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.