46. THE ENGINE

Ragnar's vision was blurring, his blood flowed excessively, and his every breath became increasingly labored.

He could feel his heart getting weaker and weaker as it pumped blood throughout his body. He stared out at the battlefield, which was filled with cries and shouting.

It was a complete shambles.

He looked at his guards, who were attempting to block the voracious wolves of the heretic Goddess from reaching him. His guardians were trustworthy friends and cousins who were with him when they were all grasped by his old man.

Ragnar hated himself for having the misfortune to meet someone a whole rank above him on the battlefield.

He closed his eyes and imagined his spirit traveling to Colombus, a land where warriors drank the finest ales and were joined by ethereal beauties.

But instead of ethereal beauty or barrels of alcohol, he was greeted by a white room and a man staring at him with intrigued eyes.

"Is this the Columbus? Are you the gatekeeper of the great Columbus?"  Zachery frowned as he tilted his head. Columbus? What was that, exactly?

But once Alexa explained to him that it was akin to heaven in their religious structure, Zachery understood everything. Zachery laughed and glanced at Ragnar with amusement.

"Are you going to abandon your mother and your loved ones in this cruel world?" Isn't it true that your father's supporters are waiting for an opportunity to storm your refuge?"

"I don't have to explain what would happen if they met your fiance and mother, do I?" Zachery said this as he leaned in towards Ragnar and beckoned for Ragnar to sit on the chair Zachery had conjured.

Ragnar, as Zachery had predicted, was taken aback by Zachery's ability to conjure objects from thin air.

'This is an excellent way to con naive individuals like him,' Zachery snickered inwardly as he gazed at Ragnar innocently. Zachery quickly saw that this was his 'mind castle,' where his thoughts and wants reigned supreme over all others.

So Zachery considered how he could deceive individuals like Alexander or Ragnar by performing superficial things like calling objects from nowhere and tricking them into thinking he was some big shot wandering around in space.

It was difficult to talk to individuals and force them to give up their freedom, but Alexander and Ragnar were helpless.

They required power, and Zachery's inheritance provided plenty of it.

So Zachery brought his Oscar-winning smile to the table, as well as his bargaining talents, and convinced Ragnar to sign the contract Zachery had handed him.

It was a carbon replica of what Alexander's contract required. It gave Zachery complete control over Ragnar's body, and Ragnar vowed devotion to Zachery when Zachery demanded it in exchange for power.

They both then vanished from Zachery's thought palace.

[Linking Level Up System...]

[Connection established...]

[Connecting server...]

[Adjioning resource storage and gain...]

[Connection successful...]

[EXP Storage:- 10,539]

{Level Up:- [Empty Slot]}

{Level Up:- [Healing Factor:- Level 2-->Level 5]}((5,000 EXP Required)

[Transaction Successful!]

Ragnar opened his eyes slowly as a chilly sensation flowed through his stomach. He pulled his leather armor and examined his wound. The wound was slowly but steadily healing.

[Your faction has been registered in the Level Up System!]

The blood had stopped flowing, and the wound was gradually healing. His body was regaining vitality at a rapid rate and returning to normal.

His surroundings were littered with corpses as his vision grew clear. Not of his friends, but of his adversaries. As he looked over the battlefield, he gently rose up. He witnessed his cousins and shieldmaiden battling as if it were the end of the world.

Their bodies were covered in various forms of wounds, but they didn't notice as they bared their swords with great ferocity and frenzy.

'I guess they're going to win.' Ragnar was proud and emotional as he gazed around at his family members. It was due to him that they were fighting so successfully, as well as Warkarly.

'You stupid duck, they're about to die!' Inside Ragnar's head, Zachery yelled. He simply took over Ragnar's body, feeling a little disoriented by commanding such a massive body with strength well beyond what a Rank 1 fighter should have.

'Status'

[Status]

[Body Status]

[Physical Aptitude: 17]+

[All Resistance: 15]+

[Energy of Origin: 13]+

[Intelligence: 5]+

[Spirit stat:- 14]+

[Beast Spirit: Rank 1(Sanguionious Primal Bear)]+

[EXP Storage: 15,832]

{Level Up:- [Empty Slot]}

Ragnar appeared to be far more talented in the path of Combat spirit than Alexander.  Especially when it came to strength, he was really blessed abundantly.

However, it appeared like All-Mother had taken something other than fruitful land from the Warkarians, as evidenced by the status menu.

5 points of IQ for an 18-year-old was simply too low for anyone. It wasn't to the point of acting like orcs, but...

Despite the fact that Zachery was analyzing all of this in his head, he had already begun to move.

Zachery's inner perfectionist couldn't stand it when he saw how unbalanced his status was and began to balance the metrics. It was also critical for stats to remain fairly balanced in order for the man-spirit union to function.

Ragnar's heart heated and beat loudly when he saw his shieldmaiden degraded by two rank ones tearing her clothing off in the thick of battle.

Even without the Man-Spirit Union, the beating was so intense that Zachery's eyes were bloodshot. Even the two rank ones gazed at Zachery because the sound of his heart was so loud.

They fled away from Ragnar's enormous 6'7 tall frame and his overpowering momentum, terrified that this untamed bear would trample them into oblivion if they waited any longer on the battlefield.

'Hmm, the engine always works,' Zachery thought as he remembered what his knowledgeable girlfriend from Earth had stated.

Zachery nodded as Ragnar sprinted towards his shield maiden. By how Ragnar's heart was beating, Zachery could guess the relationship of both. Zachery tore off some of his armor which was essentially bear skin and covered her with it. 

He made some adjustments and made her comfortable on his back. He was carrying her like a bag as he tried to regroup his army.

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