Chapter 135

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 135: Thor, the Protector

"Thor…!"

Ares scowled deeply.

He gazed at the man standing proudly atop the shattered mountain.

A massive figure, nearly twice the size of a normal person.

His long golden hair fluttered in the wind, and his golden beard completely covered his nose and chin.

Dressed in golden armor crackling with yellow lightning, he wielded a massive hammer in his hand.

Then, as if adjusting to his size, the hammer shrank smoothly.

So this was the God of Thunder, Thor?

Just from his appearance, he looked immensely powerful.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Uh… I was just trying to come down, but my hammer went off course."

Rumble!

Suddenly, his body transformed into lightning and landed right in front of me.

Thor stood tall, shielding me.

"Thanks to you lot, I ended up in serious debt. Now, I have to protect my creditor."

Crackle!

The ground was infused with electricity, and from within, people began emerging one by one.

They were giants, just as large as Thor.

Each wielded a hammer, surrounding me in a commanding stance.

"We’re still allies, aren’t we?"

Thor crossed his arms and looked at Ares.

What a bold-looking guy.

If he shaved his beard, he might look like a godly-class handsome man, but with his massive frame, he didn't seem very human.

"Lord Ares!"

"Hmph. Asgard… such trickery. Fall back for now."

At his command, Ares' subordinates withdrew in formation.

A moment ago, the atmosphere was relatively free, but now it was razor-sharp with tension.

Ares' army.

Thor's army.

The two factions stood at a standoff, watching each other carefully.

"The battle is already decided. Asgard should just sit back and witness Olympus' complete victory… Why go out of your way to make enemies?"

"You think we’d trust those who owe us five trillion? We have to make sure Zeus doesn’t win, no matter what."

"That five trillion debt—SP Exchange is owned by Kim Jiho. If he dies, wouldn't the debt disappear?"

"Loki already investigated. Even if Kim Jiho dies, SP Exchange won’t disappear. It’ll just become part of the system. Rather than letting a heartless system own it, it's better if our side holds onto it."

These bastards…

Where did they find out about that?

If killing me would erase SP Exchange, they would've tried immediately.

Still, for now, it was reassuring to have such solid protection.

"You’ve figured out quite a lot."

Thor's words made Ares, now wearing glasses, shake his head.

"Asgard should have been wiped out… Kim Jiho, your actions will be regretted for a long time."

"Hahaha. Thanks to that, we still have hope."

Ares pulled out the long spear he had planted in the ground and turned his back to us.

"We’re withdrawing for today."

"Understood."

"We captured Hercules, so it wasn’t a complete loss. I managed to upgrade my Soul Reaper skill."

Was he talking about when he was trapped by Zeus’ lightning at the start?

Tsk…

Well, it was still better than being completely captured.

"If father regains more power, we can break the pact…"

Ares' body gradually became transparent.

His summoned subordinates vanished one by one.

"When that time comes, I’ll personally kill you, Thor."

"I look forward to it. I’ll crush the War God’s skull with Mjolnir."

"Hmph. I’ll be waiting."

Ares disappeared without a trace.

Was the penalty for breaking the Olympus-Asgard alliance really that severe?

Ares, who had been burning with determination, retreated without a fight.

At least I could breathe for now.

"Creditor, this should be enough for an interest reduction, right?"

Thor turned around and pounded my shoulder.

His hands, as large as cauldron lids, slammed down, making me feel like my shoulder was about to break off.

"It was just one time. I’ll count it in my mind as a favor."

"Hahaha! This guy—your eyes move like Loki’s. Looks like you’ll never actually reduce it."

His slaps on my shoulder got even harder.

Damn, this really hurts.

"I appreciate your help."

Hercules appeared, a sword still embedded in his chest.

He bowed deeply to Thor in gratitude.

"Hahaha. That’s Hercules for you. Always quick to express thanks like a true warrior. You must have been a worthy opponent."

"Not at all. I was severely weakened by Zeus' lightning. If I had fought Ares, I would have lost."

Hercules spoke calmly, then turned to me and bowed as well.

"Thank you, Kim Jiho. Trying to rescue me in that situation…"

"I was just repaying my mentor."

"It’s not much of a reward, but I’ll relinquish my SP Exchange share purchase rights to you."

"The right to buy shares?"

The right to buy shares in SP Exchange.

Even if I refused to sell, it was still valuable, considering the potential growth of SP Exchange.

Yet, Hercules gave it up without hesitation.

"When Zeus subdued me, I could feel it. He was looking for the share purchase rights."

"Even if he finds them, I don’t have to sell, right?"

"If you die, the system might allow him to buy them."

Oh…

The system isn’t biased like I am against Zeus.

It might just sell them logically.

"He was more focused on finding a way to steal share purchase rights than even my skills."

"Can those rights even be stolen?"

"For SSS-rank beings, no, but he’s now an EX-rank god… He might have a way. Since you arrived in time, the rights weren’t taken."

[Hercules is relinquishing his SP Exchange share purchase rights. Do you accept?]

A system message suddenly popped up.

When I pressed "Yes," his purchase rights vanished completely.

Hercules looked relieved.

"Now, even if I get captured again, Zeus won’t gain anything extra."

With that settled, Thor suddenly plopped down.

Even seated, his towering frame was about the same height as me.

He stared at me intently.

Even sitting down, his overwhelming presence was no joke.

"Soul God, cut my interest a little."

"I’ll lower it by 1% if you keep protecting me."

"That’s a given. But shouldn’t there be some extra bonuses too?"

Thor stroked his beard while giving me a deep look.

That stance… was pure extortion.

But I was the creditor here.

Time to stand firm.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

"Thanks for today, but I can’t give you a bonus just yet. If I keep cutting interest every time, I’ll go bankrupt. Help me out again next time, and I’ll cut it for you then."

“Jeez... Are you even human? Usually, when I glare at someone like this, they just give in.”

His stare was intense, but this wasn’t enough to sway me.

Hercules, standing beside us, spoke as if it were pointless.

“That guy even defied Zeus.”

“Oh, I see. No wonder this isn’t working.”

Thor suddenly sprang to his feet.

He looked at me and asked,

“Then next time I save you, I’ll expect a reward. But hey, you’re planning to go to Earth, right?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I can’t stay descended on Earth all the time. It’d be easier if I marked you.”

“A mark?”

“Yeah. Consider it my blessing.”

Thor pointed at my left shoulder.

With a loud crackle, lightning erupted.

For a moment, my left shoulder burned with pain, but the sensation quickly faded.

“I’ve engraved my mark there. If you're in danger, just touch it and call for me. I’ll come right away.”

On my left shoulder, a yellow lightning-shaped mark had appeared.

So this is Thor’s mark.

[Thor’s Blessing has been engraved.]

[You are an independent god. You cannot receive his divine protection.]

[You become more attuned to the attribute of lightning.]

“I understand. Thank you.”

“So, next time, you’ll cut my interest, right?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

I answered half-heartedly, making Thor sigh deeply.

“Damn it, Odin… I shouldn’t have become his adopted son. Zeus messed me up, and now I’m stuck like this.”

“Isn’t he your real father?”

“No. Originally, Odin and I were competing for the highest seat in Asgard. In the end, I gave it up and became his adopted son… I trusted him because he was smart, but I never imagined he’d screw things up this badly.”

So he’s not Odin’s biological son?

Thor grumbled about Odin for a while.

“Damn Odin. I’m out of here.”

With a wave, he vanished in a flash of lightning.

Hercules turned to me and said,

“Kim Jiho, at least you got yourself a reliable bodyguard.”

“Yeah. He’ll be useful until the treaty between Olympus and Asgard breaks.”

“Since you promised him compensation, you’d better keep your word. Thor is infamous for swinging his hammer first and thinking later when he’s pissed.”

“If he saves my life, sure, I’ll cut some interest.”

“Haha. Good thinking. As long as he gets something in return, he’ll be more willing to help.”

Hercules waved at me.

“I should leave Eshtar too. If Olympus invades again, I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to hold them off.”

“Was Zeus’s lightning really that strong?”

“Yeah. Sure, I was in soul form, but… even in my giant god form, it wouldn’t have been easy. If his power were fully restored, I’d already be captured and dragged back to Olympus.”

Hercules’ body started turning transparent.

At the same time, the colossal figure on the beach began fading away.

“The Lords of Chaos need to reorganize, too. I’ll contact you if anything important comes up.”

“Okay. Got it. Hmm… But if you're leaving, is it really safe for me to go to Earth? Zeus might throw a lightning bolt at me.”

“It’ll actually be safer. Right now, Earth is swarming with gods trying to stake their claims. A weakened Zeus won’t be able to interfere so easily. There aren’t many gods there in the first place. Because of what Odin did, even Freya left for Asgard…”

According to Hercules, the system of this broken world was on the verge of collapse.

He glanced wistfully at the magical city of Eshtar.

“Still… I made easy SP here. What a shame.”

“Oh, wait. I have two questions.”

“What are they?”

“Even after all this, will Chaos keep summoning dungeons on Earth?”

“For now, yeah. But their attacks might slow down. The headquarters will reassess whether to continue… What else?”

“Can I awaken as a being of Chaos?”

Hercules gave me a dumbfounded look.

“Chaos? Why now?”

I explained the concept of soul fusion to him, making him fall into deep thought.

“Fusion…? First looting, then mediation, and now fusion? What’s next?”

“Yeah. Hades once tried to awaken me as a being of Chaos. I figured maybe you could, too.”

“That was back when you were human, right? He probably wanted to make you his subordinate and awaken you that way… But now you’re a god. It won’t work.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I’ll check with Chaos when I get back. I’ll contact you later.”

“Alright.”

Just as Hercules was disappearing, leaving only his upper body visible, he suddenly stopped.

“Oh! One more thing, Kim Jiho. Why do you fight like that?”

“What do you mean? Something wrong?”

“Why do you only use soul energy emmission? You don’t imbue it into your skills.”

“It’s inefficient for ranged attacks. Close combat is the best for efficiency.”

“But you can mix it into close combat skills. Don’t you have any combat skills ranked S or higher?”

S-rank combat skills?

All I had were escape techniques…

Even my Thunder God skill was only A-rank.

“Nothing S-rank comes to mind.”

“You need at least an S-rank to damage gods. You should mix soul energy emission into it. That’s the best way to enhance your attacks. Just like how Ares infused Soul Barrier into his technique.”

Wait, that was possible?

No skill description ever mentioned that…

“If you do that, your fights will be way more efficient. Alright, now I’m really leaving.”

He waved and vanished.

Damn.

Couldn’t he have told me this sooner…?

Now that Hercules was gone, I had no reason to stay here.

If Earth was safer, I should return home.

“Heimdall’s Return.”

I used my return skill to go back home.

Had Zeus rewound time?

My apartment, which had been uprooted, was perfectly intact.

As soon as I arrived, I turned on the TV.

I was curious about what had happened in the month I was gone.

A commercial was playing.

Guess it wasn’t news time yet.

Might as well drink a beer while watching.

I popped open a can from my stash and flopped onto the couch, zoning out at the screen.

Then the next commercial came on—

“Pfft!”

I spat out my beer.

On the screen was Asura.

Not just a representation of him, but the actual Asura I had saved.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]