Chapter 46:

What did Skoggangr Þræll 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 Þræll is?" I asked, still wheezing for breath.

"A Skoggangr Þræll? 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?"

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

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?"