Just as Adrian was considering how to inform Ancient One that he had returned to Midgard, a familiar voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
It was the system he had obtained after transmigrating.
Whenever Adrian came into contact with a significant figure in the universe, the system would automatically generate a mission tied to that person.
If he chose not to complete the mission, he could simply ignore it.
After one month, the task would refresh and be replaced with a new one.
Ever since Odin had sealed him in this prison realm, the system's missions had gradually changed.
At first, they had been straightforward.
Break the seal.
Kill Hela.
But as time passed and circumstances evolved, the missions shifted.
Enslave Hela.
Defeat Hela.
And eventually—
Make Hela feel happy.
After countless battles within the sealed realm, that absurd mission had finally been completed.
A notification appeared before Adrian.
A new reward had been issued.
"…Jeffries?"
Adrian frowned slightly.
"Surely it's not that thing."
He opened the system's storage space and retrieved the newly acquired item.
A magic lamp.
The Amazing Jeffries
Effect: Consumes second-tier magical energy to rub the lamp and summon the lamp spirit, who will attempt to grant one wish.
Cooldown: One month
Adrian stared at the object in silence.
"Maybe…"
"…we won't have to wait for that person anymore."
"What's that?"
Hela walked over with her hands on her hips.
The Hela, Goddess of Death, leaned slightly closer, examining the strange artifact with curiosity.
"A wishing device," Adrian said.
He held up the lamp.
"Do you know magic? If this works, it might help us escape this seal."
Hela frowned faintly as she took the lamp from him.
"What do you want me to do?"
"Rub it."
"Channel your magic into it and activate the lamp."
"Then make a wish for us to leave this place."
Hela studied the object again.
"Do you really believe something like this can break Odin's seal?"
As the first prisoner of this realm, she had tried countless methods to escape.
None had succeeded.
Could this seemingly ordinary artifact truly accomplish what even her divine power could not?
Still—
She rubbed the lamp.
A faint pulse of magic was drawn from her body.
A moment later, a wisp of blue smoke drifted out of the lamp.
The smoke gathered and gradually formed a humanoid shape floating in the air.
"I will try my best to fulfill your wish."
The lamp spirit spoke in a flat, mechanical tone.
Hela did not immediately make a wish.
Instead, she glanced at Adrian.
"How many times can this thing be used?"
"Once a month."
"What do you want to do?"
"Nothing."
A small smile appeared on Hela's lips.
Then she turned toward the lamp spirit.
"Then grant me this wish."
"Let me get out of this hellhole."
Without hesitation—
Hela made a wish to escape alone.
"I will try my best to fulfill your wish."
The lamp spirit snapped its fingers.
Hela disappeared instantly.
Then the spirit itself dissolved into smoke and returned to the lamp, which dropped to the ground with a dull clatter.
"Hela… really left?"
Adrian stepped forward and picked up the magic lamp.
He looked around the sealed space in confusion.
He did not feel particularly upset about Hela leaving alone.
If the wish had truly succeeded, he would only need to wait another month.
But if it failed—
Or if something unexpected happened—
"Then you'll just have to pray for yourself."
Adrian sat down and began waiting quietly.
Fortunately, before leaving, Hela had withdrawn the deathly darkness she had once filled the realm with.
Now the sealed space resembled an empty plain beneath an open sky.
At the very least, Adrian could watch the sunrise and sunset and measure the passing of time.
After carving two tally marks into the ground—
He suddenly heard a sound.
Inside a completely isolated prison realm, even the slightest noise became deafening.
THUMP!
Before Adrian could react, a black figure crashed heavily onto the ground in front of him.
"So…"
"You didn't make it out after all?"
Adrian stepped back and looked at the crater before him.
Inside it lay Hela.
At the same time, he quietly slipped the magic lamp back into his system storage.
Just in case she decided to destroy it out of anger.
"Thank you," Hela said coldly, pushing herself upright.
"For allowing me to experience what it feels like to be sealed away again."
Her long black hair spilled across the ground as she coughed out a puff of black mist.
"I think you might have chosen the wrong words."
Adrian sat casually on the edge of the crater.
"What do you mean?"
Hela frowned.
"What exactly did I say?"
"You said: 'Let me get out of this hellhole.'"
Adrian spoke with absolute seriousness.
"And technically…"
"You did leave."
"So the wish was fulfilled."
Hela stared at him silently.
"How long until the next attempt?"
She climbed out of the crater and asked coldly.
"Soon."
"When I carve six tally marks, it'll be ready again."
Adrian pointed toward the marks scratched into the soil nearby.
Twenty days later—
Hela once again took the magic lamp from Adrian.
She rubbed it.
Magic flowed into the lamp.
Blue smoke rose once more.
The lamp spirit appeared again.
"I will try my best to fulfill your wish."
"Let me leave this seal."
The moment Hela finished speaking—
She vanished again.
"I don't know if this will work."
Adrian walked forward and picked up the lamp.
But by now, he had already lost most of his confidence.
This genie named Jeffries might be mentally challenged.