《Escaping Valhalla: A litRPG, isekai, tower-climber》


 Chapter 1: A Good Day to Die

    Chapter 1: A Good Day to Die


    My time as a pit fighter started when I turned 65. It was a bit late for a career change, I know, but I didn''t have a choice. Well, I didn''t have much of a choice.


    When the stranger ripped the knife out of my neck, the last bit of strength left my legs, and I collapsed to the floor. It was all I could do to keep my fingers curled around the broken beer bottle I had in my hand. With satisfaction, I watched my assailant fall to the ground next to me, a shard of glass in his jugular.


    When he had touched my daughter that way, I had snapped a little bit. I hadn''t drunk in nearly a decade, ever since my wife, Helen, had died. Now, my tolerances were shot, and things had gotten a little away from me. Honestly, I hadn''t been to a bar for even longer. I wouldn''t have even been here if I hadn''t wanted to make a brief appearance for my daughter''s birthday.


    Now I could hear her screaming faintly, as if down a long hallway. The sirens outside stopped as the ambulance arrived. Even as my beautiful daughter knelt at my side, face contorted in grief, it all faded away.


    As I lay there, I found myself excited to move on and join my wife. No matter where we went next. I hoped it was heaven.


    My last thoughts were interrupted by an angel appearing before me. She was this heartbreakingly beautiful woman with long blond hair tied back in a braid. Ethereal light glinted off her armor and the sword at her side. The only thing missing was her halo.


    She reached down, and I reached up and took her hand, and she pulled my soul away from my body and took me in her arms. Looking down at me, she spoke. The perfection of her voice registered before her words did. "Hello, my warrior. Hello, Miles. You have been chosen to feast in Valhalla among your fellow warriors. Will you accept?"


    When I was able to process what she said, I blinked in shock. "Uh, do I have to? Can''t I go to heaven instead?"


    "I''m sorry that path is closed to you. But you do have a choice." She said this with a comforting tone that soothed all my worries away. I might not get to go to heaven, but at least I had a choice.


    "Let''s see¡­ You can go to Valhalla or Hell." The Valkyrie said.


    That was not much of a choice.


    "I''ll go to Valhalla," I told the Valkyrie. "Better than Hell, right?"


    "Good choice, Miles." She said as she flapped her wings and carried me up into the sky.


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    "What''s your name? I asked.


    "You can call me Mary," she said in her perfect melodic voice. Earth was receding before my eyes, but we were not heading into space. A glowing light enveloped us, and I closed my eyes.


    When the light went away we were flying over a mountain with a bonfire on its summit. The height of the peak was unbelievable. It must have been several times taller than Mount Everest. The whole way down was covered in buildings, halls, towers, and ships half buried in the mountain. The ones at the top were made of beautiful black glass; the further down, the lower the material quality. After the glass, it was a stunning marble, then granite.


    People milled about all over, doing various things. But they were far enough away that I couldn''t make out any details. They all looked like ants as we soared down the slopes of the mountain. At the base, I saw a feasting hall made of rough-cut timber. It was so long that I couldn''t see the end as it curved around the mountain and out of sight.


    At first, I thought she would set me down there and put me out in front of that building. It made sense. I was new, and I needed to start at the bottom. It was just like any office job; the intern fetches the coffee. That made sense to me.


    But no, we soared over that building and kept going. Briefly, we flashed over a courtyard with feasting tables set up in a foot of snow, and I thought we would land there.


    Still, we kept going, but she was slowing down. We flew over a wall with spear points on the top, interspersed with wrought iron gates.


    Once we were over the wall, Mary set me down in a snowbank outside of a gate. Looking through the gate into the courtyard, I saw people feasting at a table, drinking while shivering. Beyond them was the hall. I could hear laughter and light spilling out from the rough cut timber.


    "Good luck," Mary said as she waved to me before disappearing.


    "Good luck?" I echoed. What did she mean?


    Suddenly, the scene changed. A spear was in my hands, and I was standing in a pit of sand with nothing but blackness all around me.


    I looked down at my spear and saw my unwrinkled hands. Surprised, I blinked and moved my body, expecting to feel my stiff back, arthritic knees, and aching feet. But no. It was as if I had returned to the body I had when I was 25. I even regained the inches of height stolen from me by age. Running one hand over my scalp, I realized I had a full head of hair again. I bet it was even brown.


    At the sound of yelling, I looked up. Only to find a running, burly man only a few feet away from me, also holding a spear.


    I only had time for a questioning look before I was run through the chest. My breath exploded, and I struggled to draw in a breath. Fluid filled my lungs.  And I weakly thrashed as I drowned.


    For the second time that day, I found myself bleeding out on the floor.


    As the burning agony from the hole in my chest flooded my mind, it washed away all my thoughts. After all my worries about my past life were cleared out, it was strangely easy to think. It dawned on me what Valhalla was. A paradise for warriors to fight and train endlessly. I was no warrior. I wheezed, trying to say one last thing, to get up and do one more thing before I died again.


    Mary''s hand pulled me out of my body again a few moments later. "Not a bad first attempt. I''m sure you will do better next time."


    Next time? The realization I would have to die yet again settled on me like manacles fastened around my spirit. I was going to die a lot, wasn''t I?


    We soared off into the distance toward the light of the mountain just now visible in the distance. After a few moments of processing, I couldn''t help but mutter to her. "I should have chosen hell."

 Chapter 2.1:

    Chapter 2.1:


    Bjorn slid his sword out of my stomach and flicked it clean. My legs, no longer offering any support due to my severed spinal cord, dumped me onto the sands of the arena. I was able to control my fall just enough to land on my back, looking up into the stars.


    A pretty face appeared above me with a slight smile. "Two this time. Congratulations, Miles, that was very well done." The Valkyrie said in a warm tone. "Now I get to take you to the Lesser Hall."


    "Thanks, Mary." I wheezed, and I let her pull my spirit to its feet above my latest body. "It was closer than I would like, but I''m looking forward to eating inside finally."


    "Yes, the mead in the Courtyard is awful," she agreed, her full black eyes twinkling. "The stuff tastes like it was made in a trash can."


    The nearly six months I had spent out there haunted me as I grunted my agreement. Getting out of the Snowbank and in through the gates to the Courtyard had taken me a week. Progressing past that had eluded me though.


    Her wings flapped twice as she lifted off and carried my ghostly form up into the sky. The journey passed in a blur of warped time before we reached our destination, and everything snapped back into reality.


    Landing by a set of double doors flung wide, I got my first glance into the Lesser Hall of Valhalla. Sounds of revelry poured out with the warmth of the fires within. I could feel the chill that had taken up permanent residence in my bones, being slowly forced out. Mary gave me a gentle push forward before fading away. I stumbled through the doors and looked around.


    Long tables ran the entire length of the hall, disappearing off into the distance beyond where I could see. Hearths pumped warmth into the room. On the benches was a great congregation of men, each one a mass of muscles and beard. They roared with laughter and drunken exuberance as toasts were made and ale downed. Various roast animals were placed every few feet along the table. Barbarians carved into them with their belt knives or tore parts off with their bare hands.


    The Lesser Hall of Valhalla. It had taken me nearly six months of trying to make it in here from the cold outside. As loud and crowded as it was, at least it was warm. A meaty hand clapped me on the back broke me out of my distraction and sent me stumbling forward a step.


    "Good fight! Good fight, Miles!" The volume of the congratulations in my ear left it ringing. I turned and had to look far up to meet Bjorn''s eyes. Despite what the monster said, it had not been a good fight, not at all. He had soundly beaten me for the whole 15 seconds it had lasted, but I couldn''t hold it against the man.


    "You too, Bjorn, You too," I said, reaching up and thumping his shoulder as hard as I could in response. The dark wall of muscle didn''t even flinch at the blow, his smile growing wider as he turned and grabbed two horns of mead from the hands of someone walking by.


    Thrusting one in my hand, he held the other out to me, forcing me to take it. Once I had accepted the drink, he lifted his horn to the ceiling and roared. "To honor in death and the everlasting fight!"


    Several others around him joined in yelling the toast before chugging the mead. He reached out and tipped my horn to my mouth, forcing me to drink as well. I gulped as fast as I could, but some still spilled out of the corners of my mouth to run down my patchy beard. About halfway through the drink, the man Bjorn had stolen the horns from realized what had happened and took offense.


    A flurry of blows ensued, and surrounding revelers got pulled in. I did my best to defend myself, but eventually, a stray tankard smashed into the side of my head, and the rest of the night was rather blurry.


    ***


    The next morning, my head pounded from the concussion I received in the brawl. Gods, I hated it here. I wasn''t a real fighter, not like Bjorn or the others. My soft body had no place in these halls. I just wanted out. Waking to train for hours with bladed weapons, then going into the challenge to fight to the death, then drinking and feasting the night away ''til the next morning wasn''t my idea of fun.


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    I didn''t know how to fight at all when I got here. The only reason I was here at all was because the broken bottle I had held in my hand as I died counted as a weapon. When I accepted the invitation to Valhalla, I had reverted to my ''prime'' physique. But the lanky 25-year-old me wasn''t more a fighter than the decrepit 67-year-old body I died was. Broken beer bottle or not.


    My idea of fun was a nice book with a glass of fine wine, as far from bar fights and beer pong as possible. I wasn''t a warrior. I was a marketing executive and grandfather, not some seventh-century barbarian who wanted to pillage and plunder.


    Groaning, I rolled off the hearth I had passed out on last night and stretched. The warmth had kept the ache out of my bones, but with my head feeling the way it did, I reconsidered if the hall was worth the pain. To get back here, I would need to kill two more people tonight. Still, it was better than spending the night out in the Courtyard, drinking so as not to freeze to death before the next fights began.


    Luckily, we weren''t entirely static, and training would help us do better the next night. Unfortunately, everyone had access to the same training, and some had been at it much longer than I had.


    Walking over to a table, I grabbed a discarded steak knife. Adjusting my grip, I started carving into the table. The rune was one of the first things I learned when I got into the Courtyard. After the rough carving was complete, I cut my palm open and let some blood drip on the table.


    The blood tickled into the carving and filled it up. The cut on my hand healed as soon as it started spilling over. The blood kept welling up out of the carving and spilling onto the table. Slowly, it formed into runes that then changed to English. These numbers described me in the eyes of the gods. Or so that''s what everyone said. I just thought of them as stats in a game.


    Status: Tier 3: The Lesser Hall


    Weapon Proficiencies:


    Sword: F - 1


    Spear: F - 2


    Striking: F - 3


    Stats:


    Strength: 7


    Speed: 8


    Constitution: 5


    My base strength had only increased by one since I got here. From what I could tell, I didn''t have any way of increasing it outside of training. When the challenges switched from spears to swords, that had really set me back. When I asked around about the switch, everyone shrugged and said that the gods liked to mix it up every once in a while.


    Apparently, I should expect massive shifts to the format and equipment in the challenge every few months. The last several years, it had been a single elimination tournament of some sort, but that wasn''t always the case. It wasn''t for us to know. As I climbed higher in Valhalla''s pecking order, I might find out more.


    Making my way out of the now cold and empty hall, I walked over to the training yard. It was an endless field with sandy patches used as training rings. I shoved my way toward a weapons rack, fighting the press of people ready to go train.


    Reaching the weapon''s rack, I picked up a two-and-a-half-foot sword. It was the most similar to the one-handed blades we used in the challenge that I could find. Ducking out of the scrum of people trying to get to the weapons, I carried it over to a free training dummy.


    As I fell into the pattern of strikes and blocks that a generous, experienced warrior had shown me, the noise and people around me faded into the background. I pictured using the sword in the challenge against imaginary opponents, trying to visualize each move with detail and clarity.


    The training was something that nearly everyone around here took seriously. Though not as seriously as they took fighting, drinking, and feasting, but more than anything else. The parts of life I enjoyed, like art or a nice wine, no one else seemed to care about those here.


    Training seriously also meant everyone was willing to spar. I found asking a better warrior for a spar was the best way to learn. Everyone was surprisingly willing to give tips despite the fact that you might be fighting to the death later that night.


    Only the ones stuck out in the snow with no food and no ale were in the mindset that telling others what was going on would hurt them. I supposed that might have something to do with why they were still starving every night. Once I got into the Courtyard and had some food. Things got better. If I survived the night''s cold, I had people to train with, and I finally got some answers.


    People like Bjorn were a lifesaver. Not many in the Lesser Hall would talk with those from the Courtyard on the training fields, but a few would. And they explained how things worked. Everything came down to one thing:


    Do better in the challenge.

 Chapter 2.2:

    Chapter 2.2:


    Progressing further would get me answers, better accommodations, interesting tasks, and so much more.


    After I spent a few minutes hacking at the straw dummy, I looked around and found Bjorn walking over to me. The man supported a huge smile and a cheery wave. I aborted my next attack on the dummy and lowered my sword while I waited for him to reach me.


    "Care to spar?" The massive monster called when he was a dozen feet away. I blinked in surprise. From what I knew about the man, he was close to leaving the Lesser Hall. He should be focusing on making that last push. For each challenge, he killed nearly a dozen people and had the run of the place. I barely snuck in for the first time last night.


    Most people practiced with people around their level, maybe a little better or a little worse, but nowhere near the gap between our skills. Still, I would be an idiot to turn him down. "Sure, why not."


    I jogged to catch up to him as we pivoted to an open ring of sand nearby. Curiosity got the better of me, and I had to push it. "I have to ask, why me? You could spar with anyone."


    Bjorn sent me a side-eye. "We had a good fight last night."


    It took me a second to realize he was talking about the brawl rather than our extremely one-sided duel. He continued. "You are surprisingly creative. I wouldn''t have ever thought to use a gravy spoon in that manner."


    I flushed in embarrassment at the memory and didn''t have the heart to tell him it wasn''t intentional. A companionable silence followed us as we walked the last few paces. When we squared up, all hints of joking had vanished.


    "What are you working on?" Bjorn asked me with a discerning eye.


    "I''m still trying to get my strikes to come naturally without having to tell my body to move in a certain way," I said sheepishly. It had taken me nearly two months with the spear to get through that stage, and the sword had so many more options. Bjorn shook his head. And I flushed from embarrassment at how basic my practice must seem to him.


    "No, that''s no good. You don''t do that during sparring; use a dummy and spare time for that. 1000 of each of the main seven moves a day until you can do it in your sleep." He looked at me and motioned for me to show him my moves. I ran through a few of the basic strikes and blocks for him. "You''re good enough. As we go on, I''ll leave you some openings. Even if you can''t capitalize on them, I want you to call them out. I will hit you whenever you miss one. Okay?"


    I nodded grimly. At least I passed the smell test. I would just have to find some time to finally get used to the sword. Even if it was swapped out again, I bet it would be back eventually. I kept my eyes fixed on his shoulders, trying to read his movements and avoid as much punishment as possible. It would be harder to make it into the Lesser Hall today if I was going to be as black and blue as I expected.


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    Bjorn took it easy for the first few minutes, matching my pace as we traded blows. Then suddenly, his left fist came from nowhere and hooked into my ribs. The wind rushed out of my lungs, and I reeled back, coughing all the while. "I overextended that last thrust. Watch your footwork. It was a perfect chance to work your way to the side."


    The next time he came in, I started with a looping strike toward his head; as he went to block it, I twisted my hips, sending my shin hurtling into his calf. He turned his foot slightly, and our shins met with a crack. We both winced, and he gave me a nod. "Much better, but your feint shouldn''t be that obvious. The best feint is a strike that needs to be addressed. I could have ignored that lazy swing, and nothing would have happened. You need to be ready to follow through if the opportunity presents itself."


    We went on for hours like that. Maybe I was improving, but against him, I couldn''t tell. He was just that much better.


    ***


    In the evening, the challenges started.


    My first opponent walked from the opposite arch in the nothingness that surrounded the arena of sand we stood on. Surprisingly, I recognized the man standing on the other side of the ring. It was the second person I had bested last night. The one that had got me into the Lesser Hall. Somewhere, one of the gods was surely having a laugh at this joke.


    From the man''s eyes, I could see he recognized me as well. Though there wasn''t any resentment in there that one might have expected. We both knew our place. So far down in the pecking order of Valhalla that we were merely entertainment, fighting and dying for some twisted game.


    There was no fanfare to start the bout. The ambient light kept our 20-foot circle lit despite the inky blackness all around us. It cast no shadows, giving the motion an ethereal quality as our blades met. The rigging of steel on steel dissipated into the edges of the depthless void mere paces away.


    Vibrations running up the blade and into my hand pulled my attention to the fight here and now. I needed to win this if I was going to get food tonight. And I didn''t want to be cast out beyond the Courtyard to starve in the snow again. It was impossibly hard to pull yourself out of that bottom rung. I had already had to do it several times, and I would do everything I could to avoid it happening again.


    There was some seeding mechanism that I didn''t understand, making it so that I didn''t have to face monsters like Bjorn right away. But at the same time, the closer you were to getting out of the current strata, the easier the first few fights were. That had little bearing on the later fights, but it prevented you from falling too far.


    My opponent lunged forward in such a way that his feet made his plan obvious. I felt like I could see it happen hours before he even started to move. In my head, I heard Bjorn''s voice. "Pivot and sidestep."


    My blade came down on the exposed wrist. The hand still gripped the sword as it flew free of the wrist. The handle of my sword vibrated as it pulled free of the bone. A follow-up strike with my free hand to the throat sent the man to the ground.


    As my fist came back from crushing his windpipe, I was already moving. I followed my opponent''s body to the ground with my sword, giving swift mercy with a clean strike to the head. Losing a limb wasn''t fun, and most of us were willing to end it quickly after that.


    Looking down at the body and the loose hand gripping his blade several feet away, suddenly, I had an idea. Tugging the fingers free, I picked up a second blade. No one had told me there were any rules, and this just might work. Smiling to myself, I spun both blades and waited for the arena to reset.

 Chapter 3:

    Chapter 3:


    In the few moments of reprieve I had between the first and second fight, I spun my new weapon in my offhand. It was a habit many warriors picked up to get a feel for the balance of a new blade. I could already tell that wielding two swords wouldn''t be as easy as I had first assumed. Fighting with one one-handed sword was one thing, but a second sword required a whole new approach. I''d have to work with different balances and timings. I didn''t realize how much I used my offhand for balance when fighting with one hand.


    Despite the challenges, I wasn''t ready to give up on the idea just yet. It would at least be a surprise for someone. I kept one blade behind me so my opponent wouldn''t see it. They''d probably see that I was acting a little weird. It was almost like a fencer, but with a short one-handed sword, which didn''t make any sense. But if I was lucky, it would be one of the meatheads who had only got this far on brawn.


    My opponent stepped into the arena at the same time I appeared, and we charged at each other. Normally, I would play it slow and cautious, trying to make my opponent make a mistake. I would sit just out of reach, hoping for a lucky shot. But I didn''t want to let my opponent register what was going on. So I roared in my best Bjorn impression as I slashed down with all my might. My opponent raised his blade, bracing it with his offhand to block.


    He caught my sword in a textbook parry. We froze for a split second, and I felt him shift his balance slightly. He looked to be ready to slip to the side and counter my aggressive opening attack.


    However, I didn''t give him a chance. Quick as lightning, I whipped my left hand into his completely open side. I felt the resistance as my extra blade passed through his innards. Then the man sagged before limply collapsing to the ground.


    It was the shortest victory of my life. My opponent lay dead before me, and I was on to the third round. I fully expected to meet someone like Bjorn again. It would have been just my luck. But the gods must have decided to have mercy on me.


    I was vaguely aware of my opponent. I hadn''t caught his name, but he had fought in the brawl last night. I imagined he probably made it through 4 or 5 people before, a bit better than me. If I managed to pull off a similar trick, there was no reason why I couldn''t win here.


    Swinging wildly, I tried the same opening move, but the man danced back. Without the resistance, I stumbled forward, off balance. I tried to slash with my left hand as my momentum carried me forward. Somehow, he managed to get his sword in the way, deflecting my second strike. But the surprise was evident on his face as he stared at my left hand.


    He was slow to react, and I figured my overly committed first strike had paid off. I attempted to follow up, but he stumbled out of the way. The tip of my sword parted the woven cloth of his tunic as it just avoided drawing blood.


    Continuing my onslaught, I spun. I was doing my best to bring my other sword into play, as slowly I overwhelmed him. It wasn''t graceful. I was just flailing at him with both swords. My strikes fell into a steady rhythm that kept him on his toes. We danced as he tried to get used to fighting with someone with two blades. It was a delicate balance that could only last so long.


    A lucky slash took him just above the knee, and he stumbled into my graceless hacking blades. I decimated his guard and cut through his face, ending the fight. I stood panting over my third downed opponent. My sword tips almost rested in the sand as I gathered the breath to yell in victory. I might not have been a warrior, but I would be damned if I didn''t go down without a fight.


    This hell would not keep me down much longer. I rolled my shoulders and practiced a few moves I imagined might work with two blades. I felt silly doing it, having really no idea what I was doing. I would have been better off with a dagger in the offhand, something light or flexible. But this was still better than what was originally given.


    By the time I appeared in the next arena, I realized something was different. This place was almost double the size of the previous battleground. Instead of the normal arrangement, more than one opponent appeared equidistant around the circle. Four other opponents showed up, and I could tell by the looks on their faces that they were not surprised. They sized each other and me up at the same time.


    They seemed to dismiss me as not much of a threat. And I couldn''t blame them. Now, how could I use this to my advantage? As if someone had shot a starting gun out of a race, they charged into the center of the ring.


    Ah, this was a general melee free-for-all. If I were to guess, I would say that the last one standing moved on. But you only get credits for kills you did yourself. It seemed to be the way of the place. But I would fight however I saw fit. I didn''t really care about getting 12 kills. I really, really doubted that I would be able to get out of the Lesser Hall on my second attempt. But I wasn''t eager to die, so I would go as far as I could in this tournament.


    I was several steps behind, but I also headed to the center. The person directly to my right veered off to come at me. He must have thought that I was an easier target. While I was attacked, the other three clashed in the center. I didn''t have a chance to hide my second sword. It was all I could do to deflect his blade. He came at me with a series of blinding flashes, making it feel like I was the fighter with one blade and my opponent had two.


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    Every time I deflected his blade, I was unable to counter. When I sought to follow up with either of my swords, his blade was somehow already coming at me. Each move I made felt as if it was already part of his plan.


    As the encounter continued, I took several cuts across my forearms and one deep into my chest. As steel passed through part of my pectoral muscle, I felt the strength leave my grip. Only through sheer bitterness was I able to keep my sword in hand. Stumbling backward, I landed on my rear and then immediately rolled out of the way of a downward strike.


    Just as I thought I was about to be finished off, my attacker had to turn and guard himself as a roaring man charged at his side. Had the trio''s fight concluded?


    I looked over and saw that, no, they were almost fighting a duel. Each of them had their blades flashing as they took turns attacking and defending. I could see how the third might have felt left out and gone to fight their own battle.


    Rolling to my feet, I left specks of blood in the sand as I scrambled away from my interrupted fight. For my health, I was unwilling to engage with my previous opponent, who was clearly more than my match. For now, I would watch for an opportunity as I recovered.


    I did my best to not make too much noise as I circled over to the dueling pair. As their swords locked, I saw an opportunity. The fools were so focused on each other and their dule they forgot they weren''t alone. With a few careful steps, I was within reach of them both. I slashed out with both my blades. By the time they even realized I was there, I had both of their throats laid open. As if their strings were cut, they both fell and quickly bleed out in the sand.


    Not wanting to fall into the same trap those two just had, I kept looking around myself. My previous opponent and the newcomer were still locked in a ferocious battle. This one was not nearly as graceful or chivalrous as the one I had just interrupted.


    They hacked, slashed, kicked, punched, and generally battered each other in a circle. I moved to position myself, but I saw that they were well aware that I was the only other one left. But neither of them could spare enough attention to come at me. Unfortunately, judging by their brief glances at me, I would not be able to pull off the same trick again.


    I wasn''t sure if that was because they were aware of my underhanded tactics or just that they were more situationally aware than the two nimrods I had just skewered. So I stayed close, trying to maintain the grip on my blade with my injured arm. As I stilled, the soreness in my muscles started to creep in. The blood soaking into my shirt made me worried that blood loss would do me in before one of these did. Moments passed, but slowly, the tide turned.


    My initial opponent was being pressed back and took a few slight wounds right as I thought it was over. In desperation, he dove forward, tackling his opponent to the floor. They transitioned to pummeling and grappling on the ground in moments.


    Eventually, I saw that one sword was lost, and then quickly, the other was as well. My opponent crawled onto the back of the interloper and locked in some sort of chokehold. As the man on his back slowly strangled him, he clawed at the arm gripping his throat. It was no use as he was slowly turning purple. He gnashed his teeth and punched over his shoulder, connecting with the face several times, but all his effort was not enough to loosen the choke.


    Seizing my chance, I strode over with a few quick steps and dropped one sword. With both arms, I positioned the sword point down. Throwing all my weight into the act, I pushed on the pommel. In a single motion, I drove it into the exposed back. My sword continued through both of them, pinning them to the ground.


    Rolling to the side, I collapsed to my knees, looking up at the pitch-black nothing that surrounded us. I could swear I heard a faint chuckle from above, but I couldn''t be sure of anything over the sound of my labored breathing.


    I grabbed my sword and another one that was lying nearby and forced myself up to my feet. Standing there, my injuries burned like hell. I waited as everything faded black and the arena reset for the fourth time. Again, I appeared in another sandy ring with one man casually walking towards me.


    This man was different from anyone I had seen here so far. He didn''t wear the leathers and furs that the previous opponents had. Instead, he was dressed in what looked like fine silk. He moved with a grace that was even beyond Bjorn.


    He was smaller than me, several inches shorter and a little wiry. But I could tell by the look in his eyes that we were not the same. His eyes flicked down to the two swords, and his lip curled up in a sneer. Already, I couldn''t help but hate this guy. What a prick. Thinking that because he was so much better than me, I should just lie down and die. I would be an idiot to not take every advantage I could.


    I spurred my legs into a half-hearted charge, blades raised to meet him. Slashing with both my swords, I missed as he ducked under one and did not even bother to raise his own sword. I didn''t even see the move that slammed his fist into my gut. The blow drove the wind out, sending me to my knees. As I struggled to pull in a breath, I felt cold steel plunge into my back.


    A boot between my shoulder blades shoved me to the ground. Face first into the dirty sand. With a small splash, a glob of spit landed in the sand in front of my face. His hiss barely carried to my ears. "What a disgrace."


    As everything went black. I couldn''t roll myself over and meet my Valkyrie face-to-face as I had done before. All I could do was wait for Mary to come and carry me off to the feasting hall. There, I could fill my belly with food and ale and sleep in the warmth of a hearth again. It was just so cold.


    But it wasn''t Mary''s voice that found me. Instead, it was a man''s alto, a relatively high voice compared to the gruff barbarians I''d been used to hearing around here. It echoed from the blackness that completely enveloped me. "My, my, you are rather interesting. I''ll be keeping my eye on you. If you ever want to chat, take the bow and go to the third ring. I''m sure we could strike some sort of bargain."

 Chapter 4.1:

    Chapter 4.1:


    Suddenly, I was rising. Looking up, I saw Mary staring down at me. My Valkyrie was so pretty. Somehow, my sight recovered, and my swimming vision eventually focused on her beautiful black eyes. They looked so gentle as she smiled down at me. "Well done, Miles. Seven kills, very impressive. Soon, I''ll be able to take you beyond the Lesser Hall and into Valhalla proper. That will be so nice."


    Gratitude filled where my heart would have been in my physical form. Her words had been the only warmth I had known for a very long time. Even as she was bringing me to the Courtyard or out in the Snowbank, Mary was never anything but kind to me. Even if she refused to answer most of my questions.


    For some reason, I felt she might answer this time if I asked rather than make small talk as was our tradition. I just had to think of the right one to ask before the moment slipped away. Suddenly, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind before I had a chance to stop myself.


    "What hall have you reached?" I asked. If I knew that maybe I could use it as a goal to meet her, that would be good motivation to climb higher. She gave me another heart-wrenching smile and a gentle laugh.


    "I am a Valkyrie, a servant of Odin. I''m beyond the halls. Things will become more clear the higher up you get. There are many paths through Valhalla for those willing to find them. The gods realize that honor comes in many forms. Once I can talk to you in person, I''m sure we will have a great time, my warrior."


    I didn''t have anything in me to ask another question. No energy or willpower was able to force my mouth to move in this form. So I just simply relaxed, and things faded before I found myself stepping into a Lesser Hall once more. It was the same as it was last time. A long hall with hearths and food and many folks making merry. But it felt different as if I was in a different part of the hall.


    Those around me were not just big brutes or someone who had just snuck in. They were a little more formidable. One person, though, however, was the same. Bjorn roared at me, and before I knew it, I was enveloped in a rib-crushing hug, "My friend! You''ve made it! I knew you had it in you. And I didn''t even have to go looking for you!"


    Looking for me? I thought in disbelief. Really? He had searched me out. That would explain why he was in last night''s section of the hall, but still, I was flattered. What did he see in me? Bjorn pulled me to a table where a bunch of large, heavily muscled men were sitting and introduced me.


    "Miles, that''s Mark, Jonas, Hugo, and Rolo," he said, pointing to each in turn.


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    Mark was a distinctly Asian man with laugh lines around his eyes and a relatively narrow mouth. Rolo looked to be Puerto Rican?


    Before our conversation went any further, Bjorn thrust a horn of ale in my hand and raised his. "How many this time?"


    They all looked at me expectantly, and I grinned. "Seven."


    As one, they looked at Bjorn more than me and then broke out into roars of approval.


    "Seven!" They chorused, and we all tipped back our horns and downed the ale. For once, I was thoroughly on board with this.


    Seven. That was more than halfway to Valhalla proper. Of course, the last half would be a lot harder than the first, and I doubted I could cheat my way through as I had. But progress was progress.


    Jonas pulled me onto the bench next to him and passed a platter with several thick cuts of boar. "Damn, Bjorn, how''d you find someone with seven on their second night? I''ve been here two months, and I''m only at eight!"


    They pulled me effortlessly into the conversation, telling me stories of their own conquests. Eventually, as we talked, the conversation turned to our previous lives. They started to tell me about how they ended up in Valhalla, their heroic final fights. Mark had been a sort of gangster and said he had died in a knife fight over territory. "Imagine my surprise when a fucking Viking welcomes me to the halls of Valhalla when I die. Not something a Triad member would expect. But I like it here."


    Bjorn said he''d only been here for two years, but he was raiding an eighth-century English castle when he died. He was cut off from his boat and took on an entire squad of Pik warriors. Or so he told it. He distracted them enough for the rest of his raiding party to shove off with all the treasure they had looted. I wasn''t sure how he was here at the same time as me, but when I questioned it, they kind of just shrugged and said time worked weirdly in Valhalla.


    When it came to my turn, I kept it simple. Just that I was much older and had died in a bar fight with a broken bottle in my hand. That wasn''t how I lived my life at all, but they seemed to like it. Bjorn said something about the old seeking Valhalla with one last fight. I just smiled and nodded, unwilling to shatter their image of me.


    Around the fourth or fifth toast, we switched from ale to mead. I still didn''t like the stuff, but it did go down smoothly and was more bearable once I was a little tipsy. As we finished the first toast of mead, something happened. The whole hall went still, and the only movement came the flickering of the hearths. Shadows dancing punctuated the silence.


    "Bjorn." A familiar voice called out from down towards the end of the hall. "Never thought I''d see you allow a weasel into your company!"


    The man in silk threw a turkey drumstick at Bjorn. He batted it out of the air and glared at the man.


    "Saladin, you coward! You call my friend a weasel?" A table was flipped over, and a bench was hurled through the air, and for a second night in a row, I found myself waking on a cold hearth with a throbbing headache.

 Chapter 4.2:

    Chapter 4.2:


    If I wasn''t concussed yesterday, I clearly was today. Only the flight of the Valkyries pulling me from the battlefield managed to prevent lasting brain injury. I stretched and found that I wasn''t the last one out of the hall. But still, I stumbled out and found myself on the training grounds. I worked my way over to the weapons rack and searched it.


    There, I found spears and Halberds and everything that was normally there in the bottom row. Leaning against the back of the rack was an old, rickety bow with a frayed string and no quiver or arrows to go with it. I considered not taking it, but my curiosity won out.


    Picking up the bow, I left the rack. Counting off the training rings, I went to the one indicated in the tip. Everyone moved past it. People were looking for empty rings, completely ignored it, and ignored me.


    Several times, I was bumped into rudely with not a single complaint or fight started, as opposed to what would normally be the case with an accidental shove in this place. This was very odd and made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I stepped into the ring.


    A grinding noise echoed throughout the training grounds and in other rings and by the training dummies. People looked up and around, but no one seemed to be able to pinpoint what was happening.


    A trap door was sliding, and sand was dumping down what looked to be a crypt entrance. Stone steps led from the ring, and a faint glow and flicker of torches lit up the passageway at the bottom. I slowly made my way down the steps below, holding out the bow as if to ward off any danger.


    I wasn''t sure how effective it would be as a defensive weapon, but it was all I damn well had. At the bottom of the stairs, the place leveled out, and a simple wooden door barred my way.


    It swung open easily, and a warm light spilled out. Stepping in, I found myself in a polished marble entryway with a welcome desk at the end. Off to the side, there were many entrances, but one caught my eye.


    Next to the desk was a velvet rope barring the way to what looked like a fancy steakhouse restaurant. The kind that served fine wine and delicious ribeyes. My mouth practically watered as I imagined the taste of wine. I wasn''t sure what got me about that. Still, the thought of a fancy dinner after the copious amounts of roasted boar and turkey legs I had been consuming really got me going.


    I made my way up to the counter, and a man in a sharp suit, as if he was from my time, welcomed me with a bow. "Do you have a reservation, sir?"


    "No, I didn''t know I needed one," I said in response.


    "Hmm. We can put you on the waitlist, but it will be unlikely that we can get you in today."


    Shrugging, I wasn''t sure what to make of this. This was not at all like anything I had encountered in Valhalla. Was this what Mary meant by saying Valhalla had more paths than I was aware of? The man tapped at what looked to be a computer in front of him. "While I have you here, could I interest you in one of our promotional deals? I can offer you this."


    He extended his hand, revealing a small vial of purple liquid. I cocked my eyebrow at him and didn''t move to take it. He smiled and set it on the counter edge near me. "It''s a blessing potion. We only ask a simple favor in return. This will give you a temporary boost to speed and strength of plus two, nearly guaranteeing you the next win."


    The man smiled, reminding me of a used car salesman. I had dealt with far more obvious nefarious things than this but wasn''t about to give in that easily. "What''s the favor?"


    "Oh, nothing much, really. We just ask that you pour one out in Loki''s name." I thought about that. Pour one out had a lot of room for interpretation, but if it was as simple as it seemed, surely that was worth it.


    "Could you be more detailed?"


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    "But of course. All you need to do is take one horn of mead full to the brim and pour it onto the ground while saying, ''For Loki.'' You don''t need to shout it or even let anyone know what''s going on. In fact, if no one knows why you''re doing this, it would be better. Loki does like his tricks, after all," the man said with a sibilant smile.


    I shrugged. That didn''t sound like much at all. And a boost to strength and speed could be game-changing. I took the potion and slipped it into the pouch at my waist. The only question was, did I want to save this for later, or did I take it tonight to make sure I got into the hall again? I guessed I would decide at the moment.


    Pulling myself out of my thoughts, I looked up and found that the world had changed around me as I was putting the potion away. I was at the bottom of the stairs, and behind me, there was nothing besides a stone wall. Shrugging, I walked back up the stairs and found myself out in the arena. Once I stepped off of the arena, I looked around and found that there was nothing but an empty spot where I had once stood.


    ***


    That whole exchange only lasted for less than an hour so I still had plenty of time to train for the day. Grabbing one of the swords that matched that of the current challenge, I searched for a second one that was similar. I found one that was a slight bit shorter but pretty close to the same size.


    Heading off, I kept Bjorn in mind, trying to see if I could will myself toward him. It was a slight bit draining of my mental energy, but after passing nearly a dozen training rings, I found him and a few of his friends sparring. Rolo saw me and waved me over as they greeted me with grins, and we paired off to spar. Bjorn took a look at my two swords and cocked an eyebrow. "You got a tip about what will happen next? Thanks for sharing."


    I looked slightly surprised, and he clarified. "Sometimes, someone does particularly well. The gods will favor them with a hint. I assume we will be fighting with two swords in the next challenge."


    Shrugging, I hoped we moved on. I didn''t want to admit my cowardice or underhanded methods. Whether that would make Bjorn think less of me or word would get around that it was possible, neither was good. So I just said something noncommittal. "Maybe it was hard to tell, but I figured it might be interesting to try."


    He nodded and started giving me pointers about how to fight with two swords. Apparently, it wasn''t as simple as being doubly as effective as one sword. If anything, it was harder to master two swords to fight properly. But once you did, it could be better. But most people were better off just focusing on one blade at a time and becoming very good at it.


    "Of course, a short sword was meant to be paired up with the shield," Bjorn said, "so maybe having a secondhand weapon of any kind would be better."


    But he just kind of shrugged as if it wasn''t that important. Still, he was more than willing to give me pointers, showing me how to use it as a counterbalance and to keep it in a proper guard position so it was always ready to block when I wasn''t attacking. He also gave me a few tips on when it was worth abandoning all defense to two attacks at once.


    We rotated through partners, and I found that each and every one of his friends was more than my match if I was using one blade. The trickiness of two gave me a little bit of an edge, though. Not enough to win any of the bouts, but enough that I wasn''t getting flattened every single time. Overall, I couldn''t complain, and I went into the challenge feeling more ready than I ever had.


    The first opponent was bad. Maybe I was seeded higher now, but I was facing off against someone who I might have been able to beat even on my first day in the Courtyard. I crushed him in a few strokes so quickly that I couldn''t separate him from his sword, and it disappeared along with him. I looked down in despair. How was I supposed to win now? I suppose there was a chance, but I wasn''t prepared.


    The second opponent was better, but not that much better. Still, I struggled. One sword was something that I had not thought I was going to do today, and I had been spending all my focus on practicing and envisioning myself with two. I kept trying to get my opponent''s sword away from him, but he held onto it like it was his lifeline.


    I couldn''t blame him; if he lost his sword, he was as good as dead. But because I spent so much effort trying to separate them from his sword rather than finishing the fight, I took several light wounds that I shouldn''t have.


    Eventually, I gave up and just rammed my sword through his chest. Well, at least I had secured my spot through the Lesser Hall. I could always just die now and not move forward. But If I did that, I would lose my seating spot, and my first opponents would be trickier again. I grimaced and decided to give it my all. Going into this third fight, I gave up on trying to get the blade of a guy who probably was slightly better than me and just absolutely went crazy.


    I used all the dirty moves Bjorn had shown me that I could do with my free hand the day before. I punched, and I kicked. I picked up sand and flung it in their eyes, and at one point, I even bit his arm as we were in a grappling exchange. Finally, with an arm lock that Hugo had shown me, I could wrest the sword away from the man.


    Now, with both blades, I had no trouble pulling through to the melee again.

 Chapter 5.1:

    Chapter 5.1:


    I pinched one of my swords between my knees, flipped off the cork of the vial with one hand, and downed it. It may have been arrogance, but I thought I had a chance to go all the way this time.


    Immediately, I felt the fatigue wash away, and my muscles swell. Not only did I feel more powerful, I felt faster. My sense of balance was slightly better, and my eyes processed information just a touch quicker. I rolled my neck and heard it pop. Crouching low, I launched myself to sprint into the center and began.


    I was already halfway to the center of the arena when the other four opponents started to move. It was as if they were moving in slow motion. It was not really that much slower than me, but it was just enough where I had a chance to think. As I ran, I found that somehow, I could adjust my normal untrained reactions with actual thought and planning. Normally, thinking would lose me that half-second edge that people who have trained forever always had.


    When I passed the center point, I engaged the person directly across from me. He brought his blade up to block and managed to slip to the side of my second blade. The maneuver put him off balance, and I twirled in a counter-rotation motion to try to take him again. He managed to block it. As I landed from my spin after my initial collision, I set my feet, and we began to go back and forth.


    Occasionally, my opponent would get in a strike, but he wasn''t the same massive man that a lot of the people around here were. He was around my size, if a bit more beefy in the arms. But when our blades met, I felt very little strength discrepancy. If anything, I was lighter on my feet as well. While his skill was superior to mine, he wasn''t very familiar with fighting someone with two weapons.


    As he braced a block of an overhand chop with my right hand, I bent my whole body into it, forcing him to strain. I wasn''t in any position to bring my other sword to bear, but I stuck its tip in the ground and flicked up some sand into his face as he looked down, bracing.


    The grains barely brushed his eyes, but it made them water, and he started blinking. And the next time I swung at him, I swung leisurely where he could block. But I remembered Bojrn''s advice, so I made my feint a threat. If he did nothing, the swing would hit his shoulder. My feint worked, and I followed up with a kick to his leg. That was something he didn''t see coming as he tried to clear his eyes.


    It didn''t do much damage besides forcing him slightly off balance. He staggered backward, trying to put space in between us. I dashed forward. A simple swing opened up a cut on his thigh with one sword that he was too slow to block. Now, with his blade out of position, my other blade crashed into his upper arm, and I heard the bone snap. He managed to hold on to his blade, but there was no way he would effectively use it. So I ran him through, one opponent down.


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    I turned myself around, searching for the other three people in the arena with us. Luckily, none of them decided to attack my back while I was distracted. They were in a melee, fighting with each other. I reoriented myself and came in from behind, diving low at one of the more skilled opponents.


    My sword flashed through the back of his knee, and he went down in a startled cry. The other two turned to me instead of fighting each other as I had hoped. This forced me to scramble back to my feet and back away before the downed fighter had a chance to retaliate. He wasn''t going to move anywhere, but he still held on to his sword.


    The two opponents exchanged a look that made my guts sink, and they started coming at me from two sides. Their splitting up was smart. It would put me on the defensive and limit my advantage of having two blades, but it gave me just the slightest opening. I took advantage of my increased speed and balance and went after the slower opponent.


    He was a big man, several inches taller than me and at least twice my weight. There was a bit of a belly on him, but it was more like a powerlifter''s gut rather than the body of someone who had gone soft from lack of effort. The sword looked like a toothpick in his meaty hand, but he moved it around surprisingly fast, much faster than he could move his feet.


    That was fine with me. I caught it with one blade and kicked up with the toe of my boot, connecting to his inner thigh. He barely shifted to avoid the nutshot I was planning.


    When his blade met mine, he blew past my block, almost throwing my sword out of my hands. I was barely able to just dodge out of the way. The monstrous blow sent me stumbling forward, as I wasn''t expecting this weird combination of forces. I tucked my swords to my sides, turning my stumble into a somersault. He was a little too slow to catch me as I passed him.


    Getting up to my feet, I tried to slice behind me as I got up. It didn''t quite work as I wanted it to. I hadn''t practiced this maneuver and almost lost my balance again. By the time I regained my feet, he had already made a full turn, but my main goal had been accomplished. He stood between me and his new ally. Showing surprising faith in his temporary alliance, he didn''t check behind him to see if he was about to be stabbed in the back and instead took steps towards me.


    I bounced on my toes slightly and feinted to the left before going right. He read my feint and met my attack with a chopping blow. This time, I brought up both swords, crossed to catch his blow, and managed to hold it. However, he still had an empty fist, which he swung at me. I felt ribs crack as his fist hammered into the side of my chest. The force nearly lifted me off my feet because of his shift of momentum, though the pressure on my blades let up. Taking advantage, I could disengage my supporting blade and slash at his wrist even as it withdrew from its impact with my side.


    The man only let out a grunt of pain, and his face didn''t even flicker as I severed the tendons in his forearm, nearly cutting down to the bone. He was starting to withdraw his blade for another attack. But I wasn''t going to let him get any momentum back. I lunged forward, trying to finish this as quickly as possible before the other fighter managed to flank me. I hacked at both his stomach and his head from different directions simultaneously. He tried to step back, but his feet just weren''t quick enough.

 Chapter 5.2:

    Chapter 5.2:


    I opened up his stomach even as he managed to block the head blow. He took staggering steps towards me, but I kept backing away, searching for the other opponent. As I saw him coming around, the big man stumbled to his knees, clearly bleeding out.


    My last opponent was a bit taller than me, a bit stronger than me, and a bit faster than me. He had been more than willing to let his temporary ally take the brunt of the fighting while trying to sneak up on me, so I hadn''t seen his sword skill yet. Luckily, the blessing of Loki was still flooding through my veins, and I felt invincible. I bounced on my toes, feeling ready, like I could move in any direction at any slight provocation without losing my balance.


    The man circled with me on his toes, but I could feel I was just a little ahead. Perhaps it was just overconfidence from my incredible run so far. Perhaps it was the blessing making me foolish. But I charged him halfway through our circle.


    I didn''t even attempt to use my left blade as I swung my right with as much force as I possibly could. The blow came directly at his side, forcing him to block or step out of the way. He chose to block, and our swords met in a ringing clash that sent vibrations into my elbow and nearly made me drop my blade. Of course, those same vibrations were also running into his hand, and he flinched from the force of the blow. Surprise showed on his face from my opening move.


    This wasn''t something that most experienced fighters would try. Such a strong, reckless attack left me wide open. Honestly, it sounded like a great way to break a sword blade, too, but I didn''t know what I was doing, so that didn''t stop me.


    Finally, I remembered that I had a second blade and slashed at him with it. He stepped back and riposted with a thrust to my stomach. I twisted out of the way, taking a thin cut along my already bruised ribs. But I slashed as I turned my twist, and he ducked under it. I tried with the back edge on the backswing, and this time, I caught him as he was coming up from his duck.


    It wasn''t fight-ending, but I dug a furrow through his nose and sent him cursing backward as blood dripped into his mouth. Not wanting to give him a second to recover. I was on him with a flurry of blows. The goal was not to make it through his defenses with each one but rather to simply keep him busy. Each blow was sent with 50 percent power. Still, each one chained into another, never leaving him an opening, making him block and constantly dodge.


    Eventually, he slipped up. He was just a little too slow to move out of the way, and I was able to score a cut across his sword arm, forcing him to drop his blade. After that, it was only a matter of seconds before he was dead on the floor.


    I stood panting, waiting for the arena to change, but it didn''t. Looking around, I noticed that my first opponent was still very much alive. If unable to walk. He had forced himself to one knee and one foot and was trying to stand but kept failing as the lower half of his leg was not responding to anything his body would do. He glared up at me in fury.


    Perhaps this was the wrong approach, I considered as I walked over to put him out of his misery. My shady tactics were definitely getting me farther in the competition and keeping me out of the cold. But it wasn''t winning me any friends.


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    Salidin finding and fighting Bjorn and me was a perfect example of what would happen if someone took offense to my methods. Though in the end, I shrugged. I was going to do what I had to do. And maybe if I ran into one of my friends that I knew from outside the fights, I''d fight honorably. But for now, that just wasn''t my style.


    The arena faded when the last opponent died. I just matched my previous best, and I was barely injured. A few bruised ribs and a thin, shallow cut along my side were the only signs that I had just fought and killed seven men. The darkness lingered a bit longer than I had expected or remembered.


    In the inky blackness between arenas, I heard a faint voice laughing in the distance. Before I could really think through the implications, the arena appeared, and my opponent was already waiting for me on the other side of the sand.


    However, something was different about this man than the others I had faced. He was actually a hand shorter than me but a little stockier. In his eyes was a darkness, something that the beady blackness of them made me shiver. But what really drew my attention was that in his left hand, he also held a second sword.


    His eyes studied me with the same intensity that I watched him. They scanned me up and down before they rested on the two swords I held at the ready. He froze for a split second before he threw back his head and roared out the fakest laughter I had ever heard. "Ha. Ha. Ha! What a cruel joke, Loki. You''re so funny."


    I wasn''t sure how to respond, but he didn''t give me a chance to think about it as he ran forward with both blades. I panicked. This man was fast, as fast as I was, with Loki''s blessing. Worse, he clearly held the swords with more confidence than me. I had never fought someone else with two blades. But if this guy was also here because of Loki, it kind of made sense. Loki was testing us. And I needed to prove myself.


    Meeting his first blade with my own, I slammed it out of the way and ducked out the side to avoid the second slash while bringing my second blade to bear. He slipped back, and I spun to continue my momentum as I knocked the blade out of the way but was only blocked by his other blade.


    We went back and forth several times, exchanging hand-wringing blows as our bars of steel met in between us, each sending sound waves rippling throughout the arena to disappear into the inky void surrounding us. I threw every single trick I knew at him.


    I flung sand. I kicked. I tried to use the back edge of my blade in surprising ways or punch with the pommel when I was too close. But each time, he had a counter. When I had to raise my hand to block sand, I felt a shin collide with my knee and could barely duck out of the way of another swing.


    As we fought. I swear I could hear the laughing I remember from the transition coming back to us, and a second voice joined in. Another one that wasn''t laughing but grumbling, muttering some curses and complaints. I couldn''t quite make out, but I could tell he was not pleased. Eventually, the fight broke apart in a natural lull.


    We stood apart from each other, panting, both marred with cuts and bruises but relatively functional. Our eyes met, and we acknowledged each other for the first time. Working my tongue through my mouth, I gathered a bit of blood and spit it off to the side. The man across from me did something similar.


    "Jorg," he said.


    I blinked, confused. "Huh."


    "My name is Jorg." He repeated.


    "Miles." I introduced myself. I liked the way he thought. Perhaps we could find each other and maybe figure something out in Valhalla. He nodded, and we lunged at each other.

 Chapter 6:

    Chapter  6:


    This time, I wasn''t about to let my opponent dictate the fight. If we were both fighting dirty and this guy had a better idea of what was going on. Without a doubt I knew, I would be in trouble if I stayed within his expectations. So, as we were only a few feet from each other, I hucked my left-handed weapon right at his chest. My hope was that this move was dumb enough that he wouldn''t see it coming.


    Well, I did catch him off guard. It wasn''t exactly what I expected. If I had been better at throwing short swords, I might have been able to spear him through the chest and end the fight instantly. Instead, the hilt wrapped around as it spun through the air and smacked him right in the jaw, at most dislodging a tooth.


    Still, it killed his forward momentum and sent him stumbling. However, it did not distract him nearly enough for him to miss blocking my slash with the sword of my right hand. As we clashed a few times. It became clear that he was distracted, but his having two blades was overcoming any advantage I had given myself by throwing my weapon away at the start of the fight.


    I cursed myself for being stupid, but after our first several exchanges, I realized that I had been right and that I needed to do something different to win. I needed to be creative and take advantage of my skills. Not as a fighter, but as someone who had to think outside the box.


    Perhaps one day, I could win on skill alone, but I wasn''t anywhere close to that yet.


    I tried throwing sand. He ducked out of the way. I followed it in with a low slash, and he forced me to dive out of the way. As I went by him. I managed to nick his calf but received a long cut along the ribs on my back as I did so. My dive wasn''t too pointless, though. I managed to come up with both swords in hand, and we resumed circling.


    I tried rushing in after a few circles, but a front kick hit me in the chest when I was too focused on the fancy motions his swords were making. Landing on my back, I rolled frantically. A sword stabbed into the sand right next to my shoulder. As I was scrambling, I caught a second kick into my cracked ribs.


    My vision threatened to blank, but I pushed through, getting to my feet. After a few quick steps, I gained some distance, and we resumed our circle.


    We didn''t talk, but I could see a glimmer of frustration in his eyes. Jorg knew he was a better fighter than me and knew that he should have already won. He kicked sand at me. It was a trick that I had pulled many times, but this was the first time I was on the receiving end. It didn''t get to my face, though, as I closed my eyes and stepped forward, swinging quickly.


    Due to his surprise, he mistimed the block slightly, and I could feel my sword slide up. Recovering my vision, I flicked my wrist, trying to bring it up off his blade. At the same time, it still lined up with his face, but he was able to force it aside just in time for me to land a nick on his ear instead of slamming into his face.


    I followed up with a thrust that he slipped aside and came back at me that I had with a blow that I had to duck under. Now pressed in close, I punched the pommel of my sword into his gut, and he grunted, doubling over. I brought my knee up, but he managed to block with his own forearm, sending his sword over his shoulder.


    Taking advantage of this, I hacked both my blades at his exposed hand as he was doubled up in such an awkward position. I managed to hit his fingers and turn them into a bloody pulp with both my blades, forcing him to drop his offhand weapon.


    He screamed as the weapon fell to the ground, and didn''t even have time to try to bring his remaining weapon to bear. With the cleanest strike I could muster, I cut his head from his shoulders. That was the best fight I had ever fought. I was strangely proud of it.


    Jorg''s body vanished, and I fixed his face in my mind. We would need to talk later.


    I stood panting and bleeding from the big cut on my back. A dozen smaller nicks that I hadn''t even realized I received started to hurt all over as well.


    Looking around at the empty arena, I realized that I did it. This is a new record for me. I finished off eight. I only had to get four more, and I would be out of the Lesser Hall.


    Of course, these four would be people who had all made it farther than the guy I barely beat. But I could dream.


    Doing my best to recover my breath, I waited for the familiar moment of blackness to pass as I was moved to my next fight.


    Instead of the next fighter appearing in the ring before me, I found myself in a long stone hall. Along the hall were several doors to the right and left. A lacquered door with an iron ring on it sat every ten paces in an alternating pattern.


    Each door had a symbol on it. And I could only guess what they meant. The first was a plain black door with a meaty fist gripping a Warhammer. And then I stepped forward, and on the other side of the hall, there was a pair of crossed axes and then back to the first side, a shield.


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    Slowly, I walked through, seeing all sorts of different weapons and icons: a scythe, wheat, a spear, a raven, A cow''s head, and a ship. Each had some other decorations on the door and small amounts of supporting filigree, but nothing recognizable as a symbol.


    At the end of the hall was a smaller door, one made of bare wood with cracks in it. At the base, there was a small puddle slowly rotting on the bottom. On it was a crudely drawn jester.


    The image reminded me of the joker on playing cards. A faded blue, green, and red tricorn hat with bells at the end and a makeup-covered face laughed at me through the door. I immediately felt drawn to this image. It was a joke being here, and I knew that I needed to choose one door to advance, so why not this one?


    I didn''t fit any of the others and had a feeling that I would find them locked. I had an idea of what they might mean; I was in Valhalla, after all. Many of the people I had talked to worshiped the old gods. And I didn''t fit with any of the reputable ones.


    So I gripped the ring and pulled with all my might, and the door nearly ripped off its hinges. It squealed in protest as they refused to bend, and I could see the nails pinning them to the wall starting to be pried loose.


    Eventually, I got it open a handful of inches. I was able to get my shoulder in and wedge myself through. The world went black again. I felt a burning pain on the inside of my elbow, just above the joint on my upper arm. I tried to scream out, but I didn''t have a mouth to do so. Eventually, the pain faded.


    Bloody runes formed in front of me in the nothingness and resolved into my status screen.


    Status: Tier 3: The Lesser Hall


    Weapon proficiencies:


    Sword: F-4.


    Spear: F-2.


    Striking: F-3.


    Stats:


    Strength: 8 + 2=10.


    Speed: 8 + 2=10.


    Constitution: 5.


    I couldn''t move in surprise like I wanted to. My buff potion was still active, but that wasn''t it. There was one more category that I had never seen before.


    Blessing: Loki''s Eye.


    Class: N/A


    Strength: +0.


    Speed: +0.


    Constitution: +0.


    Additional effects: ???


    Huh? Well, it seems I got fucked by the choice. It didn''t seem to do anything. Suddenly, the arena was back, and even as my opponent eyed me up, I looked down at the inside of my arm where the burning was. Just above my elbow joint stood a version of the jester''s hat branded into my skin. It was in thin black and white lines that I could barely make out, but. Two of the hat''s tips had bells, and the third one had fallen to the ground behind the jester''s head.


    I didn''t have a chance to examine it further before my opponent was on me, and I was fighting for my life. Each time he struck, I managed to turn it away with a sword. But when I took my other sword to strike back, his sword was already in place. This nameless barbarian swordmaster completely outclassed me in nearly every way, but I still had my speed and strength boosts. Using every single bit of skill I had, I put up the best fight of my life.


    ***


    I expected Mary''s face to come to congratulate me on setting a new personal record in the challenge. Despite my fervent wishes, she didn''t come. As the darkness surrounded me again, the arena winked out. I found myself standing upright, completely unharmed. At the end of the familiar hallway was the same man behind the desk guarding the velvet rope. I looked around carefully before I started forward. As I walked, I rolled my head to crack my neck, trying to get a handle on what happened.


    Despite the break-in routine, I felt confident after making it further than I ever had before. Still, that confidence felt hollow. The brief talk I had with Mary each day was usually the highlight and was the only reason I had managed to stay sane through such levels of bloodshed and violence over the past six months. It helped me transition my mind from the life-or-death fight of the challenge to the training and relatively normal atmosphere of the halls.


    Making that transition without her was surprisingly difficult. But I managed to mostly center myself by the time I stepped up to the reception desk.


    "Mr. Miles, I''m glad to see you have a reservation this time." The nondescript man in his fancy suit said. He lifted the velvet rope and waved for me to follow him as he led me through a room of tables. Each one was a unique piece of art. Mostly dark woods with decorative canning and inlays. The table he was taking me to was made entirely of a purple heart tree and gold inlay. I boggled at the expense of it.


    The table already had someone sitting at it, someone who looked vaguely familiar. A taller man who had long, dark hair framing a pale face. His icy blue eyes watched me as I sat down across from him. I looked at his formal suit, which didn''t quite match the modern fashion from back home. It had a weird cut that reminded me almost of a robe, and I could see a fur-lined cloak hanging off the back of it as an accessory. The man made a motion to a waiter, who came and filled both of our glasses with some wine.


    He lifted his glass by the stem and swirled it, sniffing at it before taking a sip. All the while, his eyes never left mine. Eventually, the awkwardness got to me, and I blinked. Coughing into my hand, I looked down and reached for my own glass of wine. When I smelled it, I felt like I was coming home. The scent of oak barrels and ripe apricots hit my nose, and I couldn''t find the words to describe how glad I was that it wasn''t mead.


    I took a sip to hide my awkwardness and eventually met the man''s eyes again over the rim of my glass. After holding my gaze for a second, the mysterious man finally spoke. "Hello, Miles. I''m glad to see that you''ve accepted my mark."


    Blinking in surprise, I had trouble processing his words. His mark? Was he talking about the little tattoo on the inside of my arm? I didn''t respond with any words, not wanting to give my ignorance away. Staying silent in negotiations was a good tactic, and it seemed to work on the man.


    "I''m sorry. I have forgotten to introduce myself. I am Loki."

 Chapter 7.1:

    Chapter 7.1:


    I blinked.


    "As in the Loki?" I blurted out.


    "The very same." The man said, a smile breaking his slightly too-serious face, and his eyes went from the cold blue of a deep crack in a glacier to the warm summer sky. "I''m glad you''ve heard of me. Now, I expect most of what you know is all hogwash, and random superstitions passed down for thousands of years amongst mortals who can''t remember what happened a decade ago.


    "So, let me give you a little introduction. This is Valhalla. Valhalla is the hall of warriors of meatheads with no brains and people willing to punch each other to death for fun." The disdain in the god''s words was clearly evident, with his sardonic smile twisting his lips. "I champion those of us who do not fit in here. Those who will take any opportunity to win, who would rather talk out our differences. And I believe, Miles, you fit right in."


    My eyes widened slightly at this used car salesman pitch. Still, it got me excited a little bit until I thought I had no idea what I was being asked for, what I was getting myself into. He paused, watching my face for some reaction, and I realized I had simply frozen up during his speech.


    I found my mind had been wandering back to the fights when he had talked about killing. It was hard to overstate how much I agreed that I did not belong here. But I was cautious. Clearing my throat, I asked my first question. "So, how do you do that? Champion us, I mean."


    Already, I was including myself with the rest of the people he talked about, but it just fit too well for me to think of anything else.


    "Well," he said, "I can give you boons and other advantages that will help you get through the trials here besides brute strength. The other gods give boons too, but they''re all boring stuff like extra strength in stats or weapon proficiencies. Things that you can get for yourself. I give you something different."


    "Okay, but what do you get out of it?" Not for one second did I believe that Loki was championing this cause for altruism. Even if he said that a lot of those legends about him were garbage and superstition. He had a certain reputation. And suppose Valhalla was about what the story said. In that case, I wasn''t going to assume Loki was anything but a lying trickster who would steal my wallet if I wasn''t looking.


    "Ah, smart, I see. Yes, everything has its price. But don''t assume that the other gods just give away their boons for free. I, at least, am honest about what I ask. Thor might give you extra strength, but little does he tell you that the credit you get from your deeds goes to him." Loki didn''t try to hide his disdain for his brother''s methods. The legends might not be as off as he would like me to believe.


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    "No, no. I will tell you exactly what you must do. I''ll ask for simple tasks. Maybe a favor or an item I need retrieved. Nothing too complicated. And you can always say no. Every offer and contract I have will always be freely chosen without coercion. If you choose not to accept the offer, nothing will happen, and everything will continue on as if I had never made the offer. I will not hold it against you, and I may still offer you deals in the future."


    "So I can say no, and nothing will happen to me?"


    "Precisely, I will take no retaliation for a rejected contract. Of course, if you come to me and ask me for a favor. I also have the option to say no. Obviously, this is really a partnership. We all play by the same rules. I just have a bit more resources than you do." I couldn''t help but be impressed by Loki''s lawyer-speak. This reminded me of how I had signed so many employment contracts.


    Oh yeah, you can always say no to what we''re offering you, but you just won''t get hired, and then you''ll starve. As if I had any real bargaining position, he''d already branded me with his mark. And from what I can tell, no other god would take me if honor and strength were what they were looking for. I didn''t think I would impress anyone when measured by those standards, but I still had one question.


    "Does everyone receive a blessing like this?" I can''t imagine that everyone catches a god''s eye. Maybe it''s just that I wanted to feel special, but truly, I couldn''t see everyone getting this. I was sure that people would mention it, but I had never heard of it.


    "No, of course not. Well. Most people who reach a certain level do, but in the Lesser Hall, very few of you get any attention. I''m actually one of the few gods who recruits from there. Most gods or goddesses won''t even look at you till you''re at least in the Greater Hall. But certain qualities I''m looking for usually don''t make it out very far without a little assistance. Still, with just the right amount of prompting, you can go oh so far." As we were talking, the waiter came and delivered some appetizers.


    The first small plate was placed in front of me with some little slices of toasted baguette with pear and some sort of meat baked onto it. I lifted them up and savored the delicate flavors as they danced across my tongue. Through the mouthful of goodness, I managed to get some words out. "So glad the chef knows how to use something besides salt."


    Loki spluttered across the table, and I stared as he started chuckling in perhaps the only honest way I had ever seen him say since he had sat down.


    "Oh," he said, wiping a fake tear from his eye. "Yeah. You don''t know how long I had nothing but salt on my meat for. Father really does live with simplicities."


    With that, the business talk was over, and the two of us just chatted. During a nice meal with steaks and salad and wine. Nothing in particular. Just about my past life. About history. He told some of the old stories in a different light. Many were about his "disagreements" with his brothers, as he called them. And they were just pranks, as he told them. Sure, they might have involved enemy races, but no one was ever harmed. As I sipped my drink. I found myself honestly enjoying his company. He was truly a great conversationalist. But I never once did I forget who he was.

 Chapter 7.2:

    Chapter 7.2:


    After the waiter removed my dish of creme brul¨¦e, I leaned back in my chair, mirroring Loki''s posture. I could tell from his expression that business would come up again. I tried to hide my discomfort by stretching my distended belly and avoiding an extremely unpleasantly large belch. Whatever magic kept me from feeling stuffed in the Lesser Hall while feasting did not apply here. It wasn''t as bad as I thought. The overall feeling was unpleasant but incredibly satisfying after such a delicious meal. I knew I couldn''t give away too much in front of Loki without appearing like an unsophisticated fool.


    "So, Miles, I think I''m ready to make my first offer."


    I gestured for Loki to continue. Hearing him out couldn''t hurt. I could tell that this time, it would be a little bit more involved than simply pouring out a horn on the floor under his name. But if he was going to have me do something, it couldn''t be too extreme. Or else I''d just say no.


    "I can tell you for free that the weapon in the challenge will change tomorrow. If you want, I could tell you what the new weapon will be. Would that interest you?" He said with a smile. That told me he knew that, of course, I would be interested. I would be crazy not to.


    Otherwise, I would find myself holding a weapon I wasn''t ready for. He was so certain of himself that I felt a little bad about bursting into laughter.


    "What?" he said. A slight bit of anger flashed across his relatively charming face. He reached up to his face to make sure he didn''t have a bit of grease on his chin or something. In a demanding tone, he asked, "What''s so funny?"


    "Huh? As if knowing what the weapon would be would help me. I don''t even know how the hell to fight. How the fuck would knowing what weapon help?" I said with a shrug. "I get, what? One day of practice. It''s not like I just need to brush up on my ''mace skills.'' Ha." I let out another short laugh. "No, I don''t think that would interest me. Not for any price that you''d probably have to charge."


    My exasperation boiled over to anger at my hopeless situation when I considered how screwed I was. I was totally at the mercy of gods who decided to have some fun and turn everything on its head. I had just got out of the cold and started learning about the sword, and they were going to screw everything up.


    "Don''t be like that. You have no idea what I would ask of you." Loki said, his hands raised placatingly.


    My anger faded. "Yeah, I suppose I don''t, but it''s not really that interesting to me. I''d be far more interested in something else that might help."


    Loki shrugged. "Well, if you want it to be like that, I can offer you a temporary boost to stats similar to what you received this last time. Of course. It''s kind of boring."


    I nodded, trying not to show my eagerness too much. "For now, I think basic stats or proficiencies are probably the things I can use the most."


    It went without mentioning that temporary boosts weren''t very helpful for me in the long run unless I could leverage them into more tangible gains.


    "Unless you have something else you could offer me," I threw in at the last minute, trying to get maybe something a little bit better. ¡°Maybe a class?¡±


    He smiled. "Don¡¯t worry about classes yet. You¡¯ll know when it¡¯s time. Besides, there''s so much more I can offer you. I can offer you most of the things that would only become available in Valhalla proper, of course. When you get there, you can get them at discounted prices from me. But they will be quite expensive if you want to get them now before you have access to them. But I can also get you a lot of things you shouldn''t be able to know or have."


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    "Wait, so you''re saying I can get all these temporary boosts and stuff once I get a little bit better at fighting, making the Hall Proper?"


    "Some you can, some you can''t." Loki shrugged. "It depends on if you know the right people."


    Then, what was the benefit of his brand? Just getting early access to them. I couldn''t see if that would be enough.


    "Of course". Loki continued. "Of course, there''s a lot of other things you can''t get, but that was just an example. If you wanted to get a special weapon or something, I would probably be able to get you something for a price, even now. Though anything truly magical will need to wait a bit. It would just be too suspicious here."


    I frowned. "Well, a special weapon that maybe I could take into the challenge. That would probably be too expensive for my blood. I think some basic stat boosts might be good. Do you have anything permanent?"


    Loki gave me a look out of the corner of his eye. "Permanent stats? Yes, I can, but you don''t want them."


    I frowned, and seeing my confusion, he deigned to explain further. "Well, your training, your stats, and if you raise them artificially, that''s something that would make it harder for you to raise them naturally. Of course, stats aren''t really that important. Still, it''s a trap that a lot of the other warriors fall into without thinking because the other gods offer them some basic stat increases, and they just take them. I thought you were smarter than that, Miles."


    And I frowned, seeing his point. It was odd that it was Loki telling me this. Strength through hard work didn''t seem to be his style. Or maybe it was more about getting as much power as possible through any means necessary. Yes, I would have to be careful around him, but also not rely too much on the myths of old Earth. "Okay. Maybe later, once I''ve hit diminishing returns."


    Loki gave me a wink. "Yeah, that''s the spirit. So, a temporary boost. Now I can do that. But as to the price... I have someone who I need to look good. And I''m going to ask you to lose a fight."


    "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Who said I want a temporary boost? Do I really need something from you right now?" I asked.


    Loki''s face frowned. "You really don''t want anything right now? I didn''t say that, but how much of a boost are we talking about? Let me give you... Plus two to all physical stats."


    "That''s what you gave me last time for the starter gift. But this time, I have to pay for it." I started to let indignation sli p into my tone.


    Loki gave me a smarmy smile. "Just that. I think the starters are free."


    "But yeah, you got to give me something better, though," I said, trying to get a bit more out of whatever I''d have to pay. "Besides, I don''t think plus two would even get me out of the Lesser Hall."


    "You''re not ready to get out of Lesser Hall," Loki said. "You should hold off on that."


    I looked at him exasperatedly, "Really? So then, why do I need your help if I can''t get out yet?"


    "Not saying you can''t get out, but you probably would come right back." He said in a placating tone.


    "Okay, so. So what? So if I can''t get out of the Lesser Hall, why does it matter? What good are you to me?" With a challenging look, I shot his way.


    Loki was visibly frustrated at that point. A dangerous glint in his eyes made me consider if it was time to cave soon. It might be the best deal, but I didn''t want to piss him off too much. I was sure he could make my life hell if he really wanted to. "Well. I don''t think you''ll even make it to the Lesser Hall. With no ranks in the new weapon without some assistance."


    "Okay, but is plus two in my physical stats really going to make enough of a difference?" I decided to push just a little harder.


    Loki sighed. "Great. Fine, fine. We can do plus five on all physical stats. And I¡¯ll tell you the next weapon as a bonus."


    I smiled. Now that''s more like it. "So you say I need to lose a fight."

 Chapter 8.1:

    Chapter 8.1:


    I pushed my way into the feasting hall for once, not feeling cold or famished as I entered. It had been weird climbing up to the training pits and making my way to one of the closer entrances. I didn''t have Mary dropping me off, and I had the training grounds completely to myself. There was not a single soul other than me out there. Could I stay out here and train instead of feasting? I had never thought about that.


    Once I was in the feasting hall, it was like I had never actually left. I shook my head, cleared my thoughts, and worked my way towards my target. I needed to go find Jorg, the guy who I had beaten and who had talked to me.


    At first, I had thought he was just cursing the gods, but now I knew better. I''m not exactly sure what he was getting out of this, but I needed to make him look good and get the shit kicked out of me. But I had to do it in a certain way.


    I found him talking to a bunch of people who were ones I didn''t recognize. But they all looked like the native barbarian I was thinking of when I thought of Valhalla, huge, burly men with massive fur cloaks. The selection seemed so weird. How did I end up here? How did Jorg end up here? Neither of us really fit in.


    As I started thinking about the mechanics of Valhalla and things just got weirder. Where did all the women go? It''s weird that I hadn''t even thought of it before. It was almost as if speaking to Loki had lifted a blinder over my eyes, preventing me from ever really seeing how bizarre this place was. I looked around and turned back to the exit, and I didn''t see one. It was just an endless hall in both directions. There are no archways leading out.


    Could I leave before the challenge, or was I stuck here in the feasting hall til morning? I never actually checked before, and I''ve never wanted to even consider leaving. I thought about turning back and heading in the other direction to see if I could find my way out. Maybe if I moved towards the way out with intention, I''d find one. But no, I had a task to do.


    I clutched the hard candy that Loki had tucked into the inside pocket of my shirt. It would give me plus five stats that lasted a day. It would turn me from a slightly above-average human who had trained well to a superhuman. I would be nearly an Olympic lifter when it comes to strength and an Olympic sprinter with speed. It was going to massively increase my chances of actually making it out of the Lesser Hall.


    Loki said I wasn''t ready for it, but what''s the worst that could happen? Perhaps I would get sent back down here if I lost in the challenge. Whatever. I was willing to risk it.


    I definitely wasn''t going to waste it tonight, though. In the first halberd challenge, that would be... That''d be stupid. No. I''d probably save it till the very end when I have the best chance of making it. Well, when I think I was close, at least, to making that final push.


    A few moments later, I came across Jorg. Coming level with him, I placed my hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me, confused when he recognized me. His friends stopped laughing and looked at him expectantly.


    "You have some guy staring at you." One of them said in a weirdly Boston accent, belying his rugged appearance. I focused on him for a second but quickly switched to the one sitting next to him. "Got something you want to tell us."


    "Another deal needs to be made?" the other guy sneered. Jorg looked at me confused and ignored his friends'' taunts.


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    Meeting my target''s eyes, I spoke in my most mocking tone with a dumb accent that I didn''t think actually existed. "Yeah, dawg. I might have something you want. You need a little help with the next challenge."


    I wasn''t exactly sure where I was going with this line or accent. Trying to just piss them off, maybe. But I needed it to look good, and I needed to lose to him in a straight-up fight. Fists. No bystander involvement. No weapons. That didn''t mean I needed it to be easily tied back to me.


    He didn''t seem to be expecting it. For some reason, I thought this was part of a deal Loki had cut with him. But no, apparently not. This was Loki just helping him out all on his own.


    If they thought he was weak because he was looking for a deal to cut with me, I might as well play along. What kind of deal was he looking for? I looked around and saw a bunch of meatheads that had fewer brains than most people I''ve ever met. Why did he need to look good to these people? Why did Loki want him to look good to these people?


    But the best thing I could do to get Jorg to look good is insult them and let him kick my ass. It would look good for them, but I couldn''t insult him too much. My head spun with how to act, but my mouth moved on without me. "I''m sure you could use some real-time training. If you''ve been practicing with these buffoons... Well, no wonder why you haven''t made it any further."


    Jorg seemed to take the hint. The other ones got angry and stood up, and he. But he stopped them with a raised hand. His other hand shot out, slamming into my chest, forcing me to step back as he stood up to face me.


    "What did you say about my friends?" He growled at me with a slight smirk that they couldn''t see.


    "They look like a bunch of useless idiots. I''m sure you''re never learning anything from them," I said. I was strangely detached at the moment. As if I was watching my actions from a third-party POV hovering over my shoulder. We engaged in a few more lines of banter, where Jorg assured me that his friends were training him just fine and he was going to teach it to me.


    The friends quickly changed from outrage to cheering him on, as he was going to defend their honor in a straight-up fight to make it all the better. I gave him an easily telegraphed sucker punch into the stomach. He flexed his abs, and I could feel my fist sink in like a quarter inch before it hit muscle. He looked completely badass, taking a shot to the gut with supposedly no warning.


    He looked at me strangely, as if knowing this wasn''t my full fighting ability after I had beaten him in the challenge, that I was trickier than this. But he took a quick glance to the inside of my elbow where the brand was, and I gave him the faintest of nods.


    Then, with a twist of his hip, the back of his hand cracked across my chin and sent me stumbling back onto the table behind me. The men around there stood up, suddenly realizing there was a fight, and they yelled in excitement.


    Someone threw a full goblet of mead at me. It banked off the side of my head, giving me a nasty bump, but I pushed myself back from it and launched myself off of the table, spearing my shoulder into his chest and sending him flipping over the table in me, careening over as he rolled backward.


    He launched after me, and I hit the side of the wall, sliding down to the ground as he regained his feet over me. It was a quick fury of blows that I managed to mostly block. I noticed that he wasn''t hitting nearly as hard as he could have.


    After he got off of me, I lay on the ground, gasping. Jorg went back to his table, and his friends clasped him on the back with much better attitudes than they had before. I leaned there to myself, thinking, oh, was that really worth it?


    I sure hope Jorg used whatever he got out of this to his advantage. But if he didn''t know about it, maybe Loki was the one really getting the best out of it. Still, it fucking sucked. I touched the candy in my pocket. But, yeah, that was worth it. I barely busted my lip.


    Grunting, I rolled underneath the table, out of sight. I then scooted my way down a little bit before I came out of it in a completely different section.


    Well, now, maybe I could think about finding the exit. Or I can go find Bjorn and celebrate a new record. Looking down each side of the hall, I tried to decide which way I would go.


    The exit or my friends? I''d had enough excitement for one night. Besides, now I could tell them what the actual next weapon is going to be.

 Chapter 8.2:

    Chapter 8.2:


    I eventually found Bjorn, Mark, Rolo, Hugo, and Jonas sitting at a table nursing their mead. They were a bit more subdued than normal, and when I stumbled up with my swelling eye and faint limp from a fight that I should have taken far more damage in, they all shot to their feet and looked over at me, worried. Bjorn pulled me down next to him, and Mark handed me a horn, which I downed with a grimace.


    It was nothing compared to the wine I had just had a little while ago, but it did help take some of the sting off.


    "Damn, man, what the fuck happened to you?" Jonas said.


    "Got in a little scuffle with someone I beat in the challenge." I made up a version of the story close to the truth.


    Bjorn looked at me oddly. "I can''t believe you got in a fight without me! Leaving me out of the fun. Tell me you at least won."


    "Uh, we talked a little bit in the challenge, and I thought he was open to talking more. Apparently, he was more interested in looking good in front of his friends." I said, twisting the story for all I was worth. It was close enough to the truth, but I don''t think any of these people served Loki. "Yeah. Turns out, without a blade, he was more than able to kick my shit in."


    Hugo poured me a beer and passed a mug over.


    "Oh, about that!" I said, changing topics as if I just remembered to say something. "I have a little bit of information for you. Tomorrow, the weapons are changing."


    Everyone leaned in closer. Hanging on my every word.


    "I knew it," Taria said. "Two swords, isn''t it?"


    I shook my head. "No. Apparently, I was wrong about that. It''s going to be halberds."


    Jonas pumped his fist. "Fuck, yeah!"


    I looked at him, surprised. He returned my look with a face-splitting grin. "What? I used a halberd my entire life. I''m pretty damn good with them. I think there''s a decent chance I''ll be able to get out of the Lesser Hall with this."


    "Well, I''ve never picked one up," I said, dejected. Hugo nodded as if he was agreeing with me. Mark and Rolo both shrugged, and Bjorn lifted one massive shoulder as if, of course, he knew how to use one. Still, he was grimacing. "I was really hoping we could get more sword work. I''m getting pretty close to E proficiency and a little bit more, and I think I could get out as well."


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    I shot him a look. "But you love it here?"


    He gave me a smile. "Sure. But, you know, I''m always looking for the next challenge. Besides, you can always have better mead."


    I nodded thoughtfully. I suppose even people like him who just fit in here, where this would be their idea of paradise. They could always ask for something better. Humans were greedy by nature. I just hoped that I could get away with a little bit less fighting further on. I really didn''t like dying every night, and after I talked to Loki, looking back on the pattern, I couldn''t believe how boring this was. How was I okay with this for six months? Was it just survival kicking in, or was it some sort of something else going on making me blind?


    Jonas, though, didn''t seem able to read the mood. "No worries, man, I can teach you all how to use a halberd. It''s really simple, too. It''s the best weapon. You got the range of a spear but the power of an ax. If you know how to use it properly, you can even fight in close quarters, using it like a quarterstaff."


    Suddenly curious, I asked a question that had been bugging me." How long have you been here?"


    He shrugged. "I''m not sure. I haven''t really kept count, but they''ve never used a halberd before. When they had the spears a couple of cycles back, I got pretty close. Got to that final 12th challenger several times. With the halberd, I''m in it for sure."


    How did someone not keep count? I reached over and clapped him on the shoulder. "I''m happy for you, man. I really am."


    He must have read the tension in my face because he sobered up a little bit. Just a little. "Mind you, don''t worry, Miles. We''ll get you through. Just a little bit of practice with it, and I''m sure you won''t end up in the snow for the first day."


    I smiled grimly, not wanting to be reminded that it was a real possibility. If I lost the first or second fights, I could be way worse off now and then. I also wouldn''t have access to the training I needed to get better. Even one day, learning how to use the basics of a halberd could make a difference. Hopefully, we could get me through with just that.


    Even failing that one day of the basics would give me a little bit farther than learning it all from scratch in a few moments before I was brutally murdered.


    Bjorn nodded along. "You too, Hugo. Don''t worry. You pick things up fast."


    Hugo grunted. Mark and Rolo didn''t seem to mind. Both of them were relatively confident with almost any weapon. Still, they eventually said that they were along my lines, as they had never used a halberd. Modern men just didn''t have a need for them.


    We drank and ate as Jonas went over all the points of a halberd. He actually smashed one of the benches on the ground and hefted a loose plank to go through the forms with us. I did my best to pay attention as Jonas knew what he was doing even with a thick slab of lumber, and I hoped to absorb everything that I could from him.

 Chapter 9.1:

    Chapter 9.1:


    The warm fire at my back welcomed me as I woke to Jonas gently shaking my shoulder. I blinked my eyes and rubbed them with my hands as I looked around. What? What happened? Where am I? I looked around and found the members of the Lesser Hall scattered around me. People had furs that appeared from nowhere that I had never questioned before, laid out in front of the many long hearths of embers.


    Everyone was either still sleeping or slowly getting up. This was weird. I had never actually seen any other people in the mornings. When I woke up, they were all already out training. Was I just really that lazy, or was there some sort of difference? Perhaps it was because someone else was waking me up. But by the time the thoughts finished running through my head, everyone was up and getting ready.


    They just stood up, stretched a little bit, and all of us walked out of the hall, leaving the furs behind as we walked. My stomach grumbled a little. I nearly stumbled in shock. What was that? I hadn''t remembered what hunger felt like until now. Even when I was feasting, it was mostly for the enjoyment of it, but I felt strangely empty as if I wanted some breakfast. Something I hadn''t had since I died. The memory of the smell of coffee in the morning made my eyes water slightly with how much I missed it.


    When we approached the weapons rack, we all picked up halberds. I tried to find the absolute lightest I could, but it still felt extremely unwieldy in my hands. After watching Bjorn and Jonas spin theirs around their shoulders effortlessly, I had a sinking feeling that this was not going to go well.


    Jonas took a few looks at how I was handling the weapon and showed me some basic drills to get accustomed to the simple moves of stabbing and slashing. I was grateful for the tips, and I knew I wasn''t even close to ready to spar. The halberds felt off. The weight was much more than the spear I had gained some experience with.


    My rather pitiful proficiency with that would likely help slightly, maybe. But I had very low hopes, and I could see it in Jonas''s eyes that he didn''t have much hope for me either. Hugo, Mark, and Rolo picked it up quickly. I could tell that they would have no problem making it to the Lesser Hall. They worked a few drills over and over again with a little help.


    But despite how hopeless I felt, neither Jonas nor Bjorn gave up on me. They constantly rotated with each other, patiently coaching me through the basic steps. I promised myself that I would repay their kindness.


    After several hours of basics, I graduated to more complicated things. The others swapped between their own training and doing rounds of light sparring with me. We had been working for hours, but I didn''t feel tired at all. My muscles still felt mostly fresh. Maybe it was some training magic or just good old-fashioned desperation.


    It became obvious after hours of trying to work the halberd that I just didn''t have the strength to wield it properly. With that in mind, they started trying to get me acclimated to facing down someone with a halberd. Bjorn hoped that if I could get in close, I could use some of my grappling skills. Skills I knew I didn''t have; I think he knew that, too. Despite my weaknesses, I wasn''t as worried as I perhaps should have been. After all, I had a hidden ace.


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    It was a close thing in the end. I could move it around and do the positions, but it just wasn''t fast enough. Right before they were about to enter the challenge, maybe ten minutes before, I stepped aside and crouched down on the ground.


    Taking the edge of the halberd, I carved the status rune into the stone. Cutting my hand, I waited for the results to show up.


    Status: Tier 3: The Lesser Hall


    Weapon proficiencies:


    Sword: F-4.


    Spear: F-2.


    Striking: F-3.


    Halberd: F-1.


    Stats:


    Strength: 10.


    Speed: 8.


    Constitution: 5.


    Blessing: Loki''s Eye.


    Class: N/A


    Strength: +0.


    Speed: +0.


    Constitution: +0.


    Additional effects: ???


    Wow. I''d actually gained two strengths from just this exercise. That seemed unusually fast, but I couldn''t argue with the power boost. And the F1 proficiency was proof that I had learned at least the basics. Perhaps I had a chance. Using my foot, I smeared the blood into illegibility. I didn''t want anyone to see the blessing I had. I walked back over to the rest of the group and rejoined the conversation.


    Each of my friends clapped me on my shoulder as we prepared for the start of the challenge.


    Luckily, I was the last one summoned, and I slipped my hand into my pocket to grab my hard candy and got ready to chug it down. I was grateful for all the training, but there was no way that one day would be enough. If I used the boost now, I could pretty much guarantee at least having enough strength to wield the weapon properly. Then, I could get into the Lesser Hall and have an extra day of training. Maybe I could bargain with Loki again.


    But my hopes came crashing down when I saw my opponent across the ring with a stricken expression. Jonas holding was his halberd low.


    "The gods are cruel, my friend. I am sorry." He murmured.


    Letting go of the stat increase, I sighed in defeat. Even plus-five strength wouldn''t be enough to overcome his skill. I wouldn''t be surprised if he had high E or even D-ranked proficiency with this weapon. Watching him best, even the human monster Bjorn, made it crystal clear that there was no hope for me.


    I gave him a respectful nod. "Thank you for your efforts. And I''ll see you soon."


    He returned the nod with a bow and smiled. "I''m sure you''ll do fine, my friend."

 Chapter 9.2:

    Chapter 9.2:


    I felt my spiritual shoulder being shaken gently again, repeating the experience from this morning. Groaning, I looked up to see Mary as she pulled me into her arms, into a spectral hug, lifting me up and out of my body. We didn''t say anything for the first few moments as she flew through the inky vastness towards the solitary light of Valhalla in the distance.


    After a while, she spoke softly, "I''m so sorry. Sorry, Miles."


    We went over to the Courtyard, and she landed in the Snowbank.


    "It''s just a temporary setback," she said, switching to forced cheer. "You''ll get better. And you did it once. I''m sure you can do it again."


    I sagged in her arms and muttered, "Thank you," with my head pressed into her shoulder. And braced for the impact as I was let down gently into the cold snow. Well, there wasn''t much I could do. I could get up and walk to the gates. From there, I could look in and watch the people shivering in the Courtyard as they feasted and drank.


    That might help me try to stay awake through the entire night. But I knew from experience that it was impossible. I would only slowly freeze out in the even colder outside with no food to keep me warm. Or I could just lay here and look up at the stars.


    Unfamiliar stars of motion, the green, blue, and even red stars, captured me with their mesmerizing patterns. As they all danced amongst the skies, a purple aurora flashed suddenly, snaking its way through the heavens in a beautiful exhibition of celestial grace. With my hand shoved into my pocket, I just watched it all as my vision slowly faded away.


    ***


    When I finally came to, I was standing in a sandy pit, the familiar inky black of the challenge all around me. I¨C gods, I hated coming here. It was even worse when I didn''t have a chance to train. The first week I spent here was awful, but after I had gotten into the Courtyard, it got better. But the Snowbank made it tempting to just give up. To lay in the snow like so many others around me did.


    Starting the challenge in such a position made it so hard to get out. And I had already clawed my way up once, only to get kicked back here again. It would not happen again. Not again.


    I could feel the cold seeping from my bones and back into my flesh. The shivering made it hard for me to even hold on to the shaft of the halberd next to me, and I couldn''t feel my face. My teeth were chattering so hard that my vision blurred from the vibrations, and even the shape of the person across from me was difficult to make out.


    Seeing that I wasn''t nearly dead already, this was likely to be my chance. Pulling out the candy, I crunched it between my chattering teeth. I didn''t want to use this boost here, but I was never going to risk going back to the snow again. There was a difference right away. I could feel myself warm up. The heat melted the ice in my joints, and my shivering stopped. My vision stabilized, and I felt my muscles swell.


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    Swinging my arms around, they felt as if I had just gotten a solid warm-up in. I picked up the halberd from where my numb fingers had dropped it and spun it around. Trying a few of the more complicated moves I had been shown, I found they weren''t impossible. They felt awkward and clumsy, but I was able to do it without having to compromise my stance in order to get the proper leverage.


    Not wasting any more time, I charged at the opponent. The man had as little skills as I did, but he stood his ground. Knocked away my halberd as I got in range. I just let it go and lowered my shoulder, now within his guard.


    I crashed into him with no technique at all. Just pure, brutal strength born from rage and fear. There was no way that I would ever let myself go back into the cold again. I would move mountains and slaughter anyone who stood in my way, but I was never going back out to the cold again. Not one more time would I suffer such humiliation.


    I roared as I bore the scrawny, blue-lipped opponent to the ground and smashed my fist right into his face. The blue of his nearly frostbit skin was covered up as the red of his blood splattered everywhere, spewing from the remains of his nose. My left fist then came down, cracking an orbital bone. Then my right and then the left... I let loose, just absolutely pounding him in the face until my knuckles ached and burned.


    The scene slowly faded around me, and I rolled off to the side as the transition occurred, retching. Looking at my hands supporting my weight, I couldn''t stop staring at the sight of my bloody knuckles. When did I get this strong? I wondered idly before my mind shifted to darker topics.


    I''d killed countless times at this point. Oh, not countless, but close. But it had always been with a weapon, dispassionate or strangulation. Only when I knew they would come back to life moments later. I''d also been killed in many gruesome ways, too.


    But this was something else. Something sickening. I couldn''t believe it. That I''d done this. I did my best to wipe my hands clean in the sand and hold back the bile in my throat. It wasn''t going to stop me, and I didn''t regret it, but damn, did I not want to have to do this. Spitting into the sand, I pushed my emotions to the side. I would deal with them later if I absolutely needed to.


    As I appeared in the new arena, I pushed myself to my feet with the halberd lying on the sand next to me. My new opponent was someone I didn''t recognize, as most were, but I could tell by his stance he had a lot more experience than my previous opponent did. Lowering my halberd, I charged, and he met it.


    I did my best to slip aside as our weapons impacted. The head of mine dug deep into his chest, crushing his rib cage. But my evasion only worked marginally. I felt a deep slash cut inches into my obliques, and I could only imagine my intestines spilling out on the sand. As I stumbled to my knees, panting, I looked back at where we had crossed paths and found the man already dead, a bloody froth on their lips.


    I did my best to push myself back up to my feet, but when I got onto one knee, I fell over sideways. The new arena appeared, but before I saw my next opponent, Mary lifted me up again.


    Her smile was much warmer than the gentle professionalism I normally got. As if she really cared for me beyond her graceful nature. "I knew you could do it, honey. I knew you could do it. Two kills. You''re back in the haul. And I''m sure eventually, in no time at all, you''ll be moving on!"

 Chapter 10:

    Chapter 10:


    Mary dropped me off at the entry hall, and this time, when I walked in, the experience was like none of the times before. The first time was elation. Excitement. I just couldn''t wait to be warm. Every other time afterward, I came in with a purpose, a goal to get better.


    This time, I only felt relief.


    I only paused a second before I rushed in the doors and rubbed my hands together, just reveling in the warmth. As soon as I passed the threshold, I snagged a horn of mead and swigged half of it. My face did not even flinch at the awful taste as it slid down.


    Horn in hand, I started wandering through the hall with no particular destination in mind. Despite having trained briefly with many people, I didn''t have a lot of people I would consider friends. Only the one group, really. And well, I had just embarrassed myself in front of them.


    I spent all day the day before yesterday¨C I frowned as the days started to run together¨C failing repeatedly in practice and then getting bounced in the first round by one of them. How could I face them again?


    Logically, I knew that didn''t make sense. They seemed like all solid people and people I wanted to get to know more. Jonas had already apologized, but something didn''t feel right. And so I could go find Jorg and talk to him about Loki, but I felt like that was a bad idea.


    I wasn''t sure where the instinct was coming from, but I followed it. With nothing in mind, I just started wandering. Several people I either briefly recognized or had never even seen before tried to pull me to their tables for feasting. The celebrations of having made it out of the cold for one more night were raucous and many. I could empathize in some ways. But just getting out for one night wasn''t enough for me. I wanted more. I wanted to never have to worry about getting sent out again. I wanted power.


    Sometimes, I joined enough to toast with my horn of mead, draining it more times than I could remember. As I kept stumbling down the hall, I found myself thinking of Bjorn and how he had come to find me after the first time I got into this hall to welcome me. I hadn''t even faced a third challenger today. I probably had just appeared and then immediately died, giving someone a free pass for a round. But If I did and if I had won, would I have searched them out?


    I thought about it. It didn''t take me long to find my answer. A couple of times now, I had welcomed someone to the lesser hall for the first time, and never once had I returned the favor that Bjorn had done for me. Of course, I had likely cheated, and maybe that said everything I needed to know. But still, I couldn''t get the question out of my mind.


    Did he do that for everyone, or was there something else? Or was it from that one time we had trained together? Because of that one time, he took pity on me in the Courtyard. When he spent a few minutes showing me some moves and then just talking to me like a human being. I hadn''t even bothered to try passing that along. Not that I had anything to teach the people out there, but¨C My thoughts hit a brick wall.


    As I realized where I was, I swayed on my feet, looking at the group of five while staring back at me. My thoughts must have led me to them without meaning, too. I blinked, raised my cup as a toast to them, and then attempted to drink. However, I missed and poured half of it down my shirt before getting to my lips to the rim.


    Was I drunk? How¨C?


    Bjorn jumped up and steadied my shoulder before clapping me on the back. Roaring with laughter as he, too, lifted a horn of mead and drained it. Mark, Rolo and Hugo saluted me with their goblets and laughed.


    Jonas looked pale when I first met his eyes. I flinched and saw that he noticed, but he didn''t react. He just sat quietly as Bjorn led me nearer. When I sat down, Jonas looked at me seriously. "I''m so sorry."


    My drunken mind shrugged off the fear that I felt and moved the emotional energy to anger for being matched with him. I know it wasn''t his fault. And told them so. "I would have done the same in your place, my friend."


    Reaching out, I attempted to touch the side of his arm and missed whacking him in the shoulder. I could see some tension bleed out of him as he breathed. "Well, at least you made it this far. I''m glad¨C I''m glad you''re back, Miles."


    Mark clapped my shoulder from the other side from where Bjorn was. "Yeah. Your tip of the halberd really saved my ass. I barely made it in yesterday. If I hadn''t had that brush-up session on it, I don''t think I would have. I might have been out in the snow with you."


    I smiled, glad that my bargain had helped someone at least.


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    Rolo chimed in. "We thought you might still have been out there. Glad you made it back so soon!"


    Hugo wordlessly passed me a mug of beer, and I tossed my empty horn of ale over my shoulder. Taking a sip, I sighed. I was glad that my friends had welcomed me home. Tipping the drink back, I drank some more. Feeling slightly dizzy, I slid into the banter amongst the table and reached out to rip a leg off the turkey in front of me.


    ***


    The next morning, I woke with a pounding headache. I was more confused than hungover, honestly. Sure, I drank a lot, but I had never been hungover here before. Something had been wrong with me ever since I got my brand. I had started to see the cracks in this weird place. Beyond that, I questioned things that I had never thought of before, and I felt things I shouldn''t have been able to, like being hungover.


    Putting those questions out of my head until after training. I stretched and worked my tongue through my cotton mouth as I looked around. Everyone was already gone.


    I found myself huddled closer to the fire than I normally would be. Half of my face was slightly sunburnt. I thought about going out to train and nearly puked. Ah, drinking this much was a mistake. If I''d known I could get hungover again, I would never drink so much. How the fuck was I supposed to train enough to make it back here?


    I was going to be cutting it close anyway, but now I had absolutely no choice. Getting up, I stumbled towards the bright light at the exit of the hall and joined the line for the weapons rack. It took me a couple minutes to fully wake up, but I found the old rickety bow, grabbed it, and headed towards the proper training ring.


    Descending the stairs down to barter for a favor, I kept shaking my head, trying to clear it. This was not a position that I wanted to be in. It took all I had to not get totally screwed by Loki, and I wasn''t in top form.


    The host led me through the restaurant and seated me at the bar this time. As soon as I pulled the stool out, he turned and left.


    As I took my seat, the man drawing a drink for a customer turned around and smiled at me. I met Loki''s eyes as he dropped the full mug off at the other end of the bar.


    Studying the shape, I found that I couldn''t make out much more than a general outline. There was more than enough light, but the man appeared with a strangely hazy face.


    Loki cleared his throat, and I turned to find him standing in front of me, polishing a pint glass. When he had my attention, he asked, "What can I do for you?"


    I looked at the rows of taps and the shelves of liquor. Where he was going with the bartender act, I wasn''t sure, but I decided to play along. "Give me a cranberry juice. With extra ice, please."


    He smiled and reached under the counter, and pulled out a glass. "I knew you''d be back soon, Miles. You''re someone who knows what a deal this is."


    I hated the fact that he was right. That, despite how slimy it seemed, negotiating for cheats was an amazing deal for me. Even when taking into account what he was making me do as he was exacting his price. I knew that Loki could have honestly charged far more for his services; at least for me, he could. He was doing me a favor by even giving me access to this ability. There was no way I could do anything without his help, and I hated it.


    "I need to get out of the Lesser Hall," I said. Loki gave me a smile that made my blood run cold. It wasn''t that he was dropping the charming act he had shown me the previous time we had talked. No, it was as if he knew that I knew the charming man was an act. But he also knew he didn''t need to pretend anymore. It was a good veneer, but he had me so much in his grasp that there was nothing I could do to get out of it. Nothing I was willing to do. I suppose I could go spend three months dying in the cold just to spite him. Or I could bargain. Of course, I had to draw a line somewhere.


    "I''m going to need a favor for that," Loki said.


    "What kind of favor," I asked.


    "Any favor. Anything I ask."


    "No, no, there''s no way I can do that. That''s that''s that''s unreasonable." I said. This was just the opening offer. I would be stupid to take it.


    "Well, perhaps you should be more specific in your request, then. Just getting you out of the lesser hall would be difficult." He countered.


    "Okay, fine, I need help. I need something else. I get you can''t just transport me out, okay? I get that. I get that you ask too much for that. You know, I won''t accept a blank favor as a cost." I started to think of another option. If I hadn''t been so hungover before coming here, I might have planned this better. Coming in and just demanding solutions wasn''t the best idea.


    Loki smiled something that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. But he nodded, accepting that I wasn''t going to give him a blank check.


    "Well, I have an option. You''re not good with the halberd, are you?" He said it like a question, even though it wasn''t really one. But I nodded anyway. "What if I offer you a different weapon?"

 Chapter 11:

    Chapter 11:


    I raised an eyebrow. "Halberds are pretty damn effective. Do you think giving me a different weapon will help me beat someone with one? I don''t think a sword''s gonna help with that."


    Loki shook his head. "No, I mean, in addition to your halberd. Something small. Something that you can conceal on your body and take into the trial. And then, when you get in their guard, you can surprise them. I think it''s as clever as you are. You''ll be able to think of something."


    My mind spun. A dagger. Hmmmm. I could imagine intentionally going for some sort of strength lock in a losing position with the halberds. I wouldn''t be trying to win; I would just be tying my opponent up. That could work. I could focus my training with the halberd not and learning how to use it properly, but how to just delay and get on close.


    That should be something that they wouldn''t be prepared for either because it was just similar to my dual-wielding swords cheating. My thoughts paused. I was getting ahead of myself. "What do you want in return? You need me to make one of your friends look good again?"


    "No, no, I''m going to need something a lot more than that. See, one of my family members has an eye on a certain someone. I am going to need you to do something about them." Loki said with glee just dripping from his words.


    "Um, I''m not much of a fighter, but if I meet them in the ring, I''ll do my best," I said.


    "No, not in the challenge. See, the dagger I''m going to give you is going to have a special property that only works once. It''s going to allow you to hurt someone during training. That hurt will carry over to the challenge." Loki explained.


    My eyes widened. "Do you want me to kill someone in training so they can''t fight?"


    "No, no, I need them to look bad. Perception is always more important than people think. I need you to hurt them in such a way that it''s not obvious that they''re hurt but will guarantee their knockout in the first 4 or 5 fights. Otherwise, they''d probably make it out of the Lesser Hall, and the next graduation class would be..." He paused for a second as if searching for the word. "Imbalanced. And I wouldn''t want that."


    I sincerely doubted that it was an ''imbalance'' that he cared about. If anything, Loki was like me; he was always willing to stack the deck in his favor. Or was it that I was more like him?


    But when it came down to it, some other god''s champion was a target. I just needed to find a way to hurt them a little bit in training.


    "Who were you talking about?"


    "No one you ever heard of," Loki assured me. "Name is Sigvard. Big bloke. Rather dumb. Brawny. I''ll make sure you two meet each other in training. After you leave."


    I turned it over in my head. Was this something I was really willing to consider? I nodded. "Absolutely. I will do it."


    "Good, good luck," he said and placed the glass down in front of me and pushed a plain-looking dagger to me. I didn''t take it right away, though.


    "When I die in the challenge, it will come with me." There was no point in it otherwise. Loki picked up the dagger and pushed a different one in front of me. When I looked at him, he gave me an unapologetic shrug.


    "Now it will." He said.


    I picked it up and slid it into the back of my belt. "Thanks, I think this will work quite well."


    Loki inclined his head. "I always aim to please. Now, is there anything else you came here for?"


    ***


    I left with a hangover cure on the house and a packet of information about my target implanted in my head.


    Coming up and out of the hidden passage, I walked to the weapons rack. Putting away the bow, I grabbed one of the halberds that I could just barely wield and walked over toward where Bjorn and my friends normally trained. When I showed up, they had paired off and were sparring as Jonas coached them through the movements. Mark and Rolo were relatively evenly matched against each other, but Bjorn was pushing Hugo all around the ring.


    When Jonas saw me, he waved and jogged over. "Hey, you were pretty dead to the world this morning. How are you feeling?"


    I lifted one shoulder before dropping it. "Yeah. Yeah, I''m all right. Ready to get my ass kicked."


    He gave me a smile. "That''s the spirit."


    "So, more drills?" I hefted the halberd, feeling the effects of my increased strength. "I think I''m ready to move from the basics, though. I have a strategy that I want to try."


    He looked at me. "Oh. Is it interesting?"


    I shrugged again. "Ah, probably not too much, but I''m thinking I don''t actually have time to really learn the halberd completely. Especially for the next couple of matches, so I thought I''d work on taking it out of the equation entirely and using hands and grappling."


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    Jonas frowned but nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah. I see, yeah. That''s probably a good strategy for you. It should get you at least a few rounds in. It''s not normally what people do, but you''re at a bit of a disadvantage here. Yeah, I think I can teach you that. All you really need to do is get close enough to grab the haft, and you can turn it into a battle for their halberd rather than a full-on duel. It won''t work against more experienced people. But. And should at least make it more of a fair fight, I suppose."


    He looked at me seriously. "But you''re gonna have to learn how to use it eventually."


    I nodded. "Yeah, I might not make it out this cycle, but I''m not planning on staying in the Lesser Hall forever."


    He looked at me. "Really? I guess I get the desire to move on, but it''s pretty great here."


    I looked at him like he was crazy. "Huh? You don''t get tired of fighting and feasting?"


    "No. It''s pretty awesome, I have to say." He answered with total confidence. There was something there in his face, something that made me wonder if that was actually what he thought.


    "You ever wonder where all the women are?" I asked him, and he froze for a second and rubbed his chin.


    "No, no, I hadn''t. That''s weird." But just like that, he moved on, not even considering it after he realized how odd that was.


    Something was definitely wrong. Had I been like that, completely oblivious to anything that didn''t quite line up? That''s all the more reason to get out of here. The blissful state that I had never quite fallen into was definitely not people''s natural reaction to this hellhole.


    I jumped in with Mark and Rolo, rotating through as they were closest to my level. Jonas helped to coach us whenever he was free. But beyond simple tactics like tangling the blades together and grabbing the haft, I didn''t require much assistance. The basic proficiency had gotten me enough to wield the weapons in a somewhat more dignified manner.


    No longer was I flailing around doing my best wacky, wavy, inflatable arms man impression like I was the day before. But I also didn''t reveal the dagger I planned to use. I would just get in close and work on shoving or hip checking or grabbing an arm of my opponent''s. I counted that as a victory and just disengaged and tried it again.


    Each time I got close, I knew I would be able to quickly release one hand and finish my opponent moving forward. Training went on until I took a particularly nasty whack to my knee and limped off to the side.


    "Ow," I repeated as I hopped. Mark apologized profusely, but I just shrugged.


    "Ah, it''s my fault. Don''t mind. I''m just going to walk it off a little bit," I said, stretching out my bruised limb and limping down the training circles. It hadn''t been on purpose, but this simply provided too good of an opportunity for me to fulfill my end of the bargain.


    I pulled the dagger out and fiddled with it a touch, trying to see if I could figure out anything special about it. But it looked just like the standard daggers available for practice. Nothing too special. A slight curve at the tip and a single-edged blade. There was a rounded pommel and a leather grip that fit perfectly in my hand. I twirled it around. It felt almost unnaturally comfortable in my hand.


    A sneaking suspicion made me find a secluded spot and carve the status rune.


    Status: Tier 3: The  Lesser Hall


    Weapon proficiencies:


    Sword: F-4.


    Spear: F-2.


    Striking: F-3.


    Halberd: F-1.


    Dagger: F-1.


    Stats:


    Strength: 10.


    Speed: 9.


    Constitution: 5.


    Blessing: Loki''s Eye.


    Class: N/A


    Strength: +0.


    Speed: +0.


    Constitution: +0.


    Additional effects: ???


    "Wow," I whispered under my breath. I had gotten the proficiency for it already. It just felt so much more natural in my hand. And even as I twirled it around, making a few imaginary slashes and thrusts, I saw the efficiency raised to F-2. And I gained a speed point. Wow. This was too unreal. Was I just naturally inclined to daggers, or had something changed with my brand? The rate at which I gained stat points was at least ten times what I did before.


    With a swipe of my hand, I wiped away my status. Standing up I continued my search.


    I caught sight of my target. There was the man and several of his friends with the halberds. I got close to the ring before I realized I needed to think of some approach, something a little more subtle than my fight with Jorg. Otherwise, this wasn''t going to work.


    Loki didn''t tell me I had to be seen and noticed injuring him, so it was probably best if I managed to do it without. I was too suspicious, though, and I was struggling to find a way in. Toying with the idea of throwing the dagger, I quickly discarded it. I really, really needed to keep it, and I wasn''t sure I could recover it even if I did hit him. I watched their practice for a few minutes before I finally had some idea of how to proceed.

 Chapter 12:

    Chapter 12:


    I turned away from the scene and jogged over to the weapons rack. Picking up the bow and spear, I headed to the platform where Loki''s lair''s entrance was. Luckily, it wasn''t too far away from the circle my target used for practice with his group of friends.


    No one could see me there, so it was the perfect way not to stand out. Hefting the spear, I gauged the distance and, with a couple hopping steps, like I was an outfielder throwing a baseball. I chucked it overhand. It wasn''t a perfect throw, but it went arcing up and landed in my target''s calf. I had been aiming for the upper thigh, but this was close enough.


    Exiting the hidden ring from the side, I ran around before coming up to the ring, along with many other people, confused at where a spear had randomly come from. Generally, people just look to go back to training after they don''t see anything really interesting. Still, I went all the way up and reached down to check on the guy along with his friends.


    "Oh my God, are you okay?" I asked. He didn''t respond. He was too busy with the spear in his legs. Some of his friends were checking up on him, making sure he was okay looking at the wound, but most of them were focused on where the spear had come from. Not able to see me having thrown it, they were looking in vain.


    Squeezing my way between the group of people, I reached down. Touched near the wound. "We need to get this out of you."


    Taking a look around the group, I picked one of his friends out and pointed at him." Give me your shirt."


    The man looked at the wound and shrugged. I ripped the linen shirt into a couple strips before reaching down and grasping the haft of the spear. Using the bundle of cloth, I hid the dagger in my other hand.


    With a smooth motion, I yanked the spear out and, at the same time, slipped my dagger into the wound just a little bit further than the spear. Before pulling it out and hiding them away as hiding it away, I flung the spear over my shoulder. The sleight of hand seemed to work without a hitch. At least no one said anything as I tied the cloth around the guy''s leg.


    "Are you okay?" I asked again. "It''s gonna heal up before the challenge, right?"


    The man, this time, recognized that I was talking to him.


    "Huh? Yeah. Of course." He said, "Anyone know who threw the spear?"


    We all looked around at each other for a few moments. Eventually, I realized no one even suspected me, so I figured it would be best to throw them off the trail. "I saw someone throwing it over there."


    I pointed in the green real direction but about ten degrees away from where I had been standing.


    "I ran over to see where it landed. Looks like you should be all good, man?" I asked the now bandaged man. He flexed his foot and winced slightly.


    "Yeah, you should be fine. What''s a few more hours of practice anyway? No big deal. You''ll be good." One of his friends says, clapping him on his back as he helps him to his foot, and he hops out of the ring.


    "Hey, thanks for the help, man," one of the trainees said. "You a medicine man?"


    Did he mean doctor?


    "Something like that," I said before starting to walk away. With a wave over my shoulder, I called. "Let me know if you need anything, but I gotta get back to training!"


    Watching from a little ways off, I saw the man go back to training like not much had happened. It only took him a few minutes to push through the pain. He was a little stiff and clearly struggling, but he fully expected that his wound would be gone in a couple hours. So he saw no reason to let it rest and was only careful not to put his full weight on it for now.


    I wasn''t sure how much damage the dagger had actually done, but I think Loki would find that it was enough. If the dagger just entering the gash counted as a wound had counted for that whole laceration being the damage, then it would be a devastating injury. He would likely bleed out very quickly in the challenge if he even made it that long. If it wasn''t, and it was just the extra bit of flesh I cut inside the calf, its muscle would likely tear as soon as he tried to put any real force on it. I kind of hoped it would be the latter because that would make it even more along the lines of what Loki had in mind.


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    Satisfied that I had held up my end of the bargain, I made my way back over to my training partners. Claiming my knee felt much better, I quickly swapped into the spar.


    For our one day of practice, I actually managed to raise my proficiency an entire level. With any luck, I''d be able to use that to get even closer against high-level opponents. Perhaps I might just be able to cheese my way out of the Lesser Hall after all.


    I was moved into the challenge ring when the time came. Standing in the sand, I faced my first opponent. It was someone shivering with cold. Someone who had spent at least last night out of the courtyard. I casually walked up to them, and before they could register at me or put their haft into a guard position, I cut them down.


    That was one of the most pathetic fights I had ever seen. Even when I had spent an entire week alone in the snow, I never gave up that easily. This might be someone who could have been here for thousands of years. And as much pity as I felt for them, I also felt a decent amount of disdain. There was no point in giving up. Even if he had to do some disgraceful things, he should have tried harder.


    I waited for the next challenge to show up, confident in my ability now to at least make it back to Lesser Hall. But perhaps I could make it all the way even further with my dagger. No one would likely see this coming. The two swords had got me pretty far, and they weren''t even a surprise after they saw me.


    However, instead of being transported, I found myself floating in blackness with Loki standing next to me.


    "You did an excellent job, my friend. I consider the dagger well and truly paid for. Now let''s see what happened."


    Loki waved his hand, and I could see an empty arena below us to the right. My target appeared with halberd in hand and across from his opponent. His opponent had bright red hair and wasn''t someone shivering like mine had been, but not someone from the Lesser Hall. At least judging based on the slightly buzzed look in the redhead''s eyes and the black tips of his fingers.


    The redhead held the halberd somewhat competently and charged. My target took a step forward. And then a second step. His base foot didn''t come with him.


    Looking down in shock, he stumbled. I saw his calf tear right where my knife had cut. I could see that muscle separate and curl up in his leg as he pitched forward, falling onto his face. The redhead charged in eagerly.


    He recovered slightly, turning his fall into a roll, desperately avoiding the first devastating downward strike. The redhead followed up with a kick that just missed.


    The injured man tried to spring back to his feet but only made it halfway up. But that wasn''t something his leg could do. Pitching over backward, his calf unable to hold him upright, he managed to avoid a dodge. But only by a hair''s breadth. He was quite graceful and remarkably skilled, but fighting with only one leg while unprepared... that was another ask entirely.


    He wedged the butt of the halberd on the ground and levered himself up, only to get it chopped out from underneath him. Sent sprawling again, now only holding what was an awkwardly shaped ax instead of a polearm, he didn''t give up. Still further to his credit, he somersaulted with the blow and swept out behind him with the half of a weapon he still held.


    The hope to catch his clumsy opponent off guard was for naught. His luck ran out, and the miraculous survival ended. The tip of a halberd ruptured from his chest.


    While he was on his knees, the opponent jammed a blade between his shoulder blades and ripped it to the side. A few gurgles later, he was dead.


    With Loki, I watched as a Valkyrie, other than Mary, came and carried him off to the snow outside of Valhalla.


    "That man had spent 523 years without once getting sent into the snow. He was this close. From making it into Valhalla proper." Loki held up his fingers, barely an inch from each other. "He was almost guaranteed to make this cycle. Halberds are his specialty. Now? Who knows? It won''t be too hard to keep him out for a few more weeks if I call in enough favors. If I focus, I could keep halberds from coming for another century, and he''d have to start all over again. Oh, poor Thor. What is your recent little project going to do now?"


    Loki snickered. "Very good job, Miles. I approve."


    He waved, and I vanished without being able to say a word, feeling slightly slimy from what I had just heard. I didn''t  want  to be a part of this. I was just doing what I had to.


    Reappearing into the second round of my challenge, I got ready to fight.

 Chapter 13:

    Chapter 13:


    When I returned to the next bout, my mind was still distracted by what I had seen. The image of the desperate man played through my head, and I couldn''t help but feel a twinge of guilt that I quickly suppressed. 523 years, Loki had said.


    I wasn''t sure if I believed him, but it seemed like an odd thing to lie about. I really didn''t trust anything Loki said unless I had to or could verify it. Well, he probably wouldn''t have ever made it out of Lesser Hall if he hadn''t at this point. Or maybe he would rise above it and recover. If he was good enough, it wouldn''t matter.


    Feeding myself that comforting outlook on it, I shrugged and refocused on the charging enemy. I backpedaled, giving myself some time to think.


    The man held the halberd a little awkwardly, but no more so than I did. As I circled to the right, he chased after me without trying to cut off my angle. Interesting.


    Stepping forward, I extended a thrust, trying to keep myself out of his grasp. He used the haft of his weapon to clumsily knock it aside. With his weapon vertical after the deflection, I stepped forward. I swiveled with the momentum of his deflection and smacked the butt of the halberd into his upper arm with a large crack.


    He stumbled backward, and I came forward, both of our weapons still out of position but using the butt as a spear to ram it in his throat like a quarterstaff. It was a nice trick that Jonas had shown me to take people off guard. Kind of like using the pommel of a sword.


    My opponent coughed and gagged but stumbled backward, his eyes watering. I completed the spin with no fanfare and smashed the back of the halberd''s heavy blade into the same arm that I nearly broke with my first strike, slamming him to the ground. He lost control of his weapon, and it tumbled on the sand next to him. Raising the halberd up, I brought it down in a chop, mercifully taking his life before he suffered too much.


    Perhaps I was wrong in my initial assessment. Perhaps he was less skilled than I was. It could also just be my increased stats, finally showing something to make up for my lack of native martial prowess. Whatever it was, I wasn''t too disappointed. Back at the threshold of the Lesser Hall, I didn''t even need to cheat anymore. That was a comforting change of pace.


    My third opponent appeared and spun the halberd around in a simple kata before giving me a salute with a cocky smile. I rolled my eyes and readjusted my grip. Well, if he was going to be like that, then I had no reason to respect him.


    We charged at each other, and I tried something that I practiced earlier. A simple thrust that was supposed to be batted aside, but I yanked back, catching my opponent''s halberd with mine. The lower edges of the blades tangled together as they slid up the shaft, and the two weapons interlocked.


    I yanked hard, pulling him off balance towards me. Letting go with one hand to dip into my belt, I pulled out the dagger and rammed it into his chest. As we moved past each other, I kept a hold of it and slid it out.


    As I took a step past the man, he fell limply to the floor. That must have been a record for me. The fight couldn''t have lasted for more than six seconds, and I was already moving on to the next round.


    This would be the arena round, and I appeared with the four other opponents. The freshest I had ever been when it came to this bout.


    For once, I was lucky, and everyone else focused on each other, leaving me the one man out. As the two duels emerged, I stalked to the side, keeping focus. Not quite ready to interfere. It wasn''t so much out of a place of honor to let them do a let-out, but I wanted them to take care of each other.


    The first man finished off his opponent, and I stepped in to take the open space. I was a little hesitant as he hadn''t received many wounds, but I did notice he was limping slightly. So when I pressured him with a flurry of blows, I kept trying to force him onto his wounded foot as a back leg.


    It was easy to lose myself in the fight and not about the other fight going on just a few yards away. But when one of them screamed, I suddenly became aware it was now only the three of us left. Would the other man wait to fight whoever won? Or would he...


    I watched, not giving anything away with my eyes, as the man slammed into the side of my unsuspecting opponent, cutting him down, before turning to me. I inclined my head.


    "Thanks for the assist," I said sarcastically. The man smiled at me.


    "Idiot wasn''t paying attention. You were." He said in a pair of clipped sentences. And he came at me. He came at me faster than I was, even with my recently improved stats. But it didn''t worry me too much. All I had to do was lock the blades.


    I kept backing up, making him miss occasionally but putting out probing attacks. This was my preferred style, feeling out the opponent, but the halberd really wasn''t good for it. Its weight and heavy momentum made it more crushing than the spear but less maneuverable, at least when I wielded it.


    When Jonas or Bjorn were wielding it to them, it looked like it was a toothpick in their hands. The balance, grace, and timing they displayed was something that I would not be able to get with a few days of practice. It would take years to get there.


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    This man wasn''t nearly as good as them, but he was better than me. And he knew it, too.


    He kept herding me towards the edge of the circle. I still had yet to find out what would happen if I stepped out, but I wasn''t about to. I remember floating in the void with Loki, and I imagine it would be similar. Still, it would probably be a lot less pleasant.


    I put some effort into getting out of the cage he was building. But I didn''t try too hard. I let him get close to me, thinking that he had me boxed in and was fighting within his range where I couldn''t be careful and probing. And as soon as I crossed that invisible barrier, he increased the pressure. But I surprised him and charged.


    My halberd just held horizontally to block his strike as I crashed into him, chest to chest, and bore him to the ground. I jammed my horizontal stick up under his chin. That forced his halberd over his head in a position where he couldn''t defend.


    He looked up at me, snarled, and started to do something with his legs intertwined with mine to work on flipping me over. But I let go, and his eyes filled with surprise. But then they went wide, and he gasped out as my knife found his lungs through underneath his rib cage.


    I winked at him as I rolled back up onto my knees and grabbed my halberd from the sand, using it to lever myself back up to my feet.


    "It was a good fight, my friend." He coughed at blood sprang from his lips. I couldn''t hide my surprise. I had fought dirty and all but stabbed him in the back. Why was he congratulating me?


    "A good fight," he wheezed before he died. I slipped the dagger back into my belt. Victory was all that mattered to some men, I guess. At least he had the grace to recognize it was the same for others. Was I as gracious in defeat? No, not so far.


    Standing up, I got ready for the next fight. I stretched my shoulders, moving around and limbering up.


    This was the first time I''d ever made it completely uninjured out of the melee round. This was going way better than I thought it would. Maybe word would get around about the dagger, but I doubted it. It was going to be very effective for a long time. Hopefully, it would be effective enough to really get me to the next level.


    I stood in the center of the ring, waiting for the next round, breathing even and mind calm.


    ***


    My next two fights were a breeze. I kept going with basic tactics, running in, tangling weapons, and knifing them in the back or stomach when we were in close. They were completely unprepared for my tactics. In fact, it didn''t even really feel like a fight.


    I easily broke my record, making it to eleven fights before I even took an injury. Was this what it was like for Bjorn? No wonder why he hadn''t minded taking me in and teaching me his quote-unquote competition. I never was. I was so far beneath his notice when it came to ability that I would never have challenged him.


    As I was waiting for my next fight, I curtailed that line of thought. No, that wasn''t quite right. Jonas was just as good as Bjorn with a halberd, and they helped each other. I should probably stop trying to use my own motivations to describe Bjorn and the others because I might have been very lucky and found some of the only good-hearted people in this bloody hell. I wanted to be more like them, but I wasn''t sure I had it in me.


    The tenth round started and ended no differently than the previous ones. I finished in record time against someone who was severely injured and limping, almost dead from blood loss already. I actually didn''t even need to use my dagger. A few heavy blows knocked the weapon from his hand, and I decided to be nice and congratulated him on his accomplishment.


    He smiled as I took his head.


    My eleventh-round opponent proved much trickier.


    For the first time, someone twisted out of the way of my dagger. I didn''t think it was that they were prepared, but rather just bad luck. He was trying to throw me over their shoulder when I was trying to stab him.


    My dagger took them in the arm instead of the back. He flinched in surprise, rolling away, but managed to knock my halberd out of my hand as I only held on with one. I stayed in close but received a heavy kick to my ankle. I didn''t hear it crack, but something burned like fire when I put my weight on it.


    The bout turned into a bloody grapple as we clawed at each other and pounded each other''s faces with our fists as we rolled. Soon, his halberd was left behind as he gripped my knife arm with both hands, trying to force me to stop me from forcing it into his chest.


    Slowly, it bore down until its point rested on his skin, unable to break through the tough barrier of his sheepskin jerkin. I tried to put more weight on it, but he could slowly push it away with superior strength.


    In a desperate move, I let go with my left hand and hammered my fist down into the pommel three times. The jerking motion made it through his skin, and it punched deep.


    He gasped after each hit until it was fully embedded to his hilt in his sternum. I stood up, putting my foot on his chest, and yanked my blade free.


    One more. Or was it three more? I couldn''t tell. I didn''t quite know how the group battle was counted, but Mary had always counted my kills for that. So, I assume that I had to do a few more. If I needed a certain amount of kills. But if it was a certain number of rounds...


    My answer was given to me as the arena faded white this time instead of the black previously, signifying the next round. The number 12 appeared before me, and then I waited. This is much longer than the normal fight interludes. I stood there, catching my breath, and in the white glowing space of nothingness. I checked and found several slashes I had received in my leg and my left arm. This was going to be hard. I could barely grip the weapon, and I felt dizzy from blood loss.


    When the arena finally appeared, I heard a deep base laugh echo. That wasn''t Loki. At least, it wasn''t the same as the laugh I had heard earlier. When I made out my opponent, I understood.


    Opening my mouth, the words just spilled out. "Bjorn?"

 Chapter 14:

    Chapter 14:


    The big man standing across the arena looked at me for several seconds before he broke out into a huge grin.


    "Miles, my friend, how did you make it this far?"


    I felt my face heat up. Bjorn was someone I respected. I wasn''t going to admit to him that I had been cheating this whole time, well, bending the rules at least.


    So I gestured to my wounded arm and leg. "I got very lucky. Didn''t get injured until the last fight. Kept fighting people who were ready to get washed."


    Bjorn waved his hand. "There is no such thing as luck. You still have to fight people who are incredibly skilled to get this far. You''ve been holding out on us in practice."


    I shook my head. "I assure you I have not. You''ll see soon enough, I''m sure."


    Bjorn let out a hearty laugh. "Well, at least one of us is moving on. For glory, my friend."


    "For glory." I sighed in echo. I thought about pulling out my dagger. It was tempting. Tempting as all hell to use it. Unfortunately, I didn''t believe I would be able to be the best Bjorn, even with the dagger. Even with the surprise, I knew his strength and his speed. There was no chance unless I truly took him by surprise. Also, I just couldn''t do that to Bjorn.


    Looking at him as he jogged towards me, I saw he was completely uninjured. There was a small scratch on his cheek, and that was it. I could either strike him with an injured arm or try to hold the heavy halberd with a hand that could barely grip it.


    Nope, I was fucked. But I wasn''t going to ruin his opinion of me by pulling out a dagger, especially if I failed. And if I did succeed, I suppose I''d move forward. I had no doubt that Bjorn would make it past the Lesser Hall of Valhalla soon enough. Judging from what Mary and Loki had told me, it might be important to have friends in the future. In fact, I valued the people Bjorn introduced me to more than I had realized. If I had friends like that when I first got to Valhalla, I wouldn''t have spent six months in the snow.


    But at the same time, I couldn''t help but curse Loki. I was sure that he''d set this up and forced me to fight against my friend. To either use his gift and get farther, becoming more and more dependent on him every time I alienated someone else. Every time I cheated, I would only have him and his ilk to trade with, to learn from. And also, I was sure he thought it was funny.


    No, I could survive another day in the Lesser Hall. I''m sure Bjorn would move on. And I would be able to learn more from Jonas. Make it a little bit farther, and tomorrow would be my turn. I could spend one more day in Lesser Hall. It wasn''t like I was entirely in danger of going out in the snow again.


    So I decided I would give my best accounting of myself and make Bjorn work for it as much as I could. It doesn''t mean I was gonna fight fair, but I wouldn''t break the rules. Bjorn did like a good trick, but let''s see how he liked the ones I was gonna try. As my mentor drew near, I went sideways, not quite running away but trying to get at a weird angle.


    I had no expectations that I would actually surprise him. To make any open move that Bjorn wasn''t aware of, I''d have to make several moves quickly before I came across something that he wasn''t familiar with. Even then, there''s a good chance he knew what was coming. When it came to fighting at his level, the opening theory was like a chess match.


    How it had taken him so long to move out of Hall, I don''t know, but he was by far the best fighter I had ever faced. Maybe. Maybe his stats were lacking. I certainly felt stronger and faster than I had even a few days ago with the most recent explosion in stats. So I decided that was probably my only chance. Not that I was stronger than him, but I surprised him with how much quicker I was when adrenaline was pumping through me.


    So when I lunged forward, and he batted the halberd aside, I was ready for it. The head moved to the right, but I had shifted my grip to a two-handed quarterstaff and was whipping the butt around at his shoulder. Using the momentum he gifted me against him, he simply leaned back, and the wooden haft passed inches from his chin. But I was still spinning with one leg up in the air, trying to plant my heel in his gut before the head of my weapon came back around.


    He raised the knee and kicked my foot out of the way, sending me off balance. I rolled, tucked my shoulder, and dove off my planted foot. But the injury I sustained made my roll a little weak, and I barely got out of the way, not quite able to stand up before he would be able to chop down at me.


    I scrambled to my feet, surprised I was still alive and found him backed up a couple of steps, waiting for me to regain my feet.


    "That was clever," he said, smiling a broad smile. "I think you''re a little faster than I remembered. The battle fury does that to a man, doesn''t it?"


    Ah, this was why he was still here. He fought fair. Far too fair. Or was it just that I was his friend? I guess these were honorable duels or supposed to be duels of honor or something. But I don''t think anyone else fought this way.


    Budding the sand off my hands, I shook my head. "You had me there. Do you want to draw this out longer? Rub it in my face."


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    I said it with a smile so he didn''t take it personally, but he still shrugged, looking a little guilty. "It''s fun."


    "Yeah, and what if you slip up and I accidentally beat you? You ruined your chance to move on."


    He just shrugged again. "If I fuck up, I fuck up. You deserve to move on if you can beat me."


    Is that what he thought? Was he being a gatekeeper or something? I shrugged and set my feet again, ready to charge. This time, he made the first move, a lightning-quick jab that turned into a feint as he turned it into a slash going at my leg.


    I pulled my leg back and attempted to kick the head of the halberd into the dirt but missed. Still, he was slightly out of position, and I charged forward, lowering my shoulder, attempting to barrel him to the ground. Unfortunately, he just grunted and took a step back before shoving me, forcing me to take several steps back to maintain my balance. I forgot that I was still quite scrawny, and his mass was much higher than mine.


    He shook his head. "And that wasn''t very smart, though."


    We continued like this, each attacking and defending, and I could feel myself wearing out but getting better. My control over the halberd increased by leaps and bounds, and I wasn''t surprised if I had gained a couple of proficiencies. I''d have to check when I got back. But Bjorn never pushed so hard that I died; every time he managed to send me on my ass, he stood up and let me get back onto my feet.


    I never managed to knock him down, but I did land some glancing blows with the haft of my weapon, my feet, and fists. Not as many as he landed, but I felt like I wasn''t being outclassed as I was the first time we fought only a week ago. When I finally stood panting, leaning on my halberd while Bjorn held his in the guard position, I shook my head. "Congrats, man. I hope that we can join you soon."


    "Well, thanks, my friend." And this time, when we engaged, he moved quicker than I''d seen him move before. I managed to block a few strikes and, with some fancy footwork, worked my way to the side. But there was little I could do when he split the halberd in half in my hands, and then the next stroke took my head.


    Looking up at the sky, I waited for my Valkyrie to come and carry me away.


    ***


    Status: Tier 3: The Lesser Hall


    Weapon proficiencies


    Sword: F-4.


    Spear: F-2.


    Striking: F-3.


    Halberd: F-3.


    Dagger: F-1.


    Stats


    Strength: 11.


    Speed: 11.


    Constitution: 6.


    Blessing: Loki''s Eye.


    Class: N/A


    Strength: +0.


    Speed: +0.


    Constitution: +0.


    Additional effects: ???


    As Mary dropped me off I couldn''t help but be amazed by the progress I had made. Four stats in less than a day? That was more than I had got for months of work. Ever since I had gotten my blessing I couldn''t deny that I was getting faster and stronger. Maybe it was those additional effects that it mentioned.


    I was glad that Loki had warned me against bargaining for extra stats if they grew this fast. Something like my dagger was far more effective. I patted the place I had it tucked away to make sure that it had made it back with me. Relief washed through me when I felt its hard outline under my shirt.


    Rolling my shoulders I stepped in the hall to go find what was left of my friends.

 Chapter 15:

    Chapter 15:


    I made my way into the hall, grabbing a tankard of ale and looking for my friends. In a few minutes, I found a table with only Mark and Hugo sitting there eating some chicken breasts rolled in ham and bacon. I walked up to the table, and Mark looked up and smiled, "How''s it going?"


    Returning the greeting, I sat down and set my drink on the table. "You''ve seen Rolo or Jonas?"


    Hugo shook his head wordlessly, and Mark said, "Nah, I''ve only been here a few minutes, though, so surprised you''re here this early? Normally you take a little bit longer."


    I shrugged, "I don''t understand how Bjorn keeps getting here ahead of me. He always gets further."


    When Rolo and maybe Jonas showed up, I would tell them that Bjorn moved on. The two of them just shrugged, not wanting to question the magic of this place. No one had been willing to question, and I hadn''t even thought of it until recently. Still, I was getting used to pretending like everything was normal again.


    "You think Jonas moved on?" I asked.


    After a couple of moments of silence, Hugo shrugged. Mark said, "Is it a good chance? I think he got to 11 last time. But at the beginning of a new weapon, there are always a few people who manage to dominate with their already high proficiency and improved stats. It will be a week or so before the rest of us normal folk have a chance."


    I just grunted. "I''d never actually met anyone who moved on, at least not that I know of," I said. "Hard to say what happens afterward."


    "Yeah," Mark nodded. "You shouldn''t know. At least Yixin won''t tell me anything,"


    I asked. "Who?"


    "Ah, My Valkyrie."


    "Huh? Mine''s named Mary," I said.


    He gave me a grin. "Funny, right? How we come from everywhere. I kinda thought Valkyries would be Nordic. Imagine my surprise when the Chinese angel introduced herself as a Valkyrie."


    "Yeah, yeah. It''s weird. It''s not as weird as dying, I bet, though. I expected more people, honestly, but there are a lot less modern people than I would think." I said, thinking about how everyone around us was mostly from a thousand years before my time. Our group was odd. Bjorn had been the only prototypical Valhalla denizen in the group. His taking those who looked totally lost under his wing might have had something to do with why he was the only one.


    "Well, not many people die in battle anymore, at least not in our time. Not in honorable combat," Mark said. Hugo didn''t say anything but was looking at the door and waved. Either that, or modern people didn''t know how to fight with melee weapons and were all out freezing in the cold. But no one voiced that.


    He turned and saw Rolo coming. When he sat down, we exchanged greetings.


    With everyone now here, I took a deep breath and gathered everyone''s attention by raising my hand. Raising my cup in a toast, I announced, "Bjorn moved on!"


    The other three met my toast with ones of their own. After we all had drank to his victory, we put our cups down, and the questions came.


    "How did you know?" Mark said.


    "I lost to him in the 12th round," I said with a cocky smile. Feeling like I could brag a little. I had made it that far, after all.


    "Damn, bro," Mark and Rolo both said in an eerie echo of each other.


    "That''s impressive. I only got to the ninth round myself," Rolo said.


    "Seen Jonas?" I asked.


    "Nah, he probably made it through too. You know, he and Bjorn were both really close in skill with the halberd. If one of them moved on, then the other probably did as well." Mark said. We shared another toast for Jonas.


    Rolo nodded along, "Well, now we''re going to look for you to teach us with both our instructors gone."


    I shook my head, "I don''t know what the hell I''m doing."


    "You got to the 12th round, dude. Clearly, you have some idea." Rolo protested.


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    "Yeah, I got lucky," and I repeated my excuse of fighting people who were injured almost the entire way after the melee.


    "Yeah, well, I don''t know. It still takes a lot to get there."


    "Listen, man, I''ll help train with you, but I''m not going to be able to teach you anything," I said, and they shrugged but kept teasing me a bit more.


    Honestly, I was a bit concerned. I didn''t want to let them down too much. However, I really didn''t have anything to teach them. Not yet, but I might be able to get something. I was due a talk with Loki. I can''t believe that bastard put me up against my friend, forcing me to choose between my mentor and my ability to get out.


    That was messed up. I knew he didn''t have the best reputation, and I definitely had some gut feelings that he was a bit slimy¡­ But I just didn''t get what he gained from this. Was he trying to get more out of me? I supposed that was it if he wanted to force me to pay him more. But honestly, I hadn''t really paid him too much. Nothing he had asked for was too harsh. I can''t imagine it being so beneficial, I suppose. Maybe there''s something he had in mind for me. But at the same time, I bet I''d be much more useful to him once I had gotten to Valhalla proper instead of being stuck here.


    The conversation drifted around me as I considered what I would do. I''d go talk to Loki and see what he had to say, and if I didn''t like it, I would consider our partnership over. I wasn''t going to work with someone who would mess with me so openly. But then, having made my decision, I rejoined the conversation and ribbed Rolo about the time he got his boat capsized while sailing with his niece. It seemed he had died sometime in the 60''s, around when I was born.


    Even Hugo put in a few words now that the talkative Jonas and boisterous Bjorn weren''t dominating the conversation. Turns out he had been mute before he made it to Valhalla, and speaking was still weird for him. He had been here a little bit, but he was picking things up quickly, learning to speak. It took a lot of time and effort, and I could tell by looking at his face that he was more than happy just sitting and talking, but he didn''t want to make us feel too estranged.


    We carried the conversation but were always willing to rope him in. Rolo was insistent that Hugo should have told them, and they would have been helping him learn how to speak. Hugo seemed embarrassed, so I pulled the conversation back towards other things.


    Throughout the conversation, I worked on pushing the boundaries to see what sort of mental fog was blocking them from talking about Valhalla''s weirdness. Talking about the women and where they are in the afterlife got very little traction. But talking about women we had known definitely worked.


    Hugo even had a wife at one point in his previous life, whereas Rolo liked to brag about his body count. Mark just kind of winked and nodded, but the conversation got a little bit sad when we talked about those we left behind and if we''d ever see them again. But strangely enough, that thread of conversation never made it toward if we might find them here in the afterlife.


    I really couldn''t imagine what else would be different between us besides the brand. Somehow, my mind stayed clear the whole time. I decided to show them it and see if they had any ideas. Maybe they knew of something like it or had been offered something themselves. I hadn''t seen anything about it, but with how they were glossing over things, I figured the worst that could happen was that they didn''t notice or didn''t care.


    "Have any of you seen anyone wearing a tattoo?" I asked, wanting confirmation from all of them. They all shook their heads. "Have you heard anything about the gods?"


    "The gods?" Rolo asked.


    "Yeah," I said. "You know, we''re in Valhalla, the halls of Odin." They looked at each other, confused.


    "Oh. What does it have to do with anything?" Mark asked.


    "I mean, you''d think we''d see or talk to gods or anything like that," I said, and they all looked dubious.


    "I don''t know about this whole gods thing. Just because the afterlife is called Valhalla and there are Valkyries doesn''t mean the Norse gods are real,"


    I said, looking at them like they''re crazy." Really? That isn''t enough to make you question?"


    This time, it seemed to get through to them, the fog not falling on their eyes the way it did when I brought up other peculiarities. Perhaps this was not a forbidden topic, just one that people hadn''t considered.


    "Yeah, you know, now that you mention it, that does make sense," Mark said. "I hadn''t considered what brought us here. Perhaps it was the gods."


    "And?" I inquired.


    "What does that have to do with tattoos?" Mark asked.


    I rolled up my sleeve and put my arm on the table. "Have you ever seen anything like this before?" I asked.


    "What a tattoo," Mark said, looking at the clear brand burned into the flesh of my arm. "Yeah, of course, I''ve seen those. But how do you manage to get it to stick after each death? All my tattoos disappeared when I showed up here."


    "Not here," Hugo said in his halting voice, looking at my jester''s Hat brand. Mark and Rolo both shook their heads. I rolled back my sleeve, hiding it again.


    "Well, I guess you''ll find out if you talk to any gods. Be cautious." They seemed all too willing to talk about something else. I just hoped they would be able to remember my warning if they did run into gods. The conversation moved on as we started talking about halberd techniques this time.


    I had a feeling that maybe part of the reason Bjorn was willing to bring all of us futuristic people from his perspective and talk to us might have been because he might have had a brain, too. But that was only pure speculation. If he did, he didn''t give me any sign and wasn''t willing to talk about any of the forbidden topics with me. So, I felt it was best to play my cards close to my chest and see what would happen once I finally made it out of this place.


    If I made it to round 12, well, it shouldn''t be that much longer, right?

 Chapter 16:

    Chapter 16:


    The next morning, I was the first one up and didn''t bother to wake anyone else because I had business to attend to. After sleeping on it, I decided to pay Loki a visit.


    This morning, I woke up with only a slight hangover. After the last time, I learned my lesson and actually controlled my drinking last night. I made my way resolutely over toward the weapons rack. I found the old, rickety bow. There was a lot I wanted to say to him.


    I was resisting the urge to simply go give him a piece of my mind. As much as I felt like cussing him out would not be productive. All it would likely get me was into a nasty situation, way worse than I already was. But it didn''t mean it wasn''t tempting.


    When I got down the stone steps in the hidden passageway, I found that the classy restaurant with a bar that I had been to the last few times had changed. Instead of the posh leather and ambiance, the room was bright and had full sunlight coming in from heavily tinted windows that I couldn''t see through.


    There was a smoothie bar on one side, and on the other was a counter with lots of fresh fruit stacked behind it and a blue-haired young lady blending together an acai smoothie for Loki. He was wearing a green leather jacket and dress pants over a pressed white shirt and a red tie. He saw me come in and placed an order for a protein power bowl. We waited in an awkward stillness as the noise of a blender filled the room, making it impossible to hold a conversation. While we were waiting for the noise to subside, I played over what I was going to say in my head.


    But when the lady called my name and handed me a fruit smoothie bowl and a spoon with fresh fruit and peanut butter on top, I got slightly distracted by the smell of fruit rather than the endless amounts of protein and carbohydrates that I had been used to eating. Loki took advantage of my momentary distraction to guide us over to a table and sit down.


    "I have to say, I was very impressed by your performance last night. Well done," he said with his charming smile. It felt a little bit less Loki-like than normal as if he was trying to get something out of me. Or maybe he was just figuring me out more and learning how to play to my predispositions. Probably the latter, but it made me feel a little less slimy, which was not a good thing, in my opinion.


    I pushed aside all the angry things I wanted to throw at him and asked in my calmest voice, "Why was I against Bjorn? That was not a random chance. I don''t believe in that level of coincidence."


    Loki smiled. "Good. Nothing is a coincidence, especially not when we gods are involved. I think you''ve seen enough behind the veil to understand that nothing happens without a purpose, at least not to those who are important. And if you can make it out of a Lesser Hall, and you have got the attention of a god¡­ Well, I don¡¯t want to inflate your ego too much."


    "My friend Jonas," I asked as a thought popped into my mind.


    He cocked his head. "The halberd guy who made it out last night?" I nodded. "Ah, yes. That guy? Yes. He has not received a favor yet but will soon. One of my sisters is interested in him."


    "Actually, I''ve been meaning to ask, your sisters? Where are all the women here?" I asked. Perhaps I could find out where Helen ended up. The distant goal of finding my wife had never left the back of my mind. He just gave me an infuriatingly knowing smile and refused to answer.


    I sighed. That was frustrating, but I put it out of my mind. "Okay, but Bjorn, why? Why did you do that?"


    He raised his hands and looked all too innocent. "Oh, no, that wasn''t me." I looked at him quietly. "No, really. I swear on Odin''s name, I did not put Bjorn against you."


    That did little to convince me, but I decided to play along for now. "Okay. Who did?"


    "Well, um, kind of you," Loki said as if he was breaking bad news.


    "What? No, I didn''t. I don''t get to control who I fight; it''s just whoever shows up in front of me." I protested.


    "No. You think Odin wouldn''t set up the system to let just anyone in by trickery, would you?"


    "Well, then, why does he let me take the dagger in?" I countered.


    "I didn''t say it was going to be impossible, but he''s going to make it harder to get in if he''s using underhanded means. And if that means having to knock out one of your friends, that might be one of the hurdles. Maybe next time, the hurdle will be different."


    "So what you''re saying is the dagger is useless to me?"


    "No, no, the dagger is not useless. It got you to the 12th round and very well might have gotten you out of the Lesser Hall."


    "At a price I wasn''t willing to pay," I shot back.


    "Of course, of course. There''s always prices you might not be willing to pay." Loki said, patting the air in front of us. "But it''s a choice you have to make. But no. No, you asked me for a way to prevent you from getting out of the lesser hall in the wrong direction. You didn''t want to be in the snow anymore. And that dagger will guarantee, as long as you use it intelligently, that you will always have a place in the Lesser Hall."


    "Okay, so it''s useless for getting out of the Lesser Hall?"


    "No, it''s not even that. It''s just that you might not want to have to pay the price."


    "So let me get this straight. If I keep using the dagger, I will always run into something I can''t or don''t want to beat to get out." I asked incredulously, royally pissed off about how much I had been scammed.


    Loki shook his head. "No, no. You''d run out of friends eventually, but there would always be some other cost then, rather than just having to win by pure skill."


    "Wait¨Coh, for fucks sake," I said, blowing my cheeks out, thinking. What he was saying did make a certain amount of sense. That wasn''t to say that I would trust him.


    Sighing, I leaned forward and dug into my bowl. Loki was sipping on his fruit juice. I looked around the little cafe we were in. "This is a nice change of pace, though."


    He said. "I know, right? Old candlelit halls and feasting can get tiring. Even the posh inner space needs a little bit of a shake-up, especially so early in the morning."


    I had to admit, the fruit bowl was nice. It felt refreshing and cleansing--like I had just spent a week on vacation binging pizza and came back home to have a salad for the first time in forever.


    After a few bites, I was ready to resume the conversation. "Okay, so. What if I want out of the Lesser Hall?"


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    Loki raised an eyebrow.


    "Okay, fine. If you make me have to say it, what if I want help getting out of the Lesser Hall? Can you do something that actually helps me?" I asked in an exasperated tone. "I''m tired of the fighting, the duels, the feasting."


    "Yes. Yes, I can," Loki said. "There are lots of options. But I have to say that the next hall might be better, but there will still be fighting."


    I slumped. It was something I had obviously expected. "It''s got to be better than here, though, right?"


    Loki nodded in confirmation. "There is a lot more variety and more ways to succeed. But you will still need to fight if you want anything good."


    I could live with that.


    "I can assume giving me magic would have similar consequences," I asked.


    He shook his head. "Similar. Not the same. But yes, just giving you magic wouldn''t be a great idea yet. Maybe in the future, though."


    That got my interest going. I decided I might like a little bit of magic. Maybe. But he shrugged. "Magic should never be your main focus. But I think learning a little bit of it might give you a leg up in the future. No, we''ll bargain for that when it comes to it. What you need are proficiencies."


    "You can give me proficiencies?"


    "Well, not exactly, but I can help you out a little. Speed it up a lot. Into a day." He hedged.


    I thought about it. I wasn''t going to have Bjorn or Jonas to train with me, and that meant I was not going to be getting much better at using a halberd anytime soon.


    "What if I use the dagger to get up to, like, round 9 or 10 uninjured and then use the halberd?" I offered an alternative.


    "Hmm, that may work, but you still have to beat two of the best people with the halberd. Do you think you can do that in less than three months?" Loki asked.


    I shook my head. No. There was not much of a chance of that happening. Still, the dagger was a good backup. Maybe I can pull it out at the last minute and get through that 12th round more easily, and it probably would work.


    "Okay, fine. How are you gonna get me proficiencies?"


    "I can guarantee that you get at least an entire letter rank of proficiency up to the next one. And some stats, but I am going to need a favor."


    "What''s your favor?" I asked. This was starting to sound dubious.


    "Something I can''t tell you yet," he said.


    "Do you know what it is?" I asked.


    He tilted his head from side to side. "Sort of. I have a good idea."


    "Okay. Oh, what can you tell me about it?"


    "Hmm? Well, what do you want to know?"


    "What''s the risk of dying?" I asked.


    "Pretty high," he said. But he held up a finger to cut off my protest. "Not a permanent death. I can guarantee you no permanent death."


    That sounded like a pretty good guarantee. "Okay. No permanent death. And duration?"


    "Of course," he looked at me. "What do you need?"


    "Hmm. No more than a month," I added. "No more than a month unless I choose to continue going, but it can''t be an unreasonable choice," I said.


    He looked like he was thinking about it. "Understandable. Okay. No permanent death. No more than a month."


    I thought through it, almost accepting, before I threw in one more condition. "And no torturing me. I don''t want to be driven insane or anything like that."


    "I won''t put you in any position where you get tortured. Not directly," Loki said. "And I won''t even make it more likely that you would get tortured. But if you do, that''s your own damn fault."


    "Okay. And you''ll guarantee I get a rank of proficiency with the halberd. I want more than just a halberd. I want to learn how to use my dagger properly and fists as well."


    "I can''t guarantee you a full rank with those," he said, "but they will be improved as well, and you''ll probably get some stat points. I can''t guarantee any of those too. It''ll be dependent on how much you put into it with work. But I would be surprised if you don''t get at least a few in each stat you have."


    Was I really about to make this deal? I ran through the conditions again. No more than a month. No permanent death, no intentional torture. I could extend the favor if I wanted to. I get enough proficiencies where I''m almost guaranteed a way out, as long as I get with fists as well. I''ve worked on that. I can always use fists or grappling.


    "Okay, add grappling to that training, and we have a deal," I said. Loki smiled and sipped his drink.


    "Yes, I think that''s a good deal." He extended a hand to shake.


    When I shook, I felt my skin crawl and a chill washed over me. What did I agree to? Shrugging, I dug back into my bowl, enjoying the fresh fruit, and the conversation turned to more interesting things. Loki clued me in on a bit more of the politics of Valhalla. Different gods warred with each other, and sometimes, there were outside threats. This had little impact on the Lesser Hall, apparently, but once we moved on, some mortals would get involved. Not everyone would be claimed by gods, but most would be at least watched or join some sort of camp, though direct discipleship was rather rare.


    Not everyone would, though. But that was when the hall became a lot more freeing than this Lesser Hall. One example of how was that everyone''s brain fog would start to lift.


    "You have to prove yourself or be chosen by a god. Otherwise, Odin doesn''t see a point in you questioning why you''re here. You''re here for his pleasure. To fight in Ragnarok. Once you''re worthy, perhaps you should be able to think."


    "So you giving me this brand," I said, indicating my elbow, "is what lets me question things?"


    "It lets you question. It lets you learn and grow much faster, to move at your normal rate, rather than whatever it takes to get out of the Lesser Hall."


    "Why would you stunt the growth of those trying to get out?"


    "Not stunted. It just requires more effort."


    "Isn''t that like the definition of stunting?"


    Loki shrugged. "Hey, take it up with my father."


    We parted on relatively good terms, and I went up to go train. I would start as soon as I left, and tomorrow, I would have a real chance of moving on. It was hard for me to admit, but Loki had actually been incredibly helpful. Had I misjudged him last time? He wasn''t nearly as scummy as I had thought. At least he was pretty upfront about how he was using me.


    Perhaps he just realized that I would accept the bargain and didn''t need to hide his motivations from me. I would approach my training with an open mind and make a decision based on how that went.

 Chapter 17:

    Chapter 17:


    When I walked up the stairs, I didn''t find the training grounds. Instead, I walked into a plain white room, 30 paces by 30 paces. In the center was a faceless mannequin just standing in the center with a halberd in hand.


    I looked around and found another halberd resting in the corner. Walking over, I went and picked it up, spinning it around.


    "Okay, so what is this?" I asked aloud. To my surprise, I didn''t hear Loki''s voice echoing.


    The mannequin spoke in a very robotic voice. "You have been given 30 days of time-dilated training with a self-tailoring AI. Please commence training simulation."


    I looked around. This didn''t feel like the rest of Valhalla at all. But it was Loki, so I wasn''t too shocked. So he was gonna give me time dilated training, 30 days with the perfectly tailored AI pushing me to the limits. "What about rest and recovery?"


    "Time dilation protocol enacted. Rest and recover. Recovery is unnecessary. Please commence training," the AI said.


    So I was just going to fight endlessly. That would be way more than just 30 days of normal training. If I never got tired, then each day would be three times as effective.


    Pulling up my stats, I took a quick look at my strength, speed, and constitution. My strength and speed had finally gotten above average, but my constitution was still abysmal. Well, if it continued at the rate I''ve been increasing, I would be pretty damn good by the time I was done. And if my proficiencies could increase, well... then that could change everything.


    I slowly approached the training dummy and struck out with my halberd in a probing attack. It was batted away, and a slight slap poked my right knee. "Knee was 15 degrees out of place. Try again."


    I thrust the same thing, this time receiving a tap on my ankle. "Rotate foot in 2%."


    This continued until my thrust felt much more powerful than it had previously. That took hours. Then, with no stopping for a break, my opponent responded to the thrust. Rather than simply batting it aside, I had to dive out of the way of its repost.


    The AI gave a correction, and I did my best to repeat the moves over and over again. Each time I tried something new, it would give me a new correction and a new response. After I got down a few things, it started responding to my initial jab in various ways. Each time, teaching me a new form, a new thing to look out for.


    I felt myself improving slowly. It was hard, but I resisted the urge to check my status every few minutes to see what I was actually gaining. Each strike I gave felt more powerful, each motion more economical, so something was changing. I could see the moves the opponent could make and which ones would be good and which ones would be bad. But not only what would be a bad move for my opponent to make but how I could take advantage of it.


    I started opening with other moves besides the thrust. Each time I picked a new one to start off with, I was corrected for what must have been hours before I was perfect. Soon, we would dance for minutes before I was soundly defeated, going down branching paths of possible moves I had explored time and time again.


    That wasn''t to say everything was perfect. I messed up things I had learned and mastered hundreds of times, but each time, it was a little bit different. After what must have been multiple days of training that all blurred together, the AI stopped. "Basics have been learned. Strategy sessions will now commence."


    That was just the basics! I now felt like I could move from any stance to any other stance in a fluid motion; each strike would flow naturally after. But I thought I''d been using some pretty good strategy, too. But no, apparently not.


    With no more announcements, we started.


    I started by copying my opponent. I learned how to throw a feint that looked like I was putting my full weight behind a strike, but it wasn''t actually. Then, I was learning from what angles a feint was worth selling and how to sell it better by coming in from the side versus head-on. How to take advantage of my opponent''s motions, when to retreat, and so on and so forth.


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    The strategy lesson lasted for much longer than the basics, but eventually, I felt like I was very good. With this month of training, I might not have been able to match Bjorn, but I would have been giving him a run for his money.


    Part of that had to do with the fact that my stats were increasing by what must have been leaps and bounds. I still managed to stay 100% focused, not willing to waste a second of this time-dilated training that Loki was giving me. Not spending the moments to check the stats made me feel like I was going to carry the full edge this was giving to the Lesser Hall and beyond.


    I could feel my stats growing at even a faster rate than they had been the past few days. Whatever the magic of Loki''s blessing was, it unlocked my potential to actually grow at a reasonable pace and absorb the knowledge much quicker than I had before.


    I finally started to mix in things other than the halberd. It was when I got frustrated. I''ve never actually been able to land a decisive hit, this stupid dummy. To change that, I went with one of my old standbys, entangling our halberds in a much more fluid and unavoidable method. But the basic concept was still the same. I got in close and drew my knife to try to ram it through the AI''s chest.


    Of course, it managed to duck to the side, but the training changed after that. Now, I had to use these tricks. Otherwise, it would punish me. If I wasn''t trying to surprise it or trying new things, I was getting too repetitive and not mixing it up.


    Whether it be coming in from weird angles, using my dagger, letting go and grappling with the other''s halberd, or even punching with the free hands occasionally. If I tried the same thing too many times, I would be thrown on my ass and told to "be more creative" in the emotionless, robotic tone that had been with me for days, if not weeks.


    The sameness of the training was driving me insane, but finally, I just tossed down the halberd and got in close with the dagger. The AI also disarmed, and we were in close trading dagger strikes and heavy blows.


    The mannequin never moved faster than I was able to unless it was proving a point. But it was always a bit ahead of me. Its fighting style was perfect, and it never moved an inch out of place. Every parameter was taken into account, and every feint was carefully responded to. It was an appropriate response even though it pretended to not know if it was a feint or not.


    How could I beat this? I tried letting it strike me and using the openings, taking some damage to give more. Still, it was always good enough to avoid the majority of any damage I gave out or to take advantage of the opening. I gave myself far more than I thought would be possible and grievously wound me to the point where I had to back off.


    Of course, the wounds weren''t real, and they healed almost instantly as part of the training boon. The fact that I never needed to eat, sleep, or use the restroom was baffling, but the training continued.


    I spent forever trying to get a hold of it, and every time I got a little faster, a little stronger, a little more durable, it did, too. I was starting to come to terms with the fact that there was nothing I could do to actually beat this. I could only get better, and it would grow with me. I would take every advantage if I could, but I wanted to win.


    Finally, I had been losing for so long the time didn''t quite feel real. It didn''t exhaust me the way it should have, but that didn''t mean I wasn''t tired of being humiliated by a stupid mannequin. I had tried with halberds, and I tried throwing in all the dirty tricks I knew, every unconventional style and every unpredictable angle. I work with those, and I got better with them.


    After some time, I could clearly feel the AI helping me develop a style of traps, feints, tricks, off-angle approaches with not just a halberd, not just with my fist, not just with my dagger, not with grappling, but with an entirely complete fighting style. But it wasn''t enough to beat it. It just knew too much.


    So I had to do something stupid, something to let me get past it. I had one idea that I hadn''t tried before, and as I could feel my mind starting to slow down as the time ran out, I charged forward with the halberd couched like a lance. The AI dodged into one of the three paths I predicted, and luckily, that''s also the path I had thrown my knife.


    It deflected it as I rolled to the ground. Still, it missed blocking the boot that I launched into its midsection, flinging it a yard or two farther away, the halberd leaving its hands. I chased it down, pummeling it with my shoulder as I dropped onto it, and it simulated knocking the wind out of the person.


    I hoped my dagger was within reach, but it wasn''t. So I bit down on its thumb with all my might, and I could feel the mannequin crunch underneath as I ripped its digit off. I stood to slam my halberd down into its head when the whole thing faded from existence, snatching my victory away from me.


    The room disappeared around me, and I stood in the center of the training yard, watching a few people leave the feasting hall of Valhalla, holding a halberd. I was not sweating a bit but panting hard. As I looked around wildly, ready for the next attack by the mannequin. Had I done it? Had I defeated it, or had it just run out of time? I couldn''t tell. Why did it take me so long to force it into a position where it had only a few options, one of which, if I guessed right, I could disable it? That was such an obvious thing that it was probably trying to get me to do that very thing for what must have been 30 days.


    But now I had the idea of how to win against someone who was better than me. I just had to get lucky sometimes. Something that I just didn''t understand about fighting before clicked, and suddenly, everything seemed a lot more possible. But as I watched a few of the people who I had recognized as strong fighters starting to warm up each other, they looked slow and sluggish, and their moves clumsy and unrefined. How much had I changed?

 Chapter 18:

    Chapter 18:


    Status: Tier 3: The Lesser Hall


    Weapon proficiencies


    Sword: F-4.


    Spear: F-2.


    Striking: F-7.


    Halberd: D-1.


    Dagger: F-8,


    Grappling: F-6


    Stats


    Strength: 23.


    Speed: 31.


    Constitution: 12.


    Blessing: Loki''s Eye.


    Class: N/A


    Strength: +0.


    Speed: +0.


    Constitution: +0.


    Question Everything


    Additional effects: ???


    I stared at my stats in astonishment. I didn''t even know where to start. "Halberd: D-1" stood out. That was important. But it wasn''t the most surprising change. That was the least impressive bit in many ways, as Loki had promised it.


    My speed was now an astonishing 31. That was an increase of 20 full points! 20! At 11, I was one point above the average adult, and now I was three times the average. It was probably faster than most Olympic sprinters. My constitution was now barely above average, but it was way better than the frail, weakling I had been. The improvement was in line with my strength attribute as well, also doubling. I was blown away by the raw power increase my body had undergone. Still, my eyes kept looking back at my proficiencies.


    My sword and spear were now my lowest; previously, they had been my highest state. My striking proficiency had seen a notable improvement. Also, my grappling was rather high, and I didn''t even have grappling the last time I checked!


    My dagger was up to F-8. These were all amazing. High F was as high as most people had ever seen in Lesser Hall. They simply overmatched their opponents with slightly higher proficiencies to move on with higher stats. It was the rare prodigy that got their proficiency into the D''s here. But there also had to be some reason they hadn''t moved on earlier. Usually low stats, I suspected. Or maybe no killer instinct.


    But I''d put my stats up against almost anyone''s. I would be surprised if Bjorn''s had much better stats. Though he probably had a better constitution, I still didn''t think he was as fast as I am now. And now I had the skill to back it up. It was like I was a completely different person.


    But there was one other thing about my status that caught my eye. Underneath the blessing section, I had Question Everything. Was that an ability? An effect? I didn''t know as there was no further explanation, no matter how much I tried poking and prodding it.


    The phrase seemed to encapsulate my ability to figure out the weird things in Valhalla and see if I could figure out how to game the system. I''d been doing it for a little bit before the blessing, but ever since then, nothing quite made sense. It might be a bit of a stretch, but I would say questioning everything might help me learn faster. That would explain increased proficiencies and stats recently. Not just from my training. But I wasn''t sure; if that was the case, then Loki''s blessing would be far more valuable than the other gods, and based on the condition of the door I chose, I did think it was. Either way, I couldn''t help but be thoroughly pleased.


    Right as I closed my stats, I looked out and saw my friends heading out of the training hall. I waved to them and jogged over.


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    The now much-reduced group of my friends waited in line for the weapons rack to grab halberds that would fit us.


    "Hey, you''re up early," the other Mark said.


    I shrugged, remembering that it had only been a day for them, not a month. "Yeah, I felt a little bit restless and wanted to get some movement in."


    "Hey, don''t blame you, but so ready to teach us all your tricks?"


    I laughed. "Well, I have been brushing up a little bit, so I might be able to teach you a few things. Some basics, probably."


    Hopefully, they took it as a joke as they had spent a couple days practicing with me and should know my skill level. But their looks didn''t seem like they were kidding around. Maybe it was me making it to the final round last night, but they seemed to honestly think I would help them. If I were in their shoes, I would have suspected that I was just lying about my placement. But then again, I hadn''t caught anyone not associated with Loki in a lie here so far.


    We got to the front, and I picked out a halberd. I normally went for the lightest halberd, but this time, I picked up one of the more balanced ones and was surprised at how it didn''t feel like I was holding anything more than a simple stick of wood. Passing from hand to hand, I marveled at how easy it was to catch and move. Was it with my increased stats and familiarity with the weapon? My friends didn''t seem to notice my increased fluidity, but I certainly did. As I swung it over my shoulder and headed over to a nearby training ring I had a spring in my step.


    I knew how they fought. I had practiced with them all several times. However, I hadn''t been watching with my new skills, so I had them do a couple quick rounds while I watched. After they were done, I had them gather so I could show them something.


    "All right, let''s go through some basics," I said. "I think the first is a thrust." I demonstrated.


    I waited for their responses.


    They listened to me with bemused smiles as they mimicked me. They thought they knew how to thrust, and I was just joking with them. I, too, had thought I knew how to thrust. But I had been very wrong. This might be a long day if I wanted to get their thrusts perfect.


    "In combat, any kind of thrust can be effective in the right circumstances. Rarely do you have the time or footing to have perfect form and technique. But if you know how to do it perfectly inside and out, even your bad thrusts will be better. They will be quicker, harder to knock aside, easier to recover from, and penetrate deeper." The other three seemed to be listening to me, so I continued. "We have a long way to go. Again, and watch my toes."


    ***


    By the time that I was done with them, they had a few moves down much better. Nothing was perfect, but getting most of the benefits with much less effort was practically my motto. We got them pretty close to proficient, and I think they actually understood why they were better. I had wanted to do more than thrust and a couple simple slashes, but it was as much as I could do for them because the time was up, and we entered the challenge.


    This time, I didn''t even bother touching the dagger tucked behind me as I materialized in the area. I spun my halberd in a practice motion, loosening up my muscles and getting ready for the first challenge.


    A shivering wreck appeared in front of me, and I felt bad as I cut him down. It was one of the worst of those left in the cold. The gods didn''t favor this one. The ones working to get out would fight each other, but the worst were sacrificed to the best of the Lesser Hall. Of which I was now one.


    The next fight wasn''t much more of a challenge. A simple feint and cut brought me to the third fight. That was the first time I had a blow blocked.


    Well, blocked was the wrong word. A blow slowed down by his weapon was a better description. My opponent''s haft caught mine right under the blade, but my newfound strength pushed through with little effort. There was still enough force behind my blow that it managed to split his skull with ease.


    The man didn''t look very impressive physically, so I wasn''t too surprised. But I did flex my bicep as I transitioned to the next arena in the melee, and I was surprised by the amount of definition I had. I wasn''t a hulking monster like Bjorn was, but it looked like I had some pretty defined muscle and a very low body fat percentage. I resisted the urge to pull up my shirt and check to see if I had visible abs. It was always a dream of mine, but something I''d never quite gotten around to. My love of fine food always gets in the way.


    When the melee started, I wasn''t sure how to play it. Did I hold back and use my usual strategy or be aggressive? The other four opponents appeared, and I was surprised that each one of them hesitated. Was this the whole seeding thing that I never quite figured out because I was so much more favored? Having gotten to the 12th round last time, I was faced against easier opponents.


    Something like that probably made me wonder how I ever managed to get past the melee round in the first place. I guess trickery should never be underestimated. I suppose that there were a lot more people in the lower ranks, as after 12 rounds, only one out of more than four thousand got through. With the melee round, maybe even less.


    We all waited for half a second, but I made the first move, charging to the nearest person on my right. A few quick motions, and I was moving on to the next. The man behind me was left with no legs and only half an attached head. Before the other people had even engaged each other, I was already taking down my second opponent, breezing through it with not even a hint of resistance.


    I continued in a circle, barely slowed by my third dropped opponent, and ran into my fourth one right as he had been about to engage the opponent. I finished off. I could see in his eyes that he knew he wasn''t getting any further. As I battered him around with the haft of my weapon a couple of times, the fight in his eyes went up, and I didn''t even have to do anything fancy to finish him off.


    It wasn''t until the eighth round that I even met resistance. A quick flurry of exchange blows, blocked and dodged by someone who is quite skillful and quick, started to test me. But eventually, they slipped up. Their foot turned on a thrust, and I used their moment of weakness to unbalance them and throw them to the ground, where I dropped the knee on them, forcing the air out of their lungs, allowing me to finish the fight with ease.


    Then, before I knew it, the number 12 floated above me again, and my opponent was someone familiar. Someone wearing silks and a face that I just couldn''t help but want to sink my fist into. With a smile, I twisted my halberd and sneered with uncharacteristic vitriol. I was going to enjoy this.

 Chapter 19:

    Chapter 19:


    Saladin looked at me with no recognition in his eyes, but I remembered him. He was the one who beat me on my second day in the Lesser Hall. The first time I had made it to the seventh round. Then he had fought with Bjorn, his friends, against mine in the hall that night.


    I only knew his name because Bjorn had used it to insult him. Called him a coward, though I didn¡¯t think that was true. Superior, smug for sure, but I didn''t think there were many cowards in Valhalla. Maybe a coward was just a different standard here, but I wouldn''t consider them such. But man, this guy rubbed me the wrong way.


    Neither of us moved to start. I think he was trying to place my face and remember me, but I was waiting, counting a few seconds to make sure I wasn''t about to do anything stupid. As I let my emotions come back under control,


    "Bjorn advanced before you did," I called.


    He blinked, "Oh, that''s who you are. I had forgotten about you. Someone so insignificant. What trick have you used to get so far this time? I still remember your dishonorable two-sword approach when we last crossed paths. It didn''t help you then, and whatever you have won''t help you now."


    I thought about the dagger tucked behind my belt. I think it would help me, but I''m also pretty sure I didn''t need it.


    "I don''t need anything special to beat you. You just got me on a bad day last time. I think you''ll find that this is much better," I said as I spun my halberd in a fancy arc, showing off my newfound control, balance, and poise.


    He looked but didn''t seem so surprised, judging based on how he was holding his halberd. He wasn''t a specialist with it, but he managed to make it into the 12th round. It was impressive, and I honestly wasn''t sure why he hadn''t moved on with the sword. Perhaps the level of skill with the sword, on average, was higher in Valhalla than with a halberd. That would explain why Jonas, who was regularly in the 8 to 10-round range, had managed to make it out with the halberd with little to no problem. Still, I wasn''t going to underestimate Saladin.


    His speed was about equal to mine, which, without any sort of assistance from the divine, was very impressive. But I guess I couldn''t rule out the fact that he, too, was favored by a god. I highly doubted it was Loki, though. But what other god would support someone wearing the fine silks he was? I''d be curious, but now wasn''t the time to ask. Now was the time to show that smug prick that I wasn''t going to just lie down and let him beat me. Not this time.


    I walked forward at a casual pace, not particularly concerned or holding my weapon in a guard position. I found this sort of approach was the best way to mock someone like Saladin, to not even take him seriously. It wouldn''t bother him at first, but once I started to win, it would bother him even more. And that would be even better.


    He approached slowly. It was cocky, but he didn''t approach me as casually as I did him. He held a solid guard position and moved his feet in a practiced rhythm.


    When we got close, he opened with a fluid strike. It looked graceful to someone who didn¡¯t know what they were doing, but I could see that it wasn''t perfect. The elbow was a little out of place, and he hadn''t put enough momentum into it. The power was not even a threat.


    With the low speed, I casually deflected it in the flashiest way I knew how. I let go of the halberd with one hand, put my palm against his blade''s side as it went by, and pushed it off into the sand. Stepping back, I gripped my halberd and held it up into a high guard.


    "You''re gonna have to do better than that," I taunted. He looked at me and just snarled and came at me again, this time with a thrust much more measured and controlled rather than weak. But he still didn''t overextend. It was fine. I didn''t let go this time and simply slipped to the side and smacked his wrist with the haft of my weapon.


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    "That could have been the blade," I told him. He would have been down a hand already. "Man...  Pathetic . That''s what you said, right? What a disgrace."


    He backed up and circled warily, now fairly sure that he was at least outmatched in skill. When he opened his mouth to speak, I attacked. A simple thrust that I had been practicing all day, perfectly executed and timed. He tried to knock it aside, but that left him open, and I, with a quick turn of my wrists, turned the movement into a downward slash that cut open his quad.


    He howled as he stumbled back, blood running down through his silks. "I don''t understand," he hissed, finishing the thought he''d been about to say. "Why were you using two swords? If you can fight like this? Why bother?"


    I shrugged, not feeling the need to explain myself at all. When I came in, he tried to counterattack, but with his bad leg and poor balance, he again fell short of the force needed to be able to push me out of my rhythm as I batted to the side a couple of times. A few more times, I rapped his joints with the haft and put another cut in his other leg.


    He stumbled forward, no longer having steady footing to thrust with all his might. I let go of my halberd with one hand and gripped the haft of his weapon, pulling it past me and slamming his face into my shoulder. I jumped up and checked him in the chin, knocking him backward and ripping his halberd out of his grasp.


    Looking at it, I realized it was a bit of a different style than mine. I''d never really considered the fact that weapons had differentiations inside the challenges. I thought they were always the same, but like his clothes, this was more elegant and engraved. I looked at it carefully but wasn''t able to determine anything special about it. Shrugging, I tossed it behind me. I doubted he would tell me anyway. But I was about to finally move on.


    My unarmed opponent sank to his knees and rolled onto his back to take pressure off of the torn muscles in his legs. He looked up at me, challenge in his eyes.


    "What are you waiting for?" he asked.


    "I''m just savoring the moment," I said in a calm voice, my anger at him dissipating. I had gotten my revenge, and this was taking it a bit far. Now, I was going to be out of Lesser Hall, and I no longer even had to care about this. I looked up and breathed out, the tension leaving my shoulders and a smile forming on my face. For the first time in a long time, it felt genuine.


    Was Valhalla proper going to be any better? No, probably not, but it would be my ticket to learning more and maybe finding a way out. But looking down at my defeated opponent, I couldn''t lie to myself. Not anymore. While I still really didn''t want to be here, I wouldn''t choose to be here, it was starting to grow on me. The life-and-death struggle. The power, the skill, the training. I wasn''t a huge fan of the feasting and the boisterousness, but getting stronger and crushing my enemies? Well, that was fun.


    Walking forward, I raised my halberd high and brought it down, ending the final challenge of my time in the Lesser Hall. The second my blow finished and my opponent was defeated, the blackness of the arena around me faded.


    Looking around, my gaze traveled up into the stands of a massive arena built of white stone. It was filled with cheering people of all types. They were an even mix of men and women. Most were of some sort of Nordic heritage with the markings, but no more than a plurality. Others looked to be Greek or African, as they all seemed to welcome me into the proper halls of Valhalla.


    I looked around, stunned, and was shocked at the fanfare where all the final bouts were watched with such fervor. How many people were in Valhalla such that so many people came to watch me, the least proven of all of them, fight? And how many people moved on each day? Were they really here watching my bout, or were they just skeptical of all the bouts? Looking around, I saw that I wasn''t alone. A couple dozen other people were in the arena in their own circles around me.


    Huh? I guessed these were the other people who made it into Valhalla today. My cohort. Looking up at the stands, I realized what a good thing it was that Loki had managed to get me not to use my dagger in the final fight. If everyone was watching, if it was recorded, someone would notice that, and I would be starting off Valhalla with a reputation that was not useful.


    Looking around, I saw a portcullis on the side of the arena floor open, and a man with long hair and a blond beard strode out carrying a heavy Warhammer. The strain made the muscles on his arms bulge, and lightning crackled from his eyes.


    "Welcome. Welcome to Valhalla, my faithful friends," Thor roared as the crowd noise drowned everything out. All I could do was stare as the god gave us a performative flourish.

 Chapter 20:

    Chapter 20:


    Thor gave us a slight bow, bending no more than a few degrees of inclination at the waist. All around me, the winners of the challenge dropped to one knee instantly, as if they were puppets with their strings had been cut. It was a split second, but I realized how odd I was standing there amongst people kneeling, so I followed suit. I wasn''t sure if anyone noticed, but I didn''t want to stand out. It wasn''t hard to come to a strong suspicion of what was causing me not to be influenced by Thor''s presence like all the others. But then Loki wasn''t about pointless defiance. Best to play along for now.


    I knelt there, fist pressed to the sand, my eyes studying the many colored grains of crystal on the ground. My mind raced at a million miles a second, trying to gather any context on what was happening. What was this new game? I tensed my body, ready to fight.


    Thor turned to the crowd and started speaking words I couldn''t follow, my mind too distracted by trying to figure out my plan if this turned into combat somehow.


    But nothing happened. Thor just kept talking about brothers in arms. Had they all been there watching all my fights? Or was it only the end? If that was the latter case, I was extremely glad that I hadn''t tried to use the dagger on Bjorn. If more than just the gods could see it, that''d be rough.


    Before I knew it, Thor had stepped out of the arena, and people began to leave. For the first time ever, I saw Mary walking. She strode towards me amidst what must have been other Valkyries, but my eyes were only for her. They were all beautiful, but Mary was one of a kind. She stopped in front of me and held out her hand. I cautiously took it. Normally, this would be to pull my soul out of my body, but instead, I actually felt the warm flesh of her hand touch my sweaty palm. She hauled me to my feet with an ease that left me wondering how strong she actually was. After steadying me with a hand on my shoulder, she led me off the field with the other Valkyries.


    As we walked, she leaned in and whispered urgently in my ear in a rapid-fire manner. I''d never heard her talk like that before. "Make sure to listen carefully. But don''t believe everything they''ll tell you. Friends are important here. But make sure you have a wide range of them. Single-type parties never last long. Good luck, and I hope to see you again, Miles."


    As she finished her urgent message, she gave me a small, gentle shove into a dimly lit room. Each Valkyrie had also deposited their charge there before us. I froze. What did she mean she hoped to see me again? Why wouldn''t she?


    Was I not going to die anymore? Or was she just not going to keep bringing me back?


    Abruptly ripped from my thoughts, I had to move quickly to prevent someone from stumbling into me from behind.


    I started walking into the room but couldn''t overcome how strange it felt. The room was set up like a university lecture hall, a slight depression where an honest-to-gods blackboard and lectern stood. The slope of the room was filled with cushioned chairs that lined the amphitheater. The room wasn''t large compared to the arena outside, though. Maybe it could seat 100 at most, and there were already a dozen or so people spaced out around the seating, looking around at each other, looking almost confused as I felt.


    Several of the hulking men picked out seats in tiny chairs with the little foldable desks that extended out in front of them. Most were able to squeezed in but some just sat on desks. I slid in just fine.


    Resting my chin in my hand, I waited for something to happen. During the wait, I tried to process what Mary had told me. That I needed a variety of friends. As in, what kind of variety? Like an ax, sword, and spear? Or something else?


    Then, that one told me a lot about what I needed to know about this level of Valhalla. If it was about forming a team, well, I might already have started mine. If Jonas and Bjorn were here, I felt I could go join them. Assuming they hadn''t already joined a full team. Even if they had, I don''t think Bjorn would leave me out to dry. He was just the kind of person I wanted to have on my team as well.


    Bjorn was a unique kind of person, but his fighting style was not that unique. It was just the perfect melee combat. Jonas was exceptionally skilled in some weapons, but I didn''t really know enough about him in terms of his other skills.


    Would it be best if I joined them, or should I be looking for other people who complement my skills better? I for sure wanted to find them and talk to them, but we should only team up if it made sense. That didn''t mean we couldn''t help each other even if we were on different teams. Hopefully.


    When I considered my skills, I knew I had a pretty good grasp of melee combat, but I also knew I didn''t have the raw talent to continue the growth required to stay at the top. No, I was good with equipment and tricks. Perhaps I could learn how to be an archer or something. If I worked my skill in that direction, Bjorn and Jonas probably complimented me quite well.


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    I didn''t know how many people were allowed in a party. Still, I decided to look around and see if I could find anyone who also looked to be of the nontypical type of Valhalla. Before I could choose a person to sit next to, someone walked in one of the doors down at the bottom of the pit and glared up from behind the lectern. The last of us found seats, and the chatter stopped.


    "Thank you," the older man said behind the lectern in a deep, gravelly voice that resonated throughout the hall without him even trying. "Now, I''m sure you are all wildly overwhelmed, but let me first welcome you to Valhalla, the true Valhalla, Valhalla Proper. This is where those who are truly worthy of serving Odin or one of the other gods come. There are levels above us, of course, but this is when the real challenge begins."


    Everyone watched him passively, and he looked around with a frown on his face. "Now, I''m sure you''re going to have questions, but please hold on to them until the end. I will spend a few minutes answering before we send you on your way."


    No one said anything.


    "Guess we weren''t a very talkative lot." He nodded, seemingly convinced we wouldn''t interrupt his welcome speech. "Now, you have all fought your way out of the Lesser Hall, and with that comes certain privileges. There are certain rules to Valhalla, certain oddities, things that people are not really meant to deal with, and things the average person isn''t capable of dealing with.


    "And because of this, a certain condition was placed on those still in the Lesser Hall or below. Many refer to it commonly as brain fog, though the correct term is a neural dampener spell. Only you will feel that lift, for in the next week or so, you''ll begin to question things that previously you had just glossed over and assumed are completely normal. Don''t worry about that. But let me tell you a few of the things you will likely think about.


    "First, women. Likely, and since you''ve died and come to Valhalla, you have not seen any woman except for your Valkyrie. That will change. The women have their own route to here, but this is why I say this is where Valhalla truly begins. Here, the two paths converge. Why that was done is one of those things you will likely not come to question if you remember me even saying it. Just like how you never questioned where the women were."


    I blinked. I wasn''t supposed to remember that. The way the man smiled as he said it knew that no one would question him. Interesting. So, there are certain levels of brain fog. But that was a good point. Why were the women kept separate until they came here? I refocused on the rest of the explanation.


    "Now, just because you''re out of the Lesser Hall does not mean you''re exempt from challenges. Of course, it''s a little different. The challenge is something that does not happen every night. It''s an obstacle, an event, something. It changes monthly depending on how you place during the challenge you will receive these." He held out a single metal coin. "This is one coin. If you want food, you have to have a coin. If you want a roof over your head and a bed to sleep on, you need a coin. If you want training, you need a coin."


    Ideas raced through my head. Even if I didn''t do poorly in the challenge, could I just serve as a middleman, charging interests, connecting people, and getting people their trainers? Could I be a business person and not have to deal with it? My hopes were quickly dashed.


    "Coins could only be exchanged through approved stores. Avatars and various servants of the gods will run these stores, and you may receive goods from them. On some very rare occasions, you may also sell things but do not expect this to be a way of avoiding having to place yourself well in the challenge. There is no way that you may receive enough value from items or services that you could fund yourself without the challenge. Now, we allow new guests one month of paid room and board while you complete your first challenge. I recommend you practice well and place high."


    He waved his hand, and a little chit appeared in front of each of us. It was a small disc with a leather cord strung through it, meant to be worn around the neck and slipped a bit on. "This will get you into the newbie dorms. Don''t lose it. Now, any questions?"


    One of the slimmer-looking men in the front raised his hand right away, and the old man nodded at him.


    "What''s the first challenge?" he asked.


    "It''s a dungeon run. It''s one of the gods'' most recent favorites. A team of five attempts to defeat every monster in the dungeon. You will be ranked on the number of survivors of the run and the fastest time for completion. Individual rankings for this challenge are not posted, but there might be effects based on individual performance."


    Someone else raised their hand. "How many attempts do we get?"


    "As many as you like, as long as you can pay for it. You, as newbies, will have unlimited free attempts, but that won''t always be the case."


    I winced. Depending on many things, this could be skewed in our favor or against us. Suddenly, a lot of Loki''s comments made a lot more sense. I could only imagine the ability to get items and services that were difficult to achieve from him, things that I couldn''t maybe get at any of the sanctioned stores. Unfortunately, if I couldn''t spend my coin with him.


    "Well, that''s about all I have time for," the man said, interrupting my thoughts again, and he turned and left without a further word.


    I had so many questions, but for now, I needed to sleep. The final challenge had taken a lot more out of me, and I didn''t have Mary to pull me away from my tired body.


    Standing up with everyone else, I followed the crowd out of the room. As soon as I could, without people watching, I would need to check my status. I had a feeling it changed significantly.

 Chapter 21:

    Chapter 21:


    I followed the momentum of my fellow inductees out of the classroom. We milled about in the hall briefly in confusion.


    "Where do we go?" asked one of the less thug-like warriors. No one had any answers. Eventually, I spoke up.


    "We aren''t going to find anything standing here. I''m going to find out where our free housing is." I declared as I started for the stairs. A few people trailed after me. The group then reached critical mass, and soon, almost all were following along. From the front of the group, no one could see my smile. It might seem like a small thing now, but stepping up when decisions were to be made was something people remembered. It wouldn''t do to push too hard now, but making these connections and good impressions could pay off big time.


    I walked outside and stared up at the sky. The stars that shined above were somehow different than they were in Lesser Hall. They were still the multi-colored tapestry that I saw on my first night here, but they seemed less oppressive. As if they were smiling down on me.


    Looking around, I saw people in the rough stone streets moving around doing ordinary things. The buildings somewhat matched each other. None had anything like electricity that was obvious from the outside. However, that didn''t mean they looked like the rough longhouses that I had expected. Most of the buildings were made of a mixture of granite and wood. Some were painted, and others were not. Most had the appearance of magic.


    For every building that had its front lit with torches, there were four that had glowing crystals in brackets or glowing glass clouds hovering above. The magic caught my eye, and I wanted to stop and stare, but I had the pressure of my mind to walk down the stairs. Just being here had made it obvious that there was more to the world than I had understood in life, but seeing magic like this felt different. It was out in the open and used for everyday things, which made it feel accessible. Less like it was only for the gods.


    Luckily, I wasn''t the only one who felt this way. There were a few curses from behind me as others had stopped in the entryway and been shoved aside.


    There were a few murmured protests, but they all followed me down the steps without more hesitation. With us moving again, I returned my attention to the people coming out of the buildings instead of the buildings themselves. The people looked as ordinary as the things they were doing. If I ignored the copious amounts of melee weapons, that was.


    The one thing that surprised me about them was that they were almost half women. They didn''t look out of place in the slightest. They wore the same leather and fur the men did, though it did look much better on them. Most of them carried some sort of weapon, but I did notice that they varied a lot more in type.


    Daggers were on everyone''s belt, so they could hardly be counted. No, that wasn''t what I meant. Almost half had bows slung over one shoulder or a hand crossbow and their waist. A few had long walking sticks with gnarled balls of roots at the top. They looked suspiciously like magical staves.


    All that wasn''t to say none of the women wore the same weapons that the men did, but it was less common. Again, if I ignored the weapons and the odd clothes, there wasn''t anything to put this out of place from back in life. I didn''t even notice a distinct split in the groups. Sure, women were slightly more likely to be in groups with other women, but no more than I would expect in any larger modern city. Plenty of pairs of men and women walked around, as well as larger groups. Overall, it seemed like they were just ordinary people.


    Well, somewhat ordinary people carrying things and materials showed that the laws of reality applied in some way. The introduction and the room token implied that food wouldn''t just be magically on my table each night anymore.


    I looked down the street and tried to categorize each of the buildings. One looked to be a bathhouse made with marble, and another appeared to be a tavern. In fact, roughly two-thirds of all the buildings on ground height seemed to be some sort of establishment that served drinks, whether they were inns, taverns, armories, or shops that had a bar in the back. Drinking was just as popular here as it was in the Lesser Hall.


    Across the street, I could see a large stone building that stuck up from behind the buildings along the street. It looked to be a large arena like the one we had appeared in, except it was made of a much darker granite.


    A group of young women walked out of a building that mirrored the one behind us. They were clustered around each other, much like we were, holding up similar coins, talking. It wasn''t too much of a stretch to imagine that they were the other new arrivals of the day. It seemed they were given as little escort as we had been.


    But unlike us, they immediately started to march out through the crowd. They were headed in the same direction we were, so I angled through the flow of traffic.


    It was a long shot, but I had a question for them. Well, many questions. I wanted to know a lot more about Valhalla, and it would be smart to learn about what they had been through. But that wasn''t my main concern. No, I wanted to know if there was a chance I would ever see Helen again.


    When the brain fog was on me, I had forgotten to even think about her like I had with all women. But when it was lifted, and there were no women, I hadn''t let myself hope. If I wanted her here or not was still a question. Sure, I wanted to be with her again, but I didn''t want her in this violent place.


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    I fell into step beside a woman before reaching over and tapping her on the shoulder. "Excuse me."


    She turned and glared at me with a surprising amount of anger.


    "I''m not interested," she said in a rough voice.


    "Whoa, whoa. Do you mind just answering a question?" I held up my hands. What was that all about? They must have received some warning from their welcoming party that we didn''t. "Did you just get out of the Lesser Hall?"


    I was surprised by the tact of the men behind me. Seeing my reception, they paused their approach and watched. It reminded me that just because many were brutes, I had to stop thinking of them as dumb. The cloud over their minds wasn''t there anymore, and I needed to break that habit before I was surprised at the worst time.


    The woman glared at me before walking again. I kept pace with her, and she tried to just look ahead and ignore me.


    "Listen, listen, I''m not trying to be weird or anything. I just want to know if there''s any way you can tell me if someone was in the Lesser Hall with you. Are there any records kept or anything like that?" My words were rushed, but I tried to make placating gestures with my hands that she didn''t see. But as I asked my question, I saw tension fade from her shoulders.


    She looked at me strangely. "Records? What?"


    "Listen, I don''t know how the Lesser Hall works for you, but... is it possible to find someone?" I asked.


    She looked at me, and her gaze softened slightly as if she understood why I asked my question. There was a flick of braids as she shook her head.


    "No, I don''t think there are records. Maybe Freya would be able to let you know. How did she die?"


    "Cancer," I said simply.


    "Sorry. I don''t think you are going to find her. Maybe check with Freya," she said and continued on. I paused in the road and watched the group walk away. Freya. She was one of the Norse gods, one of the Vanir if I remembered correctly. I wondered if that old war had actually happened or if it was just a human invention. Maybe Loki would tell me more about the goddess. Or maybe he could help me ask her a question. Or maybe I could talk to her myself. Not sure how that worked here.


    I looked around and found a cohort of my cohort staring at me. I considered just leaving, but I walked back to them. I shook my head and shrugged.


    "Damn, man," A Jamaican man said. "Take that part out. Got shot down hard."


    Interesting, they hadn''t actually heard my conversation. I shook my head. "Nah. I wanted to know if... if... a woman I knew who had also come here and if I could find her."


    That killed the mood of the group.


    "Sorry, man," the same guy said with accompanied nods from the half dozen or so men that had tagged along. I noticed more than half had already gone their own way. No matter.


    I shrugged. "I just wanted to know. You know?"


    "Well, they seem like they knew what they were doing," another man said. "We should just follow them."


    We could still see where the wake of women''s passing was rippling through the crowd. Shrugging, I nodded, and we jogged after, not trying to catch up so much but rather just keeping up.


    Sure enough, one of them probably had been smart enough to ask their guide for directions. A few minutes later, they presented their tokens to a woman sitting out front of an inn. She looked at each one closely before nodding, and they went into a hall.


    When we tried to go in, we were barred, but the guard laughingly pointed us in the right direction, and a little ways over, we found the male dormitories. Soon enough, we each were let in and guided to our rooms upstairs.


    I walked into my bare room and looked around. There was nothing more than an empty bucket for water and a small canvas bed in the corner. Still, I couldn''t wipe the smile off my face. This was the first time I had a bit of privacy or any personal space in over six months. Also, I wasn''t about to complain about the free meals offered in the common room below.


    Sitting at the edge of my bed, I rubbed my head. Eating did sound nice, but it was getting late, and I was wiped out. Normally, after the challenge, we ate and drank, but that only lasted for a few hours before sleeping. And already in my bed, it was calling to me to just sleep and take care of it tomorrow. All this new information had been overwhelming, and I needed to process it.


    However, there was one thing I needed to do first. Leveraging myself off the bed, I knelt down on the wooden floor and pulled out my dagger.


    With practiced motions, I carved the status ritual runes on the floor before filling them with my blood. A surprising amount of runes scrawled out on the ground in front of me. They shimmered as they formed into words I could read. But I was stuck at the first line.


    Level: 1

 Chapter 22:

    Chapter 22:


    Level: 1


    Status: Tier 4: Valhalla Proper


    Weapon proficiencies


    Sword: F-4


    Spear: F-2


    Striking: F-7


    Halberd: D-3


    Dagger: F-9


    Grappling: F-7


    Stats


    Strength: 23


    Speed: 31


    Constitution: 12


    Focus: 2


    Free Points: 3


    Blessing: Loki''s Eye


    Class: N/A


    Strength: +0


    Speed: +0


    Constitution: +0


    Question Everything


    Focus: +2


    Jester Shop Access


    Additional effects: ???


    There was so much more new information. The status ritual results spilled across the floor. The very end was just under the bed, forcing me to lift the blanket off the floor to get a full look at it.


    It was going to start getting difficult to use this anywhere with the new space requirements. I made a note to myself to look into finding a way to customize the results. But first, I needed to consider the changes.


    I had levels now.


    Sure, I was only level 1, but that was answering many questions I originally had about why it had seemed so bare bones when I first found out about it. The levels field helped explain the free points I had in my Stats section. It was a fairly simple idea to gain points through levels. I was surprised that points could be earned this way rather than only trained for. Though thinking back, Loki did hint at that. It''s probably what he meant when he told me I didn''t want to get permanent stat point boosts yet.


    Also, since I had gotten so many stats before I got to level 1, presumably, getting to level 2 would be much easier to reach. Then, I would get more stats. My advantage would shrink as we got to higher levels compared to someone with average stats. Still, I supposed it was up to me to take advantage and turn it into something more tangible. Clearly, just going for levels would be squandering it.


    The next largest question I had was the Focus attribute. That I could get new types of stats was game-changing. It seemed to come from my blessing. Or did I get the stat some other way, and my blessing just revealed the bonus now? I had no way to tell.


    Also, what did the attribute do? It wasn''t as obvious as the base ones. I would need to ask around about this without tipping my hand too much.


    If I got other attributes, it was a fair assumption that others would as well. What attribute would a follower of Thor get?


    I narrowed my eyes at the runes in front of me, trying to see if I could notice a difference in my ability to focus.


    After a few moments, I relaxed. There might have been something there, but I couldn''t tell if it was just my emotions playing tricks on me or something real. If I could get some training in it, I might be able to tell the difference. Or maybe it did something else entirely.


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    I noted a couple of proficiency improvements and was satisfied with my progress. Only the shop access remained, and I felt that was rather self-explanatory. I would have to drop in and talk to Loki soon.


    Now, I was left with just one question. Looking down at the bloody runes carved into my floorboards, I asked no one. "How the fuck do I assign free points?"


    ***


    After giving up on going to sleep, I left my room to see if I could find Bjorn and Jonas. There were just too many questions floating around in my head. About the stats, the challenge, how this place really worked, and just how were they doing?


    Heading down to the common room, I found that I wasn''t the only one unable to go to sleep. Whether it was just a habit or just no one could sleep, I wasn''t sure. I found everyone who had followed me to the rooms drinking below. Even some who hadn''t gone with my group had found their way there as well, but I didn''t see my friends among them.


    Looking at the building, I saw that there was no way it could hold a month of people coming from the Lesser Hall if the class size was near the same size.


    As one of the servers handed me a drink, I grabbed his wrist and held him in place. I gave him a smile to reassure him that I didn''t mean him any harm. I leaned in and nearly had to shout over the noise of the boisterous party. The man leaned his ear closer to my mouth to hear. "Are all the newcomers here? I''m looking for some friends."


    The server shook his head and this time it was my turn to lean in for the in ear shouting. "No, there are a few around the city. We get a new batch each week."


    I thanked the man and let him go. I would have given him a tip, but I didn''t have any coin. That was going to be a problem. In the future, it was obvious that I would need resources now that everything wasn''t provided for me by default. Who would have thought I would miss the Lesser Hall?


    That was a bit of an exaggeration. But it was unavoidable to recognize that my life, or afterlife, had become a lot more complicated. Each day wasn''t going to be the same. The same repeat of violence and feasting. This was what I had wanted, right? It was, but now the choices seemed overwhelming. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that it was only overwhelming because I didn''t really know my options.


    My first priority was to learn the new rules. I was not nearly naive enough to assume that the orientation was enough to convey enough information.


    My second priority was to make more friends. The five-person group requirement made it painfully obvious that teamwork would be critical here. A balanced party seemed like it would be necessary to do well in the challenge. I didn''t want to find out what doing poorly would get me.


    The third priority was to learn how to assign stats.


    I had several others, but they were all more minor. Find out more about women''s situations. Learn more about the gods. What was next in the halls above us? Find and talk to Loki.


    Moving toward the door, I stopped in my tracks. In the entryway, a familiar face appeared.


    Bjorn shoved people out of his way, and Jonas''s face appeared over his shoulder. Now fully inside the building, Bjorn towered over most of the people. His head swiveled as he scanned the crowd. When his eyes met mine, a wide smile broke out on his face.


    "Miles!" He roared over the noise, and we both started pushing our way toward each other. To my surprise, we met about halfway, but I was still getting used to my increased strength.


    Still, my newfound strength did little to protect me from the rib-cracking embrace Bjorn swept me up in. Jonas grabbed me next, and we yelled at each other over the noise.


    "I can''t believe you made it so fast!" He said. "Well, I can, but still!"


    I just laughed. "I was just about to go find the two of you. Someone said there are other newbie houses."


    As we talked, I pushed them to the door so we could hear each other think about the party going on around us. Besides, I had things we needed to do.


    The cool air hit us outside, and I could see that the light was fading into twilight.


    "We saw your fight," Bjorn repeated in a softer voice now that we were outside.


    "Fucking Brilliant!" Jonas shouted as he also stepped out behind us. "Bjorn was telling me about what an ass Saladin is, and I''m glad you beat him that way."


    Bjorn smiled and nodded along. He pointed us down the street, and we began to walk at a leisurely pace.


    "Just imagine his face when he learns that everyone could see him lose like that," Jonas said with a laugh.


    I just shook my head. "Yeah, it certainly felt good. But enough about me. What have y''all been up to?"


    "Not much," Jonas said.


    "Yeah, we got here yesterday and then crashed. Spent most of the day watching the bouts." Bjorn explained.


    "Were people coming all day?" I asked, surprised. It might have been possible, as time seemed nothing more than a minor impediment to the gods running this place.


    "No, no. You were the only group. But there are a lot of duels running constantly throughout the day. And Miles." Jonas paused for a second. "Miles, you need to see the magic."


    "The whole place around us is magic," I said, playing dumbly. "What new thing do they have to spring on us?"


    Bjorn and Jonas exchanged a quick glance. "No, the magic the women use."


    This caught me off guard. It was not as much as they had expected, but still. I figured that the women were being tested in something different than the men were. After all, if we were doing the same thing, then why would they separate us only to put us both in Valhalla Proper? But that they were learning honest to gods magic? Well, Loki had said I could learn magic. Or at least had implied it.


    I just stared at them until they explained further.


    "They didn''t fight duels like us to get in," Jonas said. "They fought wizard duels for the most part."


    Bjorn chucked at that. I raised my eyebrow at him, and he elaborated with a full belly laugh. "Apparently, a wizard duel just means that magic is within the rules. That doesn''t mean all the witches are cowards. Many won by punching their opponents into submission."


    "So they learned both magical and physical combat?" I would need to make sure we got women in our group. Not just for their power and versatility, but I wanted magic as well.

 Chapter 23:

    Chapter 23:


    We headed down the street, just ambling along. As we walked, Bjorn told me about a duel between a woman and a man they had watched earlier. To his surprise, they were almost perfectly matched. It wasn''t possible to tell the power of their magic from that one fight, but it was good to know that it could make a huge difference. The man had higher physical attributes, having trained them in Valhalla''s Lesser Hall for much longer, while the woman had actually been using magic with her rapier. Whenever it seemed like the man could get in a good blow, a gust of wind would blow him off balance.


    "You should have seen his face!" Bjorn roared as he doubled over in mirth at the memory.


    I gave a polite chuckle at the boisterous retelling but couldn''t muster up the same enthusiasm for a fight I hadn''t seen. The idea of using magic in a fight did seem rather useful now. I wanted to cut in, but Bjorn threw his arms around both of our shoulders.


    "I need another drink," he announced, steering us towards a certain spot.


    "Back at our hall?" Jonas asked, watching a woman walk by.


    I grimaced. "I don''t think I''m allowed to drink there."


    They looked at me and saw the truth in my expression. "Shit. Yeah, that''s right. We can only eat and drink at our own newbie halls," Bjorn noted.


    I looked at the two of them. "Don''t suppose either of you managed to get any coin?"


    They shook their heads. "No, don''t have anything to sell and didn''t want to try to do a duel without understanding what all these people could do," Jonas said with a shrug. "Haven''t figured out what the levels mean yet."


    "What about how to assign free stats?" I asked.


    The two of them shook their heads. "Nah, but it doesn''t make sense to start trying to fight when we don''t even understand what we can do," Jonas responded.


    "Well, duels aren''t the only way to make money here, from what I can tell," I ventured, and Bjorn nodded.


    "I don''t see any other real options," Jonas protested. "We don''t have any weapons. How can we do the challenge without any weapons? Besides, we''re supposed to have a party of five."


    His assertion that we didn''t have any weapons struck me as odd. My heart rate picked up as I patted my waistband and couldn''t find my dagger. Then my hopes crashed as I confirmed that it wasn''t on my person anymore. We hadn''t been able to take our weapons to the orientation, but I didn''t remember having them after I got here at all. I would need to ask Loki about that. I didn''t agree to it disappearing after the Lesser Hall.


    "Well, there''s probably some way to get weapons. Maybe someone will lend them to us, or we can pay them with whatever we win from the challenge or something. Take a loan?" I suggested.


    Bjorn didn''t seem to understand, but Jonas shrugged. "Maybe. Haven''t asked about it yet."


    "Come on, let''s go see where we can buy weapons," I said. "We get unlimited attempts for the first month. We should take advantage of that."


    The two looked at each other and shrugged. "I guess it''s just weird being able to think," Jonas said as he watched someone else walk by.


    Bjorn rubbed his head. "Yeah, thinking. At least alcohol stops that here."


    I looked at the two of them strangely. They were different from who I remembered in the hall, but I shook my head. I suppose that''s to be expected with freedom and choices. How well do you know people without seeing the results of their actions?


    Bjorn pulled us into a random tavern that didn''t look too fancy and drew everyone''s gaze as we opened the door. Most people snorted at our plain linen clothes and lack of weapons before turning back to their drinks, but not everyone. The bartender looked at us and waved us over from where he was cleaning a very clean glass.


    "New here, huh? Got coin yet?" he asked.


    I shook my head ruefully, and he scoffed. "Newbies," he muttered. I thought he was about to just go back to polishing his glass, but he looked up at us. "A word of advice: don''t take any loans until you get coins. Just run the challenge as fast as you can. The loan sharks are never worth it."


    I nodded. "Thanks for the tip. What about general information? Is there anyone willing to talk with us?"


    The man shrugged. "Yeah, sure. It depends on what you want to know. Levels, you get them through the challenge. Nothing else. You can still train your stats up a little bit, but likely, they''re high enough where that won''t matter. Especially after you have a few levels under your belt, you''ll never be able to train them up manually."


    "Assigning free points?" I asked, not believing my luck that someone was willing to just talk.


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    The man put the glass down and picked up another clean glass, starting to polish it as well. "Yeah, now that takes some coin. You need to buy a new ritual. You might be able to figure it out yourself, but unless you''re some sort of magic genius, best to go get the training. It costs only a coin, no more than room and board for a month."


    I blinked. Room and board for a month only cost one coin, and that wasn''t considered much? "Thanks, man."


    I looked behind me and saw that Bjorn had joined a group of people and was stealing someone''s drink while Jonas was attempting to talk to a barbarian woman who was doing her best to ignore him. The man followed my gaze and shook his head.


    "You better get your friends before they get themselves in trouble."


    I agreed and pulled Jonas away before the woman could slap him. Together, we hustled Bjorn out, and only after we got out did he reveal the mug that he had somehow swiped from one of the people he''d been talking to. He laughed as he downed the ale and tossed it over his shoulder.


    "Ah, a good drink!"


    I exchanged looks with Jonas. We both shook our heads. Bjorn had never left us with any doubts about his love of alcohol. I wondered how much he enjoyed his hangovers now.


    "Well, if the guy was right about loan sharks, we should just head over to the challenge," I suggested.


    "Sure, sure," Bjorn said, and Jonas just shrugged as we started walking back toward the center of the city. Along the way, I ducked into a general store. It made sense to at least see what everyone had available.


    The room was large but not overly so, and a sleepy-looking older woman sat behind a counter with glazed eyes, making no move of recognition as we walked in.


    "Is that one of those avatars they talked about?" I wondered out loud.


    I looked at the merchandise. One side of the wall was completely full of weapons. Pretty much everything had one or two representations, though none seemed to be in particularly good shape. The other half was full of glass vials, and in the back, there were rows of books underneath glass and behind locks.


    Bjorn and Jonas walked over to the weapons, and I went over to the potions. I read the price tags: 100 coins for the lesser healing potion, all the way up to the Elixir of Life, which was 100 million coins. One coin was a month of room and board. Maybe really, really shitty room and board.


    "Jesus," I cursed under my breath. Was this what Loki was offering when I was in the Lesser Hall? I could have gotten a healing potion. He should have said something.


    I checked, and various versions of the buffs that I had used were there. The plus five to all stats buff was actually 10,000 coins. This place made no sense. But there were more than just healing and buffing potions. There were stamina potions, poisons, and mana potions with lots of options. There was nothing like a permanent stat potion that I figured there might be.


    As I wandered the shelves, I saw I could make out the labels on the books. They were skill books and spell books.


    I saw one that was reasonably priced at only 50 coins, which was a general inspection skill that I knew I needed as soon as I could afford it. But again, nothing was even close to our price range except the guide to the "Customizable ritual." I joined Bjorn and Jonas at the rack as they debated over whether or not a halberd was worth anything. The particular one looked fine to me, but Jonas wasn''t a huge fan, while Bjorn thought it was decent.


    The weapon prices were similar, starting off at 100 coins for the lowest and working their way up. They had labels, but they didn''t really mean anything to me, though they did list the maker.


    "Got an idea of how much you need to kit yourself out?" I asked.


    Jonas nodded. Bjorn shrugged. "Hey, I can always use more weapons, but I can also use none," he said, shaking his fist at my face with a gleeful smile.


    "Well, I guess we go find the challenge entrance," I said in a questioning tone.


    We headed out of the shop in silence, the storekeeper not having reacted to our presence once. As we continued on, we mostly kept to our own thoughts. I was running numbers, trying to figure out how much I would need. After I did some quick math, I figured out I needed at least a few healing potions and some general temporary buffs. Also, I needed some sort of weapon, though I hadn''t seen any armor. It was odd, but I wasn''t sure if that was something that people used here or not.


    I paused my thoughts and looked up to ask, "Hey, did anyone use armor around here in the duels you saw?"


    The two looked at each other and shook their heads. "Nah. Why would they?"


    I blinked. "Was this another brain fog thing? Um, so they don''t get injured as much?"


    "Yeah, that''s probably a good idea," Jonas said. Then, we continued walking without further comment. Well, the brain fog still covered that, apparently.


    "Uh, okay. I guess that''s nice that we don''t have to worry about people wearing armor or fighting with armor. Less expensive," I mused. "Maybe it''s something that happens in the later hall."


    They ignored this, and we kept moving on.


    After about 20 minutes more of walking, with only the occasional question tossed between us, we finally arrived at the entrance to the challenge. It was a massive black stone building with a sign out front listing the current description. It was not much more than what we had been told, but it did give us a posted entry of two coins.


    Below was a basic chart of possible loot, though not probabilities, just values of how much each loot item was worth if sold upon exit. The sign did mention that prices may vary in the city.


    I looked, and it seemed that as long as you picked up one or two pieces of loot, you were pretty much guaranteed to make a profit. Since one coin covered room and board for a month, it seemed you probably only needed to run the dungeon a couple of times to make sure you had enough for the next month''s rent and food.


    There was an ominous note at the end: "Runs must be completed by the end of the month or face punishment. This month''s Administrator: Thor."

 Chapter 24:

    Chapter 24:


    "What do you think the monthly punishment is this time?" Jonas asked.


    Bjorn just shrugged, like he didn''t care.


    But I considered Loki had said something about me being sent back to the Lesser Hall. But if it''s variable, perhaps that was something else.


    "You don''t think it''s being sent back down?" I asked. Jonas shrugged in response.


    "No idea. That doesn''t sound good, though. If people who''ve been here for a long time have to complete the challenge, is it the same challenge? Because they should be, like, way more powerful, assuming they have been getting levels and training," I said.


    Both Bjorn and Jonas seemed thoughtful about this--legitimately thoughtful, not just like the brain fog was eating away at their independent will.


    "It''s got to be. All right. Maybe there''s a minimum completion or progress in one run to avoid punishment. Not completing the whole thing," Jonas volunteered and ordered.


    "It made sense to have a floor but also have a reward for further progress." It didn''t really matter. We were still going to take our first crack at it. Might as well, I concluded.


    So I walked up the steps and pushed open the doors. The three of us wandered into a massive empty room with marble columns and a swirling black vortex on the far side.


    A clearing throat to the right and behind me made all three of us spin around, and we saw a raven sitting on a desk.


    I stared at it and made the sound again before starting to turn to head back towards the portal. But then the raven spoke.


    "You must register first. Present your tokens," it said.


    "What?" I said, and the other two gave us baffled looks.


    "You must register," The raven said. "How else will we know who''s completed a run?"


    Was this raven intelligent or just mimicking voices that were heard? It sure sounded like it was just mimicking things, but the way it responded was eerie. I walked forward and presented my token. The raven tapped it with his beak and then looked at the other two.


    "Um, we''re new," I said. "How far do we have to get for the run to count?"


    The raven cocked its head as it shuffled its feet, the head not moving in relation to what I was looking at and the eerie bird sort of way.


    "Will be explained in the challenge," the bird said in its same voice as it authenticated both Bjorn and Jonas.


    And we all walked over towards the portal. Next to it was a massive stone plinth with carvings on it. The carvings looked very precise and clearly not done by someone unskilled.


    The top read, "Flame Bird Team. Clear time: one hour, 22 minutes, six seconds," Right beneath it was "Skullhold Helm Team. Clear time: one hour, 22 minutes, seven seconds."


    I scanned the list at the bottom where rank 100 was. A team with a time of an hour and 25 minutes. So, I guess it was possible to clear the whole thing in a decent amount of time.


    It seemed like this was a leaderboard where prizes would be given out based on placement, but there was no indication of what those prizes were. Maybe it was just bragging rights, but I doubted it. Competition seems very fierce. The top ten times were all within a minute of each other.


    Looking at my two friends, I held up three fingers, then two, then one. And then, when I had an empty fist, we all stepped through the portal.


    The familiar blackness of a challenge surrounded me, but it didn''t last long. In front of me, glowing runes formed and turned into characters that I could read.


    Now entering: The den mother''s abode.


    Progress: 0%.


    Minimum progress Completion: 20%.


    Rewards will be determined based on completion percentage and speed.


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    Good luck.


    I blinked. That was a new sort of magic. The most I''d ever seen similar to this was the one time my stats were shown to me in between rounds of a challenge and the number 12 right before the final round.


    But it was good to know that we only needed to complete 20% of the challenge, and that was the minimum run to escape punishment. And "the den mother''s abode." That sounded ominous.


    Sure enough, when the darkness receded, we were all standing in a cave. Not dirt, not a rock cave, not something with fancy stalagmites and stalactites, with crystals or bats, but a really, really big badger den. Dirt walls and ceilings had roots the size of my forearm poking through and in tendrils that waved slightly and a stench permeating the air that nearly caused me to double over.


    I looked around and saw nothing besides a dirt wall behind this. Jonas and Bjorn appeared half a second behind me. Jonas covered his mouth and nose with his shirt while Bjorn just looked around, confused.


    "Den mother," he said. And I shrugged.


    "Looks like we''re in a badger''s den. I mean, those little black and white striped things are. Not that dangerous. It shouldn''t be too bad," Jonas said.


    I looked at him. "Ah. That''s right. It depends on if those are European badgers or American badgers. And I have a sneaking suspicion that it''s not the polite European kind."


    Janus looked at me. "Well, I mean, Norse mythology is from Europe."


    "Yeah, but when has it ever been that easy?" I asked.


    Both of them shook their heads, and without further comment, all of us began walking. Out of the only entrance, a dirt tunnel led off for about a quick five-minute journey until we reached an opening.


    In front of us were five badgers around knee-high. And they did not have the black and white stripes of the much more tame European badgers but rather the snarling faces like wolverines. I didn''t actually know the difference. Their teeth were as long as my fingers, and they didn''t look happy to see us.


    "Uh," I said. But Bjorn was already charging past me. I didn''t think this was going to go very well.


    Bjorn''s reckless charge left Jonas and me with no choice but to follow. The five badgers converged on Bjorn, and I doubted that he could take more than one without a weapon. Even if he had his sword or something like a halberd and or a shield, I still didn''t think he could take all five at once.


    My improved speed helped me catch up to him right as he collided. His slam into the two center badgers sent all three of them tumbling. When I grabbed the one on the farthest right, I was nearly jerked off my feet. Even if my strength was absurdly high, I still didn''t have that much mass.


    Jonas crashed into the one on the furthest left, leaving one badger free. I was very concerned but didn''t have time to think about it as I was too busy trying to stop the twenty, the five pairs. Five sets of claws for the four sets of claws from tearing into me while holding its fangs away from my throat.


    I was slightly larger than the badger and managed to hook its ankle and flip it over onto its back. Putting my hand on its chest like I would a disobedient dog, I held it down. But it writhed more like a cat would, its spine insanely flexible as it clawed at my arm and snapped its teeth. I grabbed at its throat with my fingers, trying to squeeze its windpipe, and I could feel it gagging, but I didn''t quite have the strength to crush it, and its front paws left, trying to free itself from my pinning hand and went to grab its throat.


    I repositioned myself sideways, trying to avoid the worst of the claws while keeping my forearm pressed to its chin to keep its mouth out of action as I attempted to will my fingertips into claws. It was gurgling, but its struggles weren''t getting any weaker. I repositioned myself more so I could put more of my weight in with my shoulder over my palm. I went up on my toes, pushing all of my free body weight down on its throat. And finally, I could feel something give. My forearms bled profusely, and I doubted I''d be any use after this.


    Right as I was about to call for help if possible, I heard Jonas scream. He was in a position not too dissimilar to mine. But he punched the badger in its head repeatedly with very little effect while a second one jumped on its back. I couldn''t move to help him, though. If I did, my badger would probably recover.


    Working myself into an awkward position, I shifted so that my foot was on its neck as well as my hand, and I stood up, stomping down with my heel, smashing its windpipe. But that handful of seconds it took to rearrange and take the risk to fit to losing my grip to finish off this one had left Jonah''s back in bloody tatters. I dashed over and, using my mangled arms, I yanked it off of his back and attempted to do the same thing, but I didn''t have the strength in my hands anymore.


    I stomped at its head, even as it clawed my left arm to ribbons as I held it down from the awkward position. I just ended up leaning on it with my elbow on its throat as it thrashed and started and occasionally would get a claw up in my ribs. Well, by the time it finally died, I was woozy with blood loss as I got to my feet and looked around. Jonas and the other were in a death grip, both of them looking to die. As soon as Jonas had it in a weird chokehold, it had its fangs stuck into his arm and its hind claws embedded in Jonas''s stomach. Jonas'' face was in a rictus of pain, but his grip was like a vise.


    Turning, I looked over to see how Bjorn fared, and surprisingly, he seemed to be the best out of all of us. Perhaps he had experienced fighting beasts, and his overall size had helped. The first badger he had crashed into, he had thrown it into the cave wall. I could see the indent. And then he had apparently broken the neck of the second badger before the first could recover.


    Now, he was wrestling with the first badger. He was scratched up, sure, but nothing nearly as bad as my arms or Jonas''s near disembowelment.


    I ran over to help him as he wrestled, winding back and soccer, kicking the badger repeatedly in the ribs until I could feel them break. Behind the force of my blows, Bjorn held its stomach visible, um, open to me. As I stomped more down on its chest, it started to wheeze up, bloody flex, and die a slow death. As it gave up the struggle, Bjorn grabbed its muzzle in one hand and twisted. The other, bracing on its shoulder. A series of snaps echoed through the chamber as the neck broke. Together, we went back over to Jonas to find both him and his badger opponent dead on the ground.


    I rested my elbows on my knees as I bent over, panting. My hands were barely able to move from all the muscle damage in my forearms.


    "I think I read something about loot," I panted over to Bjorn.

 Chapter 25:

    Chapter 25:


    Bjorn and I examined the bodies. There were five badger corpses, but nothing happened. I wasn''t sure what to expect. Something like in my son''s video games, where the characters faded and dropped shiny orbs or items.


    "Um," I said intelligently, then shrugged and looked at Bjorn.


    He looked down. "If I had a knife, we could skin them," he said. "We could try using their teeth, but I don''t think that''s going to work."


    But he walked over and stomped on one of their faces, knocking several of his teeth out. He picked up the canine''s incisors.


    "Sometimes animal teeth are worth something. You remember what the loot table said?" he asked, and I frowned, closing my eyes, trying to remember something.


    "No, just that the smallest items were worth one point each."


    Together we gathered ten badger canines and split them up, each putting five into little pouches on our belt. I shrugged my arm, forearms killing me. My hands were barely able to move they were so stiff.


    "Should we continue on?" Bjorn poked at a wound on his side without flinching and nodded.


    Together, we trudged out the exit. Blackness surrounded me in a second.


    Words appeared.


    Progress: 0.75%


    The blackness receded and we continued trudging back up the tunnel. Only three quarters of a percent. I grumbled, "and we need to get through. So we would need to get through, like, what, 30 of them?"


    "Well, assuming that each room counts the same amount, perhaps leader rooms count as greater percentages," I continued.


    Bjorn shrugged. "You get as far as you can."


    "Yeah," I nodded in agreement.


    The next cave had ten badgers that were significantly larger than the previous ones, and I groaned. We didn''t last long.


    ***


    My head spun some indeterminate amount of time later as I stepped out of the black portal, stumbling slightly. I caught my balance right as Bjorn and Jonas appeared beside me. Shaking my head to clear the cobwebs, I shivered as I remembered the feeling of teeth sinking into my throat while something ate my intestines. I pushed the gruesome memories to the side and felt at my belt pouch where the five teeth were still there.


    Janice looked around. And with a mixture of relief and sarcasm, he stated. "Oh, good. I''m alive."


    I nodded, having not even considered the fact that we wouldn''t respond. "Tell me we got something out of that," Jonah said, and the raven cawed from the corner, and we walked over.


    With his beak, he nudged over a small stone tablet that had "team unnamed completion percentage, 0.75%" on it. I touched it and it vanished into light, disappearing into all three of our medallions, which presumably would store that information, though it wasn''t very useful. Maybe it was just to keep a record of what happened.


    "Um," I pulled out one of the badgers'' teeth. "Sell loot?" I asked the raven, and the raven nodded, tapping a scale where I placed all five of the badgers'' teeth. Bjorn did the same.


    The raven moved one coin at a time from a pouch that looked empty onto the table, until there was a stack of ten in front of us. I grabbed it and, um, divided it up, giving three to both Bjorn and Jonas and putting three in my own pouch. I held the 10th coin up in between my fingers and said "drinks?"


    They nodded, and we went out and walked down a random street until we found one of the many bars. When we walked in, the bartender gave us a nod, and the mostly empty establishment was quiet. We walked up and placed the coin on the counter.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    "As many drinks as that can buy," I said.


    The bartender looked, picked up the coin, nodded, and poured us each a cup. The money here didn''t quite make sense, I guess. The minimum for room and board, as in food and shelter, was one coin, but presumably, you could pay more. Three drinks weren''t that many. But how would I buy one drink? Would I need to use just one coin? Or perhaps there was some sort of secondary currency?


    We took our drinks over to a table, and Bjorn was half done with his before we even sat down. Jonas was looking around at the other customers. I thought, looking at them. "We need to get weapons really, really bad and probably to find, uh, other teammates so that we have some range support and maybe magic."


    Jonas nodded. "Yes. We should go talk to women. They have different skills."


    Bjorn just shrugged. "I think with weapons, we could have done all right."


    "Yeah, but we don''t really have nearly enough money for weapons. Three coins aren''t even close to how much we need for the first. The most basic weapons we saw," I said, remembering the hundreds of coins, anything cost.


    "Even knowing ahead of time what was going to happen, I don''t imagine it''s getting much farther than we did today, and I don''t really want to repeat that more times than I have to."


    Jonas nodded, but Bjorn just shrugged. "It only took us an hour. Give us two days of grinding, and we could afford weapons."


    I didn''t like the idea of getting eaten that many times.


    "Well, if we pool everything, we get ten per. We could do five runs before one of us could get a weapon. Then we could work focused on getting the rest of us weapons," Jonas and I nodded, mutually agreeing that Bjorn would get whatever weapon we had. I imagine it would be a small dagger, but hopefully, it would be enough for him to take on three at once or something.


    "Perhaps we could also get creative and throw rocks or something. Not tonight, though," I said tonight. I held up my cup. "We should celebrate a bit. Also, go talk to people."


    The three of them met my glasses, and Bjorn drank his drink while Jonas and I sipped. It wasn''t bad. It was definitely better than the stuff in the Lesser Hall, but still nothing special, more like a standard lager. We continued talking. I asked them a bit about how the Colosseum worked in duels. Maybe we could get involved in some sort of low-level fistfights to earn some money. But Bjorn and Jonas didn''t seem particularly sure that that idea would have any merit. At least they hadn''t seen any when they were hanging out there yesterday.


    Eventually my stomach growled and I decided I was going to head back home. I wished them a good night as Bjorn looked to be going to order some more drinks for himself, and Jonas was trying to talk him into heading back towards their own newbie house for some food.


    I walked through the streets by myself, surprisingly not concerned about my safety. Perhaps it was just a misplaced confidence in my new skills compared to the other, um, other denizens of Valhalla around me, probably being stronger than I was. Or perhaps it was just that I so far hadn''t seen anything in the city that even remotely resembled crime, even though everyone was heavily armed and knew how to fight. The most that we had seen was some commotion coming from a tavern we had walked past. No dark alleys or anything. I''d be curious about that one more.


    Way back, I saw something that made me stop: hidden in the design of a shop sign was a little jester''s hat. Interesting. That might be how I get to talk to Loki, and I did need some answers.


    Pushing open the shop door, a little bell rang, and the mannequin-like avatar sitting behind the counter looked up. I looked around and found that this was not like a general shop. It was highly specialized in poisons. And very, very expensive.


    The mannequin looked at me slightly and looked around to make sure I was alone. I pushed my sleeve back and showed the inside of my elbow and the jester''s hat. The mannequin word to life and opened a door that appeared behind it. It led into that same hallway that I was familiar with, and I nodded my thanks as I walked through.


    I didn''t have to go downstairs this time, but soon, I was at the hostess station.


    "Is the proprietor in?" I asked, and the man looked up at me and nodded.


    "There''s a little bit of a wait right now, but we can have you seated in about 20 minutes."


    I nodded and found a padded bench off to the side, where I sat down and relaxed, stretching my legs out and crossing my arms over my chest.


    Blinking my eyes, I struggled not to fall asleep as the man went back down to doing whatever he was doing on the desk in front of him. I considered trying to have a conversation with him. Still, he seemed very professional, and I didn''t want to disturb him. Instead, I counted the tiles on the floor to keep myself from falling asleep. 336 bricks later, the man cleared his throat.


    "Mr. Miles, we can see you now." I stood up, glad that it hadn''t been the full 20 minutes, and stretched before following him into the restaurant. As always, it was empty except for Loki''s familiar green-jacketed form, sitting at a table off in the corner, and it went back to its upscale steakhouse. The host left us with menus, and Loki already had a glass of wine poured for each of us.


    "Miles," he said. "Congratulations are in order. I''m surprised you came in to find me so soon. What''s on your mind?"

 Chapter 26:

    Chapter 26:


    I belatedly realized that I should have spent my time waiting by gathering my thoughts. So I slowly pulled out the chair and sat before answering.


    Eventually, though, I sat. And take a deep breath. "Thank you," I said. "The training was extremely beneficial, and I hope that it is worth the favor."


    Loki gave me a smile over his wine before he took a sip, and I sniffed my glass, appreciating it a lot more than I had the bland beer I had drank earlier.


    I ran through the questions I had for Loki and started off with the most immediate one, "I actually came about an earlier deal we made. Where is my dagger?"


    Loki cocked his head and looked at me. "The dagger was to keep you out of the snow. There''s no danger of you going back there now."


    "Still, I don''t remember preparing part of our deal that it could just disappear." I shot back.


    "True." Loki frowned at my answer. "That was not part of the deal. But the dagger is also something that can only really exist in the Lesser Hall."


    I shrugged. "That''s not really my problem, is it?"


    Loki rolled his eyes and reached into his jacket, pulling out a smaller knife. "This is just an ordinary knife, but the dagger you had would be no more useful here. But take this and call it an apology for not laying out terms to your satisfaction."


    I took the knife. It was an ordinary knife, about eight inches long. Sharp enough that it can cut, but nothing fancy. "All right, that''s fair. No hard feelings."


    Looking at it, I knew the knife was probably worth maybe 50 coins, which was well beyond what I could have rightfully demanded. With a sigh, I tucked it in my belt.


    "I''m prepared to pay a lot for this information," I said, going against my better instincts but wanting to be upfront about what I needed. "But I need to know where someone was. Someone who died ten years ago. My wife, Helen."


    Loki closed his eyes and furrowed his brow. It took a second before he opened them and gave me a sad look. "She''s not in Valhalla."


    I blinked. "Wait, you''re just going to tell me?"


    He looked at me with a slightly hard expression. "Dude, I''m not a dick... It costs me nothing to look this up, and clearly, you care a lot about it. What religion was she when she died?"


    "Christian," I said.


    "And how did she die?"


    "Cancer." My voice was monotone. The grief long since pulled any emotion out of telling the story.


    "Ten years ago," Loki mused and frowned. "I''m sorry. She''s likely either merged into the heavenly host or been reborn."


    I frowned and sat in silence, considering. "Well."


    Loki ordered for both of us, as I didn''t respond to the waiter''s question. It was five minutes later, at least, when the food came, and I came out of my stupor.


    I would need to figure out if it was actually time to move on. I had been borderline old enough when she had died, that it was normal for me not to continue dating, especially after I finished my morning and I just had never really found someone special. Not that I was against it. Not that I thought my wife would be offended if I had found another partner after she left, but I just hadn''t.


    But now hope had been returned to me that I would see her again. There was an afterlife, after all, and now I was learning that she was actually gone. Well, it shouldn''t have been as hard as it was after, as long as I had to get used to it.


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    I shook my head, and Loki gave me a consoling half-smile. "You''re probably wondering how to move on most. This is a talk that I''ve had surprisingly many times. A lot of the people who are willing to seek me out or take my offers have something they want like this. And it''s always with great regret that I have to inform a business partner of mine that I can''t accommodate what they want, no matter how much they''re willing to pay. But I have gotten pretty decent at helping people move on."


    I nodded. If he was as straightforward as he said... He likely just had lots of practice, and if not, well, I would think about his words.


    "Well, there are many ways, depending on what you want and what you want to do. But I would say the first thing is to establish yourself here. And there will be many ways to move on. Throw yourself into a challenge. Build a team. Make friends." I nodded. What he was saying was pure common sense.


    "I do offer lots of services that can help you with this," Loki said, transitioning back into his business persona. "I have everything you can get at any other shop. Of course, though, I won''t be able to get you a much better price, but it''s worth asking as part of the friends and family discount. You can expect maybe 10% off."


    I smiled. "But beyond that, I have a list of much more interesting things. I have several banned items that were restricted from dungeon runs and challenges because of inherent imbalance, magical weapons, and the like. But it might be necessary to defend yourself or to do any sort of extracurricular wet work. I have things for party finding, assassination services, and resistances. I can help you get the market price for any sort of bribes or intimidation that needs to be done. And I can teach you magic and all that is nice because I will make bargains instead of just taking coins."


    Hearing the full list of Loki services, I understood why it was so much more valuable here than it was in the Lesser Hall. So many of those other things just weren''t important there. But now. I frowned, thinking. "What sort of payment?"


    "More favors," Loki shrugged. "Favors. Tasks. Selling items, all sorts of stuff as well, though I do take coin as well. It''s always welcome. Easier to hide my businesses the more coin moves through."


    I nodded, digesting the information. "I think I might be interested in some of that party finding services."


    Loki nodded. "Good. That''s actually a relatively cheap ask. I don''t provide the service for free, but I just take a percentage of the parties. Loot for the first six months of service. It seems perfectly reasonable to me."


    I was surprised at how reasonable that was, "but the percentage" Loki said and waved his hand. "That''s negotiable. Somewhere between 10 and 30 percent."


    That was surprisingly reasonable. Let''s just see why Loki was distrusted so much. So far, he had been nothing but stand up to me. "Oh, I do have a couple members who I would like to party with, so I''ll talk with them and see what their plans are. Maybe. They don''t know about you, obviously."


    Looking up from his plate, Loki shrugged. "Well, let me know if you make a decision."


    I stacked one of the coins on the table. "Could perhaps I purchase some general information? I don''t want to abuse your hospitality too much."


    Loki smiled and waved, the coin disappearing. "Sure. Ask away."


    "So what if I run out of coin after the first month," I questioned.


    "You''ll be homeless and have no food. You''ll also have no way to get back into the dungeon. That rarely ever happens. It does get cold here, but people usually go into the duels. They''ll likely lose a bunch. But if you take good rules with minimum coin, you''re likely not to run out. Though. That''s not necessarily a good approach to this."


    I couldn''t help but agree that it sounded better than living in the Snowbank but worse than Lesser Hall in some ways. "Why haven''t I seen any people like that around here?"


    Loki shrugged. "Magic. You tend to end up in familiar situations. And also, you''re in the newbie district toward the center challenge."


    "There are other challenges?" I asked.


    He shook his head. "No, but there are different entrances. Further out in the city where there are different types of districts."


    "So the people I see around are mostly new-looking, and yeah, they are likely all within a year or two of joining Valhalla. Most people move out once it becomes clear what strata they are in, and they work their way up in levels."


    "What about these punishments? Thor''s administrator looking at?"


    "If you don''t complete the minimum part of the challenge, you get extra punishments. Those vary. It depends on who''s administering them."


    "You had mentioned getting sent back to the Lesser Hall before," I remembered.


    "You know, that is one of the kinder options. I highly recommend you abuse the hell out of being able to run the dungeon as many times as you can this month, both for coin and for hitting that mark. You would like to avoid that if possible. Besides, this is a rather lucrative month. Not every month is it so easy to make a profit on a run."


    That left me with a lot to think about as we ate our steak. When the waiter came back, and we placed orders for desserts, I had a couple more questions ready.

 Chapter 27:

    Chapter 27:


    As we slowly ate through our cr¨¨me br?l¨¦e, we chatted about many things, mostly prices and markets. We discussed how gambling worked, both in the challenges and the duels, and how Thor had been absolutely lying about having to earn your keep through the challenge.


    "In order to avoid the punishment, you do need to participate in the challenge, and usually that means a slight profit," Loki said. "But you absolutely do not need to be winning the challenge regularly to survive or thrive. Many people pay teams to carry them through as they make money doing various businesses. Thor just doesn''t seem to understand that.


    "Of course, there''s no way it would work if you worked as a shopkeeper or something, as these automatons do just fine for any legitimate business. But some of the bartenders and others are just regular people."


    "Seems that Thor doesn''t really know what he''s talking about," I muttered, and Loki laughed.


    "You don''t know the half of it. He''s just been on the wrong side of one too many bad deals, so he thinks fighting is the only way¡ªfighting and crafting."


    "Crafting?" I asked.


    Loki nodded. "Yeah, but not here."


    "What do you mean? What comes next?" I asked.


    He frowned and rubbed his chin. "I''m not sure you need to know this yet, but there are lots of different options. This is where Valhalla becomes more interesting. But beyond it, well, you''ll see. You''ve got a long way to go here. This won''t be finished anywhere near as fast as the Lesser Hall."


    "But there''s some stuff beyond the hall proper, right?" I confirmed.


    He nodded. "Yes. I mean, the most obvious one is the Greater Hall of Valhalla, but that''s not the only option."


    I let it slide for now, as it sounded like I would be here for a very long time anyway.


    Before I got up, though, something occurred to me. "Oh, Focus. What does that do?"


    Loki gave me a gleeful smile. "Just don''t put any points into it for now. We will talk more about when you learn some magic."


    ***


    It turned out that the newbie house offered a decent spread of meals. I had a bowl of stew in front of me and a plate of ribs off to the side. I was ravenous after the challenge, and even a full steak dinner with Loki hadn''t been enough to satiate me. I had two entrees and just a glass of water in front of me. The waitress had looked at me like I was insane when I ordered water but had no problem providing it. Unfortunately, there wasn''t anything like a salad or even a side of potatoes¡ªjust meat, stew, and bread. Honestly, I wasn''t complaining too much. It was quite hearty and very filling.


    As I slowly worked my way through the meal, the common room became rowdier and rowdier as people stopped ordering food and continued ordering drinks. They were getting more and more boisterous, though it wasn''t nearly as crowded as it had been when I first left. When the waitress came back to check on me, I touched her arm as she turned to go. She turned back with a wary look on her face, but I didn''t grab her or anything. I pulled out a coin and placed it on the table.


    "Is tipping culture a thing here?" I asked.


    She looked at me strangely. "I won''t say no to a tip, but it''s not expected, especially not here where no one has coin," she said, looking at me suspiciously. "How did you get in here?"


    I pulled out my medallion, and she looked at me strangely. I gestured to the seat across from me, and she slid in. I glared at some people, making eyes at me across the room to keep them away.


    "How did you get coin so fast? You weren''t one of the groups that came a week ago. I know all of them."


    I shrugged but pushed it over to her. It was one of my two coins, but I was hoping that maybe I could make a friend. "You''re a regular person in Valhalla, right? What are you doing here? I thought people didn''t work these sorts of jobs, that it was avatars and random stuff."


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    She blushed, looking away. "That''s kind of personal."


    I looked her up and down. "Ah, you didn''t complete the challenge last month."


    She gave me a glare but half-rose from her seat. I patted the air, consoling her. "No judgment, no judgment. I''m obviously new here and trying to figure out how things work. I am looking to form a party. I have a few friends that I would consider dependable. Still, we have a certain limited range of abilities, if you know what I mean."


    "Pair o brutes?" She guessed.


    I shrugged. "Not that bad. But we do have two open spots. Perhaps you know someone looking for a team."


    She ran a hand over her face, put her elbow on the table, cupped her palm, and rested her chin on it as she looked up at me through her bangs. "Maybe," she said thoughtfully. "I get off at midnight. I''ll go ask around after that. Find me in the morning. I start work at ten."


    I checked the clock over the fireplace and nodded. "Miles," I said, offering her my hand.


    She clasped my wrist in a slightly different shake than I was familiar with.


    "Lagertha," she said. Only then did I notice the brilliant blue of her eyes, framed by the pale hair I associated with Scandinavians.


    "A pleasure," I said, and I went back to my meal. She left to serve more drinks.


    ---


    An hour later or so, I made my way up to my bedroom. I considered trying to do the ritual again to see if I had gained any levels or anything. Still, without the ability to assign free points, I didn''t feel like messing up my entire floor again. I already wasn''t exactly sure how I was going to fix it. The smeared blood had long since faded, but several of the runes were carved into my floor in a very obvious spot. I imagined that wasn''t too uncommon, and no one had mentioned anything about us being liable for damages, but, well, I was just tired.


    As I pulled off my boots, I considered just leaving my shirt on and lying in my bed. Still, I stripped out of my clothes and climbed under the covers, falling asleep before my head sunk onto the pillow.


    The next morning woke me with rays of sunlight piercing my eyes at what felt like much too early an hour. I hadn''t drunk that much, so I didn''t have a pounding headache. Luckily, my alcohol tolerance had started to recover in the last week or so; three drinks would have definitely given me a hangover when I was almost seventy-three, but in my twenty-seven-ish-year-old body, it was nothing. Still, I blinked bleary-eyed before I realized I had forgotten to close my shutters. I stumbled out of bed and moved them so that only a crack of light came in before stretching.


    I needed my clothes. I swore I had left them on the ground, but they were hanging up in my wardrobe, cleaned and pressed. I was sure no one had come into the room, though.


    "Magic fuckery. Must have been magic fuckery." I never changed my clothes in the Lesser Hall so well. I slipped into them and stumbled downstairs for breakfast. The clock said it was six in the morning, but most people were already up. The breakfast drink of choice was a hard apple cider that I watched most people have many pints of. I had orange juice and coffee.


    When I finished, I still had several hours before I was supposed to meet Lagertha, so I left my plate and got up, leaving the house to go wandering. Perhaps I''d go find Bjorn and Jonas. They had given me vague instructions to their newbie house, so as I wandered the city, taking in the sights, I made my way in that general direction. Most streets were well-lit, but every once in a while, I did notice an alleyway that was a little bit darker. I avoided going into any of them, but with the fresh light, the city seemed less strange and less perfect than it had previously.


    ***


    The rows of what seemed to be mostly drinking establishments were no less busy, but neither were they packed. Every once in a while, there was one place that was full, but that was usually when a musician was playing something. Occasionally, I would stop and listen to several bars of a tune from the outside, but I never went in.


    Many people referred to them as skalds, and whenever they were there, people were close. As much as there was music, even more, there were stories¡ªstories with the accompaniment of rhythmic chanting and clapping from the audience. Stories that seemed almost familiar, but I didn''t stick around long enough to hear one. I''m sure I would soon, but I had a destination in mind and only got distracted once by a dusty old bookshop.


    I hadn''t seen anyone go in or out of the shop, so I poked my head in out of curiosity. I quickly realized why it wasn''t popular. It wasn''t skill books or spell books or anything like that, but simply books¡ªbooks of fiction, books of nonfiction, books of science. Everything. And not one of them looked like they had been touched in fifty years, based on the amount of dust. The automaton didn''t even react as I tapped it on the forehead before I left the shop. That would be good to remember, but I didn''t have any use for that right now.


    Not too much later, I found myself poking my head into a different newbie house, one that I magically couldn''t enter but could see inside. I saw Jonas sitting by himself, eating breakfast. I waved to get his attention, and he looked up.


    "Hey, Miles," he said in a sleepy voice before picking up his mug of drink and shuffling over to the door so we could talk.

 Chapter 28:

    Chapter 28:


    It was painful witnessing Jonas''s extremely hungover face. I moved towards him and pulled him off to the side so we weren''t standing in the doorway.


    "What happened to you?" I asked, "Where''s Bjorn?"


    "Bjorn happened to me," Jonas said, rubbing his forehead, "Got the whole tavern riled up. Drinking ''til everyone passed out. He''s probably still asleep somewhere. The last time I saw him, he was doing another toast and round of drinks for everyone before I passed out under the table. The man likes to party."


    I looked around the inside of the common room. I verified a statement based on the fact that all of the dozen people in there were extremely hungover and very, very quiet. "Like, damn." I looked at the clock. "Fuck. I had two people we could potentially join the team with, but if they see you-- us like this... Well, you look like shit, man,"


    Jonas perked up slightly. "What? Two people?"


    "Two women. One of the servers at our place said she could recommend a couple of people. Probably, I don''t know. I''m supposed to meet her at ten, and she''s supposed to give me an answer at a location. If she actually wants to recommend them. She said that she would think about who she could recommend. I don''t know, fuck. Just go find Bjorn. Get both of you sobered up and meet me at my place at ten. We should be able to go meet some people or at least start looking for a team of our own. We need two more people to be optimal, and it would be great if we could have some sort of magic and healing abilities, but¡­" I looked at him. "Can you do this?"


    "Not as unsteady as I seem," he said, pressing his hand to his stomach.


    Then, I turned and left, hoping he would be presentable. But I had my doubts. I hadn''t realized how big of a deal being unable to get hungover in the Lesser Hall was to us.


    I walked back to my newbie house, taking my time on a roundabout path as I explored the city. I tried to keep a map of where everything was in my head, but there were just so many things. Luckily, most of it was drinking establishments that I felt I could safely ignore for now. Well, I didn''t mind a good drink. I wasn''t like Bjorn and Jonas. I wasn''t about to go get wasted. I had other priorities.


    The shops and housing were all very interesting. I kept a general eye out for better housing than newbie houses, and unsurprisingly, I found them quite a bit more expensive. But doing some quick math based on how many runs we need and how much profit we could make from each run. None of them were out of grasp, out of reach.


    It was barely past nine when I made it back to my new house, but I ordered breakfast nonetheless and slowly sipped on my coffee as I picked out hash browns and eggs.


    Exactly at ten, Lagertha came out of the kitchen, as she said, and served customers. It took her about ten minutes to make her way over to me, as I had already been served and clearly didn''t need anything. But she stopped by and gave me a half smile.


    "You''re up early," she noted.


    I lifted one shoulder before dropping it. "And I''ve been up for hours. Just had a late breakfast."


    She smiled. "Good. Maybe you''ll be a more dependable teammate than most of the guys we''ve talked to... There are two people who I think might be able to work with you. Well, a pair. There are more than that. But these two, I think, are the first ones you should talk with. I would have offered to join your team myself, but I can''t. Not right now, obviously. Ugh. At least the punishment gets me out of the dungeon run for this month. It would be hell if I was expected to work all this time while also running the dungeon. 14 hours a day is no joke."


    My eyes widened in surprise. "14."


    "Yeah."


    "Huh? At least they have that much common decency to give you the month off of the challenge."


    She nodded grimly. "Honestly, I''d rather be running the challenge. At least I''d be making progress here. I don''t even get a level."


    "How long have you been here?" I asked.


    A grumpy look flashed across her face. "This is my second month. Missed the minimum on my first but I did gain two levels during that first month. So hopefully next time I have to run the challenge, I''ll have more of a chance."


    "Damn, that sucks. Sorry." We spent a couple of beats in silence before I moved on. "Okay. How do I contact them?"


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    "They''re Astrid and Helga. They were two of my former teammates. On the last run, they made it farther than I did, so I got punished, and they didn''t. The rest of our team split apart.... for reasons. But they''re good people and competent."


    I nodded my appreciation.


    "They''ll be over by the pavilion entrance for the Coliseum in the next hour or two."


    I thought about it. It was about a ten-minute walk. "Okay, I''ll round up my friends, and we''ll all meet and talk and see how things go. Thank you," I said and slipped her my last coin. "I really appreciate it."


    She gave me a tired smile before walking away, back to work. I downed the rest of my lukewarm coffee and stood up, this time taking the most direct route to Jonas and Bjorn. I saw both of them. Luckily, Bjorn seemed just a bit subdued, where Jonas still looked miserable, though less wretched than when I found him a couple of hours ago. They were drinking giant mugs of water. Jonas had to shoo the serving girl away several times before Bjorn could order something more alcoholic. I winced at that. This was going to be a problem.


    I called out to them, and they came to the door. "So we got a couple of perspective team members. They have a little bit more experience than us, and they made it through the minimum completion last month, but something happened to their team. I don''t have the full story yet."


    It was a bit of an assumption, but seeing that they weren''t in the same punishment as Lagertha, they likely were in a better position.


    We weren''t in any rush as we made our way over to the meeting point. The Colosseum was relatively central, and we weren''t too far away. Besides, like I said, they''d be there for a while. Still, I didn''t want to miss them, and Bjorn and Jonas''s slow pace started to get on my nerves.


    We chatted softly, as anything loud made Bjorn and Jonas wince. I asked them if they had found any place to train. They both shook their heads. I would be surprised if they had even looked. There was one thing I realized. I didn''t see any training grounds. There''s got to be some way for people to train. We trained all the time. Even if we couldn''t get stats from training, proficiencies would be great, and we would have always trained in the lesser hall. The gods clearly wanted strong warriors for Ragnarok. Not allowing us to train seemed silly if the stories were to be believed. Perhaps that was mostly in the arena.


    Eventually, we made our way through various bustling courtyards with fountains and other decorations, seemingly surprisingly intact and well cared for, and made it to the specific entrance we were supposed to go to. I jumped up on a stone bench, leaning against the statue, and looked around. There were a lot of people milling about. Still, after a bit of scanning, I saw two women standing by themselves, leaning against a wall as if waiting for someone. I waved at them for a little bit until they saw me, and they waved back.


    Jumping down from the bench, I grabbed my two friends and pulled them along through the crowd until we were face-to-face with the pair. They were ducked part of the way into an alley so they weren''t exposed. They looked me up and down, and one of them said, "Lagertha sent you?"


    "Yes," I replied. "Are you Astrid and Helga?"


    They nodded. "That must make you Miles," Astrid said.


    I looked her up and down. She was a shorter woman with blond hair, blue eyes, and black face markings already painted on. She had a bow slung over her shoulder and wore tight robes. I wasn''t exactly sure what was different, but something was odd about her. A sparkle in the air, almost like sitting next to a live wire. As if... something I hadn''t really noticed with anyone ever before. Was it something that had to do with my focus stat?


    "Nice to meet you," I said, "These are Bjorn and Jonas."


    "And that must make you Helga," I turned to the second woman, who couldn''t have been more different than Astrid. Instead of being short with a bow, she was almost as tall as Bjorn, with a massive claymore slung over her shoulder. Her dark brown hair was cropped short, and her eyes were a piercing green. From what I could tell, she had no magical current running through her, though she did have a bag with a book on it, just like Astrid did. She grunted in reply and eyed Bjorn and Jonas warily.


    Like everyone I had seen in Valhalla, they were in prime physical condition. That and their implausibly symmetrical faces would have them turning heads anywhere back on Earth.


    Bjorn seemed taken with her, his jaw half-open as he stared before he reached out with one hand. "Bjorn. I like your sword," he said.


    She looked him up and down and gave him a nod, barely touching his hand in greeting. "Thank you," she said. "You don''t have one."


    Bjorn smiled. "We''re working on that."


    I looked over to where Jonas was, introducing himself to Astrid. She seemed wary, but he was polite. I looked around, and with everyone passing by, I decided to change venues. "What do you think about going inside and getting a booth so we can talk while we watch some sport?"


    The two exchanged looks and nodded. I thought my situation was rather reasonable. It was still a public place, but we''d have the ability to talk without being overheard too much, and also a little bit of entertainment, getting to know each other a little bit.


    We all walked over to the entrance and filed through. Jonas actually had the most coin remaining as Bjorn apparently spent his time drinking, and I was out. The two ladies didn''t offer to pay, but I wasn''t surprised. We were the ones trying to get them to join our team, though. At least, that''s how it appeared. I wouldn''t be surprised if they were as anxious to join our team as we were to get them, but I was. He found it was best to be polite in these situations.


    Jonas paid a coin, and we got a table, drinks, and snacks as we watched the arena. The arena was currently empty, and workers were assembling some sort of set-down beneath it, preparing for the next match, so we had a little bit of time to talk.


    Surprisingly, Astrid was the first to speak up when we sat down and sipped on our drinks. "So you want us to join your team? Why should we?"

 Chapter 29:

    Chapter 29:


    I considered my words for a few minutes before I spoke. I didn''t want to just jump in with nothing substantive, but I also didn''t want to make it seem like there wasn''t any reason for them to join my team. But when I considered it, I didn''t see any obvious reasons why they should.


    Well, we were unarmed, had no money, no experience. We were not very influential. And as far as I could tell, we didn''t exactly have anyone that was a stand-out talent. Not unless I was willing to divulge more secrets than I probably should.


    On top of that, I was starting to get a worrying suspicion that Bjorn was an alcoholic and might not be as reliable as I first suspected. Jonas seemed alright, but I could tell that he had issues of his own to work through now that the brain fog was up. Perhaps people who made it into Valhalla weren''t as well-adjusted as the average person back on Earth. I don''t think I could say I was the most stable person, considering how I died.


    But as I thought, the question that started to bug me was, why were they even considering joining our team? Well, from what I could tell, their last team split apart. It hadn''t been too long since the new challenge started, but they still hadn''t found a replacement yet. So either they were unskilled, or finding teams wasn''t necessarily as easy as I might have thought. Perhaps finding a permanent team was harder than a temporary one.


    "Well," I said thoughtfully, "I think we might be better off talking about why we want you to join the team. We can tell you why you''re needed and why you''ll be appreciated, and that should give you a better idea of what you will get out of being on this team."


    Neither woman spoke, but they seemed really willing to listen as I arranged my thoughts. Bjorn and Jonas didn''t say anything yet, more than eager to let me do the talking for now.


    "So, we all know each other from the Lesser Hall," I said, "And I got out yesterday. They got out the day before that. Right as the weapons of the challenge changed¡­" But Astrid put her hand up, pausing.


    "Wait, the challenge changed. You have challenges in the Lesser Hall."


    I blinked, "Have you not talked to anyone out of the male Lesser Hall before? What is in your Lesser Hall?" I asked.


    She made a motion as if to insist I explain first. I nodded, "Yes, we have challenges. The whole time I was there, it was a single-round elimination tournament where you had to make 12 victories in a row with whatever format the gods decided before the 12th match was fought in the arena, and people were left to graduate. That happened every night."


    Astrid seemed surprised but nodded. "That sounds brutal," she said and grimaced.


    "It was. I was there for about six months in the Snowbank, Courtyard, and Lesser Hall. And, uh, yeah, it was tough. The brain fog they tell you about keeps the worst of the trauma away. But you do die a lot." Astrid and Helga both flinched.


    "What is it like for you?" I asked.


    "There were fights, but it''s more of a school," Astrid said, "We learned magic, we studied books, and we had practice bouts with magic. After two years, you could challenge for graduation, and you had to beat one of the instructors in a match. It took me four years to get out, and I had to use magical archery rather than pure magic."


    "I just punched my instructor," Helga said in a gruff voice. "It was easier than learning magic."


    I nodded. "If I might ask, what kind of magic do you have access to?"


    Astrid nodded. "I can imbue my arrows with different effects. And shoot better. I also have a minimal healing ability, but only through touch."


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    I looked at Helga, who grumbled, "I can make my sword swing slightly faster."


    I blinked. "Okay, so back to the topic at hand. We want you on the team rather than anyone else we might have met in the Lesser Hall because we lack versatility. Our forte is close-quarters melee combat. We are very good at that but not much else."


    "You''ve only been here for a day or two. How do you know you''re very good?" Astrid challenged.


    "Well," I explained, "How it works in the Lesser Hall is that whenever the format changes, only those who are exceptionally good can win right away. Otherwise, the longer it goes on, the more people who are not quite as good but are crafty figure out the system and win. And also all the really good people move on as soon as the challenge changes. Bjorn and Jonas got out on the second day of the new format, and I got out on the third. That says something about our skill level."


    Astrid nodded thoughtfully, not quite believing me but encouraging me to go on. "What we lack is ranged and heals and any sort of knowledge about magic, and a lot of general knowledge. We have picked up quite a bit in the last couple of days, but we haven''t been through a full cycle, and we''ve only completed one dungeon run."


    Ashley looked surprised, "You finished one on the day you got here?"


    "Well, we didn''t finish it. We died pretty quickly, but we attempted it and got some coins. Made a profit at least."


    "That''s right. You have unlimited entries," Astrid said, "That is actually rather useful."


    "So as to what you''ll get out of this," I continued, "One thing we can say is we will guarantee to refund the cost of your entrance before any loot gets distributed. You''ll get your entry fee refunded before we get anything. That''s not something you can get normally; it''s not a ton, but you''ll basically be able to run the dungeon as much as possible. Our goal will be to reach the minimum completion as fast as possible and then grind levels like hell. We are looking to train very intensely and form a working partnership that has the potential to work long-term. I think team cohesion is going to be very important, especially in more complicated trials. This one seems rather straightforward. Have you attempted it yet?"


    Astrid and Helga shook their heads. "No. It''s only been up for a few days."


    "Well," I said, "It''s pretty straightforward so far. Just finding a bunch of monsters one room after another."


    "Okay," Helga grunted, and I waited for her to speak. "I''m not sure how much use I''ll be," she said. "Honestly, I''m purely melee as well, but I didn''t spend nearly as much time training my physical stats as you and the Lesser Hall did. I''m not particularly good with magic."


    I nodded my understanding. "I noticed both of you have a book with you. Could I ask about that?"


    Helga shrugged and took hers out, while Astrid shot her a dirty look. It was the fundamentals of magic.


    "Hmm, I propose a trade. I will help, or more likely, Bjorn will help you with your sword. He trained me, and he is exceptionally good at this. And you allow me to look through this book? I think learning about magic will be important in the future, even if it''s just to defend against it."


    "Judging based off of Astrid''s expression," I continued. "I feel that it would be rare for someone to be willing to part with this. But this seems to be an even trade."


    Helga''s face brightened surprisingly, completely removing the dour cast that left her feeling angry and standoffish, and she seemed excited more than anything. She slid the book over to me. "Just take it for now. Make a copy or something. I don''t care."


    "Bjorn, will you take this seriously?" I asked, but he just nodded, looking at the woman with what appeared to be puppy dog eyes. I groaned. Well, maybe she could distract him from drinking long enough to be useful.


    "Astrid," I said, "It seems that you might not get as much out of this, but I think we have potential. With you, we have range and heals, and you have two high damage and two defensive fighters to protect you while you pick off anything at long range and keep us up. I think this party composition could do well, and all that is left is to see how well we work together. How about we give the dungeon a few runs and see how things go before making a decision? What do you say?"


    Astrid thought for a moment before replying, "As long as you''re refunding our entry fees, I don''t see a problem with a few tries. But after our entry fee, the loot gets split equally."


    I nodded. "For now. If this works for the long term, maybe we can think about some sort of community fund for gear repairs and such."


    Satisfied, I looked around, and everyone seemed to be in agreement. "Okay," I said. But at that time, the horn blew, drowning out my words, and we all turned to watch the gates rise on the arena beneath us.

 Chapter 30:

    Chapter 30:


    The three of us quieted, and the other two men looked on as the announcer''s voice rang throughout the arena.


    "Ladies and gentlemen, warriors and mages!" the announcer proclaimed. "Although you are fearsome in your own renown, I''d like you to take a moment to consider our headline for the morning. Two of the most fearsome combatants this arena has ever seen. Both are certified over level 50! Any other time, they would be the headline of a week-long card. But these two beautiful mages have something of a personal score to settle. Hence the short-notice fight. We are always willing to put on the best display we can. In return for the protection of the arena, they have agreed to put on a show for you all here. Now..."


    The man paused as if to make sure everyone was paying attention. I could have heard a pin drop in the arena as everyone held their breaths for what seemed to be a huge deal.


    "We sure got lucky to see this," Astrid whispered to no one in particular.


    "From the east entrance, a close-quarters fire specialist wielding a pair of daggers is none other than Aslaug, the Destroyer, Scourge of Worlds! For any of you who haven''t read about her deeds, make sure to pick up the latest summary report of her last excursion. In stores now!"


    "From the west," the announcer roared, "Is the reigning, defending Champion of the Skies, the Storm mage, Siggy Servl! She needs no introduction, standing undefeated at 74 and 0 in the arena. It''s said she hasn''t had to run a challenge dungeon with a party in decades. This time, has she finally met her match?"


    There was no referee or anything to go with the announcer''s words. The second the announcement finished, the shields around the arena popped up. I could feel the hum of magic and see a faint distortion in the air where the dome enclosed the two combatants.


    Siggy floated up in the air, lightning crackling from her fingers as winds buffeted her clothes and hair. She said something that didn''t make it through the sound barrier.


    No response came from her opponent. Aslaug twirled her daggers calmly, licks of flame flickering around, and dashed forward. She moved at a speed that my eyes couldn''t track. One second, she was starting to move; the next, she was behind the Storm mage, plunging a dagger towards her back, but a gust of wind full of water sprayed against the fire and the dagger, pushing her back and sending her tumbling. But she landed on her feet, braced against the side of the dome, the wind working against gravity to keep her upright.


    Then, in a flicker, she was gone again. Lightning blasted but missed as she sliced towards the unprotected side of the Storm mage. Then the Storm mage finally moved. She twisted, twirling in the air, not just dodging sideways or vertically but rotating as if gravity just didn''t apply to her. As she smacked aside the dagger and reached out to touch the forehead of the fire mage, right before her finger made contact, a gout of flame pushed it back, channeling the electricity into the ground around her.


    The audience had been silenced for the first quick exchange of blows but erupted into cheers and roars. Bjorn leaped to his feet, hands cupped to his mouth, hollering. Even Helga and Astrid cheered. I couldn''t help but watch in awe as the opponents continued to fight. This was only level 50. How much of their speed was magic, and how much was its stats?


    Clearly, they were using magic as a supplement to every single movement. Still, it wasn''t nearly as simple as it looked. They were anticipating each other''s moves and countering them. They must have studied each other before, as many things they tried completely halted them in their tracks.


    I could feel the buzz of magic flashing. They were always casting something, one thing or another. Still, bursts were common during the exciting moment that had happened so far. Besides the daggers, I didn''t see them use any items, and it was impossible for me to tell who was winning. Only superficial damage had been inflicted on each of them, and both were healing incredibly fast due to probably higher constitution, but maybe also healing magic.


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    I could tell that the Storm mage, Siggy, had significantly higher mana expenditure. She was using a lot more power and seemed to be coming off slightly ahead in most of their exchanges, but Aslaug wasn''t losing in any manner. Whatever magic power she seemed to lack, she made up for in pure physical stats. She moved with a fluid grace that reminded me of a stalking cat but struck like a viper. Meanwhile, the Storm mage was more like a hummingbird flitting here and there. The motion was only seen in short, sharp, jerky movements as her whole body was moved rather than her moving her body.


    Clearly, she was relying more on magic. Still, if this was the height that people would get into for Valhalla Proper, I could only imagine why Loki thought it would take me a long time to get out of there because I was a long way from this. I was good for a human. These... This was just inhuman. And these weren''t even melee specialists.


    The bout continued for some time. Finally, the Storm mage was slowing down, low on mana. But Siggy wasn''t alone. The fires of Aslaug were completely extinguished. And her motions weren''t supported with mana as much as they were at the beginning of the bout.


    The fight was slower, and damage was taking longer to heal, but clearly, the scales were tipping. Once the magic was completely drained out of both of them, Siggy would be rather helpless. Her feet touched down for the first time since the fight started, and she actually started to move her body rather than use the winds to move herself. She fluidly dodged several strikes but was nowhere near as fast as Aslaug.


    She took a slash to the forearm and then the leg, and Aslaug pounced. But then an explosion of electricity flung her back into the wall and pinned her, manacles of lightning wrapping around her legs, arms, and throat. As Aslaug floated up off the ground, an outpouring of magic eclipsed even at the beginning of the battle. I couldn''t help but respect the devious ploy, feigning weakness the entire fight.


    Could she have won going all out like this in the beginning? Maybe. But now that Aslaug had no magic left, there was little she could do as the electricity ripped her apart. Silence reigned in the arena for no more than half a second before thunderous applause shook the stands and nearly burst my eardrums.


    ***


    As we walked out of the arena as a group, the mood was somber. Each of us knew how far we had to go before we even started to gain any respect here. Those fighters might be at the top, but the gulf between who we were and who we could be was unimaginable. The standoffishness of Astrid and Helga, though, had lessened slightly, as if they didn''t feel themselves so superior to us, having been here for longer than we did. They might have a couple of levels on us, but what did that really matter when it came down to it?


    As we walked, Astrid spoke up. "I think we would be willing to work with you, and if this goes longer term, one of our requests will be that we work together to bring Lagertha through the main challenge in the next couple of months. Even if it means carrying her while she finds a group and gets back on her feet. I have heard too many stories of people getting punished and then never quite making it back to where they should be properly."


    I looked at Bjorn and Jonas. "I don''t think we have any objection to that," I said.


    "As long as you are willing to go through many, many times," Bjorn added.


    "Good. Now let''s go make some coin and run the dungeon if that''s okay with you," Astrid said.


    I nodded, feeling a moment of hesitation as I pulled out the knife Loki had given me. With a smile, I responded to Jonas and Bjorn''s interested looks by simply saying that I managed to find a weapon last night. They chuckled, but the two women looked a little confused. I turned to address them.


    "As I said, I thought the three of us could carry these two lugs along until we managed to buy everyone weapons. I''m not saying that they won''t contribute, but I imagine they won''t be much use."


    Bjorn and Jonas groaned at my gentle ribbing, but Astrid and Helga surprised us. They exchanged a wary look with each other before sighing and reaching down to pull a knife out of their belts. Astrid handed one to Jonas while Helga held hers out to Bjorn.


    "If you break it, you''re getting me a new one," Helga told Bjorn as she reluctantly let go of her backup blade.


    Bjorn gave her a slight bow over the knife. "Of course, of course."


    I wanted to run my hand down my face in exasperation, but I restrained myself.


    "Okay, well, we might as well get started," I said as I headed toward the challenge entrance just across the square.


    "Oh, just so you know, we have a few friends that should be getting out of the Lesser Hall soonish. And when they do come, we''d like to help them as well," I mentioned to Astrid.


    "Sure, as long as it doesn''t interfere with our training times," Astrid shrugged.


    With that settled, we made our way towards the challenge entrance, ready to face what awaited us in the dungeon.

 Chapter 31:

    Chapter 31:


    This time, when we walked into the building, it was a little bit different. There were a few people coming in and out of the portal, and we had to wait in line for a few minutes before the raven saw us. It tapped our three tokens and then cawed at the two women for coins.


    They looked at each other and at us. I shrugged completely out, and Jonas pulled out two coins. Each Astrid and Helga pulled out, one grimacing as they laid it on the table. Ah, they really didn''t have enough money to run this dungeon. Hopefully, this wouldn''t stay a problem for much longer.


    The raven asked. "Team name?"


    Everyone looked at me, and I shrugged. "Do we need one?" I asked.


    "No," crowed the raven.


    "We''ll skip that for now," I told it.


    The raven bobbed its head, and we moved on to the line for the portal.


    "What, you didn''t want to give us a team name," Astrid said.


    I shrugged. "We don''t want to get too attached in case you guys suck in the challenge."


    She smiled softly but didn''t banter back. A little disappointing as I think that would have helped our team cohesion, but... I couldn''t fault her. Everyone else was quiet and thinking.


    I thought about what was happening, and I realized it wouldn''t be as simple as it would have been if we had just had five of us. We could all run in and each take a badger at first.


    No, that might work for the first room, but it definitely wasn''t going to work for the second room, and I wanted to get farther than we did last time. Otherwise, this might not be useful. And for that, we needed a strategy. But no one was talking.


    I waited for another handful of seconds before I realized that no one would talk. I let out a mighty sigh as I conceded that I had unofficially made myself the team leader, a position that I didn''t really feel qualified to be in. It''d be best if Bjorn was deciding tactics or something. Someone who knew anything about fighting. But, well, I was what we had.


    "Helga," I said, "can you take one of these badgers yourself?"


    She shrugged. "Probably. I have a big ass sword, and as long as one doesn''t come at from me from behind."


    I nodded, thinking. "Okay."


    After a little bit of consideration, I clapped my hands together for attention once.


    "Okay, here''s how it''s going to work. Bjorn, you''re going to engage two. Don''t worry about killing them as much. Unless you can see how to do it, just keep them off of everyone. Jonas. I want you to get one isolated. Kill it as fast as you can. That''ll leave two for Helga and me. Astrid, support. Any of us, however you can, but let''s focus on burning down one at a time. If you need to, start with Helga and then move to me, Jonas. And then we''ll all end. And then move to Helga and me once yours is dead. Go help Jonas if necessary. Otherwise, go help Bjorn."


    Helga, Bjorn, and Jonas all nodded, but Astrid spoke up just to confirm. "I¡¯ll focus fire on Helga''s, then yours, and then play it by ear. However, whoever needs help most."


    I nodded, "Of course, support supersedes damage. If someone needs healing and no one else is in extreme danger, it would be best if we could keep the party up for as long as possible."


    "Reasonable." She responded in confirmation.


    With that, it was our turn to step into the portal.


    ***


    When we reached the first five badgers, my nerves had mostly subsided. I shouldn''t have been nervous as we had already had this fight. Still, the addition of new members and wanting to perform well was making me constantly check everyone''s disposition out of the corner of my eyes. But for the most part, everyone seemed to be doing all right. Bjorn was attempting to talk to Helga, and Jonas and Astrid were whispering things back and forth.


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    I walked to the rear. And as soon as we saw the set of opponents, we leaped into action. I had kind of wanted to stop and assess briefly to ensure nothing was wrong, but this was fine, too. We had already decided on our plan, and nothing had changed.


    Bjorn barreled into the center, just like he did last time. But this time, he had a dagger in one hand. While one of his victims was thrown against the wall again. This time, the other was stabbed in the shoulder. It was with a much better position that he began their tussle.


    The remaining four of us spread out. Astrid hung back where Jonas and I charged. Helga drew her sword and approached more cautiously.


    I learned my lesson from the last time and didn''t attempt to mimic Bjorn and slam the badger. Besides, I had a weapon now. So, as we got close, I juked left and then stepped right. The badger fell for it, and digging deep with my knife, I left a slash across its shoulder. I was aiming for its neck, but it managed to slide aside.


    We both whirled at the same time, facing each other, and slowly started to circle. I stepped carefully to the right, never crossing my feet in a fighter shuffle. My knife held low, my right hand ready to stab or slash, but my left hand held out in an attempt to intercept any attack and redirect it. It''s perfect.


    As it lunged at me, teeth snapping, my left hand came down slightly, pressing against the side of its head, and caught it. Mid-lunge. Using my weight and twisting my body, I flipped it over onto its side, and it smashed into the ground with the oomph of the breath leaving its body. I slashed at its wrist with my knife, severing some tendons, and as it wiggled back to its feet out from underneath me, I jumped back to avoid getting hurt. When it started moving again, I had to be careful as the paw I had injured wasn''t nearly as responsive. Sometimes, it would half stumble as we continued our slow circling.


    This time, I attacked. I feinted a grab for the scruff of its neck, and it snapped up at my hand, exposing the inside of its throat to me as I lunged forward with my knife. It managed to react quickly enough, but even as it ducked its head down, the tip of its knife dug into one nostril, digging out the side and splashing blood in a spray as its face started to bleed. It snarled and lunged at me. I was slightly overbalanced forward. I just managed to put my hand on its shoulder to prevent it from reaching me, and I pushed it into the dirt.


    Its good paw managed to nick my arm as it went down beneath me. Still leaning forward. I dropped one of my knees into its back, right between its shoulder blades, and started to stab in all the places I could reach with my knife, as my free hand held its head to the ground as it wiggled viciously from beneath me.


    My focus didn''t let me see what happened to Helga''s badger before arrows started impacting around me.


    I nearly jumped back as the first one missed my hand by only three or four inches. As it sunk into the badger, it hissed slightly and then dissolved, leaving a deep puncture wound with nothing to stop this flow of blood that started gushing out of its side. I jumped off the badger, avoiding narrowly avoiding a slap of its hind claws as several more arrows punctured it and then vanished.


    The badger was now incredibly slow from blood loss and numerous cuts. So, taking the knife in both hands, I dove to my knees, putting all my weight into the stab to the brain. My knife hit the skull and burst through in a sudden jerk. The badger lay twitching dead on the ground.


    Planting my foot on its skull, I yanked up, ripping the dagger free of the thick bone, before turning to find Helga and Jonas decapitating their badger. Bjorn was holding up his final badger for Astrid to puncture with arrows. His other badger was already dead from the earlier tussle.


    I leaned down and wiped the gray matter off my blade on the badger''s fur before straightening up and looking around.


    "Anyone hurt?" I asked.


    Jonas and Bjorn shook their heads, and Helga didn''t say anything.


    "It doesn''t seem like it," Astrid said, though. "You got a small scratch."


    She walked over, placed her hand a few inches above the cut on my arm, and muttered something. I could feel a slight zap of static electricity, and the wound started slowly closing in real-time.


    "Thank you," I murmured, and she gave me a small smile.


    "Just don''t let it happen again." She teased.


    I nodded. "You said you could skin these if you had a knife last time. Do you think it''s worth doing?"


    Bjorn looked down at his knife and shrugged. But Astrid said, "I... I didn''t see pelts on the table outside. I don''t know if that would be worthwhile. Just the teeth and claws."


    "Just the teeth." We quickly recovered the teeth, and I put them all in my pouch. "We''ll pay back the entry fees first, then we''ll split the loot equally," I reminded everyone.


    "Okay." No one seemed to have any objections, and we started walking down.


    "Okay, this next one''s going to be a lot more complicated. Twice as many and stronger opponents. The first room is nice, though," Astrid said. "It''s rare to see the entry fee returned so quickly. Normally, it takes several different major milestones before you earn back the money here."


    "As long as we don''t destroy any of the teeth in the fight, we''ve pretty much got our entry fee and a little bit of profit for us first-timers," I said.


    Astrid nodded. "Yes. Even if we can''t get past the second room grinding, this would be profitable for almost any team that has any newbies on it."


    "But we should be able to get past the second room," I said. "It''s just going to be a lot harder from there."

 Chapter 32:

    Chapter 32:


    The progress bar showed us moving forward at the same three-quarters of a percent for the first room. We kept walking in the tunnel as I considered how we wanted to approach the ten larger badgers. We couldn''t do the same thing where we all split up. That might be more efficient for damage output, but we needed to work together. After I collected my thoughts, I spoke up.


    "Okay, no charging at this time. Bjorn, you''re in front. Helga immediately to his right. Jonas, and then me to the left. After taking shots, you can stay close enough to be able to touch and heal any of us. We''re going to have to make a stand at the entrance. There are ten in there, twice the size of the ones we just fought."


    Everyone grunted or grumbled a reply, but no one had any questions. I moved into position with everyone else. As we neared the entrance, I could smell the badgers before I could see them. The musky scent told me exactly what I was getting into, and when we got to the entrance of the tunnel, we formed up. The four of us formed a wall between the badgers and Astrid. Astrid immediately started firing, her bow arrows zipping between the narrow gaps between us and sinking into the badgers. The elemental effects started taking effect. Little explosions ripped chunks of meat out as the arrows struck or electricity stunned them. But things that she hadn''t been able to do when we were up close.


    Of the ten, only eight made it to us, but that was still two for each of us. But the limited space left made it difficult for them to get through. I had placed Bjorn at the center for a reason, and Helga, with her longer sword, to hold one edge while I held the other.


    I figured Jonas was probably the weakest fighter because I had just higher stats, and Helga had a full-on sword. His lack of a real weapon was an issue, so I put him in a position where Bjorn and I could protect him while still holding the flanks. We had to, but it didn''t quite work out as well as I thought. There was no time or space to even consider what anyone else was doing as three crowded around my position, and I slashed with all I was worth, forcing them back with my dagger.


    One on the right lunged, and I stabbed it, and it backed off. Then, the one on the left was coming. I managed to get my hand in there and halt its momentum before I could bring my blade back. But during that time, the middle badger lunged for it again, and I had to kick its chin with my foot, pushing me slightly off balance and forcing me to take a step back to keep everyone off. But right before I thought I would be overwhelmed, the badger on the most extreme side got an arrow through its eye, and it flopped over dead. And now I only had two badgers to focus on.


    Keeping them at bay wasn''t nearly as difficult as trying to kill one. I simply slashed and pushed and slowly gave ground, making sure that I didn''t get far behind Jonas and letting neither of them slip past me. Another arrow came in and killed one; this time, I attacked, pushing forward. I slashed several times at its face, distracting it before I could instruct him with my hands flashing over its eyes. As before, I was able to stab up through its jaw and into its brain, ripping the dagger out. I looked around and saw that all ten badgers were dead.


    Astrid was standing between Bjorn and Helga, a hand on each of them, gashes closing up on all of them. Jonas had fared rather well. Bjorn has taken the majority of the charge, as have I. But somehow, I managed to remain uninjured, where they had not. Gasping for breath, I leaned against the dirt wall and slid down into a squat as I tried to come down from the trance-like state I had entered. My adrenaline pumped, and my heartbeat came down from the sprint-like pace it was at.


    When Astrid let go of Jonas and Helga, I forced myself to stand back up. "Right." Not wanting to appear too frazzled, Jonas was sitting on the corpse of the one he had killed, looking around grumpily. I walked over a few steps and held a hand out to help him to his feet. He groaned as he stood up and stumbled slightly.


    "Astrid," I called.


    "I''m on it," she said and came over, finding a gash torn in his pants and a nasty cut deep into his quad. She touched it, and it healed, but only halfway before she had to take a step back and put a hand on her head.


    "Whoa! Low on juice. I''m gonna need a minute," she said, and I guided her to the wall where she sat, as I had been just a few minutes ago. I looked over to Bjorn and Helga.


    "You two all right?"


    They both grunted in reply.


    "You think these teeth are worth the same as the ones previously?" I said, looking at the fangs all around us.


    Jonas spoke through gritted teeth as he braced against the pain in his leg. "They did weigh them last time, so maybe."


    I grumbled but assisted Bjorn in removing the teeth. "Twenty coins would be nice. With this, we might have four or five coins apiece, which would be a good start on getting gear."


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    I wondered if this was also only three-quarters of a percent further. It was significantly harder than the first one. I looked around to see if there''s anything else interesting in the cave, but it was simple plain dirt. Still, I felt accomplished. I didn''t have any real knowledge of tactics, but under my direction, we had executed a plan and everyone had survived and it worked out. But now who knows what we''re going up against.


    ***


    It took almost a full two hours for Astrid to be ready to move again. We had long since picked out teeth and urine, cut out the badger''s claws, and skinned a couple before realizing it. Once the pelt was removed, the whole thing disappeared into nothing more than dust. After about half an hour or so, we looked better, but she said she was still regenerating her magic. Mana apparently was slow to accumulate, especially on early levels, and getting below a certain threshold massively decreased or increased the accumulation time.


    While we waited, we each checked over our weapons repeatedly and paced. No one talked much. But I could feel that the combat had brought us together somewhat. Helga didn''t feel the need to sit next to Astrid all the time and would occasionally exchange a couple of words with Bjorn or Jonas as they passed by. I eventually dug out some small pebbles from the side of the cave and practiced juggling. Previously, in my old life, I had been able to juggle three balls for a couple of seconds, which I had picked up as a trick to amuse my children. But here, with my massively increased speed and maybe my focus attribute, I was able to keep six spinning in the air with relative ease. Little pebbles, too. Nothing big and easy to catch. I had to nimbly grab them out of the air with two or three fingers.


    Really, I wanted to carve out my status ritual and see what it changed. Had I gotten to another level yet? Had I increased my stats from training and all, that seemed unlikely. But maybe I''d gotten my dagger proficiency up or something like that. Something, right? Should have some sort of accomplishment for finishing one or two runs, maybe even working with the party, but I held off. I still haven''t figured it out yet. Still, Loki was definitely not necessarily welcomed in polite society, and I wasn''t about to out myself as a follower of his when I didn''t have to. When we left this cave.


    Eventually, progress had two percent, and I sighed in relief in the black void, knowing that each room wasn''t a set percentage. Still, we had a long way to go.


    "A boss room. Damn it!" Astrid swore.


    "A what?" Bjorn asked, confused.


    "Big solo monsters in the challenges, bosses." She explained briefly, and Bjorn nodded in apparent understanding.


    "We''re going to need to be careful about this. I think any solid hit from this will at least take us out of the fight entirely but probably kill us. Astrid might be able to bring us out if one of us is hurt?" I looked at her questioningly, and she nodded.


    "But that would slow us down even more. So, we need to come at it from multiple angles. Bait it and force it to chase us around the room while Astrid hits it from range," I said, laying out the bare bones of a plan.


    "Just like fighting a bear," Bjorn said. "Get it agitated first. Once it gets too close to me, someone needs to wound it enough to peel it off."


    "We can rotate through the four of us," Helga added, and it seemed he had some experience like this. Jonas and I both agreed and looked at Astrid.


    "Hmmm, I never asked, but how are you doing on arrows?" I inquired.


    She plucked one out of the quiver and showed it to me. "I actually have a relatively unlimited supply. It takes mana, but I won''t run out. Though it does eat into how much I can heal the more I fire."


    "All right, let''s try not to get hit," I said. Slowly, we fanned out into the room until Bjorn and I were on opposite sides of the cave from each other. Astrid stayed a little way in the tunnel, and Bjorn stepped forward. The bear-sized badger swiveled its head as he stepped into the ambient light away from the shadows of the edge of the cave. Bjorn let out a roar, and right as he did, Astrid started letting arrows fly. She knocked, drew aim, and released quickly, all in one smooth movement that didn''t take more than a second and a half. An arrow flying true each time.


    It was rather hard to miss the large target, and she didn''t seem to be particularly aiming for any one spot. Its eyes were too narrow, and its head was too bony. The one time she did try, it just skidded off the skull, leaving nothing more than a scratch. Punching deep into its hide and side seemed to be the most effective strategy. It ignored them, but I could see blood starting to mat its fur before its lumbering strides had even reached Bjorn.


    Bjorn swiped at its face with his knife, well missing by feet as he danced to the side, just keeping the badger''s attention on him as he danced around. When Bjorn had been dodging for 20 seconds, Helga came in and attacked the badger''s hind leg with a heavy two-handed slash. Her blade was a bit deep but stuck, and she had to rip it out and roll backward to avoid the spinning swipes. All the while, arrows rained down into its body.


    Stuck for a second, it hissed and disappeared, leaving the punctures to bleed profusely. Now, the badger was chasing Helga, who was not nearly as nimble as Bjorn when it came to ducking and dodging. Her speed attribute simply just wasn''t trained enough. After only a couple of seconds, I was running in and stabbing the badger''s tail with my knife. With my little knife, that seemed quite inefficient.


    The badger roared, all the pain we had managed to inflict seeming to have no effect but to make it angry. And when it turned its beady red eyes on me, I could feel the hate pouring off of it.

 Chapter 33:

    Chapter 33:


    I took several steps backward, narrowly avoiding a massive paw swipe. Attacking it with the little knife in my hand seemed pointless, so I didn''t even try. I didn''t think I could do much damage, even if I got it in its eye. Not before it killed me. So I just dodged backward repeatedly. At one point, I even somersaulted under a swipe, coming up on its side and running several feet away.


    The view around me narrowed until all I could see were its teeth and two sets of paws. As I dodged frantically, my heartbeat seemed to slow, each beat taking seconds. We danced on the edge for what felt like minutes but was, in reality, only a handful of seconds.


    Then, Bjorn came to my rescue and stabbed the badger in the side, raking his blade down its ribs. A sickening thump reverberated through the cave each time it hit another slat.


    Bjorn disengaged quickly, and the badger spun. I stumbled back, panting, resisting the urge to double over and put my hands on my knees. As I caught my breath, I maintained awareness and took stock of the situation. More arrows were sunk into the beast''s side, disappearing, one every couple of seconds. Sometimes, extra magical effects would happen, but they didn''t seem to have more of an impact than just a simple shaft.


    Bjorn''s approach was different from mine. He was more aggressive, his knife a little bit longer, and more experienced. He slashed at obvious openings when the badger presented its side or head. While the aggression played against him, it was no more than fifteen seconds before he slipped up and took a glancing blow to the shoulder, sending him spinning to the ground.


    Helga jumped before him, sword slashing at the badger''s face. It clashed with its teeth but barely did more than a flesh wound. The force and overextension of her strike forced Helga to block a swipe of the claws with her sword. She braced it on the flat of the blade on her forearm, but the blow still sent her stumbling backward. The massive badger had a path open to Bjorn, but Jonas came in and stabbed at its side, just like when Bjorn had gotten its attention away from me.


    This time, the bear was too focused on what appeared to be helpless prey. Bjorn wasn''t dead or anything; he was scrambling to his feet, but it wasn''t very fast. Jonas looked at the knife embedded in the badger and the way it ignored him. So he grabbed its fur with one hand, vaulted onto its back, pulled the dagger out on his way up, and slammed it down with both hands right into the base of the badger''s skull.


    The badger didn''t recognize the attack until Jonas pulled out and did it again. Then, the badger flinched and shook itself, sending Jonas flying. The dagger was still buried in the base of the neck, right next to the spine. Then, the badger turned to follow Jonas'' tumbling body.


    Helga regained her feet, but before I even thought about it, I was already moving, too. Jumping at the badger''s head, I landed before it could duck down to Jonas and slashed at its face. I scored across one of its eyes, not doing much damage but infuriating it as blood dripped from the split brow into the scratched orb. I grasped its ear with one hand as I hung off the back of its skull, attempting to stab at the other eye. I missed, hitting bone and skittering along, digging a deep trench through the flesh on its face.


    The beast roared as it went up on its hind paws, shaking me off. But Helga had reached the fight, and its massive stomach was exposed. She wound up in a horizontal slash that looked more like a baseball swing than anything resembling swordwork. The blade dug deep, cutting into the stomach, parting the fur surprisingly easily. About halfway through, it got stuck, and she changed the slash to a thrust, burying the whole length of steel deep into its stomach. She was forced to let go and dive out of the way, rolling to come up and spinning to face the bear as it landed. But as the front paws came down where she was standing, its strength left it, and its front arms crumpled. It fell on the sword in its stomach, the hilt driving it even deeper.


    I found the dagger Jonas had buried in its neck and grabbed it to hold myself steady. I plunged my knife repeatedly into its other eye socket as it lay twitching on the ground, slowly bleeding out. Eventually, I managed to make it deep enough to hit the brain, and the thing went still.


    ***


    It took us even longer to recover from this fight than the last one. My hands were shaking as I pulled the two knives out of the bear and handed Jonas back his from where he sat on the ground. Astrid was finishing up healing Bjorn, who had dislocated his shoulder and broken his collarbone. It seemed it took her two full usages of her mana pool to heal him. She spent an hour or so recovering between each use before she could even come to see the more minor scrapes that Helga and Jonas received.


    I was surprisingly unharmed, mostly just shaking, bruised, and battered. After waiting for a couple of hours in what was approaching some sort of meditative trance as I recovered my energy, I felt surprisingly okay. Reflecting on the fight, that narrowing of the field of view was a lot like fight or flight instincts but magnified. I couldn''t help but wonder if there was some sort of proficiency I had gained recently. Either that or a focused attribute was coming into play here, and not just in magic. It would make sense.


    From the little I knew about magic from fantasy books I had read back in my youth or discussions I had with my children about video games, I remembered how vital meditation seemed to be. So, I did my best to try the few half-remembered practices that my wife had talked to me about from her yoga class over a decade ago. Sitting on the floor, I tried to calm my mind and think of nothing, but that didn''t really work. So, I focused on one thing. Whenever my thoughts strayed from thinking about the color black, I brought it back to that color and tried to just exist in a void of nothingness.


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    It worked better than I expected. I kept getting distracted, but after the first twenty minutes or so, my mind was beaten into submission. I could just sort of float there, feeling my breath and body and a slight bit of foreign energy tingling through my heart.


    I really needed to read that book Helga had lent me. No one disturbed me as I sat. Helga and Jonas held a whispering conversation as Astrid recovered, and Bjorn was heavily concussed and still in a daze. But no one did anything to the mammoth badger sitting in the center of the room.


    After the first hour, I started to grow concerned that it might begin to stink or something, but it was a magical construct. Despite it having flesh and blood, the gods thankfully hadn''t given its bowels to empty as it died. So, we just sat there, unmoving, while we recovered.


    Absent-mindedly, I wished I had brought some food with me because I was starting to get a little hungry. It had been almost six hours since we had entered, and it would likely be late evening when we left if we left now.


    Once everyone was up and Bjorn was fully healed, he walked over to the bear and started to butcher it, carefully cutting away its hide. The bear-sized badger was slowly being dissected, with Bjorn carving out several organs and teeth. I looked over at Astrid, who shrugged.


    "Seems to all be loot, as the thing didn''t disappear," she said.


    Once he was done, there was a pile of parts. We looked at it, puzzled.


    "How are we supposed to carry this?" I asked.


    "Should we head back?" Astrid suggested.


    I frowned, not liking the idea of giving up so soon. We hadn''t even come close to the 20% way mark. But were we really going to get much farther? We stalled in this fight, and it took everything we had to make it through alive.


    "I kind of want to see what''s next so we can prepare for it," I said.


    No one objected, but at the same time, everyone else didn''t look exactly enthused about the idea either. Still, we divvied up the loot, and I ended up carrying the pelt on my shoulder as everyone else carried sacks or bundles of other things. We trudged down the exit.


    Progress: 5%,  flashed in front of me. Was every chamber worth more than the last? Because then it might only be two or three more chambers, and we could be done. But Astrid had called it a boss room, so presumably, it was worth more than others. Still, 5% was 5%.


    The trek wasn''t that long, and soon we were in another cave. This time, though, the threat wasn''t nearly so obvious as a giant monster sitting in the center. Also, the cave seemed to have been worked by something other than an animal. The dirt was patted down smooth, and the walls were more at right angles rather than a tube. I frowned, not seeing what the danger was.


    We all stopped at the entrance and whispered to each other.


    "Do you see anything?" I asked the others.


    Astrid squinted. "There''s something on the far side. Could be the exit."


    Jonas and Bjorn just shook their heads. Helga kept watching behind us.


    I put my burden down and drew my knife. Slowly, cautiously, I stepped out and looked around. A couple of feet from the entrance, I saw what was different. The dirt was arranged in a pattern on the floor as if the floor wasn''t really dirt, but more tiles were covered up with a thin layer of dirt. I reached down and wiped it away with my finger, finding that it was only a quarter-inch deep, and beneath was a glistening rough stone slab.


    "I don''t think we''re going to find badgers here," I called back over my shoulder. Right there, I saw what was happening. In a few careful motions, I brushed the piece of stone I was standing on free. It was about three feet by three feet and had a half-inch gap between the next one. I pressed lightly on the one over, worried about hidden traps or something. If something had evenly covered the whole thing with dirt, perhaps there was something like a pressure sensor that shot spikes out of the wall. Or maybe we''d be running away from a giant stone rolling down the corridor. Probably had seen too many movies at this point.


    Examining the walls, I didn''t see anything similar, but I also didn''t see the threat yet.


    "Astrid," I called over my shoulder. "Come here. You have better eyes than I do."


    She stepped forward to join me, and I pointed toward the dark hole that she had mentioned earlier. She squinted.


    "That looks like the exit," she confirmed her earlier guess.


    Looking around, I saw nothing that would be an obvious threat. Still, the idea of just walking across the room raised hairs on the back of my neck.


    "So, what is this, a trap room?" I asked.


    She grimaced and looked around uneasily. "Maybe."

 Chapter 34:

    Chapter 34:


    "What are you all talking about? A taproom?" Bjorn called out as he strode over to us, joining us on the tile. He wasn''t being careful where he stepped or walking gently like we were.


    "What are you all scared of?" he said, clearly a little impatient after having spent so much time getting healed.


    "No," Astrid said. "Trapped room, like spike traps and stuff."


    Bjorn looked around as if he was in a forest searching for trees. "There''s nowhere to set a snare or a pitfall or anything," he said.


    I rolled my eyes at his lack of imagination. "One of these tiles," I said, tapping the tile underneath us, "could totally be a pit trap. We step on it, and then bam! We fall into a pit of spikes fifteen feet below."


    Bjorn held out his hand to Helga and asked for her sword. She passed it over, and he started tapping the tiles. "See? Problem solved," he said as he stepped forward, putting some of his weight on the tile he had just finished tapping. But without enough, he would fall over if it fell out from underneath him. Once he had about thirty percent of his weight on it, a series of spikes shot up and stabbed him through the foot. Two spikes managed to pierce his foot right between the toes and closer to the arch, protruding six inches out of his foot. He yelled in pain as he slowly lifted his foot off the spikes and stepped back. A pool of blood started to form from the base of his boot at a disturbing rate.


    "You idiot," Astrid said as she yanked up the cuff of his pants so she could touch his calf. "I only have so much mana, and I''m going to get mana burn or something if I keep having to heal your dumbass."


    Bjorn chuckled as he gingerly put weight back on his foot after it was done healing.


    "Yeah, well, um, I''m gonna wait back there," he said, passing Helga her sword and returning to the entrance.


    "See, the thing is," I whispered to Astrid, "he''s not exactly wrong. What can we really do besides tap and explore?"


    She looked around with me, but neither of us had any good ideas. The tile we were on was safe, and if I was right, the grid was about ten tiles by ten tiles. Likely, we had to either find a path or find the traps we were capable of surviving. It seemed that it required a decent amount of weight. Bjorn was at least 200 pounds, so he definitely had less than 100 pounds on the title to trigger it...


    "Oh!" I called to Jonas. After a few seconds of explaining, he brought us the massive badger pelt. I hefted it. It felt about seventy pounds, conceivably enough weight to trigger the traps. I held on to the edge and tossed it on the tile Bjorn had stepped on. Sure enough, the spikes shot up.


    "Okay. It''s less than half of Astrid''s weight, so it should be enough to trigger any trap meant for someone her size. Still, though, nothing said that there aren''t ones made for something heavier." I thought aloud.


    I reeled back in the pelt and tossed it onto the tile next to us, and spikes shot out again. The one diagonally, nothing happened, and I gingerly started to step across before Astrid grabbed my arm.


    "No, I''m lighter," she said, "better odds if I go," and stepped over before I could stop her.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Then, I handed her the pelt, and she tested the tiles around her. Moving carefully, the two of us marked a path for the others to follow the safe tiles. It was a simple zigzag pattern that only took a few minutes to verify each step once we got it down. In twenty minutes, we only had one more.


    And, of course, the last one didn''t follow the pattern. All three of the tiles in front of us fell away into a black hole when we dropped the majority of the pelt weight on them, only managing to barely maintain our balance of the first one as the pelt unexpectedly started to pull us downwards. We had to go sideways for a bit until we reached the edge, and then we could hop across. Bjorn grumbled that we could just jump across anyway, but none of us really wanted to risk that. We made it out of the fourth room without any more significant injuries.


    We only gained two percent completion for that room. But we were making progress. Through the entrance to the next one, we stopped and exhaled. I wasn''t sure what I expected, but the rooms kept getting harder. This time, there was one of the massive badgers, the size of a mammoth, surrounded by five of the very small ones from the first cave. Neither would be insurmountable on their own. We had dealt with them before, but together?


    I rubbed my chin thoughtfully, trying to figure out some sort of strategy. "How do you want to handle this, Miles?" Jonas asked.


    I was only half surprised that they were actually asking me. Sure, I had made decisions so far, but I had the least combat experience out of everyone here. Still, I guessed I''d been doing okay so far.


    "We''re not going to be able to take them both at once. Neither the cubs," I started to call the small ones, "or the mama bear." I knew it wasn''t actually a bear, but it was just easier to think of it that way when it was larger than most bears I''d ever heard of. I didn''t think we had a chance of downing the large one before the small ones got at our backs. No, we would have to be careful about this approach.


    "How many can you get with your arrows before they reach us?" I asked Astrid.


    She looked thoughtful. "Two, maybe three."


    I looked over, a plan forming. "Okay," I said, "this is how we''re going to do it." Everyone huddled in to hear me better.


    "So, I''m not entirely sure, but if Astrid starts picking off the cubs, I believe there are two things that could happen. Either the little ones are faster, and they''ll reach us first, or the big ones are faster, which will reach us first. I think their instincts will be rather simple, and they''ll charge to take out the threat. Two of us need to work our asses off and keep the big one distracted while the other three deal with the small cubs as quickly as possible so they can move in and support. Then we do the same with the large one. I don''t think we''ll be able to burn down the mama fast enough with the cubs nipping at our heels. It''ll make switching off whoever has its attention much too difficult."


    Everyone nodded along. "So either way," Bjorn said, "I should start shooting until they have our attention, and then I charge the big one?"


    I shook my head. "No, actually, I think you and Helga should take the cubs. You''ll be faster at finishing them off. Helga''s long reach, and..." I just gestured at Bjorn''s general figure, "will be quicker. Jonas and I are just as fast and should be able to give you thirty seconds or so to finish off them, hopefully, two cubs."


    Jonas looked grim but nodded, and everyone else seemed to agree. I didn''t like it, and I didn''t like our chances of success, but it seemed that we were going to die here in this challenge anyway. We might as well try to make it as far as we can.


    In fact, I repeated that part out loud, and it actually seemed to help ease some of the tension. We still had a long way to go, but we were making progress with real weapons.


    With a little bit of jostling and preparation, we took our spots. Astrid conjured five arrows and stuck them in the dirt in front of her for easier drawing. Bjorn and Helga took up one side of the cavern while Jonas and I lined up on the other. I held up my hand with three fingers and counted down. Three, two, one. Then Astrid let loose her first arrow, piercing the eye of a cub and dropping it dead. Her second was not quite as accurate, but she hit it in the face, maybe downing it. A third arrow flew, and the mother roared. The cubs dashed, but nothing went to plan.


    Unlike what we expected, neither one charged us. The three remaining cubs ran around and hid behind the larger badger. The last cub took a shaft in the hindquarters, yelping but still able to move. The badger roared and slowly walked toward us.

 Chapter 35:

    Chapter 35:


    We tried to follow the plan, but the plan wasn''t having it. Jonas and I advanced slowly to meet the badger. Bjorn and Helga split off to either side, skirting around to get at the cubs. Still, the bear didn''t come to us; instead, it stopped and spun, gathering the cubs under its legs so that we had no access to them.


    When anyone got close, she''d slash out with her back paws, her significant bulk doing its job well enough, sheltering them from Astrid''s arrows. Despite the awkward positioning, the beast was stout enough that it could walk relatively uncovered while still sheltering the smaller ones. It could move almost as fast as we could run, so it had no problem chasing us around the room.


    And when Astrid was moving, she couldn''t shoot nearly as fast or as accurately. So, as we all moved about the room, it was rather ineffectual; we tried to do anything. The stalemate lasted for several minutes until we made a mistake. Astrid backed away slowly, shooting arrows when she could and turning and running when she had to.


    The rest of us were jumping in and trying to take shots at the beast''s legs, but it wasn''t getting so fixated on any of us that we could get in close, unimpeded, like with the last one. No getting too close. Any one of the legs or snout could slash out at you, and there''s no blocking it. Even a dodge was quickly followed up by vicious snapping from the little ones underneath her, so you couldn''t just roll underneath the swipe and come up slashing without being bit several times before you even finished your roll.


    As Astrid turned to start running, Bjorn made an approach as well. The paths crossed, and Astrid bounced off of them like she''d hit a brick wall. She landed on her ass in an "oomph." While she was trying to get up, a small badger darted out and bit her boot. Its teeth sunk deep into her ankle, and she screamed in pain. Helga rushed in, sword-slashing in an attempt to save her. But so was Jonas. They didn''t get in each other''s way, but it gave the badger something to focus on as it gnashed its teeth and swiped its paws, not having room to dodge.


    Jonas was forced to attempt to block the massive paw, the size of his chest, and it crashed into him, sending him stumbling, stepping on Astrid, and knocking Helga over, her sword pinned between them. Bjorn and I ran in, attempting to help... but it was just a clusterfuck.


    I felt vicious claws shredding my legs and the gush of my femoral artery as I bled out in seconds. Hopefully, everyone else was finished about as quickly as I was because seconds later, I was stumbling out of the portal, the knife tucked back into my belt. That was nice. I touched it briefly, wondering what sort of state it was in.


    Around me, my four other companions emerged as well, each seeming exhausted. We joined the small queue to sell the loot we had gotten. No one talked during the time, though, as we all stayed pensive, silent. I was frustrated that we hadn''t been able to beat that last fight. It felt like something we were just on the edge of taking. If we had better weapons and a little bit more practice working together or maybe a better plan, we could have gotten through it. But we just weren''t ready just yet.


    The other bit of me was excited. I felt that over the last day and a half, I had made significant gains. I was hoping that with my cut of the loot, I would forgo getting an actual weapon and get the modified stats rule so I could apply the three points I had waiting. Also, it would be nice to check them more freely, only seeing the parts I was interested in in a slightly public setting. If anything, this day had made it clear that between watching the fight and running this challenge, I would need a lot more power.


    After we finished exchanging our loot for coins and giving everything up, it turned out the entry fee was not much of a concern, and I was left with 53 coins, just enough to get the information to let me cast the modified ritual. This would hopefully let me actually allocate stat points and restrict what parts of my status were shown when I didn''t want to see the full thing.


    Bjorn and Jonas were excited about the amount of money, but when I reminded them about the ritual, neither of them seemed exactly enthused. Both wanted to save for a weapon or spend their money drinking. At least Bjorn did. Jonas convinced him to drink at the house where the booze was free for the next month. But still, I was worried about them.


    Before everyone ran off to do their own thing, I made us study the loot table for several minutes afterward. We needed to know what we should be looking for and make sure that we didn''t miss any pieces of the monster. Nor do we do extra work grabbing something that isn''t actually worth anything. We quickly all had a general idea of what dropped, and the sum of the items gave hints about what would be further on in the challenge run. Like the eye of a giant tarantula eye being worth 200 coins was nice, but getting that, I didn''t sound particularly like something I was excited about.


    Of course, it only had a relatively low probability of showing up, so perhaps that would be nice.


    It was very late in the evening, maybe even the next day already. By the time we all went our separate ways, we agreed to meet up sometime tomorrow before lunch at a particular restaurant that Astrid recommended, where we could talk about further cooperation. The two women seemed very happy with having made back their investment and then some. Bjorn and Jonas headed off, but I immediately went to this shop and purchased the alternator virtually any second I could.


    I was already planning how to move my bed to accommodate its greater size for the choices, but it turns out they had private rooms in the back of the shop where you could practice rituals of many kinds, the status ritual being one of the simplest. It only cost me one of my three remaining coins to use it. I locked myself in and quickly carved the updated set of runes, performed the modified ritual, and watched as my character sheet unfolded in front of me.


    Level: 5


    Status: Tier 4: Valhalla Proper


    Weapon proficiencies


    Sword: F-4


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    Spear: F-2


    Striking: F-7


    Halberd: D-3


    Dagger: D-2


    Grappling: F-7


    Stats


    Strength: 23


    Speed: 31


    Constitution: 12


    Focus: 3


    Free Points: 15


    Blessing: Loki''s Eye


    Class: Unlock Challenge Available


    Strength: +0


    Speed: +0


    Constitution: +0


    Question Everything


    Focus: +2


    Jester Shop Access


    Additional effects: ???


    Despite my new ritual, surprisingly, little had changed. But the things that did change were quite exciting. Five levels in two days, 15 stat points to assign. That was a big decision I needed to make. I had gotten more stats from that training, but it sounded like that would be a one-time thing. It only worked as well as it did because my stats were already very low, so intense training would actually have a bigger effect. And I suppose that it also probably was why Loki was telling me not to put points into focus that I had gained.


    One additional point in focus was interesting. It might have been from the sort of battle trance, as I have been calling it, that I slipped into a few times, where the world narrowed, and all I could see was my opponent. The dagger increasing in proficiency was nice. It did feel a little bit smoother, but I really wasn''t sure how useful weapon proficiencies were to me. Not the proficiencies themselves but the status. If I wanted to shrink my status, I might consider removing them from my slimmed-down ritual. They seemed to mostly be just telling me how good I was with a weapon, which was not the most useful. Still, it might be good to know when talking with teammates.


    The only other thing that changed besides my level and proficiency was that now the class. Instead of reading ''N/A'' it now read ''unlock challenge available,'' which got me excited. I suppose this is what Loki meant so long ago when he said I would know what the class was about when I needed to, but the status didn''t tell me anything about what the unlock quest is. It says available, so it sounds like I need to go get that, which is like a quest to go get a quest. A little annoying, but what can you do?


    The additional effects indicator for the blessing remained in tantalizing promises of future treats. But I wasn''t sure if it would ever leave. It seemed that the blessing evolved with me.


    I just made my selections, watched over the ritual, and thought carefully before I finally made my selections. This would be the first assignment I would get and potentially could make or break my build. Fifteen points was a lot. I don''t know if I''d ever have to spend this much at once. I could more than double my constitution, bringing it up nearly in line with my other stats. I would be heavier and more solid and able to take hits, but something told me that wasn''t a good idea. My constitution was still low enough that I might be able to train it naturally, but I had no points in it. I wouldn''t be able to raise it on its own, just through hard work and getting hurt.


    Kind of shitty to do to my teammates, making me a slightly less effective fighter. But death wasn''t something I had worried about for a long time, and well, I might as well take advantage of that. So, I just put it into strength and speed at a two-to-one ratio, bringing them more in line with each other. I felt myself grow significantly stronger and a touch faster. With the amount of power I can now put into my blows, I might actually be able to make a real difference in that bear fight. In fact, I should go challenge Bjorn to an arm wrestling match sometime soon. I might be stronger than him now. I definitely couldn''t take a hit, though.


    I looked at just the stats version. I performed a modified version of the ritual, pulling up just the stat block as a test.


    Stats


    Strength: 33


    Speed: 36


    Constitution: 12


    Focus: 3


    Free Points: 0


    Satisfied that it worked, I made a few changes and created a shortcut for two different kinds of rituals: a limited ritual showing just proficiencies and stats and one showing just stats and the ability to make choices. Now, I can check my level and assign stats from when I was with other people. I still wouldn''t want people to see my stats, but it wouldn''t get me in trouble, like maybe the Loki''s blessing. Then, I also set up a full sheet except for the weapon proficiencies so I could save some space. Satisfied, I left the room after cleaning up.


    Stepping out in the night air, I let out a deep breath. Looking up at the stars in the sky above, I thought longingly of my bed. I really wanted to rest, but a class-unlocked quest sounded way too tempting. Turning away from the path home, I went into the urge to learn more.

 Chapter 36:

    Chapter 36:


    I only had to walk for about four blocks before I noticed the hidden jester symbol on a rundown inn''s sign. I''d probably missed one here or there, as they were quite hidden, and I didn''t think I was that observant. Ducking in, I showed the avatar bartender¡ªrather rare to see that, actually¡ªmy mark, and he led me into a back room that connected me to Loki''s lounge.


    As always, his space had changed to fit his mood. I found the god sitting over a Go board, a series of white and black stones in a pattern, as he spun the board around to play the other side. I sat down across from him, and he waved his hand, the board resetting to blank, and he offered me a pair of fists. Sighing, I tapped one, and he revealed the white piece.


    "You realize I don''t actually know how to play Go," I said.


    Loki shrugged. "It''s okay. It''s something to do as we talk."


    "So," he said a few moments after the game started, and he quickly explained the rules, "I was impressed by your run. Your team has issues, but there''s some glimmer of potential there."


    I grimaced. "Yeah, I know there are issues, but I''m working with what I have, and I think everyone''s early enough along that we can¡ªthat I can mold them enough. Maybe. I don''t really know what I''m doing," I admitted.


    Loki just chuckled at that. The honest sound coming from him made me reflect slightly on how much I had come to trust him¡ªon how dangerous it was that my wariness had faded. But then again, did I have any reason not to trust him? Other than apparently, he was universally hated around here.


    As I struggled with my internal debate, Loki placed another stone. I looked at the board briefly, already seeing that I had made some poor choices early in the game and might as well resign. But I placed a stone anyway, just to help the conversation continue.


    "Remember, a long while back, you said I would know if I needed to know more about classes."


    "Mhm," Loki said absentmindedly as he placed another stone.


    "Well, I think I need to know now. The unlock challenge is available."


    Loki looked up at me with actual shock in his expression.


    "You can''t be more than level five," he said, and then he frowned. "No, you  are  level five. How--How?" He cut off as he thought. "No, no, that makes sense. That makes sense. So, you''ve been dabbling with your Focus attribute a little. That was a lot faster. I expected you to not have this conversation with me until level 50."


    This was my turn to be surprised. "50?"


    "Honestly, you shouldn''t get a class until you''re about ready to leave this hall. Most people don''t get them until level 100. With my blessing, you should have been allowed to get one as early as level 50. Technically, there''s no real threshold, but the more you act in line with my ideals and cause, the stronger the effects are. So why? What have you been up to?"


    I frowned, thinking back. "Not that much."


    Loki paused and looked as if he was watching something far away. "No. Nope. You have been up to a decent amount. I applaud your cunning manipulations."


    I frowned, confused. Really, I had not done that much manipulating. Nothing more than anything like standard office politics.


    "Well. Before I tell you about the class, let me tell you a little bit more about my organization. See, we aren''t liked. Not by any other denizens of Valhalla. And most of the other gods don''t like us either. Odin doesn''t even like me, and I''m his adopted son," Loki said. "But he tolerates us because we are useful. We are the pragmatic arm. Well, I don''t say I serve Odin, but we do have certain goals in line with his, and I listen when he speaks.


    "So when we act, it''s underhanded, deceitful, distasteful. Downright reprehensible. But we have a purpose. And in taking my blessing... you haven''t necessarily joined my organization. Really, it''s more of a loose alliance of independent actors. When some job comes up that needs doing, I help match with the person that needs to do it, and part of that is making sure the compensation is proper.


    "But part of the job is also building up agents who are capable of acting when they are needed. It''s all a little bit of a warning. This is a reinforcement of the idea that you should not let anyone know about our relationship. And also to be very, very careful when choosing a class. It will do a lot more than just govern your fighting style or role in a party."


    I listened intently, every word of Loki''s carrying weight and experience that I was desperate to learn from.


    "So you are exceedingly new to have the option to challenge for your class. And your attributes are so low that I''m not sure you''ll be able to do it, but..." Loki paused and considered me with a thoughtful expression. "Well, come on."


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    We left the utterly one-sided Go game unfinished as we stood up, and he pushed a table out of the way. I helped move some chairs around. With a wave of his hand, he drew a glowing green circle on the ground.


    "Stand in the center of there and grit your teeth," he said.


    I moved into the center with no small amount of trepidation and was careful to move my tongue out of the way of teeth and braced for pain. The pain didn''t exactly come. It was more like what I imagined being shot with a taser felt like. The feeling only lasted for an instant before I sagged, almost collapsing, and Loki frowned.


    "Hmm. Now, you actually might have a shot. You have decent aptitude. I can tell that with even only two Focus, you could actually sense magic around you. That''s impressive."


    "What does that have to do with the class?" I asked.


    "Well, there''s a challenge to have a class, and in order to have a class, you need to be able to use either skills or spells."


    I frowned, thinking about the skill book I saw for only 50 gold, and Loki held up a finger, interrupting my thought.


    "I see where you''re going with that. No, you can''t use those. I mean, you can use them, but that doesn''t count. No, in order to get a class, you need to develop a skill or spell from scratch. It doesn''t have to be unique, but it has to be through your own understanding, and based off of what you develop, you will get options for classes related to that and your experiences."


    "So, how do I develop a skill or spell?" I asked.


    Loki frowned. "It''s difficult. This is one of the reasons why most people don''t even get classes until level 100, even if they get a blessing. And because, well, it''s really hard. And, if you get both...well, don''t worry about that until later."


    He handed me something that looked to be a wooden Rubik''s Cube, but the pieces didn''t shift, though colors did flash across when I poked at it gently. "This is a magic puzzle. I won''t tell you more, but play with it. It''ll help."


    "Okay. This will help me develop a spell?"


    "Maybe, depends on what you do with it."


    "If you get me more, maybe I can get one of my teammates to explain more about magic to me."


    Loki shrugged. "You might get something out of them."


    "Okay. How do I develop a skill?" I asked.


    "That''s complicated," Loki said. "Well. Skills are harder than spells in many ways, and it''s more difficult to go for a pure physical class. Most who do take a bit longer to get their class. So, you know the young guy who came up with that idea about space and time, all that nonsense?"


    "The theory of relativity?" I asked, not exactly familiar with physics.


    "Yeah, all that nonsense," Loki said, waving his hand. "Well. This is a bit about mixing metaphors and looking at things from odd angles, but you can think of magic, mana, whatever you want to call it, as time. We move through that. We interact with it. Just the way that your natural perception can change how you experience time, your Focus attribute can sort of change how you interact with magic."


    I nodded. There had been moments where it felt like time had slowed down for me. Connecting that to me feeling magic was a bit of a stretch, though.


    "Skills don''t work off of mana. They work off of the corollary in this very strange analogy that would represent space. I don''t think you can even sense that sort of stuff yet. And¡ª" He frowned, thinking of words. "I''m sorry. I''m not normally used to explaining this sort of stuff to someone who doesn''t have a better understanding."


    "Well, maybe one of my teammates can explain it better. Helga did promise to teach me," I said.


    He looked at me with an unreadable expression. "Um, no offense, Miles, but that would kind of be like a caveman trying to explain nuclear physics to a dog. No offense, of course."


    I frowned, wondering how I wasn''t supposed to take offense by that analogy. "Okay, so I need to figure out how magic works."


    Loki shrugged. "Not really. You just need to learn how to do one sort of thing that could be considered a spell. Well, you surprised me before. Maybe you''ll manage it sooner than I thought. The puzzle will help. Go ahead and read the book your friend gave you. Oh. And don''t look at any skill books or spell books for inspiration. If you touch so much as touch one of the ones related, the skill won''t count."


    I nodded my understanding. And I waited. This was a lot of information. It was too generous. Even if he would insist on not taking payment, I didn''t feel comfortable staying this much into his debt.


    "I suppose I owe you information in exchange," I offered.


    Loki frowned. "I suppose, if you must. Yes. I will reserve the ability to ask questions or say three pointed questions sometime later."


    I nodded reluctantly. It only felt fair. It was odd that I was the one insisting on making this a deal. As if I reminded Loki of his place, his mask slipped on, and he asked if I wanted to continue our game. I politely declined.


    Soon, I was tiredly trudging up the stairs into my room, where instead of leaping on the bed like I wanted to, I sat at the small chair, pulled out the puzzle, and prodded at it with my meager magical senses.

 Chapter 37:

    Chapter 37:


    I didn''t get much sleep that night. In fact, I woke up with my neck aching and an imprint of my fist on my cheek from where I had fallen asleep at my desk. The cube was sitting next to my hand, one side completely red. I kept poking and prodding at the cube with my senses until I finally made it do something. One of the colors lit up, and then, with a little bit more fiddling, I got it to move. There wasn''t a real puzzle like having to arrange the colors or anything like that. Rather, just getting them to light up was a bit of a challenge because each time I lit up another one, it would change a little bit. I would have to do some other sort of action with the mana to get it to respond as if it was teaching me all the different ways that I could move mana, which I suppose it probably was.


    With the light shining in the window, I put it away, done with my experimentation for now, and rushed downstairs for breakfast. I only had time for the clock to shove a little bit in my face and run out with a makeshift sandwich of eggs, toast, and cheese to make it in time for the meeting place. As I quickly walked through the streets, I scarfed my breakfast and just watched as the city bustled around me. Various people were off going about their business, more than I would expect. They were hung over but still going from shop to shop, preparing for training or whatever they did to fill their time.


    I reached our meeting space, where I was the last one there. Everyone else had already ordered food. I placed a quick order for something small and joined them all.


    "I hope you weren''t waiting too long," I greeted everyone.


    Everyone shrugged. "Only been here a few minutes," Helga said.


    We spent some time exchanging pleasantries, and before long, I felt it was time to get down to the matter at hand.


    "So, how did everyone feel about yesterday?" I asked, looking around, my eyes settling on Astrid''s. It was likely her opinion that was going to be the most impactful.


    She shrugged. "Well, we certainly did alright. You three aren''t unskilled, and our strengths work well together. That isn''t to say we are some magically amazing team or anything."


    I nodded. "I agree with your assessment. You and Helga slotted into our team well. I''m a little concerned, but I do plan on spending some time trying to learn a little bit of magic myself." I nodded my thanks to Helga about the book. "But that would probably take a decent amount of time."


    "No substitute for training," Jonas said, and Helga nodded. Bjorn, though, harrumphed.


    "Yes, we need to train, but we also need to fight. None of you," he said, gesturing to the four of us, "are used to real combat."


    I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. I hadn''t been fighting my whole life like he had, but I spent the last six months in constant death battles, Jonas even longer.


    "Not with humans," he said to Jonas and me, "but with beasts and hunting. We must run the dungeon as much as possible and hone those killer instincts."


    Jonas looked thoughtful. "We promised we''d train Helga," he reminded him.


    Bjorn waved his hand. "Training can be done in the dungeon."


    On some level, I agreed with him. We wanted to spend as much time as possible. That''s how we earned money. That''s how we earn levels. But I didn''t think that was the best way to work on team composition, where one mistake meant we had to start over again.


    "I think we need to spend a decent amount of time training, too," I said.


    Surprisingly, I didn''t have to say that¡ªthat was Jonas.


    "We can fight in a challenge, sure, but we need to know how to work together and communicate. And that''s going to take time to talk. Long hours of talking and planning," he said, glancing at Astrid.


    Astrid looked thoughtful but nodded. "Yes. We need to come up with strategies and learn how to implement tactics on the fly better. No offense, Miles, but you''re clearly new at the whole strategy thing."


    I shrugged. "None taken. I''m not even sure I''m the best one for the job."


    All four of them seemed to agree on that, but no one had any alternatives.


    Bjorn grumbled. "Yeah, we can train today, but I think it''s a waste of time."


    "Noted. Let''s spend several hours training, and then we can run the challenge again. We still need to get us all suited up with more suitable weapons," I said, and perhaps we can even get you some more spells," I addressed Astrid and Helga.


    Helga seemed indifferent, but Astrid nodded. "Yes, we are going to need more power. I was thinking about how we''d run that last fight again, and I had some ideas," she said.


    Our dungeon run that evening didn''t go much better. We made a little more progress, but everyone left frustrated despite getting closer to affording some useful tools. Tomorrow would likely be similar, but we would have the equipment the day after, even if it was the most basic swords or something for Bjorn, Jonas, and me. I did find that I had to sharpen my knife, and Helga did mention having to pay for repairs on her sword, but it seemed to be mostly the cost of doing business. The only one who was really making out was Astrid, who didn''t really use any resources nor was getting hit.


    When I got home this time, I focused more on the book, the puzzle sitting to the side. I cracked open the tome for the first time and began to read. It was more of a foundational theory text than it was a grimoire or a spell book. I wasn''t sure why they both had them on there, but perhaps it was one of the few things they could bring with them from the Lesser Hall. Still, it gave me a decent grounding on how mana worked, where it came from, and how to control it slightly. There were some exercises that I began to do to work on improving my finesse and control.


    I stayed up late into the night, reading the book cover to cover a full time before I looked at the cube regretfully and decided to just go to bed. It was very late because I had already been dragging on one night without a good night''s sleep.


    We fell into a bit of a routine. We would train, Jonas and Bjorn would argue that training was a waste of time, while Helga and Astrid looked on awkwardly, and I tried to mediate. Then we''d run the dungeon, maybe get a little bit farther, and then I would go study magic. As soon as we could, we each bought basic swords, and that helped us get a few rooms farther, which increased the profit. But we were still a significant ways away from that 20% mark, and judging based on our current progress, I wasn''t sure we were going to make it. It was going to be close, and we would need to get better weapons or something else.


    After a week, I finally had a breakthrough with the puzzle that Loki gave me. Every side was lit up, and the cube shimmered and vanished. Just like that, it was gone, but not entirely gone. I could still sense it in the ambient magic, the mana spelling out a simple rune that read, "Congratulations." I rolled my eyes at the silly trick and pushed my bed aside to carve my ritual circle on the ground. It would be good to check my progress, and maybe I could choose a class.


    Level: 8


    Status: Tier 4: Valhalla Proper


    Weapon proficiencies


    Sword: F-9


    Spear: F-2


    Striking: F-7


    Halberd: D-3


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    Dagger: D-2


    Grappling: F-7


    Spells:


    Mana Sensor


    Stats


    Strength: 33


    Speed: 36


    Constitution: 12


    Focus: 3


    Free Points: 0


    Blessing: Loki''s Eye


    Class: Awaiting Selection


    Strength: +0


    Speed: +0


    Constitution: +0


    Question Everything


    Focus: +2


    Jester Shop Access


    Additional effects: ???


    Available Classes:


    Jester of Valhalla:


    The Jester of Valhalla is a class that combines humor with might, thriving on the battlefield with a flamboyant style that mocks enemies and amuses allies. They wield an assortment of unconventional weapons, often using humor to disarm opponents both literally and figuratively. Their ability to taunt and confuse foes makes them invaluable in turning the tide of battle, their antics a distraction that provides critical openings for more serious warriors to exploit.


    In addition to their combat prowess, Jesters of Valhalla possess a deep connection to the spirit of celebration and revelry that defines Valhalla itself. They can inspire their companions with rousing tales and songs of past glories, boosting morale and even temporarily enhancing the abilities of their comrades. Their performances can invoke the favor of the gods, granting blessings or unleashing minor miracles in the midst of battle.


    Loki''s Mouth Piece:


    Loki''s Mouth Piece is a master manipulator and silver-tongued diplomat skilled in the arts of persuasion, deception, and espionage. Spreading Loki''s word is their highest calling. Blessed by Loki, they possess an uncanny ability to weave lies into truths and truths into powerful narratives, bending the will of others to their own purposes. They are often found at the center of intrigue, whether in the courts of kings or the midst of clandestine operations.


    This class also has a unique affinity for illusion magic, allowing them to create convincing mirages and disappear into the shadows. They can mislead enemies with phantom images or cause chaos with their words alone. Loki''s Mouth Piece can turn even the most dire situations to their advantage, using their wits and charm to escape danger and outsmart opponents.


    Note: If you are stupid enough to choose this one, you''ll get what you deserve. --L


    Swordsman:


    The Swordsman is a paragon of martial skill, specializing in the mastery of bladed weapons. Their training is rigorous and relentless, honing their reflexes, precision, and strength to unparalleled levels. With a blade in hand, they are a force to be reckoned with, capable of executing intricate techniques and devastating strikes that can cleave through armor and bone alike.


    In addition to their physical prowess, Swordsmen often follow a code of honor, embodying the virtues of courage, discipline, and loyalty. They are not merely warriors but also protectors and leaders, often stepping into roles that require both martial and moral strength. Their presence on the battlefield can inspire allies and intimidate foes, making them a central figure in any conflict.


    Spearman :


    The Spearman is a versatile and deadly combatant specializing in the use of spears and polearms. Their reach and agility make them formidable opponents, able to keep enemies at bay while delivering swift and precise strikes. Spearmen excel in both offensive and defensive maneuvers, using their weapons to create a barrier that is difficult to breach.


    Beyond their combat skills, Spearmen often serve as scouts and vanguards, using their keen senses and strategic acumen to navigate and exploit the terrain. Their training includes an understanding of battlefield tactics and formations, allowing them to coordinate and lead units effectively. Spearmen are invaluable in both solo engagements and large-scale battles, their presence often turning the tide of conflict.


    Trickster''s Muse:


    The Trickster''s Muse is a captivating crafter who draws inspiration from Loki''s cunning and creativity. They possess a talent for both illusion and charm, weaving spells that can bewilder enemies and beguile allies. Their magic is as unpredictable as it is potent, capable of transforming the mundane into the extraordinary with a mere gesture or word.


    Trickster''s Muses are also adept at storytelling and performance, using their artistic gifts to inspire and influence those around them. Their presence can uplift spirits and strengthen resolve, making them a cherished companion in any adventuring party. Whether through magical prowess or sheer charisma, the Trickster''s Muse embodies the spirit of ingenuity and unpredictability that defines their patron deity.


    Fool of the Wilds:


    The Fool of the Wilds is a whimsical and unpredictable class, embodying the untamed spirit of nature and the cunning of the trickster. They thrive in natural environments, drawing power from the land and its creatures to fuel their abilities. Their connection to the wild allows them to summon beasts, control plants, and harness the elements to confound and combat their enemies.


    In addition to their nature-based powers, Fools of the Wilds are known for their eccentric and erratic behavior. They often adopt a playful and carefree attitude, which belies their deep understanding of the natural world and its mysteries. This unpredictable nature makes them difficult to anticipate and even harder to defeat, as they can adapt and change their tactics with the fluidity of the wilds they inhabit.


    Arcane Fool:


    The Arcane Fool is a master of magical mischief, blending traditional spellcasting with the chaotic influence of Loki. They revel in the unpredictability of their craft, using a wide array of spells to create confusion and mayhem on the battlefield. Their magic is characterized by its versatility and spontaneity, often producing unexpected and dazzling effects.


    Arcane Fools are also scholars of ancient runes and mystical lore, using their knowledge to enhance their magical prowess and devise clever tricks. Their affinity for deception allows them to manipulate the fabric of reality itself, making them formidable opponents and valuable allies. Despite their seemingly frivolous demeanor, Arcane Fools possess a deep understanding of the forces they wield and the consequences of their actions.


    Fool of the Runes:


    The Fool of the Runes is a practitioner of ancient rune magic, using the symbols of power to cast spells and alter the course of events. They are adept at inscribing runes on various surfaces, imbuing objects and locations with magical properties. Their runes can provide protection, enhance abilities, or unleash devastating attacks, making them versatile and unpredictable in combat.


    In addition to their rune-crafting skills, Fools of the Runes are known for their unconventional thinking and creativity. They often approach problems from unique angles, using their runes in unexpected ways to achieve their goals. Their deep connection to the mystic symbols they wield gives them insights into the hidden workings of the world, allowing them to see and manipulate the threads of fate.


    Loki''s Fool:


    Loki''s Fool is the quintessential trickster, embodying the essence of chaos and cunning. They are masters of deception and subterfuge, using their skills to manipulate events and outwit their foes. Blessed by Loki, they have a natural affinity for trickery and illusion, making them unpredictable and dangerous opponents.


    Beyond their talents for deception, Loki''s Fools possess a deep understanding of human nature and the workings of fate. They can read and influence the emotions and intentions of others, turning situations to their advantage with ease. Their unpredictable nature makes them both a valuable ally and a formidable adversary, as they can adapt to any situation and turn the tables on their enemies in the blink of an eye.


    Note: Good luck with this one --L

 Chapter 38:

    Chapter 38:


    I read through the list for a third time and made a couple more notes as I weighed my options.


    Jester of Valhalla, Loki''s Mouth Piece, Swordsman, Spearman, Trickster''s Muse, Fool of the Wilds, Arcane Fool, Fool of the Runes, Loki''s Fool.


    I was making this decision very, very carefully. I knew that this choice would have long-running consequences. Most people didn''t get a class until level 100. They probably had more time to know exactly what sort of class they wanted, but I didn''t have any idea of what was good or not. I had to go based on entirely vague impressions and how well they fit me. I didn''t even know if changing a class was an option.


    I had so many questions I needed to ask, but I decided I wouldn''t hold off making a choice until I got them all answered. I''d never run out of questions, and I already owed Loki far too much for me to be comfortable. I seemed to have a solid mix of good and bad classes. Almost everything was somewhat related to Loki, which was unsurprising. The only surprising fact was that I had two somewhat normal classes.


    If it weighed the important things I had done since I''d gotten to Valhalla... Well, then, meeting the god of deception, lies, and trickery and striking up what appeared to be a casual friendship and a business partnership had to have weighed in heavily. This had to have been solidly sitting at number one by a long distance. The fact that Loki had even put a couple of annotations on my classes surprised me. Perhaps they were on for everyone who chose those classes, but it seemed like he was using the tailored voice he''d made just for interacting with me.


    Because of that, I struck these off the list pretty quickly. Loki''s Mouthpiece sounded decent. The description only had one line about spreading Loki''s word, but the little warning and the name... I didn''t want the puppet. The same thing applied to Loki''s Fool. The description was innocent enough. It just sounded like a worse version of Loki''s Mouthpiece, but again with that warning. Neither of them sounded like they were good for me.


    Jester of Valhalla did seem interesting, but so did Arcane Fool and Fool of the Runes. My least favorite option was Fool of the Wilds. It sounded like a pretty awesome class, but I was in a city and mostly fought in duels in arenas. Perhaps some of the challenges might be useful. Still, from the description, it seemed like I would take a major power and versatility hit anytime I wasn''t in the wild. Trickster''s Muse seemed to be a crafting class, and I didn''t know anything about crafting.


    Perhaps there was just a certain amount of breadth that class offerings were always given. The same thing might be true with the Jester of Valhalla. It did seem to have a lot of versatility but mostly focused on social interactions and Bard-like tropes. So, regretfully, I crossed that off as well. But the last two seemed very interesting. Arcane Fool promised a fundamental understanding of magic. That, along with the nice chaos to go for unorthodox options that had made my bread and butter in my fighting style, did seem to fit me quite well.


    In fact, the only part that didn''t quite fit me was maybe the scholar, though I did like the idea of delving more into the runes. The runic magic that came from that worked with the stat sheets somehow reminded me and gave me the vague impression it was related to what Loki had talked about when it came to creating skills, not just spells. On the other hand, Fool of the Runes had a lot of potential. It sounded very similar but heavily focused on the runes.


    But it also seemed to be heavily reliant on equipment, which I wasn''t against. Considering I was poor as shit right now, I didn''t think that was in my immediate best interests, but maybe long-term. The unconventional thinking and creativity line already had me thinking of ideas with tattoos. It might have given me greater insight into runes, but I felt like I could learn that on my own, maybe to a lesser extent. However, when it came to traditional spell casting blended with chaotic Loki influence, it sounded more difficult to learn.


    So I made my choice and dropped a bit of blood on Arcane Fool before ending the ritual and immediately starting another one.


    Runes spilled across the floor and shifted into text I could read.


    Arcane Fool:


    Level rewards: +3 Focus, +1 Speed, +2 Free points


    +100% efficiency in learning arcane magic


    +80% efficiency in learning illusion magic


    +50% chance of spells evolving when learned or created through natural means


    +Skill Mana Perception


    Skill Mana Perception merges with Spell Mana Sensor


    +Skill Mana Perception Enhanced -Mana Sensor -Mana Perception


    Perceive the working of magic around you. Even if it should be hidden from you.


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    +Skill Identify


    See levels of friends and foes.


    Skill Identify merges with Trait Question Everything.


    +Trait Incisive Gaze -Identity -Question Everything


    See past most magical and mundane deceptions. Information is readily available to you should you choose to reach for it.


    Subclass:N/A


    This was by far the most detailed information I had ever gotten out of the ritual. And I liked the sound of getting a subclass in the future. Even if it was only half as good it would still be a huge boon. I memorized every line and then wiped the floor clean.


    ***


    I rolled out of bed late. Another night spent studying had led to my breakthrough, but it had worn me out. The extra couple of hours deciding on which class to pick left me with too little sleep. I dashed out of my room, grabbing the simple short sword on my way and checking my pouch. I was close to picking up an upgrade for the primary weapon. Now, though, I might not. I thought I might want to try and learn some spells if I could afford anything arcane or illusionary. If spells had a chance to evolve with my class, that might be even better than just a superior weapon.


    If I could get a skill or spell that helped me create a weapon, maybe I could work on improving that skill with a spellbook. I skipped breakfast and jogged through the streets, weaving through the relatively sparse traffic toward the training room we had booked every morning from ten to noon. I was going to be a few minutes late, but it wouldn''t be that big of a deal. We usually spent some time warming up before we got into any real training. Then, in the afternoons, we''d run the challenge.


    When I strode into the facility that held the training rooms, I could hear shouting all the way down the hall. I groaned but kept my pace steady as I walked towards the room. The noise made me want to turn around and leave.


    Though we had been getting better, our performance in the challenge wasn''t mirrored with the group cohesiveness that I would have liked. A shrill scream of frustration echoed as I opened the door. I saw Astrid all up in Bjorn''s face, on her tiptoes, finger pressed into his chest. Her face was red as she yelled at his stony expression and his low grumble of a warning growl before he responded in an equally angry tone.


    "No, I''m not brainless. I just don''t want to fucking waste time thinking about everything when action would have fixed this problem days ago," Bjorn''s words echoed. Astrid wasn''t paying attention anymore, having turned to see me walk in. Jonas and Helga were watching awkwardly off to the side as the two argued. This wasn''t the first time I had to break up one of their heated discussions, and it wasn''t always the same participants. Astrid liked to argue with Bjorn and Helga. Bjorn was more than willing to argue with anyone; it really depended on how hungover he was.


    Astrid had a quick temper but was quick to forgive and was touchy over pretty much anything. Helga was the most relaxed of all of us and was the most satisfied with the arrangement. She was getting significantly better with her sword, and her martial prowess was improving more than anyone''s, quickly becoming a standout star of the team. Bjorn and Jonas had helped her train her physical stats to an acceptable level. I clapped my hands, and even though I already had everyone''s attention, I scanned over them with an inquisitive eye, my new skill activated.


    Astrid, level 12. Helga, level 11. Bjorn, level 7. Jonas, level 6.


    That was not what I would have expected. I guess level didn''t say everything about someone''s combat prowess, but I wasn''t going to reveal my cards yet or explain to them what a class was or anything like that. I just nodded.


    "Has everyone warmed up?" I asked.


    Jonas and Helga nodded, but Astrid and Bjorn shook their heads. I frowned.


    "You two need to settle your differences. Go out drinking or something tonight and talk. Just fucking..." I said, cutting off my words before I said anything too harsh. "Figure it out."


    They both nodded and shot a hard, angry look at each other. I doubted anything would come of it, but perhaps they could focus on something else. I looked around and, examining their expressions, made a snap decision.


    "Come on, let''s just do the challenge early. I think we all need some real danger to help us focus."


    While that was true, I had ulterior motives. I wanted to get a look at what my new skills would tell me. Then I wanted to get some money and go shopping if we had time afterward. Our runs were starting to take almost the entire day. Usually, we weren''t out until well past midnight.


    Perhaps if I could get some sort of healing spell, we could vastly improve our run time, as most of it was spent waiting for Astrid''s mana to recharge. But I''d have to see, and I definitely needed more than the 200 or so coins I managed to save up. If I could get another 50 to 100 here, I''d be pretty happy.


    The four of them followed me out of the room we had booked for the next couple of hours. It was a bit of a waste of a coin, but hopefully, the change of location would do us some good.


    We walked in silence. I did not like the tense atmosphere at my back. The team was fragile. The bonds of cohesion that it seemed like we started to form in the first couple of days and successes had failed to hold. Our initial few bursts of growth had stalled, and we moved to a slow, grinding approach that may or may not be enough. At our current rate of improvement, we were in real danger of missing the minimum, and that tension was wearing on everyone.


    We still had two weeks left, and it wasn''t time to panic yet. But Astrid and Helga knew Lagertha. If that was considered one of the light punishments... well, we''d better get our asses moving.

 Chapter 39:

    Chapter 39:


    I studied the first room of the challenge as Helga, and I finished off all five of the badger cubs at once. We had progressed a lot in dealing with these simple enemies, and now we took turns so that we would actually get something out of the training. Now I understood why they were all level two or three.


    The bigger ones were in the next room, which were levels four and five. We only sent Jonas and Helga to fight the ten of them.


    The big boss was level ten. And then things got slightly more interesting when we stepped into the trap room.


    I looked around, and little bits of information came to me. I saw which tiles were trapped and what level traps they were. The layout always changed, but this time, as I sprung the traps around me, I could move through it quickly and confidently.


    Examining the walls and ceiling I made, I ensured that there was nothing¡ªnot that we''d come across anything. The room was really just a simple pattern of tiles. Honestly, it felt like a waste of time at this point, but the first time around, it was admittedly tricky.


    After the 10% mark, though, things started to change. We already knew that was the case, and it seemed like the den mother was really named for the first few rooms as different types of monsters started appearing to fight us. It wasn''t just overgrown mammals.


    The first different one was a bunch of level seven spiders that were nearly knee height. Jonas and Bjorn had opted to spend their money on getting halberds and spears, so they took the lead in that one, keeping those disgusting creepy crawlies away from us while Astrid peppers from afar.


    Helga and I stayed back. Our swords used to keep anything from getting around them, though we were more than happy to let the others do most of the work in this room, with only having to stop and heal.


    Once, we managed to get to the room that we had been stuck in for the past five days in a little under three hours. I suppressed a quiver along my spine as I looked at the giant tarantula that stood nearly ten feet tall.


    The level 15 tag explained why we were having so much trouble. If it was just a level 15, it would be perhaps doable. But every time we managed to do significant damage to it, it would scuttle back and let out a screech that would send a wave of small spiders running at us. I estimate those were around level five, but I couldn''t confirm yet. I grumbled at not being able to tell this to my party.


    Tomorrow I would tell them that I bought the identification skill. It was something I should have just done today, but maybe Loki fit me as a patron god, I would have liked to admit. My penchant for keeping secrets was starting to get worrying.


    When I picked up a bunch of other magic stuff later tonight. And. Then we''ll hopefully be able to figure something out here. We sat and watched the thing just sit there for several minutes as we all tried to think of a new approach we had. I split us up a bunch of different ways and had different focuses. Still, so far, nothing had worked, and dying to these things was particularly unpleasant.


    I looked forward to having some more options once I had equipped myself with some real magic. That reminded me of something to focus on. I tried to feel any magic coming through the room and found that the shadowy nooks where the reinforcement spiders came from had some sort of ambient magic. They were just buzzing around. I couldn''t do anything with it. As it was too far out of my range. Perhaps when they were summoned, I would have a chance to study it more.


    Bjorn shifted his spear into one hand and slung his shield under his arm. It wasn''t the most effective gear he had, but I talked him into it so he could act as a front-line defender and take blows on a shield. He preferred to do damage, wielding the spear two-handedly. We already had Jonas with this halberd for that. And really, we needed someone to stand between a strong opponent and the rest of us.


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    Someone had to keep Astrid safe so she could do her damage. And the other three of us needed to be able to move more, and we just weren''t. Even though some of us were as strong as Bjorn, no one had his constitution. His mass meant that he could stay in positions where we would never be able to. After he had gone along with this a few times, he seemed to enjoy it and was always ready to be up in the thick of things anyway.


    Fanning out, we moved into the room. Bjorn in the front. Jonas and I flanked with Helga next to Astrid. Ready to dash in with her magic-enhanced speed. The second she saw an opening. Or to defend our combo healer and ranged damage dealer if the need arose. The spider reacted instantly, stretching up on its hind legs as it skittered awkwardly towards us, mouth opening and fangs hissing. I gritted my teeth and kept advancing, my sword feeling small and puny compared to. This thing. Each leg was as thick and round as my sword was wide.


    The lightly furred kitten easily absorbed and then blocked my swings for the most part. The only exception was if I hit a very vulnerable joint. Sadly, most of them were above my head and out of my reach. That forced me to awkwardly jump to strike, unable to put much force behind the blow.


    So unless Bjorn or Jonas managed to injure it or it was attacking, I didn''t have much part I could play. It was frustrating, and I had held off getting a cheap spear the last couple of days. To circumvent this, just this problem. I might have done it if I had thought it was enough. But we were still a decent ways away from finishing this problem.


    Bjorn raised a shield, caught the first bite, and deflected it off to the side while Jonas stabbed up at a connector joint. The spider hissed and swatted me aside with one of its legs as it advanced on the other two. I rolled on the ground and groaned. I didn''t see how today was going to go any differently than yesterday.


    ***


    Despite having gotten further than he ever had before in the fight, the spider was significantly wounded by the time we finally all fell. We actually finished earlier than we ever had before. Still, seeing the looks of frustration and repressed fear on Astrid and Helga''s faces, I decided we all needed a break.


    "I''m going to go spend some of this money," I said, hefting up my bag of 350 coins. "See if I can get some skills or spells that will help. Why don''t you all either go see if you can get some of your own upgrades or relax for a bit. I think I might go find something that can help us tomorrow. I''ll. Also, see if I can find anything about that specific monster."


    I didn''t let them know that the Giant Bird-weaver Tarantula had come up in my identity, giving me an actual place to start searching rather than just a giant spider monster. Tomorrow. I could tell them about identifying.


    They all glumly nodded, and we went our separate ways with only a couple muttered goodbyes. I was still relatively optimistic.


    Instead of going right to a skill bookstore to browse, I went to a shop I remembered finding right when I got here, a dusty old bookshop that had no one in it.


    It took me nearly half an hour to find it, but when I walked in, it was just as I remembered it. I had a little bit of reading I wanted to do before. I would pick up spells, and judging based on the prices, I could afford a little bit of research. I walked up to the avatar manning the desk and politely cleared my throat. The thing came to life and looked at me blankly.


    "I''m looking for a few particular books. Can you help me?"


    The thing nodded.


    "Okay, I want a primer on any arcane magic. And illusion magic along with... Do you have any information on the giant bird weaver tarantula?"


    The thing nodded and tottered off to the shelves, where it moved around a rickety ladder and crawled up, pulling out a book or two before moving on. Soon, I had a stack of about 12 books on the desk in front of me. I picked up the first one, A Guide to Arcane Magic. All right. Seemed useful.


    Of the books, I picked out four of them. A General Guide to Arcane Magic and a corresponding one for illusion magic. They mostly focused on what was available and strategies for employing them.


    On top of those, I also picked out a bestiary that was one of the more general ones. But it did have an entry for the spider and a general book on advice for creating one''s own spells and how to integrate spell book or skill book learnings into one''s repertoire. The last one was interesting because it assumed a problem I hadn''t even thought about. Creating one''s own skills naturally fell into something you could use and understand, but it was only a coin.


    I paid for the avatar and took the books to a table, where I started skimming.

 Chapter 40:

    Chapter 40:


    I spent over an hour reading in the shop before looking up. Closing my eyes, I rubbed my temples, a headache forming. This was not nearly as simple as I had hoped. Arcane magic was odd and not at all what I expected.


    My perfectly reasonable assumption was that it was pure magic. The magic that I had been sensing when anyone did anything. But no. That was apparently unaspected magic mana, commonly used for simple utility spells by the normal person. Arcane mana was pure mana, but because of how tenuous that balance is, arcane was often prone to breaking down to the low-resolution mana. Often, that degradation was explosive.


    It was frustrating that arcane mana needed a conduit to affect things at range. It was powerful, quick, but delicate. That meant I either needed to be touching the target of my attack via arcane mana, or it needed to be some sort of effect inside my own body, shielded by my personal mana to prevent the breakdown.


    My one lifeline was that perhaps I could use my illusion-type mana to shield my arcane mana. But of course, illusion magic was one of three kinds of magic out of the dozens that were too weak to actually work as an appropriate conduit for arcane magic. I was starting to think I was really screwed by my class choice.


    The one saving grace was that most aspected mana spells were far too expensive for me to purchase right now, so that was a problem for future me.


    On the other hand, illusion magic was exactly what I had expected. It was a fragile mana that had a long reach¡ªone of the longest ranges possible--but absolutely no impact. It could barely interact with anything besides light and sound, and even then, extremely low energy. But it was extremely versatile and would pair well with the heavy-hitting arcane mana. If I could ever get that to work.


    The texts also explained a little bit about how spellcasters operated. There were three major parts to tell how effective a spell of any aspect was: its range, its power, and its consumption of mana. Those were not nearly as tied together as one might appear. Just because something used a lot of mana didn''t mean it created a lot of power.


    There was a slight correlation, but some spells were just very mana-hungry and inefficient. While others basically did not require very much power for an excessive impact. It all depended on what sort of effect the spell was meant to generate. It meant that I had to choose my spells carefully or at least be willing to get lots of them.


    It appeared that focus generally dictated my recovery rate, but that was mostly a guess. The other aspects of range and power were heavily influenced by personal traits that were a bit unquantifiable, at least as far as the book could tell. I would need to experiment with lots of magic on my own to figure out what worked best with me and then figure out how to mesh that into my own style. It was kind of nice and freeing to have such unlimited options, but a little overwhelming at the same time.


    The spell creation book was a bit esoteric for me to understand; anything about making spells was hard. But it did have other insights that I was able to understand. I''d come back to it later.


    For now, I have read that using spell books properly requires a lot more practice than one might think. Sure, I could just absorb the spell book and instantly be able to use the spell, but that was far from optimal. Especially considering my classes'' special effect of evolving spells learned naturally. If I read the book and studied it carefully, the spell that I would learn wouldn''t be the standard spell; it would be tailored to me specifically. Best of all, it would count enough. The class quest apparently had higher standards.


    The result wasn''t perfectly tailored, but a little bit. Apparently, it was possible to also nudge spells one way or the other after learning them, but that was much harder than doing it during the learning process. Most people didn''t bother with that unless they were either extremely experienced or had a ton of time.


    With my class, though, I thought it might work. It would depend on how long it would take, but it also depends on what skills I would choose. It would just be something I''d have to consider when I went and bought the spells. I left the shop with no more fanfare, the books tucked under my arm, and made my way back to my house to drop them off in my room. I would need some sort of storage item eventually to carry around my growing library of five books.


    I stopped, had dinner, and chatted with a few of the people around me. Edwin was a right Englishman from 1863 who had been in Valhalla for about ten years and was the closest to a similar mind. He enjoyed some of the finer things in life, even though he had been a relatively poor farmer but liked his wine. We struck up a conversation about different vintages. Not that we really had much in common with the time difference. He was fascinated by how the process had changed and had not changed over the hundred years or so after he had died.


    "Right bitch it was to get out of the Lesser Hall. You''re lucky you got out in six months," Edwin commented after we had talked a little bit.


    I shrugged. "Yeah. I had some good friends."


    He nodded. "Yeah, I made some friends too, but... They aren''t here yet. You know, I''m not sure this place is much better."


    I looked at him like he was insane. "What do you mean?"


    "Well, the challenge is too bloody hard." Edwin threw up his hands. "I''ve gone in with a few different teams, but we never make it past the big mama bear."


    "The one with the cubs underneath it?"


    He looked at me strangely. "No, the giant mama badger bear thing. The thing that is bigger than a fucking horse!"


    "What level are you?" I asked, surprised about how little they had managed.


    "Level seven," he said. "It''s been hard to get that high. What about having to run through the first couple of rooms over and over again?"


    So he wasn''t too far behind me.


    "What about your teams?" I asked. "How are they?"


    "Just guys from around here. Different groups that never really last very long. They don''t do very well. Punishment is going to suck until we can eventually grind up enough levels to get past these things. Probably take months," he said, muttering into his ale glumly.


    "You should get out and talk to people out here more," I said. "You might be able to owe someone a favor and learn something."


    He looked up and shrugged. "Yeah. Maybe. People don''t seem to be exactly excited to talk to us newbies, you know."


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    I frowned, not having really experienced that at all.


    "What, do you go around with the marker on your chest?" I said, pulling my coin out from where I had it tucked behind my shirt.


    He shook his head and laughed. "No, they just seem to know that we''re no good or anything. Maybe it''s just how we walk or carry ourselves."


    "Huh," I said, not elaborating on the fact that I had no such experiences. Maybe I didn''t come across as someone who was lost in a big city.


    After dinner, I said goodbye to my new acquaintance. I wandered the city, looking for a spellbook shop that Loki patronized. He did tell me that I would get a discount, and it seemed that I needed to stretch my coin as far as I possibly could. Besides, I wasn''t looking for anything super special, just some basic stuff that anyone should have, I imagined.


    Eventually, I found one that was called "Tricks and Cantrips for the Discerning Beginner Mage." A little blue avatar ran the front but was surprisingly animated as it waved to me in greeting.


    "Hello, young sir." I looked around and found only spellbooks, not even skill books. "It''s rare that I see a young man like you gracing my store. I hope that you''re actually looking for some spells and not skills," it asked in a pleading tone.


    I nodded. "Yes, spells. I see you don''t carry any skills."


    It nodded. "True, true. Not many men practice magic when they''re as young as you. Most of them are over at my brother''s. He sells the skills. We thought it would be a good idea to split it up that way, but people get confused all the time. Luckily, he''s right across the street, though, so if you do want some skills, you should look for them there."


    "Your brother?" I asked. "Are you not an avatar?"


    He smiled. "Not quite. I''m a gnome."


    "A what?"


    "A gnome. You''ve never heard of us?"


    "No, I have, but I didn''t know you were real."


    He gave a high-pitched, tinkling laugh and came around from the counter, hopping down from a stool to show that he was barely over three feet tall.


    "Oh, I don''t know why you doubt that. So much more is real than you would ever know, especially with the brain fog on you. You should be able to guess that."


    "How did you guess that I didn''t have any brain fog?" I asked. I hadn''t shown him my mark, but he ignored my question.


    "You think this is the only spot where different paths collide? Just because you humans are split up between men and women to start off with, once you join together, you will never meet anything else? No, no. When you move on, you''re going to be in for a surprise if you aren''t ready for things like me." He exclaimed as he walked up to me.


    "So why are you here where I have only seen humans?"


    "Well, it''s one of our big friend''s little tricks," he said, pointing at my elbow.


    How did he know? I hadn''t even shown him my mark yet. He just gave me a cocky smile and laughed. "Don''t worry about it. I won''t tell anyone."


    "Miles," I said, extending my hand down to him.


    He reached up and shook it. "Philup. But you can call me Phil."


    "Well, nice to meet you, Phil. I  am  here for some spells."


    "As you said," He gave me a friendly wink. "Don''t worry. You''ll get the friends and family discount." His high-pitched and slightly nasally voice didn''t lose a single bit of exuberance at potentially losing money on the sale.


    I had no choice but to trust him unless I wanted to check other shops. If he was Loki''s man, he probably would try to trick me, but I was curious if my skill would see through that. I started looking at some of the books on the shelves, and he walked with me, watching me move rather than the books I was looking at. I reached out to touch one, and he whacked my hand with a ruler that appeared out of nowhere.


    "No touching," he said. "You don''t want to accidentally absorb something and owe me more than you can pay."


    I gulped, not realizing that had been a possibility. "Let''s see, you have some magic in you, but you''re mostly close combat." Phil paused thoughtfully "Sword and spear?"


    "Dagger and sword," I said. "Dual wielding, if possible."


    He nodded. "Hmm, that''s a rather unique style. Normally, that''s a backup for most people."


    I shrugged. "I''ve been saving my money for magic."


    "You are an odd one," he said. "Well, there''s a lot of things you might like," he said, pulling me back to the counter by my hand and pulling out a list.


    "See," he said, circling several items on it and pushing it over to me. Pointing to the first item, he launched into an explanation. "Illusion walk is a nice short-range teleport skill. Often overlooked because of..."


    He went through and started pointing out several different things: a couple of different teleports, some attack spells, some damage over time spells, some debuffs, slowing down, weapon conjuration, and a few healing spells. Most were out of my price range, unfortunately, but he somehow knew to emphasize the illusion and arcane spells. Though there weren''t nearly as many illusion and arcane spells as I would have liked, and they were generally much more expensive than I could afford.


    We went back and forth, and I eventually picked out two basic spells. He listed the prices. "So, that healing skill is not great, but healing skills are very expensive. The list price is 350 coins, but as I said, family and friends discount, I can get you for 300."


    I nodded, not haggling more. I was not getting any sense of deception from Phil and didn''t want to insult him. If I came back, we would see what price I could get. Right now, I had my bottom line, and if I was getting that, I was willing to empty my wallet. Especially if it bought me any goodwill with this apparent expert.


    The second one chosen was their most basic movement skill: Quick Step.


    "Again, not great, but affordable. Simple. You''ll probably not have much use for either of these eventually, but it should get you through the basics," he said.


    I handed him almost every coin I had, and he put the books in a bag. "Don''t touch them until you''re ready to learn them. You can focus on not absorbing them when you touch them, but it''s difficult to do, and you don''t want to accidentally slip up and learn them when you''re not ready... Oh," he added, "and make sure you''re lying down when you do it."


    I blinked, taking his advice and gingerly grabbing the bag before walking out of the store and returning home.

 Chapter 41:

    Chapter 41:


    Knocking on the door of the narrow hallway above the armorer''s shop on the ground floor, I waited for a response. The door opened a crack, and I could see a thin sliver of a cluttered room full of random bits of junk¡ªtwine, sticks, papers, and old dishes. The door was only open a few inches, and half of Astrid''s face appeared, her eye looking at me.


    "Oh, hey, Miles," she said, her voice slightly rough. "What are you doing here?"


    She didn''t open the door the rest of the way. "I was hoping we could have a talk."


    She gave me the slightest nod. "All right, come on, let''s grab a drink."


    I turned and started walking down the hallway to wait for her. Muffled swearing followed as the door closed, a latch undid, and she came stomping down the hall after me.


    "You know, you''re not my boss," she said. "Not my master. I don''t  have  to listen to you."


    I glanced back at her and headed for the stairs. Maybe I had been a little bit pushy, but that seemed extreme. She continued on without waiting for a response.


    "You''re a good leader. You are decisive when you need to be and willing to think things through when you can. You listen to us all when we have something to say, and you don''t when we''re wasting time. But you''re not a revolutionary leader. You''re not a great leader. You''re good. You''re decent. You could be good. Maybe with some practice."


    Those words hit me harder than I wanted to admit. Had I been getting full of myself? Recently, it didn''t feel like it. I didn''t respond, and we continued downstairs and across the street to a dingy dive bar where I ordered us a couple of drinks as we sat in a corner booth in the dim light.


    "But," she said. I still haven''t responded. "You''re not amazing. And clearly, it''s not enough. We need more from you, Miles. Just making the smart decisions when there are smart decisions to be made isn''t going to get us there in time. We have a little less than two weeks, and we haven''t made progress in five days," she said, frustrated.


    I bit my tongue to avoid saying something stupid.


    "You need to¡ª" she started, but I cut her off, my patience wrung dry. I wasn''t about to listen to more demands of me as if I was the only problem with our team.


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    "No. You and everyone else need to stop acting like little children. You bicker over everything. You can''t have reasoned arguments like adults without someone yelling at you half the time. Most of the time, at least two of you, if not three, are either hungover or currently drunk! If, by some miracle, you are not, then you are actively trying to  get  drunk! Jonas is off chasing women half the time we should be practicing..." I trailed off, my anger cooling off as I continued.


    "We aren''t a team. I make the decisions not because I want to be a leader but because no one else  fucking  will. Every time I think one of you is going to step up, it''s just some petty insult meant to cut another down." My temper was rising again as I picked up pace. "The only one who''s getting anything out of this is Helga, and that''s because she''s too timid to object to putting up with anyone else''s shit. You''re all just children."


    I finally met Astrid''s eyes and realized something was wrong. They weren''t angry or frustrated or seething with rage like I expected after my outburst. They were welling up with tears, her face pale and her lower lip quivering slightly. She took a deep gulp of her ale and only half put it down before reaching up to take another one.


    I raised my hands, starting to backpedal a little. "Listen, you''re not the only problem. I''m not saying you''re a problem, but we both have problems, and we need to figure it out. You and Bjorn need to figure out your shit. I need to learn how to be a leader properly and learn actual strategy. Jonas needs to get his head in the game, and Helga needs to learn how to speak her mind."


    She wasn''t listening to me. But she started to speak anyway. "When I came into Valhalla, I didn''t want to. I hate violence. I don''t like getting up close and personal," she whispered in a soft voice. "I hate it now. I didn''t used to, though. When I was 15, I already had one child. My husband was a fisherman but would go on the summer raids out east. Our village got raided and was burning down. I had a six-month-old baby on my hip, and I was starting to swell from the next on the way. But I held a sword in one hand, and I killed two of our attackers from behind. It wasn''t enough. There were too many more of them."


    She sniffed and sobbed. "I was cut down with a slash through my swollen stomach. The same cut killed the child I was carrying, the baby inside me, all at once." She was struggling to speak, her chest rocking with sobs and tears running down her face. "I haven''t touched a sword the entire time I was here. I''ve died again here rather than touching another sword."


    I reached across the small table and pulled her into my chest, giving her a crushing hug. Unsure of what else to do, I just held her tight as she started sobbing into my shirt.


    It was nearly a minute before she muttered something that I could barely make out.


    "Bjorn looks just like him-- Just like the man with the sword."


    I blinked and froze. Totally unprepared and underqualified to handle this.


    "I can''t get it out of my head. I''ve talked with Bjorn. I know he lived hundreds of years after I did, but Bjon could be his son."


    I just held her as she cried.

 Chapter 42:

    Chapter 42:


    A couple of days later, I still hadn''t finished learning those new skills. The day after I talked with Astrid, I told the team that I had gotten the identified skill. It shouldn''t have made a huge difference, but it did.


    Now that we knew the spider was level 15 and the minions were level five, we got past it with surprising ease. I wasn''t sure if knowing the level just made them take it more seriously. Or if it helped us overcome the pride of being unable to get past something, knowing that it out-leveled all of us. But we actually tried tactics that were more appropriate for our level rather than trying to take the thing head-on. I wasn''t sure how it helped much, but whatever it did, it was good.


    After that, we were at 17.5% progress through the challenge. So one, maybe two more rooms, and we''d be clear¡ªat least clear of the minimum. Unfortunately, though, we got stuck in the room immediately after the spider. The enemies had changed again, and because they were lower at a level, they gave us lots of problems. Instead of spiders, now it was motherfucking snakes. Lots of snakes. At least forty of them all at once.


    The snakes were small, and they were fast. Insanely fast. Like a greyhound. Because of how low to the ground they were, they were impossible to stop.


    It was easy to prevent something like a large spider, a badger, or a bear from reaching the backlines. But the four of us couldn''t stop the snakes from getting to Astrid.


    With something big, we could get in front of it, could hit it, could slow it down. Even if it was big enough to barrel past, it might be possible to redirect it. But these snakes... the way they slithered made it hard to hit them on the ground. And when you did, it damaged your blade. Then they''d get past your legs, bite our only healer, and then come for the rest of us.


    The venom they had was enough to kill Astrid relatively quickly when they all swarmed her, and her lower constitution didn''t do her many favors. Once she was down, there was nothing we could do to remove the venom from our veins.


    With the venom still in our system, we couldn''t leave the room. And so we died. So far, we''d done two attempts, but the frustration that had built for the spider wasn''t building yet. So, I think we had time to figure it out before we started to panic again. Everyone knew how close we were to getting out of the minimum. Despite how frustrating this seemed, we had just gotten past one possible fight, and there was a bit more patience needed to get past this one as well.


    Whether that was because of the identification skill telling us that the snakes were only level nine or perhaps because it was Astrid. She hadn''t turned over a new leaf or anything. Despite everyone still fighting and bickering all the time, she at least was trying some of the time. Maybe it was having some effect. It was hard for me to tell how much that helped exactly, but I seemed to have marginally fewer headaches with the antics of my teammates.


    She and Bjorn still fought all the time, but I saw her back down when she was obviously wrong a few times. With that part cleared up, I realized it wasn''t just her. There was something with Bjorn, too. As he was my friend, I had been giving him the benefit of the doubt and had talked with Astrid first. But that had been unfair of me.


    I knew he had problems. It was clear that I needed to talk to him as a friend and figure out if this team could continue to work. Because, well, everyone needed to get better, as Astrid told me, and I was working on it. I was getting really, really close to learning my skills.


    That night, after our challenge run, I went back home to meditate on them.


    ***


    The past couple of days, I had spent a lot of time and effort reading and memorizing each page of the book. In order to touch them, I had to have a hardened mental will, to not absorb the books directly. And in order to achieve this, I had to prepare myself for over a minute to touch them. Maybe I was being paranoid and going overboard, but I could feel the pressure of it trying to push into my mind, and fighting against it was difficult.


    I left them open on my desk and turned the page as quickly as I could. I read each page twice before turning it in again, and I memorized pretty much every part of both the healing spell and the movement spell. Now, I sat on the floor with my mind as empty as possible as I attempted to feel and understand the motions of my mana to activate the spell. I was getting very, very close. I could feel the effect starting to form as I went through the patterns and formed the pattern with the threads of my mana before it fell apart.


    I was working on both spells at once, as I felt this actually helped me. Every time I would learn something on one spell, it would help me get a little bit farther in another one. Switching back and forth prevented me from just bashing my head against a wall. Standing up quickly, I went back to the book and looked at the diagram for the movement spell before sitting back down. A few minutes later, I felt my hand twitch, and I sprang up, moving across the room in the blink of an eye.


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    With a stifled shout of triumph, I pumped my fist in the air before I got control of myself and returned to my seat. A few minutes later, I could feel warm energy suffusing me, and the slight ache in my knees and hips from sitting on the hard floor for so long faded.


    "Yes," I half-yelled, half-hissed to myself in an attempt not to bother everyone at this late hour. It was probably more like four in the morning. Again, my habits of sleep had returned to those of my college years, getting little more than four hours a night, but it was worth it. It was so worth it.


    I pushed aside my bed and started carving into my floor the modified ritual to tell me what abilities I had just gained.


    +Spell Quick Step.


    Quick Step is upgrading and changing into Dance of the Jester.


    Dance of the Jester:


    The Dance of the Jester spell transforms the user into a blur of motion, allowing them to move faster than the eye can see. Upon activation, the user channels illusion-type mana to harness a burst of supernatural agility, enabling them to dodge and weave through the battlefield with incredible speed. Each step and leap is performed with such rapidity that onlookers perceive only a series of afterimages crafted by the illusion mana, leaving enemies disoriented and unable to track their movements accurately.


    This extraordinary speed is not merely about evasion but also about creating chaos among foes. The user''s movements become a dazzling display of acrobatics, appearing and disappearing in multiple locations almost simultaneously. The frenetic dance, enhanced by illusionary magic, leaves enemies guessing, striking at shadows while the user remains untouchable. This unmatched agility and deceptive speed, powered by illusion-type mana, make the Dance of the Jester a formidable skill for avoiding attacks and sowing confusion in the ranks of adversaries.


    +Spell Healing Touch


    Healing Touch is upgrading and changing into A Fool''s Consitution.


    A Fool''s Constitution:


    A Fool''s Constitution is a self-healing spell that draws upon the enigmatic powers of arcane mana to restore the user''s vitality. When cast, the spell radiates arcane mana from within. The mana pulses rhythmically from the heart as it begins to mend wounds and replenish health. This arcane mana permeates through the user''s body, accelerating natural healing processes and infusing cells with rejuvenating magic.


    The spell has a chance to trick the world so that the effects of recent damage may be reversed. As the healing progresses, the user''s skin glows faintly with a kaleidoscope of colors, symbolizing the playful yet potent nature of the spell. This radiant display not only revitalizes the user but also acts as a deterrent to enemies, showcasing the formidable and unpredictable power of arcane mana.


    I stared at the description, confused and excited all at the same time. Both had upgraded. I thought I only had a 50% chance. It was pretty lucky that both were upgraded. There was only a one in four chance of that happening. They both developed one of my special mana types with an efficiency boost for naturally learned spells. It was kind of unclear if that meant the spells were more efficient or if I learned them faster. Did that efficiency bonus apply to my chance for them to upgrade? Hard to say, but the movement skill sounded awesome. It was exactly what I wanted without having to compromise on cost: swift motion in rapid bursts. But on top of that, it came with a decent amount of confusion and crowd control.


    If I practiced enough with it, I imagined I could be quite formidable. If I learned other illusionary techniques, it might even become the foundation of my style. The increased agility sounded nice as well. I was entirely satisfied with that outcome.


    But the healing touch upgrade left me worried. "A Fool''s Constitution" sounded a lot more like a skill rather than a spell, but that was a bit of a misnomer. Apparently, spells and skills weren''t really separated based on what they could do but rather on the mechanism by which they did things. And this self-healing spell seemed immensely powerful. I particularly liked the potential for tricking the world so that the effects of damage might be reversed. That might mean that I had the potential to regrow lost limbs within a time frame of being damaged.


    The downside was it was a self-heal. It sure was going to sound pretty selfish to get a self-heal skill when I had planned to get something that would help everyone. Besides, self-healing skills were expensive because they were a bit rarer and harder to learn. What mage wanted the ability to self-heal? They weren''t supposed to be getting hurt. Maybe a self-healing skill would be more common, but a spell? Not for ones at my level. Maybe at a much higher level with more complicated and powerful spells.


    The flashing light show of me healing was also a bit of a downside. I wasn''t sure how intimidating a glowing human would be. Certainly, it would feel like a fool. But I had resigned myself to being a fool and jester long ago, so the names didn''t bother me.


    Settling down into meditation, I examined the mana in my body and found that the two spells were nestled in there as well. They seemed to still be settling, slowly changing their general shapes as they melted into the surroundings of my mana. They were barely perceptibly moving constantly, almost as if they were breathing. I had a sensation that I could nudge them in certain directions if I focused hard enough.


    I touched the healing spell, trying to see if I could push it towards allowing me to heal others as well. I could move it in that direction slightly, but the distance I would have to go would take quite a long time. What was I going to tell the team?

 Chapter 43:

    Chapter 43:


    I walked into the training room early¡ªwell, earlier than I normally did. I was perpetually running a little bit late because I was sleeping too little and studying magic so much. They probably just thought I was out drinking like they were, but at least I wasn''t showing up hungover, which was one step above everyone else on my team.


    I started sparring with Helga, the only other one here. She was always the first to arrive. I think she showed up an hour before we even started just so she could work on her swordplay.


    As we practiced, I limited myself to just my sword instead of using my dagger as my offhand. She was pretty good, but clearly, all of her real practice was in fighting monsters rather than other people with swords. With my significant physical stats, I could have overpowered her at any moment. Still, instead, I worked on training my raw skills. I was pretty close to getting my sword proficiency above F grade, and it was a nice milestone to shoot for.


    Slowly, the other remaining members of the team filed in and started warming up and practicing. Before everyone got too into it, I paused the sparring and got their attention.


    "I have some good news and bad news," I said. "Well, I''ve finally managed to learn a couple of spells."


    I got a round of smiles.


    "The first is a movement ability that is a little bit odd. And the second, well, this is the bad news. I went for a healing spell, but it appears that I may have gotten slightly scammed. There was definitely a reason that spell was so cheap," I lied. "It''s more of a self-healing spell. It might be able to do healing for others after I''ve fixed it up a little bit, but at the moment, I can only really heal myself."


    I held up my hands as everyone else started to frown, but they didn''t seem too angry at me yet. They believed my story.


    "This is still good, as I''ll be able to be hurt more, and Astrid won''t have to worry about healing me. Not as ideal as we had hoped, but with my new movement spell and a bit of time to practice it, I hope that we can actually have a chance with those damn snakes today."


    "Show us the spell," Jonas called out teasingly.


    I smiled. Reaching deep, I cast my spell for the first time and stepped over to him. The world blurred as I appeared with one hand on Jonas''s shoulder. Then it blurred again as I let go and moved quickly over to Bjorn. The afterimage of me, hand on Jonas''s shoulder, hovered for about half a second after I left. It seemed that my range was at most five to seven strides for now, depending on how fast I was moving, and each charge took a significant amount of my mana. But I was fast. Very fast. It wasn''t instantaneous, but it was ten times faster compared to what I could normally move. The flashes of light the spell let off left everyone blinking and slightly dazed.


    "Nice. Now let''s test out that healing spell," Bjorn said and sucker-punched me in the stomach.


    I doubled over and sank to my knees, wheezing for breath. It took me half a second to activate the spell, and I could feel a warm healing energy radiate from my center and soothe the ache. All of a sudden, I could breathe again. Standing back up in a half second, I returned the gesture, though Bjorn was ready for it and braced.


    Still, he let out a small "umph" as he was forced to take a step backward. Still, that was more than it should have been, seeing our size difference. I put a lot of strength into that blow.


    "Pretty good, pretty good," he said with a slow clap once he recovered his breath.


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    "Well. Yeah," I said. "Anyways, I think I will spend the morning practicing my movement spell."


    Jonas, Bjorn, and Helga rotated through sparring and doing drills while Astrid shot arrows at our target, and I flashed around. I could only step half a dozen times in a row before I was low on mana and needed to recharge, but dodging Astrid''s arrows was providing me with decent practice. I kept trying to catch one out of the air by the shaft, but the increased speed didn''t necessarily increase my perception by that much. Just enough to avoid crashing into things but not enough to do much while I was moving. It was fine. I kept practicing, though. It was a good thing to work on.


    I got more and more controlled, being able to cast the spell quicker and more instinctively and being more precise with where I ended up. Controlling the path, though, was difficult, and controlling the afterimages and decoys that the spell let off at random proved pretty much impossible. We trained for a bit longer before we headed over to the challenge.


    ***


    At my request, the others let me take a point for the entire run. I finished the first six rooms by myself, totally abusing my Dance of the Jester spell at every opportunity. Even with the level 2 to 3 cubs, I flashed through them, appearing and severing heads or stabbing deep one after the other. The first afterimage disappeared only after they were all dead. That half-second was all I needed. The ten young adult badgers fared no better, and the mother took a little bit of time, but she had no chance of catching me. I just hacked at her neck repeatedly from each side, easily dodging any snaps.


    It wasn''t until the spider that I actually required help. I injured it but was swarmed by the little helpers. The others stepped in to help peel them off me. I was left with several bites in uncomfortable spots. I shuddered from the feeling of the giant creepy crawlies all over me. Activating my healing skill, the wounds started to close, and a few of the nastier bites that had ripped away flesh vanished. Not all of them, but maybe 10% of them. I cast the spell a second time, and a few more bites disappeared. By then, I was pretty much fully healed. Getting back to my feet, I shuddered.


    "That was deeply, deeply unpleasant," I complained to my team as they finished off killing the mostly wounded spider. But I was very pleased. The tricking the world into thinking that damage hadn''t been done would be very lucky if I ever needed to regrow a limb. The fact that I could cast it repeatedly in a short time meant that it wasn''t a once-or-nothing sort of affair.


    Still, there was a pretty low limit on what it could heal if that special effect didn''t occur. We sat and recovered, the entire trip only having taken under an hour. I had much less mana to recover than Astrid did, but because of that, it didn''t take me very long to rest before I could go again. Each time I ran out of mana, I only took about five minutes of meditation before my meager pool was full again. This let us attempt the snakes extremely early. In fact, if we messed up here, it was very possible that we could even try a second time today.


    This time, I had our three melee fighters stand even closer to Astrid, and I stood behind them, ready to use my movement spell. Ready to use Dance of the Jester to intercept anything that got past them and protect Astrid. As the snakes poured out of the walls and slithered along the floor, all three of them started hacking and slashing at the ground, more worried about getting a number of strikes in rather than killing every single snake.


    The first one slipped through Jonas''s legs, and I dashed my sword, impaling it in the back of the head. Then I danced over to the next one that was hanging off Bjorn''s inner thigh. I cut it in half before skipping back to the center in the slightly whimsical patterns of my spell.


    They were pretty good about not letting too many by, but every handful of seconds, another one slipped by. But I was quick. When I was using my spell, I was almost twice as fast as the snakes and easily able to cover for Astrid as she launched exploding arrows over our heads into the mass approaching.


    Suddenly, with no warning, the snakes stopped, and we could move on.


    As we walked out of the exit, the 20% came, and as soon as we were out of the darkness, we all let out a whoop and cheer.


    "We did it!" Astrid jumped and hugged me while Bjorn slapped me on the back, and Jonas and Helga exchanged a high-five.


    "Well done everyone!" I cheered.


    We all went around and celebrated. Bjorn pulled out a flask and passed it around. All of us taking generous gulps.


    After we all calmed down, I had to ask, "Should we continue?"

 Chapter 44:

    Chapter 44:


    My question sparked some serious discussion.


    "I know we should," Astrid said with a giddy smile on her face, "...but I don''t know if I''ll be able to focus properly."


    "I want to fight," Bjorn roared, holding up his spear over his head. In his other hand, he drew out the ax he had gotten as a sidearm. It was more of a hatchet, but he shook it. "My blood is high!"


    I looked at him like he was a bit of a crazy person, but that was just Bjorn. Jonas shrugged.


    "I think we might as well push on. Even if we get one more room, that''s more loot, more money, more coin to spend," he said with a knowing wink.


    Helga spoke up quietly, "I agree with Astrid. I don''t think we''ll be at our best."


    Everyone looked at me. I wanted to go on. I was on a roll, but at the same time, I was exhausted. As good as most of my stats were, and with magic boosting my abilities, I was able to push this far. Still, I was starting to feel the limits of my smaller constitution. Perhaps I had managed to push it high enough that I actually increased it, but still. I blinked, playing up the act a little bit, and put a hand to my head.


    "Well, I''m pretty beat, guys. We can keep going, but I''m going to need some of you to pick up the slack," I said with a smile.


    "Oh, you''re on," Jonas groaned, and Bjorn just chuffed while Astrid and Helga rolled their eyes.


    "I think we should probably leave. We have a lot of loot, and I think we could all do with a gear upgrade. Next time we run this, we''ll get through it without much of a problem. We''ll be better prepared and can get even further," I reasoned.


    Bjorn and Jonas both seemed to capitulate at that, and we took the option of leaving the dungeon early. The challenge portal winked out beneath us as we emerged, smiles on our faces, long since used to the disorientation of entering and leaving the challenge. A few people waiting in line gave us polite claps, and I noticed a little symbol appeared as we left, indicating that we had just passed the minimum for the month. And with our exuberance, it was obvious that it was the first time.


    We waited in line, chatting about what we wanted to do with the extra loot. Bjorn was thinking about upgrading his spear, and I was planning on maybe picking up another spell¡ªmaybe a weapon conjuration spell so I didn''t have to worry about upgrading weapons in the future. I could just focus on that or some sort of heavy-impact spell if I could afford it. Now, I had almost 1000 coins, so I should be able to get some of the second-tier spells rather than just the low-level ones I had gotten at first.


    We traded all our loot for money, and then, as we were walking out. We paused just outside the entrance, a little off to the side, so we weren''t blocking anyone''s way.


    "I think tomorrow we should take a break," I said. "We managed to make it for the month, which is amazing, but we''ve been going nonstop. Why don''t we do something else? No training, just fun. Or you can go see your other friends," I offered with a shrug. "Just something else."


    Everyone seemed amenable to the idea.


    "Why don''t we go back to the arena where we first met?" Bjorn suggested. "See some fights. I haven''t even had a chance to really dig into that too much since we''ve been running the challenge nonstop."


    I wasn''t against that. It sounded like there was a possibility of making coins there. Astrid and Helga seemed ambivalent but willing to go along.


    "Why don''t we do that in the evening?" I said. "Sometime around dinner, and then we can have the day to ourselves."


    That decided, and we all went our separate ways. I went, had food, and then went to bed early, getting a full night''s sleep for the first time in weeks.


    ***


    When I woke up, I jumped out of bed, thinking I needed to run to training, but I slowed my racing heart, got dressed, enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, and then made my way over to my favorite spell store. Phil greeted me with a cheery wave.


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    "You''re back! How did the Healing Touch and Quick Step treat you?"


    I smiled and gave him a thumbs-up. "Perfect. Got me far enough to make some more coin," I said, hefting my bag.


    "Good, good. As always, we aim to please," Phil said. "Watching you move, you''re doing pretty good at integrating them into your style, I see," he said, watching my feet.


    "How can you tell that by just looking at the way I walk?" I asked.


    He tapped the side of his temple. "Trade secret. But I''m very good at matching customers to what they need."


    I nodded. "It''s coming along nicely. Still, a lot of kinks to work out."


    He bobbed his head in agreement. "Of course, of course. You seem to have modified them slightly based on your movement. You''re getting in people''s faces more than what the Quick Step spell is designed for. It''s impressive for you to make it so versatile."


    I shrugged. "Well, I did spend some time working on them as I was adapting them for myself. Okay, well, what do you have in mind? Do you have any arcane spells available?"


    "Of course," Phil said, pulling out a list and pushing it over to me. It was a list only six long, with prices next to them. I winced as I read through them. Absolute Destruction sounded awesome, but costing over 100,000 coins, even with a discount, was way out of my budget. Mana Intrusion also sounded very effective, but the cost of 50,000 coins was still far too expensive for my blood. The only one that was potentially possible was Arcane Punch, and it was discounted. The original 5000 coins had been slashed through and replaced with 1200 coins next to it.


    I looked at Arcane Punch. "Can you tell me more about this one?" I said, tapping the cheapest option.


    Phil nodded. "Yeah. Picked up that spell decades ago, and no one really wants it because, well, anyone who''s good enough at close-quarters combat to use that sort of spell likely has a lot more coin and access to better spells. And anyone who is looking for something in this budget and can use arcane¡­well, that''s pretty rare."


    "So you''re saying it''s kind of a weak, cheap spell for its type, but not many people who could use it. Those who can could also afford a much better one?" I asked.


    He nodded.


    "Okay. What about weapon conjuration spells?" I asked, keeping that in the back of my mind.


    "Well, got lots of those," he said and put some more lists down. "The issue is they''re all really mana-hungry. Even maintaining one for a while takes a bit of mana, but the cheaper you go, the more mana you need. There''s a bit of an efficiency curve."


    I looked through the list and considered picking up one of the cheaper dagger ones. I didn''t have a good way of quantifying how much mana I was using. There were things about that in the books I had read, but nothing direct. So I asked, "How do you quantify mana? It doesn''t seem to have an easy-to-define number."


    "That''s because there''s really not," Phil replied. "You can test for it, and there are various measurement systems, but not one that has completely won out yet. The general guideline is just to give an impression of how mana-hungry it is¡ªlow to high. All that''s very customizable to the person, though. But there are trade-offs. Usually, the amount of mana and recovery is governed by the focus stat."


    I nodded. My focus stat wasn''t extremely high yet, but some levels in my class would fix that. I looked through the spells, but nothing really stood out to me. So I went back to the Arcane Punch.


    "How low can you go for this?" I asked.


    Phil looked at the parchment. "Well, this discount was from a year ago. I suppose I can give it to you for 800 coins¡ªthe family and friends discount."


    I frowned. "Could you do 750?"


    Phil shook his head. "Sorry. I wish I could."


    I sighed. "Hmm. I''m not sure I really need to improve my weapons, but none of these really speak to me," I said, gesturing at the weapon conjuration spells. "My magic is nowhere near mature enough to rely on it."


    "Yeah. I wouldn''t recommend you get one of these. I think either a defensive spell or some sort of attack like this is actually a pretty good deal if you can use arcane mana," he said, tapping the entry for Arcane Punch.


    I grumbled and pulled out my wallet, grabbing a handful of coins.


    "I''ll take it," I said and counted out some of the higher denominations, nearly emptying my total fund pool. Phil bagged up the book for me and passed it over.


    "Come again," he said with a cheery wave as I exited the shop, significantly poorer than when I had entered.

 Chapter 45:

    Chapter 45:


    I went back for lunch after I finished my shopping by purchasing a baldric for my sword. Carrying it on my belt wasn¡¯t my favorite thing.


    Going up stairs I decided it was time to check my progress. Cutting my hand I dripped my blood onto the ritual.


    Level: 12


    Status: Tier 4: Valhalla Proper


    Class: Arcane Fool, Lvl 5


    Subclass: N/A


    Traits:


    Incisive Gaze


    Skills:


    Mana Perception Enhanced


    Spells:


    A Fool''s Constitution


    Dance of the Jester


    Weapon proficiencies


    Sword: D-1


    Spear: F-2


    Striking: F-7


    Halberd: D-3


    Dagger: D-4


    Grappling: F-7


    Stats


    Strength: 33


    Speed: 41


    Constitution: 15


    Focus: 21


    Free Points: 22


    Blessing: Loki''s Eye


    Strength: +0


    Speed: +0


    Constitution: +0


    Focus: +2


    Jester Shop Access


    Additional effects: ???


    I grinned down at my status screen. That''s why I was feeling so much stronger. I had gained four general levels and five class levels, and that certainly added up. My constitution and focus had also increased by a few points from just training in the dungeon, though I doubted that would be the case very much for focus.


    Seeing how fast I was leveling my class, I was tempted to dump my 22 free points all into speed. With my movement spell, I would be able to be anywhere instantly. I wouldn''t have to worry about getting hit, nor would I have to worry about doing a ton of damage at once. But I pulled back from that.


    For the sake of round numbers, I added five points to my constitution so I would stop getting tired so quickly. I didn''t bother putting it so high as to make me a heavy hitter. Then, I added 15 points to my speed and threw the last two into strength. My focus was improving fast enough as it was, and I was still a melee fighter. Even once I learned my Arcane Punch spell, I would need to hit hard. Of course, I probably didn''t need a ton of strength and would likely cap it out once it stopped giving me such good returns when it came to striking. So, it may eventually make more sense to focus on speed and constitution and only put points into focus where necessary.


    If I could acquire defensive skills or spells, I might not bother putting too much into the constitution and just invest more in focus. But that would have to come later. I didn''t want to commit to a specific path when I didn''t have to. Besides, my slight specialization is working for me now, but who knows if it will work in the future. I might need to change tack if the paradigm shifts at higher levels. I still hadn''t even really incorporated any skills into my style. My combat was purely melee, and only now was I trying to work in some basic spells. Of course, I might never add skills in there, but Loki suggested that around level 100 would make sense, too.


    Other good news was my sword proficiency had finally broken into the D ranks. It had been a gradual change, but I was certainly getting better. After I finished going over my status, I cleaned everything up and then went down to have lunch before heading over to the arena to meet up with my team.


    ***


    After everyone arrived, we headed in. Jonas, though, steered the group in a specific direction. "Yesterday, I booked one of the private booths ringside by the fourth platform."


    "Mm, that would be a nice treat to see some of the matches up close."


    We ended up sitting within 20 feet of the ring in a booth that had a general view and a table. A server came by and brought us drinks and a pitcher of ale. They passed it around, and it was refilled within a minute of us emptying it. When we settled in to watch the fight, nothing was nearly as entertaining or high-level as the fight we''d first seen. But if anything, the fights were actually easy to follow, and we could understand what was happening, unlike the last time when it was a trick to even tell the flow of the fight.


    After a couple of fights, the announcer went away from his usual spiel of introducing the two combatants and said, "Now, for those who want to do a last-minute sign-up for the under-level 15 tournament, sign-ups last for one more hour. And a reminder: the grand prize is a commission from Master Smith Herzog! We have to thank him for agreeing to sponsor this event!"


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    The crowd broke into polite clapping, and several people got up to head over to the sign-up sheet table. Bjorn was already out of his seat and halfway there when I even considered it. Was it worth fighting, or should I just stick around and enjoy the event? Looking at the table, I saw that Jonas and Astrid had no interest, but Helga was looking after Bjorn.


    "Helga," I asked, "you want to go sign up with me?"


    She nodded, and I got out of the booth and let her out after me. We walked more sedately after Bjorn, who was shoving his way through the crowd.


    "You''re interested in a new sword or something?" I asked Helga.


    She shook her head. "No, I don''t expect to win. I just want more experience fighting other people."


    I nodded, understanding. I wasn''t sure if that would be very helpful for the challenges, but it was a good chance for her to reach her own goals. I was only level 12 currently, but I had a class in multiple levels and a ton of stat points from training. I thought I had a real chance if everyone was actually under level 15 to win this whole thing. I was pretty sure I could beat Bjorn one-on-one, especially with my new abilities.


    We got in line, and a few minutes later, an attendant was taking down our names. "Helga, do you want to fight in the women''s division or the open division?"


    She looked about. "The open division."


    "Good, good," the attendant said. "We need more casters in there."


    She didn''t correct him.


    "And Miles, was it? The open or men''s?"


    "The men''s division," I said uncertainly, not quite understanding the difference. However, the more limited the division, the better my chances of winning. Just because I was trying to get experience didn''t mean I didn''t also want to win.


    The official scribbled something down and handed us tokens that would alert us when we needed to get into the arena. He also speed-talked his way through the agreement of the rules for the fight. I caught the gist of it, but the details were hard to make out.


    Bjorn was waiting for us off to the side of the line as we signed up. He came between us, putting his arms over our shoulders and hugging us in a tight, crushing grip. "I see Helga has more balls than you, Miles. Not even wanting to fight in the open division."


    Bjorn shook his head in mock disappointment.


    "Hey, I just don''t like beating up women," I joked, even though I had laid out Astrid just the morning before yesterday.


    Bjorn laughed as he steered us back to the booth. Helga even gave a small snicker.


    When we got back, Jonas ordered a round of shots for the table, and we went back to the party.


    Bjorn was the first to be called to fight.


    With a grace that still surprised me coming from such a big man, he vaulted over the railing rather than finding his way through the tunnels. Standing in the center of the arena, he waited impatiently for his opponent to come out of the tunnel.


    A woman held a wooden staff with a glowing gem at the tip. The referee brought them to the center and asked them if they understood the rules. They both nodded.


    Mimicking the same words spoken by every official bout we had seen so far, they both mentioned. "On my everlasting honor and pain of repeated death, I swear to abide by the pack."


    They separated and started the fight. Bjorn moved first. His strategy was obvious; he needed to close the distance.


    The flash of spells the woman sent after him as he charged forward looked obnoxious. But we had been training for a while. The fire blasts were mostly deflected by his shield, though his arm did get charred.


    At most, they slowed him down a step.


    Once he got in close, the fight was over, and the crowd disinterestedly clapped after his roar of victory finished echoing throughout the arena. It was only the first round, so of course, it shouldn''t have been too bad.


    It was sometime before one of us fought again. As the afternoon went on, people started to get more intoxicated. I could tell solely based on the volume of the crowd and how much they got in the match.


    When it was her turn, Helga found her way down to the fighter''s entrance, and a few minutes later, she walked out of the tunnel, sword held high. The crowd showed more enthusiasm for her than anyone else so far. It appeared that Bjorn was not alone in liking women with swords. Once the roars of approval died down, her opponent came out. Helga had been paired with a spellcaster as well.


    They swore the same oath that Bjorn did. Then, the referee started the match.


    Helga clearly had experience dealing with other casters. She charged forward and, with some fancy flexing of her mana, disputed the other mage''s spells as they got close. I would need to grill her about that as soon as I could. Why hadn''t she told me about this? No wonder how she was able to get through her schooling with pretty much no magic!


    The fight didn''t last long at all, and she quickly won.


    Before she made it back up to our table, it was my turn.


    Mimicking Bjorn, I walked to the arena''s railing. But instead of vaulting over it smoothly, he did, so I climbed up. Despite the nearly dozen drinks I had so far, balancing on the thin metal tube was trivial. I toasted my horn full of mead to the crowd before knocking it back.


    Once it was drained, I tossed it over my shoulder and Bjorn without looking at him. I heard him yell something at me, but I couldn''t make it out over the crowd''s approval.


    I forced the spinning in my head down and bent my knees. In a fluid motion, I sprung forward, ducking into a front flip. I dropped a dozen feet into the sand of the area and landed with a smooth roll, depositing me on my feet. Somehow, during the dive, I found time to draw my sword. I didn''t remember doing that.


    Across the sand, my opponent was already waiting for me. The big man looked at me and grinned, and I gave him a small salute with my sword.


    I was paired with another sword user, a hulking fellow I hadn''t seen before. My trait gave me the fact that he was exactly level 15. I grimaced. My swordsmanship had made it into the D ranks already. I just hoped that my class would make up the difference. Still, it was an unlucky first opponent.


    The referee came and started the bout with the same questions and oath. I wasn''t really paying attention to what was said. Instead, I was spending my time eyeing up my opponent.


    Once the start command was given, I dashed forward. Slashing with my blade, I ducked under a grapple attempt from his off-hand and cut into his side.


    He roared and spun, flailing with his pommel toward my head as I was too close. I rolled underneath like I was a boxer. Coming up on the other side, I threw a short piston shot at his ribs.


    Stepping to the side, I stayed close. As the big guy took a step back, I took a step forward, staying within his range. At this range, our swords were pretty much forgotten for a second. I pummeled him with fists and knee strikes until, eventually, he got his blad between us.


    Hooking his ankle, I pulled his feet out from under him. Stepping back, I turned to the crowd, really starting to get into this. The audience made these duels much more fun. Or perhaps that was the ''fool'' part of my class showing through?


    Turning back, I could see he was a little slower getting to his feet. The bruise and damage I had done were significant. "You surprised me," he said. "That''s not gonna happen again."


    This time, he charged, and his attack, while ferocious, was relatively uncoordinated. I was already starting to plan how I would finish him off. I blocked several blows and then, with as much fanfare as possible, activated my spell. Sparks of light burst off me like fireworks as the spell did everything to put on the best show it could. The Dance of the Jester took me behind him almost instantly, my off-hand blade appearing between his vertebrae. Right before my attack landed, a red light filled the arena, and an invisible force stopped the blade dead.


    An automatic voice shouted, "Disqualification due to magic use."


    The announcer took over. "Oh, an illegal strike! What a pussy! Someone yelled, using magic in a men''s duel." He paused. "The authorities are telling me that the Skoggangr Tr?ll rules are in effect. So have fun, everyone, and go get him!"


    Confused, I was surprised when a drinking horn pelted me in the forehead from the crowd. I pulled my healing spell, and the fog of alcohol that had been clouding my thoughts disappeared.


    All at once, I realized my mistake. The categories weren''t for fairness based on strength or anything like that. The men''s division was for those under level 15 who used skills and weapons only, while women''s were probably used for magic only.


    I cursed myself for being an idiot and dodged a tankard of ale being flung from the crowd at me. Their mood had changed rapidly, and the roar the crowd was emitting had a distinctly angry tone. Despite my nimbleness, I missed the rotten tomato that hit me in the back of the head.

 Chapter 46:

    Chapter 46:


    What did Skoggangr Tr?ll mean? Even in my own head, I stumbled over the unfamiliar word. Whatever it was, the crowd got riled up and aggressive.


    Rotten fruit and handy projectiles weren''t the only things I had to worry about. They were easy enough to dodge with my increased speed and martial training. The arrow that I pulled out of my shoulder was much harder to dodge.


    This was way too serious for me to stick around for, so even as I healed my shoulder, I dashed for the exit. Dance of the Jester helped me flit the crowd in repeated bursts. I even saw a level 27 warrior grab one of my after images. It lit up with an explosive flash, leaving him blinking.


    That was the first time I had seen anything hit my after image before. It was nice to know that, and they had some extra utility.


    "He''s trying to get away!" Someone yelled just as I made it out of the arena and into the stands. The people who had jumped into the sand started to climb out, but it was too late; I was already heading for an exit.


    I had to stop repeatedly casting Dance of the Jester as my mana started running low. I didn''t want to pay the physical penalties of low mana while I was running for my life.


    Guards were pulling the large entrance doors closed, so I risked one more activation to slip through the crack right as it slammed shut behind me. I started jogging down the streets. In an attempt to blend in, I took off my outer cloak and balled it up at my side. I shifted my sword from my shoulder onto my hip. I got a block before the doors were opened again, and people were streaming out. The tide of people was not too far behind me.


    I kept moving at a walking pace. It worked for a bit as the stream of people split down multiple paths.


    I was just about to sigh in relief when, behind me, someone shouted, "There he is!"


    Without looking over my shoulder, I started running again. I made it down one long street before I started to think about what my plan was. Where could I hide? I hadn''t explored very far past the few shops and challenges I''d been through. Apparently, other challenges were around, but how far would word of this spread? Could I get to one and hide in there? What would my team think? What were they doing right now? Were they okay? I couldn''t stop to find them or anything, so I just kept running.


    The mob was behind me, but they weren''t making much ground. My speed was absurdly high for my level, but I expected people to be a little bit faster to be in attendance. Maybe they were letting the people at my level have their fun.


    Just as I started running out of steam, a small glowing blue portal appeared in the alleyway to my right. On complete instinct, I dove through, and it closed behind me.


    The hush of the soft jazz music playing in the background of Loki''s Lounge proved a stark counterpoint to the angry mob from moments before. Loki stood there with an amused expression on his face as I picked myself up off the ground.


    "I think you owe me another favor," he said.


    I nodded wordlessly as I stood, hands on my knees, panting to catch my breath. Once I finally could speak, I did. "I''ll happily pay up. Assuming I don''t get lynched by the mob before I can."


    Loki smiled. "I think we can work something out. But what did you do to make them so angry?"


    "Do you know what Skoggangr Tr?ll is?" I asked, still wheezing for breath.


    "A Skoggangr Tr?ll? It translates to Outlaw Thrall." Loki said. "What did you do to earn such a right?" he asked.


    "I didn''t read the terms and conditions," I said, straightening up all the way. Finally, having caught my breath, I added, "Used magic in a duel. I wasn''t supposed to, apparently."


    Loki laughed. "I thought you were supposed to be circumspect and cautious."


    I frowned and then grumbled, "Yeah, I was drunk."


    "Well, you also chose a Fool class," he said. "Do you not read the description? The stuff it says isn''t just flavor text, you know?"


    I frowned again. I had heard the description, but I wasn''t sure exactly what part he was referring to. I remembered there being a lot about unpredictability and a seemingly frivolous demeanor. I thought that was flavor text.


    "Was I being mind-controlled into doing stupid things?" I asked.


    Loki could read my thoughts in my face. "It''s not mind control per se, but more of a suggestion. You''ll be more prone to dramatic displays. It''s an instinct you should probably learn how to control. I take it you''re a rather introverted person?"


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    I nodded fervently.


    "Well, you won''t become an extrovert or anything, but you might find you have a slight bias towards the dramatic."


    I frowned. "I need to tamp down on that."


    "Don''t worry," Loki said. "I''m sure you''ll learn how to deal with it. Besides, being dramatic is incredibly useful many times."


    I nodded. It would have been nice to have that sort of confidence I felt diving into the arena every time I had to do a presentation to the board or something like that. I considered everything when weighing the benefits of the class against this downside. I still very much appreciated that getting the class was a net benefit, though it would have been nice to be on guard about this ahead of time. "Well, I guess it''s just good will training."


    "That''s the spirit," Loki said. "Though the more closely you lean into your class, the better. Matching it will improve the ease with which your energies flow or some pseudo-bullshit like that. Basically, it''ll make things more efficient."


    I nodded, and he continued on. "At least until you upgrade your class, you should definitely lean into it when possible."


    I blinked. "Upgrade my class?"


    Loki nodded. "Yeah, yeah. After the subclass thing gets resolved, the next step would be upgrading your class, then upgrading your subclass, and then," he gestured, "etc., etc. Well, just think of similar things until you get to the top."


    I smiled. It was nice to know there were always ways forward and that this instinct would be temporary if I chose to keep it. "Okay," I said, "but how about avoiding me getting run down like an outlawed thrall or whatever?"


    Loki nodded. "Hmm. Well, you do owe me two favors now. And officially, I would still need to call one in to have this count, as it really does help me more than you. But if you could perhaps relax some of those strictures we put in that first favor, perhaps you can start that now. A little earlier than I had planned, but it''ll work. It should get you out of the eye of the public for a while until things cool down."


    "Won''t there be some sort of investigation when I come back?" I asked.


    Loki shook his head. "No. The rules are if you can escape for a month, you''re free and clear."


    I blinked. "All right, that''s nice. I mean, what would happen if I did get caught?"


    Loki grimaced. "Nothing great. Imagine missing every minimum challenge for a year. Something like that."


    I didn''t like the sound of that. Since those weren''t always the same punishment, I wasn''t exactly sure what that entailed, but I was willing to attempt to avoid it at nearly all costs. Loki continued. "As for the concession, this wasn''t expressly stated, but I think it''d be fair if you let me choose what rewards you get at the end of your task rather than having them be assigned automatically."


    I nodded my agreement. Just getting out of this was its own reward. Much more so than... Well, I didn''t want to speak too soon about anything that I would probably gain from whatever I was doing.


    "Yeah," Loki said. "I think it really is for the best. That you were able to learn magic so early was going to raise some eyebrows if it became public. Best if you get out of the way now and come back when you''re ready to level quietly for a bit. Otherwise, you''re not going to be the most useful operative. At least in the ways I had planned."


    I kept nodding along but wasn''t sure where he was going with this. Loki gestured for us to sit and relax at the bar as drinks appeared in our hands.


    "So, I heard you met Phil," he said.


    I nodded. "Yeah, I didn''t think gnomes were something in Norse mythology."


    Loki scoffed. "Norse mythology? Sure. I wouldn''t put too much stock in that just because Earth tends to theme towards Norse style. Well, the gods are the same regardless, and the Norse did have some adequate view of what we do here. But other worlds? Well, it''s a bit different."


    I nodded, surprisingly willing to accept other worlds. I mean, I was in Valhalla, in an afterlife, after all, and I was talking to a god about a gnome. "Well, hopefully, meeting Phil did tell you that there were other worlds that Valhalla draws from, other ways up the peak of this mountain."


    I nodded, following along.


    "Some of them are human worlds, but not every one is Earth, and not everyone is human. And, well, occasionally, we like to interfere. Maybe something''s going wrong. Maybe we just want a nice harvest of fresh souls in our name or the religion proselytized so that people actually end up going to Valhalla rather than Hades or some other place."


    I nodded along, still following.


    "So occasionally, we gods send down a champion with a task."


    "So you want me to be a champion for you in another world?" I asked.


    Loki nodded. "Just temporarily."


    I slumped. "Does it have to be temporary?" I asked.


    Loki smiled. "Yep. There''s no real escape from Valhalla."


    I groaned. "For how long?" I asked, "And what do I need to do?"

 Chapter 47:

    Chapter 47:


    "I think we should back up a slight bit," Loki said. "So, my goal for this mission is to increase my weight, the weight of my opinion on a certain matter that Father will be signing on in the next couple of years. In order to do that, the more souls that are brought in under my name, the more it is seen that I am working for the good of the Aesir and Vanir."


    I nodded along. The Pantheon was an interesting place, but I wouldn''t bore you with all its politics. "So suffice it to say that I''m simply sending you to gather as many souls as possible and send them to Valhalla."


    "You want me to just kill a bunch of people?" I asked, less certain about this than I was 30 seconds ago.


    Loki shook his head. "No, no, not really. Though there are options for that. It''s not all about you. Even now, I''m talking to hundreds and thousands of my potential agents, sending them on similar missions. So no pressure." He smiled, and I nodded.


    It was something I had thought about but never really formalized¡ªthat Loki was in many, many positions at once. Him being a god, I had no idea what the limits of his power were, but I knew I was only in a tiny slice of Valhalla. Just judging based on the mountain that I had seen Mary fly me over. Was that just the human part, or was that everything, or was that just some sort of metaphorical representation? I had no idea.


    "Okay, so what does it take for me to send a soul back to Valhalla?" I asked.


    "Well, like I said before, we do that. I need to let you know about the conditions you have set for the whole month. So, the first month is mandatory, but every month after that is optional. I can''t force you to stay longer than a month via our contract, and I wouldn''t want to for power reasons anyway. Every month I leave you there in that world, it takes exponentially more power for me to keep you there, and if you stop making it worth my while, I will just simply call you back. If you die, you also know how it works.


    "At first, I need you to get me ten souls, and then the next month, it will double, and then it''ll double every month after that."


    I blinked. "Ten souls? That''s a lot," I said, thinking about how even to get one soul to pledge itself to Valhalla.


    "It''s not as complicated as you may think," Loki said. "In order for a soul to count, they need to be slain in honorable combat." Loki put his fingers in air quotes as he said, "Honorable combat." I assumed the meaning was a bit up for interpretation.


    He elaborated, "Honorable combat by you or in your name. So, for example, if you''re leading an army and soldiers on your side die, and soldiers on their side die, they both have the potential to go to Valhalla. Of course, not everyone will choose to go to Valhalla, but usually, those that end up here don''t have that many better options."


    I grimaced, remembering my own choice. "Okay. Can you give me some guidelines on what counts as honorable?"


    "Yeah, of course. There''s the standard, which is a duel in an arena. Then, there is something that depends more on the skill level of the person fighting, which would be an attack from an ambush. If the attacked party has a chance to turn around and fight back, that could be considered honorable. If they manage to kill their attackers, that would also be considered honorable. The method by which they kill their attackers is a lot less scrutinized than if it were in a duel. For example, if, in a duel, you poison their food ahead of time and then kill them, it probably won''t count. But if you are ambushed by ten men and you set off an explosion or lead them into a trap or push them off a cliff when they aren''t paying attention, well, those probably would count."


    I nodded, my head spinning with different ideas about how to trick people into dying in honorable ways. "Okay, so I go to another world. I blend in and get some honorable duels, and if I make it far enough, if I make enough for the month, do I get to stay there another month?"


    "Yes, that''s basically the gist of it."


    "Hmm," I said, thinking about it as I considered whether or not this was actually better than Valhalla. I made no secret of my distaste for the constant violence and the lack of comfort. Still, I had to say that Valhalla proper was significantly better than the lesser hall. While training all the time wasn''t my idea of fun, I was starting to enjoy it. I considered checking myself into a mental institution before I realized where I was. Actually, meeting with Loki regularly helped me appreciate some of the nicer things.


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    But would going somewhere new and potentially interesting¡ªhow long would I want to stay? I considered and was surprised to find the answer was not necessarily as long as I possibly could. It really depends on where I went and how it was. And what situation I found myself in, because having to make a lot of people go to Valhalla every month seemed stressful, violent, and not much better. But right now, I didn''t have much of a choice.


    I nodded. "I don''t suppose I have much of a choice to decline now, really, do I?"


    Loki shook his head. "No, you don''t really. I mean, you didn''t anyway because this was what was probably always going to be the favor I asked of you. Now, the timing is just convenient for you as well."


    "Is this going to be what you''re going to use the other favor I owe you on?" I asked.


    Loki shrugged. "Possibly. And if you''re good with this, we can always work out a deal where it''s not just me calling in favors but sending you out regularly. It''s not without its bonuses."


    I raised my eyebrow in surprise. "That''s right. You mentioned automatic rewards, but you wanted to assign them this time."


    Loki nodded. "Yes. I can give you some things that may fit your unique situation more than you would normally receive automatically. But your experience in another world is calculated out and doled out in the form of various boosts, traits, those levels, those sorts of things," he said.


    I blinked. "That''s good to know. I thought the challenge was the only way to level up."


    Loki shook his head. "The challenge is the only way to level up in Valhalla proper. Outside of this, the rules are different."


    I nodded appreciatively. "Okay. So when do I go?"


    "Well, there''s one more thing we need to talk about. That is, what you want to be when you get there."


    "What do I want to be?"


    "Well, I mean, the choices are very limited, but we don''t just send you down fully powered like you are. It would be suspicious and take too much energy. No, we put you in the body of someone who was recently deceased. Usually in great condition."


    "So I won''t have my stats or mana?"


    Loki nodded. "You''ll be in a regular body. That''s not to say you won''t have mana or access to magic or skills. They''ll be significantly weaker, but you''ll still be able to perform the status ritual and such."


    I grimaced, not liking the idea of having to get back into a clumsy body. "Well, I want to be someone fit and young," I said. "I don''t want to be old again. That sucked."


    Loki chuckled. "All right. Let''s start off by saying you''re going to a human world. Not too much in the distant past from your own, maybe 400 years in technology behind Earth. And oh, also take this," he said, handing me an amulet that was a simple rock with a leather thong strung through the center. On it were a few runes holding it. The runes shifted into something I could read: "0 out of 10, Month 1." "It should track your progress. Don''t worry. You won''t be able to lose it," he said.


    "All right. Any other questions?"


    "How long should I stay?" I asked. "You said a month for the search to wear off, but..."


    Loki grinned. "I think you should stay as long as you can. The longer, the better. And when you come back, things will be different. You can run a different challenge and maybe even move to a different part of the city. Gain lots of levels and start working your way out of the lesser hall into Valhalla proper, into a greater hall."


    I frowned, considering. I wasn''t exactly a fan of leaving my team with no warning, but really, what were my choices? I nodded. "I''m ready."


    Loki reached up and tapped me on the forehead with a single finger.


    Stars in green and purple hues swirled across an inky black void, creating a vibrant display. As I zoomed past, they shifted into shades of red and yellow.


    My momentum slowed, and I zoomed in on an ordinary yellow sun. As I focused on this star, the second planet grew larger until its surface details were clear. Time seemed to warp as I hovered in this moment of transition. The planet filled my vision, revealing a mess of sea and land.


    Then time skipped and then the next moment I was looking up into a light blue sky with fluffy clouds. The air was muggy, with the smell of rotting plants filling my nose.

 Chapter 48:

    Chapter 48:


    Staring up at the blue sky, I just appreciated being alive again for real instead of just in an afterlife. I took a deep breath and instantly regretted it, spluttering. I attempted to sit up, but the sucking sensation of mud all around me made me take stock of my situation.


    "The fuck am I?" I blurted out as I extricated myself from the mud. Looking around, I saw nothing but puddles of stagnant water and scraggly growth.


    "Someone threw me in a bog," I said aloud. I got to my feet, knee-high in mud, before wading towards one of the stunted trees on a somewhat firm piece of land. I looked around. When I turned around entirely, I realized I wasn''t that far from what appeared to be a dirt road cutting through the bog. I just had about twenty feet of marshland to cross over.


    I yanked my foot out of the mud and accidentally left my boot behind. I grabbed it while hopping on one foot and pulled it to the firm ground by the tree. Slipping it back on, I realized it was a soft, very well-made, knee-high leather boot. In fact, if you ignored the mud and blood, my pants were the finest silk I had seen. Inspecting the rest of my clothes, I found they were all extremely well made, even for modern clothes, with embroidery of gold stitches in the shape of lions and a deep red color. The only issue was the massive slash and hole in the front of my shirt.


    Pulling it up, I felt nothing but tender skin and a slightly red scar across my stomach. Loki had said I was going to be someone recently deceased. I poked my stomach and found I was a bit flabbier than I was used to in Valhalla, where I was nothing but lean muscle. At least I was around a similar height and build, so it wasn''t too awkward getting used to my new body, but I did feel the weakness and slowness. The only thing that felt out of place was the rock on a string that Loki had given me. I pulled it out, and it read, no souls for the month.


    Tucking it back under my shirt, I looked around. I didn''t really have much with me, and as far as I could tell, the road ran in both directions endlessly. Grumbling, I was curious, so I found a small pocket knife that looked to be maybe for trimming quills or something. I think people used to do that. I cut my finger as I drew runes on the ground with a stick. The modified ritual just showed my stats, which popped up.


    Stats


    Strength: 35 (4)


    Speed: 56 (6)


    Constitution: 20 (7)


    Focus: 21 (5)


    Free Points: 0


    Looking at it, I groaned. I was used to having a speed over fifty and a strength over thirty, but now I was back down to basics. At least my focus stat was unlocked, though. A stat of five was disappointing, but a brief pulse of my Fool''s Constitution spell and the cut on my hand healed. I felt dizzy afterward, but I did have magic as promised.


    As I moved, I could still feel the grace of long training with a sword and dagger, making it clear that at least I''d still be able to fight, if not nearly at my maximum capacity. Looking out towards the road, I started plotting a path. It took me nearly a quarter mile of walking to make it that short distance, as I had to backtrack several times to find a somewhat solid path to the road. When I was there, though, I saw nothing but horse tracks and wheel ruts running in both directions. I stretched out, enjoying the feeling of the sun beating down on my face, before I picked a direction at random and started walking along the road. At least my boots were comfortable.


    ***


    By the time any sort of civilization appeared beside the bare dirt road, my feet hurt. My feet hurt a lot. While the boots were comfortable, they clearly weren''t made for walking. The soles were far too thin, and I could feel every single pebble underneath my feet. My constitution was not nearly high enough for this. Not that I ever had an extremely high constitution, but this was a new low. Clearly, this body hadn''t exercised much at all, and the extra 15 pounds I was carrying felt like a lot more than it should. Also, I was starting to get dehydrated and had a pounding headache.


    But I smiled when I saw the turrets of a castle over a forest only half a mile after I exited the bog. Civilization at last. Now I just had to worry about... well, too many things to count.


    Luckily, though, when I walked through the collection of small houses made of wood and roofs thatched with straw up to the wall surrounding the keep, the guards recognized me. One of them explained, "Count Alaric! What are you doing? What are you doing here? Where are your guards?"


    "Captain!" he yelled in a panic, and before I had a chance to get a word in edgewise, I was surrounded by eight guards. They were rushing me through the streets of the inner city towards the keep. I didn''t struggle or protest the treatment. They were not apprehending me; they were instead watching all around, making sure that no one attacked and that I was safe.


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    Eventually, though, they got us into the keep through the inner courtyard, and the captain of the guard turned to me.


    "Sir. My lord, what happened? We didn''t expect you back for weeks." He looked me up and down, really taking me and my parents in for the first time.


    "And you look like you''ve been through... um," he said, clearly trying not to offend me.


    I waved my hand. "Thank you, captain. I have had some troubles. It seems that my... transport," I said, not knowing to call it a carriage or escort or what, "was attacked by bandits, and I was left for dead."


    He blinked. "But you''re all right, my lord?"


    I nodded. "Though I did take a bit of a blow to the head, and a lot of my memories are rather fuzzy. I shall fetch the doctor immediately, my lord," the captain said. "then you would probably like to see your Chamberlin."


    I nodded first, "though I need a bath and a change of clothes."


    The captain nodded, and, hearing my words, a maid who had been standing unobtrusively in the corner set off at a run.


    Soon, I was soaking in a warm copper tub with a lot of fancy soaps. I had to shoo the maid away from undressing me, exclaiming that I wanted to be alone with my thoughts. She seemed rather surprised, but judging from my brief glimpse of the culture here, it seemed as if I had servants to do everything. It was nice to take a hot bath with no real concerns about a challenge or having to fight to the death any time soon.


    But my predicament actually was not great. If I was just a random person, I would be free to travel and fight. But the way the guards treated me, I doubted I would have any chances for honorable combat personally, which very much limited my ability to gather souls for Loki. I needed to stay here for at least a month. I suppose I could not retrieve the quota for the first month, but then that would sour my relationship with Loki, and I did want the rewards that came from doing a good job. Besides, he said he invested money, he invested something into me, and I did owe him.


    Groaning, I levered myself out of the bath, toweled off, and dressed in the clothes that had been laid out for me. I recognized the golden lions from my previous clothes and the banners that flew above the city. Apparently, gold and red were my colors, and the lion was my symbol. It seemed rather grandiose for a simple count. But, well, I didn''t know the history here. My name was Alaric, and I appeared to be somewhat wealthy.


    Striding out into my sitting room, I found two people waiting for me. A doctor, judging based on his spectacles and suitcase that he had open full of potions and vials, and a nervous-looking man who was a full foot shorter than me and as scrawny, so scrawny that I thought maybe he was malnourished. I took him to be my chamberlain.


    "My Lord," they both said and bowed. I sat in a chair and let the doctor inspect me while I looked at the count''s face. As I looked at it, he got progressively paler and paler as I didn''t say anything.


    "Chamberlain," I said, "catch me up to speed on what happened while I was gone."


    "Yes, yes. After you left to investigate the bandits, not much happened. It''s only been a day. There was some minor matter in court that may need your attention in the next couple of months. One of the magistrates issued up... um, allowed an appeal for your mercy to be heard and scheduled sometime in the next three months or so," he explained nervously.


    I nodded. "Good." I was very suspicious about how fearful he was looking. "Are you all right, Chamberlain?"


    "Yes, yes, my lord. Um, just a problem with the wife, you know," he said, and he gave a very non-convincing smile.


    I nodded acceptingly.


    "Good. Now...," I said and fell into a thoughtful silence. It seemed to me my best method for honorable combat was probably finding whoever attempted to kill me. And if I was investigating bandits, that was likely to end in violence. But what would happen if I sent men off to go fight bandits, and they killed the bandits or were killed in turn honorably? Would that count? I thought so, but I did need to find them.


    And also, why was I investigating bandits? Shouldn''t I have, like, officers or the captain of the guard to do that for me? And peers. I was robbed too, as I didn''t have anything on me.


    "I feel the sudden need to audit our finances." I declared. "Chamberlain, take me to the books."


    The doctor protested slightly as I stood up, but I knew I was healthy. I thanked him for his time and told him to expect a payment within or collect his payment as he left. The chamberlain gave him directions, and I followed the chamberlain to the books, who looked over at me nervously as I went down to his office.


    There were huge volumes of money ledgers, but I pulled out the most recent month and most recent years and a copy of all the reports sent to the King.


    "You may leave me," I told the chamberlain, and he was practically sweating as I left. That was not suspicious at all. Finances weren''t my area of expertise from my life back on earth, but I knew how to read a ledger. You didn''t get to be the level of executive I was without that ability. Watching detective shows taught me one thing: always follow the money.

 Chapter 49:

    Chapter 49:


    A few hours later, I understood why accountants had the reputation of being boring. I always had assumed this stereotype was false, based on a few impressions with some accountants I knew from work that were really interesting. But after poring over numbers for hours, well, my mind hurt. I''d found what I needed to know within the first 20 minutes.


    It wasn''t that difficult to track. I just wanted to take a quick look at the reference books for tax laws and read through the ledger. Everything appeared to be quite straightforward. Basically, someone was reporting that we paid more taxes than was actually sent to them. Someone was skimming off the top. A significant amount, too. But interestingly enough, all the coin that was being skimmed off was being sent off with the taxes to the capital to the King.


    I wasn''t exactly sure why or how yet. Still, given the chamberlain''s reactions, it was pretty obvious who was doing it. I spent the rest of the time trying to figure out who possibly was benefiting from it because the chamberlain didn''t seem particularly rich.


    Was he just putting away a nest egg? It seemed unlikely. There was clearly some backer here.


    Also, pretty obviously, it was clear that I wasn''t a very good count or a very good noble. The personal accounts were ridiculous. I was so deep in the hole that I''d be paying off interest in some of the loans I''d taken out for a very long time. And the money, as far as I can tell, wasn''t going anywhere. It was going towards clothes and food and feasting and partying and women¡ªjust complete wastes of money.


    In fact, we were spending ridiculous amounts. That was going to have to stop. As much as I like the good luxury, I wasn''t sure how long I''d have to wear this disguise. Perhaps people would buy that the blow to my head had changed me slightly.


    I was about to call it a day and go find the captain of the guard to have the chamberlain arrested when a page knocked at my door. He poked his head in and said, "My Lord, there''s a letter from the King waiting for you in your office."


    I nodded my thanks. Standing, I stretched, glad that he hadn''t brought it directly to me as it gave me an excuse to leave this hellhole.


    "I suppose it''s best if I give the chamberlain his office back," I said as I left, and the page nodded. "Please tell him that he is welcome there."


    The page ran off as I went up the stairs to what could only be my office.


    On my desk was a sealed letter with the crown imprinted into the wax. I read the address to one Count Fenrir Alaric and smiled at Loki''s joke of putting me in this body.


    Breaking open the seal, I quickly read the letter. It was a simple request for a report on the investigation. Frowning, I dug through my desk and found in a locked drawer a pile of a couple of other similar letters from the King. I returned and found the earliest one and read it in its entirety.


    "We ask... the royal personage has found fit to ask you to perform a task. Ever since your father''s service with His Royal Highness... for such long and glorious service, your name has languished for too long... The King sees it fit to provide an opportunity for you to continue such glorious service and be rewarded as such."


    The letter went on and on about something before actually getting to the meat. There was a lot of flowery language to say that the King respected Arlic''s father and hoped I was as good of a man. Basically, I was asked to investigate an unusual amount of bandits near but not in, nearby but not centered around my lands.


    They had unusual amounts of organization and better weapons, showing that they had some support compared to normal bandits. It was entrusted to me because of my father''s service, and it seemed like a personal friendship with the King. Apparently, the King or his advisors weren''t aware of how much of a useless fop the previous Alaric had been.


    I found some maps rolled up in dust off to the side, unrolling them and locating the places in question. Looking around, I plotted the multiple sightings of bandits. I found that while they were near my territory, they almost perfectly circled around my neighbors.


    Count Roderick was my number one suspect here.


    Digging through some more desks, I found an unopened file that read intelligence reports. It was only a month old, but it hadn''t been touched clearly, as the dust was quite thick on it. Flipping through it, I found some worrying bits of evidence about Roderick''s actions. The amount of money he was having soldiers amassed, as well as visits from various ambassadors and other delegations, was great. This was quite worrying. No wonder I had been attacked. And I bet the previous me had run off without understanding any of this.


    I sighed and rang a bell, calling for a messenger.


    "Have the captain come here as soon as he can," I said, and the messenger ran off. A few moments later, I looked out the window and saw the messenger boy dashing through the crowd toward the gatehouse. Good. At least that would be taken care of soon. And we could get the chamberlain investigated.


    ***


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    "How long have you served me?" I asked the captain, who I still didn''t know his name. The man was standing before me at attention, coming soon after I asked him to.


    "Five years, my lord. Ever since you took over after your father passed," he replied.


    "And how long did you serve him before that?" I inquired. The man''s eyes shifted upwards as he tried to remember, doing some mental math.


    "Um, just a little under 13 years, sir. Ever since I was 14. And... was his page," he explained.


    "No good. And how long has the Chamberlain been in service to my family?"


    The captain frowned. "About four years, so he never served my father," he said.


    "That makes sense," I muttered to myself. All the people who had been around earlier for a while seemed to be much more professional. But the newer staff? Well, it was a little bit early to pass judgment, but I didn''t think Alaric was the best judge of character. Or maybe he just didn''t inspire loyalty. I would need to change that.


    "I have suspicions about him. Tell me about what you have available for investigations from the garden," I requested.


    The captain grew very serious. "Well, we do have a few investigators, but if you need anything sneaky done, I have contacts."


    "So I would like the Chamberlain and his wife followed for a bit. Let me know if they do anything suspicious. Keep track of who and when they meet with people," I instructed.


    The captain frowned, looking worried. "About his wife... there''s been rumors that... well," he paused, looking awkward, "rumors that she''s a witch," he finished in a rush.


    I leaned back and chuckled. "Wow, a witch!"


    The captain continued, still a bit rushed, "Of course, no charges have been levied of witchcraft against her. Just rumors, my lord. But... and we would never deem it necessary to make such an accusation against such an important person without at least your say-so. But she has been known to do dark things in the night," he said in an ominous tone.


    "Now that does sound ominous," I said. "Hmm. Be careful about her, but investigate. I think the Chamberlain might have more powerful friends than I realized, and I don''t want to act without absolute proof," I cautioned.


    The captain nodded and went on his way.


    I stood up and paced, running my hands through my hair. My hand kept clenching and moving to my side or to my shoulder, where I kept my weapons as I paced back and forth. I realized I was having trouble thinking; I needed to clear my head. And to my horror, I realized I was itching for a straightforward fight rather than something complex and sophisticated like this.


    What was Valhalla doing to me? At least my full class was helping me fit this role rather well. It felt natural to perform an act in ways that I never would have been able to do before. But at the same time... I let that thought hang as I left my office and went downstairs.


    It took me a few wrong turns and a trip through the kitchens, but I eventually found my way out to the training yard, where some guards were practicing. Several were drilling formations with their truncheons against wooden dummies padded with burlap stuffing.


    I walked over to the rack and pulled out a wooden practice sword. At first, I was unnoticed, as it was clear that my presence around here was not expected. But as soon as an officer recognized me, he called out an order, and everyone snapped to attention and saluted. I was slightly uncomfortable but had no trouble mustering the required command presence to give my new persona.


    As I waved to everyone and said, "As you were," the drilling continued, and an officer came over and asked,


    "My lord, is there anything you need?" Clearly confused about why I was there.


    I looked at the sword in my hand and swooshed it back and forth, feeling the balance. "I need a chance to think. I feel that my recent encounter has left me dissatisfied with my ability to defend myself personally," I said.


    "Of course, my lord," the man said, "would you like me to fetch an instructor?"


    I shook my head. "No. Just one of the dummies for now would be good."


    Quickly, the cadets were ushered off, and one dummy was brought to me. I went up to it, performing a fluid kata of light strikes that I had practiced as a warm-up many, many times. As my body started to move, my mind did as well. I didn''t just need to solve the problems so that my persona would continue to be intact and I wouldn''t be in danger.


    No, I actually needed there to be conflict. Roderick was a great way of fostering such a thing. Perhaps I could start initiating border skirmishes after we cleared out the bandits. I would need to look into the laws with that. I wouldn''t want the king coming down on my head for something like that, but I''m pretty sure I would have good enough cause if I found out if I could show that he was behind the bandits. That should take me over for a while. Ten inches the first month from the bandits and then maybe 20 and even 40 if I stretch out the war with Roderick for a couple of months.


    It still wouldn''t be enough to get me to stay for any real length of time. Hopefully, three months would be enough for Valhalla to calm down before I had to go back. If not, well, I''d figure something out. I finished a furious strike to the center of the dummy, sending it rocking back and forth and almost tipping over.


    Panting, I took a step back and realized the whole courtyard had frozen and was watching me in surprise. Looking back, I studied their faces. Hmmm. How could I use this?

 Chapter 50:

    Chapter 50:


    I felt a lot better after smacking around a lot of guardsmen in sparring sessions. Their newfound respect for me seemed almost a little wary as well. Going back up to my office, I continued my work. I started writing a letter to the King. I didn''t actually intend to send it, as I hoped to go in person. Still, every detail and scrap of evidence was included in the letter. Then, I stacked it off to the side for further verification. The only thing I was missing was a name. I was almost entirely certain it was Roderick, but so far all the evidence was circumstantial.


    That night, the captain knocked on the door and entered without permission. I looked up and saw he had a grim expression on his face.


    "We found something already."


    "That was fast. What do you have for me, captain?" I responded, mentally noting this man''s efficiency. He was doing a good job so far.


    "Yes. The witch, Agatha, the chamberlain''s wife. We apprehended her after she was leaving a clandestine meeting."


    "Who was she meeting with?" I asked, curious.


    "Roderick''s right-hand man. I don''t know how he managed to get into the county without us knowing. But that wasn''t the worst of it. The third party at the meeting was an Aldorian envoy."


    I blinked, pulled out a map, and looked it over the captain''s shoulder. That wasn''t a county or name I recognized from the kingdom until I looked farther south and realized that it was the name of the empire at our borders. I would need to look into our relationship with them.


    "That is concerning," I said. "What did you find on her?"


    "She had a letter." The captain handed it over to me, and I skimmed through it.


    "Hmm. This is rather damning," I said. There were little bits of veiled hints, but it was further instructions for handling coin, and Roderick had even signed and sealed it himself. Putting it together with the rest of my evidence, I concluded, "I believe we must go see the King."


    The captain nodded. "Prepare to leave in the morning," I said. "We travel as fast as we can."


    ***


    I regretted those words deeply. Traveling as fast as possible involved riding horses, which was something I had never done. Apparently, not in this body either, as my legs screamed and complained. We weren''t even to the edges of my county only an hour after leaving the fortress, and I was ready to take a break. How was I going to survive another two days of this?


    Luckily, I didn''t have to wait long before we were forced to take a break. We found a massive tree blocking the road, which was only an hour out of our county boundaries. As we stopped, we didn''t move to clear the obstruction but remained well aware of this common trap of bandits. The guards charged into the woods from each side, taking the bandits by surprise. Several arrows flew, but the bandits were not expecting a charge, so most missed. Though several guards went down injured, the bandits struggled to draw their swords as the guards bore down on them.


    I charged right along with the guards to the right and paused, waiting half a second for the bandit to finish dropping his bow and drawing his sword before I ran him through. Honorable combat and all. The bandits must have overestimated their abilities because they didn''t outnumber us by much at all. Before I even had a chance to find a second soul to send to Valhalla, the guards had put down every last one of them. Nine were dead, including the one I had killed, and another fifteen were captured, knocked unconscious with truncheons or blade flats, and bound up.


    They should have just killed them all. They''d be hung anyway, and now, checking my amulet, I was one short of my monthly quota. I guessed roaming the roads waiting to be attacked by bandits would work for maybe the first couple of months. Now, we didn''t have enough guards to escort them back and also get me to the King as fast as possible. The captain looked at me for a decision. The guards looked at the bandits with fear in their eyes.


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    "As Count Alaric of County Alaric, I sentence them to death," I declared and turned away. I didn''t have to watch this, but it was necessary. Sadly, as I expected, none of those souls counted for my quota.


    The light exercise didn''t help my throbbing legs much as we continued riding for the capital.


    ***


    I arrived feeling better than I expected. In the evenings, I found that if I snuck off a little bit, I could activate my self-healing spell without anyone noticing. That fixed anything like saddle sores and what might have been stress fractures in my legs from all the riding. Still, we had an hour of riding in the morning to reach the capital, but I was more presentable than I had feared. I represented my county with the county seal. I was let into the noble quarter surrounding the palace.


    Apparently, we maintained a small manse in the capital, and soon we were all situated. The manse had only a few servants¡ªa cook and a carriage driver paid on retainer. Still, it was more than enough for me to get changed and freshen up before seeing if the King would have us for an audience. I sent a message ahead so we wouldn''t show up entirely unannounced. We wouldn''t get a response likely until we arrived ourselves. I didn''t expect to be able to see the King today. Still, when we showed up at its gates, I was surprised when his chancellor ushered me into a back room where a middle-aged man with gray in his beard sat sipping on a glass of wine.


    Guards stood in the corners of the room, watching me closely. He gave me a somewhat warm but small smile when he saw me.


    "Ah, Count Alaric," he said, and I bowed low.


    "Your Majesty." I greeted.


    He waited for me to stand. "It''s been a long time since I''ve seen you. You probably don''t even recognize me, but you were so young last time."


    I shook my head. "I''m afraid not, Your Majesty."


    "Yes, your father was not a man for court, though I could have used his counsel dearly many times over the years."


    I nodded, not having ever met my father, and simply let the King talk. He mentioned a few more things but quickly allowed me to get to my point.


    "You''ve come with quite haste, I''ve been told. I assume it has something to do with what you have been tasked with."


    "Yes, Your Majesty. There appears to be more than simple bandits, as you suspected."


    He grimaced but motioned for me to continue.


    "When looking into the problem, I spent some time auditing my own finances and found that a certain trader in my house had been claiming to pay more taxes. But instead of taking the money for himself, the money was being sent to you regardless, simply being counted differently. Upon further investigation of this family, I found that Roderick had been employing the man and had him send additional taxes from my county under his county''s name."


    The King grimaced. "That''s an unpleasant business."


    I offered him a stack of papers, and his guards ushered me forward. I set them down on his table next to his wine goblet, and he flipped through them as I stepped back to my spot, carefully watched by the guards. Once he finished, I continued.


    "The only other thing not included in that report was that the meeting where we recovered the letter to the trader''s wife was also attended by an Aldorian envoy."


    The guards'' armor clicked and clanked slightly as they shifted in surprise, and the King looked up. "Hmm. That is worrying. And these claims of witchcraft?"


    I shrugged. "Unsubstantiated, but I thought I would include them for completeness'' sake."


    "Good, good," the King frowned. "I will need to consider what to do and talk with my advisors. But you have done extremely well, and I will see you rewarded for your service. I will see you tomorrow at noon for lunch, where we can discuss what we can do further about this."


    "It would be an honor, Your Majesty," I said, and I was escorted out. I promptly returned to my manse, ready to sleep in a nice bed. I might not even get up for dinner.

 Chapter 51:

    Chapter 51:


    The morning found me deep into meditation. I opened my eyes as the light started to shine through my window and got up from my seated position, stretching my stiff legs. This weak body wasn''t used to sitting still for so long, and I doubted I would be in it long enough to make a difference.


    Even a year or two of training can only do so much, and it was hard training where I wouldn''t be able to do much else. Which was just not acceptable in my current situation. So, instead of trying to raise the meager stats into something passable, I instead refocused my efforts on projects that might actually have long-term benefits.


    I had been messing with the spells. They were difficult to adjust and very slow, but I made some decent modifications. I now had the ability to leave off the glow of the dance of the jester. Unfortunately, that actually increased the cost of the spell. I expected the cost to go down as fewer effects were happening, but it seemed as if the spell wanted to be seen and to be noticed.


    Something about moving against its nature caused me to spend energy or magic or have to spend mana to create the light and then also spend mana to suppress it. I couldn''t just remove the effects of the movement the light shows along with the movement. Doing so threatened to make the spell collapse and be completely useless. It still left afterimages, but those could probably be treated as tricks of the eye if I ever had to use it in front of someone.


    So far, I hadn''t made any progress in my healing spell, but it was arguably more important. But it was just too complicated for me to adjust without more practice. And the movement spell was simpler, so that was fine. But even nudging the healing spell in any direction seemed to destabilize it, and it was all I could do to sort of return it back to its original form before ending my meditation.


    Soon after I came out, I found a message waiting for me.


    "Baron Ridge requests a hearing," I read under my breath.


    "Bring him in," I told the messenger and went to my family''s main receiving room.


    An older man, squat in legs bowed from a long time in the saddle, came in moments later. He looked like a grizzled war veteran, but still bowed in deference to me.


    "Good morning, Count," he said.


    "Baron," I greeted. "What do I owe this pleasure?"


    I wasn''t entirely pleased or displeased to have to deal with something like this. It was a distraction before the King''s lunch, but I really had no idea what this was about. Hopefully, it wasn''t too big.


    "Sir, I would present to you a case. And I would like for you to uphold a Casus Belli I have over Baron Somers," the man said.


    I raised my eyebrows, remembering Baron Somers as one of the barons who was a vassal to Count Roderick. This might play nicely.


    "And what is this Casus Belli?" I inquired.


    The man gritted his teeth in apparent anger, though that was not directed at me. "He killed my son when he could have ransomed him to me."


    "And what would you like me to do?" I asked.


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    If it was two of my vassals, I could just let them fight, and I would not punish the attacker in this case if they had a valid cause. But attacking another account''s Baron would potentially give Count Roderick a valid Casus Belli against me. And if the King upheld or whatever Duke Count Roderick reported to uphold it, I would then have to challenge the King. Well, in some situations, it would maybe give him the ability to attack me, but that wasn''t really an issue as he was already attacking me, if indirectly. I was planning to attack him directly, I mused.


    I sat in silence for a moment before asking, "And you have proof?"


    "Yes, sir," he said, reaching to his side to pull out something from a satchel.


    "No, no. It''s fine," I waved. I didn''t actually need to see the proof if it was enough for him to bring it to me. It was enough for me to make the argument to the King if necessary.


    "I''ll uphold it," I said, pulling a piece of paper from the desk in front of me and scrawling something to that effect on the paper. I dripped some wax, pressed my ring signet ring as a seal on the bottom, and handed it to him. "See me. Don''t leave till this evening. I may need to speak to you before you go right out."


    "You won''t stop me, sir," the Baron said, surprised that I wanted to talk to him again without the effort to stop him.


    "If you have a valid Casus Belli, I would not stand against it," I said, "but this may spiral out of control with a counterattack. And I would ask for your cooperation in making sure that things can be resolved to our satisfaction as a whole. I''m sure I wouldn''t want to just attack a lowly baron and end up being seized. Having my land seized by Count Roderick in retaliation. Now, would you?"


    The man shook his head.


    "If I must, I must. But if I could avoid it, I would prefer that," he replied.


    "Good. I may have news for you tonight. Do not tell anyone on your oath," I instructed.


    "I swear my oath. I will not tell anyone about our meeting until after you have had a chance to speak with me this evening or tomorrow if you don''t show up," the man swore.


    "Good," I nodded, checking the clock. I realized that I needed to be heading out. "I will send a message if I''m not able to meet. But start preparing your troops."


    The Baron nodded and smiled in satisfaction. "It''s an honor to serve so. If I may say so," he said, waiting for permission to continue. I nodded. "You look a lot more like your father than when I last saw you."


    With that, he left. I left not that long after for lunch with the King. The man''s words still stuck with me. That I looked more like my father. I never knew the man. I didn''t even look like myself. But it was just confidence that this body had been lacking. Still, it was gratifying to hear.


    The King''s lunch was a surprisingly simple affair. It was in a small room with only a couple of guards standing at his sides as we sat and ate a salad.


    "Your Majesty," I said after we had dined in silence for a few moments. "I had an interesting conversation this morning with Baron Ridge. I decided to uphold a Casus Belli against Baron Somers, one of Duke Roderick''s vassals."


    The King smiled. "Hmm. Clever. I approve. I will uphold that as well, in case Roderick''s duke ever bothers to come to me with complaints."


    "I appreciate that," I said.


    "This brings me to my other issue. See, unfortunately, the evidence you provided isn''t quite enough for me to act," King said, "not without losing a significant amount of respect and reputation. But it is ample evidence for me to uphold the Casus Belli for you. I would very much appreciate you pursuing that."


    I smiled. As much as it would be good for me politically to do this. It was even better for me. This was a perfect way for me to command the troops and get my debt to Loki repaid even faster with pleasure.


    "Do it well, and I''ll see you rightly rewarded," the King said, "and I would very much appreciate any more evidence about the Aldorian?"


    "Good," I said, "Well, I will make sure that we will start our campaign by the beginning of next month."


    "Good. I''ll have both of those Casus Bellies drafted up to you and sent over before the evening," the King assured.


    I stood and bowed, ready to leave. "Thank you, Your Majesty. I plan to leave early tomorrow morning to make sure everything is in order. I have levies to call."


    "Very good, Count. You''re dismissed. The Crown is pleased with you," the King said.


    I bowed low and left.

 Chapter 52:

    Chapter 52:


    My decision to put off the war until the beginning of the next month was a bit of a gamble. Technically, I was one short, but I would definitely be able to get twenty honorable kills during a small-scale war. If I was lucky, perhaps I could draw it out for a full month, covering my third month''s requirement as well.


    My meeting with the Baron went well, and it was just the first of the liege levies I had called up by my instructions. My four other vassal barons received calls to marshal their levies at a staging point not too far from a few fields that I had worked with the captain to pick out. The next morning, we were heading home. I wasn''t looking forward to the trip, but at least I knew that I could make it while healing my injuries.


    On the second day, I had a pleasant surprise. Checking my medallion had become a habit, and suddenly, it read as done for the month. What had happened? I worried about that the rest of the way home. As soon as I did, I checked in with reports of all incidents.


    Apparently, the guards had interrupted a fight, and in breaking up the brawl, one of the men, while drunk, had attempted to fight the guards. The guards had beaten him senselessly, and he ended up dying. Apparently, that was close enough to honorable combat that the man''s soul had counted, and I was actually settled for the month.


    This was a huge weight off my mind as at least the initial investment had been taken care of. It was also good to confirm that just in the course of their duties, governing territory with the law enforcement on my side would provide enough souls for me to last a little bit. Of course, that number would become obsolete pretty quickly with the escalating nature of my payment. Still, potentially, it could even tide me over for the next month.


    Looking at the records, that would have to be an incredible outlier, as all of my counties only saw an average of five to seven deaths per month that were not from natural causes unless there was some sort of massive event. It didn''t appear that my vassals'' states would count as directly either. Hopefully, their soldiers would if they were acting under my command.


    The captain introduced me to his three commanders who would be taking mostly field command of the various units of infantry, cavalry, and archers. Max led the infantry, Douglas the cavalry, and Frederick the archers. The four of them stood in front of my desk as I laid out my plans.


    "I want the terrain scouted and three candidate battlefields picked out," I said. "As per the rules of engagement, I will need to declare my intent to invade with evidence of the casus belli. I will send that out to all parties involved and surrounding parties so they know. I will declare a field of battle, a date, and a time. We will meet there, and the lines will charge."


    That seemed to be the extent of combat. I, however, was not necessarily going to fight honorably as much as I wanted souls. I actually only needed twenty of them, and no matter what happened, we would definitely incur that many losses ourselves. So, it was best for us to win as efficiently as possible, especially if I were to need my soldiers for future engagements, as my time here would be anything but peaceful.


    "Max, you lead most of our engineers, right?"


    The man shrugged. "Mostly, though we do little more than set up palisades."


    "Well, that''s going to change. You''re going to be doing a lot more. Douglas, I need a scouting force picking out all these battlefields. I need something with a clear advantage. I want to make sure our site has every advantage. I want the high ground.


    I want our left flank in a position where they can be a little bit higher, maybe up a nice top step or a ridge that they can line up along and have lots of small boulders scattered in front of them so the enemy''s charge is interrupted. I want to make it seem as if they''re vulnerable so that they''ll be rolled up, but I want to make it nearly impossible for the enemy to hit them all at once. On our right flank, I want to have a smooth hill. If necessary, move rocks out of the way and put them on the left flank so the right flank has a nice, easy charge down the hill."


    "We''re going to be using an uneven line, triple stacked on the right, to overwhelm their flank. I want towers ready for archers to be placed up, nothing super tall such that they couldn''t survive jumping down, but good six to ten-foot platforms.


    That extra height will give them a huge advantage. I don''t want them built in place, but I want them nearby, hidden in the brush, ready to move out when we''re ready. Kill any scouts from Roderick''s forces that you can find, and prevent them from getting any information on any of the battlefields nearby, nor places to hide or set up ambushes."


    The men nodded. They seemed a bit concerned about the tactics, but they were veteran soldiers who knew what it would take to survive.


    The captain and his commanders left. Douglas stayed at the door for half a second before saying, "Your father would approve of this plan, sire."


    I nodded. "Thanks, Doug," I said, shortening his name to something a little bit more manageable. "But I''m sure you have lots of work to do."


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    "That I do, sire," he said as he left.


    I pored over the books again. One of the many things on my list was to train a replacement chamberlain. My current one was off languishing in the dungeon. His wife was in the next cell over.


    My power of law enforcement was nearly absolute unless the subject was a member of the nobility. The imprisoning of my Chamberlin had raised some eyebrows, but no one had done anything about it. That the country was on the warpath insulated me from a lot of the ordinary processes that the King usually enforced.


    Just preventing the loss of income from his fraud and not spending such a ridiculous amount of money on myself saved us a mountain of gold. I started penning messages to several of the mercenary companies that my father had records of dealing with. Best to use them rather than train up new troops. That would be even more expensive, and they would be lower quality. If they incurred heavy losses, perhaps I could employ those remaining to train the rest of my troops. Besides, the more men in the field, the better for me.


    The rest of the month flew by with an incredible whirlwind of preparation. Supply lines were established, supply depots were set, and our staging grounds were mapped out. Scouts came back multiple times a day to report their findings. With as much information as I could get arrayed before me, I felt as prepared as I possibly could be.


    We had the food, the coin, the pay, the men, the weapons, and the favorable ground. The messages calling my vessel''s troops had been received, and they were on their way. We marched out to great fanfare as the entire county came to see us off. Many families were nervous, but our preparations had seen most of them comforted. The soldiers knew what it was like to go on a campaign. Being properly fed the first couple of nights on the road, without real concern from the quartermasters that they were running low on supplies, did much for morale.


    When we arrived at the staging grounds, we didn''t have to wait long for the rest of my forces to show up. They numbered several thousand, and by all accounts, I should almost outnumber Count Roderick''s men two to one with the mercenaries I had hired bolstering our numbers.


    We marched to the final battlefield, and I got my first look at the fortifications Max''s engineers had managed to provide. He''d gone above and beyond. The left flank had a well-disguised palisade dug in with a slight dip before it hit an elevated platform, giving us the ability to stab down upon them.


    Small boulders that had been moved from the right flank to the left scattered the approach up a slight hill. I hoped it would wear out and decimate the formations of the enemy before they even had a chance to hit our weaker flank. The center was on a slight slope upwards, making it hard for a real charge to hit perfectly. Still, otherwise, it looked rather inviting. This was perfect because the right flank had a slight gradient the other way for us to charge into their weaker left flank. With the rocks moved out of the way, it was as perfect as we could have made it.


    Not only had all the preparations for our side been executed as planned, but we had also messed with the enemy''s ground. Their side had been less than ideal for us because they had a sparse copse of trees that would potentially allow them to hide their camps. Also, to retreat into breaking up any real massed charge of our cavalry. However, a couple days ago, our scouts had set it alight the day before and burned the whole thing down. It was now nothing more than a bare, ashen wasteland where we saw Roderick''s men coming up.


    They looked confused, as this was not what their scouts had told them about the battlefield¡ªone of the reasons they likely had accepted instead of proposing one of the alternatives. But I wasn''t worried as we also had plans for all those.


    It took some time, but the forces lined up in positions, and I looked as if we didn''t outnumber them as much as we thought. Had Roderick also hired mercenaries, or had other allies helped? Had he brought in a lot of conscripts? If so, they wouldn''t get him much, even though we were roughly equal. I couldn''t see this fight going any other way.


    When the trumpets blasted and his line charged, my right flank and center moved forward to meet him at an angle. His weaker left flank attempted to hold, but the heavy mass of deep lines of my right almost immediately started to bow his line backward.


    His right flank of forces was also built up with cavalry. Still, once they started trying to pick their way through the boulders, their charge devolved into men carefully guiding their horses around rocks lest they trip or slam into each other. Their advance slowed to a crawl. Still, my archers held their fire until the men on the ridge were stabbing down at the horsemen, almost level with them, even on horseback.


    Then, wave after wave of arrows landed on their elite troops on the right flank. The terrain prevented a fast withdrawal even more than it had slowed their advance.


    Our elite troops rolled their line over, and we burst through their defenses. The first wave of cavalry charged past their line and attacked their camp, torches being lit as they prepared for this eventuality. Every tent they rode past was set aflame. The second wave of cavalry galloped closely behind. They stopped a hundred yards off before wheeling and charging into the rear of the opponent''s center and their own right flank, crushing their lines between us.


    The archers'' fire from the elevated towers never ceased.


    It wasn''t quick, but a couple of hours later, the entire force of nearly six thousand enemies were fleeing half-dead, a quarter crippled, and a mere fifteen hundred men were running back toward Roderick County.


    They weren''t going to get away that easy, though. The retreat almost made it up to the right of the hill behind them. If they made it over, it would have been a straight shot to get them on the road heading back to Roderick''s county seat.


    To their horror, a cavalry troop crested the ridge and rode out amongst them.


    Despite the easy targets, they didn''t hit directly but harried their flanks and forced them to drop any burdens they attempted to carry. I didn''t want any extra casualties that fighting them to the last man would cause. This was far more than I needed as it stood.


    Checking my counter, I found that I had sent well over seven thousand souls to Valhalla, significantly over my total of twenty required. I cursed myself for not working out a deal with Loki about what I would receive for extra payment and service. Hopefully, he''d see fit to reward above and beyond service anyway. Next time, I would remember.

 Chapter 53:

    Chapter 53:


    As the last of the enemy was chased away, they were forced to leave everything behind. The retreat had been semi-organized at first. Several supply wagons were being pulled along with them, and the extra mounts were also being heard. Soldiers lugged heavy packs and moved at little more than a fast walk. Once the cavalry started harrying their flanks, all that was abandoned.


    I counted at least three pay wagons and dozens more supply wagons left behind as their coachmen unhooked the horses and rode to safety. Soldiers dropped any loot they had collected from their fallen comrades and ran with their bare minimum.


    Everything they weren''t carrying on their backs had either been torched or seized by us. All the leftover supplies, armor, arms, and mounts were ours for the taking, scattered around the battlefield. All that was left to do was pick them up. Fred and Max came up to me for orders. Instead of ordering a pursuit, I had them start to strip everything from the field and load up the wagons, sending them back to Alaric city.


    I would let Doug and his cavalry harry the remaining troops of Count Roderic back to the city and into the castle. It was perhaps not the most strategic play. However, I still had two days less than a month to wait before my account reset, and I then needed forty confirmed kills to stay for another month. A longer war and a siege would do that quite well.


    We camped for nearly a week, picking over the battlefield and sending loads back to the city. My concern over whether paying the mercenaries was worth it was assuaged by how much we brought in. I let the companies take twenty percent of the loot as a finder''s fee, which encouraged them to report everything.


    The amount they were getting was ridiculous. Even my vassals were happy as they got to carry excessive amounts of loot back with them. All in all, this had been profitable, but it wasn''t even close to over.


    Almost exactly one week later, we regrouped on the field of battle. The army, freshly supplied and well-rested, marched to join Doug''s troops, who had been forming a rough siege on the castle. They hadn''t been able to stop large parties and the military from escorting goods in and out, but they kept watch and made sure everyone was on their toes.


    Soon we would surround the castle, and the true siege would begin. I had left this intentional to make sure they had enough food to last a month or more. However, I had left instructions for Douglas''s men to start making our lives a little bit easier. Before they were aware of a real siege, many saboteurs had slipped into the city. For now, they lay low, but when the time was right, they would act.


    My five vassal barons met me in my command post, and I prepared a short speech about honor and the glories of battle, which was well received. After that, though, came the orders.


    "Baron Ridge, I release you to pursue your own struggle with Baron Summers. Either have them surrender and swear vassalage or take their lands. I do not care."


    He bowed and left. One by one, I instructed each of my barons to go after the remains of the barons that had allied against me. All of Count Roderick''s vassals would fall to mine before the month was over. They had lost the majority of their troops and coin, and most of them had been replaced by young, inexperienced heirs.


    These would be easy to convince to switch their allegiance to me, or their seats of power would be taken and their cities held. It made very little difference to me, but Roderick would not be getting any support from his vassals.


    With nearly four thousand men of my main force, I surrounded the city. We cut off any access in or out and sat and waited. We dug in fortifications and built siege towers. We played loud music and partied late into the night, making the sentries on half rations in the city watch us party.


    ***


    A week later, Baron Ridge joined us with nearly a thousand men. Apparently, his honor had been assuaged by a duel that Baron Somers had agreed to in a last-ditch attempt to save his barony.


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    It hadn''t worked, but it had meant that Baron Ridge had captured all his remaining soldiers intact, as well as his vault, and even spared his family. In fact, there were plans to marry Baron Somers'' daughter to his nephew. It had been more of a personal grudge rather than a family grudge. With that darkness taken care of, Baron Ridge seemed almost a different man¡ªmuch more relaxed and sad rather than explicitly angry. His thousand soldiers joined mine, and the morale of those in the city fell even further.


    ***


    The two weeks passed in relative peace. There were only a few sorties from the castle as they tried to escape, but they were quickly put down without mercy.


    First, their heads were returned to the castle and city via trebuchet. A couple of days later, their bodies were, as well. The second time they tried to ride out was the last.


    During the last week, I had actually been ignoring several pleas to come to the negotiating table. Their polite requests to reach some sort of arrangement were starting to become increasingly frantic, almost to the point of begging. Despite the consternation of all my advisors and the military coil''s consternation, I didn''t respond to a single one.


    I had different priorities, after all.


    ***


    The month came to an end, and my quota was reset. I now owed Loki 40 souls sent to Valhalla. I wasn''t concerned in the slightest. I would overpay by orders of magnitude again.


    Actually, knowing there was an afterlife did surprisingly little to ease my conscious, though. The end of life was only part of what made death so terrible. No, it was those left behind that truly would suffer, I knew. But I consoled myself with the assurances that something like this would have happened anyways. Besides, my tactics might have cost more time, but they probably saved lives overall, right?


    Once I confirmed that the medallion had, in fact, ticked over, I stood up from my meal and declared, "I will speak to their representative now." It was in the middle of lunch that I had taken to having with my commanders and vassals¡ªa rather large crowd of around ten people. Over the past couple of weeks, we had all gotten to know each other rather well. Unfortunately, my medallion didn''t tick over in the morning, but exactly at the time when I arrived in this world, sometime around noon. This caught everyone by surprise.


    Of course, I could have waited, but I was ready to go home as anyone else. So, I wanted to get this over with. A message was sent, and I penned the most simple and insulting message I could. I didn''t actually want them to surrender¡ªnot simply. I needed at least a little bit of a skirmish. But I did want to get their morale as low as possible. So, as the messenger got within shouting distance of the wall, he stood on his horse and shouted, "The Count Alaric will now accept your unconditional surrender!"


    Without waiting for a response, he left. My vassals and I had a good laugh. There seemed to be a large commotion coming from the walls. Perhaps they were actually considering it. From what I knew about Count Roderic, that seemed unlikely. He would like to fight to the last man. But I guess I couldn''t rule out something like a mutiny.


    "Baron Ridge," I asked, "care to make a wager on whether he accepts the surrender?"


    "No. I like my coin too much," he replied.


    I grimaced, looking around to see if anyone else wanted to gamble. It was one of our few pastimes here, and I had gotten quite into playing cards.


    "How about what form the response will take?" young Baron Belfry suggested. His father had unfortunately died during the siege¡ªof natural causes, of course¡ªand he was still fitting into his role. He tried a little too hard to emulate me, which honestly wasn''t a good idea for his long-term health.


    The other barons seemed to agree.


    "I think no response," Baron Ridge claimed.


    "I''m tempted to agree with you," I said, "but I think it''ll be quite a rude refusal."


    "Anyone want to bet on a polite refusal?" Belfry asked.


    No one else responded. He sighed. "Fine. I guess I''ll take the polite refusal."


    We didn''t have to wait long before the drawbridge fell down, and a single messenger walked to the edge of it. Baron Ridge grumbled something about having kept his mouth shut anyway.

 Chapter 54:

    Chapter 54:


    The messenger was well-groomed and looked comfortable despite a month-long siege. His perfectly manicured clothes were green and blue, which I thought looked rather awful. Still, they certainly displayed a large amount of wealth. He unrolled the scroll as if he were going to read a proclamation in medieval times, which I guess he was. He cleared his throat, and that very sound echoed, catching everyone''s attention. All of us waited for the response with bated breath, and even from the practiced sound of throat clearing, it was clear that his voice would be rich and have no problem carrying across a field of battle.


    He licked his lips nervously before uttering a single word. "Balls!"


    Everyone stood silent for a second. But a snicker broke the silence, and that soon turned into a chuckle. Before I knew it, I was doubled over, laughing. I threw my head back once I recovered and roared my mirth to the sky. My barons weren''t long behind me, laughing at the bit of cheeky defiance. At least Count Roderick had a sense of humor.


    The laughter spread through our camp as it was clear how bad the situation was, but you had to respect them for not giving up, even if their soldiers looked a lot less pleased by their response. Perhaps I had gone too far by ignoring too many requests for terms or some sort of negotiation. But now it was clear that it was the butcher''s work.


    "Very well," I said, turning to my barons and generals. "Prepare."


    Raising my voice, I shouted to our engineering corps, "Trebuchets! Fire at will!"


    The first stone fired mere moments after I spoke. The crews had been practicing and drilling. It was a point of pride to see who could reload them as fast as possible. It still took minutes, but each stone was as heavy as a cart, and the first one barely missed the now-closed drawbridge, cracking the stones next to it as the rest of the volley fired.


    The results were mixed.


    Some flew over the inner wall and smashed into the castle inside the city. Others hit the city wall, and a few even clipped the top, breaking off crenellations and throwing men to their deaths off the wall. I checked my amulet and found it was already full after the first volley.


    Now, to minimize loss of life. With the will of the Count, a siege would work, but it was unnecessary. Likely, we would have to starve out most of the city, and before we even began our attack, more would die overall than if we just attacked. Now, though, the fighting would be more difficult.


    As the men prepared, I went to don my own armor. It was stupid, but I was going to fight. I was almost ready to go back to Valhalla. This place was nice, but I missed my friends. I missed the ability to really practice and learn magic, to grow. The intrigue of meeting with Loki and the real challenge here had been a nice vacation, but I was bored.


    It was like I had just retired again and hadn''t adapted. My body wasn''t that of an old man with too little energy to keep going, but at the same time, I felt like nothing I did here really mattered. It was all temporary.


    The only thing was meeting Loki''s quota, and even then, I wasn''t sure how much that was tied to the rewards. Now that I''d been gone for two months and even paid my tab for the third month, I didn''t even feel like I was leaving Loki behind with how much energy or goodwill I had earned him.


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    Second, though, I just needed to feel alive. The thrill of combat was not replaced by the spa, and the fear of death for me was just not real. I wasn''t exactly excited to send people to Valhalla. Still, I knew I was a more competent fighter than most of the people here. I had the benefit of magical training, practicing with increased stats, and a near-constant chance to fight to the death.


    Even if I''d only been training for under a year, that amount of experience in near-death or actual death combat was irreplaceable. Most veteran soldiers only ever fought for a couple days every few months, and those that survived twenty years might have an equivalent amount of fighting experience, at least in small quarters. Fighting and holding a line would be very different, but up on the walls, well, I wasn''t stupid enough to be first at the ladders. Still, I ran along with the ladder team before my generals and bodyguards really understood my plan. They raced after me, spitting invectives as I started scaling the ladder.


    It had been put up near the gate. All along the wall, ladders were being set down. The soldiers at the top fought back valiantly, attempting to cut down soldiers as they reached the top. Still, our archers and trebuchets were making them twitchy. The trebuchets had narrowed in their aim and were mostly pounding the castle over the wall. However, every time a massive boulder flew through the air, it left an ominous hissing motion that had people flinching.


    I was the third on the ladder. The first one above me got killed. The next one managed to roll over the crenelation and get to his feet, narrowly avoiding being slashed on both sides as he spun, a shield in one hand and a sword in the other, attempting to block off all avenues of attack. I dove as soon as my foot was high enough and knocked one of his attackers off the wall to the inside before lashing out with my sword.


    The next soldier died with a simple cut through the throat, and then the one after that was impaled through the stomach. I kicked him off my blade and slashed to disarm another. A sweeping leg upended the fourth soldier in as many moves, dumping him off the wall.


    Were these defenders just really bad? Looking into their eyes, I saw nothing but fear. These weren''t trained soldiers; these were the people of the city desperately trying to hold the walls. Where were the actual soldiers? Our answer came as the gate opened, and from the inner courtyard, I could see a mass of cavalry charging out, attempting to hit our armies as they were preparing to enter the ladders.


    I put that out of my mind. My generals would have to handle that. It was a possibility that Max and I had talked about, and it would be his heavy infantry that would bear the brunt of this fight. However, I couldn''t do anything about it now. I had to focus on securing the foothold. I pushed several more steps outwards. As more and more soldiers came up from behind, we had no problem holding the beachhead.


    They even pushed enough to secure a separate place for another ladder to be put up, with men starting to come up with no casualties. Only now were the siege towers arriving at the wall, and it was almost already so taken that they had very little effect. The men poured out of them in massive waves as the ramps flung down.


    Pushing the larger part of the battle out of my mind, I advanced steadily to the stairs, cutting down anyone who got in my way. As soon as I reached them, I activated Dance of the Jester, suppressing every light or fancy effect. I flashed down the steps, avoiding all the soldiers coming up, and dashed into the castle. I was confident that we would win. Now, I just needed to find the Count before he did anything potentially irreversible.


    Zipping through the castle, I searched and found him in his throne room. There were some guards, but as I closed the main doors, I barred them with a halberd I stole from a suit of armor serving as decoration near the entrance. The four guards in the throne room came to face me, but I flashed past them and barred the other two doors leading out the back before turning and drawing my sword.


    "Count Roderick," I called over my shoulder as I advanced on his four guards who were forming up to face me. I was now between them and their charge but showed no interest in going after the Count directly.


    "Who are you, assassin?" one guard said.


    So, it wasn''t he who had devised the message. I sighed in disappointment. "Really? I''m disappointed, Count. I figured you''d recognize me, but well, after that very insightful response to my request for your absolute surrender, I had expected slightly more wit from you. Perhaps I let my hopes get too high."


    "What? I can''t even see your face. How could I recognize you?"


    I paused in my advance and turned around, looking at the count square in the face before turning back to his four guards. They had halberds and plate mail, and I was dressed in little more than leather armor, with a sword and a dagger in my off hand, but I wasn''t concerned. I saw how they moved. If anything I was looking forward to the challenge. Perhaps the personal guards of a count could provide me with a challenge.


    Besides, if I really needed it, I had magic. No one in this room was going to leave alive anyway.

 Chapter 55:

    Chapter 55:


    As I advanced on the four guards that had formed into a line, I wondered whether the Count would attack me from behind. So, I paid some attention but didn''t hear him move from his throne at all. When I got within reach of the guards, their halberds chopped down at me. They moved synchronously as if trained for line fighting, which this culture seemed to favor. This tactic worked perfectly if facing a line of opponents who were also locked together and unable to move. But honestly, they would have been better off facing me alone.


    I slipped between the down strikes, my dagger catching the haft of one and pushing it out of the way as I spun into them. My sword clanged off a helmet, not severing the head as it would have without the protection, but it rang the guard''s bell, sending him into a slight daze. I continued forward, barreling into him and knocking him off balance, disrupting their careful formation and forcing the others to spin around. But to spin, they had to pull up their halberds first. Staying close, I didn''t pursue the stumbling guard. Instead, I used the advantage of being close in to find a little gap at the edge of the armor. Sliding my knife up into it, I cut along the back of the neck of one guard, and he fell limply, almost ripping the dagger out of my hand.


    Spinning, I ducked under a pair of slashes and moved to the outside so the three remaining guards couldn''t surround me. Slowly, I began to batter at them. My stamina in this body wasn''t amazing, but at least I wasn''t wearing a heavy plate. I picked them apart one at a time, beating them down where they couldn''t support each other. It was more difficult than it should have been as they were clearly practiced, but one after another, they dropped.


    Then I turned to the Count, who was still sitting on his throne, glaring at me as I walked up the dais. I looked at the blanket over his legs and thought I understood why. I looked down at him, and finally, he seemed to recognize me.


    "You? It can''t be," he muttered.


    "I have to thank you, Count. You''ve played a big part in making me who I am today," I said with a smile.


    "No, but why are you here? You are nobility. We haven''t even lost the walls yet!"


    I didn''t have a response he would believe.


    It was harder than it should have been to kill the unarmed man sitting down. I guess I subscribed to the notion of honor more than I would have liked to admit. Still, this man was too much of a danger alive, not because of his physical prowess but because of his connections and his willingness to orchestrate betrayals. Well, I wasn''t going to discriminate in my violence.


    After unbarring the room and healing the cuts I had received from my brief fight, I left alone. I was able to walk through the castle with relative impunity. No one challenged me as they all rushed about in hasty defense. I simply moved with a serious look on my face and weapons in hand, as if I was rushing somewhere. Most of that was just poking around.


    Going into the Count''s quarters, I started rifling through his study and found a series of correspondences with the Aldorians. It seemed there was a greater purpose to this after all. County Roderick was planning on seceding from our kingdom and joining the Aldorians in order to receive much more favorable terms.


    They were helping to weaken the kingdom from within, hence the scheme with taxes and bandits and several other plots involving growing narcotics and other illicit activities. It appeared that in two months'' time, they were going to take the field and declare war on our kingdom from a rather advantageous position. They still weren''t going to go with a sneak attack or anything like that, but from what I had seen of the cultural norms here, it was as close as they could get.


    I collected all the evidence. Whether or not it would help the King do anything, I wasn''t sure, but at least he would be forewarned if this plan ever went through.


    Hopefully, our siege had prevented it or at least delayed it. When I got to the most recent correspondence, I realized it might not have changed as much as we had hoped.


    I left the room and headed towards the guest quarters. There was supposed to be an ambassador here, an ambassador who was not in favor of his King but had become a very useful sacrificial pawn. Sure enough, I found the room trashed and the man dead, cut by poison. How they had known to time it now was unclear. Maybe the Count thought they could fight a little bit and get on better terms.


    It would look like we had murdered the ambassador when we came in. I wasn''t sure, but looking around, I investigated the scene more. It was impossible to say what people would do. Still, it would be entirely reasonable to claim that we had killed the ambassador. They didn''t really need to plant much evidence.


    I searched through the correspondence that the ambassador had on his desk but found nothing useful. In fact, most of it was intentionally misleading, but I took it anyway. After that was all taken care of, I simply climbed up to the roof of the castle and sat on one of the tops of the turrets, watching the fighting die down as the news of the Count''s demise spread.


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    Having essentially assassinated the Count wasn''t going to make anyone believe that we also hadn''t killed the ambassador while we were at it. But I was firmly of the opinion it didn''t really matter, as the Aldorians could claim that we killed them pretty much no matter what. There was nothing we could say to convince them as they knew the truth, and their claim would still seem reasonable to everyone else.


    ***


    I sat on the county seat, the very same throne that Count Roderick had sat on. It wasn''t anything like the King''s throne. It was significantly shorter, the dais was smaller, and it was less jewel-encrusted. Apparently, there were laws about what a family seat could even cost so as not to threaten the KKing. I didn''t particularly care much for it; my discomfort didn''t come from the angular seat but rather from the crowd of people in front of me.


    Public speaking had never bothered me, and I would never have wanted to do what I had done without it. But being asked to sentence criminals was something I had never been prepared for. The magistrates had handled everything since I had gotten here, as honestly, the idea made my skin crawl. But after a time of war--well, not everyone behaved themselves. Several of the officers and legal counsel who had advised Roderick had switched sides and were now behind me. I didn''t trust them one bit if it came to politics or anything like that. But when it came to sentencing criminals, well...


    Max, Fred, and Doug were all off to the side as well, and their men pushed forward one of our own soldiers. Max stepped forward.


    "This is one of mine, sir. The man is guilty beyond doubt on the count of rape," he said.


    I grimaced, not wanting to hear the details. "The evidence is irrefutable, Max?"


    He nodded. "To be hanged."


    "To hang," I agreed.


    The soldier joined the long list of bound and gagged people who were sentenced to a similar fate. According to my advisors, both our side and theirs had been extremely well-behaved by any standard, but the amount of misconduct I had to rule on was disturbing. I decided to get it all out at once, and so far, nearly thirty soldiers out of the ten thousand or so combatants total were sentenced to death. It was nothing good, but it was best to pull the weeds out as early as possible, so my commanders told me.


    I wished the Captain were here. I would have liked to lean on his experience. But he was back in Alaric City, watching over things as one of the few men I actually trusted. I had sent him back early to see if any of the previous Alaric''s father''s men were still around and willing to be pressed into service as chamberlain and legal advisers. I wouldn''t hear back from him for a while, though.


    A commotion broke through the room as a young man pushed his way into the center. He looked up at me with hate in his eyes and wheeled around, making sure everyone stood back. He was unarmed, so the guards mostly let him be, but I was surprised they hadn''t dragged him out.


    "I am, by all rights, Count Tenor Roderick," he declared. He pointed at me. "You had my father assassinated. I challenge you to a duel of honor."


    Apparently, the guards didn''t want to be too rough with their former employer''s son. I looked at the former Count''s son and resisted the urge to roll my eyes. He couldn''t have been more than twenty, probably more like eighteen, still growing up. But he was not a threat to me in the least.


    Countegal, counsel whom the former Count had employed, leaned forward and whispered into my ear, "You have no obligation to accept such a duel. He could be executed for treason for simply calling himself count. You had a valid casus belli upheld by the King, and you have taken his title lawfully."


    I nodded. "Very well," I said. "Get this man a sword."


    The crowd gasped, and the legal adviser protested, "My lord, I must protest--"


    "This is the only way to settle it." I cut him off. "People need to know what happens when they challenge me. I will not hesitate to accept a duel, especially from someone who many believe is wronged. It would speak less of me if refused, as it does appear that the previous Count was assassinated. Though I claim not on my orders." I wished I had some way of proving the validity of my words because they were not on my orders but still by my hand. This would do wonders for my reputation.


    I wasn''t about to have the duel in the throne room, so I had the man escorted to the courtyard and given a sword while I ignored all the arguments from my commanders and many of the hangers-on who had attempted to throw their lot in with me once it was obvious that the previous Count had died in such mysterious circumstances.


    Eventually, I fought my way free and stepped into the circle of guards with the young man across from me. The entire courtyard and keep had been filled up and packed to the brim with people jostling for space. Only the guards formed a solid wall, keeping the arena clear. Every building around us had every window packed with people, and many sitting along the roofs to watch. I gave a bow to my opponent.


    "I respect your dedication to your family, and I am sorry to have to do this," I said.


    He hefted his sword and snarled at me in response. Honestly, this was a lot easier for me than ordering someone''s execution. And there was honestly less risk this way. If I killed him personally, there would be no chance for him to escape from a dungeon or be freed by a family loyalist.

 Chapter 56:

    Chapter 56:


    The young man was clearly well-taught with the blade. I watched as he tested his borrowed weapon, swinging it back and forth, and noted how the balance on his feet shifted with each swing. He had practice and a decent amount of talent. But as we moved to engage, I saw the hesitation in his first swing at me. Interesting. Had he never been in a fight for his life before? It would be unexpected if he had, seeing that he was the son of a count and clearly sheltered. If he thought I would actually accept the honor duel, well, the fact that I had didn''t really say much for the odds of his plan working.


    Even as I barely moved my blade to deflect his blow to the side, he recovered admirably. I watched as rage, hate, and grief filled his eyes. His next swing was less hesitant but a lot more foolish. It was a powerful overhand blow intended to chop my head in two. Still, it left him overbalanced, presenting an opening I could have easily finished him off with. But I didn''t. Instead, I ducked to the side and watched as his blade smashed into the ground. He recovered and slashed at me again horizontally. I deflected and dodged, his blade skittering over mine as I continually sent it flying down into the dirt.


    I held my sword with a balance a little farther back than I normally would¡ªslightly more defensive and quicker to react¡ªas I stymied his every move. I hadn''t struck yet. It felt weird for this to be so final, to actually kill someone in a duel. In Valhalla, after a duel, I could track the person down and have a drink. If I killed him now, here in this combat, he would undoubtedly have the option to go to Valhalla. But would he take it? I had no idea. Looking into their religion wasn''t something I had done so far. They prayed to gods, but which gods? I had no idea. Luckily, no one seemed to be superzealous, and I had been mostly left alone on that front.


    Sure, I''d killed people since I had come here, usually in combat. I hadn''t executed the king or the count, his father. But this was different. This was a little more than a boy. After a couple of minutes, the man''s anger fueled him. Still, I could see the steam starting to run out as I continually stayed on the defensive, doing nothing more than redirecting the blows as if I were a sparring partner. I tried talking.


    "Tenor," I said calmly. "I don''t know what you hoped to accomplish with this plan, but you''ve gotten as far with it as you''re going to."


    He didn''t answer.


    "You are not untalented with the blade, but you have no experience. You''re clearly practiced. Your stance is good, and your strikes are measured if they are a little too aggressive, but that can be forgiven. But you don''t fear death," I said, leaving a cut a few inches below his eyes. It was nothing, not even an inch long, but I could have made it so much worse.


    The anger in his eyes flared up once as if trying to push away the fear that was creeping into his posture.


    "You attack like a young man. You are reckless. Impatient," I continued. I understood how this might sound, given that I looked barely a few years older than him. But it was true, and the people around the arena could hear. They had been cheering for both sides as the opening clashes of the duel had happened. But as it became clear that I wasn''t exactly fighting, the crowd had grown eerily silent and listened to my monologue as I casually deflected this young man''s increasingly desperate attacks.


    "I know it is unlikely that you could ever forgive me for taking your family''s title and lands, but I really don''t want to have to kill you," I said casually. "Unfortunately, though, when uprooting a tree, you need to pull it out by the roots, and you are one of your father''s roots. If I leave you alone, you''ll be back with an army eventually to come and kill me, or you''ll train as an assassin until you can sneak into my bedchamber. No, I don''t think I can leave you alive. Not as you are now. I don''t plan on crippling you, though. I would consider having you swear to service."


    I sent a prayer to Loki, hoping this would work. "I will allow you to forfeit this duel with your honor intact. Do you swear to¡ªif you swear your soul to Loki," I said, hoping the name wouldn''t cause any uproar. "I might be able to send you on your way."


    Surprisingly, I heard Loki''s chuckle in my head. "Oh, that is interesting. It won''t be any better than them coming to Valhalla after they die, but if he swears his will to me rather than Odin, yes, that would give me a significant amount of influence."


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    Sadly, the boy wasn''t having it. His attacks only became more reckless as he grew increasingly tired. I looked around and saw the confused faces of the crowd. "Well, it was worth a shot," I said.


    The rest of the fight was little more than an execution.


    ***


    Still standing in front of the king, I finished my explanation of the documents I had presented him. "And then I rode here as soon as possible."


    The king leaned back in his throne, and the audience of the court around him broke into muttered whispers at my account of my findings and the brief explanation for the siege of Roderick. The king stroked his beard as he considered.


    "You have done us a great service. We would like to discuss potential rewards with you privately. You will have the honor of dining with us tonight," the king said.


    I bowed in gratitude. "Thank you, Your Majesty."


    "Before you go, We heard you had a duel with the previous count''s son."


    I nodded in confirmation but didn''t have anything to say. "Pardon, my king," I said after a moment or two of awkward silence, not wanting to seem too belligerent. "I didn''t hear a question in that."


    The king smiled. "There was not one. But we are curious as to why."


    I frowned, trying to think of a reasonable explanation. "It seemed more kind than having him executed for treason, Your Majesty," I said after some thought.


    He nodded. "We were told quite impressive stories of your swordsmanship. Perhaps we could interest you in fighting an exhibition for the court at some point."


    I bowed. "Perhaps, Your Majesty."


    I was surprised the king was bringing this up in public court, but he must have had his reasons. I was quickly dismissed, and the court was adjourned early as the king had much to think about after my report. I returned to rest at the family manse for a few hours before dinner, where the captain met me with a few men in middle age.


    "These were some of your late father''s advisors who retired soon after his death. I have told them how you have recently seemed to have grown up more, and they would be willing to try working with you again," the captain explained.


    I gave them all a deep bow. The three of them looked surprised. "I apologize for my childishness and wish to move forward as if we had never met before," I said, hoping this ploy would work. "I am Count Fenrir Alaric. Your service is greatly appreciated."


    The captain looked mildly surprised, and the first man stepped forward to introduce himself.


    "I was your father''s chamberlain," he said. "My name is Victor, and I will at least help you find a replacement for your current one."


    "I thank you, Victor."


    His master of coin and legal advisor also introduced themselves as Caleb and Logan, respectively.


    "Good. I think we have much to talk about," I said as I ushered them into the seating room. "I have just come from public court with the king and have a private meeting with him over dinner. There are many things I wish to discuss."

 Chapter 57:

    Chapter 57:


    Dinner was not served in the same room where we ate lunch previously. This time, it was served in the banquet hall, and I sat to the right-hand side of the King at a table that stretched long enough for twenty to sit on either side. This was just the first table. Situated at the end of the hall were three even longer tables that ran perpendicular to it. We were alone, besides the guards and servers.


    The King relaxed after our appetizer, and as we waited for the next course, he said, "I am glad to see you growing into your title."


    I noticed he wasn''t using the royal "we" as he had been in a public court. I smiled, taking that as permission to be more informal.


    "Yes, I had a certain scare that woke me up to my own inadequacies."


    "Certainly. After months of dithering upon my previous request, I was glad to see you have made progress. I hadn''t expected anything from you, honestly. I hear you got robbed on the road, came back, found the bandits within a week, excised corruption in your own county, doubled theft in your own county, changed some laws, and now your county is extremely profitable. I haven''t even heard one account of womanizing about you since," he continued.


    I blinked. "I didn''t realize Your Majesty had kept such careful track of me."


    The King shrugged. "Well, I respected your father a great deal, and while I don''t keep careful track of everyone, I do like to know the goings-on and general disposition of most of my vassals."


    "That makes sense," I replied.


    "But not only did you do that," the King continued, "you then absolutely destroyed a peer of yours with superior numbers in battle and then sieged him out of his own castle in under a month. From what I can tell from the reports, I hear you were actually slower than you needed to be."


    I nodded. "It''s very possible that I could have finished earlier, but I didn''t see the need for it."


    The King leaned back in his seat as a server placed a dish in front of him. "You are reminding me more and more of your father."


    I let the server place a dish in front of me as well. We kept eye contact, and I didn''t feel the need to respond to that last comment.


    "Now, when it comes to rewards," the King said, "I have something in mind that I think you''ll appreciate. Your father was never one for political pomp. He promptly refused any title I tried to give him other than that of a simple count. I don''t understand why. But if you continue to show yourself to be as competent as he was, I see no reason for this state of status quo to continue. And you don''t have the standing to refuse me as he did."


    The King delivered the last line with a smile that did little to soften the truth of the words.


    ***


    Victor frowned as I explained my meeting with the King and the subsequent follow-up dinner I was going to attend that evening.


    "There''s a lot of possibility," he said. "The King is unfortunate. The Queen has produced four daughters, none of them fit to be heirs. Not that he wouldn''t rather have them inherit like a son, but they all have their own deficiencies that make them unsuitable to rule."


    "This has been shown time and time again whenever they''re given a modicum of responsibility. And the King knows this. However, I do not believe he even intends to marry them off to secure an heir; rather, he would rather adopt outside the family. Three of his four daughters are already married, and another is promised mostly to foreign royalty in an attempt to get them out of his hair," Victor said. "At least, that''s how the rumors go."


    Leaning back, I grumbled. "You don''t think that..."


    ***


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    I listened carefully, but as the King continued, I was pleasantly surprised. I had feared that he would try to name me his heir, which would have been far too soon and would have massively lowered my respect for the man. But no.


    "I can''t just give you a ducal title," the King said. "As much as your actions were of great benefit to the Crown, it was all very... unofficial. But that doesn''t mean I can''t find ways to reward you otherwise. There is a certain niece of mine who remains unwed and soon to inherit, as my younger brother has unfortunately fallen severely ill this winter."


    I frowned, not liking where this was going. I raised my hand outward, palm extended, cutting the King off. He seemed more surprised than offended.


    "I think I see where you''re going with this," I said. "But if possible, I would like to request an alternative reward."


    "Oh, you have something in mind?" the King said, clearly surprised that I would turn down the offer to inherit a ducal title.


    "Yes, I''m not quite ready to be tied down just yet," I said with a smile.


    The King looked confused at the expression, but I continued. "I would consider it a great honor if I was allowed to lead your forces in the coming war with the Aldorians."


    The invasion date was perfect. I needed eighty souls for my next month, and I would be struggling to meet that without war. Consolidating my forces would be extremely difficult in time for an invasion of another neighbor of mine. Besides, that would probably not go over well. If I could use the invasion and mount a defensive, I would have no problem meeting the quota. Likely, if the war became protracted, I could stay for several more months, even with the escalating quota, before either I finished off the war or simply ran out of time.


    "I''m not sure what about a wife would tie you down..." The King tapped his chin and then scratched his beard thoughtfully. I could see him shifting to consider my request. "Yes, I think that would actually be very good. That would let me stay here. But I see no reason for that to be a reward. I''ll have you do that anyway. I still want you to consider Alana."


    I groaned internally. I didn''t want to marry some child... I knew the nobility married young. Plus, I wasn''t going to be around long enough. Besides, I didn''t have any feelings or attachments. This wasn''t something... No. My internal voice rambled at me, full of protests and general disdain for the idea. I still hadn''t even gotten over my wife after she died a decade ago! And then I died. I could feel myself moving on once I found out that she had been absorbed into the Heavenly Host, but it was a process, and I wasn''t ready. My mind wound itself into knots. Plus, the nobility here married young, and that just... No.


    "Um, I think she''s a little young, isn''t she?" I asked, not actually having any idea if this was true, but grasped at straws anyways.


    The King waved his hand. "No, no. She turned eighteen last week."


    "That''s still kind of gross," I muttered quietly enough that the King couldn''t hear. "I don''t even know her," I said a little louder.


    "Well, don''t worry. We''d have a proper courting period, at least three months, where you can get to know her, and if there are any real objections, they can be worked out," the King said.


    "I really would¡ª"


    The King frowned at me. "I don''t think I''ve heard anything about some sort of childhood sweetheart or any sort of dalliance of yours in a while. Didn''t think you were the type that put down real connections. Or is the thought of marriage really that terrifying?"


    "No, no, I''m okay with connections. Just¡ª"


    "Just are...," the King said, tapping his nose knowingly. "Well, I won''t tell anyone, but it can be purely a political marriage, though you will be expected to produce an heir. Even as you are, you would have that expectation placed on you."


    "No, no," I protested vehemently. "It''s not like that."


    "I need dukes like you," the King said. "I need someone who maybe I cannot trust but is at least competent, can command armies, and seemingly doesn''t have the political ambition to be a danger yet. Though, hopefully, we''ll get some ambition out of you soon enough."


    "No," I grumbled. "It''s not like that."


    But my protest fell on deaf ears, the King giving me a knowing smile.


    "Well," the King said, "I see. I can''t change your mind entirely, but we''ll move ahead with the courtship anyway. Hopefully, by getting to know her, you''ll see the benefits. Besides, I actually can''t officially put you in charge of the army. You don''t have the station for it, but she can be nominally in charge, and you can actually run things. She''ll have my direct orders to listen to everything you say."


    I frowned but nodded. Hopefully, that would do enough for me to be considered the leader of the troops.


    "Very well. It seems I don''t have any sufficient reason to refuse further," I said. If the courtship was three months, the odds of me actually being able to meet my quota for that long were incredibly slim. So maybe I could just do my best to avoid her and put it off for as long as possible.

 Chapter 58:

    Chapter 58:


    Back in the city of Alaric, I waited in the receiving room of the keep. I was slightly frustrated that I had to be here and a little bit nervous, as there was a lot more riding on this than I was comfortable with. I still had almost two full months before my quota came due, having filled this month''s quota early. Having a war scheduled to start on the second to last day of the next month gave me hope of completing the eighty-soul requirement in time, as long as my being nominally in charge of the soldiers counted as practically being in charge. If it didn''t, well, I was probably done here anyway. If it did, well, at least I had an extra month or two. Hopefully, the heat down in Valhalla had cooled off, and I would have the ability to find someplace there and maybe see how Bjorn and Astrid were doing.


    But now, I had to receive the Duchess. She had arrived earlier this morning and had taken her time coming through the city. Currently, she was refreshing herself after a long day of travel. It was actually kind of surprising that she had come to me. Still, as I was the one who was actually commanding the soldiers, it made sense. If we did end up going through with this marriage¡ªwhich I was absolutely not going to let happen¡ªI would be the one who was technically in charge. I still wasn''t sure how she felt about that. Maybe slighted, maybe resigned. But we did have a lot of planning to do. Despite her only nominally being in charge, she would have a lot of political influence, and I wanted her to be aware of my plans. I also needed to know exactly what forces she was going to be leading and what the king was providing.


    The doors opened, and my guards stepped aside, allowing in a procession of similarly clad guards and a young woman. She was pretty enough, I supposed, but nothing special. Short. She was short, maybe no more than five feet two, coming up to about my collarbone. Her dark hair was cropped in a stylish pixie cut that barely covered her ears. With every step she took, she bounced as if she were full of energy despite her cavalier walking speed, which was unlike the grace of any lady I had seen in court. Her face was set into a considering mask.


    I bowed low in greeting. "Greetings, my lady."


    She gave me a curtsy a little deeper than our respective ranks demanded. "Count Alaric," she said, her voice relatively low for her size and age, almost a contralto, with a breathy quality that reminded me of a much larger person. Then she flashed me a dimpled smile that looked surprisingly genuine.


    "You''re better looking than I had feared," she said, and I couldn''t help but let out a true laugh. Just a quick, short burst, but surprisingly, I felt at ease. At first, I had been questioning whether her age was actually eighteen or whether someone had been lying to me. Still, the intelligence behind those eyes told me that they were. She definitely had matured.


    "Very well," I said. "Would you like to retire for tea and speak privately?" I offered.


    "I would enjoy that very much, Count," she said, and I dismissed the guards with a wave. She dismissed hers as well, and we walked over to the side where a table was set up. Some maids quickly brought in a cup and a few refreshments that I had waiting off to the side in case this was necessary. We settled in across from each other, watching each other''s faces as we dressed our tea how we wanted. She put a surprising amount of honey in hers.


    Her mask started to slip, and the carefully controlled features broke into a rather expressive young woman. A determined air was about her eyes, but an easy smile when she took a sip of the tea gave me an interesting insight into her personality. She seemed fierce and determined but still innocent and plucky almost.


    She set the tea down and sighed. "I thank you for the hospitality, Count Alaric."


    "Please, just call me Alaric," I interrupted, and she nodded.


    "Very well. Call me Alana. I''m not the most excited about this arrangement either. From what I have heard, the king practically had to strong-arm you into this."


    I gave a small smile and a self-deprecating laugh. "Well, maybe if I had known what you looked like, I might have changed my mind," I said, trying to put her at ease.


    She waved. "Oh, you don''t have to do that. This is more than I had hoped in some ways," she said. "My entire life, I have been prepared to be married off for my family''s gain. But my older brother died from the same sickness that is taking my father, and all of a sudden, I was set to inherit. I have neither the training nor interest in ruling.


    "Frankly, I''m far too busy to get into the politics of it, and I had asked my uncle to situate me such that I wouldn''t have to care about it. But getting anyone competent or politically minded usually meant a weasel or an old man. Neither of those were things I particularly wanted. I wanted someone dashing and competent but young and youthful. My uncle was apologetic, but that I would have to not be the holder of my title was exactly what I wanted. Besides, duchesses with the title generally tend to not fare as well as duchesses without. It''s a cultural change that is slowly shifting, in no small part due to my aunt, but I don''t care to be a part of it. I have far more interesting pursuits."


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    That was the second time she had mentioned her pursuits. "Pursuits? You''ve brought that up a couple of times," I said. "It seems you are rather passionate about them."


    She blushed. "I''m sorry. My father tells me I talk about them too much for someone of my station."


    "I would like to hear about them, though, at least to know what I''m getting into."


    "I love the way the world works," she said.


    I cocked my head. "Um, so... it''s a puzzle, figuring out how to describe the world in numbers and formulas."


    I blinked. "Like physics?"


    The Duchess cocked her head. "No, physics is the study of how the world is." Realizing I didn''t quite know the definition, she added, "Like motion, projectile dynamics, Newtonian mechanics, electromagnetism."


    She looked entirely confused. "You know something of the laws of nature?"


    "Uh," I said intelligently, "I know a little. I might be able to advise, though I do not have the mind for figuring any of this stuff out," I said, thinking back to my ninth-grade physics class that I had barely passed. I supposed it was more than some of the knowledge they had back several hundred years before, but this was actually a different world. I wasn''t sure if they had invented something like calculus yet.


    She leaned forward, excited. "Oh, if you can help me with my projects, I don''t care if you''re not even attracted to me. I will marry you no matter what the king says."


    I looked up at her in shock. "Not attracted to you? Well," the king said.


    I sighed and rolled my eyes. "No, you are plenty attractive. That is not an issue."


    "Are you sure we don''t¡ª"


    "It''s okay. Many marriages are more like friendships in the nobility. You know this."


    I waved my hands. "No, that is not the issue."


    "Well, then what is?" she said, slightly hurt but also at the same time blushing.


    "Be assured, you are plenty attractive," I said, trying to figure out how to voice my objections to her being too young for me, with my apparent age being barely older than hers. Back on Earth, it would have been a little bit borderline but totally legal. Still, I was suspicious for the first couple of years of a relationship between our ages. Still, if you took into account my actual age, well, that would be creepy, and I just wasn''t into it.


    "Honestly, it has more to do with the distractions. I do not have time," I said. "But I suppose that doesn''t matter now. We might as well get to know each other if we''re going to be spending so much time on a campaign together over the next couple of months, preparing to defend the kingdom."


    She nodded. "I know little of war," she said, "but it appears that you have become an expert when no one was paying attention."


    I shook my head. "I''m no expert, but I do let the experts do their thing. I don''t know tactics or battle command or anything like that, but I know people who do, and I let them do their own thing. You could do much the same, I imagine. Really, the problem with nobility is nobles assuming that they know things they shouldn''t."


    Alana nodded fervently. "Oh yes, that''s the case with people who are trying to understand how the world works all the time. If I have to explain to one more person that mice don''t just appear out of thin air when you leave spoiled food around, I think I''ll tear my hair out."


    I laughed. "Uh, how have you determined that?"


    She went on to explain an experiment that rather closely followed the scientific method for how she determined that insects and mice and such do not spontaneously manifest near things but rather come from outside. "Currently, I''m working on problems with trebuchets. I should be able to perfectly describe the projectile''s speed at any given point of the arc. Still, I am struggling to understand exactly how to do that."


    I blinked, considering the problem. "Hmm, you might need to take a derivative," I said, looking at the equation she had scrawled out on the napkin. "Right here, you have a position, but the rate of it," I said, pointing to a variable.


    "Yes, that is the position on the horizontal plane," she looked right at me. "A derivative? What is that?"


    "Hmm, how to explain this... It shows you the rate of change over time or something. Or is that the area under the curve?" I mumbled, trying to remember the three-quarters of calculus I had been forced to take forty years ago.

 Chapter 59:

    Chapter 59:


    I walked out of the strategy meeting, ignoring the stares, glares, and looks of confusion that followed me. I knew the true consternation of all the generals and other nobles wasn''t directed at me but rather at the Duchess trailing behind. She had a notebook tucked under her arm and a satchel with several bottles of ink and writing implements.


    As she followed a step behind me to my left, I grumbled something unintelligible. Still, she must have overheard me saying something. She just laughed in a low, rich, musical way and reached out to touch my elbow. I had been explicit in my rebuff of any attempt at closeness or affection she tried to show me. She wasn''t exactly happy about that, as she was preparing herself to possibly enter a marriage that would never happen for many, many reasons.


    This might have made her or anyone else avoid me or dislike me. Unfortunately, I may have tipped my hand a little too hard on too many other things for that to work. And as much as I was going to avoid any romantic entanglements with her, I actually enjoyed her company. Other than Loki, she was the first person I actually had things in common with from my previous life. She was far too much of a nerd but still sitting and talking rather than fighting. I would take what I could get.


    Sadly, it felt like we had less in common than we probably should. I was slowly coming to terms with how much my time in Valhalla changed me. Long meetings were just a part of my previous job. I had gotten used to them, even if no one enjoyed them. Now, though, they positively grated. Alana only helped shed light on this fact.


    I''d let her get too close and see too much of what I knew. Explaining the very basics of calculus had just been the start. Ever since then, she never left my side without significant protest and would steal every second of my spare time to pester me for extra knowledge. Unfortunately, she was so persistent and reminded me of my own daughter that I couldn''t say no to her. That was a problem, as she had taken it upon herself to be my historian. Apparently, great men like me¡ªher words, not mine¡ªneeded to have a record of what they did. In reality, this wasn''t limited to what I did; she also wrote down everything I said.


    Now, she followed me around with paper, pens, and even a notebook for when she couldn''t use ink. The sound of the scrawl of charcoal or pen nibs on parchment followed me everywhere. I learned to tune out her hastily copying down pretty much every word I said for the "historical record." But not everyone else had.


    I had fought it for a while, but eventually, I gave up. Now, this world was being introduced to all sorts of science and technology, which it probably wasn''t ready for. It wasn''t just technology. There were battle tactics that I vaguely half-remembered from studying things like Alexander the Great, Rome, or Medieval Knights. It was kind of flattering to receive such attention, but I had a feeling this wasn''t going to go over extremely well after I left this world.


    The biggest concern, though, was the image we were projecting. Alana had become very much subservient to me in the eyes of the nobility and generals. She was the Duchess sent to learn from me, for sure, but she was still a duchess, and I was a lowly count. Instead of acting her station, she acted more like a scribe. I couldn''t even speak regularly around her. Every time I accidentally dropped an idiom or some reference to something else, she would get a certain look in her eye and scribble something even faster in the margins. As soon as she got me alone, she''d pester me about what it meant and explain the concepts behind it. I just hadn''t realized how much of everyday speech was reliant on technology and things that didn''t exist here.


    I slumped into my sitting room as Alana finished taking down her notes, and I just looked up at the ceiling and sighed. In my previous life, I essentially played politics in a cutthroat business environment. But over the last year or so, since I''ve been dead, I seemed to have lost my taste for it. The endless meetings were nothing but frustrating. As well as maneuvering everyone. I received no satisfaction from the conquests of the backroom deal like I used to. It was as if the joy of battle had washed away any satisfaction.


    My heart didn''t race right when I was pulling the rug out from underneath my opponent or when I received the concession, and my will was imposed on the others. It was satisfying in some sense but now felt hollow.


    In order to combat this, I spent a decent amount of my time either meditating or training. I couldn''t really improve my stats or weapon efficiencies with my inferior body, but it was satisfying. Also, I now had a reputation to maintain as a master swordsman. One of the few things that helped the other nobles put up with me was that I was more than willing to teach.


    Several of the children of the nobility on the campaign were now my students. Teaching was as satisfying as fighting in some ways. This was one of the few reasons why Alana had been able to maintain her position at my side, with nothing more than strange looks and rumors being spread about her. She couldn''t care less, though. The only person who really seemed to object was Earl Ingress, and that was because he was technically Alana''s cousin and felt that she was disrespecting their house. But whenever he had cornered her to complain, it had fallen on deaf ears.


    "Can''t you lay off for a moment?" I complained to Alana. "Just write it down later or something. Every time you do this, you make a scene."


    She ignored me as she poured over her book. I hadn''t really expected a response to the argument we had what felt like hundreds of times. But after she finished pouring sand on the page and blowing on the ink to dry it, she looked up.


    "What''s a layoff?" she asked. I just rolled my eyes before figuring out how to explain.


    "When a company fires a bunch of employees at once due to situations outside their performance," I said in a monotone explanation, long since giving up on avoiding explanations that didn''t make sense. She would just have to figure it out.


    Luckily, she knew most of the terms at this point and never forgot a thing. She just nodded, making another note on a separate sheet of paper. As she did that, she said, "No, I can''t. I won''t remember everything. Do you realize during that strategy meeting that you potentially revolutionized warfare in about five different ways, and most of the people in the room didn''t even realize it?"


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    Her voice was rising. "If I hadn''t written some of this down, I would totally have forgotten about the details of the crank mechanism you just described for a crossbow. The idea is that you could use differentiating gear ratios to miniaturize them to improve the reload speed... I mean, if you work it right like you suggested, we could even have children firing them."


    I winced at the idea of child soldiers.


    "Not that I want to," she hurriedly explained at my reaction, "but it''s incredible."


    I shouldn''t have brought that point up nor explained it to everyone when they didn''t understand. Even if I started people making them now, we wouldn''t have enough for it to matter in the upcoming battle. Instead of explaining that, I just shrugged. "You know about gear ratios. You could have figured that out anyway."


    "Yes, but do you realize how long it takes for some inventions or ideas to move from one thing to another?"


    "Sorry. As I said before, I don''t know if really revolutionizing warfare all the time is a great idea. It''d be better if no one else knew how to do any of these things," I grumbled.


    Loki had been wrong about the level of technology in this world. It wasn''t exactly 400 years newer than Earth, but somewhere between 2000 and 400, depending on the technology. It had evolved in entirely different ways and was a weird mishmash.


    She finished writing something else and then said, "So no, I cannot just write this all down later. There are too many important things."


    Alan reached out and rang a bell by her desk. A second later, her handmaid came in. She handed the servant the stack of papers with some instructions.


    Not only had the Duchess decided she was going to follow me around and write everything down, but she also had a team of various scribes and engineers filing it and expanding on everything she found interesting. I suggested that she have an actual scribe write down everything I said, but her response was just that they would miss things and wouldn''t recognize what was important.


    To be fair, she was correct. I fully accepted that Alana was brilliant. I might have the experience of a culture that had technology for a long time and the advantage of a college education. Nevertheless, Alana''s brain worked in a way mine never could.


    "I never thought I''d miss Zoom meetings," I grumbled. "At least they had live transcription."


    Alana perked up at this. I looked at her flatly. "No, that involves computers. I''m not bothering to explain that."


    She whined wordlessly. Computers were where I had drawn the line. I explained electricity to her, and I told her until she figured out how to make a transistor, I wasn''t going to bother explaining anything about programming or computers. It was something I didn''t understand myself and wouldn''t be something she''d ever likely see in her lifetime. No matter how much she progressed in technology. She still complained about that whenever she could.


    The one advantage of her obsession was that the rare bits of romantic overtures she had attempted in the first couple of days had slowed down. A lot. She was just so obsessed with the current projects. Which was a relief. I couldn''t help but admit that she had grown on me. Not in any sort of romantic way, but I honestly didn''t mind having her around. And if she had continued in that way, it would have been incredibly awkward.


    I levered myself out of the chair and sighed. "Okay. I''m going to go to the training ground for a bit."


    She put down her quill. I paused; she never stopped in the middle of a sentence like that. I read worry in her eyes as she looked up at me and frowned. "They''re not that bad."


    I grumbled and shook my head. "Really, they''re not," she insisted.


    "Arron objects to my every plan just to argue," I said, throwing my hands up in the air. "He doesn''t even disagree with me. He just likes to argue, and it wastes so much time."


    "You''re not giving him credit. He''s just making sure that everything is thought out and everyone understands. You tend to bulldoze people in the conversation."


    I frowned. I wasn''t normally so forceful, but over the past month or two, my patience had been growing thin. I had been giving in to my dramatic side more and more. In Valhalla, I had been relatively cautious, as it was very much out of my depth and out of my element. But now that I was somewhere I was comfortable with, even if I had lost my enjoyment for.


    "Well, if they had better ideas," I said weakly, and she shook her pen at me.


    "You know they don''t. Besides, the king explicitly put you in charge, and even though I''m technically senior," she said, putting her fingers in air quotes around ''technically.'' That was a gesture she particularly loved and now uses at every opportunity. "Everyone knows you have my complete backing. So, pretty much what you say goes. Do you think you would normally get such a level of respect and deference from these people? Marquess and Earls are in that meeting with you, and many of them haven''t even said a single thing."


    "Are you sure you are only eighteen," I asked.


    She grimaced at me. "Stop calling me old."


    I just shook my head, not really in denial, but just exasperation. It was a good thing that she didn''t really understand the problem. "Fine, but I''m still going to go work out some stress."


    Alana looked down at her notes, and I interrupted her. "Don''t worry. I''ll be fine on my own."


    The scrim dripped from my words, but she just looked up and smiled.


    "I have no doubt you will be. But this can wait," she said, and she started packing away her things.

 Chapter 60:

    Chapter 60:


    When I walked down the stairs from my sitting room to the courtyard, I stopped briefly to look out of the window. I''d spent a little bit of time back in my own county after the siege, but that didn''t last long. There was no real connection to it for me, so I was more than comfortable leaving the captain and my advisors to run everything in my absence.


    Now, I was halfway across the country in a borrowed castle that belonged to the King. It might have been a nice vacation, but I was kept busy. Most of my time was spent wrangling all the different personalities in charge of providing troops for the war I was executing. So far, there had been an endless number of minor feuds and incidents. By some miracle, nothing major had blown up yet despite my unorthodox methods. But I didn''t hold my breath.


    We still had several weeks to go, and my counter had reset. Now, it was definitely high enough that only mass slaughter or war was going to satisfy it. If I agreed to be Loki''s champion again, I would make sure there was a less aggressive curve.


    None of my problems bothered me as I looked out over the mile or so of forest that I could see from the castle before it turned to plains. The battle would be out past the forest''s edge and on said plains. We would be maneuverable, but so would our enemy. That was perfect, though, I had many, many plans with the forest behind us.


    Still, despite my complaints, I had enjoyed my break from Valhalla''s violence and uncertainty. However, the fact that this was temporary was starting to wear on me. I had avoided making any real personal connections besides anyone with Alana, and she really hadn''t given me a choice.


    I respected a few people, the captain being one of them. I actually had avoided learning his name because, at this point, it was just funny. But even with the generals and my other vassals, I had many degrees of separation despite having a more casual time around them every once in a while.


    Alana followed me out of the room a minute later. This would have been annoying if I had been trying to get away from her. Even though she could be a bit much, I really did enjoy her company. It was nice having a friend who thought about things other than drinking and women.


    She had decided to attempt to learn the sword with me. Not that I had seen much progress from her, but she was trying and never missed a session. I guess I wasn''t the only one who found exercise cathartic.


    Alana caught up to me, and we continued down the stairs to the courtyard.


    Word spread the second I left my room, and I found a line of twelve of my students waiting for me in the training yard. They varied mainly in their states of readiness. Some were still wearing their fancy clothes. Others had changed, and some were sweating, panting, having raced to beat me here. I was surprised at their discipline, and I knew that not every one of them wanted to be here, but many of them did. Some parents were forcing them or had forced them, but as a whole, they seemed to enjoy my practices.


    It was different than the regular combat practice because I was bored with the standard drills. So, instead of endlessly smacking a dummy or doing one-on-one spars, I usually fought three or four of them at a time. Sometimes, I even gave myself other handicaps.


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    That was only one of the reasons they liked practicing with me. A large part of it was that I didn''t make them only learn the rapier. Instead, I gave them halberds, spears, maces, and flails. I even made a pair of nunchucks and made some of them use it as a joke. They were horrible with it. I had never figured out how to use it either, but they didn''t have to know that.


    Sometimes, I even provided one or two of them with a bow and padded arrows that they could shoot at me during the fight.


    The real secret to keeping them engaged was the chalkboard off to the side. There, I kept a record and a ladder board with points assigned to each person. Points were assigned by an endless number of criteria, depending on my mood. Sometimes, it was how many strikes they managed to land on me; sometimes, it was how many times they got hit or dodged. Everything was tallied, and sometimes, I would shout out bonus points mid-fight for particularly clever maneuvers. The competition was fierce. For the most part, it seemed to be bragging rights, though the prizes I offered were coveted as well. Personally, I didn''t see the appeal and thought they were pretty lame rewards, but they didn''t agree with me.


    I offered leadership positions in certain training exercises, along with temporary slots among my retainers. Other rewards included opportunities to sit in long, boring meetings with me. Despite the fact that I would never have wanted a lot of these rewards, they jockeyed for them with almost religious fervor. Alana was always picking my brain about the gamification of training, as I called it. She had started to try to figure out how she could use this to implement training for other troops. I wasn''t sure how this would work more on adults, but older teenagers seemed to be obsessed with this much more than any other motivation I could find. At least I was having fun.


    Alana, though, wasn''t really making much progress in her own martial combat, which was not surprising. A month was barely enough time to gain enough muscle to properly hold the sword. I had offered to teach her just daggers or rapiers, but she insisted on trying everything. I never let her actually spar yet; she just didn''t have control. So, while I played with my students, she had a padded dummy reserved just for her, where she would drill constantly.


    For her, the repetition wasn''t as boring as it was for me and everyone else. She could fall into a trance, hitting the dummy over and over. After a few weeks, her strikes slowly became less clumsy and more fluid. Now, I just took a few minutes to give her a few drills and left her alone for the session. She would often take breaks just to watch the rest of us before continuing on. Her small and thin frame hadn''t changed much, but you could see a slight bit of definition in her arms now, much to the consternation of many other ladies of the court.


    The gossip never seemed to bother her. When I asked her about it, she just told me that I should have seen it when she was just buried in her books. I let it go but kept an eye on it. Despite it being none of my business, I felt oddly responsible for her.


    One of the students fetched the ball I had been carefully making over the past week. He threw it at me, and I bounced it a few times on the packed earth. I grinned, satisfied with its bounce and heft. It wasn''t perfect, but it would do.


    "Jared and Mike, you''re team captains," I said as servants wheeled out the hoops on either side of the courtyard. The team selection began, and I could see the students smile more as we began our warm-up with something not combat-related.


    Eventually, we had to stop with basketball and actually get into swordsmanship. Even the crowd-watching had gotten pretty into the game. We tallied up the points on a separate leaderboard before we began with the spars. Unfortunately, though, before we could even finish the first round of combat, a messenger rushed into the courtyard.


    I walked over to greet him.


    "Sir, the scouts'' reports have come in, and it appears the enemy has arrived early," he said, handing me a slip of paper. I skimmed through it, deciphering the code words that I had drilled into the scouts, and frowned. Early was a bit of an understatement. I beckoned, and one of my followers came forward with paper and pen.


    I put it against the wall and started writing instructions, handing them off to one messenger after another as soon as I finished writing them. It appeared that we were in more of a rush than I thought. The battle probably wouldn''t actually take place early, but we needed to be in a position now to make sure that we chose the field. I''d have to say goodbye to the comforts of living in a castle and get used to living in a tent again. At least they''d be able to move my bed.

 Chapter 61:

    Chapter 61:


    On the appointed day, my army had already taken the field. The soldiers streamed out behind me, forming seemingly endless rows that stretched to the horizon. At least far enough that I couldn''t see the end of the lines over the hills on either side.


    I rode my horse parallel to the formation, nearly 100 feet out, letting the troops see me. This was normally the job of a King or some such leader, but Alana insisted that I do this myself. She even left my side for this. Not that I felt alone. Careful thought had gone into picking my armor and horse. The armor was a brilliant crimson with my chest on it. My head was uncovered, and my face was free. The stallion beneath me was pure white and a hand taller than most other horses. Every aspect of my image had been carefully cultivated to inspire confidence.


    The minor pushback from the rest of the nobility had been stifled by the enthusiastic supporters. I had gained the faith of troops the last month and a half. From the setup to training drills that had been running for the past month, people started to believe. All the officers and men were extremely happy to see me out there. As I slowly walked the horse, a low thrum of cheering soldiers echoed in my ears. With a serious expression on my face, I looked down at the horse''s mane in front of me as if deep in thought.


    Every once in a while, I''d glance over at my enemy, where they sat in a row, commanders doing similar things as me.


    Their numbers had surprised us. Apparently, they had learned that we knew they were coming and had planned accordingly. They outnumbered us two to one. But despite the nerves I was feeling, my soldiers didn''t feel threatened at all. They had an absurd level of confidence, and only last night I had found out why.


    A certain someone had been spreading legends about me. The tales I heard around the campfire and the songs that had been adapted to use my name were just absurd. There were songs about how I danced with death, stole a kiss, and then left it behind. How I had been soldiering since I was three years old. My mother was Battle, and my father was the March. How the gods themselves had taught me combat and how I had learned strategy from the goddess of war herself.


    The reason why I confronted Alana about it was because I recognized one of the songs being sung. The particular song about dancing with the Master of Shadows is from a story I had told Alana a week or so before.


    When I asked her about it, she simply laughed and said the camp rumor mill was a strange place. I didn''t buy that for a second. But I trusted she knew what she was doing.


    Still, my men were right not to feel too concerned. I was worrying a lot about everything, but we did have a plan. We had arrived at this battlefield two weeks ago and had been subtly preparing it ever since. There wasn''t quite enough time to move the hills, but there were all sorts of other things we had time for.


    The terrain was modified to be nearly perfect for what we wanted to do, similar to how I had arranged some of the first battles here. Boulders broke up where enemies would charge us. The ground was flat and level where we planned to attack in mass with our own forces.


    Our troops were well-trained to follow orders and read the signaling flags that I had introduced. The large poles that held the flags were visible from all over the planes. We had made sure that the poles were tall enough.


    The flags could relay commands that were much more complicated than the usual trumpet blasts. We had drilled endlessly. Until we could execute tight formations perfectly. Where we would have light cavalry hit and then heavy cavalry split through the center a half second later. There were plans to disguise heavy cavalry as light cavalry and light cavalry as heavy cavalry. We had more mounted infantry running drills with bows for the past month. They would be archers that moved with speed and then were ''accidentally'' left behind but suddenly ready to fight. Our tricks were endless.


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    The introduction of recurve bows was also a game-changer. They were small enough that they could be drawn from horseback with ease. And because of that, they could get much closer. Also, firing into a mass of enemies didn''t require nearly as much training. The mass of crossbows and crossbow loaders hidden off to the side of the field was Alana''s favorite surprise we had in store.


    Alana had made several contributions, too. Her work with trebuchet calculations had proven useful, and a half-remembered black powder recipe had changed them from stones to primitive bombs. Those were some of the things I was most worried about doing damage to our forces, too. But all in all, I thought we had a pretty good chance to win decisively.


    I stopped front and center of the ranks and held up one hand, a hush falling over the men. Not everyone could hear me, but the officers would repeat what I said to the men behind them. Alana had me practice giving this speech several times. Not practicing what I was going to say, but the pauses and the amount of time I would need for the words to travel without being overdramatic.


    "My brothers in arms," I started, pausing for my sentence to be repeated all throughout the army. Once I saw the ripples die down in the back and over the sides of the hills, I continued, "This is the first clash and will not be your last clash. Before us stands your enemy, my enemy, the kingdom''s enemy."


    I paused, allowing my words to travel. "They come to take your land, to take your families, to change the way you live."


    "But they cannot have it." I was worried that this would sound corny. Or someone would call me out for stealing from some fantasy author, but no one did. I was lucky to have nearly an endless supply of pithy and profound quotes that no one had ever heard.


    "It is a long road ahead of us." The murmurs died down.


    "It is a long road," I repeated, "but one we shall walk together!"


    I drew my sword and lifted it high, yelling the last line. The words rippled through the ranks even as the cheers drowned them out. Rearing my horse, I wheeled, and with a slash of my sword downwards, I signaled the charge.


    This was a bit off-script, but even as I moved, the line of horses and men surged forward in a carefully practiced set of maneuvers. I was at the head nearly 100 feet as I charged the enemy ranks. I was supposed to have stayed put and let them stream past me, but this was better. Judging by the noise behind me, it seemed to be far more inspiring.


    I tuned all that out as the enemy started to stir. Their generals were still talking as I had been. But they had seen me still out in front so my last-minute decision had caught them off guard. Now, they were scrambling to get behind their lines. The speeches they had been giving were cut off, and their troops attempted to form a shield wall to meet our charge.


    But I had a different idea. Right before I reached the range of their spears, I turned. Arrows from both sides started to pour out. I was targeted by several, but my sudden turn and running parallel along the enemy line caused many of the archers to miss as they attempted to hit me instead of the soldiers behind me.


    All but the first few lines of lancers behind had bows, and they rained down arrows as fast as they could fire while riding into the enemy ranks. They didn''t hit the shields in the first ranks but rather deeper into the formation, and it started to shift as the arrows landed.


    As my horse galloped parallel to the enemy line, I carefully took my feet out of my stirrups and stood on my saddle.


    Still holding my sword high, I gauged the timing of our charge. Just before they caught up with me, I leaped. Flashing with a Dance of the Jester, I slipped through the enemy''s spears and over their lines.

 Chapter 62:

    Chapter 62:


    As I sailed through the air, I pulled out my dagger with my left hand from its sheath in the small of my back. Was this reckless? Maybe. But after months, I felt alive again.


    I landed while spinning. A flurry of blades surrounded me as my spell took effect. The use of the spell was taking advantage of one of the more recent alterations I had made. I now could make the motion less about movement and more just about speed.


    Four of the soldiers around me fell, creating a gap in the shield wall. It was just a small gap in a very long line.


    A half second later, the impact of lances on shields, pikes into horses, and horses on people, and then, people on people resounded through the entire line.


    Even the small gap I created allowed a dozen horses to penetrate deep into enemy ranks. The pressure forced the edge of the shield wall to buckle, and more and more streamed through. Each one forced the gap even wider. This was also just one of many places where our charge broke through.


    I Danced between the charging horses as they streamed past me. When I got through, I had only a few seconds of calm before the second wave hit.


    All the horses that hadn''t made it through the shield wall either died or broke off. The riders guided their mounts through the perfectly coordinated formation where the second and third waves of horses left gaps for just this purpose.


    The second wave hit, and I located my horse and Danced toward it. I grabbed its reins just in time for the third wave to slam into the enemy formation. By this point, the shield wall was completely decimated, and the charge just ran it over. Only the pikes behind it prevented the entire enemy formation from being overrun.


    Our cavalry disengaged, and the mounted archers and mounted infantry with short bows sat 50 yards away, pouring arrows into the enemy formation. The enemy''s archers started to adjust their aim to return fire, but as they did, we sprung our first real surprise.


    The crossbow unit that had been hiding since before dawn stood up from the tall grass off to the side and released a barrage of over a thousand crossbow bolts into the archers'' flank. This gave time for the mounted archers to retreat back into formation. Before they completely disengaged, the mounted infantry dismounted and handed their mounts off to the archers. They would take the horses back to camp. The infantry formation assembled its own shield wall and began a slow march in on the disorganized remains of the enemy lines.


    I slipped back up onto my horse, ready to rejoin the fight, when I saw a messenger. A striped messenger uniform raced toward me, with no armor on the horse or man. The small-statured man bent low over the horse''s neck as it moved at a pace I could never hope to match. The horse skittered to a halt.


    "The Duchess calls you back to the command tent, my lord. You are needed," the messenger said.


    I groaned, highly doubting that I was actually needed. Rather, she was just very unhappy that I had not told her this part of my plan. Still, I felt that my part was done as the infantry closed in on the disarrayed enemy.


    The reason for the slow approach was obviously made a second later. I put a comforting hand on the neck of my horse as the trebuchets launched. The whistling of the metal containers filled the air as they launched deep into the ranks of the enemy troops. A half second later, the concussions of over a ton of black powder exploded across the thirty different payloads. The shock wave shook the ground, startling the horses. Bits of shrapnel tore apart large sections of the enemy''s ranks. I was just glad that none of them had fallen short.


    Along the way, I checked my medallion. Within seconds of the collision, I had met my quota, and nearly a thousand people had already died so far. Looking behind me, I expected a lot more would die by the time the day was over. Even though the enemy still outnumbered us, they were in disarray and being pushed farther back, out of position. The crossbow unit had gotten a second and third volley off, decimating their unprotected archers and cutting down their ranged units by half. And we were only just starting.


    We continued back toward the command tent. Before we made it, two more flights of trebuchet shots had already landed, and the enemy''s horns were sounding some signals. As I dismounted, I sent a command, and the flag for harrying the retreat was raised. I watched along the battle lines as the flag changed and the light cavalry started their trot earlier than they were anticipating. Still, they were ready to start chasing our enemies across the plains as the Aldorians retreated. The infantry stepped back, letting the enemy disengage cleanly.


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    As I stepped into the command tent, a wave of cheers met me as the officers and guards clapped and bowed at my entrance. I waved for silence and surveyed the room. Not everyone was happy to see me. Several of the more ambitious nobles looked a little annoyed. Foremost among them was Earl Ingress. The most annoyed, though, was Alana, who looked like she was about to slap me. Instead, she settled for poking me in the chest, roughly pushing me back with the force of her jab.


    "That was stupid," she hissed.


    I lifted a shoulder in a nonchalant shrug. "It was necessary," I lied.


    She sent me a glare, even as she assumed her position a little off to my left and behind me, her pen ready.


    "Anything to report?" I asked to room.


    I received a series of simple reports that confirmed everything I saw. Our plan had worked better than we had even hoped, and the enemy had suffered incredible losses. Many casualties, if not many dead yet. I pulled out my stone medallion and watched as the numbers didn''t so much tick up but flew. Even now, many of the enemies were still dying of wounds from the shrapnel or the initial clash.


    "Very well," I said. "Continue the plan. Let them withdraw and harry them on their way back. If they look to make a stand, we''ll hit them hard again. But for now, I think we can say this is looking like a victory."


    I could push harder now, but it really wasn''t necessary. I had nothing to gain from it, and we''d only risk losing our own troops. Besides, we didn''t even use half of the tactics I had developed for this, and if they thought that they could try again, they would be sorely disappointed. And if we hit them now, they''d be backed into a corner. And I didn''t think that would be best for anyone.


    Business as usual continued in the tent as messengers came and went. The map was updated as the enemy retreated. With the rotation I''d set up, information was never more than a few minutes out of date, at least from the view of the outside. Next time, though, I was going to have them build a tower, and we were going to have open walls so we could see the battlefield in real time rather than have to get reports. It wasn''t like we were in a forest or the battlefield was large enough that, with enough height, we couldn''t get a good image of everything.


    For the most part, though, my commanders knew their job, and everything went smoothly. Alana was still quietly stewing behind me, but I didn''t have anything interesting to say to distract her as everything was working. All the interesting stuff had happened over the past month. Now was just the execution of a plan. No surprises, no nothing.


    I thought that too soon, though. A messenger came in, and instead of just updating the numbers on the map, he came up to me.


    "My lord, the reserves went in early," he said.


    I blinked. "What?"


    "The reserves. Captain Tomlin ordered their advance."


    "Why? What happened? Did the enemy do something unexpected? Is he cutting off a flanking maneuver?" I asked, thoroughly confused. Captain Tomlin had struck me as a reasonable man, but as far as I could tell, there was no reason for him to be moving.


    The messenger shook his head. "Uh, not that I see, sir."


    "How much did he take?" I asked, wondering if maybe he wanted personal glory and had taken just a couple squads or something.


    "Um, all of them, sir," the messenger swallowed.


    I looked at the map and grimaced. It had been a bit of a gamble to have the reserves double as camp guards and outpost protection. Still, I figured if we needed the reserves, we were likely in trouble. If we were winning, well, the reserves would be just fine. If we were in trouble, we needed everything we could get anyway. That was a mistake I wouldn''t make again.


    "Call the fifth unit back," I said, looking at the map. They were the closest. "Tell them to get in position to defend the right flank where the reserves were."


    "Yes, sir," he said, snapping a salute and running out of the tent.


    "Hmmm." I hummed. Normally, the messengers called me "milord," not "sir."


    Looking up from the map, I heard a warning blast from a horn nearby as the sound of hooves echoed through the camp.


    "Alaric, what is that?" Alana asked with a hint of nerves in her voice.

 Chapter 63:

    Chapter 63:


    I was still cursing the arrogant captain under my breath when I moved to the tent entrance.


    "I''m never having walls in the command tent again," I muttered to myself as I poked my head out against the protests of my personal guards.


    Stepping out of the tent, I looked around to see where the hoofbeats were coming from. Finding the source, I grimaced as I recognized those were not any of our colors. It appeared that while the enemy was in a full route, they wouldn''t go down without a fight. Seeing the opening in our camp, they had sent some fast riders around the sides of the battle. Now, an entire squadron of around 100 light cavalry units was coming with torches, ready to set fire to our tent and probably abduct any generals or nobility they could.


    I moved out of the way, and the guards filed out of the tent. There were only fifteen of them, but they were elite warriors. However, they had no horses. The five-to-one odds without horses were not something I would count on. No, not alone.


    Looking around, I saw that another ten or so officers and nobles were forming up behind the guards. That wasn''t going to be enough. Past them were the non-combatants. The corps of scribes were the generals'' wives and their servants and maids. Alana was herding them all together and out of the way. This was going to get ugly.


    I was just glad the approaching enemy didn''t have any ranged weapons on them. It gave me a few seconds to think. If I didn''t come up with something brilliant, though, they would end up running us down with ease.


    My heart sank into my stomach as I desperately searched for some sort of escape. Were there horses or something we could maybe ride away on? No, the pickets were too far. There were no choke points, just flimsy tents that the horses were trampling over.


    I looked at the defenders. The guards stood shoulder-to-shoulder with me, unflinching. It was easy to see the concern on their faces. But at the same time, it was obvious they trusted me. They would stand until the end. It wasn''t enough. Still, I gave a few orders, and they fanned out into a wedge, supporting each other. It wasn''t going to do much against the charging horses.


    Looking over my shoulder, my eyes met with Alana''s. There were so many vulnerable behind men. I cursed. This could go very badly. Returning my attention back to the charging horses, I watched as they stepped up into a canter. When they crossed 100 yards away from us, I made my decision.


    "Hold," I commanded and broke ranks. Sheathing my dagger, I reached over and pulled out the backup sword from the guard standing next to me. Then I started to run.


    As quickly as I could, I picked up speed. Seeing the loan man charging, the leading cavalry lowered their lances at me. My charge didn''t slow down at all. Reading my two swords, I ducked low under the lance.


    With explosive power, I stepped up, casting Dance of the Jester. I flashed forward with the most efficient mana usage possible. Not trying to suppress the other aspects of the spell made it actually the flashiest it could be.


    I glowed and sparked, afterimage after afterimage darting through the line of horses. With each step, I shifted sideways. As I moved, I slashed. My targets were nothing lethal, just horses'' and riders'' legs. The cavalry was twenty abreast, and I managed to make it across all twenty in a half second, cutting out the front legs of the leftmost horse and the rear legs of the rightmost horse.


    The riders tumbled as the horses sprawled to the ground, screaming in agony. The horses behind tripped and piled up. Some were able to leap clear, but not most of them. I flashed after those that made it free.


    My swords hacked in a dervish of blades as they searched for every tendon. When the backup sword I borrowed lodged in a bone and cracked, I borrowed one from the owner of the horse as he fell.


    I felt my head start to throb as I burned through my remaining mana. The display was a magnificent finale that made me sick to my stomach with the amount of blood that flew around me.


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    Finally, panting, I stopped on the other side of the horses. Almost every horse was injured at this point, and half the riders had been maimed or crushed beneath the horses. The rest tumbled free but were slow to get up. I stood panting, out of breath, out of energy. My head throbbed from lack of mana.


    Slowly, the feeling came back to my body. My joints hurt from repeated strain. I probably had stress fractures in my legs and feet. I had cuts all over from where lucky slashes had gotten to me.


    I took a step, and my knee almost buckled. Pushing the pain down, I took a second step after the mob of soldiers. They looked confused, but they didn''t lose sight of their targets as they sped toward the guards.


    The guards rushed forward to meet them, still outnumbered more than two to one.


    The engagement was bloody. All but two of the officers joined in the fray, and I stumbled one step after another toward the melee. I watched as soldiers on both sides fell. I forced my legs to move faster, but it barely made any difference.


    By the time I reached the back, the battle was almost over. Many of the enemy cavalry had been cut down, as fighting on foot wasn''t their forte. Still, the weight of numbers prevailed, and all 15 of the guards lay dead or injured, along with several of the nobles.


    Earl Ingress led a force of three nobles standing between the non-combatants and the eight remaining cavalry officers. Then I reached them.


    I cut down two from behind before they even noticed me. Forcing out one more burst of Dance of the Jester, I cut through them one at a time until the last one was stabbed through the chest by the Earl and his men. I watched as the servants rushed over to check for wounded on our side.


    My eyes found Alana. Her mouth hung open, and her eyes were wide as she walked toward me. People milled around, but I seemed lost. I lost track of time slightly as people moved about me. My attention was fleeting, and I focused only on my friend''s face, looking for a sense of fear or accusation. I knew witchcraft was not particularly appreciated here, and it was rather obvious what I had done.


    Relief flooded me as I only read the concern on her face. I didn''t know why I cared so much. My mind had a moment of clarity and remembered that Dance of the Jester wasn''t my only spell. Concentrating on the absolute last dregs of my mana, I forced out a powerful burst of Fool''s Constitution, and I lit up like a firework. I saw Alana''s eyes go wide, and I just smiled at her through the light show. But then her mouth opened in a scream.


    "No!"


    A fierce pain shot through my chest. I looked down to find four inches of a sword poking out of my rib cage.


    "Witch¡­. Possessed." Words came from somewhere around me.


    I attempted to breathe in and felt nothing but burbling fluid enter my lungs. It missed my heart somehow. I could feel the beat as it pumped fluid into my chest cavity.


    Turning, I found Earl Ingress standing behind me. He let go of the blade, pale-faced with abject fear on his face.


    "Witchcraft," He repeated breathlessly.


    I reached behind me and yanked, pulling the blade out slowly in an almost impossible motion that nearly dislocated my shoulder. He just stared at me as I pulled the blade out of my back.


    With the same blade from my back, I rammed it through his sternum, and he fell to his knees. His lips moved one more time, but nothing came out.


    I tried to activate Fool''s Constitution one more time, but I had no more mana left. Completely run dry, my head was filled with a spike of pure pain.


    A screech behind me caused me to turn again. The world moved at a snail''s pace as I tried to move. I nearly fell over, but my legs held for a moment longer.


    The last two nobles stood behind me. One had his sword drawn back for a strike at my neck. Before the blow could land, a screaming Alana threw herself at him, grabbing his arm, staying my execution.


    He paused and looked down at her in surprise. The other noble didn''t freeze and buried his blade deep into her ribs. And I heard her gasp out the last breath in her lungs.


    My vision went red, pain forgotten, breathing forgotten. I knew I only had seconds. Lunging forward, I couldn''t even begin to describe how those two men died. I could only see the horror in the faces of the non-combatants watching us from a distance away.


    Stretching my arm out to Alana''s still body, I collapsed, unable to reach her. As I looked up into the sky from my knees, a familiar smiling face filled my vision.

 Chapter 64:

    Chapter 64:


    "Hello again, Miles," Mary''s musical voice echoed around me. Her words fell on deaf ears though as I looked around.


    The world around me had faded into shadowy shapes. And I was having trouble seeing where I was. My soul had left my body, which lay beneath me. I looked over to where Alana''s form had been. I was so focused that I didn''t respond.


    Mary waved her hand, and I could see all around me. Thousands of Valkyries were scattered around the field of battle, offering warriors a chance to go to Valhalla. Many bodies had no Valkyrie over them. I couldn''t tell if their souls rested there, waiting for something to come and get them. Or if they were already claimed.


    The Valkyrie crouching down over Alana''s prone form had long black hair and elegant white wings. I called out, "Alana!"


    My voice echoed in my own ears, and I wasn''t sure if anything could hear me beyond Mary. Slowly, Alana''s spiritual head lifted to face me. She looked down at the body and then at me, confusion filling her face. Looking down, I found my own body rather than Alaric. She had never met Miles.


    "Alana," I said, "when you get there, look for Miles."


    She mouthed something at me, but I couldn''t hear. She said it again when I shook my head in confusion, but I think I could read her lips. She mouthed, "Miles?"


    I could almost hear the question in her tone.


    "Yes, Miles," I said, nodding vigorously.


    She gave me a half nod before looking up at her Valkyrie. A second later, the woman was enveloped in a hug. A stream of light shot up into the sky around them, and then they were both gone.


    "Hello, my warrior," Mary said. "Hello, Miles." Now, she had my full attention. "I''ve come to retrieve you, to Valhalla."


    I smiled and sighed. This had not worked out how I wanted it, but at least I knew Alana was going somewhere I could find her. Somewhere, she could definitely continue exploring the nature of reality. Hopefully, she''d find that even more interesting than the nature of this small world.


    "It''s good to see you again, Mary," I repeated. "How have you been?"


    She smiled. "I''m glad to see you as well. It''s been eventful back home. But I won''t bore you with the politics of it all. Anyways, I was wondering where you had gone when you just vanished."


    "Yeah, I was in a bit of hot water," I explained. "Hopefully, it died down a bit during my vacation."


    She smiled. "Yes, those blessed by Loki generally tend to get in trouble occasionally. It''s always entertaining to watch."


    I was only slightly surprised that she knew I was blessed by Loki, so I just shrugged. "Yeah, well, it wasn''t my intention."


    "It never is," she said, taking me up into her arms and soaring high through the sky. We left the planet behind, and I was enveloped in darkness.


    Instead of immediately appearing over the mountain like last time, I found myself in a familiar-looking diner, sitting across from Loki, who had a pleased smile on his face.


    "Miles, welcome back. I honestly didn''t expect you to last that long," he said.


    I shrugged. "Yeah, I got kind of lucky in some ways. I think I could have made it another month or two if... Well, I kind of screwed up at the end."


    Loki shook his head. "No, no, you did really, really well. Exceeded your quota by so much. You''re actually really lucky that I''m giving you rewards instead of the automatic system. You would have hit the cap long, long ago."


    I grimaced. "A cap?"


    Loki lifted a shoulder. "Yeah. There''s only so much power we can cram into your bodies at once. But I can give you more than just power."


    He waved his hand, and my stat sheet appeared floating in the air in front of me. I scanned it quickly but had to read it if it was not more carefully and remember it.


    Level: 17


    Status: Tier 4: Valhalla Proper


    Class: Arcane Fool, Lvl 10


    Subclass: N/A


    Traits:


    Incisive Gaze


    Loki''s Champion


    Skills:


    Mana Perception Enhanced


    Spells:


    A Fool''s Constitution


    Dance of the Jester


    Weapon proficiencies


    Sword: D-1


    Spear: F-2


    Striking: F-7


    Halberd: D-3


    Dagger: D-4


    Grappling: F-7


    Stats


    Strength: 37


    Speed: 63


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    Constitution: 22


    Focus: 40


    Charm: 15


    Free Points: 25


    Blessing: Loki''s Favor


    Strength: +2


    Speed: +2


    Constitution: +2


    Focus: +6


    Charm: +10


    Jester Shop Access


    Additional effects: ???


    Loki''s Champion is a gift that imbues the character with the essence of the Norse trickster god, Loki, granting exceptional skills in leading armies through cunning and deception. Characters with this trait are masters of illusion and stealth, creating convincing mirages and executing surprise attacks that bewilder opponents. Their heightened agility and reflexes allow for quick, decisive maneuvers on the battlefield, making them formidable leaders in chaotic situations. Additionally, they possess an innate talent for persuasion, often bending enemy leaders to their will or turning foes into allies with their silver tongues.


    The Loki''s Champion trait also brings an aura of chaos and unpredictability, which can be leveraged to create confusion and disarray among enemy ranks. This chaotic influence can lead to unexpected advantages in battle but also carries a degree of risk with potentially unintended consequences. Embracing this trait means commanding with a blend of strategic brilliance and mischievous ingenuity, thriving in situations where conventional tactics might fail. Whether seen as a blessing or a curse, Loki''s Champion ensures a dynamic and adventurous path in the art of war.


    Illusion magic +200%


    Charm +5


    The first thing I noticed was that I gained five general levels and five class levels. I looked at how far my stats had come, as well as all the ones waiting to be assigned, and I couldn''t help grinning.


    It wouldn''t surprise me if I was more than twice as effective in combat since I had left Valhalla. After a second of excitement dying down, I noticed that the stat points didn''t just line up. With the levels I had gained, I shouldn''t have got this many new stats.


    Then, I looked down at the blessing section. My blessing had advanced from Loki''s Eye to Loki''s Favor. Interesting. Now, it gave me boosts to all stats. And a new stat: Charm.


    I was surprised that my class didn''t offer any Charm stats, as I felt Charm would be very important to a fool-related class. Maybe it was just because I didn''t have access to it at the time. Or maybe I wasn''t allowed to get any classes that required me to have the stat unlocked. Hard to say.


    I also had a new trait with a description. The description seemed general, but underneath that, it indicated a tripling of my illusion magic proficiency if it compounded with my class effect. My illusion magic took a massive step forward, even if it was just an additive effect.


    Loki watched me carefully as I processed all the information.


    "That''s just the first part. Just as much as you can gain all at once, plus a few other extra things from me. But that''s not all," he said.


    I looked up. "There''s more?"


    Honestly, this would be quite acceptable for everything I had done, as far as I was aware.


    "Of course, you brought thousands of people to Valhalla for us. Even if I hadn''t made the bargain, I probably would have given you something extra. Though not this, maybe." Loki pulled out an ordinary-looking dagger, almost indistinguishable from the one he had given me so long ago. "This is special."


    I looked at it. It looked rather normal to me. "How so?"


    "I call it the Edge of Folly," Loki said. "It is made from something I had gotten during the misadventures of my youth. It has some effects you will probably learn as you grow, but the first one is that only you can see it."


    I held the dagger in my hand. It looked normal and felt normal. But if only I could perceive it..


    "It has certain caveats, of course. Once you strike someone with it or if it''s coated in someone''s blood, other people will probably be able to see it, but that will depend on your own stats."


    I looked at it. "Thank you," I said. "This will be very useful."


    Loki smiled. "Oh, you don''t know anything about it yet. The iron it was made out of was forged with ground bones from the front paw of a child of Fenrir. It was quenched in the blood of the World Serpent. It will never dull, and you can never lose it. It is a unique item and one that has never had an owner. By the time I had it, I had no use for it. So it is pure as the driven snow, ready to bond with you. As you grow, it might grow with you."


    Loki waved his hand, a new line adding itself to my status. "I''m going to give you early access to this."


    Jester club access appeared under my blessings.


    "Just in case you need a little help forming a new party," he said.


    I smiled. "Well, we''ll have to see. But I''ll have to talk to Bjorn and everyone."


    Loki shrugged. "You do whatever you like. I never get involved with my partner''s personal matters. But once you''re ready for something more serious, I have another task you might enjoy if you''re willing to stay in Valhalla for a bit longer."


    "Stay in Valhalla?" I asked.


    Loki nodded. "Well, I imagine we can find you other chances to go on more of these trips if you like, though you will need some time to consolidate your power before I send you off again. If I push you off too quickly, things could destabilize, especially at your low level."


    I didn''t like the sound of that, so I was more than willing to wait. Also, I kind of missed Valhalla. "I''m not sure," I said. "I''ll have to think about it."


    "Please do," Loki said. "Also, it would be nice to Mary. She does more for you than you know."


    I wasn''t sure what to make of that, but "Mary is the best," I said, and Loki gave me a cheerful smile before waving me out of his lounge.


    ***


    I was back in Mary''s arms. We soared through the darkness for a second more. Then, a glowing light enveloped us, and I closed my eyes.


    When the light went away we were flying over a mountain with a bonfire on its summit. The height of the peak was unbelievable. It must have been several times taller than Mount Everest. And it looked very familiar.


    The whole way down was covered in buildings, halls, towers, and ships half buried in the mountain. The ones at the top were made of beautiful black glass; the further down, the lower the material quality. After the glass, it was a stunning marble, then granite.


    It seemed that I was coming back into Valhalla from the outside instead of just being reborn.


    People milled about all over, doing various things. But they were far enough away that I couldn''t make out any details. They all looked like ants as we soared down the slopes of the mountain. At the base, I saw a feasting hall made of rough-cut timber. It was so long that I couldn''t see the end as it curved around the mountain and out of sight.


    The Lesser Hall. That was not a welcome sight.


    "Mary, aren''t we going back to Valhalla Proper?" I asked with some nerves in my voice. She didn''t answer.


    But no, we didn''t go to the Lesser Hall. We soared over that building and kept going. Briefly, we flashed over a courtyard with feasting tables set up in a foot of snow. We flew over a wall with spear points on the top, interspersed with wrought iron gates.


    Once we were over the wall, Mary set me down in a snowbank outside of a gate. I remembered what Loki had said about Mary and just sighed in exasperation. At least it wouldn''t be hard to get out of here again, though it was annoying to have to.


    "Thanks for the lift, Mary," I said as I stood up.


    "You''re welcome, Miles." She graced me with a smile. "I expect many more great things from you."


    Then she was off.


    I only had to wait a few moments before the blackness of the challenge surrounded me, and I was summoned to fight.

 Epilogue: Announcement + Book 2 plans

    Epilogue:


    Loki gave his trademark sly smile when his favorite Valkyrie walked into the lounge a few minutes after his most recent champion left. She gave him a hard look, an expression that was wholly unsuited for her soft and gentle face.


    "You know, I had my doubts when you had me bend the rules to bring him here," she said.


    Loki knew this and just nodded. She wasn''t his servant. She was just a partner¡ªa lesser partner, of course, but a business partner and sometimes a friend. But that didn''t mean she was always going to agree with him.


    "And what do you think now?" he asked.


    "He''s doing well, but he''s still too soft," she said.


    "He still has some time to grow."


    "He had better¡± Mary warned.


    Time isn''t as tight as you think," Loki answered calmly.


    She glared at him. "You clearly haven''t been paying enough attention then."


    "You worry too much," Loki responded. "Miles will be ready. And besides, he''s not the only one that matters."


    "It''s easy for you to say," Mary said. "But if you allow me, maybe I can get more involved with his training," she said hopefully.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    Loki considered it. She did have a point, and he forced down the devious smile. It was his favorite when he could do something he was already planning on doing and have many people think he was doing them a favor.


    "Miles would like that, wouldn''t he?" Loki said. "Perhaps I''ll keep that in mind next time I need a reward."


    He and Mary chatted for a bit. Eventually, she left, and Loki frowned, focusing on the hundreds of partitions of his lounge as various copies of himself talked to many of his blessed simultaneously. This partition was just idle, the thought thread of a god accumulating all the small plans that he was executing. But things were shaping up nicely. As much as he wasn''t a huge fan of his father, he did have to say the man certainly knew his business.


    <h2>Final Status: </h2>


    Level rewards: +3 Focus, +1 Speed, +2 Free points


    Level: 17


    Status: Tier 4: Valhalla Proper


    Class: Arcane Fool, Lvl 10


    Subclass: N/A


    Traits:


    Incisive Gaze


    Loki''s Champion


    Skills:


    Mana Perception Enhanced


    Spells:


    A Fool''s Constitution


    Dance of the Jester


    Weapon proficiencies


    Sword: D-1


    Spear: F-2


    Striking: F-7


    Halberd: D-3


    Dagger: D-4


    Grappling: F-7


    Stats


    Strength: 37


    Speed: 63


    Constitution: 22


    Focus: 40


    Charm: 15


    Free Points: 25


    Blessing: Loki''s Favor


    Strength: +2


    Speed: +2


    Constitution: +2


    Focus: +6


    Charm: +10


    Jester Shop Access


    Additional effects: ???

 EV B2 Chapter 1:

    EV B2 Chapter 1:


    The second time I died... Well, that wasn¡¯t entirely a fair statement. I¡¯d died many, many more times than just twice. But this was the second time I died for real, from a real life. I didn¡¯t even see the feasting halls of the Lesser Hall of Valhalla. No, it wasn¡¯t long before I was staring up at a cheering crowd as Baldur gave a speech similar to the one Thor had given last time I was here.


    I breathed heavily, slightly wounded in a few spots but relatively untouched from the run through the twelve-man gauntlet. It had been a breeze. There was never a moment where the result of any fight was in doubt. I hadn¡¯t come close to getting injured severely enough to hinder my ability to fight any more than anyone else. Still, I was extremely anxious as I scanned the crowd. My heart raced as I looked through the faces. Would anyone recognize me?


    I had returned to my previous body, the body of Miles, rather than that of Alaric. Surprisingly, I didn¡¯t have a strong feeling one way or the other about it. I had gotten so used to the temporary body I was in, but I also knew that I could only stay here so long. There were only so many souls I could truly accomplish, and even if I hadn¡¯t been betrayed, I would have likely been back here within a few months, a year at the most.


    Scanning the crowd, I didn¡¯t see anyone pointing or crying out. I remembered there had been a big uproar when I last left, but that was a while ago, and I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if everything had died down. Besides, I didn¡¯t know if there was anything official¡ªwanted posters, or crimes. I don¡¯t even think there were any laws in particular. This was Valhalla, the realm of Odin, the Hall of Heroes. I¡¯d seen enough drunken fights and honor duels when I was here last to know that a mob in the streets probably wasn¡¯t even that interesting.


    Loki had said all I needed to do was lay low for a while, and I had. It had been a decent amount of time since I¡¯d accidentally cheated in an arena duel. Hopefully, no one would remember that. The only people who would probably care were my old team¡ªBjorn, Jonas, Astrid, and Helga. I felt bad about abandoning them on such short notice, and I was torn about seeing them again. But if anyone was likely to remember me and not want to hurt me, it would probably be one of them. I needed to track them down and see what they were doing. But first, I needed to get through orientation.


    Following the crowd, I listened to the exact same lecture as before and received a medallion for the training houses, the ones all newcomers to Valhalla proper got. I would get my room and board for a while. While listening to the lecture, I mostly focused on my status screen. It hadn¡¯t changed much, but I was just planning what I wanted to do with it. I had a lot of free points¡ªtwenty-five to be exact¡ªand I struggled with where to put them.


    My speed was by far my highest stat, followed by focus. I figured I should start putting things into focus. I was pretty sure. But thinking back to my previous situation, I wondered if I wouldn¡¯t have been betrayed if I had a higher charm stat. Would a higher charm have allowed me to weave my tricks better? I hadn¡¯t been able to use a lot of my stats last time, so it was hard to rely on my previous experience. Still, I remembered the sight of Alana being struck down and not being fast enough to help. I considered dumping all the points into speed. I could always be faster. Speed was always useful.


    But something held me back. My constitution wasn¡¯t so low that I¡¯d hurt myself instantly, but if I pushed speed almost to 90, would 22 constitutions really prevent my joints from breaking as I moved? My strength wasn¡¯t that high, either. Eventually, I made a concession, putting ten points into speed and splitting the remaining fifteen between strength and constitution, bumping constitution up by one extra point to spend them all.


    Level: 17


    Status: Tier 4: Valhalla Proper


    Class: Arcane Fool, Lvl 10


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    Subclass: N/A


    Traits:


    Incisive Gaze


    Loki''s Champion


    Skills:


    Mana Perception Enhanced


    Spells:


    A Fool''s Constitution


    Dance of the Jester


    Weapon proficiencies


    Sword: D-1


    Spear: F-2


    Striking: F-7


    Halberd: D-3


    Dagger: D-4


    Grappling: F-7


    Stats


    Strength: 44


    Speed: 73


    Constitution: 40


    Focus: 40


    Charm: 15


    Free Points: 0


    Blessing: Loki''s Favor


    Strength: +2


    Speed: +2


    Constitution: +2


    Focus: +6


    Charm: +10


    Jester Shop Access


    Additional effects: ???


    I felt my muscles and tendons grow denser, and I grew larger at the same time. My nerves rewired themselves so that my fingers twitched slightly before I could feel the increase. All in all, I hoped that was enough. I¡¯d probably need to pick up a couple more spells or skills¡ªmaybe not just pick them up, but craft my own as well. My illusion and arcane affinities would certainly come into play if I really wanted to step things up. The farther up the Hall, I went, the better. But there was still so much I needed to learn about Valhalla proper.


    I didn¡¯t cause any scenes, as I simply followed the crowd of newbies to the newbie house. I ate a quick meal, ignoring the servers beyond politeness, and headed up to my room, where I lay in bed for a moment, trying to gather my thoughts. But now that I was alone and ready to rest, my mind wouldn¡¯t slow down. No, it began to race.


    What do I do now? What should I do next?


    I remembered seeing Alana being taken by the Valkyrie. So she was here somewhere. Well, no. She was in the women¡¯s side of the Lesser Hall. Hopefully, she wasn¡¯t somewhere worse. I didn¡¯t know much about that, besides what Helga and Astrid had mentioned in passing. It''s not a really in-depth explanation. I wanted to know more. I wanted to help her, but I couldn¡¯t fathom how I could influence her situation at all. I supposed the only thing I could do was wait and keep my eyes open, hoping she¡¯d make it through the Lesser Hall and into Valhalla proper.


    I needed to make a habit of checking the names of those added to Valhalla proper. I didn¡¯t even know why I felt such an obligation to her, but the thought of leaving her alone and confused here was simply beyond the pale for me.


    My next step was to find my old team. Hopefully, they had moved on and landed on their feet. I wasn¡¯t sure how things would go with a full party again. What level were they? Where were they living? It bugged me, but I needed them for information. I considered who would be the best to talk to. Honestly, I couldn¡¯t tell.


    Bjorn was having problems last I remembered, and so was Jonas. They were letting certain aspects of their personalities take over¡ªthings the magic of the Lesser Hall had masked, like Bjorn¡¯s dependency on alcohol or Jonas¡¯ inability to focus on anything but women. I hoped they were okay, but I didn¡¯t have a ton of hope for them.


    Helga and Astrid would be ideal, but... well, we had only been working together for a short time and were still just becoming friends. Of everyone, Astrid was likely to be the most angry with me. She had that temper. But at the same time, she was by far the most perceptive and would be the best to give me a lay of the land, maybe even help me find a party to go delving with again. I needed to place well enough to set myself up and afford to increase my repertoire of spells and skills.


    I wasn¡¯t sure if every time Loki sent me down to another world, I would keep my skills and stats, but I wasn¡¯t certain that I wouldn¡¯t. Also, I had actually enjoyed my time away from Valhalla. Maybe I would make a deal with him again. It was hard to say.


    Eventually, my pacing in my room stopped. With a vague idea of what I was going to do tomorrow, I let myself fall asleep.

 EV B2 Chapter 2:

    EV B2 Chapter 2:


    The next morning, I scarfed down breakfast and immediately left for the town. As I walked through the many paved streets, I studied every face carefully, searching for any bit of recognition, but not a single flicker. I didn¡¯t see any familiar faces either, which gave me a little bit of solace.


    I wondered about last night when I had gone to sleep. I had been exhausted. Not only had I just come from a battlefield where I had been betrayed in one of the most devastating ways I could possibly imagine¡ªwell, that might have been a bit of an exaggeration¡ªbut then I had fought through twelve fights that at least pushed me. The emotional exhaustion and physical exhaustion eventually knocked me out, but not before I had spent several hours worrying and planning.


    Of course, my worries and plans hadn¡¯t been the most effective because I realized that my plan to try to find Helga first was a lot harder to implement than I originally thought. I didn¡¯t actually know where she was. If she was still living in the same small apartment as last time, I would be incredibly surprised. Even with what we were making, she had enough to move past that. But where would she have gone?


    Valhalla proper was huge. For tens of thousands of years, at least 24 new members entered daily. I wasn¡¯t sure how many people left, but nowhere near as many who had entered. That left this sprawling city with possibly more arenas than the one I had seen, which would mean even more people would enter. It was unfathomable in many ways. There were millions of people here and no technology, no apps, no messaging systems¡ªat least not that I could see. Perhaps there was some sort of courier service, but I¡¯d need to look into that.


    At least I had an idea of two people I could talk to. The first was Loki, but I wasn¡¯t sure I was ready for another conversation with him yet. The other was Phil the Gnome. That was something that I hadn¡¯t really considered all last night. He¡¯d be someone who knew me well. He seemed trustworthy enough, but I wasn¡¯t sure how he¡¯d react to the news about me¡ªif he¡¯d even heard of it. He seemed relatively informed, so I imagined he would have. And with his connections to Loki, he probably had to know at least some of what was happening.


    But I figured his connections with Loki would also probably help me. Unfortunately, I also didn¡¯t have any money. No coin whatsoever. I had my pass for food and room and board at the Newbie House, but that was it. So I wouldn¡¯t be able to pay him anything.


    As I got my bearings and found out exactly where I was, I realized it wasn¡¯t too far from where I had met him the first time. But instead of heading there, I worked my way toward the monthly challenge. Thor wasn¡¯t in charge this month, but Baldur was. I wished I knew more about him. I just knew that he was Odin¡¯s favorite son and had been killed by Loki? But something didn¡¯t quite add up. I figured this was maybe one of those points where the myths didn¡¯t match reality, which blew my mind to even think about.


    When I eventually reached the challenge entrance, I scanned the board. Was this going to be another dungeon-crawl-style challenge or something else? Reading the description on it, I was confused. It seemed like it was a quest system. That was unique, to say the least. It seemed I would have to go in to find out more.


    I didn¡¯t have a party, so I likely wouldn¡¯t get very far, but, well, I had unlimited retries. And I was significantly more powerful than I had been the last time I¡¯d gone through something like this. My time away from Valhalla had given me levels¡ªnot as many as if I had just grinded in Valhalla as hard as possible, but enough that I was pretty confident I¡¯d be getting close to that 20% mark to avoid punishment in the last trial. This trial? Well, who knew?


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    Stepping into the building, I found it only lightly crowded. After approaching the Raven and registering myself, I received a medallion to keep track of my progress and loot. The Raven didn¡¯t seem to recognize me, or at least didn¡¯t give any hints if he did. I didn¡¯t push anything and just walked toward the entrance of the challenge, letting darkness envelop me.


    When I opened my eyes, I found myself under a gray sky of solid clouds. A light wind blew, ruffling my hair and carrying the scent of the sea over to me. Looking out over a cliff, I saw a beautiful fjord with a long tendril of ocean winding its way through the hills. Just off in the distance, I could see where the rocks ended, and the vast expanse of empty grayish-blue began.


    There wasn¡¯t much of a beach around, as the scent of seaweed or rotting fish was a lot less than it had been at some of the other beaches I had visited in my old life. No, this place was fresh and new. Immediately, I started to shiver as the wind picked up, and I could feel the temperature was close to freezing. Looking around, a little ways behind me, I found a rough-hewn house¡ªmore of a hut, really. It had a few rooms and was thatched, with a wooden fence keeping a few goats in a pen. Several chickens roamed around the yard, pecking at the dirt. Farther past the cliffs, I saw a small field of something being grown. It wasn¡¯t very large, but neat rows of ankle-high plants poked out of the ground. I knew nothing about farming, so I pushed aside any curiosity about that and walked toward the house.


    Well, if the issue was quests, presumably, there needed to be a quest giver, as I hadn¡¯t been given any instruction when I appeared here. Carefully listening for sounds, I found none. But when I rapped on the door with my knuckles, the door swung open almost immediately. A barrel-chested man, standing nearly half a head taller than me, looked down.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± he said in a gruff voice.


    I blinked, surprised by the sudden encounter. Was this like a role-play thing? Or did I need a quest? It was clearly spring turning into summer, but I didn¡¯t know what else to draw from the situation. So, instead, I simply introduced myself.


    ¡°Miles? That¡¯s an odd name. You can call me Haldor. What brings you to my¡ª¡± He said a word I didn¡¯t recognize, but I rolled with it, assuming he meant house, homestead, farm, or something similar. It was strange because, for the most part, he seemed to be speaking English.


    I shook my head, not allowing it to faze me. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m a bit lost, and, well, the wind is getting to me. Is there anything I can do for you that you might perhaps consider giving me a fur for? I could really use something to keep myself warm.¡±


    Haldor looked me up and down. ¡°I suppose I have some old furs that I might be able to give you. For some light labor, in the meantime. While I go find them, why don¡¯t you chop some wood? That¡¯ll keep you warm and also help offset the cost.¡±


    When he spoke, he gestured with his head off to the side, where I found a rough ax as well as a pile of logs that hadn¡¯t been cut into rounds. Looking at the saw blade and the marks on the trees, I couldn¡¯t tell much, but it seemed like they were cut by a rough-hewn blade rather than anything like a chainsaw. The fact that the trees had been felled, moved over here, and cut into rounds before being split seemed a bit odd to me, as the splitting usually seemed like the easiest part. But, well, I didn¡¯t mind.


    As I grabbed the ax, with my speed and strength, it was effortless to split the rounds into chunks that matched the ones already in the pile. My biggest concern was breaking the ax I was given. I kept swinging, one log after the other, quickly finding that it was almost more effective with my speed and strength to not even do a full swing. Instead, I held the wood in place, held the ax near the blade, and simply gave the wood a single tap, quickly splitting it into sections. Sometimes, I even tore it apart with my hands if I misjudged the strike and didn¡¯t split it all the way through.


    The hard work was satisfying and did a good job of keeping me warm. But at the same time, my mind was racing. I couldn¡¯t figure out what the hell the point of this was.

 EV B2 Chapter 3:

    EV B2 Chapter 3:


    As I chopped wood, I had more time than I wanted to think. The stack seemingly went on for hours, even though I powered through it at a superhuman rate that even a team of five ordinary men would have struggled to keep up with. I never ran out of work to do, and the sun slowly dipped beneath the horizon.


    Haldor''s daughter, who was young and beautiful, came out to greet me. She looked like some modern girl with a skincare routine and clearly ate well enough to grow to a full five-nine. She gave me the old furs that her father had offered. I was frankly surprised that he would let her out of his sight with a strange man on the property wielding an ax. But I figured this was maybe part of the test. I couldn''t tell.


    I simply put the furs on for a few moments, realized I was too warm, and continued chopping wood. Was this some test of patience? I couldn''t decide.


    As the sun dipped and touched the horizon, Haldor came out and looked at the mountain of cut and stacked wood I had created¡ªnearly larger than his house. He simply nodded in satisfaction and offered me a place at his dinner table and a bed in the hayloft. At least it was sheltered and warm from the storm that was brewing on the horizon.


    Baffled, I went along with the idea.


    When eating dinner with his family, his youngest son said to me, "Miles, we haven''t had a traveler in such a long time. Do you have any stories--"


    His mother cut in, "Eric, we had one just last month. He stopped by and did a little bit of work for some food."


    "Yeah, but that was ages ago," the boy, who couldn''t have been more than ten, whined with a drawn-out complaint in his voice. So typical of children at that age. I couldn''t help but smile, reminded of home in many ways.


    I couldn''t tell how this was part of the challenge. Was there supposed to be some sort of proof that I was a good person and didn''t pillage, burn, or rape? I wasn''t sure, but I had dinner in peace and took my new fur, rolling into a ball in the hayloft, and fell asleep¡ªslightly exhausted from my long day of hard work.


    Still, it couldn''t have been more than a second when I found myself being woken. I wasn''t exactly sure what it was¡ªwas it screams in the distance or a light? Or maybe the disturbance of the livestock in the pens nearby? Either way, I rubbed the sleep blearily from my eyes and walked outside to see what was going on in the harbor.


    Lights bobbed on some vessels that had not been there earlier. They had been pulled up to the beach, and several large fires from the nearby town were engulfing straw huts. Now, outside, I could hear battle cries and screams of terror.


    Haldor was only a second behind me, rushing out of his house. He looked at me nervously. I could see the caution in his eyes. A stranger who had arrived a day before the night raid? How suspicious was that? Was something planned? Was I a mole in the backline, some sort of trap to cut them off?


    But I simply raised my hands, indicating the lack of a weapon. I didn''t even have an ax with me. I imagine if I''d come to the trial armed, that might have been different, but¡­ well.


    The look of suspicion faded from his eyes, and he nodded at me. "We need to get the children away. I have a hidey-hole up in the mountains," he nodded. "The raiders will leave, and we''ll come back down when they''re gone. It''s happened many times before. They''ll take some women, livestock, and plunder, but they won''t stay and conquer. Not with as few warriors. But we need to move now," he said.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    I frowned. Was that the test? Was I supposed to prevent this, not be a coward by running away with him and his family? Was I supposed to stay and fight? I looked down. Unless the warriors were also warriors of Valhalla, I had little doubt about my ability to single-handedly repel the invasion. Maybe if they all came at me at once on an open field, I wouldn''t have a chance. But if they spread out to the houses, it was just a matter of hunting them down one by one. That would have been the case for almost any of the warriors of Valhalla.


    But then, this was the first step of the trial. I suppose I didn''t even know how much progress this had counted for. My chopping of wood hadn''t even counted in the slightest towards progress, so the scenario clearly wasn''t done.


    I shook my head. "You take them. I want to defend the town."


    Haldor looked at me like I was crazy, but eventually, he shrugged, turned, and disappeared into his house.


    Going around the side, I found the ax that I''d been using to split wood and hefted it. Axes weren''t my favorite. In fact, I didn''t really know how to use them properly according to my skills, but that wasn''t going to stop me. I had gotten pretty proficient with just swinging it at some wood, and that wasn''t much different than chopping it into another person.


    So, starting off at a jog, I ran toward the fight.


    The first pair of fighting warriors I stopped at¡ªI couldn''t tell the difference. They looked very similar. Clearly, they weren''t the same person, but which one was the Viking? Which one was the raider? Which one was the defender? They were both Viking warriors with tattoos and braids, bearing shields and swords. One belt bore a shield and a one-handed axe, the other a sword. They traded blows fiercely until one was cut down, but even then, the victor just ran down the street. Was he looking for another invader to kill, or was he looking for someplace to plunder? I had no idea.


    Frowning, I dashed through the streets, seeing several other encounters but not quite sure who was the aggressor or not. Was this something that the warriors of Valhalla were supposed to fight? No. Was it the tattoos, the meaning, or something? The confusion and the fires spreading from house to house, the screaming innocents running and fleeing or hiding, and the warriors clashing in the streets¡ªeverything was chaos.


    I cut down one man who was trying to light a torch on a roof made of hay. That clearly wasn''t a defender of the town. Unfortunately, there was no one to see me do that¡ªno one to come to my aid or challenge me to kill one of their invading comrades.


    So I worked my way towards the beach, where I found three boats with dragon masts and wide square sails. I carried a torch with me that I''d picked up along the way, and as I was there, I went to the first boat, leaped on board, and killed the two men left on watch. I set fire to its sails. This prompted a reaction. Several men came running from the town. I stood in their way, holding my axe in a ready stance, crossing my body but otherwise relaxed on my toes, ready for combat.


    The first man came at me, and I slipped to the side, bringing the axe blade trailing behind me¡ªdown and low, cutting into his upper thigh. He stumbled past me as I ducked under his blade and engaged the next opponent with a pair of strikes that also left him dead at my feet. I counter-charged and scythed through them like a blade through wheat.


    Once I had a moment, I burned the other two ships. Standing on the beach, I looked at the dozen or so corpses around me, panting slightly, thinking how much easier this was with my proper stats rather than the limitations of my most recent life.


    Time seemed to pass unnaturally. Once the last man fell, dawn broke. I could see the remains of the town smoldering and the ships burning behind me. I set off at a light jog back up to Haldor''s place, wondering if they had managed to make it back.


    But I found his house empty.


    Frowning, I followed the small trail leading off to where Haldor had nodded. Perhaps they were still hiding, but with the way time had passed¡­ something was different. By the time I got to the cave before I rounded the bend, I could already smell the iron tang of blood in the air.


    I turned the corner and found, in a shallow cave, the bodies of everyone I had eaten dinner with. I didn''t see any attackers or anything¡ªjust them, dead.


    I stood there¡ªhurt, confused, torn up inside. A weird jumble of emotions. Should I have stayed and protected them? But then the whole town would have burned. Was this a test about seeking glory or defense?


    I just let my thoughts trail off as I stood there, absolutely bewildered. Then, a progress bar appeared before me: 1% complete of the first challenge.

 EV B2 Chapter 4:

    EV B2 Chapter 4:


    The prompt soon faded away from my vision, and I looked around, seeing that nothing had changed. I was still standing in the middle of the forest. The bodies were still there. I looked around, trying to see where the next quest giver was. I wasn¡¯t even sure how to exit the scenario.


    After a few minutes of nothing happening, I made my way back to the little farmstead and eventually to the village, where people were rebuilding. There were a few burned huts that were being picked through, and several of the older boys were dragging corpses through the streets. There were clearly two different burials going on¡ªone a pile of bodies being dumped on fire, and another section where groups of families lovingly stacked rocks over their fallen kin.


    I wandered into the village and generally tried to help. There wasn¡¯t much I could do. I helped lift a fallen beam that had trapped a dog, who scrambled out as soon as he could. I helped a widow salvage some cooking equipment from the remains of her kitchen. No one spoke much, and everyone just moved with purpose, though a wistful purpose. Something in their eyes spoke of far-off thoughts, but their bodies moved in practiced rhythms.


    I spent several hours helping, but nothing changed. Eventually, I found myself on the beach, staring out over where there were two burned ships. Apparently, they had managed to save one of them and retreat, losing two-thirds of the attacking force, presumably.


    ¡°Is this a victory?¡± I wondered, finishing at only 1%, though it was hard to say what was really happening. How much of this was scripted? Was there a right answer? This challenge was much more confusing than I had expected. I guessed from the little I knew about the gods that it kind of made sense. Thor was relatively straightforward¡ªcrafty, known for a surprising love of blacksmithing besides just bashing things with a hammer¡ªbut straightforward nonetheless. I didn¡¯t know much about Baldur, just that he was Odin¡¯s favorite son and that he was¡­ well, and I didn¡¯t even really know that.


    Still, it seemed like this challenge was much more complicated. And the lack of a loot table outside of the challenge hall started to make sense. There weren¡¯t really monsters to kill or anything like that. There were no immediate rewards, though the medallion that tracked my progress did have a loot option. Perhaps there would be loot awarded at the end of the run.


    I found that there was also a rune signaling an exit. But I wasn¡¯t even close to willing to take that. Not yet. But what if nothing changed? What if there was no obvious continuation? I wasn¡¯t sure. There was no more fighting. Was I supposed to be helping the village? Was I supposed to be saving the family? Some sort of combination? If I had a team, would it be the same scenario or something different?


    These thoughts plagued me as I walked along the beach. It was a short, rocky thing, and there really was nowhere to go. The whole cove was surrounded by rocky mountains that would have been difficult to pass through. Really, the only way to this little alcove of fertile soil that was no more than a couple dozen acres was by boat.


    So, presumably, the scenario was all taking place here, but the attacker should be done, and I had helped the village some more. No one spoke to me, but everyone was grateful for help, occasionally giving me strange smiles. I received a bowl of stew around lunchtime; it seemed whoever was in charge of the village had set apart some sort of communal lunchtime break.


    By the time the sun was setting, things had mostly been put to right. The houses hadn¡¯t been rebuilt, but everyone had found temporary housing. There was no danger of fires, and everything that could be salvaged had been.


    I found myself in a small room with a few furs. There were a few other people huddled in the corners of the room, but no one spoke, and everyone soon drifted off to sleep. I found myself unable to sleep. I didn¡¯t really feel the need for it at all. With my vastly improved stats, I might not need to sleep for a while. Or maybe the challenge didn¡¯t require it. I hadn¡¯t done anything particularly taxing to my body, and with my new prowess, simply staying awake didn¡¯t induce the same fatigue it used to.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    So I got up and left the room, wandering out to the village center. I sat outside the Great Hall and looked out over the water, waiting to see if there were any lights or movements coming for a follow-up raid.


    Improbably, a young boy came and sat next to me. He couldn¡¯t have been more than seven or eight, but when he spoke, he sounded much older.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you around before, mister,¡± he said with the guileless curiosity of youth.


    I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m a traveler. Got here recently.¡±


    ¡°Oh, a traveler,¡± he said. ¡°So have you been to far-off lands, like Goranovic?¡±


    I shrugged again. ¡°I¡¯ve been to many places,¡± I said, never having heard of Goranovic. I assumed it was someplace that didn¡¯t actually exist.


    ¡°Oh yeah? Tell me about some.¡±


    So I did. I told him about my most recent visit out of Valhalla. It was not in any detail, but I mentioned the stuff. He clearly didn¡¯t believe me when I talked about massive castles of stone and endless fields of green down south, of thousands of men in armor and pitched battles. He believed in the pitched battles but not in wearing a full suit of armor.


    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s possible, but that¡¯d be too heavy. You couldn¡¯t move. Not like my father could,¡± he said, growing sad.


    I wasn¡¯t sure how to respond, so I just told some more tales, describing a long-distant memory of a village on a Greek island, a vacation I had taken with my wife. Thinking back on her, I realized I hadn¡¯t given up hope, but I was starting to lose it. The same hopeful pang that had been sitting in my chest ever since I learned there was an afterlife was vanishing.


    It was still technically possible to see her. Still, if what I had learned about the other options for afterlives was true, well, she likely wasn¡¯t exactly real anymore. She definitely wasn¡¯t in Valhalla, and¡­ well. I realized I had been silent for some time, and the boy got up and left with a wave.


    As dawn broke, I muttered under my breath, ¡°That wasn¡¯t real, was it?¡± There had to be some sort of scenario here, something I needed to do.


    I sighed in frustration. I really didn¡¯t want to have to embed myself in the politics of this small town to try to figure out what I was supposed to help with. But I couldn¡¯t think of anything else to do besides actually get to know the people. That just sounded so exhausting.


    My true nature as an introvert won out, and I decided I would leave in the morning. I¡¯d first see if there was any obvious trail, or I¡¯d get some sort of canoe and paddle out to the end of the fjord, seeing if there was anything else around. If I didn¡¯t find anything, I¡¯d leave the challenge and talk to someone who knew what the heck was going on because I wasn¡¯t about to get emotionally involved in another struggle in a world that was even less real than the last one.


    I think my emotional wounds were still too raw after the betrayal and Alana¡¯s death.


    So after seeing dawn break and no attack come, I just shook my head. I was half expecting the attack to happen right before dawn. Apparently, that was when a lot of modern militaries took action when sentries were least alert, and people could be most caught unprepared. But there was nothing.


    So I slowly made my way through the town before breaking into a jog¡ªone faster than most sprinters¡ªand steadily covering the backside of the fjord. I found a trail up the cliffside. When I got to the top, I made my way along the high mountains until I was standing over a cliff, hundreds of feet above the sea. I looked around, seeing nothing but the endless blue of water and sky and the gray of the mountains.


    Then I turned around to see where I¡¯d come from, and I saw dark smoke rising again from the shores of the beach. I closed my eyes and found the amulet around my neck, pressing the rune for the exit.


    This wasn¡¯t worth my time. I really just needed to see if there was any sort of guide on this challenge run or information I could purchase because I could spend days stumbling in the dark, and I only had a month to get to 20%. Besides, I still had a team to find.

 EV B2 Chapter 5:

    EV B2 Chapter 5:


    It only took a few minutes for me to understand what I was doing wrong. Immediately after receiving my minimal reward of a single coin, I went over to the nearest tavern and got a drink. Not because I really needed to spend the money the second I found it, but rather because I wanted to listen in. Apparently, the nearest tavern was obviously the most logical place to go, as many of the people there were coming directly from the challenge with their team. The turnover was rather high, as it was usually a single drink before they split up after their day. If a team wanted to stick together more, they usually went someplace else. There was probably something to do with pricing or whatever, but I wasn''t in the mood to figure it out.


    Instead, I just sat at the bar and did my best to tune in to the conversations around me.


    "I can''t believe that fucking idiot wouldn''t come with us," I overheard someone say.


    "Yeah, I think they''re trying to make us split the party. Someone has to protect him and his moronic family while the rest of us deal with the invaders. At least the landing party raid is not that bad. Two or three of us should be fine to save most of the village ourselves."


    "I hate escort quests," I heard someone from another party say.


    I tuned out the rest of the tavern around me, listening to people complain about the first step of the challenge. Hearing it through, I realized that it wasn''t just an impossible situation¡ªit was an impossible situation for one person to deal with alone. Presumably, the village and the farmer needed to survive in order to reach the next stage of the challenge. But I just wasn''t able to do it by myself. I would need a team to be at my back the whole time the challenge was running. Someone would need to go and protect them or clear out the village. I couldn''t be in two places at once.


    I ground my teeth in frustration. Why would they design it so you had to have a party and work together, but still let you go by yourself? Maybe I had my head filled with ideas of kidnapping the family and dragging them along, protecting them while clearing out the raiders from the village. But it didn''t seem like a great idea. And besides, I might have been more skilled than the average challenger, but pulling that off would take a whole other level of awesomeness with a blade.


    Listening in to a few other conversations, I found that what I had first heard was mostly similar to the others. One group had actually managed to get through the first round. Why weren''t more successful groups talking here? I wasn''t sure. Were they hiding their tactics, or were they in a different part of the city? Or did they just not come to this particular tavern? I left after only twenty minutes, satisfied that I had done well enough by myself and gathered enough information to know that I needed a team¡ªpreferably my team.


    If they would have me.


    In reality, I had been gone for longer than I had been in Valhalla proper by a significant period of time, but I had also gained significant strength. Whether or not it was enough to keep up with my team, I didn''t know. But I was definitely a leap ahead of where I was when I first started in Valhalla proper. Judging by everything I had seen, people didn''t really grow that much, especially not after the initial shock of the new challenge of being involved in Valhalla proper versus the lesser Hall.


    I wandered through the streets for a bit, asking around. I wasn''t exactly expecting success, but when I asked if someone knew anyone named Bjorn, giving a brief description, they looked at me like I was an idiot.


    "I think I know eight people matching that description," one man responded.


    Frowning, I thought of the futility of searching for someone named Bjorn in Valhalla who looked like a stereotypical Viking. This was going to be more difficult than I thought. But the man gave me an idea.


    "Why don''t you just have a locator look for him?" he suggested.


    I frowned again, but not wanting to rouse too much suspicion or show ignorance, I just thanked him for the reminder and left. It was a brief interaction on the street, so I''m sure he forgot me moments after the conversation ended. But the knowledge that there were locators made me uneasy. I felt that this was something Loki should have warned me about¡ªthat someone could apparently be located with some sort of magic. Was there some sort of protection that I could get? I didn''t think I wanted to be able to be tracked down on anyone''s whim. But at the same time, how else was I supposed to find people in this sprawling mess of a city that seemingly went on for infinite amounts in every direction?This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Though there were differences in the city I hadn''t explored thoroughly, and while I wanted to be able to find and contact people, I also wanted my own privacy, especially if I was going to be doing shady things with Loki. I could visit Loki, but I didn''t particularly feel up for a talk with a god at the moment. So I went to the only other point of contact I could remember. It took me several hours of wandering and backtracking as I tried to remember landmarks and street names that I had never paid attention to before. Eventually, I found the shop of Phil the Gnome, with the little indications still hidden on the sign that he had an association with Loki.


    Going in, we exchanged greetings, and after a moment, it was clear that he remembered me.


    "Miles, my friend. It''s good to see you again. I heard you were dead."


    I waved my hand. "Died many times. Never been a problem for me," I said with a smile.


    He laughed. "No, I meant dead dead. You''ve disappeared from Valhalla."


    I winked. "Must be someone upstairs looking out for me, then."


    He tapped the side of his nose and laughed. "Well, I see you have another newbie token." He trailed off. I wasn''t sure if he meant to say expected, unexpected, interesting, impossible, or whatever, but whatever emotions he was feeling about this¡ªor surprise¡ªhe reined it in quickly.


    "So what can I do for you? I can''t imagine you''re flush with cash at the moment."


    I winced, knowing that I was flat broke. "Yeah¡­ Um," I said, pausing to think before continuing. "Yeah, I might need a little credit. Nothing big, but I was told in order to find someone here, I might need to get something like a locator?" I asked.


    Phil nodded, and the little gnome hopped down from his stool and came around the counter, pointing through the glass. "A locator amulet? Yeah. I mean, they''re generally standard practice, but most people don''t need them until they''ve been here a while. I suppose you have been. Well, sort of. It''ll give you a general direction of someone, as long as they''re not blocking it with a location blocker amulet. And then we have a location blocker amulet suppressor upgrade if you want." He went through a list of countermeasures, counter-countermeasures, and counter-counter-countermeasures that made me think it wasn''t a matter of whether it was possible to find you or not¡ªrather, just how much money you''d want to spend on protecting yourself from being found or finding one particular person.


    "Of course, if you have someone you know you want to find regularly, you might be able to get some sort of party amulet," he said, gesturing to a different case where there was telepathy, chat, and location sharing. "It''s generally popular with parties, but not always affordable nor desirable for anything besides permanent parties."


    Phil went on and on for a bit, and I mostly just tried to keep track of all the possible ways this could work. Eventually, I broke in as things were getting way far out of my price range. I held up my hand, and Phil paused mid-sentence to let me speak.


    "Sorry to interrupt," I said, "but well, I''m trying to find my old party. I''m not exactly sure where to start, but I''m in particularly hot water as the challenge doesn''t seem to be very well-suited to solo players this month." I quickly explained the difficulty I had had. It seemed like Phil already knew this, but he let me tell my story, if only to express my frustration for a moment.


    "So I really need to find my party. I hope that they''re still together or that at least one of them is willing to talk to me. I can''t make any money to actually afford any of this stuff without help," I said. "No offense, of course."


    "None taken," he said.


    "So¡­ I don''t know, is there any way you might think to help me out? Maybe I can negotiate some sort of deal?" I tapped the inside of my arm where my gesture tattoo was.


    Phil looked at it knowingly and rubbed his beardless chin thoughtfully. He looked up at me and nodded.


    "Yes. I think I can get you something. The very most basic isn''t that expensive, and I do know you''re good at it. But I can''t just give it to you. No, I think I''ll have you do a simple chore for me in return."


    I nodded. "As long as it doesn''t take too long. I''d be happy to work for some coin." I''d heard that it was nearly impossible to get jobs, at least on the up and up, but this chore sounded more ominous than I''d prefer. Still, I wasn''t sure I had much choice. Besides, the brief interactions I''d had with him before seemed fine.


    "Yeah, so I have this competitor," Phil said, launching into an explanation. The more I heard, the more a certain knot in my stomach started to grow.

 EV B2 Chapter 6:

    EV B2 Chapter 6:


    I managed to weasel out of kneecapping Phil the Gnome''s competitor by the time I left the shop with a locator amulet in hand. Somehow, I managed to end up in the exact situation I was planning on avoiding by coming to Phil the Gnomes. I now owed a minor favor, backed by Loki. It was... not ideal, but I didn''t really see any other real option. It wasn''t a large favor, and I held onto hope that I could pay it back in cash, even with interest. But that didn''t seem likely.


    No, it seemed inevitable that I was just digging myself deeper and getting more entangled with Loki at every turn. That was probably exactly what Loki was expecting, but I didn''t really see any other options. I supposed I could have tried to form a new party of newbies, but, well, it would be slow. I''d have to hide my own power and generally fail for a bit. Otherwise, it would be obvious that I was someone who wasn''t supposed to be there, which might bring up whatever was wrong with my last stay.


    Besides, as an associate of Loki''s, I was rather expected to keep a low profile. Whether that was an implied rule or a straight command, I wasn''t sure, but that was all I could do. Pushing the consequences out of my mind, I just had to accept that I would be owing a favor to Loki. The last one hadn''t been so terrible.


    Pushing some of my mana into the locator amulet, I focused on Bjorn. Not just the name but what I knew about the person. This wasn''t a very precise art, but I could feel a general pull, the amulet tugging me in a direction. I made a quick turn down a side street and began wandering with purpose. The pull wasn''t exactly a compass, but it gave me a general direction, and I meandered through the sprawling city, street after street, following the general impulse.


    There was some magic behind this place that I still didn''t fully understand, but I went long enough that the challenge and the arena were far off in the distance. Wondering how this worked, I found that the arena''s entrance was the only one near the challenge. The arena, where newbies entered Valhalla proper, had an entrance to the challenge, but that was far from the only one. Other entrances to the challenge were spread out amongst Valhalla, and the different levels of affluence varied wildly.


    As the general wealth of the area increased, some of the open flames were replaced with mana torches. Rough-hewn planks were replaced by marble facades. The levels of the relative denizens of Valhalla also increased. Near the first entrance, everyone was mostly under level 10 or even just level 5. But now that I think about it, most of those people probably hadn''t established themselves in Valhalla and were just scraping by.


    Going farther from the entrance to the city, I found that the average level began to increase, though not by as much as I thought. In a relatively wealthy-feeling area, most of the people around me were around level 20. Considering my own level, I felt relatively at home and was glad that Bjorn had apparently moved up in the world.


    The entrance to the challenge here was not much different¡ªstill the same imposing building, but less busy, much more established. Groups of five were going in and out. No one entered alone.


    So, I moved past it, not seeing any benefit in gawking like a tourist, and followed the pull from the locator a few streets down and into a tavern. I smiled, remembering my friend''s fondness¡ªand perhaps weakness¡ªfor alcohol.


    Entering the tavern, which was surprisingly empty, but not unexpectedly so for mid-morning, I saw a few tables filled with sleeping warriors. To my surprise, I made eye contact with Bjorn, who was standing behind the bar. I stopped in the doorway, stunned, and blinked before I broke the awkward eye contact with a half-hearted wave.


    Bjorn''s eyes moved lazily up and down my body. Seeing my wave, he briefly flashed a confused look before recognition sparked in his eyes. He lifted his hand in a confused wave, but even that seemed rather half-hearted. I frowned, unsure if he was happy to see me. I would have understood if he wasn''t, but something else was very wrong here.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    As I walked up to the bar and he greeted me with a lifted hand, I realized there was something else. His eyes didn''t dilate quite right, and parts of his face seemed numb. I frowned in concern.


    "Bjorn, are you all right?"


    He looked at me with that same slightly confused expression. "Drink?" he asked, a question in his voice making him sound confused rather than curious.


    "Bjorn?" I asked again. "Do you remember me?"


    He shook his head, his eyes making a valiant attempt to focus on my face before drifting back to the bar. "Yes, you said your¡­" He trailed off, moving his hand in front of his face in a rhythmic circle as if trying to recall something.


    "Bjorn," I said, my concern deepening. Was he on drugs? This wasn''t just alcohol. Something else was going on. I focused my mana on perception, wondering if he was under some sort of spell, though I couldn''t see anything in particular affecting him. There was no illusion magic or anything around his eyes, and I couldn''t sense anything wrong in his brain, though I wouldn''t be able to tell for sure. I was no healer.


    "Bjorn, it''s Miles," I said, reminding him. "We were in the Lesser Hall together. We went through the challenge for the first time together."


    He snapped his fingers with a loud crack, though no one else in the tavern reacted. "Ah, yeah. Miles. I remember. Where''ve you been?"


    I looked at him, sadness tugging at my chest. "What happened to you, Bjorn?"


    Bjorn gave me a lopsided smile. "The best thing, man," he said, drawing out the word "man" in a way that reminded me of hippies from the ''60s. Was he stoned? It wasn''t just that, though. There was something else. Bjorn was clearly not in good shape.


    "You work at the bar now? Do you still do the challenge?" I asked, not able to imagine him being able to fight like he was now.


    Bjorn shook his head. "Nah. Malik puts me through once a month, as long as I keep making them tips," he said, leaning sideways onto the counter. His eyes trailed across the bottles behind him and down to the kegs. "You want a drink, man? I can give you one at the house for a friend."


    I nodded. "Sure. Just give me a straight ale."


    "Sure thing," he said, moving slowly to pick up a glass and fill it for me. I sniffed at the drink, concerned it might be poisoned or laced with something, but it seemed clean. My confidence in getting any useful information from Bjorn was nearing zero.


    "Hey, I''m looking for the rest of the team," I said, trying to steer the conversation. "Remember? Helga, Jonas, Astrid?¡±


    Bjorn nodded slowly. "Yeah," but didn''t elaborate.


    "Uh, where are they?" I asked, trying to ignore the dopey smile on his face. It physically pained me to see my once-boisterous friend in this state. Had he really fallen on hard times? Was he addicted to some substance? Was he happy like this? Was he being forced? I knew he had a problem with alcohol, but this was something else.


    Bjorn blinked slowly. "Jonas and Helga¡­" He trailed off again, giving me a knowing wink. I frowned, not having seen that development coming. "Astrid," he said, shrugging, "she''s somewhere."


    I frowned, not particularly appreciating the lack of detail, but I couldn''t focus on that now. I needed information¡ªa way to finish the challenge and get levels and power. I needed to know more about this place. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that unless I wanted to start from scratch, I would have to rely on Loki. If my friends weren''t going to be reliable, I had no choice.


    I stood up, leaving my beer untouched. "I''ll track down Jonas and Helga next. If they''re together, maybe they''ll be in better shape to explain things."


    I shook my head, bidding Bjorn farewell, though he barely seemed to notice. I promised myself that I would check on him later. If he needed help, I''d give it, but if he was here by choice¡­ I grimaced, recalling friends from my college days who had gone down a similar path. I hadn''t been able to help them either.


    Following the vague pull of the locator amulet, I turned back toward the lower-level areas of the city.

 EV B2 Chapter 7:

    EV B2 Chapter 7:


    As I walked, I thought. Getting my old team back together didn''t seem possible, which meant I would need at least some kind of new party. Helga and Jonas were apparently still together, so I started heading in their direction. The locator indicated they were in the same general area, and Amelia gave me similar directions when I thought of them. Astrid, though, was in the opposite direction.


    It only took me a few hours to find Helga and Jonas, but when I did, the amulet showed they were both inside an inn, not in the common room. Not wanting to disturb them, I looked around, realizing night had already fallen. I figured I probably wouldn''t find them today. Deciding to put off the conversation a bit longer, I changed targets and headed in the other direction, hoping to locate Astrid before the night was over and at least get a better idea of what was going on.


    Several hours passed before I got close to Astrid''s position. Just as I was about to investigate the unassuming building where she was holed up, I heard the sound of shattering glass. A small figure dove out of a second-story window. A flash of torchlight glinted off the raining shards as they scattered around her. Immediately, my identify spell kicked in¡ªit was Astrid. She''d clearly grown stronger since the last time I saw her, but my tension only held for a moment. A large figure appeared at the window, shouting down angrily at her.


    Astrid hit the ground with a roll and darted across the street in front of me, disappearing into an alley. A commotion followed, and a pursuit quickly began. I ducked into the shadows and turned, running parallel to the chase. My speed was still faster than anyone involved, so I quickly caught up with Astrid. She was one street over, zigzagging through alleys to lose her pursuers. They were a trio: two casters and a burly melee fighter. I wasn''t sure what the conflict was, but I wanted more information before stepping in. I could probably stop them, but checking their levels made me hesitate¡ªthey were all at least level 20, and the big guy was level 21.


    I continued to follow along, trying to keep track of the pursuit. At one point, I leaped up onto the rooftops to cut across an area where the alleys were less orderly. Luckily, I was able to make the jumps without much difficulty. Eventually, though, Astrid''s luck ran out. She darted into a dead-end alley and tried to scale the walls, but that gave her pursuers enough time to catch up and spot her. Crossing the street quickly, I climbed up to the second-story balcony of a nearby building, only a few paces back from the alley''s entrance. From there, I could see everything and hear what was happening.


    "That''s her! Don''t let her get away!" the warrior yelled.


    One of the casters started to move her hands, likely casting a spell. Astrid heard the call and gave up trying to escape. Kicking off the wall, she spun in mid-air, her bow drawn, and loosed an arrow before she even touched the ground. The warrior raised his axe and blocked the shot, but an explosion of light followed, leaving everyone blinking. I was far enough away to avoid being blinded, but I saw Astrid try to slip between the far wall and the trio. She almost made it, but a blind kick caught her in the ribs, sending her stumbling back.


    "Hand it over, you bitch!" one of the casters screamed, her voice breaking on the last word.


    I blinked in surprise at the vitriol of that statement. This was personal. Astrid snarled something back, but I couldn''t make it out what exactly. At this point, I was starting to feel bad for just watching. Astrid was my friend, and it was clear she was in real trouble. I took a second to double-check the levels of the three, making sure I had a chance of handling them.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Clearing my throat, I hopped down from the balcony, landing smoothly behind them. My Fool''s Consitution spell activated for the split second I needed to absorb the impact. I prepared Dance of the Jester, ready to move at a moment''s notice.


    "Astrid," I said in the most nonchalant tone I could manage, "I''ve been looking for you. I think we need to have a conversation."


    Astrid stood frozen, her mouth slightly open as she stared at me. She didn''t say anything, but that was fine. I ignored her reaction for now.


    "I suggest you three get lost. We have some business, and there won''t be anything left for you once I''m done," I added, my tone growing slightly more ominous. I wasn''t exactly sure what they wanted from her, but it was clear they didn''t mean well. If this was something minor, a grudge, or hope that she''d get hurt, I figured they might think I''d do the job for them and decide to back off. Of course, I knew the odds of that happening weren''t great. I gave myself maybe a 20% chance of getting them to leave peacefully, but at the very least, I hoped to sow some confusion.


    The three exchanged uneasy glances. I relaxed slightly. Either they didn''t have Identity or hadn''t thought to use it on me.


    "If you let us have her book, she''s all yours," the man said.


    I met Astrid''s eyes, and she gave me a slight shake of her head. I wasn''t entirely sure what she was trying to tell me¡ªmaybe that she wouldn''t give up the book, or maybe just shock¡ªbut I decided to ignore the man''s offer.


    "I''m going to count to three," I said, adopting a tone like a parent scolding a child.


    The trio looked increasingly uncomfortable as I refused to engage with their demands.


    "Or what?" the woman on the left spat, but I could tell that it was more bluster. A tinge of uncertainty filled her tone.


    "One," I said, activating Dance of the Jester and Fool''s Constitution at the same time. A mirage appeared where I''d been standing as I launched forward, driving my elbow into the woman''s throat. She collapsed, gasping for air, while my illusion flickered behind me. I met the gaze of the man in the middle.


    It was tricky, but I didn''t let my surprise at the effectiveness of my strike show. True, she was at a higher level than me, but my physical stats were far beyond hers, apparently. I needed to remember the advantages I held.


    "Two," I said, rushing past him as my illusion stepped forward. I kicked the second caster right above the knee, feeling her leg bend sideways with a sickening crack. Without healing magic, she wouldn''t walk again. Casters rarely had proper protection for physical attacks. Again, the attack was easy. Too easy.


    I returned to my original position, glancing at the remaining two. "Do I need to say three?"


    The two women were hurt but not out of the fight. Their ability to move and speak might be hindered, but their magic was still a threat. Completely neutralizing them without getting things bloody would''ve been difficult, and I still wasn''t sure what the consequences of killing someone outside an arena in Valhalla were. I''d need to ask Loki about that before I experimented.


    "No, no!" the man stammered. "She''s all yours!" He grabbed the two casters by their robes and dragged them out of the alley.


    I walked towards Astrid, my hands in my pockets. She took a small step backward, her eyes wide as she searched my face, still processing what had just happened. I waited until her pursuers turned the corner before relaxing even slightly.

 EV B2 Chapter 8:

    EV B2 Chapter 8:


    I took another step forward, and Astrid took yet another step back. She was only a step from the wall. She didn''t recognize me when I stopped, realizing that I should. Looking up, I realized why¡ªthe place was covered in shadows. And, well, I was probably dead in her mind. So, I didn''t advance any further, just unthreateningly holding my hands up and off to the side.


    "Astrid," I said in a soothing voice as if I was trying to calm a frightened cat, "it''s Miles."


    Her mouth opened in a perfect ''O'' of surprise. She stared at me. A second later, she blinked and frowned.


    "Miles?" she said, disbelief clear in her tone.


    "Yeah. Come on. We should probably leave," I said, turning on my heel and striding out of the alleyway.


    A second later, she was¡ªshe had dashed past me, and in the light of the street, she stopped, turned, and stopped in front of me, blocking my path as she looked up, studying my face.


    "Miles," she said, this time more of a confirmation than a question, but I nodded anyway.


    "Come on. Let''s not talk here," I said, looking around at the relatively seedy part of town. "I don''t like this area."


    She stepped to the side slightly, and I continued on my way, her falling into step next to me. She was quiet for a whole dozen paces before she exploded with the questions burning in her.


    "How? Where have you been?" she practically shouted after the first breathy word.


    I put my fingers to my throat, a finger to my lips, and shushed her.


    "Later," I said. "For now, let''s get out before those people come back."


    Astrid looked over her shoulder and then scoffed. "Ah, don''t worry about them. Now that they think you have this," she said, holding the bag, "They''re not going to come after you. They have no idea who you are. And you certainly did a great job of terrifying them."


    I looked at the bag. "What is that, anyway? I assume it''s something important."


    Astrid shrugged. "Not really. But they probably want their storage bag back."


    "What?" I said, confused.


    She stuttered for a step and looked up at me. "You thought I was stealing this?" she exclaimed, indignation clear in her tone.


    I raised my eyebrow. "Yes, I got that impression. And you did say they''d probably want the bag back."


    "Yeah," Astrid huffed, stomping her foot before striding off ahead of me, making¡ªthis time making me scurry to catch up. Walk quickly for a few steps to catch up to her.


    "Yeah, the bag, sure, but everything in it is mine."


    "Oh. Can we talk about this later when we talk about your thing?" she said testily.


    I rolled it over in my mind and shrugged. I supposed if I could make her wait, I could wait as well. But my thoughts continued to spiral as I tried to figure out what I had broken up and if it wasn''t Astrid thieving something. I supposed I was grateful that she hadn''t been robbing people. It would have been harder to trust her, but honestly, it wasn''t that big of a deal. I wasn''t like I cared¡ªworking with Loki, I was already resigned to dealing with shady parts of life.


    Astrid and I walked for five minutes or so in silence down several streets, covering a surprising amount of distance with our stats. Apparently, her speed stat had significantly improved since we last met as well. We found a bar and ducked into a booth at the back. I didn''t have any coin so it was a little tricky.


    The bartender looked at us, but I made a motion indicating that we''d get drinks in a bit. He shrugged, looking at the otherwise empty establishment, and went back to wiping his glasses with his grimy rag.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    I had intentionally chosen one of the places not actually manned by a member of Valhalla but rather some sort of puppet for whoever owned the store. Astrid leaned forward and studied my face.


    "You look the same," she said before anything else, and I nodded.


    "Yeah. I didn''t think we aged."


    Astrid pointed to a slight scar on her face. "Yeah, but¡­ well, most of us accumulate marks that fade slowly. Healing doesn''t fix everything." She yanked my hand across the table and pushed up my sleeve. I was slow at taking it back, but she noticed. But I got it back before the sleeve got up to my elbow and exposed my tattoo. But that wasn''t what she was looking for. She frowned.


    "Are you really Miles?"


    "Yes," I said. "Why?"


    Before giving her a chance to answer, I told her that Bjorn, Jonas, and Helga were in a group. Helga wanted to work with the sword and a few other fun facts sticking out of things that would have¡ªpeople would have realized from the commotion we caused when I had to flee.


    After a while, she cut me off. "Okay, okay. You definitely know things that no one besides Miles should know. But you should have a faint scar on your arm. I should see it. Especially since I was the one who healed it."


    I frowned, not remembering that. "When was that?"


    She waved her hands. "No, it wasn''t a big deal. It was when we were fighting one of those bear things early on."


    I raised my eyebrows, and she shrugged. "Hey, some of my spells let me know when I heal things."


    I didn''t ask for elaboration. I wasn''t sure how private she wanted to be about that sort of information.


    "Okay," I said. "So I''m Miles. I look the same because I am the same. I haven''t really taken many wounds since we last met," I said, slightly unsure if that was the truth or not. But it was an explanation that was sort of true. I might have to explain more to her to get her on my side. But first, I really wanted an explanation.


    "So, if you didn''t steal that," I said, pointing to the bag under the table by her hips, "what the heck is going on?"


    "Well," she said, drawing out the word slightly, "I suppose I might have stolen the bag, but everything in it is mine."


    I raised my eyebrows.


    "Well, the bag is spatially expanded," she said. "It''s worth quite a bit. It was part of a joining bonus for the team that they used to get me on board, but things weren''t really what they advertised. So when I left, I figured I could keep the bag for my troubles."


    "That was your team that was chasing you?"


    "My former team," Astrid corrected me testily. "Fucking dick bags," she muttered under her breath.


    I winced, not necessarily wanting to know the details. Looking at her, I expected she might try to cut me if I asked if she was okay, so I let the matter drop.


    "How have things been since I left?" I asked. "What happened after the riot?"


    I was still debating how much I should tell her. It felt a little premature to just come out and say that I had worked with the God of Deceit and Trickery to spend time in another body, on another world besides Earth. I wasn''t sure if she even knew about other worlds. Presumably, they came here as well. As long as they were human. But honestly, it would have been kind of hard to tell where someone was from just from talking to them. At least I would have been¡ªat least with how many time periods were available.


    Astrid shook her head. "Yeah, that was an ugly business," she said, glaring at me.


    "What?" I said, raising my hands. "I didn''t know the rule. That was against the rules."


    She sighed. "Yeah. That''s fair. I guess I can''t really blame you. But for the most part, they left us alone. They didn''t¡ªmost people didn''t put together that we were at a party until afterward. And even then, the hype, the excitement had died down. Your face was on posters for a couple days, but everyone seemed to forget about it. We took them down once we could, but we couldn''t ever find you. And, well, things kind of fell apart," she said, her voice trailing off as her expression crashed from annoyance and frustration to something that looked suspiciously like depression.


    I frowned. "Yeah, I found Bjorn first. He didn''t look good."


    "Yeah," Astrid said. "He was¡­ well. Things didn''t really work well with him. I don''t know if you¡ªhe just hadn''t gone that far down and you being here would have helped, or we were already lost. Turns out he has a major problem with alcohol. Not just enjoys it but literally can''t stop. After a week of dragging him out of bars, hungover to try to run dungeons with the rest of us¡­ well, Jonas eventually had enough. And then he and Helga got together, and I may have said some things that I regret," Astrid said, looking¡ªnot meeting my eyes. "And then I''ve been bouncing around teams, trying to scrape up some levels and avoid having to get punished."


    There was a moment of silence after that depressing story.


    "I found Jonas and Helga''s party," I said hesitantly. "They seem to be getting along well, but I didn''t want to¡ª"


    "Interrupt them?" Astrid finished for me. "Yeah, those two are doing okay," she said grumpily and then looked at me. "Was I the last one you looked for?"


    "Well, I didn''t really look for Helga first. I just found Jonas and she was there. I didn''t get to talk to them, they were ''busy''" I said with air quotes. "But can you blame me?"


    She didn''t exactly look thrilled, but at least I was being honest. A second later, her expression passed, and she met my gaze, this time with stubbornness written all across her face.


    "Okay, enough. You have to tell me now. What the hell have you been doing all this time?"

 EV B2 Chapter 9:

    EV B2 Chapter 9:


    With a long, drawn-out breath, I leaned back into my booth and closed my eyes, trying to make a final decision on how much I should tell Astrid. This was something I''d been wrestling with for a long time. After a handful of seconds, I opened my eyes and met hers, stunned by their brilliant color. I blinked a couple of times before finally opening my mouth.


    "How much?" I said, halting, still struggling with the decision. "How much do you know? How much do you want to know?" I corrected myself.


    She looked at me as if I''d asked a second question, then paused, thinking it over as she played with the tip of her hair. She was giving it serious thought as if my delivery had suggested it demanded a serious answer. I was grateful for that. I didn''t want to burst her bubble too much, but some of what I knew showed just how little what we did here mattered. And that kind of knowledge wasn''t for everyone. At the same time, letting her in, even if only in the most limited sense, would make the stakes real for her.


    I was pretty sure that if I continued on with Loki, I''d face more dangers than just being set back in Valhalla all over again. Maybe things could get worse. Maybe I wouldn''t even earn reentry into Valhalla with my next life. Or maybe the gods would target me in some other way. So I did my best to give her a real choice.


    Finally, she looked up and nodded. "Miles? I want to know everything," she said.


    I grimaced, hoping she just wanted less, but I''d expected nothing else. Slowly, I reached over and pushed up my sleeve, bearing the black mark on my arm. She looked at it, her expression showing no recognition.


    "A tattoo? I mean¡­ I haven''t seen that many tattoos. Most people don''t bother getting re-inked because of how often we end up dying and everything resets."


    Was it a tattoo? A brand? Looking at it carefully, I couldn''t really tell. I just shrugged. "It''s permanent," I said. "There''s a lot more to Valhalla than just fighting in the challenges. Do you remember how Thor welcomed us?"


    She nodded.


    "Well, Thor''s not the only god," I said.


    I saw thoughts beginning to whirl behind her eyes. Astrid was always smart, and soon enough, she had some of it figured out.


    "No¡­" she whispered, drawing the word out with realization. Leaning forward, her elbows on the table, she looked closely at my arm. She reached out with a finger to touch it. "Really?"


    She looked up at me, her eyes wide with curiosity. I nodded, assuming she at least understood who my patron might be.


    "What do you get out of it? What do you have to do? How did you¡­?" She rattled off a dozen questions, not giving me a chance to respond.


    Eventually, I held up my hand to stem the tide. "Let me just start from the beginning."


    And then I told her my story. Well, most of it. I finished by describing how I''d died, gone through the lesser Hall again, and come back out here. Astrid had ordered us several rounds of beer throughout my tale, and as I leaned back, she mimicked me, sipping her latest drink. I''d left out a lot of the details about how to contact Loki, where his bases were, or how to identify people, but I kept most of it the same. I even told her a bit about Alana. I only meant to skim over that part, but Astrid latched on, seeming to sense my evasion, and dragged the details out of me.


    Astrid looked at me with the slightest hint of empathy in her eyes, and I coughed into my hand, feeling slightly awkward and not sure how to deal with that emotion.


    "So, here comes the slightly selfish part of me telling you everything," I said. "I want to know a bit more about your lesser Hall."


    Astrid nodded and started recapping what I''d heard before¡ªthe way it was structured more like a school, with coursework and challenging professors, as opposed to a knightly tournament.


    "It took you two years?" I confirmed.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Astrid shrugged. "Give or take."


    I nodded. If Alana was going to make it to Valhalla proper, maybe she''d do it faster. I hadn''t met anyone smarter than her, and if the Hall was all about knowledge, well¡­ maybe I''d see her in a few months.


    Astrid frowned. "Do you think I should try to get one of these blessings?" she asked.


    I rubbed my chin thoughtfully. "I got a decent amount of stats from mine. But mostly, it was the connections, information, and influence it gave me in my classes. I don''t think I''d even have some of the opportunities I''ve had without it. But on the other hand, it''s definitely made life a lot harder."


    I shrugged. "I don''t know if you can do anything about it. You either get one, or you don''t."


    "You couldn''t make introductions?" Astrid asked.


    I leaned forward, studying her face. Did I really want to introduce her to Loki? "Would you really be interested in my patron?" I asked carefully. "I don''t know if that''s a good fit."


    She frowned. "Why would you say that?"


    "Well¡­ how good are you at lying?" I asked in return.


    This took her aback slightly, and she stopped to think, emotions playing over her face. "I don''t know if I''m the worst at lying," Astrid said.


    "Look," I said, my tone turning serious. "You''re smart. Tricky. Determined. I admire a lot of things about you. You can be devious on occasion, but I don''t think your personality matches that of a trickster. You tend to follow the rules. Not in a bad way," I added quickly, trying to head off the affronted expression forming on her face. "But you''d think more than twice about stabbing someone in the back. And I''m not sure you''d do it even if it was the best option. That''s not a bad thing," I said, cutting her off as she started to protest, "but it doesn''t necessarily match the needs of my patron."


    "Should you have told me about this, then?" she asked, ignoring the fact that she was the one who''d insisted.


    I sighed. "Probably. That''s actually why I told you. I''m very confident," I said, stretching the truth a bit, "that you won''t get me in trouble. If you were someone who''d be a valid candidate¡­ well, I would''ve wanted to get some blackmail on you first, just to ensure your silence even if things didn''t go smoothly."


    Astrid blinked, the thought of either me selling her out or needing blackmail clearly never having occurred to her. I chuckled slightly.


    "I can talk to Loki, but my gut tells me he won''t be interested. Perhaps, though, one of his fellow gods would be looking for a disciple. Maybe someone he has a relationship with, someone who can hand out a blessing."


    "I¡­" Astrid paused. "I would appreciate that."


    I cracked a smile. "Perfect. Now, I think we have some planning to do."


    Astrid leaned in close, then nodded. "Thank God," she said, and I tilted my head slightly. "Thank gods," she corrected herself with a smirk. "I think, thank Loki maybe¡ª"


    I chuckled and shook my head. "What?"


    "Well, there aren''t many people in Valhalla willing to do real planning. I''m not exactly a schemer myself, but the others¡­" She trailed off. "You, though? part of why you made a leader. Not only were you used to calling the shots under pressure, but you at least tried to think ahead."


    I felt myself blush slightly. "Okay," I said, feeling the weight of expectations press down on my shoulders. "So¡­ what are your goals?" I asked, having completely lost my train of thought.


    Astrid gave me a teasing smile. "Honestly, I just want to get stronger. More levels, unlock my class, and maybe get a blessing from a god. I didn''t realize that going world-side was an option, but maybe Loki would let me go with you next time."


    I blinked. "You want to get deeper into this?"


    "Yeah. Of course. What are you thinking? What are even the other options besides getting stronger or settling down somewhere comfortable? Get some sort of recurring investment so you have enough money that you never have to worry, get strong enough to complete any bit of the challenge with ease¡­ then party it up," I suggested.


    Astrid looked at me and laughed. "Maybe for some people, but I don''t know. It sounds kind of boring."


    I shrugged. "Heh. Maybe. But I don''t think I have much of a choice but to get stronger. Not with the mark on me, and not with Loki. I''m sure he has some strings attached to me, even if I don''t know exactly what they are."


    "Okay, so, first things first. I think we need to get past the minimum clear of the trial."


    Astrid nodded. "Yeah, my team hasn''t managed it yet, and we only have a few days left."


    I frowned. "What?"


    "Yeah. You didn''t know?"


    I paused, realizing I''d spaced out during orientation. "No shit," I said. "I kind of assumed we had thirty days, like last time when we came at the beginning of a cycle."


    Astrid laughed and shook her head. "Why do you think my team was falling apart?"


    Her face became serious, and she quieted, looking me in the eyes. "No. We have three days."

 EV B2 Chapter 10:

    EV B2 Chapter 10:


    "Well, shit," I said to Astrid, and they leaned back in the booth, needing a moment to think. I lifted my glass and drained it, setting it down next to the wine.


    "How far did you guys get?" I asked.


    She grimaced. "Twelve percent."


    "We need twenty?" I confirmed.


    "Same as with the gauntlet we did together." She nodded grimly.


    "How about the other challenges you did when I was gone? How did they go for you." I asked.


    "I''ll tell you about them later," Astrid said with a sour look on her face. "Probably after some drinks."


    "And you had a full party of five when you did this last time?" I brought the topic back to the main issue.


    She nodded again.


    "How good were they?"


    She lifted a shoulder. "They weren''t the worst, but they didn''t exactly think on their feet."


    I grimaced, remembering my brief experience with the trial. This didn''t seem like one you could just brute-force your way through, like the gauntlet that Thor was having us run.


    "Okay," I said, tapping my chin in thought. "Okay, so tell me everything you know about this challenge."


    Astrid began to talk.


    ***


    This time, when I entered the challenge, I had a much better idea of what to expect. As I went through the encounter, it was almost exactly the same. I even chopped wood for a good portion of it. But this time, when the family insisted that they hide, I sent Astrid with them.


    This was the first check¡ªwe needed to be able to do two things at once: protect them and protect the village. If we went with just the family, the village would burn, and there would be no progress. If we left, the family would die, and again, there would be no progress. We had to safely bring the family back to their home in the village before the next portion of the scenario could play out.


    It was simply impossible to do alone. According to Astrid, though, the rest of the scenario should¡ªand this was a very, very tentative "should "¡ªbe able to be completed with just the two of us. It was less a question of whether it was theoretically possible and more of whether we could actually pull it off.


    I turned off my doubts as I charged into the village and entered combat. Astrid wasn''t sure I''d be able to do this part by myself, but having done it before, I knew it wouldn''t be too much of a problem. This time, I was actually even faster. I hadn''t really improved since the last time, but I knew what I was looking for, who I was looking for, and the general goal. There was less hesitation, and I arrived several minutes earlier.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The Raiders didn''t stand a chance. I scythed through them like a hot knife through butter. My illusions, mana-strengthening, and body-strengthening spells made it effortless. For the most part, anyone with a class or good skills wouldn''t have had much more of a problem. People who hadn''t leveled might have struggled, but mostly, it would have just cost them time.


    Having gotten a class so early made this whole thing a lot easier for me, as well as being able to work with magic.


    ***


    When morning came, I found myself with Astrid, standing on the beach, looking out at the three boats I''d avoided burning as per her information. This was the next stage of the scenario. I wasn''t exactly sure what would happen, but the family surviving was a prerequisite. If they had died, something like what happened last time I tried would occur: the village would just go on rebuilding, and that would be the end of it. Maybe it also had to do with how much of the town I''d managed to save.


    As we watched, a man approached us. "Excuse me," he said. "I wasn''t sure how you would react, but I thought it''d be best to offer you both a reward for the assistance you provided. Simple food and shelter for a few nights is not enough for such personal risk and prowess, especially when you could have just slipped off wherever you came from."


    I nodded, letting Astrid respond.


    "We would appreciate any reward you''d like to give," she said, "but we don''t need much. Food and shelter are more than enough, and I know the village will be busy rebuilding for quite some time."


    The man¡ªHalldor¡ªsmiled. "Yes, but thanks to your efforts, we happen to have three new warships to add to our fleet," he said, gesturing to the small set of rowboat fishing vessels. They looked nothing like the dragon-headed ships that had landed on their beach, carrying in the raiders.


    I chuckled slightly at the joke, and Halldor shot me a look. That was when I realized it might not have been as much of a joke as I had first thought.


    "We may not have the money or experience to build ships like these right now, but if they''ve landed in our laps, well...we don''t forget what our ancestors did. Many of us still know how to sail. We remember when we once had ships of our own. So, while we might not have much to give you now if you join us on our excursion, we''ll have plenty of opportunities for you."


    "We''d be honored," Astrid said with a fierce smile. "A share of the loot would be more than sufficient. Besides, it might help us along our way."


    After Halldor left, I looked down at Astrid. "I''m not sure I''m entirely comfortable with raiding a village like this," I said, thinking back to how many of the raiders had been chasing down defenseless women and children in the streets when I killed them.


    Astrid grimaced. "Yeah, that''s what I said, too. Don''t worry, though¡ªthey''re going south, and there''s a castle that we''ll end up attacking. It''s bloody and hard, and something my previous group never managed to get past. But we''ll be fighting soldiers, not innocents."


    I nodded, sighing in relief, and we went back to help with the cleanup for a few hours as the raiding party assembled. I figured that this wasn''t exactly realistic, but I was glad the scenario didn''t make us sit and wait for hours or days while they prepared.


    ***


    Cold water splashed onto me as I half-kneeled at the prow of the ship, bracing myself as we crashed through another wave. The rain beat down on my head, plastering my hair to my face as I tilted my face up to the sky. It was cold, and the taste of salt wouldn''t leave my mouth. But even as the wind howled and the rowers strained at their oars, I couldn''t help but smile. I felt alive.


    The cold didn''t really bother me, thanks to my stats, and I had no problem keeping my balance. I''d been worried about seasickness for a brief moment, but it never hit me. Instead, I felt a strange sense of freedom, as if this was something I should have been doing my entire life but never had the chance.


    Astrid was huddled in the cramped boat just in front of me, using my body as a shield from the wind along with the gunwale of the ship. I could feel her pressed against my thighs as she sought warmth. Even though she was at a similar level to me, the extra start from my class meant I''d automatically outpaced her in resilience. She was also being very careful about protecting her bowstrings.


    "I can''t believe you''re having fun," she grumbled up at me.


    I just laughed, letting the wind carry my voice.

 EV B2 Chapter 11:

    EV B2 Chapter 11:


    After two days, I wasn''t having quite as much fun anymore. We''d gone through a storm, and the clouds were only now beginning to part. The rain had eased up a few hours ago, and I''d immediately come out of the shelter. The canvas tarp that covered a decent portion of the deck had kept us out of the worst of the rain, but we were by no means dry. Sea spray and the storm''s relentless downpour had washed over the boat countless times. More than once, we''d had to bail buckets of water from the bottom of the ship.


    Still, I found myself with a silly grin plastered on my face as I stood near the prow, savoring the sea breeze and the warmth of the newly emerged sun on my skin. From my position, I was the first to see it¡ªland. I called out, and soon I was surrounded by the others, all of us leaning forward to look.


    The other two ships that had come with us were nowhere in sight. Whether they''d been lost to the storm or had simply gone off course, we didn''t know. No one seemed overly concerned. There were a few mutterings about how it might make our job harder, but there was no mourning for the loss. Maybe it was because we were still focused on the raid¡ªor the "mission," if I wanted to call it that. Or maybe it was simply that everyone here had already accepted the danger. Most of them, or at least many, wouldn''t come back. Still, the lack of emotion felt odd to me.


    Astrid and I didn''t dwell on it. We just went along with the flow.


    As we drew closer to the shoreline, we realized there wasn''t just land¡ªthere was a castle of sorts. A large main tower rose above the rest, capped with bells and a cross. The bells started tolling as we approached, but no soldiers emerged from the keep''s entrance, nor did any line the walls with bows or crossbows. Instead, a pair of large wooden doors at the entrance began to swing closed.


    We ground onto the beach below a steep cliff about fifty feet high. There, we disembarked quickly. Everyone raised their shields, moving cautiously, as we were already within bowshot of the walls¡ªbut nothing happened.


    A staircase, conveniently carved into the face of the cliff, zigzagged its way up toward the entrance. It would have been an excellent defensive barrier if it weren''t for the neat, deliberate switchbacks, each nearly four feet wide. Together, we moved in formation, running up the stairs with Astrid and me in the front line.


    Astrid carried a shield but clearly didn''t know what to do with it. Luckily, it wasn''t so hard to figure out. She held it awkwardly in front of her torso, protecting her vital organs, while her bow remained slung over her shoulder.


    I wasn''t used to holding a shield either, but it wasn''t too hard to get the hang of it. A sword and shield felt intuitive enough, and I could already feel myself growing more comfortable with it. Maybe it was my stats¡ªor something else¡ªbut whatever it was, I was gaining proficiency incredibly quickly.


    When we reached the top of the stairs, the gates were shut. The only person visible was a fat, balding man standing atop the gates, shouting at us in a language I didn''t recognize. A sinking feeling twisted in my stomach. I didn''t understand what he was saying, but the lack of recognition felt intentional, as though no one here was meant to understand.


    Still, I knew who these people were. Friars or monks of some kind, dressed in brown robes tied with simple knotted ropes at their waists. Their heads were shaved in a strange, circular pattern that seemed almost comical¡ªat least if the pudgy man yelling down at us was anything to go by. His head looked like it had been shaved, though it was hard to tell if that was intentional or just male-pattern baldness.


    "Are we about to raid a monastery?" I whispered to Astrid.


    "A what?" she asked, frowning.


    "A holy place. A church," I explained.


    She lifted a shoulder in an uncertain shrug. "Yeah, probably."


    I frowned, trying to remember whether she was supposed to know that or not. But before I could think on it further, the crew charged forward, slamming their shoulders against the gates. The heavy wooden doors shuddered but didn''t budge. We pushed harder, but it was clear something braced them from the other side.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    To our surprise, though, the gates moved a few inches without us needing to find an improvised battering ram. They didn''t open fully, but through the narrow crack, I could see a half-dozen men frantically leaning against the doors, trying to hold them shut. There wasn''t even a wooden brace barring the way¡ªjust their bodies.


    "What?" I muttered, confused.


    We pushed again, harder this time, and the unathletic holy men were shoved aside. One got caught between the door and the wall with a yelp while the others turned and bolted. The second we had the doors open more than a foot, the raiders surged forward.


    Swords drawn, they rushed into the courtyard, cutting down the fleeing men within seconds. Around me, everyone spread out, darting into side doors and searching the stone buildings for loot.


    I stood there for a moment, stunned before Astrid grabbed my sleeve. Together, we set off deeper into the castle.


    "I thought you said we''d be fighting soldiers," I muttered to her. The air was thick with the scent of fresh blood, and the distant screams echoed off the cold stone walls. It wasn''t what I had signed up for¡ªor at least, what I thought I had signed up for. "You said it was bloody and hard."


    "It was!" Astrid replied over her shoulder as we went deeper into the monastery. "I don''t know what''s different."


    "This is not at all what I was okay with," I grumbled, ignoring a monk who ran across the parallel hall. He caught sight of us, screamed, and promptly turned to flee in the opposite direction, robes flapping awkwardly behind him.


    We kept moving, not bothering to chase him.


    "What''s next?" Astrid asked, scowling as she glanced around.


    "I don''t know," I admitted as we stopped in what must have been the grand hall. Row upon row of pews stretched down the aisle, leading toward a raised altar adorned with gilded crosses and statues.


    "I''m pretty sure the goal was to gather enough wealth from the castle¡ªor at least take the castle," Astrid said, glancing at the sack I carried. Each of us had been given one to fill with whatever valuables we found to bring back home. But as I looked around the hall, my hesitation grew.


    "So you think we should just loot the place?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.


    She shrugged. "Unless you''ve got a better idea."


    "I-" I started to reply but trailed off. I didn''t have a better idea. Not even close. And yet, I highly doubted we were supposed to protect these monks. That didn''t align with anything I knew about Valhalla or its culture. But neither did this¡ªattacking a defenseless settlement. It was also revealing to know that Astrid was more callous than me.


    Slowly, I stepped forward, walking down the center aisle toward the altar. Astrid followed, her eyes darting to the various doors. Aside from the faint echoes of distant screams, the monastery seemed eerily quiet.


    "They''re just¡­ NPCs," I told myself under my breath. "Not real. Just part of the simulation."


    But somehow, that thought didn''t make it any better. I could imagine the desperation of the monks¡ªstarving, powerless, and terrified. I couldn''t picture myself as one of the Raiders either, no matter how hard I tried. What would it be like to be a hungry, warlike raider hyped up on fear and adrenaline, attacking a holy site like this to bring back riches for your family?


    Maybe I was overthinking it. Trying too hard to sympathize with these virtual people. But it felt wrong. Wrong in a way I couldn''t shake.


    Shaking my head, I muttered, "What am I supposed to be learning from this trial?" My voice echoed slightly in the vast space. "How is this even a challenge in the proper sense? What was Baldur thinking?"


    Astrid glanced at me, but she didn''t answer. She just followed as I reached the altar and began examining the items. Among the gilded decorations, we found a book written in something that looked like an old Germanic language. I couldn''t read it, but I tucked it into my sack anyway, alongside a pair of unlit golden candlesticks and a few other small items.


    With our sacks a bit heavier, we turned and headed through another door. Occasionally, we spotted people in the distance¡ªmonks fleeing down the corridors or raiders with full sacks of loot, grinning as they searched for more.


    When we stepped back out into the courtyard, a horn blared in the distance. The sound was low and commanding, followed by the clatter of hooves on stone.


    "Ah," I said, my stomach sinking. "There it is."


    Astrid exhaled, her shoulders sagging slightly in what looked like relief. "Yeah¡­ um, this makes a little more sense now."


    "So, what do you think?" I asked as we started sprinting toward the entrance. "Were we supposed to get in and out before the reinforcements came? Or are we supposed to hold the castle against¡­" I waved vaguely toward the sound of the horn and the hooves.


    Astrid glanced at the doors ahead, her pace quickening. "I guess we''ll find out," she said grimly.


    We reached the entrance and peered outside.

 EV B2 Chapter 12:

    EV B2 Chapter 12:


    I couldn''t see much from the gate, but I could hear the hoof beats much more clearly. There were definitely a lot of horses coming our way, clattering down the long path toward the center of the gate.


    There were two approaches to the castle. The first was the cliffside stairway that led down to the beach that we had come up. It joined the road about 200 yards away from the gate. The other was a long, well-maintained road cutting through gently rolling hills. From that direction, I could see a dust cloud rising in the distance.


    I stepped back inside and ran up the stairs along the wall. Astrid followed closely behind me.


    "Do you think they heard the alarm bells, or are they coming to take the castle anyway?" she asked. I took a second to think about it. It would have been incredibly bad luck if they were here anyway, but I couldn''t rule it out. Also, how much range did the bells have on them?


    "Probably the bells," I replied as we reached the battlements.


    From the top of the wall, I could see more clearly. Cresting one of the distant hills, a rank of five horses trotted forward, banners snapping in the breeze. The green field on the flag bore a pair of crossed swords before a shield, with a lion rearing and roaring behind it.


    "That must be the local lord coming to defend," I muttered.


    "They''re a little late," Astrid said dryly.


    "Yeah," I agreed. "I don''t think this place would normally be a target, though¡ªnot for how they''re used to fighting. Normally, holy places are left alone during most local wars. I bet they are used to warring with their neighbors, who probably have the same faith."


    Astrid grunted in response, and we both looked out and considered the problem.


    "You think this is the castle''s usual occupants?" I asked her. "The ones you ran into when you got this far with your old team?"


    She leaned over one of the crenelations, narrowing her eyes. "Maybe. The coat of arms does seem familiar."


    I quickly strode toward one of the bells and slammed the pommel of my sword against it three times, letting it ring after each strike. The sound echoed out, sharp and urgent. Hopefully, they would work to alert us just as well. I yelled at the top of my lungs, "Enemies approaching! At the gate!"


    Hopefully, many of the other raiders got my message. But I didn''t have time to stop and make sure.


    "We need a barricade for the door," I told Astrid, and we ran together toward one of the nearby outbuildings. It looked like it had been some kind of chapel, a place for quiet prayer and contemplation, separated from the rest of the monastery. That peace didn''t last long.


    I grabbed one of the long wooden benches and heaved it onto the floor. The bench cracked apart at the joints, and one of the longer planks¡ªseveral inches thick and even wider¡ªbroke free. Picking it up, I rushed past Astrid as she pried at the other board that had been making up the seat.


    Back at the gate, I slotted the plank into place where a locking beam should have gone when we first got there. Why no one had done that when we attacked, I didn''t know, but I hoped it would hold longer than we needed. A few moments later, Astrid appeared behind me, struggling with her own thick beam. She slotted it into place on top of mine with a grunt, and we both stepped back.


    The courtyard was growing busier. Several other raiders had made it outside¡ªsome climbing the walls, others spreading the word that we were under attack.


    Astrid positioned herself on the wall, bow in hand.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    "Don''t fire yet," I ordered, climbing up beside her. "But if they get too close and don''t try to speak, start picking them off."


    She gave me a sharp nod and dashed off. I turned and headed back down to gather more barricade materials.


    With the help of some of the raiders, I dragged tables, chests, and other pieces of furniture out into the courtyard. We stacked them in front of the gate, layer after layer. Even if the enemy managed to break through the gate, they would waste valuable time clearing the obstacles. More importantly, they wouldn''t be able to charge their horses in, forcing them to dismount and fight us on foot.


    As I worked, I heard the sharp twang of Astrid''s bowstring, followed by a scream and the panicked whinny of a horse.


    Apparently, they weren''t interested in talking. Not that I was surprised.


    When I was satisfied with the barricade, I climbed back up to join Astrid on the wall. Below us, the scene was a chaotic mess. Horses milled about, and men scrambled to regroup. One of their banners lay on the ground, splattered with blood.


    "What happened?" I asked.


    I wasn''t sure why they hadn''t attacked after Astrid shot one of them¡ªespecially since I''d told her only to fire if they looked ready to attack us. I glanced over at her and caught her sheepish expression.


    Ah. That explained it. She might have been a little quick on the draw.


    I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. "Okay. Never mind. Let''s just deal with them. Did you count how many there were?"


    Astrid nodded. "About fifty horsemen. And maybe a hundred, a hundred twenty infantry a little ways back." She pointed, squinting toward the horizon. I would only see a smudge of the infantry¡ªthey were trying to catch up. The horsemen must have rushed ahead as fast as they could. Something told me that would have been a really bad idea if we were a conventional force. How much were the gods cheating in this challenge?


    I trusted Astrid''s perception more than my own, though I also knew things could sometimes be deceiving from a distance. Still, the obvious choice seemed clear: grab the loot and make for the ships. The only other option was to try and fight twice our numbers on the horse when they were getting reinforcements soon.


    Looking around the courtyard, most of the raiders were already there. The surviving monks, tied up and praying on their knees, looked utterly defeated. I hoped, for their sake, that they were also smart enough to stay silent.


    Clapping my hands loudly, I called out to the gathered raiders to get their attention. "Okay, listen up! We''ve got a small force blocking our return to the boats. If we wait much longer, a larger force is going to show up and reinforce them. Has everyone got enough loot?"


    The responses were mixed. Some raiders nodded, satisfied, while others grumbled that they needed more time to find what they wanted.


    I paused, weighing our options. Forcing our way out was one choice¡ªwe could push past the soldiers, get to the ships with at least some loot, and be gone before reinforcements arrived. On the other hand, we could fight them off here and hold the castle. But what would be the point of holding the castle? It wasn''t like we could keep it for long.


    Turning back to Astrid, I gestured toward the infantry in the distance. "How long till they get here?"


    She paused, tracking their pace. "Twenty minutes," she said after a moment.


    "All right. Five minutes to grab whatever you want!" I shouted to the men. Several raiders immediately dashed off, heading back into the buildings.


    While they were gone, I started organizing everyone else, preparing for a quick escape. We adjusted the barricades so we could move them out of the way quickly but still leave them in place long enough to slow the enemy. Astrid and a few others with bows kept watch from the wall, eyes sharp on the force assembling outside.


    Once the looters started returning, I lined them up and made sure they were ready. With everyone gathered, I climbed back up onto the wall to address the bowmen.


    "Okay, you four," I said, pointing to the raiders who had decided to bring bows. "You''re going to be the last ones out. When we open the gates, I want you to aim for the second-furthest rank of the enemy. Hit them as many times as you can¡ªtry to get them to panic and break formation. Once we''ve created a path, we''ll charge past them and down the steps. You''ll come behind us."


    I hesitated, hating what I was about to say, but I knew it was necessary. "If you have to, aim for the horses. That''s going to be the most dangerous part¡ªif they try to ride us down. But once we''re on the stairs, the horses won''t be a problem. Got it?"


    They nodded, grim-faced.


    Satisfied, I climbed back down. I deemed it had been close enough to five minutes.


    "If anyone''s still left behind," I bellowed, "you''d better catch up fast, or you''ll be stranded here!"

 EV B2 Chapter 13:

    EV B2 Chapter 13:


    With that, I put my plan into action. We dumped the barricade from the doors. It hadn''t been all that useful, and we had no trouble getting through the piles of junk we''d placed to stop the horses. I had a sack slung across my shoulders with a few things inside as I stepped out first, quickly followed by the raiders in a steady stream.


    The second I cracked the door open, arrows rained down from the top of the wall, plunging into the back of the horsemen''s formation. Astrid shot noticeably faster than the others, and her arrows had more of an impact¡ªseveral exploded in small bursts, startling the horses. Still, there was a reason why I had them aim for the back of the formation. It was counterintuitive, but it worked. I had all my stats this time.


    This wasn''t like back in the other world when I''d been too slow to save Alana. No, I was here, fully leveled, with all my stats intact. That made me pause briefly to make a mental note: I needed to help Astra class up soon. Maybe that''d be an excuse to introduce her to Loki. Sure, I got my class faster, but a few more achievements for her couldn''t hurt.


    Dashing toward the formation, I angled slightly as the horsemen readied their lances to charge. I aimed carefully, running in a slight arc and pushing hard to the left until I was just outside the far edge of their first rank of five men. Then, I cut in sharply, leaping into the fray with a dancer''s precision, using a Jester''s Leap powered by my Fool''s Constitution spell. I flung myself shield-first into the leftmost rider, knocking him off his horse and into the man beside him. His neighbor''s horse panicked and veered sharply to the right, toward the cliff.


    I doubted any horse would actually go off the edge; there were still a dozen paces of grass between the road and the drop-off. But I landed on the back of the riderless horse, just as I had planned. With my speed and focus so high, I had no trouble keeping my balance. I had more than four times the strength I''d had when I first joined this world.


    It didn''t quite make me superhuman in any one specific way. If I could bench press 200 pounds back when I''d first reverted to my 25-year-old body, I could now bench press 800. Of course, there were people who could actually bench press 800 pounds¡ªI was pretty sure¡ªbut they were usually built like refrigerators, not a lean 170 pounds like me. They also couldn''t move nearly as fast.


    I might not have been superhuman in raw strength, but my speed? That was another story. When you paired my speed with my nearly superhuman strength and the two spells I knew inside and out, no group of underfed, middle-aged cavalrymen stood a chance against me. Not alone, maybe¡ªbut I wasn''t alone.


    Only seconds after I disrupted the entire first line, sending the formation into chaos, the raiders slammed into the fray. Swords and hand axes flashed as they fell upon the struggling horsemen, who were still trying to keep their mounts steady. The raiders cut them down with ease.


    I didn''t linger. Leaping further into the formation, I skipped over the second rank entirely. I kicked the head of a rider in the third rank, using the force of the impact to push myself upward, stepping off his falling shoulder and vaulting further to the right. I didn''t bother finishing many of them off¡ªjust unseating them and sending their horses scattering.


    Astrid, on the other hand, had already killed at least half a dozen men. The other archers were doing their part as well, peppering the back ranks with arrows. Some of Astrid''s elemental arrows sent loud explosions echoing through the formation, causing the horses to rear and panic. Several of the horsemen broke formation entirely, fleeing the battlefield.


    They''d only managed a few scattered shots at us before we were all out of the gates, but it was enough. Initially, I had planned for us to push past the horses, but I quickly realized that would''ve been a stupid move. They could''ve easily run us down from behind. But as it turned out, we didn''t need to push through.


    The men and horses were already fleeing, completely unprepared for such a shocking assault¡ªespecially one led by someone like me. I knew I shouldn''t exist, not the way I was now. I wasn''t just some level 17 warrior. Astrid technically outranked me in level, but with the extra stat points from my class, I was practically three times as strong as anyone at my level had any right to be. Normally, people around level 80 would''ve had a class for some time, so it wasn''t a fair comparison. Still, it left me wondering how Astrid''s party of five¡ªpeople just as powerful as her¡ªhad struggled with this scenario. For me, the only challenge had been that it was literally impossible to do alone.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    Gathering the raiders, we began to move out. We left behind a few of our fallen, but soon enough, we headed down the long stairs toward our boats.


    I stood at the top of the stairs, ushering the raiders down and keeping an eye on everyone who was still fighting. My main focus, though, was on making sure Astrid made it through the chaos. As I stood there, many of the raiders gave me a wide berth, flashing nervous glances as they ran past. Even the few soldiers on horseback who had lingered near the edge of the fight¡ªpossibly to attack our rear¡ªsaw me standing there and backed off.


    I wasn''t sure how to feel about that. On the one hand, it was good¡ªobviously, I was strong enough now to protect people. But there was something bittersweet about it, too. Growling softly in frustration, I pulled myself out of my wandering thoughts and focused on the present.


    Eventually, I was the last one down. I counted as many as I could, and I thought everyone had made it. If there were more left behind, well, it was too late now.


    "All right, let''s go," I said, my voice steady.


    Astrid nodded, and we started moving down the stairs as fast as we could without knocking over the raiders in front of us.


    "You¡­" Astrid said, her voice catching slightly. She sounded almost accusatory. "Improved."


    "What?" I glanced over at her.


    "I didn''t get a full chance to see it before, but you don''t fight like you used to. Not at all."


    I frowned. "How so? I''ve still got all the same skills as before, back when we fought together in the challenge."


    "There''s a wildness to it now. Risk-taking. You never would have done half of that before."


    I considered her words for a moment. Was what I''d done really risky? It didn''t seem like it to me.


    "Maybe it''s just confidence," she shrugged, but her tone didn''t sound convinced. "Maybe. But Miles, I''m at a higher level than you, and I wouldn''t dream of doing what you just did. That wasn''t just¡­ That wasn''t just ridiculous."


    She hesitated, then finished, "That was superhuman."


    I glanced at her, a faint grin tugging at the corner of my lips. "Sort of," I admitted. "I''m probably only four times as strong as a regular human."


    Astrid shook her head firmly. "I don''t think that''s right. What''s your strength stat at?"


    I frowned for a second, then told her.


    She scoffed. "No, no. You''re not four times as strong as an average human. You''re probably five times as strong as some of the strongest humans."


    "Maybe," I said, unsure how to feel about that. "What about you?"


    "Well, strength isn''t really a stat I''d compare myself with," Astrid said thoughtfully. "I don''t really invest in it."


    "Fair," I replied, choosing not to push her further. We could talk about that later when we had more time. For now, we were nearing the beach.


    Suddenly, Astrid froze, stopping so abruptly that I nearly crashed into her back.


    "What?" I asked sharply, glancing around.


    "There," she said, pointing toward the edge of the cliff. "See that?"


    I squinted, scanning the area. All I saw were shadows against the rocks. "No. I don''t see anything."


    "In the shadows," she clarified, her voice tense. "Pressed up against the wall. I saw something darting. There are people waiting for us down there."


    "Shit!" I cursed under my breath.


    But it was already too late.


    The first raiders had begun streaming across the beach toward the boats when the trap was sprung. At least fifty men, armed with shields and wearing armor, surged out from behind the rocks where they''d been hiding. They slammed into the side of the raiders, catching them completely off guard.


    "Fuck!" I growled, watching as chaos erupted.


    Astrid immediately pulled out her bow and began loosing arrows from where we stood halfway down the cliffs. I looked below, my stomach twisting at the sight of the long line of raiders still trying to funnel down the stairs. At least ten of them stood between me and the shore, blocking my path.


    On the beach, fifteen or more of our raiders were already engaged, being swarmed by the enemy. Half of them had fallen in the opening moments, and the others wouldn''t last long.


    I couldn''t waste any more time.


    Taking a step back, I gathered myself, then ran forward and leaped. My spells propelled me forward as I flashed through the air, reinforcing my body just before I hit the sand. The impact jarred my shoulder slightly, but I tucked into a roll and came up on my feet, sword and shield ready.


    Without hesitation, I barreled into the fight once more.

 EV B2 Chapter 14:

    EV B2 Chapter 14:


    With an iron will, I ignored my surroundings. It was a mess, a fucking bloodbath. The waves were still struggling to remove the blood from the sand.


    Despite my best efforts, something tore at my mind and brought back memories that were all too recent. Things that felt like they should have been further away in time but weren''t even a week past.


    The details of the fight played back in my head. I had moved with grace and skill that I hadn''t had before. Even what I had done since I returned to Valhalla had only been a shadow. What I had been before I left Valhalla was like a puppy before me now. But... But I hadn''t gotten strong enough.


    The faces of the Raiders that I was fighting with vanished and were overlaid by my old friends and comrades from the months I spent back in the world of the living. Every third ally that fell wore Alana''s face, especially if they were cut down in front of me. Even with all my speed, I was still too slow.


    The foot soldiers on the beach had seen only a few at first, but they were endless; several groups came from around the cliffs, and eventually, more came down the stairs from behind us. It was too much, far too much.


    As I stood staring up at the sky, blood-drenched my clothes. Mostly other''s blood, but a little bit of it was my own. I had a few light nicks on my face and all along my limbs.


    It stung slightly as the sea spray washed around them. The slight burning of the salt in the water kept me grounded. I felt the waves crash at my feet as the tide had come in over the hours that it seemed like I had fought.


    There was only a tiny strip of sand by the cliffs now. It must have only been an hour and a half, but even then, I was exhausted. Our opponents had eventually called the retreat, with well over three-quarters of their numbers dead by my hands.


    But none of my Raiders survived.


    I looked down as a small hand grasped my shoulder, and I saw Astrid as she limped the last couple of steps to me before collapsing into my chest.


    She had it much worse.


    Sure, she was much more capable than any man who fought on this battlefield besides me. Levels and stats made her smaller size rather irrelevant. But if she didn''t have my ability and she was primarily an archer with some magic and healing, of course, that meant that she''d spend most of her time dancing amongst the tall rocks, avoiding any damage.


    But the company of archers that had shown up on the cliffs above us to rain arrows down had been a unique challenge. I was grateful that she had managed to take care of only my handful of spells.


    I was able to do anything; I would need to increase my spell selection soon. A Fool''s Constitution and Dance of the Jester were useful but no longer sufficient. I was getting better at activating them, and they were high enough quality that I was able to pump more mana into them to increase their effects.


    But I was looking for. Some more range and damage now. I needed to maybe lean into my arcane magic.


    I caught Astrid before she fell, holding her under her armpits, and helped her walk through the ankle-deep water until we found a rock that was at a comfortable height to sit on.


    It was drenched in water, but it didn''t really matter. I helped her set. And stood in front of her, still lost in my mind.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    "Are you okay?" she asked as she looked up at me, using the end of her bow to poke me in the chest from an arm''s length away.


    I looked down at her and blinked. "Yeah. Yeah. I''m okay. Just reminded me of..."


    I trailed off. Astrid didn''t seem to understand, but she let it go. "Yeah."


    I heaved a huge sigh, trying to force my mind to clear away all the emotions and thoughts clouding it. It somewhat worked, and I took a few more deep breaths before I finally had myself mostly under control.


    "So. What''s next?" I asked.


    "There is no obvious continuation to the scenario." She said.


    I found the amulet around my neck and probed it was there. Did we need to exit now, or was there something more we could do last time? Had I really needed to exit? I assumed so, but I wasn''t sure.


    "Do you think we have the 20% mark?" Astrid asked.


    I blew out gently. "Maybe. What were you at when you failed to take the castle? Twelve?"


    She nodded. "So maybe we''re at fifteen. Maybe defending the castle or escaping it counted for extra, but it can''t be more than a few percent."


    "This isn''t really the castle, though. This is a monastery. So, are we even in the right spot?" I pointed out.


    "I don''t know," Astrid said.


    "Well, we can bail now. Hope we hit the 20% mark and then barely scrape by for the next month with the coins we''ve gotten. Or maybe we could run it a few more times, trying to make some more money, and I hope the next one is based on our skill set. Or we could waste time trying to continue this.


    "It''s already been what, two days? Do we have time for another run after this?" Astrid asked.


    I grimaced. "I don''t know. I don''t have any interest in working off my debt for the next month."


    I remembered the servant girl, the first newbie house I was in, who had been Astrid''s friend once.


    "Whatever happened to her? " I asked, and she shrugged.


    "I never found her again. Maybe she failed again. Maybe she was demoted. Maybe she''s out living her best life." Astrid shrugged again. "We weren''t exactly close."


    Huh. Well, that was certainly illuminating.


    "I don''t know if runs that are still inside the dungeon will count when the month ends. I''m not sure if they let us finish or not." I said, "So I vote we continue on for another day. Try to see if we can progress the scenario and slash the story further. And then, if not, well, maybe I can see if one of my other friends can help us out."


    Astrid chuckled. "I suppose that''s worth a shot. I doubt we''ll be able to make any progress. It seemed like the scenario was focused on the village, and, well," she gestured to the hundreds of bodies around us. "I don''t think any of them survived, and we can''t pilot the boat ourselves back. Even if either of us knew how to operate a boat, even if we got back. Then what?"


    "I don''t know," I said, "but I''m not ready to give up yet. How about we follow the road back to wherever the soldiers came from? If there''s that castle, maybe we can take it."


    "You want the two of us to take the castle alone?" Astrid asked.


    I shrugged. "You think we can''t do it?"


    "No. I was just making sure that''s what you actually wanted," she said, and she levered herself to her feet with a bow.


    "Though I''m not sure how fast I''m going to be."


    That was another spell I needed besides just offense. Maybe some sort of healing. Fool''s Constitution helped strengthen my body and slowly heal. But I couldn''t do it for her or anything.


    But then I remembered Astrid had her own healing abilities and watched as her wounds slowly began to close.


    "It''ll be a few hours." She informed me. "Do you need any help?"


    I nodded. She was much more capable of healing others than I was, even at healing myself. "I can wait a bit, though. Focus on yourself first."


    She took a limping step towards the stairs. Considering how best to help her, I reached down and picked her up in a bridal carry and started to carry her up the stairs.


    Astrid protested a little, but I pointed out that she was too short for me to just wrap an arm under her shoulders, so she grumpily relented to being carried.

 EV B2 Chapter 15:

    EV B2 Chapter 15:


    When I got to the top of the stairs, I found there was no one waiting for us in an ambush, like I had feared. Astrid was still slowly healing and unable to walk, so I began a steady but relaxed pace down the road that led to the castle. Eventually, Astrid opened her eyes and looked up at me, either out of mana or healed enough that she felt she could take a break.


    "Either way, no matter how this goes," she said, gesturing to the world around us, "I think you should introduce me to your friend." She tapped the side of her. "I''m pretty sure it''s okay to say Loki''s name out loud here. If the gods are listening in to us now, there''s no doubt they''d be able to see the brand if they looked."


    I nodded. "I''m pretty sure that''s true, but also, I''m not about to go whispering and referring to him with some oblique name all the time."


    "Okay, so I think after seeing you fight a few times, it''s clear that I need some sort of¡­ edge as well."


    "Yeah," I said, nodding. "Though I''d have to say that the early blessings weren''t the most useful. But if we can get you a class¡ª"


    She grimaced. "I still can''t fucking believe you got a class. What, level five or something?"


    I shrugged a shoulder, jostling her slightly. She winced as her damaged leg bounced. "Well, at the time, I didn''t realize how special that was. But with how many extra stats it gives me¡­"


    "At some point, the stats won''t matter that much," I explained. "I mean, think about it. If you have a thousand points, how much does an extra level or two really give you? It doesn''t make that much of a difference."


    "True, but I don''t have anywhere near a thousand points in any stat. Neither do you," Astrid said. "So talk to me when you''re level 200. If you ever get there."


    I snorted. "True. The extra levels in the class are extremely useful. Still, I can''t help but think that, eventually, weapon proficiencies and skills are really where the power is going to lie. Those are what''ll let me actually use the stats. I''m pretty sure if someone doesn''t have any proficiencies with a sword and they''ve got ten times my stats, I''d be able to give them a run for their money, even with my low D grade proficiency."


    "I don''t know about that," Astrid said. "I''m pretty sure someone with ten times your stats would be able to break you like a twig."


    "Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration," I admitted. "But you get my point."


    "Yeah, I just don''t think it''s nearly as strong of a point as you''re intending to make," she said. "What I get from it is basically just that you can''t neglect any one part of your power to focus on everything else. They all sort of multiply into each other. Reduce any of them to zero, and you''re in trouble. Best to spread them evenly if you''re thinking about optimization."


    "Well, maybe," I said, "if you take into account how easy it is to grow each of the different ways of getting stronger."Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    We went back and forth, theory-crafting a little about how to get better. Eventually, though, I did agree to talk to Loki for her¡ªor bring her to Loki directly. I figured she might not do well with Loki''s blessing, but perhaps he had a friend who would fit her better. Or maybe Loki''s own blessing would adapt to fit her. She definitely had the shiftiness and could be shady enough to fit into the organization.


    ***


    A little over an hour later, Astrid was good enough to walk, and I was able to set her down. However, after another hour of walking, our hopes of fixing this scenario diminished drastically. I walked at a much faster pace than a normal human, and now that we didn''t have to keep our gait steady, we covered far more ground in a few minutes of jogging. Far, far more than the sound of the alarm bells at the monastery could have reached.


    Eventually, Astrid stopped and slumped onto a rock. As she sat down, she sighed, "I don''t think we''re going to be able to do anything. This road doesn''t seem to lead anywhere. It''s just running along the coast, and I still can''t see any castle in the distance."


    We were at the top of a rise, and she stood on the rock, pantomiming, shading her eyes as she scanned the horizon. I couldn''t help but agree. Apparently, we were going nowhere.


    "So, is it time to face the music?" I asked. "We''ve got to see if we hit that 20%."


    "And then what?" she replied.


    "We have to hope they''ll let the run still in the dungeon finish before calculating if we passed or not, I guess."


    She sighed again. "This is a really hard scenario. I don''t know how other teams that don''t have someone like you even come close to finishing."


    "Well, a team of five that works together would be much more successful than just me by myself," I argued.


    We went back and forth for a couple of minutes, but in the end, there was nothing else to do. I reached up and grabbed the amulet around my neck, as did Astrid, and soon, we were both stepping out of the challenge and back into the real world.


    I looked over at Astrid, who had fear in her eyes, and I understood the sentiment. We had been so close, but 19% wasn''t quite enough. I checked the board outside of the challenge hall. We had received some coins, but with only a day left, things weren''t looking good. At least we had more than enough to pay Astrid''s entry fee again, and mine was still free.


    "Should we try again?" I asked. "Or do you want to talk to my friend?"


    Astrid swallowed loudly.


    "Having second thoughts?"


    "No," she said, shaking her head. "It''s still terrifying, but we need to talk to him first. Should we get clarity on the rules?"


    "We can try."


    We went back inside and approached the raven manning the desk for this portal. When I tried to ask anything except about entering the dungeon, all I got in response was a loud, unhelpful "Caw!" I knew the raven could speak much more fluently, as I''d seen with the one near the first challenge I''d entered. That one had been able to talk about a wide variety of topics with no issue. This one just didn''t want to answer our questions.


    Frustrated, Astrid and I left and began walking through the streets. As we passed a few signs, I turned to her and said, "Perhaps you should wait while I talk to him before bringing you in."


    Astrid readily agreed. We found a mostly quiet tavern, and she agreed to wait for me there. After making sure she was settled, I backtracked a block or two until I found the symbol I knew would take me to Loki. I descended the stairs and followed the familiar long hall until I reached the concierge.


    It didn''t take long to set up a meeting. When I asked about bringing someone uninitiated who might be willing to join, the concierge smiled a full and genuine smile. "Bring her down, and I''ll make sure all parties are aware," he said.


    The slight excitement in his tone made my skin chill, but at the same time, I couldn''t help but hope I could trust Loki¡ªat least enough to play this part straight with me. Besides, if I was bringing someone else into his service, that had to be a good thing, right? Perhaps I''d even get some sort of bonus.

 EV B2 Chapter 16:

    EV B2 Chapter 16:


    Nearly an hour later, I brought Astrid down the stairs right at the appointed time. The concierge waved us through, and we were back in the luxurious steakhouse with fine dining. Astrid appeared incredibly nervous and very much out of place, wearing her leathers and carrying her bow. I also felt out of place in my garb, but I was comfortable in such a setting.


    Loki stood as we walked toward his table, Astrid a half step behind me, slightly hiding behind my back. Loki raised his arms from his sides in a welcoming gesture, almost as if he were about to give me a hug, but he stayed on his side of the table.


    "Miles, my friend," he said and reached over to shake my hand.


    I was surprised¡ªit was the first physical contact I''d ever had with the god. His hand was cool and dry, not clammy at all as I might have associated with cold hands, but almost as if he''d walked out of a refrigerator. It didn''t make much sense¡ªLoki wasn''t typically associated with winter¡ªbut I didn''t let my thoughts wander further. Not in Loki''s presence. That was too risky.


    "I''m a bit disappointed you didn''t come to chat earlier," he said.


    "Well, all right, it was a bit of a time crunch," I said, deflecting his slight rebuke.


    Loki laughed, and I could sense his persona was slightly different than what I was used to. It was still mostly the Loki I knew, but he was adapting just enough to suit the moment. He wasn''t necessarily putting Astrid at ease, but he was achieving whatever end he wanted with her.


    As we sat down, Loki said, "I''m so sorry to see what happened with Alana, but I didn''t think it would work between the two of you anyway."


    I blinked. That was news. It wasn''t surprising that Loki could watch me across the worlds, but the fact that he knew Alana''s name? That was unexpected. Maybe I could get some answers from him.


    "Um," I said intelligently as my brain struggled to process the new information. Finally, I latched onto his last statement. "It''s not like that between us. I think it''s more of a surrogate father-daughter relationship," I said, feeling my cheeks heat slightly.


    Loki chuckled knowingly. "Tell her that, then," he said as he laid a finger on the side of his nose.


    "Anyway," he continued before I could follow up, "I heard you were thinking about bringing someone into the fold." His eyes flicked to Astrid.


    "Ah, yes. I''m sorry. Where are my manners? Loki, this is Astrid. Astrid, Loki," I introduced her.


    "It-It''s a pleasure to meet you, sir, uh, my lord," Astrid stammered, bowing. She hadn''t sat down yet.


    Loki waved her off. "Please, sit. Astrid, sit."


    A server who didn''t hold my attention arrived and dropped off drinks. I sipped an aged bourbon neat. It was one of the smoothest bourbons I''d ever had, even if I couldn''t place it.


    "I seem to remember you being more of a wine guy," Loki said.


    "But I was in the mood for something a little harder," I replied with a shrug, enjoying the scent of the glass.


    "The mead and beer up here are significantly better than the lesser hall," Loki remarked, "but still not this."


    I raised my glass in a slight cheer, Loki reaching over and clinking his with mine.


    Astrid stared at the glass in front of her. It wasn''t the bourbon we had, but rather a strangely red-colored liquid in a cocktail glass. She leaned forward, sniffed it, and then took a sip. Her face lit up.


    "What is this?" she asked.


    Loki just chuckled. "It''s a cosmopolitan. I was pretty sure you''d like it."


    "It''s so sweet," Astrid said. Astrid was a bit of an enigma, but I didn''t have time to ponder it as Loki turned and gave his full attention to her.


    His facial muscles shifted slightly, becoming a little softer and a little less prone to laughter but somehow also a little sterner.


    "Miles has made the introduction, but you have something you''d like to ask from me?" His voice was not nearly as warm as when he was speaking to me, and I couldn''t help but be reminded of who Loki was and what he was.


    "What do you want?" he asked Astrid directly.


    She froze for a second, her eyes flicking to me in panic. I gave her a slight nod. It seemed that Loki was going to make her do the negotiating. I couldn''t find a good way of stepping in without undermining her position. I''d have to trust Astrid to do it for herself¡ªif she actually wanted the help rather than just me assisting her through Loki.


    "I need help or a blessing of some sort. Um, Miles said you could use followers, or maybe you have a friend who could use a follower," Astrid stammered.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Loki leaned forward, putting both elbows on the table as he rested his chin in his palm. His other hand was idly tapping at the rim of his whiskey glass.


    "This is not normally how it''s done," he said, his eyes never once leaving Astrid''s face. "As strange as Miles''s introduction was, his was even more normal than yours. It is extremely rare that someone even becomes aware of the gods before we give our blessing. Usually, the first time you''ll ever meet a god is when you''ve already received their blessing. Just like Miles did."


    He paused, letting the weight of his words settle in. "Of course, there''s a lot more than just a simple blessing involved. Sometimes, people won''t even meet a god when they get a blessing. But here you are, asking for a blessing from me. This is all too interesting."


    Astrid squirmed in her seat, but Loki wasn''t done.


    "Still, you want help getting through the challenge? You still have a day left. Do you really want to tie yourself to me just to avoid a month of working some extra shifts at a bar or something?"


    "Why didn''t I get this sort of pitch?" I asked. "It''s like you''re trying to talk her out of it."


    Loki ignored me, and Astrid just shrugged.


    "You know, you might fit, but¡ª"


    "Some¡ª" I interrupted him, deciding that enough was enough. Loki was clearly working some sort of¡ªmaybe not actual magic, but social magic¡ªon Astrid. I imagined that if I let him go for too long, she''d do whatever he wanted. And as much as I liked Loki, in some ways, I didn''t quite trust that.


    I originally came here to see if a similar deal as last time was on the table, where I could go and gather souls for you," I said.


    "I was wondering if you''d forgotten," Loki replied. "If you recall, the last time we spoke, I told you that it would take some time for you to consolidate your power before I could send you off again."


    I nodded, remembering. "Um, yeah. You didn''t exactly give a time frame."


    "Well," Loki said thoughtfully, "I might be able to send you out, but it would be a little bit more risky. As for sending Astrid..." He shook his head slowly, side to side. "You can see it''s potentially possible, but I think there might be better options."


    "I''m open to alternatives," I said, making a wide, inviting gesture.


    Loki tilted his head. "Mm. Well, if you''re willing to risk it, I might accept it as payment. Maybe with her? Maybe not. We''ll see. But I am sad you didn''t come to see me earlier. I told you that I might have a job for you."


    I remembered that, and truthfully, I hadn''t been sure I wanted a job so soon. "Yeah," I admitted, "I was thinking about that, but I also¡­ wanted a little time to sort things out in my own head."


    Loki sighed, though there was a note of understanding in it. "Oh, I understand. But perhaps¡­ this might help you. I have a few people who might use some help in the challenge themselves."


    "Oh?" I asked.


    "Yes. Someone you might be familiar with recently made it out of the Lesser Hall and is in a similar predicament to yours," Loki said. "There''s normally a bit of a grace period, but it''s only a few days for new people to try the challenge for that first month. And there are always people who are a little stuck and might be willing to risk favors for help. I just need you to carry them."


    "Three people?" I asked, not wanting to leave Astrid behind.


    "Yes," he confirmed. "The challenge will be slightly different because of that. But I think, with one more attempt and a little more knowledge, you can make it. You might be unable to do it in a day, but it''s okay. As long as you enter the challenge before the end of the month, you''ll be fine."


    Astrid raised her hand slightly, trying to catch Loki''s attention. His gaze shifted to her, and he smiled faintly. "It''s okay, Astrid. You don''t need to raise your hand."


    "Um," she began, "so if we just sit in a challenge for a month?"


    "Well," Loki explained, "if you don''t get the 20% when you come out, you''ll still be punished. And you might miss the next month''s challenge as well."


    I blinked as understanding dawned. It was a clever system¡ªboth forcing quick completion but also giving everyone up to the last possible second to finish.


    "Now," Loki continued, "like I said if you had come to me sooner, you would have been doing me a favor. But now I''m doing you a favor."


    "I still think I''m doing you a favor," I said, though I admitted, "I might owe you a little bit for the information that we can still run it. We were still going to try to run the dungeon one more time."


    Loki looked at me thoughtfully. "I agree that''s fair. I''ll think of something small for the bit of information. But you," he said, turning to Astrid, "you aren''t doing me a favor."


    Suddenly, I couldn''t hear their conversation anymore. Loki had done something, likely magical, to keep their exchange private. I sipped my drink quietly, waiting for them to finish their negotiations. Apparently, Loki didn''t want me to know what Astrid was offering¡ªor what she might be paying.


    It didn''t take long. After a few minutes, Astrid stood up, bowed to Loki, thanked him, and told me she''d be waiting outside. I blinked, surprised.


    "Why didn''t you want me to hear that?" I asked. "I understand if you can''t tell me, but¡­"


    "Well, it''s rather rude to give information away about another god," Loki said. "I don''t think I''ll bless her myself, though she is tempting. But I do have a lot of step-nieces, nieces-in-law¡­, and others who could use a follower. They aren''t exactly the most well-known deities, but some of them Astrid might find more palatable than me. And besides, I do need a few prices."


    He shifted his attention to me, his eyes flicking toward my waist. "Now, you still have the Edge of Folly with you."


    I glanced down at the dagger on my belt, a weapon I''d been completely ignoring until now. No one else had seemed to notice it either. "I haven''t used it yet," I said. "It seems like it''s best kept for when I absolutely need it."


    "That''s a wise policy," Loki replied, leaning back in his chair.


    "So," he said with a grin, "what do you think of Baldur''s trial so far?"


    With that, we launched into a genuinely pleasant conversation.

 EV B2 Chapter 17:

    EV B2 Chapter 17:


    The conversation meandered for twenty minutes or so before I brought it around to something that had been bothering me earlier.


    "You mentioned Alana. Normally, you don''t pay attention to my friends'' names," I said.


    "Look." He shrugged. "She''s special."


    I narrowed my eyes at him. "How so?"


    He smiled and winked. I restrained myself from heaving a sigh.


    "How is she doing now?" I asked. "I haven''t been able to find any way of contacting her or anything. I imagine it''s not really an option, is it?"


    "No, it''s not," he said. "Even I wouldn''t pass a message to her for you, but I can tell you that she''s doing quite well in the Lesser Hall. She''s baffling everyone and progressing even more rapidly than you did. She should be out soon-ish," Loki said, waffling.


    "I want you to give her a blessing," I said, leaning forward. "I''m willing to pay a lot for it¡ªor at least arrange for another god to give her a blessing. I''m pretty sure that helped me get to my class earlier. And if anyone is as talented or has a chance to advance as quickly as I did, it''s her."


    I felt a surprising amount of vehemence rise in me, but I was certain I meant every word. I would be willing to pay a lot to give her a real leg up. It was the least I could do.


    Loki was slightly taken aback by the intensity in my eyes, but he nodded. "I wish I could squeeze you for more," he said, "but in all honesty, I can''t. I''ve already blessed her."


    I blinked in surprise. "Really?"


    "Yes. It was the first day in the Lesser Hall. She¡­ well, she did a few things that caught my eye. And luckily, I was already watching her before Freya or any of her sisters could get their hands on her. All I had to do was convince her that you worked with me, and she was more than on board, unwilling to even hear out the other offers."


    I smiled broadly. That was the Alana I knew. Truly, she had been wasted back in her world. I couldn''t suppress the laugh that bubbled up. With that, though, I figured I''d kept Astrid waiting long enough.


    "Well," I said, "that is certainly good news."


    I slid my chair back from the table a little, and he mirrored me. We both stood, and I offered my hand again. We shook.


    "Tomorrow at dawn, meet at the Golden Goose. The three will find you there." He said.


    I frowned. "Not sure I want you spreading my description around."


    "Don''t worry. They know the signs. Just carve a small marker into the corner of your table."


    I nodded, and we exchanged farewells before I headed out.


    As expected, I didn''t find Astrid waiting¡ªby the door, in the hallway, or anywhere nearby. Instead, I had to trace my steps back to the tavern, where I found her waiting in the common room.


    "I hope that didn''t cost you too much," I said to Astrid.


    She grimaced. "Nothing I wasn''t willing to pay."


    She refused to elaborate.


    "Unfortunately, that''s always how it is with him. Everything is an exchange. But overall, he''s always treated me fairly," I said.


    She looked at me. "You are a strange one, Miles."


    I thought back. I suppose¡­ I suppose I was. But still, there wasn''t much I could do about it. My age, coming here, was a bit of an outlier, but I didn''t imagine that counted for everything.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    "Just some lucky coincidences," I said modestly.


    She chuckled but didn''t refute it.


    The tavern had an inn above, and we had enough coin for rooms. I booked one for myself, and Astrid got one across the hall. It wasn''t really much, but it wasn''t too short either. Soon, we both went off to our respective beds and hit the hay.


    ***


    The next morning, I woke up with the sun, and we headed out.


    We found the Golden Goose and grabbed a table. As Astrid and I worked on breakfast, I casually carved a small symbol into the corner of the table with my steak knife in between bites of a succulent, quite tasty sausage. I didn''t talk too much¡ªwe were both deep in thought.


    I was sure she was thinking about whatever Loki had talked to her about, but she still didn''t want to share, so I let her be. And she let me be.


    I was mostly thinking about Alana. It was great to have confirmation that she was doing all right and that Loki was supporting her. I sincerely hoped she would be back soon. But I knew Astrid and Helga had both said it took them two years to get out of the Lesser Hall. Or maybe that was just the average¡ªI couldn''t quite remember.


    A familiar voice I couldn''t quite place greeted me from behind.


    I turned and recognized the man speaking.


    "Jorg?" I asked, remembering someone I''d interacted with a few times in the Lesser Hall. He also seemed to have attracted Loki''s interest.


    Knowing what I now knew about what it took to gain a god''s interest, I studied him closer. There had to be something else special about him.


    Standing, I introduced Astrid and Jorg.


    "Miles," Jorg said, shaking his head. "It seems like every time I hear something about you, it''s about some outlandish adventures."


    I frowned. "I didn''t realize I was that famous."


    "Only in certain circles," Jorg said with a small chuckle. "I have to congratulate you for getting out of the Lesser Hall again."


    I smiled. "I''ll need to meet some of these circles, I suppose. But thank you and congratulations yourself. I heard you got out recently."


    Jorg nodded. "The day after you did, actually. And the day before the grace period where I wouldn''t have to participate in this month''s challenge."


    I grimaced. "Ah. This is a rough one, too¡ªnot nearly as simple as the first challenge I got to do."


    Astrid looked between me and Jorg before apparently deciding that he was friendly enough for her to speak in front of him.


    "I don''t think you actually even finished the first twenty percent of that challenge. Pretty sure you ended up getting chased by the mob first," she said.


    I waved my hand dismissively. "We would have made it. Actually, no, we did. We were there because we were celebrating."


    Astrid smirked. "Oh, yeah, I remember. I think I just forgot because the four of us did a few more runs afterward."


    "Well, I''m glad to see you," I said, turning back to Jorg, "and even more glad to be able to help."


    He gave a humorous smile. "Yeah, I bet. Hopefully, you got your worth out of Loki for this."


    I shrugged. "I think we were both satisfied with the arrangement."


    "Yeah, well, you''re expensive," Jorg said. "It''s a good thing I have a couple buddies to go in with me."


    The way he said "buddies" made me think they weren''t actually friends. He motioned to two hooded figures standing behind him.


    "Call them Thing One and Thing Two," he said.


    I nodded to them, and they inclined slightly in a bow but didn''t speak.


    "Which one is which?" Astrid asked.


    Jorg just shrugged.


    I laughed. "All right. Well, let''s get started."


    As a group, we headed over to the challenge entrants and paid the toll for stepping in. It started the same as always¡ªwith the interaction with the farmer.


    I left Astrid and the others to protect the farmer and his family while I went to take care of the raiders at the beach.


    The next morning, we were off sailing the sea again. I couldn''t help but revel in the wind on my face and the salt spray in the air. Apparently, I was still the only one who shared that sentiment.


    We still had the same twenty-five raiders as last time, but the three extra members made the boat slightly more crowded¡ªall the more reason for me to stay at the prow.


    This time, though, there was no storm. I couldn''t tell why that was different. Was it random, or did it have to do with how many members we had in the party? Or maybe it was something else entirely.


    Whatever the reason, it made finding our way easier.


    When we pulled up to shore, it wasn''t just a desolate beach this time¡ªit was a small village with a proper castle perched on the heights of a cliff above.


    Our ship also didn''t lose the two others full of raiders coming with us.


    As we approached the shore, I could hear horns blowing. I felt a rush of excitement as my heart began to beat faster in my chest, and we prepared for battle.

 EV B2 Chapter 18:

    EV B2 Chapter 18:


    As we crashed into the sandy shore, I stood perfectly balanced on the dragon-headed prow of the ship. The lurching momentum of our sudden stop jolted the vessel, sending many people stumbling. My footing, however, was steady. I leaped at just the right moment, carrying our forward momentum as I flung myself into the sand.


    I could see now why the greater party size had come here with a full five members. Apparently, taking a monastery had been too easy, and the challenge had adjusted itself to the increased numbers. It made sense, though I hadn''t fully expected it to work this way. It was not in the exact way it had been, assuming my assumptions were correct. But assumptions could be dangerous.


    I tucked into a quick roll, activating my skills as I hit the ground. Flashing forward, I let the illusion power I''d gained from becoming Loki''s champion express itself. Several copies of me darted in different directions, charging toward the soldiers already arrayed on the beach to repel us. This was where things got tricky.


    We didn''t have the luxury of attacking a castle immediately. No, it was worse. The enemy was already lined up, ready to repel us as we disembarked. That made this situation far more difficult than most would expect. They were using shield wall tactics¡ªa thin line of interlocked shields braced against us. Behind them stood archers, their arrows already whistling through the air.


    My copies and I slammed into the shield wall, not with brute force but with just enough impact to make the soldiers flinch and brace for a nonexistent strike. As the illusions exploded around them, I appeared in the center of their formation. Kicking the center shield, I sent the man holding it stumbling backward, shattering their formation. I boosted myself with my constitution, shouldering another shield-bearer aside and twisted, slipping between a thrust and a slash.


    The pikemen behind the shield wall tried to stab at me, but their attacks were too predictable. I batted aside their weapons and leaped over their heads, twisting midair as I cut down several men with a slash of my sword. The hole I left in the shield wall was a perfect opening for my allies, who were still struggling to disembark from the ships under the hail of arrows.


    In the space of a few seconds, I had cleared the front line and was closing in on the archers, who were preparing a third volley. There were maybe fifty of them, but some noticed me and shouted in alarm. A portion of them turned their arrows on me, firing point-blank. My incredible stats, combined with the confusion created by my "Dance of the Jester," helped me avoid most of the projectiles. However, one grazed my upper left arm.


    The disorganized volley lost much of its effectiveness as some arrows went toward me while others continued raining down on the ships. Worse for them, a few archers misfired and hit their own front lines, the shield wall receiving a peppering of arrows into their backs. The chaos further broke the enemy''s formation just as my allies were leaping off the boats. They weren''t slow, but I was much faster. I had already broken the center of the enemy''s formation, and my allies capitalized on the gap to form their own wedge, splitting the enemy lines even further.


    All I had to do now was stop the archers from whittling us down further. My presence in the backline alone was helping, but it wouldn''t be enough on its own. Stepping forward, I flashed again, spinning low and weaving through the archers like a specter. With a hatchet in one hand and a sword in the other, I struck at weak points¡ªthroats, arms, legs¡ªanything that would incapacitate them quickly.


    When necessary, I used my feet or elbows to disarm or knock down anyone who got too close. These men were mortal, and they simply weren''t a challenge for me anymore. Within a minute, I had cut through the archers and stood at the rear of their lines, blocking the path to the stairs that led up to the castle.


    I was still outside the range of the castle''s archers, thankfully, but I could feel their eyes on me from the parapets. Alone in the open, I stood between the remaining defenders and their only path of retreat. My allies were now routing the enemy, pushing them toward me like a tide crashing against a rock.


    Some of the defenders turned to run, but they halted in their tracks when they saw me standing in their way. Sand kicked up around their feet as they skidded to a stop, their expressions spoke only of desperation. I hesitated for only a second.This was just a simulation, but it still raised an uncomfortable question: What did this say about me? Would I really act any differently if this were real? If I truly needed to take this castle, would my actions change?This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Probably not.


    I wasn''t sure if that was a bad thing, but it was a necessity. So, I stood firm. Jorg, Astrid, and the other two members of our party had joined up with the raiders and were driving the remaining defenders toward me. I became the anvil to their hammer. The enemy broke against us, scattering in disarray.


    The fight dragged on longer than it should have. Battles like this could end quickly or stretch out, depending on the type of engagement. This one leaned toward the latter, but by the time it was over, the sand was stained with the aftermath.


    Usually, in a situation like this, the defending side would have broken and fled within moments of first contact. But we didn''t let them. Instead, we pinned them down, forcing them to fight harder than they would have otherwise. It cost them, though¡ªit meant 200 fewer defenders on the walls when we eventually had to take the castle. And I wouldn''t let them take many of us down in return.


    After regrouping, we turned our attention to the castle looming above us. The wounded were sent back to the ships, and I quickly assessed our numbers. We still had enough to press forward, but we hadn''t yet stepped into the range of their defenses. The next phase wouldn''t be easy. We''d have to ascend the stairs under a hail of arrows, breakthrough barred gates, or scale 30-foot-high walls. None of it was impossible¡ªhonestly, it would be easy for me¡ªbut I had to consider whether I wanted to do this alone.


    Looking over our raiding party, I could see they weren''t in terrible shape, but they were certainly worn. Jorg looked tired but unscathed. Astrid was untouched, though her expression made it clear she wasn''t happy with how things were going. The other two members of our party bore unnecessary cuts and bruises, and it was obvious they weren''t in the best condition.


    I turned to them. "Do you want the levels from this fight or just the completion?" I asked.


    Jorg shrugged. "I think the levels, if I can¡­ if you don''t mind?"


    The other two shook their heads, making it clear they only cared about the completion. I couldn''t blame them for that; they were in no condition to keep pushing their limits.


    Astrid, however, glared at me. "I''m not letting you do this by yourself," she said firmly.


    I gave her a half-smile. "I wouldn''t dream of leaving you behind," I lied.


    Her glare deepened, seeing straight through me, but I just kept smiling.


    "Okay, so I guess we need a plan, then," I said, steering the conversation forward.


    It didn''t take long to come up with something. The plan wasn''t all that different from what I expected. Astrid and I would scale the castle walls from the backside while the raiders kept the defenders'' attention focused on the front.


    As everyone else prepared to charge the stairs, Astrid and I slipped away, running down the beach to a point about half a mile from the castle. The cliffs here were steep but climbable, and it offered us a less-guarded entry. As we approached, we found a wide, clear-cut swath of trees surrounding the castle, ensuring that no one could get close without being noticed. The back, however, was much less fortified than the front.


    I glanced at Astrid. "How about you cover me? Pick off anyone who notices me getting close. I''ll get up on the wall in a few moments, and then you can follow while I either hold the wall or pretend to be on duty," I suggested.


    She shrugged, unslinging her bow from her shoulder. "Sure," she said. One of her arrows began to glow faintly as she charged some sort of ability. I didn''t ask what it was.


    As I dashed toward the wall, an arrow whistled over my head. The sentry who had spotted me slumped forward, gurgling. Astrid''s shot had been lethal, silencing him instantly. It wasn''t exactly stealthy, but speed was more important than subtlety at this point. The shouting from the front of the castle continued to draw most of the defenders'' attention. The only sound from the back was the soft thud of the sentry''s body landing in a damp patch of sod. No one noticed.


    I was halfway up the wall when Astrid took out several more sentries. By the time the first shout of alarm went up, I was nearly at the top. This castle wasn''t large enough to absorb attacks from multiple angles without throwing the defenders into disarray. The guards were paying for that now.


    As I hauled myself onto the wall, I could see only a few sentries nearby scrambling to respond. None of the neighboring posts had sent reinforcements yet, and I doubted they would get here in time to stop me. Holding my position, I drew my weapons and waved for Astrid to follow.


    She sprinted across the open field of clear-cut trees, her speed impressive, even if it couldn''t quite match mine. She moved like a predator, swift and silent, as alarms began to echo through the castle.


    Bracing myself, I turned to face the guards who had finally noticed me. They were running toward my position, weapons drawn. This wasn''t going to be much of a challenge. Combat wasn''t where I would fail. Not anymore.


    Up on the wall now, I was out of stealth and fully exposed. I wasn''t going to sneak down to the gate to let the others in¡ªnot yet, at least. Still, I doubted this would slow me down for long. The challenge here wasn''t the fighting. No, by now, I knew that wasn''t the hardest part.

 EV B2 Chapter 19:

    EV B2 Chapter 19:


    I was right.


    A little less than three hours later, the castle was completely under our control. The fighting was not very difficult; it was mostly just that I or any of my teammates couldn¡¯t be in every spot. The five of us split up and did our best to help with the most difficult pockets of resistance. And whenever we came across them, we crushed them, mostly without using magic or skills. Although, every once in a while, I did something flashy.


    The Raiders didn¡¯t seem to mind, but only Astrid really knew magic, so that was a bit of a moot point.


    When we had finally pacified the castle, the Raiders went about and began to loot. This was something that none of us participated in. So I quickly found them, and we gathered up in the center of the keep, decently far away from everyone else.


    ¡°Based on my previous experience, taking the castle shouldn¡¯t quite be enough,¡± I said.


    Thing One or Thing Two, though, shook their hooded head. ¡°No. This should be fine. The report says after you take the castle, the 20% mark should be met.¡±


    Astrid cleared her throat and raised her hand slightly but didn¡¯t wait for anyone to acknowledge her before she spoke. ¡°Well, we took a castle last time before, and it wasn¡¯t at the 20% mark. It was just the two of us,¡± she said, gesturing to me.


    I tapped my chin. ¡°Technically, that was just a monastery,¡± I said, ¡°and it wasn¡¯t nearly as difficult as this castle should have been. Though the difficulty levels are a bit all out of whack here. Still, I think to be safe, we should continue on for as long as we can.¡±


    Jorg was staying out of it, just listening intently.


    One of the things shook their head in vehement disagreement. ¡°No, we don¡¯t need to do more than we have already done. This should be enough. If we leave now, we can get about on everything else.¡±


    ¡°And what if it¡¯s not enough?¡± Astrid asked in a challenging voice.


    Jorg and I simply looked back and forth as the two of them argued. The result of the disagreement came down to this: Astrid wanted to be extra certain that we had hit that 20% mark. Thing One and Thing Two, though, weren¡¯t as confident as they appeared that we hit the mark, but rather, this was what they had paid for, and pushing past this point wasn¡¯t in their contract.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said, stepping in as they were clearly getting nowhere. ¡°I think we can all agree that we would like to continue past this point. But the issue of cost comes up.¡± I looked around, and all four of the others nodded.


    ¡°At this point, we have fulfilled your Loki obligation to you,¡± I said, addressing the Things, and they nodded.


    One of them spoke up in its gravelly, disguised voice. ¡°Yes, and we will not be willing to pay any more than we already have.¡±


    I looked over at Jorg, who shrugged. Clearly, either he was willing to pay more or had other arrangements.


    ¡°Well,¡± I said, ¡°I think that we can agree that the deal with Loki is done here. That doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t make a deal between ourselves.¡±


    Everyone seemed to be on board. ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll take much longer, and I don¡¯t need much in order to continue on,¡± I said, and luckily, Astrid didn¡¯t give away the fact that we hadn¡¯t¡ªwe had already not completed that we really wanted to continue on.


    Haggling ensued, and we eventually settled on a few coins from the others. If I was willing to carry them on, carry everyone, it seemed to be significantly more agreeable than whatever Loki had charged them. I really didn¡¯t want anything, but I also didn¡¯t want to do it for free. Not necessarily because I was opposed to doing it for free, but I figured that would set a bad precedent. Even if I was undercharging them, it was always better to charge them than to get nothing for it at all.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    I suppose that they didn¡¯t really know that I wasn¡¯t getting paid for this. Rather, this was my payment to Loki, and they said. Based on how averse to increasing the deal with Loki they were, I might have lost out on a good amount of value I could have extracted for Loki for doing this, but, well, I guess I was happy at the time, knowing that I could have asked for more. Stings a little bit, but in the end, it wasn¡¯t that big of a deal.


    We broke up, and the rest went around making sure that the looting of the castle was done and we could return. We could continue on with our quest.


    Before I was about to go anywhere, Jorg came up next to me and cleared his throat. I looked over and nodded in greeting. We sat there quietly for a moment or two before Jorg finally spoke.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to beat around the bush here. It¡¯s good to see you and that you made it out of the Lesser Hall, of course, but I was going to ask¡ªwould you be open to taking other jobs? I know you and Loki have your thing, but beyond that?¡± he asked.


    I chewed on my lip a little bit as I thought. ¡°Maybe,¡± I said eventually. ¡°It would depend on the job, of course. And it¡¯d depend on how much you¡¯d pay, of course.¡±


    Jorg nodded. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t tell you much about it now, but if you can get me a way of contacting you a little while after we finish this, I might have something that you would enjoy doing, and we can talk about it more then.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll at least hear you out,¡± I assured him.


    I wasn¡¯t really sure what he could give me that I couldn¡¯t earn for myself, but better equipment or something like¡ªor coin¡ªmight always be something I was looking for.


    We soon rounded up the remaining Raiders of the three boats. Each had about twenty-five in them when we came here. Now, though, on the return, they were significantly lighter in crew. Not that a ton had died, but taking a castle was dangerous work, and we were considering leaving one boat behind. But the Raiders figured they could do it as the sea seemed rather calm.


    The voyage was mainly peaceful. Only a few disagreements appeared on the ship as we sailed. I enjoyed it almost as much as the trips out to our raiding targets. However, everyone else seemed to enjoy it significantly more than they had enjoyed the trip out here. Thing One and Thing Two mostly kept to themselves, but Jorg talked with Astrid and me whenever he felt like it. For the most part, though, it was relaxing.


    And soon, we were sailing up the fjord towards the little sleepy town we had left not that long ago. Looking at it, I was surprised it hadn¡¯t been burned down or wasn¡¯t currently under attack by some other set of raiders from which we needed to defend it. That would have been an obvious next step in whatever game Baldur was playing with us, but I didn¡¯t guess that it wouldn¡¯t be so simple.


    When we landed the boats on shore, we weren¡¯t met with a welcoming return but rather a line of armed guards who looked at us suspiciously.


    I was one of the first to hop off the boats, but I kept my distance and my hands away from my weapons. As the other Raiders disembarked, one of the captains of the ships strode forward.


    A richly dressed man I hadn¡¯t seen either time that I was defending this town or helping them clean up strode out from behind the men to meet the leader.


    The leader gave a slight nod and clasped his fist to his chest in salute. ¡°Earl Haakon. When we come back from the Western raids with much spoils and loot¡ª¡±


    The Earl didn¡¯t speak for several moments. He looked over at us and the man.


    ¡°When I came here,¡± he said, his voice slow and low, a certain commanding presence about him, but at the same time, a level of condescension in his voice that I did not appreciate. ¡°I was surprised to see that none of the warriors here were ready to give me tribute.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± the leader said, beginning to look slightly nervous, ¡°we were just raided and, well, we managed to fight them off. Not without casualties, but we captured their three boats,¡± he said, gesturing, ¡°and we took them off to go raiding west of here.¡±


    ¡°West?¡± the Earl said, some surprise creeping into his voice. ¡°Well, it¡¯s better than raiding my villages to the east. But I did not give permission, nor did I give anyone the authority to send raids to foreign countries.¡±


    ¡°But¡ª¡± the captain began to argue.


    The Earl raised his hand, cutting him off. ¡°Because of this, I think I¡¯m owed tribute.¡±


    Many of the men behind us bristled at that statement. Though we maybe outnumbered the men at the Earl¡¯s back, we were tired. Of course, with Astrid and I on their team, we wouldn¡¯t lose, but that didn¡¯t mean it wouldn¡¯t be painful fighting, with lots of casualties.


    I honestly didn¡¯t care to fight over whatever loot it was, but I could see maybe the goal of the challenge was to stand up for what was right. It didn¡¯t really make much sense to me, as we had essentially just stolen all this by killing its previous owners, but¡ª


    When he pointed at me, Astrid, and the other three of us, asking who we were. When he was told that we were strangers, he demanded Astrid as part of that tribute. Suddenly, the conversation immediately became relevant.

 EV B2 Chapter 20:

    EV B2 Chapter 20:


    I paused for a second, my brain not fully processing what I had just heard. After a couple of seconds, I realized¡ªyes, that was not as surprising as it should have been. This place was cruel, violent, brutal¡ª and more than just all of those things. Honestly, it surprised me that there hadn''t even been a hint of sexual violence until this point. Even this was rather mild compared to what could have been happening.


    And... well, I was surprised that it happened in this trial, though this one did seem much more realistic than the previous ones. However, the issues we faced now seemed to echo more actual problems, such as having to deal with the consequences of your own actions rather than simply fighting beast after beast.


    I looked over at Astrid, who was looking back at me with a question in her eyes. What did she want me to do? Did she want me to take care of it? Or did she want to? I shrugged and gave her a nod, trying to indicate that if she wanted to do something about it, she could. Otherwise, I would.


    She looked at me and then lifted one shoulder and gestured with her head for me to go forward.


    Okay. I knew Astrid was more than capable of handling this by herself, but, well, I was pretty sure we hit the 20% mark and honestly didn''t know what plan letting this play out and having the operators take care of it would do. But I felt that somehow influencing the situation so that the matter got resolved peacefully would be how we''d move the scenario past the current position. However, I was done with this, so I simply strode forward and brushed past the man talking with the girl standing in front of him.


    I looked up slightly, a couple inches, to meet his eyes. The fucker was tall and had a beard that reached down low with gray streaks in it. He was big and broad in a barrel-chested way that told me of real strength. And looking at the calluses on his hands told me that he was not at all unknown to weapons.


    Of course, none of that really mattered. The only time this would have mattered would be for first-time challengers from Valhalla¡ªwhich I suppose technically I was. Maybe there were different difficulty settings or something because someone who''s level 50 or even my level would have no problem dealing with this in straight combat. Which left it either as¡ªthis was not the correct option¡ªor it would just get harder as we went on.


    After a solid couple of seconds of just sizing each other up, I tilted my head slightly and spat on the ground by his foot. I figured that was a clear enough challenge that I wouldn''t have to say anything. Besides, I wanted to just finish this, and then we could leave.


    The man just looked at me¡ªand started to laugh.


    Shaking my head, I groaned. I was just so fucking done with this whole challenge that I was half ready to just exit now and hope we hit the 20%. But... it, I suppose, wasn''t going to hurt to see how this played out. Luckily, my patience paid off, and the whole thing only took about twenty minutes before they had a square of people holding shields, and the earl drew a sword and advanced on me.


    I looked around and saw Astrid and the other members of my group standing and watching. Jorg gave me a shrug, which I returned. This was slightly baffling. Was I supposed to make this look good, or was it, like, an actual fight? Or should I just kill the guy, and we leave after we determine that was the wrong answer and it was a dead end?


    It was a slightly annoying decision, but I decided to make it quick. I was quite done, and I was relatively confident that we hit the minimum required amount. So, as if he was moving in slow motion, I dodged the first swing, stepping back slightly and letting the blade whistle less than an inch from my nose before jumping forward, getting inside his guard, and slamming my elbow into his chin.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Only then did I bother to draw one of the hatchets from my belt and chop it into his wrist before kicking him to the ground and ending the fight. It was over in maybe three seconds, and the crowd hadn''t really even gotten a chance to get into it.


    Still, I raised the bloody axe into the air above my head to an enthusiastic cheer. It wasn''t wild, but it was certainly there. I lowered it and looked around, realizing that everyone was now looking at me.


    If the scenario could continue, we were obviously going to continue it¡ªif it wasn''t too much effort¡ªas the rewards should only get better. But at the same time, I hadn''t been opposed to ending the scenario by making a poor decision. Leaving felt wrong, though. So I waited, and so did everyone else.


    The square around me was deforming as the crowd generally migrated, moving around in front of me rather than swarming me or anything. Even the earl''s own men didn''t look angry or upset or anything. They just waited for me to talk, and I sat there relatively dumbstruck for about thirty seconds before I finally had some idea what to do.


    "People of..." I trailed off, realizing I had no idea what the village was called. So I just cleared my throat. "People."


    And then I launched into an impromptu speech. Really, it was no different than the many I had given in my boring office jobs. Rather than talking about quarterly goals, though, this one was about the future of the village and creating plans for the rest of the season.


    ***


    I went on and on for about five minutes before I finally wrapped it up, telling everyone to go home. The crowd dispersed, and soon, I was left standing there, feeling a little bit awkward as I stared at the rest of our party.


    "So," I said, drumming my fingers idly on my hip. "I think we head out or see where this goes. Thing One and Thing Two?"


    Both shrugged. One of them just said, "I''m pretty sure that we''re at the 20% mark."


    Jorg and Astrid were slightly more personable and didn''t bother hiding their identities, so I was able to get a better read of them¡ªbeing able to see their faces helped. Jorg looked bored, and Astrid was wearing a slightly amused smirk.


    "I don''t know. I kind of want to see you give some more speeches," she said. "That was inspiring."


    I was 90% sure she was being sarcastic, so I just rolled my eyes.


    "Seriously, though, I''m just about done here. I fucking hate this challenge, and I would like to move on to the next one."


    That got a laugh out of Jorg.


    "Yeah, I agree. Besides, the reward scaling is not bad, but unless we want to go all the way up to 50% or beyond, it doesn''t really seem worth the time¡ªjudging based on how long people take to run the challenge," he said.


    I grimaced, not having bothered to look into that. That was something I should have been able to do with my previous background. Keeping track of numbers like that was just second nature before. Ever since I had died, though, I hadn''t bothered to do it.


    Was it because I was becoming lazy? Or did I just not want to deal with it? I wasn''t sure, but I didn''t relish trying to figure that out for myself. Maybe I could get some sort of analysis done through Loki''s organization.


    "So, ready to exit?" I said, feeling vaguely unsatisfied about leaving everyone¡ªall the people¡ªwithout my leadership. But they were just constructs, and they''d disappear when we left.


    Of course, I was hoping that the speech would push us a couple percentage points higher with only a few minutes of effort.


    "Sure."


    One by one, we pulled out our medallions and exited the challenge. I held my breath, but when the number appeared in the floating blackness, I released it in a slow, long exhale.


    22%.


    "Fuck yeah," I whispered as I was let out into the challenge hall and right into a huge crowd.

 EV B2 Chapter 21:

    EV B2 Chapter 21:


    The bustle of a new challenge forming was not something I had expected when I was leaving the portal. There was a bit of whiplash as I stepped out. It reminded me of a crowded mall on Black Friday. People were yelling at the Raven manning the desk, and some waited in line while others pushed. For the most part, the warriors policed themselves, but that wasn''t to say there weren''t several scuffles going on at any given moment.


    We got a few odd looks as we pushed and shoved our way out against the press of bodies. I was thankful the area was full of lower-level warriors rather than some of the true elites¡ªor else we might have been crushed as an afterthought. Once we were half a block away from the challenge entrance, we were finally able to gather around and talk.


    Thing One and Thing Two passed me the agreed amount of coin for the extra. It was small but enough to make it worthwhile. Having settled accounts, they left.


    "I need to sell the rewards and turn them into coins," I said. "But I''m gonna get arrested for a little bit. Before we look at what it''s doing next¡ªwhat we do next," I told Astrid.


    She nodded. But there was one thing I had to take care of before we figured out what our immediate plans were.


    Jorg reached out, and I took his hand, shaking it.


    "It''s good to see you again," he said amiably as he slipped me a token in his palm through the handshake. "We''ll be in contact when that job you might be interested in is ready."


    He gave a small salute and then headed off in a different direction than the mysterious hooded figures. I put what felt like a wooden token in my pocket without being too obvious.


    "You want to find an inn?" I asked Astrid. "We probably need to start thinking about the next challenge already."


    She nodded and yawned, stuffing a fist in her mouth. "I''m not sure if it''s that we didn''t sleep enough or just plain exhaustion, but I''m beat."


    We walked several blocks, finding a slightly nicer tavern and renting a pair of rooms. It wasn''t something we could afford to do for days with our current reserves, but at least I had a little bit of coin.


    I bid Astrid a good night and then went into the room myself. But instead of going to bed, I went to the desk and carved the familiar runes of a status ritual. I cut my palm and allowed some blood to drip into the familiar runes before me, spreading out my full status.


    Level: 28


    Status: Tier 4: Valhalla Proper


    Class: Arcane Fool, Lvl 15


    Subclass: N/A


    Traits:


    Incisive Gaze


    Loki''s Champion


    Skills:


    Mana Perception Enhanced


    Spells:


    A Fool''s Constitution


    Dance of the Jester


    Weapon proficiencies


    Sword: C-3


    Spear: F-2


    Striking: D-1


    Halberd: D-3


    Dagger: D-5


    Grappling: F-9


    Shield: D-7


    Stats


    Strength: 44


    Speed: 78


    Constitution: 40


    Focus: 55


    Charm: 15


    Free Points: 35


    Blessing: Loki''s FavorIf you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Strength: +2


    Speed: +2


    Constitution: +2


    Focus: +6


    Charm: +10


    Jester Shop Access


    Direct line access


    Additional effects: ???


    Reading through it, I was pleased with my progress. Only a couple of challenges, and I had increased my level significantly. I definitely appreciated some of the increases in weapon proficiencies, and seeing that I finally had one in the C rank made me smile slightly. Everything was progressing nicely, and my stats were as well.


    As the runes played out in front of me, I felt the changes take effect. The growth in my speed wasn''t that drastic, so it was only a slight tingle in my extremities. However, the increase in focus was more significant. My vision narrowed for a moment as I felt my head buzz, but before it started to hurt, I was back to normal.


    On top of those gains, I also had 35 free points. Currently, I didn''t feel the need to assign them anywhere. Everything I had faced, I had been more than fast enough or strong enough. Nothing had come close to touching me. I decided to hold off until the job that Jorg wanted before I assigned them. I wasn''t exactly sure what I''d be needing next.


    No¡ªI had a few other things to research, like what spells or skills I could afford. I liked my combination of movement and strength spells, but I still had to work on creating a spell. Loki did say that it would take a very long time. I didn''t see anything change with my blessing either, except for one thing¡ªdirect line access was added. But thinking about it, I wasn''t exactly sure what that did. So, for now, I just left it.


    Wiping the blood away, the surface returned to its normal wood, and I pulled off my boots to prepare for sleep.


    ***


    I met Astrid downstairs the next morning when I went down for breakfast. Luckily, the inn had a meal included, and it was served with hot mulled wine that took the edge off the near-perpetual start of winter that Valhalla seemed to be in.


    There wasn''t always snow, but sometimes it came down in little flurries. It never seemed to pile up anywhere, but the temperature was always just barely above freezing¡ªand usually below in the evenings. Luckily, the standard garb seemed to be wearing furs, which kept me and the rest of the denizens of Valhalla plenty toasty. Still, warm drinks were always appreciated.


    Drinking warm mead wasn''t the same as a nice cold beer, but it would do. It would do for now.


    After we had both woken up fully¡ª it had been a hard several days of not exactly nerve-wracking battles, but stress to accomplish the challenge in time¡ªAstrid finally broke the silence.


    "So. Are we looking to do the next challenge right away?" she asked after we had both been in our own thoughts for some time.


    I lifted a shoulder. "I don''t know anything about this challenge. We''re only a day or two into it, so we should have plenty of time, but I''d like to at least know sort of what we''re getting into. And potentially, we should think about putting together an actual team."


    "A couple other things that might be worth noting, though," I added, "is that it would be interesting to talk to Jonas and Helga and see what they''re up to."


    Astrid grimaced, and I felt as if there was some backstory she wasn''t telling me, but she didn''t object.


    "Not to recruit them on the team, for sure," I clarified, "but it would ease my conscience a little."


    She shrugged. "If you want to."


    "And then I''m not sure about Bjorn," I said.


    Astrid grimaced even harder.


    "What?" I asked. "Are you not¡ª"


    She cut me off, though. "Listen, Miles. I appreciate your loyalty to your friends. I am a massive beneficiary of it in many ways. But at the same time¡ªwell, you weren''t here. You weren''t here for the fallout that your leaving caused. And I told you what happened in general terms, but it was a bit ugly.


    "While I wouldn''t say they''re not deserving of your loyalty, they may not be worth your time. They''re only going to drag you down in their own ways. Helga and Jonas are decent enough, but, well, they aren''t going to do much more than they have to. They will be stuck here for a very long time. Maybe forever, and they have made their own peace with it.


    "And Bjorn? Well¡­ you were never going to be able to fix that. At least, I don''t think you would. And he''s tied up beyond my reach. I don''t think we¡ªor you¡ªhave the currency or favors to get him free. Even if Loki could free him from his contracts, I don''t think you''d want to pay off that debt."


    I grimaced. I did feel some obligation. I liked Bjorn. He was a friend and had helped me many times. I couldn''t just leave him in a bad situation. But at the same time, it did seem slightly voluntary that he was there. He at least didn''t seem unhappy, at least when I talked to him.


    "I''d like to at least check in with him every once in a while to make sure he''s, you know, still alive and there''s nothing he needs. But if he''s happy enough being a bartender..." I trailed off.


    Astrid grabbed the excuse and ran with it. "Yeah, he gets his challenge completed. He''s not going to move anywhere, but he gets to drink and hang out all day long. It''s not the fighting that he also likes, but all in all, it''s a good situation. He''s not risking being demoted or anything."


    I felt a little guilty leaving it at that. I would check in, but maybe not right away. Was this just an excuse to not have to worry about someone who might potentially drag me behind? It was something I couldn''t entirely say.


    "Okay, well, I''ll do both of those things in my own time," I said, and Astrid nodded.


    "Okay. About finding a team, though¡ªI would like to do that, but I haven''t had much luck so far. It''s odd that teams will be looking for new members¡ªor two new members at once. Most of the time, if a team loses two people, the team usually dissolves. And I don''t imagine you''re going to be ready to follow someone''s lead, especially if you don''t have the secrets you need to protect.


    "So I think we''re going to have to either get a team through Loki or whatever network he has in mind to introduce me to," she finished.


    "I don''t disagree," I said after thinking about it for a few moments. "Okay. Well. So why don''t you take care of whatever Loki wanted you to do? Something about a different god?"


    Astrid still hadn''t told me what the price was, but she didn''t seem too upset about it. She just nodded in agreement, not answering the implied question.


    "Do you know¡ªhave an idea of how long it''ll take?"


    She shrugged. "No, but it didn''t seem like it should take longer than a day or two."


    "Okay, why don''t you do that? I will... I have¡ª" I struggled to remember what she knew about the offer Jorg had mentioned. I decided to just play it safe and said, "I will speak to Jorg about an opportunity he mentioned."


    Astrid nodded, understanding.


    "And potentially, both of us can look into what the challenge is and who''s sponsoring it this month. We can meet back here in three days."


    Astrid nodded again. "Sure. That works with me."


    I gave another decisive nod, and we went back to eating in silence¡ªthis time, comfortable rather than sleepy.

 EV B2 Chapter 22:

    EV B2 Chapter 22:


    Soon, I was stepping out into the streets of Valhalla by myself once more. I looked up and noticed the sky was clear, and no snow was falling. I still felt the brisk air on my cheeks and nose, but as I breathed in deeply, it smelled clean. As I began to walk down the street with a certain aimlessness, I realized a couple of things. Both Loki and George had said they''d contact us when they were ready. Where? Did that put a real wrench into our plans? Perhaps I should have gone and found Astrid, but seeing that she agreed to it, she likely remembered that they said they''d contact her when they were ready, and so I had to assume they were. Whatever Loki was having her do, I trusted she could handle it. And so that left me with some time.


    I considered taking some of the new funds and going to get a new spell. Just as I turned toward the general direction where I thought Philip the Gnome spell-monger was, I felt something buzzing in my pocket¡ªawfully like what a cell phone would feel like on vibrate. Reaching down, I put my hand in the fur-lined pocket and found the wooden token that George had slipped me. I couldn''t help but smile. What fortuitous timing. Just as I touched the token, though, there was a small flash of light, and Loki appeared beside me, striding along with me.


    He wore a long, dark-mottled gray tunic trimmed with simple furs, layered under a thick leather vest studded with bronze rivets. His belt, a braided cord of deep red and black, held several pouches and tools that looked like they belonged more on a Viking shipbuilder than a god of mischief. His boots, fur-lined and weathered, suggested he had walked through storms and seas alike without hesitation.


    I jumped and looked at him, stopping in the street for a second, but he kept walking and motioned me to come on. No one else reacted. Whether that was because they were too drunk or they couldn''t see him, I didn''t know.


    He read the confusion on my face and smiled. "Ah, don''t worry about them," he said with a dismissive wave, gesturing to all the people around us. "They can''t see us."


    "Uh-huh," I muttered intelligently, still trying to figure out how he was here.


    "I''m not actually here," he clarified.


    Can you read my mind? I thought at him, but he didn''t react. I guessed it was just a common question people had for the first time with whatever he was doing.


    "I''m glad someone finally gave you a token. It certainly makes talking with you more convenient. And look," he said as we made a couple of turns, me not really following where we were going but just tagging along. "I couldn''t give you one myself. Not without a price. A token like that, given to you by a god, holds significantly more weight than just one for simple communication. But now that you have one, I can certainly hijack into it."


    "You can come talk to me anytime you want?"


    Loki shrugged. I wasn''t sure if that indicated he already could have done that or that he actually couldn''t do it all the time. Regardless, I didn''t press for an answer that I knew wouldn''t be given to me. We walked half a block in silence before I finally spoke up.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    "So. Satisfied with getting a few extra people through the challenge?"


    Loki gave me a smile. "Don''t pretend that was a favor for me as much as it was a favor for you. Certainly, I took it as payment, and I benefited from it, but you needed to move on to the group part of the challenge rather than just the solo challenge. Baldur always makes the solo ones way harder. And even if you might be ridiculously strong for your level, most people don''t even bother with the solo versions until they''re in their level 70s."


    "I didn''t think that I was that far off from being able to do it with a little help."


    "Yeah. You weren''t. It wasn''t really a lack of combat that was stopping you, but rather life experience and knowledge of the gods'' tricks. I mean, how many times have you actually led a raiding party?"


    I frowned. "Um, twice now."


    "Really?" Loki said, looking at me. "You know, I kind of figured you might have had some practice with how well you did. You weren''t a historical buff or anything? Or did you, I don''t know, live-action role play?"


    I blinked, surprised Loki knew what that was, but I shook my head no. "I played some tabletop games as a kid, but that was like 40 years ago." I neglected to mention that I was more in college than as a true kid. "I don''t think that really prepared me for leading a raiding party, though."


    "Huh. Like I said, you''re kind of a natural at it. I guess your time in the other world gave you some leadership experience, but... well. I''ll keep that in mind."


    I couldn''t help but smile at thinking of spending more time on the open ocean. Of course, raiding parties had more than one connotation.


    "So. How''s Astrid doing?"


    "She didn''t tell you?" Loki said. "Yeah, well, one of my sisters¡ªI won''t give it away yet¡ªshe''s running Astrid through some trials. I have no doubt she''ll pass. It should be a few days, but you''ll have her back soon."


    I smiled. "Good. It''s nice to have someone you can trust to watch your back."


    Loki gave me a sad smile. "Yes, yes, it is."


    "Anyways," I said, brushing past that ominous display, "what brings you around?"


    "What? I can''t just stop by and have a chat with my buddy?"


    I laughed. "Well." But I noticed he just raised an eyebrow instead of joining in.


    "Come on," I said. "I know you have, like, however many copies of you running around doing your own things, but surely you have more important things to do than just chat."


    He shrugged. "Hey. Every once in a while, you get a little tired of spending too much time around family."


    "Really?" I said and stopped.


    Loki, this time, stopped as well. "You want to talk about it?" I asked hesitantly.


    He lifted a shoulder, but somehow, I could read a little bit of that embarrassment on his face. Or was he putting on an act? I guess I never knew. But I gestured to the tavern behind us, one that was dimly lit and smelled of stale ale and smoke. The wood-paneled walls were scarred with carvings, initials, and strange symbols, and the rough-hewn tables bore the marks of countless knife fights and spilled drinks. I swore one in every three buildings, if not more, served alcohol.


    We stepped in, grabbed a seat at the bar at the end, and ordered some drinks. Loki, despite being some sort of hologram that no one else was able to see, took the second drink I ordered and started to work on it. We sat, me trying to figure out what the hell I was supposed to say to a god that apparently had the blues, and Loki just gathered his thoughts.

 EV B2 Chapter 23:

    EV B2 Chapter 23:


    ¡°Do you have any siblings, Miles?¡± Loki asked after a few moments of silence.


    I was slightly taken aback by the question coming out of the blue, but I started to see where Loki might be going with it. ¡°No, not by blood, though. I was pretty close to my brother-in-law for many decades, but I imagine that isn¡¯t the same.¡±


    Loki heaved a weary sigh. ¡°Hmm. Hard to say. I was adopted, obviously. I have a stepmother, and my father is very distant.¡±


    I frowned, trying to remember what little I knew of Norse mythology. Loki¡¯s father was... who, exactly? He said he was Odin, but... or was that just those movies? I couldn¡¯t remember. Loki must have seen my confusion because he followed it up with another question.


    ¡°Okay, so how much do you actually know about Norse mythology?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Not much. No more than pop culture. And maybe... a Wikipedia late-night browsing session or something.¡±


    ¡°Well, that honestly doesn¡¯t put you at too much of a disadvantage. Most of the Norse sagas come from a Christian priest, written 200 years after most of Iceland had converted. So, some of it is a bit skewed. For example, Baldur is nowhere near as forgiving as people make him out to be. Nor as gentle. He was too heavily influenced by the mythos of Jesus.¡±


    He took a breath before continuing, ¡°Of course, there¡¯s a lot that¡¯s true, but the mess of the families? That part didn¡¯t really survive. Sure, it might look messy, but even the stories and myths mortals knew at the time had nothing to do with how chaotic it actually was. See, there were two pantheons in the beginning, long before humans were even involved: the ?sir and Vanir. We warred for what must have been millennia.¡±


    He gave a humorless chuckle. ¡°And I? Well, I was always a little to the side¡ªa trickster and, in some cases, a neutral third party. Not because I didn¡¯t have connections to one side or the other but just because of who I was. No one inherently trusted me. And, well, while most didn¡¯t revile me, they weren¡¯t exactly eager to put up with me either.


    ¡°That did mean, though, that I was uniquely helpful. Eventually, the warring stopped. One side or another¡ªit wasn¡¯t important. Instead of claiming defeat or victory, a series of marriages were performed. Several marriages throughout the lines bind our families together. We had the more gentle gods and the warlike gods, and together, we tempered ourselves. Or at least, we thought we did. For our time, we tempered ourselves.


    ¡°To you, we might seem vicious and warlike¡ªor maybe not¡ªbut it was nothing compared to how it used to be. All of that made for rather tense family gatherings. When you¡¯re known for killing or torturing one distant relative or another¡ªor, in one iteration, sure, they might have healed or reformed themselves from their divine essence, but, well... the bad blood has somewhat faded. Every once in a while, though, someone digs up old wounds.¡±


    I was struggling to follow along with Loki¡¯s speech. It felt like I was missing so much context. At the same time, as my wife had told me many times, this might be more of a listening problem than a solving problem. ¡°Does this have something to do with what you have Astrid doing?¡± I asked.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    Loki waved his hand in a so-so gesture. ¡°Not directly. It would have happened anyway, but her working out the deal for her was a bit of a catalyst. All in all, I think it should be quite advantageous to all parties involved. But... well. Memories,¡± he said as he drained his second beer.


    I pushed my mostly untouched beer over to him and signaled the bartender for two more. Loki seized it, gave me a half-toast, and drained it as well before accepting one of the new beers the bartender slid toward me.


    ¡°Is there anything I can do to help?¡± I asked.


    Loki heaved a short, weary sigh before turning to look at me. ¡°I appreciate you asking, but this is mostly a godly matter.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± I said, ¡°if it¡¯s not too dangerous, I wouldn¡¯t mind lending a hand if you need anything.¡±


    I didn¡¯t offer or request payment, which was a bit antithetical to how Loki and I had conducted ourselves so far. Maybe he was getting one over on me, but I wasn¡¯t bound by anything. I could always say no.


    ¡°Mm. I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± Loki said, a real smile breaking across his face for the first time since the conversation started. ¡°Now, I imagine you probably want to get on with that mission. The jerk was going to give you all that. They can find you here. Just stay put for half an hour or so.¡±


    With that, Loki vanished. There was no sparkling aftereffect or flash of light. He was just... gone.


    I stared at the three empty beers in front of him and the mostly full one in front of me. With a sigh, I rested my forearms on the tabletop. The bartender glanced over at me, but seeing that I didn¡¯t need anything, he simply went back to polishing another glass with his slightly stained rag.


    ***


    Loki was true to his word. As I sat at the bar, nursing yet another beer as slowly as I could, the door swung open, and Jorg jogged in. He was white-faced and puffing, clearly having run all the way here. He spotted me, and his shoulders relaxed slightly before he made his way over, pushing a few people out of his path. Most of the patrons, already too drunk at this early hour, muttered angrily at him but didn¡¯t care enough to do anything more.


    Jorg slid into the booth Loki had occupied earlier, heaving a massive breath as he tried to catch his air.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± he panted, holding up a hand as he fought to steady his breathing. ¡°Sorry, Miles. I didn¡¯t realize you were someone so important,¡± he said once he¡¯d gathered himself. Then he stood, met my eyes, and offered his hand for a shake. ¡°I would have come to you sooner if I¡¯d known.¡±


    I took his hand, matching his grip strength, and looked him directly in the eyes. How should I respond? I thought to myself. Should I deny being anyone important? Was that true? I mean, I was an agent of Loki¡ªwas that important? I didn¡¯t even know if Loki had rankings in his... organization. I was pretty sure he didn¡¯t.


    But if Loki had put pressure on someone to save me time¡ªor if that was what he¡¯d done¡ªdidn¡¯t that make me important? I didn¡¯t feel particularly important. Denying it might make me look weak, but accepting it could lead to trouble I couldn¡¯t handle. So, I took the middle path.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure I¡¯m important,¡± I said with a smile, ¡°but some people value my time.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t exactly a denial. In fact, it was almost a confirmation, though not explicit enough for anyone to call me out on it. At least, no one would¡¯ve called me out on it in the corporate world. Here, I wasn¡¯t so sure. Maybe being vague or noncommittal like that was more of a weakness, but Jorg seemed to accept it. He nodded along.


    ¡°Yeah. Word came down that the big man wanted this project moved up if you were involved. So, here I am.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said. ¡°Make me an offer.¡±


    ¡°All right. So... there¡¯s this priest of Tyr¡ª¡±

 EV B2 Chapter 24:

    EV B2 Chapter 24:


    I struggled to follow along with Jorg''s explanation. Despite having spent less time here than I had in an absolute sense, he seemed to have spent more time in Valhalla proper rather than off-world. He knew a lot more about what was happening than I did. I did my best to hide my ignorance because, as much as Jorg and I had in common, the parts of him that most aligned with me weren''t ones I''d trust. The traits that meshed with mine were likely what got him into Loki''s little club. But I wouldn''t exactly call those qualities worthy of faith or respect. Not that they were inherently bad.


    I was still struggling to follow until I realized Jorg was talking about priests and priestesses of other gods¡ªand priests and priestesses of Loki. I couldn''t help but interrupt.


    "Wait. So this¡­ Chara Sharon? She''s your point of contact for anything related to Loki''s order?"


    "Um, yeah," Jorg said, nodding thoughtfully. His expression was calm, but his eyes betrayed a hint of confusion. "Whenever I need to interface with the Cult of the World Eater, yes."


    "Cult of¡ª" I started, but a sudden cough made me turn my head. I looked behind me, but no one was there. Then Loki''s voice spoke softly in my ear, sending shivers down my spine.


    "That name was supposed to be a joke," the god said. "People took it too seriously, and it stuck. Don''t worry about it too much."


    "What?" I said aloud, hoping Loki would explain if he was listening to my conversations¡ªor reading my mind. What the hell is happening? But there was no response.


    Jorg looked at me strangely, tilting his head slightly and raising an eyebrow. "I can see your brand... So¡­ who is your point of contact?"


    I swallowed, realizing for the first time that maybe Loki didn''t have avatars running around talking to every warrior¡ªor, I guess, mage. I wasn''t sure if the female warriors of Valhalla considered themselves warriors or mages, but I''d stick with "warriors." That worked for me. Perhaps my interactions with Loki were more special than I''d realized. The thought was disturbing and mind-blowing, and it completely shifted my perspective. I didn''t have the time or attention to figure that out now.


    Jorg was still staring.


    "Uh-huh," I said, stalling as I took a long pull of my drink. One swallow turned into two. My mind blanked. I couldn''t think of a good excuse, but I didn''t want to just admit I interfaced with Loki directly.


    "I don''t think I''m allowed to say who," I finally said, wishing Loki had given me some kind of cover or excuse.


    Thankfully, there was a bit of a commotion as a bar fight started behind us. Two teams of five were yelling, and a pitcher of beer was poured over someone''s head. The proprietor pulled a fucking claymore from behind the counter and screamed at them to take it outside.


    The unarmed warriors froze, some with fists cocked back, and looked at each other before filing out the back door in an orderly manner. Then I heard several yells, shouts, and the unmistakable thumps of fists on flesh. The proprietor slid the claymore back under his counter and went back to cleaning the glass.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    George and I had turned to see what the commotion was, carefully looking around us to make sure there was still no one nearby who could overhear our low, whispered conversation. No one was paying attention. Thankfully, the distraction had given Jorg a chance to think, and he seemed to have come to his own conclusions.


    Jorg''s eyes were wide when he turned back to me. "You must have a personal handler if you don''t have more contacts in the cult."


    I suppressed a frown. "Um, you could say that."


    He nodded slowly. "No wonder you came so highly recommended for this mission. Apparently, someone very close to the top vouched for you. You''re enough of an outsider and such a hidden asset that I guess it makes sense why you wouldn''t be interfacing with any public part of the church. I mean, I''m nominally a member of the cult, but I''m not considered close to it. Talking with me, though¡ªshould we even be having this conversation out in the open?"


    Jorg hesitated, glancing around as if to ensure no one was eavesdropping, then lowered his voice and asked, "Is this going to blow your cover or something?"


    I shook my head. "No, I don''t think it''ll be an issue. I''m supposed to interact with everyone. Besides, we knew each other before this, so it''s not that weird. And if you''re just hiring me for a job as a mercenary, I''m sure I can get it done."


    I had no idea how much of this was true, but I was almost certain I wasn''t some secret hidden asset of Loki''s. I wasn''t a brainwashed assassin for the CIA or anything. For one, I had all my memories¡ªor so I thought. And two, that had never been part of the deal with Loki. If it had been his intention, well, he''d better have made that clear. He had approved this mission, though. I assumed the person "close to the top" who recommended me was Loki himself.


    "Why don''t you finish explaining about this priest of Tyr?" I prompted.


    Jorg continued, explaining how their rival faction was growing in strength under one particular leader. This leader''s rise caused issues with the rule-bending that the Cult of the World Eater usually got away with. Loki''s priests wanted the situation handled. They''d asked for blessings and signs on how to proceed and received the right portents.


    It was still a low-level matter, but if the priest climbed the hierarchy too fast, there wouldn''t be enough time to deal with it. They wanted someone to send him back¡ªor demote him into the lower halls¡ªto buy them a few extra months. The implications of what they were planning didn''t make much sense to me, but if all they needed was someone who could get in close and leave without suspicion¡ªor court some¡ªthen I was willing to help.


    No matter what Jorg thought about me being a super-secret agent, I''d already been the subject of a manhunt once. If I got caught, well, Loki had mentioned I could go off-world again. I wasn''t thrilled about playing an assassin, but the knife at my hip was a comfort. No one could see it, but its hilt felt reassuring in my hand.


    After everything was explained, I leaned forward, more intent now, narrowing my eyes as I spoke. My fingers tapped rhythmically against the table as I said, "Okay, so I think I understand what you want. I''m pretty sure I can do it¡ªbut it won''t be easy."


    Jorg smiled. "Really? You''re going to do it?"


    I nodded. "I can do it. But like I said, it won''t be easy¡ªand it won''t be cheap. What''s your best offer?"


    Jorg leaned back in his chair, the faint smile on his face turning calculating. He folded his arms, and for a moment, I could see him weighing his response, deciding just how much information and leverage he was willing to share.


    "Let''s get one thing straight," he said finally, voice low. "We didn''t pick you because you''re new and therefore cheap. You come highly recommended... However, that doesn''t change the fact that you have no real history in this line of work."


    I raised an eyebrow. "Flattery isn''t a currency, Jorg. And don''t try to soften the lowball you were about to feed me. What''s your actual offer?"


    Despite my interest and the nudges from Loki, I didn''t actually need to do this. It was a choice. I could just walk away. That was the best place to negotiate. I just needed to make that clear, and I should have a lot more leverage.


    He chuckled. "Fine. Straight to the point."

 EV B2 Chapter 25:

    EV B2 Chapter 25:


    With feigned casualness, I walked toward one of the few polished stone buildings in Valhalla proper. Over the gate was a strange symbol, almost like an arrow pointing up and off to the sides. Flanking each of the giant double doors that stood open was a statue of a man with rippling muscles, long hair, a rather impressive beard, and one missing hand. The eyes of the statues seemed to watch me as I walked forward.


    I was not unarmed. No one walked around Valhalla completely unarmed, but neither was I displaying my more dangerous weapons. I simply carried a shield and wore a sword in a baldric sheath slung over my back. My furs hung loosely around me, my head left bare, and I maintained a stoic expression. Inside, though, I was nowhere near as calm as I appeared on the outside. My stomach roiled with anticipation, fear, and a fair amount of doubt.


    This wasn¡¯t the worst thing I¡¯d done, I kept telling myself. Really, this was not like a real assassination. Technically, yes, it was an assassination, but it wasn¡¯t as though the guy was gone forever. He was already dead¡ªI was just sending him back a little bit.


    I¡¯d killed before, of course. But that had been in another world, and most of my fighting had taken place in arenas that weren¡¯t even as bad as this. Still, all that was slim comfort, and I forced myself to pull back from my thoughts. Instead of dwelling on them, I tried to blink my mind clear and focus on what I was doing.


    I needed to get in contact with the priest of Tyr, but walking up to the man directly was out of the question. That would not look good for me in any case. Luckily, the priest belonged to an organization that, while vastly dissimilar to Loki¡¯s cult on the surface, served a similar purpose for the god. I hadn¡¯t been able to determine how involved Tyr was in the day-to-day operations of his own organization. Loki, by contrast, was apparently more involved than the outside world believed when it came to the cult of the World Eater. I knew firsthand that he took a much more intimate interest than most assumed.


    Tyr¡¯s cult, however, was different. Casually nicknamed the Society of War, it did not claim any official name. Despite their differences from Loki¡¯s followers, they operated in similar ways. The Society offered missions that members or affiliates of the church could take on for various rewards. Most of these tasks were designed to further the interests of Tyr or his clergy, which, as with any self-respecting cult, they would have you believe were 100% aligned.


    I knew enough about mortal corruption to not fully believe that, though.


    This gap between the intentions of the god and the clergy was what I was hoping to exploit to complete my mission. See, my mission wasn¡¯t as simple as just walking up to the guy and knifing him in the street. No, I had to make sure there was no connection back to Loki or his cult, of course. Even if I went and killed him outright, there would still be suspicion. I knew I needed to find a way to make the man die in such a way that there would be no connection back to me. Either that, or I would go with him¡ªnot actually die, but just disappear, lay low for a while, and later claim I¡¯d escaped from the Lesser Hall.


    Of course, it wouldn¡¯t actually take me long to get out of the Lesser Hall. I¡¯d proven I could do that with relative ease. The only reason it kept the Priest of Terror pinned down was that he was relatively new and not exactly built for fighting, despite being a priest of a war god. Even then, I had serious doubts about their plan to send him back being as effective as any sort of long-term strategy. Perhaps if they sent back several warriors or rigged fights against him, it might work. Or maybe the challenges had changed in the Lesser Hall. Well, it shouldn¡¯t matter¡ªthat wasn¡¯t what they were paying me for.


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    No, I was obviously going to stick to the plan of making sure no suspicion was cast on me¡ªnot even being anywhere in the area. Or, at the very least, being verified as unarmed. Killing him with a knife had been my first thought. But the more I considered it, the longer I planned, the more I realized this wouldn¡¯t be a simple in-and-out job. If I wanted to do it in a way that was up to my usual standards and minimized the blowback, it would take weeks to find the right opportunity¡ªor even longer. And I wasn¡¯t sure how much time I had.


    It would really depend on a lot of luck. I¡¯d have to talk to Astrid as well. There was no way I¡¯d be able to complete my task before she finished hers¡ªassuming her task really would only take the few days she thought it would.


    I pulled open one of the double doors just enough to slip inside, letting it close softly behind me. The large hall stretched out before me, its polished marble floors and shimmering walls somehow managing to look both opulent and rough at the same time.


    It wasn¡¯t like the uncut stones that made up some of the temples I had passed on my way here. Nor was it like the finished and stately rooms that Loki seemed to prefer. Instead, it had the feel of a worn castle¡ªnot yet succumbed to the ravages of time, but still well maintained in a serviceable manner. My footsteps echoed as I strode into the hall, drawing the attention of a few people. Some sat at pews, while others inspected the weapons displayed on the walls. They turned to look at me as I walked toward the front, where a few boards with papers pinned to them stood.


    I stopped and began scanning the papers. These were the offerings. Most gods accepted some sort of tribute. You might offer a sword, food, or gold¡ªTyr would accept those. But he also accepted tasks. Sometimes, the tasks came with rewards. Really, it was like hiring a mercenary. The tasks were many and varied, and I couldn¡¯t always see how they benefited the clergy. But I knew that more scheming minds with greater context would be able to figure it out.


    I stood there, reading through the postings and categorizing them in my mind. I wasn¡¯t planning to take any of them right now. My goal was simply to put my face out there and start being recognized. Of course, my first thought had been to use some sort of disguise spell. Which sadly hand¡¯t upgrqaded when I learned it. I had a significant boost in my efficiency with illusion magic; after all, I should be using it. I¡¯d demanded an appropriate payment upfront, which would have allowed me to purchase a more effective spell. However, as I looked into it further, I realized I hadn¡¯t considered a few things.


    Someone of sufficient power would likely be able to see through my illusion. Of course, that hadn¡¯t stopped me from putting one on anyway. It was something simple¡ªjust enough to slightly change my face without disguising too much of me. That way, if I were spotted without the illusion, I wouldn¡¯t be immediately recognized. Still, I knew that if Tyr ever really looked into it, he would undoubtedly be able to see through the spell and recognize me. At least it covered up my Loki tattoo.


    So, my Disguise spell quickly became one of my new favorites. It was significantly more expensive than my other spells because it was popular among mages¡ªand especially among lumens. Unlike the physical spells I had acquired, like Fool¡¯s Constitution or Dance with the Jester, this one was in high demand. I hoped it would serve me well when this was all over.


    I was still scanning the boards when a soft voice spoke over my shoulder.


    ¡°My brother, what can I help you with? I do not believe you¡¯ve graced these halls before.¡±


    I turned, and when I saw the face of my target, I wasn¡¯t too surprised. After all, this was the temple he worked with.

 EV B2 Chapter 26:

    EV B2 Chapter 26:


    I studied the man''s face for several moments. It was an average face attached to an average looking man. He was a couple of inches shorter than me, with a strong jaw and a wolfish proportion to his nose. His brown eyes held a surety that surprised me. Even with that defining quality, he wouldn''t stand out in Valhalla at all. This place was full of self-assured men and women. No, there was only something that stood out because I was paying attention. It wasn''t necessarily the calmness of his eyes but a steady look like there was nothing in the world that could move him.


    As I looked down at him, I could see the top of his slightly thinning hair and his bushy beard that went down nearly to his chest. That was strange. Everyone I had seen so far looked like a 25-year-old in perfect health. The only bald men clearly shaved their heads by choice or habit. I had never bothered to do anything with mine, and it was the same standard cut I wore my entire life. The man still looked 25, but maybe he had balded early.


    I offered my hand in the normal greeting everyone around here used. My plan was turned slightly up and extended a bit farther than a traditional handshake.


    "I''m Miles, and you''re right. This is the first time I''m here," I said. He reached over and clasped my forearm with a strength that matched my own.


    "You can call me Brother Peter."


    "Well, Brother Peter, it''s an honor to meet you," I replied.


    Our gazes were still locked as I turned slightly so we could both face the board.


    "Well, that brings me back to my earlier question," Brother Peter said. "Is there anything I can do to help? You seem to be interested in maybe leaving an offering for Tyr."


    I looked over at what was essentially the jobs board and shrugged. "I was considering it."


    "Well, if you don''t want to leave an offering, the rewards aren''t half bad at all," Brother Peter said, a smile in his voice that was infectious. I could see why he was such a charismatic potential leader¡ªor at least, why he had been described to me that way.


    I felt a slight pull. Was his Charm stat even higher than mine? That shouldn''t be possible. I focused for a second and felt my Inscisive Gaze activate. It told me he was only level 18, but it wouldn''t give me any more information.


    Well, I was only level 23 at the moment. But my fifteen levels in Arcane Fool gave me a leg up against everyone. Of course, I didn''t get any points automatically assigned to Charm, and I hadn''t been using my free points there. Did he have a class as well? He might not need one. If his blessing had unlocked Charm and he''d been able to put points into it, maybe...


    I studied him for a moment longer before realizing I had forgotten to respond to what he had said.


    "They''re not half bad. And outside of the monthly challenge, it''s the only way I''ve seen to make coin. As a single person." So far, this was mostly true. Unless you wanted to go down Bjorn''s route.


    Brother Peter blinked, surprised. "Really? You must be new around here. Many temples have some sort of work that can be done for most gods. Obviously, Tyr''s the vastly superior choice, but you could also work as a barkeep or find some sort of position fixing or creating weapons. Nothing that will be fully enough. The challenge is still necessary¡ªand really the only way to make lots of money."


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    As he said the last word, he tapped the side of his nose with a wink, telling me that the gods'' plan of trying to force everyone to get their money through the challenge didn''t work as well as it had been explained to me during the orientation.


    I never really bought that. I think the only reason the challenge became relevant¡ªor stayed relevant¡ªwas the 20%. Perhaps it was the way to earn the most amount of money, but that coin still needed to enter an economy, and from there, it had to circulate. There were always people at the better end of things, trapping more wealth and power than others.


    Well, I already knew you could buy carries the challenge, but maybe there were more mechanisms keeping that from growing out of control.


    "Yes, I''m new," I told Brother Peter. "I barely managed to get the last challenge done since I showed up only days before it arrived. I know, I know¡ªI technically had a month''s leeway. But, I don''t know, there''s something about the feeling of accomplishment when you set your mind to it."


    "Mm. That''s impressive to finish a new challenge so fast. And with just coming here. It is the opinion of the church that Baldur is a little too soft when setting his challenges, but impressive nonetheless. Did you have a party to do it with you?" Brother Peter asked.


    "Yeah, I did. Though it wasn''t something that was going to last."


    "A temporary party, I see," Brother Peter said with a knowing nod. "Those are complicated business, of course. Parties formed through a temple, like Tyr''s, won''t have such fragility. We tend to form bonds that last, such as the Brotherhood of Combat."


    I raised an eyebrow. "Really? It feels like almost everyone here focuses on combat. Why would going through a temple like this make it any different?"


    "Well. Let me put it into perspective. Back on Earth, you were aware of gangs and gang violence, right?"


    I wasn''t surprised that someone was going to talk about life before Valhalla. That was usually taboo. It also told me about his general time period. But that was still a century, or so I figured he could be from.


    "Well, there was a lot of conflict and fighting there, and for the most part, they formed¡ª"


    I noticed a slight hesitation in his speech there, as if they wasn''t the word he wanted to use.


    "They formed real bonds. Bonds that kept them together. And sometimes, they were lasting. But most of the time, when something could easily split them apart, loyalty wasn''t the same.


    "But take most military units that fought for a cause¡ªfor something righteous and just. Those bonds would last until everyone was dead."


    I wasn''t sure I believed what he said, but it was a chance to learn more. So I went with it.


    "It sounds like you have some personal experience," I said.


    A twitch echoed through Brother Peter''s facial features, but he suppressed it almost instantly.


    "I think this second chance at life gives us all the ability to start fresh," he said haltingly, then sighed. "However, I don''t have a problem talking about my past. It''s just that most people avoid the subject."


    I nodded. "Yes. There''s good reason for that, for the most part."


    "What about you?" Brother Peter asked. "What did you leave behind? I don''t think anyone who ends up here is 100% satisfied."


    "No, I don''t. I mostly agree with you," I replied. "I left behind some family¡ªand quite dramatically."


    I found myself wanting to be more honest with this man than was probably wise. His charm stat must have been very high.


    "What did you do back in the before?" I asked after a moment of companionable silence.


    "Oh, I was a janitor," Brother Peter said with a faint smile. "There''s something so satisfying about cleaning up filth and putting it away. About removing debris and disorder."


    He went on to talk about what he loved about being a janitor. As he spoke, I realized that, like everyone here, Brother Peter was a bit more than a little crazy.

 EV B2 Chapter 27:

    EV B2 Chapter 27:


    I left the temple satisfied that I had done my job. The priest of Tyr was neither difficult to locate nor hard to potentially kill. The most challenging part would have been avoiding suspicion, which, so far, didn¡¯t seem to have progressed one way or the other. I also picked up a few initial jobs. They were not at all what I had first expected. With no massive hunting grounds that I was aware of, the typical intro quests¡ªlike killing a certain type of monster or helping a farmer¡ªjust weren¡¯t viable options.


    No, instead, it was more about making the church function. The various intro quests the temple offered involved basic procurement. Sure, for most things, they had regular suppliers. But if one of their priests was working on some sort of fancy new ritual spell that needed components¡ªand they didn¡¯t want to be troubled to gather the components themselves, or there was no time limit or any number of other reasons¡ªthey could simply post a request. If the priest was high-ranking enough, the church would even pay a slight premium to anyone who could find the items in the markets or stores. I had enough coin to handle that and figured I could make a little more coin doing it.


    I grabbed several items I was certain I had seen available. These jobs didn¡¯t need to be done immediately. In a couple of days, I could return and provide the resources well within the time limits. Gaining that sort of reputation would allow me to take on more interesting jobs for the church.


    A lot of those jobs involved the arena. None of them were things Loki might ask me to do, like sabotaging or injuring a combatant beforehand. Rather, when it was Tyr¡¯s turn to serve, he needed people like judges, guards, or others to keep things running on schedule. Most of the more interesting positions were reserved for church members, but sometimes they needed raw power. That might mean tasks like breaking up fights that went on too long or preventing fights from starting early while the referee was still announcing. Most of these roles were for healers, but there were options for people like me, too. For now, though, those roles were out of my reach¡ªbut not for long. It didn¡¯t take much work to get into these simple positions.


    The more trusted roles, like filling party spots in particular groups or carrying lower members through challenges, were some of the hardest to earn. I figured that was probably where I¡¯d eventually get my chance.


    I made sure to drop the disguise once I rounded a few corners and ducked into an alley. I was now recognizable as Miles again. Of course, my fake name was also Miles, but the change in face should have been enough to throw off suspicion. I didn¡¯t want to complicate things by going too far out of character. I wasn¡¯t trained as an undercover agent or anything, so making it too intricate would only increase the odds of giving myself away. Something as simple as not reacting to my real name was more likely to reveal me than my name being known to the target¡ªat least, that¡¯s what I assumed.


    I quickly gathered the items I needed. It only took a few hours, leaving me with some time to kill until Astrid was done.


    ¡°Hey, Loki,¡± I said, lifting the token Jorg had given me to my face in a cupped palm. I whispered into it, not really expecting a response.


    To my surprise, Loki appeared out of nowhere with a jaunty wave and fell into step with me as I continued down the street.


    ¡°I see your storage bag is slightly heavier,¡± Loki commented. Before I could respond, he shrugged slightly. I mirrored the gesture, trying not to look suspicious since it seemed no one else could actually see Loki. People gave me enough space as if he weren¡¯t walking near anyone. Maybe there was some sort of glamour or illusion making it seem like I was talking to a normal person. Still, I didn¡¯t want to risk being overly expressive¡ªlest someone think I was crazy.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m making progress on the job,¡± I said.


    Loki looked at me, tapping his chin thoughtfully. ¡°Mmm. I see your approach. I think it might work. There are definitely easier ways of doing this. Still, if you want to get up close and personal¡­ well, you need to actually get close. Though, you did stand next to him today.¡±


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    ¡°True,¡± I admitted, ¡°but I don¡¯t want any suspicion thrown on me¡ªor on you or your organization, either. That means he can¡¯t just mysteriously die. It has to look obvious to everyone that it was an accident. If I¡¯m not around him, I¡¯m not sure how to arrange that without it looking super suspicious.¡±


    ¡°True,¡± Loki agreed. ¡°Look, there are other ways, but this is a good learning opportunity. That said,¡± he added, raising a finger and cutting off my attempt to change the subject, ¡°if you mess this up, I might not be able to bail you out. Tyr has a lot of power here.¡±


    I grimaced. ¡°That¡¯s not something I¡¯m exactly happy to hear.¡±


    ¡°I understand,¡± he said, ¡°but you know I¡¯ll do what I can. Just a warning.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well, I¡¯m thinking that even after I carry out the plan, it¡¯ll take some time to ensure there¡¯s no suspicion on me. I can¡¯t just vanish afterward. That¡¯s a bit unfortunate because running away or changing my face would be much more convenient.¡±


    ¡°It would,¡± Loki agreed. ¡°Though, with your illusion magic, you could always assume a new identity. You might only need to tweak your name slightly, keep your original face, and you¡¯d be fine.¡±


    ¡°Eh, I¡¯m not too attached to my name,¡± I admitted. ¡°Miles has always been a fine name, but I¡¯m dead. This is a new life. Anyways, the reason I called you, though¡ª¡± I began.


    Loki raised an eyebrow. ¡°Oh, you had a reason?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Just a quick question, really. Do you have any updates on how Astrid¡¯s doing or how long her thing will take?¡±


    His eyes glazed over slightly as he stared into the distance for a moment. After blinking and shaking his head, he replied, ¡°Mmm. It should be a couple more days. Maybe five at the most.¡±


    ¡°Is she doing all right?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s fine. It¡¯s just taking longer, and that¡¯s not necessarily a bad thing. Just different, maybe.¡± He said. ¡°I didn¡¯t exactly design the trial she¡¯s going through, so it¡¯s hard to say.¡±


    I clicked my tongue. ¡°So much for doing some challenge runs, then.¡±


    ¡°Are you planning on starting the challenge already?¡± Loki asked.


    ¡°Should I not?¡±


    ¡°Well, you certainly have a lot of growth potential you could squeeze out with some training. Besides, I haven¡¯t seen you working on making a skill in a while. You¡¯ve also got spells you could learn¡ªor spells you could improve.¡±


    I grimaced. Perhaps I had been a little lax.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t really felt the issue,¡± I said. ¡°It seemed like my bottleneck for this last challenge was more about the people I was working with¡ªor the lack of them¡ªrather than any individual power.¡±


    Loki gave me an exasperated look. ¡°True. I suppose you haven¡¯t felt the need, but there¡¯s potential there for you to squeeze out.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Have you been assigned your free stat points?¡± he asked.


    I shook my head, feeling a little chagrined. ¡°I haven¡¯t decided where I want to put them yet.¡±


    ¡°Well, remember, Baldur¡¯s challenges are very much considered not the norm. The challenge you faced first, Thor¡¯s, was much more typical. A lot more combat and more suited to solo runs. Even many of the top solo warriors and mages in Valhalla proper last month had to form temporary teams. It¡¯s one of the reasons there are team spots. Only a few challenges really need you to have a team to hit the 20% mark, though. To actually finish the challenges? Most people require teams until they get really strong. By that point, they¡¯re usually on their way out of Valhalla proper.¡±


    I nodded, processing his words. ¡°Hmm. I¡¯m a little light on coin at the moment,¡± I admitted. ¡°I¡¯ve sunk a lot into the job, but in a couple of days, I could probably pick up a new spell. And with the champion aspect of the blessing, my illusion magic actually far outstrips my arcane magic. I should probably work with that.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you could do with more illusions. Of course, it¡¯s just efficiency. Illusions are useful, but they do have weaknesses that you¡¯ll want to cover. Arcane and illusion together make a good combination. You can hit hard and not take hits. I wouldn¡¯t consider illusion magic defensive, though.¡±


    Loki and I delved into a discussion on the different types of magic and how to mix them into combat styles. It was fun, and I was glad to have someone to talk to about this¡ªit helped me clarify several thoughts.


    ¡°What about skills?¡± I asked. ¡°Do you have any advice besides what we¡¯ve already talked about?¡±


    He tilted his head. ¡°Yeah. Well¡­ keep meditating on it. There¡¯s that intersection you talk about. Remember the quantum stuff?¡±


    I grimaced. ¡°It seems like I haven¡¯t made much progress on that.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you might want to keep working on it for a bit,¡± he said.


    ¡°Anyway, what were you planning on doing today now that you¡¯ve gotten the whole unpleasantness out of the way?¡±

 EV B2 Chapter 28:

    EV B2 Chapter 28:


    The slightly dreary room around me was strangely quiet. I expected to hear the creaking of floorboards above me, the slosh of water in buckets, or the raised voices of arguing warriors from the common room below. But as I sat cross-legged on the floor in front of my bed, I didn''t hear any of that. It was a quiet tavern in a slightly seedy part of town. Was it because it was near the Temple of Order? I didn''t think so. I was sticking close to Tyr''s clergy, but the war god''s chosen were just as rowdy after battle as any of the other warriors here.


    I actually found the quiet a little unsettling. I didn''t even have Astrid to talk to, as it had only been a couple of days. Throughout that time, I had done a few things for the church, but nothing significant. Not enough to be suspicious. Other than that, I had been relatively bored, and I had taken Loki''s suggestion to work on my magic and meditate on my skills.


    Skills were making no progress in my spells. As much as I had gotten a handle on them, I''d only improved their efficiency slightly¡ªtheir speed of casting, their power, just on the margins. Not enough to make a real difference. But I was having a completely different problem. It wasn''t that I couldn''t change them, adjust them, or move them. I just didn''t know in what direction to take them.


    So far, my spells had held up amazingly. I only had two of them, but between being able to move, heal, and take damage, along with leaving illusions to confuse my enemies, I hadn''t needed anything else. I was faster than almost anything I had fought. The only reason I''d struggled with the challenge was because I couldn''t be in two places at once¡ªand I didn''t think any spell at my level was going to let me do that.


    Everything had been strangely effortless since I got back from the other world. I felt my fingernails dig into my palm as I thought about how that whole thing had ended. There was still no word of Alana, but, well, it would be a while before I found out anything new along those lines.


    I pulled my focus back to my issue. There was just not much need for improvement. Because of that, I was simply moving my spells into a general, slightly better state. But I couldn''t bring myself to compromise speed for power¡ªor any one element for another¡ªbecause everything was working as it was.


    And this was a bit of a problem. When it came down to it, I just wasn''t challenging myself. I wasn''t sure how I would continue to grow without that. Sure, I had picked up a few levels in the challenge, but nowhere near as much as I could have if it had been difficult and pushed me further.


    I kept pushing down the urge to try out the challenge again on my own. I could do it, but it felt like it would be a distraction at the moment. I needed to keep my focus on my target. But I could only spend so much time dealing with the priests of Tyr before they started to get suspicious.


    And going into the challenge could take far longer than I wanted it to. That left me with a few options. I could talk to Loki. I had spoken with him over the last couple of days, but those conversations had been more casual and, honestly, relaxing. I was sure he could give me some sort of job to do in my downtime, but, well, I wasn''t exactly hurting for money.


    I didn''t have enough to buy anything extravagant, like fancy new spells, but I also wasn''t sure what kind of spells I''d even need. Maybe some sort of direct damage spell? But I wouldn''t know what kind I needed until I started to struggle. Right now, I felt like I could face almost anything with my 15 levels in a class that gave me significantly more versatility than my straight 23 levels would. I was effectively something like a level 60 mixed mage and warrior.


    Of course, I wasn''t as effective as someone who''d earned all the experience to make it to level 60 without any class. I''d probably still be weaker. But all of this left me with only one real option if I wanted to actually get stronger in the immediate future: head back to the arena, back to where everything went wrong last time.


    I wasn''t sure what I would even be able to do there. I supposed I could enter some sort of fight that would allow me to use mana¡ªor one where I couldn''t use mana at all. This time, I only had one skill, so I could even enter a skill fight without much concern. But that wouldn''t really help me figure out where to move next or what direction to take my spells. At the very least, though, it would challenge me.


    Maybe I could find out what kind of warrior I could be without relying on spells, relying only on pure stats. I could try entering an under-30 tournament or taking on some exhibition matches.


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    Eventually, I gave up on meditating and pushed myself to my feet. I looked around the empty room. Ever since I''d gotten my special bag from Astrid''s former friends, I hadn''t felt the need to unpack. No space ever really felt like my own; it was just what I carried with me.


    Still, I kept my third-best sword belted on. It wasn''t my initial weapon¡ªI didn''t want to risk damaging, losing, or having it stolen. But I also didn''t want to appear unarmed. I had a decent collection of weapons taken from defeated foes and loot, some of which I still needed to sell. But I didn''t need the coin yet.


    All in all, I just felt stuck, like I was waiting for something to happen that wasn''t here yet.


    Sighing, I looked out into the early morning light. A light dusting of snow was falling, but no heavier than usual. Dawn would arrive soon, and most people still hadn''t gone to bed. Then again, this city never really slept.


    I crept downstairs and left the key on the bar top. I had already paid for the night up front, so I didn''t feel the need to wake anyone. Breakfast could wait.


    Stepping out into the street, I breathed in the slightly smoky air from the torches nearby, their flickering light casting shadows across the cobblestones. This wasn''t a wealthy enough district to use metal lamps like some other areas of the city did.


    Jumping slightly, I used Dance the Jester for a brief moment, launching myself high enough to see over the rooftops. Spinning midair, I spotted the nearest coliseum holding an arena and began making my way over.


    I passed through several distinct boroughs, each one transitioning seamlessly into the next. The changes were subtle at times¡ªdifferent types of shops, clientele, or just the overall level of wealth and cleanliness. A few stores caught my attention as I walked, their displays tempting even at this early hour.


    One thing I noticed in every district, regardless of its wealth or status, was the ever-present symbol of Loki scattered throughout. His mark adorned shop signs, discreetly engraved or painted, even in places where I wouldn''t expect it. I knew I could stop in and purchase something, but the thought felt¡­ trivial. I need a hobby, I thought to myself as I finally caught sight of the coliseum''s towering stone facade.


    The arena was closed for now, but the day''s schedule was posted out front. A small group of people loitered around the board, and I joined them, scanning the listings.


    The day was mostly filled with mid, and low-level fights, which worked for me since I was officially above that 15-level cap. At this point, the types of fights became more varied and interesting than simple duels.


    One event immediately caught my attention: a monster time trial. I signed up for it without hesitation. There was also a "no spells, no skills" tournament for those under level 25. I considered it for a moment before adding my name to the list. I wasn''t planning to win¡ªit was more about the experience. If it got boring, I could always bow out early.


    I glanced at a "spells only" tournament but quickly dismissed it. My lack of offensive magic made it a poor choice. Maybe I should just go get Firebolt, I thought wryly.


    Several higher-level matches were scattered throughout the schedule, featuring fighters above level 50 in exhibition bouts or grudge matches. I skimmed the descriptions of the combatants and picked out a few matches to watch later. With luck, I might find some inspiration there.


    When I turned to leave, however, someone was blocking my path.


    A woman, nearly my height, stood before me. Her long red hair framed a face dominated by steely blue eyes that locked onto mine with unnerving intensity. I stopped a pace from her and made a small step to the side, gesturing for her to move up to the board.


    She ignored the gesture, pivoting slightly to remain directly in front of me.


    Okay, this was odd.


    "Excuse me. Do I know you?" I asked, keeping my voice polite. It wasn''t the same kind of politeness I used to rely on back in my old life¡ªthat would be seen as a weakness here. My tone was straightforward but not confrontational.


    I made eye contact, holding her gaze, and didn''t offer the half-smile I''d habitually given since I was five.


    "No," she said, her voice heavily accented. "Not yet, you don''t."


    "Okay," I replied, a question laced in my tone. "Should I know you?" I asked, probing for some kind of introduction.


    She didn''t respond.


    I stayed where I was, fingers idly tapping along the pommel of my sword¡ªnot in a threatening way, just a casual gesture that kept me ready to draw and defend myself in an instant. Not that I actually planned to fight. If she attacked, I would simply vanish in a flash and activation of Dance the Jester.


    Still, I wasn''t going to just let my guard down. As she stood there, silent and unmoving, I let my Incisive Gaze activate.


    I barely managed to control my reaction when the result came back.


    Level 55.

 EV B2 Chapter 29:

    EV B2 Chapter 29:


    I was worried, but not overly so. Level 55. That was a bit higher than I had thought when I considered what level my early class had given me, but maybe she had a class as well. Still, it wasn¡¯t to the point where I didn¡¯t believe I could escape. It did make me wish I had assigned those 20 free stat points I¡¯d been holding onto, but so far, she wasn¡¯t threatening¡ªjust kind of in the way.


    I took in her clothes and confirmed that, while she was a spellcaster, she also carried a sword. So she wasn¡¯t incompetent in melee, but she wasn¡¯t wearing armor of any kind. My leathers might give me an edge if she drew that relatively thin sword of hers. She must be some sort of spell blade. Still, even though her eyes burned into me, I didn¡¯t think this was heading toward a fight.


    I stayed where I was, tapping my hilt with two fingers as I studied her, and she studied me. Eventually, after almost an entire minute had passed, she broke the silence.


    ¡°What is your name?¡± she asked, her accent just as thick as ever. The slightly longer vowels and clipped consonants made for an interesting sound, but one that wasn¡¯t difficult to understand at all.


    ¡°I am Miles.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, you are,¡± she said. ¡°You match the description, though it was a bit vague. Tomorrow, you should attend the graduation for the women¡¯s Lesser Hall. Arena 18-A.¡±


    And with that, she turned on her heels and stalked down the steps.


    I had no idea what that was about. Actually, I did. But I wasn¡¯t letting myself hope.


    Turning back to the board, I double-checked my plans. Not seeing anything else exciting, I decided to grab breakfast now that the sun had risen. It wasn¡¯t hard to find an inn near the arena that wasn¡¯t too crowded. Sitting in a corner by myself, I ordered a plate of eggs and bacon along with a pint of beer that came complimentary with every meal. It was a little early for beer, but I wasn¡¯t about to let it go to waste entirely. I sipped on the rather tasteless ale¡ªit was at least an improvement over the lousy mead I¡¯d had before¡ªwhile I picked my way through the meal.


    I estimated I had roughly an hour and a half before the first match I wanted to watch began. After that, there was another match¡ªa half hour later¡ªthat marked the first round of the Under-25 No Skills, Spells, or Spills tournament. Drumming my fingers on the table, I stared at the wall across from me, where a wolf¡¯s head was mounted. Its beady eyes seemed to watch me.


    No one bothered me while I ate, and I finished my meal without interruption. Heading back to the arena, I caught a fight between two sword masters, each around level 50, tearing into each other. It was a vicious grudge match between two different parties that had chosen them as their champions. Most of the skills were used, but I didn¡¯t see a single spell.


    Watching them, I noted that my sword skill wasn¡¯t quite as high as theirs¡ªit was probably somewhere in the high D or low C range¡ªbut I was pretty sure I was faster. And if I used spells, I was confident I could take on one of them, maybe even both. I grimaced. This might be a waste of time and could expose me more than I¡¯d like. Still, it was good to know what I could and couldn¡¯t show.


    I was already planning to withdraw from the tournament when the first round was called. Making my way to the arena, I saw I¡¯d been matched against someone still under level 15. I sighed. Well, what could I do to make this interesting? Or should I just forfeit now?


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    There wasn¡¯t an entrance fee for this tournament, though I¡¯d have to pay a bit to enter the monster time trial¡ªwhich I didn¡¯t think was worth it. Still, if I won, I¡¯d make some money. I shrugged. I was being overly cautious. Sure, I¡¯d try to win this tournament, but I¡¯d probably get to the point where I at least made my money back. No one would notice as long as I didn¡¯t show off too much.


    The arena had been split into 32 separate cells for the first round, each a small circle about ten feet in diameter where we would fight. It was incredibly close-quarters combat. Someone using a halberd might have struggled, but both my opponent and I were using shorter blades. I briefly considered pulling out a second weapon and dual-wielding¡ªor even going without weapons¡ªbut that would¡¯ve been disrespectful.


    The level 10 warrior I was up against looked rather young. He gave me a stoic nod, and I returned the gesture. When the bout started, I waited for him to approach me first. Several matches had already ended within seconds of the opening bell, so I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d stand out too much.


    Quickly parrying a few blows while moving at a standard speed for someone around level 25, I reposted and skewered him through the chest. The strike was clean. I pulled my blade free and wiped it off, waiting for the arena¡¯s healers to finish patching him up.


    The match was already called. After giving him another nod, I headed back up into the stands, where I waited for the more interesting fight I¡¯d planned to watch.


    It was a group match¡ªa five-member team versus another five-member team. Each fighter ranged from level 30 to 40. I was interested in seeing what sort of tactics the mixed groups would use. Both teams were evenly balanced: one group had two women and three men, while the other had three men and two women. They didn¡¯t seem particularly hostile toward each other, but they watched one another warily as they formed their formations.


    Both teams mirrored each other. One man in heavy armor with a giant shield stood at the front, flanked by two others, while the remaining two members held positions in the backline. I watched as the match began. I didn¡¯t learn anything revolutionary, but it did give me a few ideas for what Astrid and I might need if we filled out our party properly.


    Astrid could function as a healer¡ªnot a dedicated one, but with the right focus, we might not need a pure healer at all. Someone with strong regeneration abilities might suffice. Astrid was primarily a ranged fighter, an archer with some fire-based magical abilities. A pure mage might also be helpful, depending on their skill set. And we¡¯d definitely need someone big with a large shield for the front line.


    I didn¡¯t really fit into any specific role. Still, it seemed like there were only a few archetypes that were truly essential. It would just take some practice to figure out what we could make work. Once I¡¯d decided what to think about in terms of building our party, I started paying more attention to how these groups fought each other.


    The typical strategy seemed to be tying up the opposing tank while trying to get around them to attack the backline¡ªwhile, of course, preventing the enemy from doing the same. It made sense, but it was predictable. Everyone seemed to use and expect that approach. Then I started wondering¡ªwhat if we didn¡¯t play by that script? If we could blitz enough damage instantly, maybe we could take someone down before they had a chance to be saved by their party.


    The fight ended before I reached any real conclusion, and the monster trial began. I was led to a waiting room with the other competitors. We couldn¡¯t see the matches before ours, but we could hear the roar of the crowd as each person was led out into the arena to be timed on how fast they could defeat the monster in front of them.


    The tension in the room was palpable. Everyone seemed nervous, pacing back and forth. It started to get to me, too, but I forced myself to sit and focus. I bounced my knee absentmindedly, trying to meditate and hone my skills. I focused on my spells, and while I made only a tiny bit of progress, it felt like something. I was beginning to understand what Loki had meant about creating my own skills. That initial book he gave me had been helpful¡ªever so slightly¡ªbut I still didn¡¯t have a firm grasp on what I wanted to become. Maybe, eventually, I¡¯d figure it out.


    I was interrupted by my thoughts when my turn came. Blinking out of my focus, I stepped into the bright arena from the dim waiting room. The roar of the crowd washed over me and faded into a dull roar as I focused on my opponent.


    The first thing that got my attention was the sound of leathery wings beating overhead and a deep, rumbling roar¡ªsomething between a lion and a thunderclap.


    Hot breath washed over me, and as I looked up, I saw an honest-to-gods dragon glaring down at me.