Chapter 41

Episode 13/Chapter 1: Traces of the Great War (1)

TL: Tsubak

ED:

A rough and scary wind blew in the deepest part of Jotunheim, the land of giants.

The wind was originated because there was an essence of coldness that had a mysterious power, and the palace of the giant king was placed over there as if to protect it.

Magician king Utgard Loki.

He, that had the strongest force even among the other giants in Jotunheim, was seated on a throne made with a branch of Yggdrasil and was looking at a far place. You could see a land of severe cold from the wall in front of the throne and beyond the terrace, and even beyond that, you could see Gastropnir, the fortress of the giants.

Utgard Loki closed his eyes. He, the giant king, remembered the Great War.

The war that put a world in extinction and dealt a fatal blow to Asgard.

The wound he had suffered from the prince of light, Cu Chulainn the hero of the extinct planet, didn’t heal. He could still feel pain from the wound in his shoulder that was pierced by Gae Bulg.

Utgard Loki let out a heavy sigh. He opened his eyes slowly and saw the back of the man that was on the path connected to the terrace. Although he was big compared to humans, it was a really small and frail existence compared to the giants. However, Utgard Loki didn’t ignore him. He was someone you just couldn’t ignore.

“Loki.”

The one that was a giant and a God. He was a sworn friend of Thor, an adviser of Odin and Asgard’s disguiser that shared friendships with several Gods. The God of fire and lies.

He, who had black hair and a handsome face, turned back. He was wearing a leather coat made with the fur of a white beast, and he put on a smile.

Close to a hundred years passed by since the Great War. The front lines were adhering, and both sides continued with an endless consumption rate.

Loki asked with his eyes. And Utgard Loki moved his fingers of his big and heavy left hand instead of replying at those green eyes.

Both of them knew the answers. The most effective method to end the adhering phase and collapsing Asgard was decided since Ragnarok started.

The summoning of the world wolf Fenrir, that devoured the sky and the earth.

They already had the methods to do it. That was the reason he was moving his five fingers to execute the plan.

Utgard Loki didn’t express more than that. However, Loki nodded as if he had understood and then turned back. He charged forward lightly with his boots that could ride in the sky and the sea and disappeared.

The summoning of the world wolf.

Utgard Loki clenched his fists and then lightly patted the armrest of his wooden throne.

He thought about Loki. That he really was a God like fire. Although it was useful depending on how you used it, if you had it too close to you, you would get burnt by him. He had that kind of temperament.

Odin and Thor of Asgard got wounded by him. But what did he have to do?

‘The war will soon resume.’

The Great War. The real Ragnarok.

Utgard Loki slowly closed his eyes. It was only for a moment, but he also put on the smile Loki had put.

&

Siri opened her eyes. As soon as she gulped dry saliva indicating that her mouth was dry, a voice was heard above her.

“You woke up just now?”

“Tae Ho?”

She got relieved after seeing a face she knew. Siri realized that she was lying on Tae Ho’s lap and then hurriedly got up and unconsciously adjusted the dragon wing coat. She was prepared for it when she used the ‘wolf witch’, but her clothes had really become a mess.

“Where is this?”

She did remember that she fought against the giant with Tae Ho. But she didn’t remember coming to this strange place where earth and sky were mixed.

Tae Ho slightly frowned and said.

“That’s what I also want to ask. It was good up to destroying the giant with the Draconic Ballista, but we got covered in a blue light after that and we ended up here.”

Siri frowned when she remembered something at the word blue light. It wasn’t because her head hurt. It was because of some physiological needs.

She was hungry.

Though it was an obvious thing. She had transformed into a dragon and battled fiercely. Maybe it was because she used her saga in consecution that her body and mind felt blank.

Tae Ho felt awkward after hearing the gurgling sound coming from Siri’s stomach but he then regained his composure. It was because he didn’t see that Siri was particularly embarrassed.

‘Well, she is also a warrior of Valhalla.’

For a warrior of Valhalla to be embarrassed because of a small gurgling sound. You couldn’t even imagine that.

“Do you want to drink something? Or eat?”

Siri became bright as soon as Tae Ho asked.

“Do you have provisions?”

She really wasn’t embarrassed at all. However, he liked her sincere attitude even more.

“Wait a moment.”

Tae Ho opened Unnir, that was attached to his waist, and started to take out several things. These emergency supplies didn’t seem to be prepared in a hurry, but they were all good things as they were made by Heda.

Siri got surprised and blinked when she saw that beef jerky, bread, several fruits, and drinks appeared before her.

“Im……pressive. Did Idun-nim give you that?”

She was obviously asking about Unnir. Tae Ho smirked and nodded.

“Yes. She told me to choose between the flying horse wing coat and this, so I chose this.”

“It seems like it will be impossible?”

“What will?”

“Gandur-nim was asking. If there was no method to bring you to our legion. But as you are receiving this much goodwill from Idun-nim it seems like that will be impossible.”

As Siri laughed hopelessly Tae Ho put on a bitter smile.

‘There’s also Heda.’

He was sorry for Gandur, but he didn’t even think about leaving Idun’s legion.

Siri spoke again.

“That’s a really amazing treasure. You should be the only one among the inferior ranked warriors that have a treasure like that.”

He did think that it was amazing when he first received it, but looking at Siri’s reaction it seemed like it was impressive even when taking into account the standard of all of Valhalla.

‘I am really being favored.’

Tae Ho felt satisfied and put on a calm smile. And Siri’s eyes became lukewarm at Tae Ho’s reaction and then changed subjects.

“Now that I see, did you retrieve the runes Tae Ho?”

“Of course. That’s the most important thing.”

If you caught a monster, you have to get the experience. Not retrieving the experience after having caught it was something he couldn’t forgive himself at all as a pro gamer.

Tae Ho made a gesture with his eyes as if telling her to check and the Siri closed her eyes and checked her own runes.

“It seems like I was also able to get my share because of the saga that shared our senses……Amazing.”

Siri looked at herself while putting abrupt eyes. Her amount of runes had really increased. With this much, she could be called an intermediate ranked warrior.

The giant they had defeated was stronger than the giant they beat at Black Fortress. In addition, it was important to point that they had beat it with their own strength.

Tae Ho’s runes had also increased by a lot that it was now similar to Siri’s level.  In the first place, taking into account that Siri had a lot more runes than Tae Ho, it seemed like it was divided based on the contribution.

‘My synchro rate also reached 19%’

The 20% was right in front of him. He was sure that there would be another change just like what happened when he reached 10%.

‘Captain Siri also got attribute runes.’

Tae Ho received fire attributed runes in this battle. It seemed like Siri had also gotten a wind attribute rune.

Siri was amazed at herself having become stronger and smiled, and then Tae Ho smirked while looking at her and said.

“There’s some benefit on having overdone it right? So let’s keep working hard from now on. Ah, how about you moving to Idun’s legion?”

After he said that, he thought about it and thought that it was a good idea. Because if Siri moved legions, she would be able to use the flying horse wing coat. In addition, they matched each other well, their battle prowess would also increase by a lot.

However, Siri shook her head.

“That’s a charming proposal, but I will have to decline. First of all, Tae Ho, there’s something I want to ask. You don’t need to answer if it troubles you.”

“What is it?”

“I know that you come from another world and it’s also rare for warriors to ask about their past. But….Your sagas are all amazing. So much to the point, I’m curious what kind of world yours was. What did you use to do? I don’t think you were a normal warrior.”

Siri asked rather seriously. Maybe it was true that she meant that he didn’t need to answer if he didn’t want to that her eyes seemed to feel a bit sorry.

Tae Ho pondered for a moment and then shrugged his shoulders and asked.

“Uh…Actually, I was a world champion.”

Siri remembered the first day he entered Valhalla and then nodded as if it was like she had expected.

“Ah, certainly. That was why. I was facing a really incredible person.”

She had certainly misinterpreted. She would surely be thinking about a battle king or something of the sort.

However, Tae Ho turned the subject instead of resolving the misunderstanding.

“What about you? I heard that you were a hunter.”

She wasn’t a shield maiden but a hunter. Those were the words of Rolph.

At Tae Ho’s question, the light in Siri’s eyes seemed to dim but then she put on a smile and said.

“I was a normal hunter. I lived in a hut far away from the village and hunted beasts and things worse than beasts.”

‘Those things should be humans, right?’

The words above Siri’s head that he saw when he first met her.

She didn’t look like a normal bounty hunter. The ‘witch’ word that appeared in Siri’s saga was one thing, and it seemed like there was something else.

‘Also…..’

It was easy to forget, but this place was Valhalla. It was a place only dead warriors could come to, so Rolph and Siri must have lost their lives at a young age.

It seemed like Siri noticed Tae Ho’s gaze that she erased the smile she had made and dropped her shoulders and said.

“I like Valhalla. Instead of being jealous and having bad feelings to the other person, they get sincerely amazed and show their strength. I like those kinds of warriors. They are pleasing allies that I fight with, and I like the present that we are fighting to protect Asgard and the nine planets. To the point that I want to enter the real paradise that was prepared by Odin as late as possible.”

Her words contained sincerity in it. He wanted to put a smile along with her but Tae Ho couldn’t pass the last part easily.

“The real paradise?”

“The warriors of Valhalla become steel warriors when they die. Then what will happen if even they die?”

Bjorn said that they would die for real then. However, Siri said another thing.

“A rest for a real warrior is prepared. Only warriors of Valhalla can enter that place.”

Because of that, the warriors of Valhalla could fight valiantly. They could focus on how they would die rather on when they would die like they did in the mortal world.

Siri smiled.

“I promised that I would go to Anaheim with Rolph when I return.”

“To Anaheim? With Rolph?”

“He looked poor like a puppy looking him depressed because his promise was broken two times. I also think of my little brother.”

Siri smiled and said. It seemed like she was really expecting towards going to Anaheim with Rolph.

‘But if Rolph goes with Siri, he wouldn’t be able to go to the places he wants to, right?’

But then he changed his thoughts.

‘No, it would be better for Rolph.’

Then should I also ask Heda?

It was when Tae Ho was fantasizing. Siri, that was eating some things, looked at her surroundings and said again.

“Tae Ho, it seems like this is a trace of the Great War.”

“Certainly, right?”

Tae Ho had thought the same thing. Siri nodded and then looked at her surroundings and said.

“I heard that the space that remained from the after-effects of the Great War was really unstable. That there was a crack in the world which you couldn’t see. This should probably be one of those cracks.”

A broken world that had the earth and the sky mixed.

There was a possibility that they entered the crack because the blue stone of the giant broke and a magical explosion occurred.

“Tae Ho, you have a special eye. Haven’t you found something?”

“There is one thing, but I’m not certain.”

Tae Ho had checked his surroundings for a moment before Siri woke up. The magic power in their surroundings was flowing in one direction. Just like a current of water.

“I wonder if there will be something after we reach the end of the flow. Although it may be too hopeful, there could be the exit.”

Tae Ho pointed beyond a hill that was far away.

But it was at that moment.

Tae Ho felt a vibration in his waist. He got surprised at the vibration that was much stronger than the vibration of a cell phone and then stood up and checked his waist. It was the Unknown sword piece that only had the hilt.

The vibration stopped when Tae Ho placed his hand on the Unknown sword piece.

Siri, that was putting the same surprised eyes, stood up from her place and asked.

“Tae Ho, is it that piece you said you obtained before?”

“Yes, but……wait.”

Tae Ho seemed to have remembered something that he grabbed out the Unknown sword piece and asked.

“You are the one that answered just now?”

The answer to the conversation when he said that the exit may be over there.

At that moment the Unknown sword piece vibrated again. Tae Ho looked at Siri, and she nodded.

“This place is separated from other places. It is filled with the strength of the Great War, so it may have recovered some of its strength. Perhaps, this sword may be one of those legendary swords that had an own ego. Just like the sword, Freyr-nim was said to have that fought on its own.”

It was an understandable story then. Tae Ho asked towards the Unknown sword piece again.

“Do you have something you remember? If you do vibrate once if you don’t do it twice.”

The hilt vibrated two times shortly. Maybe it was because it was in pieces that its memories were incomplete.

‘And it can’t even speak.’

However, if it was basic communication it was enough. It wasn’t an epic ranked item for nothing.

Tae Ho organized his thoughts and asked again.

“So the exit is over there?”

Vibrate.

It vibrated once.

A smile appeared on Siri’s face.

And Tae Ho also smiled. Although there was a possibility for the Unknown sword piece to be lying or its knowledge wasn’t correct, but even so, the thing they had to do remained the same.

‘And it doesn’t seem like a lie either.’

Tae Ho put back the remains of the provision in Unnir and then took a big breath and turned back. Siri got flustered and said.

“Tae Ho, it’s over there.”

Tae Ho also knew. However if this really was a trace of the Great War, there was something he had to do first.

‘I beat one giant. Rasgrid will get in charge of the other one and reinforcements will also come.’

In addition, quite a lot of time had passed. In the first place, if every second was important right now, he wouldn’t have been able to even think of eating and conversing slowly with Siri.

So he had to do what had needed.

The real objective he came to Svartalfheim.

[Saga: The eyes of a dragon sees through all things]

Tae Ho’s eyes started to read the various colored words.

< Traces of the Great War (1) > End