LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 52: Soul
Chapter 52: Soul
The following morning, Daisy got out of the room in a daze.
Looking at her listless figure, everyone was confused.
“What’s wrong? Did you not get enough sleep?”
Carol asked.
Daisy didn’t say anything and only glared at the three of them.
How come all of you are already up and about!? You three were obviously the ones who had the most action last night!
Looking at them all fresh and energetic made Daisy question herself.
Was everything she saw last night only a dream? In fact, it didn’t happen at all?
In fact, Carol and Sif were indeed too tired after last night’s battle but Benjamin had them drink from a water bottle with a diluted High Recovery Pill in it.
He used a High rank one since Carol was quite powerful and Sif was Asgardian. He felt like a diluted Medium rank one wouldn’t do much.
After drinking it, the two instantly felt refreshed and said they could fight a hundred more battles.
As for which kind of ‘battle’ it was, only they knew what they meant…
Benjamin then portal-ed away and brought back some breakfast from Paris.
“Your portal thing is really convenient…”
“It is, isn’t it?”
“What exactly is the range of that thing?”
Carol asked while looking at the closing portal curiously.
“As long as I have the coordinates in mind, I can go anywhere.”
“By anywhere you mean here right? On Earth?”
“No? I mean anywhere.”
Benjamin said so with a plain tone but it was enough to cause Carol and Sif to b stupefied.
What exactly does this mean?
Think of it. Asgardians needed the Bifrost to travel across the universe. Yet Benjamin could do the same with a simple wave of his hand.
Carol also had more experience in space travel and knew just how vast and big this universe is…but this doesn’t apply to Benjamin at all!
Only the Tesseract could accomplish this…well, that should be the case.
Yet Benjamin could do what an Infinity Stone could…this…was a bit too unbelievable…
Of course, this doesn’t mean that the Sling Ring was equivalent to an Infinity Stone.
All the Sling Ring could do was open a portal but an Infinity Stone contains the boundless energy of the universe itself.
One can even say that it is equivalent to a ‘Law’ itself.
After the four of them ate breakfast, Benjamin continued to help Daisy get used to her powers while the other two merely watched them out of interest.
At noon, Benjamin took out Carol and Sif to sightsee and gave them a tour of the EPD building in New York while Daisy continued to train on her own.
Then at night, Carol and Sif pushed Benjamin down again as they resumed their battle.
Meanwhile, there is a small crack at the door where Daisy was sleeping. Looking closely, Daisy was peeking through the crack while touching herself.
The next day, they repeated the same routine and before they knew it, it was already the weekend.
At this time, Benjamin finally had some free time as Carol said she needed to check in with some friends and Sif also returned back to Asgard.
Sif naturally invited Benjamin to Asgard but Benjamin refused as he still had some things to do.
As for what that thing was…it was naturally the completion of his longest quest ever!
[Side Quest: Create a Harem in the Marvel World!]
[Successfully sleep with dozens of women in this new world! Each women will have a specific Harem Point depending on their identity and classification! Host must get 100 Harem Points in order to complete the quest! Host, it's time to man up!]
[Harem Points: 115/100]
[Rewards: 100, 000, 000 MP, Soul Infinity Stone, Mjolnir.]
[This quest has no penalty as there is no chance of failure. Unless, Host is not a man?]
That’s right! He finally completed this damn quest!
[Congratulations to host for completing the Side Quest: Create a Harem in the Marvel World!]
[Gained 100, 000, 000 MP, Soul Infinity Stone, Mjolnir]
Just like that, he gained a whooping hundred million MP, an Infinity Stone, and Thor’s hammer!
Benjamin couldn’t wait to slot in the Soul Stone in the Infinity Crown to test it.
He didn’t dare use the other stones he got like the Mind Stone and Space Stone since those are originally from this world.
This one, however, was from the System so it should be safer to use.
The Infinity Stones are objects of huge significance. It won’t hurt to be more cautious about using it.
Just as he was about to take it out and see, a new quest appeared in front of him.
[Side Quest: Create a Harem in the Marvel World II!]
[To think that the host was actually able to complete the quest…this time, the host must reach 300 Harem Points!]
[Harem Points: 115/300]
[Rewards: 1, 000, 000, 000 MP, Reality Infinity Stone, Gungnir.]
“...”
Benjamin fell silent for a moment before finally asking.
“System? What is this?”
[The previous quest was made as a joke to the host but didn’t expect the host to actually complete it so soon. This time, it’s definitely impossible!]
“...”
Benjamin’s mouth twitched slightly.
I knew there was something wrong with that quest! It didn’t seem to be in line with the system’s purpose!
Turns out it was a joke!
Benjamin sighed and shook his head.
Whatever. If he can complete it, then good. If not, that it’s fine as well.
In the first place, he never actively tried to complete it and things just happened, causing him to complete it…
It can’t be helped that I’m so handsome. Sigh…
[...Host, can you stop being so narcissistic for a second?]
Benjamin ignored the system and was about to take out the Soul Stone.
However, he paused for a moment to think for a while.
After having decided, he took out something else from his inventory.
The Soul Dagger.
He hasn’t gotten the chance to use this much since there was no need. Now, it should be good to try.
His plan was to take out the Soul Stone inside Limbo just to be sure he won’t attract any powerful beings to Earth when he takes it out.
Benjamin looked at the Soul Dagger and remembered his promise to Colossus.
“Speaking of, I should find a chance to talk with Magik.”
[Host is already targeting another woman huh?]
“...”
Benjamin rolled his eyes at the system teasing him and didn’t bother to comment.
Then, he swung his hand and a rift opened in midair after being slashed by the Soul Dagger.
Inside the rift, Benjamin saw a whole new world.
The sky was red and numerous islands floated here and there.
If Hell exist, then this should be how it looks like.
Actually, isn’t Mephisto also supposed to be here too?
Benjamin thought for a moment and shrugged.
Anyway, those aren’t important.
Benjamin took a step in and found that his power to control nature had grown weak.
Looking around, it was only a matter of fact since this place seemed devoid of nature.
However, he also found out his other abilities had been enhanced.
Specifically his Hellfire ability and his Symbiote.
Benjamin could feel the Symbiote in his body brimming with power as if it was excited.
After getting a feel of the new environment, Benjamin flew using Telekinesis and landed at an inhabited floating island.
Once he landed, he took out the Soul Stone from his Inventory as well as the Infinity Crown.
As he took it out, the Soul Stone floated above his palm, bobbing up and down slightly.
Benjamin only glanced at it for a few seconds before placing it in a slot on the Infinity Crown.
The Soul Stone stuck to the crown like a magnet and an orange glow appeared around the crown.
Benjamin appreciated it for a moment before trying it on.
“Well…here goes nothing.”
He took a deep breath and placed the crown on his head.
As soon as he placed it on, he was instantly brought to another place.
He only blinked and appeared here.
Benjamin was shocked at the sudden change of environment.
Earlier, he was still in Limbo. Now…where exactly is this?
Around him was a wide vast of nothingness.
Below him seemed to be water as he could see ripples in his reflection. Yet he was able to stand on top of it like a certain ninja.
The sky was an orange sunset. Yet there was no sun.
Looking at his surroundings made Benjamin recall something from the movies in his past life.
Was this…the soul world that Thanos saw?
Am I going to see a little Gamora too?
Benjamin looked around and finally saw a black figure in the distance.
Unlike in the movie, there was no gate or structure of any sort here. Just this figure.
Benjamin walked to take a closer look and saw that this figure wasn’t that of a child but a grown woman.
…And a busty one at that.
But while the body was curvy, her face was…
A skull?
The skull-headed lady looked at him in surprise.
“You…how is it that you are here? And that stone on your crown…that’s impossible!”
The skull-headed lady frowned.
It’s quite weird to see a skull frown. Does it look like this when I also turn into Ghost Rider mode?
While thinking of such things, the skull-headed lady asked.
“Who are you and why do you have the Soul Stone?”
“Why can’t I have it?”
“Because I placed the Soul Stone on a certain planet. A soul for a soul. One must sacrifice the soul of a loved one in order to claim the stone. And no one has sacrificed it yet.”
Benjamin was surprised.
So it seems…she was the one who did that?
But why?
Is she just bored and decided to play like that?
Benjamin sighed and shook his head.
Anyway, there’s no use speculating about it. Just ask her.
“My name is Benjamin Freed. As for this Soul Stone…well, let’s just say that it isn’t from this universe…”
Benjamin recalled in the Loki series that there's also a bunch of Infinity Stones in other universes right? He can just use that as an excuse then.
Anyway, the system is also not from this universe anyway so in a way, he wasn’t lying.
The Skull-headed lady looked at him from top to bottom.
“Intriguing…so there was also this way…”
“Was there a reason why you did such a thing with your Soul Stone?”
Benjamin asked.
The skull-headed lady sighed and looked at the horizon that stretched endlessly.
“This is the Soul World. In this world, there must always be one to occupy it to maintain the balance of the universe. I placed the Soul Stone in that place so that the soul sacrificed will then replace me. And I shall be free.”
…There’s even a plot like that!?
Benjamin sweated.
“Then..why does it have to be the soul of a loved one? Can’t any soul just do it?”
The skull-headed lady shook her head.
“The Soul Stone is no ordinary trinket. Sacrificing a loved one is merely a test to see if they can wield the stone’s power. If they can’t even do such a thing, then the stone will only use them, not the other way around.”
Is it really so scary?
Benjamin tilted his head and glanced up at his crown.
…He doesn’t really feel any burden though.
[Host is using the System’s Soul Stone. Naturally, there are no such weaknesses and drawbacks!]
As expected from the great System!
He was right not to meddle with this universe’s own Infinity Stones. It’s more reliable to use the System ones.
Suddenly, Benjamin remembered something.
“By the way, I haven’t asked for your name?”
“Name…is it?”
The skull-headed lady sighed.
“I do not have one. If you must call me, you can call me Death.”
As expected…she was indeed Death.
“Death huh…”
Benjamin looked at her from top to bottom.
So when people say courting death…is it courting her? Well, she does have the body for it…
As if knowing what he was thinking, Death sighed.
“I know what you are going to say. The phrase ‘to court death’ has existed since time began. It started when I showed up in the mortal world every now and then before I was sealed in this place by that brat.”
Brat?
Someone was actually able to seal a powerful being such as Death?
“In any case, those who had courted me in the past would always end up with a miserable death. Hence the phrase had another meaning.”
“But…not to be rude and all, with your head like that, it’s surprising you had a lot of suitors.”
She may have a rocking body but her face was a skull after all…
“Hm? Oh, this? It’s merely an illusion I made in order to stop people from courting me and dying. Despite my name, I am not fond of people dying for pursuing me. Because once they are dead…they are no longer ‘equal’ to me. They would ‘belong’ to me. A love like that…is not one I desire.”
Although she looked expressionless with that skull face, Benjamin could see a trace of sadness in her expression.
“I see. I wondered why even though your head is a skull and your hands are skeletal, you still have such a curvy body.”
Death wasn’t embarrassed at his comment and merely looked at her body.
“Is it weird?”
“Of course it’s weird. How can a skeleton have breasts!? Or curves!?”
“...”
Death looked speechless for a moment before waving her hand.
Suddenly, her skeletal hand and skull disappeared and were replaced by her own flesh.
What appeared before him was a woman with jet-black hair that reached her shoulders and a skin that was as white as snow.
“Is this better then?”
Benjamin nodded and gave her a thumbs-up.
“Yep. Now I can see why people like to court death so much.”
Death smiled and took a step forward as she placed her slender finger on Benjamin’s chin.
“Does that include you too?”
“Uhh…”
[Host, if you sleep with Death, the System will give you 100 Harem Points!]
…
Benjamin was speechless for a moment.