[Capture Mode Activated.]
In Bant's eyes, the surface of the Little Broken Watch was covered top and bottom by black areas, leaving only a small section in the middle glowing yellow.
The method of recording genes was simple. As long as the genetic material touched the watch, it would be automatically logged.
However, before fully uploading the data, the watch would analyze the gene first and determine whether it belonged to a sapient species, or whether it was the same species as the wearer. If it was, the watch would automatically delete the sample.
That was why Bant couldn't extract abilities from the radioactive spider or from Peter back then.
He first took out Thor's hair.
This was something he'd secretly cut off Thor with his claws while transformed into Ghostfreak.
About half a minute later, the watch made another prompt sound.
[Uploading data… Error. Unable to locate Planet Primus. Data will be retained on the terminal device.]
Bant froze at first. He thought something was wrong with the watch and it couldn't record the data anymore. Only after a moment did he realize the truth.
It couldn't connect to the cloud.
The Little Broken Watch right now was basically a computer with no internet. It couldn't store data online, so it could only save locally.
For Bant, that wasn't a big problem.
As long as Capture Mode still worked, that was enough, he thought.
Then he heard a crisp chime. The watch turned green. In the instant the patterns shifted, two black silhouettes appeared side by side.
"Hm, two?" Bant paused again.
He was sure he had only inserted Thor's hair, so he couldn't understand why the watch identified two different genetic sources.
"Don't tell me Thor isn't a pure-blood Asgardian?"
Bant hadn't really read the comics, so he genuinely didn't know that in some settings, Thor wasn't actually Queen Frigga's biological son.
In certain origin stories, he was the child of Odin and the Earth Mother, Gaia, only raised by Frigga.
Two different sources of power converged, giving Thor potential far beyond other Asgardians.
Bant, completely unaware, was already wondering whether Odin had cheated, or whether Frigga had been unfaithful.
If it was the former, then Frigga was truly miserable. She was the queen, yet both princes of Asgard weren't even of her blood…
But no matter what, for Bant, this was an unexpected bonus.
"These two silhouettes look pretty similar. No idea which one is the Asgardian gene."
He rotated the dial and picked one at random, planning to transform first and ask questions later.
The Omnitrix could let the wearer learn certain secrets and abilities of the species they transformed into, so there was no need to overthink it. Just try.
"Let's start with this one."
He pressed down on the dial. A green light flashed, and a powerful force erupted from his body.
He clearly felt his physique being strengthened. His originally lean, solid build swelled in an instant, becoming powerfully muscled like Popeye after spinach.
At this moment, the muscles on his body looked like a masterpiece carved by an artist.
At the same time, silvery armor spread across him like fish scales, following the lines of his muscles.
Particle energy from outer space became crystal-clear in his vision. Bant felt that divine power, took a small breath, and steadied his mind.
In the next second, the sand under his feet scattered outward as if brushed by a breeze. Then his feet left the ground entirely, and he floated into the air.
He could fly.
No need to even think about it. This gene definitely came from the Asgardians.
That also explained why, aside from becoming stronger and changing outfits, Bant's appearance didn't change much at all.
Because Asgardians were humanoid to begin with.
Bant drew a deep breath. The world in his eyes had already changed into something else.
"So this is a cosmic god!"
He tilted his head up, savoring that divine power. Nourished by it, he felt unbelievably strong.
A cosmic god possessed the abilities of a standard Asgardian, and also had the power of flight and the ability to control cosmic energy.
As for "cosmic energy," it was naturally divine power.
"I didn't expect the power to be this strong," he said, pleasantly surprised.
It wasn't that Bant thought Asgardian genes were weak. It was that Asgardian divine power had a lot to do with age.
Someone like Thor was over a thousand years old before reaching his current strength.
But Bant was only in his teens.
"The aliens I transform into probably have their ages calculated according to the wearer's species age ratio," he thought, arriving at a reasonable explanation.
In other words, in Asgardian terms, he was probably around the age of a teenager too, meaning he should be in the stage where divine power grew rapidly.
And considering the Little Broken Watch optimized genes into the healthiest possible state, just like how Bant's Four Arms could defeat Princess Looma, the strongest female warrior among the Tetramands.
Right now, Bant's strength likely surpassed most Asgardian warriors. It might even be possible for him to fight peak Thor.
Of course, without the support of divine artifacts and a divine office, he might still be at a disadvantage.
"Cosmic God is already this strong. I wonder what the other gene is."
With that thought, Bant lifted a finger and tapped the Little Broken Watch on his chest, then pressed it again.
This time, the armor on his body vanished. In its place appeared a white robe in an ancient Greek style.
His face still didn't change much, just like in Cosmic God form.
Bant still didn't know what this race was called, but he knew exactly what kind of power he held right now.
He opened his hand. Ancient elemental power flowed through his palm. Even the breath he exhaled felt like the breath of life.
Bant had a strange feeling. As long as he remained on Earth, this power would keep surging out endlessly.
Just like how Hela could draw endless power as long as she was on Asgard.
If the hero he had just transformed into could be called a Cosmic God, then what he was now could be called an Earth God.
"Earth God… that name doesn't sound very good." Bant shook his head and came up with another name.
"Let's call it… Old God."
At the same time, he sensed a power being nurtured that went beyond his understanding.
It was the might of life evolving over billions of years, conquering nature itself.
Bant named it:
Ultimate Evolution!
/-\
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