemis covered the finger.
After the glow died down, the hunter could see a beautiful black ring with a red jewel on the top. Alexander caught the ring between his fingers before inspecting it close to his face for a moment before nodding slightly.
Then he raised his right index finger that glowed a dark blue before he began drawing in the air. His finger moved so fast it drew a hundred runes, leaving behind only afterimages. Once he finished he placed the ring in the middle of the rune formation where it began absorbing all the runes present. It took only a moment before the air was empty again.
He aimed the red jewel at the book case where a small lack hole opened in the jewel and sucked in the whole thing.
In less than a minute, Alexander created a storage ring. Runes are already hard enough to draw on a medium as small as a ring, yet he drew it directly in the air and made the ring absorb it. And it wasn't even a low-ranked rune formation but a high level space rune formation? If any runemaster were to see this, they would cough up blood at how easily he made it seem.
He walked up to Zoe and took her hand. She was still shocked at what she just witnessed that she didn't even noticed that a man was holding her hand. She only tuned back into reality to see her hand raised up with a black ring on her ring finger. Artemis herself was frozen in place.
Alexander walked back to the now empty clearing and turned around. Suddenly from his back, 4 meter long, pitch black wings shot out. He looked at the stunned goddess and said his goodbye.
"Well Artemis, it was fun. I am sure we will meet again in the future. And Zoe, the ring is filled with all my research on runes. The next time we meet I'll give you a little test, alright, my little disciple?" He said with a teasing smile as his wings flapped and uplifted the snow sending a powerful wind that made the hunters' hair flutter.
"Who is thou disciple?!" Zoe angrily screamed as she shook her fist at the flying for of Alexander only to receive a loud laugh in return.
*****
MC: Are you sure you are making Zoe's lines correctly.
Author: Nope.
MC: Huh. Also you said I had a wife? Where is she?
Author: Probably gonna make her dead.
MC: .....YOU MOTHERUCKER!!
Author: ....Fuck you this is my novel dammit!!
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I managed to squeeze out another chapter today. Hurray and good night!