Ania sighed as she wiped Bjorn’s brow. She had only gone for a walk, but missed being here for Bjorn when he needed her. Thankfully, there was nothing seriously wrong with him. But it frustrated her that she felt relieved for Thovok’s presence. If it had been something serious, Bjorn could have been saved by Thovok’s ability to contact Exile.
However, it weighed heavily on her mind that she was no longer the only one with a direct connection to Exile. It made her position feel less… Special. She could not help but feel as if she were not needed as much with Thovok around. ‘He’ll have to return to his home in the mountains at some point. Things will return to normal then.’
She tried to convince herself in any way that she could that everything would be fine. But more concerns appeared in their place. It was likely that the numbers of Oracles bound to Exile would grow over time. Even if she were the chief among them, they would all technically be equals. Her mind and emotions wandered to considering how to have a deeper connection with him. One that went beyond just Oracle and God.
Her face flushed at the thought as her hand trembled. She tried to put that image to the back of her mind, but found it difficult to do so. ‘Besides… Would he even be interested in me that way?’ She let out a long sigh before suddenly yelping!
Bjorn had suddenly grabbed her hand as his eyes opened. “Ania! This is… Eraldsfen?”
“Yes…” Ania smiled gently once she got over the shock. “The others brought you back after you passed out. You did it Bjorn! You slew the beast and Lord Exile will reward you. I should let him know that you have recovered.”
“No! Not yet. Let me get cleaned up first.” Bjorn sighed with a raspy voice. “I should be presentable when meeting Lord Exile.”
Ania nodded as she left to arrange things with the villagers to allow Bjorn to get washed and have a clean set of clothing. Word was sent to her father and Thovok that it would soon be time to summon Exile among them. Harik got to work arranging a grand celebration. The village became abuzz with the news and everyone was eager to find out what rewards Exile would shower on Bjorn for completing the task set to him.
Jay Deacon was on the edge of his seat as he watched the latest stream play out. He was keeping up to date with what was happening with Ragnarok as he waited to hear back from the email sent to the player called Exile regarding a sponsorship. ‘These streams are getting more dramatic. The editors have obviously clicked on to the appeal that Ragnarok has created by making it seem like a show or movie. The camera angles are more cinematic now.’
Jay nodded in approval as he waited to find out what happened next. He had to admit that these streams had become something of a guilty pleasure for himself. ‘If only more teams did something like this, it would be easy to find good investments.’ He sighed as he watched the descent of Exile and, inevitably, the process of Bjorn becoming a hero.
Exile placed his hand on Bjorn’s head as the latter kneeled before him in the temple. In a loud voice, he declared Bjorn to be a Hero of the Ragnarok Pantheon, and as such, received gifts from the gods. As everyone waited to see what these gifts were, nothing appeared. But suddenly, Bjorn remarked that his body felt different.
Exile declared that he had gifted him with skin as hard as iron when attacked. Allowing Bjorn to become both the hammer and shield of the Pantheon among the mortals. Jay nodded at this gift. It was suitable and seemed to fall in with the plot that Exile had crafted regarding Skourj’s own abilities. Soon after, Exile declared that he would now be known as Bjorn Ironhide. Causing a commotion among the villagers.
The following celebration was a warm scene as the camera panned over the landscape of Eraldsfen and showed the progress of its development. It was clear where the dwarves had an influence. That brought an end to that stream, and Jay sighed contentedly.
‘So, Exile’s appearance changed just after meeting the dwarves. But the editors cut out the change itself and some of their conversations by the looks of it.’ Jay frowned as he glanced at his phone to see that there were no new notifications. ‘The battle against the wolves for Valheim was an amazing scene as well. That wolf of Exile’s has certainly kicked up a storm. I don’t think he noticed the curious looks he got from Aeri either over his physical changes…’
Jay hummed as he mulled over the entirety of the stream. Exile had really given them a show, this time with the things he revealed. Not to mention that Winter’s antics had earned her a place in a lot of the male viewer’s hearts. It seemed that her good looks, combined with her twisted methods, appealed to them in high numbers.
All in all, Ragnarok seemed to be a cauldron of talents that could really win over the viewers. ‘All we need is for Exile to confirm that he really is Colt Anderson… Then the publicity will rocket Ragnarok into the limelight.’ Jay chuckled as he thought about it. His boss had even said that if exile agreed to the sponsorship, then it would be Jay’s sole duty to liaise with them and make the most of it since he discovered them.
Jay smiled at the thought of getting rid of the rest of his work that was constantly piling up. If he could get Exile to agree, then it would become a launch pad for his career in the company. ‘Maybe we should consider bringing in professional writers to craft seasons or something for the streams as a show? Exile could tell them what he has planned for the near future and they could craft the story around those goals to make it more interesting and increase their supporters…’．
That idea sounded good, but it would never go to plan. With so many players involved doing their own things, they could never plan for what they would do. Especially the NPCs since it would be impossible to make them understand what they needed and why. ‘Perhaps we should just have them give Exile a list of ideas for things he could try implementing when the opportunity arises…’
That seemed much more likely to succeed. It was just a question of whether Exile would be receptive to their ideas. If they had creative differences, then the sponsorship would never work in the first place. ‘Hm, that’s right. I should get on to marketing to create a mock-up design for a flavour caller Ragnarok to include in the pitch to Exile. Perhaps we could do a few naming the core members as well. Ahem, well, the ones with names we can work with anyway. I doubt anyone will buy a flavour called BeansNtoasT or Moist Burrito…’
‘But Exile and Claymore will be good names. Perhaps Winter if we cut out the Embrace? Or maybe Winters Embrace, but it’s a winterberry flavour? These are really the main members of Ragnarok that people are focusing on… Oh wait, there’s MidasTouch as well… I’ll float Midas as the name for his flavour.’
Jay’s mind was racing as he considered a number of ways to cash in on a potential collaboration between them. He was almost certain that Exile would agree. After all, they were a brand new team with little or no funding behind them. Their greatest asset right now was Colt’s fame as a Pro so they should be using it.
‘I’ll need to reach out to the developers as well. I doubt this will be all to it. Knowing them, they should have prepared for global tournaments in some format separate from the main game. I’m guessing they would only include players who are still active in the game though, and not just anyone.’ Jay nodded as he clasped his hands as he tried to imagine the future of Pantheon.
‘The game will only come to a head once players start reaching that sixth tier. Things will definitely become messier then. But what’s the aim? Would they really throw this world away once someone emerges victorious? It’s a lot of effort they’ve spent to do something like that. There has to be more to it and I want to know what.’
There was no denying that Pantheon could generate sales for their company as long as it was an active game. But if there were no future plans for it, then what was the point in investing in teams who had become specialised in its format? Jay’s eyes narrowed as he composed an email to the developers, seeking an explanation to these thoughts.