Chapter 54- Back to Graystone City, Logging out.
Seeing Leo bolt out without hearing the rest of his words, the Odin sighed and shook his head.
He turned to Freya.
"You should tell him the rest," Odin said. "Warn him about the wider world. Tell him to contact us and join our cosmic civilization so that Earth is not invaded before it is ready."
Freya nodded helplessly and hurried after Leo.
Leo had already burst into the library as though chased by a dog. He seized the nearest carved stone pillar with both hands.
"Surtr. Help me choose."
"Tch. You could have let Odin finish speaking before you bolted like a startled deer."
"Surtr."
"Fine... Focus on mana-breathing techniques, skill-cultivation methods, and combat techniques."
Leo moved. He grabbed every relevant scroll and tablet within reach.
A series of twelve mana-breathing scrolls—each detailing a different affinity path—vanished into his inventory. A thick stone tablet of mana-circulation methods proved too heavy to carry, so he activated Forge-Sight and burned every character into his mental space, line by line, until all the information was stored in his Inscription Realm.
A brittle leather manual on skill-scroll inscription followed. Three complete sets of formation arrays—warding, gathering, and reinforcement—rolled in cured animal hide and sealed, joined them. Five elemental attunement meditations, one for each basic element; he took the fire path first, then the rest.
"Do not forget weapon-enchanting techniques," Surtr reminded him.
Leo found the thin pamphlet wedged between larger tomes, barely twenty handwritten pages in cramped Asgardian script. Perfect size. Into the inventory it went.
"Combat formations?"
He could not locate them.
Freya, arriving at that moment, answered calmly. "East wing. You will need a scribe’s kit to copy the diagrams. The originals are restricted to officers."
Leo ran.
A single grey-bearded guard leaned on a spear at the military-archive entrance. He looked up as Leo approached.
"State your—"
Before the guard could finish, Leo held up the glowing pendant and put his titles on full display .
The man squinted, grunted.
"Library access does not cover the military section—"
"I have clearance from the All-Father."
"You are a human blacksmith."
"Yes."
The guard studied him a long moment.
"Let him in," Freya said from behind.
The guard went rigid with alarm, snapped to attention, and saluted Freya before stepping aside. He added one last warning to Leo.
"Do not touch anything marked with red seals. Those are war secrets."
Leo nodded and slipped past.
The combat techniques were categorized by difficulty. He copied everything within reach that he could reasonably use: Shield Wall Formation (simple, four-person), Volley Protocol (five archers), Banner of Resolve (one anchor). He traced the diagrams onto fresh parchment with careful hands.
In a separate section labeled "Essentials—All Asgardian Recruits" he found Mana Blade, Step of Wind, Iron Skin, and Parry Counter. He copied those as well.
Twenty minutes later he sat cross-legged on the floor amid stacks of scrolls, loose parchment, and open manuals. His inventory was a third full. His mental space felt dense with memorized text.
Freya’s voice came from the doorway.
"Are you not done yet?"
She had been watching from the door since he entered.
Leo looked up. She stood with arms crossed, expression balanced between amusement and mild exasperation.
"The All-Father wanted to tell you more, but you ran off before he could finish."
"I am here to tell you the rest."
"There is more? Okay. Tell me as I go through these," Leo said, reaching for another scroll.
Freya stared. "You are robbing the Asgardian Royal Library."
"Borrowing. Permanently."
"That is robbing."
"Call it payment for the hammer. I earned it."
Her lips twitched. She walked over and sat on the edge of a shelf, watching him work.
"King Odin says you should contact us after your world awakens. Join Asgard’s cosmic civilization early. It will protect Earth from being invaded before it is ready."
Leo’s hands paused. "Invaded by whom?"
"The Inverse. Other cosmic factions. There are things that prey on newborn worlds." Her voice was quiet. "Asgard’s protection would give Earth time to grow."
He thought about it and nodded. "Okay. I don’t even know any other civilizations anyway. Anything else?"
"Several things. But you seem busy."
"I am just steali— Ahm!— I mean borrowing."
Freya’s eye twitched. She sighed....
She watched him another moment, then reached into her armor and produced a small sealed bundle of parchment.
"A gift before you leave. Basics of beast taming and spiritual-pact arrays. You will need them."
Leo looked from the bundle to her face. "...Thank you."
She stood, brushed off her armor, and delivered one last dry remark.
"Do not thank me yet. You still have to explain to the head librarian why half the eastern archive is missing."
Her muffled laugh echoed down the corridor as she left.
Leo remained in the archive for another two hours. When he finally departed, his inventory held copies of twenty-seven techniques, twelve formation arrays, five elemental attunement paths, and a comprehensive guide to tool-free enchanting. His mental space carried the Mana Circulation Path in perfect detail, etched as permanently as any rune.
Afternoon light painted the palace corridors gold. He stepped out of the library doors, drew a long breath, and decided he was ready to leave.
Freya had been waiting on a nearby bench outside the library and had fallen asleep. Sunlight spilled across her golden hair and the soft planes of her face, turning her features almost ethereal. Leo stopped without meaning to and simply looked for a moment.
"Beautiful..." he muttered.
A gentle breeze stirred a strand of hair across her cheek. Almost without any thought he stepped closer and reached out to tuck it behind her ear.
Her eyes opened at the exact instant his fingers brushed her skin.
They locked gazes. His hand was still behind her ear, frozen stiff.
For a moment, silence held them both.
. . . . .
A Valkyrie’s voice suddenly rang out from down the corridor. "Captain Freya?!"
The call shattered the stillness. Panic flared in both of them at once.
Color flooded Leo’s face.
A matching flush rose in Freya’s cheeks. Her eyes widened, and in pure reflex she surged upright and kicked him.
Leo, still half-dazed, was sent flying backward down the corridor and crashed into a shelf with a solid bang. His health plunged to ten. He lay on the floor, staring blankly at the ceiling, uncertain what had just happened.
Freya spun around, scanning the corridor for the Valkyrie who had called her name, terrified they had been seen. But the voice had only been searching for her; the other Valkyrie had not yet rounded the corner. Freya exhaled in quiet relief.
Only then did she realize what she had done. Worry replaced the earlier flush as she hurried to Leo’s side.
"Are you all right?"
Leo could only stare as she lifted him as easily as a doll, set him on his feet, and declared, "You are fine."
He nodded, downed a health potion, and the color returned to his face.
"Did you take the potion recipes as well?" she asked.
He nodded again.
She hesitated, then reached into her armor once more and pressed a small crystal into his palm. It hung on a leather cord, pale blue like a winter sky, a faint light pulsing at its core.
"A communication crystal keyed to my frequency. If you are in danger, if you need help, or if you simply want to talk—use it."
Leo closed his fingers around the warm crystal. "I will."
Freya held his gaze a moment longer, lips parting as though more words waited. But she said nothing. She turned and walked away down the corridor. Her boots echoed against marble. She did not look back.
Leo looked at her fading back...
....
Then, he made his way through the palace toward the Bifrost. He had taken what he needed and spoken his goodbyes.
Surprisingly, near the outer gates he ran into the dwarf Gandalf.
"Yoho, kid! Still alive, I see. How you doing?"
Leo smiled. "All good. And you? Anything new?"
Gandalf shook his head. "Where are you headed?"
"The Bifrost."
"Ah. Leaving for your world, then? I will walk with you."
They talked of small things as they walked towards the rainbow bridge. When they reached it, Gandalf clapped him on the shoulder.
"Farewell, my friend. Visit Asgard again when you can."
Leo nodded and stepped into the rainbow of lights
Light took him.
.....
Noise returned first—voices, footsteps, the everyday clamor of the Adventurers’ Guild hall. The teleportation point of Graystone City resolved around him.
He stepped outside into familiar streets.
Players moved past without a second glance. Some carried fresh loot. Some argued over prices. One group loudly discussed a dungeon run they just completed.
Leo drew a deeper breath. The air felt lighter somehow.
Then he noticed the level markers floating above the heads around him.
Level 38.
Level 42.
Level 47.
A player in full-plate armor strode past, the marker glowing at Level 51. The man did not even glance at Leo.
Leo opened his own status panel.
Level 15.
He closed it.
Damn. He had fallen far behind. Nearly two weeks gone, and the gap had only widened.
His message box overflowed with texts from Shen.
"Leo. Where are you? Your dot hasn’t moved in 48 hours. Still on the advancement quest? What the hell is happening?"
"Okay, I’m not panicking. The system says you’re alive. But I hit Level 35 today. Found a new dungeon in the Crimson Hills. The loot is insane. You would love the forge there. Answer me when you get this."
"Leo."
"ARE YOU STILL not available??"
"I’m coming to get you. Where should I come?"
"I don’t know where to find you, but I’m going to figure it out."
"...Okay I can’t figure it out."
"Just message me when you come back from the dead or something."
Leo almost laughed. He could picture Shen pacing back and forth, each message typed with rising agitation.
He typed a short reply.
"Long story. I’ll explain when I’m back. Logging out now. See you."
He opened the system menu. The LOG OUT button, greyed out for eleven days, now shone white and ready.
He pressed it.
The edges of his vision blurred. Golden light rose and swallowed everything.
....