Rune of Skadi

It was approaching dusk in the small settlement of Uppsala, where a momentous occasion during a sacrificial ritual had recently occurred.

The small guest room behind the Sacred Temple was similarly rustic yet cozy.

Erik laid comfortably on a simple mattress made of twigs and straw as he rested after speaking with Helga, the High Priestess, and accepting her faithful assistance.

The Temple provided him a place to stay while at the settlement and some food like salted fish and boiled Rutabaga slices.

Erik thought while eating, "It won't taste half as good compared to any food in modern times with all the available herbs and spices, but I'll have to get used to eating bland fare eventually."

During the Dark Ages, the salt trade throughout Scandinavia began, allowing civilians to preserve and cure various types of meat. Still, the difficult accessibility of other essential culinary ingredients reflected the subpar taste quality of the local cuisine.

Erik didn't mind it as much because nutrition and sustenance were much more important than anything to his health.

He spent the time while eating reviewing his character menu and the new S Rank Chain Quest on his Soul System overlay.

The system stated, "Due to the difficulty ranking of the quest, Raise a Grand Warband, the player will be required to progress increasingly challenging missions. First, increase your monthly gold gain by 40 to sustain ten professional warriors. Note: There is no time limit for these quests."

The average salary of a medieval mercenary was 4 Guilder, gold coins minted in the Netherlands during the 13th Century. However, Erik realized his dilemma and thought, "Wait a minute, I'm in 10th Century Scandinavia, where everyone uses silver coins. Where am I supposed to get gold coins? I'll need more information before moving forward with the quest."

Erik instinctively focused on the Gold resource to activate the system's Tooltips, an integral and core aspect of the Soul System based on Crusader Kings 3.

A small box appeared on his overlay that explained the specific resource in-depth, "Gold is a system resource that represents purchasing power and is determined by the value of owned silver, bronze, textiles, food, and other goods. The system can assist in appraising items via the Identify skill for convenience."

The system displayed another overlay window showing exchange values, coin specifications, and more details regarding the game mechanic.

Erik finished reading the Tooltip and thought, "So the Soul System operates and revolves under the gold coin standard because it's the most practical and widely coveted barter item, but I'll need tons of it while progressing through the chain quest. The fastest way of generating enough gold coins may be producing it myself, though it will require practical expertise and plenty of laborers."

While Erik was reviewing information on his overlay, he noticed a pretty bird resting on his room's window sill and admired its blue feathers and yellow breast.

Erik used the Identify skill and learned it was a Eurasian Blue Tit, and its physical stats hovered around 2 points.

The small bird noticed him through the open window, and it began chirping in an adorable tone.

Erik moved towards it and thought, "Aww, so cute."

But before reaching the window, a bigger brown feathered bird swooped down from the sky at a rapid speed to hold down the Blue Tit and snap its neck using talons.

Erik jumped a bit in surprise and said, "Oh shit! That was brutal but good kill, Goshawk."

His skill identified it as a Northern Goshawk, a common bird of prey around Scandinavia. In addition, it boasted much higher physical stats than the Blue Tit, averaging 5 points each.

Erik was about to leave the room before the Goshawk decided to fuck with him until he had an odd feeling within his soul, similar to when Freyja first awoke him outside of Asgard.

Erik allowed the sensation to enter his soul. He instinctively felt the Goshawk expressing its appreciation for Erik's compliment and gratefulness to him for distracting the Blue Tit as its family hadn't eaten for a long time.

Erik realized it was probably The Gods' Tongue within his soul that allowed him to communicate with the intelligent Northern Goshawk roughly.

Erik returned to his bed and said, "As far as I can tell, you didn't need much of my help. Though I suggest hunting prey near the mountains. There are fewer humans and more food for you to find."

The Goshawk expressed its gratitude for his guidance before proceeding to fly away while holding the dead Blue Tit in its talons.

Erik peered through the window and thought, "Well, that was interesting. I guess it was smart enough to be considered an intelligent being by the Soul System."

Now that he wasn't distracted by a dangerous hawk, Erik returned his attention to playmaking his next move and advancing through the main mission.

He considered ways of generating income like utilizing Runecrafting but conceded it was a far-fetched idea because only those worthy could employ its power.

Still, Erik inspected the Runecrafting overlay menu for any helpful information. Finally, it revealed the available runes he could embed in equipment in exchange for Piety.

The equipment runes provided fairly straightforward physical stat boosts to the wielder, like the Intelligence Rune, which granted the wielder added Intelligence depending on its rank.

The ranks ranged from granting only one stat point to a whopping plus 25 stat point boost, costing one Piety per stat point.

Though what caught Erik's attention was the Tattoo Runes that granted powerful auras to its wielder with costs ranging from 50 Piety and upwards.

Erik focused on the Piety resource to reveal its Tooltip, stating, "Piety is a system resource that is increased by assisting the faithful and received as quest rewards. Piety also determines your Devotion Status. Your base Piety gain is 10 per month due to the title Freyja's Champion, and the current Piety amount is 100."

Erik excitedly thought, "With the 100 Piety in the bank, I can gain the advantage from Tattoo Runes, but equipment runes will have to wait."

The young man merely owned a wool tunic, pair of trousers, and sheepskin turnshoes.

Erik decided to consume 50 Piety to redeem the Rune of Skadi, a Tattoo Rune that provided an aura boosting cold resistance and hunting-related skills that could assist in supplying enough of his daily protein needs.

Using the knowledge seared into his soul by Odin, Erik closed his eyes as he held out both arms and concentrated on gathering the proper mix of mystical energy.

He vehemently stated, "Skadi, Goddess of the Hunt and Frost, please grant your blessing to a faithful son of Asgard."

Erik began chanting in the Asgardian language for minutes until lines of different colors slowly formed a detailed image of a Scandinavian Wolf that covered his left arm.

When Erik stopped chanting and opened his eyes, a system overlay notification stated, "You have gained the Rune of Skadi, providing an aura for allies that boosts +20% of Dexterity, Agility, Endurance, and Experience Points for hunting-related skills."

Character Name: Erik

Titles: Freyja's Champion

Traits: The Gods' Tongue, Runecrafter, Rune of Skadi

Physical Stats

Strength: 21

Agility: 20 (+ 4)

Vitality: 18

Endurance: 20 (+ 4)

Intelligence: 22

Dexterity: 19 (+ 4)

System Resources

Gold: 0

Prestige: 0 (Fame: Unknown)

Piety: 50 (+10/month modified by title) (Devotion: Dutiful)

Renown: 0 (Splendor: Obscure)

Divinity: 0

Erik felt an otherwordly power from the tattoo and thought, "A minor god's rune that could share its effects to allies is more than worth the 50 Piety cost. Now, my physical stats are much higher than average and could compensate for my lack of medieval fighting experience. Though it still doesn't help my gold problem. I suppose hunting would be a good start in earning money."

Then, he focused on his attention on arguably the most essential System Resource, Divinity, as beating the game required a sufficient amount to resurrect his SEAL detachment.

The system overlay stated, "Divinity can be consumed to perform miracles and receive blessings from the Old Gods. The user can gain it monthly by erecting Sacred Temples within your official domains with a limit of one per county, modified by your Clergy Followers, and Fame, Devotion, and Splendor levels."

Building temples required money and labor, so Erik needed to raise the monthly gain of all the System Resources to gather Divinity for achieving his goals.

While Erik was considering his choices for what to do next, he heard someone knocking on the door.

Erik opened the door to find the middle-aged High Priestess. He amicably asked, "How can I help you, Helga?"

She respectfully answered, "I did not mean to disturb your respite, but Jarl Gunnar of Birka would like to speak to you outside the temple. He is a devout follower of the Goddess Freyja and could potentially assist in your epic quest, but I could send him away while you rest."

It was another excellent opportunity for Erik, so he excitedly replied, "I'll be honored to meet the Jarl."

---

****If you are not reading my work on Webnovel, then you are reading a stolen copy of my novel. Please support me, Viincentt, by going on Webnovel to read my book. Thank you!****