Chapter 825: 813

Title: Foraging Gems (1)

The next day, under Angela's protest of not wanting to spend a moment further with her blood mother, Nik left. As for Angela? What could she do when Frigga appeared on her doorsteps? Though unwilling, Frigga's eyes would always make Angela unwilling to hurt the woman further but it was also because of this 'weakness' that Angela didn't want to spend another moment with her. Though Frigga very clearly accepted that Angela wouldn't be able to think as her mother... much to Angela's astonishment, the conversation would somehow steer in a manner that made the two look like a mother and a daughter.

Meanwhile, Nik very openly began exploring the city once again.

"Do you think this will work?" His accomplices were in his robes and Janet poked her head out alongside Poole and Spider.

"Yep. Lorelei... is a millennium-old stalker. She must be a professional so she wouldn't want to lose a single day. If this doesn't happen to work, we'll look elsewhere." Nik smiled.

"But there's no reason to not enjoy ourselves. In a few weeks, at most, this place is going to be destroyed most probably," he chimed with an easygoing expression as he followed his directed path.

Soon, he stood in front of a recently constructed private hall of the external ministers. Readying his heart for whatever is inside, Nik stepped in. Usually, Ray would kick back and relax in here while Brian never entered here for obvious reasons.

But Nik didn't really care much about what he might see. It would be pretty hypocritical of him to cringe at yaoism when he is a loyal supporter of yurism and even if it is his thing, he had an easygoing expression.

The hall was built based on Asgardian craftsmanship and had a shimmering golden roof with a sturdy exterior reinforced by metal in various places.

Stepping into the hall, Nik closed the door behind him and a sickeningly sweet scent assaulted his senses. Narrowing his eyes, Nik voided the area around him from Ray's pheromones and observed the straight and narrow corridor extending from the entrance leading to various spots.

"Ray, I'm here!" Nik shouted as one of the doors on the end of the corridor was pushed open as Ray peeked his head out with a sleepy expression.

"No need to shout..." he yawned and scratches his slightly disheveled hair that stood out more.

"Did you clean my room completely?" Nik inquired while curiously opening one of the rooms closer to the entrance and the moment he looked at gaping asses, he instantly shut the door. Poole, Spider, and Janet took a quick peek and Janet couldn't help but whistle.

"Damn, Ray. Yar really goes all out," Nik snickered and walked towards him as Ray kept his doors open.

Unlike the other rooms simply decorated and furnished with ease in sex, Ray's bedroom was meant for sleeping and by that, it meant actual sleeping. His room didn't give a thick scent but a subtle one that calmed other's nerves.

Already slipped into the blanket once again, Ray was instantly caught by the softly snoring Yar completely naked under the bedsheet while Ray only wore a large t-shirt with a neck wide enough to hang down from his left shoulder as he sleepily gazed at Nik.

"I did clean your room. Bring anyone you want," he smiled and waggled his brows, "So? Who is it?"

"A sorceress named Lorelei is outside the hall, stalking me," Nik grinned.

"What are you being pleased about, she stalks everyone!" Ray scoffed before smiling, "But sure, bring her in. This place smells too much like a guy—"

"Wait, I'm not gonna bring her in this hole," Nik sneered, "What should I do? Show conquered asses to her and whisper— you're next? What will she think of me? I'm just here to measure the space. I'll just create a place of my own outside the city."

"And?" Ray inquired.

"Nothing else?" Nik tilted his head in confusion.

"Really?" Ray looked even more surprised.

"Well, yeah. It's not like we need to hang around just because we need something from each other," Nik shrugged.

"Of course, I also want to know from you about any prospects."

His smile turned lewd.

The expression of the three girls inside his robe had turned bleak long ago.

---

Lorelei's expression was dark. The moment she saw Nik enter the Minister's hall only ever used by Ray and his... streams of leg spreaders, many of whom belonged to her procession once, she felt a biting form of envy as she gritted her teeth.

Even the other minister, the possible relative of the Mad Titan from the looks of his appearance, didn't enter this particular hall corrupted by Ray.

But much to her surprise, Nik walked out after one hour instead of spending the entire day. Though, she did note a particular mark of lips over the side of his neck. An odd expression relevant on his face.

Once again, she started following him but this time, she was surprised to find that whenever a beautiful woman would pass by him, he would instantly catch her wrist, or pull others by their waists before tasting their lips in the public itself. Shockingly, others would reciprocate the gesture, their hands greedily moving on Nik's back, pulling him close and some sensitive ones bucking their hips slightly.

One...

Two...

Three...

Seven...

Lorelei's eyes were wide. She didn't have the mind to focus on other targets of her and curiosity won in her mind. Stealthily, she moved around and found Nik's actions turning bolder and bolder.

Her eyes widened at the sight of Nik openly taking women left and right. Beating up men and forcing their women in front of them.

It wasn't until he stepped into the Palace with similar gusto that a surprised voice chuckled next to her ear.

"My god... you just made me commit so many things... I mean, beating up men and taking their women is hot in books and erotica but seeing them crying or seeing men in snot is a big turn-off for me."

"Who?!"

Lorelei's body shuddered and her vision changed.

She wasn't following Nik, but was sitting against a tree with a lush forest surrounding her.

Her body felt cold and she stood hurriedly. Sharp eyes observing her surroundings but she found nothing.

"Looking for me?" A tap of a finger over her shoulder almost scared her to the point of jumping and she looked back, finding a snickering Nik as he leaned against the tree.

"I never thought you'd have such saucy tastes. Kind of scares me," even though he said this, his smile was wide. "Say, want me to really beat a few men?"

He cackled. His derisive tone made Lorelei's figure tremble and her eyes spewed flames.

"Do you think you'll have a better life now?" She inquired coldly.

"Oh, maybe you will beat a few women and **** men in front of me!" He couldn't stop once he began. Nik intended to, well, find one form of pleasure but incidentally, he found another. He hadn't insulted or roasted someone for such a long time and now that he did, he felt unbelievably chipper. Gazing at Lorelei's, Nik found her cute like a potato than a seductive hole eager to be plowed.

Of course, that is also due to his own progression till now.

Hearing his crude words, Lorelei felt her vision turn dizzy for a moment.

Previously, she only found herself eager to be forcefully taken as such, her procession defeated and her ripe body used in front of them but in Asgard who would dare commit such a blunder. Fantasies and reality are kept different for some good reasons. Should anybody really force her in such a manner in the public, she would do everything in her power to ruin that person.

"Don't look so glum. You can enslave people but not even tolerate a joke?" Nik hummed before waving his hand, "I really came here for different reasons but I got satisfied either way. Thanks, sugarplum," turning around, before Lorelei could even call out, Nik disappeared into the portal.

"That Bastard!" Lorelei stomped and hissed.

"What... just happened?" Spider was incomparably surprised. Nik leaving a girl stranded, with her clothes on? There seemed to be a defect in the matrix.

But her doubts would remain unanswered as Morgan only relayed a single magic spell to Nik.

A location spell that tracks extremely deep and tremendous yet subtle cosmic signals. The one's deployed by Infinity stones.

She really found the way to synthesize the spell this shortly and now it was upto Nik to collect the remaining three Infinity stones before Knull arrives to lay wreck to Asgard.

---

This time, even Janet was left behind since she wanted to return to Earth. She truly didn't have anything to do in Asgard and her previous partner of banters, Loki, was going through a rather depressed stage of her life. Nik didn't want to bring Angela along because he was having so much fun seeing her troubled and confused like a teenager, something only Anna has been able to produce after all, despite her cute face, she was definitely a sneaky one.

And even if he wanted to try laying down with Asgardians, how long can picking up an Infinity Stone be? It will be like picking deliveries since he could appear anywhere with the Space Stone.

With Mind, Time, and Space Stone, Nik's foundation was already set and he only wanted to find the other three stones to set up the final stage.

With only Poole and Spider, his already trusted and still platonic phantom aides, Nik stepped into the portal to the coordinated found by the spell and instantly disappeared from Asgard.

[Where are you going?]

Brian's inquiry came simultaneously.

[To find tracks of your father. If I find him, I'll bring you to him immediately. Get over with your karma already,] Nik replied rightly but the location he arrived in was strange. Unlike the Asgardian glory of the gold display, this world was made of pure darkness. Closing his eyes, Nik let his senses spread and he instantly realized that this was an enclosed space, one otherwise unavailable except for special moments in time since its locks were based on the position of the planet.

"Cool!"

Poole shouted with the hopes of having her voice echo but how would it? She wasn't a real body either way.

The world around them was submerged in darkness with two large pillars placed vertically that seemed to be holding something within the thin slit of space between them.

Although low, Nik felt a formidable pressure from between the narrow space and he frowned slightly. Instead of stepping out himself, he released the three infinity stones that instantly shook the space around them.

Golden, Blue, and Green gems moved out, giving a faint luster, and moved around the pillar under Nik's conscious effort. Since he didn't know what was inside, it was better to pull it out and once the three stones surrounded the two stone pillars in a triangular formation, a red pulse of light instantly passed out.

It couldn't pass further than the three stones but the Pillars suddenly glowed with blue scriptures.

A Seal, Nik realized. But since the item within was making a move itself, gaining support from the three infinity gems, in fact, Nik didn't bother and waited silently. Though not much of a power grubber, he already understood that he needed to have enough strength to face his dear family and if picking the Infinity Stones wouldn't even take him longer than the day, why would he willingly give it up? Who knows someone else might take the treasures themselves.

After all, Ray and Brian already taught him that treasures wait for no man.

*Weng*

A sonorous sound burst out from the thin space of the pillar and thick cracks spread out.

Another pulse of red light flickered and the pillars suddenly turned into ashes.

Waving his hand, Nik made the ashes flow aside into the deep darkness that stretched down endlessly.

Between the three infinity stones was a strangely moving viscous crimson liquid that looked more like a crystal liquid.

'That's an infinity stone?' Nik frowned momentarily. Since he controlled the three stones, he tried to make contact with the liquid but before his thoughts could reach towards the red liquid, it suddenly rotated and turned into a mini whirlpool within which formed a small shard that quickly absorbed the liquid and turned into a glimmering red gem.

"If only I could still use Twitter," Poole sighed.

"You'd only get canceled," Spider snorted.

"Says the voyeur!"

"Hey!"

While Nik would enjoy their arguments and even participate, his body shuddered and vanished before suddenly catching something midair.

It was the red infinity gem. Not only the phantom in the middle disappeared, if it wasn't for association with Space Stone, he would have lost it.

'Uh...'

Pickle's body suddenly let out trembling tendrils of her flesh as red veins spread out through Nik's and Pickle's body instantly.

The same thing happened again.

But with their minds boosted by the Mind stone, they were fortunate to endure all the torture consciously.