Chapter Fifteen: Lagertha Thorgerd

There was silence in the crowd as Ragna bluntly answered the woman, the Vikings knowing full well that Ragna was right. Once a Corrupted being goes through the change, it is almost impossible to reverse it. The boy Ubba was on the verge of becoming a Rune walker, the first Rune he had gotten becoming corrupted by Eitir, a poisonous phenomenon that occurs when one's Essence becomes too unstable. This resulted from the absence of World Essence within the world, one of the reasons why it was dangerous to Awaken. Incidents like this always happen occasionally, though it seems there was only one incident this time. Ragna dropped the sword and returned to his family's side. The candidates of the ceremony moved aside for Ragna when he came near them. While the observers couldn't help but stare with their mouths open at Ragna. The boy had reacted and moved faster than most of the Vikings in the area, accomplishing something that even some of the Guards had been unable to accomplish. King Sigurd stepped to the crying mother, bending down to her, and began whispering to her. Ragna sighed as he felt the desire to leave the courtyard and return to his room. He was about to speak to his Mother but Bestla beat him to it.

"You can go rest but you need to be in the Great Hall fifteen minutes later," Bestla said. "The Ceremony isn't over yet," Ragna smiled and nodded. And projecting his Internal senses to his room inside the Palace building. With that, Ragna used his Aspect and crossed the distance instantaneously to his room.

~

"Did you see that Lagertha," Captain Thorfinn Thorgerd said to his daughter. They were on one of the balconies of the buildings that surrounded the courtyard. There were various guards stationed in different corners of the courtyard. These warriors had been about to act when their Captain had ordered them down. They didn't question but obeyed knowing full well that their leader had a reason for it. Thorfinn, leader of the Royal Guard, the fourth most powerful Viking in the Kingdom, and one who served the royal family with all his being waited for his daughter to answer.

"That strange light, that doesn't look like the Lothbrok Divine Aspect," Lagertha Thorgerd replied to her father. The ten year old girl was tall, five feet and nine inches, her body covered in dark gray leather armor engraved with Runes that provided protection, her brown hair tied in a warrior braid. "I read that the Lothbrok Aspect had something to do with electromagnetism,"

"Aspects Application manifest differently from person to person but you are right. His Aspect seems to focus more on-"

"Space manipulation," Lagertha said.

"Good girl," Thorfinn said. "It's a nifty trick for a sprout." Thorfinn was quite impressed with the Prince and his ability. For someone with a high level of cultivation and a deeper understanding of the natural world and its laws, Thorfinn had easily observed Ragna's movement and the way space seemed to have bent around him, allowing him to travel through a subspace to cross the distance between him and the Corrupted boy. That had allowed him to bypass the pulse of Essence that had knocked out those foolish guards who had lowered their guards.

"But his talent seems to be the lowest," Lagertha said. "How did he awaken his Aspect so soon,"

"I can sense he bonded with an Iron tier Rune and yet the level of Essence control he displayed shows a level above that of a Novice," Thorfinn said. He turned to his daughter to warn her. "I wouldn't underestimate him because of what tier his Rune seems to be. It's obvious the boy inherited the Lothbrok power."

"Hmm, well I'll find out how good he is when we get to the Academy," Lagertha said. Meanwhile, As Lagertha grew an interest in Ragna, Ragna was on his bed meditating on it. After he had returned to his room, Ragna discovered that his legs were sore and bruised. It was a result of channeling Essence within his muscles and tendons that had given him that burst of speed at the beginning. He had used too much Essence and nearly burnt his muscles and tendons. Luckily it seemed his body was stronger and sturdier than before his Awakening. By meditating and cycling Essence, he was able to hasten his muscles and tendons recovery.

"Hmm, this is why Mana Cultivation is so much better," Ragna said. If it had been Mana he had utilized at that moment, his movement and energy usage would have been more efficient and smoother, making it impossible for him to waste energy. But he couldn't use Mana. This World did not accommodate for the use of Mana and his body lacked the component to break Essence down into Mana. There was another reason why his Essence control had been inefficient. His body did not have a system for channeling Essence or regulating its flow like a Mana Circuit system. Instead, he had to use his Psychic energy to manipulate its flow through his blood vessels and nervous system without damaging them. Such an act required strong Mental power. Something that most rookies lacked.

"Psychic energy was never meant to be used for Energy Regulation," Ragna said out loud. It was meant to manipulate the external energies yes, but a body that cultivated should have the necessary hardware for internal manipulation. His current body didn't. This was another example of how his previous world was more advanced than this world. Another thing that bothered Ragna was the use of Runes. To cycle his core to accumulate Essence, Ragna had to activate the First Rune. That took time and effort which Ragna didn't like. He got up from his bed, stretching his body while trying to check what the time was. He hoped he hadn't used up the time his mother gave him to rest. Though truth be told, Ragna didn't want to go back down for the ceremony. He got what he wanted and he didn't want to waste his time with any unnecessary stuff. There was a knock on his door which drew Ragna's attention. He tried to see if he could sense who was beyond the door but he got nothing. The knock came again. Ragna put his right fingers behind his back, summoning a bolt of light. He opened the door to see a man in gray leather armor standing before him. His armor had the Lothbroks House of Crest, which was a hammer striking the ground and producing electricity. His braided brown hair was long and reached his shoulders, a deadly glint within his eyes that made the hair on Ragna's body rise. This man was a Killer.

"Prince Ragna, You're needed at the Great Hall," Thorfinn Thorgerd said. The man sensed the energy that Ragna had behind him but he said nothing as Ragna dismissed his power. He was forcing himself not to chuckle at the boy's action.

"Sure, Coming," Ragna said. He came out of his room and followed the man, who he assumed must be one of the Royal Guards. But Ragna wondered why he couldn't sense his presence before he knocked on the door.

"Forgive me for not introducing myself, Your Highness, I'm Thorfinn Thorgerd,-"

"Commander of the Royal Guard," Ragna said. Thorfinn raised his eyebrows at Ragna's quick response.

"How did you know," Thorfinn asked.

"I assume only the strongest gets to lead the organization responsible for protecting the Royal family," Ragna said.

"What makes you think I'm the strongest Royal Guard," Thorfinn said.

"Cause I couldn't sense your presence," Ragna said. Ever since he got to the capital, Ragna had sensed the presence of the Royal guards who had been watching his every move since he laid foot in the capital. Ragna had said nothing to his mother or made a big deal of it cause he understood the reason behind it. So he had been surprised to meet one he couldn't sense. Thorfinn couldn't help but laugh out loud as they reached the great door to the Great Hall. Thorfinn held the door open for Ragna, seeing a younger version of Bestla in him.

"You're a very sharp Viking, aren't you," Thorfinn said. The Great Hall was a room in a rectangular shape around one and a half and three times as long as it was wide with the ceiling high with chandeliers providing lights. Columns were supporting the ceiling each of them filled with the heads of Rune beasts like decorations. Standing in front of Ragna were the subjects of the Capital who were here for the ceremony, all of them watching Ragna as he entered the hall. Those who had been talking fell silent as Ragna gracefully walked towards them. They made way for their prince, giving a small bow as he approached his other Awakener. He saw Freya among them, dressed in a golden long dress, looking identical to her twin Helga. She turned to see Ragna, and Ragna saw the way her appearance was. She looked tired and strained, her eyes red like she had been straining her eyes for a long time. She grinned manically at Ragna and Ragna could tell right away she hadn't fully comprehended the note he had given her. He had anticipated it as he had done it on purpose to get her interest in his knowledge. Ragna smiled back when he noticed the girl besides Freya. She was shorter than Freya who was the same height as Ragna, with brown hair tied in a warrior bun. She wore a leather armor similar to the armor Thorfinn had. Ragna hadn't noticed her during the Awakening rituals and she was the same age as him which means she was a Volva. The girl herself turned her head to glance at Ragna who was looking at her. She didn't smile nor did she seem glad that Ragna had been staring at her. She frowned at him before turning her head around back to the front. Ragna felt a shiver of cold at that look in her eyes. It reminded him of the same glint in Commander Thorgerd's eyes. How the hell did a ten year old give the vibes of a Killer? But it wasn't just that that made Ragna pause when she stared at him. He had felt a pull within himself that came out of nowhere. His soul had shaken just from that look she had given him. Ragna was stunned by it but he did his best not to let it affect him. He kept on walking, meeting Torvi and Anders who were among the crowd of Awakener.

"You're back, Ragna," Anders said. Torvi's eyes went to the girl who Ragna had been staring dope eye at, giggling at seeing a normal reaction from him for the first time.

"I see you've noticed Lagertha Thorgerd," Torvi said.