Despite the decline in worship of the Norse gods, Norse mythology still holds significant cultural value in the Nordic region, especially in literature, art, and tourism.
Additionally, some new pagan movements still hold influence, though their number of followers is relatively small.
Overall, while Norse mythology is no longer a mainstream religion, it continues to play an important role in culture, art, and tourism, and some people still privately believe in it.
With this in mind, Syd shifted his focus away from the prayers and turned his attention to the power of belief.
Feeling the belief power surrounding him, trying to seep into his body, Syd furrowed his brows slightly.
He knew that if he absorbed this so-called belief power, his strength might increase again, and there might even be another source to replenish his light energy.
However, Syd had a nagging feeling that this wouldn't be such a simple boon.
Was this power born from ordinary people's desires, distractions, and prayers really so easy to absorb? The keen perception brought by the Chaos Magic made him vaguely sense something amiss or unusual about this belief power.
It felt like absorbing it might cause problems with his spirit and mind.
Moreover, many rumors suggested that belief power wasn't perfect—it was a mix of good and bad...
After some thought, Syd decided to set aside the belief power for now and deal with it later.
"Maybe when Bader's unlock progress reaches 100%, there will be a way to address the drawbacks of belief power, or an ability to handle it?"
Syd wondered with curiosity.
In addition, he felt that the belief power gathered was very limited, and even if he absorbed it, the effect wouldn't be significant.
"Seems like, although there are still believers, they are just casual followers, a sort of superficial belief..."
It was likely that the small amount of belief power he had was related to Thor's recent appearance and his rescue of many people.
He probably benefited from Thor's influence...
With this thought, Syd stopped contemplating the belief power and focused on the Divine Essence.
[Ability: Divine Essence (0/100) Level 1]
"How do I level up this ability?"
Syd felt confused.
Instinctively, he tried channeling the Light Divine Power within him.
[Light Divine Power Experience +1]
[Divine Body Experience +1]
Unfortunately, while he received prompts, there was no prompt for an increase in Divine Essence experience.
Syd's expression changed slightly as he considered a possibility.
"Could it be that leveling up Divine Essence requires belief power?"
He twitched his mouth, sensing trouble.
After thinking for a while, Syd hesitated but eventually decided to try absorbing a small amount of belief power to see what happened.
After all, it would be frustrating to let an all-encompassing enhancement ability like Divine Essence stagnate.
The next moment, he attempted to channel the surrounding belief power into himself.
The moment the belief power entered his body, it was quickly absorbed and transformed by the mysterious Divine Essence into nourishment to enhance himself.
[Divine Essence Experience +1]
Hearing the prompt, Syd's expression confirmed his suspicion.
Divine Essence indeed required belief power for its enhancement!
"This is troublesome..."
Although he had only absorbed a small amount of belief power, he keenly sensed a slight abnormality in his spirit and mind.
Although this minor impact was negligible due to the Chaos Magic, it could accumulate over time and subtly affect him if absorbed in large quantities for an extended period.
Just then, Syd noticed something and instinctively looked at the Mind Scepter in his hand.
Pollution of the spirit and mind...
The Mind Gem in the Mind Scepter...
Syd's eyes lit up. "Let's give it a try!"
The next second, he grasped the Mind Scepter and linked his mind with it.
Then, he cautiously absorbed the belief power while using the Mind Scepter to filter out any negative mental and spiritual effects from the belief power.
The gem on the Mind Scepter emitted a white-blue glow.
[Divine Essence Experience +1]
In an instant, Syd felt a significant difference.
With the Mind Scepter acting as a filter, the original belief power seemed to be purified, transforming from polluted water into clean, refreshing water.
With the sharp perception of Chaos Magic, Syd clearly sensed that all the negative mental and spiritual effects of the belief power had vanished!
"Truly remarkable, the Infinity Stones..."
Syd couldn't help but marvel.
At the same time, he felt quite pleased, and he continued to absorb the entire belief power without mental obstacles.
[Divine Essence Experience +1]
[Divine Essence Experience +1]
...
In no time, the belief power around him was completely absorbed.
Even the prompt appeared!
[Ability: Divine Essence (478/500) Level 2]
In just a moment, Syd felt that his defenses, both mental and physical, as well as the strength of his Light Divine Power and other abilities like floating and flying, had improved.
He went to the previously tested location and conducted a quick test.
Boom!
A sonic boom erupted.
After the test, Syd was surprised to find that his speed had increased from Mach 4 to Mach 4.5! This was only at Level 2, which was the least noticeable level of enhancement...
Looking at the Divine Essence that had quickly reached Level 2, Syd felt a thrill of improvement.
With enough belief power, this could potentially reach Level 5 in an instant!
Faster than floating or flying and the Divine Word's upgrades!
Only...
"The belief power is a bit scarce..."
Feeling the belief power dissipating and the small amounts still gathering, Syd couldn't help but grimace.
At this rate, reaching Level 5 with Divine Essence would take an eternity.
Although a bit exasperated, he didn't rush.
With the divine status of the White-Clad Hero nearly exposed, people would eventually turn to him in desperation, adding to his belief power.
Even rescuing mutants or helping Magneto and others would yield some belief power.
Glancing at the remaining just over 3,000 energy points, Syd couldn't resist and directly allocated them to the unlock progress.
[Energy Points: 0]
[Unlock Progress: 71%]
Syd shook his head.
Reaching 75% or 80% seemed like it would take forever.
"I wonder what the next awakened ability will be?"
Syd's eyes gleamed with anticipation.
The abilities unlocked later were clearly stronger and more unique...
Once he reached 100%, there would surely be unprecedented changes!
With these thoughts in mind, Syd temporarily ignored the energy points issue and focused on improving the Divine Word and other abilities, aiming to elevate Light Divine Power and others to Level 5 for a transformative change.
As for the prayers echoing around...
(End of Chapter)