Through the blistering storm of winter, Ragnar and I marched side by side through the snow-covered mountainside.
"Euuk~"
There was also Toke moving slowly behind us. The gentle giant had insisted on coming along with us. He was the one carrying our weapons and gear since Ragnar and I were still injured.
Far ahead of us and further up the mountain were Dag and a few hardened men. They were drinking ale and laughing as they went up the mountain while we were struggling. This group was a small hunting party.
What were we hunting? Neither Ragnar nor I had a clue.
Dag practically dragged us out of bed and told us to come with him, caring not for our injuries.
Soon, after a few hours when night was about to fall, our hunting party finally stopped and made camp.
"You boys are something else. Here, have some ale to warm your blood." A rough-bearded man approached me and Ragnar. The others called him Leif. He handed us a bottle of ale.
The two of us practically fought for the bottle, which caused the men around us to erupt in laughter.
"So, Dag told me that one of you has Thor as your patron and the other has Hodr. Those are two very powerful gods. I'm sure your father must be proud."
"How do you know our father?" Ragnar asked, taking a sip of the ale, but just as he was distracted, I grabbed the bottle from his hand.
"Your father and I fought in battle. He is hands down the strongest warrior in our village."
"Hmm… Even stronger than the Earl?" I asked, curiously before downing the bottle of ale.
Leif's face turned sour before he spat on the ground.
"Didn't you hear me, boy? Certain things needn't be said out loud."
The glare he was giving me caused a chill to climb up my spine, so I stealthily drew for my weapon. Even Ragnar visibly shrunk, but just then, his sour face morphed into a bright smile.
"Ha! I'm just messing with you, boy! We're among friends, after all. Of course he's stronger than that big bastard."
"Leif, stop scaring the young ones." Another man approached and threw his hand over Leif's shoulder. He seemed quite drunk.
This man had a long beard that reached all the way down to his stomach. His beard was wet with ale, and there were also pieces of food stuck in it.
"If I'm scaring them, then your ugly mug will send them to Helheim."
The men around us erupted in loud, boisterous laughter once again. Even the man who was insulted was laughing heartily. The men around us were killers, but still they lived like carefree souls and turned everything into a joyous celebration.
I admired it. Maybe they were insane, but I wanted to be insane just like them.
"This big ugly bastard here is Viggo," Leif introduced the man.
"It's nice to meet Dag's sons. All of us here are loyal to Dag. We fought by his side on countless raids. He is a man we all admire and would gladly die for if it comes down to it."
Ragnar's eyes were sparkling as Viggo spoke.
"I wish I have men like that one day. Sigurd already does."
I almost spat out my ale.
"I do?"
"Yes, you have Toke."
"Euuk~"
Toke spoke as if to confirm Ragnar's words. Looking at the gentle giant sitting beside me, I smiled and offered the bottle of ale in my hand to him. Toke looked a bit, confused, before his massive hands reached out to take the bottle from my grasp. He brought the bottle to his lips and took a sip.
"Euuk!"
It seems he doesn't like the taste and quickly handed it back to me. It was important to have people loyal to you by your side. Toke was like that. Ever since I saved him and he found out what happened because of it with the Earl, he had been loyal to me.
Following my every order. It made me happy. Toke was a bit of a softy but his physical strength was incredible. If I nurture his strength right then he can become a powerful ally when he's older, further adding to my strength.
I want to gather more like him.
Looking at Ragnar, I knew he wouldn't be one of them. The fire of ambition in his eyes glowed brightly. Neither of us was willing to follow the other, hence why we didn't ask. I'm sure he too wanted to have a group of men steadfastly loyal to him.
That night, we drank and laughed, and I got to know the men closely associated with my father.
"Now let me see how far along you two are in your assimilation," Leif suddenly said, his face turning deadly serious even in his drunken state.
Ragnar was the first to comply, with a wide grin on his face, as he activated his Máttur. Immediately, a lightning bolt tattoo grew from the back of his hand all the way up to his elbow.
Leif looked at Ragnar's tattoo, and immediately a wide grin began to grow on his face.
"Hahaha, you're almost at the second stage! Someone get him another bottle of ale!" Leif turned to Dag with a huge smile plastered on his face. "You were right about this one, Dag. He might be a genius. To think he's almost at the second stage while only nine years old."
In Máttur, there were 7 stages in the assimilation process. The first stage was the awakening stage. This is the stage where you first awaken your tattoo after your first kill. At this stage, the tattoo is only at the back of your hand, slowly inching its way to your wrist.
After the awakening stage, this is where your assimilation truly begins, and this is called stage 1. You gain a larger fraction of the god's power, by gaining more Máttur. From there, it continues until you get to stage 6.
At each stage, you unlock a significant burst in power by gaining more powerful techniques or even an increase in your physical stats. Each stage has its own unique benefit.
Beyond stage 6 is where it is said that godhood begins. Though no one has ever managed to reach this stage.
"Sigurd, come on, show me what you got."
At Leif's words, everyone went quiet and began staring at me. Taking a deep breath, I activated my Máttur just like Ragnar did, but my results weren't as grand as his.
"You're still at the awakening stage?"
Leif's face held a look of disbelief, as if he believed he was being pranked.
"Maybe you awakened your Máttur a day or two ago?"
"Sigurd's condition causes his assimilation to be slower than others." Dag explained.
The camp went quiet for a bit until Leif once again broke the silence.
"Well, your father tells us you're studying the ways of a skald. Everyone loves a good storyteller, right men?"
The camp once again erupted in laughter, and that was the end of the discussion. We talked, drank, sang, and laughed until we all passed out where we sat.
In the middle of the night, I woke up and went to take a piss away from the camp. I had drunk too much ale before.
I trekked through the snow and soon came to a stop in front of a tall tree, but just as I was about to do my business, I sobered up a bit and finally noticed something I didn't in my groggy state.
All around me in the dark night, golden eyes were shining brightly.