Episode 46/Chapter 4: Idun's (4)
TL: Tsubak
ED:
The sanctum of Idun was composed of one big central hall and nine rooms that were connected to it. Each one of these rooms were quite big and some of them had smaller rooms connected to it once again.
Ragnar took Tae Ho to the smallest room and then sat on a long chair that was in the wall. Tae Ho sat next to him so they looked like they were seated in a bench.
Ragnar was usually like this but he didn't hit around the bush. He asked directly.
"THere are two things I should tell you. One is related to the top rank and the other one is about 'that'. Which one do you want to hear?"
'That' thing Oding mentioned.
Tae Ho was really curious about that but he put his curiousness aside for now.
"Let's hear about the top rank first. I think that the order will fit in then."
Tae Ho had always been curious about the boundary of a top rank since he first met Ragnar and looking at the situation, it was highly probable that 'that' was also more related than the top rank. Then it was better to listen about the top rank first.
"Right, let's go with that first."
Ragnar came to a decision and then smacked his lips while rubbing his hands. It seemed like he had to organize things in his head as he had to make a long explanation.
"Tae Ho, just like you know there are few superior ranked warriors and above than you think in Valhalla. It's because it hasn't been restored completely since the Great War. Especially for the top ranked warriors…….They were few in numbers in the first place but it decreased even more."
Tae Ho nodded. The number of warriors only amounted to six hundred thousand although it was including the Steel warriors. But only a dozen of them were superior ranked warriors.
It wasn't originally like this. There were much more superior ranked warriors before the Great War took place.
"The number of top ranked warriors currently active is merely four and the ones that can be truly called as the real top ranked warriors are two."
"The real top ranked warriors?"
Tae Ho tilted his head and asked. It was because it was a concept he was hearing for the first time."
"Right, There is quite a big gap between top ranked warriors just like it is for any other rank. But the gap isn't made by the amount of runes or the number of sagas….. It's a differentiation that is made with the other ranks."
The amount of runes and proficiency in attributes was the most basic gap.
But of course, you weren't always strong just because you had a lot of runes as the warriors of Valhalla had their sagas. There were plenty of cases that the differences in ability got shortened based on the characteristic of a saga or their abilities.
"The lowest ranked class is the stage where you learn about accumulating runes. The inferior class is the stage that prepares you to receive the strength of a God and the intermediate class is the stage that you start using the power of a God."
Ragnar spoke of something basic and looked at Tae Ho's eyes fixedly and continued speaking.
"If you become a superior ranked warrior, you are able to use the power of a God full fledgedly and due to that, ordinary sagas are able to surpass their limits and reach the myth rank saga. Then, what is a top ranked warrior? Is there a rank above the myth rank?"
'Why is the one doing the explanation asking the questions? That old man only speaks the necessary things usually but when he starts explaining he starts to speak for a long time. Is it because he is a king?'
Cuchulainn's intrusion was also sudden this time but also sharp.
Ragnar said in a low voice while Tae Ho agreed inwardly.
"If you become a top ranked warrior, you obtain a divinity of your own."
A divinity?"
"Yes. It's beyond of simply receiving the strength of the God you serve…. and you start obtaining your own divine power."
The power of a God which you started to handle from the intermediate rank had its base on the God of the respective legion.
And the power of a God that was generated by a warrior was also like that.
Tae Ho's divine power, that was a warrior of Idun, was similar to Idun's and Ragnar's divine power that was a warrior of Odin was similar to Odin's.
But it changed from the top rank.
It did use the divine power of the God from a legion as its base but you could also use your own divinity.
"But obtaining a divinity isn't an easy thing. No, precisely speaking, should I say a strong divinity?"
Asgard was a land of Gods. The Aesir and the Vanir were all composed by Gods.
Because of that, looking at it with another perspective there were thousands of divinities only in Asgard.
"You can say that you become a half God the moment you become a top ranked warrior. There's a clear difference with the superior rank but looking at it from a distance it's not that different. The divinity you obtain at first is really meager."
A divinity similar to a baby of the Aesir.
"Tae Ho, it's a bit disrespectful but….if you were to differentiate the Gods of Asgard, how many ranks do you think they have?"
"Three…no, four."
Tae Ho answered quickly and Ragnar put a satisfied smile at the answer of his disciple.
"Right, just like you said they can be differentiated in four. We will differentiate them as inferior, intermediate, superior and top rank due to the convenience."
Ragnar spread all his fingers excluding his thumb and started to speak.
"The Gods that belong to the inferior rank are the citizens of Asgard……the normal Gods of the Aesir and the Vanir. They do have a divinity but it's not that amazing. You can say that most of the Valkyries also belong to this rank."
Adenmaha was a Goddess just like she claimed to be one and the maknaes of Idun's legion Sigrun and Gudrun were also Goddesses.
"The Gods that are at the intermediate rank are the ones we know of but aren't that powerful. They get a quality in their divinity and also have their roles set but they aren't Gods that great to have a legion."
Eir, the Goddess of healing and Var, the Goddess of marriage oaths, belonged to this category.
"The Gods that belong to the superior rank are the ones that have their legions or possess strength comparable to them. Idun also belongs to this rank."
The battle Gods like Hermod and Ullr that had their legions and the Gods that have the same divinity as the battle Gods even though they don't have their legions, just like the Goddess of fertility Gefion.
'It's kind of new but I wondered why he didn't use polite words only with Idun. It seems like that old man already knew that Idun-nim and Heda shared the same body.'
It was like Cuchulainn had said. Taking a look back to the past, Ragnar had never used polite words with Idun.
"The difference in your divinity is quite significant even though they are at the same superior rank. Idun is quite at the top even among superior ranked Gods."
It was like a difference in their battle power existed between superior ranked warriors.
"And Odin-nim, Freynim and Thor-nim belong to the top rank?"
"Right, also…..Heimstream-nim that lead the Vanir in Vanaheim?"
Odin was the king of Gods and THor was the most powerful battle God in the entire Asgard.
The only ones that could stand shoulder to shoulder with them were the housekeeper of Asgard Freya or the captain of the Vanir, Heimstream.
"Returning back to the topic, you will obtain a divinity when you become a top ranked warrior. It's a divinity that there's no need to put a qualifier and there's no need to."
Just a God.
The normal Gods that compose most of the Aesir and the Vanir.
"The divinity doesn't simply get strong just by accumulating runes. You get strong only when you raise great merits, just like when a saga is made. The top ranked warrior has to make a myth of himself."
Ragnar paused for a moment and took a breath. He looked to a distant place instead of Tae Ho and continued speaking.
"Idun is the Goddess of life and youth. Thor-nim is the Goddess of thunder and Freynim is the Goddess of magic and beauty. A deity suitable to the strong divinity tends to be added."
A qualifier that gets added to your divinity.
The name that represents the divinity of a God.
"A real top ranked warrior is a warrior that has a deity and their divinity is at least at the intermediate rank."
It was the most decisive factor why differences existed between top ranked warriors.
"If you compare the lowest ranked warriors to the grains of sand in a sandbox, the top ranked warriors are only a few grains that can climb to the top. Yet once again, only a minority can become a real top ranked warrior and obtain a deity."
Back in the days before the Great War, that there was comparatively more top ranked warriors, the number of top ranked warriors that possessed a deity could only be counted on one hand.
"I'm saying this to you but not even I could obtain a deity. I reached to the point right before I received one but……I ended up receiving an injury that forced me to retire. Compared to the intermediate Gods, the top ranked warriors are still 'warriors'. So it's close to impossible for someone that has left the top rank to obtain a deity. I explained them grouping up the intermediate Gods due to convenience but actually, the process which you obtain a divinity and the principle behind it is different."
The injury Ragnar suffered wasn't simply physical. Ragnar's soul and his divinity received damage.
"Before the Great War, there were more than five warriors that had climbed to the real top rank but now there are only two. One is someone you already know of."
"The dragon killer Sigurd."
His name came out from his mouth by its own. Ragnar smiled bitterly and nodded.
"Right, his deity is dragon killer. Dragon killer God Sigurd. The strongest warrior of Valhalla and the one that possess the divinity of a superior God that surpasses any battle God."
'He became stronger from the Great War. Even if we count all the Gods of Asgard…..no, in the first place he's also a God so it wouldn't matter. ANyways, he's certainly one of the strongest guys.'
Cuchulainn added some words. His words, that came from the mouth of a master of Scathach's style techniques, could be trusted.
"The other one is the One that seeks revenge, Bali. He's not as strong as Sigurd but he's still a strong warrior that obtained a deity. He's not a pure human but a demigod. He's one of the guys that Odin conceived before the Great war."
Sigurd also had the blood of Odin flowing in him but it couldn't be compared to a God of Odin.
But regardless of that, SIgurd was the strongest warrior that had a stronger deity than Bali.
"You will also be able to obtain your own divinity after going through the top ranked ceremony. After that, the deity you obtain will depend on your accomplishments."
It was the same as the saga.
You couldn't obtain a deity that you wished. You needed to do actions suitable to the deity and the world and the people had to recognize it.
'You won't become the God of Valkyries, right?'
Tae Ho flinched at Cuchulainn's mumbling and Ragnar, that misunderstood his flinch as being nervous, said.
"Well, there's no need to be that nervous. A deity isn't something you can obtain that easily anyways. Don't be in a hurry and…..you should just act as you have been doing until now."
"I understand."
"Right, cheer up. You should also increase your rank if you want to marry the Goddess of youth."
"Uh, um. Yes."
Ragnar smiled as if he wanted to ease his nervousness. You could also see the look of an old master from him.
"Let's talk about the top rank at a later time…… Then, I will explain about 'that'."
Ragnar stopped speaking for a moment maybe because he finished a long explanation and then smacked his lips. Tae Ho hurriedly took out a barrel of wine from the air and gave it to Ragnar.
"You are quick witted."
"Well, i'm your disciple."
Ragnar smirked and drank some of the alcohol Tae Ho gave him. The honey wine was refreshing and sweet.
"Asgard is currently fighting against the giants of Jotunheim. The reason for the battle is simple. We are people that want to maintain the world and they wish for its destruction."
It wasn't a battle between evil and good.
It was a clash between beings that had different ideologies which the other couldn't understand at all.
"Those two groups are currently at war in Asgard and the nine realms. There are also worlds that got destroyed like Erin."
A world where the ones hoping to maintain the world won.
A world where the ones wishing to destroy the world won.
"Right, Erin. WIth Erin's destruction we got able to somewhat realize their true nature."
Ragnar's eyes became sharp. A clear objective was decided at the word 'their'.
"The ones hoping to maintain the world are assisting each other just like the Temple helped us this time. WHen Erin got destroyed we, Asgard, went to help them. Because of that we also thought that we would obviously get linked to the ones wishing to destroy the world. But it was beyond our expectation. The ones wishing to destroy the world gathered to become one but there is a strong organization that commands them all."
The Temple didn't know of Asgard's danger before they requested for help. It was unavoidable. They were allies but weren't completely one.
But it was different for the ones wishing to destroy the world.
"The kingdom of fire."
It was a name Loki had once named. Ragnar started speaking quickly.
"The giant of fire Surtr, that burnt down Erin, isn't a giant of Jotunheim nor a fomoire of Erin. He's also not a titan of Olympus or a monster of the Temple. He belongs to the kingdom of fire, Muspelheim."
The Great war that got carried out in Asgard and Erin.
Several superior ranked warriors and above lost their lives in the process. But the ones that took their lives weren't only the fomoires nor the giants of Jotunheim.
The ones that actually cut off their lives were the strong beings belonging to the kingdom of fire.
"The World Wolf Fenrir and the Space Snake Jormungand>"
Loki's two children.
"They aren't the underlings of the magician king. They are existences of the same rank that belong to the kingdom of fire just like the magician king."
The reason the Space Snake Jormungand didn't appear was because of that. He was in Muspelheim and not Jotunheim.
"I also got to know of this recently but the reason the God of fire and lies Loki gave up the lies and became an underling of the magician king was to obtain information of that kingdom of fire."
Asgard didn't know anything proper about the kingdom of fire before Surtr appeared in Erin. They needed information about the unknown."
Tae Ho understood. He nodded unconsciously.
I don't know about the warriors of Valhalla but the warriors of the small realms and the dead spirits of Helheim may lose their will to fight if they get to know of the existence of the kingdom of fire when the war with Jotunheim was already this hard.
"We won in this war and accomplished the task of having killed the magician king and the world wolf but the kingdom of fire still remains. The giants of Jotunheim didn't get exterminated completely."
Ragnar closed his eyes and then spoke refreshingly as if trying to push away all the seriousness until now.
"Well, i'm just saying. Enemies still remain so get strong quickly and protect Asgard. And obtain a deity."
"Isn't the conclusion too shabby?"
"But it's still the truth."
It really was the case. They spoke really seriously but looking at it from a distance, only simple a fact remained.
"Tae Ho master!"
Nidhogg's voice was heard at the right time.
"You really are popular."
The door opened up the moment Ragnar spoke. Nidhogg seemed to be brighter than usual maybe because she enjoyed her nap plentily.
She embraced Tae Ho and Adenmaha shook her head from behind like she couldn't do anything about her and laughed.
Cuchulainn clicked his tongue and spoke.
'Won't your deity become something like God of dragons or something alike? Adenmaha is a dragon and Rolo is also a dragon for now. And McLaren is also of the dragonkin.'
God of dragons.
'That interests me a bit.'
But he still couldn't know what kind of deity he would obtain.
&
Time passed once again.
THe sixth day since the army led by Odin left Valhalla.
Rasgrid, that was searching for the remnants of the forces of Jotunheim that dispersed in the outskirts of Asgard, discovered something weird.
'THere's no traces of the path having been cut off.'
She interrogated the remnants just in case but only the same conclusion came up.
The magician king cut off the path leading to the Temple. He made the Beast king Tiachi catch the Valkyries and stop them from warning the urgency to the Temple.
But the path to Olympus didn't get cut off and they didn't even try to catch them.
It was strange. She felt a sense of incongruity.
Why didn't they cut off the path?
ANd one more thing. Something she couldn't help but wonder.
Why didn't they return when the path wasn't cut off? WHat happened with the 30 Valkyries that headed to Olympus?
Rasgrid returned back to Valhalla hurriedly.
< Episode 46 - Idun's (4) > End
TL note: Thanks for reading~