Chapter 12: Jotunheim

Chapter 12: Jotunheim

Here is the new chapter!

Almost 5k words!

I must say that you guys impressed me a bit with your quick poll response. But now that I've finished the chapter sooner than expected, and with a landslide victory, the decision has been made:

- Freyja is confirmed as a member of the harem!

*Any images in this chapter don't belong to me! It belongs to their respective artists/creators!

Without further ado, enjoy the chapter!

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Pov Thor.

Due to Freyja crying over her stolen treasure, I, as the hero of a clichd anime, must help the beautiful woman! And then she will fall madly in love with me, and then she will reward me with a kiss! And then we would marry and I would treat her like a queen!...

"...Pfff... hahahahahaha"

I could only laugh at this ridiculous situation.

Yeah right...

"... Thor?... What's so funny?... We're on a quest!" said a voice behind me.

It was Sif, who was accompanying us.

"It's nothing Sif... I just remembered a joke" I explained still smiling.

Why is Sif accompanying us?... Well... It was more of a coincidence, she found us in Jotunheim, as she was looking for an item that is only found in this land... And quite hard to find, an ice rose.

She had just located the rose and picked it up when she found us heading towards tgard's winter castle. When she discovered our destination, she immediately asked to accompany us, Sif had always liked to travel through the lands of the kingdom of Asgard... This was something she and I had in common.

And here we were, three people, two gods, and an einherjar, heading towards a castle full of giants.

Sif wanted to call in reinforcements, as we were practically invading hostile territory... This reaction was understandable.

Frey was... well...

Frey, like a good god of peace, was so unconcerned with the situation that it impressed me to some extent... After all, he didn't think anything big would happen.

But me? Well... I didn't really care about our current situation... I only had one thing on my mind:

I NEED COFFEE!

I spent a fucking century without coffee! Mead was a good substitute, but I can't drink mead forever... I might end up getting sick of the taste or something.

I had a goal: Find the necklace and drag Frey to Africa and make him your coffee detector.

During our walk, Frey looked bored, so he tried to strike up a conversation.

"Err... Thor... Why are you carrying your forge hammer?" asked Frey, pointing to Mjolnir.

... He thought Mjolnir was a mere forge hammer?... Hmm... Maybe because my partner was 'sleeping' Frey didn't feel any energy?...

"Let's just say this hammer isn't just for forging" I replied.

Speaking of forge... I remembered a little detail...

"Frey... I forged this necklace... And I know it had a return rune for the owner, through the blood bond... How did Freyja lose?" I asked finding the situation strange.

"I know that my friend, Freyja has tested this several times... As soon as she woke up she would activate the rune and the necklace would appear around her neck every time... But on one particular morning, it didn't work! Freyja jumped out of her bed and ran towards the place where she kept the necklace, which was the second drawer of the right closet, and the necklace was gone!" said Frey in awe.

Is the rune's effect being negated? But does that mean that-

Wait... How does he know that?... He happens to...

Frey... You damn siscon stalker.

"Frey... You don't stare at your sister all night... right?" I asked uncertainly, looking at my friend.

Who looked outraged.

"What?! Of course not! I would never have such disgusting behavior!... I just make a point of waking up thirty minutes earlier than her and then I keep watching from her bedroom window so I can watch her waking up; because, it's one of the only times of the day she smiles ..." said Frey, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

...I think I should seriously rethink my friendships...

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- Location Winter Castle/Utgard Castle.

Pov Third-person.

"Well... That's a big door..." said Frey in contemplation looking at the castle door.

"...Maybe the Jotuns want to make up for the lack of size of something else?" said Sif with a playful smile.

Sif then walked to the door and tried to push the gate.

"UGH... This thing is heavier than it looks... A little help would be nice," Sif said, gritting her teeth.

It was then that Frey tried to help by pushing the gate.

"UGH... Phew... Maybe... Maybe it's better... We stop for a while" Frey said tiredly, after failing to open the gate.

Frey and Sif then walked away from the gate.

"Sowhat now? Do we call someone?" asked Sif.

"I don't know tgard castle is known to nullify magic of all kinds due to being made of corrupted ice, and it only responds only to the will of its master who is tgard We are not strong enough to open the door, so Maybe if we screamed for help, someone inside the castle would hear us?" said Frey uncertainly.

It was then that they both saw Thor heading towards the gate.

Thor then stopped a few feet from the gate and looked up to see the size of the door.

And then he reached out his hand to remove the hammer that was clinging to his belt; when Thor had received the Mjolnir along with the note, he noticed that on the back of the note were written two runes, each with its meaningand command.

It was these runes that decided the proportions of the Mjolnir Thor received from OAA.

(Thurisaz) This can mean brute force; this command would make Mjolnir have the same proportions as the Mjolnir from Record of Ragnarok.

U (Uruz) This can mean the primary force; this command would make Mjolnir shrink to the same proportions as Marvel's Mjolnir.

A bonus was that my Mjolnir responds to my return command, as does Marvel's Mjolnir, even though it is 'asleep'.

As soon as Thor took up the hammer he whispered a word.

"Thurisaz," said Thor.

It was then that the golden-colored rune lines of Mjolnir began to emit a small glow... And then the hammer 'expanded'.

Frey and Sif were surprised by the weapon of unusual proportions... Because they didn't find such a weapon viable, after all, it wasn't a common Warhammer.

Thor then supported Mjolnir on his right shoulder.

And then he lifted his foot...

"knock knock," Thor said.

As soon as Thor had said these words he kicked the doors, and by the force of the blow, the hinges of the gates were broken...

And so... The ice gates of the castle... Said to be heavier than mountains... Fell to the ground...

The inhabitants, not only of the castle but of much of the territory of Jotuheim could swear they heard a rumble of thunder.

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- Location: Jotunheim/inside the tgard castle.

Pov Third-person.

Hidden in the shadows was a figure covered by a black cloak, that same figure was watching the feat done by Thor at the gates.

The shadowy figure wore an undisturbed smile.

"Hmm... What an interesting development... It just shows that I made the right decision..." commented the figure.

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- Location: Jotunheim/inside the tgard castle

Pov Thor.

As soon as I took the first step inside the castle, I looked back and saw that neither Frey nor Sif had moved.

"...Hey...Don't just stand there, let's go," I said.

This seemed to wake them up, as Frey soon ran towards me.

"Thor! What the hell was that?!" shouted Frey.

... A few moments ago he wasn't trying to open the gate?

"Wellyou guys wanted to come in, I just opened the door," I explained, shrugging.

"There's more to 'break' the door..." Sif muttered.

"Look, Thor We can't come here and destroy their house! We are invited!" said Frey.

I could only face Frey...

... We weren't 'guests', the Jotuns didn't open the gates and invited us in...

"Besides, we can now be seen as invaders! Does that mean" Frey trailed off as he looked at something behind me.

When I turned around... I saw several Jotuns, about 20, pointing their weapons, swords, and spears at us.

"Err... Hehe... We come in peace?" said Frey nervously.

Smooth, Frey... Smooth...

It was then that Sif whispered in my direction.

The cape should be enchanted to reduce air resistance, and the boots would act as boosters to increase speed... Sif you cunning woman.

Apparently, she's learned a thing or two from her mom, even though she wants to follow in her dad's footsteps.

"Yes! Go Sif! Bring us the victory! HAHAHA" applauded Frey, who screamed like a good fan.

But...

When I looked at the Jotun who was competing against Sif... He hadn't left the starting line, he didn't even seem shaken by Sif's supernatural speed.

"I must say, I'm impressed," said tgard in contemplation. As he approached where we were.

"Hahaha, she's our best einherjar, even though she's only 100 years old," Frey said with a smug smile.

"I see... It's a shame she's competing against Hugi the 'thought'," said tgard, smiling.

... What did he say?!

I soon faced the Jotun named Hugi again, at the starting line... Only to find he had disappeared.

Oh no... Sif, you were unlucky.

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- Location: Jotunheim/on the outskirts of tgard castle.

Pov Third-person.

Sif was rapidly approaching the mountainside.

"This is being too easy..." said Sif.

She then took one last look back but saw no one. She then accelerated again towards the slope.

As soon as Sif was just inches from the slope, she was ready to turn around and head back to the castleonly for her to freeze, as soon as she turned around.

Time seemed to freeze when Sif noticed a shadow beside her... She looked and was surprised when she saw the Jotun.

"... Good luck next time kid," said the Jotun named Hugi with a mocking tone.

As soon as Sif blinked, Hugi had disappeared again.

She then looked ahead and saw that he was already halfway back to the castle.

Sif could only grimace in resignation.

"...Shit," said Sif cursing her luck.

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- Timeskip: 5 minutes (Location: inside tgard castle/main hall)

Pov Thor.

And so, we had our first loss.

"I'm sorry... For losing the first challenge so soon, my overconfidence prevented me from making the best judgment and letting you compete first Thor" said Sif.

I stopped her by reaching out my hand and putting it on her shoulder.

"...Don't think about it too much, both you and we were surprised... But it wasn't all that bad, after all, now I know that you've learned to value your mother's work more; I'm sure that in the future it will be you who will surprise us" I said.

I wasn't very good at comforting others, but I did my best so she wouldn't feel bad... At least I think that was a good lesson for her.

But it seemed to work, as she smiled at me in response.

"The next challenge will be a food competition!" said tgard, pointing to two tables of human proportions.

On the tables were two plates full of ribs.

The Jotun who used the shrinking amulet was called Logi.

And who would compete against him would be Frey.

With the score being 1x0 in favor of the Jotuns, a victory in our favor was preferable.

"Let the competition begin!" said tgard.

And then a trumpet sounded in the main hall.

But... As soon as the trumpet announced the start of the match, Frey had been defeated a few seconds later.

What I found disgusting and strange, was that Jotun didn't even leave the bones.

"Ah... I see it's another victory for us, it's a pity for you Asgardians," said tgard.

"What... what was that?" asked Frey in shock.

"Don't look me like that, Prince Frey... Logi is known for his great appetite... After all, the 'personification' of fire 'devours' everything in front of him," said tgard with a smile.

This... is not going well...

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- Timeskip: 5 minutes.

Pov Third-person.

As the pact was made under the 'law' of Ymir, the result must be respected and honored by both parties, it was one of the laws established by Buri himself, the first Norse god.

With a total of five challenges.

And with a 2-0 score in favor of the Jotuns, the Asgardians needed to win the next three challenges.

"No I was a fool We won't get the information tgard has about the necklace, and besides, we have a new quest to go to the frozen realm of Niflheim, and look for a Jotun that is living on the same island with the murderer of gods! We are doomed!" said Frey almost pulling out his hair in despair.

It was then that Sif slapped his cheek.

*Slap*

"Get a grip, my prince... You're the one who got us into this situation, so at least keep your composure," Sif said, crossing her arms.

Who would participate in the next challenge would be Thor.

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Pov tgard.

Everything was going according to the plan, thanks to my 'connection' with my castle I was able to record all the competitions. Once we're done with that, I'll send a rune to the other races and have them see the once Asgardians. Getting them to fetch Angrboda's daughter was just a bonus.

But still... There's this 'boy', who broke down the gates of my castle... It's time to humiliate him a little with something simple.

Since I have received information about his taste for mead, I would like to know how he would react to not being able to consume a 'mere' mead horn.

I soon brought the ceremonial horn... Comparing it to a god was even a little funny, due to the difference in size.

The drinking horn was easily twice the height of the red-haired boy, who was just over 7'2'' feet.

The mead will never 'finish', as the bottom of this horn is connected to a core of a planet far away, and has the size of our sun, made up of almost all water; the only solid thing on that planet is the core that carries the planet's water and turns into mead for the bottom of this drinking horn.

I looked at the god and gave my best smile.

"Here is your challenge, Asgardian, you will have no competitors... This horn serves to punish my men if someone violates the feast customs, the punishment is to drink from this horn. Your challenge is to dry it... Very simple, don't you think? I thought it was the better way to give you a chance to win; after all, it wouldn't be fun anymore" I said, handing the mead horn into the little hands of the boy, who was standing on the edge of my salon table, so the horn wouldn't hit the ground.

For some reason the other two Asgardians, instead of looking insultedlookedworried? Strange... Why does it look like they saw a spirit?

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Pov Third-person.

"Let the challenge begin!" said tgard.

And then the trumpet sounded in the hall.

And so Thor soon turned the giant horn filled with mead and began to drink.

"Hahahaha, let's go my people! Let's root for this Asgardian!" said tgard.

All the Jotuns knew what that horn was... Or more specifically, where the bottom of the horn would lead.

Then the Jotuns exchanged amused smiles and began to encourage Thor.

"DRINK IT! DRINK IT! DRINK IT! DRINK IT! DRINK IT! DRINK IT! DRINK IT! DRINK IT! DRINK IT!"

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- Timeskip: 4 hours later...

The main hall was silent.

As the first hour passed, the shouts of encouragement began to be replaced by jeers.

After two hours, the mockery began to be replaced by calls for surrender.

After three hours... The hall stopped making noise and began to stare at Thor, who hadn't lost his consumption pace.

After four hours... The 'endless' ceremonial horn lay on the ground... But there was not a drop of mead coming out of the horn.

This meant that a 'water planet' of the size of the sun... had ceased to exist...

Thor was now facing tgard, who looked nervous.

It was then that Thor made a sound, a sound that meant a warning in Valhalla during the festivities.

"*Hic*"

The drunk calamity was here.

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Well... That's it, folks!

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

The next chapter, unfortunately, will only come out the next Saturday (11/27/21) or Sunday (11/28/21); for it will be a busy week for me, and I won't have much time to write, so I made a point of giving you a longer chapter today.

Until next time, and don't forget to leave your comment!