The lines of text continuously appearing in Evan’s mind failed to provoke much of a reaction from him.
He simply cleared away the dishes while sorting through the information.
There wasn’t much to say about the World-Specific Missions.
They always involved making money.
Special Missions, meanwhile, were only issued whenever a new world was unlocked.
Their objectives were just as fixed as the World-Specific Missions, explore the new world and discover new ingredients.
Nothing else.
There were two restrictions.
First, if he failed to complete a Special Mission before connecting to the next new world, the mission would disappear.
Second, he only got one chance.
Once he entered the world, leaving it counted as completing the mission regardless of whether he’d actually done anything.
Naturally, if he left empty handed, the reward would be pathetic enough to make him cry.
And if the newly connected world happened to be particularly high-level, there was a very real chance the mission itself could become dangerous.
So unless he was properly prepared, he shouldn’t start one.
At his current rate of making money, assuming he didn’t fleece anyone, it would take him a little over half a month to earn two million.
There was plenty of time to prepare.
No need to rush.
For now, he had something else to take care of first.
Getting a GT Robot.
With the information Evan had given him, Tony should be able to deal with Obadiah Stane fairly quickly.
Afterward, he’d begin researching the robot Evan wanted.
Evan needed to obtain a GT Robot before that happened.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t as easy as it sounded.
GT Robots were remotely operated machines manufactured by Gourmet Corp. for combat and capturing ingredients.
Gourmet Corp. was one of the most powerful organizations in the Gourmet World.
Its leader, Midora, was Ichiryu’s junior fellow disciple and a top-tier powerhouse in his own right.
His subordinates weren’t weaklings either.
In other words, there were no weaklings among GT Robot operators.
And naturally, a GT Robot piloted by someone powerful wasn’t going to be weak in combat.
Under those circumstances, there were very few people capable of capturing one without damaging it in the slightest.
As luck would have it, Evan knew three such people.
In fact, they were the only three people like that he knew.
I’ll just ask Ichiryu for a favor when he comes by for his meal today.
Evan decided to wait for him at the restaurant.
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Asgard.
Deep within the royal palace, Odin sat upright in a wooden chair, dressed in a simple robe with his single eye closed.
Three full minutes passed.
Then Odin opened his eye.
The lingering radiance of divine power shimmered deep within it.
“Just as I thought.” A trace of joy lay hidden beneath Odin’s otherwise steady voice.
Asgard’s future was Ragnarok.
The gods would fall.
Asgard itself would be destroyed.
But now, that once inevitable future was beginning to blur.
And the point when that change had first appeared happened to coincide exactly with the day he first entered the Dimensional Restaurant.
Odin narrowed his eye and sensed the vitality within his body.
It was stronger than before.
“Remarkable.”
His life force had once been like a candle guttering in the wind, liable to go out at any moment.
Yet after a single meal at the Dimensional Restaurant, that failing flame had suddenly grown slightly stronger.
It was like putting fuel into a car running on fumes.
It could keep going.
At first, Odin had worried that it might simply be his imagination.
The results proved otherwise.
His vitality really was increasing.
Then didn’t that mean that as long as he kept eating at the restaurant, his life force could continue to grow?
If so, the reason the future was changing suddenly made sense.
He was Odin.
One of the greatest powers in the universe, a name known across countless star systems.
Perhaps he couldn’t claim to be invincible, but he was unquestionably powerful enough to dominate his corner of the cosmos.
As long as he remained alive, Asgard would remain a paradise that few dared offend.
And naturally, Ragnarok would not arrive so easily.
More importantly, extending his life would give him enough time to properly teach Thor and Loki.
As they were now, neither could truly be called ready.
Thor was brave and formidable in battle, but arrogant and reckless.
Loki was brilliant and cunning, yet still failed to truly understand himself.
In Odin’s plans, Thor and Loki were meant to stand together at the heart of Asgard, one a warrior, the other a strategist, protecting the realm and making its enemies think twice before ever daring to invade.
Odin thought back over how the two of them had behaved during the past several centuries and slowly shook his head.
They still had a long way to go.
But now I have the time to shelter them while they grow.
I can wait until they’re ready.
Until they’re capable of carrying the weight of Asgard themselves.
At that thought, a faint smile appeared on Odin’s deeply lined face.
“What are you thinking about that has you smiling like that?” A gentle female voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
Odin raised his head and looked toward the beautiful woman approaching him.
Her simple, unadorned robes did nothing to hide her graceful figure.
Her features were refined, and her warm presence seemed to naturally put those around her at ease.
Odin stood and took her hand.
“Something good, naturally.” He smiled.
“I’ve discovered a remarkable place. Later, I’ll take you, Thor, and Loki there with me, Frigga.”
Yes.
Odin had decided to bring Frigga, Thor, and Loki to the Dimensional Restaurant.
Evan had never shown any hostility, and the restaurant itself posed no apparent danger.
More importantly, it truly was miraculous and offered very real benefits.
If there was something good to be gained from it, there was no reason for Odin to keep it to himself.
He would share it with his family.
“All right.” Frigga could tell that Odin’s happiness was genuine, and that naturally lifted her own spirits as well.
She gestured toward one of the maids standing nearby.
“Go and ask Thor and Loki to come here.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” The maid withdrew and hurried through the palace.
Thor and Loki spent most of their time together.
Finding one usually meant finding both.
And Thor’s usual haunts were fairly predictable.
So the first place she chose was Thor’s palace.
Roughly seven or eight minutes later, she reached the entrance.
The rowdy shouting coming from inside immediately told her she wouldn’t need to search anywhere else.
She pushed open the door.
Inside, two burly warriors lay sprawled drunkenly on the floor.
Sif was tending to Thor nearby, while Loki sat off to one side watching the spectacle with obvious amusement.
The sound of the door opening caught Loki’s attention.
He immediately looked up.
Upon recognizing one of the maids who regularly attended Frigga, he asked, “What does Mother want with us?”
“The King and Queen request that both princes come to their chambers.”
“Very well.” Loki nodded and hopped down from the stone platform he’d been sitting on.
He walked over to Thor, crouched beside him, and studied his brother’s drunken grin.
Then he reached out and lightly slapped Thor’s cheek.
Thor answered with a loud smack of his lips.
Loki gave a helpless shrug.
“Apparently not.”
Sif rolled her eyes at him.
Thor was obviously dead drunk.
As far as she was concerned, Loki just wanted an excuse to slap his brother around.
“Well, we’ll simply have to wake him up first.”
From seemingly nowhere, Loki produced a cup filled with some unidentified liquid.
Before Sif could stop him, he promptly poured the entire thing down Thor’s throat.
A second later, Thor’s sleeping expression changed dramatically.
His eyes flew open.
His mouth opened even wider.
And then—
He vomited.
Violently.
Everywhere.
Loki smiled with immense satisfaction.
“Works wonders for sobering up.”
Sif glared at him and began patting Thor on the back.
She recognized that concoction.
Loki had mixed it himself, and she’d seen it used more than once.
Mostly because Loki had inflicted the same prank on quite a few unfortunate victims over the years.
Getting Thor sober had cost them some time, so to make up for it, Thor simply flew Loki to Odin’s palace.
A journey that had taken the maid seven or eight minutes on foot took the brothers less than thirty seconds.
Unfortunately, Thor didn’t appear to be completely sober yet.
His flight path was somewhat questionable.
By the time they arrived, Loki was starting to feel a little dizzy himself.
“Father! Mother!” Thor pushed open the doors and strode inside, shouting as he went.
Loki followed elegantly behind him.
Placed side by side, the difference between them was almost comical.
One looked like a charging warrior.
The other looked every inch the refined prince.
“Thor. Loki. You’re here.” Odin gave them a calm nod.
With a wave of his hand, he dismissed everyone else from the room, leaving only the four members of their family behind.
Then he waved again.
Light shimmered in one corner of the chamber.
A plain wooden door appeared before them.
Truthfully, there was absolutely nothing remarkable about the door itself.
Against the extravagant splendor of the royal chamber, it looked painfully out of place.
The difference was about as dramatic as setting an ordinary brick beside a bar of solid gold.
“Father, what is this?” Thor had never been the type to keep questions to himself.
If he wanted to know something, he asked.
Immediately.
Loki said nothing, but the look he gave Odin conveyed exactly the same question.
Odin merely shook his head, showing no intention of explaining.
Instead, he took Frigga’s hand and led her toward the wooden door.
“Follow us. This is why I called you here.”
With that, Odin opened the Dimensional Door and stepped through with Frigga.
Thor and Loki exchanged a glance.
Then they walked toward it together and crossed the threshold at the same time.
In an instant, space shifted around them.
The sudden change in light made both brothers instinctively narrow their eyes.
Before either could adjust and open them fully, a surprised voice rang out nearby.
“Huh! You actually brought the whole family this time!”