Goddess

Around 3 PM, Kirk, Little Fatty, and Mori returned to the team's base camp, Zone D, dejected.

Rick and his crew who had cleared Zone A were already back and waiting for them. It seemed Shane, the doctor, and the newbies had suffered no losses. Blondie, seeing them in rags and covered in blood, let out a whistle and deliberately said loudly to Affies beside him, "Bucktooth, you know what amazing adventure Blondie Bro had in Zone A this time!"

Bucktooth, a sycophant, replied, "Blondie Bro, with your brilliant leadership and overwhelming charisma, no one else can even come close! Not only did you fix the backup generator, but you also killed the five survivor prisoners who framed our team. You even plundered a massive amount of food, medicine, and water from them, filling the entire team storage room. Our Team Contribution Value just broke a hundred, haha! When we redeem good stuff later, can you sell me the few items you have now at a discount?"

Blondie laughed heartily and patted Bucktooth's shoulder with feigned generosity, "You won't lose out following Blondie Bro. I'll redeem something later. I've had my eye on Shane's high-powered Collins pistol!"

Over there, the newbie rookies were also full of spirit. Here, Kirk and Little Fatty were covered in blood. Of the plot characters, only Mori was left alive. Without a doubt, they had run into a tough opponent. The mission failure was almost certain.

In fact, although Kirk lamented to Little Fatty about the adventure being a complete loss, he had a premonition that the stone he obtained would be immensely valuable, far exceeding the survival points and Team Contribution Value he had paid.

Just Odin's Summon alone, unique to The Space, was worth the price of admission.

Just imagine, if he were in a fierce battle with enemies, and a powerful ancient demigod warrior suddenly appeared behind him, how spectacular would that be? Or, if he could take in the beautiful Goddess, her ** would no longer be...

However, it was not useful for now.

As expected, Rick's face grew even more somber as he chatted with Mori and learned about the deaths of T-Dog, Guillermo, and several other plot characters.

Kirk and Little Fatty looked helplessly at The Space's notification of mission failure in Zone C. There was nothing they could do. Who could have predicted they would unexpectedly receive that terrifying dark gold hidden plot mission? It was sheer luck they survived this time.

Rick patted the two rookies on the shoulder, signaling them not to feel burdened, that the failure had nothing to do with them. Kirk had been observing to see if Mori would reveal the cause of the cataclysm and Philip's name, but he found that Mori did not. It seemed that this was how The Space arranged the plot. Even if characters discovered hidden plots, they tended not to spread them, thus preventing major changes to the plot. In other words, the plot development would habitually follow the main storyline, and even with minor deviations, it would tend to return to the main thread.

According to Rick's arrangement, Kirk and Little Fatty went to rest. Little Fatty was already exhausted and fell asleep snoring in his cell.

Kirk, however, took out the [Valkyrie. Brunhilde's Soul Stone]. He had a strong premonition that this stone would profoundly change his destiny.

The black stone floated in the air, seeming to absorb all surrounding light, with no light able to exist around it. The Space prompted: "Contractor No. 4444, Valkyrie. Brunhilde's Soul Stone requires soul binding before it can be used. Do you wish to proceed with soul binding now?"

Kirk chose "Yes" without hesitation.

At this moment, the stone floating in the air began to rotate slowly, its engraved inscriptions lighting up one by one, emitting a soft golden glow. Compared to this color, any other color in the world seemed vulgar and unbearable. Within that golden light, it contained almost supreme power, majesty, and warmth. This aura was almost irresistible to mortals, as if they could only prostrate themselves beneath its radiance, sincerely offering their humble faith.

"As expected of Odin's divine stone!" Kirk was shocked. A stone that a god had touched for so long possessed such power. If the god's true form appeared, wouldn't mortals be crushed by divine might?

A woman's voice echoed in Kirk's mind: "Who is it? Attempting to defile this divine stone?"

The woman's voice was soft, like heavenly music from the heavens, yet it contained undeniable authority and certainty.

"Are you? Valkyrie. Brunhilde?" Hearing the heavenly goddess's voice, Kirk began to fantasize endlessly. This Valkyrie was supposed to be eternally asleep, so why was she still inside the stone?

"Humble mortal, how dare you utter my divine title with your filthy mouth! How dare you be so audacious and harbor blasphemous thoughts!" The voice thundered with rage, and a powerful mental shock stimulated Kirk's mind, turning all his thoughts into a jumbled mess, leaving only endless pain.

"Ahhh ahhh ahhh..." Blood gushed joyfully from Kirk's nose, ears, and mouth, rushing to leave their original owner. Kirk collapsed powerlessly on the ground, barely clinging to life.

"Considering it is your first offense, this is a minor punishment." The voice softened again. "If you have any more strange blasphemous thoughts, even if I have become a spiritual body attached to the soul vessel, a mere thought can turn you to ashes!"

Kirk shook his head, his nose bleeding profusely, shaking off the series of lewd fantasies that had arisen after hearing the beautiful goddess's voice. Those fantasies included, but were not limited to, the keywords: Goddess, long legs, stockings, training, dual cultivation, **, Belldandy, fanfiction version of Belldandy (1452 characters omitted below)...

"You awakened my divine consciousness, do you need something from me?" The voice was still queenly, emanating undeniable confidence from its icy coldness.

"This..." Kirk was troubled. Should he say that The Space made him do it? He didn't even know what The Space looked like. "Big sister, are you a Valkyrie?"

"Has Ragnarok ended? Has the divine realm of Asgard fallen? I can no longer sense the aura of the High God Odin..." The Goddess sounded very sad.

Kirk had no choice but to honestly say, "Goddess big sister, the Giants seem to be finished too. You didn't lose, and they didn't win either. Everyone fought to a mutual destruction."

The Goddess fell silent. Just as Kirk didn't know what to do, the Goddess's voice rang out again: "I already know the reason for this. You wish to obtain Odin's Summon, is that correct?"

"Yes." Kirk was gradually seeing the problem. Logically, this unknown strange item belonged to The Space. The Space's will transcended everything, so why was the divine consciousness of the Valkyrie Brunhilde on it? The Space had remained silent, seemingly completely unaware.

"Alright, that powerful will has communicated with me. This will is close to my father Odin's prime, yet it does not belong to the realm of divine power. I have agreed to it. You can possess this Sacred Soul Guiding Stone. However, if I ever need you, you must serve me!" The Goddess's voice was still like a rose in an arctic ice mountain, clear and cold.

"Then may I ask you a few questions?" Kirk quickly asked.

"What?" The Goddess began to lose patience.

"If I serve you, what are the benefits?" Kirk boldly seized the opportunity.

"What!" The Goddess jumped up as if her tail had been stepped on. "Mortal! Do you know how many ancient demigod warriors lament their misfortune for not being able to serve the great Valkyrie? You actually..."

"Then we have nothing to talk about," Kirk grinned widely. "The things gods ask me to do are mostly very dangerous. We are mortals, and we don't believe in gods. When gods fight, mortals suffer. Whether you are a Valkyrie or a goddess con artist, if there are no benefits, I have no reason to do it. Goodbye." Kirk stood up to leave.

"You... Don't you know how powerful Odin's Summon is! An ancient demigod warrior! You can summon lesser gods to this plane to fight for you!" The Goddess was somewhat indignant. In her eyes, this pie falling from the sky, this kid was actually being picky and stomping on it with his feet.

"I don't know how powerful this thing is. I only know I might not survive tomorrow," Kirk said, crossing his legs. "I don't care about things after death."

The Goddess fell silent. After a while, the voice of the ice mountain rose again: "Alright, I know your predicament, weak mortal. You can't even defeat a regular slave in Asgard. I don't know why you were able to obtain this powerful divine stone. I can authorize you to merge with the divine stone, not just soul bind it. But you must swear allegiance to the God Race and my will."

"I swear..." Kirk didn't take the oath seriously at all, reciting what the Valkyrie said. "And one more thing!"

"What?" The Valkyrie felt her patience was running out. Since the age of myths, as the chief Valkyrie, shield maiden, and escort goddess, she was a high-ranking goddess second only to the High God Odin in the Norse divine realm, with boundless divine power. In the divine realm, she was a favored daughter. Who dared to disrespect her? The Norse people were known for their fierce spirit and simple hearts. The souls of various Norse berserkers had always been overjoyed to see her. When had they ever been bothered by a mortal like a buzzing fly?

"It's just..." Kirk was quite shy. "Can I borrow two divine artifacts to use first?"

"Scram!" The Valkyrie was truly driven mad by this shameless mortal. She could no longer maintain the cool demeanor of an ice mountain rose and couldn't help but curse, "Ant! Even a glance at a divine artifact would turn you to ashes!"

"If you don't have it, just say so. Why be so ungraceful, and you're a goddess too," Kirk muttered, as if he were a noble man who wouldn't fight with women. The Goddess was about to collapse from anger. She "humphed" and prepared to leave.

"Wait." Kirk buzzed again.

"Speak." The Valkyrie couldn't even be bothered to say a single word. It would be best if this kind of mortal died soon.

"Are you really a woman? How can you still be a 'warlike virgin' after thousands of years? Do you know the reason why? You could try dating sites like Century Love or Diamond Marriage..." Ahhhhhhh!

The screams echoed through the prison sky. Even the walkers were watching, wondering what kind of fellow creature could inflict such suffering on someone.

The only answer was that a furious woman or goddess could do anything.

The prison cell was bathed in brilliant light as the divine stone spun rapidly. A massive beam of divine light locked onto Kirk, and the divine stone then transformed into golden divine runes, which flew one by one into Kirk's body.

Kirk's face was covered in blood. Despite suffering the divine art retaliation from the infuriated Goddess, he still absorbed the divine stone with satisfaction. Upon examining his body, he discovered that his attributes and skills had not changed at all. However, the blood-red spatial imprint had turned golden, the same color as the Requiem divine runes inscribed on the divine stone. Now, the spatial imprint was blood-red with golden edges, exuding an unusual sense of bloodlust and majesty.

The biggest benefit after absorbing the divine stone was that the cost to summon a Warrior's Soul had been drastically reduced; Soul Crystals were no longer needed. According to the Valkyrie's explanation, Soul Crystals were all living objects. If their soul energy was strong, they would form Soul Crystals after death. These were categorized by quality: shattered, small, medium, large, top-grade, rare, and divine-grade, and served as the precious universal currency in this Space.

Upon learning this "dirt-poor" background, the "rich and beautiful" Valkyrie was speechless with disdain. What kind of person was this, not even knowing what Soul Crystals were and not being able to produce even one? But Kirk was indeed poor, so the Valkyrie reluctantly allowed Kirk to absorb this divine stone into his body. The Goddess could use her residual divine consciousness within it to reduce the summoning cost, replacing Soul Crystals with more easily obtainable survival points.

Specifically: in a story world, Kirk would summon a Warrior's Soul at the cost of all his energy, 10,000 survival points, and 2 skill potential points each time! The cooldown period would be 7 days! As a side effect of the cost, the various abilities of the Warrior's Soul would be proportionally weakened. Although still outrageously expensive, it was no longer an unattainable goal to use this divine stone, as the nonsensical Soul Crystals were no longer required.

As Kirk shamelessly prepared to haggle, the Goddess snorted and heavily closed the dialogue.

She truly couldn't stand this mortal anymore. If this continued, it was hard to say if the Valkyrie might lose her temper and squash this fly with a Level 10 "Giant Fist Technique."