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.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

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.