Records of the Strengthening Quest #1

brilliantly and with a step forward, I thrust. Thor moved in a way that was somehow just barely in my capacity to see, his hammer rising to block with the massive hammer head… And yet failed to block completely.

In spite of the already obvious difference in speed between us, likely power as well, his feet were not firmly planted and the hammer was simply casually put in the way, yet the innate power of the Ice to negate blocks still applied and with no additional effort, the thrust went further, challenging the durability and sturdiness of the hammer. It was unlikely that either was an unstoppable force or an immovable object right now, but they clashed none the less until, somehow, I won.

The fight, of course, was not won. I had simply utilized more seriousness and power, leading to Thor being sent back a considerable distance by the force that would have normally probably pierced through his hammer were it not so insanely durable. While I acknowledged all of that, I was already moving, a Burst launching me forward as a second attempt was prepared, working in combination with [Reduced Earth].

He was not impressed by the fact I sent him back and chased after, a simple swing of his hammer somehow negating his momentum as he came to a dead stop, immediately moving to swing the hammer as well, all in the time that I had taken to cross the distance between the two of us with my Burst.

His guard was still down and I doubled down. A second Burst, stronger, sped me up as I mostly sailed past the head of the hammer, Arondight spending a very short moment against his skin, bending my arm back due to the resistance, making my aim go off its course. The strike that should have been penetrative did not pierce into his skin, instead sliding along his chest starting from over his heart and moving along his chest.

I was just barely able to react before his swing fully went through. Instead of being struck by the considerable force of the hammer head, I was hit by the body of it while only one hand was utilized as well, a casual swing with not much behind it.

[-1.607 HP

+402 HP]

All of that meant little to the immense damage that I had still taken, being launched away, somehow even making my body lighter to be sent even further by the winds and make distance away from Thor. If he were to actually strike me with a more physical blow like a punch or a kick, it would be bad. At that, the game logic no longer truly applied it seemed. He had taken the damage physically, an actual display of the damage I had taken instead of just being taken off of some conceptual HP.

I could probably find a way to kill him simply by getting a vital blow, assuming that things don't actually go as bad as they can and are likely to go. "B-Blood!? Blood has spouted from Thor's chest!?" Heimdall announced in true astonishment and surprise at the development while Thor simply touched his wound and seemed to be fascinated by his hand, or the blood itself. "Somehow… The Human has managed to to injure even a God?!"

All of it had given me the time to properly get on solid ground and prepare myself for the inevitable retaliation. Thor closed his fist and started to run toward me, the hammer down at his side until being risen to be above his shoulder without losing the slightest bit of footing or balance, all the while leaning forward in a way that left his considerable hair covering his face.

It was a considerable attack windup. [Spartan's Revenge] was quickly used as my body further moved into a better position on some automatic setup, Arondight held in both hands, flat turned to Thor as he swung down and struck the sword. 'A limitless sword capable of receiving any attack without taking damage that shines much like the water of the Lake' was one of the descriptions that Arondight was given and it proved itself more than the rest of me.

The armor cracked like glass being strained and my shoulders felt like they were an impossibly small distance away from being dislocated, yet the sword held and the skill continued, my left hand letting go of the sword while the right turned, nearly twisted, to go for a low swing at Thor's legs. He still managed to move his legs out of the way, negating the would-be counter attack, but my left hand was still in position, Innocence Arondight being unsheathed in a quick motion that, enhanced with a Burst, managed to pierce into his stomach.

It was a shallow penetration however. Nothing of note was damaged and he was likely to just need some stitches if we were going by normal human logic. He might even just naturally heal from the 'injury' normally rather quickly. The point remained however that I had managed to harm him twice now. "Th-This is?! He is keeping up! What an amazing development!"

The ground under us had broken, cracked from the pressure and the forces happening above it when he swung down and I blocked, which would have made a retreat a bit difficult, but [Furthest Earth] proved itself useful once again. Thor's presence proceeded to intensify and warnings started ringing off in my head. His face was still somewhat covered by his hair… Until he suddenly lifted his head properly up.

His eyes were maddened and excited and his smile was disturbing. "Ha… Ha ha! Let's see how you handle this then!" Electricity suddenly appeared. It was not a gradual buildup, but a mass of electricity, arcing in dangerous whips but ultimately being grounded and unable to do much but appear intimidating as it came from his black forearms. His power was reaching the point it was tangible, more than just the electricity itself, his power, his presence, felt like it could crush me without any further physical manifestation to accomplish such a feat.

Thor held his hammer up with one hand, grabbing it with his other one, holding it up in the air before leaning back, further and further, Heimdall further pointing out how much it seemed like he had simply lost his balance and was about to fall backwards, stopping moments before the hammer would have reached the ground. He was just barely still 'standing', his entire body arching with only his toes on the ground in preparation to unleash a powerful, yet single, attack.

In response, I set myself on fire, just barely listening to Heimdall as he was surprised that I suddenly self-immolated with no true obvious source. [Frozen Soul of Burning Thunder] was further activated, engulfing Arondight in purple-blue flames, occasional sparks of lighting coming off of them, the effect further rushing up all the way up to my elbows, starting to curl and wrap around my upper arms like a snake after that, reaching all the way up to my shoulders.

I did not know the limits of [Spartan's Revenge], but I doubted it was a truly perfect counter and block. There would be a limit and I was not going to be finding out, here and now, if that limit was about to be discovered by Thor. Electricity was already engulfing the arena, reaching the spectator stands uncaring of distance between them and Thor, my flames only a footnote in the overall atmosphere around us.

It might not even work like I was intending it to, being almost completely theoretical and requiring an immense amount of Quickness, I assumed, but it was worth a shot. I did not really have the time for a change of plans anyway as I simply breathed in deep and readied myself. Thor began to rise and I went low, unsheathing both Innocence Arondight.

In the first place, the position in which he had ended up swinging his hammer upwards had ended up a squat, yet the sheer size of the hammer as he swung it from the very bottom to maximize force still caused it to come from high above, ready to crush me into nothing more than a stain on the ground. He might even succeed, but I shelved such thoughts aside and put both the blades into position.

The fire did not truly enhance my defenses or myself in any actual way, though it had a particular different intention. As the hammer came down, there was a moment, a quick moment during which it became possible to return the blow, a theoretical limit to the damage it could absorb and return. I focused everything into that one moment, Bursting with immense force, returning as much of the blow as I could while the fire was milked for all they could give me to enhance the damage and therefore the block.

My vision went white and I felt the ground around me pulverize. All of it happened before the sound had even managed to hit me, though before even the sound was a notification.

[-4.536 HP

+1.134 HP]

[Skill Level Up!

Spartan's Revenge: 3 -> 6

It was followed by the pain. The blast was loud, a strike of thunder greater than what Caster had done now applied just over my head effectively deafening me, maybe even causing permanent hearing damage and certainly blinding me. I did not let my temporary blindness get in the way however as another attack was made. I could feel the blade move along Thor's body, still far too shallow to really do more than give him some potential scars for when he inevitably heals. I could also smell his godly blood.

[[Abnormal Condition Resistance] correcting…

[Crossing Monstrous Form] temporarily replacing damaged instances…]

My vision started to clear up and the ringing in my ears stopped. Thor took his injury rather well. Somehow, it was deeper than the first one, connecting the two previous wounds as well. Though he had managed to do some considerable damage himself as well, my mask falling off dramatically after the delay. It was not the only victim, of course. The upper part of my armor was broken again, my arms, closest to the impact, charred. Yet the once again sheathed swords were still somehow on my forearms and I still felt the weight of the Blades on my back.

I did not feel like I could get up either, which left me being looked down on by Thor, though it was only physically and due to our positions. He had gotten up somewhere in his swing, a fact I had somehow not realized even though I cut along his torso… There was a more… Stable smile on his face. "Bastard. That strength is wasted on a human like you." He finally acknowledged me. That was, without a doubt, bad.

[[Heavenly Demon King's Beloved Slave of Light] applying correction…]

The painful feeling vanished from my legs by what could probably best be described as sheer determination. "…Bitch." I could not think of anything remotely badass to say and simply met his gaze. He did not particularly care about that and simply came at me with his hammer with more seriousness. Quickly, I engaged the full enhancements on Arondight as well as [Sadistic Constitution].

Arondight had to be activated to actually match the hammer and it was eventually going to drain me of my MP, but every strike counted. He was barely taking me seriously so far and took me under half health rather easily, with attacks I had pretty much blocked at that. Increasing the amount of damage I would take was a rather meaningless point when he might really just reduce my HP down to one with a single strike and then proceed to delete my MP in a matter of seconds.

However, with the flames and sparks still surrounding my blades, I recovered a small amount of HP and MP with every hit, increased my damage just a little further. He was simply meeting my every blow as I was his, but the difference was that he was simply fighting with a happy expression for finding someone who could actually take him on like this while I was arguably getting stronger with every strike exchanged.

There was no obvious pattern to read from his blows either. No specific direction, he was simply moving around and swinging his hammer with immense speed and force, giving me no time to breathe and always in perfect range to maximize the impact values, yet something was keeping me in the fight. He was still too fast, faster than me, but compared to the start of the fight he was easier to keep track of.

I was improving as the fight went on. My attention only truly needed to be focused on his hammer, no other factor truly existing in this fight, blocking it at every swing, preventing it from reaching my nearly bare body. I could not activate any actually active skills, instead focusing only on the passive ones. I could not buy new skills either, lacking the actual focus or time, requiring both of my wills to work together to move my body and keep track of Thor, ignoring the rest of the world in the process.

Then… A strange pulsing sound was heard and Thor paused in his assault. He hadn't broken his smile, loving every moment of the exchange, somehow happy that I was keeping up with him even if it was only just barely; yet when the pulse occurred his face shifted to one of surprise. I was not nearly honorable enough to let him make that pause in judgement, immediately moving to take as much of an advantage as I could.

It no longer mattered if he was going to give me a chance for a free hit. The Second Form was utilized with a silent activation, even if it was less power than it could have been had I spoken it. He quickly recovered, blocking the first blow as he had done with nearly countless others during the exchange. I did not have the time or focus to count every exchange of hits between us, but at the same time it was probably only three dozen at best.

With my body continuing to move on its own, Arondight slid along the hammer head however while another pulse was heard, aiming for Thor's thigh, yet his leg moved out of the way, the swing, failed as it was, apparently counting as one of the five attacks, or so I felt by some instinct. While the attack was being made however my other arm, Arondight still being held one handed in spite of the sheer power of the attacks, grabbed one of the Blades from my back.

Thor, having been swinging his hammer with only one arm as well, still managed to block the near stab with his free hand. Three down. He moved to press his position, hammer changing hands for some reason, while both of my arms were rather far away from my body. Apparently simply using a Mana Burst was enough to count as an attack anyway as the countdown reached four, the ground under me exploding in an arguable attack that also put me out of range.

Wasting no time, my body moved forward again and thrust at his left arm while it was holding the hammer. It did not fully penetrate, the arm moving out of the way but still being cut along the length of. It should have split the arm open, but if I recalled correctly he had protective gloves or something… That were like a second skin… And it proceeded to explode while still on his arm, giving me the opening I needed to make some distance again.

The five attacks were apparently a lot more loosely defined than I though. I also did not account for the further requirement to catch myself and continue after the attack, not really able to predict what pose I will end up in. One way or another however, Thor was not moving immediately. Instead, while Heimdall announced something I was not focused enough to catch, he seemed to casually throw off remaining bits of glove from his hand.

Mjölnir had been left on the ground while he did that, casually… Yet it gave off an immense heat. "This… This is amazing, folks! Just like in the legends, it's white-hot! But why now!? Well, in any case… Thor has now lost one side of the Járngreipr…" Ah, so that's what it was. I have no idea what that is. "Can he even wield Mjölnir anymore!? And just what is this pulsing that has been happening for some time now?!"

The hammer suddenly gained veins, which proceeded to bulge like overinflated muscles. In response, Thor grinned at me, taking his other glove off as well and throwing it aside. The sheer weight of it cratered the floor when it made contact. That… Well, don't mind if I do, but right now I was not really in a position to do.

"Come on, sleepyhead." He was talking to the hammer as he picked it up with one hand casually. "Human… No. Your name was Vortigern, wasn't it?" He put it over his shoulder. "I have one… Request to make." Electricity gathered alongside the heat and power as he prepared for more than a swing. "Don't die on me now." The smile on his face was absolute and smug.

"Vortigern… Has finally gotten Thor to unleash his absolute final form! What will happen next!? This battle is quickly rushing to a result that not even the Gods will know! The conclusion is rapidly approaching!" So said Heimdall. Well, Thor was truly serious and I had been having quite some trouble keeping up with him while he was in his previous… Form…

Thor held his pose, his stance, for a considerable amount of time during which I felt all eyes on us. Gods, humans, various beings between them. All focus was on us. On Thor's power, ready to apparently be unleashed for the first time if I managed to hear, however I had managed that, for all to behold. On me, the impossible 'human' who had pushed him this far. Or simply had allowed him to get this serious if not pushed. He was far from cornered, after all.

I did not have a final form to use against him in turn and simply stood my ground with one foot firmly on the ground, staring him in the eyes as he kept his smile. A combination of a battle sense and sheer memory moved through me, preventing me from standing with true firmness. Then, the swing came, yet it was not aimed for me, rather being followed through into a swing as he let go of Mjölnir, letting it fly.

It was too fast. It was spinning. I could not do what I was planning, instead simply using Bursts to launch myself up and out of range for the hammer as it spun violently and destructively where my chest had been moments ago. It also put me in a certain position for a short moment.

[Járngreipr (Right)

Type: Glove

Quality: A

Durability: Immeasurable/Immeasurable

One half of the protective gloves of Thor. An immensely heavy object that protects the user against many forms of attack as well as protecting anything they wield from their own power as well. Under nearly all circumstances, it is said to be a requirement for wielding Mjölnir, be it for the sake of protecting the user or the hammer itself; it is of course possible to wield the Mjölnir without the gauntlets however

Greatly increases weight and damage of all Physical Attacks]

While I did the bit of petty looting, I stabbed Arondight into the ground and thrust my empty hand in the general direction of Slicer which answered the unspoken call and flew to my hand. Mjölnir had, meanwhile, returned like some kind of boomerang to Thor's as well. I launched myself forward while Thor continued and added on to the momentum and force of his hammer in what would have likely been an attack that would have closed the distance either way.

There was no need for him to close the distance however as I had come to him, my MP plummeting considerably, [Spartan's Revenge] further activating even if the movement and intention I had was closer to a parry. The tip of Slicer met Mjölnir, the Burst born from an immense amount of MP being spent only further ensuring success. The timing was slightly less well made this time and my movement further moved the hammer off its path.

Ultimately… "He… He's parried it!? Vortigern… This one man has taken everything Thor could dish out!" The Hammer was to my side, Slicer's tip under it from where it had ended up hammered in to the point it probably would have taken King Arthur to unsheathe it from the stone. I had even ended up having to let it go in the end to not be taken along with it, surprised I had actually managed to avoid all of the damage this time.

"Ha… Haha… Hahaha!" Thor laughed in madness as he lifted his hammer.

I said nothing as he laughed in what I assumed was excitement. Slicer where it was and I took up Fairy Sword Arondight once more, facing Thor when I did so. "There will be nothing held back this time." Once more, I entered the stance with which I had started all of this, the preparation to thrust.

"Nothing held back!" With a maddened and battle hungry look on his face, he took his stance as well, ready to throw Mjölnir once more. This was his most powerful attack. I would have to respond the same way.

[Skill Obtained!

[Hollow Heart Albion: Known By No One, Innocent Heartbeat Lv.1/?] – The ultimate and final attack. Originally, it was a dragon breath created by channeling the power of Albion, revering Melusine to her 'original' appearance, to being Albion in which she would have to remain. This fault is no longer present and full reversion is possible in either direction. The light which overflows from one's heart is turned into a wide-area destructive weapon capable of opening even the gate to the spirit world and across boundaries. Can only be used by sacrificing 50% MP or more. Deals 1.000x [Mana Burst] damage]

This was a final attack, all of my MP being put into it. The damage was already massive due to that, but it was only brought further as I breathed in, activating the [Draconic Total Concentration Breath] to further make it two point five times more effective on top of the various other boosts to the damage already active. The Arondight in my hand changed shape, growing in size and lethality as well as glowing with an immense amount of power.

Thor threw his hammer, not even aiming for me, letting it make its full turn and returning to his hands to be fully and properly swung down. It was likely a cheat of divine proportions, an insult to the true finality of the strike… "[Divide]" Yet I still spoke as such, feeling the power flow into me. There would be nothing held back and I meant it. Half of Thor's power, even in the middle of his attack as he was, was transferred to me, adding on to my power.

I felt some of it slip out, but I was unable to focus on finding out just how much of it it was. Perhaps I simply wanted it to be a position where we were truly equal and chose to believe that that much power escaped. Maybe it really was like that. That after fighting from behind up until this point I stood on truly equal grounds in terms of strength and power to Thor.

The hammer came down to strike me down none the less and I thrust forward, unleashing my own final, super, freshly acquired, attack toward his hammer. Perhaps it should have been targeting him properly instead, but if I did so, we would both die. The two powers clashed, reacted explosively before they had even properly touched each other. Pure magical energy and electricity only further destroyed the arena around us, exploding, spreading, outwards and ultimately upwards when it had nowhere else to go.

And in the end… I looked up and saw Thor looking down on me, a blade through his torso on the side on which he was now missing an arm.

"The… The first battle… Of Ragnarök! Goes to Humanity!?" Not even Heimdall could believe it. The Gods were silent.

For a time, silence reigned. "Fuck yes!!!!!!!!" Until a very female voice shouted that out.

[+75 Affection with Brunhild]

What the fuck? Oh right… With her cry of victory, humanity's side of the arena burst into roars of victory as well. Thor simply smirked, a strange cracking effect occurring over his body as he looked up to the skies. "That was… Interesting." And those were his final words as he started to vanish into what seemed to be dust of some sort and I felt myself being… Sent back.

[Quest Complete!

Quest Rewards: [Mjölnir (Noble Phantasm)], [Thor's Hammer], [Geirröd]]

What was I doing before all this again?