Support me and be 30 chapters ahead of webnovel:
patreon.com/Draco_
For every 5 Patreon memberships I receive, I'll release 15 chapters all at once. Your support means a lot to me.
*****
The Blue-Eyes White Dragon opened its massive maw, tilted its head back, and swallowed the small Arc Reactor whole.
Fini watched tensely. After a few seconds, his heart leaped with joy. Last time, the dragon had coughed it up almost immediately. Seeing it successfully digest the reactor this time, Fini pumped his fist in excitement.
It wasn't just about the dragon having a meal; it was the realization that its ability to absorb energy evolved along with its rank. This meant that consuming an Infinity Stone wasn't just a pipe dream.
Glancing at the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, which looked quite "stuffed" from just one reactor, Fini dismissed the summons.
As the card returned to his hand, a faint outline of a third star was already visible. Fini was ecstatic. Although he wasn't on Earth and couldn't just ask Tony for more reactors, he had done his homework before feeding it.
Ars Magna was magic that altered reality based on thought. Theoretically, if his conceptualization was clear and precise enough, he could create a small Arc Reactor himself.
Of course, while he was a university student, his knowledge base was still leagues behind Tony Stark's. Creating a perfect, functional reactor was impossible for him right now, but mimicking one just enough to serve as "dragon kibble" was a distinct possibility.
It just wouldn't be easy to pull off.
---
Time flew by, and three months passed.
Life on Vormir had moved past "boring" and straight into "torturous." Every day was a loop of fighting and staring at the Red Skull's dry, shriveled face. Fini felt that if even Billy appeared before him right now, he'd probably consider the guy a supermodel.
During this time, the Ancient One had visited once more. She tried a spell to bring Fini back, but unfortunately, it failed—and nearly sent him drifting off into the vacuum of space.
Luckily, he used Ars Magna to generate oxygen around himself and relied on the freezing resistance of Incursio before using the Sky Dance technique to fly back to safety. After that incident, neither the Ancient One nor Fini dared to try again.
Because of that close call, Fini specifically summoned the Soul Stone's essence to confirm that his eventual teleportation would be safe. Only after getting a guarantee did he truly relax.
"Tell me, why do no aliens ever visit this dump?"
Perched on the edge of the sacrificial cliff, lying on a sofa conjured by Ars Magna, Fini asked the Red Skull with an air of profound listlessness.
"This is the seventh time you've asked me that," the Red Skull replied from his own conjured sofa. After three months, the two had grown quite familiar. When there are only two beings on a massive planet, it's hard not to bond.
"If you're bored, you can answer it a seventh time!" Fini said lazily. He was mostly just talking to hear the sound of a voice, afraid his language skills might atrophy.
"Because this is one of the most remote corners of the universe. Very few ever find it."
The Red Skull actually did answer for the seventh time. He was just as bored. Since the Soul Stone had granted him a semi-physical form, he had lost the ability to hibernate. Aside from fighting, he had far too much free time.
"Sigh!"
"Sigh!"
One human and one wraith stared out at the beautiful, desolate horizon and sighed in unison, faces etched with melancholy.
Though life was a slog, Fini's gains were significant. After three months of hard work, his experience bar was nearly halfway full. This was the fastest his experience had ever grown since acquiring the system.
"Speaking of which, it must be February on Earth by now."
Fini gazed into the distance, his thoughts drifting back home. He wondered if Skye had found a good excuse to keep their parents calm, or if that idiot Billy was looking for him. He wondered if the Hulk missed him, if Tony had built the Mark VII, and if Banner's "Hulkbuster" armor was a success.
Perhaps his thoughts were too scattered; the Ars Magna sofa suddenly vanished, and both of them thudded onto the cold ground.
Feeling the chill of the stone, Fini snapped out of it. He didn't bother conjuring a new one. He looked at the confused Red Skull and said, "Break's over. Let's go!"
The Red Skull's expression soured. Seeing Fini preparing to fly toward their usual "battlefield," he quickly called out, "Wait!"
"We've been fighting for three months. I have never won once. Does this truly have any meaning for you?"
Admitting the score made the Red Skull's face flush—though it was already as red as could be. He simply didn't understand the point of this endless repetition.
"Of course it does! Haven't you noticed my combat techniques have improved immensely?" Fini replied matter-of-factly. Beyond the system experience, he really had learned a lot of martial prowess from the old soldier, taking another step forward on his path as a knight.
"But..." The Red Skull wanted to argue that after three months, he'd taught him everything he knew. He was tired of being a punching bag.
"I have an agreement with the Soul Stone," Fini reminded him with a sideways glance. "While I'm here, you follow my lead."
Through their chats, Fini had realized that the Soul Stone actually never spoke to the Red Skull. All that talk about the "wisdom of the Stone" was mostly the Red Skull's own conjecture.
The Red Skull fell silent. Sometimes he felt that if he had just died back then, the result might have been better.
"Come on, don't be like that. You've improved a lot during this time too, haven't you?" Fini didn't want him fighting half-heartedly; that would yield less experience. "How about this: I'll agree to join Hydra and become a leader, as long as you keep being a good sparring partner. Deal?"
Fini decided to give the Red Skull a "carrot."
"Really?" The Red Skull was surprised. Over the last few months, he had preached the benefits of Hydra more than once, but Fini had always either changed the subject or rejected him flatly.
"Here, I'll even record it as proof."
Fini pulled out his phone, set it to video mode, and used Ars Magna to create a tripod. Once it was set up, he pulled the Red Skull in front of the lens.
"I, Fini Halsey, today, in the presence of Johann Schmidt, decide to join Hydra. Hail Hydra!" Fini even raised his arm and shouted the slogan.
The Red Skull stood in a daze. Though he suspected Fini might just be humoring him, seeing this scene sparked a flicker of genuine hope.
"I, Johann Schmidt, as the leader of Hydra, welcome your arrival and hereby declare you the new leader of Hydra!"
The Red Skull finally played along, fulfilling his own long-held wish to pass the torch. He knew that even if Fini was lying, he couldn't refuse him anyway. He was, after all, just a servant of the Stone.
(End of Chapter)