Toreii's Base Stats:

HP: 10

Mana: 145

Physical Attack: 1

Physical Defense: 1

Agility: 90

Magical Attack: 500

Magical Defense: 1

Resistance: 1

Special Ability: 100

Character Description: Ai had originally intended Toreii to be a protector/healer type character. She wanted to roleplay as a gentle and kind Goddess that came to the aid of others. However, when Yggdrasil was revamped and launched, her beta experiences were laughed at for having such a wishy-washy idealistic view of the game. PVP was king and there was no other way around that. Although there were Elven/Druid guilds that were into the roleplaying aspect, they too had to build damage in order to clear raids and defend during guild wars. So, Ai decided that if there was no point in being a kind, pure healer, then she would show the world the cruelty of a fallen Deity.

Toreii's gait was synchronized to her heartbeat, not too fast and not too slow. Her breaths were steady, with her vision locked straight forward and her chest held high. She gripped [Gungnir] lightly, feeling the seamless, cold metal sigils against the finely sanded wood of the shaft.

The ravens that adorned her shoulders shifted frequently since she left her bed. Muninn and Huginn have been with the Allfather at every battle and through every realm. Even during the razing of Niflheim, the home of the frost giants, they withstood the 1000 year siege.

Every day, they flew hundreds of leagues to glimpse any information for their master. The unrelenting winters of Niflheim made the air they flew through cold enough to freeze the blood of any unprotected animal. Their sleek black feathers would become coated with frost, making them appear as if they were doves. Even if their feathers become brittle from overexposure to the cold, even if they had to fly through enemy territories, even if they were to lose their lives, death was preferable to failing their duties to the Allfather.

Despite their unyielding loyalty, the cold air they felt around their Allfather made them uncomfortable. Against Surtr, The World Ender, their Allfather was a beacon located at the eye of the storm. Against, Thrym, The Frost Giant King, against Hel, Ruler of The Dead, or against the dark elves, the Allfather fought with the attitude of a victor.

Be it pride or arrogance, Odin stood above everything else, atop the seat of the mightiest. However, their Allfather was different today. Muninn looked to his brother on the opposite shoulder. Although both of them have seen the devastation war had wrought through the 9 Realms, they could not stop their feelings of agitation caused by the caution that their Allfather showed.

After coming straight out of the Odin Sleep, they witness their master ready for war immediately. However, it was the lack of the Allfather's Valkyries that made both ravens unable to sit still. Thor, the mightiest warrior, the bravest Asgardian, Odin's favorite son, was also not beside him.

Did the Allfather consider Thor too weak to confront the coming enemy? Muninn and Huginn could not control their imaginations. They bore witness to Thor's victories against giants, dragons, trolls, demons, the undead, and every other living being imaginable. If the Allfather deemed it unsafe for the Heir of Asgard to confront, then this could be the last battle for Odin and his ravens.

Death in battle was an honor, so Muninn and Huginn did not mind falling as long as it was by Odin's side. Thus, they began preening their coats. Just as their Allfather cast spells before a battle, so did they.

Unlike Odin's divine magic, animals had wild magic that drew from nature. However, being connected to the Allfather meant that Muninn and Huginn were a special case, in that they could use both. They buffed themselves as their master did.

Toreii did not slow down the slightest. Physically, she was in peak condition, but Ai was in a troubled state of mind. Each step forward made Ai consider if it was too late to go back to bed and bury herself in sheets and darkness. Toreii was a Deity that was among the higher echelons of the PVP community, while Ai was a graduate teacher's assistant at a local university.

Ai was glad no one knew of her life outside of Yggdrasil. She was a clumsy woman that often misplaced important documents like student projects or budget reports that went to her superior. Her terrible vision which required glasses to even navigate, caused her to get lost easily or misread important emails without them. Her students would often give her words of encouragement, reassuring her that anyone could grow out of being clumsy.

Each day was the same for her - get to the university early, prepare the lecture notes, organize the professor's schedule, see students in office hours, have lunch by herself, and sit in the back of the classroom to observe. This was her 8th year after deciding to continue her education. She should have been moving on to becoming an actual professor, but that required her to be reasonable and likable, given the complaints she had overheard from students about their professors.

Ai did not dislike talking with others, but if she could, she would rather do anything else like staring at a wall for hours or watching fresh paint dry. She thought that by playing an online game with other people, Ai could learn how to properly interact with others.

However, old habits never die.

The glow of the eternal city was dimming. The Norse-like architecture that every chiseled home had was nowhere to be seen, replaced by flower meadows and fields of maple trees. The bright street lights that lit the pathway became old torches that flickered through the air. The warmth of a busy city could no longer be felt and her soft cheeks become rosy against the night breeze. Now she was a good distance away from the city.

"Watch the rear. Inform me immediately if someone is here."

Toreii could give simple enough commands to the NPCs and they would understand. However, the ravens were more lively than what they have previously been in Yggdrasil. She did not know if there was an update recently that added new animations to the animal summons, but the ravens were moving and reacting in a way that Ai did not see before.

Muninn and Huginn both took to the sky. Their accession was silent and their black feathers perfectly blended with the night sky. It was the first time that Ai could see the sky since moving to Asgard. Normally, since she explored within the city, the sky was always murky from the light of Odin's castle.

Now that she was away from everything, Ai saw the sky for the first time. It was beautiful in an impossible way. The skyline had specks of tiny balls of light that were littered everywhere. Some were bright and were shining intensely against the blackness surrounding it. Others were of different colors and shapes, like blue dots or red dots or green prisms.

Ai had only seen this rarity in her textbooks. Her eyes were locked on what she read was a 'Starry Night'. There were many paintings and pictures that she saw during her trips to museums and the library, but seeing it in person was something else.

Toreii's breath was quicker now and she felt her blood rush to her cheeks and ears. With her open hand, she reached out to the sky. She gently closed her hand shut, like she could touch and catch the stars themselves.

"Beautiful, aren't they?"

Ai wanted to mutter back, Yes, but Toreii pointed [Gungnir] immediately at the source with her right hand and readied a spell with her left. Her eyes were locked on the unknown man that spoke to her while her ears were attuned to her surroundings. She could hear nothing but the rustling of leaves among the trees and the occasional bug that buzzed.

In-game, Ai was used to hearing the preset battle sounds and BGM. However, voices only came from other players and not any NPCs so that people were able to tell what was VR and what was real.

The problem was that this was a new voice that she heard. It was completely different than the one she heard earlier and talked to. However, the biggest issue was that this person was able to sneak past even the ravens that she had just sent out to watch for others.

"I've never seen constellations like these before. I hope you don't mind if I take a moment to record this?"

Ai watched the unknown man bring out a stone tablet and chisel underneath his well-worn robes. Having appeared out of nowhere, he was sitting below a torch post where the light was enough for him to inscribe onto the tablet.

He had unkempt brown hair as if he had just gotten out of bed. His hearty beard was brown as well, with bits of grey hair everywhere, including his head. The man's build was not slim, nor was it muscular. His belly did not grow round, but his big frame suggested he was somewhat eating right. The robes that he wore looked like its original color was some shade of yellow, but with age and wear the discoloration made it a murky brown instead.

He looks like a hobo… Does Asgard even have any hobo NPCs…?

"What's your business here vagabond?" Toreii tried to question with a stern voice, but her cute and young appearance would not let her words sound menacing.

"V-Vagabond?!" The man scoffed like he had taken offense to the label, "Surely you would not put an educated prophet in the same league as you would a homeless man?"

Then why are you dressed like you're a homeless man in a bathrobe? Ai wanted to retort.

Instead, Toreii spoke in Ai's stead, "Speak your name."

The man raised an eyebrow in puzzlement. His tone thus far was quite informal, like the two of them should know each other. Nevertheless, he answered to his master.

"Solomon the Wise, at your service!" the homeless man proclaimed to Ai with a gleeful smile and a deep bow.

My ring?! The AI in my ring became real?! Isn't this the stuff of movies…?! Why is my AI a homeless man?! Wasn't Solomon a king or something…? Why is he homeless… Ahh… My head hurts…

Despite not having access to her human body anymore, Ai could feel an imaginary pressure build up inside her head, like the beginning of an oncoming migraine. She had once felt the nausea of a building migraine during her interview with the board of education. It was not as bad as that time now, but she still felt a phantom pain within her imaginary stomach, like she could puke at any moment.

"Why have I not seen you in this appearance before?" Toreii asked, with [Gungnir] still poised. Ai was glad that she picked a non-human race for her character. Toreii was unaffected by the phantom pain that assaulted Ai's mind, which she was thankful for, but at the same time was angry that she alone had to suffer through it.

Recovering from his bow, the aging man looked at Toreii with downcast eyes. "That… I do not know…" Solomon honestly answered, "Ever since you put on my ring, it felt like I was in a different world with a different set of rules…"

Ai could not fault him for not knowing. She did not know either, so a continued questioning would not get her any further than what she knew now. However, that did not clear the strange man of her suspicion.

A player could be pretending to be Solomon and acting the part to get her to lower her guard. If that were the case, anything that the man said had to be taken as a lie until she could confirm anything he said.

"Patch notes 3.0.7, line 37-48, what were my notes about that update?"

Albeit taken aback at the sudden question, he answered immediately for his master, "Shitty dev entry #147, advertising the use of cash items as a workaround for players that get stuck trying to get out of certain areas. Also, the client is slower than usual today, which made patching and logging into the game take twice as long."

That is definitely my notes about the patch… but did I really call it 'shitty dev entry'? Ai did not outright hate the devs, but she felt that a Q/A team would have greatly improved the community relationship with the devs.

Easing the pointed tip of [Gungnir] away from the hobo, Toreii still had her ears pricked to any other sounds besides their conversation.

"Does anyone know you're here?"

Solomon stroked his beard with a hand, recalling previous events, "I do not believe so. Because you are the only one with my ring, my knowledge and wisdom belong only to you. I was with you and your ravens, but they did not seem to notice my presence. Therefore I can conclude that only you are able to see and hear me."

Since Toreii had a mental connection to all her summoned creatures, the ravens would have also noticed Solomon. She sent a mental question to the ravens to confirm Solomon's answer. With their view from above, all they were able to observe was that she was alone on the pathway. Noticing that her time was running low, she had to accept the limited amount of confirmed information. Not giving the hobo a second glance, Toreii continued her pace toward the outer wall.

She tightly squeezed the wooden shaft of her spear, feeling the heat of her hand against the cold, magical Uru metal. It had become a new habit of sorts when she had to think about uncertain things and talked to the spear like it had a consciousness of its own. However, since the game became real, she could actually feel an actual connection to the weapon, like she could converse with it and understand the spear's intentions.

More questions began filling Ai's head like, How did an AI device gain a body and sentience? Did everything become real? Not just the game…? If a ring can gain a consciousness… Are the NPCs real now too?

The questions kept piling on, and the more curious she became the more she felt shivers run through her body. Now that she was approaching the wall, she could find answers to her questions.

The walls were well above 50 meters in height, which encircled the entirety of Asgard. The inner walls were reflecting the orange glow of the torches due to the constant maintenance that was performed on the stone. Stonemasons lead by dwarves would come daily to polish and fix sections of the alabaster walls. The magical barrier just outside of the walls was generated by Odin's throne. As long as there was an Allfather, the magical protection around Asgard would remain.

Toreii's view locked onto a man with gold Asgardian armor. Well, at least it's an NPC… How did this one get all the way out here…? Normally the NPCs were on set routes programmed by the person that made them. Unless otherwise ordered to move from their preset destination, NPCs do not move on their own, especially to the edge of Asgard.

Upon drawing nearer, Toreii froze in her tracks. The man began to kneel in her presence, but she knew the importance of this NPC. Ai's guess earlier about the person speaking being Heimdall was correct, but because she was correct that her internal alarm bells were going off one by one.

"My deepest apologies, my King. I know the importance of the Odin Sleep to the continued prosperity of Asgard, but I would not have asked an audience with you unless Asgard itself was in grave danger."

Is something going to attack Asgard? Did the devs program a doomsday event in for Asgard…? Wait… Ragnarok… The NPCs wouldn't know about Ragnarok… But we aren't in Yggdrasil anymore… The 9 realms are gone. Can an event in Yggdrasil happen in this new world?

The childlike face of Toreii remained unchanged, a paragon of calm, but inside Ai wanted to crawl back into bed and forget about this entire ordeal. Today is my day off dammit! I shouldn't be forced to think this hard… Even if I did get onto Yggdrasil today I didn't want to spend it clearing the Ragnarok raid again… What a pain…

"...Ragnarok…" Toreii accidentally muttered out loud.

What she had originally observed as a gentle, calm guardian vanguard, now appeared as a wide-eyed soldier freshly off the greens of basic training. Ehhh…? Did I somehow scare him…? I guess Heimdall is supposed to die in the original Ragnarok…

"Is it t-truly so, my King?" Heimdall's voice sounded low and small, which was unbefitting of someone as big as his build, "Has Ragnarok…" His voice trailed off unable to finish the sentence.

Ai was able to confirm 4 things about the NPCs of this new world:

Everything that had intelligence was now alive and acted like real people.

The memories of the NPCs is whatever was last programmed into their backstories.

Toreii's Allfather levels had transferred over and she was still considered Odin to all NPCs.

The NPCs of Asgard do not know that Yggdrasil was a game.

Should I consider the NPCs of Asgards as hardcore roleplayers…? If I do, they will more than likely follow their programmed mythology. But… Ai had skimmed through the backstories of the NPCs as well as created spreadsheets for their abilities and skills before the game ended, storing the information inside of her ring. What would the NPCs do if Ragnarok never happens?

"W-what are your orders for me, my King?" Heimdall asked. He broke the silence a minute after the Allfather announced the end of Asgard. In all of his wisdom and foresight, only Odin and Mimir were above himself. If the King of Asgard came alone without bringing anyone else, then it meant that the details of their discussions are to not leave this secret meeting.

Hmm… Eh? Orders? Ai had cleared the Ragnarok raid dozens of times, so she had an idea of what to expect when it came to the raid bosses that the Asgardians would face, down to the smallest detail. The raid was a continuous onslaught of raid boss after raid boss that was meant to whittle down the party's resources and stamina, but most raiding groups were efficient machines that always brought optimized gear and items.

Ragnarok was a war of attrition, which was why as a solo player, Ai had to use lots of cash items in order to sustain herself in between the raid bosses. The fun of raiding was learning the movements and moveset of each boss. Even wiping to an unlucky critical strike was a learning experience which as an educator, Ai was very fond of. However, after the 5th or 6th time clearing the same bosses, the Ragnarok raid lost its charm.

Still, I guess the NPCs of Asgard would get scared if the devs had programmed them to know their deaths were inevitable. Hmm… What should I do?

Ai continued her internal musing, while Heimdall was dripping with sweat from his brow down to his chin. He has always kept watch inside of Asgard, so he relied on his cosmic vision to watch everything else. He only knew of 2 other beings in existence that could foretell the final outcome of Ragnarok.

Yet, despite knowing his own death would be coming, the Allfather before him was unnaturally calm. He could not see any change in his King's attitude after announcing the fall of Asgard, nor could Heimdall read any negative emotions from Toreii's facial features.

"...How boring…" Toreii sighed out loud. She pinched the bridge of her nose out of habit, softly rubbing her temples, like she used to do in the real world.

Heimdall felt a cold chill down his spine, like his audience with the Allfather was also joined by the Death Goddess, Hel. His back grew wet from the cold sweat that quickly set in. His grey eyes which were protected under his helmet were pin size in the sheer awe of his King's indifferent attitude.

"M-my Ki-King?! P-Please spare your u-unworthy servant! What ex-exactly is your will? "

… Hmm…? Oh… Well… I guess… "If Ragnarok does come I'll just have to clear it alone." … Again… Ugg… My cash items… I can't go using them like I could just spend next month's check on new ones… Ai internally sighed.

Heimdall looked away, locking his vision intently onto the ground before his Allfather's feet. Incomprehensible, unreachable, a true supreme being. These were the only things that someone beneath the Allfather could feel about the King of The 9 Realms. Heimdall understood that now. He once considered his foresight comparable to Odin's own, but that notion was bitterly crushed. He hung his head low in shame. That was all he could do after getting such a matter-of-fact answer.

To face certain death, not only his own but an entire nation's. The Allfather would shoulder the burden all by himself and only allow himself to bear it. How could Heimdall even consider himself worthy enough to be in his presence? To even consider himself to be on par with such a peerless supreme being. Pride and foolishness, Heimdall chided himself. His body felt numb, the cold feeling from earlier spreading throughout his body.

Is Heimdall alright…? Did he eat something bad earlier? Ah… I haven't eaten today either… What should I do about dinner? Instant ramen again? Is it too late to go shopping for ingredients…? How late do the supermarkets in Asgard open till? … Is there a supermarket in Asgard…? Does an Allfather do their own grocery shopping? Oh… I guess I am a king now as well…

Ai's train of thought derailed entirely. The most responsibility she had was watching over a small class of students, not a nation of people that all depended on her.

Shit shit shit shit shit… Stay calm… It can't be much different from those resource management games… Ai played many strategy games during her lunch break, but games and real life are two different things, at least they were before today.

"MY KING! STAND BACK!"

Toreii's vision was covered by Heimdall's backside. The vanguard had spontaneously jumped into action, standing in front of her to be her shield. Her ears picked up the faint flapping of wings in the cold night air. Several sets of wings could be heard in the distance beyond the magical barrier.

Then she heard more sets of wings in the distance, the number growing more and more each second. Her Deity racial levels had [True Vision] as a passive skill, which was boosted even more by the Allfather's [Sight Beyond Sight]. Not only could she see perfectly in the dark, but she could also see the magical aura of other beings. It gave her a great advantage against other magic casters during her PVP days, where she could perfectly see their magical capabilities.

Through her magic sense, Ai could guess that the flapping came from dragons. However, the cluster of dragons continued to grow. Is this some kind of dragon migration? Maybe a nest?

Among the colony of dragons, Toreii felt the ever familiar mana aura that she often saw in Yggdrasil. A player was hiding among the dragons. Unlike with the NPCs whose magic auras were more controlled, players had auras that were chaotic in nature. However, this magic aura was not unlike the dragons she was feeling, just bigger and foreign to anything that she had dealt with before.

BOOM BOOM BOOM

The skyline behind her lit up. Blue streaks of light roared through the sky as a thunderstorm of cosmic proportions formed over Asgard. Her hair stood up against the electrically charged air. The once clear night sky was completely covered in black clouds, lightning jumping from one cloud to another. Her ears rang with the static crackling of thunder.

"The Odinson cometh, my King."

Between a player with a horde of dragons and Thor, she would rather face the former, or rather Ai would pick a horde of dragon players on any bad day compared to dealing with Thor. Having Thor be the one to explore the new world was a nightmare waiting to come true. If Loki was like a surgeon with excellent skills with a scalpel, then Thor was a nuclear bomb that never stopped going off. The last thing she wanted was for Thor to see a new world where he could test his strength.

"No one is to leave Asgard without my permission!" Toreii shouted from the bottom of her lungs, rasing [Gungnir] to the heavens as she did so. The divine spear glowed in a majestic hue of colors as did the tallest tower in all of Asgard.

"PLEASE WA-"

Toreii remotely activated the [Bifrost] with [Gungnir]. Every NPC within Asgard was shrouded with a white light, including Heimdall. The city as well as all of its citizens vanished in a trail of light and dust.

With her [True Vision], Toreii watched her surroundings before the dragons can get a chance to make their move. Asgard had appeared floating above a mountain range, where snow was currently falling beneath her. The mountain tops were jaggaged like the fin of a fish, and completely white from the winter snow. Lines of hibernating trees were all over the mountain, which at the base contained a lake that spanned almost as big as a sea did.

Deep within the lake, she could see something within stirring, like several serpents were trying to uncoil themselves from each other. However, her magical sense only detected a single being within great lake. Whatever was down there rapidly broke through the surface of the lake, screeching an ear bleeding wail, causing more dragons to fly upward towards her.

The space that the city once occupied was soon filled by every form of dragonkin that Ai knew of, from regular dragons to faerie dragons, including wyverns, tiamats, leviatians, wyrms and drakes. This was not an ordinary gathering of dragons. Something had gathered and united all of dragon kind and that something was quickly approaching her. Although she had originally thought it was a player that was among the dragons, she was mistaken.

A hydra, 1/10 the size of the city of Asgard flew from beneath her to confront her directly. Instead of many heads that were the same, the hydra had a single head for every kind of dragon that there was. There were heads that were just bones - others were bones with fire that burned through every nook and cranny - some heads were wood with water spiralling along the neck - one head had no eyes while the one right next to it had thousands of eyes all over it - another head was made completely of stone with another made out of water or fire or air or electricity - some of the heads were even made of all the elements combined. However, the biggest head, the one that stretched out the longest and met her gaze back was an ethereal head, like it had transcended the bounds of the mortal realm.

Its black body was armored with thick hardened scales that were barbed with spikes. Instead of a normal set of arms and legs, it possessed 3 sets of forearms whose muscles were bulging underneath its serpent body. With no hindlegs, his long tail wrapped around the hoard of dragons several times before eventually disappearing into the landscape below.

After the city vanished, Toreii was left flying mid air, well above the cloud line. However, the ancient hydra's upper body broke through the cloud cover while his kin kept circling them. What surprised Ai was the word choice that the voice spoke to her.

"IMPURE FILTH! I will cleanse this world of your kind!"

All the heads spoke in unison, each with a different voice, but the malicious intent was clear as day. There were well over a thousand heads on the hydra, but Ai's thoughts ran through her memory, searching if there were any hydras in mystical history.

A sweet, gentle female voice came from behind Toreii, which caused Ai to mentally jump in surprise. It was what she had dreaded, an Asgardian being left behind. It wasn't that she was worried for the safety of the lone straggler, but what the NPC would do in this new world.

The air rang from the metallic unsheathing of a blood crimson sword drawn by a warrior clad from head to toe in platinum. The protective armor had runes that increased its base stats, but also had sigils that Toreii had personally put on there as well which gave immunity to many status effects.

What Ai had feared the most was the sword that was pointed at the hydra. [Rungnir], the hellish sword born from the same dwarf star the bore [Gungnir], and the only weapon to have the same amount of data as Odin's own.

If [Gungnir] was created to be an anti-world-class item weapon, then [Rungnir] was created to be the best world-class item. The demon sword was a mid range broadsword, but instead of a single long blade, the sword was hollow down the center, splitting the blade into two small swords that merged at the hand guard. The crimson red coloration came from being forged within the hellfire that burned inside of Surtr's own skull.

Ai considered [Rungnir] to be the ultimate world-class item because of its special interaction with other world class items. The sword could negate and store the effect of the last world-class item used against its bearer, which basically made it an instant S+ tier among other world class items. However, her attention quickly drew back to the Asgardian wielding the sword.

"I will have your dead body eat those words, vile serpent! No one shall besmirch the Allfather, King of Asgard, in my presence, his beloved wife, Queen of Asgard, Frigga! If Heaven and Hell cannot deny my love for my King, an inferior being like you might have the honor of becoming our carpet."

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!ShutupShutupShutupShutupShutupShutupShutupShutupShutupShutupShutupShutupShutupShutupShutupShutupShutupShutup!

Although Toreii had not expressed any emotional changes from her adolescent face, Ai was reeling on the inside. In all her years of PVP and dungeon raids, nothing hurt her psyche as much as hearing such words being spoken about her.

It was like she was back in middle school confessing to a boy she had a crush on. It was a memory that haunted her and gave her PTSD everytime students brought up dating as a topic. There were many sleepless nights when her brain would all of a sudden play every single awkward moment she had thus far ingrained in her mind like a highlight reel, which all ended in the same confession scene.

Please no… Please shut up… I'll die of embarrassment at this rate…

To Ai, death was preferable to talking about her love life.

I want to go back to bed…

A/N: Sorry for the wait. I didn't know if I had wanted to include the fight scene in this chapter or the next. Sorry if it did end in a cliffhanger of sorts. Do you guys mind long chapters or would you want shorter ones? Please feel free to tell me or give feedback on this chapter. I tried flushing out more details, but some parts might be seen as word heavy.