Upon returning to town, Scott passed a large green-skinned man singing loudly and off-key near the center of town. Obviously drunk, and staggering, he wore nothing but a simple loin cloth. The only other notable thing about him, and it was quite worthy of note, was the massive axe strapped to his back.

Scott did his best to ignore the oversized man as he went about his business, but just as he entered the general store he heard the man call out to someone nearby and demand a fight. He turned and saw that another man with an axe was pushed forward. Several women appeared and started cheering for the battle. "Boy fight!" cried one of the women merrily.

The massive green skinned man whipped his weapon around and laughed heartily. His bottom canine teeth were longer than lose on top and added a bit of a feral look to his blocky face. "This is the meat you bring to my table?"

"What's going on?" asked Scott to a man nearby.

"Ah, it's just Grimtak again. He's come down out of the mountains to challenge the local men again," said the man.

Scott watched as the poor bastard conscripted into the fight did his best to avoid the heavy blows of the drunken orc. Despite the best efforts of the wood-cutter, once Grimtak caught him with a single strike the man's clothes were torn completely asunder.

"He's strong..." said Scott.

"Should be. He's an orc," said the informative man in a simple tone.

Scott eyed the large green skinned drunk for a moment then went into the general store to get his gear. It did not take long to pick up his items, and after a few minutes spent putting them on he was able to properly equip them. What might have looked like a random assortment of design choices fit together perfectly and matched his body measurements without issue.

His armor in varying shades of red changed his appearance entirely. Gone was the slightly fat man from before. Now there stood a warrior in his stead. Albeit a warrior who had no idea what it was to enter into a real fight. A few shotgun blasts did not take the place of actual battle where blades would cross.

He stepped outside, prepared to start his journey to the tomb. The moment that he did, he was greeted by a boisterous voice. "Here now! What's this? Does this one fancy himself a warrior?"

Scott looked over to see Grimtak with his axe resting in his hands, the curve of the blade dripped scarlet proof of his recent victories. When Scott did not respond, Grimtak cried out, "You dress like a woman! Can you fight like one too, or are you just as weak as the others?"

"I have things to do today!" called back Scott. He was not small by any estimation. He was larger than most of the men that he'd seen in this village by at least half a head. However, he had no desire to get involved in a fight with someone who stood a full head taller than he did and looked like he spent his entire life in a gym. Besides that, he could not afford the armor repair fee. He started to turn away.

Grimtak laughed aloud, "That sword must be for show if you can't even pull it out!"

That brought a round of laughter to the assembled crowd. Scott did not know any of them well enough to give a damn about that, so he intended to leave anyway. However, a vaguely familiar voice cried out from that gathered throng of humanity. "It's that bastard! We found him."

Scott glanced toward the source of the outcry. A blond women with twin ponytails shaped like drills stepped out of the crowd. "You won't get away this time!"

A snort was his first response. "You again? Didn't you five run away screaming for your chastity before?"

Grimtak looked down to the armored woman then back over to Scott. His eyes widened slightly. "Oh? A human man who can fight five women. Grimtak is interested."

Four other women moved out of the crowd. It was the other four girls from before. This time they had their weapons at the ready. Before the fight could begin, however, yet another woman strode onto the scene.

The new arrival had lavender colored hair and a set of armor that looked similar to Scott's in that it was primarily red. However, her breast plate shone like gold and gleamed in the sun. Unlike his armor, her armor accentuated her feminine attributes. Upon her head she wore a gleaming red great helm that did not cover her face. Dove white wings spread out from the sides of her headgear to further accentuate its glory. "What is the meaning of this, Anna?"

"Big sister, Crimea!" cried out Miranda, the bow wielding girl from before. She lowered her bow immediately then knelt down in the dirt. The other girls followed suit, save for Anna.

The hair-drill girl took a step back then winced. "Sorry, big sister Crimea. We lost a battle to this man, and wanted to save face."

"A man? A single man defeated all five of you?" asked Crimea, the sheer impossibility of it caused her left eyebrow to arch delicately. Anna winced then nodded her head before looking down at the ground, her face burned as red as Scott's armor. Oh, the shame of it all. She'd been bested by a boy of all things.

Crimea looked toward Scott. It did not take long before he felt a sensation crawling along his spine that he recognized as discerning eye. Mitsuki used it often on him during their chat, and over time he'd picked up on it. As it turned out, she'd been subtle about using her ability. This time was different. There was no subtly. Crimea wanted him to know that she was discerning his power.

Once the sensation ended, Crimea's eyes went wide. "Impossible..."

"Big sister?" asked Miranda curiously.

Crimea snapped her head back toward the kneeling girls. "You five go wait at the inn. I would speak with this man alone."

The girls rose to their feet and raced off immediately. Neither of them wished to question their big sister in this matter.

Grimtak frowned a little. He'd been the center of attention until now, and it seemed that the only man in town worth a damn was about to be swept away by a big red whore. "Bah, I need a drink," muttered Grimtak before he slung his axe over his shoulder and strutted off toward the town tavern.

Crimea strode purposefully toward Scott then stopped just short of his position. She gazed intensely into his eyes then said. "What business did you have with my subordinates?"

"They attacked me in the woods. I defended myself," said Scott simply.

"So, do you hold ill will toward them?" she asked curiously.

"Yes. Though, not as much as I did yesterday," he admitted freely.

She eyed his choice of armaments then nodded. "I heard you call out the fact that you had business to attend to... would you forestall that long enough to walk with me for a time. I have certain questions..."

Scott looked her in the eyes. He saw nothing that he could recognize as malice or ill will, only a certain curiosity. "If it is about what you saw with that discerning eye of yours, then I have no answers for you."

"I see..." she said, a slight frown upon her lips, "Might I have your name at least, warrior?"

She took her hand from the pommel of her sword before he could answer and thrust it out toward him. "I am the Crimson Valkyrie, Crimea Bladesong, of the Valean Bladesongs."

Scott clasped her hand in his then shook it once. "I am Scott Traveler, of nowhere in particular."

"Well met, Scott Traveler of Nowhere." said Crimea. "I notice that you have no class..."

"I did not think myself so rude," he said with a smile.

Crimea blinked once then unleashed a warm laugh. "Ah, a sense of humor I see. Good."

"I am on a journey to see if I can acquire a bit of training. If it works out, I'll have a new profession," said Scott.

"Ah, I see." Crimea tilted her head to the side. "I wish you well on your task then, Scott Traveler."

"I wish you well on your endeavors also," he said politely.

They did not speak for a moment. Instead their eyes stayed locked together. Finally, Crimea spoke again, "Once you have completed your journey, would you be willing to allow my subordinates a rematch?"

"Should our paths cross again," he said lightly.

Crimea's lips curled into a smile. "Good. We head toward the capital. This is their first showing as warriors, and they are high spirited. Forgive their wanton ways, if you will."

"Certainly. I don't hold grudges," he said. After a moment he narrowed his eyes slightly then clarified, "I think."

The crimson warrior's smile increased in size and her eyelashes lowered slightly. "Perhaps you would allow me the honor of a match as well, should or paths cross again in the future."

Scott nodded to her. "If our paths cross again."

"Excellent..." said Crimea. A silent moment passed between them.

The silence soon became awkward. A man passing by looked at them briefly offered a goofy grin and said, "Woo..."

"Is there something you need?" asked Crimea coldly.

The man choked a little and shook his head before wandering away. Crimea snorted at the interloper then looked back to Scott. "Are you certain that you will not speak on that other matter?"

"Yes. I'm certain," said Scott.

Crimea frowned slightly. She was curious. Damn curious.

"It would be rude to keep asking, but you do know that you are quite abnormal..."

"My mother always told me I was special," said Scott. He smiled lightly and tilted his head sideways, "Are you agreeing with her?"

He'd meant it as a joke, but the warrior maiden took him seriously. "I understand."

Really? She understood? Scott squinted at her. What did she understand? He'd made a joke, but she took it as something solemn and true.

"Honestly, I'm surprised you're not attacking me," said Scott.

"Why would I attack you?" she asked him, genuinely curious.

"The one who bore me into this world told me that anyone who discovered my secret would probably attack me," said Scott. It was a little odd to him that such a thing literally did not happen so far. The only people who attacked him did so without know his secret.

"That's a strange way to speak of your mother..." she said.

"Mother?" Scott considered the goddess of fate, her great tits, and how they were quite sweet. "Well, she does have certain motherly qualities."

"Ah, yes..." said Crimea, confused, "At any rate, I would never attack someone without cause. As a Valkyrie is my duty to uphold honor and integrity until his return."

"Whose return?" asked Scott.

"The legendary hero of course," she said without a hint of hesitation.

Scott blinked slowly. "Oh? So, you're waiting for a hero?"

"No, my order awaits the Legendary Hero," she said.

Scott briefly toyed with the idea of mentioning the fact that he was technically a legendary hero. However, good sense prevailed. Who knew what would happen if he admitted that much. "How will you know him when you see him?

She smiled brightly. "He'll shine like the red sun breaking through the darkness at dawn."

Scott absent-mindedly buffed his shiny red chest plate, while waiting for her to continue. Crimea said, "He'll be the strongest man in the world..."

That much was a given. He was the only one who could gain a level. Scott did nothing to provoke her thoughts, however.

"His eyes will be the eyes of true innocence, as though he were newly born into the world," said Crimea in a solemn tone. Her eyes were wide, reverent.

"And his manhood will be—" she began breathlessly, her lips parting gently and a divine light coming into her eyes.

"Hey. Whoa, yo... That's part of a prophecy?" asked Scott incredulously.

"...Beyond reproach," she finished.

They stared at each other for a moment, before they both began to laugh a little. Eventually, Scott said, "Sorry I didn't let you finish."

"It is alright. Men are like that," she said, her smile widening.

Scott squinted at her briefly then laughed once more. Crimea had a bit of humor about her if she chose to use it.

"It is not my place to say this, but you might consider doing something to hide what I saw with my discerning eye. Others might not be so keen to let you go without answering questions," said Crimea.

"Any suggestions on how to do that?" asked Scott.

"The simplest would be a traveler's cloak, or mantle. They don't sell them here, but you can get them in most of the larger towns," she said. "Warriors of lower status like to wear them since they prevent discerning eye from being used against them unless they of exceptionally different levels of power."

"Thank you. I'll look into that," said Scott with a nod.

Another awkward pause ensued. Crimea stared at Scott briefly, like she'd seen a bizarre reality. Was he perhaps something rarer than a unicorn?

After the awkwardness passed, the crimson warrior maiden stepped back from the scarlet swordsman then made a gesture of farewell. Scott returned it in kind then watched as she strode away purposefully. The moment that she left, he turned and moved quickly toward the exit of the village. He narrowly avoided getting involved in a series of unwanted situations up until this point, and what little cover he had was blown. While he did not fear a fight, he also did not have the funds to repair either his equipment or himself.

Out on the open road he made good time. The tomb was not supposed to be that far away, less than half of a day's travel on foot. Scott passed a few people here and there on the road, but the vast majority of them were heading away from the village. Those who reached the main highway by off roads from other directions invariably moved toward the capital.

He stopped at a roadside restaurant and used a few of his remaining coppers to buy a quick meal so that he had an excuse to get a table for use of his map. In a back corner, out of sight of the general tavern goers, he checked his position.

Scott looked over his current location then looked for the landmark that he was supposed to seek. It was labelled Traveler's Rock. It was off the main highway, but on a side road near the beginning of the forgotten swamp. After looking everything over he realized that he had two more roads to pass before he could take the side road that he needed.

As he put his map away, he heard people speaking nearby. He started to ignore it, but they said something interesting.

"Yeah, seems like it," said one man. Scott could not see him around the partition but he sounded like an older man.

Another, younger sounding man answered, "Still, I can't believe skeleton soldiers have begun to appear near the sword maiden's tomb."

Scott quirked an eyebrow. Skeleton soldiers did not sound like something he wanted to tangle with, but he would need to try anyway. He continued to listen while the men spoke their idle gossip. It seemed that an increasing number of monsters began to appear all over the place in recent months. The further from the road one got, the more likely they were to be attacked by wild beasts.

"Typical summoned hero fantasy plot, or something else?" murmured Scott as he sipped his beverage. Was this the hand of fate working for him, or against him? Did her tits know, or was it a secret? Was any of it related to him at all? Only time would tell. For now, he had plans to make.