Investment

"You should know better than to be surprised by now, Leon. After all, you are dealing with gods, and by three lives, thats the number of permits you got for resurrecting your body from the ashes, once its gone after that, you'll permanently have to roam as a ghost." Loki added with a smirk playing at the corners of his lips.

"Still...three lives. It's hard to wrap my head around," Leon muttered as he gazed at his own body in disbelief.

"We're not entirely convinced of your ability to defeat the gods yet, so I personally engraved runes on your body that will unlock some of the divine energy that Hel and I have stored within you, depending on how you complete the trials we give you," Loki explained as his body began to radiate a bright greenish light.

"Hey, Loki! What's happening to you?!" Leon exclaimed in panic as he watched Loki's body start to disintegrate into green and gold particles, starting from his toes.

"I told you, I sealed most of my divine energy within you. Now pay attention," Loki snapped, and Leon's body was suddenly clad in military attire.

"Don't disappoint me, Leon Silvius. If you do, we'll both be in trouble." Loki chuckled before disappearing completely into particles of gold and green.

.....

"But this damn god didn't even tell me what my task was!" Leon shouted in frustration before settling into his own body.

...

"Ugh...I-...!" Leon heard his own voice after a day of wandering as a ghost. "I'm back..." He slowly stood up, but something felt different. Possessing two other bodies had left him feeling like a stranger in his own skin. He looked down and saw that his body was different.

He definitely didn't have an eight-pack before and, looking further down, he realized that certain parts of his anatomy had grown as well.

The tattoos on his arm began to glow a faint green color and he heard Loki's voice in his head.

"If you're hearing this, it means I've run you through the basic conditions that Hel and I set while reviving your body. I'm sure you've noticed the upgrades I made while bringing you back to life. I've increased your muscles and joints to keep up with your developing talents, and I've also added a few inches down there. You can thank me later," Loki said in a haughty tone, leaving Leon's face flushing red as he imagined the god smirking and giving him a thumbs up.

"Anyways, things to know about your body," Loki began,

"One - you can still go into your astral form, but this time you will be anchored to this body. You can possess people, but no more than one hour. The same rules apply as before. If you exceed one hour, the connection between the anchors will break, and you'll end up dying again and needing to do the rebirth ritual once more, losing one of your three lives."

"Second, you have two rune magic skills that you can access right now," Loki continued, his words igniting a spark of excitement in Leon.

Leon was a firm believer in science and when he first became a ghost and all the supernatural things happening around him, he still doubted himself all the time.

Now that he is back in his body and hearing those words, the child in him woke up.

'I am going to do magic! LET'S GO!!!' He celebrated in his head while Loki's message continues to explain.

"The first one is Deception, which will create an Illusion in front of anything," Loki explained with a sly grin. "I gave this ability first purely for your benefit and survival. I'm highly confident that my divine energy will make you smarter to make the right choices."

"The second one is from Hel," Loki continued, his tone becoming more serious. "It's a teleportation magic that lets you teleport to specific points where you draw this rune," he said, showing Leon the symbol of the rune in his head.

ᚱ

"You can use it almost four times a day, but I have to keep it on the safety measure so that you don't end up in interdimensional space all shredded salami where even resurrection becomes impossible. So it's best that you heed my words on this one partner."

"There is a paper in your clothes stating your tasks, Get it done in the next three months, and hopefully we'll meet again with you being successful. SEE YA!" And with that, the message ended, leaving Leon with a sense of determination and excitement as he set out to complete his tasks and unlock the full potential of his newfound abilities.

He then takes out the paper from his pocket and unwraps it open and reads the contents.

'You gotta be joking…' his eyebrow twitches as he continues to read the contents.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the young man stepped out of the car, the gates of the Silvius manor creaked open, welcoming him back to the grand estate at the ungodly hour of 3:00 in the morning. Brian, the butler of the household, greeted him with a warm smile as the servants rushed to take his luggage from his shoulders.

Towering at an impressive 6 foot 5 inches, the 24-year-old man cut a striking figure, his chiselled jawline smooth and bare, his military stripes pinned to his arms, a testament to his service.

"Welcome back, Young Master James," Brian greeted him, opening the door to the grand manor.

"It's good to be back, Brian," James replied, a hint of frustration creeping into his voice. "But it would've been better if I had come back on the weekends, rather than this sudden summons. Where is Father?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Deep within the cavernous abyss, a god writhes in agony as a serpent relentlessly drips its venomous poison onto his face. Despite the intense pain, a glimmer of hope flickers in his mind as he recalls his conversation with Hel.

"If what Hel said was true...then this would be the best decision I've made in my entire damn lifetime," he thinks to himself, a hint of amusement creeping into his thoughts. "Just thinking about it is hilarious enough to numb this pain!"

His memories flood back to the moment when he was bargaining with Hel when a corpse suddenly appeared in the middle of their discussion. "There it is! I told you! This boy is capable, trust me in this daughter," Loki had implored, trying to convince Hel to revive the boy's dead body.

Initially, Hel had been skeptical, but she eventually relented and decided to take a closer look at the boy. As she spoke ancient Norse words, Loki had fallen to the ground in laughter. In the end, Hel agreed to invest in the boy, but with a harsh condition - if Leon failed, Hel would claim 80% of Loki's divine energy for the next millennium.

"Don't fail me, boy,"