Chapter 118: Thor’s Hammer

“Did a hammer just fall from the sky?”

After a long moment, Richard and Su Yan came to their senses and looked uncertainly at Gu Zhongyan.

Hearing this, Gu Zhongyan also snapped back to reality. Without a word, he got out of the vehicle and walked into the still-steaming meteorite crater.

The enormous crater made Mjolnir, which was barely a foot across, look especially tiny. Yet Gu Zhongyan could sense an immense magical power radiating from it.

After all, it was a renowned artifact of Asgard, forged from materials of the highest quality. In terms of quality, Mjolnir was far superior to the Yuan Yi Staff.

After studying it for a moment, Gu Zhongyan walked over, grasped Mjolnir by the handle, and pulled with all his strength.

As expected, Mjolnir seemed to have taken root in the earth. Despite exerting himself to the utmost, Gu Zhongyan could not make it budge even slightly.

This did not surprise him. The criteria by which Mjolnir recognized its wielders had always been rather vague. They probably involved noble character, perhaps sufficient courage, love in one’s heart, a willingness to sacrifice oneself for the greater good, and so on. It was impossible to say for certain.

After all, far too many people had lifted Mjolnir in the comics. Aside from those who had done so through sheer strength, those deemed worthy included the universally known Captain America and Vision, as well as Black Widow, Black Panther, Storm, Rogue, Spider-Man, Groot, and even Loki from a certain alternate universe.

In the crossover comics published by Marvel and DC, Superman and Wonder Woman had both lifted it as well.

So many people had managed it that defining the standard was nearly impossible.

Gu Zhongyan knew himself well. He could barely be considered a good person. Noble virtue and moral excellence were not qualities that suited him particularly well, so it was perfectly normal for Mjolnir not to recognize him.

There might also have been another reason.

Whether Mjolnir recognized someone likely involved the realm of mental magic. As a transmigrator, Gu Zhongyan maintained mental defenses almost constantly.

Even in the Harry Potter world, his excessive caution had nearly prevented the Sorting Hat from assigning him to a house, almost convincing Professor McGonagall that the hat was broken.

Only after he slightly opened a gap in his defenses was he barely sorted into Hufflepuff.

If his defenses had been that strong in the Harry Potter world, they would be even stronger in this world, where mind control was easier than drinking water.

His inability to lift Mjolnir might simply have been because the hammer could not detect his mind in the first place, much less recognize him as worthy.

Gu Zhongyan was not surprised. Richard and Su Yan, who had followed him out of the vehicle, were utterly dumbfounded.

As his companions, they knew Gu Zhongyan’s strength better than anyone. Though he appeared to be a wizard, his physical power was astonishing as well.

Lifting one or two tons with ease was no trouble for him at all.

And yet now, he could not even lift a hammer.

“Brother Gu, are you all right?” Su Yan asked anxiously.

Richard said nothing, but the concern on his face was unmistakable.

Gu Zhongyan saw their thoughts at a glance. He could not help laughing as he released Mjolnir and shook his head.

“Don’t misunderstand. There’s nothing wrong with me. The problem lies with this hammer.”

“This isn’t an ordinary hammer. It’s Mjolnir, the hammer of Thor from Norse mythology. The All-Father Odin placed magic upon it, and only someone recognized by Mjolnir can lift it.”

“Whoever lifts Mjolnir will also automatically gain the power of Thor. Clearly, I’m not qualified. Do you two want to give it a try?”

Mjolnir? Thor? Odin, the All-Father?

The two men were both stunned by Gu Zhongyan’s words.

Fortunately, during their journey they had encountered wizards, demons, and aliens alike. The appearance of a few gods was not entirely beyond their ability to accept.

If the demon lord Mephisto existed, then why could Thor and Odin not exist as well?

The only thing that puzzled them was how Gu Zhongyan knew so much. It seemed there was nothing in this world he did not know.

Carrying their doubts with them, the two walked up to Mjolnir. Apart from its exquisite patterns, it looked completely unremarkable.

“Brother Gu, is this really Mjolnir? It doesn’t look special at all,” Su Yan asked despite himself.

As an artifact, should it not have been gleaming with golden light and radiating brilliance? How could it look so ordinary?

Gu Zhongyan nodded.

“It’s the real thing. Are the two of you going to try or not?”

“Of course we are. It’s an artifact. How many chances does a person get in a lifetime to see one?” Richard said hurriedly.

He then drew a deep breath, activated his Nova uniform, seized the handle, and pulled upward with all his might.

Unfortunately, even with the Nova uniform engaged, Mjolnir remained firmly in place, without the slightest movement.

After trying two or three times, Richard finally shook his head and gave up.

“No, no, I can’t lift it at all. It’s as if it’s grown out of the ground. This thing really is extraordinary.”

Richard’s words came from the heart. With the Nova uniform, his strength was measured in tons.

When exerting himself fully, he could even tear steel apart.

Yet whether it was the leather loop or the wooden handle, neither showed the slightest mark beneath his powerful grip. That alone demonstrated how extraordinary the hammer was.

After Richard gave up, Su Yan tried as well, but the result was identical. Mjolnir did not react in the slightest.

In the end, Su Yan could only abandon the attempt and instinctively turned to Gu Zhongyan.

“Brother Gu, you said this is Mjolnir. So how did it end up here? Did Thor lose it by accident?”

“Perhaps.”

Gu Zhongyan smiled ambiguously.

Naturally, he knew exactly what had happened, having seen the story before. It was simply inconvenient to explain that someone’s father had arranged a trial for his son, while Earth had merely been chosen as the stage.

In the film, Thor had lost his divine power, Odin had fallen into slumber, and Asgard had fallen into Loki’s hands. It seemed to be facing its darkest hour.

But a closer look revealed that all of it had been nothing more than the old man’s elaborate scheme.

Otherwise, why would Odin have fallen asleep neither earlier nor later, but precisely after exiling Thor—only to awaken the instant Thor awakened?

Thor was supposedly an ordinary mortal after losing his divine power. Yet when the Destroyer armor was beating him to the brink of death, the hammer immediately flew to him of its own accord.

One moment he had been on the verge of death; the next, he had revived in perfect condition, fully armed, and dispatched the Destroyer armor in a few blows.

No wonder Loki had felt so resentful. Before learning the truth, Odin’s favoritism had been so blatant that anyone would have found it unbearable.