American Comics: Heaven's Reward

When the duplication dissipated, Aaron, who had been entering a meditative state, opened his eyes for the first time, and a flash of disappointment crossed his face.

"Has it been discovered so quickly? The level of illusion magic still needs a lot of improvement."

"If I could produce a real entity, others wouldn't be able to tell the truth from the illusion. Even if they had doubts, it would remain just that—doubt."

"Well then, it's time to upgrade the illusion magic, just like the meditation technique is about to be upgraded."

With that, Aaron continued into his meditation.

Hours passed, and finally, a crucial moment arrived.

[You have performed the meditation technique seriously and gained much. Your magical energy reserves have increased. Your meditation technique proficiency has increased by +4, and your meditation technique has been upgraded to Energy Absorption!]

"Huh? Meditation has become Energy Absorption?"

Aaron immediately checked the changes upon seeing the prompt, his face lighting up with excitement.

Meditation was a technique developed by Asgard's magicians to perceive and absorb magical energy from the air. However, it had low efficiency and great limitations. It could only accumulate magic little by little over a long period of time.

Energy Absorption was an upgraded version of Meditation, which could actively absorb unused energy. Not only did it have much higher efficiency at absorbing magic than traditional meditation or LV4 meditation, but it could also absorb other types of energy and convert them into personal reserves, no longer limited to Asgard's unique magical energy.

With Energy Absorption, both efficiency and versatility were greatly improved, meaning the speed of magical energy accumulation would increase significantly.

Additionally, this upgrade solved another problem for Aaron: how to absorb external energy sources.

With the Casket of Ancient Winters and the Eternal Flame in his possession, Aaron could use Energy Absorption to continuously transform them into his own power.

That would be the true beginning of his strength growth.

The most important part was that Meditation had undergone a qualitative leap at LV5. Aaron wondered just how exaggerated Energy Absorption could become if he continued to strengthen it.

Aaron was envious of Scarlet Witch's Energy Absorption. In the future, she would be able to absorb all of Captain Marvel's energy from a parallel universe in mere seconds!

That level of Energy Absorption was on an entirely different scale from Aaron's current ability.

One could absorb already owned energy, while the other absorbed unowned energy. The gap between them was vast.

However, Aaron was confident he could achieve similar feats, if not surpass them. After all, he had only been learning meditation for less than a day, and he had already reached this level. What would happen next? How strong could he become?

The possibilities were endless, and the potential for improvement was limitless!

Aaron turned his attention to his template:

[Name]: Aaron

[Life]: 1000/5000

[Ability]: God rewards those who work hard

[Skills]:

Energy Absorption (Asgard Meditation) LV5 (0/100000)

Fighting Technique LV4 (2/10000)

Swordsmanship LV4 (2/10000)

Illusion Magic LV3 (99/1000)

Space Storage LV2 (10/100)

[Attributes]:

Intelligence 3

Strength 4

Speed 3

Endurance 4

Energy Strength 3

Fighting Skill 5

[Strength Evaluation]: Surface level (second-rate superhero)

Though his skills had improved, his strength evaluation had not changed much.

Except for the increase in fighting skills, all other attributes, including energy strength, remained the same.

This didn't bother Aaron.

Before gaining the God's Reward ability, his energy strength and fighting skill were only 1 and 2, respectively.

Though his strength was still rated as surface level and second-rate superhero, the difference between now and before was clear.

It could be said without exaggeration that Aaron, at this moment, would easily outclass his previous self.

This improvement in overall attributes, combined with the coordination of magic, meant victory was assured.

Unless, of course, there were intelligence-based restrictions or some other plot-related issues.

Even though he was still considered surface level, there was a huge gap between the upper and lower ends of that tier.

Explosively destroying buildings, streets, or even entire cities—those could all be classified as "surface level" as well.

But could they really be considered the same?

If all the women's federations were thrown into the mix, they might be of the same level, but at most, they'd only be first-rate, second-rate, or third-rate.

Aaron prepared himself for a long-term surface-level evaluation.

He believed this would only be temporary.

"If I want to upgrade Energy Absorption, I need to meditate for more than a day without eating or drinking…"

"Also…"

"The magical energy pervading Asgard is starting to become insufficient for such an efficient rate of magic absorption."

"Meditation efficiency is bound to be affected."

"Finding a new energy source is urgent!"

During his meditation, Aaron realized that the magical energy in Asgard's air could barely keep up with his LV4 absorption speed. As he continued to improve, relying on just external energy would become unsustainable.

To continue progressing without obstacles, he would have to find a more effective energy source.

"It's better to improve the illusion magic and space storage first. As for finding a solution, I'll have to go to the Magic Academy tomorrow."

After this realization, Aaron returned to studying.

The Next Day

Aaron, who had rolled out of bed early, rushed to the Magic Academy.

At this hour, the other students hadn't arrived yet.

Due to the long lifespans of the Aesir gods, their daily schedules differed significantly from those of Earthlings. On Earth, students might come to class early to read or study.

But in Asgard, it was still considered a good time to sleep.

In fact, very little of their day was spent studying.

Apart from essential physical training, the Aesir were more focused on enjoying life.

This was the way of the gods.

They had essentially entered an era of utopia.

With Odin's leadership, maintaining peace across the Nine Realms and deterring other civilizations, Asgard had little to worry about in terms of external threats.

If Aaron didn't know what would happen in the plot, he might have also started to enjoy the peaceful and comfortable life of the gods.

However, for him, those thoughts were only temporary.

He was racing against time!

Seeing that no one was around, Aaron continued to pour himself into his studies.

He opened a thick, enchanting magic book, immersing his mind in it.

Time passed unnoticed.

Suddenly, a voice called out, waking Aaron from his magical reverie.

"Aaron, Teacher Erin has asked for you."

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