Chapter 138
Tyr returned to Valhalla. It seemed he had confirmed that Suhyuk was taking the test and concluded his business there.
Viola sought out Baldur, driven by Tyr’s inexplicable certainty.
Baldur.
The former captain of the old Midgard Guard and now the current commander of Midgard.
He welcomed Viola along with Vigo.
“Welcome, Valkyrie.”
“It’s been a while, sir Baldur.”
Viola and Baldur shook hands. For a moment, Viola’s gaze shifted to Vigo then back.
There was nothing strange about Vigo being here. After all, Baldur was once Vigo’s superior.
“You’ve become the commander, haven’t you?”
“Spare me the congratulations. This one here already gave me plenty.”
Baldur shrugged his shoulders and motioned toward Vigo with his eyes.
They moved to a reception room inside, and Viola broached the reason for seeking Baldur.
“I have something I want to ask.”
“To me? What is it?”
“Actually…”
Viola recounted the events with Tyr and Suhyuk.
Even Tyr’s conviction that no human could ever pass the test.
“Didn’t you also once tell me that the gods of Asgard would never accept us?”
“…Yes, I did.”
“Do you have a reason for being so certain?”
A moment of silence hung in the air. Baldur took his time to respond, and Viola understood his hesitation.
Perhaps this was a disgraceful aspect of Asgard.
After a long silence.
Baldur, with parched lips from not having spoken for a while, finally replied.
“Heimdall was there.”
A hollow answer after such a lengthy silence.
“I know that much. But he—”
“He would have just let them pass.”
He interrupted Viola, speaking in a scoffing tone.
“Unlike with me.”
“…?”
The atmosphere shifted.
Confused, Viola glanced at Vigo standing behind Baldur.
Whether Vigo had been told beforehand or already knew, his expression remained serenely unchanged.
“And that’s why I dislike the gods. They build barriers like the Wall of Rasderikh, demarcating statuses, treating us like livestock to be exploited.”
“Sir Baldur?”
“Yes, perhaps you might not see it that way, Viola. But can you truly say the other gods don’t?”
Viola was at a loss for words.
She couldn’t deny it, especially not after just meeting Tyr.
“I dislike humans.”
After hearing those words, she couldn’t refute Baldur’s statement.
“…Did Heimdall refuse to let you pass?”
“He refused to let ‘us’ pass.”
“Why?”
“Because we are half-bloods. Partly human.”
As if his anger had reached a boiling point, Baldur stood up and walked toward the window.
Through his tightly clenched fist, he looked out at the distant, towering wall, rasderikh.
“He is an insurmountable mountain. You know that, don’t you? Heimdall was even stronger before losing his eye.”
“Why is Valhalla’s test such a—”
“Someone must have intervened. Perhaps Odin.”
It was an example that compelled him to nod.
Not many beings in this world could achieve such a feat. And Odin was one who possessed the capability to create a gap in Valhalla’s trials.
He was both a mighty warrior and a sorcerer beyond comparison.
“So, I have made up my mind.”
Baldur’s eyes shone as he gazed out the window toward Rasderikh.
“I will show them my way of surpassing that.”
Thud-thud-thud-.
That was when it happened.
The door to the reception room flung open, and the guards stormed in.
“…Sir Baldur?”
Startled by the sudden interruption, Viola called Baldur’s name in a voice laced with unease.
And, as if to confirm her uneasiness,
“For that, Lady Viola.”
Turning to her again, he spoke with a completely changed expression.
“I need your help.”
***
“I have decided.”
Heimdall spoke as if Lee Suhyuk’s fate was within his grasp.
“Show me the thunder. I will judge based on that.”
The meaning of his words was clear.
If he was pleased, he’d let him pass, and if not, he’d stop him.
‘It won’t be easy.’
Lee Suhyuk realized he had no choice in the matter.
Even though the distance between him and his opponent was merely ten steps, he couldn’t gauge their prowess. The distance felt insurmountable.
The opponent before his eyes was someone he could never surpass without acknowledgment.
He was a foe akin to the Wolf Warrior he encountered in the starting dungeon.
The difference being,
‘This time is different.’
This adversary showed no clear estimation like the Wolf Warrior did.
There was only one path to choose.
‘I was brought here because of this trial.’
Lee Suhyuk took a deep breath.
Glancing at the chat, he saw the viewers were already in an uproar.
– Yeah, let’s stop holding back
– Let’s see that new stuff
– New gear, new Suhyuk~
Many viewers remembered the reward Suhyuk obtained on the 5th floor. It wasn’t difficult for them to realize that the thunder Heimdall referred to was the Heart of Thunder.
There was no reason to hold back.
There was no other way.
“If you so desire to see it.”
This time, he didn’t adjust the mic.
It was a declaration to both Heimdall and the viewers.
“I will show you.”
Crackle-.
Yellow and blue lights intertwined in his hand.
Bolts of different colors collided and sparked.
As the visible sparks intensified, they began to affect Suhyuk’s skin.
—
『’Selfish Sacrifice Lv6′ resists the damage of ‘thunder’.』
『’Selfish Sacrifice Lv6′ resists the damage of ‘lightning’.』
—
Bzzt-
The electric current flowing from his fingertips started to take on a clearer form.
A mass of magic extending outwards from a single point.
BANG—!
It wasn’t properly controlled, causing the loudest noise heard so far.
– Oh, geez, what a shock!
– Can you at least signal a bit first?
– Uh… Mom… I can’t hear…
The sound seemed to reach viewers beyond the monitor.
Immediately after the noise erupted, a spear appeared in Suhyuk’s hand.
『’Incomplete Thunder and Lightning Spear’ has been created.』
It was a long rod that couldn’t rightfully be called a ‘spear.’
A spear nearly three meters long, interwoven with two different colors. Its incompleteness stemmed from Suhyuk’s lack of proficiency.
Tingle, tingle—
He felt the heat surging through his hand that was gripping the spear. It felt like his arm might burn if he held on any longer.
The only reason he could even hold it was because of one thing.
‘This is amazing, seriously.’
It was thanks to the gloves Kindre made for him.
An item simply named the ‘Gloves of Thunder.’
The sole effect of these gloves was to help control the power of lightning.
The countless hours of Kindre’s work and the costly materials, amounting to hundreds of thousands of points, were all for this one purpose.
“Remarkable”, heimdall said, impressed as he looked at the incomplete spear Suhyuk had created.
“But can you throw that? It seems rather strenuous.”
“It needs to be at least this powerful to make you budge, doesn’t it?”
He still couldn’t grasp how large his opponent was. To truly feel it, Suhyuk probably needed a much higher level than now.
However, confidence surged within him.
If it’s with this, it wouldn’t be completely futile.
“And even if throwing is too much—”
Thunk.
Suhyuk pointed the spear tip at Heimdall.
“I can still stab with it.”
“Stab? Well, that’s certainly one way.”
“Then…”
As Suhyuk nodded and prepared to thrust the spear at Heimdall—
“That’s enough”, heimdall interrupted.
Shhhh—
The spear, which was aimed at Heimdall’s heart, stopped mid-thrust. Suhyuk’s hesitation caused his concentration to waver, and the incomplete spear dissipated like mist.
“If you can’t throw it, then stab it. Just making up your mind to do that is enough to pass.”
“Do I pass?”
“For now.”
Heimdall nodded.
And as if it were a signal,
『You have been acknowledged by the Memory of the Tenth Warrior ‘Heimdall.’』
『You have passed the Valhalla Trial.』
『Would you like to continue?』
Regardless of the message that appeared, heimdall continued speaking.
“But whether other gods besides me will acknowledge you, I’m not sure.”
“A god named Tyr said the same. He seemed to really dislike humans.”
“He has his reasons.”
“There seemed to be something between the gods and humans.”
It wasn’t just a simple intuition.
There was a story that had always been planted in his mind.
“Gods and giants. Great beings that human power could never dare to confront.”
“This is something created to fight and win against them.”
These were the words he heard from Ferius when he first obtained the Heart of Lightning on the second floor.
The notion that humans tried to fight and win against such great beings as gods and giants meant that something had transpired between them.
And perhaps, it wasn’t unrelated to why the gods, including Tyr, hated humans.
“Didn’t I tell you? If you meet me outside, I might let you know.”
At those words, Suhyuk smacked his lips in disappointment.
It appeared that no answers could be gained here.
“Well, then…”
It didn’t seem like there was anything more to gain from the conversation. Suhyuk looked past Heimdall and gazed up the stairs.
“Are you thinking of continuing upward?”
“There wouldn’t be any more opponents like you up there, right?”
Heimdall was a device installed by someone to prevent humans from going further.
Having overcome that obstacle was sufficient for now. From here, the true trials of Valhalla would await him once again.
“I’m curious as well. Who might be up there.”
“I’ll let you know after meeting you outside.”
“That would be appreciated.”
He could feel Heimdall smiling behind him. Just as he took a step up the stairs.
“It won’t be easy to handle that.”
Heimdall’s last words continued.
“There must be a reason that it was split in half.”
Swoosh-.
Suhyuk, who was climbing the stairs, turned his head.
Interestingly, no one was there. As if erased in an instant, heimdall, who had been speaking loudly and clearly, had disappeared.
It seemed that he had fulfilled his role by passing Valhalla’s trial.
『’SafeAsset’ has sponsored 100 points.』
『That’s what they say? Lmao』
Annoying sponsorship message.
Suhyuk smiled under his mask at the appearance of the familiar viewer.
“Do you want to make a bet with me?”
A viewer with a 0% win rate.
Suhyuk simultaneously provoked both SafeAsset and Heimdall.
“Whether I can handle this or not.”
-OMG LOL
-Looking super tough
-Is Kingtank scared? Lol
Additional provocations were taken care of by the viewers themselves.
From their perspective, a high-stakes bet was always entertaining to watch.
But unfortunately,
『’SafeAsset’ has sponsored 100 points.』
『Yo… Scared…』
This time, SafeAsset bowed out with its tail between its legs.
With that choice, Suhyuk started climbing the steps he had paused on.
Glancing, Suhyuk noticed the Gloves of Thunder on his hand entering his view.
‘It won’t be easy.’
SafeAsset.
His bad predictions had never missed once.