On the other side, in Thor's palace.
Beastlike roars and the thunder of metal impacts echoed without stopping.
The palace's largest open space had become a training ground—wrecked and chaotic.
Crater-like pits of various sizes pocked the floor. Burned traces of lightning scarred the walls.
The air reeked of hot ozone and steaming sweat.
"Again—!"
Thor stood bare-chested. Bronze muscles knotted like granite, every line packed with explosive power.
Sweat streamed down his golden hair and cheeks, dripping onto the hot ground and evaporating instantly.
In his hand was the imitation hammer Odin had given him.
Ever since that day—since being defeated by Lucci's understated finger—Thor had begun brutal training.
He was the eldest prince of Asgard, future God-King, famous as the Thunder God across the Nine Realms…
And yet he'd been crushed by a single finger from that seemingly weak younger brother?
That was a humiliation worse than dying on the battlefield.
From that day on, Thor became a different person.
He no longer went drinking in taverns, no longer strutted around with the Warriors Three.
He locked himself in the training ground and trained like a madman.
He squeezed his divine power to the limit, again and again, until his body could no longer condense even a trace of lightning—
Then he'd rest briefly, and start again.
He replayed the sensation of losing to Lucci over and over. That seemingly ordinary finger contained mysteries of cosmic origin he couldn't comprehend.
But instinctively, he understood how crude and laughable his former strength was before that level.
He stopped merely releasing thunder. He began trying to control it.
He tried to compress violent lightning into smaller, sharper, more penetrating forms.
Day after day of insane training didn't make his power "amount" explode—but in "quality" and "control," he advanced tremendously.
Boom!
Thor roared again, swinging the imitation hammer down. A chain of lightning far more condensed than before shot from its head and precisely struck a distant metal dummy—melting it into a puddle of molten iron.
"Ha… ha…"
Thor panted hard, but his eyes burned with unprecedented excitement and fighting intent.
He could feel he'd become stronger.
Now he needed proof.
A chance to prove his growth to everyone—and to himself.
He couldn't stand showing off with this ridiculous imitation every day.
He wanted real power.
He wanted the real…
Mjolnir!
Only then would he have the strength to fight Lucci again!
"Father!"
Thor grabbed nearby battle gear, threw it on, and charged out of the palace toward the Hall of the God-King.
…
Odin sat on his throne, cultivating the Secret Codex of Divine Power Refinement.
Heavy, rapid footsteps sounded. Thor's robust figure strode into the hall with fierce momentum.
"Father!"
Thor declared loudly, "I will accept Mjolnir's trial!"
His eyes no longer held their old rash arrogance. Instead there was endurance and resolve forged through countless hardships.
"I don't want to use this toy anymore!"
He raised the imitation hammer and met Odin's one-eyed gaze directly.
"I'm ready!"
"I'll take the hammer that truly belongs to me!"
Odin watched him silently, his all-encompassing gaze seeing through Thor's changes.
Thor's divine power was more condensed. His will was stronger.
His irritable temperament wasn't fully restrained yet, but he was already very different from the reckless man who only solved problems with brute force.
Satisfaction surfaced in Odin's eye.
Though…
Compared to Lucci's unreasonable comprehension, this growth still felt somewhat insignificant.
But as Asgard's future protector, Thor reaching this level was already good.
At least he had begun to understand that power was not only destruction.
"Very good," Odin nodded slowly, his majestic voice echoing in the hall.
"I have seen your growth."
"If you have decided, then come with me."
Odin rose and led the excited Thor toward the underground treasury.
When the doors opened, Thor's eyes were instantly drawn to the silver warhammer on the stone pedestal.
Mjolnir!
He could feel the storm power within it—vast as a sea of stars.
This was the power he had dreamed of.
"Go," Odin stepped aside and said calmly.
"Prove your worthiness."
Thor took a deep breath, suppressed his excitement, and walked to the pedestal.
He reached out and tightly gripped Mjolnir's cold handle.
"Rise—!"
Thor exploded with all his strength. His arm muscles bulged like stone, veins popping like small snakes.
He poured all his power and will into that grip.
At first, the hammer didn't move—like it was connected to all of Asgard's earth.
But Thor refused to give up.
Lucci's indifferent eyes flashed in his mind. The humiliation of being defeated by one finger surged back.
"Get up!"
He roared.
Bzzz—
As if sensing his unyielding will and a gradually maturing protector's heart, Mjolnir trembled slightly…
And finally acknowledged him.
Click!
With a soft sound, Mjolnir lifted from the pedestal—
Lifted!
"Haha… hahaha!"
The moment the hammer fully left the stone, Thor's ecstasy burst out in earth-shaking laughter.
He did it!
He finally succeeded!
He felt the lightning power from the hammer flow into his body. He felt stronger than ever.
Odin watched, relief shining in his eye.
Excellent—Thor had finally grown into a warrior worthy of the name.
But as Thor's excitement surged, he vaguely felt something… off.
Even though Mjolnir granted him power, he clearly sensed the hammer didn't feel much…
"joy."
It was like a loyal soldier executing a mission—yet deep inside it carried a faint…
Loss. Unhappiness.
"Strange…"
Thor shook the hammer suspiciously. The feeling remained.
But he soon shoved the doubt away.
Forget it!
Loss or joy didn't matter. What mattered was that the hammer was his now!
He hugged Mjolnir tightly, feeling its overflowing power. His eyes burned again.
He turned sharply toward Lucci's palace.
Lucci!
I'm not the same as before!
I finally… have the strength to challenge you again!
…