American Comics: Heaven's Reward

Back at the residence, Aaron began to think about his next steps.

Aaron conjured a pen and a piece of paper, preparing to continue his planning, when he suddenly noticed something.

"Huh? The proficiency has only increased by 2 points this time?"

Aaron was momentarily confused, staring at the proficiency tracker.

In the next second, the illusion magic was canceled, and he conjured the paper and pen again.

This time, the proficiency still increased by 2 points instead of 3.

"Strange... could it be...?"

Thinking of a possibility, Aaron conjured an energy entity.

"Sure enough! The increase in proficiency isn't just about casting a spell casually, but requires me to cast a certain spell with all my strength."

Aaron suddenly realized.

The paper and pen were just an illusion—ordinary and fleeting. The difficulty and level of the magic involved were probably only at LV2, so only 2 points of proficiency were gained.

On the other hand, duplicating the energy entity required a casting level and magic energy equivalent to standardized LV3, hence the proficiency increased by 3 points.

"It's troublesome... If I want to increase my magic level faster, I have to go all out every time I cast magic. That requires a lot of magic energy reserves!"

"So... the next urgent issue to solve is the problem of magic energy!"

"With enough magical energy, I can become stronger at the fastest speed!"

"As for the solution..."

Aaron picked up the phantom pen and lightly wrote down Plan 1.

Meditation!

The Level 4 meditation technique allows an astonishing speed at which perception absorbs magic.

One hour of meditation can equal the accumulation of several days' worth of effort by an ordinary magician.

At this speed, Aaron believed that even Irene, Queen Frigga, or Loki with the blood of the Frost Giants would not be as fast as him.

According to Asgardian magical research, meditation is not technically magic. Instead, it relies on the blood to enhance absorption.

Loki, for example, has abilities beyond that of ordinary people thanks to the bonus from his Frost Titan royal blood.

However, even though this form of magic accumulation is fast, Aaron was still not satisfied.

Time was running out.

He didn't have enough time to slowly follow the steps and wait.

Simply meditating for a few more hours would upgrade his absorption speed, but that alone wasn't enough.

Aaron pondered for a moment, shaking his head slightly in dissatisfaction, then wrote down Plan 2 on the paper.

Energy Source!

"If I could acquire an artifact with infinite energy, like the Infinite Gems, this problem would be solved!"

"But this plan faces two challenges!"

"First, as far as I know, there are currently no Infinite Gems in Asgard!"

"Secondly, even if I were to obtain the gems, I couldn't just use them casually and absorb their energy. The risks are considerable. If I'm not careful, I could be backlashed by the gems."

Asgard has had Infinite Gems before—more than one, in fact.

However, for some unknown reason, Odin may have realized that collecting all six gems was impossible, or perhaps he made a mistake and ultimately sent the gems away.

It is very likely that there are no gems left in Asgard now.

Aaron was also concerned that he might not have the ability to absorb the gems' energy.

Although the Infinite Gems are objects, they are not ordinary items.

For example, Red Skull was transferred through space magic and later a female alien was blasted by their energy.

Currently, aside from Captain Marvel, who was fortunate enough to absorb part of the Space Gem's energy, almost everyone else has only indirectly used the energy from the gems.

Even if some technology can transform the Reality Gem into a form of Tai particles and incorporate it into the body, that doesn't mean the energy is actually absorbed.

The Reality Gem is powerful, but if someone could truly absorb its energy, how could Thor, who hasn't even awakened fully, have overthrown it?

Look at Captain Marvel—likely, even Awakened Thor wouldn't be able to defeat her.

So, for now, plans involving the Infinite Gems are on hold.

"Since that's the case, an alternative plan must be adopted."

Aaron wrote "Casket of Ancient Winters" and "Eternal Fire" on the paper.

The former has the immense power to freeze an entire planet.

The latter never extinguishes and has the special power to resurrect the undead. When combined with Surtur, it could restore peak power and destroy all of Asgard with a single strike.

There's no doubt that both artifacts have energy levels measured by planets.

If Aaron could obtain and use them, he wouldn't have to worry about energy issues early on.

The most important part? These two artifacts are in Asgard, so they might be obtainable.

"Remember, these two artifacts are in Odin's treasury. They are usually under Odin's magical surveillance and are guarded by the Destroyer armor."

"If I want to obtain them, I either need to raise my magic level far beyond Odin's, or earn them through significant military achievements as a reward."

"Perhaps the former is the easier option."

Aaron's eyes flickered.

He had always been wary of Odin.

From what he knew, Odin might seem like a benevolent king now, but don't forget that before uniting the Nine Realms, he was just as warlike as Thanos.

Countless kills.

And incredibly scheming.

Odin's strength was also unfathomable.

Aaron didn't think he would be rewarded with the two artifacts for any military success—there was no precedent for that.

Both the Casket of Ancient Winters and the Eternal Fire were too important.

The Casket was a sacred object for the Frost Titans, and they had never given up on reclaiming it. If it fell into their hands, it could spark another war.

The Eternal Fire was even more dangerous, linked to Ragnarok. When Surtur gained the Eternal Fire, Odin was powerless, and Asgard was doomed.

As long as Odin wasn't too old or insane, he would never allow these two artifacts to leave his vault.

Compared to the initiative of the enemy last time, Aaron was more inclined to "get" them himself.

There was another option: waiting for the dark elves to invade, or for Loki to take power and Hela to make a move. That would make obtaining the artifacts much easier.

But Aaron couldn't wait!

So…

"The top priority is to improve my magic level as soon as possible. Once I surpass Odin, I can take the artifacts without anyone noticing!"

"Maybe there's another way to enhance my magic reserves!"

Aaron had another plan in mind.

This plan could only be implemented after tomorrow's magic class.

As for the current time? That was for opening the book!

Aaron temporarily set aside his thoughts and began exercising his various abilities according to his plan.

First, he focused on combat techniques, gun skills, and sword skills—these needed to be upgraded to LV4.

Then, there was meditation to restore magic power, which needed to reach LV5.

Finally, he would practice illusion magic and space storage.

The goal was to raise all abilities to their highest levels in the shortest possible time.

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