"Will I not look like an idiot if I present myself as Emperor? How will people react? On top of that, having a name doesn't fix my problem, I do not have any advantages."

"You do have an advantage, albeit a small one. We told you that you were above average but only just slightly. Slightly stronger, slightly more charismatic, slightly more intelligent and slightly more lucky than the average man. Moreover, each of us have the right to bestow upon you an item that will help you out in your quest."

"Also, we may help out a little along the way, no one will ever know" Followed up Luck with a dismissive wave of the hand.

Emperor had only just been created and he was already being sent in a quest so hard that it was most probably suicidal. He wondered if he had the right to refuse to try such a thing and instead make the most out of life and the existence that had been given to him.

As soon as this idea crossed his mind, he rejected it. Those four gods had just created him for this very reason, how could he even think about dismissing such a quest? He vowed to himself that he would honor them and their wish and make them proud of their creation. After all, he existed thanks to them and he was determined to give back this favor to his creators a hundred times over.

Emperor was still feeling unwell thinking about the task they wanted him to accomplish but since he had decided to do it, he put his worries aside for now. Instead, he thought about the objects they intended to give him. He was curious and impatient to see what were those four items.

For the first time of his life, he awkwardly got up from the ground and stood upright. In the space of a brief moment, he panicked at the idea that he could fall over at any second, that his balance was all wrong. His apprehension was unfounded. The basic knowledge on how to stand and walk was already a part of him, the movements felt natural for him and his fear flew away as soon as he found his balance for the first time.

As soon as he stood up like them, the four divinity drew a circle in the air in front of them using their hands. In the center of each drawn space, an object appeared out of nothing. Those were the four treasures that would soon be his, he believed. A big hammer made out of black stone, a ring of gold and ruby, a large book whose cover was made of greenish leather and finally, a strange looking bag.

Without losing any time, his four creators started to describe with enthusiasm their respective items.

The first one was the hammer that Strength was presenting him. The hammer head was half a meter large. It's ordinary looking surface was covered in cracks and in the depths of those fissures, a feeble and intermittent red glow was barely visible. It's handle was long, even a little longer than Emperor was tall. Aside from the fact that it was completely made of black stone, and for the strange and ominous red glow barely visible when looking closely at it, it seemed very ordinary.

"I offer you the Great overburdening hammer. However strong you are, this war hammer will always be a little too heavy for you."

Emperor looked at him with a puzzled look. In which way could a war hammer too heavy for him be useful? He took it in his hands and immediately, it's weight almost made him fall over. He rushed to put it down before it happened.

"I can see on your face that you do not understand its use but believe me, the great overburdening hammer is extraordinary. It is impossible to use it effectively in combat but the simple act of raising it or wearing it on yourself slowly raises the strength of its possessor. The more you use it and the stronger you get.

The best part is that since its weight is always determined by your strength, it's effect will always be as strong. I do not recommend you to travel with it on your back though because you risk injuring yourself doing so."

Now that it had been explained, it seemed much more reasonable to him. It was not supposed to be a weapon but a training tool to improve himself. Satisfied by the explanation, he did not interrupt his creators and let Love explain her own gift instead.

As she delicately presented him the ring, he was able to examine it in more details. It seemed to be made almost entirely of a ruby-like material polished to perfection. On its surface, a number of infinitely fine golden treads were forming symbols and arabesques he did not recognize but he could still appreciate their beauty. By looking at it even closer, it was possible to distinguish small clouds drifting calmly inside the ruby. While Love was sliding it onto his finger, she explained it's use.

"This is the Ring of allegiance. For now, It has absolutely no use for you, but later on, it will be a great advantage. By focusing on the ring, using only your will, you can make as many copies of it as you want. Each copy will change in appearance depending on the person wearing it. The better the feelings or the impression you have for the wearer of the copy, the more the copy will be splendid.

Each copy ring will send information to the original you are wearing. The more beautiful the copy is, the more information you will get. For example, a weak copy would only be able to tell you if the wearer is alive or dead but a stronger one could also tell you where he is, what he is doing and so on until a perfect ring that would tell you all you want to know about the wearer. But beware, the precision of said information will not depend on you but instead on the wearer of the copy!

If you loved someone from the bottom of your heart, the ring would be magnificent but if the person in question hates you and always lied to you, all the information given by the ring would be false.

You can love someone as much as you want but it doesn't mean that the opposite is true. The ring cannot ensure the fidelity of other peoples, it can only help you manage and understand your allies better. Traitors will stay traitors."

Emperor contemplated The ring of allegiance on his finger while engraving the warning of Love in his memories. Afterwards, he raised his eyes again to see Sage advancing toward him with the enormous book.

It was thick, heavy, large and seemed tough. It was reinforced with metal bindings, none of its timeworn pages where wrinkled and it's title was displayed in big golden letters atop the green leather cover. "The book of answers"

"I present you the Book of answers." Said Sage while dropping it in his arms. "It's use is really simple. Whatever questions you might have, you only need to ask it to the book and open it at any page at all for it to answer. Sometimes, the answers are a little convoluted but beside that, it's only restriction is that it cannot answer a question for which you already have the answer. If you ask it how many stars are in the sky, it will answer you but if you ask it how to walk, the page will stay empty. Simple and efficient. The only thing it really cannot do is predict the future."

Emperor was really happy to receive all those gifts but his hands were already full. To hold the book alone, he needed his two hands, he couldn't take the hammer as well. He wondered how he would take everything with him. The ring wasn't a problem but the others were too much, he could barely hold one!

It's at this time that Luck decided to come to his rescue with his own gift. From his right hand, he presented Emperor a bag made of a thick black fabric covered with a weird mix of scales and feathers as black as the rest. It's opening was gaping largely and there didn't seem to be a way to close it other than by holding it in one's hands. Even if it lacked a mean to close it, it still possessed a large metallic ring to fix it on a belt.

"Honestly, I had no idea what to give you so I just took something at random. This is the ugliest of all my bottomless bags! You can put all you want in it, it will never be full, no one but you can access its content and even if you hold it upside down, nothing will fall out of it. There are some rules on what you can and cannot put inside such a bag but I feel too lazy to explain them to you so you'll have to figure it out on your own.

To make you lucky would be cheating but at the very least with this, if you are struck with good fortune and find treasures, you will be able to take them with you. Just remember that given luck isn't that useful anyway, true luck is always made by yourself. Oh also, I put some clothes in it for you because running around naked isn't the most clever of ideas."

The mind of Emperor started reeling in panic thinking about what kind of clothes the eccentric Luck could have given him. Just looking at what he was wearing right now and the bag itself, Emperor feared everyone he met would think he was a madman. Luck started laughing when he saw the panic stricken face of Emperor. He casually threw the bag at his feet and defended himself from the silent accusation of Emperor.

"I wasn't the one who chose the clothes! I just put them in the bag. I am not an idiot, I want to win the bet as well."

Deeply relieved, Emperor thanked each of his four creators with a deep bow. These four gifts were extraordinary no doubt and would help him a lot but he knew he would not be able to rely on them entirely. The hammer could make him stronger but left him defenseless because of its weight. The ring had an incredible usefulness but if he misjudged those around him, it could endanger him easily. At first glance, the book had no flaws but in truth, he could already guess that even if the answers were true every time, he had to ask the right question or the answers would be too ambiguous to help him. In the end, he felt that even if the bag was the most ordinary of them all, it was still the safest to use and maybe the most useful. He only had to understand its limitations before he hit a wall in a crucial moment.

"Thank you so much, I will take great care of everything you bestowed upon me, from my very life to those four gifts, and I will do my best to not disappoint you all."

"Excellent." Commented Sage. "Remember, those four items belong to you and you only, it is impossible to take them from you unless it's from your cold corpse."

Even if that had not been the case, Emperor would probably not be careless enough to let someone take them from him. At least he hoped that would be the case.

"As a last tip," Said Strength "I will tell you that a good emperor is someone stronger than the rest. Someone who can reassure its allies by his sole presence and make his enemies tremble by the mere mention of his name. Train everyday and become the strongest so that no one would ever dare think about making you submit. Do not run straight into the beast jaw and wait until you have sufficient power before moving."

With this, Strength lightly tapped the back of his creation and instantly vanished without a trace. Emperor didn't even have the time to be surprised as Love was already saying her own goodbye.

"A good emperor is someone that inspire respect from anyone. Someone with manners so refined that no one can stop themselves from admiring him. Answer to hate with hate and love with love. Weave reliable bonds that will last for many a lifetime because no one can stand alone. Become someone who's kind, charming and honest so that everyone from the smallest to the greatest will look towards you with adoration. Remember my son, if you want to see us again, you will need to find either one of our temples or a chamber of trials"

She gave emperor a light kiss on the forehead before disappearing in the same manner as Strength. Sage instantly moved forth.

"A good emperor is someone who knows better than the rest. Someone who can take quick and enlightened decisions related to any and all subjects. It would be a good idea to deepen your knowledge about magic and science. Become someone who's smart and confident to lead your empire to prosperity and glory."

He too disappeared without sound or forewarning and Luck became the only one left. His speech was the shortest of them all.

"Good luck!"

He instantly vanished with a smile leaving Emperor nude and alone in the clearing. He immediately sat back down in the tall grass to take the time and think about what had just occurred.