"You are offending the majesty of the Asgardians."
"No, if you get eaten by those wolves, that would be the real offense to Asgard's majesty. You'd become the biggest joke in all of Asgard. Trust me, I'll turn the entire story of you getting attacked and eaten by wolves into thirty-six chapters, each subdivided into one hundred and eight sections, and it will be retold in a continuous loop across Asgard for years. I'll analyze in detail all your psychological reactions at the time."
After a short pause, Ethan added, "It can even be adapted into a stage drama."
A large "Well" practically popped from Loki's forehead. He now had the urge to stab Ethan with his scepter, but doing so would mean he'd never get home, so he held back.
"Hmph. Watch closely as I eliminate these filthy beasts."
Loki took action, and the group of ordinary wolves didn't stand a chance. Ethan was mainly observing how far Loki had come in mastering the power of frost.
When Loki waved his scepter, the charging wolves were frozen into ice sculptures by a blast of cold air. Even those who weren't directly hit by the frost could feel the chilling aura, which made the dominance of that power abundantly clear.
As Loki continued wielding the scepter, more and more wolves were frozen in place. What truly surprised Ethan was that one wolf, after being hit by an energy projectile infused with frost, remained suspended midair for several seconds before shattering into frozen fragments upon impact—no flesh or blood, just ice chips.
"Could it be that space itself was frozen?"
Though it lasted only a moment, the wolf shattered on the ground like a sculpture, its remains nothing but shards of ice.
"It seems that if the body lacks energy to resist this frost, even the smallest particles can be completely frozen. But to what extent?"
As Loki killed more wolves, the remaining ones didn't press the attack like mindless beasts. Instead, they quickly turned and fled. A pack of wolves ran off, and it wasn't worth chasing them down in the forest.
Once there were no more enemies, Loki spread his arms wide, neither flushed nor panting, and turned to the group. "Well? Satisfied with my performance?"
Ethan clapped his hands and gave a few sharp whistles.
Loki was very pleased with everyone's reaction. He thoroughly enjoyed the spotlight.
But Ethan noticed something subtle. Loki's breathing faltered for a moment, the hand holding the scepter was trembling slightly, and the frost energy in the scepter hadn't completely stopped.
"Loki's talent is extremely high, but this kind of power is too overwhelming. Even with his talent, he can't fully control it in such a short time. He looked relaxed, but he was clearly going all out."
It wasn't that the wolves were so powerful they forced Loki to exert himself. Loki was simply showing off. Just like Ethan liked to intimidate him, Loki responded in kind. This was also a warning: Don't treat me like your subordinate. I can kill you too.
Ethan understood Loki's message and wouldn't push it too far. At the same time, he was glad he hadn't overly fixated on mastering Holy Light energy.
"Extreme energies are really difficult to control."
Regarding Holy Light, he preferred a "just enough" approach. He wasn't obsessed with mastering it completely.
Ethan's own magic had already formed a solid foundation. The spring of magical power in his spiritual field had grown into a substantial pool, and streams were beginning to branch off from it.
He looked forward to the day those streams would become rivers. Currently, his magical affinity leaned toward water, fire, and space elements. Although he could mentally switch between flame and water elements, he still had a ways to go. These were power types he had started developing early. As for Holy Light…
After dealing with the wolves, no one intended to stay in an area littered with corpses. They kept moving and soon discovered a large lake.
"Having water nearby is always a good thing."
If humans lived nearby, there would usually be signs along the water. Even if they didn't live directly by the lake to avoid predators, there could still be clues of habitation.
That was the plan. But then, a strange blue creature that looked like a fish with arms and legs came charging at them, shouting in a bizarre language and wielding crude, worn weapons. Ethan instantly realized where they were.
"Damn it!"
Logan was nearly stabbed by a javelin thrown by the creature. It wouldn't have killed him, but it would've hurt a lot. Furious, Logan completely forgot he was carrying all kinds of firearms. He popped his alloy claws and charged forward, tearing the creature to pieces.
Wolverine's combat style was always brutally simple. He enjoyed it, but the downside was that he got covered in some sort of foul-smelling mucus.
"Shit!"
Aside from swearing and complaining, Logan couldn't do much. It's not like he could just strip and change clothes here.
"Hold still, Logan."
Seeing Logan like that, Ethan stepped in to help. Now that he had true magical power, many of the minor spells recorded in the Book of Inheritance were no longer just things to read about. He'd been practicing a few in his spare time. While these little tricks weren't useful in battle, they were incredibly helpful in daily life.
Ethan traced a mysterious symbol with his finger, and as his magic condensed in the air, glowing motes of light circled Logan. Not only did the stench disappear, but his clothes looked clean and freshly laundered.
"This kind of spell is really convenient."
Mages, regardless of world or system, were typically masters of laziness. Almost all of them learned various life-related tricks.
These spells didn't consume much energy, and while the technique could be tricky, it was never beyond a real mage's capabilities. Most magicians could learn them.
Someone like Merlin, who lived alone for many years, had mastered tons of these. Otherwise, it was hard to imagine the dignified, legendary mage spending hours tidying his room every day.
Ethan's Book of Inheritance came from Merlin. Though he had learned magic from Kamar-Taj and Asgard, Merlin's teachings were still the most systematic. These minor spells also came from Merlin.
And even Merlin's small tricks were better than those taught by ordinary mages. At least, most mages' daily spells wouldn't be effective at Ethan's current level. Of course, the higher requirements brought better results—as shown by Logan's current expression.
"Enough about spells. Judging from your expression earlier, it looks like you know where we are?"
Loki wasn't interested in the minor spell. What caught his attention was Ethan's reaction when he saw the strange creature. Clearly, Ethan recognized this place.
"If I'm not mistaken, this should be Azeroth…"
A dense forest with a pleasant climate, a large lake, and murlocs. Ethan could even narrow it down further: they were in Elwynn Forest.
This was good news. Elwynn Forest was within human territory. Unless they had arrived during the First War, the only threats here were minor humanoids and some beasts, nothing that could endanger them now.
Ethan examined the lake, then looked toward the far shore and roughly determined their position.
"If my guess is right, we just need to follow the lake, and we'll see a town. Or, if we head in that direction, we should hit a major road. That would be much safer than traveling through the forest."
Everyone exchanged looks. They didn't know how Ethan had this information, but none of them doubted his judgment.
Logan especially trusted him. He already knew Ethan had deep knowledge of various "worlds," something he'd learned even before joining him.
"Let's head to the main road. If we follow the shoreline, will we run into more of those creatures?"
"Yes."
There were murlocs all over the lakes of Elwynn Forest. These humanoid creatures were completely irrational, inherently aggressive, and attacked any non-natives on sight. Only a very few murlocs could communicate rationally and none of those lived in Elwynn Forest.
Hearing that, everyone unanimously chose the main road. Even if it was farther, no one wanted to be harassed by strange monsters.
"By the way, are there any people in this world?" Logan suddenly asked the question on everyone's mind. "I mean people like us… or similar."
"We're currently in human territory."
(To be continued.)
***
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