Nine nights

Jormungandr's belly is hardly a pleasant environment; it's filled with deadly acids and poisons, and even the finest steel will melt like ice cream under the sun if it's exposed to just a little mist.

How long have we been walking?

"It's been about seven days. Even if Jormungandr really can circle around Northern Europe, we should have finished by now at our pace."

Bai Mo calculated the time. He couldn't contact Skadi here, and even Ophelia couldn't contact her Servant Sigurd. If he wanted to communicate, he could only try to forcefully summon her with Command Spell.

However, if that were the case, Ophelia wouldn't be able to escape using Command Spell. Servant and having Servant take her away are two separate commands. Considering that she is ultimately just an ordinary person, and that a final battle is likely to follow, she didn't use it.

Since the Command Spell were still intact, it proved that Sigurd was still safe and sound, and it also meant that Skadi had not encountered any major crisis. Therefore, Bai Mo and the others continued to move forward.

"The bellies of some magical beasts are often different from those of normal physiological beings. Some have internal connections or contain some kind of mystery, which may be the source of power or another dimension."

Jormungandr might also fall into this category, after all, it's a mythical creature capable of encircling the world.

Ophelia explained the relevant knowledge to Bai Mo and Ortlinde in great detail, from the potential crises arising from the myths about snakes to the various signs and possibilities of barriers.

It seems that although Bai Mo and the others are in Jormungandr's esophagus, they have essentially entered a kind of barrier.

Two more days passed, and a stone hill appeared before Bai Mo and the others. Coincidentally, it was nine days, the time Odin was hung upside down to demand the power of the runes. Stepping onto the top of the hill, Bai Mo and the others saw a dried-up spring and a skull.

"This thing can't be..."

"If this truly is the Well of Wisdom, then it can only be Mimir. After his head was cut off, was it returned to Odin? It's a kind of homecoming."

Just as Bai Mo walked around the head, the skull slowly turned its head, its empty eye sockets staring at Ophelia and Ortlinde.

"Finally here, it's been so slow! Do you know how long I've been waiting here? Every day! Every day I watch that damn Surtr, one minute he's roasting me like charcoal in a fire, the next he's freezing me like a rock sunk to the bottom of the sea!"

The bone opened its mouth, and despite having no vocal cords, its eerie voice echoed within Jormungandr's stomach.

The three stared at the head with somewhat strange looks, as it seemed to be endlessly muttering to itself:

"What's wrong? Is it a problem to say a few words to me? I've been staying here because of that Odin guy... Damn it, I gave up counting two hundred years ago."

"Very well, I respect your perseverance, Mimir. So the eye Odin left behind is indeed here, is it?"

Upon hearing Bai Mo's words, Mimir seemed to bristle, his skull head shaking violently as if a live fish had been thrown directly into a pot of boiling oil.

"Hold on, damn it, look at me, all I have left is my head, where can I go? Oh, I don't even have the True Magic to keep my head and flesh together anymore, all I have left is a damn skeleton binding my soul."

"Ophelia, could you just go and remove that eyeball?"

Bai Mo seemed unwilling to continue talking to this guy. After experiencing unimaginable years, this guy's mind was likely somewhat unstable. Although it was understandable, they really didn't have time to talk to this giant skeleton.

Who knows how long this guy's inner monologue will last?

"You're such an impatient young man."

Ignoring Mimir's grumbling, Ophelia went to the dried-up spring. She removed her eyepatch, and the Mystic Eyes of Postponement shone brightly. As time passed, Ophelia's brows furrowed, and as magic power continued to gather towards the Mystic Eyes, her pupils gradually became intensely hot.

Bai Mo slapped her shoulder, stopping her from continuing.

"I haven't finished reading it yet. The techniques below are very complex, but I can do it. Just give me a little more time."

You're already under pressure.

Bai Mo drew upon a portion of the surrounding life force to alleviate her condition, then turned to look at Mimir with a hint of helplessness. He crouched down and gazed at the head.

"Alright, guardian of wisdom and prophet, could you pick out the key points?"

"Ah, you young people, you don't listen to the elders, you only come to them for help when you're in trouble..."

"If you want to continue this conversation, first tell me about this place, and that you've seen the outside world. If everything disappears, your centuries-long wait will have been completely meaningless."

If we fail, Jormungandr might leave Northern Europe again, and this time, you'll be stuck inside it forever.

Upon hearing Bai Mo's words, Mimir, like an old man touched by something, muttered something like, "Odin is treacherous and cunning, and outsiders are cunning and treacherous."

But in the end, he sighed deeply.

"You've got it wrong. This isn't a limitation I imposed on you. Long before I was born, the rules governing this world already existed. Just like how crops grow when people work in the fields, or how flint, when struck, produces a flame."

If you want to take something from the Well of Wisdom, you must give something equal.

"It's already dried up, do we still want it to be like the Father God?"

Ortlinde looked rather unwell. Odin had been hanging upside down and bleeding for nine days, during which he saw the secrets of Runes, sacrificing one eye in exchange for the wisdom to understand fate.

"Originally, you had traversed this nine-day journey, enduring the acid and poison of Jormungandr, which could be considered as completing the first half. But judging from your appearance, you were completely protected by this outsider, and you are all unharmed."

Odin gave up his eyes, and the Well of Wisdom accepted them. So, to take them away is also a transaction with wisdom. And they might not have dried up; the eyeballs are still at the bottom of the well, perhaps still containing a Well of Wisdom?

Upon hearing Mimir's words, both Ortlinde and Ophelia lowered their heads in unison. But Bai Mo revealed a disapproving look, tapping Mimir's skull, which made Mimir try to bite the damned finger.

"Don't be ridiculous. One Valkyrie, the other a human, yet they have to undergo the same trials as Odin? Without protection, they would never have been able to reach this point on their journey through the heavens."

"Every living being gains wisdom through repeated suffering. Strength is rooted in blood and sweat, while wisdom is born from time."