Remember when Myles said he didn't want to go to Asgard? Yeah, about that...
*
With Frieren's Staff resting on the table before me, my eyes were now glued on the present box before me. It read, Beginner's Pack - Level 5. I'm Level 13 now so I may get to use another one right off the bat. Here goes nothing!
Opening the lid, it flashed a bright glow, before I was greeted with Gamer Notifications.
[Ding! You have received +20 to all Stats!]
[Ding! You have received a new Field Skill, Mind Resistance (B) - Lv1 (0.0%).]
[Ding1 You have received Beginner's Pack - Level 10!]
[Ding! Your Status has been updated and is ready to view.]
"!?", I tried to say, becoming visibly shocked. Even more shocking than my reaction to Frieren's Staff.
This Field Skill really was locked behind one of the Beginner's Pack...
Mind Resistance!
My heart raced. It was as if time had begun to slow down during this moment, but before I did anything else, my hand reached toward the Skill Book. It had a brain icon on it, appearing different from the rest. Screw the +20 to my Stats. This Field Skill is a thousand times better!
[Ding! You have learned Field Skill, Mind Resistance (B) - Lv1 (0.0%).]
Hell yes!
I finally let out a big sigh of relief. I was a little worried about how to acquire this Skill during the early Phases of the MCU. Granted, X-Men like Professor Xavier won't make their appearance until Multiverse of Madness in Phase 4, but there's plenty of people who can mess with your mind in more ways than one.
And there just so happens to be one person who is glaringly obvious. One who appears all the way in the beginning of Phase 1.
Loki, the God of Mischief.
It isn't Loki himself that I'm worried about. It is what he carries everywhere he goes. Loki's Scepter!
That baby has the Mind Stone tucked away, allowing Loki to literally do anything he can imagine. I do not want to become one of his puppets like he does to Hawkeye.
Now the question is, how do I level up Mind Resistance? Zombies inflict a variety of Statuses, but inflicting damage onto one's mind isn't exactly a strong point. They just attack you mindlessly. Slimes and Kobolds are of similar fashion to that, so I may have to do some digging around to see where I can level that up.
And no, I won't pay Hydra a visit. While that may sound tempting to some, they're crazy lunatics who only strive to be better in their own way. I do not want to appear on their radar, ever. Plain and simple. If there was an organization I would pay a visit to, it would be Shield. That is a double-edged sword right now, as many Shield agents are currently in disguise as Hydra agents. It wouldn't be until after the first Avengers movie that Fury would receive a wake-up call and realize that.
Likely a no-go, huh?
It might be a struggle to raise Mind Resistance early on. I may have to inquire about this with Tony later. Perhaps Jarvis might work too, considering he's artificial intelligence and all. He even gets the Mind Stone and eventually becomes Vision after Ultron's shenanigans take place.
The quickest way would be to head to Asgard to interact with Loki while he still has Loki's Scepter, but that is way too dangerous for my liking. Granted, I do have a lot of strength now compared to yesterday when my Stats were just starting out. I don't have as much worry now.
And besides, there's no way Heimdall would open the Bifrost if I suddenly call out to him...right?
"Heimdall, Guardian of the Bifrost, if you can hear me, please grant me passage to Asgard!", I said, half-jokingly.
"Alex?", Jarvis's voice called out, confused by what I said.
A moment passed by in silence. Nothing happened, so I made myself appear silly when I said that. Feeling embarrassed, I scratched my cheeks.
"Haha, it's nothing, Jarvis. Just treat those as empty words.", I said, and did a dry laugh.
"Very well. Please pay me no mind then.", Jarvis responded. His voice vanished after.
"Yeah. There's no way that'd happen. Heimdall won't listen---!?", I tried to say. And yet, before I could do anything, I felt Azure Point begin to subtly quake around me. Wooosh! Wooosh! Wooosh!
All of a sudden, the penthouse was engulfed in a cylindrical rainbow light, moving very swiftly.
"Sh*t. He actually heard me!?", I exclaimed, becoming shocked to see my person engulfed by this rainbow light. Before doing anything else, I moved very swiftly, and grabbed hold of Frieren's Staff. "Jarvis, quickly tell---!", I tried to say, only to have my body suddenly vanish from the penthouse entirely.
"Alex?", Jarvis's voice called out, only to see the lobby now partially destroyed. His eyes landed on the ground, and saw a weird, scorched ring of rainbow-colored fire. The weirdest thing is, the blaze didn't consume anything. It just remained there, before vanishing on its own. "This...Should I tell Mr. Stark? Where did Alex wander off to this time?"
As for me, I guess I'm being beamed up. This is a weird experience, even for me. I could now see the vastness of the universe passing by in a blink of an eye. Star after star, planet after planet, moon after moon. It was surreal. And the most surprising part, I could breathe! Is that the working of the Bifrost? I know some aliens don't require anything to move around in the emptiness of Outer Space, like Frieza from DBZ.
Still...how long is this going to last? I even had enough time to maneuver around, and sit cross-legged to contemplate why this is happening.
Seriously. Meeting Tony Stark on the first day was enough bullsh*t. ID Creation even had that stupid hidden effect that allows me to interact with major MCU characters!
I guess I'm about to meet Thor then, even though I didn't want that to happen for a while. I'll need to rely on Soul Protection, and not tell a single soul about its existence.
Welp, I'm being beamed up, Scotty!
After what appeared to be a long time, the end was finally in sight. BANG!
A loud bang struck into what appeared to be a large observatory of sorts. The calling of the Bifrost ended, and the rainbow-like energy vanished from sight. My eyes blurred for a good moment, before a sole figure came into view. It appeared to be a man who was around 6'2 in height. He was clad in full, golden and powerful-looking Asgardian-themed armor. It was the ceremonial armor he wore while on duty. Most of his face was hidden away by his helmet that reminded me of a stag beetle.
"To think I would see a day where a human could call out to the Bifrost and reach my ears.", The dark-skinned man said. "You seem quite ordinally. How were you able to summon the Bifrost?"
Ouch, but I'll take that. I'd rather be called ordinary than some sort of freak like how mutants are treated in X-Men.
"Umm, hello there?", I called out, padding my clothing down to get rid of any dust that was on my body. Thank god I changed into an appropriate attire for this. I wasn't in my hoodie and sweatpants anymore. I was wearing a nice-looking polo shirt, and jeans. The only thing on my mind before arriving in Asgard was to grab Frieren's Staff. I didn't want to leave it alone while facing the unknown.
"Answer the question I gave you. Otherwise, I do not mind destroying you right here and now. How did you call the Bifrost? And what is that weird-looking staff you have in your hand?", The man said, only to point his large, two-handed sword at me. If I recall correctly, it is called Hofund?
"I-I get it! No need for threats. Sheesh. Put that away, will you?", I quickly stammered, finding a response to give him while the man continued pointing that sword at me. I could only raise my hands up as I spoke out to him. "And to answer your question, would you believe me if I told you I don't know how I'm here? Where is here anyway?", I answered,
"You should know that, considering you were the one who called the Bifrost, human.", The man said. "You are now in the Bifrost Observatory, home to the Asgardians. You are no longer on Midgard."
That really is the case...
Wanting to suck in a cold breath of air, I was soon greeted by a second voice. This one sounded much more firm, and aged. And a voice I was likewise familiar with.
"Now, now, Heimdall. Please do not be rude to our guest. The Bifrost called on him for a reason. We can only respond in kind by inviting him to Asgard Palace."
"Allfather.", The man said, keeping his tone polite. Wait, Odin's coming in already!? This is moving way too quickly!
"Tch, to think the Bifrost actually managed to bring a human here to Asgard.", A third voice said, appearing more annoyed.
"Isn't it interesting, Loki? The Bifrost doesn't call upon just anyone. Hello there, friend.", A fourth voice said, also sounding very familiar. The voice called out a name I didn't want to hear for a long time...
Standing in front was Odin himself, clad in his armor. He even held onto his icon spear, the Gungnir!
Behind him, also clad in their respective armor, was a blond-haired man, and a jet black-haired man standing next to him. Odin, Thor, and Loki! Odin held onto his Gungnir, while Thor held onto Mjolnir, and Loki with his Loki's Scepter. All very powerful weapons.
[Ding! Soul Protection has been triggered.]
[Ding! You have successfully avoided detection!]
Was that the Ancient One again? I can't tell what's happening anymore. Four gods were standing before me. One wrong move could spell my end right here and there.
I even saw their name tags above their heads.
[Heimdall - The Bifrost Guardian - Level 500.]
[Loki - The God of Mischief - Level 500.]
[Thor - The God of Thunder - Level 500.]
[Odin - The Allfather - Level 999.]
Bruh! Why am I meeting individuals whose Levels are in the hundreds, and even 999 during my second day here in the MCU!? This is seriously unfair!
"So? Are you going to answer the question, human? Honestly, I'm surprised you're still even standing at this point. Does our strength not overwhelm you?", Loki said, feeling intrigued just seeing the fact I'm standing before literal gods.
"You do actually make a point there, Brother. Not just any human can wander into Asgard like this.", Thor said, nodding his head to Loki's words.
"Would you all believe me if I told you I don't know?", I said, not trying to hide it. This likely has ID Creation at play here, but I decided to not talk about that right now.
"You really think we'd believe that?", Loki scoffed. Also why are all three here? Shouldn't Thor be in the middle of a raging war against a race who is antagonizing him, or something? This is pre-Avengers Thor. He loves to fight literally just about anyone. Everything is fair game to him.
"All of this is within reason, I assure you. Otherwise, the Bifrost would not have called you to Asgard. A human you might be, but nonetheless, you are to be our guest for the foreseeable future. Until we know why you have set foot into this place.", Odin explained, keeping a calm and collecting look in his eyes. "Come. Thor will show you around Asgard Palace. Perhaps the two of you can use this time to get to know one another. I did not think I would get to entertain someone from Midgard in this day and age.", Odin continued, and looked at Frieren's Staff that was still held in my hand. "And that staff of yours is releasing quite the amount of magic. Loki here could teach you a thing or two about Asgardian Magic, if you prefer."
""WHAT!?"", Loki and I exclaimed at the same time. We exchanged glances at each other, not expecting to react like that...