Halina felt mild disgust roll through her. She still remembered Erland, though her time back on Midgard felt like years ago. Strangely, she felt a pang of homesickness. She hadn’t seen her family since the start of the Hunt.

Infuriatingly, the red-haired man standing in front of his fortress had an almost manic smile on his face. Above all else, she remembered that smile. He had never lost it, even when she had killed him.

“Finally,” he whispered under his breath. “Thank you, Yggdrasil. Truly.”

For his part, Erland felt anticipation unlike anything ever before. He had hunted for this fight since he had found out Halina had been chosen. If anything, the sensation his nose gave him from her had only grown since last time.

It was so intense he had to turn off his passive again.

“What’s wrong with you?” she asked. “You’re thanking the Great Tree? For what? Being able to fight me again?”

“Exactly,” he said, smile fading slightly. “I still haven’t had a fight to equal ours, even here in the presence of so many chosen by the Aesir. And you just kept rising in Tier, so I’ve been chasing you since the start.”

“Forgive me for not waiting for you,” she said with biting sarcasm dripping from her words. “I’m sure it’s the first time you’ve approached anything like hard work or responsibility.”

“I was actually born on a farm, you know,” he said. “It took me years to finally escape my parents. Compared to that, this has been paradise. I get to fight every day here.”

Halina shook her head in disgust and readied her equipment. Erland closed his eyes for a moment, taking in a deep breath and savoring every last moment of anticipation.

When he opened them again, Halina was halfway through a swing intended to split him in half.

[Dodge] activated. She had learned better than to wait on her foes during the trials it seemed. Still, the skill irritated him.

Her follow-up was met with [Remorse], and the fight truly began. Erland was impressed. She must have been fighting other Players at least as often as she fought the trials.

Now, she fought with a fluidity that had been completely lacking in their first encounter. Each blow and parry was considered and flowed into the next. Her technique had improved as well.

What’s more, she had developed her own set of skills, and these were really giving him trouble.

Her sword now had a pale translucent outline extending its length an extra two or three inches. Her shield emitted bursts of tiny white coronas of light every time it collided with [Remorse]. Luckily, it failed to damage the high Tier axe, but it was still worrying.

Passive skills were some of the most difficult to develop, and she had two already. This meant either exceptional talent or genius teaching. Maybe both.

Erland saw the truth in Halina’s skills. It was definitely both.

For her part, Halina was baffled.

She knew a weakling couldn’t have killed her younger brother. His bloodline ability had awakened extremely early. So early that it had warped his confidence. After her experiences in these trials she could admit to herself now that he had become almost unbearable after his skill had activated at such a young age.

Other F-Tiers had been so far behind him as to be almost unworthy of notice.

Erland had forcibly dissuaded Bjarke of that notion. Then he had almost beaten Halina despite her being a Tier above him. Now that he was on the same Tier as her, she found herself stretched in a way that she had never experienced before.

Erland seemed to move with her. Despite the obvious advantage of her higher stats, he matched her step for step. He could just match her strategies and battle plans that well. He anticipated where she would be even better than she could anticipate him.

It felt like matching beats to a dance that both of them knew the tempo, but not the lines.

Her sword rocketed down, her passive adding weight and leverage without compromising balance. Gazini had singled her out a few trials ago. His insights and teaching had led her to skills she may have spent decades developing without him.

Her work ethic had blossomed in the trials. She could fully apply herself here. The expectations of those above her had fallen away. How could they complain about a first place ranking?

A freedom had descended along with that growth.

Her growth had only improved with that weight lifted. She had jumped up in the rankings like a star ascending to the heavens. Her level had advanced with her and just as quickly.

Enemies had risen up before her and been struck down with an ease that she never would have expected. Even those at the peak of their Tiers were not outside of her reach.

Erland felt almost cosmically different.

This fight was already taking more out of her than any previous trial.

He parried her with an excellence she had yet to experience. His blows struck with a precision that required her to actually exert herself to deflect or block. His axe swung with a speed, surety, and strength that ensured she couldn’t take advantage of fighting with two implements to his one.

Oftentimes she was forced to use both sword and shield to block.

Erland’s grin was almost manic at this point.

They were both so focused that their split consciousness had almost ceased to exist. Luckily they had both already triumphed over their opponents.

Her sword swept over his head. His axe collided with her shield, swiftly reinforced on her backstroke.

As the battle dragged on, Erland understood why Leonel kept pressing him to open mage options on his class tree. With additional abilities he could have cracked a fight like this wide open. Instead they were almost locked in a stalemate.

Surprisingly, he didn’t find himself frustrated by this.

Instead, he just relished in a fight where his opponent could match him. Normally, even if an opponent could see his first move, they would fall to the second or third. Not so with fighters like Halina.

Both of them intuitively knew what the other would do next. Without a significant mistake or risk, their fight could continue like this almost endlessly. It virtually did.

‘Round one over.

Surviving defenders will be given five minutes to repair their fortress.’

Erland felt his muscles locked involuntarily as the message flashed across his interface. Disappointment welled up within him as the fight was cut short.

Halina found herself mirroring the sentiment, but confused by the feeling. Something within her had almost torn loose here. There was an answer in this fight that she now hungered for.

“Don’t Tier up,” he said, surprising her. “We’ll finish this next trial.”

“I’m not waiting for you,” she said. “If I Tier up you’ll just have to keep chasing me.”

That strange sensation wasn’t enough to keep her from pushing forward. No answer was worth potentially disappointing her parents and Frigga. Even if her very soul seemed to long for it.

Erland just grinned and rolled his eyes. He hadn’t expected her to hold herself back for his sake. It didn’t lessen his desire to fight her again, however.

The intermediate period began and he regretfully turned back to his fortress. It wasn’t the worst, but it could definitely use some significant improvements. A powerful mage might be able to tear it down before he could take down the attacker.

He started to build a shed.

Halina, now in a singular consciousness, stared almost vacantly at her fort for a moment. She wasn’t sure what that strange sensation she had felt meant. No particular questions popped into her mind that she felt a burning need to answer. No strange drive existed that pushed her forward.

Shaking herself, she turned back to the task at hand. She had eliminated her attacker almost effortlessly. The fort had taken no damage. She could improve on the building before the next round.

Still, she was unconsciously gripping her sword with a strength that undermined her determination to move on.

Kifeda slumped against the sad hovel he had built. He hated this trial even more than all the previous ones. There at least, he could maintain a respectable amount of laziness. Just enough effort expended to keep him on top of the rankings.

He had fallen behind in the first few trials, but rose to the top once he had begun to apply himself. Now he coasted comfortably in first place for his Tier, which felt strange now that he had risen to C. He no longer competed directly with the chosen from his initial Tier.

Still, he kept an eye on the rankings and ensured that he stayed on top. It had actually gotten easier if anything. His Tier-up bonus seemed to make gaining points much simpler. He didn’t have to worry about his individual performance as much.

The second round began and he found himself in two bodies once more. His attacker looked trodden upon and slumped to the ground as soon as he arrived.

“Don’t mind me,” he called. “I’m bottom of the ranking and have no chance to win this Hunt. I’ll be out of your hair when the round ends.”

Kifeda remained wary but secretly celebrated his luck. He had encountered opponents like this once or twice before in previous trials. Some people didn’t have it in them to face down unbeatable odds.

His attacking self was a different story.

He stood in front of a fairly well constructed fort, loosely reinforced now with stone surrounding the base. In front of it stood a fiery haired man.

His eyes were blue and piercing. His gaze was intense and gave a sense of weight, like he was weighing Kifeda. A grin that seemed almost permanent lit his expression through his beard. He had the well muscled build of a strength focused class, and a large battle-axe was in his hands.

“Erland Grim,” he said. “And you?”

Kifeda let out a loud sigh. Fighters like this were the worst. They gave it their all and forced Kifeda to exert himself. It was so tiring.

“Kifeda Ogeto,” he said. “Chosen of Hodr.”

“I’ve never understood that. What does it matter which of the Aesir chose you? We’re all here regardless.”

“I think it’s to try and honor them. Make sure they don’t kill us once this is all over and all that.”

Erland’s grin upgraded to a smile.

“That bastard threatened me with hell if I refused him,” he said. “Fuck his honor.”

Kifeda hadn’t identified so much with another chosen since the start of the Hunt.

“Well met, Erland Grim.”