Chapter 100
Suhyuk followed Viola into the cave. She seemed to sense that the conversation would be lengthy, so she invited him inside.
The cave was better furnished than expected, with a neatly cut stone bed, a desk, chairs, and even a stash of fruit and other supplies. Torches mounted on the walls burned bright with oil.
Though odd to see a Valkyrie in such a place, the cave was surprisingly livable.
“It’s a bit shabby to host a guest,” Viola said.
She tended to the wounded warrior, a light emitting from her hands enveloping his body, gradually easing his painful groans.
“I’m sorry… Valkyrie….”
“It’s not your fault. I should have stopped it sooner.”
Listening to their conversation, Suhyuk felt inexplicably guilty. He had simply retaliated against an attacker.
-Let’s bow our heads.
-This time it’s Suhyuk’s fault.
-Wahhhh!
The viewers, naturally, sided with the pretty woman. For a different reason, Suhyuk also lowered his head at Viola’s sad expression.
“I’m sorry. He misunderstood….”
As he spoke, Suhyuk glanced at the warrior, Vigo, lying down.
-He’s actually apologizing LOLOLOL
-As if he’s saying ‘he’ not ‘I’
-Yup, Suhyuk said ‘he’ LOL
Viola shook her head.
“No, it’s because Vigo was too overly cautious.”
-Such a kind heart.
-Nuna, just kill me…
-Suhyuk is a demon, definitely a demon.
Suhyuk scratched his head in embarrassment and looked around before asking.
“So, what is a Valkyrie doing here? A noble like you.”
Indeed, it was rare for someone as esteemed as a Valkyrie, a great and noble warrior serving Odin, to be in such a humble place.
“I could ask the same.”
Viola scanned Suhyuk up and down and continued.
“Why is someone with the power of lightning here?”
-Scanning him?
-Is that a signal?
-She’s probably just curious about his shabby clothes.
-By the way, what’s he doing with all those points?
With her gaze and the barrage of chat messages, Suhyuk examined his own appearance. Indeed, he hadn’t had the time to properly equip himself due to busy point usage.
His ability to knock out Vigo in one blow contrasted sharply with his ragged attire. It was clearly incongruous.
“I don’t know either.”
“You don’t know?”
“Just woke up here.”
Suhyuk’s answer was honest. He had indeed suddenly found himself here when the trial started. Asking why he was here was futile; he had no clue.
“Where did you gain the power of lightning?”
“I obtained it by defeating a giant.”
“You defeated a giant?”
Viola’s eyes widened in surprise. The chat window went wild again at her astonished expression, but Suhyuk focused on her words.
“It wouldn’t be a giant from Muspelheim… Then could it be….”
She glanced at Suhyuk, then closed her mouth. It seemed like a difficult topic to discuss. Though he doubted she would answer, he asked anyway.
“What could it be?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
“Please, tell me. It might be related to me.”
“I’m sorry. It’s a promise with the gods of another world. I can’t speak of it, nor is there a way I can tell you.”
Viola’s polite refusal left Suhyuk unable to ask further. The fact that there was no way for her to speak meant it was the kind of story she literally could not tell.
‘A filtered story, huh.’
If that was the case, there was nothing he could do. Suhyuk knew there were limits to the information he could get on this floor. Pressing further would be a waste of time.
“Then it’s my turn to ask.”
“I haven’t heard anything….”
“I’ve answered everything I can.”
Honestly, unless he started with “I’m a player”, there wasn’t anything else Suhyuk could say.
“Alright. Given the situation, I do need your help right now.”
Seeing Viola nodding, Suhyuk asked.
“What is this mission?”
It was a mission assigned to a Valkyrie, no trivial task for sure. And judging by the context, the mission was likely related to the trial.
“It’s also related to you.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Nodding, Viola continued.
“We came to protect the Thunder Throne.”
At that moment.
Whoosh-.
The scenery in front of them began to change slowly.
*
The scenery changed. The temperature, humidity, and smell of the air covering their bodies stayed the same. Only the view in front of them changed.
Suheyok had experienced this phenomenon several times before.
-A cutscene?
-Yeah, looks like it.
-I can see the back of the Valkyrie.
The first thing he noticed was Viola’s back. She was kneeling alongside two other Valkyries before a man.
‘Three Valkyries?’
Viola was not alone.
“We came to protect it.”
‘We.’
There were three Valkyries in total. And the one commanding them was the man in front of them. His face was not fully visible.
As if permission was not yet granted, the cutscene kept half of the man’s face shrouded in darkness. Yet, even with just the silhouette, it was clear who he was.
It wasn’t the first time seeing that figure.
‘It’s that man from back then.’
The man who appeared in the cutscene after Suhyuk conquered the Thunder Cave on the 3rd floor. The man who had chosen not to sit on the prepared throne, now stood before the three Valkyries.
‘Was he really someone who could command Valkyries?’
There weren’t many who could control Valkyries. And the man held a hammer then as he did now.
‘I have a rough idea of who he is.’
While Suhyuk was internally piecing together the man’s identity, surprised by the revelation.
“I’m sorry.”
The man bowed his head, apologizing to the Valkyries. It was because of the task he was about to assign them.
“There’s no need for apologies.”
Viola spoke.
“Just give the order, and we will run to fulfill it, even if it means our grave.”
Her words were met with silent agreement from the other two Valkyries.
Looking at the three Valkyries, the man slowly shook his head.
“…I see. Thank you for saying that.”
With that, the man stood up, still not raising his head. As though he had made up his mind.
“Until I take that seat.”
The man looked at Viola and the other two Valkyries.
“You three are to guard the Heart of Thunder.”
*
Whoosh-.
As the cutscene ended, the scenery slowly reverted back to normal.
This time, it seemed the viewers had also seen the cutscene, judging by their reactions.
-What, it ended?
-I wanted to see the other two Valkyries.
-Are all Valkyries as beautiful as the nun?
Their focus was, of course, more on the Valkyries than on the mysterious man.
The other two Valkyries who had taken on the mission with Viola were indeed significant clues for the current trial, but Suhyuk had another primary focus.
‘The Heart of Thunder?’
The name was familiar.
Naturally, because Suhyuk already had it.
【 Empty Heart of Thunder 】
Grade: ??
??????
???????
As expected.
『‘GreatDiscoverer’ has donated 100 points.』
『Come to think of it, doesn’t he already have the Heart of Thunder?』
-What??
-Oh yeah, he does.
-Didn’t he get some strange reward back then?
Following the donation message, several viewers recalled the reward Suhyuk had obtained.
The Empty Heart of Thunder.
A reward he had no clue how to use at the time, now appeared in the cutscene.
And it was something that the Valkyries were supposed to guard.
-So it really is something important.
-No kidding, considering it was the reward for conquering the Thunder Cave.
-Yeah, just playing with marbles, huh? GG
-LOLOLOL don’t even joke about that
At this point, even the viewers couldn’t help but notice.
The current trial was clearly centered around the ‘Empty Heart of Thunder’ obtained from the Thunder Cave.
Shortly after the cutscene ended.
“…That’s why we came here. To hide and guard the Heart of Thunder.”
It seemed her explanation was supplemented by the cutscene. Suhyuk wore a puzzled expression beneath his mask, as the cutscene and Viola’s explanation left one question unanswered.
“From whom?”
To hide and guard the Heart of Thunder. That meant someone was after the Heart of Thunder.
“Muspelheim.”
She pronounced the name slowly, enunciating each syllable.
“From the giants who have allied with demons.”
Muspelheim. A world inhabited by a special species. They were neither devils, commonly known in Suhyuk’s world as demons, nor giants directly opposing the gods.
Yet, they were both, not belonging to either side, and at the same time part of both. That was the nature of Muspelheim’s demons.
‘This is much larger in scale than I thought.’
First Valkyries, now Muspelheim. Suhyuk’s brow furrowed. The difficulty seemed too steep for just the 5th-floor trial. Would they really throw him into a war between Muspelheim and Asgard?
‘No, a scenario like that should be on the 8th floor at least. It makes no sense.’
A scenario involving gods was something Suhyuk had only experienced in his prime. The information he had about Muspelheim was just from following the Path of Thunder.
There was no way he would be thrust into a full-blown war with Muspelheim on just the 5th floor. Suhyuk listened intently to Viola’s further explanation.
“They’ve caught the scent. They know the Heart of Thunder entrusted by the minor Lord is here.”
“How many of them are there?”
At Suhyuk’s question, Viola hesitated before answering.
“As long as the system remains, we cannot run rampant here. Even coming down like this isn’t easy.”
“The system?”
An all-too-familiar term left Viola’s lips.
“Yes. The system is a constraint that prevents the gods, demons, and giants from deeply interfering in the human realm. It’s literally a system to protect the human realm.”
“So, because of that……”
“There are three Valkyries. And three subordinates of the Valkyries. That makes six of us who descended, directly to this place.”
If there were constraints on Asgard limiting them to three Valkyries, Muspelheim likely had similar restrictions. Roughly estimating, their forces should be balanced.
“Then, what happened to the Heart of Thunder?”
“It was taken.”
Viola bit her lip as she spoke with difficulty.
“…By the demons.”
As expected. Nodding as if he anticipated it, Suhyuk asked.
“Then, do I need to retrieve it?”
“No.”
The answer was unexpected. Viola shook her head.
“That’s impossible.”
“Pardon?”
“Now that I think about it, I didn’t properly answer your earlier question. About how many of them there are.”
As if even explaining it was difficult, Viola sighed deeply and changed the topic.
“My request is different.”
It seemed finding the Heart of Thunder was not the objective after all.
“We need to rescue my comrades. Please lend us your strength.”
She had already given up on the Heart of Thunder.