Episode 11/Chapter 2: Unknown Sword Piece (2)

"I will take Unnir."

As Tae Ho made his decision, Idun brightly smiled. Although he couldn't see her face properly because of the light, he could feel that she was asking the reason why.

"It's so that I can have the basics down for now."

Compared to the flying horse wing coat, Unnir had its own strong points.

The foremost aspect of the wing coat was an increase in his battle power. For Tae Ho, something to ride on wasn't merely just a means of transportation. Tae Ho's attack power multiplied several times when he rode on something compared to when he fought on the ground.

'But the problem is that it's a wing coat.'

He wouldn't think about it twice if it was a flute that could call a pegasus, but it was a wing coat. It meant that he would need an ally to wear it for him.

Depending on who that person was, the battle strength would increase or decrease. In addition, Tae Ho didn't have a fixed ally. Even if he gave it to Siri, she may be fighting along with Rolph, or he could be dispatched to a battlefield where he didn't have anyone he could trust.

'Depending on the battlefield, I may not be able to use the wing coat.'

Svartalfheim was like that. For places that were impossible to fly in, the wing coat would be an obstruction.

Unnir's strong point was simple. Inventory.

Although he didn't have anything in particular to put in it, after thinking about it, he hadn't increased his baggage because he didn't have an inventory.

There were a lot of things he could put in: several shields, potions, clothes, bandages, provisions, and more.

'Right, even in Dark Age what beginners do first is acquire a bag.'

If rare items dropped after you killed a boss but you couldn't take it away because you didn't have space in your bag, then it was really a loss. Originally, things like this were supposed to be prepared beforehand.

In addition, Unnir wasn't a normal inventory. You could make the items smaller, so that had its own purposes.

'In conclusion, it'll be Unnir.'

He would wait and see after increasing his inventory.

He wanted to see Siri or Heda transform into a pegasus, but he couldn't do anything about it.

'Let's take the wing coat later.'

He finished thinking after considering Rolph to transform into a pegasus and faced Idun. She just nodded slightly instead of asking more questions.

"Then I will respect your will. My warrior Tae Ho, I will bestow Unnir, the treasure of Idun's legion, to you."

Idun grabbed Unnir with her long and slender fingers and gave it to Tae Ho. He took it politely and then tied it around his waist.

"Ask Heda for detailed instructions."

"I understand."

Tae Ho also replied politely this time and then looked up at Idun for a moment. Idun slightly tilted her head and said, "It seems like you still have some business. Do you have something you want to ask?"

"There's something I want to ask you."

Tae Ho carefully took out the unknown sword piece to Idun. He said the same thing that he had told Heda and then Idun started to check it.  She said, "This fragment certainly has a strong power embedded in it. But I'm sorry, I don't know which God it is from or the origins of this item off the top of my head."

She said the same thing as Heda. Seeing that even the Goddess Idun spoke like this, he wouldn't be able to know its identity immediately.

"But my warrior Tae Ho, although it's merely a fragment, I think that it will be good if you treasure this item. I don't feel an evil energy so it certainly isn't from the Giants but it is of Asgard. In addition, I think that it will have a strength beyond what you can see."

Idun touched the sword piece slowly as if sensing it and then returned it to Tae Ho.

"I should also investigate some more. I will tell you through Heda if I get something."

"Thank you."

"Right, then I should end today's meeting here. My warrior Tae Ho, raise your head for a moment."

As Tae Ho raised his head as told, Idun lowered her torso and placed her lips on Tae Ho's forehead. A warm feeling enveloped Tae Ho's body.

"My blessing shall accompany you."

Idun smiled and the surrounding scenery changed.

&

"Did it go well? Did you receive a gift?"

"Yes, I got something really cool."

Heda, that was waiting outside the door as always, approached him.

Tae Ho lightly patted Unnir and then told Heda what happened with Idun. Heda put on a slightly surprised face.

"Heh, how unexpected."

"What is?"

"I would have thought that you would like the wing coat more."

He realized that she was joking by looking at her eyes, and because of that, Tae Ho also said in a playful voice, "I will think about it when I get to be together with you."

"Who said I would wear it?"

"You will obviously wear it. It's you we are talking about."

Heda laughed at the shameless remark.

"I may not let you ride on me even if I do wear it."

"I think that you will ask me to, first."

"It's kind of painful to be looking at you. Are you sure I can be here?"

Tae Ho and Heda turned their heads at the voice.

Ragnar Lodbrok.

He was standing on the dock while frowning.

"You came really quickly."

Ragnar shrugged his shoulders while answering Heda, "Rasgrid chased me away saying that I was distracting."

Tae Ho asked unconsciously, "Rasgrid did?"

"She said that the warriors would get noisy if I was there."

"That's right," Heda said. Tae Ho also nodded because Ullr's legion really did become noisy.

"Anyways, as I have just arrived I will relieve my fatigue. We will start the classes tomorrow newbie."

He waved his hand and then started to move towards his lodging even when nobody had told him which was his. As Tae Ho was looking at his back, Heda smiled with her eyes and asked, "Are you looking forward to him teaching you?"

"He's a legend in the end."

"That seems a bit vague but.....it will certainly be good for you to expect it. He's a real legend."

He knew it even while he was looking at Siri's reaction. Tae Ho imagined himself being taught swordsmanship by King Arthur or Guan Yu. Honestly speaking, he would be lying if he said he wasn't excited.

"Now, Ragnar is Ragnar and we are we. Let's start with the rune magic classes. I don't know about other things, but I will still be in charge of it from now on."

Heda was as enthusiastic towards the classes as ever. Tae Ho nodded and then the classes started.

&

The next morning, Ragnar took Tae Ho to the dock after sleeping for a long time.

"Sit there for now."

Ragnar saw the dense fog spread beyond the dock and then smacked the place next to him as if telling him to sit. After Tae Ho sat down, Ragnar asked naturally, "How much have you progressed with Heda?"

"Sorry?"

"How much have you progressed in your classes? Look, your eyes are filled with dirty thoughts."

Ragnar laughed wickedly. If someone saw the situation, they would think he was the one thinking about dirty things.

Tae Ho opened his eyes sharply and then started to tell him about the classes with Heda. After hearing it all, Ragnar said, "It seems like Heda called me to teach you how to use the strength of a God, but I will postpone that for later. For now, mastering through repetition is the priority. In the meantime, I think that I will just ask you to endure the activated state of the strength of a God for a long time."

It seemed like he was speaking half heartedly, but Tae Ho understood the reason. It was because it was hard to even maintain the strength of a God right now. It was obvious that he would be learning how to actually use it later.

"I won't teach you everything from one to ten. I will just advise you, so take what you need, understood?"

"I understand."

Ragnar smiled as Tae Ho answered immediately.

"Good, I like you. For now, I will teach you the basics of the strength of a God. Although it's just tedious theory, it will help you and I will only do it this once so endure it. Every God has their own attributes, but they all have similarities. I call that similarity, permission."

"Permission?"

"Right, the reasons why inferior ranked warriors aren't able to injure a regenerator is because they don't have permission to wound a regenerator. Although in our original world, a noble may die at the knife of a vagabond, it's a bit different in this world. If a vagabond wants to stab and kill a noble, then he needs to become a noble like them to have the permission to kill him. The strength of a God makes that possible."

He thought it was okay for him to know about it. The reason why Tae Ho could injure the regenerator was because he took off the Giant's blessing that was covering it through the strength of Idun. In the end however, he didn't inflict the wound with this strength alone.

"It seems like you understand a bit. First, being able to use that permission freely is the basis of the strength of a God. The application comes after that. If you want to become a superior ranked warrior, you have to at least be able to use the strength of a God as naturally as breathing."

"What are the difference between an intermediate ranked and superior ranked warrior?"

The difference between the inferior and intermediate rank was the existence of the strength of a God. Then, if both ranks had the strength of a God, what would differentiate them?

"I won't tell you now."

"Why?"

"You can already use the strength. What will a guy who is an inferior ranked warrior and can use the strength of an intermediate rank do when he knows what a superior ranked warrior can do? You would overdo it this time too, right? Then you will break down and Heda will come crying to me. And I, who is weak towards crying beauties, will be troubled. So that's the reason."

Tae Ho wanted to refute back at the exact words but he could only keep silent. Because that was true.

'But still, are they doing something by using the strength of a God?'

He thought that was the case based on what Ragnar said. It seemed like there would be a high level application that Tae Ho couldn't imagine right now.

Ragnar continued speaking, "You can maintain the strength of a God even in your bed, when i'm not here, so let's move on to the next thing. Actually, I want to prioritize your saga rather than the strength of God."

Ragnar fixed his posture. He spread his chest and then looked at the air.

"A saga is the root of us, warriors of Valhalla. It's not a strength you use for a moment when you are inferior ranked and that you move on to a new one when you get promoted to the intermediate rank. The saga is something you need even at the top rank because that is life itself."

The story of a warrior.

The song of a hero transmitted orally.

Ragnar smirked. That smile was charming even to a man. It seemed like Ragnar Lodbrok's saga was behind that smile.

"I was thinking of two things."

Ragnar's eyes moved over to Tae Ho's face. Ragnar raised a finger and lightly pinched Tae Ho's chest.

"One is an attacking saga. You will make a saga entirely for attacking."

Ragnar clenched his fist and then looked up at Tae Ho's eyes and said, "You have many sagas while you are an inferior ranked warrior. However, they are all supportive sagas. Thanks to that, you are useful wherever you go, but you don't have a strong blow."

At the word strong blow, he thought of Siri's and Rolph's saga, Siri's saga that never missed its target and Rolph's saga that made his arrows explode. Both of them were offensive sagas.

"Create a strong blow meant only for you. I'm talking about an attack that can kill anything, be it a giant, monster, or devil. If that one blow represents you, then that attack by itself will become stronger."

That's what a saga was.

"For the remaining one, we will look back at your sagas."

"Look back?"

"Right, your saga still isn't complete. Actually, this is a really peculiar case. All of the inferior ranked warriors possess a saga they think is already complete."

Tae Ho opened his eyes sharply at the vague expression and Ragnar smirked again.

"A saga is a story and a story isn't fixed. A story is something that changes by word of mouth."

Tae Ho received a saga, like a skill in a game, after several battles.

Magic had fixed mechanisms, and a technique had certain effects.

But Ragnar was different. He emphasized the point that a saga was a story and a song.

"My saga is like this. So I can only use it like this. This is the mistake the lowest ranked or inferior ranked warriors make a lot. Look back at your saga again. There is a possibility there's a method you haven't thought of until now. Or there's a strength you haven't thought of. This is more important than ignorantly increasing the number of sagas."

Ragnar hit Tae Ho's chest lightly and then stood up.

"Now, we are finished with today's class. I will be resting so tell me if you have any progress."

Ragnar spoke like that and really returned to his lodging.

Tae Ho got flustered for a bit, but rather than calling Ragnar he looked towards the river.

It was just like Ragnar had said. He said everything he needed, and just like Heda had told him, the saga was his own. Thinking about his saga was entirely his job.

"A strong blow. I need to reorganize my sagas."

Tae Ho mumbled in a low voice and closed his eyes. He thought of Kalsted's stories one by one.

'Wait.'

After several minutes passed, Tae Ho stood up from his place; it wasn't because he thought of a new attacking saga.

'A completely different use of a saga. Perhaps an extremely game-like idea.'

It was just a thought that had flashed in his head. He didn't know if it would be possible.

But he wanted to try it.

'A saga is a story.'

It wasn't a fixed thing.

Because the saga was the life of a warrior, it was something that continued with the life of a warrior.

Tae Ho took out the unknown sword piece from Unnir. As he activated the dragon's eyes, he saw the rainbow colored letters.

Epic ranked item.

A broken sword.

He couldn't know what this item was originally or if it was merely a part of something else. But there was still a way to use it even if he didn't know those things.

Tae Ho breathed in. Instead of gripping in the air he gripped the unknown sword piece tightly.

[ Saga: The Sword of the Warrior ]

His saga covered the sword piece and materialized Runefang over the broken sword.

And the thing that was made then.

[ The Shining Heavenly Runefang ]

The rainbow colored words that represented an epic ranked item, changed. However, the thing that changed wasn't only the color of the words. Runefang's shape changed. The sword that had really strong runes engraved on it emitted a strong light.

Tae Ho felt his heart beating faster. It wasn't because he was excited about Runefang strengthening.

The unknown sword piece.

What would happen if he combined a stronger weapon here instead of Runefang?

The answer was simple.

'All of the weapons recorded in the sword of the warrior becoming epic ranked.'

And that's what it meant.

A smile appeared on Tae Ho's face.

< Episode 11 - Unknown Sword Piece (2) > End