"We really need to stop meeting like this Freya," Karth said nonchalantly as he was once again in the Goddess's cavern.
"You are right in that regard," Freya's smooth quiet voice responded. "Mostly because you become unconscious more than anyone I have ever met in the mortal realm."
"I am out here getting my ass reamed for a crime that I didn't even commit," Karth's mood turned sour. "But I do have questions about what the hell happened with the king."
"I told you we are partners now and some of my powers are yours to use and adapt as you see fit," Freya appeared in front of the assassin. "I am sorry to put you in that situation but I had to surely see if you had what it takes to summon my Hell Forged weapons."
"Do gods make a point to interfere often in mortals' lives?" Karth's head was starting to swim with every second he stayed in this cavern. "I really can't last long in your world Freya."
"We just help the mortals that we have an interest in and right now all eyes are on you Karth," Freya put her hands on his shoulders. "This will be the last time you come to this world as I have created a way to communicate with you in your world as well as give your stat bonuses as needed."
"Stat bonuses?" Karth's attention was back on the goddess. He was very interested in anything that made him stronger and gave him an advantage. If there was one thing he learned while he was training to become an assassin it was always make sure you get the upper hand on your opponents and learn their weaknesses. If these stat bonuses could do just that then he was interested.
"They are bonuses either to your stats, the weapons you use, or the defenses that you have set up," the Goddess of Death explained. "They will assess your battles and allocate points as it sees fit. Your body will also access the situation you are in and draw weapons automatically that is best suited to win that battle."
Karth was speechless. This kind of power and skill set was something that was otherworldly. There was no way that he could lose any battle if his body automatically assessed everything around him but he would still train, he always liked to be in control of his own actions and his own body. He would use these skills as an extension of his own body and not become too reliant on it. He was a highly trained assassin after all.
"I am sending you back into your world now," Freya said. "Don't forget the task at hand. Use what skills and powers I have given you but use your own senses and smarts to access every situation. Your body reacts to what you think and how you feel. Don't forget you were picked for a reason and I am counting on you Karth."
Karth felt a tingling sensation as the cavern around him started to fade and the miserable jail cell merged in its place. The smell of piss and mold hit his senses immediately and he didn't know how long it had been. A strange feeling came over him as he no longer felt tired or sore from the previous nights laying on the hard barely covered ground of the jail cell.
Every extremity of his body tingled and glowed a faint green as he felt himself become stronger. The jail cell around him didn't seem as dark as his eyes adjusted quicker than before as the moans and groans of the surrounding prisoners filled his ears. Karth was about to dismiss the meeting with Goddess as a waste of time when the fluttering of small wings caught his attention.
"What in the little dick is going on here?" Karth stood in front of a naked red imp that flew in place near his makeshift cot. The small one foot humanoid had four small clear wings protruding from its back as well as a contorted face that made it look like it had resting bitch face. Blue veins were seen through its faded almost clear skin. Scars ran down the length of its tiny naked body.
"First off in proportion to my body I am considered hung among my kind," the imp growled. "Secondly I work for my mistress Freya and she sent me to check on you periodically. "
"Do you have some clothes you can put on?" Karth asked adjusting his glance down to the moldy hay on the ground.
In a blink, green linen pants and a blue cotton shirt had appeared on the imp. "I am one foot tall and still better looking than you. You are an ugly bastard."
"Is there some real reason why you are here?" Karth rolled his eyes at the insult. "Or are you just here to be a pest?"
"I am here to explain how your powers work and what happens when you start to level up," the imp calmly explained.
Karth just now realized that the imp's voice was surprisingly deep. "Does that explain why I was glowing green earlier?"
"That means you leveled up in some way," the imp explained. "Your body will be rejuvenated and you will feel stronger."
"Will there be a way to tell what I leveled up in?" Karth likes the idea of leveling up and getting stronger but if he couldn't get an idea of what he grew stronger in then it would be challenging to plan his attacks.
"Your body will show you," the humanoid explained. "Your skin will feel tougher or your muscles will get bigger or you will start seeing things more clearly."
"So, pest, I'm going to start calling you pest," Karth said. "What happens now?"
"This conversation has already gone on longer than I was expecting," Pest said bluntly. "I don't care what you call me as I don't think I will see you very much…"
"Hold the fuck up," Karth interrupted the imp. "Are you saying that you don't think I will grow stronger?"
Pest sighed. "I don't think you are very strong but I just do what my mistress tells me to do."
Karth just glared at the imp but said nothing as he let him continue.
"When you level up then I will show up briefly and let you know what grew stronger as well as any skills you learned," Pest explained. "You are now known as Death's Exiled Assassin and you now have the skill, Dimension Jump."
"What is Death's Exiled Assassin?" Karth raised an eyebrow.
"That is not your concern," Pest growled. "Its just a title and now I must be off back to Freya."
Before Karth could say anything the tiny imp disappeared as quickly as he had arrived. His thoughts were in a whirlwind. The assassin had no more questions than answers and didn't know what any of it meant.
Dimension Jump seemed pretty straight forward but he didn't know how it activated. He didn't know how any of his powers and skills really worked but if it made him become powerful than he would learn everything about it.
Before Karth could get too lost in his thoughts, heavy footsteps behind him snapped him back to his grim reality. A pair of heavy armored guards had marched up to the jail cell door. What are throne room guards doing down here? As if in response to his thoughts, the king appeared from behind the guards.
"Let's go!" The king bellowed. "I have decided your fate."