Chapter 137
Chapter 137
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 137
Chapter Title: Heimdall's Memory
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The name of the sixth opponent was Giring.
Soo-hyuk exchanged moves with him for about a minute. Even so, it was a fairly fierce back-and-forth compared to the previous ones.
But there were still no major issues.
Thud-.
Giring's body, its throat pierced, collapsed forward. As expected, a message appeared as his body tumbled down the stairs.
+ Strength +1
+ Agility +1
+ Stamina +1
Pleasant messages.
Already the second level up. Even though they weren't that strong.
'The experience is substantial.'
Was it because he'd faced those god-like beings?
Even if they were fakes created by the trial, there seemed to be a racial gap after all.
Otherwise, gaining two levels already couldn't be explained.
His mood was good, but a strange tension rose alongside it.
'This won't be easy.'
Leveling up quickly in the trial meant the difficulty was that high.
But the visible difficulty of this trial wasn't that high yet.
That meant there was still something unseen lurking.
What it was couldn't be known right now.
Was it Valhalla's trial? Or the entire sixth floor called Midgard?
Its true nature would reveal itself as he progressed.
Of course, before that.
"Miao Teacher."
"Thanks for the sponsorship."
Trivial missions that came every time he faced a new warrior.
This mission was 'Win without using Lightning'.
Not a difficult mission. He could handle them sufficiently with just the sword.
Reactions were mixed depending on the mission, but it wasn't bad.
He could earn points, and it was better to watch with proper seasoning than a bland trial.
Soo-hyuk continued climbing the stairs.
Still, as the stages progressed, the opponents grew steadily stronger.
Unlike the first opponent Thom, from the seventh, they could withstand Lightning to some extent and counterattack.
After defeating the ninth opponent.
"Hoo-."
Soo-hyuk stopped climbing the stairs for the first time.
'Now the tenth.'
The ninth was tenacious. Even after taking several Lightning hits, it wouldn't fall, forcing him to increase output.
'From the seventh onward, it's not easy.'
His assumption that he could conserve stamina was mistaken. The difficulty spiked sharply at some point.
The Lightning consumption while climbing so far wasn't negligible.
Thanks to that, fatigue had built up considerably. And the next opponent was finally the tenth.
"Taking a short break."
And naturally.
"I'm going all the way anyway."
Soo-hyuk had no intention of stopping at the tenth.
Obvious comments.
The rest wasn't long. After about thirty minutes, Soo-hyuk resumed climbing.
It took roughly thirty minutes to meet one warrior.
Thirty minutes of just stairs.
Tedious and leg-aching work.
Perhaps climbing these stairs effortlessly was the minimum condition for entering Valhalla.
Fortunately, Soo-hyuk was more confident in his stamina than anyone. He climbed the stairs nonchalantly, ascending further into the thick clouds.
At the upper part of the endless cloudy stairs.
A slightly different scene awaited there.
'Statues?'
Statues lining both sides of the stairs, stretching long.
The statues, hidden by clouds, were all warriors clad in armor and weapons.
"Honorable Asgard warriors who meet death come to Valhalla, they say."
The voice that rang out then.
Soo-hyuk's head turned toward the source.
"That means they are enshrined here."
And at that moment.
Swoosh-.
Another cutscene began.
Clink clink-.
Clear grape wine fills a glass up to where his face would reflect.
Sitting across from each other at an outdoor terrace table under a clear sky, Tyr and the blind man raised their glasses.
"Are you really going to meet that human?"
The blind man's words from the previous cutscene.
From his tone, this was before Tyr came to meet Soo-hyuk.
"Why? Jealous?"
"Just curious. Wondering if it's something worth Tyr meeting in person."
"You know it's not the human I'm concerned about, right?"
Saying that, Tyr's gaze briefly went to his missing arm and returned.
Was his dislike of humans related to his lost arm after all?
"I just don't want that day to repeat."
"Indeed."
The blind man picked up his glass as naturally as if he could see.
"If Viola has returned, it's not impossible."
"Don't jinx it."
"Isn't that very jinx the one you're worried about, Tyr?"
The blind man calmly moistened his mouth with wine.
Tyr didn't touch his wine. As if his missing arm throbbed, he gripped his opposite shoulder with his other hand.
"I still hate humans."
"Then why go see that hated human yourself?"
"I need to confirm with my own eyes."
Tyr nodded with eyes carrying faint killing intent.
"Him taking the trial."
"To kill him?"
"Yes."
"You don't think that human will pass the trial at all."
"Obviously."
Looking at the blind man across from him, Tyr said.
"Because you'll be there."
[Defeat the tenth warrior, 'Heimdall's Memory'.]
The message that appeared as the cutscene ended.
"...!"
Soo-hyuk turned and looked at the blind man standing behind him.
How had he passed by without notice?
The blind man appeared young. As it was a past memory, he looked much younger than in the cutscene.
The fact that he hadn't sensed his presence was shocking enough.
But more so was his name.
Heimdall.
One of the top gods of Asgard, renowned among players.
He had appeared as the tenth warrior.
"Curious."
Heimdall faced Soo-hyuk with eyes closed.
Though blind, he slowly scanned Soo-hyuk.
"Are you Thor? No, you seem human?"
Thor?
Just as he thought there was no resemblance, Soo-hyuk looked down at his hand.
'This must be why.'
The item made from the Heart of Thunder.
Though only half, Thor's was the same.
Soo-hyuk hadn't used the new item yet.
None of the warriors so far warranted it.
After observing briefly, Soo-hyuk answered Heimdall's question.
"I'm not Thor. I'm human."
"Then why do you have a fragment of thunder?"
To Heimdall's question, Soo-hyuk extended his hand forward and said.
"Thor must have something identical."
"He does now."
From that answer, Soo-hyuk realized anew.
All the warriors here were not real, just past records.
"That was something Thor should have had."
Heimdall gauged Soo-hyuk with something other than his blind eyes.
"You didn't steal it..."
"I lack the ability."
"You know well."
Deep in thought, Heimdall crossed his arms instead of fighting.
Though his thoughts were unknowable, Soo-hyuk couldn't move easily.
Gazing at Heimdall lost in thought, Soo-hyuk measured the distance between them.
'Can I win?'
The distance to Heimdall was merely about ten steps.
Close enough. Narrowing it would be trivial if he willed it.
But he hadn't noticed Heimdall even at that distance.
Until he spoke first.
'Something's off.'
One of two things.
Either he had a special ability.
Or he was at a realm far beyond Soo-hyuk's current level.
"Curious what I'm thinking?"
Heimdall spoke as if peering into Soo-hyuk's mind.
"Or just curious about me."
Both.
Why the difficulty spiked like this. And what he was thinking.
Both were crucial clues for passing the trial.
"I received two requests."
Fortunately, Heimdall wasn't secretive.
"One was, if a human or half-human ever comes here, never let them climb these stairs."
His face still showed distress as he said it.
"The second was, if one with thunder's power comes, welcome him. Said I'd know the reason later."
In that moment.
Soo-hyuk recalled the man from an earlier cutscene.
'That guy.'
The man who said he'd pass the Heart of Thunder to his son.
He was likely Odin, the great god ruling Asgard and Thor's father.
Welcome the one with the Heart of Thunder.
In a way, a very warm request.
To welcome his son if he took Valhalla's trial.
"I learned why to welcome him only later. But it's troubling. You, a human, came with the Heart of Thunder."
He understood why he was so contemplative.
Having received requests from Asgard's ruler, but the two conflicted.
Soo-hyuk asked the still-pondering Heimdall.
"Are you here to filter out humans?"
A shot in the dark, but Heimdall nodded.
Then Soo-hyuk understood Tyr's confidence that he'd never pass.
With something like that as the final opponent.
'Odin intervened in the trial.'
To prevent humans from entering Valhalla.
Whatever magic he used, he'd prepared in advance.
"Why do you gods hate humans so much?"
"Hate...?"
Heimdall shook his head.
"No. It's not hate."
"If not hate, why go to such lengths to devour humans?"
"Can't devour enough, that's accurate."
"...?"
What did that mean?
To Soo-hyuk's puzzled reaction, Heimdall smiled faintly.
"You'll learn someday. If you meet the outside me, he might answer."
Saying that, Heimdall ended his long deliberation.
"I've decided."