Tae Ho thoughts were as followed-
He was in Midgard. The Valkyries couldn't easily come down to this place unless they partially dematerialized to retrieve the souls of their warriors.
Heda had once told him that she wouldn't be able to meet him through normal means.
Tae Ho hadn't actually activated the 'Warrior That had a Valkyrie Meet Him'.
The cabin's door hadn't been opened.
Taking into account all of the things listed above, Tae Ho came to the rational conclusion that the Heda above him was neither real nor fake but someone else entirely.
Because of that, Tae Ho hit his chest twice and expressed his manners.
"Idun's warrior greets the Goddess of Youth."
"You have good senses."
Heda gathered her brows and smiled as their surroundings began to distort. The cabin walls fell into a wide-set landscape of plains, and a great apple tree could be seen in the middle.
It was a divine message taking place in his dreams. It seemed like he was dreaming since he'd imagined calling Heda by using his saga.
Tae Ho let out a literal unconscious sigh. This was because, despite his best judgement, he still felt that there was a slight chance for her to really be Heda.
"Hey, aren't you too disappointed? I'm sad. You are my warrior, but you only look for Heda."
Idun returned to her original form and crossed her arms while grumbling. When she turned around, however, she seemed to be in quite a good mood.
Tae Ho opened and closed his mouth several times without knowing how to answer. To treat a Goddess well was a really excessive demand for Tae Ho, someone whose past life was one only spent on gaming.
As Tae Ho groaned inwardly, Idun shook her head at him.
"I'm joking! Stop groaning so much."
Perhaps to relieve Tae Ho, Idun laughed a bit louder.
"But my warrior, I am curious about one thing. If you want to meet Heda that much, why don't you use the summoning ticket? Heda was also curious regarding why you haven't yet called her."
It had already been a week since Tae Ho had arrived in Midgard. Was he saving the ticket because it was a single-use item?
Again, Tae Ho found it hard to answer. It was because he suddenly remembered the conversation he'd had with Cuchulainn.
"Hm... well, you should have your own thoughts. Just try to not to save it past the purpose of its use."
Idun finished speaking and then sat on a wide boulder and patted at the seat next to her.
"Sit. There are things I want to hear of."
Tae Ho humbly sat down. Even if Idun hadn't requested so, he also had things to discuss with her.
Idun wondered for a moment as to what to mention first before finally speaking up.
"Um, right. Let's speak about this first."
Idun placed her hands on top of Tae Ho's and held it before he could even react.
"Adenmaha said that you've found an interesting saga, right?"
The vagueness in her words was really quite apparent.
Tae Ho peered at Idun's hands which rested upon his head and then explained the new saga he'd learnt with a hint of nervousness.
He'd obviously chosen to discuss 'The Warrior That had a Valkyrie Meet Him' instead of 'King of Camelot'.
"Hm, so you can also make copies of other Valkyries and not just Heda?"
"Yes. It appears that the number of meetings and blessings....and the connection the Valkyrie has with me all influence a copy's capabilities as well."
After his battle with Mordred, Tae Ho had tested the performances of the fake Heda and the fake Ingrid, and the difference in their abilities was too apparent.
When concerning battle prowess alone, Heda's copy was almost ten times more powerful, and the precise movements and complicated orders they could execute were also unique.
Still, it wasn't that Ingrid's copy was useless. Rather, Heda was simply much more powerful. Like any valkyrie within his saga, Ingrid could definitely grow stronger.
'This very night, I also encountered a power-up scenario.'
It was slight, but his ties with Ingrid had grown firmer, and he had also received Njord's blessing.
'The maximum number I can register is nine, so the complete saga should let me summon nine real Valkyries, right?'
Thinking about the maximized saga, quite a good image formed in his mind.
'So far, I've met a total of seven Valkyries....and if I increase the number of Valkyries I know in addition to receiving their blessings quite frequently...'
It was an exciting prospect. In addition, the 'Warrior's Equipment' saga was developing slowly but surely, and the amount of equipment he could recreate was steadily increasing.
He would be able to summon the Valkyries as well as arm them with equipment made by the 'Warrior's Equipment'.
The majority of the dragon knight, Kalsted's equipment, had special powers so Tae Ho would be able to continuously attack through use of the synergy effects.
A smile grew apparent on his face just from thinking about it. Tae Ho spoke of his testing and planned ability usage with an inspired face. It was a really heated presentation.
To counteract Tae Ho's warm attitude, Idun's attitude grew surprisingly cold.
"That's the case then, yes? You want to go off and receive the blessings of other Valkyries that boldly. You will probably get blessed not only on the forehead. How good for you."
Although she'd merely imitated Heda's way of speaking, her words contained a real chill. As Tae Ho swallowed dryly, Idun giggled and continued.
"I'm just saying, Heda would speak like this. Well, it's a bit similar for me too....."
Idun's hands still rested on Tae Ho's head. She paused for a moment to remove them and then shrugged her shoulders.
"Still, I shouldn't do anything to prevent you from strengthening your abilities. Please, receive blessings from other Valkyries without hesitation."
Her tone had clearly contradicted her words.
The current Idun seemed to grow sulky more easily.
While Tae Ho perspired cold sweat, unsure of his next move, Idun fixed her posture and then snickered.
She didn't proclaim her words as a joke like usual.
She held a momentary pause, and she switched to another topic.
"My warrior Tae Ho, let's stop talking about such light things and focus on the heavy matters."
She was right. Much more important things had occurred in the span of a single day.
The Sword of Selection, Caliburn.
Mordred, a Knight of the Round Table, and the Treasure Sword, Clarent.
The meeting with the great magician of Camelot, Merlin.
And a new legendary ranked saga, 'King of Camelot'.
Even after fusing with Tae Ho's Unknown sword piece, Caliburn still held the shape of a hilt. If he were Tae Ho of the recent past, he would have struggled with several hypotheses, but now he had the sentence of the Milesians.
Caliburn's appearance was deliberate, for it could now be combined with 'Warrior's Equipment'.
"It's a really amazing coincidence. No- should I say it's a stroke of good fortune?"
For the sword piece he'd collected in Svartalfheim to be a piece of Caliburn.
However, Idun shook her head. She thought of the story she'd heard from the three sisters and spoke.
"There's no complete coincidence in the world. The power of fate drives every action in existence. I can only believe that your meeting with Caliburn was led by such a predestined force."
Caliburn could almost be said to be a sword of fate. It was a sword that refused to yield to anyone unqualified to bear it.
Of course, one couldn't completely exclude the factor of coincidence; however, Idun just thought of it as fate only acting when necessary. The question regarding fate's existence would probably forever remain unanswered.
Tae Ho then continued to speak about the 'King of Camelot'.
It was a complex saga like the 'Immortal Warrior' that contained other, smaller sagas, although it used Caliburn as its base instead of Tae Ho himself.
It was quite an interesting story. Having translated Caliburn's legend into a saga meant that he could also make the powers of other equipment into sagas.
There were obvious limitations. He wouldn't be able to do create sagas from every piece of equipment. It only applied to legendary weapons like Caliburn.
Nevertheless, Tae Ho already had a few more weapons bearing that quality.
The spear of the one-hit/one-kill, Gae Bolg.
The thunder that could eradicate mountains, Caladbolg.
Tae Ho gave Idun an enthusiastic smile, and she warmly placed her hands atop Tae Ho's head again before remarking.
"It's a really incredible saga, but it's much more than just that. The kingship of Camelot is also very important."
Camelot didn't exist anymore.
It wasn't excessive to say that it was its throne was now one of a rogue king without any land or people.
Idun didn't view it in such a light. Even though Erin was now long destroyed, the seat of the successor of Erin had a meaning that transcended the slow decay of time. It was no different for the King of Camelot.
Camelot was, after all, a legend in itself. Despite its ruin, people still remained that followed its will.
As Tae Ho slowly nodded in understanding, Idun drew a faint smile.
She looked at Tae Ho with gentle eyes and then turned serious as she spoke about a more present topic.
"We need to discuss the fomoires next."
The real objective for this expedition was the fomoires' base's destruction, to destroy the enemies that had dug deeply into Midgard.
At the time of Tae Ho's initial departure, Idun didn't have much information on the matter, but things were different now.
Each and every God of Asgard understood that there could be nothing to gain by leaving the Goddess of Youth, who had raised the tree of golden apples, in a foul mood for a long time.
"Odin has taken into account that your expedition may encounter the king of fomoires, Bress the Tyrant, in this battle. Although the advance party only consists of the ten of you, the final confrontation will consist of far greater numbers."
Idun couldn't know the precise scale or strategies at this time, but she was certain of one thing.
"This battle will be the biggest clash in Midgard since the establishment of the great barrier."
Idun let out a sigh. She then grabbed Tae Ho's hands and placed her lips on his forehead.
"Return safely, my warrior. That is all Heda and I truly wish for."
A faint golden light spread from Tae Ho's forehead to encompass his body. It was a blessing that contained Idun's best wishes.
"May my blessing accompany you."
Idun smiled in the light.
And Tae Ho closed his eyes slowly.
-
"Hey! I told you to rest well, but aren't you resting too well?"
It was a gruff and sentimental voice. Tae Ho opened his eyes with a groggy feeling and squinted at the owner of the big hands that had shaken him.
"Bracky."
"Saying that the sun is at its peak is pushing it, but it's still pretty late in the morning. I came to wake you up because everyone was tired of waiting."
It seemed like he'd really slept for a long time, and his body was quite stiff. Tae Ho stretched his sore body and shot a question in a pained voice.
"What about the others?"
"They are all awake. Actually, we wanted to let you sleep a bit more because of what happened yesterday.....There are people who are really excited to meet you. They were anxious wondering when you'd wake up, and I couldn't keep watching them anymore so I came to get you."
Tae Ho knew who he'd list before he even spoke.
His expression became filled with this thought and Bracky clicked his tongue.
"Mm, you're the same as always. Is it really that exciting to meet an old man? Of course Princess Helga is quite cute and pretty."
Tae Ho just defiantly smiled and didn't reply.
The old man he would meet today was indeed very special.
The great magician of Camelot, Merlin.
A man whose existence could be called legendary as King Arthur's.
Tae Ho took a deep breath and climbed out of his cabin. It wasn't hard to spot Merlin sitting quietly outside the flying pirate ship.
Merlin drew a gentle smile towards Tae Ho as he approached him. He lightly expressed etiquette before speaking.
"I think it's important to bring the knowledge of my new Lord up to current events. Because of that, I will speak of the legacies of Erin I gathered first."
Tae Ho blinked his eyes at Merlin's unexpected words and gave him a happy nod.
He held back his giddiness with all his might.
< Episode 27 - The sword of selection (3) > End