EV B2 Chapter 27:

  I left the temple satisfied that I had done my job. The priest of Tyr was neither difficult to locate nor hard to potentially kill. The most challenging part would have been avoiding suspicion, which, so far, didn’t seem to have progressed one way or the other. I also picked up a few initial jobs. They were not at all what I had first expected. With no massive hunting grounds that I was aware of, the typical intro quests—like killing a certain type of monster or helping a farmer—just weren’t viable options.

  No, instead, it was more about making the church function. The various intro quests the temple offered involved basic procurement. Sure, for most things, they had regular suppliers. But if one of their priests was working on some sort of fancy new ritual spell that needed components—and they didn’t want to be troubled to gather the components themselves, or there was no time limit or any number of other reasons—they could simply post a request. If the priest was high-ranking enough, the church would even pay a slight premium to anyone who could find the items in the markets or stores. I had enough coin to handle that and figured I could make a little more coin doing it.

  I grabbed several items I was certain I had seen available. These jobs didn’t need to be done immediately. In a couple of days, I could return and provide the resources well within the time limits. Gaining that sort of reputation would allow me to take on more interesting jobs for the church.

  A lot of those jobs involved the arena. None of them were things Loki might ask me to do, like sabotaging or injuring a combatant beforehand. Rather, when it was Tyr’s turn to serve, he needed people like judges, guards, or others to keep things running on schedule. Most of the more interesting positions were reserved for church members, but sometimes they needed raw power. That might mean tasks like breaking up fights that went on too long or preventing fights from starting early while the referee was still announcing. Most of these roles were for healers, but there were options for people like me, too. For now, though, those roles were out of my reach—but not for long. It didn’t take much work to get into these simple positions.

  The more trusted roles, like filling party spots in particular groups or carrying lower members through challenges, were some of the hardest to earn. I figured that was probably where I’d eventually get my chance.

  I made sure to drop the disguise once I rounded a few corners and ducked into an alley. I was now recognizable as Miles again. Of course, my fake name was also Miles, but the change in face should have been enough to throw off suspicion. I didn’t want to complicate things by going too far out of character. I wasn’t trained as an undercover agent or anything, so making it too intricate would only increase the odds of giving myself away. Something as simple as not reacting to my real name was more likely to reveal me than my name being known to the target—at least, that’s what I assumed.

  I quickly gathered the items I needed. It only took a few hours, leaving me with some time to kill until Astrid was done.

  “Hey, Loki,” I said, lifting the token Jorg had given me to my face in a cupped palm. I whispered into it, not really expecting a response.

  To my surprise, Loki appeared out of nowhere with a jaunty wave and fell into step with me as I continued down the street.

  “I see your storage bag is slightly heavier,” Loki commented. Before I could respond, he shrugged slightly. I mirrored the gesture, trying not to look suspicious since it seemed no one else could actually see Loki. People gave me enough space as if he weren’t walking near anyone. Maybe there was some sort of glamour or illusion making it seem like I was talking to a normal person. Still, I didn’t want to risk being overly expressive—lest someone think I was crazy.

  “Well, I’m making progress on the job,” I said.

  Loki looked at me, tapping his chin thoughtfully. “Mmm. I see your approach. I think it might work. There are definitely easier ways of doing this. Still, if you want to get up close and personal… well, you need to actually get close. Though, you did stand next to him today.”

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  “True,” I admitted, “but I don’t want any suspicion thrown on me—or on you or your organization, either. That means he can’t just mysteriously die. It has to look obvious to everyone that it was an accident. If I’m not around him, I’m not sure how to arrange that without it looking super suspicious.”

  “True,” Loki agreed. “Look, there are other ways, but this is a good learning opportunity. That said,” he added, raising a finger and cutting off my attempt to change the subject, “if you mess this up, I might not be able to bail you out. Tyr has a lot of power here.”

  I grimaced. “That’s not something I’m exactly happy to hear.”

  “I understand,” he said, “but you know I’ll do what I can. Just a warning.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m thinking that even after I carry out the plan, it’ll take some time to ensure there’s no suspicion on me. I can’t just vanish afterward. That’s a bit unfortunate because running away or changing my face would be much more convenient.”

  “It would,” Loki agreed. “Though, with your illusion magic, you could always assume a new identity. You might only need to tweak your name slightly, keep your original face, and you’d be fine.”

  “Eh, I’m not too attached to my name,” I admitted. “Miles has always been a fine name, but I’m dead. This is a new life. Anyways, the reason I called you, though—” I began.

  Loki raised an eyebrow. “Oh, you had a reason?”

  “Yeah. Just a quick question, really. Do you have any updates on how Astrid’s doing or how long her thing will take?”

  His eyes glazed over slightly as he stared into the distance for a moment. After blinking and shaking his head, he replied, “Mmm. It should be a couple more days. Maybe five at the most.”

  “Is she doing all right?” I asked.

  “Yeah, she’s fine. It’s just taking longer, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Just different, maybe.” He said. “I didn’t exactly design the trial she’s going through, so it’s hard to say.”

  I clicked my tongue. “So much for doing some challenge runs, then.”

  “Are you planning on starting the challenge already?” Loki asked.

  “Should I not?”

  “Well, you certainly have a lot of growth potential you could squeeze out with some training. Besides, I haven’t seen you working on making a skill in a while. You’ve also got spells you could learn—or spells you could improve.”

  I grimaced. Perhaps I had been a little lax.

  “I haven’t really felt the issue,” I said. “It seemed like my bottleneck for this last challenge was more about the people I was working with—or the lack of them—rather than any individual power.”

  Loki gave me an exasperated look. “True. I suppose you haven’t felt the need, but there’s potential there for you to squeeze out.”

  “Yeah. Have you been assigned your free stat points?” he asked.

  I shook my head, feeling a little chagrined. “I haven’t decided where I want to put them yet.”

  “Well, remember, Baldur’s challenges are very much considered not the norm. The challenge you faced first, Thor’s, was much more typical. A lot more combat and more suited to solo runs. Even many of the top solo warriors and mages in Valhalla proper last month had to form temporary teams. It’s one of the reasons there are team spots. Only a few challenges really need you to have a team to hit the 20% mark, though. To actually finish the challenges? Most people require teams until they get really strong. By that point, they’re usually on their way out of Valhalla proper.”

  I nodded, processing his words. “Hmm. I’m a little light on coin at the moment,” I admitted. “I’ve sunk a lot into the job, but in a couple of days, I could probably pick up a new spell. And with the champion aspect of the blessing, my illusion magic actually far outstrips my arcane magic. I should probably work with that.”

  “Yeah, you could do with more illusions. Of course, it’s just efficiency. Illusions are useful, but they do have weaknesses that you’ll want to cover. Arcane and illusion together make a good combination. You can hit hard and not take hits. I wouldn’t consider illusion magic defensive, though.”

  Loki and I delved into a discussion on the different types of magic and how to mix them into combat styles. It was fun, and I was glad to have someone to talk to about this—it helped me clarify several thoughts.

  “What about skills?” I asked. “Do you have any advice besides what we’ve already talked about?”

  He tilted his head. “Yeah. Well… keep meditating on it. There’s that intersection you talk about. Remember the quantum stuff?”

  I grimaced. “It seems like I haven’t made much progress on that.”

  “Yeah, you might want to keep working on it for a bit,” he said.

  “Anyway, what were you planning on doing today now that you’ve gotten the whole unpleasantness out of the way?”