I Killed the Player of the Academy

༺ Valhalla (2)༻

We hid inside the trunk of one of the dead trees away from the eyes of the Einherjar. In spite of the ominous and deathly wails outside, the inside of the tree was dead quiet.

“How’s your body?” I asked.

“Much better.”

“I only have jerkies for food. You should have some.”

“…Thank you.”

Ran received the jerky with her mouth.

The future seemed very grim in terms of food and water, because this world did not contain either of them.

“Hehe…”

“It feels like that time.”

“That time?”

“The time when you were hiding from Uncle Kang Ryun with Hua.”

“Oh~ that one.”

It was already a year and a half ago that it happened. Back then, after snatching Hua from Kang Ryun, we hid ourselves inside a rainy forest.

“Hehe…”

“Why do you seem so happy?”

Powerlessly resting her head on my shoulder, Ran confessed how she felt.

“Actually… I was jealous of Hua back then. I wanted oppa to feed me and give me a warm hug when stressed as well.”

“I don’t think that’s something worth being jealous of.”

“You said so, right? That we should help each other in times of need. Even if you don’t want anything, and even if it doesn’t benefit you in any way… That’s what I like about you, oppa.”

Ran barely forced a smile while sweating buckets.

Wiping off the cold beads of sweat on her forehead, I patted her head.

“Hmm… Oppa?” she continued. “There’s actually something I want to do.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“I want us to hug naked like what you would see in novels. To keep ourselves warm, you know.”

Even in times like this, she was like a sly fox trying to seduce me.

“Ehem. No! Don’t say something like that.”

I replied while giving her a slight knock on her forehead. Ran seemed discontent by the reply and grumbled.

“You said the same thing to Hua though…”

“It was just a joke.”

“Hmph… It can’t be helped then. Well, Hua hasn’t had that experience yet either, so I guess it’s fine.”

[You have to love us both equally, okay?]

I suddenly recalled what Ran had said before. It seemed that Ran’s wish for equality of love to both sisters was still in play.

“Sorry,” she suddenly apologized.

“That was very sudden.”

“You know. I… don’t think I’m being very useful to you unlike Hua.”

“That’s not true.”

It was true that Ran didn’t have any talent in fighting unlike Hua, because Hua was the only one that could make use of the Yin energy.

Unlike Hua who was born as a demi-human with the Unbreakable Vajra Body, Ran was just a normal girl.

“Didn’t I say this last time?” I reminded her.

[I will help you. I can carry and feed you until your legs are fine.]

“It’s still the same, and it’s about helping when things are rough. There’s no need to feel sorry just because you can’t.”

“But still… this is a matter of pride.”

“If you really feel sorry… then pray for our victory; pray for everyone. That alone will be enough to boost me up.”

“Oppa… Do you know you’re too selfless?”

“What can I do? That’s just how I was born.”

“Let’s see. Since you never think about yourself…”

Ran suddenly brought herself closer and laid her lips over mine.

“Oppa.”

“Huh…?”

“If we manage to go back safely…”

While I was frozen from the sudden kiss, Ran brought her lips to my ears and whispered in a ticklish voice.

“We can do more than just a kiss.”

She smiled with a daring look.

“Our beloved, beloved Korin-oppa.”

What a fox…

****

They were holding on.

Countless rocks were being thrown everyday and an unending torrent of demons was striking their walls, but the humans were standing their ground.

Frost Giant.

For a very long time, he had been observing the world.

At times he gazed down from above the clouds, mistaken as a strange pillar; sometimes he disguised himself as a small giant, a person with an incredible appetite, and at times as someone quicker than anyone else.

In various shapes and forms, he had been watching over the world.

[Magnificent.]

The humans seemed to have prepared significantly for the war. Certainly, they were so prepared that he himself would have to move ahead of schedule.

‘That young man, huh.’

He could guess who was behind all this. The being, whom that man… Tates Valtazar had been waiting for this whole time.

There was no way that the last Frost Giant of the world wouldn’t be aware of the youth that Tates Valtazar had personally proclaimed to be his contender.

‘How peculiar.’

The Frost Giant hated humans.

To the giants who had been challenging and fighting against the gods of the mythological era, the golden era of humans that happened after the fall of gods seemed trivial and worthless.

Even though they had chased the gods away from their lands, nothing had really changed.

To the Frost Giant who could still vividly remember the era of gods, the current humans looked like little kids who stole a toy from their parents before ripping it apart in an instant.

And in that process, they were creating false gods that didn’t even exist and serving them, thinking that a better life was waiting for them in the afterlife.

However, there was no such paradise waiting for them. They used to, until the humans got rid of it with their own hands.

He recalled the Einherjar who in the end annihilated their brothers, and the paradise which used to last eternally in the glory of gods.

The current state of the world was therefore laughable because this was the result of refusing to follow that principle and circulation. And yet in the end, they sought for truth again and prayed for divine intervention.

‘Whatever the case, this era will soon meet its end. A new era will reveal itself.’

Sitting on the ground, the Frost Giant opened his mouth at the female warriors standing near his feet – the ones who betrayed their own sisters and joined hands with the Frost Giant they hated the most.

The Frost Giant, Utgard-Loki, ordered the warriors of the God King, whom he once used to fight against with lives on the line.

[Test him. Assess if he is worthy of opening a new era, and whether he is suited to be that man’s contender.]

His solemn voice quivered the earth. The nearby demonic beasts were frightened and shivering just from hearing his voice.

However, the Valkyries of the King of God stood up without fear.

“Do not tell us what to do, Frost Giant.”

“It is the natural task of a Valkyrie to test a warrior. We do not need you to remind us.”

Sisters carrying spears.

The ones crying out in battlefields.

Those who trained the weapons and armors of gods.

The Valkyries had already chosen their faction.

****

We sprinted across the dry barren land.

There was nothing visible behind our backs, but the deathly wails of corpses were still managing to reach our ears.

The dead and the dried were still chasing us from behind.

– Clink clink!

Hearing the disharmony of countless skeletons moving their disjoined bones made me feel like we were being chased by the concept of death itself.

The common conception that the dead despised the living, maybe wasn’t a misconception.

“Oppa…”

“Tell me if you’re not feeling well.”

“…Okay.”

Ran seemed to be having trouble withstanding the aura of this world with her weakened body.

“Einherjar… The people here sure do know how to make use of corpses.”

“…Do you know them?”

“I’ve fought against them a few times.”

It wasn’t just a few times actually – I had fought against them numerous times before.

These were leftovers of the army of warriors that had been summoned by Valkyries during the fall of gods. Dead warriors who fought against the Frost Giants and the Flame Giants and managed to hunt most of them down.

– GAOHHHHH…!

Suddenly, soldiers wearing horned helmets appeared from the front. As if they had been waiting this whole time, they lifted themselves up from the ground and started throwing axes.

“That was quick!”

Despite being dead, they were using wailing voices from behind to pressure and ambush the opponent. Their experiences as veteran warriors were still urging them forward.

– Flick!

I dodged an ax flying past, leaped forward without slowing down and crushed the neck bone of one of the warriors.

The undead warrior flew off into the distance. Due to being without muscles which was at the basis of strength, it was a common fate for skeletons to fly away when struck.

“Guguguk…!”

A warrior marched forward, holding a round shield and an ax on each hand. Its flesh had deteriorated but its gears were still there.

We didn’t have time so I opted to crush everyone in front.

I filled my spear with Aura and swung it sideways. There was no way for a mere skeleton warrior to defend but…

– Kang!

It was blocked. The shield that blocked the spear had a thin mist of blue covering it.

“A great warrior huh…!”

There were also Einherjar that were equivalent to knights. Although their muscles were gone, their aura was still there.

“Khaaaa…!”

The great warrior sliced down with its ax after blocking my spear with its shield. It was a great attack, but I kicked across and crushed its shinbone.

“Kiik?!”

“Even if you’re at the level of a knight, you can’t go against a real knight without a body.”

At the end of the day, you needed muscles for strength, and aura alone was not enough to beat a real deal.

Before the Einherjar could crumble down after losing its shinbone, I rotated the spear with Spinning Heaven and crushed it apart.

“Kaaah…!”

“Giyaaak!!”

That Einherjar appeared to have been the squad leader as its fellow Einherjar screamed out loud. I pointed at them with the spear and moved my arm.

A rune letter was carved on the air as the power of the Sun stormed down on them.

“You guys are the origin of runes but… It’s all mixed anyways so let’s not argue about that.”

[ ᛊ ] — Sowilo. Rune of the Sun.

To the original Einherjar, this would have simply been a warm ray of light, but it acted as lethal poison to their current bodies.

“…Is it over now?”

“No. It only just started.”

We were held back for merely 6 seconds, but that was enough for the nearby Einherjar to gather up.

There were a lot of them.

Looking at the number of them here, it seemed that there were at least 1,000 Einherjar in this gate.

‘The only Valkyrie with these many soldiers would be… probably Hlokk.’

Hlokk was the warrior who crafted and blessed the gears of Valkyries. Among the Valkyries who had lost numerous warriors against the Flame and Frost Giants, she was one of the few who still maintained a legion of over a thousand.

‘Hlokk’s Einherjar were always well-equipped. She’s the best Valkyrie for the current undead Einherjar.’

What was fortunate was that Hlokk herself wouldn’t be here, because the Valkyrie that opened the gates had to remain in the real world.

“We’re being… surrounded.”

“I know. Hold tight.”

We had to break through because there would be no end to them if we were to fight here, and the only option to break through the encirclement was to accelerate before they could react.

‘I can’t use Shura. Ran won’t be able to endure the explosive aura.’

That meant there was only one way to do it, and it was one I learned from an enemy.

[ ᚱ ] — Raidho.

Mimicking the method Fermack Daman used to love, I engraved the rune of acceleration on my legs.

– Kwang!

In the blink of an eye after the thud, we were high up in the air.

– Kwaaaaa!

Jumping high up in the air through the dead branches of the trees, we looked down at the endlessly barren world beneath.

“Fuu…!”

This wasn’t the end. I had another set of Rune of Acceleration, and that allowed me to jump another time.

“We’re going faster!”

Wrapping my arm tightly around Ran, who was burying her face into my chest, I used the Silver Spear as scaffold in the air. As long as there was something to step on, the runes could boost me up even faster.

– Kwaa!

Kicking off the shaft of the Silver Spear, I accelerated one more time in mid-air. The spear started to fall somewhere towards the forest, but it was fine. The Rune of Return engraved on the Silver Spear would allow it to swiftly return to my hands.

Once the momentum of the dash was gone, we started falling back down in a parabola.

The Silver Spear returned to my hand the exact moment I landed.

“Fuu… That should be far enough for now. Let’s take a—”

“Oppa!”

Instinctively upon hearing her shriek, I lifted the spear and parried the spearhead that had been pointing at my forehead.

‘A golden spear?’

I knew what this spear was and who it belonged to. That was already a problem in itself but there were more spears coming.

—!

Several spears were piercing through the air in an orderly fashion. I had to dodge on repeat and at times had to even allow some scratches and roll miserably across the ground to protect Ran.

“Huu…!”

Somehow I was able to protect my vitals but I could tell that this was just a greeting for them. They were going easy.

“Quite fast. Young spearman,” said a beautiful woman with flaming red hair. Along with her were six other warriors.

Skogul and the Valkyries of spear – they were the ones who stood at the forefront of a battlefield as vanguards, breaking down enemy morale.

“Put the lady down and raise your spear, warrior.”

“How kind of you.”

I carefully put Ran down on the ground. I didn’t worry at all about her being taken hostage, because the Valkyries were ones who would rather cut off their own heads than resort to such measures.

“Seven Valkyries, huh. Are you sure though? I don’t go easy just because you’re ladies.”

“I like your spirit. Hopefully you are not all bark and no bite.”

The female warriors with a shield and a spear stood in formation as I lifted my spear and pointed the spearhead at them.

‘I’m not sure… if I can win.’

I still didn’t have my Sun which was my strongest AOE ability. The only thing I could trust in this outnumbered battle was my one spear.

“Well, nothing new.”

Instantly, I kicked off the ground and jumped into the mix.

Geir Skogul.

Skogul of Spear.

The vanguard of wars and the strongest of the Spear Sisters. I had to get rid of the captain right at the start because that would give me the highest chance of victory.

Six Ways of the Spear.

Ominous Snake: Secret Arts – Distorted March

The slithering stab was as lethal as a stealthy serpent but…

“Don’t look down on me!”

Geir Skogul parried the silver spearhead with her own spear. As expected, her reaction was quick.

The moment my first attack ended up being blocked, a golden spear immediately came stabbing from the left. It was Geiromul – her stabs were the fastest and the deadliest among the Spear Sisters.

“Kuhk…!”

I tilted my head backwards as her spear grazed past my chin. In that posture, I rotated the spear to slice off her neck, but it was blocked by another spear.

“No you don’t!”

Geironul covered for her sister’s gaps.

“Fuu…!”

Using the backward momentum from the dodge I took a few steps back to retreat.

Naturally, however, the Spear Sisters didn’t let me rebalance myself and chased after me. It was only a matter of time until their spears would be at my throat, but I wasn’t just backing off either. Even in my retreat, my spear was diligently drawing a line on the ground.

[ ᚲ ] — Kenaz.

It was only a brief instant, so I engraved the rune with the simplest stroke yet a strong output – the Rune of Fire. Flames quickly soared up towards the chasing Valkyries but—

[ ᛇ ] — Eihwaz.

But it was immediately blocked by the rune of protection.

Olrun, the Valkyrie who mastered runes, quickly offset the rune I engraved.

“Watch your back.”

In the middle of my retreat, something stopped me from behind. It had the cold and tough feeling of metal… a shield! Geiravor, huh!

“Oppa…!”

Ran screamed as spears flew in from the front and back.

Valkyries of Spear.

In the last iteration, I had already fought against them,

– Grit!

And I couldn’t beat them until the end.

However,

That was a story of the past.

Sixth Style, Shura