After the welcoming ceremony, as Odin led a few generals to accompany William into the Golden Palace, the impatient Thor proposed testing the healing talisman.
Odin smiled at William, who responded indifferently, "It's fine to test it first. I also want to see how effective the healing talisman is on Asgardians."
Odin, who had the same thought but didn't want to appear too eager, happily said to Thor, "Go find some volunteers. We'll wait for you in the palace courtyard."
"No need, Father. Let me do it myself," Thor said without hesitation. "If it works on me, it'll definitely work on other warriors as well. And as the Prince of Asgard, I always lead the charge in battle. If this kind of magical talisman is effective, then no one will be able to stop me in the future."
"Haha," William couldn't help but laugh at Thor's words. This guy always played the role of the vanguard—he really wasn't suited to be king.
But thinking more carefully, if Odin hadn't sensed that his time was short, Thor's personality actually fit Asgard well and would be beneficial for royal harmony.
Back in his prime, Odin's eldest daughter, Hela, couldn't wait for him to grow old before trying to seize power—she even acted on it. The result was obvious: she was suppressed.
After Hela was put down, Thor became the new heir, and his personality had matched what Odin had hoped for a thousand years ago.
But times had changed. Now in his twilight years, Odin instead needed a mature successor.
Though pleased by Thor's eagerness, Odin also felt anxious deep down—but ironically, he was the one responsible for how things turned out.
What kind of person a child becomes is at least fifty percent the responsibility of the parents.
Odin stopped Thor, who was about to get angry just because William laughed a little. "Go, my son. I need a few volunteer guards."
Then, he led William into the Golden Palace, pretending not to notice Frigga and Loki deliberately lagging behind.
Watching Odin's retreating back, Thor angrily muttered, "Why does Father always reject my suggestions? I'm a prince—I'm supposed to set an example for our people."
"Enough, child," Frigga said gently, holding Thor's arm with one hand and pulling Loki along with the other as they walked. "You two are heirs to the throne—you can't just focus on charging into battle.
Besides, the kinds of attacks that injure you could be fatal to ordinary soldiers, which wouldn't accurately demonstrate the healing effect.
That's why your father wants you to find guards who better represent the majority."
Loki, who had already figured that out, obediently nodded, and Thor quickly relaxed his furrowed brow after hearing it. "Alright, Mother. I'll go find someone."
Thor didn't even need to leave the Golden Palace. A quick shout among the guards brought out plenty of volunteers eager to follow him.
Out of caution, they started with minor surface wounds like cuts.
But unexpectedly, the first volunteer, after receiving Odin's nod, drew a dagger and, without hitting bone, stabbed straight through his forearm—without even flinching as he pulled the knife back out. William was completely stunned.
Was this just his personality, or was it a show meant for him?
William looked over at the smiling Odin, then at the five or six generals nearby and Thor, realizing that aside from Loki, who was forcing a smile, the rest had expressions that said, "This is normal—worthy of an Asgardian warrior."
"William..." Odin's voice brought him back to his senses, and William turned to see the wounded guard now excitedly examining his arm over and over again.
"The result is quite good, though five seconds is a bit long," Odin said with a smile. "I know your style—I'm sure you have better versions."
Hearing this, the surrounding generals looked at William with dissatisfaction, but he didn't care. When selling war supplies, the real concern wasn't whether customers complained the goods were low-end—it was whether they could afford them.
"Of course I have better ones. But do you really want to pay ten times the price just to shave off two seconds of recovery time?"
"Don't worry. Asgard is not short on money, and every soldier and subject is the foundation of our divine realm's glory," Odin replied cheerfully, having earned a wave of gratitude and reverence from his people. "As long as your items are good, don't worry about whether Asgard can afford them."
Since that was the case, William didn't waste words. He pulled out a blank jade talisman from his storage space, and as he held it, a green glow of an enhanced healing spell infused it.
He casually tossed it to a burly, bearded general. "Ordinary soldiers have tried it—now it's time for you higher-level officers to give it a go."
He chose to toss it to this guy partly because he had given William the most unfriendly looks earlier, and partly because his size would make the healing effect more convincing.
Unfortunately for William, this fat guy named Volstagg didn't provide any comedic relief.
Biting the healing talisman between his teeth, he wordlessly removed his wrist guard, drew a dagger, and—just like the soldier earlier—stabbed it into his forearm.
After pulling the knife out, he bit down and crushed the talisman. As the green magic surged through him, the big man spat out the jade shards in William's direction.
But before he could finish his provocation, the tingling on his arm distracted him. Looking down, he saw that aside from some lingering blood, the wound had completely healed.
"By Odin, this is a miracle," Volstagg muttered as he carefully examined his left arm. Then he picked up the massive axe on his back and swung it on the spot.
Odin, instead of showing any displeasure, laughed heartily as he watched Volstagg shout with excitement.
"William, the difference between three and five seconds could mean life or death. So, how many of those talismans do you have?"
"You tell me how many you want and what you're willing to pay," William replied. Hearing that Odin wasn't even naming a price, he'd initially wanted to quote a high one. But remembering that he had sold a lot of beginner talismans to the Predator race, and that Asgard now knew about the talismans' existence, he figured they'd already started gathering intelligence across the universe. So he held back and waited for Odin to offer a price first.
But Odin wasn't so easy to fool. "You name your price first. If it's reasonable, we'll buy in bulk."
Damn stingy old man. Just now he'd said money was no issue, but now he was being tightfisted.
So William shot high, naming a price ten times higher than what he charged the Predators. "100,000 star coins for an advanced talisman, 10,000 for a beginner one. Or 1,000 and 100 energy crystals, respectively."
"That expensive?"
Thor blurted out. William pretended to hesitate for a few seconds, then added, "If you pay in energy crystals, I can give you a ten percent discount."
"Nine hundred and ninety energy crystals..." Odin was still calculating when Loki suddenly spoke up.
"Father, back when Thor and I were on Midgard, we encountered members of the Predator race. Maybe we could talk to them."
Odin, seasoned and sharp, immediately knew something was up the moment Loki mentioned the Predators.
He turned to William with a smile and said, "Perhaps I misheard, right, my child?"
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