War God for Hire- Adventurer: A Reincarnation, Cultivation Adventure

by David Burke

  “How do you know that?” Hilde asked, suddenly suspicious.

  “The faster I got my raw essence spinning, the more powerful I felt. At first, I noticed that it gave me this feeling of well-being and then of hardiness. But as I was trying to slow it down, I had to immerse myself in it. That’s when I noticed that my senses had expanded. I could detect things all over the city. That is part of the reason why I’m not as worried as you about being discovered. I don’t believe many detected what I did, at least not in Thena,” Kyle said.

  “That is amazing. You are starting to experience what it means to be a god. It isn’t just power, but also knowledge and perception. Your mind expanded. Oh, we have to celebrate this!” Hilde enthused.

  Kyle wasn’t sure if she was messing with him or not. “Uh, what did you have in mind?”

  “You don’t have your pants on yet, so…”

  “Oh…,” Kyle said with a grin. Then he remembered something. “Lash said training was supposed to start in thirty minutes. We probably only have twenty left.”

  “Yes, but you said you wanted to be different. Relationships before training, right?” Hilde said this with a wicked grin on her face.

  “Well, sure, but I’m not really a wham, bam, thank you ma’am, kinda guy,” Kyle said.

  “Just give a girl what she wants,” Hilde purred as her garments poofed.

  Kyle just grinned as he thought to himself: ‘Be in the moment.’ Out loud he said, “You’re right, training can wait.”

  Chapter 11 - Team Meeting

  A short time later, Kyle joined the rest of the team downstairs. Hilde stayed in his room, because he hadn’t quite figured out how to explain her to the team. Lash was already lecturing the rest of them about teamwork.

  “So good of you to join us,” she said as he walked into the training room.

  He looked at her and said, “Have you made your decision then?”

  For a second, she appeared taken back but then snapped at him, “This isn’t the time for that. Now, we are going to practice working together as a team. Lady Meeka has prepared some new training exercises for us.”

  The blonde turned back to the others. “She has set up an exhibition match for us, or rather, a set of matches. As you all know, this is the first year that House Avarda has sponsored a team. The other noble houses have been doing everything they can to block you all from being allowed to compete. So, she has agreed to a match that will have us fighting teams put together by three of the houses.”

  Gilthan protested, “We can’t fight three teams back-to-back.”

  “I’ve spent the last two weeks assessing you. Since the rules were altered to allow anyone who was at least fifty percent human or elven to fight in the arena, there has never been a team like this. Every single one of us has a stat beyond mortal limits and three of us have multiple stats beyond that point.”

  “Based on the intel that we have, no other team has more than two fighters who aren’t pure human. That means that, even if they have more experience, it is going to be an uphill battle for them. As long as we learn to work together, we won’t have too many problems. If we come together as a team, they won’t even be a challenge,” Lash replied.

  The elven sorcerer grumbled, “That is all fine and dandy for those of you who have skin as strong as stone or who can be cut wide open and heal in minutes. But for those of us who can still be killed, it is damn terrifying.”

  Skrug rumbled, “Pointy ear is fraid.”

  Lightning crackled along the back of Gilthan’s hand as he snapped back, “Of course I am. Anyone with enough intelligence to realize the risks would be afraid. I don’t expect that applies to you, though.”

  “Youz calling Skrug stupid?”

  “Well, it can be taught,” Gilthan remarked, laughing to himself.

  By that point, the half-troll was up on his feet. Kyle had noticed that he was slow to anger but once he got going, it was difficult to get him calmed down. He glanced at Lash, but she wasn’t intervening.

  It was going to fall to him to be a good team captain.

  Kyle stepped between the two fighters. “Skrug, sit back down and have a snack. Gilthan is just being testy, but with good reason. He doesn’t have any evidence yet to believe that we will have his back.” He turned to their trainer. “Which, I expect, was the whole point of this little exercise. Lash is demonstrating that while we may be strong as individuals, we aren’t yet a team.”

  “So, what is the plan to get us acting like a team in two days? And why the rush?”

  Lash seemed to be struggling with some emotion, but it was hard to say exactly what emotion it was. Kyle just recognized the expression on her face as the one that too many women he had dated wore when trying to decide if he was worth the trouble.

  She grunted and blew out a breath. “I don’t understand the reason for the sudden rush, either. We were supposed to have a few weeks before the first team matches, but right before today’s training was to begin, Lady Meeka sent me a message informing me of the changes. I may not be a slave like you lot, but I still work at the pleasure of my employer.”

  Kyle smirked. The idea that anyone would claim he was a slave was starting to become amusing. He knew that his power was growing, but beyond that—with Hilde at his side—there was no way that they could keep him here against his will.

  “And what about the training exercises?” he asked.

  “That is the good news,” Lash said. “At least it will be something that is worthwhile. Apparently, Lady Meeka has a map that leads to a nearby dungeon which was exposed in the cataclysm. From the information she gave me, it has not been explored yet so there is a strong likelihood of treasure.”

  Their trainer grinned at them. “Best of all, she will let you all keep any treasure that you can use or will let you trade it for comparable items, if you can’t use what you find. This is an opportunity never given to slaves, but she is offering it to you, if you will all work together to conquer this dungeon.”

  Kyle didn’t know anything about dungeons on Verden. He had the expectations he had picked up as a casual gamer, but didn’t know how that compared to reality, here. Heck, he realized that he didn’t know much at all about this world that was his new home. What he did know was mostly about the city of Thena or, more specifically, Thena’s arena.

  That said, he couldn’t resist feeling a bit excited about leaving the mansion and seeing new things. His trip to the forest with Kierra had been exciting. Thinking about that caused him to look over at the lycan.

  When he did, he realized that she had been staring at him. As soon as he made eye contact with her, she averted her eyes. Hmm, Kyle began to wonder if perhaps he had misjudged the reason that the lycan had been treating him differently. From the little bit that he had learned about her culture, it was definitely an authoritarian style patriarchal structure—much more than he was used to.

  In fact, all of Verden seemed to have power structures that were harsher than those on Earth, or at least in the United States.

  “I’m in. Anything that gets us out of here and training against worthy opponents is a good thing, in my mind,” Kyle said.

  Lash nodded to him and then looked at the others. “What about you all?”

  Kierra was the first to answer. “I will go wherever the alpha says.”

  Skrug spoke just after her and said, “Skrug wants to get stronger, get good food.” Then he gestured towards Kyle as he continued, “Skrug follows the strongest.”

  All eyes turned to Gilthan. The elven sorcerer said, “I guess he hasn’t led us astray yet, and it might be nice to get some quality gear. My people have tales about the treasures that can be found buried beneath the earth.”

  “Very well. Start packing up, we will leave shortly,” Lash said.

  By now, everyone knew from her tone of voice that this was a dismissal. Kyle gave a nod and a smile to the others. They each got up and headed for their rooms, to go br
ing along whatever they might need.

  As Kyle started to head to his room, Lash called out, “Not you, Warborn. Lady Meeka wants to speak to you.”

  “I really should get ready, so I don’t hold the team up,” Kyle replied.

  Lash sounded angry then, “That isn’t for you to decide. You are a slave belonging to House Avarda. You are Lady Meeka’s to do with as she pleases.”

  Kyle spun so quickly on Lash, that her next step brought her right up against him. His movement was faster than he ever could have dived for a ball back on Earth, but she was still graceful enough to react without running into him. Even then, they were now just inches apart.

  Kyle could smell the perfume in her hair. As the old movie said, there was something about the scent of a woman. It was intoxicating and, as much as she seemed to hate being around him, Kyle could feel the connection between them. Of course, he wasn’t sure if the connection was between her and him, or simply a connection to the dead god who’s shoes he was wearing.

  “It is you who has a decision to make, Marie.” The use of her real name seemed to throw her off balance. “I have made this clear already. And stop telling me that I am someone’s slave. I am no slave; you know what I am.”

  Her lip trembled as she looked up at him. From a pure size perspective, he towered over her at nearly eight feet tall. Her five foot ten might have made her a tall, leggy woman, but she might as well have been a child next to him. Not that Kyle was foolish enough to believe that size was everything. He had known some small ball players who were amazing and since undergoing combat training here, he realized that there was a lot more to fighting that raw strength—not that Lash didn’t have strength in spades, too.

  “That’s just it. I don’t know who you are. If I were sure you were a fraud, I would cut you down where you stand,” Lash said.

  When he only raised his eyebrow in response, she added, “Even if it cost me my life.”

  “But you aren’t sure, are you?” He asked.

  “No, not about anything… not for three years now. If I knew that you really were Krig, just with a different face, then I would fall to my knees, beg your forgiveness, and ask you to restore the bond between us. I miss that feeling within me,” she replied.

  “You mean you miss the power that it gave you?”

  Lash reached out to slap him, but as fast as she was, he still got his hand up to block hers. He didn’t try to catch her wrist, because it would not have looked good if he missed, so he settled for just keeping her from slapping him.

  Some men thought it was a noble thing, to let a woman vent their anger and hit them. And maybe, there were times or reasons to do that. But Kyle didn’t believe in letting anyone hit him for free, and the remnant of Krig that was in him roared in outrage at the attempt. Any attack, even a slap, must be met with a tenfold retaliation.

  Anger still evident on her face, Lash drew back her hand. “The power was a means to an end. What I miss is the connection. You don’t understand what my sisters and I were. Some called us priestesses of war, but we were so much more than that. Others called us handmaidens to Krig, yet we were still more. Each of us took vows of devotion to Krig and we all remained celibate, as our vows made us Krig’s wives.”

  The blonde’s voice shook. “That is why Begaer wanted us so badly… why she tortured us both in body and mind. She wanted us to willingly break our vows; she despised our devotion and chastity. It was everything that she is not, but none of her followers understood our commitment. Battle tore our families from us as children, but Krig saw potential in us and lifted us up. He let us stand and even rise on our own merits.”

  She looked down and seemed to deflate. “We might not have been sisters in blood, but we were sisters in purpose and in spirit. More than that, we were united as the priestesses of Krig who spread his message: struggle is coming to Verden and only by passing through the crucible of conflict will we prevail.”

  Something about the way she said the word ‘struggle’ resonated in Kyle’s head, but he couldn’t quite put a finger on it. There was something important about it that teased at his awareness before slipping away. “How could you consider yourself married to a man who refused to consummate your relationship?”

  “We would gladly have given our bodies to our Lord if he wanted them, but Krig’s focus was ever on the coming Struggle. He intended to forge an army with the worthy and we were to be its generals. This was the grand calling of my life and now that has been taken away from me, just as he was taken away from me,” Lash’s voice descended into a mournful whisper as she spoke.

  Kyle waited a moment. He might not have been particularly good at keeping girlfriends for long, but that didn’t mean he was unaware of how to speak to them. He allowed her to feel the depth of emotion that churned inside of her. First he poked, then he let her vent some steam and now… now he was letting her simmer.

  When a deep sigh shook her frame, Kyle knew it was finally time to speak. Softly, he said, “There is another possibility.”

  Lash’s head shot up quickly, the anger burning in her eyes suggesting he might not have given her enough time to simmer, but then she sighed again. “What is that? I suppose you are talking about that fairytale Qua’ardet Flammaurorae is trying to sell me—something about Krig dying but fusing with you, a dying mortal from another realm.”

  “Yes, that’s the one.”

  “You expect me to believe that the strongest of all the gods, my god, the one I devoted my entire adult life to—which has lasted for more than a hundred years—died? And not only that, but you would have me believe that he was reborn, partially as himself and partially as you.”

  She sighed again before adding, “It is too much.”

  “Why? Why is it too much? I have it on good authority that nothing lasts forever. I freely admit that I only have flashes of Krig’s memories, but I also feel bits of his personality rise up within me.”

  Kyle shook his head. “I didn’t want to accept any of this. Where I’m from gods, magic and monsters are the stuff of games and stories… yet here I am. Here, I am able to do things—remember things—that I shouldn’t be able to. I didn’t want to believe it, but what Hilde has told me, it resonates with me. I tried to deny it at first, thinking this was nothing more than a dream I would wake up from. Now, though, I know she is speaking the truth,” Kyle said.

  “That is one of the things that makes this so hard for me. Hilde?” Lash raised her eyebrow and turned the last word into a question.

  “What, you don’t approve of me being with her?”

  Suddenly the blonde’s face grew bright red.

  Kyle would have thought the hardened warrior unable to be embarrassed by something like that, but that was clearly what this was. Kyle realized in that moment, that even if Krig hadn’t treated her and the other shieldmaidens as his wives, they’d likely thought of Krig in that way.

  She sputtered as she tried to cover her embarrassed reaction, “No… I’m… I’m not talking about that. I’m only saying that Krig was always so formal. He never would have shortened someone’s name, let alone given one of us a pet name. That’s without even getting into the other stuff.”

  “But you just said that you would have given your body to him. if he had asked it of you. Don’t you think that Hilde would have done the same, if her god had asked her to lie with him? And shouldn’t her god be able to call her whatever he likes?”

  Kyle smiled as he asked this, but before she could answer his inflammatory questions, he tossed her a softball. “What did Krig call you, then?”

  “Marie Norvanus, of course,” Lash answered reflexively.

  “Marie Norvanus Of Course? That sounds like quite a mouthful,” Kyle said.

  Lash looked unsure of what he meant and then it sank in. “No, don’t be flippant. Just my name, Marie Norvanus.”

  “Well, where I am from, the closer we are to a person, the more likely we are to have pet names for th
em or simply to abbreviate their names. I certainly never called any of my girlfriends by their full first and last name. It flies in the face of intimacy.”

  “You don’t know what you are talking about. It wasn’t about intimacy; it was about service. My oaths obligated me to serve Krig.” She lifted her head proudly. “My bond and the power he granted to me enabled me to fulfill those obligations. If only he had taken us with him that day, this might not have happened.”

  “You can’t really believe that. From what I understand, he fought with five gods and was mortally wounded in the struggle—though he gravely wounded several of them, breaking Death’s Scythe and with it, much of Dod’s power. What would you have done in such a titanic battle? I can’t yet access all of the might that was Krig’s, but you felt the power coming off of me when I was circulating my essence earlier,” Kyle said.