TIT Chapter 10: Deal, or no deal?!

Standing up and stretching his new “arms”, Jie Jun decided to take Ode’s body for a quick walk around the area to decide if he should stay with the tribe or leave right now. Surprisingly, possessing Ode’s body had given him the ability to read some of his memories which had become his foundation of understanding how the world here worked.

This was the Primordial Land, where the most devout of Greek religious supporters stayed at. It was actually surprising for Jie Jun to note that there were numerous religions in this world as well, and that the Greek Mythology was actually dying out. Perhaps, just like in his own world, more religions that were supposedly “holier” and “kinder” in nature would rise in power as compared to the dark human nature of the Greek religion he was accustomed to hearing about in his previous life. He was currently at the edge of the Primordial Land, as the tribes that supported Ares were discriminated against heavily due to their brutal nature. It was quite clear that even if the Greek religion were to die out, it would be the tribes that supported Ares that would perish first. In comparison, religions like Christianity and Buddhism seemed to be on the rise in this world, as even Ode had some knowledge of their uprising.

Looking down the cliff to the ocean, Jie Jun wondered about the existence of the gods in reality. People here were beginning to doubt the existence of Greek mythology, what with the respective withering and uprising of the religions going on. However, Jie Jun knew that they should probably exist. For their stories to be so parallel to those in his own world as well as the fact that they could call down “blessings” with their chants, it was clear that there was something beyond nature at work. The people here took their own abilities for granted. Normally, these occurrences were not natural nor logical, but the people here were used to it so they did not really attribute what they did to the existence of the supernatural. However, the thought of being able to use abilities that others were able to, such as enchanting his own body made Jie Jun excited. Wasn’t this a legendary moment for him to become a true expert!?

Just as he was musing about how to go about doing so in this new world, he heard a rustling noise behind him. It seemed that the tribe was about to return. Jie Jun immediately began to recount his story of how the house had saved him but left “mysteriously” in his own head before deciding to head over to them.

Luckily, Jie Jun had some of the memories of Ode and was thus able to fill in the blanks when it came to his story so he was able to muddle through with his cover story. Given how he “miraculously” came back to life, the tribe was seemingly revitalised with their faith for Ares at an all-time high. The disappearance of the pavilion was a true shame but given how it “revived” Ode at almost no cost, it seemed pretty worth it. However, of all the people in the tribe, the Tribe Leader seemed to be the most dubious of this story as he called for Ode to come meet him later at night once he rested up well.

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Cultivation in this world seemed to focus mainly on the body. People in this world seemed to have a great affinity for refining their own bodies, with their own limbs being strengthened to the point of being close to weaponry. People in this world tended to look less favourably towards weapons as compared to tonics and medicine that could strengthen them considerably.

The tribe that Jie Jun had ended up in was a good example. At least that was how it used to be. Their downfall had no doubt some parts to be attributed to their illogical thinking. After all, humans were only superior in the primitive times due to their hunter mentality of utilising whatever they could along with their ability for creation. However, the tribe’s pride had caused them to fall off, even in their skirmishes with others.

Unless one had hit a very high level in terms of body refinement, to the point of being able to cause a crack in space itself, one generally knew that material goods would always be beneficial in a fight. Even then, there might be greater weapons that cause even more unthinkable effects.

Even the weapons used by Ode and Imani were considered to be advanced within the tribe and that was because the younger generation knew that weapons were the way to go. Older generation tribe members such as the Tribe Elder despised such usage despite their tribe literally having a weapon for one of its factions. To them, the weapons were more about their meaning rather than combat potential.

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“Talk. Who are you, really?”

“Sir, I am Ode. What could you possibly mean?”

“We both know that’s not true, Mr “Great Senior”, or rather, should I call you the sacrificial altar of Ares?”

Jie Jun was rather stunned at how forthcoming the Leader was with assuming his identity. However, for there to be no one else to make such questions was already his good fortune for anyone with the right mindset would definitely link Ode’s revival and the pavilion’s disappearance together. Something so miraculous as disappearing after reviving someone for free seemed to be such great charity, but also more likely a scam. However, the Tribe Leader did not wish to break the morale of the Tribe and hence approached “Ode” in person.

“I just want to know if you are associated with Ares. Or if you were sent down by him. I have no intention of breaking your identity. There is no point in doing so anyway. Your existence is already a morale booster for my Tribe’s faith so I have no motivation to dispose of you.”

With such deductive reasoning on his side, the Tribe Leader was becoming ever so convinced of his belief that the “Ode” he knew was gone. Given the momentum of the conversation, Jie Jun sighed and gave in, knowing that there was no point to continuing the farce. 

“Fine fine, you win. I used to be “Ode”. But he’s dead now. As to your query on whether Ares sent me down, then, no. I came here, sort of by my will.”

“I knew it. Bloody elders always pinpointing something towards the gods. What do you want from my tribe?”

“Nothing really? I am just trying to survive and get by for now. I am getting used to your world after all.”

“I see. Leave us. I don’t want any trouble coming along from you. I can sense your presence here was not natural.”

“… You can tell huh? Well, at least let me get accustomed to this place for a while first. I can’t promise you much in way of benefits, but I believe you lot having better designs for hunting equipment would be a plus right?”

“Designs…?”


Seeing his confusion from his reasoning, Jie Jun decided to reveal a trump card. Knowledge was power, but it had to be applied properly. Knowing that the tribe had close to no idea on weapons aside from the basic few, e.g. Swords, Spears, Bows… , Jie Jun knew that the tribe was close to dying out. Even hunting was becoming tougher. The Tribe Leader acknowledged this, but had no idea how to boost the tribe in that aspect. Jie Jun believed with his knowledge of weaponry from hunting tribes in his previous life, he could replenish them in that aspect. After explaining himself, Jie Jun managed to “sell” to the Tribe Leader the “Boomerang”.

“So you say, this weapon can return to us, if it does not hit the target? Even without infusing Blood Power into it?”

“Well, whatever your Blood Power is, yes, it does not require it. So… do we have a deal? It’s a one-time offer, if not, I’ll sell this idea to the other Tribes?”

“Urgh…”

Hook.

“Does it require the precious resource metal?”

Line.

“Nope, trust me boss, it’s simpler than you think!”

“Hmmm… You can stay, but only for a month!” The leader answered with determination, knowing that even with this, the new “Ode was likely to bring in more trouble.

Sinker.