Chapter 153
Chapter 153
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 153
Chapter Title: Shadow of the Mad Thor
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Thud thud thud—.
A man approached from the distance ahead.
As the gap narrowed, it became even clearer that his appearance was anything but normal.
Grrr—.
A low growl leaked from the corner of his mouth.
His eyes were bloodshot red. His mouth hung open, drool spilling out as if he had no control over it.
He looked like a madman who had lost all sense of self.
'He's coming.'
The madman's face grew familiar as he drew closer.
It wasn't hard to think of Thor.
No.
It was impossible not to recognize him. Even though it had only been in cutscenes, Soo-hyuk had seen him several times already.
And besides...
'He has the other half.'
Grrr—.
The madman—no, Thor—bared his teeth and drooled like a beast driven purely by instinct, devoid of any ego. There was no trace of the dignity and nobility from the cutscenes anywhere in his demeanor.
"Nice to meet you... but words won't work, huh."
Soo-hyuk started a greeting but stopped himself.
It was obvious from a glance that conversation was pointless.
Thor circled around Soo-hyuk, his steps light as if gravity didn't apply to him.
Crackle—. A blue spark flickered in Thor's eyes.
He was so consumed by rage that he could lash out and strike at any moment.
Go away.
Please, just go away.
If he exploded into madness right here, the trial would end. Everything might have to start over.
And the vanished sword shard might not return.
Gulp.
Just as Soo-hyuk swallowed hard, holding his breath in tension—
Whoosh—.
Thor suddenly turned away, losing interest in Soo-hyuk who hadn't made a move.
Thor slowly moved off into the distance. Soo-hyuk stared holes into his back, staying vigilant, before finally relaxing.
Thor had vanished from sight before he knew it.
Only then did Soo-hyuk remember.
The Mjolnir he held—the remaining half of the thunder heart—was the very reason he'd come to Asgard.
"...This is gonna take a while."
The goal was right there, but he couldn't do a thing.
Fighting was out of the question. Even if his stamina weren't depleted, nothing would change.
The aura emanating from him was far beyond what Soo-hyuk could challenge right now.
With that, Soo-hyuk resumed walking toward his goal.
Whoosh—.
Soo-hyuk sank into the bath at the destination. The scalding hot water, hot enough to melt him, drained his strength in an instant as he dunked his head under.
"I'm gonna live—."
He felt the fatigue in his muscles melting away. The stamina recovery message suggested it wasn't just soaking in warm water.
And on top of that.
The message overflowed with rewards for his efforts.
'Odin's arrangement, huh.'
Both the Path of Strength and this bath.
They felt like gifts prepared by Odin.
Wielding thunder.
At first, he had no idea what that meant, but now he had a hunch.
"Thor..."
He had only passed by briefly, but the encounter was shocking.
Those beastly eyes devoid of self. The uncontrolled thunder power raging like he was berserk.
No matter how he looked at it, this was far from the Asgardian prince in the cutscenes.
'Is that what happens if you mishandle thunder?'
He couldn't be sure, but it was the only thing that made sense.
Otherwise, it was hard to imagine any other reason for Thor to end up like that.
Especially since...
'I've felt it too.'
The subtle unease he'd sensed every time he used Master of Lightning.
Sometimes, it felt like someone else—not him—was possessing his body, turning him into a stranger.
Master of Lightning descends upon the body.
He'd long suspected that message might be literal.
"So that's why Odin left Valhalla for a place like this..."
It seemed to be because of his mad son.
While lost in thought, the bath—which had been full enough to submerge completely—had drained by more than half.
The fatigue recovery was astonishingly fast. His fatigue, near 90, had dropped below 20.
'Got lucky this time.'
Thor passing by without attacking was pure luck.
If he'd bared his fangs and swung that hammer, the trial would've ended right there.
But he couldn't relax just because of that.
Swoosh—.
Soo-hyuk rose from his seat and dressed again.
'No guarantee I won't run into him again.'
In this trial, Thor was a walking disaster.
There was no way to beat him. Even without Mjolnir, he was a top-tier god born of Odin's blood.
Avoiding him if possible was the best strategy.
"Mjolnir..."
Recalling the Mjolnir in Thor's hand, Soo-hyuk scratched his head in frustration.
The other half of the thunder shard.
That was originally why he'd come to Valhalla. But taking it seemed impossible no matter how he thought about it.
And moreover.
'If I reach the end and end up in the same state as Thor...'
A new dilemma clouded his mind.
Was completing the thunder shard really the right choice?
It might be like a moth flying into flame—self-destruction.
The path ahead came into view. This one was painted bright blue.
Shaking off the complicated thoughts,
"Won't run into him that soon."
With his stamina restored, Soo-hyuk set off again.
The second path was the 'Path of Wind'.
As he walked, Soo-hyuk felt like he was floating through space, his body weightless.
If the Path of Strength tested endurance against dozens of times normal gravity, this was the opposite.
One other difference.
True to its name, wind howled through the path.
Whoooosh—.
Blown and tossed by the wind, Soo-hyuk grasped the trial's point.
This wasn't about resisting the wind.
Quite the opposite.
Adapting to it and using it was the key.
As Soo-hyuk figured it out and pressed forward,
"Grrr—."
"..."
Thor appeared before him again.
His focus shattered, Soo-hyuk was blown back.
'I was wrong.'
Thinking he wouldn't meet him again was a mistake.
Thor stood before him once more.
As if the space's constraints didn't apply to him, he strode forward confidently.
"Grk, grrr—."
Fortunately, he didn't attack this time either.
But he didn't leave immediately like before.
He just followed alongside.
"Something you need?"
"Grrr—."
"You have something to say... no, never mind."
Soo-hyuk tried speaking but gave up.
For now, he had to be content that Thor wasn't attacking. Provoking him wouldn't help.
He could turn aggressive at any moment.
'Focus for now.'
Soo-hyuk decided to ignore him.
Maybe he was part of the trial, designed to disrupt concentration and knock players off the path.
He'd grasped the point.
Instead of being swept by the wind, he stepped lightly, as if treading on it.
After stepping through the wind for a while—
He passed through safely this time too.
"Better than before."
At the goal waited a silver box.
Using the key placed right in front, he opened it. Inside lay a pristine white garment dusted with grime.
An item with a whopping 8 stats. Unique grade to boot.
He brushed off the dust first. Stored his current clothes in inventory, then donned the new ones.
For a moment, he felt like his body was floating on the wind.
But it was just an illusion. His body had become that light.
'Nice.'
He tested moving around.
Agility had risen, but thanks to the item's effect, he felt confident he could move much faster than before.
But with great performance came unease.
'Rewards too generous for the difficulty.'
He could chalk it up to Odin's gifts and be happy, but it wasn't that simple.
In trials, big rewards meant correspondingly high difficulty.
'Like they're handing out rewards in advance...'
Glance—.
With that thought, Soo-hyuk looked at Thor standing behind the box.
"You gonna keep following?"
Still no answer.
There had to be a reason, but with no communication, it was irritating.
What if he suddenly snapped and attacked?
It felt like carrying a powerful bomb.
But what could he do?
Soo-hyuk had no means to shake him off.
"Yeah. Then keep following."
Step—.
As Soo-hyuk headed for the next path,
Swoosh—.
Thor, who had been trailing behind, suddenly blocked the way.
Soo-hyuk tried sidestepping just in case, but Thor blocked again.
"What is it?"
"Grrr—."
"If you have something to say, say it. If you can't talk, convey it some other way."
By now, Soo-hyuk got it.
He wasn't trying to attack. There was a clear reason he kept following.
To progress, he needed to find out what it was.
"You want help?"
Thor nodded.
Good—he could understand even if he couldn't speak.
Nods or shakes.
Soo-hyuk began questioning to figure out what he wanted.
"Want to leave this place?"
"Grk—."
"Want to go back to normal?"
"Grk—, grr—."
"Want to see your father...?"
"Grrrrr—."
"Nope. Hold on, don't get mad."
A few more questions yielded nothing. As he hesitated without ideas, Thor acted for the first time.
Thump—.
He pounded his chest with his fist.
Unsure what it meant, Soo-hyuk furrowed his brow in thought.
And then it hit him.
"Wait..."
A chilling realization made him hesitate before asking,
"Are you asking me to kill you?"
Thor nodded.