Eldrid finally landed after several hours of enjoying himself in front of the great golden city on one side of a vast field. On the other side was a great white hall(1).In front of the great hall were a crowd of men and women partying. Beyond them stood a large army prepared for battle.
No men stood on the golden cities side of the field. Despite this, five hundred and forty doors were present, each of them were wide enough to allow an eight hundred man wide stream to exit.
"Dave where do I go in?"
[Pick one, as long as a battle doesn"t start...]
As soon as Dave mentioned the word battle, a loud trumpet sounded out and men started pouring out of the golden city.
"I feel that you did this Dave."
[Nope, but one suggestion: Don"t die.]
"Thanks, that"s helpful."
[Also, don"t run away or you won"t get anything from these people, I suggest you slaughter people on both sides.]
"Won"t that just make me stand out more?"
[No, it"s literally a free for all. Just look at them.]
Eldrid looked at the stream of warriors to see that some of them were already dead, having killed each other.
[Old grudges were still able to carry over to the afterlife, as there is eternal slaughter. It"s not surprising to see them kill each other.]
"Fair point. Well, time to get noticed."
[Wait till later in the...]
Dave was once again cut off by Eldrid, as he charged out into the middle of the battle screaming, "LEEEEEEROYYY JENKINS!!!!" However, something unexpected happened.
A warrior behind him replied with a shout.
"What do you want? I"m kinda bus-URGH!!" The warrior had been skewered mid-sentence by a large brute of a man over seven feet (2.2 meters) tall and shoulders 3 feet (1 meter) across.
[You need to change your battle cry.]
"It appears so."
The brute turned towards Eldrid.
"HAHA! You"re not even in the first soul realm and you wanted to fight a soul palace warrior!!!" He roared with laughter.
"I"m not like you who have already died."
This caused the fighting around him to pause, earning him many incredulous glances. Some of the people on the outside of the circle were killed but no one paid them any attention.
"Boy, don"t lie to us. No-one has come here alive since the days of old." A tall and lanky man said.
Eldrid proceeded to send a wave of sword energy at the brute.
The man blocked it with his shield and the strike cut deep into the shield before dissipating back into mana.
"Convinced?" Eldrid asked with a smirk.
"Yes. If you can survive the battle, I"ll take you back to the hall to see Odin."
"Challenge accepted," Eldrid said before roaring and charging back into battle.
Only half of the crowd was left after Eldrid"s short conversation. However, those that were still alive rejoined the battle and began their own rampages.
Eldrid let out large area of effect attacks, decimating hordes of the warriors, but still none of them backed down.
"STOP!!!" A powerful voice roared across the battlefield, causing the battle to come to a standstill.
A strong looking old man with white hair was seen, two ravens on his shoulders and an eye patch covering his right eye. He stood with the posture of a king and aura of a warrior as he began to speak.
"You never died, so why have you come here? Why are you meddling with our fight?"
Eldrid smiled with a relaxed expression on his face and answered casually, "One of your warriors promised me that I could meet you if I survived the battle."
"Which warrior did?"
Eldrid pointed at the brutish man.
"Ah, so it was Sigurd… I should have guessed as much…" The mighty and broad-shouldered man shook his head as he sighed.
"Very well, come with me young warrior." The old man began flying away, bringing Eldrid with him. But suddenly, he stopped and began to speak in a deep sage-like voice.
"Young warrior, I have a strong feeling I have met your spirit before." Odin said with a serious face.
Eldrid blinked once, then on a whim decided to summon his sword, thinking that nothing bad could come out of it. But the moment he did, his action caused Odin to lose his composure as he sucked in a deep breath of air in shock.
"Gram... So you have met your wielder"s descendant after all..." Odin said in a reminiscent tone.
"Wait, MY sword is THE Gram, from the saga?!"
"Young warrior, you are descended from Sigurd the Dragon Slayer, one of the great heroes of your world."
"How come the sword is a spirit?"
"When your ancestor died, the sword"s spirit left its metal sh.e.l.l behind, so that if it ever met a worthy descendant of Sigurd, it would follow them. Young warrior, you managed to show yourself worthy to it. Now, young warrior, tell me your name."
"I am Eldrid Sverd."
"Fiery-spirited sword... Truly a fitting name. Now what great quest has brought you to my domain?"
"I am here to hunt down a man named Leonard Welser, a necromancer."
"That"s... Less heroic than I was expecting."
Suddenly, Odin turned his head toward a flying fortress that only those who had a domain in the laws of death could see, that is, the "G.o.ds" of the realm. At that moment, each and every one of the "G.o.ds" heard the sound of an ancient voice chanting.
"I take that back... However, I know nothing about this necromancer"s whereabouts. However, I can aid you by giving you a way to strengthen your body." The great G.o.d of Valhalla smiled kindly and patted Eldrid on the shoulder. At that moment, with his amiable expression, he looked just like an old warrior greeting a dear friend"s son.
"That would be greatly appreciated." Eldrid smiled and nodded in grat.i.tude at Odin"s words.
Odin then materialized a scroll and handed it to Eldrid. But before he released Eldrid, a serious expression crossed his face and he gave a stern reminder to the boy.
"Beware of the far reaches of this plane, and don"t enter the lower planes. It"s far too early for you, even stronger beings reside there."
At those words, Eldrid looked surprised. It appeared that, despite his great increase in power, he was still not unbeatable.
"Thank you. I shall be on my way then.
Eldrid"s figure left the fields of battle and he headed towards the mists of the mid north.