WIEDERGEBURT Act VI: Chapter 20

Sixty of the ninety initiates passed the third and final test. After passing, Instructor Kreya left us and several other instructors came to escort everyone to their dorms while giving us a small tour of Hero Hall.

Despite its name, Hero Hall or the Hall of Heroes, was not in fact a hall. It was a multi-structure complex built around a central courtyard with a massive arena in the very middle. Each building was like a massive tower with over a hundred floors, which could be accessed via a moving platform.

Everyone was assigned a roommate and given a room. I hadn’t realized I would be living here, but I didn’t complain. It wasn’t like it mattered where I lived right now. My roommate was the quiet Hendral.

The rooms were all the same, according to the instructor who led us on the tour. Each one was exactly three hundred cubic meters, a fairly decent size, and contained two of everything. Two beds. Two bookshelves. Two nightstands. Two dressers. The beds were four poster beds with soft mattress, pillows, and red sheets. Because we had to sleep with someone else, there were curtains around the bed for anyone who wanted privacy.

We were told to meet in the lobby after our rooms were assigned.

“Eryk! Get your fucking ass over here!” Tora waved me over the moment I exited the lift and appeared in the massive lobby, which reminded me of an atrium because of how large it was. Aside from the new students like myself and the instructor who escorted us, nobody else was there.

“I can hear you just fine without you shouting,” I said with a sigh as I sat on the couch she had purloined.

The lobby had a number of sitting areas. I guessed they were for being to study. Several tables with benches had been set up in rows, and I could imagine the students who would sit there when classes were out for self-study purposes.

“What do you think of this place so far?” asked Tora.

“It’s a fine enough place to spend some time,” I said with a shrug.

“What a boring as fuck answer.” Tora punched me in the shoulder. “Are you not excited about getting to join the most prominent school in all Ásgarðr?”

“The only thing I’m excited about is getting stronger.” Nothing mattered to me more than that.

“Isn’t that what we all fucking want?” asked Tora, leaning back and crossing her arms. “I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to be stronger than my fucking dad.”

Something about the way she said that made me look at the woman more closely. “Do you not get along with your father?”

“What child ever gets along with their parent?” Tora fired back. “But yeah, you could say I don’t get along with him. We’ve never seen eye to eye on… well, anything really.” She grinned, but I couldn’t help but notice how dispirited it looked. “I think pa would have been happier if I had been born a boy.”

I wasn’t sure what being a boy had to do with anything, but I did know there were some people out there who believed one gender was better than the other. Sounded like Tyr might be one of those patriarchal types.

Once all the new students gathered in the lobby, the instructor who was presented ordered us to follow him. We were led outside and toward another one of the buildings. This one appeared surprisingly small, at least when compared to the other buildings like the one we just came from.

I found out why a moment later.

A large banquet hall spread out before us as we passed through the large double doors. Already bursting with people, the hall had been set up with seven rows of long tables that stretched all the way toward the back. Thanks to my understanding of the Concept of Life, I could sense that there were about 30,000 people inside.

One more table was set at the very back. It was placed perpendicular to others, which were for students. After our instructor ordered us to find empty seats, he went over to that table and sat down alongside the other instructors.

There was one section near the back of the tables that was empty, so all of us sat in them. I guess they were placed there on purpose. Once we were seated, a man stood from the instructor’s table, disappeared like a wavering breeze, and then reappeared before the table and all the students. He didn’t say anything. However, the students immediately settled down as his very presence pushed against them.

Odd was the first word I would use to describe this man. He seemed like an unusual mixture of people. Young but old. Masculine but feminine. His face was not lined with age, and he in fact looked quite young, but his presence made him seem ancient and unending.He had a masculine body covered in muscles and scars. His face, however, lent him an air of feminine elegance. He wore armor underneath his robes. It glittered like crystal whenever he moved.

“Welcome, new students, to the Hall of Heroes,” said the man, his voice carrying all the way to the back without having to shout. He was… yes! He was using the wind element to carry his voice! “I am Schaffung, the headmaster of this academy. I welcome you all and hope that your years here as students will prove fruitful. My greatest desire is to see all of you become powerful warriors and heroes who stand with us against the darkness threatening the nine realms.”

I assumed he was talking about the Sekbeist. I couldn’t think of anyone else who was a threat to the nine realms.

“Now! I believe I have talked enough! Let us all eat!”

With a smile, the man clapped his hands, and several doors on the side of the banquet hall opened as more people poured in. These people were dressed as servants. Maids and butlers. They pushed in carts and set trays of food on the long tables. There were boar heads, various cuts of meat, cheese, bread, soup. I found myself being drawn to the shanks and stake soup, which had a bold scent that made my mouth water.

Dinner was filled with the clanks and clangs of tableware tapping against plates, mixed in with conversation for background music.

I spoke with Tora, though it was more like I listened to her and asked a few questions here or there. This woman was a lot different than my wives. Loud, obnoxious, crass, and straightforward about her desires, she seemed like an open book to me.

While listening to Tora as she complained about her father’s strict standards, I felt eyes upon me, though I pretended not to sense them. Keeping my eyes locked onto Tora, I reached out to the wind element. A mental map began forming in my mind based on the vibrations in the air. My map was just about complete when, without warning, someone wrested control of the wind from me. I was so shocked that I dropped my fork.

“What’s up?” Tora tilted her head and studied me. “You look like you just shit your pants.”

“I’m fine,” I mumbled as I turned my eyes away from Tora and looked toward the instructor’s table. There was only one person aside from myself who I’d seen using an element since coming to Gudeverdenen.

I was not surprised when I found Schaffung’s eyes focused on me. He stared at me even after noticing that I had spotted him, then smiled broadly before turning to answer a question one of the other instructors asked.

What was that about?

Dinner lasted for several hours, and I learned many things in that time. First among them was how this academy worked. It was not like the Nevarian Spiritualist Academy back in Miðgarðr, which had mandatory classes followed by Spiritualism lessons. Everything here was self-study. Students could focus on whatever aspect of learning they wished. However, at the end of every year, they would be tested by the instructors of the academy, and those who failed were kicked out without mercy.

“There are several methods most people use to study and grow stronger,” Tora said as if she was an expert on the subject. “The first is to use the meditation chambers to comprehend a specific concept. Different meditation chambers can help people comprehend a different concept. I hear some of the better meditation chambers have advanced runes applied that allow those concepts to have a stronger presence in them. The second way is for students to train in the arena.”

“So they refine their understanding and ability to use their concept through combat,” I said with a nod.

“Yes, but there’s another point to the arena,” Tora began. “You can’t fucking buy anything without credits. My pa said credits are like the currency here. There are various ways to earn credits, but the fastest way is to fight and win in the arena.”

“What are the other ways?” I asked.

“Like I fucking know,” Tora snorted. “I only know about the arena because my pa was fucking obsessed with it back in his youth. He talked about it a lot.”

“Hmm…”

It looked like I’d need to ask someone else if I wanted to know more. Tora knew a lot more about Hero Hall than I did, but her knowledge was limited to whatever her dad had been willing to share.

Dinner lasted for several more hours, and then the headmaster told us all that it was time for us to bed. I found that a little weird. Guddomelig didn’t need much sleep. Powerful Guddomelig like Fray and Tor could go years without sleeping (this was something I found out from Fray when she rescued me), so the idea of a “bed time” seemed a bit odd, but maybe they didn’t actually have a curfew normally. Perhaps this was a special occasion.

Everyone left at the same time. I stuck with Tora as we traveled back to the dorm as a massive horde, said goodnight to her, and entered my dorm room alongside Hendral. The quiet man only nodded to be once before stripping down to his underwear and sitting on his bed, where he began to meditate. I decided to follow his example. There was only a month before the Warp Gate to Vindenket would be opened, and I wanted to be as strong as possible before then.

***

No army could remain in top shape unless they trained regularly. As commander of the North Division, Klaue would often observe his men as they trained in drills.

Of course, not everyone trained at the same time. At present, only six thousand of the traditional twelve thousand members were there, training on the massive field. Many of them were doing regular drills and practicing squadron formations and teamwork. There were some, however, that were more focused on self-training and individual combat.

Because Klaue preferred individual combat to group combat, he almost always watched the individual duels between soldiers. It was more enjoyable. The rush he felt from seeing people trading techniques and blows was something he couldn’t find in large-scale battles between multiple opponents.

At present, Klaue was standing just outside of one duel arena in particular and watching as the two men sparred. He didn’t know their names. Only a few people in his division had earned the right for him to remember them. These two were just mooks. They would be great meat shields if the Sekbeist ever came to their doorstep, but they were otherwise worthless.

“M-M Lord!” a voice suddenly shouted, driving Klaue to distraction.

“What is it?” Klaue asked as he turned, facing a man who looked like he’d run over to him. His breathing was quick. He seemed quite out of breath.

“Ha… ha…” The man gasped before kneeling. “I’ve just received news that Lord Tyr is coming.”

“Ah. Thank you for informing me.”

Klaue straightened and gestured for several of his elite men to follow him, leaving the training field and traveling to the barracks. He entered the basic building. Feet tapping against the stone floor, he traveled down a hall and arrived at a large door, which he pushed open and stepped through.

On the other side of the door was a room without adornments. It only had a few pieces of furniture, including a table with two chairs set against it. Someone was already sitting on one of those chairs.

“Ah. Klaue. Thank you for arriving so promptly despite my unannounced arrival.” Tyr smiled at the man.

“It is not trouble, Lord Tyr.”

After bowing once, Klaue went over to the other chair and sat himself down. There was already some tea and a tray of food present. He grabbed a cookie and munched on it.

“How is your division?” asked Tyr.

“They are fine,” Klaue muttered. “They train hard and are doing well. Some do better than others. We have plenty of supplies. Fortunately, supplies are the one thing we are not in short supply of. I’ve even managed to attain a couple hundred thousand Conceptualization Pills.”

“You always were great at acquiring important supplies,” Tyr laughed.

“May I ask what you are here for, My Lord?” asked Klaue.

Tyr stopped laughing and sighed. “You never were one for small talk. Very well. Let us get down to business.” Tyr’s eyes hardened as he stared at Klaue, who straightened his spine. “Tor has done a fine job of maintaining the status quo, but he is too conservative. We need to be bolder if we want to annihilate the Sekbeists once and for all. I believe it is time we put our plan into place.”

Klaue took a deep breath, held it, and then released it. “I thought it was going to be something like. When do you plan to strike?”

“We can’t do anything yet,” Tyr said. “The Warp Gates will be open in a month, and I do not wish to disrupt communication between the realms with a coup. We will do this after the Warp Gate closes. I already have the perfect plan laid out.”

Klaue nodded his head once, hesitated, and then said, “I do have no trouble with the plan, but I wanted to ask…”

“You wish to ask about Eryk Vanir.” Tyr raised a hand to stop him. “Do not be concerned with him. That boy might be powerful in the lower realms, but he does not have the power or influence to do anything here. Focus on the task at hand for now. Once we have gained complete control of Ásgarðr, you can do whatever you want with him.”

That was answer enough to satisfy him. He clenched his hands into fists as he thought about that bratty son of Freyr and Gerd. Klaue promised himself that once Tor was ousted from Ásgarðr, he would take his time making that child suffer.

***

Eryk woke up the next day and went down to the lobby after remaking his arm and getting dressed. He thought about everything he needed to accomplish today. First, he needed to find out how much it cost to use a meditation room. He also needed to know if they received an allowance. However, the moment he entered the hall, his attention was stolen by the group of individuals that had gathered near one side of the lobby. Tora was there too. She waved him over after spotting him.

“About fucking time you woke up,” Tora said.

“I always wake up around this time. What’s going on here?” I asked.

“The instructor is handing out our badges,” Tora answered.

I didn’t know what she meant, but I soon understood after getting in line and waiting until it was my turn. The instructor, who only looked a few years older than myself even though he was probably a thousand, handed me a small emblem that looked like a jade hammer.

“This Jade Hammer is your badge,” the instructor explained to everyone. “Whenever you earn credits, they are all transferred into this badge. Everyone starts off with one thousand credits. You will earn a monthly allowance of one hundred credits. However, that is not enough to do much more than visit the library, alchemy lab, and arena to participate in competitions.”

I perked up at the mention of an alchemy lab. Perhaps it was because it’s been so long since I truly bothered with alchemy, but the idea that the Guddomelig also had their own alchemy surprised me. Was the alchemy here more advanced than the alchemy in Miðgarðr? I hoped they would have pills that could help me further my comprehension of the Concepts of Life and Death.

“How many credits does it take to use a meditation chamber?” I asked.

“It costs one thousand credits per day,” the instructor said.

So, basically, it would take all the credits I had right now to spend a single day inside. That meant I could not enter one right now. I needed to earn more credits.

Everyone received their badges. Then we went to the banquet hall for breakfast. The hall was already half full of people. Tora and I sat down on one table, which already had large plates of breakfast food. While Tora stocked up on almost all meat, I grabbed a variety of meat, vegetables, bread, and porridge.

“You wanna hit up the arena?” asked Tora as we ate.

“Not right now.” I thought for a moment and made a quick decision. “Why don’t you go on to the arena. I’m gonna look at the alchemy lab, and I’ll met up with you once I am done there.”

“The fuck you wanna go tothe alchemy lab for?” asked Tora.

“To see what kind of alchemy pills you have here in Gudeverdenen, obviously,” I replied, rolling my eyes.

“Fine. Whatever. Guess I’ll see you at the arena whenever you get there.”

It seemed Tora didn’t much care for alchemy, but that didn’t bother me as she and I finished eating, then parted ways. She traveled straight toward the center of this courtyard. The massive arena loomed ahead of her. I, on the other hand, left for the alchemy lab.

The alchemy lab was a fairly large building that looked like it was composed of multiple buildings stacked on top of each other. I wasn’t sure what kind of architecture that was, but I only paid it a cursory glance before traveling inside.

Quite a few people were on the bottom floor, which spread out further than I expected, making me realize this building was actually pretty big. There were many isles, rows, shelves, and tables that were lined with alchemy pills, ingredients, and equipment. It looked like all this was only on display and not actually for sale. It was only possible to buy something by heading to the back and telling the person behind the counter what you wanted. All their items were in storage.

After wandering around for a bit, I wandered to the front, where a young woman stood before the table. She wore different clothes than most people. Her robes made me think vaguely of the Alchemist Association back home.

“Welcome. Is there anything I can get you?” asked the woman.

“Possibly,” I replied. “I was interested in knowing what kind of alchemy pills you make here. Are there any pills that can help someone comprehend concepts here?”

“Are there any pills that can help with comprehending concepts?” The woman snorted. “Were you born yesterday? We have all kinds of pills for just that purpose. Of course, none of them are very advanced, but we do have the Conceptualization Pill, which helps people who consume it absorb large amounts of Spiritual Power containing a specific concept. We have pills for each concept.”

Now curious, I could not help but ask, “Does that include the Concept of Negation?”

The woman stiffened like I’d said something frightening, looked around, and then leaned over. Seeing this made me lean over so she could whisper at me.

“Don’t talk about that concept here ever again, you hear me?” the woman said in a harsh whisper. “I don’t know if you’re just new here or what, but we never talk about that concept ever.”

“Why not?” I asked. “That is the concept the Sekbeists are the most familiar with. Wouldn’t it be better to understand the concept so we can fight it?”

“There are people who have thought that way,” the woman allowed, her brows pensively furrowed. “But it’s believed that attempting to understand the Concept of Negation is corrupting. Several people proposed we try to understand it because it’s the Sekbeist’s most powerful weapon, but all those people disappeared. Rumors have it Tor had them arrested and condemned them to life imprisonment.”

That didn’t sound like Tor at all. It sounded like the exact opposite of him. In either event, I decided to change the subject since it looked like this was taboo.

“How much are alchemy pills?”

“It depends on the concept you want to learn about. Life and Death Conceptualization Pills are two thousand credits. Time, Space, and Dimension Conceptualization Pills are three thousand credits. Creation Conceptualization Pills are five thousand credits.”

That was… utterly ridiculous in my opinion. Why was everything so expensive? It looked like the only way to get anything would be to earn more credits.

“Are there any ways to earn credits aside from fighting in the arena?” I asked.

“There are.” The woman nodded, now back to her cheerful self since I had changed the subject. “While fighting in the arena can earn a lot of credits, you can also earn them by going to a instructor’s lecture and earning good marks on their tests, hunting Demon Beasts and selling the parts to us for our alchemy, and the last method is by impressing the instructors in some way, shape, or form.”

That last one seemed a little vague to me. It also sounded like an instructor could grant a favorite pupil points just because he or she liked them, which sounded unfair to me.

“Can anyone learn alchemy?” I asked.

“Are you interested in learning alchemy?” The woman seemed to perk up a bit. “If you are, then I recommend you attend Instructor Tanik’s alchemy lessons. He teaches the foundations of alchemy. Once you’ve attended his lessons, you can begin taking the more advanced lessons.”

I thanked the woman for the information and left her pretty disappointed because I didn’t buy anything--not that it could be helped. I didn’t even have enough money for a single Conceptualization Pill. Now it was time to head to the arena.

The arena was a roofless building shaped like a circle and surrounded by columns, archways, and statues of warriors striking various poses. I looked at one of those warrior statues as I passed. It was of a woman with her legs spread, knees bent, and arm drawn back as if to toss the spear in her hand.

After passing through the entrance with a crowd of others, I began searching for Tora. I expected to see the woman waiting for me, but she was not in the massive front lobby, so I began ascending the stairs in search of her. I soon learned there was some levels I could not ascend to because I was a new student and didn’t have authorization. I didn’t worry about that. If I couldn’t get to those levels, then I highly doubted Tora could.

This building really was ridiculously massive. If I had to guess, I’d say it could hold maybe four or maybe five hundred thousand people.

Having no luck finding her in the hallways, I decided to check the arenas themselves. Each level had a different arena. The bottom arena was where beginners fought, so I headed there. In the end, it was probably a good thing I got there when I did.

“You fucking pieces of shit! Is this how you treat others?! Where is your damn pride?!”

“You can shove your pride up your ass, princess. Here in the arena, the winner can do whatever he wants to the loser. Those are the rules. Don’t tell me you came here without even knowing that.”

Tora was standing on the arena floor, spear at the ready, legs bent like she was preparing to pounce. Behind her was a young woman. The woman looked battered, bruised, and was bleeding from several cuts. She was not wearing a top, which lay in tatters on the floor. Surrounding Tora and the woman were six men who were leering at them like vultures.