Ch. 299 The Power of the Sun

Thor didn't immediately respond to Russell; he fell silent.

After a dozen seconds of silence, he continued, "Have you ever heard of Ragnarok?"

Ragnarok?

Russell hadn't expected Thor to bring up Ragnarok at this moment.

Upon hearing "Ragnarok," it suddenly clicked in his mind.

"Do you want to prepare an escape route for Asgard in advance?" Russell asked slowly.

"It seems you know what Ragnarok is. Yes, I do want to prepare an escape route for Asgard in advance," Thor replied seriously. 

"However, this escape route may not necessarily be needed."

Russell expression was stern as he spoke. 

"Since you mentioned Ragnarok, it would be unreasonable for me to refuse your request."

"I can prepare a piece of land on Earth in advance for you. But let's be clear; I won't be able to prepare accommodations to the standards of the Golden Palace."

"On Earth, gold is quite expensive!"

While the Golden Palace of Asgard wasn't entirely made of gold, it did use a significant amount of gold, which Russell couldn't afford to squander. Not even if he combined his resources with Tony Stark's.

"I certainly won't ask you to build a dwelling to the standards of the Golden Palace. You only need to establish a small town that can accommodate tens of thousands of people according to Earth's standards."

"As for the funds required for this, I will provide them to you."

Russell glanced at Thor and said slowly, "No problem. As long as you can provide the funds, I can build not just a small town, but even a new New York for you!"

After discussing this matter, Russell left the command tent and returned to his own tent.

Thor bringing up Ragnarok at a time like this and requesting an escape route to be prepared on Earth had caught him completely off guard.

However, Thor's request had led Russell to some unfavorable speculations.

Firstly, Odin had invited him to Asgard, citing his insufficient strength to protect the Space Stone. Moreover, even before he had made any significant contributions, Odin had granted him considerable privileges, such as unrestricted access to the books in Asgard's public library and the ability to take books from the library directly.

Then, the system had inexplicably given him the "Power of Thor" as a new reward, almost as if it was handed to him on a silver platter.

Finally, Thor had just brought up Ragnarok and proposed preparing an escape route on Earth in advance.

When viewed separately, these three events might raise some suspicions but were still within acceptable limits. However, when combined, they seemed highly abnormal.

As Russell returned to his own tent, he furrowed his brow, sat down on a chair, and contemplated.

No matter what!

Even if Ragnarok were to happen, there was nothing he could do to prevent it. If even All-Father, Odin, couldn't stop Ragnarok, there was no way he, a non Skyfathers, could.

On the surface, Ragnarok appeared to be a catastrophic event on a civilization-extinction scale. However, in reality, Ragnarok was not just a disaster; it carried elements of fate and destiny.

Such a calamity, even if forcibly prevented, might unleash unforeseen consequences. In simpler terms, it was best not to oppose destiny and fate without possessing the power of a Universal-level entity.

Of course, if someone felt like they had nothing to lose or were determined to see Lady Death early, they could confront destiny head-on. The worst-case scenario would be losing their own life and bidding farewell to this world alongside a large group of people.

Russell pushed thoughts of Ragnarok to the back of his mind. Even if Ragnarok were to occur, it was beyond his ability to prevent it.

As he contemplated this, Russell retrieved his newly acquired loot from the system space.

A black bag filled with books of divine power of Vanir!

After taking the bag out, he began inspecting his loot from this adventure.

Thirty-two books!

There were a total of thirty-two books of divine power inside the black bag, and without exception, each one was a hefty tome.

Looking at these divine power books in front of him, Russell nodded in satisfaction. Even without the rewards promised by Thor, these divine power books alone made his journey to Vanaheimr worthwhile.

After inspecting his loot, Russell randomly picked one of the books and lay down on his bed, quickly browsing through it.

...

The next day.

After having breakfast, Thor sent for Russell to meet him in the command tent.

After a day of recuperation, Thor was leading a group of people to Windrest Fortress to sign the peace agreement, officially ending the war.

Although Thor wanted Russell to accompany him to Windrest Fortress, Russell declined.

Signing agreements like these was inherently boring, especially when the lord of Windrest Fortress had already been defeated by Thor.

While he didn't have any other pressing matters at the moment, Russell had no intention of wasting his time on such mundane affairs.

After hearing Russell's response, Thor didn't insist and left the camp with Sif and some other commanders.

With Thor and his team gone, Russell returned to his tent and continued his study of divine powers.

Time passed.

Three days flew by in the blink of an eye.

As Russell had guessed, finalizing the agreement was not as straightforward as he'd hoped.

While the Lord of Windrest Fortress had made some concessions, during the negotiations over the division of Windrest region, he had engaged in heated debates with Thor and resisted for quite some time.

In the end, after two days of intense negotiations, the agreement was finally signed.

Once the agreement was signed, Thor hurriedly led his troops back to the camp.

Subsequently, the troops in the camp were divided into two groups, each heading to their newly acquired territory.

Russell had assumed that Thor would stay in Vanaheimr until the new settlement was fully established before returning to Asgard.

However, it turned out that Thor, much like Russell, had little interest in dealing with the tedious affairs that followed.

After delegating the task of establishing the new settlement to his commanders, Thor summoned Heimdall, the guardian of the Bifrost Bridge, and took Russell's group back to Asgard.

Similar to their departure, Thor didn't bring back many people this time.

Besides Russell and his companions, there were only the elite warriors who had accompanied them to Vanaheimr.

Upon their return to Asgard, Thor first disbanded his army and then, along with Russell, proceeded to Odin's study to report their actions.

In the magnificent study.

Thor and Russell met Odin, who was dressed casually.

After listening to Thor's report, Odin nodded calmly and said, "You've resolved the situation quite well, preventing it from escalating to the worst possible outcome."

Although Odin hadn't personally gone to Vanaheimr, he was well aware of what Thor and Russell had accomplished there.

In essence, the outcome had been clear to Odin even before the agreement was officially signed.

After reporting to Odin, Thor and Russell left the study.

"What are your plans for the next steps?" Thor asked Russell as they closed the door to the study.

"Same as before: study divine powers diligently and find ways to enhance my abilities," Russell casually replied.

For Russell, his time in Asgard was somewhat akin to attending a training camp. While Odin couldn't personally tutor him, he had no objections to Russell using Asgard's resources.

"I'll ensure that the divine power books promised to you are prepared before you return to Earth. If you have any other needs, don't hesitate to inform me," Thor quickly added.

"Great!" Russell smiled in response.

After their brief conversation, Thor headed back to his palace, while Russell made his way to his living quarters.

Upon returning to his living quarters, Russell once again encountered Luna, the diligent handmaiden who was highly motivated.

Although Russell had been away from Asgard for some time, the staff in the Golden Palace hadn't assigned any new tasks to Luna and her companions, allowing them to continue their original duties.

Upon seeing Russell's presence, Luna and the others, who had been chatting while sitting in the room, quickly stood up and greeted him with a slight bow.

"Prepare some hot water; I'd like to freshen up and relax," Russell instructed directly.

"Yes, my lord!" Luna promptly responded, casting a meaningfully obvious glance at Russell as she did.

In the spacious bathroom.

Russell sat in the bath, enjoying Luna's relaxing massage while closing his eyes.

As Luna's attentions became increasingly intimate, he opened his eyes, and with his right hand, he gently pulled Luna's slender waist, drawing her into the bath.

Though his actions were somewhat sudden, Luna didn't show any resistance or panic. Instead, her expression held an unmistakable hint of anticipation.

Before long, the bathroom was filled with the sounds of their passionate exchange.

...

With the conclusion of affairs in Vanaheimr, Russell's life in Asgard finally settled into a routine.

He immersed himself in self-study of divine powers, exchanged experiences in the use of lightning divine power with Thor, experienced Asgard's culture and customs with Luna's company, and even engaged in drinking contests with the Warriors Three...

Asgard, indeed, lived up to its reputation as a heavenly realm.

Here, Russell not only experienced the culture and traditions accumulated over Asgard's long history, but also enjoyed various exotic items from other planets.

For example, technological products and specialty goods from Xandar, the headquarters of the Nova Corps, and Hala, the homeworld of the Kree Empire.

While Asgard appeared to be a civilization primarily based on divine powers and magic, it possessed quite a few technological products. However, Asgardian technology differed significantly from Earth's technology.

From Earth's perspective, Asgard's technological products appear more like magical artifacts than technology.

Happy days always seem to pass by quickly.

Unbeknownst to Russell, he had already been living in Asgard for three months.

During these three months, he not only diligently self-studied the knowledge of divine powers and sought ways to enhance his own strength but also made good use of Asgard's rich magical resources to further his magical education.

In addition to these pursuits, he also earnestly delved into and learned about the knowledge of other civilizations within Asgard.

For example, he studied some of the more universal languages used in the cosmos, the current distribution of power in the universe, and the hidden secrets of the universe that were unlikely to be encountered on Earth.

To broaden his horizons, he even paid a visit to the repository of knowledge managed by the enigmatic Elders of the Universe known as the Collector.

As expected, when he met the Collector, known for his "unique tastes," the Collector immediately sensed Russell's distinctiveness and expressed a desire to collect his body.

Of course, Russell had no intention of selling himself to the Collector, not even his corpse.

However, he did strike a few small deals with the Collector. He sold some energy crystals infused with negative energy to the Collector.

These were small trinkets he had created using his knowledge of Asgardian magic.

While the negative energy within the crystals wasn't particularly abundant, its unique properties allowed it to interact with many debuff spells in a special way.

In return, he gained access to some hidden knowledge from the Collector.

After acquiring some secretive knowledge not even available in Asgard, Russell embarked on a somewhat daring plan.

He began researching the power of the Sun!

Ever since gaining Kryptonian physiology, he had entertained a vision.

What if he could possess both Kryptonian physiology and the power of the Sun? Would he become a constantly evolving perfect being?

In theory, the combination of Kryptonian physiology and solar energy could indeed keep him in a perpetual state of evolution.

However, back then, he lacked the ability to put this idea into practice.

Now, though, he had the means to bring this idea to life.

After studying divine power knowledge for some time, mainly after obtaining the nearly free "Power of Thor" reward from the system, his internal divine power had finally begun to develop in the right direction.

Previously, due to his lack of adequate divine power knowledge, he had treated the divine power inside him as a source of magical power.

He prayed to himself, received responses from himself, and transformed the divine power within him into magical energy, effectively cutting out the middleman during spellcasting.

While this method wasn't ineffective and had its merits, divine power wasn't true magical power.

In other words, using divine power as magical energy was somewhat of an underutilization.

If, for example, out of ten thousand Asgardians, only a hundred possessed magical talents and could successfully wield magical energy, then awakening divine power was even rarer, with perhaps only one out of ten thousand.

For Asgardians, having magical talent was like finding a needle in a haystack.

Awakening divine power, on the other hand, was genuinely one in a million.

Up to this point, Russell had only seen three individuals in Asgard who had awakened their divine powers.

Odin, Thor, and Heimdall.

Of course, there were more divine power awakeners in Asgard, but these were the only three he had encountered.

Divine power was a higher-level energy compared to magical power, and this distinction was also evident in their conversion.

Divine power could be converted into magical power, but magical power couldn't be converted into divine power.