The Scandinavian Lostbelt is a boring Lostbelt. Li Mo wholeheartedly agrees with that statement.
Having experienced Earth's developed cultural and entertainment industry, looking at this Lostbelt makes one realize how utterly unremarkable everything is.
— Forget cultural entertainment, there isn't even any religious activity here. Scáthach-Skadi is their god, but the humans here don't hold festivals for her. The god is less a revered deity and more a ruler, their queen.
Why is that?
Because the resources required for a festival would be a significant burden for the villages. Scáthach-Skadi is compassionate; how could she add such a pointless burden?
Thus, the humans of the Scandinavian Lostbelt are bored. They aren't living; they are surviving.
Surviving within the greenhouse meticulously created by Scáthach-Skadi.
Li Mo dislikes this Lostbelt.
There is no vitality here.
There is no future here.
"Then again, thinking about it, Lostbelts are pruned precisely because they have no future."
Compared to the Russian Lostbelt, this one is fortunate. At least there is a god who loves them. Compared to the Chinese Lostbelt, this one is unfortunate. Because there truly is no visible future.
Seeing a place without a future here, Li Mo hardly dares to slack off. For over half a year, he has been working. The intensity is even higher than when he was in Teyvat.
Venting his emotions, Li Mo refocused his attention on the Giants before him.
The Giants allocated to Li Mo by Scáthach-Skadi were Frost Giants and Mountain Giants. Although not as powerful as Fire Giants, they were sufficient.
"The bodies of Giants are inherently imbued with enough Mystery. Will the Mystery absorbed from Giants before come into play now?"
Li Mo sucked on a lollipop, a complete plan forming in his mind.
If it were the Einherjar, he would need to manufacture a large number of Mystic Codes to serve as the support points for the plan. With Giants, it wouldn't be so troublesome. He could simply use the Giants themselves as the support points.
Support Points—as the name implies, are a crucial part of the plan. Li Mo had solved the key breakthrough in the technology of "converting Surtr's flames into energy." But the efficiency was completely inadequate, and the scale couldn't be increased.
However, if he implanted the seed of the "universe view" from his "Pseudo·Simulated Reality Marble·Mystic Foundation" into the bodies of the Giants, transforming them into vessels for this "universe view," and then performed appropriate modifications, he could turn the Giants into biological weapons for refining Surtr's flames.
Finally, at the moment of purification, using the resonance of the shared "Giant" Mystery, he could transmit the energy to himself. The peak energy gathered in that instant should meet the requirements.
"I'll need to calculate some numerical values later. I hope the quantity of this batch of Giants is sufficient... and I need to leave some redundancy."
Redundancy is to account for variables in the plan, a necessary measure for emergencies.
Research, continued.
In the preceding over half a year, he had made ample preparations. Various theoretical difficulties had been overcome earlier.
To this day, obtaining the Index of Forbidden Books from Index's mind had been a masterstroke. It contained almost all the knowledge from the magic side of the Toaru world.
It's hard to imagine what method the Anglican Church and the British Royal Family used to create the Index Librorum Prohibitorum. No wonder there are safety measures like the Auto-Index.
Back in the Toaru world, if there's leisure time, he could explore matters related to that. After all, upon returning, siding with Aleister Crowley would mean opposing Laura Stuart.
Recording this as something to do in the future, Li Mo focused on modifying the Giants. This modification was a mystical one, with little impact on their physical bodies or skills—though it might affect intelligence. But the Giants were already beings without intellect, living by instinct. Such an impact is practically zero.
Time passed slowly. During this period, Koyanskaya delivered everything Li Mo needed. It seemed the pink rabbit was very busy; the materials were delivered by Ophelia. The girl didn't seem very pleased with this work.
She looked exactly like a factory worker.
But who cares about a factory worker's attitude?
"It should be about done, right?" Li Mo patted his head and checked the time. Over a month had passed since he gained control of the Giants from the Queen.
This past month had been painful. Anyone would find repetitive assembly-line work unbearable.
He needed to inject the "universe view" from his Pseudo·Simulated Reality Marble into the bodies of the Giants. Since each Giant required isolated adjustments to specific bodily functions, he had to adjust them one by one.
Summarizing afterward, it was just like tightening screws in a factory—no technical skill required, no need to think.
The boring life finally ended. This temporary workshop outside the castle could be dismantled. The Giants, following Li Mo's command, left the area, spreading out from the castle as the center. They would activate when Li Mo triggered the command.
The theory and design blueprints for "Gungnir" had been finalized with the help of the Index of Forbidden Books. The "massive energy" was now also prepared.
Only one final condition remained.
Materials.
The theory and the furnace were ready. What remained was the material for the spear shaft.
Li Mo remembered that in the Toaru world, Othinus's intended material was originally Fiamma of the Right, which later changed to the flesh and blood of Accelerator. What commonality did these two have? He hadn't figured it out.
The former was still imprisoned underground in Aleister Crowley's windowless building; the latter, he hadn't studied.
But he had an excellent alternative—the Fantasy Tree.
The Fantasy Tree sustains the existence of the Scandinavian Lostbelt. Possessing the power to stabilize the world, if used as material to forge "Gungnir," Li Mo was highly confident he could transform "Gungnir" into something akin to a Star Anchor.
Moreover, this would also prevent the Alien God from manifesting through the Scandinavian Lostbelt's Fantasy Tree. Although, from every angle, it seemed the Alien God would only descend through the Atlantic Lostbelt's Fantasy Tree.
Still, prevention is a good habit.
Returning to the topic, using the Fantasy Tree as material is a beautiful idea. The feasibility, however, isn't very realistic—the Fantasy Tree is key to sustaining the Lostbelt. To tamper with it would mean opposing both Ophelia and Scáthach-Skadi.
There isn't no way to break this deadlock.
When Surtr descends, defeating him becomes the top priority. At that time, all he needs to do is hinder Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others from defeating Surtr.
Thinking about it, is there really a time when I have to play the useless teammate?
Running a hand through his hair, Li Mo laughed at himself. Before that, given his position, he can't outright declare it, but... if he can't obtain the entire Fantasy Tree now, then taking a tiny piece of it shouldn't be a problem, right?
"After all, I can already report some progress."
Back when he went to capture Sitonai. Li Mo told Scáthach-Skadi that he wanted support for a bold action on his part. Namely, to modify the Scandinavian Lostbelt. Admittedly, the energy extraction from Giants is preparation for his own "furnace." But before that, a trial run is necessary. The trial run doesn't need to pursue theoretical limits; it just needs a stable activation to provide energy.
Energy can be converted into magical power. More magical power means the barrier can expand, the population can increase. That should be enough to gain Scáthach-Skadi's trust, right? A small fragment from the edge of the Fantasy Tree can be given to me, right?
Li Mo looked up at the distant castle, then began walking towards it.