Ancient One's Ancient Scheme

In May, the weather in New York had already started to get hot and irritating.

Fortunately, the arrival of the summer vacation had saved Fanny. He could stay at home and enjoy the cold air conditioner while drinking iced Coke. It was a luxurious life.

But he couldn't just forget about his training. He still went to Kamar-Taj every day, as well as practicing his skills.

Especially 'Explosion Magic.' He had been training hard to control the power and release point of that skill. He was confident that he was around the level of a building demolition expert now, with the advantage that he wouldn't have to prepare explosives beforehand.

It was enough to prove that he had a sufficient talent for magic. It was just not incompatible with the version taught at Kamar-Taj.

Fanny opened the portal to Kamar-Taj after New York's evening sky darkened.

Kamar-Taj still hadn't experienced the full blast of scorching summer heat, especially early in the morning. The cool breeze brushed against Fanny's face, making him feel comfortable. Ah, how much more comfortable would it be if only this particular guy wasn't here.

"What is it?" Fanny asked sharply at Kaecilius in front of him.

"Mage Kaze had asked me to come to you and get a few fried chicken rolls," Kaecilius said expressionlessly.

Kaecilius finally began to open himself to the people around him after nearly half a year in Kamar-Taj, and even began to make some friends through the daily training. However, his cold and indifferent demeanor still deterred most people from approaching him.

Fanny frowned at Kaecilius. There's no way that the man hadn't recognized Fanny's attitude, yet he still approached him. Was there something wrong with this man?!

Fanny wasn't the kind of person to suspect malicious intent on people, but he wasn't naïve either, especially since what happened with Tony.

But he didn't sense any obvious malice from Kaecilius, at least for now. He summoned three 'Sumire Karaage Rolls' and handed them over. Kaecilius immediately turned to leave without even saying thanks, so Fanny thought that he was overthinking it.

Fanny went to find Ancient One after finishing his morning training. He paused for a while before talking to her,

"Master, do you know anything about Asgard?"

"Asgard?!" Ancient One walked slowly with her hands behind her back. "They are known as the race of Gods that preside over the nine worlds, with Odin the Allfather as their chief. Why do you ask? Do you wish to go there? I heard that they held a grand banquet recently!"

"Banquet?!" Fanny was slightly stunned, but he then recalled his past life. Could that be for Thor's coronation?!

He quickly asked to cover his surprise, "How is their current relationship with us?"

"They were in contact with us a few hundred years ago, but the contact gradually cut off. Their lifespan was simply too long compared to ours, so we could not maintain continuous communication," Ancient One replied without holding anything back.

"You haven't contacted them either?" Fanny asked doubtfully. There's no way he would believe that Odin didn't know about or ignored Ancient One's existence.

Ancient One stopped and turned around to look at Fanny. "So, what exactly do you want to ask?"

Fanny replied in embarrassment, "I only heard that Asgard is in charge of the nine worlds. Is this true? Then what is their relationship with Earth?"

"Although saying they're in charge would be a little exaggerated, it is true that Asgard is maintaining the safety of the nine worlds," Ancient One explained, "A thousand years ago, the Frost Giants of Jotunheim invaded Earth. Asgard helped drive them out."

"Their intervention left some stories that would later become the Nordic mythology, but they were not interested in intervening with the development of the other worlds."

"So, although they call themselves in charge of the nine realms, they are actually closer to security guards. It was convenient to let them have the title, so why confront them?" Fanny concluded while stroking his chin.

"Their powers are much greater than just security guards," Ancient One corrected, "Asgard can teleport troops freely throughout the nine worlds. That was also why nobody refuted their claim as the ones in charge."

"Bifrost, huh…" Fanny thought silently, then asked out of curiosity, "Can you stop their army from teleporting to Earth?"

Ancient One simply smiled, giving him no answer.

Something suddenly clicked in Fanny's head. Why did Odin exile Thor to Earth, instead of any other place in the nine worlds? Could it be because he knew that nothing dangerous would happen to Thor while Ancient One was here?

As for Ancient One, she might have foreseen the future where Thor and Loki caused the destruction of Bifrost, Asgard's strongest weapon. That's probably why she deliberately avoided coming into contact with them.

Although Asgard claimed to protect the nine worlds, no one wanted a foreign army stomping their boots willy-nilly on their front door, especially with how Odin used to be.

This thought suddenly made Fanny a little sad.

He had wanted to go to New Mexico to take a closer look at the Thunder God and his Mjolnir hammer, but he didn't want to ruin Ancient One's plan.

Fanny was at a loss, but he was too embarrassed to confirm Ancient One's thoughts. He felt stupid for suspecting his master of such a malicious plot, much less saying it out loud.

More importantly, Ancient One said that Asgard held a grand banquet recently, which means Thor's exile was very near. It might have happened already.

She was obviously watching Asgard closely, right?!

Fanny didn't make any decision even after leaving Kamar-Taj. On one hand, he felt that he didn't have to consider Ancient One's thoughts too seriously. Ancient One was that kind of enigma, after all.

On the other hand, there was no obvious incentive for Fanny to go and meet Thor. The God of Thunder had been drained of his divine power and exiled to Earth. Currently, he was just at the level of a strong human. And there was also no way for Fanny to lift the Mjolnir, with his current magic level.

It would be problematic too if Fanny defeated the Destroyer that Loki summoned near the end.

He wasn't just a random nobody; he was a member of an organization. If Thor smashed the Destroyer, the matter would be contained within his family. But if Fanny was to get involved, it might become an interstellar problem that could easily get out of hands.

It would be dangerous if Odin decided to pin all the problems on him

; although the Allfather God-King of Asgard wouldn't do such a shameless thing, so the possibility of such situations happening was very small.

More importantly, he still didn't have enough power to meddle in delicate matters like these. Whether the situation would have a convenient or troublesome result entirely depended on Asgard's stance.

Fanny finally decided not to participate in this Asgard's family affairs. This might lead to Loki falling into Thanos' hands after getting exiled, but there's no guarantee that Loki wouldn't go to Thanos even if Fanny intervened in this incident.

Thanos would not give up the infinity stones, no matter the cost. He definitely had multiple plans in motion in pursuit of his dreams.