Seeing that Lucas was determined to leave, Thor did not try to keep him any longer. He personally escorted him out of Asgard.
Strictly speaking, the Bifrost was the one and only official way in and out of the realm. However, secret pathways did exist. Otherwise, Loki would never have been able to guide the Frost Giants of Jotunheim into Asgard undetected.
Thor had not known about these hidden routes before. Such knowledge was heavily restricted, known only to the All-Father Odin, Queen Frigga, and a select few. Even Loki had uncovered them through his own clandestine methods.
But now, with the Bifrost shattered, Lucas could only rely on these secret paths to leave. Otherwise, he would have been stranded in Asgard for years.
The fact that Thor was willing to share this secret route with Lucas was a profound display of trust.
When Lucas finally set foot back on Earth, the sight of the familiar blue sky and white clouds instantly lifted his spirits. The golden sunlight cascaded over him, bathing him in warmth. Almost immediately, that heat converted into pure energy surging through his veins.
"Now this is what I'm talking about," Lucas groaned, stretching his limbs. He had completely missed this solar nourishment back in Asgard.
Asgard had its own blue skies, white clouds, and a shining sun, but it was all an illusion. It was a magical construct.
It provided light and heat, and the local flora grew just fine under it, but Lucas was different. His Kryptonian bloodline fed exclusively on genuine stellar radiation. He had noticed the discrepancy immediately.
The Asgardian sun was a fake.
The realm appeared to float in the vacuum of space, but it was actually tucked away within a dimensional pocket. Flying through normal space would never get you there, no matter how far you traveled.
However, Asgard's atmosphere was saturated with dense energy. Lucas had never encountered another magical civilization, so he wasn't sure if it was pure mana or some specific variant of it.
Regardless, that energy had been incredibly beneficial to him. Since he possessed a foundational magic cultivation method, he could absorb and utilize it. This was an entirely different power source from his solar-powered Kryptonian strength.
All in all, his power hadn't stagnated during his stay. It had skyrocketed.
Lucas closed his eyes and reached out with his senses. Earth had these magical particles too. In fact, they likely permeated the entire universe, though ordinary humans were entirely oblivious to them.
Only those with proper mystical training could detect them. Here on Earth, the ambient magic was thin. It was nothing like Asgard, where the sheer density of mana could passively rewrite a mortal's physiology, evolving them into something higher.
Generations of that passive exposure explained how the Asgardians had evolved into a race of gods. Even without active training, living and breathing in that environment induced miraculous mutations.
In Asgard, a sorcerer barely needed to store mana or divine power. Whatever they expended was instantly replenished by the environment.
Earth was a different story. Here, running out of mana was a very real threat. A slightly prolonged battle could easily drain a caster dry.
Spellcasting on Earth relied almost entirely on one's own internal magical reserves.
Curious, Lucas tried breaking down the solar energy in his cells and converting it into mana. To his delight, the conversion worked flawlessly.
This was clearly the result of his previously acquired Magic Body. Not only did it grant him an absurd aptitude for the mystic arts, but it also functioned as a solar-to-mana converter.
As long as he fought during the day under a clear sky, his magical stamina was practically infinite.
Of course, magic was merely a supplementary tool for him. At the end of the day, he was a Superman. His most devastating weapon would always be his fists.
Lucas's first priority upon returning home was to call Gwen and let her know he was safe. He told her he had been traveling for a bit and blamed his unreturned calls on terrible cell reception.
Dead zones were a universal joke, after all. Once you left the major city limits, carrier coverage completely dropped off a cliff.
What Lucas didn't know was that Gwen saw right through his lie. She knew exactly where he had been.
"Hmph. Mr. Lucas is lying to me again. That goes in the book," Gwen muttered, hanging up the phone.
Of course she knew he had been in Asgard. He had written all about it in his diary. She had even watched the video of the brutal invasion, witnessing the future where Queen Frigga would fall to the Dark Elves.
She was just a high school girl, but fate had dropped this magical diary into her lap, exposing her to these terrifying, world-shaking events.
It wasn't like she could say anything about it. She was completely powerless. It was better to stay out of it entirely.
Unless she actually became the "Spider-Woman" Lucas kept writing about. If she became a superhero, maybe she could actually change things.
Putting the phone call aside, Lucas booted up his computer and logged into his bank account. True to his word, Tony Stark had wired a staggering one hundred million dollars into his balance.
Lucas nodded in deep satisfaction. Not bad at all.
He was officially financially independent. Whoever wanted the daily grind of a nine-to-five job could have it. He was done.
Lucas flipped on the TV, catching a live broadcast of a grand prix. Normally, a simple car race wouldn't hold his attention for a second. There were countless races around the world. But this specific event was making global headlines because a certain eccentric billionaire was behind the wheel.
Tony Stark.
The race was being held in Monaco. It was a tiny European microstate, barely larger than the Vatican, but incredibly wealthy and famous for its high-roller lifestyle.
With Tony Stark thrusting himself into the driver's seat, the Monaco Grand Prix had become the center of the world's attention.
"Wait a minute. Isn't this the plot of Iron Man 2?"
The realization hit Lucas like a truck. This was exactly how it started.
According to the storyline of Iron Man 2, Tony Stark discovers his arc reactor is giving him fatal palladium poisoning. Unable to find a cure, he goes completely off the rails. He seeks out cheap thrills, trying to live out his final days in a reckless blaze of glory, kicking off a massive chain of chaotic events.
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