CHAPTER 82

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I sat cross-legged in the center of the Asgard's arena, my long sword which had been provided by Asgard for the day resting on my knees as I ate the sandwich Emily and Natasha had made me. For the past month, all I had done day in and day out was come here to fight.  After checking up on the girls, of course.

As always a cold wind blew over the battle arena, as the sounds of people muttering filled the area, however, that was not all you could hear. In the distance, the clanking of armor and the whisper of a mace cutting through the air started to draw closer and closer.

"Stand and face me," commanded a powerful voice, which was no other than Hogun.

With a smile, I held up a finger as I finished eating my sandwich, priorities first. 

Hogun was a powerfully built man, broad-shouldered and thick-armed but at the same time lean for agility. With Asgardian steel armor from head to toe, and as a weapon his trusty mace.

I had never fought against him, against Thor, several times during this month, against Sif, at least a dozen times just this week, but against him? Never.

"I thought you'd never come to fight me," I said licking my fingers, the sandwich had been really good, no idea what kind of sauce the girls added to it, but it was finger-licking good.

"It's time for me to prove how strong you are, human," Hogun said, adopting a fighting stance similar to the Asgardians I had faced before.

"Ok," I said, rising to my feet in one smooth motion. "Let's fight." I cracked my neck as I twirled my longsword around to loosen the muscles in my shoulders. Not that I needed it, of course, but I had been fighting, on and off, for the past six hours so I had to test the waters.

Without another word, the Asgardian quickly closed the gap between us and attacked with precision and skill, but after weeks of fighting in the arena, I noticed something,  his attacks were predictable for me, which made the entire ordeal uninteresting, in the end, it seemed I had learned and adapted to the battle pattern in the Asgardian soldiers' way of fighting.

Hogun was fast, strong, and skilled enough to wield his weapon with great proficiency. But none of that mattered if he was predictable.

With a sigh, I parried the first blow, dodged the second, and parried the third, all without breaking a sweat. 

Then moving close to him as he attacked, I broke the Asgardian's guard with a sideways blow to his ribs. The metal of his armor twisted and the man dropped to one knee with a grunt of pain. 

With a smile, I gave the warrior time to recover, to ease his pain, for perhaps I had punched him too hard. 

Seeing me look at him with worry, Hogun smiled and tore off the piece of armor that my attack had bent. "I don't stand a chance." said the Asgardian with a grin, "But that makes it more fun."

"Admirable," I replied with a whistle, as I saw the blood running down the side of his mouth which confirmed, I had punched him too hard.

Finally, on his feet, Hogun took a calming breath as he grabbed the weapon he had dropped on the floor during my previous attack, and with a quick move, he restarted the battle, with a series of lightning-fast attacks that went high and low.

With ease, I dodged each and every single attack, my longsword in constant motion as I deflected the Asgardian's attacks, then when the opportunity came, I took a step forward and planted my fist on his stomach breaking his armor into pieces, knocking the Asgardian out.

"I told him only I could defeat you!" Thor chuckled, walking towards us.

"For now." I grinned at the Asgardian God.

"As if!" Thor grinned back.

"He knew he had no chance, but wanted to test himself against you," Sif said, putting her hand on my shoulder.

"Medics!" Fandral shouted. "He will be out of commission for the day, that punch had to break a few bones at the very least." he shuddered.

"Remembering when he broke your jaw?" Sif grinned at Fandral.

"I had to eat through a straw that day! A straw!" Fandral exclaimed in exasperation.

"For the record, I apologized." I chuckled.

"Grow a pair Fandral." Volstagg cackled. "He tattooed my stomach with his fist, and I don't cry as much as you."

"Unlike you, I care about my personal appearance." Fandral huffed.

"Bah, you are a baby." Volstagg rolled his eyes. "Heck, I wear my scar with pride!" he howled, showing the mark I had left on his stomach.

"You do know the medics could've fixed that right?" Sif inquired.

"Yes, but what's the point? I like wearing my battle scars, especially if they come from a friend." Volstagg nodded with a grin.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I am tired." I chuckled, breaking their conversation. "So, see ya."

"But the feast?" Thor gasped.

"Thor we do one every week." I deadpanned.

"Exactly, and today's is to celebrate your first month!" Thor nodded.

"First month of what?" I asked with a sigh.

"Of Asgardian badassery!" Thor nodded once again. "One month ago, you were a puny human, but during this last month of you living here, you have bathed in Asgardian glory, which makes you an honorary Asgardian!"

"I'm not sure that's how immigration works, also, I don't live here, I still sleep in my house, with my family," I replied with a smile.

"Give him the jacket, humans love jackets, GIVE HIM THE JACKET!" Fandral whispered, and by whispered I mean shouted.

"Oh right, the jacket!" Thor nodded, giving me a box. "Here you go!" he grinned like a child.

Sighing, I opened the box to find that inside there was a leather jacket that said, the warrior four.

"This is…" by the time I looked up, Thor, Fandral, the Unconcious Hogun, and Volstagg had their jackets on, which like mine said, the warrior four.

"We watched a movie marathon to learn about humans, and jackets seem to be the center of your culture," Fandral stated with a wide smile.

"You guys watched 80s movies…" I snorted, looking at the jacket, "Fine, why not." I chuckled, putting the jacket on.

[You have become a member of the Warrior Four = 75% Asgardian, 25% Human]