We went to Oslo on horseback. I rode a brown stallion and Hilda rode a white one. When it got dark, here wasn't a town nearby where we could spend the night, so we camped on a field and talked for a few times. Hilda was a weird woman, her expression didn't change a lot, but I could hear emotions mixed in her voice. She was kind and treated me with respect. But in the end, I felt weird. The famous Spear Goddess was sitting at a campfire with me, eating freshly hunted rabbit meat.
When we arrived in Oslo though, Hilda's behavior changed in an instant. Like someone had flipped a switch in her brain that chose a personality.
„Greetings, your Holiness." The City's guards saluted.
Hilda didn't respond and continued to ride her horse into the City. Oslo had recovered from all the damages, and Mana-Wielders repaired and built buildings with much greater efficiency than before the impact.
Oslo HQ was at the heart of the City. The building was a huge arena-like structure than could fit 3 football fields. This structure was turned into training grounds for Mana-Wielders and Bearers. Soldiers were trained in both martial arts and Mana arts. Basic training was 2 months, and those who finished on top of their squad got to go on missions.
We entered the HQ and were greeted by several soldiers again.
We walked for a few minutes until we reached a big door. Next to the door was a sign that said „Valks' training ground" and in a smaller print below „Enter at your own risk".
„Your new comrades are in there, training. They might challenge you, so be prepared." Hilda said.
I simply nodded and watched as she swung open the door.
A cold breeze hit my face, a second later, a beautiful smell invaded my nostrils and sounds of crackling electricity came from the training grounds. The people in there were all Bearers, strong ones at that.
„Leader!" Someone yelled and saluted.
„Leader!" The rest followed.
When I entered the training grounds after Hilda, I could see my new comrades and surroundings clearly. They all wore blue overalls. It was a grass field 100 meters in both length and width. Above, a glass dome that covered the whole HQ and allowed natural light to light up the training grounds.
They were 6 of them lined up, and each of them varied in size, weight and looks.
On the far left was a brown haired man with a short beard and brown eyes. He was 190 centimeters tall.
Next was a woman 165 centimeters tall, with short blonde hair that reached her neck. She had blue eyes and looked quite frail.
The one in the middle looked like the strongest. He was 185 centimeters tall and very muscular. He had a red tomahawk hairstyle with no beard and brown eyes, his face full of tattoos and scars. He held a hammer in his hand that looked like it was made from his Holiness.
The 2 people after the tomahawk guy were identical in height and shared the same brown hair color with different hair lengths. A man and a woman. The man had long, tied-back hair with green eyes. The woman had really short, blonde hair with green eyes. Both were 170 centimeters tall and both held throwing knifes in their hands.
The last person, a woman. She had the same ginger-colored hair as me. It was curly and went to the middle of her back. She had pale skin with brown eyes and thick ginger eyebrows. She was the tallest, I guessed around 2 meters in height.
„Introduce yourself, Geir, and tell them a bit about your last mission." Hilda ordered.
„My name is Geir Angerboda. In my last mission, I was ordered to find and retrieve gems that were at a shelter called Piranha School. One night, we were attacked by Fire-Bearers, an organized ambush. I managed to kill 1 Bearer but I lost my right underarm when I fought a highly experienced swordsman named Niam. I was the only survivor of my group." I said looking down.
The ginger-haired woman started to speak. „Leader, with all due respect, his story sounds awfully familiar to yours."
„Yes, it does. But before we go more into detail, I want you to introduce yourselves. Start from the left." Hilda ordered.
„Yes, Leader." They responded in unison.
The brown-haired man on the far left stepped up.
„My name is Eric and I fight with a spear."
Next was the blonde woman.
„My name is Alva, I fight using a short-sword."
Then, the tomahawk stepped up.
„Sven and hammer." He said and grinned like a total nutcase.
After Sven, the man and woman that were the same height stepped up.
„Ulf and Freki, we fight with spears." They said at the same time.
The ginger-haired woman stepped up as the last person in the group.
„I'm Diana. My skills lie in the art of archery." She said in an elegant tone. While she introduced herself, she never blinked or stopped staring at my eyes.
„Guess that's all. Talk with Geir and show him around." Hilda ordered and disappeared through the door we came in earlier.
„We heard all about your mission in Central Superio. Must've been terrifying." Alva said.
„Only HE was terrifying." I answered.
„Stop reminding him of his mission, let's spar with him to get his mind off of things." Diana suggested.
„Alright! Can't wait to see how strong you are." Sven yelled.
I put down my bag and stretched before taking on my stance. The prosthetic was weird and I had to get used to it properly. Aside from that, when imbued with Mana, it was tougher than my real arm.
Sven was 10 meters away from me and spun his hammer around with the rope that was tied to the end of the handle. The rest of the Valks spread evenly around us, giving us the space we need.
„Let's go!" Sven yelled and lightning crackled around him. The bright-yellow electricity enveloped his body and hammer. And with a push with his legs, he closed the distance between us in an instant. I used my Salan ability and saw red dots on his shoulders and wrists.
He swung down his hammer, I stepped back and spun, hitting his shoulder with the back of my spear. The hit pushed him back and off-balance, leaving me a few seconds to recover and start an offensive.
I thrusted the tip of my spear at his chest, but he dodged with his speed and managed to navigate the lightning through my spear into my left arm. My arm numbed and I lost strength on the left side of my body.
Our exchange continued. I hit his shoulders and wrists while he pounded at my spear with his speed and strength.
I decided to only use my hands to fight after a while to see how good the prosthetic arm did in a fight.
I reinforced the prosthetic with Mana and closed my fist. I dropped the spear in my left hand and started running at him. He swung his hammer at my right but I blocked it with my prosthetic. His guard had an opening and I didn't waste my chance. I punched him square in the chin with my left and he was knocked out.
The Valks started to cheer and laugh.
„Finally, the meathead was overthrown!" Eric cheered.
***
After our spar the sun started to set and we sat down and lit a few gaslights.
„We think that your story sounded like the Leader's. Squad killed but spared at the end." Diana said.
„I guess it does." I responded.
The doors of the training grounds were shut loudly. Because of the darkness, we weren't able to see if anyone entered the training grounds.
We jumped to check who entered, but the Leader's voice came out of the darkness.
„I'll tell you my story, the story about the Union's Light."