“What are you doing here?” Dream muttered, bitter. “And what happened to you?”
Name
HP
O.P
O.M.P
A.P
Class
Men’ma
14
103/209
26
⥈
Valkyrie lvl.12
Unlike Pranakinesis and Arcane, which have been spread far and wide, and their acquisition methods are well-known, Odo-wielding is a power exclusive to the Odoe race. It is acquired at birth as a form of blessing, as the Odoe race calls it. This blessing is granted at birth by the Odo tree to Odoe children born in its vicinity, and the intensity of that blessing determines whether the child will be born as a scaled, veined, or even winged Odoe. Several factors are taken into account, including how the children grow up to wield their Odo, whether it is through training or just natural and physical growth, but in the end, luck plays the most significant role in the outcome.
Upon reaching a certain stage of bodily growth, the growth of one's possessed Odo also comes to a halt. It is by comparing the amount of Odo that one wields past that stage that an individual is chosen to become a valkyrie. Becoming a valkyrie implies receiving a second blessing, one that allows the then-winged Odoe to undergo a second change that turns them into a crowned Odoe— a winged Odoe with an increase in their possessed Odo and heightened control over it. Years later, the maiden valkyries receive their third blessing, which, just like the second one, grants them a boost in their Odo reserve and control. However, it also comes with something else, something to aid them in their future duty: being one with the Odo tree.
This third blessing grants the up-until-then Maiden valkyrie an exponentially increasing potential for growth, rivaling that of the Odo tree itself—a tree that they almost immediately start merging with. It is through this gradual merging with the Odo tree that all the valkyrie, old and young alike, experience the same exponential growth. It was through these conventional methods, these three blessings, that an Odoe might hope for growth when it comes to their reserves of Odo.
Yet, standing in front of him, Dream saw through Men’ma’s status screen that she had only gone through one—one that certainly wasn’t conventional. For one, she was still years away from the time she was meant to receive her third blessing. And secondly, he left the Odoe less than one Lunar Harmony ago, and yet here she was with a much greater Odo Potential, but out of balance Odo Manipulation Potential.
Dream didn’t even have to ask her the question of how did she do it? The answer was bare; she just like him absorbed a blessing. How? She certainly didn’t steal it from the Odo tree like he did—not that there was one left, which left him with only one answer: She was granted one—if not a few of them to justify this sudden increase. Granted by who? There were three answers he could think of. Not only were all three right, they could be associated with "they" who unleashed those Valkyries upon him, alleging that he'd stolen a blessing from them. Dream did steal a blessing from them, but he did not steal the blessing "they" wanted from him.
“Under normal circumstances, considering how long we've been apart, I would've said that I'm glad to see you well, but things are what they are. I would be lying if I were to say so, Rustler.”
“Men’ma…”
“I'm glad you finally caught up to us, well done, Second-string Sister,” the towering Valkyrie praised, as she seemingly recovered from the flash. “We've fallen right into his trap, were we not wearing our visors, that light would've blinded us. He's just as cunning as you praised him to be. Now, move aside.”
“But sister—” Men'ma protested, only to be silenced by the towering Valkyrie's gaze. "I want to fight," Men'ma nonetheless ventured.
“We aren't here to fight. It's not like you can assist us in any way. You're no match for him. Besides, you've spent quite some time at his side, so unless your decision is sorely dictated by the emotions you feel toward him, I see no reason why you would like to join this battle considering the gap between us, him, and you.” At these words, Men'ma clenched her fists.
“Leave him to us,” the towering Valkyrie suggested imperatively, to which Men'ma replied with a nod.
Dream watched as she withdrew to the background, leaving the three valkyries in the forefront.
“Tsk,” Alexei bitterly scoffed.
He had used a large quantity of his P.P and O.P to launch that assault from earlier, only for it to fail so miserably, all because of her. Now, not only was he left to confront the Valkyrie with limited assets at his disposal, but they certainly wouldn't fall twice for a trick of this kind. On top of that, new valkyries joined his opponents' ranks: Men’ma and the bow-wielding Valkyrie who was positioned in the background, perched atop a tree branch.
Name
HP
O.P
O.M.P
A.P
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
Class
???
21
75/148
29
⥈
Valkyrie lvl.5
Luckily for Dream, her status screen suggested that she was just a very lowly-ranked valkyrie. But even if that made her a very easy target for Dream, she was, by all accounts, well positioned far away from him. To reach her, Dream would have to make it past the three valkyries that were the main source of his headache right now.
Name
HP
O.P
O.M.P
A.P
Class
???
68/68
462/998
197
⥈
Valkyrie lvl.44
Name
HP
O.P
O.M.P
A.P
Class
???
62/62
483/867
170
⥈
Valkyrie lvl.41
Name
HP
O.P
O.M.P
A.P
Class
???
62/63
493/862
170
⥈
Valkyrie lvl.41
Name
H.P
P.P
O.P
O.M.P
A.P
Level
Dream
75/82
172/997
237/438▲
41.7▲
126▲
14
“Tsk, shit, shit, shit!”
What should I do? Should I try running? No, that wouldn't work. Besides, I doubt I'll be able to lose them. I'll just waste what I have left of P.P, and they'll catch up to me.
Dream wasn't even given the time or the opportunity to come up with a strategy before the towering Valkyrie, leading the two others, led the charge. “Let's get this over with,” she declared with a confident and determined smile.
The valkyries opened up the hostilities with chakrams being hurled at him. Instinctively, he wanted to call forth [Wind Shield], but a glance at his meager reserve of prana dissuaded him from pulling out that stunt. Instead, he called to his elementalis to sidestep out of the chakrams' path, just managing to do so when he saw an arrow flying his way.
Just at the nick of time, Dream summoned and raised a shield of Odo to block the arrow, but the force of the impact knocked him half a meter backward. Not even given time to recover from the blow, the two close-ranged enthusiastic valkyries had closed the distance between them. One was engaging in a stabbing motion toward him with her lance, while the other, with her spear, was taking momentum to thoroughly impale him.
Dream knew that he couldn't afford to be caught in the middle of their combined attack. With a burst of wind, he disengaged from the valkyrie he was facing and quickly put some distance between them. In that moment, the towering valkyrie immediately modified her posture from a thrusting to a hurling one and unleashed her spear. The spear pierced through the air in Dream's direction, but by quickly cocking his head to the side, he managed to avoid the attack that would've otherwise been fatal to him.
The Valkyries didn't let up, pressing the advantage they held over Dream, launching a relentless assault. Once again closing the distance between them, the lance-wielding Valkyrie launched a thrusting attack on Dream with her lance. Summoning a shield of Odo, Dream blocked the attack with one hand, while summoning his electro-elementalis with the other.
“I don’t even know what I’m doing anymore, but I think I gotta at least take one down,” Dream thought, amidst the chaos. He was on the verge of unleashing his electro-elementalis when the towering valkyrie, devoid of her spear and not wasting time to summon another one, lunged at him. With her large tusk and boar-like charge, she was ruthless. Dream had no time to direct his attack at her; instead, he faced her attack head-on. Her forceful charge sent his body reeling into the distance.
On the ground, his vision blurry and blood obscuring his sight, Dream saw the valkyries closing in on him. One approached with her lance, while the other wielded a newly summoned spear. His body ached, and his mind felt foggy, but in that desperate moment, a surge of anger ignited within him.
Summoning all the strength he had left, Dream unleashed his electro-elementalis with a fierce roar. “Get away from me!”
[ Electro ]
Acolyte
Slithering Strikes Lvl.6
47
With a fierce cry, through [Slithering Strikes], Dream caused bolts of lightning to slither through the ground and surge forward. The charging Valkyries, caught off guard, were forced to fall back to avoid the electrifying attack.
With the brief respite, Dream managed to stagger to his feet, fueled by determination and defiance. His body screamed in protest, but he forced himself to stand tall.
Dream knew he couldn't keep this up for much longer. His body was battered, swaying unsteadily, and his energy was running low, but he refused to give up. He knew that if he were to give up, it would be the end for him and his adventure.
No.
No, I don’t want that. If it's just for things to end here what would’ve been the point of all that?