1% Lifesteal

While Thor maintained the stance that Freddy was to keep an open mind and listen, the man never dictated what he should do. In fact, in many cases, all Thor did was point an issue out and force him to come up with a solution on his own.

There was a reason to teach like this; Freddy wasn't a child—he was already a peak two-star; for better or worse, people only got that far by doing something right.

And besides, an absolutely optimal build simply didn't exist. There were many choices where option one was better in some cases and option two was better in others. At that point, if anything should sway the final decision, it should be the opinion of the person who would be using those abilities.

While Thor looked young, he was an old man with many decades of experience. He'd trained numerous people and had seen many times what worked and what didn't.

One of the most important things, as far as he was concerned, was that the user liked their build. Even if it was suboptimal, even if it wasn't the "right" way to do things, letting people do what they liked would still often bring better results than trying to force them down an ideal path.

The key to this was passion.

If someone reluctantly went down a path just because someone else told them it was better, they'd always have that niggling feeling of doubt hanging in the back of their mind—would my choice, a path I forged through my own intuition and experience, be better than this?

In contrast, letting people choose their own path staked their pride—even if something they did didn't work, they'd do everything in their power to make it work just to not be proven wrong.

Many naively believed that the threat of risk to one's life was enough to make them use the tools at their disposal to the best of their ability. That just simply wasn't the case. People were creatures of intuition. A long time ago, that intuition had been a key tool for the survival of the human species.

That tendency had never truly been erased from their nature. Even if it was counter-productive as hell sometimes.

However, with that being said, Thor wouldn't spare Freddy's feelings or let his pride go unchallenged. Although pride could be a powerful tool, it could just as well seduce people into going down the wrong path.

Freddy had been misled… quite a bit.

Putting the insane choice to use Abyssal Depths and Flowing Strike aside, there were other core problems with how he decided to create his build.

First, picking Crimson Mercury was a suboptimal decision. If he already had the blood affinity, he should have gone with Rich Blood to further empower himself given the way he chose to fight.

But given that he'd already picked Crimson Mercury… why wasn't he using it?

"I really have to ask," Thor said, sighing, "why aren't you working on more weapons?"

"What do you mean?"

"Dude… the whole point of the Crimson Mercury path is the ability to create a variety of weapons. And besides, the two weapons you did choose to make are just… not good. I mean the javelin isn't bad, but it's a massive fucking thing, while you have no smaller ranged options. And Gore Knuckles?"

Freddy was about to protest, but he sighed. "I already told you why I like Gore Knuckles."

"And now it's my turn to explain why this option is complete nonsense. Gore Knuckles just creates a shitty anti-katar. With all the leverage and momentum behind a punch, a punching dagger simply makes more sense. Sure, Gore Knuckles increase the damage you do against exposed tissue. But how often do you think you'll have the privilege to hit exposed flesh?

"Tell me, how often do you face naked opponents and how often do you face armored opponents? And even when you do fight someone naked, I assure you they'll have Stone Skin at the very least."

Freddy scowled, but Thor raised a hand. "I understand you like this ability and I acknowledge that it does synergise well with your talent. But guess what? You don't have to get rid of it! You have two fucking hands, dude! Put the Gore Knuckles on one hand and use a goddamn katar in the other! That way, you have both the option to punch through defense and to gore weak points. Win-win!"

"Oh…" Freddy muttered. That actually wasn't a bad idea at all.

"Also, you need three more things—a smaller ranged option, a shield, and a proper weapon. As for the smaller ranged option and the weapon, you can choose whatever you want, but given your skillset, I highly suggest forearm shields."

Freddy took a deep breath to calm himself. "Okay, smaller ranged option and the forearm shields I have nothing against. But… do I really need a proper weapon? I mean, isn't a katar already a 'proper weapon'? Also, I'm going to be honest, weapons just aren't my thing."

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"How many weapons did you actually try using in combat?" Thor asked.

"I… Not many."

Thor pointed at the huge weapon rack on the other side of the room.

One of the most interesting things about the Fortress Dungeon was that it gave out a huge variety of weapons. Pretty much anything that had been used by pre-technology humans could be given out as a reward. And the weapon rack in Thor's training chamber was loaded with samples of almost all of them.

Freddy looked over to the pile of weapons and nodded. "I guess I can try some weapons out, but… again—sorry, I don't want to sound like I'm cutting in or being a wise-ass, but why should I create a 'proper' weapon? If I have a ranged option and, okay, a katar, I guess… what exactly am I missing?

"If anything, I feel like that goes against the whole thing I have going on. And besides, I don't really like 'proper weapons.' And also, no matter how good the weapon I make is, it will always lose out against enchanted or cursed ones."

Thor smiled at Freddy. "Those are good questions. And you raise several good points. So let's go over them. Why should you make a 'proper weapon'? Simple—the creation of weapons is the single biggest advantage of going down the Crimson Mercury path. And, while this might not be obvious, it probably doesn't go against your 'thing' as much as you think."

Thor raised his hand and extracted a large axe from his ring. It was his signature cursed weapon.

Although the weapon wasn't unique, that didn't mean it was weak. Not at all. Thor brought it closer to Freddy and pointed at the axe blade, putting his finger close to the edge. "Take a look here—what do you see?"

Freddy looked for a moment. His mouth turned down, and he shook his head slightly, clearly confused. "An edge?"

"Look closer," Thor said, and Freddy did.

While the axe was sharp, the edge wasn't exactly pristine. There were very tiny chips and cracks, with some bending and deformations. It had clearly seen a lot of action.

"It's a bit damaged," he noticed.

Thor nodded. "Exactly. The thing with cursed weapons is that they're a bitch to fix. Modifying them in any way, even just sharpening them, will scrub off some of the aura. And there is no cheap way to get this aura back once it's lost. Well, a unique cursed weapon could accumulate more aura with time, but this axe can't. Any bit I lose makes it that much less powerful. So how do you think I use this axe in combat?"

"Uh… carefully?"

Thor snickered. "Carefully? That's a fucking understatement. More often than not, I won't pull this thing out of my ring unless my life is in danger. And when I do take it out, I mostly use the flat backside to hit things or even just use the axe as a wand to enhance my lightning powers. Even when I have to go all out, I still have to be careful with how I use it.

"Now tell me, if this axe was instead a completely disposable weapon I made from blood that I would only use for a single fight, what would change with how I use it?"

"It wouldn't be a cursed item." Freddy sighed. "I get what you're aiming at, but isn't this a bit of a fallacious argument?"

"I…" Thor muttered. He coughed and pulled back slightly. "Look, while that's a good point, it doesn't exactly make me wrong. Okay, let me show you something." Thor walked over to the weapon rack. There, he grabbed two forearm shields and a large axe. Then, he walked back and handed these items to Freddy.

Freddy obediently strapped the shields onto his arms and grabbed the axe. "Okay? And? What now?"

"Okay, now, use your Gore Knuckles."

Freddy shrugged and listened. He instantly created two sets of Gore Knuckles on both his hands. While there was a plate of metal limiting the movement of his fingers, it didn't hinder him while he held the weapon.

"Okay, now"—Thor clapped his hands—"hold the axe in one hand and use Blood Javelin with the other."

Freddy nodded and obeyed. A moment later, he created a large crimson javelin and gripped it tightly in one hand.

"You starting to see it yet?" Thor asked.

"No… not exactly, no."

"Okay, imagine that you're fighting against me. You're attacking me with everything you got."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Okay… So… Uh…" Freddy thought about it for a moment. "I pull my javelin back to throw it at you, you flash right in front of me and punch me in the gut, instantly paralyzing me and—"

"No, I mean…" Thor chuckled. "Okay, yeah, that is how it would go, but pretend that I am only defending."

"Okay, sure… Well, first I'd throw the javelin at you."

"Mhmm, go on."

"Then I'd probably rush you and swing this axe at you."

"Okay, good."

"You'd defend. Anyway, I'm assuming the axe is made of blood in this scenario?"

"Yep."

"Yeah, okay, so I'd swing the axe with all my might and that probably wouldn't work."

"What then?"

"I'm guessing I also have the katar in this fictional scenario?"

"Yup."

"Well I wouldn't exactly be able to hold a two-handed axe with a katar in one hand."

"Pretend the katar is a blade growing from your knuckles instead."

"Okay, got it. Then… I'd throw the axe aside and punch—look, I get it."

"Eh? Eh!? Sounds like a pretty sweet deal, no?"

Freddy scowled reluctantly and sighed. He knew what Thor was aiming at. None of the weapons interfered with one another. If one option didn't work, he had the second option. If the second option didn't work, he had the third option. And if that one didn't work, either, at least he had a way to defend himself.

A whole arsenal of choices. It sounded excellent in theory.

But in practice, he wasn't exactly convinced.

This whole idea hinged on him being able to use a "proper weapon." What was the point of the axe if he couldn't use it effectively? If he would always just skip to punching things, why not start with punching things?

"I can see that you aren't convinced." Thor sighed. "Look, if I'm being honest, even I can tell that weapons aren't exactly your forte. But while Abyssal Depths is a choice you can go back on—by the way, that offer still very much stands—uh… Crimson Mercury is permanent. It's just a shame. Disposable weapons you can use with all the force you please is like… the main advantage of the whole path.

"It wasn't a terrible choice for you, you know, you still have the shields, and the ranged options, and hopefully at least a punching dagger, but… yeah, it would be a damn shame not to at least try putting a proper weapon in there somewhere."

Freddy hesitated but slowly nodded. To be honest, he wasn't so much against using a weapon as he lacked confidence in using a weapon effectively. While trapped in the Fortress Dungeon, he had used the ballista bolt and even a war pick to speed up the rate at which he killed the soldiers, but that was only a viable option against a bunch of much weaker opponents.

Planning his build to make already-won fights a bit easier was hardly a wise choice.

But the temptation was indeed there. Thor was right—disposable weapons were the core strength of Crimson Mercury. Freddy had only been looking at the ranged options and sharp things to attach to his fists, but there was a benefit to disposable melee weapons, too.

While a blood metal axe would never be able to compete with a cursed or enchanted weapon in quality, it far outstripped such weapons in the flexibility of usage. From recklessly smashing the blade right into armor plating to blocking strikes that would break the weapon to just simply throwing the weapon away when it wasn't needed—this was a powerful advantage.

And this wasn't even mentioning the Warrior King's Pendant or the Blood Ring and their effect on weapons Freddy created.

At the very least, trying wouldn't cost him anything. "All right…" he said, sighing and turning to the weapons rack. "Let's get testing."

One by one, Freddy picked up the weapons off the rack and tried them out against the impact alloy. Starting from the humble staff and moving towards swords, sabers, spears, axes, halberds, glaives, maces, hammers, picks, mauls, and every hard-to-pronounce variant of these weapons imaginable. For the entirety of the rest of the day, all Freddy did was test weapons against the impact alloy.

Other than basic guidance on how to use certain weapons, Thor mostly sat by the side and watched him test things.

Realistically, both of them already knew that Freddy needed something heavy. However, Thor insisted that he at least give every weapon a chance and to keep an open mind.

Yet, despite opening his mind so much his brain nearly fell out, Freddy strongly disliked almost everything he picked up. The weapons he disliked less were generally the heavier ones and ones that required less delicate handling to use.

He hated pretty much all swords barring a few of the bigger ones he thought looked cool. He despised anything that required thrusting movements to use effectively. He thought he'd like mauls or at least axes, but most of them felt clunky due to their top-heavy build.

Eventually, he reached the more niche weapons. While he would never use most of these in serious fights, at least he was having fun with the nunchucks and spiky balls on chains, even though he hurt himself more than once while testing them.

By some miracle, he finally came across a sword that he liked using—it was a nagamaki. It was a cousin of the katana, but with a handle that was practically as long as the blade itself.

Although he couldn't think of a single reason why he liked the weapon—after all, it had none of the qualities he appreciated in other weapons he tried out—and he couldn't swing it properly to save his life, he still liked it. Something about it tickled his fancy. Perhaps it was the way he could comfortably grab the handle with both hands and really put leverage into his swings.

But seeing Thor wince at his barbaric misuse of the weapon brought him back to reality, the place where he was too incompetent to ever use something like this effectively.

As he walked back to the rack to return the blade, he spotted the next weapon on the list. Whether it was by some bizarre strike of chance or perhaps by the hand of fate itself, right after finding one sword he liked, a weapon from a category he despised most out of any of the categories he tested, he immediately found another sword he took a liking to.

It was an extremely unconventional weapon. The blade was rectangular and without a tip, it was very unbalanced and surprisingly heavy.

It was the executioner's sword.

For some strange reason, before he even touched it, he was already in love with it. He plucked it off the rack and practically skipped over to the impact alloy. He pulled the sword back, and with all the momentum he could manage, swung it into his target.

Impact alloy softened upon impact, allowing whatever struck it to sink in and freely deform it, perfectly showcasing both how deep the weapon could cut and how much force was offloaded into the strike. The weapon was no more or less impressive than most of the sabers he'd tested out, but his experience with using it was drastically different.

Thor groaned when saw his reaction. "Oh come the fuck on! You tested every conventional weapon under the goddamn sun and that's the one you like!? Your taste is truly the most bizarre of anyone I'd ever met in my life!"

Freddy chuckled. "What can I say? This sword speaks to me."

"Crazy bastard. Judging by your reaction, I'm guessing you've made your choice?"

"Not quite." He grinned slyly.

He sat down on the ground and got to work. Blood slowly seeped from his hands and took the shape of a handle. And then it kept going.

Thor groaned again as soon as he realized what Freddy was doing.

But he ignored the man and kept going.

Bit by bit, a ridiculously long handle took form. After crossing just a bit over two thirds of a meter in length, he finally made the crossguard and got started on the blade.

The executioner's sword was made of a normal metal, and as such, it was considerably heavier than blood metal. To compensate for this, Freddy made the blade significantly wider—and thicker. After making it stretch for a whole meter, he finally felt satisfied.

The weapon's total length was almost as long as Freddy was tall. It was an oppressive monstrosity of crimson metal that cost a great amount of blood to create. But his eyes shone with stars as he raised it into the air.

Through the combination of the lightweight blood metal and Freddy's extreme body density, the weapon was completely incapable of affecting his balance. This was another advantage of Abyssal Depths. When weapons got heavy, it became very easy to get dragged around by them.

But as Freddy pulled the weapon back and smashed it into the impact alloy, he did so with full control over it.

The long handle felt so comfortable in his grip. It allowed him to put his whole body into a blow while giving him the option to grip the handle lower to maximize his range.

Thor sighed, but he didn't say anything. His eyes looked resigned as he shook his head. "At least you like something, I guess… But why this? Why, of all things, did the nagamaki and executioner's sword grab your attention?"

"The nagamaki? I don't know, I just think it's cool. But the executioner's sword…?" Freddy pulled the weapon out of the impact alloy and raised it to the ceiling. The lamps shining brightly from above were partly occluded by the blade, like a crimson eclipse. The blood metal was slightly translucent, making the edges look like they were shining with a sinister light. It cast a red shadow on his face. "Probably… because it isn't a weapon."

Thor raised an eyebrow.

Freddy chuckled as he swung the sword down and rested it on the ground. "I am an orphan. For the first decade of my life, I lived in an orphanage."

Thor's eyebrows raised slightly, and his mouth gaped a bit, but he remained quiet.

"Back then, during those horrible years, the only thing I was ever looking forward to were the visits. Everything… and I do mean everything felt like it would be decided by just one lucky day. Surprisingly, mortals were rarely the ones to come scout the kids for adoption. Probably because they couldn't afford kids anyway. But we saw at least one wealthy archhuman pretty much every week.

"Frankly, in hindsight, most of them weren't coming there for the right reasons. But it wasn't like the orphanage could refuse them. Anyway, with every visit, there would be a storm of anxiety and expectation, regardless of who was coming. All of us just wanted a place to belong. Especially the older ones.

"The visitors that really stuck with me were the ones who brought their kids with them to the visits." Freddy slowly turned to face Thor. He was smiling, but it didn't reach his eyes. There, in his black pupils, danced the pain and rage of distant, aching memories. "It's very common for young archhuman kids to carry weapons on them. It was always so bizarre to see a tiny sword on a boy's waist or a bow hoisted over a little girl's back.

"That… to me… was the biggest difference between me and them." He chuckled darkly. "Once, I held a knife improperly while eating and one of the caregivers beat the shit out of me. Can you imagine that? I wasn't even doing anything crazy. I was just gesturing while talking to another boy. And it was a dull fucking butter knife.

"But those kids… they could carry whole ass lethal weapons on them, and those same caregivers would smile widely and pat their little heads like they were so special and irresistible. What a fucking joke.

"For a long time already, in my eyes, weapons represent the elite. Seeing a teenager masterfully swinging a sword around wounds me like nothing anyone could do or say to me. Because, you know… nobody is born with the knowledge on how to do that. Those kids had grown up being tended to constantly, seeing experts and learning, going to classes, being loved, cared for, and prepared to thrive in the world.

"And when they grow up? What happens then? Why do they, after all that love and care, turn out to be such monsters so often? Why is it that they choose to use their fortune as a weapon to make the lives of the miserable even worse? I will never get over this. I will never be at peace with it.

"I anxiously waited for years for two drug addicts to adopt me only to cast me away not long after, to spend the rest of my teenage years breaking my back hauling boxes around in a warehouse." He paused for a moment to catch his breath. He couldn't hold back a cynical laugh. "And now that I'm the one in power…

"To be entirely honest, other than the javelin, which unfortunately needs to be conventional to be effective, I prefer whatever weapons I use to be as bizarre and far from the norm as possible. And you can't get more out of the norm than this. The executioner's sword…" he said lovingly. "This thing is a tool of trade, not a weapon for combat. The lack of tapering and the heavy build made them a poor weapon for war. But an excellent tool for chopping heads off.

"Did you know that executioners were persona non grata in pretty much every era they existed in? They were socially outcast and ostracized due to their work, and often lived miserable lives. I honestly do not enjoy killing people, Thor. But if I'm already going to do it, I won't do it their way. I'll do it my way. The way of the reluctant outcast. The way of the career executioner."

Thor had remained quiet the whole time. After Freddy's monologue, he stayed quiet for several more seconds. "You know… I think I'm starting to get you, Freddy. You're not really… one of the good guys in a traditional sense, are you?"

Freddy chuckled. "I guess you could say that."

"This isn't really funny you know," Thor said sternly, interrupting Freddy's chuckling. "There is a deep hatred inside you. Frankly, I believe the only reason you're even here is because you can't fathom being on 'their' side. Honestly, I'm not sure I'm comfortable with continuing this. I mean… do you hear yourself? You sound like an absolute psychopath."

Freddy sighed. "I know. Sorry. I've been through a lot."

"Oh, have you? Okay then, sure, continue your maniacal rants then! Oh, but wait, it doesn't really change the fact that you're allowing hatred to control who you are and what you do."

"And what exactly am I supposed to do, then? Love these people?"

"Hey, feel free to hate real individual people as much as you like!" Thor said, raising his hands. "I hate plenty of motherfuckers too. But you… you hate this vague idea of the terrible elites. That's why you killed Shawn. You didn't see a real human being before you, and even you realize that's not exactly the right way of seeing things."

Freddy froze. "Yeah… Uh, sorry, I got a bit carried away."

"No, man, this isn't 'getting a little carried away.' This hatred of yours shapes everything you do—I mean, for fuck's sake, you can't even look at a normal sword without detaching it from some delusional caricature of the spoiled elite child. I mean, what the fuck?"

"I'm… I…" Freddy shrank a bit. "I'm sorry, I—"

"Please, just… go home for tonight. Man, I don't think you're a monster, but… this is just not cool. I mean, that was so fucking edgy I'm tempted to laugh it off"—he chuckled nervously—"but like… you have some real problems, man. Maybe it's time to talk to a professional? Look, uhm… just head home for tonight. It's been a long day for both of us."

"I'm really sorry, I—"

"Don't, just… Hey, no harm was done to me; what's the point in apologizing? I'm not offended; I can just see that you have some soul-searching to do. Good night. But yeah, if you want us to continue this, I would very much so like you to talk to a professional. For everyone's sake."

"I… Okay…" Freddy nodded.

"Good. Now, go to sleep. And don't cut it too much. Sleep has important functions for how your brain works that most definitely can't just be magicked away by your healing. And given this shit, I think it's starting to show that you haven't been sleeping enough."

"Okay… I'm sorry."

"Good night, Freddy," Thor said, offering him a relatively cold handshake.

Freddy took it and left the chamber, slowly walking out of the headquarters and heading home.