◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews.
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones. or 500 Collections
◇ You can read 40 chapter ahead on P@treon . if you're interested: patreon.com/Heroicverse
------------------------------------------------
After an unknown amount of time, Quill slowly regained consciousness from his coma.
He groggily opened his eyes, and a rich, enticing aroma of roasted meat immediately filled his nostrils.
"You're awake."
Darian's voice came from nearby.
Quill looked in the direction of the voice, only to see Darian sitting in front of a bonfire, intently turning and roasting a huge piece of meat skewered on a wooden stick.
The meat, from some unknown creature, sizzled as it cooked, and golden drops of oil occasionally fell into the fire, splashing up tiny sparks.
"How did I get here?" Quill asked, somewhat bewildered.
Darian explained, "You suddenly fainted just now for some reason, and I've been waiting here for you to wake up."
Quill seemed to recall his memory before fainting, and his mouth twitched: "I distinctly remember you knocking me out."
Darian blinked his eyes: "Is that so? I'm not sure, I seem to have lost a small segment of my memory."
Quill: "..."
I'm the one who was knocked out, why are you losing your memory!
Quill didn't dwell on the topic, fearing that if he asked further, he might be the one to lose his memory.
He then asked curiously, "What are you doing?"
"Roasting meat. Want to try my cooking?"
Darian handed the roasted meat he was holding to Quill.
Smelling the fragrant roasted meat, Quill unconsciously swallowed his saliva. He was so hungry that his stomach was growling, so he half-heartedly accepted the roasted meat.
"Oh, you shouldn't have!"
Quill said this, and despite the heat, took a big bite.
The next moment, his eyes immediately lit up. The meat was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, succulent and juicy, more delicious than any meat he had ever tasted on any Planet.
"What kind of meat is this? It's too delicious!"
Quill asked, his words muffled as he wolfed down the food.
"Raiders meat."
"???"
Quill's face instantly turned green, and he felt his stomach churn, almost throwing up everything he had just eaten.
Seeing his reaction, Darian burst out laughing: "Just kidding, am I that kind of person? This is just local wild game from Vanaheim; its carcass is still over there."
Quill looked in the direction Darian pointed and indeed saw the carcass of a peculiar creature several meters long lying there, which finally put his mind at ease.
Darian stood up: "Once you're done eating, we'll set off."
"Where to?"
"Now that the unrest in the Nine Realms has subsided, it's time to go on that mission you mentioned."
Quill looked around and asked curiously, "Where are the others? Where are your golden-armored Asgardian warriors?"
Darian casually replied, "They were all temporary workers. Once their contract ended, they went home. Now it's just you and me going on this mission."
"Alright."
Quill nodded obediently on the surface, but in his heart, he was already making plans.
Without the supervision of the Asgardian warriors, his chances of escaping would be much greater.
As long as Darian was preoccupied, he could seize the opportunity to slip away. The Universe is so vast; if he just found a remote Planet to hide on, even if this Earth fellow countryman was incredibly capable, he wouldn't be able to find him.
Darian seemed to suddenly remember something and flashed him a toothy grin: "Oh, right, there's something I need to tell you. To prevent you from running off midway, I cast a little magic on you. You don't mind, do you?"
Quill's expression stiffened: "What? You can do magic?"
Darian chuckled happily: "That's right, didn't I tell you? I'm actually a mage."
Quill initially didn't believe him.
How could a mage smash a three-meter-tall stone golem with an axe!
But then, after Darian demonstrated a few magic tricks in front of him, he had no choice but to believe.
Oh my god, it turns out those stories I read as a child weren't fairy tales, but history books!
There really are mages on Earth!
Quill swallowed, somewhat nervous: "Then what kind of magic did you cast on me?"
Darian waved his hand: "Relax, it's not life-threatening magic, just a small spell. If I don't regularly cast a spell to remove it, little Quill will never be able to raise his head to be a man—no, to be a human."
Quill: "..."
How is that not dangerous!?
For a space-faring playboy like him, this was more cruel than directly killing him!
Quill quickly replayed his cherished learning materials in his mind, attempting to awaken the slumbering little Quill.
The result was despairing. No matter how he recalled those blood-boiling scenes, little Quill remained unresponsive, calmer than an ascetic monk who had cultivated for a thousand years.
At the thought of little Quill never being able to raise his head to be a man in the future, Quill suddenly felt that all the color had drained from his life.
"Fellow countryman—no, Master!"
Quill hugged Darian's thigh, tears streaming down his face: "I will cooperate fully with this mission, I promise not to leave your side!"
Darian patted his shoulder with satisfaction: "I believe you. Once we complete the mission, I will naturally remove this magic for you."
Actually, he had no such magic that could prevent someone from raising their head. Quill's condition was purely due to eating the roasted meat he made.
[Earth Bird Roasted Meat: After consumption, enters a period of sage mode]
The roasted meat skill was indeed useful.
However, the specific effect depended on the quality of the meat. For creatures like the Earth Bird, which were common on Vanaheim, the roasted effect was mediocre and even a debuff.
It seems he would need to find more special creatures to experiment with in the future.
Under the threat to little Quill, Quill completely settled down.
He obediently took the pilot's seat of the spaceship, voluntarily acting as the driver.
As a seasoned veteran who had grown up in the Raiders fleet, Quill's piloting and navigation skills were absolutely beyond doubt.
He quickly swiped his finger across the control screen, and the star map unfolded. Soon, he had plotted a route that was both efficient and relatively safe.
The vastness of the Universe is beyond mortal imagination. Take the Milky Way Galaxy, where Earth is located, for example: light speed can circle Earth seven and a half times per second, but even at such a terrifying speed, crossing the Milky Way would still take a hundred thousand years.
In the face of such despairing distances, any conventional travel seems meaningless.
To traverse such vast and boundless interstellar space, they had to rely on stable wormholes for spatial jumps.
Of course, this method also had certain requirements for physical fitness.
Continuous spatial jumps would put a considerable strain on the bodies of the passengers. At best, they would experience dizziness, nausea, and vomiting; at worst, their entire bodies would be twisted and pulled by the space, their appearance becoming more abstract than a Picasso painting.
The engine emitted a low roar, and the spaceship rapidly ascended, breaking out of Vanaheim.
Through the viewport, the vast cosmic starry sky unfolded before their eyes, with countless stars twinkling in the darkness.
Although Darian had briefly visited outer space during the last Battle of New York, he was teleported away before he had a chance to look closely. This time, he could finally take his time to admire the scenery.
The performance of this spaceship, carefully selected by Darian, was indeed impeccable.
They hadn't flown long before they locked onto a stable spatial jump point. The void before them presented multiple translucent yellow hexagons in a Hive-like pattern. The spaceship plunged into the central hexagon, and the game map coordinates instantly changed location.
According to Quill's assessment, they would still need to make thirteen more such spatial jumps to reach their destination, which would take a considerable amount of time.
Darian was not in a hurry; he could use this time to admire the scenery of the Universe.
Their destination this time was an abandoned Planet named Morag.
According to records, Morag was once a technologically advanced World three hundred years ago, but due to gravitational shifts caused by abnormal stellar activity, global oceans surged, and the entire Planet was completely swallowed by endless Water, with all civilization disappearing.
It wasn't until recent years, with changes in geological activity, that the Planet's water level slowly began to recede, and some submerged land reappeared above the surface.
Quill, who somehow got the information, vowed that the mission item they were looking for was hidden in an ancient temple on Morag.
After a day of travel, the spaceship finally reached Morag's outer orbit.
As the spaceship passed through the thin atmosphere, the view below gradually became clear. It was a barren Planet covered in reddish-brown rocks, with jagged strange stones as far as the eye could see. There was no sign that any civilization had ever existed here.
Due to the thin air on Morag, Quill had to put on his special helmet.
In contrast, Darian was completely unaffected. His physique had already surpassed fifty, so such a harsh environment was nothing to him.
Forget thin atmosphere; even if he were thrown into Water, he could hold his breath for an hour without coming up for air.
Darian looked at the mission guide and confirmed that the Cosmic Orb was located here.
Seeing Quill still fumbling with a detection device, Darian directly patted his shoulder.
"Stop fiddling with that useless thing of yours, follow me. I know the exact location."
"Are you sure?"
Quill looked up, half-believing, half-doubting: "Is this your magic again?"
After more than a day of interaction, Quill was already convinced of Darian's magic.
During the journey, he went to the spaceship's restroom, and little Quill was still in a state of dejection, unable to be roused no matter what.
Darian was also amused.
In fact, Quill's sage mode had long since passed.
As for the reason little Quill was dejected, it was mostly Quill's own psychological effect, and the rest was his own physical problem; he wouldn't take the blame for that.
"More or less."
Darian didn't explain further and walked straight ahead, with Quill quickly following behind him.
Although Morag had been completely submerged by seawater, there were still many creatures here, and they were somewhat aggressive. Darian casually grabbed a small creature that pounced on him, revealing a kind smile.
"I wonder what effect this one would have if made into roasted meat."
Ever since obtaining the roasted meat skill, Darian now wanted to turn any creature he saw into roasted meat.
If it weren't for his certain mental Cleanliness and disinterest in humanoid and highly intelligent creatures, he probably would have learned from a chef who was very good at being a human.
"I'd like to know too."
Quill thought Darian was referring to the taste and couldn't help but smack his lips, a look of reminiscence on his face.
Darian's cooking skills were indeed impeccable. The last time he had roasted meat, he still drooled thinking about it. The taste was absolutely incredible, so much so that now, eating the food on the spaceship felt bland, like chewing on nutrient paste.
However, the mission was urgent, so the two decided to finish the task first, then have a barbecue to celebrate.
They hadn't walked far when they discovered an inconspicuous cave entrance next to a rock wall, concealing an extremely spacious area inside.
In stark contrast to the desolation outside, traces of civilization were evident everywhere here.
Scattered on the ground were the remains of many strange creatures. Their skeletal structures clearly did not belong to humans, and it was unknown whether they were the indigenous inhabitants of Morag or alien adventurers who had come to explore later and met with misfortune.
By this time, Quill had put on his beloved Walkman, his body swaying to the music's rhythm. He hummed and danced, completely immersed in his own World, feeling as if he was shooting a music video.
But in the eyes of others, without the background music, his movements were no different from those of an idiot.
"It seems my first impression was indeed correct; this guy is an idiot!"
Darian, with a look of disdain, moved away from Quill, lest he be contaminated by the other's idiotic aura.
Ignoring Quill, Darian walked deeper into the space. A several-meter-wide cliff appeared ahead, with an unfathomable darkness below. He easily leaped to the opposite bank, arriving before a dilapidated gate.
The five-meter-tall gate was tightly shut, covered with incomprehensible symbols.
Darian pulled out a master key and inserted it into the gate's keyhole. With a soft click of mechanisms turning, the heavy gate slowly opened inward.
The space behind the door was dimly lit. Darian casually conjured a magic sword, and the surroundings immediately brightened.
The place wasn't large, but it was tastefully arranged, like a secret collection room.
He walked down a few steps along the staircase and immediately noticed a peculiar-looking device placed in the center, enveloped by a sizzling purple energy shield.
And in the very center of the purple energy shield, a metallic sphere hung silently in the air.
Quill, who was following behind, took off his headphones and warned, "Be careful. This device should be technology left by the Morag civilization. The layer of energy around it is not simple. If you stick your hand in, it will definitely be burned through instantly. I can't believe this thing is still operating after such a long time."
Now, Darian's future happiness was at stake, so nothing could go wrong.
"Simple."
Darian took out a powerful magnet and directly used it to pull the metallic sphere from the device.
With a soft thud, the metallic sphere passed through the purple energy shield without any obstruction and was firmly attracted to the powerful magnet.
"Fellow countryman, you wouldn't happen to be in the same line of work as me, would you?"
Quill was stunned. As an interstellar thief, he wasn't as professional as Darian.
Aside from the time it took to walk over, Darian obtained the mission item with ease in less than a minute, leaving him no chance to even act.
Who exactly was the thief here!
"No, this is my first time doing this kind of work."
Darian shook his head.
He was telling the truth. Usually, he would just eliminate everyone first, then sneak in to steal the mission item.
[Cosmic Orb]
[Description: Contains the Power Stone, one of the Infinity Stones. The casing is made of special material and can seal the power of the Infinity Stones. Note: The Power Stone's energy is extremely powerful and can instantly destroy an ordinary person's body.]
Another Infinity Stone.
Darian was a little surprised. This was already the third Infinity Stone he had seen.
No wonder someone was willing to pay a hefty price to get this thing.