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Fini nodded, expressing his understanding. Even if Tony truly couldn't manage to get his hands on it, it wasn't the end of the world; at worst, Fini would just have to find a way to strike a deal with Nick Fury later down the line.
"Just remember, whatever you do, do not make physical contact with that thing. It's extremely dangerous."
Fini didn't forget to offer one last warning. To an ordinary human, the 'Obelisk' was nothing short of a lethal weapon.
Tony gave a grunt of acknowledgement, making a mental note of it before summarizing Fini's information: "So, what you're saying is that I need to track down these S.H.I.E.L.D. people, get my father's belongings from them, decipher the clues, and then synthesize a new element?"
"Actually, it doesn't have to be quite that much of a hassle!"
Fini racked his brain for a few moments, trying to recall the specifics. "The blueprint for the new element seems to be hidden within an architectural model. Does your father have any particularly famous designs in that area?"
"The 1974 Stark Expo!" Tony blurted out instantly. In fact, he had recently been contemplating whether or not to host the expo again, wanting to leave something meaningful behind for the world.
"Yes, that's the one."
Fini nodded in confirmation and continued, "Regardless, it's inside that model. You'll need to filter out the irrelevant parts and reconstruct the layout into the structure of a new element."
"Are you sure about this?"
Hearing this, Tony looked at him with a heavy dose of skepticism. He remembered that the model map had been gathering dust in a storage room at the company for years. To think it hidden a new element all this time!?
"Why don't you just go and try it for yourself first!" Fini replied, a bit annoyed. Granted, if it were actually easy, it would have been discovered long ago. Fundamentally speaking, discovering a new element based purely on the layout of an architectural model was an incredibly difficult feat.
Tony opened his mouth but didn't say anything further. Since the model was at the company anyway, he figured he would go pick it up later and study it properly.
"In any case, finish your research as quickly as possible and get that new armor built!" Fini urged him. He had mostly given up hope on learning any spirit-based spells for now, preferring to place his bets on the system's fifth skill instead.
Between the Iron Monger incident and his hard work over the past few months, his experience bar had accumulated quite a bit. If he could grind out a bit more experience, there was a real chance he could draw the fifth skill before the Abomination made its appearance.
Tony was somewhat puzzled as to why Fini was so insistent on him completing the new armor, but he didn't ask. Even without Fini's prodding, he wasn't planning on slacking off on his core projects.
As he was leaving Tony's workshop, Fini had a nagging feeling that he was forgetting something. It wasn't until the next day, while watching a news report questioning if Iron Man was the only one of his kind, that he suddenly remembered the Russian guy with the whips.
Fini thought about it for a moment but decided not to offer any further warnings. He wasn't Tony's babysitter; he couldn't worry about every little thing for him. Telling him about the new element was already plenty of help, and it was impossible for him to warn Tony about every single danger that might come his way.
The current situation already had Tony in a much better state than he was in the original timeline. If Tony still couldn't handle the coming threats, then he wasn't going to survive in the long run anyway.
Since Fini had told Skye about her biological parents, she had been quite despondent lately. Realizing that school would be starting a week-long spring break in a few days, he decided to take her out to clear her head.
---
"Fini, are you really not coming with us?"
Several girls looked at Fini with disappointment. With the holidays approaching, they had wanted to invite him on a romantic group trip—though as to who would actually succeed in the "romance" department, that was another story entirely.
"I'm sorry, I'm spending it with family."
Fini gave them an apologetic smile, seeing right through their little schemes. Honestly, if Skye wasn't in such a bad state, he might have actually been tempted.
After saying goodbye to the hormonally charged teenage girls, Fini returned home. He found Skye curled up on the sofa with her knees to her chest, staring at the TV. However, her glazed eyes and the fact that she was staring at an underwear commercial indicated that her mind was nowhere near the screen.
It wasn't until Fini sat down beside her that she finally reacted. "Oh, you're back!"
"Pack your things. We're going on a trip tomorrow!"
Hearing Fini's words, Skye froze. She looked at him in surprise and asked, "Why the sudden trip? Are we going to see my parents?"
"We're not looking for them."
Fini shook his head. While his primary goal was to help Skye recover her spirits, he also wanted to see if he could solve another matter along the way. "It's just a vacation to clear our heads," he said.
Hearing this, Skye realized Fini was simply worried about her. A wave of warmth and gratitude washed over her. "I'm fine, Fini. You don't need to worry about me."
"Alright, alright, enough talk. We're leaving tomorrow morning, so make sure your passport is ready!"
Fini waved off her protests and headed back to his room. He found a world map and pulled out his compass. Concentrating deeply on the city where Skye could awaken her special abilities, he watched the direction the needle pointed and compared it to the map to design a preliminary route.
"I hope I can find it!"
Fini thought to himself as he put away the compass. In truth, he just wanted to narrow down the search area. It wouldn't be the end of the world if he didn't find it this time; after all, there was still plenty of time.
Early the next morning, a somewhat dazed Skye finished packing her luggage and followed Fini to the airport. Since the point was to relax, they obviously couldn't just open a portal. A trip like that had no soul.
Of course, it also had something to do with the fact that he couldn't open portals with perfect precision yet.
After checking in and passing through security, Skye looked at her ticket and couldn't help but ask, "Fini, why are we going to Spain?"
Fini didn't want to tell Skye just yet that he was looking for the place where her powers would awaken; he didn't want to burden her with more worries. So, he just gave a casual excuse: "I just picked it at random. Besides, you've never been there before."
Skye didn't suspect anything, and her mood improved considerably at the prospect of the upcoming journey.
The flight was smooth. They didn't encounter any bad weather or hijackings, and they landed safely. Looking at the unfamiliar city, Skye's eyes were filled with anticipation.
The two of them found a hotel and spent the next two days exploring the country. Because Tony had announced himself as Iron Man, Stark Industries' stock had skyrocketed, leaving both of them with quite a substantial amount of savings.
The joy of traveling caused the gloom in Skye's heart to dissipate, and the happy smile returned to her face. Seeing this, Fini breathed a sigh of relief. Whether or not he found the location, the primary goal of the trip had already been achieved.
During those two days, Fini used his compass to recalibrate his direction and deduced their next destination.
The Caribbean.
Aboard a small-to-mid-sized yacht, Fini was lying lazily on a sun lounger. In these waters, Fini didn't know if there were pirates like Captain Jack Sparrow, but he was quite content not to find out. A simple life like this was perfect.
"Fini, look! Look, I caught one!"
By the side of the boat, Skye—dressed in light, breezy summer wear—was holding a fishing rod in one hand and a large fish in the other. she shouted at Fini with excitement.
"Impressive, truly impressive," Fini responded lazily. He didn't even lift his head. It was just a fish in the ocean, not a shark; there was nothing to be surprised about.
Noticing Fini's lackadaisical attitude, Skye was clearly dissatisfied. She put away her fishing rod, returned to Fini's side, and said huffily, "This is the first time I've ever caught a fish this big!"
Only then did Fini look at the fish in Skye's hand. It was about thirty centimeters long—definitely not small. It had reddish scales, though Fini couldn't identify the species.
"Not bad, not bad at all. Looks like dinner is sorted."
Fini grinned, stood up, and stretched. This kind of comfortable life was indeed dangerously easy to get used to. It had only been two days, and he already didn't want to leave.
(End of Chapter)