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The Vineyard took a little bit to get back to it's normal self after Thor left. Unfortunately I had finished my dessert before it happened though.

Lily's face seemed full of pride if one could tell. But not having eyes or eyebrows could make that difficult for people to notice.

I turned and looked around the sea of colors around us in thought. ( Thor was the color of stormy grey. And I was died pure black because of Anubis. Is everybody like this?) I thought as I leaned back in my chair. Lily had a green hand around her empty bottle and tapped the table lightly.

"That was dealt with very maturely." She said with her voice obviously trying to stop herself from laughing.

I couldn't help but grin. "Only ass hats act like that in public. Not to mention trying to threaten violence. That just makes him a punk who doesn't know his place yet." I said with a shrug.

Beth then turned to me. "Then what does that make you?"

"What do you mean?" I asked. I was a bit shocked at the sudden question.

Beth tapped the table with her index finger. "You provoked him into threatening violence before using violence to put him in his place. And that's while you are still rank D when he's rank C."

I raised an eyebrow. "Rank C and he acts like he owns the place? Isn't that a bit much?" I asked glancing at the others.

Hoy shrugged. "He has a high standing in the warrior guild for his consistent prowess in the Dark Dome. Not many can match it because of his skill set. But his skills don't differ friend from foe so he has to fight alone."

"I once saw him take out an entire group of goblins with a lightning blast but a couple of his faction mates got caught up in it too. Fried them all on the spot. Poor buggers didnt even get the chance to walk it off." Henry mumbled out.

"... And you guys just let me piss him off... Why?" I asked feeling a little nervous.

"Cause he needed it." Lily replied before finishing her bottle and slamming it down.

"People of any rank below the faction leader need to show respect and common decency in here. If he cant even do that then he's going to get deleted soon."

"Deleted. Erased. Retired." Beth said quietly.

"Yeah. But what does that mean exactly?" I said confused.

Henry placed his hands together twiddling his thumbs with a bored expression.

"It means he dies. For good." He said with his eyes locked on mine.

Meanwhile on a different floor-

A large open field area was arranged with dummies and targets. Many showing signs of extreme wear and tear. People were lined up in front of each dummy with their weapons drawn. Their swords, axes, hammers, and other weapons being used were leaving increasingly larger marks, scratches, and in some cases breaking the dummy completely.

A woman was seen at the back. Her hair tied back by a roman laurel. Her hands held a gladius in one hand and a shield in the other. Her crimson eyes glowed as her body eminated a red 8bit type aura. This was her berserk state. Enhancing her strength, speed, and Stamina but decreasing awareness of surroundings in the process.

As she lifted her gladius her dummy could almost be seen sweating. Her face formed a sudden sneer that revealed her sharp canines as she rushed forward bringing down her blade in a blur.

With the sound of splintering wood the dummy shattered. And as it shattered another dummy took its place. Belona charged with her shield smashing it upward and swung her gladius again. Its shape shifting into a broad headed war hammer as she swung smashing the poor dummy into the ground grinding it into tiny bits of data.

Clapping was heard behind her as a large guy with an eye patch stepped forward.

"You're getting better Bell. Much better than you were a couple weeks ago. How close are you to ranking up?" Odin asked with his broad chest exposed showing off his scarred muscles proudly.

" I only need 10000 more points to make it to D rank. So two more runs through the dome killing everything I see will get me to my goal." Bell said panting as she wiped her brow with a towel not far from her. Her red aura faded into nothing leaving her body steaming and her stamina low. She took a bucket of grayish water and dumped it over her before shaking out her hair thoroughly.

"You really need to do more than just train girl! Lots of bachelors in here would want a piece of you if you let them close." Odin said leaning on a newly formed dummy.

"Aren't you supposed to be training? Pam will scold you if you aren't careful." Bell said trying to change the subject.

Odin shook his. "Nah Girl. You ain't pulling that on me. I got guys lined up for days for you. You know that one that comes after you all the time? Yeah. Tyr. Or Jeremy as he's called. He likes himself a tough woman. Now I can set you up-" He was cut off as a shield suddenly slammed into him from across the room. He was sent flying into the opposing wall from the force of it. making pixelated dust explode from the wall.

"Argus, you slacker! Get back to training!" A woman at the front of the field shouted. Her garb said norse all over it. From the faint designs carved into her metal chest pieces to her axe with its carving of Yggdrasil on it. Her hair was long, braided, and plated reaching the middle of her back. Her hair was blonde and her figure was of course godly.

This was a Valkyrie. One of the Norse "angels" of the battlefield. In myth they chose certain souls to train in Valhalla for the battle of Ragnarok.

And this one here was commonly known as Pam. This woman was ruthless, cunning, and a capable teacher.

"When training we do what?!" She shouted to the others in the field.

"We Train!" Came a collective shout in response.

"You hear that Argus! We know you could use some training with how you slack off all the time." She said as she crossed her arms.

"Bloody woman. Always throwing the training equipment at me whenever she has a chance. I'm leaving. I'll see you later Bell." Argus said as he got up. He pulled himself from the hole in the wall which was already repairing itself. Unhurt but obviously annoyed.

"Maybe you should take her more seriously then. And btw. Ever thought I have somebody I want already?" She said with a cocky eyebrow raise as she turned and tossed a towel over her shoulder. She nodded to Pam before leaving.

Meanwhile the elevator door to the Warriors floor opened. And out walked Thor. Full avatar equipped. When he entered many fell silent as he strutted through. The way he walked was confident and unerring. Domineering and powerful. But inside he was nervously thinking.

"I have to keep this up. They'll think I'm weak. Or a screw up." He went to the distance where a small hut was built. A lightning bolt hung above the door of this poorly built place. But it was where Thor called home.

As he entered the door his avatar shrunk to reveal his civilian form. He walked over to the distant wall and collapsed as tears began to fall.

"Why? Why can I never find what I'm looking for?" He whispered as he shook. His hands clenched and relaxed as though he was trying to comfort himself somehow.

"Mother. Father. Where are you? Why did you leave me here?" He thought as he became frustrated throwing a chair across the hut hitting the far wall. "Why does it always end up being me that gets the short end of the stick." He angrily thought.

Back at the Death Hunter Faction House -

A group stood in the middle of a desert. The sun blazing with an inhumane heat. Heat waves shook the air and the breeze carried the light dry sand through the air assaulting the group.

In their midst was a skeleton in a dark robe, a jackal with Egyptian clothes, a beautiful woman with a skull staff, a dark haired fair skinned man with black wings, and a woman dressed in black funeral worthy clothes.

"Have I ever mentioned I hate desert scenarios?" Beth said waving a hand in front of her face profusely sweating.

Lily and Hoy were no different as they struggled against the heat. But Henry and I were seemingly in our hayday.

I loved the heat. The fur on my arms rose slightly as steam lightly rose from my body. I felt energized. Alive even. The smell of the sand all the way to the clear skies. It was refreshing. Especially after my grade increased. Everything was much more vivid.

Henry stood off to the side swinging his scythe through the air sending out cold waves with every swing. Hoy and the others gathered a little closer feeling the refreshing feeling of the cold. That is till hands burst out of the ground grabbing Hoy by his ankles. He began to sink fast into the ground. They tried to drag him underground and Hoy was already waist deep. A sickle suddenly snaked into the sand and the hands broke into bits of data as Hoy was hauled topside.

"We have to be on our guard. I set the difficulty of this session to heroic for a reason. The creatures are more devious and cunning. This will help us all understand what to expect in the future." Lily said tapping the ground causing an oasis of exotic trees and cactuses to appear beneath us. Each thing deformed by a skull or skeletal structure grotesquely sticking out in different ways.

Hoy nodded as he opened his wings wide. "I'll keep an eye in the sky. You all know I'm not that good on the ground." He said. He jumped into the air and circled about like a vulture.

I grunted as my sickles shivered with the chains in anticipation. More hands began trying to break the surface beneath us only to be entangled in Lilies web of plant growth.

But further away I noticed a cloud of dust rising and knew something was coming.

"Incoming at 3 O'clock." I said and everybody spun to see it.

It was a group of mummified soldiers. Their weapons and armor showed an Egyptian/Roman combination as they approached. A few catapults were being pulled behind them by a group of skeletons and large molding scarabs.

I looked at Lily out of the side of my mask. "Just had to be set to be Heroic huh?" I said sarcastically as we readied ourselves.

Lily grimaced a bit. "Never tried heroic mode until now. John always tried it but recommended I never do it without help."

"John?" I said looking at the others.

"Hades." Beth said as she brought up her handkerchief plucking little bits of sand out of it.

"Alright then. Let's see how this goes then." I said as my chains began to slither out into my hands even further. As the hoard approached, Lily smiled like a maniac when she got to see them in full.

"Sil. Would you like the honors of first strike?" She asked giving me a slight side eye.

I couldn't help but smile as the enemies approached. "Gotta test the waters." I replied as I slowly walked forward. The sand shifted about with each step of my paws. An arrow shot toward me from somewhere in the approaching group.

I hit it to the side almost deftly. "So slow." I said as I continued walking toward the marching hoard. Suddenly the sky was filled with more of them as arrows created a small shadow across the sky.

I smirked and spun the chains in front of me deflecting and cutting the arrows apart without much difference. And as the horde seemed to move slower than I liked I decided to move faster. I pushed off the ground shooting forward deflecting and hitting aside the arrows. The sand exploding behind me in a large cloud. The sound of wind in my ears for those few moments was exhilarating.

The armored mummies gathered together tightly at the front linking their shields in a tortoise formation.

I couldn't help but smile at that. "Smart. But that's the oldest tactic in the book." I said as I slid onto my back skidding beneath the shields and into their group. And so the fun began.