Foresight

At the end of the day, Ysmir took first place in the rank with one Fair beast and six Mighty beasts in his record.

The highest record in history since the Academies were established a few centuries ago by Mimir.

Sigrun obtained second Mightiest from her five Fair beasts and three Mighty beasts as Hilda and Kara placed third and fourth Mightiest with similar records.

Their records were also quite new throughout the three Academies ranking history as the students throughout history never achieved such high kill counts on the stronger beasts.

Even the mighty Lords and Ladys such as Arild, Roknos and Eidis would not be able to achieve these records if the Academies and trials existed millenniums ago.

Of course, the royal line could easily have done such things before their coming-of-age ceremony at 20, but they didn't count as the regular æsirs who need to work to get to that kind of strength.

Though this generation was different due to four certain younglings.

Ysmir and the three girls were just too different from the traditional æsirs.

Ysmir with his various focus on his abilities, skills and mystical abilities, while Sigrun and her friends took a fully different path in their inner abilities focusing less on merely brute strength.

The next and final trial started the next day.

For the students and the audience, it was the most exciting of all for them for many reasons considering they were practically a race influenced by battles.

Though Ysmir didn't take too much time with it.

Once he arrived he knew that the three girls would challenge him among the rest of the students who were not afraid of a fight.

But Ysmir accepted the challenge of Sigrun, Hilda and Kara and won against them easier than ever before.

He then announced that those who wanted to challenge him would have to win against the three young girls.

And then he left.

Leaving motivated students, a screaming crowd and three adrenaline girls full of adrenaline.

Lord Logros laughed out, amused, thinking Ysmir would soon step onto the colosseum again soon.

In fact he wouldn't be surprised if that's where Ysmir was heading towards right after leaving the trials.

But Ysmir's destination was elsewhere, away from the city.

••••••••

Back of the Crusgal mountain while the sun sets.

*SSHHHHKRAADOOOOM*

A flash of light appeared under the dark skies before deep rumbling thunder rang out.

A dark green Serpent as big as two meters and more than 10 meters long fell on the ground with dark red burns all across its body.

Odin fell on one knee as he struggled to breathe, sweat covering his body as his royal robe tore in certain places.

He almost took half a day just to find a beast in the mountains that he would certainly have a hard time with, one that would give even adults trouble.

And he found it.

He didn't know how long he'd battled against the serpent but the skies had darkened long ago.

Odin grabbed a sword nearby as he began to cut the head of the serpent beast, preparing to bring it back to the palace as proof of his strength just like the rest of the students in the academy.

If he were to attend the academies then it just wouldn't be fair for everyone else, and so the children who are of royal blood had to take a different path, one such as strolling towards the mountains and bringing down the head of a worthy mighty beast.

The head Odin would bring would be more than worthy, his strength would be made known to the people of Asgard.

Odin wrapped the serpent head with a rope before he trudged forward dragging it with him, on his way he saw a bear, a giant red bear that was close to two meters while up to four meters when standing.

The red bear was being chased just hours ago by the serpent Odin had slayed.

Using that chance, when the serpent was putting all its focus on the bear, Odin had struck at the serpent injuring one of its eyes while the serpent took a large bite of the bear's stomach before their battle began.

Now the bear laid on the ground dead with a blood pool, the side of its stomach gnawed out.

*CAW*

*CAW*

A crow landed next to the bear as it stared towards the lying bear.

Odin looked around as he saw a few more animals pop out of the bushes, animals, not beasts.

Ones that are softer and weaker than the ferocious beasts roaming around the mountains.

They were mostly prey for the more stronger beasts, yet they gathered so fearlessly.

Odin observed a bit away as the animals gathered around the bear as if…losing someone dear.

The crow suddenly turned it's head towards Odin, who seemed to feel that the situation turned.

Now it felt like the crow was observing him.

What was strange was that the crow had shining gold eyes, beaming straight into Odin's soul.

*KAshiik*

"Insolent."

A wave of lightning burst out of Odin as he glared at the crow, as if telling it to watch itself.

The crow turned back towards the red bear as Odin was full of questions.

The crow was weird, he felt he had to be wary towards it.

He must see his uncle Mimir for some answers.

•••••••••••

Near a river at the side of the city, Roknos sat on a log in front of a fire as he roasted and ate a strangely large fish.

As he continued to do as such, a boy with red hair arrived with a battle axe with heavy steps.

He had on new sets of weighted cuffs that are twice heavier than the ones he had previously.

Roknos made sure to get heavier ones as Ysmir seemed to have grown used to the old five vætt cuffs.

"I would pass onto the afterlife before I could reach my 20th nameday." Ysmir complained.

"Maybe." Roknos responded with his ever expressionless face to which Ysmir groaned in annoyance.

"When are we to depart?"

"Once you are ready."

"I am ready."

"Then we depart."

Ysmir's plans pass the Crusgal mountain are now, and the person he chose, or asked, to come along was none other than his teacher Roknos.

Though Roknos didn't think too much on it and agreed, he thought the lands and mountains past mount Crusgal was a great place for growth.

Roknos placed a few barrels and some crates filled with food onto his flying boat and hopped on, that was all he was bringing on the trip.

Ysmir only had his dull robe, cuffs and his Axe with him.

And with that they flew towards the back of the royal palace.

On the way, Ysmir reached out for a piece of bread to eat when Roknos smacked his hand away.

Ysmir was then informed that everything on the boat was for his teacher and his alone.

If he wanted something he would have to obtain it himself.

The boy complained, Roknos was there to help and guide him as he found what he was looking for deep in the mountains, not to let him starve.

But Roknos stood by his words, which was; Ysmir had to find food and drinks himself from the mountains.

Meaning Roknos was only there if his situation was dire.

Ysmir didn't like it.

•••••••••••••

More than a year later…

Ysmir, who has grown considerably, sat near a river as he washed his ax from the blood stuck on it.

His fiery red hair has grown past his shoulders in a mess from neglecting hair care for a long time.

His face lost the baby fats as he looked more of a young man than before.

The face of a bear sat atop his head with the rest of its fur covering his body. A headdress he made from a beast he hunted during his stay in Skjodar, the name for the lands of giants past Asgard.

*Grrrrrrr*

A low grumble of growl sounded from the bushes.

Hearing this Ysmir stood up, over 185 cm tall, turned towards the sound and smirked.

A red-fur bear walked out of the large bushes with strangely long legs and a small body, a bear cub.

*RRROAR*

"Quit yapping if you want a beating." Ysmur threatened with his fist clenched.

The bear whined as it ran towards Ysmir before it rolled clumsily onto his feet before it wiggled around his legs rubbing its head and body aggressively with its continuous whine.

"Ahh I'm only kidding I wouldn't beat you up!!" Ysmir suddenly grabbed the whole bear and snuggled it close to his chest as he rubbed its head.

"Whoosh a good boyy? Whoosh a good boyy?!"

"Come boy, lunch is ready." Ysmir carried the bear cub near the river where they can both see a four-legged beast lying on the ground dead.

A Larkin.

The beast was as long as it was big with a thick greenish red scale-like surface.

This was the beast Ysmir was looking for and the reason he was in the Skjodar lands.

When he arrived on the mountain he was lost in where to find this certain kind of beast. Not only because Roknos disappeared on his own to watch from afar, but he couldn't find where the species of Larkins roam and reside.

And just as he intended to venture across the mountains, he hit another wall in his path. The monsters in the mountains were stronger.

It didn't matter how much he tried to avoid them, there was always certain types of beasts that would make him their destination no matter how far.

And what pissed him off more was that in those uncountable beasts that constantly bother him, not ONCE was there a Larkin in the bunch, the very beast he was looking for.

It was as if a mastermind was slowly pulling the strings on these beasts to run straight towards him, except for that one beast.

It took him a few days to realize that it was impossible to contend with these beasts with the way he is, weighted and shackled even.

Even an active Aesir under a century wouldn't roam into these mountains with pride.

And so Ysmir moved his hands to detach the weighted shackles in his wrist and ankles…

But strange pebbles and rocks would fly out of "nowhere" and bombard him, as if the "universe" is telling him to not take it off.

And so he didn't, the more days and nights he spent in Mt. Crusgal, he trained to refine his counter combat arts, basically power, speed, precision.

In other words, rock, paper scissors.

To simplify it, rock represents power, paper is speed, and scissors is precision. But Ysmir added timing with precision, making it advantageous towards both power and speed.

And for three months, Ysmir has used speed against powerful beasts and so on.

Most beasts were straightforward, meaning powerful or fast and there weren't many tricky beasts around, and so most of the time he used precision and timing with the beasts.

But he was still working on it, even after more than a year he still wasn't able to use it proficiently against beasts, though it was different if there was an aesir or such.

Ysmir was able to find a Larkin in the fourth month of his arrival, it was difficult to hunt one down however as most of the time they gather in groups, and their bodies are dense and durable to physical attacks.

Luckily they were quite slow.

But Ysmir was grateful, fighting against the Larkin made him realize how tough the outer and inner bodies of the Larkins were, meaning he would have a tough body as the beast.

He later regretted his decision later as the liver of a Larkin was extremely bitter, rather saying it was bitter was an understatement.

When he consumed his first liver of a Larkin with the required components, he felt his whole airway become overly sensitive with a certain temperature he couldn't comprehend.

Feeling as if it was extremely cold and hot at the same time.

And the feelings didn't spare his mouth, nose or eyes.

After a while he felt worse, as his stomach started aching in unbearable uncomfort, it somehow felt worse than his stomach being in pain.

A few minutes after he followed the instructions of the tome and consumed normal food he would usually eat.

And after an hour with the pain, he finally forced out waste from his body through vomiting and a stench of feces.

He spent the remaining day and night contemplating his choices before he had to get back in action from coming beasts.