In the Sand Village, the clones are everywhere, and the Arkham game begins

Chapter 427 Odin's Cheap Stakes, The Wonderful Use of the Eight Extraordinary Techniques

Strange's performance was not unexpected for Shimizu.

It took quite a while to recover.

If he could be given a high-level magical artifact to enhance his abilities, he should be able to cope with the mental temptations and pressures of most dimensional demons.

At least Shimizu felt that he should have no problem resisting Dormammu's temptation.

However, we still need to be careful.

Strange is extremely talented and could potentially take on most of the responsibilities of the Sorcerer Supreme in the future, but if he were to turn to the dark side, that would be a huge problem.

Before he becomes powerful enough, I need to be more careful, at least when Strange first comes into contact with the Book of Cagliostro.

This book has a deep connection with Dormammu. The Ancient One was able to steal Dormammu's dark power and live for hundreds of years by relying on the contents of the book.

However, the contents of this book are still very useful. With Strange's talent, he should soon be able to surpass Mordo and several of the Temple Guardians in strength.

After spending two days helping Strange learn some of the magic in the Book of Cagliostro, Shimizu returned to Water Manor, dealt with some backlogged matters, made a phone call, and then went into one of his biological laboratories.

He needs to take advantage of these few days to strengthen himself.

Here, Banner is sitting in front of a computer, reviewing a manuscript for a top journal in the industry, with a cup of coffee in his hand.

Upon seeing Qingshui arrive, Xishuangbanna immediately put down her coffee, closed her laptop, and stood up.

"The things are ready. By the way, are you really sure you want to do this?"

"Since there's no risk involved, why not do it?"

Shimizu shrugged, changed clothes with Banner, completed the preliminary work, and stepped into the sterile room.

"Okay, you're the boss. According to the calculations, I can give you a maximum of five injections of the Extremis Virus Enhancement Agent. That's the limit your body can handle, and it's also close to the limit of the Extremis Virus. If you inject more, the effect won't be much stronger."

Banner took five orange vials, emitting a chilling aura, from the freezer and looked at the clear waterway.

"Hmm, let's begin then. You should already be very familiar with the process."

Shimizu took off her clothes and lay down on the experimental platform.

"I'm familiar with the process, but I've never injected five doses of the Extremis virus into anyone at once. There are five people in the S.H.I.E.L.D. special forces who have been enhanced by the Extremis virus, but the most they've ever used is only one and a half doses. To be honest, I can't even imagine how you, with only a normal human body and without any modifications or genetic mutations, have such a powerful body."

Banner flicked the test tube, inserted the last tube of auxiliary medication into the instrument's slot, and adjusted his glasses.

"Ready? It might hurt a little."

"Wait a minute."

Shimizu made a hand seal and created a shadow clone.

Although it's practically a sure thing, what if something unexpected happens?

It would be better to create a clone and have him hold the Time Stone. In case of any unexpected event, it could allow him to rewind time and return to his state before the injection.

Only after ensuring everything was absolutely safe did Shimizu signal Banner to begin the injection.

The experiment begins.

As a surge of intense heat, like molten lava, swept through her body, Shimizu's physique began to change.

Streaks of red light appeared inside his body, accelerating metabolism and enhancing physical strength and self-healing abilities.

At the same time, while enduring intense pain in her body, Qingshui also felt a dramatic change in the Qi within her.

The energy in his body was originally chakra, which transformed into Qi after he cultivated the techniques of the One World. Furthermore, after reaching the third level of the Mo Sect's breathing technique, the strength of his Qi was further enhanced.

After mastering the art of Qimen Dunjia, one can also use ninjutsu of other attributes by relying on the mutual generation and restraint among the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams. However, one's own attributes remain wind and lightning, and one does not know how to change the nature of other attributes. Using those ninjutsu will reduce their power to a certain extent, so it is better to use wind and lightning directly.

Now, however, Shimizu can feel that his own Qi has gained a fire attribute, and the quality of it is not low.

This is a pleasant surprise!

His original intention was simply to improve his physical strength through the enhanced Extremis virus, which Banner had modified and perfected, so that he could better withstand the backlash when using the Infinity Stones.

The changes lasted for more than three hours before Shimizu felt her physical condition return to normal.

As his physical strength increased, Shimizu clearly felt that the Qi of this avatar had significantly improved.

It is quite different from the original body, which possesses a perfect demonic form, but it still has about four or five parts of the original body's mass.

This is already far stronger than most of the Kage-level ninjas in the ninja world who are famous for their chakra reserves. He could easily earn the reputation of a tailless tailed beast in the ninja world.

"How are you feeling? Want to take a test? I've come up with a training program that can speed up the adaptation process. It should take about two or three days for you to adjust to the changes in your body."

Banner looked at the partially melted experimental chamber, then stepped out from behind the pillar where he was hiding and faced the clear water channel.

"Then go try it."

Shimizu shrugged as he looked at the gradually fading red glow under the skin of his arm.

New entries have appeared on the panel in front of me.

[Ability: Extremis Virus Body]

[Does it cost 35% of your Luck Points to synchronize abilities?]

[Insufficient luck, synchronization failed.]

It requires 35% of the luck value to synchronize, which is much less than the 55% required for a perfect demonic body back then.

However, this is to be expected. Although the Perfect Demon Body does not have any attribute enhancements, its self-healing ability is still superior to that of the Extinction Virus.

The extremist virus is not afraid of losing limbs and can regenerate them in a short period of time, but it cannot completely destroy the brain and heart, which are the central nervous system.

In this respect, it is far inferior to the perfect demon body that has overcome the only weakness of sunlight, not to mention that the perfect demon body also comes with a space blood demon technique comparable to the Flying Thunder God.

Of course, after the new world opens, Shimizu currently only has 12.53% of her luck points remaining, which is far from enough to synchronize with the Extinction Virus.

The purpose of injecting the Extremis virus is to strengthen the physical body of this avatar in order to better withstand the power of the Infinity Stones, thereby enhancing its strength and enabling it to gain more benefits.

Moreover, compared to the Extinction Virus, which had multiple collaborations with the Perfect Planned Body, Shimizu preferred to first synchronize the Mark obtained from the Demon Slayer world.

The former not only consumes more luck, but when it is applied to the main body, it only results in slightly stronger self-healing ability and a little more fire attribute ability. Whether it can raise the upper limit of the main body's strength is still hard to say.

On the contrary, the markings can steadily enhance the upper limit of the body's strength, and perhaps this is a starting point to study immortal techniques.

Moreover, it costs less, requiring only 20% of the Luck Points.

Three days later.

The night before departing for Asgard.

A day early, Shimizu returned to Kamar-Tekki, entered the secret chamber, retrieved the Time Stone, and spent the entire night contemplating various possibilities for the future. Clearly, Asgard's invitation to witness Thor's ascension to the throne was not merely a formality.

Perhaps it was because of Hela, or perhaps for other reasons, that Odin needed him as a powerful ally.

The Ancient One also saw the future through the Time Stone, which is why she arranged for Odin to help her travel to the Altos dimension.

In other words, this is something I should be able to solve myself.

After seeing countless futures predicted by the Time Stone and absorbing a large amount of information, Shimizu, feeling a bit dizzy, rubbed her head, set an alarm, and drifted off to sleep.

Shimizu slept from the early hours of the morning until 11 a.m. before getting out of bed, changing into a set of what looked like a proper mage robe, and walking to the gate of Water Manor.

He had been to Asgard before and could teleport there using magic.

However, doing so might be impolite, and unfriendly forces might perceive it as an illegal intrusion and provocation.

Given the sensitive timing—Odin's impending death and Thor's ascension to the throne—Shimizu decided to enter Asgard through the proper channels suggested by Frigga.

"Heimdall!"

Seven-colored beams of light descended from the sky, enveloping the clear water.

A few seconds later, Qing Shui found himself inside a spherical temple in Asgard.

Clad in golden armor, Heimdall stood in the center, sword in both hands, flanked by four Asgardians wielding halberds.

"Supreme Sorcerer, welcome to Asgard. His Majesty the King of Gods awoke this morning and instructed that if you arrive, please proceed to the palace for a meeting immediately."

Heimdall gestured towards the water, inviting it to proceed.

"Alright, then I'll trouble you to lead the way."

A celestial palace guard immediately stepped forward to guide Qingshui.

Ten minutes later, Shimizu met Odin in a large room in Asgard.

Although the face is still the same, the God-King who was so radiant when Shimizu met him last year has now become much more haggard and aged.

In an effort to suppress the increasingly rampant divine power, Odin is now clearly struggling and no longer possesses his former prowess.

"Sorcerer Supreme, welcome to Asgard. As you can see, I am very old."

Odin sat on his throne, holding Gangnell, facing the Clearwater.

“Your Majesty, there is no need for you to act like this. It is only your body that has aged, not your power.”

Shimizu looked at Odin in front of him and said.

Although this old guy is about to die, this is the time when he is at his strongest.

The Asgardians grow stronger with age, not to mention their god-king.

Although Odin's divine power was violent, it was also the peak of his life.

No one would want to mess with Odin, who is on the verge of death.

“This is not a disguise, nor is it a test of you, Your Excellency the Sorcerer Supreme.”

Odin hesitated for two seconds, then spoke.

Shimizu smiled slightly and didn't expose the old man.

This is absolutely the most sensitive moment in Odin's life.

Despite his large family and vast wealth, he is on his deathbed. His eldest daughter, who is determined to cause trouble and possesses great power, is buried beneath his family. His second son is half a level weaker and can only unleash his full potential with Thor's hammer. His adopted youngest son is also rebellious.

There are definitely others outside who are eyeing Asgard's vast assets.

Even with the addition of Frigga, a goddess of considerable strength, it would still be difficult to defend Asgard amidst these internal and external troubles.

Shimizudo:
“Your Majesty Odin, please speak frankly. I owe you a favor, and Thor is also my friend, so you need not worry that I have any improper thoughts about Asgard. I can assure you of this, in the name of the Vishanti.”

Shimizu wouldn't do something like cannibalism and wiping out one's family line.

Upon hearing the words "in the name of Vishanti," Odin finally felt relieved.

Many of the Sorcerers throughout history have been adept at deception and fraud, so Odin wouldn't dare to trust them without invoking the name of Vishanti.

"It's alright. We invited the Sorcerer Supreme here to form an alliance with you during Thor's coronation ceremony. If possible, we would like to ask you to lend a hand. In return, Asgard is willing to offer a gift... a gift you cannot refuse, once the enemy is defeated."

"Oh?"

Shimizu raised an eyebrow slightly.

Then he saw Odin take out a cube that glowed with a faint blue light from behind him.

Cosmic Cube.

Okay, I couldn't refuse after all.

Odin was really that generous.

"This is the reward after the deed is done, and it also includes an opportunity to have the Dwarf King forge an artifact. Your Excellency the Sorcerer Supreme can use this opportunity to forge an artifact that can withstand the power of multiple gems."

Shimizu's eyes flickered, and several scenes that she had deduced using the Time Stone last night immediately flashed through her mind.

The future is already developing in a predetermined direction.

He has to choose the most advantageous one from among them.

"Okay, but I have one small request."

"Please say."

"I hope to learn the dwarven crafting skills."

"Yes, but while the dwarves' weapon-making skills are indeed superb, the reason they are the most renowned master craftsmen in the universe is because of their talent. They are born with the ability to sense the frequency of energy, inject energy into weapons to assimilate it, and solidify the energy into magical enchantments using molds engraved with runes."

If you need to learn these things, it might be difficult.

"It's alright, as long as you agree."

Shimizu smiled.

The Divine Craftsmanship and the Heavenly Record—this is exactly what we need!
These two unique skills can perfectly replace these talents of the dwarves, and may even surpass them.

“Well, then I’ll be frank. The Sorcerer Supreme can see into time, so he should know that before Thor was born, I had an eldest daughter, Hela, who fought alongside me in the universe. However, our ideologies clashed, and Hela, who went to extremes, believed that she was capable of defeating her father. As a result, she rebelled and tried to overthrow me.”

With the help of the Valkyrie Legion, I used my own divine power as a source to seal Hela away and erase her history. However, her power is already connected to Asgard. After my death, during the void period when Thor failed to master the power of the God-King, Hela will break free from the seal..."

(End of this chapter)