Just call me Thor

536  I just fought your godfather to a draw

The Fifth Demon God's words hung in the air, and the Archdemon lying on the ground silently gave him a thumbs-up.

Not bad, Fifth Demon God. You've got the guts to say something like that!

Provoking both a former Supreme Being and a future Supreme Being at the same time—this was a masterclass in courting death.

But to everyone's surprise, Ares didn't get angry. Instead, he seemed to be deep in thought.

After a moment, Ares spoke again, "You're right. It's probably Thor."

Fifth Demon God: ???

Ares continued, "It seems that, among all the opponents I've faced in my life, Thor is one of the strongest."

Ares had spent his life dominating the Abyss, leaving only one word in his wake—invincible.

His evaluation of Thor was incredibly high.

What made this even more significant was that Ares was the second-generation Supreme Being of the human race. He had defeated Cedric, fought Shadow Nine, and practically ruled an entire era.

For Ares to give Thor such high praise, the weight of his words was undeniable.

The most terrifying part?

Ares had once fought the Supreme Demon God!

The Supreme Demon God, from any perspective, was the pinnacle of existence.

In other words, in Ares's mind, Thor, once he became a Supreme Being, would have defenses on par with the Supreme Demon God!

And the truth was, Mike's true strength wasn't just in his defense—it was in his offense. His lightning could amplify damage by a factor of 2 to the power of 30!

Cedric thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

"I think you're right."

Ares's words carried no hint of flattery; they were purely objective analysis.

The Fifth Demon God snorted disdainfully, "Ares, are you telling me you couldn't even beat Thor in close combat? You do realize he's a mage, right?"

If the Fifth Demon God's earlier taunts were like long-range artillery, this one was a direct slap to the face.

But Ares remained calm, unbothered by the provocation.

"I'm just stating a simple truth," Ares said, lightly tapping the sword at his waist, which rang out with a crisp sound.

"We, the Supreme Beings of the human race, have strengths, but we also have weaknesses."

For example, Ares was incredibly skilled in offense. His sword had slain many powerful enemies.

But that meant his weakness was in defense and survival.

Thor, on the other hand, seemed to excel in defense.

Ares continued nonchalantly, "If Thor has perfected his defense, then even if he's fully armed, he might not be able to kill a demon god..."

The Fifth Demon God's expression gradually stiffened, and he fell into a daze.

Wait, Ares makes a good point!

The first three generations of human Supreme Beings all had the power to kill the Fifth Demon God, but for various reasons, they hadn't done so.

But now, with the fourth-generation Supreme Being, Thor...

Hold on!

Is Ares saying that even if Thor wanted to kill me, he wouldn't be able to?

Does Thor not have powerful offensive abilities? Is his lightning not as strong as it seems? Is his real strength in defense?

Does that mean I'll live for another hundred years, until the next Supreme Being shows up, before I finally see the possibility of death?

Meanwhile, Cedric was still processing Ares's earlier statement.

Thor, a mage, using a hammer as a weapon—yes, it was strange. But was his damage output really that weak?

Ignoring the Fifth Demon God's darkening expression, Ares continued walking through the First Abyss, sending a message to Maxen.

"If Thor wants to learn Breaking Thorns, tell him to come to the First Abyss and find me."

...

In Wolf's Den, Mike stared at the message on his communicator, deep in thought.

"Ares wants me to go to the Abyss to find him?"

Come to think of it, Ares had previously promised to teach Mike the third use of Fate's Reversal.

And he had also told Mike to come to the First Abyss for that.

"Learning Breaking Thorns isn't urgent," Mike thought to himself.

That skill was only useful against opponents with extreme defense.

And Mike himself was an expert in extreme defense.

If he ever faced an opponent with similar defensive capabilities, even without Breaking Thorns, Mike could outlast them.

Besides, in his recent fight with Ares, Mike had held back quite a bit, keeping several trump cards in reserve.

For example, he hadn't used Charge Up, nor had he tapped into the Eye of Truth's stored abilities like Void Exile or Greed's Desire from the Force of Nature.

Mike hadn't even called for reinforcements!

In the end, he had managed to fight Ares to a draw.

Mike was satisfied with that result.

And he still had plenty of room for growth.

He had the Greed Source, the Ghost Source, and the Shadow Source!

Of course, the Shadow Source was only temporarily in Mike's possession. He would eventually return it to Pecker.

Mike never went back on his word when it came to promises made to his own people.

As for the Ghost Source, Mike planned to use it for skill research rather than integrating it into his Thor's Sea.

The Greed Source was what would truly benefit Mike!

Once the Force of Nature was restored to its golden form, Mike would begin working on how to deconstruct the Greed Source and integrate it into his Thor's Sea.

At that point, Mike's power would reach new heights!

And there were still many ways for Mike to increase his strength:

Leveling up, changing classes, awakening talents...

...

Mike glanced at Maxen's reply and figured that Ares had probably pieced together what had happened in the past.

Due to his talent, Ares would forget the battle and conversation they had just had.

But the skills Ares had created wouldn't be forgotten.

Since Ares knew and hadn't made a big deal out of it, it meant he didn't mind.

Mike sent another message to Maxen.

Thor: "How's the weather in the Second Abyss?"

Maxen: "It's alright. Do you need something?"

Thor: "Did you know? I just fought your godfather to a draw."

Thor's words left Maxen completely stunned!

Thor... fought Ares... to a draw?

Maxen couldn't believe it!

Maxen immediately replied, "I don't believe you!"

"Heh."

Mike responded confidently,

"Why would I lie to you?"

Maxen: ...

If Thor was bold enough to say it, then it probably happened.

Before Maxen could ask any more questions, Mike ended the conversation.

He sat in Wolf's Den, casually ordering a few free drinks.

Just then, his disciple Light Nine arrived!

"Whoa, you leveled up fast!"

Mike looked at Light Nine. It had only been a week since they last met, and Light Nine was already level 899, on the verge of becoming a Lord!

Light Nine, ever humble, replied earnestly,

"It's all thanks to Master Dream's guidance."

"You're about to become a Lord, so I don't have much to give you..." Mike thought for a moment, logged into the Mystic Market, and bought back one of Light Nine's old pieces of equipment—the cheapest one.

It was something Mike had originally gifted to Apollo.

Now, he was buying it back with his own money.

"Here, take this."

Mike handed the weapon to Light Nine and gave him some advice.

"As for Maxen being influenced by that villain, I've already identified the target. It's a level 999 demon creature. I'll go kill him in a few days."

That despicable villain was truly detestable!

Mike had a deathmatch scheduled with the ghost race potential Supreme Being on the 40th floor.

For Mike, a deathmatch only meant one thing:

The enemy dies, or Thor doesn't sleep!

Listening to Master Dream's words, Light Nine was filled with admiration.

As expected of Master Dream!

A level 999 demon creature, and he talks about killing it like it's as easy as squashing an ant!

After chatting with Light Nine for a bit and encouraging him to keep training hard, Mike finally left Wolf's Den and returned to reality.

...

Back in the Forest of Truth, Mike didn't leave right away.

During his challenge of the 39th floor, Mike had noticed something.

Ares and Maxen were from the same generation.

But there was a problem...

Nathan had died in the Supreme Abyssal a long time ago.

Logically, Maxen should be close to 300 years old, yet he was from the same generation as Ares.

No matter how you calculated it, there was a significant gap in the timeline!

This missing time bothered Mike.

It was likely related to the things Shadow Nine had lied to him about!

If Shadow Nine were still on Earth, he could probably spin countless versions of the story just from this one detail.

Following Shadow Nine around, you wouldn't learn any real history—you'd just learn how to make up stories.

Mike made his way to the base of the Tower of Truth and happened to run into Foreskin nearby.

"What are you up to?" Mike asked after greeting him.

Foreskin looked troubled and sighed.

"My boss asked me to check on something."

Mike: ???

He quickly followed up with another question.

"Has this happened before?"

"No," Foreskin shook his head and explained.

"This is the first time my boss has asked about the Mystic Market since he created it."

In a way, Apollo was becoming more and more human.

From both Apollo's and Thor's perspectives, this was a good thing.

But that was also what made it so tricky.

If the human Supreme Being Apollo suddenly became as weak as a chicken...

Who knew what the Supreme Demon God would do?

Mike could only hope that by the time that day came, he would be strong enough to fight.

In fact, Mike's rate of improvement was fast, even compared to the first three generations of Supreme Beings.

"What did my third bro ask?" Mike inquired.

Foreskin didn't hold back and repeated Apollo's question.

"He asked how much stuff and money the Mystic Market has."

A question mark popped up over Mike's head.

Why is Apollo asking that?

Wait, Apollo had created the Mystic Market a hundred years ago, and this was the first time he cared about his own organization???

Coincidentally, this was a question Mike was also curious about.

"So, how much money does the Mystic Market have?"

Foreskin: ...

Mike cleared his throat and tried to justify his curiosity.

"I've been researching the Greed Source lately. It has some side effects..."

"I understand, I understand," Foreskin said, spreading his hands helplessly.

"I don't know."

The Mystic Market was just too rich.

Foreskin had no interest in money, and Apollo had no interest in most things.

Foreskin was only responsible for making money. As for how much they had made, no one really cared!

As for Apollo's sudden question, Foreskin could only give a rough estimate.

"Counting debts, fixed assets, corps assets, and so on..."

Foreskin estimated.

"Over a trillion Lord Merits, probably."

Mike: ...

For the first time in his life, Mike felt a sense of powerlessness!

A trillion!

Lord Merits!

Look at Mike—he had gone to the Eighth Abyss, made a few million Lord Merits from Poseidon, and had been over the moon about it.

Meanwhile, Supreme Being Apollo had quietly amassed over a trillion in assets!

Of course, there were historical reasons for this.

When the Mystic Market was first established, Foreskin had donated his entire fortune, giving the organization an incredibly solid foundation.

At the same time, the Mystic Market didn't just do business within the human race.

The Temple of Truth, the Abyss, the demon gods, the gods...

They were all clients of the Mystic Market!

When dealing with other races, the Mystic Market was a golden brand, and their fees weren't cheap.

Take the Baggins Family, for example—they owed the Mystic Market a huge sum of money. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

That debt was just paper wealth. It would take thousands of years to pay off.

And during those thousands of years, the Baggins Family would be working for the Mystic Market for free.

A trillion Lord Merits wasn't just an empty figure.

But most of it was tied up in assets, not cash.

In the truest sense, the Mystic Market was wealthier than nations.

Mike wiped his mouth, trying not to sound too envious as he said,

"That's... quite a lot."

"Fourth Bro, I've got some things to take care of. I'll catch you later..." Foreskin said, bidding Mike farewell before hurrying off.

Since his boss had asked, as the Mystic Market Manager, Foreskin had to provide an answer.

Not long after Foreskin left, a white cloud descended in front of Mike, carrying him to the 99th floor.

"Good morning."

"Morning."

After exchanging greetings, Mike got straight to the point and voiced his doubts.

Apollo responded casually.

"172 years ago, the human race's designated second-generation potential Supreme Being was supposed to be Maxen."