Chapter Six: Meeting the Hero... Again

“Jessica, it’s time for you to take your vows child.” The head [Priest] exclaims, calling me up next to him.

With a tentative stride, I walk past the other [Initiates] and climb the stairs where a statue of a woman in wings and armor stand before a large basin of water.

Bowing towards the statue of Goddess Valkyrie Eir, I turn towards [Priest] Chavez.

Smiling confidently towards me, the [Priest] grabs a dagger from a stand next to him and hands it to me. ”May Eir be with you.”

Nodding silently, I grab hold of the dagger, a simple thing made of bronze but thoroughly sharpened for what is to come next.

Turning towards the basin filled with water, I move my hand and dagger over it, the dagger resting on my palm.

“Goddess Eir, I am [Initiate] Jessica, loyal servant of the gods.”

Here it goes.

“By my life, I swear to uphold your laws, to heal those injured, to save a life which needs saving. By my vow, I swear upon my chastity.”

The dagger quickly moves over my palm, cutting flesh with excruciating ease.

Ignoring the pain, I allow the blood to seep down my hand and into the basin of water where it slowly spreads.

I close my eyes and pray to Eir for acceptance.

Blood pours for a good minute, allowing the basin to turn red.

Slowly my senses deafen, the sound of my blood striking water weakens with every drop...until the goddess answers

Your vow has been heard and accepted. Welcome to the family priestess. Wear my mark proudly.

Quickly opening my eyes, my senses return as I look forward, the cut on my palm is completely healed.

On the basin, a ball of blood can be seen floating aimlessly over the water. Its azure red color truly remarkable to behold as it seems to shift in movement, staying towards the basin center.

With a growing smile, I carefully move my hand into the basin and grab the ball, lift it into the air, and smack it onto my shoulder.

The blood sizzles, mending with skin, forming the image of a white raven.

Turning around, I finally hear the cheering coming from the others and see the proud smile of the head [Priest], a man who had taken care of me since I was but a little girl.

Tears quickly form in my eyes as I take my first step down the stairs, not as a [Initiate] but as a [Priestess] of Eir.

-----

Opening my eyes, I am greeted with the sight of a dusty marble floor and a striking coldness on my side.

So it was a dream.

With a grunt, I move my sore and pained body off the floor. My muscles spasm and strain under my weight as I attempt to move my body and allow the blood to flow.

“Ugh… what happened?”

Wasn't there some kind of ritual? I can't remember…

“Well, you saw me in all my sexy glory, and then you passed out.”

Widening my eyes, my head quickly swerves to the right, towards the sound of the voice.

“Which is very understandable, not many women are capable of witnessing such a masculine and divine body like my own.”

A man with long black hair, wearing a black cloak, is staring at a pile of bones which float in the air and float back down continuously.

Am I still dreaming?

“Ughhhhh, ”

My head agonizes as memories quickly resurface, the summoning of the naked man, of him killing the two [Mages].

My breathing quickens, eyes widening in horror.

I have to get out of here!

Forcing myself to stand, I look towards the stairs… only to find a massive bony skeleton guarding the exit.

No

“D-dont kill me… please.” I yell out automatically.

Shaking his head, the man's eyes finally move away from the floating bone.

“Why is it that the first person I have no intention of killing is hysterical?”

The man begins to scratch his ear.

*Sigh* ”Whatever, I'll just wait till you calm down.”

Without another word, his focus returns to the bone, which starts to rise and fall again.

Is he not going to kill me?

Several minutes pass by as I stand there, watching the man as he continues to stare at a piece of floating bone.

He doesn't seem… bad.

“Who are you?” I ask reflexively, trying to break the silence.

“Me?... Oh right, I haven't introduced myself.”

The man stands up, turns toward me. His hand goes to his waist and then he bows forward.

“I am known as Quasi Eludo, professional [Hero] for hire. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Did… did he just bow to me?

A silence descends between us, me just staring at him, bewildered with his actions… and him just smiling at me...expectantly.

“You know, when someone introduces himself, it's customary to return the greeting.”

Why is he being so nice. That doesn't make any sense. I’m a [Slave]. He can't just be...oh.

“You… you’re actually a [Hero]. A being summoned by the Gods…”

Lifting an eyebrow, he slowly nods, ”Pretty sure I am. I have the [Hero] class. I was summoned. Destroyed evil. Saved a damsel in distress. So yea, pretty sure i’m a [Hero].

He’s a hero… an actual [Hero]. Oh no. What do I do. A [Hero], a real live [Hero]! And, and, he saved me! What should I say… Introductions!

Moving my foot forward, I attempt to do a curtsy, only then realizing the state of my attire, and the sheer amount of skin I’m showing off.

Attempting to cover my assets, I bow towards him.

“I… um Jessica! No wait. My name is Jessica.”

A noticeable blush finds itself on my face.

“Heh...ahahahah… haahahahahaha.”

The man starts to laugh, increasing in intensity as he starts to hold his stomach.

“I… I can’t…” *wheeze* “... that was just too funny. It has been such a long time since I have seen someone’s facial expressions change so quickly and so much… wow.”

Lowering my head in shame, I do my best not to make any eye contact.

I’m such an idiot.

“Well then, nice to meet you Jessica. Sorry for laughing, but it was rather funny… Anyways, all of those [Mages] are dead upstairs, so you’re free to leave as you wish. If you need supplies, feel free to take it from those packs on mules back.”

“Mule?” I ask without making eye contact.

“Oh right, that would be the huge ugly bone [Warrior] undead thing with the glowing purple skull. I needed to give him a name, so I named him mule… mostly since I’m using him to lug my stuff.”

Purple?

Turning towards the stairs, the undead with a massive pack on its back is actually glowing a purple light.

“He’s yours?”

“Yup, I’m also a [Necromancer]. I got the class, took those undead from the old guy, and then used them to kill off the [Mages] above.” he answers without missing a beat.

That can't be.

“I thought the [Hero] class doesn’t allow dark classes to be taken. No [Hero] in any tale has had a dark class.” I say.

Shrugging, the man walks back and sits back down on a piece of destroyed marble,” Really now, I didn't know that… I guess my circumstances are pretty unique then.”

Maybe the stories were wrong. Maybe [Heroes] can get any class. My education in the monastery was not the best. It's not like I went to an academy or anything.

“Anyhow, as much as I would love to keep talking to you, I have some training to do. Feel free to take whatever you need and leave. You are free now.” his eyes move back to the bone, which starts to rise and fall again.

Free?

My hand moves to my neck, feeling the restrictedly tight collar still on my neck.

“Do you have the ring?”

His head turns towards me, purple eyes focusing on my hands which are resting on the collar.

“Oh, this slavery ring right?” he asks, holding up a finger with a ring attached to it.

“Y-yes, don’t take it off!”

“I’ll die if you do. You wearing that ring is the only reason that this collar hasn’t killed me yet.”

His eyes look towards the plain iron ring on his finger, ”Interesting, a bit morbid that the [Slave] dies with the master, but quite interesting.”

His hand twirls the ring around his finger, eyes focusing on the slight engraving on the iron.

“I'm guessing you need an enchanter or someone with a specific skill set to remove that collar.”

Biting my lip, I look down on the ground, avoiding eye contact once again. ”No… the collars can't be removed while… while the slave is alive.”

****************************

Alive eh? That's a pretty morbid enchant… but I can see it's worth. Keeping an expensive slave loyal and working hard would be pretty easy if killing them would be the only way to reuse a collar.

“Well then Jessica, it seems your stuck with me until I learn to remove that collar without killing you.”

She bows forward

”Thank you,” she says with a bright smile.

Yea, she would be quite beautiful with fifty more pounds, clean, and a nice dress.

Turning away from the girl, I focus my mind to the task at hand.

[Bone Renewal]

Mana course out of my body and flows towards a bone on the floor which is right next to an injured undead of mine.

The bone rises up off the floor.

With a bit of will, I cancel the spell part way, allowing the bone to fall on the ground.

I'm so very close. Just a little bit more!

I continue to repeat the process, ignoring the girl as she slowly walks towards me.

In every world, reality, dimension, what have you, Mana is almost always present. With a few exceptions, but very few.

The mana, chi, prana, ki, whatever word you choose, is just a form of energy, similar to electricity.

And just like electricity, it follows certain laws. These laws are what define the abilities that the Mana in these realms undertake. And if you were to figure out these laws, learn how they work, how they feel, then you can learn how to manipulate, and finally reproduce.

“What are you doing? How are you doing that? Is it a skill?”

“Trying to learn a skill, using a skill, yes it is a skill,” I quickly answer her questions, trying to focus on the Mana and how it morphs.

“You can learn skills? Is it part of your [Hero] class? What skill is it?”

A minute ago she was all conserved and fearing for her life, now she’s all inquisitive and relaxed. That's not how a former slave should act.

“Here's the story, I gained the skill [Skeletal Renewal], which allows me to use corpses to heal injured undead,” I point at an undead body next to me which has had a great deal of its bones crushed.

“The skill is useful, but its real usefulness comes into the form of the spells simplicity. See, I can sense mana, I tend to learn to do it within minutes of being summoned. The skill [Skeletal Renewal], though complicated, has a very simplistic start. A spell matrix is used to first levitate the bones, which is simple, then a more complicated spell matrix is used which turns the bones into dust. And finally, the most complicated spell matrix activates which uses the bone dust to heal the undead. The second and third matrix are much too complicated for me at this time, but the first is within the realm of understanding.”

“But… how are you able to cast without doing anything? All you do is stare at it.”

I shrug my shoulders.

“I have two skills. One allows me to cast spells without needing to say anything. The other allows me to cast spells without needing to even move, which I think is the most useful. I activate my skill, follow the formation of mana, and then cancel the skill after the first matrix. I repeat the pro-”

“You can’t cancel skills!” she yells out, slightly startling me.

Turning my head away from the bone, I look to her, finding her mouth wide open, her face quickly turning beat red.

I lift an eyebrow

“Really? Are you telling me that no one actually thought about canceling a skill or spell halfway?”

She just stares at me, shaking her head slowly. ”People never cancel skills. I have never read anywhere that they can be cancelled.”

Hmmmm, it’s so simple. I wonder if the gods or high level people are keeping such knowledge a thing secret. It would make sense if your trying to manipulate the general populace from growing too strong.

“Well, I do, and it is very useful for learning magic… and gaining skills. I think I've been doing this for five or six hours, can’t tell, no sun. Anyhow, I have already gained [Advanced Mana Sense] which has sped up my learning process quite a bit. I think I’ll have a new spell figured out within the hour.”

I turn back towards the bone, continuously casting my spell and interrupting it.

****************

Amazing, truly amazing. He’s learning spells so quickly. I can’t believe he learned something nobody has ever learned before… canceling spells.

Shaking my head, I stare at the bone, watching it rise up and down.

He must have so much mana to be able to do this constantly. The [Hero] class truly is impressive.

“Master, is the-”

“Don’t call me master, call me Quasi. I don't consider you a [Slave], so don't act like one.” he quickly interrupted.

“Um… Quasi, is there anything I can help you with?” I ask, not used to just standing and doing nothing.

His hand comes to his chin.

“Actually, there is. How are you around dead bodies?”

Constantly.

“As a [Priestess] of Eir, I have been taken to war camps and used to heal soldiers. I have seen many dead bodies.”

Some dying within my arms because I just couldn't save them.

“Perfect, I need you to go upstairs and loot the dead bodies of the [Mages] for anything useful. When I got the skill, I completely forgot about it and rushed down here for training.”

His eyes turn towards the staircase where the undead stands guard.

“I’ll have mule follow you and accept your orders. Nothing complicated, but it should keep any wild animals or beast or whatever from bothering you.”

Nodding slowly, I turn towards the staircase, where the undead promptly moves out of the way.

With a slight bit of fear, I walk towards the staircase, my eyes wary of the undead abomination following my every move.

Funny how this undead was used to strike fear towards [Slaves], is now used as my bodyguard.

“Oh, by the way, the pack has a lot of dried food and water. Eat as much as you want, you’re too skinny.”

Stopping and looking towards the undead’s massive pack, a frown forms on my lips as I remember how the [Mages] had been eating so well while allowing the [Slaves] a small piece of dried bread.

I guess they didn't need them alive in the end.

“Also, find some clothes to put on. I think some of the bodies are actually in relatively one piece.”

Relative piece? What is he talking about?

______

“Oh, that's what,” I say aloud, my eyes looking at the horrifyingly mutilated bodies just outside.

Not even in war does this happen.

Body parts are strewn everywhere. Some are crushed into paste, their organs sprayed everywhere, covering the marble pillars in dried blood and guts.

One young [Mage] near the entrance, though his body is relatively in one piece, has a crushed skull. Others are sliced in half, mutilated, ripped apart.

Why… why do I feel happy for this? I know they have tortured and killed, but I shouldn't be happy for their deaths…

Shaking my head, I turn towards the undead watching my every move.

“Get on your knees,” I order.

The undead immediately complies.

Moving around, I go to the back of the undead and fiddle with the bag, opening it up. Inside I find various supplies from tents to foods… and chains.

I grab some of the dried meat, fruits, and a gourd of water.

With small bites, I consume the food, making sure to eat slowly.

Sometimes, when a war is done, my Job as a [Priestess] has me treating prisoners who have been starved close to death. You quickly find out that allowing them to eat their fill is counterproductive to their health. It is best to slowly increase the amount they consume.

Once finished with the food, I move towards the dead bodies, stripping them of worldly possessions and stuffing them into the undead’s pack.

I make sure to commandeer a full set of clothes from them. Though they are quite loose and heavy, it is expected considering my lack of muscle and the fact that the clothes were made for men.

Several hours pass by as I finish collecting all of the supplies, cleaning them with water, and organizing the pack on the undead. My fear of the undead named Mule has mostly disappeared after ordering him to do quite a bit of manual labor.

Having sat down on a log in front of a fire, I slowly relax, watching the flames as they dance around. The flames, yellow and red, burn with ever present intensity. The warmth, reminding me of my family, the other [Priests] and [Priestesses], going on long trips to war torn lands, healing those injured.

“Heh… it was nice”

“What was nice?”

Quickly turning around, I find Quasi walking up the stairs, several large pieces of sharp bone floating around him.

Which would have been impressive if he didn't have a frown on his face.

“Whats wrong?” I ask

Shaking his head, he points at the sharpened floating bones. ”The skill is not as good as it is supposed to be. I figured it out, the matrix used for making the bones float, but it seems the system is more complicated than I expected. Each matrix has several submatrices which are hidden under the main spell, which are making it extremely hard to sense.”

I have no idea what he is talking about.

“So… why are you unhappy? You got a new skill didn't you? You learned it without even needing to level up.”

“Right, sorry, I forget that not everyone understands my thought process.”

One of the bones moves to his hand, hovering right over it.

“My new skill, [Bone Levitation], is actually a far weaker skill than the one I was staring at the entire time. See, this skill allows me to levitate any bone, with a cost based on my mana and the bones weight. The problem is that [Skeletal Renewal] lifts bones of any size with the same mana cost. Which leads me to believe that the spell is also manipulating its weight.”

Changing weight?

“So it’s making it lighter.”

He shakes his head, walking towards me, finding a seat on the log next to me.

“No, it's completely negating gravity.”

What is he talking about?

“What’s gravity?”

His mouth opens, eyes looking towards me with incomprehension.

“Did I say something wrong?”

He lifts an eyebrow and then rubs his head slowly.

“If this is the state of the education of this world, then it seems my job as a [Hero] will be so much easier.”

Job, oh right, he must have a patron god.

“What god summoned you?”

Moving his hand up, he pulls his long, black hair back.

“I am not totally sure, but I think it was Loki.”

My eyes widen in recognition.

“It can’t be, the god Loki is the one who directed the old man to sacrifice all those [Slaves]. Why would an evil god summon a hero who would slaughter his believers?”

“Heh, thats a huge misconception, no god is inherently evil or good. They have their own agendas. They will kill, lie, cheat, anything for power. Granted, there are exceptions, but usually those exceptions don’t last long. Being good, noble, caring, none of those traits can keep a people alive, especially when another god wants your life.”

That can’t be true.

“Eir would never do such horrible things.”

His purple eye meet mine with an amazing intensity.

“Who is Eir?”

I forget he is not of this world, so he would not know about the goddess.

“She is the Valkyrie Goddess of Healing. She was created by the great god Odin to serve and help humanity.”

A smile forms on his lips.

“Oh… interesting… tell me, does this Odin have a son named Thor? A god of thunder perhaps?”

How… how does he know this?

“Yes, he has a son named Thor and a wife named Freya.”

“Hehehe… I think the god who actually summoned me is in fact named Loki… and I may very well know his agenda.”

Loki… I have never heard of that god...

He quickly stands up, stretching his body. ”Well, I’m exhausted, so let’s make camp. I’ll have the undead guard us while we sleep.”

Nodding, I stand up, order the undead to drop on its knee, and start taking out bedrolls while Quasi stares into the trees the entire time.

Men are so lazy.