Support me and be 30 chapters ahead of webnovel:
patreon.com/Draco_
You can also read on my website:
tlmasters.xyz
I'd really appreciate your support. Every membership helps keep me motivated to continue translating and releasing chapters consistently.
*****
Fortunately, the Ancient One did not disappoint. She successfully unraveled the hidden layer within the artifact.
"Thank you, Teacher," Feny said, offering his sincere gratitude before examining the pearl once more. Externally, nothing had changed, and its functional abilities remained exactly as described. It seemed that regarding the item's actual effects, Njord hadn't been deceptive.
"What did you promise him?" the Ancient One asked, a hint of curiosity in her voice. While she kept an eye on Feny's progress from time to time, she was far too busy to watch him every second of the day.
"He received a prophecy," Feny explained. "Vanaheim is supposedly facing a terrifying disaster, and he believes I might be the one capable of breaking the prophecy and averting the catastrophe."
Upon hearing this, the Ancient One's expression grew significantly more solemn. Her brow furrowed as she asked, "What kind of prophecy?"
Feny repeated Njord's words verbatim. The Ancient One fell into deep thought for a long moment before eventually sighing. She cautioned him, "Be extremely careful. I am not intimately familiar with Vanaheim's prophetic incantations, but it is said that their prophecies have never failed to manifest."
"However, if it is you..."
The Ancient One gave Feny a meaningful look but didn't finish her sentence. The reason she had reached out to him in the first place was precisely because of how unique he was. The future she had once meticulously mapped out had long since been thrown into utter disarray by his actions.
Meeting her gaze, Feny felt a touch of helplessness. Honestly, there were times he wished his future could be predicted; at the very least, it might help him choose which abilities to pull from the system.
Feny didn't dwell on the prophecy for long. He was more concerned with a different problem. His "grinding session" in Jotunheim had been cut short halfway through. Did this mean the same thing would happen if he went to Muspelheim or any of the other realms?
"Teacher, I still want to visit the other realms to find opponents to fight," Feny stated, deciding to be upfront about his intentions.
While practicing skills provided experience, it was undoubtedly the least efficient method. With various crises looming on the horizon, he wasn't yet desperate enough to seek power by any means necessary, but he certainly didn't want his growth to stagnate.
The Ancient One looked somewhat resigned. She stood up, placed a cooled kettle onto the stove, and said slowly, "In my youth, I also traveled the universe in search of knowledge."
"The universe is vast, and not everyone was willing to welcome me with open arms."
Feny looked at her blankly as she heated the water, unsure why she was suddenly sharing her travel stories.
"So, I came up with a method," she continued, glancing back at him. "I visited them in the form of a challenge."
She stopped there, leaving the rest to his imagination. In her younger days, she had certainly made a name for herself across the stars.
Feny understood her meaning instantly. She was telling him that he lacked a formal justification for his battles. Take the fight in Jotunheim, for instance: if he had arrived under the banner of a Kamar-Taj sorcerer seeking to "exchange magical insights" with the Frost Giants, the situation would have played out very differently.
Even if the battle had escalated to the same intensity, the Frost Giants might have refused Odin's intervention simply to save face. Furthermore, Odin's primary concern was the realms falling back into war; he didn't realize Feny just wanted the "victory" for experience points. The title of 'White Butcher' had, to some extent, misled the All-Father.
Adopting the guise of a challenger would signal to Odin that he was merely looking for a fight and had no ulterior political motives.
"I understand," Feny replied with a sigh.
He still preferred the freedom of unrestrained combat without worrying about social niceties. This new approach had its drawbacks—for one, he couldn't aim to kill, and unless his opponents were truly out for blood, they likely wouldn't swarm him all at once.
After chatting a bit longer, Feny prepared to return to Asgard. Despite the sour note on which he and Odin had parted, he had to go back. The star map was still there, and he hadn't anticipated such a sudden departure when he left for Jotunheim.
Using the 'Dragon's Meal' as a tether, Feny returned. Since the royal palace was warded with anti-teleportation magic, he couldn't drop directly inside and instead materialized on the Bifrost.
He found Heimdall staring at him as usual. Feny met his gaze and asked, "What is it?"
"That compass of yours... what is it?"
After sending Feny to Jotunheim, Heimdall had been keeping a close watch, so he had seen Feny using the compass to navigate the frozen wastes.
"A magical item. It points toward where I want to go," Feny answered nonchalantly. He tossed the compass to the gatekeeper; the item wasn't particularly special on its own, only becoming truly effective when paired with his Ars Magna.
Heimdall looked at the compass, which remained perfectly still in his hand, then looked back at Feny. He tossed it back and asked, "I lost track of you suddenly. Where did you go?"
"I went home for a bit," Feny explained casually. He wasn't surprised; the Ancient One was the Sorcerer Supreme, after all. Blocking Heimdall's "signal" was trivial for her.
Though Heimdall was curious, he sensed it might be one of Feny's private abilities and chose not to pry further.
"Did you really intend to kill all those Frost Giants?" Heimdall asked. He had watched many of Feny's battles and was deeply impressed—and unsettled—by the brilliant crimson of the 'Explosion' magic. That was why he had moved so quickly to activate the Bifrost for Odin.
"If I said no, would you believe me?" Feny countered.
Heimdall was one of the few people in Asgard Feny felt a genuine rapport with. Despite the gatekeeper's stoic nature, he was one of the easiest people to talk to.
Heimdall paused for a moment, then nodded. "I believe you."
Feny looked at him, surprised. The feeling of being trusted brightened his mood considerably. He walked over, patted Heimdall on the shoulder, and added, "I just wanted to defeat them. That spell, at its worst, would have heavily injured them. It wouldn't have killed them."
"But you shouldn't have gone there in the first place, and you certainly should have retreated immediately," Heimdall sighed. He trusted his judgment of character, and thus, he believed Feny's explanation.
"I haven't even complained about you dumping me in that middle-of-nowhere wasteland yet!" Feny grumbled, thinking of the three-day trek. Then he added with righteous indignation, "Besides, why would I run from a fight I can win?"
"..." Heimdall found himself speechless.
"Alright, I'm heading back," Feny waved. He needed to get to the palace and find that star map. He figured he should find an opportunity to bring it back to Earth for Tony Stark to analyze.
As he walked away from the Bifrost, Feny began to ponder how to face Odin. He had essentially embarrassed the King in public—even if only the giants and Heimdall were there to see it. There was no guarantee Odin wouldn't hold a grudge.
He sighed. Ultimately, it all came down to a lack of power. If he possessed overwhelming strength that could ignore all consequences, he wouldn't have to worry about these trivialities at all.
(End of Chapter)