Chapter 200: For the Glory of the Northern Gods
The moment Ryū saw the notification, he stared at it for a solid few seconds.
Raijin.
Thor.
Could this be the hammer-swinging Avenger? Tony Stark's fellow Marvel resident?
The probability felt low. That Thor's personality was not the "I Am Thor, God of Thunder!" as a chosen username type. Not impossible, just… improbable.
Then again, there were many entities bearing the name Thor across various mythologies and media properties. Norse mythology had the original. Countless anime and other franchises had their own versions.
But why did this particular handle trigger a sense of familiarity?
"I Am Thor, God of Thunder! For the glory of the Northern Gods!"
He said the handle out loud and then, almost by reflex, completed the phrase with the second half.
His expression went blank.
For the glory of the Northern Gods.
Thunder god.
Northern Gods.
Thor.
…Woof?
Oh no.
Was this the Shiba Inu from that animated film? He tried to remember the details — was the dog a Shiba or an Akita? Looking at the overall character design, Shiba seemed more likely. Akitas had narrower eyes, almost fox-like. Shibas had wide, round eyes.
So the new member was not the MCU's Thor. Nor a mythological thunder deity.
It was the thunder-god Shiba Inu from that comedy anime film.
He hadn't expected that option to be on the table.
I Am Thor, God of Thunder!: Where is this? Why — why is there a strange thing embedded in my consciousness that I can't get out, no matter what? It feels like it's rooted in there — woof!
I Am Thor, God of Thunder!: Are you all enemies of the great Thor, God of Thunder? Woof!
Kaguya-sama: Woof…??? What do you mean woof. What is happening.
WolfKingOfQingQingGrasslands: Is the new member joining the group… a dog?
Crazy Diamond: But the handle says "I Am Thor, God of Thunder" — if this isn't a joke, this new member might genuinely be a divine being!
Eternally Seventeen: Have you ever seen a divine being end their sentences with "woof"?
Eternally Seventeen: This is one hundred percent a dog!
I Am Thor, God of Thunder!: …What are you all talking about? Woof?
Admiral Kizaru: The dissonance between that handle and the "woof" is extraordinary~
Admiral Kizaru: And this seems like a good moment to @Roar of the Evil Dragon.
Roar of the Evil Dragon: What's going on? Hm? Kizaru-senpai, did you need something?
Admiral Kizaru: Tohru, have a look at the recent chat.
Roar of the Evil Dragon: Oh…
Roar of the Evil Dragon: …WHAT?! Thor?! God of Thunder?! Why does someone have the same name as me?? Oh wait, my name is — no, that's not right either. Ugh, I'm confused. What is happening here?
Roar of the Evil Dragon: Is this actually a newly joined member?
"…"
In the Dragon Maid world, Tohru — currently in the process of grilling her own tail meat — was staring at the Chat Group with a deeply puzzled expression.
Why had another "Thor" appeared in the group?
And with the handle "I Am Thor, God of Thunder," no less. Was this a mythological deity?
They shared a name. She shared a name with a god. Was that going to be a problem?
It… probably wouldn't be? Maybe?
She'd only been in the group for about twenty days herself. By any measure, she was still a newcomer. Even Umaru and Eriri had twenty-odd days more tenure than she did.
As the newest established member, she had no idea how naming conflicts worked in the Chat Group.
She was mildly panicking.
If this is genuinely a divine being, they're probably magnanimous by nature, right? Also I might not even lose a fight if it came to that. And the Chat Group has the Protection Mode, so members can't attack each other anyway.
So even if we share a name it's fine. Probably fine. Unless I've happened to share a name with the most petty, obsessive deity in existence. That would be terrible luck. But it probably won't happen.
Tohru was half-murmuring this to herself, half-grilling her tail, half-monitoring the Chat Group — which meant her tail had been on the heat for slightly too long and was developing a faint char that she hadn't noticed.
The Chat Group was occupying more attention than the cooking.
Cooking could wait. Except for Kobayashi. Kobayashi was always the exception.
RawrSoFierce: Yes, this is a newly joined member. A rather unusual one — the new member is not a conventional human being.
Roar of the Evil Dragon: Not human… is it really the mythological Thor?!
Roar of the Evil Dragon: There's an actual thunder deity in this group now???
RawrSoFierce: …Divine being, more or less, roughly speaking.
RawrSoFierce: Though not the one you're imagining. To be precise, the new member is a dog — a non-speaking Shiba Inu — but one with unusually high intelligence.
Eternally Seventeen: I said it was a dog!
Eternally Seventeen: Wait — a divine being? A dog??
RawrSoFierce: You're a youkai who managed to become a sage. Is it really that surprising that a dog could hold the title of deity?
Eternally Seventeen: This is unprecedented! I'm genuinely shocked!
Kaguya-sama: It's rare to see Yukari-nee actually surprised.
Eternally Seventeen: This particular case is a lot to process!
I Am Thor, God of Thunder!: …What are you all saying? Woof?
RawrSoFierce: @I Am Thor, God of Thunder! — new member, find the group announcement. There's a small red dot in the upper right corner. Tap it, read the announcement inside, and you'll understand what the Dimensional Chat Group is.
"…"
Group announcement. What was that? And why, inside this so-called Dimensional Chat Group, was it possible to communicate with these bizarre strangers using nothing but consciousness?
That part was especially confusing. The individual characters were legible. What they meant in sequence was another matter.
The Shiba Inu called Thor looked at the upper right corner.
Found the red dot.
Tapped it.
☆☆☆
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