Prologue:
It is a truth Multiversally acknowledged, that an Earth in possession of intelligent life, must be in want of growth. At least that is what Jason had been told since before he could walk. It came back to him now as he stood on the bridge of the Argo and gazed down upon the green and blue marble of this Earth floating through the cosmos. He wore the black and golds of the God Seed Expansionary Corps, back ramrod straight and shoulders squared, hands folded in the small of his back and eyes locked forward. It would not do to let the bridge crew and his command staff see his hands shake.
Jason Arimnestos the 3rd of House Corvaxae was a striking man, tall and broad with a sharp jaw and deep set eyes over an aquiline nose. The newest of the GSEC’s hereditary Captains, and on his first expansion mission. The Argo was one of a dozen such vessels in charge of seeding Earths as they reached the end of the Paleolithic era. His lessons in the Academy on his own version of Earth had explained the necessity of the God Seeds, and how every Earth they came to was never one hundred percent the same.
For instance this globe below featured a collection of Hominids and there seemed to be very little conflict between the various diverging paths evolution had taken with the primates who would one day become humans. Cro Magnon man had spread to most of Europe and had excelled with their flint spears, but they were joined by a divergent Neanderthal, tentatively named Homo Pumilio or Man Dwarf. They stood at most five feet tall and were exceptionally broad and thick-limbed. They stuck to the caves and produced very fine flint tools, Jason had even observed them splitting sandstone into rough blocks to create additional walls around their encampments.
This Earth would do well with the gifts of the GSEC, the race would begin once he launched the God Seed itself, it was the only help they could truly offer their Multiversal kin. It was the headstart humanity needed to be able to contend with the Others when they inevitably came, something the First Men had not had for their own contest. Those great heroes had sworn to stay ahead of the predations of the Others and thus the first God Seeds had been created. Jason shook his head, he had been distracted long enough and he turned to face his gathered command staff.
“Begin the countdown for launch,” he ordered before ascending to his command throne and turning his eyes upon the floating mass of this new Earth. The controlled chaos of the bridge exploded as everyone manned their stations. First Officer Leonidas met his Captain’s eye and received the nod of approval as the ship gave a great shudder and the great plates of the Argo groaned. A shining, golden seed shot forth from the ship’s lower decks and entered the atmosphere in mere seconds.
“Now we wait and see what comes of the first entrants.” Captain Jason spoke solemnly.
************************
The golden stars blazed across the sky in a shower of sparks, first one then hundreds, then thousands and an ever-increasing spray of glitter across the firmament. The many tribes of proto-humans and other sentients stood in transfixed awe all over the globe watching the display, unaware of how dramatically it would change their lives and future.
The bulk of the falling star crashed into what would be central Europe, but the sparkling fragments kept fragmenting until one the size of a pinkie nail alighted on the nose of every sentient on the planet. The golden energy suffusing them all with knowledge and understanding of the God Seed. In moments their minds expanded to understand that the star was a gift, and they should travel to it and build a city open to all the sentients of Earth nearby.
The knowledge also let them know in no uncertain terms that any attempt to take the God Seed away for only one tribe would be met with fiery destruction. For one family of Cro Magnon humans, the God Seed was close, it had landed only a few short miles from their camp on the plains of Eurasia. Tor, the eldest son of the family had taken off at a mile eating lope, his brother Balor at his shoulder. Their parents Din and Frig followed behind them at a more sedate pace with their patriarch Aser.
They were joined moments later by the family of Van and his son Lok. What they saw on their arrival boggled the mind. It looked like a mountain had erupted from the earth in the most perfectly round shape any had ever seen with hundreds of caves circling its surface. Tor shouldered his wolf fur cover over his hairy shoulders against the evening chill that crept around them. His club was made of the femur of an aurochs he and his father had brought down the previous summer, and it rested on his shoulder, a bleached white to contrast with his russet hair.
Lok approached him hesitantly with a raised hand, “it’s good to see the family of Aser, Tor son of Din, might we join your camp?” Tor met the dark haired man’s eye and nodded.
“Of course Lok, the family of Van is ever welcome at our fire.” They could already see a great many families of the plains coming to inspect the new mountain. It wouldn’t be long before the entirety of the plains people had arrived, and they were still a dozen seasons removed from the next great gathering. That wasn’t the full shock though, as more and more of the other tribes began to appear from the short and broad men and women of the Cave People, a sight rare enough on its own, but the lithe bodies of the Quick Feet showed themselves too and Tor was sure in the coming months more and more of the varied peoples would begin to appear.
It was something for Tor to worry about much later though, for now he and his brother and young Lok rushed forward to the glowing portals they could see at the base of the great cylindrical mountain. Their parents saw them moving and moved to chase after, only Van and Aser elected to stay and create a camp for their families.
Tor hit the golden light at a sprint, and then the world changed.
************************
The big man found himself alone in a green field, surrounded by tall trees he could not name. His brother and Lok had been at his sides but now were nowhere to be found. Glowing runes of gold appeared before his eyes and transformed into a woman covered in silver armour and with golden wings. Her spear was like nothing he had ever seen, longer and sharper than any he had ever seen and the tip was not made of the brittle flint he was used to.
“Welcome noble Tor, to the God Seed.” She spoke, her voice fluid and warm, nothing like his usual grunts and hand gestures, and yet he understood it perfectly. Tor fell to his knees and bowed his head reverently.
“Are you the great spirit?” He asked in awe. He was greeted by a beautiful laugh that made his heart sing.
“No great Tor, I am but a creation of the God Seed, a guide sent to explain your journey, for now our time is short, you are on the first level of the God Seed; The Forest of Beginnings, here you will find many challenges though they are designed to be very survivable, and at the very centre of the forest is the first village, there you will find the portal to the outside world and the portal to the second floor.” The golden woman nodded once, “every challenge you overcome will reward you, good luck noble Tor.”
And with that she was gone, Tor looked around but the woman had completely vanished. With a shrug the young man shouldered his bone club and wandered into the warm woods. His furs now almost stiflingly hot, a look up showed a clear blue sky and white clouds, a strange thing considering he was inside a mountain. It was almost idyllic except for the lack of animal sounds, no birds called and no small animals rooted around in the vegetation. The silence was so pervasive and all encompassing that it set his nerves on edge.
He didn’t have to wait long for the first challenge to be made apparent as a green creature that was almost like a man appeared around the trunk of a tree. It wasn’t as tall as he himself was but larger than the Cave People, with a slimmer build and extreme muscle definition, it carried a long spear and had wicked claws on the ends of its long fingers. Its face was angular and surmounted large eyes, sharp teeth and pointed ears. It smiled cruelly as it looked Tor up and down, its long black tongue darted across its lips in a vulgar look of hunger.
Tor gripped his club and charged forward, feet sure and weapon drawn back, the first thrust was quick and aimed at his midsection, Tor turned his body side on, allowing the sharp spear to get entangled in his fur cloak. As the creature tried to pull back its life ended with a powerful club blow to the head, bone and grey matter exploded from the force of the femur turned weapon crushed through, an almighty crack letting Tor know his weapon had snapped as well. The sharpened end sitting in his numb hands.
As he stood, looking at the devastation he’d wrought, a new sensation gripped him as a golden sound chimed in his ears. Energy rushed through his body and his eyes flung wide as words appeared before him.
You have slain [Goblin Berserker]
Essence Distributed
Aspect Unlocked [Aspect of the Storm]
[Aspect of the Storm]:
You embody the raging storm as it crashes over the world, Water, Thunder and Lightning are your Domains.
Ability Unlocked: [Conjure Water]
Ability Unlocked: [Bolt]
Ability Unlocked: [Thunderclap]
Instinctual knowledge filled his mind as he understood the meaning of the runes that floated before him, the essence flowed through his body and he felt it harden his skin, and increase the density of his muscles. His mind exploded with understanding, and he knew even more that this was who he was, he was the storm.
Title Unlocked: [Eternal Divinity]:
You are the God of Thunder; Thor, and in every iteration in the Multiverse you attain godhood within the seed. Bonus to physical and mental cultivation, all essence gains increased by 500%.
Tor stared dumbfounded, he was a God? More so he understood that he was one of many, the idea that there were infinite earths like this one and infinite versions of himself, and all achieved something within this mountain, no this Tower. The new word was there in his mind and the understanding so strange it appeared to have always been there. He squeezed his hand into a fist and felt the new strength as his knuckles cracked. He even felt the thick hairs on his arms rise from the static electricity he was passively giving off. It was a lot of change in a very small amount of time for a man whose only worries prior had been food and shelter for himself and his family, new thoughts boiled in his mind, and he knew answers would lay at the centre of this forest, or at the very least the beginnings of those answers, but he would need a new weapon.
His next encounter was even more explosive than the first as he unleashed his new ability [Bolt] and a levin bolt of lightning flashed across the space from his hand to the next goblin, the creature boiling from the inside out as it thrashed and died. More essence flowed through his body in a surge and so he went killing more and more of the goblins as he walked through the forest, until he stumbled on a collection of hide lean-tos. A dozen goblins stood or sat around a central fire. Thor instinctively knew this was not the village he was looking for, but the culmination of his first challenge on this floor.
One goblin, taller than the others with a crown of leather and bones sat on a log and was clearly the leader. Thor had learned much of his new abilities as he had fought to this point, but he had not fought so many at once. He had collected six spears from those he had killed, his former club was still sharp enough to stab with in close, but that was a recipe for disaster with so many enemies. Still he was confident with his new abilities he could take on the group. The first floor was designed to be beatable with only a good effort. So he summoned his newfound aspect and cast [Thunderclap] detonating the sonic boom in the very centre of the camp.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
The damage wasn’t insignificant for the large and sensitive ears of the goblins. It was far from fatal, but the disorientation and pain left them all stumbling, perfect for what came next. Thor rose from his hiding spot and pulled his first spear free of the fur wrap he had tied them with and hurled it at the nearest goblin. It flew true and punched through the goblin’s chest and impacted a second. One throw and two goblins were already dead, the increased strength was so shocking that Thor froze for a second in astonishment, his mouth falling open in shock. He was forced out of the reverie by the shouting of the goblin leader as it spotted him and so he threw again and again, each spear found a mark though none were as effective as the first. Six casts and seven goblins were dead. Five remained including the leader and they had righted themselves enough to charge the intruder. Lightning flashed across the intervening space as Thor cast his [Bolt], once, twice and thrice. Three more goblins hit the ground as smoking husks. Only two remained as they closed the distance and Thor lashed out. The ten additional goblins worth of essence had continued to increase his strength and capacity to wield the magic his Aspect granted him. His left fist connected with the first goblin to reach him and shattered its jaw and most of its face, his boulder-sized fists barely registering the slight creature’s contact. The shivered end of his bone club found purchase under the goblin leader’s jaw and drove up into brain.
The whole action had lasted maybe thirty heartbeats and it was over. The goblins of the forest were not worthy opponents for him, Thor decided.
Ability Evolved: [Bolt] >>> [Lightning Strike]
Ability Evolved: [Conjure Water] >>> [Conjure Rain]
The abilities felt stronger inside him, the static that had clung to him strengthened to the point he could see flashes of electricity dancing across his skin intermittently. Thor felt powerful.
A light drew his eye to the centre of the camp, a glowing yellow beam that he knew was his reward for completing his first challenge. As he touched the light his hand closed over a haft of wood surmounted by a head made of stone, intricate runes carved over the hammer’s face.
Obtained Item:
[Mjolnir the Faehammer] (Legendary, Growth)
Carved from the stone of a Fae Mountain, Mjolnir the Faehammer imbues its wielder with total control of its weight and power. Doubles the effectiveness of storm aspected abilities channelled through it. Growth Item.
It was an incredible upgrade on his old club of bone and Thor smiled as he drew the hammer onto his shoulder. More challenges awaited and he wondered how much stronger he could become on just this first level of the tower.
************************
You have slain [Kobold Cutter]
Essence Distributed
Aspect Unlocked [Aspect of the Lightbringer]
[Aspect of the Lightbringer]:
You embody the shining Light as it crushes the darkest places of the world, Light and Justice are your Domains.
Ability Unlocked: [Smite]
Ability Unlocked: [Flash]
Title Unlocked: [Eternal Divinity]:
You are the God of Light; Baldr, and in every iteration in the Multiverse you attain godhood within the seed. Bonus to physical and mental cultivation, all essence gains increased by 500%.
Balor, no Baldr, looked at his hands as he felt the power radiate from them. The lizard man that had attacked him had not been prepared for the flurry of fists the young human could throw. His mind expanded with the additional knowledge, strange though as it seemed to have always been there. He grinned as he began prowling through the caverns he had arrived in, looking for a new target. The golden woman had promised he could find answers in a village at the centre of the floor. First he had to find his way out of the caves, after all she had called this place a forest.
The Kobolds didn’t stop coming, and soon Baldr’s knuckles were skinned and bloody, but the essence kept pouring into his body, hardening his muscles and giving his skin a brilliant bronze lustre. Before long he had learned they were weakest just below their ear fins and a single punch delivered with the crushing force of an essence empowered fist was enough to see them dead.
Unbeknownst to Baldr, he progressed the same as his brother until he stumbled upon the Kobold creche. His fists glowed golden as he activated [smite] encasing his hands in energy he threw himself into the fight with reckless abandon, the rush of power almost too much to bear. The kobold chieftain met the same fate as its subordinates, unable to withstand the pummelling from the proto golden god of Light.
Just as Thor had found his hammer, Baldr was presented with a shining reward of his own.
[Plate of Invincibility] (Legendary, Growth)
Made of gold and quenched in the blood of a thousand fae, this armour will protect from almost any blow.
When he placed the chest plate on his body the gold swam over him like a second skin until it encased him from head to toe, even his face was covered in the liquid gold, able to move with his own features. He stood tall as a true golden god.
************************
You have slain [Giant Spider]
Essence Distributed
Aspect Unlocked [Aspect of the Trickster]
[Aspect of the Trickster]:
You embody the malicious mischief of the world, Deception and Transformation are your Domains.
Ability Unlocked: [Illusion]
Ability Unlocked: [Morph]
Title Unlocked: [Eternal Divinity]:
You are the God of Trickery; Loki, and in every iteration in the Multiverse you attain godhood within the seed. Bonus to physical and mental cultivation, all essence gains increased by 500%.
Loki looked upon his new powers with a groan, he would have enjoyed them had he not been currently bleeding, the spider’s forelimbs had been sharp and cut him to ribbons. Slowly the bleeding was slowing as he felt the essence work. Still he could not escape the shame he felt, that a mere spider had been able to almost bring him down, Balor would have a great time mocking him if he found out. The younger Aser had always taken great pride in being a better hunter and gatherer than the son of Van.
Trait Unlocked: [Jotunn Blood]
The blood of giants flows through you, regeneration rate increased by 300%
Loki felt the regeneration kick in as his wounds clotted and healed over to fresh new skin, perhaps he was going to be alright after all. He rose from the dirt floor of the warren he found himself in. He wasn’t sure where the others were but the golden woman had assured him they would meet in the village she’d said lay at the centre of the forest, but first he had to find his way out. The next spider he came across didn’t notice him immediately, and so he triggered his [Illusion] spell and watched as a perfect lookalike walked into the spherical room the spider inhabited, as it launched after his doppelganger he next triggered [Morph] and felt his arms lengthen into the same sharp forelimbs of the spiders that had so badly cut him before.
His new weapons stabbed into the spider’s abdomen as the spider itself destroyed the illusion, in mere heartbeats the spider was dead and the essence flowed into him strengthening Loki further. That had been so much easier he thought, his Aspect let him know this was his best way to fight, Trickery was his domain and he would unleash his new power, never again would perfect Balor be able to mock Loki.
************************
You have slain [Goblin Tracker]
Essence Distributed
Aspect Unlocked [Aspect of the King]
[Aspect of the King]:
You embody the Wisdom and Leadership for the Northerners of the world, Wisdom, War and Runes are your Domains.
Ability Unlocked: [Runecraft]
Ability Unlocked: [Moment of Insight]
Ability Unlocked: [Smite]
Title Unlocked: [Eternal Divinity]:
You are the King of the Northern Gods; Odin, and in every iteration in the Multiverse you attain godhood within the seed. Bonus to physical and mental cultivation, all essence gains increased by 500%.
Odin smiled with understanding, he had led his family for years at the behest of his father Aser, and long had the other families of the plains come to him for counsel and advice. It appealed to his arrogance to seek a crown of his own, now that he understood what a crown was he thought ruefully. First he needed to find his family, if he was to be a king he would need his Queen and Heirs. To do that he had to slay more goblins, and so he set off, the dead creature’s spear in hand alongside his own flint spear. It was a curious design and he couldn’t quite tell what material the head was made from, but it was a damn sight stronger than mere flint, he decided he would throw the flint spear and use this new one for his next kill.
An hour later he stood over the corpse of the Goblin chief, his chest feeling more powerful than ever as he sucked in air and looked around for any opponent who had escaped his wrath. A dozen spears lay broken around him from the battle that had ensued, but his abilities had come in handy, [Moment of Insight] had taught him their weaknesses, the perfect place to strike, and [Smite] had encased his weapons in a golden lustre that detonated upon entering their flesh. The only ability he had not used was [Runecraft] but he understood he would need time and items for that, still he accepted the golden light of his reward for completing the challenge.
[Rune Journal] (Rare)
Written by a master Runecrafter, this journal contains six runes of power.
With his newfound knowledge Odin felt something he had never felt before, a voracious hunger, but not for food. All the knowledge of the world lay before him and he would consume it all, he would become the one true fountain of all the knowledge of the Cosmos.
.
************************
Jason watched the readings coming from the God Seed, the first of the world’s population had already entered and from what he saw it was all going exactly as expected. He shook his head with a rueful smile as he looked at his guest, the giant, red-bearded man had come through the teleporter mere moments ago to check on the launch and Jason knew his ulterior motives.
“You were right Lord Thor, once again your family was the first to enter,” Jason brought up a recording of the god’s alternate self taking down his first goblin, watching the light of memory play across Thor’s features, “they’re already making great progress, and he has found your seeded Mjolnir.” Thor smiled at the thought as his hands danced over the stone head of his own Mjolnir at his hip.
“Hmmm, I had a spear when I first entered my God Seed, I will never grow weary of the slight differences of the Multiverse,” Thor’s look changed though as he met the Captain’s eye, “can…can you show me Baldr?” Jason nodded in understanding and changed the display to the god’s younger brother, advancing through the next challenge clad in his golden plate. A great fat tear dropped down Thor’s cheek, and Jason steeled his nerve and placed a hand on the God’s shoulder.
“I know I never attained godhood myself, but as a fellow immortal, I understand your pain somewhat Lord Thor.” He offered, and Thor gave him a genuine smile.
“You need never tread so carefully around me Captain, I mastered my tempest long ago, and have never held with Gilgamesh’s hierarchy, how can we be leaders of men and mortals if we remain too far above them, just thank you for this gift.” The rumbling voice held the thunder at bay and Jason allowed himself a genuine smile and a sigh of relief.
“My father once told me that the average deviation on a new Earth is zero point five gods, do you think we’ll see an unknown god rise this time?” Jason asked, moving the conversation to perhaps safer and happier ground.
“I like to hope so, but that is an inflated statistic by the first few earths, we haven’t seen a new god in six cycles, best we rely on adding to the ranks we already have and be pleasantly surprised if I’m wrong,” his eyes turned to the display of his brother, “and perhaps we will see some other deviations if we’re lucky.” Thor turned towards the cylindrical teleporter that exited off the bridge, “thank you for your time captain, I leave this world in your capable hands, I have left my contact information with your assistant, next you are rotated back, I will be happy to carry you through the fiftieth floor.” Jason bowed deeply.
“Thank you Thor, I look forward to the opportunity.” and with that the god was gone, a flash of lightning heralding his departure. Once he was gone one of the bridge crew stumbled and transformed into a young man with long hair and a crooked bend in his nose that spoke to a devastating break at one point.
“I thought he’d never leave.” Loki said as he walked up beside the captain and took in young Baldr’s exploits. His customary smile being replaced with a look of grief and deep regret, “But hopefully the big man is right, and this time I master my aspect before it costs me my friends…” Jason kept his mouth shut, unable to handle the shock at the god having infiltrated his ship unawares. Gods were powerful but entering a ship was an intricate exercise and few had such control as a captain.
“Ignore me captain, and apologies for startling you,” Loki turned on his heel and in a flash of technicolour lights was gone. Jason shook his head as his First Officer came up on his left. Leonidas shook his head.
“Best we stay out of the gods’ way, they’re men like us, but obscenely powerful men, and I’d rather not be on the receiving end of a tantrum.” The man looked as though he were about to spit on the decking plates before thinking better of it and met his captain’s eye, “still congratulations captain, fiftieth floor means a chance at promotion to Hero, I wonder what that will unlock for you?”
“My next rotation isn’t for the next two millenia, please don’t spend that entire time on speculation, First Officer.” Jason teased before moving back to his control console, “we haven’t seen dwarves on the last two earths, it'll be nice to see what they create again.”
“How many Seedings have you seen, sir?” The young ensign who manned one of the consoles asked timidly.
“This is my first as Captain now that my father has been promoted to Demigod, but I have been present for four hundred and twenty seven seedings, trust me on this ensign, when the dwarves start to build and create, keep an eye on it, it is always spectacular and the one thing that sees the most deviation within the God Seed, every single Dwarf species creates things of such beauty and utility that they almost always bring about something truly unique.” Jason smiled at the thought, the one truly unique thing in the entire multiverse.
