[Ding! It is a brand new day. The time is: March 4th, 06:50 AM.]
Hello there, beautiful world. I have survived three whole days here in the MCU. A new record!
It is now my first weekend. And sadly, a third of it will be spent under Frigga's harsh lessons of learning what Magic is. I still haven't a clue what it's about, by the way. And I'm already two lessons in. It just means Magic truly is a hard concept to grasp, even if I have the Gamer System. Magic isn't designed for Humans to learn it unless one is gifted for it. A long and tiring road indeed.
Besides learning under Frigga, I have one goal this weekend.
Head to Stark Industries, potentially set it as a Fast Travel point, and meet with the one and only Obadiah Stane. Right now, he should be some greedy bastard looking to one-up Tony at every possible turn he can. And that will reach its zenith near the end of Iron Man I once Obadiah shows his true colors and becomes Iron Monger.
"Good morning, Alex. Mr. Stark has notified me that you now have an appointment with Stark Industries COO, Mr. Stane, scheduled for 3PM. You will be picked up in a private limousine. The ride is roughly an half hour, so please be ready by then at Azure Point's Garage.", Jarvis said, speaking out to me as I enjoyed waking up. Of course this place has its own garage. I wouldn't be surprised if I could fit tens of vehicles inside there.
"Sounds good. As I have pointed out, I will be away during the mornings. Can you prepare some lunch for me this time? I'm currently feeling in the mood for a smash burger.", I said, doing a big stretch.
"Then I shall import some of the finest Wagyu Beef from Japan and use that at its base and top it off with a homemade glaze. Do you prefer ground-raised potatoes or sweet potatoes?", Jarvis asked.
"Let's go with some sweet potatoes. Since you are going to import from Japan, please top it off with some Strawberries. I hear they are very sweet.", I requested.
"I will proceed to place that order. Please enjoy your day, Alex.", Jarvis said, and left me to my own devices.
Jarvis is such a nice guy, isn't he? It makes me want my own personal AI even more now.
I also decided to have a quick peek at my progress from last night.
[Ding! Breath of the Sun Use: 720/10,000.]
I reached about 7% of the way there in just under four hours before I called it quits for the night and went to bed. The best part about this grinding is that I do not have any lack of MP whatsoever. Whatever I used all got replenished immediately after! That's the beauty of being able to grind in your own resting area, like at home. Haha! I don't have to worry about Monsters lurking around or anything.
Today I do have that meeting with Mr. Stane, so I will likely push the Kobold Nest off till tomorrow. I don't want something in between a grind session, as that would interrupt whatever flow that may be happening. Maybe I'll use the time to pick up however many episodes of Naruto are out. It's weird having a lot of free time on my hands, despite already having some items on my itinerary.
All I can say in regards to that, Fast Travel is ****ing amazing, haha!
Wooosh!
Donning the Asgardian Robe that was given to me by Frigga, I departed Azure Point during the ten minutes while freshening up. It has already turned into a routine by now. And while I'm at Stark Industries later, I'll need to see if Tony secured that shell company for me. I have over a hundred grand now that's just sitting around, waiting to be used. I want my own ride. I mean I can fly out toward New York City, but since I have all the time in the world to do what I want, I feel a little road trip is due.
Feeling anticipation of what is to come, I arrived at my Fast Travel point in Asgard without issue. As if on cue, I heard a familiar voice of a woman speak to me.
"Welcome back, Lord Alex. The Allmother is expecting you.", Astrid said, greeting me with a sturdy tap of her shield. That did get me wondering...
Shouldn't all the Valkyrie be dead right now? Hela, the Goddess of Death, who happens to be Odin's firstborn, was banished to Hel, a particular region filled with the souls of the dead within one of the nine Realms, Niflheim. If I am taken out into the Nine Realms later, that could potentially be a spot to travel to. But Niflheim is in a special spot amongst the Nine Realms, as it is considered the afterlife to many. A human like me should have no reason to visit such a place.
And during that, Hela attempted to break free from her constraints once, causing Odin to send the Valkyrie to fight her. That caused them to get all wiped out, except for their leader, a woman named Brunnhilde. Or more commonly known as Valkyrie. You see her later on as the new leader of New Asgard after Thor lost the fight against Thanos. Until then, she should be trapped in Sakaar right now, doing a self-imposed exile. All of this took place a whole thousand years ago. Long before I was even brought into the MCU.
Perhaps this is the unseen side of the MCU. You can only show so much in the movies and shows. I bet even with that, a lot happens off-screen that you should just either assume what happens, or something that wasn't worth mentioning, but still happens.
Odin creating a second round of the Valkyrie, or also known as the Valkyrior, in secret could potentially be one such action not worth mentioning. After all, he doesn't get the spotlight all that much. You do get to see bits and pieces of his everyday life, but they're just crumbs at most. He totally could create more Valkyrie Warriors and call it a day. Because of that, my eyes couldn't help but remain on the two shield-baring women in front of me.
"You seem to be lost in thought, Lord Alex. Is there something not to your liking?", Sigrun decided to ask.
"I wouldn't call it lost in thought per se. I was just taken aback by how many warriors are in service of the Allfather. Are you two part of that?", I decided to ask. While I may know some knowledge of Asgard, from their point of view, I'm very likely a lost puppy. If I pointed out that I had knowledge on the Valkyrie, that would definitely raise some red flags. So I decided to play it safe and start the questions with that.
Astrid and Sigrun looked at each other for a moment while guiding me to Frigga's Study.
"Considering you are the Allmother's direct apprentice now, you will be privy to knowledge other Asgardians do not have access to. I suppose it won't hurt to tell you a little about ourselves, and what we do as Valkyrie Warriors. You see...", Sigrun said, before deciding it was alright to talk about it.
Sure enough, as we walked through the same corridors I've already memorized by heart, the two Valkyrie Warriors spun a grand tale of how the war a thousand years ago took place, albeit it was a very cut version of it. We only had some moments to spare after all. It did confirm my suspicion, at least. The Valkyries didn't die out. Odin reformed them, only having a few sparing numbers right now. I could see a hint of sadness in their eyes, as they were unable to locate their ex-commander, Brunnhilde. A few are presently assigned to protect Frigga, while several others protect Odin from harm. They also confirmed Sif is one of them too. While not being Brunnhilde, Sif leads these Valkyries into battle from time to time.
The more you know, eh? It was enough where they were never shown to begin with. Perhaps I should chase after Sif after all? It is too early to tell.
For the time being, it was enough to make idle chatter while we made our way to Frigga's Study. I saw the floating books around her. That sight alone never ceases to amaze me.
"You have come once again and promptly. Have you gotten settled to life here in Asgard, Myles?", Frigga asked me, greeting me with a smile.
"I have, for the most part. I thought it would take my body longer to adapt, considering it isn't my home and all. Most Asgardians I come across are stoic and friendly. The dining halls can get a little too rowdy for my liking though, haha. I prefer a more quiet place to dine. I will be excusing myself before lunch from now on.", I said.
It's not like I don't enjoy dining in the banquet halls here in the Royal Palace, you can only go so far eating the same meal over and over. I won't lie, it is a way to increase Poison Resistance quickly, but I'd rather use up the rest of the four days I have with Jarvis to experience some fine dining. That blue lobster alone was worth it!
"Very well. You seem to be adamant on the matter, so I will notify Thor and the others. Come now, today, we will be going over a different topic. You have seen how I've gathered mana from my surroundings, all that is left is for you yourself to perceive it. It only requires time, and perhaps a little bit of talent.", Frigga said, immediately drawing my attention. Something new, you say? Excitement already appeared in my eyes.
What Frigga did next caused my eyes to wander over to what appeared...to be a fancy-looking parchment of paper? On it etched a symbol I had no clue what it was about, but the moment I observed it, a Gamer Notification followed. To be specific, it appeared...to be some form of an Item? Is it even correct to call it that?
[Low-Grade Asgardian Rune: Empower]
...!
Seeing a shocked look in my eyes, even Frigga raised her own.
"Interesting. You're almost behaving as if you can read this symbol. I did not think there would be a Human out there who is proficient in our Asgardian Runes.", Frigga said. Her smile turned even wider now. "Would you like to tell me about it?"
"Hahaha...", I replied with a dry laugh.
There's no wiggling myself out of this one now, is there? I can only blame Wordsmith for this.