"hm?"
Upon hearing Surtur's explanation, Fang Mo was taken aback for a moment.
If he remembered correctly, the last time he visited the Marvel Universe... It was indeed the last time.
Alright, Fang Mo actually remembered it quite clearly. After all, it was during his last visit that he had defeated Thanos and used the Infinity Gauntlet along with other items from different worlds. Finally, with Nyarlathotep's help, he successfully crossed through the Dreamlands' gate.
His cute little partner.
It seems it was also after that incident that he was forcefully brought into being by him.
After that, Fang Mo first spent a long time in the One Punch Man universe, then returned to the X-Men universe to visit old friends.
Thinking it over carefully.
It indeed seemed like a long time since he last went to the Marvel Universe.
Upon hearing Surtur mention it out of the blue, Fang Mo's first thought was indeed to quickly return and take a look, especially since Ragnarok had already begun.
After all, Asgard was a promised land for someone like him. It was a module paradise, a place of immense luck. Fang Mo had reason to believe that if he could find the key, he might even unlock some world-altering modules like equivalent exchange there.
But Fang Mo wasn't a fool.
He needed to ponder over Surtur's words.
Because he realized a long time ago, during his first visit to the X-Men universe, that his Book of Ages would always drop him near a critical plot point. Back then, Wolverine had waited for him for eighteen years due to this setting.
Given this setting.
Fang Mo figured that even if he delayed his return, the Book of Ages would still drop him near a plot point in the Marvel Universe, right?
As for the plot in the Marvel Universe.
He had already followed most movie plotlines before Infinity War, except for Black Panther and Ant-Man. The rest, like Age of Ultron, Civil War, Ego the Living Planet, Dormammu's invasion... he had basically covered them all.
The only plotline he hadn't followed was Ragnarok.
It was just that Thanos came too quickly, otherwise, Fang Mo would have definitely followed that storyline too, rather than delaying it until now.
Following this logic…
No matter how long Fang Mo delayed, the next time he crossed into the Marvel Universe, he would inevitably be dropped near the Ragnarok plot point by the Book of Ages.
"Emmm…"
Thinking of this, Fang Mo's expression subtly changed.
He looked up at Surtur, his gaze shifting as if lost in thought.
"I... I mean it…"
Seeing Fang Mo look at him like this, Surtur obviously panicked and hurriedly explained.
"Mm, I know."
Fang Mo nodded indifferently and suddenly asked, "So, you must have some means to detect the arrival of 'Ragnarok' across universes, right?"
"Indeed."
Surtur instinctively paused, then asked, "But why... Why do you ask?"
"Then tell me," Fang Mo didn't explain but directly questioned, "How long has Ragnarok been going on, according to your perception?"
"Uh…"
Surtur hesitated for a moment but quickly said, "I've been trapped in that sword, and the darkness and void have confused my sense of time... but if I have to say, it's been about ten days, I think?"
"Oh, so Ragnarok has been going on for more than ten days."
Hearing Surtur's words, Fang Mo feigned surprise.
"Yes, yes."
Surtur quickly nodded, "I remember you came to Muspelheim with Odin's son last time, right? If you really care about Asgard's gods, you should hurry and go see…"
Before Surtur could finish, Fang Mo suddenly interrupted.
"Shut up, you shameless old thief!"
"Wha..."
"Ragnarok hasn't been going on for ten days!"
Before Surtur could react, Fang Mo sternly cut him off again, "You bold fiend, how dare you lie to me. Watch as I deal with you!"
"I didn't…"
"Mighty Heavenly Dragon!!!"
While Surtur was still bewildered, Fang Mo suddenly roared, unleashing a vast gravitational field that forced Surtur's gigantic body to kneel. Then, he stepped forward, delivering a powerful punch engulfed in brilliant light to Surtur's face.
Accompanied by a deafening explosion.
The body of the fire giant was instantly pierced by a beam of light, exploding into a cloud of ashes.
In the next moment, Fang Mo extended his hand, making a grasping gesture towards the smoke and ashes.
The ring on his ring finger suddenly shone brightly, releasing an astonishing suction force that drew all the sparks, magma, and ashes into a massive vortex, which rapidly surged towards his palm.
As Surtur's flame crown twisted and was absorbed into Fang Mo's palm, everything finally calmed down.
"Ragnarok taking ten days?"
Clutching the craftsman's ring in his hand, Fang Mo couldn't help but roll his eyes, "I could wipe out Asgard in less than ten minutes…"
If Fang Mo hadn't seen the original movie, he might have believed it.
The plot of Thor: Ragnarok was surprisingly short. After the appearance of Hela, the goddess of death, she quickly overpowered Thor and then immediately went to Asgard to seize control, even recruiting a turncoat as a henchman.
And as for Thor, who fell to the Supreme Celestial's planet, he soon completed his jailbreak, stole a spaceship, and returned to Asgard to save the people.
Fang Mo wasn't quite sure exactly how many days had passed.
But if ten days had indeed gone by, then what needed to happen would have already occurred, and there was no use in rushing over.
So either Surtur was lying.
Or he was telling the truth, but due to the flow of time... or the issue with the Book of Ages, the time over there was stuck at Ragnarok. Unless Fang Mo went there himself, even if he wasted decades here, it would still be Ragnarok there.
Having figured this out.
Fang Mo naturally wouldn't keep Surtur around.
After all, he wanted to seal Surtur not because of Ragnarok, but because he wanted to use him as a power source.
"Hmm…"
After resealing Surtur, Fang Mo looked down at the ring on his hand.
It had the same characteristics as the Tinker' Construct weapons.
After sealing a creature, the appearance of the Tinker' Construct ring also changed.
Originally, the ring in Fang Mo's hand was a simple circular ring with a bean-sized metal bead inlaid on it. Though the craftsmanship was not coarse, it did give a very plain feeling.
But after sealing Surtur.
The ring underwent a dramatic transformation.
The entire ring seemed to melt, glowing red and hot, with flames continuously erupting from it.
When the ring cooled down again, it took on an obsidian-like charred appearance, covered in spiderweb-like cracks with orange-red magma faintly visible inside. The ring holder resembled the flame crown of Surtur in a delicate structure.
"Surprisingly, it looks quite good…"
Fang Mo was a bit surprised as he played with the ring. He had to admit that its appearance was indeed high.
After examining it for a while.
Fang Mo tried using Surtur's power.
He raised his right hand, and with a thought, a massive burst of flame shot out from his palm, transforming into a searing lava beam that instantly sliced through the ground ahead, leaving a dark red, steaming chasm.
"Wow, this ring is something."
Fang Mo glanced ahead and was quite satisfied, raising his eyebrows.
It seemed that the characteristics of the Ender Ingot didn't restrict the tools. Whether Surtur was sealed in a sword or a ring, his power was unrestricted and at full capacity.
This made things much more convenient.
Although Surtur's final place would be in Laevateinn.
However, Fang Mo had other 'batteries' besides the flame giant.
Like the Chakra sword sealing Kurama, and the Reiatsu sword sealing Aizen, Fang Mo didn't actually need to use swords to seal them.
After all, Fang Mo didn't use them for combat, he just stored them in his inventory, occasionally using their powers for spells or jutsu. With more weapons now, these batteries had become a burden.
To put it simply.
They were hindering Fang Mo from organizing his inventory.
During the last inventory clean-up, Fang Mo considered discarding some weapons.
But the battery swords couldn't be discarded due to the seals. However, the Tinker' Construct rings solved this problem for Fang Mo.
"An infinite Chakra ring... that would be amazing."
After a brief thought, Fang Mo was clearly tempted. He returned to the MC world with a thought, opened the Tinker' Construct manual, and planned to make more rings.
The previous ring was just a trial.
After all, it didn't even have the Unbreakable trait, and lacked loyalty and soul-binding enchantments.
Now things were different. With more mods unlocked, the materials in the Tinker' Construct manual were increasingly varied. Fang Mo had to carefully examine the materials to make a proper ring.
So he got to work.
Fang Mo first flipped through the Tinker' Construct manual.
Then he controlled Steve to run to the storage area, making several trips to fetch various ingots for testing.
Fang Mo planned to test all his ideas, and although he could wear up to twenty... well, twenty-one rings, he decided to make a hundred or so for thorough testing.
Rings consumed few materials, so testing them wasn't costly.
As mentioned before.
Fang Mo could multitask.
In the MC world, Steve handled most tasks, while Fang Mo himself couldn't interact with most items or blocks.
For example, he couldn't open GUI pages like the furnace.
Fang Mo could kick a furnace or crafting table, but he couldn't open the GUI.
Except for setups like the dark altar, which could be touched directly.
He could sleep in beds, soak in hot springs, and eat cakes normally.
Because of this, in the MC world, even if Fang Mo could multitask, he usually had Steve working while he wandered or planned.
This time was no different.
Steve was at the smelter pouring molten metal.
Meanwhile, Fang Mo wandered around and noticed Alex nearby.
Normally, as an industrial maniac, Alex would be tinkering with machines, right? But now she was at a wooden block, doing something with papers and leather.
Just as Fang Mo grew curious.
With a 'pop', a golden book fell in front of Alex.
"Hmm?"
Fang Mo recognized it as the Book of Ages. He was surprised because his own Book of Ages was in his bedroom chest.
Normally.
Alex wouldn't touch his stuff.
Fang Mo guessed she found this Book of Ages while exploring, and now, with her inventory full, she was crafting items and dropped it.
At this point.
Fang Mo was just curious about the book's information.
But in the next moment, Alex did something that shattered his understanding.
Alex kept hitting the strange machine, and with each 'pop', more golden books fell, until the ground around Alex was covered in Books of Ages.
"... What!?"