What is that?"
"Why, you have no superior that abuses you and no one below you that will gradually rot you. Isn't that complete heaven?"
Heda sucked on the unlit cigarette to save the fire and then gave it to Tae Ho after coughing. Tae Ho received the pipe, but instead of smoking it, he frowned even more.
"Am I really the only one?"
It was still a legion of a God. The other legions had tens and hundreds of people in it.
At Tae Ho's disappointed and uneasy eyes, Heda shrugged her shoulders, but it was only for a moment. Then she smirked and said, "There are a few more, but they are all superior-ranked warriors. That's why they aren't in the place that you will be going to. Starting from the superior rank, another lodging is given."
The ships that had departed along with them had all disappeared. It was because they each took their own routes.
The warriors of Valhalla were classified into 5 classes.
Lowest rank, inferior rank, intermediate rank, superior rank, and top rank.
According to Heda's words, Tae Ho was the only one from the bottom three ranks. Since she also said that there were 'a few' in the superior rank, there wouldn't be that many.
'Can it really be like this.'
Could you call it a legion with just these numbers?
As Tae Ho's eyes started to cool down, Heda spoke after clicking her tongue a few times.
"Fine, I will tell you one more strong point Idun's legion has. It's me."
She said it proudly while beating her chest, but Tae Ho's expression remained the same.
"What is that expression."
"Then what expression should I display?"
Was she boasting that she was a beauty? Or was that a baseless testament?
As Tae Ho's eyes started to lose even more light, Heda hurriedly opened her mouth.
"Tae Ho, what do you think is the role of the Valkyries of the legions?"
"Uh.....Administration and supply?"
Leading the warriors, informing them of this and that, and fighting at the front lines on the battlefield. If it was up to what he could see on the surface, she would be just like a non-commissioned officer from an army.
Although you wouldn't really know if there were administration and supply jobs in Valhalla, or if she just let that pass by, Heda nodded in response.
"Well, it's kind of similar. Anyways, we are also in charge of tutoring the warriors. Because warriors of the mortal world are less accustomed to saga or magic. But think about it. If there are hundreds of warriors, will the Valkyrie be able to teach them meticulously one by one?"
There were hundreds of newcomers in Odin and Thor's legions. Although they had a few more Valkyries to lead them, it couldn't be compared to the number of the warriors.
"So.....personal tutoring is possible in Idun's legion?"
"That's right."
Heda clapped her hands.
'Certainly.'
If Tae Ho had been the only warrior, he could have received all of the tutoring by himself. Also, his tutoring time would also be much longer than in other legions.
"Hm, I certainly do think that it's a strong po.....int."
Tae Ho, that was starting to think positively, looked at Heda's stupidly smiling face and changed words. Thinking about it, the one that would be tutoring him was Heda.
It wasn't that long since they had met but how could you put it. She didn't give the same strong feeling Reginleif gave. If you had to be concise, you'd say that she wasn't reliable?
At Tae Ho's gaze, Heda pouted her lips. Then she spread her chest and said, "Trust me. The superior warriors of our legion were also taught by me. I teach well."
Tae Ho nodded for now. It seemed like Heda's mood loosened up and she spoke in a cool voice while looking far into the distance.
"Elitism in minority. That's the particularity of Idun's legion."
It sounded cool, but rather than being spontaneous, wasn't it more forced?
"Before that, aren't you going to smoke that?"
He glanced at the pipe. Tae Ho nodded immediately.
"Smoking is a bit..."
"Then give it back. I have to put off the fire."
It was unexpected as he thought that she was going to smoke it. Anyways, Heda put off the fire very thoroughly and then put back the tobacco pouch. It seemed like she was the thorough type, compared to how she looked.
"We've arrived."
It was a dock that suited a boat. He didn't know how Valhalla was composed, but for now, it would be good to say that it was like a ship.
While Tae Ho was looking at the few wooden huts and a stone building, Heda jumped off the ship and said, "Then, shall we go and greet the goddess?"
"Are we really going to see her?"
Tae Ho was surprised. It was because he had directly seen Thor on the battlefield.
The God of Thunder that rode the skies and poured thunder.
Although Idun and Thor were different Gods, in the end, the both of them were Gods. So thinking that he would face an existence like that, his heart started to beat.
He didn't know if it was good or not, but Heda shook her head.
"No, not directly, but at a distance? This is the place for the lowest ranked warriors. The Goddess is high up there."
Heda pointed at the sky. Tae Ho turned to look up and also nodded. That place certainly seemed to be appropriate.
"This is the temple. Starting from here you should go alone."
It was a refined but strongly built stone building. At Heda's urging, Tae Ho went inside and the candles were lit automatically.
"Have a good time."
Heda patted Tae Ho's shoulders playfully before going outside and closed the door. Tae Ho looked at his front in the middle of the silence. Just by looking at the beautiful statue of the goddess made his heart beat quickly.
'Come closer, my warrior.'
A voice rang in his head. Tae Ho gulped dry saliva and then approached the statue. And then, the world changed. In the middle of the dark sky and earth, a golden light started to pour from the sky.
"Lee Tae Ho. The warrior that has entered my legion."
There was a big apple tree in front of him, and a goddess in front of that.
Her hair was golden. Aside from that, he could only know that she was beautiful. The light hid the goddess as if it was forbidden to look at her directly.
Tae Ho kneeled in front of the goddess and showed his manners. The action was as natural as water flowing from a high place.
"I will now give you the blessing of me, Idun."
The goddess smiled. At that moment, the golden light that was pouring down from the sky covered Tae Ho's body.
The blessing of a God.
Tae Ho closed his eyes. When he opened them again he was already outside the temple. He could see Heda smiling.
"So you received the blessing."
Tae Ho nodded. As he thought of the blessing of the goddess like when he thought of the saga, golden messages started to appear in front of him.
[ Idun's Blessing ]
[ Sentence of Life ]
"Then, I will teach you the real strong point of our Idun's legion."
Heda fixed her posture and then even fixed her expression. She was looking at Tae Ho with a completely serious face.
"Idun is the goddess that represents life and youth and her symbol is a golden apple. That's why the warriors that join Idun's legion receive the blessing of life."
The Gods in the Nordic mythology weren't immortal. They had to consume golden apples regularly to maintain youth and their strength.
Idun was the goddess that maintained those golden apples.
The blessing of life was given by Idun.
Heda returned to her playful expression and said, "Although there may be many cases where it will hurt on the battlefield, you won't actually die because you will have the life blessing with you."
An unyielding endowment of life.
Persistency that keeps you alive in situations where you would normally die.
"Although the level of the blessing is still low, it will grow along with you. Why do you think the nickname of our legion is zombie legion? Ah, but even so don't get too overconfident. You are only hard to kill, if you get beheaded you will really die, do you understand?"
Heda winked at Tae Ho at the end and then patted Tae Ho's shoulders.
"Anyways, you are tired, right? I will lead you to your lodging. Rest today."
Maybe it was because of Heda's words that he seemed to become more tired. It was obvious as the things he had faced today were already incredible. Didn't he even stand on the battlefield?
The sun was already setting. Heda pointed at the wooden houses and explained in the middle of the dusk.
"That is the toilet and that's the bath. That is your lodging."
Just like it was for the lowest ranked banquet, the lodging really did look like the lowest graded one. It felt like it just had the basic things.
"We will train starting tomorrow morning so sleep early. Ah, I will also answer your questions tomorrow. You have a lot of questions, right?"
He obviously had a lot questions: how to use the saga, what is a rune, what were the enemies he fought today, etc.
But after she said it like this it seemed like he would have to wait til tomorrow.
As Tae Ho nodded, Heda took one step back and waved her hand.
"Then let's meet tomorrow morning. Sleep well."
Heda turned back and got on the wooden boat. The orange sky started to turn darker.
Tae Ho looked at Heda getting farther for a moment before entering his lodging and laid on his bed. The bed was made with straw, but it wasn't that uncomfortable.
Night.
And sleep.
Truly a time to be alone.
'I died today.'
He didn't feel it real. He was at an unfamiliar place called Valhalla, but he was alive.
But it was the truth.
What would be happening by now? Would they be holding Tae Ho's funeral? What would his parents be thinking? What about his teammates, his coach, and his fans?
What would have happened if the Valkyrie hadn't appeared?
And.....
'Will I be able to return?'
He was alive right now anyways.
Tae Ho closed his eyes and opened them again. He saw shining sentences.
[ Saga: Immortal Warrior ] [ Synchro rate: 2% ]
[ Saga: The Charge of a Warrior Is Just Like a Storm ]
[ – ]
He thought of the first battlefield he had faced in his life, and the battles that had occurred there.
The place he now had to keep standing on.
"Let's sleep."
Tae Ho talked to himself and then closed his eyes. Maybe it was because he was really tired, but he soon fell into a deep sleep.
&
When he woke up, Heda had already arrived. She urged Tae Ho to get up and then started to prepare for the lessons after giving him two pieces of small bread and beer porridge. There was a big chalkboard and a table in the place you could call the classroom.
"Then let's start with the basic lessons. That's the most important thing."
Heda cleared her throat once and then hit the chalkboard.
"Who are we fighting against, and why?"