It had been a few weeks since the dragon horde attacked, those that had taken part in the attack had been awarded with the title of [Dragon Slayer], an illustrious achievement for any warrior and an impossibility for any common user. Even places like the free cities, the southern empire, or even the resplendent holy capital, wouldn't have more than a handful of dragon slayers among their fighting force, yet the werebeast village of Rondel now had over two dozen who held that title, all thanks to Loki's assistance.
Now, Loki and Fen were with the members of the militia, training them to maximise their new capabilities. These training sessions were becoming a regular occurrence to the militia, and they were beginning to reap the benefits as leveling up and acquiring new skills had become easier for them.
Loki and Fen began this training session with a demonstration; they would have a sparring match against each other.
"How far do you want to take this, Fen?" Loki asked as he summoned the dragon dagger,
"Well I would like to guage how your combat ability has changed after your reset," Fen said as long black chains spilled out from around her arms, her primary weapons as a melee fighter.
"Well we can't get too wild, we don't have the space for that." Loki said, "let's say... five minutes?"
"I can do a lot in five minutes," Fen said with a smirk.
Loki and Fen stood at opposite ends of the field.
"Whenever you're ready," Sara said, signalling the start of their bout. She was also curious about this fight.
Both opponents were stationary for a moment, then Fen attacked, whipping her chains as Loki. He dodged the series of attacks, barely evading every swipe by the skin of his teeth. Loki had gotten quicker from the constant leveling he did, but Fenris was essentially a supreme existence.
"C'mon," Loki goaded, "is that the best you can do?"
"Not even close," Fen growled as she pulled back her chains, spinning them around her menacingly.
"Let's see how you do against this?" Loki said as he launched a volley of throwing knives from his inventory at Fen, each knife was deflected by her chains as she started to approach.
The two clashed ferociously, trading and evading attacks that would've been difficult for any other to dodge.
"Give it up, Lokkun," Fen stated "you can't beat me at your current level."
She had a point. Loki was almost at level 40, and while impressive for a few weeks worth of work, it was still far below anything that could barely give Fen a hard time, even with her restrictions.
At level 800, Fen was so overwhelmingly powerful that she had heavy restrictions placed on her by the system in the form of the geas; at any given time she could only express about 50% of her true power.
For what Loki could remember about the geas, it was a unique contract between special individuals and the world itself, that binds the user's fate. If a user gets too powerful, their very presence begins to affect the workings of the world, so a geas is placed on them by the system to limit how much of their vast power they can express normally. Geas could also be used to empower users for a specific task, granting them access to power greater than anything they themselves could muster in order to fulfil a great purpose.
All this was going through Loki's mind as he struggled to dodge Fen's strikes, with great difficulty.
Right now, Loki was testing out a new skill she had gained, [God-hand], which was similar to psychokenisis. Unfortunately, his proficiency with it was too low to affect something of Fen's level.
Fen then shot her chain forward as Loki was throwing another knife, the chain caught his outstretched arm, then, with him momentarily snared, her second chain latched onto him, wrapping around his neck. Now caught, he was forced to a knee, as Fen stood over him victorious.
"I never imagined it'd be this easy to beat you." She beamed with a wide toothy smile.
Loki heaved a heavy sigh, opening his hands in surrender and letting his knives fall to the ground, "Fine, I give up. Now let me go, theres a chain spike digging into my neck."
"Thank you," Fen said as the chains vanished into shadows.
"That was an interesting fight," Sara applauded, "I find it interesting how Fenris fights using those chains. They aren't normal, are they?"
"No, these are the [Cursed Chains of Gleipnir] are items Lokkun made to offset my original curse," Fen said, "I can channel my amina throught them and manipulate them them like extensions of myself."
She held up a lenght of black chain, odd designs were carved into the chains that glowed golden, reflecting the light of the sun.
"I could've sworn those designs were silver last night," Sara said
"They were," Fen said, "they reflect my stronger attribute; silver for the moon at night, gold for the sun at day."
Every user has an elemental attribute to the anima they used, these attribites affected their users progress and growth. Only celestials didn't appear to have specific attributes.
"Still having two attributes must be great," Sara wondered, "they complement each other, making up for their weaknesses."
"Not necessarily," Fen said, "I'm still susceptible to attacks of the holy and dark attributes, I'm just more resistant against them."
"As expected from the leader of the Valkyrie," Sara stated, "you must be the strongest member, no wonder you're Loki's aide."
Loki and Fen looked at each other,
"Well, not exactly," Loki said, rubbing his chin, "Fen's the first of the Valkyrie, who has been with me the longest. Her greatest strength is her logiatical abilities –that's why she's in charge of managing the other Valkyrie— but they're all powerful in their own right."
"But if we're talking about overall physical strength or maximum power output, then it's those two degenerates," Fen retorted dryly
"Excuse me?" Sara exclaimed
"She means Odin and Thor," Loki elaborated apologetically, "They're both incredibly powerful, but they've also got some... unique proclivities."
"That's just a polite way of saying they're f@£king weird." Fen scoffed, "Odin is a delusional eccentric who's as likely to get lost in her own fantasies at the flip of a coin, while Thor is a dumb masochist pervert who has no sense of self-preservation. They will, and have, debased themselves at any moment to satisfy their fetishes."
"Wow, she doesn't mince her words," Sara stated
Fen then huffed, begrudgingly, "but as loathed as I am to admit it, they both outclass me in terms of overall offensive power. Jori is also considerably strong, though she's mainly a researcher so she doesn't like to take part in combat."
"And where are the rest of your Valkyries?" Sara asked
"Dunno," Loki shrugged. "If I'm lucky, they're all in crypts somewhere, waiting for me to find them."
"And what if they aren't?" Sara postulated, "what if they've somehow gotten out of their crypts already?"
"I don't even want to imagine what kind of trouble they could get into." Fen said with a shudder, "I may have ragged on Odin and Thor a bit, but the truth is that we all have odd personality quirks that make them difficult to handle... except littly Yggy, she's a sweetheart."
With that thought hanging in the air, they went back to training the militia.
After training, Loki and Fen went for lunch in the great hall, that was where they were when a member of the militia rushed in and ran towards the elder table.
"What is it?" chief Hughs demanded
"Sir, a group of soldiers from Nüjaven have been sighted crossing into the reservation." The messenger reported, "we predict they will be here within a few hours,"
"As if we needed any more trouble," Hughs sighed
* * *
When the soldiers reached the small town, they were greeted by the cheif and the elders, who were all waiting by the road to meet with them.
The captain of the squad, Ezra McAlder, gave a slight sneer of superiority at the sight of the werebeasts. He didn't particularly consider himself a humsn supremacist, or prejudiced against demihuman, they were all citizens of the great city of Nüjaven, the most powerful of the free cities, but he couldn't help but be proud that he was part of the city's majority human population.
"We were told that a dragon horde had passed through here some time ago," he said to the gathered werebeasts
"They did," a minotaur said, "they were attracted to the recently opened vault,"
"Yes, we had heard news of that," Ezra said, "where is it?"
"In the forest," the older man replied, "not too far from here,"
"They've probably settled there, I'm surprised you can all be this calm with a dragon hive not far from your town,"
"There isn't one," the minotaur said, "the dragons have been dealt with,"
"Right," Ezra chuckled, "you lot drove off the dragons?"
"More or less," a werewolf woman replied. She was dressed in leather light armor, and didn't appear to be kidding, which surprised Ezra.
He studied the werebeast woman, she carried herself with the confidence of someone who had indeed faced a dragon.
"Well, then, you've done the city a great service," Ezra said, nodding at the woman with respect, "so what about this vault? If it was potent enough to draw in dragons it must have some impressive treasures,"
"About that..." The woman started, though before she could elaborate there was a commotion coming from the great hall.
"What's going on over there?" Ezra demanded
"I dunno," the werewolf woman said.
From the great hall another werewolf emerged, though this one was more beast than human, covered in fine fur, and wore a veil over her face.
Before Ezra could even consider asking a question, the soldier to his right leapt off their steed at the new werewolf, raising the massive crackling warhammer with her only hand and swinging it down at the veiled woman.
This action surprised Ezra, as that soldier was under his direct control and wouldn't move unless ordered her to, and yet here she was acting out of her own will to attack a stranger for no apparent reason. He was equally as shocked and dumbfounded when this other werewolf easily dodged the hammer strike by nanoseconds and parried the attack that came immediately afterwards.
"Been a while, flag-face," the soldier greeted, glaring at the werewolf with a wide grin on her face.
"What the hells do you think you're doing, Thor?" The veiled werewolf growled, a scowl image plastered on her veil.
"Well I was sent here to kill some dragons," Thor shrugged, "but then I spotted you, and you're much better sport than some puny dragons."
From what looked like detached sleeves, the veiled werewolf produced two lenghts of spiked black chains, twirling then menacingly as Thor brandished her hammer menacingly. The werewolf and the soldier faced each other for only a moment, before lunging at each other with an intensity that would've killed any other opponent.
Ezra watched the spectacle in stunned silence. Thor was a beast in combat, they still tell stories of her one-woman assault on the city of Nüjaven sixty-nine years ago, about how dozens of soldiers fell to her terrifying might, before she was finally brought down by the power of the holy knight order. It was the worst disaster to meet the city since, and every soldier since has been made to understand the power she possessed, but right now, that power was being matched by another, a feat none of them could even imagine being done by anyone outside the holy knights. The veiled werewolf was also a force to be reckoned with, handling her chain whips with a deadly proficiency and strength, enough to cut through stone with a single swing.
The scuffle between these two monsters lasted for several moments, before Thor caught a chain slash with her hammer and used it to keep the werewolf in place.
"Skill Ultimate: [Terawatt Thunderclap]!" Thor called out.
"F@£k." The werewolf cursed as Thor raised the hammer into the air to summon dark thunderclouds above them, she then called down several massive lightning strikes on their location. The attack lasted for several moments as arcs of lightning continuously raining down on them. When it was over, the two of them were in a smoldering crater, the dirt beneath them fused into glass. The werewolf collapsed.
That was Thor's skill ultimate, a fearsome skill combination technique that showcased skill mastery. It was a guaranteed insta-kill to almost anything caught in its blast. It was honestly a miracle the werewolf hadn't been reduced to ash.
As Thor stood over the convulsing werewolf, a new woman stumbled out of the great hall, her body was literally smoking.
"Hey, I heard a ruckus out here," she said, "what's going on?"
As if on instinct, Thor threw her hammer at the new arrival, and Ezra pitied her. The werewolf might've been an physical match for the Storm Bringer, but this new woman looked like she could barely stand on her own.
To his utter shock, the woman in the green cloak deftly caught the flying warhammer, holding it effortlessly, even as it channeled enough power to fry a horse.
"Ah, Mjolnir," she said inspecting the warhammer, "some of my finest work."
"Impossible," Ezra heard one of his soldiers balk. He shared that sentiment, as he too had once tried to lift the hammer from the courtyard, to no avail, the hammer was impossibly heavy and could not be move by anyone other than Thor, and yet this random woman was twirling it in her hand as if it was nothing.
Thor just stared at the woman in disbelief, her expression stunned.
"You used to take better care of yourself," the woman commented at Thor, she then tossed the hammer back to the one-armed soldier. Thor caught the hammer then dropped to a knee, bowing her head before the woman.
{This Storm Bringer greets you, my lord and master,} she says, in a language Ezra has never heard, {I am overjoyed that you have returned.}
"Thor, help Fen off the ground," Loki orders
"Right away, master," Thor says as she slings the hammer over her back and offers the recovering Fen a hand,
"That was so embarrassing," Fen whines,
"It's okay," Thor pitied, helping her to her feet "I am stronger than you, after all,"
"I only lost because you used your skill ultimate first." Fen growled, "Had I deployed mine earlier, you'd be the one on your ass."
"Do you wanna go again, you mangy mutt?" Thor sneered, stepping right up to the veiled werewolf, "I'll fry your ass again,"
"Don't fight." Loki ordered, and both women backed off.
"So, what brings you here, Thor?" Loki then asked, "how'd you find us?"
"Forgive me, master," Thor lowered her head, "I was not aware you were here. I was sent here to deal with the dragon threat,"
"Sent?" Loki demanded, "by who?"
Thor stiffened, from Loki's tone, she was not pleased by the fact that someone else could order a Valkyrie around.
Thor hesitated, then Ezra stepped forwards with Sara,
"Good day," the squad captain greeted, "I am Captain Ezra McAlder of the 7th chivalric order, may I know the name of the lady before me?"
This close, Ezra could get a proper look at her, and she was definitely a rare and exotic beauty. A complexion the color of deep chocolate, swept back ashen grey hair, and brilliant green eyes set in black sclera. She obviously wasn't human, but she was unlike any kind of demihuman he had ever seen.
Thor and the veiled werewolf gave him a glare that made the captain take a step back.
"Watch yourself, human," Thor warned, "the likes of you is not worthy to approach our master so lightly."
"Yo-your master?" Ezra blinked, looking at the seriousness in Thor's eyes. He had seen her denounce generations noble lords to their face, yet here she was submitting to this random woman out in the boonies without a hint of hesitation or uncertainty; this was her one and only true master.
"Let the human speak," the woman said with a nod of the head. The two monsters stepped back, letting their master step forward. "You said your name was Ezra McAlder, of the 7th chivalric order?"
"Yes ma'am," Ezra nodded
"Nice to meet you, I'm Nex Loki, current resident of this village. Please call me Loki," she introduced
"Well then, lady Loki, I apologize for encroaching on your land without proper clearance, but we are on a vital mission from the lord of Nüjaven,"
"Oh, then don't let me keep you," Loki said, directing him to Hughs
"Yes, I am the village cheif," the minotaur said, "my name is Maes Hughs,"
"So what brings you here?" Loki asked
"We came in response to the dragon horde," Ezra started, "but since that appears to have been dealt with, I would like to hear about this vault that opened around here,"
"Oh," Loki said, "well the thing is the vault isn't there anymore,"
"What?"
"It... got destroyed in a ritual by some cultists." Sara said, thinking quickly, "we were able to interrupt their ritual and chase off the cultists before they could finish, but the vault was lost."
"That is distressing," Ezra scowled, "that these cultists would be capable of destroying a vault."
"Yes, it is thanks to Loki and Fen there that we were able to successfully scatter them," Hughs said, "they even recovered a forbidden book that the cultist used."
Loki shot Hughs a sharp look, but it was already too late.
"What?" Ezra demanded, "where is it?"
"Right here," Loki said, pulling it from her inventory.
"You have access to a personal storage?" Ezra balked, as a pixilated mass appeared in her hand, materializing into a book.
Storage was another function that could only be used via the terminals, allowing users to store items in a personal subspace until they wanted to retrieve it. It was a lesser version of the Inventory that Loki and Fen used, since Inventory could be used at any time.
Ezra had never heard of someone using storage without a terminal.
One of the knights gripped the hilt of his sword, "if those cultists used that book to destroy a vault, it must be a very dangerous item, it may even be cursed."
"Oh, it is, big time," Loki told them, "but I'm immune to curses. Besides, I've gone through the book twice already and there's nothing else of interest in there."
"Nothing else?" Thor noted
"Not now," Fen hissed
"Do you still want it?" Loki offered, holding the book out
Ezra nodded to one of his officers, who approached the book wearing a monacle, an appraisal tool like the one Sara had.
"This is an original manuscript," the officer concluded, "the scholars at the capital will be thrilled to get their hands on this."
The soldier then looked at Loki, confident that the 5th-grade appraisal tool would be able to uncover the woman's secrets. However, upon laying eyes on her, the glass of the monacle cracked in rejection.
"Careful," Loki told the soldier, plucking the broken monacle from his face.
"Um... that's property of the order," Ezra informed her, then noticing how the object started to glow in her hands, "what are you doing to it?"
"Just fixing it up," Loki said, holding up the restored item in front of the soldier, who stares at it with mouth agape.
"Y-you restored this 5th-grade item like it was nothing?" The officer balked.
"Well it really isn't that hard, though it does take a bit of anima," Loki said with a shrug, handing it back to the bewildered soldier.
"Excuse us, please," Ezra said, as the officers huddled up to discuss among themselves.
While they were talking amongst themselves, Loki turned to Thor.
"So, Thor, what happened to your arm?" Loki demanded
Thor lowered her head, "I'm ashamed to say that I was bested. My arm was broken in the fight, and I was taken prisoner."
"These mortals beat you in combat?" Fen exclaimed
"No, this was almost seventy years ago," Thor corrected, "and it was another group of mortals, far stronger than any I have seen since I awakened."
"Wait... you woke up seventy years ago?" Loki demanded
"Yes, in a large chamber that the locals called a double vault," Thor said
"Are you sure it was a double vault?" Fen queried
"Yes, the mortals who imprisoned me wouldn't shut up about the double vault." Thor said, rolling her eyes.
"And is this vault still there?" Loki asked
"Yes," Thor answered,
It was at that moment when Ezra approached them.
"Lady Loki," he started, "we would like to kindly invite you to accompany us back to Nüjaven."
Loki smiled, "my, what a coincidence? I was just about to ask if I could come to this city of yours."