In Midgard, Halfdan had always trusted his berserker strength and axe against any animal, even a J?tun-blooded bear. And while the creature that burst through the forest to attack him seemed immense in size, Halfdan still favoured his steel over its claw. “Hide!” he told Sif as he prepared his stance, raising his axe for a deathly blow.

  The bear, releasing an ear-splitting roar, reached Halfdan just as he swung his weapon. The axe came down straight against the bear’s skull, only to glance off. Dumbfounded, Halfdan did not have time or opportunity to react; a massive paw swiped out to send him flying until he struck a tree. The loud, cracking sound told him that he had broken bones, and he fell to the ground with a groan as pain coursed through him.

  His vision blurry, Halfdan saw the bear step past his axe to charge him again. Only one recourse left, Halfdan gave in to [Berserker's Rage]. His eyes went from seeing a blur to seeing red. He still felt the torment that his body had been put through, but now he welcomed it, as it only spurred him on. Whether the bones broken were in his arms or legs, it did not matter. Injuries did not stop a berserker; only death could.

  Releasing his own roar, Halfdan was back on his feet. This time, as the bear struck out with its paw, Halfdan caught it with his own hand and held it back.

  The monstrous creature rose to its full height, standing on hind legs. It towered over Halfdan, nine feet or greater in size. Its other paw came with enough force to rip a man’s head off; Halfdan parried same as before. A contest of strength developed; J?tun blood against berserker rage.

  Fully in the throes of his fury, Halfdan acted solely on instinct. All thoughts were washed away, which served him well; else he would have realised that he was losing the contest. The bear, using its enormous weight in addition to its hideous strength, was slowly pushing down. Its great jaws opened, promising to eat Halfdan’s head in a single bite.

  A stone came flying from the side, striking Halfdan’s temple. Blood erupted, flowing down to blind his right eye. Neither mattered to the berserker, who continued his struggle, trying to simply tear the bear’s limbs off.

  A second stone struck again, and this time, it blinded the bear, as it smashed the soft tissue of its left eye. Despite the similarities between berserkers and bears, the latter lacked some crucial advantages. It was still a beast that felt pain and fear, and the agony from its crushed eye made it lose focus, rearing its head backwards with an agonised sound.

  With [Swifter Than Them], Halfdan grabbed his dagger and thrust the steel into the creature’s throat. He buried it to the hilt, and still, the bear thrashed at him and tried to crush him under its weight. With a punch, Halfdan drove the weapon deeper until only its pommel remained visible. With a roar turned to a whimper, the bear fell downwards; as Halfdan evaded its massive body, it landed on the ground and remained still.

  A surge of power told Halfdan of his victory, followed by abject torment. It was his left leg and arm that had broken when that side of his body had struck the tree; with the rage leaving Halfdan, so did his ability to remain standing, and he collapsed next to the bear.

  *

  “Halfdan?” The berserker turned his head with difficulty to see Sif rise up from the pond. She had her sling in hand; with water dripping from her clothes and hair, she got back on land. “Are you alive?”

  “I better be, considering how much I hurt,” he mumbled. “Help me sit upright.” He used his right hand to push himself up, and she hurried over to support him as his upper body threatened to fall down again. With a few more pushes, he could lean against the tree that had crushed his bones.

  With laboured breath, Halfdan summoned his tree. Three Seeds of Power awaited him, one more thanks to his victory. If this is how every fight is going to go, I need to be on my feet faster. He spent one Seed of Power on [Keen of Sense], which allowed him to do the same to its dependent skill, [Mend Your Wounds]. Hopefully third rank could deal with broken bones in a timely manner.

  “Halfdan?”

  “No more bears, please,” the berserker groaned, his eyes still closed. “I can’t.”

  “No, that’s not it. In fact, it’s not a bear at all. Look!”

  Halfdan relented and allowed a blurry vision of the world to return to him. He immediately understood Sif’s awed tone of voice. The bear was gone. In its place, a naked man lay except for a golden arm ring. Halfdan’s dagger was pushed through his throat, and a stone had taken the place of his left eye. He did not remember that happening; the rage made his memories vague. “Was that you?” he asked. “With the sling?”

  “It was,” Sif beamed. She glanced at his bleeding temple. “With my first and only shot, even.”

  “Well done, child.”

  She looked at the fallen man. “It’s weird. I tried reading his gift.”

  “And?”

  “It says [Gift of J?tunheim], but nothing more.”

  “You need to increase your skill to learn more.”

  “I guess. Well, we know it’s true now that J?tnar can shapeshift. And I got another Seed as a reward!”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “Must be nice,” Halfdan mumbled, closing his eyes again; not to summon his tree, but to shut out the world.

  “Halfdan, what do we do now?”

  The berserker looked at his fallen enemy again. If he had kinsfolk or allies nearby, such as other shapeshifters, it would be best to immediately get far away from here. But until Halfdan’s bones mended, that was not possible. They did not have tools to dig a grave and hide the body either; trying to burn it would cause smoke to rise, signalling their presence. “Fetch some branches with lots of leaves on them.” Best they could do was hide the body.

  Sif jumped up and hurried away, soon returning with anything she could find. She made a small pile next to the corpse, glancing at it again. “Should we take that?” She pointed at the golden arm ring, which was carved with intricate runes.

  Halfdan glanced at it; he had not noticed it on the bear, perhaps hidden under its fur. “No. If someone sees it in our possession and recognises it, it might cause trouble. Besides, who knows what spells are carved in those runes?”

  “I might turn into a bear if I put it on,” Sif wondered.

  “All the more reason to leave it be.” Halfdan extended his left arm; his muscles ached, but the limb obeyed, and he felt no shattering pulses of pain. Stretching out his leg, he had the same experience. Tentatively, he supported himself against the tree to stand up.

  Although Halfdan still felt worn, his senses worked, especially with the increase in rank, and he realised they were not alone. Someone approached. He glanced around the small clearing; his axe lay where it had fallen, many steps away. He was about to burst into a sprint when the stranger appeared between the trees.

  He was fully clothed, thankfully, wearing the simple garments of a peasant; a linen tunic for working in the fields and a straw hat to keep away the glare of the sun. At a glance, he looked as human as Halfdan. Tellingly, he had no weapons in his belt, not even a knife. Then again, if he could transform into a giant bear, he did not require steel.

  “He’s dead, then,” the J?tun remarked, glancing at the naked man.

  “Did you know him?” Halfdan asked, measuring the distance to his axe with his eyes.

  “Aye, he was my brother.”

  The berserker cautiously took a small step towards his weapon, deciding to keep quiet; it felt disingenuous to offer condolences for a loss he had caused.

  “I always told him this would get him killed.” The J?tun shook his head. “He thought he was clever, ambushing people travelling through the pond while they were still disorientated. I told him, the kind of people who travels through ponds aren’t easy prey, but he wouldn’t listen.”

  “Well, you did warn him,” Halfdan mumbled, moving another pace.

  “You can rest your efforts, stranger. I won’t seek revenge, not in this moment.”

  Realising his movements had been less subtle than hoped for, Halfdan stood still. “If you say so.”

  “I can’t blame you. A bear comes charging at you, what are you to do? And you didn’t rob his corpse.” The J?tun bent down to remove the golden arm ring. “You even gathered fuel for a pyre. I can respect that.”

  Halfdan looked at the branches Sif had collected to hide the corpse and nodded. “Of course.”

  “I’ll give you until sunset to leave these lands. But if you ever return to any place my kin hold sway, there’ll be a price.”

  “That’s reasonable.” With a few quick steps, Halfdan picked up his axe. Glancing around, he saw no sign of Sif; the girl had taken to heart his command to hide. With a last look towards the bereaved J?tun and his dead brother, Halfdan left the clearing.

  *

  Soon after, Halfdan heard the footsteps of a young girl, and moments later, Sif sidled up to him. “I thought there was going to be a fight, so I made myself scarce.”

  “As you should.”

  “But I was ready with my sling!” Sif held up her weapon with a swift gesture.

  “Fortunately, no need. These J?tnar may be hostile to the gods, but they are not unreasonable folk.”

  “He seemed a farmer rather than a fighter,” Sif speculated. “When I read his gift, it just said J?tunheim like the other, though. Can’t say what his skills are.”

  “Be careful with that,” Halfdan cautioned her. “You don’t know if someone can tell that you’re inspecting them. Or worse, you’ll suddenly start throwing up.”

  “That happened one time,” came the indignant response. “Where are we going?”

  “Right now, away from that pond. But you ask a good question.”

  “I know,” Sif smiled.

  Ignoring her, Halfdan continued, “We have no idea where this cave is. I’m not sure how to find it.” Nor do I know what to do once we get there, considering our quarry is long gone, Halfdan added in his thoughts, but kept it to himself; the situation was gloomy enough.

  “Well, caves are in mountains. Urd seemed helpful. I’m sure she sent us as close as she could. So maybe we look for the nearest mountain and go in that direction?”

  Halfdan had no better suggestion. He imagined they would have more luck asking for directions – though this also seemed a dismal prospect – than scouring this entire world for one cave, but for now, their priority was to get away before a hunting party of J?tnar showed up on their trail to avenge a kin slaying. “Alright, wait here.”

  With quick movements, Halfdan jumped up the nearest tree and climbed further until he could see above its crown. In the distance, he saw hills sloping up to mountains.

  He let himself fall down to the ground. “That way.” He set into motion again with Sif following.

  They had not walked far before she almost stumbled, reaching out to steady herself against him. “I’m tired,” she yawned.

  Understandable, given how long it had been since they last slept; he felt the same way. But while Halfdan had [Hardier Than Them] to bolster his stamina and constitution, he could not demand further exertions of a twelve-year-old. Still, they needed to put distance between themselves and their would-be avenger of slain kin.

  “Alright.” Quickly, Halfdan bent down, grabbed Sif by the waist, and placed her to ride on his shoulders. He set a fast pace now that he no longer had to worry about her short legs keeping up. Moments later, he felt her slumped forward over his head, her tired body only kept in place by his hands on her ankles. Mindful of low-hanging branches, Halfdan continued as swiftly as he could.