บท 98: Mission Reward
The Ancient One stood in front of the seal, thoughtfully stroking her chin, while Odin stood beside her, gripping Gungnir with a menacing look.
He seemed ready to attack the Ancient One if she couldn't come up with a solution, prepared for a mutually destructive battle.
After a long pause…
The Ancient One suddenly smiled, snapped her fingers, and said, "Got it!"
"You're saying that as long as we can solve this issue, giving him a godly essence is fine by you?" Odin said casually.
"That's right. I'll stay behind and help you guard the seal permanently. As long as you're alive and Hela hasn't fully taken control of Asgard's source power, I guarantee the seal will remain intact," replied the Ancient One.
Odin's face lit up with joy. What a deal! Losing one main god's essence in exchange for having the Sorcerer Supreme help guard the seal—he felt like he had gained more than he lost.
However, before Odin's smile could fully form, the Ancient One continued, "But you know, old friend, I have other responsibilities. I can't stay here forever, so this seal still won't be completely fixed."
Odin's smile froze. *What's the point of telling me this if you can't stay?* He thought. Having a solution that can't be implemented is worse than not having one at all.
The Gungnir began to glow.
"Don't get agitated, listen to me!" the Ancient One quickly said.
"Blake has absorbed the essence rune. Once he finishes the process, his power will be able to fully repair this seal chain. Together with my sealing spell, it will hold for at least ten years. That should be enough time, right?"
*Ten years should be enough,* the Ancient One said, using "should" but phrasing it as a certainty.
The seal could keep Hela trapped in Helheim, but the real key was Odin's control over Asgard's source power. Once Odin was on his last legs, Hela would automatically gain control of the source, and the seal would be meaningless.
Odin understood the Ancient One's point. He wasn't going to last another ten years, and he was well aware of it.
He blamed himself for being too confident when Hela was born, granting her Asgard's source power directly.
The inheritance of Asgard's throne was tied to its source power, much like shares in a company. Once they were given to someone else, they couldn't simply be reclaimed.
Unlike company shares, though, once Odin lost control, the source would automatically go to Hela, and there was nothing Odin could do to stop it.
In a way, Odin had planted the seeds for Ragnarok himself from the very beginning.
"Ten years? I'm afraid I don't even have ten years left," Odin sighed.
"You forget, I'm not much better off than you. If anyone's going first, it might be me. But don't forget, we still have a chance," the Ancient One said, pointing into the air. A mirror-like image appeared, showing Blake, now fully engulfed in flames.
Blake had been floating in mid-air for nearly twenty minutes.
Ever since the rune had entered Blake's body, Thor had noticed the temperature in the chamber steadily rising.
Before long, even Thor's godly physique couldn't withstand the heat.
If it weren't for the Casket of Ancient Winters emitting a freezing cold to counteract the heat, not only would Thor have been overwhelmed, but the entire room would have started to burn and melt.
When the rune entered his body, Blake lost consciousness. He only vaguely felt the flames around him merging with his body. It was as if he were soaking in a perfectly warm hot spring on a freezing winter day.
It felt comfortable and refreshing, and all his fatigue vanished. He couldn't even feel his body anymore.
All that remained was a cozy warmth enveloping him.
Blake didn't know how much time had passed before his consciousness slowly began to return.
[Congratulations, Host! You have received the mission reward for Thor's Exile to Earth, successfully absorbed the Eternal Flame, and obtained the godly essence of the Fire God, one of the twelve main gods of Asgard. The Fire God's essence has fused with the Eternal Flame, and your Fire God's power has entered the initial awakening stage!]
As soon as Blake regained consciousness, the system's voice echoed in his mind.
"The twelve main gods? Initial awakening?" Blake asked in confusion.
The system explained the concept of Asgard's twelve main gods, along with Odin's sealing situation, to Blake.
As for the "initial awakening," it primarily meant that Blake could now control fire. In this stage, he could create and manipulate fire out of thin air and launch attacks over a certain distance. The flames reached a temperature of around 1,500 degrees Celsius.
Regarding physical strength, the system had fused all the serum's power into Blake's body. In simple terms, his physical strength and defense were about 60% of the Hulk's, but thanks to the essence of an Asgardian god, his regenerative abilities were on par with the Hulk's.
Of course, the system didn't do all this for free—it charged a thousand points as a service fee.
But it was worth it, since Blake's physical strength had essentially doubled.
"My body's not bad, and having long-range attack abilities is nice. Looks like I'm a warrior-mage hybrid now. But the flame temperature is only 1,500 degrees? That's pretty low for one of Asgard's twelve main gods. Even Extremis flames are hotter, and I absorbed the Eternal Flame too!" Blake grumbled to the system.
[The primary purpose of the Eternal Flame is to help the Fire God's essence rune restore energy, allowing the host to reach the initial awakening stage and gain basic control over fire. The Eternal Flame? Even a fully awakened Fire God can't fully control it. You think you can have that kind of power now? Keep dreaming, Host!] the system retorted.
[However, as the host's control over fire improves, the power of the Eternal Flame will gradually reveal itself. Related items will also be available in the system's shop later. As long as you keep completing missions, obtaining the full power of the Eternal Flame won't just be a far-off dream!] The system's explanation almost sounded like an infomercial.
Since the potential to wield the Eternal Flame's power existed, Blake felt that his trip to Asgard hadn't been in vain after all. He was quite satisfied.
Slowly opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was the Eternal Flame still contained in the vessel, though now the flame was barely the size of a soybean.
Blake had thought he had completely extinguished the Eternal Flame, but seeing that a bit of it remained was reassuring. At least the key to awakening Surtur and destroying Asgard, as well as defeating Hela, was still intact.
"The Eternal Flame can absorb cosmic energy on its own and gradually restore itself, so you don't need to worry about that," came the Ancient One's voice, as if she could read Blake's thoughts.
Turning around, Blake saw that Odin and the Ancient One were standing beside Thor. It was unclear how long they had been watching him.
*******************************************
You can get access to early chapters on patr*on.
If you like my work and you want to support me then you can become my patron on patre*n.
My patr*on account is S_Pandey_0170
สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์
-- การจัดอันดับด้วยพลัง 
-- หินพลัง