What is this?'
Tae Ho blinked. However, the words in front of him didn't disappear. No, more words appeared instead.
[ Saga: Immortal Warrior ] [ Synchro rate: 1% ]
[ – ]
[ – ]
'Synchro rate?'
He could somewhat grasp what was happening. The reason was simple.
Immortal Warrior.
It was the dragon knight Kalsted's nickname. It was also the nickname he had received when he made an ace by killing all 7 enemy characters at the 6th world championships.
Synchro rate.
Didn't this mean that Tae Ho was becoming one with Kalsted?
It was an absurd thing to say, but coming to Valhalla after death was an absurd thing itself.
"Oh, so you do have a saga."
Tae Ho raised his head. The man put on a warm smile and looked down at Tae Ho. Tae Ho rolled his eyes and looked at the empty slots below the synchronization.
"Um, I do. But the slots below are empty."
"That's obvious. A saga is a song and a story at the same time! Big stories are made up of many small stories!"
'So it's still an empty slot?'
Then he could just think of it as being fillable content. Just like a subtitle below a main title.
"The saga is the strength of magic. Just like rune magic, there's always an order and a system to a mystery."
The man laughed as he explained. His body was the same as the other warriors, but it seemed like his knowledge was completely different.
As Tae Ho started to look at the man with admiring eyes, the man smiled once again.
"Ha, I know the meaning of those eyes. I am a druid. I know how to use rune magic and elemental magic besides the saga."
It seemed like there were other types of magic aside from the saga!
'Anyways!'
First, he would have to learn how to use this saga. Tae Ho stood up and was about to ask more questions when some warriors began shouting.
"I can see the battlefield!"
"Get ready to fight!"
As the Valkyrie at the bow of the ship blew the horn trumpet, the warriors started to yell one after another.
"The time has come. You should also grab your weapon."
"Wa-wait!"
"Survive. Let's keep talking at the night banquet!"
The man smirked and then went off to where the other warriors were gathered.
Tae Ho, who was looking at the man's back with perplexed eyes, slapped himself. It was time to get a hold of himself.
"I can do it."
Tae Ho looked at the sword that was by his feet. It was something he received after getting forcefully pushed onto the ship.
"You can do it, Lee Tae Ho."
Tae Ho took in a deep breath and then slowly raised his sword. He didn't know if it was his imagination but it felt lighter than when he first received it.
Immortal Warrior.
Tae Ho breathed out. It felt like his palm was stuck to the hilt of the sword. He felt himself getting more comfortable, just like when he grabbed his computer mouse.
Kalsted was a knight that had the blood of a dragon. He was a real superhuman that could beat hundreds, if not thousands of enemies by himself.
If this synchronization was what Tae Ho was thinking it was...
It was enough even if it was 1%. He could do it.
'Good!'
He would survive. Then he'd participate in that night banquet or whatever it was called and listen to the story!
He had finally prepared himself when the ship suddenly trembled with a banging sound.
"Uok?!"
Tae Ho, who narrowly avoided a fall into the water, turned his head toward the sound. The warriors were jumping off the ship as soon as it hit the rocks.
"The reinforcements have arrived!"
"Protect the port!"
A loud voice was heard from beyond the ship. The sounds of weapons clashing, yells and cries of beasts rang on the battlefield.
"Hurry up! The magic maintaining the ship will disappear!"
Someone pushed Tae Ho's back. Tae Ho jumped off the ship instead of looking back to see who it was. It wasn't because he was eager to fight though, it was because the floor of the ship was becoming more transparent by the second.
A few moments after Tae Ho jumped, the ship disappeared completely. Tae Ho gripped his sword and looked at his surroundings. The battle had already started. In addition, this place wasn't a dock for ships but a complete battlefield. He wondered why there wasn't any strategy, but it was obviously a situation that didn't need any. It was a dogfight.
'Stay calm. Calm yourself.'
His breathing became rough. There was nowhere to hide on this wide battlefield. The warriors he came with from Valhalla were fighting humanoid monsters that had dog heads. Even at first glance, their numbers easily passed the hundreds.
Tae Ho forced himself to steady his breathing.
It wasn't that different to a game. It was actually quite similar.
You just had to use your skills and abilities to beat the opponent.
"Kuo!"
'Similar my ass!'
A dog-headed monster cried out loudly as if threatening Tae Ho and charged towards him.
At that moment, Tae Ho's body reacted. It wasn't an action he did consciously. He tilted his body to dodge the blade and then swung his sword. Even though it was his first time swinging a sword, the arc was really sharp.
"Kukuk!"
The dog-headed monster that had its neck cut let out a breathtaking cry. Tae Ho got a hold of himself and gritted his teeth before swinging his sword to slash the monster's side. Rather than slashing, it was more like thrashing, but it had an effect. The condition of the monster worsened.
"Die!"
Tae Ho yelled unconsciously and then struck the monster's back with the tip of his sword. The monster flinched for a moment, then fell.
Tae Ho huffed and puffed.
He plucked his sword. Now he was certain. Pro gamer Lee Tae Ho would never be able to do this. But it was different for the legendary dragon knight Kalsted.
Saga.
The effects of Immortal Warrior.
'You can do it. Lee Tae Ho, you can do it!'
A bit calmer. A bit more cool-headed.
Tae Ho kept reminding himself. Actually, this was something he always did. What could he do to win? How could he get the best results?
Tae Ho looked towards the front. He made eye contact with another monster. Then it came running towards him while making a strange cry. Tae Ho glared at it and thought:
The slots below the saga.
There were two.
Then could he make more than two little stories?
Or was that his limit?
The monster was approaching. It opened its mouth widely and... Tae Ho drew his arms back to be able to swing his sword more broadly.
It felt like time slowed down, but Tae Ho had an idea about what the weird sensation was. He breathed out roughly, pulled his sword, and then made another saga.
'Ah! Player Lee Tae Ho! He's fast! He's three times faster than normal players! He's a storm! A storm!'
The voices of the yelling commentators were still fresh in his ears.
A saga is a story and a song.
The more people that relate to the story and the more they believe in it, the stronger it becomes.
Everyone went crazy when they watched Tae Ho charging with amazing speed during the qualification round.
Everyone cheered at Kalsted's rush.
[ Saga: The Charge of a Warrior Is Just Like a Storm ]
Tae Ho charged forward. He closed in on the monster faster than it could swing its blade.
'What?!'
Tae Ho became surprised at his own speed. Although it was only a few meters, it was like he really crossed it at the speed of light.
The breath of the monster reached his cheek. His sword pierced its stomach.
He felt something at the tips of his fingers. Tae Ho twisted the sword before he started to feel something. The monster struggled to break free while roaring.
Its claws were scratching his shoulders. Rather than pain, it felt hot. Just like being burned with fire.
"Uoooo!"
Tae Ho yelled once again and twisted his sword. He didn't stop there. He violently pulled the sword back.
"Kakak!"
The monster fell on the ground. Tae Ho stabbed its neck to make sure it was dead, and only then did he start to relax.
"Kuhuk. Haah."
He felt dizzy. He felt like his nose was paralyzed from the smell of blood. But instead, his eyes were clear. He could also hear well.
'A buff.'
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It was different for the Immortal Warrior. 'The charge of a warrior is just like a storm' was closer to an active skill.
'Do I become faster when I use it?'
It was important to understand a skill. You had to know how much power it had and how to activate it to able to use it well.
Tae Ho instinctively knew that his saga wasn't finished yet.
The origin of his saga became an anecdote. The best highlight of the world championships was Kalsted's charge.
It wasn't only that. Kalsted's charge wasn't just fast. It was a storm that swept over the battlefield.
He was certain that it had room to grow, just like the Immortal Warrior.
Tae Ho gritted his teeth and looked at his surroundings again. It was still a dogfight, but there were many warriors from Valhalla, so no more monsters charged at Tae Ho. He felt like they were pushing them back.
The warriors of Valhalla were strong. They all seemed to be using their own sagas. Some had light shining in their bodies and some made flames arise from their weapons.
'Huh?'
But there was something that caught Tae Ho's attention. One warrior was placing his hands on top of the corpse of a monster he just killed.
Something like red smoke started to rise from the corpse of the monster and then got sucked in by the palm.
The warrior that finished the process smiled in satisfaction and then started to charging towards another monster.
Tae Ho looked back at the monster he killed. He hurriedly extended his hand and placed it on the monster's back.
Red smoke started to soar up from the monster followed by a clicking feeling.
'Rune.'
It appeared naturally in his head. It was hard to explain what exactly happened, but he felt like he had gotten stronger.
'Fight with your saga to beat the monsters and increase your strength.'
He thought of the general outline. It had the same method as a game.
Tae Ho also approached the first monster he killed and placed his hand on it. This time he felt something being transmitted to him as well.
He unconsciously clenched his fists. Tae Ho tried to calm his breathing and then gulped.
'You can do it. You can do it.'
Just like in games, there are also rules here.
"Thor!"
"Thor!"
Suddenly, yells exploded from the soldiers. Tae Ho quickly stood up while grabbing his sword and turned to look in the direction the warriors were yelling at. Then he understood why the soldiers were calling the name of a God.
"The God of Thunder has descended!"
He really had. There was someone standing in the sky of the battlefield. It was a huge man with blue lightning flowing through his body. When he raised his giant, golden hammer, the warriors started to cheer and in response to them, he flipped his red cape and started to soar through the sky.
"Mjolnir!"
"The God of Thunder!"
Bang!
Thunder appeared in the sky. No, it was made from the golden hammer. The thunder swept over the monsters.
"Uooooo!"
"Thor!"
"Thor!"
The warriors went wild. Tae Ho also felt his heartbeat speed up. The thunder that came from above turned hundreds of monsters to ashes. But it didn't stop there. It also made a huge explosion. The ground shook like an earthquake.
"Go! Warriors of Valhalla!"
The one holding the hammer yelled at the warriors. The Valkyries that were by his side charged to the front of the battlefield, and the warriors also charged across the area that the thunder had swept through.
Tae Ho could only acknowledge it.
It was a God. It really was Thor.
And then he realized once again.
Where he was.
He turned to look at the sky. He could see monsters. He could see warriors fighting against them.
Tae Ho breathed in and gripped his sword with more strength after cursing at himself saying that he was crazy.
It wasn't his style to fight an enemy head-on with his body. Fighting against monsters was dangerous. But he couldn't just sit back and watch. Now that they had the momentum, he had to kill more monsters to get stronger so that his chances of survival for the next battle would increase.
It was an instinctive calculation.
"Let-let's survive first."
Tae Ho, with his contradicting words and actions, smiled bitterly. He let out a battle cry just like Kalsted in game and charged forward.
[ Synchro rate: 2% ]