'Well? Your answer, Child of Man? Will you or will you not swear under the system to eradicate the Children of Giants known as the Overgiants?' Clearly, the spirit of King Mofolo had no intentions to talk further about the true core of Atlantis.

Daz frowned. "A shame. Grip of Death."

With his hand outstretched and looking like it was grasping something, Daz stared at the spirit twice his size as its hands reached for its throat. 'What... What is this?'

"Submit to me. I will destroy you if you don't," Daz coldly stated. 'Mercy isn't needed for someone who has obviously lost themselves in their grief and hatred. It disgusts me that I could have easily become like this if something horrific had happened to Maddy or Rose... At the very least, I pity him.'

'Ha... Hahahaha... Release me, this farce is no longer required,' King Mofolo said as he smiled while enduring the pressure on his very being from Daz's skill.

The reaper didn't comply with his request. "What farce?" Not a second later, he came to a swift realisation. "You were testing me to see if I'd agree to pit myself against an entire species of people whom only one of which was able to wipe out the Alphorians, weren't you? Stupid. Stupid and incredibly unwise."

'Stupid in your eyes it may be, but many people are quick to get blinded by greed. Not only can you see me, but you also wish for my city, Atlantis. Do you really think that I would hand over the jewel of Frila to someone so morally bankrupt that they would agree to commit genocide at the behest of a crazed and revenge-drunk spirit?' Regardless of him being choked by Daz's Grip of Death, there was conviction in Mofolo's words.

He was clearly in pain having his very being strangulated, but regardless, he soldiered on. 'No. You are all that is left of Frila. You and your kind. What sort of fool would I be to let my personal feelings risk jeopardising the fate of my home and her people once more when the system already threatens to potentially destroy Frila? I have paid for that mistake once before. I took a vow to never pay for it again.'

"I see. So you do wish to see the Overgiants die then, don't you?" Daz asked, aiming straight for the heart of the matter.

'It would be dishonest of me to say that I do not. Yes, I wish to see them wiped out of existence, but I shall not force this wish of mine onto anyone. I shall serve you faithfully as the tiny spirit over there does. An opportunity to aid a young Child of Man who possesses a good sense of justice has fallen at my feet. Let me accept it by allowing me to serve you. I... I wish to help Frila,' the spirit of King Mofolo was radiating sincerity and his every word spoke volumes of his deep and unending love for the planet that they both called home.

Daz stood in silence for a few seconds before he slowly nodded. "Very well."

He cancelled his Grip of Death, releasing King Mofolo. He grasped Hamson and extended it towards the spirit. "Bind yourself to my weapon. I trust you can do that on your own seeing as how you are such a powerful spirit."

King Mofolo nodded. He spoke no more words and immediately flew directly into Hamson.

A bright flash of blue light enveloped the shovel before it coalesced into a new skull that appeared on Hamson's shaft just below the others.

Unlike the murky-white one which had shown up after Hamson had absorbed Matt Bleak's soul, and different to the blood-red skull that represented Reika, this one was deep-sea-blue in colour.

'Seven more skulls before something great and something terrible happens if Hamson's secret is anything to trust,' Daz remarked as he looked at his trusty shovel. 'Well, ignoring that idiot Matt, Hamson has two powerful souls within him now, doesn't he? I wonder if that affected his description and abilities. Master Identification.'

Hamson: The Tool of Souls [SSS-Rank (Lower Tier)] Description

A regular shovel that has been given life by its owner, Daz. It has been selected by the host's sentient skill, The One Shovel To Rule Them All, and can now only be wielded by him.

If used offensively without the host's permission, any sentient being wielding it will be consumed in body and soul.

It has been sharpened and enchanted by a master blacksmith.

In a collaborative effort from the God of Shovels - Pala, and the system, this shovel had been granted power far beyond a trial world's standard limits.

Ah, Hamson. I can hardly talk about this damned thing without risk of censorship. It digs and is the gathering hub of stray souls like some sort of old lady with a soft spot for cats. There, happy?

Stats Attack: 20,000 Defense: 4,000 Sharpness: 6,000 Durability: ∞ Skills The One Shovel To Rule Them All Freeform Earth Wall Soul Cloaks [Upgraded from Evil Cloak] Spade Mode Direct Line To God

'Ah, it did change. Can you show me what Soul Cloaks does, please, system?' Daz asked, and of course, the system heeded his request.

Soul Cloaks The host may use the souls of [Reika] or [Mofolo] to cloak [Hamson: The Tool of Souls]' blade in their respective energy. [Reika]'s Evil Cloak has increased damage against [Good] aligned beings. [Mofolo]'s Atlantic Cloak has increased damage against [Non-Aquatic] beings.

"Huh, useful. Still, 'Hamson: The Tool of Souls'? That's the second time the system's changed his name without my input nor my consent. First it was Hamson-slash-Reika, now this... Well, so long as 'Hamson' is in the name, I don't care all that much," Daz muttered.

Not a moment later, the Spirit of the former king of Atlantis - Mofolo - exited the shovel. 'What a peculiar tool. Not only is it more powerful than the Child of Giants' sword, but it also has a sub-dimension within it that is capable of housing souls...'

"Wait, Hamson has what?" Daz looked at the tiny demon princess spirit hovering near his head who was pretending to whistle and look unassuming. "Reika, why'd you not tell me about that? A sub-dimension? Is Matt Bleak's soul in there as well? Is he, what, too weak to manifest like you two?"

Reika stuck her tongue out defiantly. 'It's stuffy in there, so we saw no reason to tell you about it in case you thought it was best for us to stay in there and not out here.'

Mofolo answered Daz's other question in her place. 'I do not know who this 'Matt Bleak' character is, however, there are the remnants of a soul residing within this tool of yours, yes. I believe whatever that soul belonged to was far too weak to handle travelling to a sub-dimension, so it splintered. Whoever that being once was, they are not the same anymore and never will be again.'

Daz stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Huh. I guess that's just one of Hamson's secrets that I wasn't able to learn with Secret Override. Anyway, Mofolo, do you know where the corpse of the Overgiant mercenary is? I need it."

'Yes, My Liege, I do know where his corpse is. I was the one that killed him, after all,' Mofolo replied without even a shred of hesitation.

'What the hell? This is all that's left?' Mofolo had led Daz to a hidden trench in the corner of Atlantis' that bordered the illusion which hid the city.

Within the trench could be seen a head that was easily the same size as a small building. 'Really? Just the head?'

Seeing the confusion on Daz's expression, Mofolo chose to explain. 'The only way that I could kill him was by sacrificing my trusted trident. I threw it into his neck and made it detonate my lifeforce which I'd stored within it. Doing so severed his head from the rest of his body. The system saw it fit to reclaim his body, but it left his head for whatever reason. Perhaps using a system skill to gain insight into the object shall reveal more, My Liege.'

'Huh... Master Identification, Secret Override,' Daz thought.

Arthphodas' Head [SS-Rank (Higher Tier)] Description

The head of Arthphodas - 12-star mercenary of the system and prince to the Overgiants of Phosmodium.

If skinned, it can easily become a powerful set of armour. If deboned, it can easily become a powerful arsenal of weapons.

It is also an essential ingredient for many SSS-rank magical rituals.

What is with you and finding weird corpses? First a living meteor, now a giant's head? I swear you are only four or five steps away from being a fully-fledged necromancer. That, or a graverobber.

Stats Durability: 192,002/1,021,100 Hardness: 20,000 Randomly selected [Arthphodas' Head] secret: The system didn't require it to force Arthphodas back into service, so it left it here on Earth to act as a treasure for the future testees of Earth after taking his body and soul proceeding the Overgiant's first death.

'First death? So, what, there's a headless Overgiant out there still working as a mercenary? But the sword specifically said attacking Earth was his final mission as a 12-star mercenary... A technicality? Did he get demoted or promoted to the star above or below the 12-star rank? Maybe he became a soldier and stopped being a merc entirely?' Regardless of what was true or false, Daz's instincts refused to inform him of anything insightful.

It would seem that his questions were too vague. That, or knowing either which way simply wouldn't matter. He'd have to use his unlucky dice if he wanted to find out more, but if he could, He'd rather avoid using such a dangerous tool unless he was in a perfectly safe environment.

Only God knows what could happen to him if he rolled those dice down here.

Regardless of this, Daz moved on. He stored the head in his Industrial Item Box then returned to the palace at Atlantis' heart.

'System, I wish to use my Abandoned City Reclaim Token on Atlantis now that the sword has been removed and the former king's spirit has pledged subservience to me,' Daz announced in his mind.

Confirmed. Using [Abandoned City Reclaim Token].

The large coin with a cartoon-esque town carved onto it flew out of the reaper's pocket and began spinning wildly. A bright light consumed the entire space surrounding Daz but it didn't last for too long.

Once his eyes had readjusted, Daz could only see what was illuminated by his helmet's torch. Not a moment later, a system message blocked his vision.

[Abandoned City Reclaim Token] usage successful. The lost city of [Atlantis] is now the territory and lawful property of the host [Daz].

'Great. Now, I'm expecting it to be a worse shithole than Waterford was only a few days ago, but considering that Rose recommended it, it must be special somehow. Show me Atlantis' city status, please, system,' Daz asked, and the system complied.

[Atlantis] S-Rank Large City City Name: Atlantis City Owner: Daz City Type: Hub/Research City Size: Large Base Stats Health: 532,822/16,300,000 Offence: 0 Security: 0 Defense: 3,000 Citizens: 0 Political Power: 0 Base Facilities

(Think about a listed facility size for specific information)

Tiny Small Little Below Average Average Above Average Slightly Large Large New Facilities

(Think about a listed new facility for specific information) None.

'Well, it has a lot of health, but as a city so large and with so many buildings, I guess that only makes sense. System, show me all of its buildings that are worthy of any note in a concise list, please. I can't exactly think about the facilities if I don't know what they are, now can I?' Daz asked a bit jokingly.

Confirmed. Displaying specified facilities of the city [Atlantis] to the host.