Somewhere, above Loki’s planet, the man Himself had returned to his asteroid. Like a true nerd, as soon as he stepped foot on top of it, he sat in his chair and opened his laptop.
[Welcome Loki, First of His Name, Almighty Ruler of The Cosmos, Stronger Than Krishna, Big Brother of Thor, Sexiest Man Alive, and King of Asgard.
Target status screen (Open):
Name: Andrew Finn.
Nickname: Achoo.
Age: 14 years and four months old.
Race: Quarter elf.
Class: ???
Abilities (relevant):
- Clay construction: Miniature models {Master}. Full scale clay construction {Intermediate}
- Leadership: {Intermediate}
- Warrior's Breath {disabled}
- Knife fighting {Intermediate- (+)}
- Archery {Intermediate (advanced)}
- Photographic memory {Master}
- Mathematics: {Saint}
- Dual Processing {Beginner}
- Honest to a fault {Advanced}
Potential:
- Nerd 70%
- Hero 45%
Comments: Ha, knew it.]
With a satisfied grin, Loki closed the screen. He then bit his mustache while tapping his desk.
“Honest to a fault… Moron, go die for all I care. You’ve already screwed up my view of those assassins, but with a little luck… Uuuu, count Vistacia, let’s see what you’re about.”
With a shit eating grin, Loki opened his laptop and entered count Vistacia’s name.
[Name: Veer Vistacia
Nickname: Flytrap of the South
Age: 43 years old
Race: Human
Class: Swordsman
Title: Count, Veteran of the southern battlefront.
Abilities (relevant):
* Dash {Saint}
* Sword master {Saint}
* Spiked blade {Saint}
* Spiked Ground {Saint}
* Nature’s fury {Master}
Debuff: Depressed
Achievements:
* Defeated Lizardman army’s 3rd battalion,
* Defeated Lizardman army’s 14th battalion,
* Defeated Lizardman army’s 14th commander,
* Single-handledly held off Lizardman army’s 25th battalion,
State of mind: Fragile.
Comments: Oh, I can work with this.]
After closing his laptop, Loki laughed loudly. He then snapped his fingers and a ball of energy appeared in his hand. He rolled it around, kissed it goodbye and flung it down towards the planet.
The black ball descended from the cosmos. The planet's atmosphere posed no resistance, for in essence, they were the same. It was the same energy, the same mana which permeated the entire planet, except this particular ball still obeyed its master.
As such, it did not fall at random, but straight towards a certain empire, towards a certain road, where a certain man was traveling with his troops. In broad daylight, Loki’s energy pierced through Veer Vistacia’s skull and took over his body’s mana.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Unfortunately, the count’s arms and parts of his torso were annoyingly off limits. A different God’s energy resided there, and as per its master’s orders, that particular God was not to be trifled with.
However, the foreign energy had not settled in the man’s head. That most vital part of his being was Loki’s for the taking.
Soon, a notification popped up on the god's laptop, and after a quick refresh, the count’s data read as such:
[Name: Veer Vistacia
Nickname: Flytrap of the South
Age: 43 years old
Race: Human
Class: Swordsman
Title: Count, Veteran of the southern battlefront.
Abilities (relevant):
* Dash {Saint}
* Sword master {Saint}
* Spiked blade {Saint}
* Spiked Ground {Saint}
* Nature’s fury {Master}
* Pain tolerance {Saint}
Buff: Berserk {Passive} - Activation conditions: Five minutes in combat.
Debuff: Prone to anger, depressed, stubborn.
Achievements:
* Defeated Lizardman army’s 3rd battalion,
* Defeated Lizardman army’s 14th battalion,
* Defeated Lizardman army commander,
* Single-handledly defeated Lizardman army’s 25th battalion,
State of mind: Emotional, fragile, harboring dark thoughts.
Comments: That’s more like it. Let’s go, Leeeroy Jeenkins! Hahaha…]
……………………………………………..
500 years in the past, when Loki imbued the planet with his mana, even the wind, the oceans, and the ground suffered. Unable to withstand the foreign energy, the land caved into itself. Pathways formed for the mana to flow through and to force it in one spot, in order to spare the surrounding soil from its pressure.
These ‘naturally’ occurring craters, caves, and tunnels soon attracted monsters which thrived inside the concentrated energy. Since these monsters quickly reached abnormal levels of strength, the empire’s residents soon issued a warrant for the dungeons’ destruction.
Over hundreds of years, mercenaries, soldiers, and even generals plunged into their depths, defeated the monsters, and collected the accumulated energy until only a single dungeon was left inside the empire’s borders. For farming and training purposes, this labyrinth was spared, a city was formed nearby, and to the present day, mercenaries and even soldiers, gathered here to test their might against the creatures within.
Despite Loki’s tip that this would be the place where Finn could gain the most recognition, the boy had no idea where to begin. He knew that Nunac would likely be here, and he knew his plans had something to do with the labyrinth. But what exactly? He could not figure it out.
‘What if he’s not in the labyrinth at all and he's just killing people inside the city? No, this doesn't make sense. There are plenty of cities to choose from that are not swarmed with mercenaries and soldiers.
If Nunac and his accomplices are here, then they must be planning something else, maybe a dungeon crawl, a dungeon escape, a dungeon… What was that thing called where monsters burst out of a dungeon?’
“Hey Finn! The adventurer guild’s over here.”
Looking back, Finn saw Michael standing beside the entrance of a three story building, with a rundown door and an even more crooked sign of a wine barrel above it.
“Don’t call it that. People will look at us funny.”
“Who cares? Let them whine and let us drink!” With even more excitement than normal, Michael kicked the door open and walked into the venue.
While the girls and Tommy went looking for accommodations, the two of them were supposed to find clues on the assassins. And what better place to search in than the current dilapidated bar, formerly known as the adventurer’s guild?
Of course, the building used to be in pristine condition, but after a full platoon of soldiers raided the place, not even the walls escaped without holes or tears. Yet, people still came here on the regular, to eat and to gather information on the labyrinth.
Michael shouted for wine, but nobody paid him much attention. These sorts of youngsters were common around these parts. They were full of energy and had great ambitions, and they usually died within a month.
Following him, another teen entered the premises and immediately scanned the room. The floor had tiny craters, the 20 or so tables were missing legs, there were fewer chairs than people, and the bar was cut in half.
“Sheesh, the drinks here must really be something.”
The entire venue suddenly burst into laughter and someone called Finn over to a table. There weren’t enough chairs, but that was hardly a problem. Some sat on the floor, others stood up, and the table was more of a gathering point plus a holster for booze.
While Finn joined the cheerful mercenaries, Michael approached the table as well. He looked a bit miffed due to the difference in treatment, and as soon as a waiter passed by, he grabbed a wine jug from her hand and drank it to the bottom.
“You know you have to pay,” said Finn.
“You owe me buddy, this is all on you.”
The mercenaries burst into laughter, and one of them winked at Finn, hoping he’d treat him too.
“Broke as a bat,” the boy shrugged.
“Then you’re in the right place.”
“Cheer cheer!”
“You’re here for the labyrinth, ain’tcha?” a mustached, blonde man asked.
“The place's been a bit dry lately,” a burly woman complained.
“Like your p… [slap] I meant to say purse!”
The men and women burst out laughing, and Finn leaned slightly on the table.
“Say, did anything unusual happen in the labyrinth or in the city these past few weeks?”
The second he finished his sentence, the table broke, and at the same time, the door to the bar burst open with such force it came loose from its hinges. A bald, skinny soldier, so tall he needed to crouch to pass the entrance, ran towards a table, grabbed a jug of wine and finished it in one go.
“Chill out, mate. Are the wolves coming?”
“No.” The tall man put the jug down. “I’m here on orders from the empire. Someone has breached the 5th floor of the ancient labyrinth, and they must be stopped. All those who can fight, come with me. This is an order!”
In an instant, the atmosphere within the bar shifted. People rushed out and returned with weapons on their hips. Others bombarded the soldier for details, but there wasn’t much else he could tell them.
From what Finn and Michael learned later on, only the first four floors of the labyrinth were open to the public. Delving further threatened to damage the dungeon’s ecosystem, ruin everyone's source of income, and worse, unleash the long forgotten, centuries old creatures sleeping within.