Chapter 244 'Possessed by Evil' Second Mode:
The Frost Giants are a race that, if they survive to adulthood, naturally become incredibly powerful, even stronger than ordinary Asgardians.
This is mainly due to their harsh environment. While Frost Giants are resistant to cold, they are not invincible. Young Frost Giants, and even those in their weaker youth, are easily killed in the extreme cold.
Under the pressure of survival, they are forced to become strong, as the weak perish during their growth.
When he arrived in Jotunheim, Phineas personally experienced just how harsh the climate of the Frost Giants' environment truly was.
He often practiced his skills in the Himalayas, mostly snow-capped mountains, so even without 'Possessed by Evil', his tolerance for cold was extremely high.
But upon arriving in Jotunheim, he instantly felt the biting cold, even with his physique far exceeding that of a normal Earthling.
If it were an ordinary Earthling, they would likely freeze to death within minutes of arriving in Jotunheim.
Looking at the swirling snow around him, Finney felt lost. He had only asked Heimdall to take him to a safe place, but he hadn't expected it to be such a godforsaken place. Now he was unsure where to go.
"I need to go somewhere with Frost Giants!"
Finney took out his long-unused 'compass' and thought about where he wanted to go. It was freezing cold all around, and there wasn't a soul in sight. He decided to find some Frost Giants first and ask them what was going on.
Jotunheim was vast, much larger than Nidavellir. Guided by the 'compass,' Finney flew for a whole day without seeing a single person.
He did encounter a few Frost Giants, though, and gained some experience along the way.
However, the frost behemoths he encountered were not large, and their strength was average. Although they were thick-skinned and resistant to cold, perhaps due to their low intelligence, he only gained one experience point from seven of them, barely enough to last him a day of training.
Jotunheim was almost devoid of day and night, as it was almost always snowing, so the sky was always overcast.
After flying for so long, Finney decided to stop and rest. At this moment, he seriously suspected that Heimdall had deliberately placed him in such a remote place.
Because he had sent Thor and Loki to Jotunheim, which led to everything that followed, Heimdall had deliberately sent him to a place far away from the frost giants to avoid repeating the same mistake.
Inside the cave, Finney looked at the harsh weather outside, and even wearing the 'Demon-Possessed' armor, he couldn't help but shiver.
Unfortunately, because there was no fuel, he couldn't even light a fire. Feeling the low temperature around him, Finney began to calm down and prepare to practice his 'breathing techniques'.
After 'Demon Possessed' evolved into a fire mode through 'Breathing Technique,' he realized that 'Breathing Technique' could absorb more than one type of energy.
In this frigid world, he finally clearly sensed and absorbed a second type of energy.
Finney called this second energy water energy, although in this weather he felt that calling it ice energy would also be good, but the name didn't matter; the most important thing was the effect.
After one evolution, 'Demon Possessed' seemed to have adapted to the energy absorbed by 'Breathing Technique,' so developing the second mode was far simpler than he had imagined.
'Demon Possessed's' armor was silver-white, but after absorbing water energy, it gradually turned into a light sky blue.
Finney called this mode water mode and curiously felt the changes on his body.
Unlike the fire mode, the water mode didn't enhance power, but a thin layer of pale blue water shield appeared on the surface of the armor.
Finney tested it, using his recently acquired 'White Dragon's Breath' with all his might, barely managing to pierce the water shield with almost maximum force. The shield returned to normal almost instantly after breaking through.
"So, it's an enhanced defense?"
Finney pondered, looking at the protective layer around him.
'Demon Possession' already had very high defense; now, with this additional layer of resilient, regenerative, and all-around protection, it would be even harder for enemies to break through his defenses.
Another crucial point was that he could control this water shield.
Looking at the water shield spreading around him like a giant pale blue transparent balloon, Finney couldn't resist poking it again, feeling a vague bouncy texture.
"I didn't expect it to be an area-of-effect defense!"
Finney checked the range of the water shield; currently, the limit he could control was only about three meters in diameter, similar to 'City of Devouring Time'—not large, but not particularly small either.
Finney continued testing and discovered that besides self-defense and area defense, the water shield could also be used as a kind of cage. However, the water shield's control was limited in range; to trap someone, he had to maintain a certain distance.
"Water Prison Technique!?"
Finney thought of a ninjutsu from an anime, which seemed similar to his own, except that he didn't need to remain still while using it, except that the distance had to be within three meters.
Like the fire mode, the water mode was also very energy-intensive. The 'Demon Possession' that he could normally wear for a whole day might only last a few hours under these two modes.
Finney studied it more carefully afterward, but apart from these features, he hadn't yet discovered any other characteristics of the water mode.
However, he was already quite satisfied with these abilities and was even more eager to see what new abilities the 'Demon Possession' would have after absorbing other energies.
…
Phineas initially thought Heimdall had simply teleported him to a slightly remote location, but after searching for three whole days with his nearly broken compass before finally spotting the Frost Giants, he realized Asgard likely didn't want him to come into contact with them.
Phineas didn't know if this was Heimdall's own initiative or Odin's instruction, but regardless, he successfully encountered the Frost Giants.
Aside from Loki's Frost Giant, which wasn't quite a Frost Giant, this was the first time Phineas had seen this race. They had ice-blue skin and blood-red eyes. Although called giants, they weren't actually that much taller than him; at least, he felt they were smaller than dwarves.
Along with the Frost Giants, Phineas also saw their palace.
Compared to the palaces he had seen so far, the Frost Giant palace in Jotunheim was undoubtedly the most shabby, not just because large parts of it were in ruins.
Even in its remaining intact state, the remaining buildings weren't particularly magnificent.
o(╥﹏╥)o
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(End of Chapter)