Just call me Thor

The monster outside the mist looked utterly bizarre.

Shadow Eleven thought it might be a new type of demon creature born in the Suture Abyss.

However, the monster's level seemed low, and they were far apart, so Shadow Eleven didn't attack immediately.

The monster, using its heads as a propeller, circled the area and then left.

Shadow Eleven woke Professor Gregory and told him about the monster, feeling uneasy.

"Professor Gregory, that monster was terrifying!"

Professor Gregory nodded slightly, "It is indeed strange."

"We can't assume that just because a bizarre monster appears, it means Thor is here. Otherwise, it will strengthen the illusions."

Professor Gregory emphasized, "The environment here essentially reads my memories to create illusions. The figures outside the mist are becoming more refined, increasingly close to reality."

Hearing this, Shadow Eleven hesitated.

He was curious about one thing.

Since the illusions read part of Professor Gregory's memories, why did the stone test work every time?

Logically, the illusions should have read enough about the stone.

The most recent illusion projection accurately described the stone's origin:

"This stone is from the beginner's instance, used to unlock a hidden instance. I once listed it at the Mystic Market for 1 million gold coins and finally sold it to Professor Gregory for 3,000 dollars."

When Shadow Eleven heard this, he was shocked!

The stone had such a significant background!

An item to unlock a hidden instance, brought out by Thor from the beginner's instance, bought by Professor Gregory with all his savings of 3,000 dollars.

Every piece of information was accurate and known to very few.

In his shock, Shadow Eleven almost believed it was really Thor on the other side!

But Professor Gregory firmly declared, "Fake!"

Shadow Eleven immediately struck, shattering the illusion projection.

Perhaps the demon god behind the illusions also didn't understand why it was still fake despite fully reading the memory.

Since then, there had been a brief respite.

Until the propeller dog appeared, breaking the peace.

"Careful, it's coming again!"

The propeller dog flew back, and a tall man approached the two rapidly.

Shadow Eleven immediately warned,

"Stay where you are, don't come any closer!"

From the other side of the mist, a voice with a hint of surprise called out, "Eleven?"

Shadow Eleven began the routine of exchanging codes.

The codes matched.

Shadow Eleven looked at Professor Gregory and took out the stone again.

"I'll throw the stone over. We'll know if it's real or fake!"

With that, Shadow Eleven threw the stone into the mist once more.

On the other side of the mist, Mike, hiding in Amari's shadow, listened to the conversation and thought, "It seems these two have encountered many illusions."

Illusions were troublesome because they required constant vigilance, and one slip could lead to being caught.

Even when encountering the real thing, extreme caution was necessary, with multiple confirmations.

Honestly, Shadow Eleven's persistence had exceeded Shadow Ten's expectations.

He and Thor had rushed here as quickly as possible.

The mist grew thicker, and the illusions stronger.

Several times, Shadow Ten almost fell for them.

Fortunately, the [Eye of Truth] provided timely warnings, allowing them to avoid danger from both illusions and hallucinations.

"A stone?"

Hearing the voice from the other side of the mist, Mike immediately thought of a stone.

The stone he had once sold to Professor Gregory!

Using this for verification was effective.

But... could it really last this long?

Mike's doubts were soon answered.

A stone flew out of the mist, landing in front of them.

A very familiar-looking stone, with every detail identical, even the wear marks were perfect.

Numerous prompts appeared before Mike's eyes:

[This is a replica]

[This stone originated from a long time ago in the beginner's instance, created by Hades. To simulate the beginner's instance environment, Apollo extracted the entire instance and placed it on Earth for Professor Gregory to study]

[The wear marks on the stone were recently added, perfectly replicating another stone 1:1]

As expected of the clever Professor Gregory!

Mike never imagined Gregory would carry a fake stone!

From the other side of the mist, Shadow Eleven urged, "Hurry up and answer me!"

His tone already carried a hint of distrust.

Shadow Ten remained silent, a faint yellow glow emanating from him, ready to withstand an attack.

At this critical moment, Mike's voice rang out.

"Fake!"

Shadow Eleven instinctively prepared to strike but suddenly realized something was off!

The voice just now wasn't from Professor Gregory!

Hearing the response from outside the mist, Professor Gregory's lips curled slightly. He nodded at Shadow Eleven and said,

"Real."

Only the real Thor could recognize the fake stone.

"Phew—"

Shadow Eleven let out a long breath but still didn't completely lower his guard,

"Come closer. What token did you bring?"

The figure outside the mist approached slowly, and the young voice spoke again.

"Token? Let me see."

"Thunderclap Hammer, Nightmare's Breeze, Shadow Sigil..."

Shadow Eleven was stunned.

The names casually mentioned were all legendary items. If a baby in diapers wielded the Thunderclap Hammer and claimed to be Thor, Shadow Eleven would believe it!

These items were too precious and highly representative.

The person said with frustration, "None of these seem to prove I'm Thor. Sigh, sometimes hiding my identity too well is a hassle."

"How about 3,000 dollars?"

With that, 30 bills appeared in the shadow, placed in a small bag tied to Cerberus's neck.

"Wait."

The person spoke again, "Your strength is too great. Approaching might threaten Professor Gregory."

Cerberus, hearing this, showed a look of resignation.

[Activating dog heads separation mode]

The weakest head, barely level 60, carried the 3,000 dollars and walked forward slowly.

Everyone was stunned, even Shadow Ten was speechless.

Thor always managed to come up with new tricks!

Professor Gregory chuckled, shaking his head.

He felt there was no need to verify the identity anymore.

The person on the other side was definitely Thor.

When the 3,000 dollars appeared in Shadow Eleven's hand, he carefully checked it and found no issues, then handed it to Professor Gregory.

"It's real."

These bills were Professor Gregory's first earnings from writing, cherished for years, with his name on each one, unmistakable.

"You can come over, but slowly!"

Following Shadow Eleven's instructions, they approached slowly.

When they were about sixteen feet apart, both sides took out a small black box.

"Identity verification complete!"

This time, Shadow Eleven fully believed their identity.

In the powerful mist of the Suture Abyss, he couldn't afford any carelessness!

Moreover, if it were an illusion, getting this close would already pose a threat to Professor Gregory, with no need for further disguise.

Seeing Shadow Ten alone, Shadow Eleven was puzzled.

"Amari, where's Thor?"

Shouldn't there be two people?

Why was Amari alone? Where was Thor?

Before Shadow Eleven could finish, a shadow emerged from Amari's feet, diving into the shadow beneath Professor Gregory.

A young voice sounded in Professor Gregory's ear.

"Shadow 8008, at your service."

"I promise never to slash the protector, never to hold a blade to the protector's neck, and never to activate the Irritable version!"

Interesting kid.

Hearing the voice from the shadow, Professor Gregory nodded slightly and said slowly,

"In Guardian Shadow, there's a rule that speaking to the protector without permission incurs a fine. At your rank, a word costs 2,500 gold coins."

[28 words, fine: 70,000 gold coins]

The Eye of Truth helpfully calculated the fine for Mike, adding salt to the wound.

Mike: ...

Guardian Shadow had such a rule?