The Goddess

A little after 3 p.m., Kirk, Little Fatty, and Mori returned to the team's base in Zone D, dejected.

Rick had already returned with the people who had cleared out Zone A and was waiting for them. Shane, the doctor, and the rookies seemed to have made it through mostly unscathed. When Blondie saw them covered in blood and dressed in rags, he whistled cheerfully, then deliberately raised his voice as he spoke to Affies beside him. "Bucktooth, know what kind of adventure your big brother Blondie had in Zone A?"

Bucktooth was a shameless flatterer too. "Big Brother Blondie, you're so wise and powerful, so imposing—how could anyone else compare? Not only did you repair the backup generator this time, you also killed the five surviving prisoners who framed our team, then took a huge haul of food, medicine, and water from them. It's piled up in the team's entire storage room! Our team contribution shot past a hundred in one go, hahaha! When you trade for good stuff, could you sell me a few of the things you've got now at a discount?"

Blondie laughed loudly and patted Bucktooth on the shoulder, putting on a generous front. "Stick with Big Brother Blondie, and you won't lose out. We'll trade in a bit. I've had my eye on Shane's powerful Collins pistol for ages!"

The rookies over there were all in high spirits, too. Here, Kirk and Little Fatty were covered in blood, and Mori was the only Plot Character left alive. There was no doubt they'd bitten off more than they could chew. Their chance of failing the mission was at least ninety-nine percent.

Though Kirk had lamented to Little Fatty that their adventure had left them with nothing to show for it, he had a hunch that the stone he'd acquired was enormously valuable—worth far more than the Survival Points and Contribution Value he'd spent.

The one-of-a-kind [Odin's Summon] in this space alone was worth the price.

Just imagine: in the heat of battle against an enemy, a powerful ancient demigod warrior suddenly appeared behind him. How spectacular would that be? And if he could recruit a beautiful goddess, then goddess —

For now, though, it wasn't much use.

Sure enough, as Rick chatted with Mori and learned of T-Dog, Guillermo, and several other Plot Characters' deaths, his expression grew increasingly grim.

Kirk and Little Fatty helplessly watched the System Prompt about failing the mission to clear Zone C. There was simply nothing they could do about it. Who could blame them for unexpectedly accepting that terrifying Dark Gold Hidden Plot mission? They were lucky just to have survived.

Rick patted the two rookies on the shoulders, showing them they shouldn't feel burdened. The failure had nothing to do with them. Kirk kept an eye on Mori to see if he would explain what had caused the disaster and mention Philip's name, but Mori said nothing. It seemed the space had arranged the plot this way. Even when characters discovered a Hidden Plot, they tended not to spread the word, preventing the story from changing too much. In other words, the plot would follow its main storyline through sheer momentum. Even if it strayed a little, it tended to return to the main track.

Following Rick's instructions, Kirk and Little Fatty went to rest. Little Fatty was already exhausted to the core. He lay down in his cell and promptly fell asleep.

Kirk, however, took out the [Valkyrie Brunhilde's Requiem]. He had a powerful feeling that this stone would profoundly change his fate.

The black stone floated in the air, seeming to absorb all the light around it. No light could exist in its vicinity. The System Prompt read: "Contractor No. 4444, Valkyrie Brunhilde's Requiem can only be used after soul-binding. Would you like to bind your soul now?"

Kirk chose "Yes" without hesitation.

The stone floating in the air began to turn slowly. The engraved runes lit up one by one, radiating a gentle golden glow. Compared to that color, every other color in the world seemed unbearably vulgar. The golden light contained almost supreme power, majesty, and warmth. No mortal could resist its presence. It made him feel as though he could only prostrate himself beneath its radiance and offer his humble faith with all his heart.

No wonder it's Odin's sacred stone! Kirk was shaken. A stone that a god had touched for ages held such power. If the god himself appeared, wouldn't mortals be crushed beneath his divine presence?

A woman's voice rang through Kirk's mind. "Who dares try to defile this sacred stone?"

The woman's voice was light, like heavenly music drifting from the horizon, yet it carried unquestionable authority and certainty.

"Who are you? Valkyrie Brunhilde?" Hearing the goddess's heavenly voice, Kirk's imagination began to run wild. The Valkyrie had supposedly been sleeping for ages. How could she still be inside the stone?

"Insignificant mortal, how dare you utter my divine name with your filthy mouth! You dare harbor such blasphemous thoughts!" The voice thundered with rage. A fierce psychic assault struck Kirk's mind, turning all his thoughts into a muddled mess and leaving only endless pain.

"Ahhhhhh..." Blood gushed merrily from Kirk's nose, ears, and mouth, each drop scrambling to leave its former owner. He collapsed helplessly onto the floor, barely able to cling to life.

"Since this is your first offense, I'll let you off with a light punishment." The voice softened again. "If you have another strange, blasphemous thought, even though I have become a spirit residing in a soul-bound vessel, a mere flicker of my divine will could burn you to ash!"

Kirk shook his head, sending blood flying from his nose as he forced from his mind the series of beautiful, racy fantasies that had arisen after hearing the goddess's exquisite voice. Those fantasies included, but were not limited to, the following keywords: goddess, long legs, stockings, Taming, dual cultivation, **, Verdandi, fanfic Verdandi... (1,452 words omitted below.)

"You awakened my consciousness. Do you need something from me?" The voice still had a Queen's bearing, cold and full of unquestionable confidence.

"Um..." Kirk was at a loss. Was he supposed to say the damn space had made him do it? He had no idea what the space was like. "Uh, ma'am, are you a Valkyrie?"

"Has Ragnarok ended? Has the Divine Kingdom of Asgard fallen? I can no longer feel the presence of the High God Odin..." The goddess sounded sorrowful.

Kirk could only answer honestly. "Ma'am Goddess, it seems the Giants are finished too. You didn't exactly lose, and they didn't win. You all wiped each other out."

The goddess fell silent. Just as Kirk was wondering what to do, her voice rang out again. "I understand what happened now. You want to obtain [Odin's Summon], is that right?"

"Yeah." Kirk was beginning to see the problem. This unknown Artifact belonged to the space, whose will reigned supreme. So why was Valkyrie's consciousness inside it? The space hadn't reacted at all, as if it knew nothing.

"Very well. That powerful will has communicated with me. It is nearly as powerful as my father Odin was at his peak, yet its power is not divine. I have agreed to it—you may have this Sacred Soul Guiding Stone. But if I ever need something from you, you must serve me!" Her voice remained like a rose amid the polar ice, pure and cold.

"Can I ask you a few questions?" Kirk hurriedly asked.

"What?" The goddess was beginning to lose patience.

"What do I get out of serving you?" Kirk boldly tried to push his luck.

"What!" The goddess leapt up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "Mortal! Do you know how many ancient demigod warriors have grieved because they were not fortunate enough to serve the great Valkyrie? And you actually—"

"Then we have nothing to talk about." Kirk grinned. "Whatever gods want from me is probably dangerous. We're mortals, and we don't believe in religion. When gods fight, mortals suffer. Whether you're a Valkyrie or a fake goddess, I'm not doing something for nothing. See you around." Kirk got up to leave.

"You... Don't you know how powerful [Odin's Summon] is? Ancient demigod warriors! You can summon even lesser gods to this plane to fight for you!" The goddess sounded indignant. To her, this was a gift from heaven, yet this brat was being choosy and even trampling on it.

"I don't know how powerful this thing is. I just know I might not live through tomorrow." Kirk crossed one leg over the other. "I don't care what happens after I die."

The goddess fell silent. After a while, the voice of the icy rose spoke again. "Very well. I understand your situation now, feeble mortal. You couldn't even defeat an ordinary slave from Asgard. I don't know why you obtained this powerful sacred stone. I can grant you permission to fuse with it instead of merely binding your soul to it. But you must swear loyalty to the gods and to my will."

"I swear..." Kirk didn't take the oath seriously at all. He simply repeated the words the Valkyrie gave him. "And one more thing!"

"What?" The Valkyrie felt her patience running out. Since the age of mythology, she had been the chief Valkyrie, Shield Maiden, and goddess who guided souls—the High God of the Norse Divine Kingdom, second only to Odin. Her divine power was boundless, and she was the darling of the heavens. Who would dare disrespect her? The Norse were a hardy people with honest hearts. Whenever their berserkers saw her, their souls rejoiced. When had she ever been pestered by a mortal like a buzzing fly?

"It's just..." Kirk looked rather embarrassed. "Could I borrow a couple of Artifacts to use first?"

"Get lost!" The Valkyrie was truly driven to the brink by this shameless mortal. She could no longer maintain the cool reserve of an icy rose and burst out, "Insect! You'd turn to ash just from looking at an Artifact!"

"If you don't have any, just say so. Why be so rude? And you're a goddess, too," Kirk muttered, as if he were too much of a gentleman to argue with a woman. The goddess was about to lose her mind. She gave an angry snort and was about to leave.

"Wait." Kirk buzzed at her again.

"Speak." The Valkyrie couldn't even be bothered to say more than one word. It would be better if this mortal died sooner.

"Are you really a woman? How come you're still a 'War Virgin' after thousands of years? Do you know why you're still single? You could try Century Jia Yuan or Diamond Dating..." Kirk screamed.

His shrieks rang across the prison yard. Even the walkers stared, wondering what kind of creature could make one of their own suffer like that.

The only explanation was that an enraged woman—or goddess—could do it.

The cell blazed with light. The sacred stone spun rapidly, and a massive beam of divine light locked onto Kirk. The stone then transformed into golden runes, which flew into his body one after another.

Kirk was covered in blood. Despite being punished by the furious goddess's divine magic, he was satisfied that he had absorbed the sacred stone. After checking himself, he found no changes to his attributes or skills. The blood-red Space Mark, however, had turned gold—the same color as the Requiem Rune Words carved into the stone. Now the Space Mark had a golden border around its blood-red center, giving it an unusual air of bloodshed and authority.

After absorbing the sacred stone, the biggest benefit was that the cost of Summon Warrior's Soul had been reduced across the board. It no longer required Soul Crystals. According to the Valkyrie, Soul Crystals were formed from all kinds of living beings. If their soul energy was powerful enough, they would form Soul Crystals after death. They came in chipped, small, medium, large, premium, rare, and divine grades, and were valuable universal currency in this space.

After learning how dirt poor this deadbeat was, the "rich beauty" Valkyrie was too disgusted to speak. What kind of person was he? He didn't even know what a Soul Crystal was, let alone have a single one. But Kirk really was broke, so the Valkyrie had no choice but to let him absorb the sacred stone. Using the divine will she had left inside it, she could lower the summoning cost somewhat, replacing Soul Crystals with the more accessible Survival Points.

The exact cost was as follows: in a Plot World, Kirk could summon a Warrior's Soul by paying all his energy, 10,000 Survival Points, and 2 Skill Potential Points each time. The cooldown was seven days. As a side effect of the cost, the Warrior's Soul's abilities would be weakened proportionally. It was still absurdly expensive, but at least it no longer required those incomprehensible Soul Crystals. Using the sacred stone was no longer an impossible dream.

Just as Kirk was about to shamelessly haggle, the goddess gave a cold snort and abruptly ended the conversation.

She couldn't stand this mortal anymore. If they kept talking, there was no telling whether the Valkyrie might snap and crush this fly with a level-ten "Giant Fist Technique."

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