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—that 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—how 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.