Kirev

I pried the fingers of the giant's detached arm down from their closed position like a makeshift door and helped Freya walk out before me like a gentleman.

We arrived at the pilot settlement in the palm of Ymir's giant hand. He had flung us during the fight, but we didn't leave empty handed. Ymir did though.

We left the giant's arm in the street where we had crash-landed to the shocked expressions of the speechless pilots and to the awe of their godly summons.

The settlements littered around these regions were like player hubs now. Pilots and their summons came here to gather Summon Hunt information, to do memento trading, to battle each other for high stakes -- everything was allowed.

All of these pilots were armed with more than their companion summons. Most of them had guns strapped around their shoulders, or swords sheathed at their waist.

It was often hard to tell the class of a summon at a glance, but not so much for a pilot. For the most part you could easily tell the class of a pilot. They often either dressed like a mage if they were part of the Spell discipline, a knight if they were part of the Blade discipline, or a soldier if they were part of the Bullet discipline.

While you could be disciplined in all three, you really left yourself unspecialized. Jack of all trades were often a master of none.

Freya and I continued past them minding our own business. Everyone was still looking around dazed and confused. The streets weren't as empty as I thought they'd be. There was a time when pilots avoided contact with each other to avoid being robbed of their mementoes. It seemed those days were gone. Pilots seemed to party up and gather together now. Times were changing, probably for the better.

I still preferred to go solo though.

The pilots were all clamoring. Confused at what must've felt and sounded like a meteorite hitting the streets of the player hub. It probably sounded pretty similar to a WWII plane doing a dive bomb with Freya crying and screaming as we crashed. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! I'd probably be confused too if I wasn't riding alongside with her.

"DID THEY JUST SERIOUSLY ARRIVE ON THAT?" asked one of the settlers.

"DUDE, ARE YOU GUYS OKAY????" asked another.

"Hey Idiot, you can't park there. You know that right?" called out a pissed off civilian.

I turned towards the angry pilot, who was calling me out.

"That's not a mount, it's a summons hand. It'll disintegrate and fade away in a few hours," I said, walking away.

"Jeez, you gotta be kidding?! Did he say that's a s-s-s-summon's hand?!" said one pilot.

"I've never seen a summon that big before! It's huge!" said another pilot.

Freya was walking with a bit more spring in her step today. As if her mood had lifted and a new side of her was piercing through her cold impenetrable ice-barrier. Maybe winter for Freya was over and it was time for a warm spring.

It could be the fact that every pilot and even their summons were eye-balling her like they were madly in love. All female summons were beautiful goddesses, why were they staring at mine!

I couldn't help shake the feeling of piloting Freya. I hadn't piloted in so long. I almost forgot what it felt like. It felt good -- No, it felt great even.

Nothing compared to the moments when we moved as one. Each step felt so light as Freya. We could move so fast as a pilot-summon fusion. It was like having the strength of a superhero and the speed and dexterity of a ninja. All I had to do was think of movements and our body could do them. It was like moving with zero latency, just efficiency; strength and speed. She could dash without even touching the ground, and launch energy-ice barrages for christ sake.

It even felt like Freya and I were getting along better now that we had synced our minds together briefly while piloting. I think she finally understood why piloting is so important to me from experiencing bits of my past. When I was her, I saw glimpses of her past life as well. When she was summoned by me it had sucked her out of a very important time in her life back in Vanaheim. It made sense why she was so distraught and confused. She must have been stressed with her current situation.

I think the more we piloted together, the closer our bond became.

Being an ordinary human again was no fun.

I felt so sluggish now walking with my own two feet.

I took a second to breathe in the new environment.

The settlement itself looked strange at a glance.

It was very primitive in design. Just houses made of withered wooden boards. It was like walking into an old-timey one-horse town, but the surrounding high walls were made of metal and high-tech devices were all over the place. Touch screen vendor displays on the wooden walls of the buildings, tangled webs of power lines above providing electricity. Small floating steel boats used for transportation parked outside of run-down shacks.

The pilots parked their mounts outside of the tavern. These were mostly hovering steel boats called skiffs. There was also the odd living mount -- giant rideable birds and giant cats -- I'm not sure how the two species got along, but they did. You could tell the new pilots from the old ones this way. New pilots always rode on rickety old speeder bikes while veterans rode rare living mounts. Living mount riders often formed lifelong bonds with their mounts, but I had never acquired one in my time.

The clash of old-timey and futuristic aesthetics was definitely an odd sight to take in for a newcomer, or a vet returning after many years.

I wasn't a fan of relying on settlements to gather information on Summon whereabouts. But, without a full roster of three summons, I was still at a disadvantage. I desperately needed more summons, and going to this tavern would be the quickest way of finding them. I needed to acquire some mementos as soon as possible.

"We should check out the tavern. See if we can get some Summon Hunt info," I said.

"I need a drink after that battle anyway. I just wish people actually got to see me in action. By the way, don't ever pilot me again! You were absolutely reckless," said Freya.

So much for that new bond we shared after the piloting scenario!

Even after that fight, Freya was still on my case!

I sighed.

"I was reckless?! You held me back there!"

"Whaaaaaaat! HOW SO?" asked Freya.

"You and your clumsy feet and your bad calls!"

"What bad calls!?" she asked.

"You tried to punch him for one?! He was made of freakin' metal..."

I sighed.

"It was a special attack… Idiot!" said my useless goddess.

"Did he know that..." I asked.

"It was! Learn my moves next time before you hijack my body! And, I don't know why you're complaining. It worked!! He didn't expect a physical blow from a Spellcaster-type like me!"

"He didn't expect to laugh so hard at such a weak attempt at a punch. You've punched before, right? Because it didn't really look like you knew how back there."

*Angry Freya Noises*

"GRRRRR! YOU WANT ME TO HIT YOU ALL THE WAY TO VALHALLA?! HUH?!"

"Try it, babe. You won't land a hit. You're too clumsy!"

"I'M GOING TO SMACK YOU SO MUCH HARDER NOW."

Freya went in for a smack with her book of arcane knowledge, that I gracefully ducked under. I guess she was raised like a mobster and knew beating me with a phone book would stop me from looking bruised up.

"I mean, did Ymir know that was a special move? Because he acted like he didn't even notice it."

*More Angry Freya Noises*

"YOU… UH! YOU'RE SO DUMB. It's infuriating!...Errr."

"Seriously though, we need to level you up. Summons are only capable of accessing four moves on-hand at a time, not counting ultimates. Seeing as you apparently have a move called 'Flail', we should definitely look into replacing it with a better move."

"IT WORKED PERFECTLY, ACTUALLY! The move is called 'Fracture'. It seizes movement, and it stunned him!" said Freya.

"Oh, shit. That means you did well back there."

"Yeah! Waaa... OF COURSE, I DID! Why are you looking so surprised?! I'm a full-rarity summon for a reason, DUH! What'd you think I was doing?"

"I mean it looked like you tried to punch him... punch a metal giant.. with your baby hands."

"Why would I do that?" she asked.

"I mean… you did do that… I was there… in you. Those were my fists as well. It hurt."

"Well, either way, you owe me a drink for saving the day. Better pay up!" said Freya.

"Sure, if we keep it to a one drink maximum. I can literally count the amount of money we have on one hand..."

I pushed open the big hefty wooden doors of the tavern. The place was packed to the brim with pilots and their mighty god companions.

"Holy shit…"

Freya looked at me with big question marks above her head.

"Huh?"

Some of the rarest summons happened to be here. The Crusader-class King Midas, with his infamous Touch-Of-Gold, Selene the Dark Moon, Columbia and her twin sister Liberty, Narasimha, Veles… the list goes on….

Freya shrieked as she pointed at a summon.

"*Gasp!* Wow, look at that weird summon with the tiger face… Scary!"

"It's a lion head actually. That's Narasimha. He's a Hindu God. And beside him are Anubis and Bastet the Cat God, from the Egyptian pantheon. Damn, there are some great summons here. "

"Hmmm? There's a Cat God? I don't see 'em!?" asked Freya.

Freya looked over at the nearby table and spotted a cat, who was having a mug of beer with his comrade.

"Aw! Damn, you're cute!" she said, hopping excitedly.

Freya stayed near the front entrance as I continued on. She was petting the cat, who she mistook for 'Bastet', who was actually not even a summon. It was just some Nascal trying to mind its own business like we were.

"Cutie-cutie-cutie-cutie-cutie-cutie-cutie-cutie-cutie-cutie!!"

She must have never met a Nascal before.

I could hear her aggressively harassing him as I walked towards an empty seat inside the bustling tavern's dining area.

The Nascal race were shifty little pests that were infamous for swiping mementos off unsuspecting pilots. Master-class thieves and swindlers, those cats were.

"Back off, Lady! I'm trying to drink here!" said the furry Nascal as he repeatedly knocked away her hand with his tiny paw.

"But, you're such a cute kitty! I want one so bad! Kirev, I need one of these!!" said Freya as she lifted the Nascal up and buried her face into his soft belly fur. I guess she didn't realize I wasn't over there anymore.

Freya started petting his head lovingly.

"I'm not for sale, lady! Someone get her off me!! I don't like headpats."

The Nascal's human friend was roaring with laughter.

"Who you shittin', Rosco. Everyone likes headpats. You can pet me if you want, lady."

Freya looked at him blankly while she still cradled the Nascal in her arms.

Freya shook her head.

"No... thanks...?"

I sat down and ordered a round of drinks for us.

It was best to keep a low profile in busy places, especially at a tavern. Pilots often settled arguments in winner-takes-all duels. Losers would lose their last used memento.

Having only one summon put me at a disadvantage, so duels were out of the question. During duels, I wouldn't have the ability to swap gods as they did.

This meant I didn't have access to the abilities, weapons and summon class types that came with having other summons to choose from.

Once an opponent figured out Freya's summon class and attack ranges then they could fully take advantage of the fight.

Then there was also type advantage to worry about. Type advantage was when you chose a class type that excelled against another. Freya was a Spellcaster-type, which meant she was weak to Hunter and Assassin-type summons.

If I ever wanted to be a better pilot I'd have to collect more summons. I needed a bigger and more diverse roster before I could properly take care of myself.

The bar-maid approached with a tray of drinks and placed two mugs on the table.

"Here you go! Is that everything?"

I looked over at the waitress and nodded my head. The beers had arrived.

"Yeah, seems to be. Thanks."

I said as I gave her a coin.

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Psssst.

The sound of someone trying to draw in my attention. As I was saying, it's always good to keep a low profile. Other pilots were often trouble. I decided I'd just ignore this guy and pretend I'm hard for hearing.

Pssst!

"Hey, buddy."

The pilot started to wave to get my attention, clearly unaware that I was intentionally ignoring him.

"... Eh?" I said.

The guy sitting beside me pointed to the two guys behind me.

Well, I guess it's unavoidable.

"Is that your Freya? The one near that door over 'er?" asked the stranger.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Is she causing you trouble?"

"Nah, she's smoking hot... She's an epic rare, ain't she?"

"She doesn't seem like it, sometimes," I said, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Could we see her memento? I was telling my buddy Edwin here about her mementos. How her sword memento can turn to an ice spear like Skadi uses."

Edwin nodded repeatedly.

"Yeah. It sounds badasssssss."

The man leaned in and spoke:

"I'd love to carry around some sword that could turn into sharp ice. I'd be like a knight or a samurai with that tied around my waist."

"Yeah, would be nice," I said.

I just wanted this conversation to end already. These guys reeked of new player, and usually, new players were hot-heads, always picking fights and looting others.

The man pointed to his memento.

"The memento I got for my Calypso is only this little ribbon. I hate wearing ribbons. It ain't very manly."

It wasn't until then I noticed the orange ascot tie around his collar.

"Just tie the ribbon to your belt or something?" I said.

The newbie with the ascot tie looked like he had just discovered the light bulb for the first time.

"Damn, that's not a bad idea."

"I mean, you don't have to wear it like a little tie. You look like Fred from Scooby Doo."

The two guys' eyes narrowed.

Well shit, I pissed them off.

"Oh. Well, my Freya is a Spellcaster-class. She doesn't have a sword, unfortunately."

Edwin leaned in and spoke:

"Can we see it? I bet it's even sweeter. What is it? That cloak you' wearin' or what?"

"Nah, sorry man."

"Dude, just show us the item you got. It's not a big fucking deal dude. What, like we're gonna steal it off of you in a place like this?"

Well, seems these guys are trouble.

I shrugged and shook my head:

"Nah, sorry, Fred. I just got nothing to show ya."

The two guys ripped me out of my seat and stood me up.

Assholes…

The two men swung at me, which I narrowly evaded. In that instance, I blocked Fred's next swing, while kicking Edwin over.

Freya had taken notice of the fight and was on her way. I think she forgot she was holding the Nascal because she brought him with her, carrying him like a baby that just filled its diaper.

Most of the Pilots and Summons around the table were forming a circle around us. I'm not sure if the other half of the tavern even noticed the brawl though. They were still singing and partying.

Edwin stood up and swung. I evaded, only to take a punch from Freddy.

I pushed Fred off of me and headbutted Edwin while tossing him on top of Fred.

"Come on, a 2 v 1 …" I said.

His summon, Calypso, dropped down from her position on the wooden cross-beams above me. Her curved knife was against my throat.

Calypso was a tall, slender summon in a bikini top, with a jacket and denim shorts over top of everything else. She carried a bow on her back, and of course, the knife at my throat.

"...!"

Freya had appeared by my side, butting heads against Calypso.

"Back off, Hunter scum!" shouted Freya.

Calypso spoke with a cocky smirk:

"Heh. Poor little Spellcaster. Is your Summoner too much of a pussy to let you off the leash?"

*Angry Freya Noises*

"WATCH YOUR MOUTH BEFORE YOU LOSE IT?"

Freya was almost literally burning up with rage. The naturally cold temperature surrounding her was turning into mist.

She was a living, breathing kettle and the tea was ready.

At this point, Freya wasn't protecting me anymore. I was the one holding her back from going berserk on these guys.

I could feel the cool breezy chill of Freya's hands as her magic prepped for an energy-ice barrage.

The tavern maids, who all looked identical in their black maid outfits, were shaking their heads and waving their hands frantically.

"Fights between summons are not permitted in here!"

"You heard the ladies."

Calypso rolled her eyes and faded off into an ethereal form.

The two men turned for the door. But, not before colliding into the muscular chest of Midas, who was watching the fight closely.

The big bearded Crusader-class summon leaned down and addressed the two:

"Ha! It's lads like you who give new players a bad name! You wreck and vandalize with no thought of the consequences! Let this be a lesson! Respect and honour in battle speak volumes of a person's character! A 2 versus 1 has no honour! Don't sour experiences for others! It's dastardly! Be a hero!"

The two guys exited the tavern with their tails between their legs.

The jolly Midas cheered as he pointed to me:

"Good scrap, lad!"

Midas was insanely muscular. He wore a thick heavy gold crown, and everything he wore was either red or gold. Crusader-class summons often were huge brutes or defensive tanks, and Midas definitely fit the bill.

"A free round for the lot of ya! Everyone here drinks on me!!!!"

Freya was beaming with delight.

The whole bar was deep into celebration mode but I'm sure Freya was the loudest of them all!

"Kirev. Kirev! Keeeer-ev! Isn't this so great!!" said my drunk-of-a-goddess.

The clumsy goddess that was my summon and I walked back over to our seats.

"Good job back there, Freya. Saved my ass," I said.

"Don't I always? I could've taken her down too if it wasn't for the interference."

"Calypso would've had type advantage though. Could've been a close call in a real fight."

Freya spoke, waving her finger like a wealthy Queen:

"No way. A low-class goddess like Calypso poses no threat to someone of my caliber."

"Eh, but if we lose a duel, then we'll lose each other."

"What does that matter to you?" asked Freya.

"Life would be too relaxing, I think. I'd never get anything done."

"Ahhhh. Or you've finally come to the realization that I'm unrivaled in both beauty and in battle."

"Eh, if your head gets any bigger it won't fit through those tavern doors. Then you'll really be in a pickle," I said.

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?"

"That your level of humbleness knows no bounds!"

"I'm the most humblest!! Out of the every summon I'm definitely second or third on a humble list!"

"Saying you're the most humble... is definitely not working in your favour..."

*Freya does her mad baby face*

"You sure got a knack for pissing people off!!"

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We continued to hang out in the tavern. We drank a few more mugs of beer, only because Midas paid for the lot of them.

Midas even ordered meals for everyone. I hadn't had a cooked meal as good as the one cooked at the tavern in so long!

"This food is delicious!! SO GOOD! SO GOOD! It's just as excellent as the food my servants used to cook me!" said Freya with a big smile across her face.

It wasn't until then I noticed she had fangs!

Freya got along with the other summons in the tavern and even made a few friends, I think. I'm pretty sure she was wasted because she was singing and dancing in the crowds.

Freya wandered back over to her seat, later on, acting tipsy:

"I NEED TO GET A NASCAL! THEY ARE ADORABLE. :3"

"Not happening," I said, waving my hand.

"Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"

She sounded like an engine firing up when she didn't get her way.

"Because Nascals are little thieves! Normal cats, sure. I love 'em. Not a Nascal though!"

That reminded me. I came here to find Summon Hunt locations.

I activated the digital display screen on my table.

Using these servers would be the best way to obtain Summon Hunt locations, as well as available local quests.

Local quests gave coin, which was important if I planned to buy anything.

Sadly, the map kept failing to load due to the influx of pilots accessing the Versa servers in here.

This tavern is packed with pilots... I can't load anything...

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I spent the rest of my time at the tavern asking around for information.

I bumped into a guy near the exit of the tavern. He accidentally dropped a weird little badge with the words 'Admin' on it. The place was booming. I tried to follow him, but the crowds of people were too tight.

Freya ended up running a high tab and getting us kicked out on our asses.

But, more importantly, before that happened I found the whereabouts of a new potential summon.

The only problem being in order to acquire a new summon I would have to defeat them while piloting my own summon, which was Freya…

If I was to win against the summon I could obtain a memento; a relic from that god, to summon them as my companion.

Still, with Freya as my summon this made things challenging. While Freya had the near-perfect beauty of a goddess, she didn't have the stat parameters of one. Her luck stat was incredibly low. This made her clumsy in not only battle but day-to-day life. To make matters worse, her intelligence stat was nothing to write home about. An intelligence parameter was an important stat for a Spellcaster-class Summon.

Essentially as a Spellcaster-class Summon this particular Freya was not in the high tiers or even mid-tier. More than likely she was at the lowest tier.

Freya wasn't the only one of her kind. Gods came in many different varieties. Other Freyas with different stat parameters and different personalities were out there, even ones with different class types and weapon varieties.

We met a Slayer-class Freya in the tavern that night. She looked very similar, besides some differences in hair colour and hairstyle. That Freya had a short sword and a shield and wore a corset with hide armour.

My Freya wore nothing close to that.

She was the queen of impracticality.

She basically wore glorified beachwear.

"It would be a crime against man to hide such a perfect figure", she would say, whenever I mentioned armour being a viable tactic in war.

I wasn't sure if all Freyas dressed in skimpy black outfits, but now it seems it's only mine that does because the other Freya wore actual armour. Armour that was practical and covered her midriff even!

But, I couldn't examine that other pilot's Freya for too long. My Freya became jealous as she normally does and started constantly hitting my arm to make me leave. I was only curious of that Freyas stats though. I think my Freya thought I was trying to trade her away.

I wish.

Now that we were out on our asses we would have to find somewhere else to sleep.

I was really looking forward to a nice bed at the tavern's inn for a change.

I was getting tired of cold nights by campfire.

As a goddess of winter, Freya had no problem with cold nights, but I sure did.

"Looks like we're sleeping outside again," said Freya, as she took a big deep breath of the brisk night air. She almost seemed excited to be kicked out.

"...Yeah..." I said with my head down low.

We made camp not far from the settlement. The one good thing about being kicked out was we were closer now to the Summon that I found the location of while at the tavern. It gave us a head start against any other pilots following the same lead.

We managed to find a player's inventory. It must have been from a player who was defeated here some time ago. Inside his unlocked satchel were potions, notes, a bit of food, ammunition and a low-tier bolt-action rifle. There were a few other trinkets that probably belonged to a quest we didn't have as well.

Freya quickly dove into the guy's food supply and then nestled up in her bedding beside the crackling fire. Her long twintails were wrapped around her neck like a big cozy scarf. It didn't take her long to pass out.

Even though I was a little mad about losing all of my coins and being out in the cold again, it was impossible to stay mad at her. She was adorable whenever she wasn't yapping.

I reached over and took some of the food from beside her nest of bedding and ate quietly.

I stayed awake tending to our fire for most of the night. I could hear the faint sound of hovering skiffs speeding across the fields. They were only a few miles out.

It was best to be wary with new players around.

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I woke up the next morning to find myself tied to a tree. Freya was gone...