"You can't wipe out an entire race!"
Thor, who was never good with words, clumsily tried to persuade his brother. He wished he could toss his brother into his own head, just so he would understand that their father's years of effort were about to be destroyed by Loki.
"Why not?"
Loki laughed. With victory almost in hand, all he knew was that he was just one small step away from succeeding in his plan.
Unable to resist mocking Thor, he lifted his foot and slowly walked toward his always-dominant, battle-hungry brother:
"Since when did you start showing mercy to the Frost Giants?"
"With your strength, Thor the God of Thunder, you could wipe them out without breaking a sweat..."
To this, Thor could only say:
"I've changed."
"I've changed too!"
Bang!
Before the words had even finished, Loki suddenly launched an attack. Odin's spear stabbed toward Thor, only to be instinctively blocked by Thor with Mjolnir.
Thor did not strike back. From Loki's words, he understood that Loki was carrying resentment in his heart.
And because of that, as the older brother, Thor found it even harder to bring himself to keep hurting Loki.
Seeing that Thor, who normally flared up at the slightest spark, actually didn't fight back,
Loki grew agitated, his voice rising, "Why aren't you fighting back?"
As soon as he spoke, he swung Odin's spear again and charged at Thor.
And Thor still didn't retaliate, letting the tremendous force knock him far away and slam him to the ground, while he spoke his true feelings:
"I've never cared about the throne."
To Loki's ears, those words were full of sarcasm. Already knowing the truth of his own origins, Loki believed Odin would never pass the throne to someone of another race.
Even so, after being Odin's son for so many years, what Loki had always wanted was just one thing: fairness.
"I just want to compete with you fairly."
Looking at Thor's sanctimonious face, jealousy flared wildly in Loki's heart. He strode quickly toward Thor, intending to continue venting the resentment inside him.
"I don't want to fight you! Brother!"
Thor clung to their old bond. Even under Loki's relentless aggression, he still had no intention of hurting him at all.
"I'm not your brother... I never was..."
Loki finally spoke the truth. Tears moistened his eyes. In his trembling voice were traces of loss, traces of unwillingness, and far more anger.
But in Thor's eyes, this sentence was nothing more than Loki having gone mad. Thor had no idea that Loki was actually a descendant of the Frost Giants.
Loki continued to question Thor, "How did you become so weak after just one trip to Earth? Don't tell me it's because of a woman..."
"Oh! Fine then. After I finish you off, I'll go meet her myself!"
Thor treasured his journey to Earth deeply, and at this moment, the final nerve in his heart was touched. The brother before him was so crazed that he finally enraged the God of Thunder.
———
Corin decided to prioritize upgrading his life-saving ability: the Steel Body.
"Upgrade!"
[-5 billion USD. Upgrade successful. Account balance: 24.298 billion USD]
[Ding! Congratulations, host, for upgrading Steel Body to Level 5. Steel Body Max upgrade formula unlocked.]
[Steel Body MAX (interstellar radiation resistance, charged by exposure to yellow sunlight) → 1 ton of vibranium + 200 billion USD]
Clang!
In an instant, a metallic sheen flashed across the surface of Corin's skin. At the same time, the collisions of cells within his body triggered a resonant metallic hum.
Corin knew that his defensive power, at least within the scope of Earth, was basically maxed out.
"Oh? I didn't expect that upgrading a talent to Level 5 still wouldn't be the highest?"
Corin carefully studied the system's prompt. This was the first time he had received this type of notification.
'Interstellar radiation resistance plus charging under sunlight?'
No wonder when he first exchanged for Steel Body, there was no mention of getting stronger by sunbathing. So this was where it was waiting.
Upgrading to the top-tier talent actually required other raw materials, vibranium.
'And one ton of it?'
Not to mention that getting a ton of vibranium would mean going to Wakanda. He didn't even know which way Wakanda's door opened right now.
Just the two hundred billion dollars alone was already far beyond what he could afford at present.
"Better leave it for later. For now, Level 5 Steel Body is basically enough to strut sideways on Earth."
Corin then shifted his gaze to Magnetic Manipulation. This Magneto-style ability was incredibly useful and absolutely had to be upgraded.
"Upgrade!"
[-5 billion USD. Upgrade successful! Account balance: 19.298 billion USD]
[Ding! Congratulations, host, for upgrading Magnetic Manipulation to Level 5. Magnetic Manipulation Max upgrade formula unlocked!]
[Magnetic Manipulation MAX, also known as Black Hole Siphon (magnetic force as powerful as a black hole, beyond imagination) → 1 square meter of Uru metal + 500 billion USD]
Suddenly, the ground beneath his feet began to tremble. Thinking something had gone wrong, Corin looked around warily.
He saw all kinds of metal materials rising up from underground. The scene was like a necromancer summoning an undead army. The difference was that what burst out of the ground were all scraps of junk metal.
Corin even saw a rusty metal ring hanging off a torn bra.
The sight left Corin both amused and exasperated.
He knew it was the upgraded magnetic manipulation unintentionally leaking out, pulling all the buried metal trash up from underground.
"Huff! I thought it was an earthquake."
Focusing his mind and restraining the magnetic force spilling out of his body, after a few minutes the ground finally stopped shaking.
But by then, the scene around Corin was already quite spectacular.
Scrapped car frames, various rusted farm tools, and metal debris whose original shapes were unrecognizable surrounded Corin, forming a neat circle piled high around him.
Like a ring-shaped mountain of garbage.
Even the wind around him was completely blocked by this metal trash mountain encircling his body.
"Worthy of Magneto's methods. Even the magnetic field leaking out unintentionally is this powerful."
After the disturbance passed, Corin continued upgrading his talents, his nouveau riche attitude fully on display.
Realizing that although his physical defense had undergone a qualitative leap, his strength was still a weak point by comparison, Corin upgraded his constitution.
"Upgrade!"
[-5 billion USD. Upgrade successful. Account balance: 14.298 billion USD]
[Ding! Congratulations, host, for upgrading Physical Enhancement to Level 5. Physical Enhancement MAX upgrade formula unlocked below!]
[Physical Enhancement Max, also known as Demigod Body (completely transforms the constitution) → 1 kg of Heart-Shaped Herb + 500 billion USD]
"Holy crap! This unassuming constitution enhancement actually turns into a demigod body at the top level?"
No wonder the system only gave a vague description of physical fitness. So upgrading it all the way would actually completely transform the constitution.
'That said, what kind of consequences would changing the constitution have?'
'Would one still be called human?'
'Also, where the hell am he supposed to find this Heart-Shaped Herb?'
'Wakanda really does have a lot of good stuff...'
'Looks like there is still a long way to go before true invincibility.'
With the practically useful skills basically all upgraded, Corin opened the status panel:
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
— Name: Corin
— Age: 28
— Stamina: 22255
— Current Account: 14.298 billion USD
— Talents Owned: Deadpool-level Regeneration, Dynamic Vision Lv.2, Jeet Kune Do Mastery, Physical Enhancement Lv.5, No-Form Mask, Precision Throwing Lv.2, Sketching Mastery, Steel Body Lv.5, Magnetic Manipulation Lv.5
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Recalling the battle with the Destroyer, Corin felt it was necessary to get a skill related to magic.
That way, if he ran into an opponent immune to physical attacks again, he wouldn't be completely helpless.
But choosing exactly which talent left Corin stumped for the moment.
Snape's Sectumsempra seemed decent, but its attack power was clearly a bit lacking.
Laser eyes were also cool, but thinking of the way he'd always be wearing glasses, Corin decisively gave up on that option.
Back when he was delivering food, he'd worn windproof goggles more than enough. Wearing that kind of thing for too long pressed against the bridge of his nose, and his ears got uncomfortable too.
At this moment, Corin completely forgot that with his Steel Body, how could a mere pair of glasses possibly make him feel anything at all?
Inertia of thought was a truly magical thing.
And so, Corin fell into deep indecision over what kind of talent he should choose.
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