Chapter 105: The Great Source! Ian’s Magic! [11k]
The night in Gotham is always so deep.
Batman is the eternal language of this city. Ian, on the other end of the phone, listened to the howls of the Gotham freaks and couldn’t help but frown, speaking softly to Batman.
“Is this Gotham-style Father-Son Time? You Gotham people are truly strange.” His Super Hearing had already detected the unusual nature of the chaotic background noise on the other end of the phone.
This might also be related to the excellent sound quality restoration of the phone Batman sent him.
“Hm?” Batman didn’t stop his actions, but his voice still came through the phone, “Can the help you’ve received still allow you to monitor me via the phone’s direction?”
What a suspicious Gotham freak.
Ian heard the sound of Batman disassembling the phone for inspection.
“I’m simply using my Super Hearing to distinguish. Even if I don’t fight people often, I can tell the difference between fighting with two hands and fighting with four.”
Ian believed Batman wouldn’t grow four hands overnight. After all, Batman wasn’t a Pokemon; he wouldn’t evolve into a Gotham brute force just by drinking more of Gotham’s toxic water.
“…”
There was no response from the other end of the phone, only more intense fighting sounds. Ian could even imagine Batman striking mercilessly, while a child nearby followed suit.
The most authentic underworld in Gotham probably needs to start grooming from childhood.
“There aren’t many people who can help you, and I will find out who it is.” Batman seemed to be tired from fighting and took a break, pinching the phone and making an “Assurance” to Ian in his deep voice.
“I don’t think you will.”
Ian was being honest.
But Batman had never really liked his honesty.
“We’ll see.”
After Batman confidently said this, he immediately hung up the phone with Ian—only to find he couldn’t hang up, and he fell into another moment of panting silence.
People who use too much technology breathe like this.
Ian was not surprised.
And Batman seemed to have no choice but to vent his anger on the villain who thought the “game” was over.
We still don’t know who this unfortunate villain is.
“Liars, all liars! The sky clearly doesn’t rain cherry blossoms when you’re angry!”
“The Joker wronged me!”
…
Before Batman removed the battery and crushed the phone, Ian could only hear this villain, who refused to reveal his name, crying out to Batman in a voice like a shattered dream.
So that’s how it is.
“I said Gotham people don’t make a sound when they’re beaten, but it turns out crying is just because dreams are shattered.” Ian suddenly understood, regaining his stereotype of Gotham.
“It was clearly the petals of Iris flowers falling, showing they didn’t even read my book carefully. Such fans are simply inferior fans.” Ian put away the magical black box that the New Teacher Tony had given him.
Moonlight from outside the window poured in through the gap in the curtains.
It drew a silver line on the floor.
He stared at the light line for a while, not continuing to rush his manuscript. After all, he had already obtained his ability, so he naturally became a bit slack, just like some online writers who disappear for a day or two after receiving their manuscript fees.
Of course.
Ian was not that kind of vulgar author.
However, a little laziness was a professional destiny he couldn’t escape.
“Speaking of professions, I remember I should have another new profession that hasn’t been unlocked.” Ian pressed an alcohol bottle, squeezing out some disinfectant to wipe his hands and face.
This was to avoid bad luck and encountering tricky job transfer conditions.
From today onwards.
He decided to give a little trust to metaphysics. Of course, he would also believe in science, so there was no ritualistic bath; wiping his entire body with alcohol was far more pure than bathing and changing.
After doing all this.
Ian then used a fire… well, not really a fire. He simply opened his Personal Panel and switched to the profession selection interface.
【 New Profession Unlocked 】
【 Current Selectable Professions: 1 】
【 Entropy Lord: When the cape lifts the folds of space-time, and the scepter shatters the dimensional barrier, the entire world will, in the elegy of entropy, become a footnote to its power. 】
The single, locked icon kept flashing. The profession name “Entropy Lord” was very eye-catching, and the profession descriptions provided by the system always seemed so inspiring.
“Actually, such descriptions are not as good as setting a grand goal, which is to make Galactus an pirated version of Ian.” Ian attempted to persuade his system to change the profession description.
In that way.
By the time Superman was called a pirated version of Ian.
He could just blame everything on the system.
The plan was good.
But unfortunately, the system didn’t fall for it.
It maintained its usual cool attitude, responding to none of Ian’s words.
“Boring.”
Ian sighed, selected the “Entropy Lord” option, and bound the profession. Like “Savage Tyrant,” it didn’t set any third profession entry thresholds for Ian.
All that was required was an on-the-spot job transfer mission. As Ian confirmed, lines of text instantly appeared, exceptionally clear in his private field of vision.
【 Job Transfer Condition: Maintain a Hunger State for 48 hours, then consume the metal minerals of any planet. 】
These job transfer conditions seemed somewhat harsh, and in fact, they were quite harsh. Metal minerals were okay, as Earth was likely one of those planets.
However, the forty-eight hours of starvation were definitely the most troublesome job transfer mission Ian had ever encountered. He could already feel the deep malice from planet-starvers.
“The bad news has been seen, so the good news…” Ian looked at the countdown in the lower-left corner of his vision. The countdown, 【43:32】, was clearly the good news.
The law of conservation of luck was as true as ever.
The time he spent in the Marvel Universe would also be calculated into this hunger countdown. Of course, even so, Ian, who was always greedy, felt that this agony was definitely the greatest challenge he had ever faced in his life.
“It’s practically trying to starve you, Master Ian.” Ian would occasionally try to converse with the system, not out of loneliness, but because he was committed to mentally manipulating his system.
And.
He also had many speculations about this system.
“You must have been in the Pangu car system that the Great Fortune Heavenly Venerable, who I bumped into, was using!” The probe received no response. Ian, who was about to go to the kitchen to eat something, could only lie back on his bed.
“Abyss Magic Bucket, it’s your turn to play Abyss Speaker…” Ian was a little unable to sleep, so he asked the Demon Head to sing him a lullaby, but this darn thing sang even worse than he did with its hoarse voice.
“Ah~ ah~ ah~”
The Demon Head began to sing with all its heart.
“Baby~ break~ my dearest~ little sacrifice~~~”
It started to wail with a voice comparable to a rusty door hinge.
“Damn it! I wanted a lullaby!” Ian didn’t dare to use his sock to cover the Demon Head’s mouth, as the Demon Head, which had awakened certain strange attributes, might mistake it for a reward.
“That’s how lullabies in Hell sound.”
After hearing Ian’s reprimand, the Demon Head’s wrinkled Minotaur face was completely filled with grievances. It was hard to imagine that a minotaur grew up listening to such things.
“Shut up, shut up.”
Ian didn’t dare to listen any further.
And at this moment.
“Rock-a-bye baby, on the treetop~”
Outside the window.
Hellcat’s car music suddenly sounded, a classic American traditional lullaby 《Rock-A-Bye Baby】. She had perhaps been secretly listening to the sounds in Ian’s room.
The sound quality was excellent.
Comparable to a vinyl record.
The bickering between demons was this simple and unpretentious.
“Now that’s more like it.”
Ian didn’t blame Hellcat for eavesdropping. He had a lot of empathy and knew how difficult it was for hardworking simps. He had never been a simp himself, but he had several simps at school.
At least Hellcat didn’t want to sleep with him, so he was willing to empathize.
“Great God Ian, I have felt your Divine Power. It must grant me perfect singing ability.” The Demon Head clearly couldn’t bear to have its spotlight stolen.
It wanted to get a second chance.
And Ian’s Boon.
“Oh?”
Ian was still tossing and turning, unable to sleep. He couldn’t help but wonder if Teacher Tony had truly become a thing of the past, and if there would never again be a man who would call him Iron Man.
They hadn’t known each other for long.
To say there was much emotion would be an exaggeration.
It was simply because this was not the Marvel Universe Ian had hoped to see.
Therefore.
The boy was slightly annoyed.
“I feel… your demonic magic power… Although not much is emanating, this must be you testing my ability to observe details.” The Demon Head opened its cloudy eyes, believing its gaze contained intelligence, its voice hoarse and reverent.
“Magic Power?”
Ian thought of what Tony had said about him becoming the 【Source【 of a new emerging power. He sat up from his bed with a carp-like leap, his spirit instantly enlivened.
“So, what does it feel like to have Magic Power?”
Since returning to DC, Ian had actually sensed some changes in himself, but he couldn’t pinpoint them. It was as if his head was filled with water, cool and clear.
“Uh, the feeling of having Magic Power?” The Demon Head was silent for a moment, seemingly racking its brain to explain a hyperdimensional experience to a human.
Finally, it dryly replied.
“Perhaps… having enough Magic Power is like being full, and lacking it is like being hungry?”
The Minotaur Demon’s words were as good as saying nothing.
“I really should give you a horse’s mouth.” He rolled out of bed, his bare feet stepping on the cold floor, and walked to the desk, turning on his Desk Lamp again.
The warm yellow halo drew a small domain in the darkness.
“If I remember correctly, this book is said to be able to create things that do not exist?” Ian remembered the words of the Hell Prince before he became a “Spicy Prince” snack.
He took out that 《Ian’s Creation God Book《 from behind his butt—the cover was still the chaotic one, but with a tiny bit of golden radiance added to it.
“A greater source?”
Ian picked up his pen to draw. However, as soon as the Nib touched the paper, the Ink seemed to be erased by some invisible force and quickly dissipated. Ian frowned and tried again.
The result was the same.
At this moment.
Perhaps sensing Ian’s dissatisfaction, a bold line of text suddenly appeared on the page:
《Ian’s Misused Creation God Book《
The self-aware book even enlarged the font size, as if afraid Ian wouldn’t see it. In anger, it might even consider being chewed and swallowed. This was something that, at least from the book’s perspective, was entirely possible.
“Heh? I misused it? It’s only your appearance that’s misused!” After Ian spoke, he saw the name 《Ian’s Misused Creation God Book《 change again to 《Ian’s Book Under Self-Reflection《.
I must say.
It was the fastest to admit defeat.
It didn’t even try to be stubborn for a moment.
“…”
Ian felt no sense of accomplishment.
“You deserve to sit at the same table as that head.”
He “slammed” the book shut and turned to stuff it into the cabinet where the Demon Head was located, “If you dare to have a litter of demon babies, I guarantee very, very bad things will happen.”
This was Prevention.
After all, humans still did not know the reproductive methods of demons.
“???????”
Under the watchful eyes of the Demon Head and the book that had sprouted a round, bulging little eye, Ian walked back to his bed. He climbed into bed and lay down for about two seconds before throwing off the Quilt and running back to the desk.
He didn’t touch that damned book.
He simply pulled out a piece of ordinary drawing paper, spread it out, and flattened it.
“How will I know if I don’t try?” The drawing pen spun around his fingertips. Ian stared at the blank paper, silent for a moment, then began to draw.
One stroke, one line.
The Nib lightly touched the paper.
As the first line fell, it seemed to awaken a memory that had long been dormant.
“At least, I tried my best.”
Ian continuously adjusted between different colored drawing brushes. The outline of a red and gold armor gradually appeared, and the blue light of the Arc Reactor bloomed on the paper. The light from the Desk Lamp reflected on the drawing paper, bathing the lines of mortal and steel in a soft, warm hue, as if it would leap from the paper at any moment.
【 You are creating, Writer Experience +1 】
【 You are creating, Writer Experience +1 】
【 You are creating, Writer Experience +1 】
…
This was the story of Iron Man.
The night outside was deep, and occasionally the wind rustled through the treetops. Ian did not stop drawing, continuing to sketch as if the lines and shadows themselves knew where to extend.
Holding the pen to paint the world.
Every stroke was a memory.
Every line was a unique connection.
The boy did not sleep all night.
Outside the window, the first rays of dawn pierced through the clouds, falling directly onto the paintings. Amidst the interplay of light and shadow, Ian’s Writer profession also welcomed another upgrade at this moment.
【 Writer LV3 [1/40] 】
“No one knows how difficult the astonishing talent I’m suppressing is… Don’t disappoint me too much.” Ian stopped drawing, checked the time, and then grabbed a Hard Drive from the desk.
This was something he brought back from the Marvel Universe.
New Teacher Tony’s knowledge reserve was not as good as Teacher Tony’s. The technological information he provided was almost all military products. Stark Industries, without Tony Stark, was a thorough military enterprise.
Before the time is ripe.
Ian didn’t feel he was in a position to manufacture armaments.
It wasn’t for lack of background, but rather that if he dared to say he wanted to start a company and produce weapons of mass destruction, his old father would surely let him know what truly constitutes weapons of mass destruction.
This is how it is when you’re not an adult.
What else would they want to build when they are adults?
“The invincible Ian’s super-duper ultimate invincible missile can only be brought out to illuminate the faces of the world when I manage to trick Jonathan into being my company’s legal representative.”
Ian knew where such a precious thing should be stored.
“Knock, knock, knock~”
He knocked on his parents’ bedroom door. After receiving a response, he opened the door and, under the gaze of two pairs of eyes, stepped inside and burrowed straight under his parents’ bed.
“Ian, what are you doing, did you forget to say good morning?” Lois’s head dangled from the bed, her long hair trailing onto the floor in a messy tangle.
She stared at Ian under the bed like Sadako.
“No, do you know how tiring it is to lay a floor?” The second head to peek out belonged to Clark, whose expression was as bewildered as Lois’s.
The two watched as Ian pried up the floorboards and shoved a black hard drive inside. Then, the boy, who was well-prepared, began to repair the floor area under the bed.
“I hope that’s not a bomb.”
Lois fumbled around the head of the bed but couldn’t find “reasonable potion.”
“I just stored some knowledge in there.”
Ian responded honestly, his “floor laying” work was done very quickly, and he even applied a special seal to prevent Clark from inspecting it after he left.
【 Whoever peeks will step on kryptonite every day, and pig manure. 】 This is actually just a declaration, and regarding the privacy emphasized by children, at least the parents in this family have always been respectful.
“…”
“…”
Clark and Lois turned their heads simultaneously, gazing at each other upside down, as if communicating with their eyes. Clark spoke for Lois and asked.
“The knowledge you’re talking about, is it the kind of knowledge we all understand, or the knowledge Jonathan ‘inherited’ from you?” Clark asked cautiously, using very euphemistic words.
“It’s probably the kind of knowledge that can radiate the world, make everyone’s radiance as vast as the East Sea, and their lifespan as long as epiphyllum.” Ian wriggled out from under the bed.
His American idioms were not standard.
So neither of the two talented students could figure it out.
“What is he talking about?”
“If you can use your super speed to get me a bottle of wine, I’m sure I’ll understand.” Lois and Clark watched Ian stand up and scurry out of the room.
“Batman can’t even steal my hard drive.” Ian was convinced of this, because his old father’s private money was also hidden in a corner of the room, so Clark would definitely be monitoring it twenty-four hours a day.
This is the safest place in the world.
The Kents were all good at finding their own Batcave. It wasn’t just the younger son; as Ian left his parents’ room, he heard his second brother Jordan renovating his room.
The foolish younger brother actually thought that whole-house soundproofing cotton could counter Superman’s super hearing – what is this called? This is called ignorance; not studying physics well leads to this.
Jordan actually believed the advertisement that it could resist Superman.
“They’re just bullying superheroes who don’t dare to sue them.” Ian sighed at the shrewdness of the capitalists. Before he could return to his room, he found his old father standing in front of him.
“My super vision didn’t activate…”
Ian genuinely didn’t react at all, feeling that Clark’s speed was even faster than before. This was not scientific at all; even if he considered it metaphysics, he found it hard to explain.
“What’s wrong with your eyes?”
Clark had noticed Ian’s abnormality long ago. Lois had said Ian was playing with colored contact lenses, but only he could see clearly that there was no foreign object in Ian’s eyes.
Those golden, radiant eyes were Ian’s eyes.
“I awakened again.”
Ian began to speak today’s truth.
Hearing this.
Clark immediately became alert.
“What awakened?” Not only did his expression change, but his whole demeanor shifted. The poor old man had only slept for less than two hours.
He didn’t want any more misunderstandings.
Without even looking back.
Clark sensed Lois leaning against the doorframe.
The old father glared furiously at Ian.
He was truly furious.
Furious enough to spend two days in Arkham, with all the eyebrow-wiggling.
“I awakened my potential as a Super Saiyan. Do you know what a Super Saiyan is? If you don’t, I’ll take some time tomorrow to draw it for you. As warriors who maintain cosmic peace, Saiyans from Nebula M78 usually project their bloodline into highly qualified Earthlings for various reasons.”
“Of course, accepting this bloodline means I will also have to deal with various little monsters invading Earth in the future.” Ian received the hint signal from his old father that could almost be picked up by Pluto.
“Is that so?”
Lois was stunned by Ian’s serious explanation.
“Of course it is!”
Clark’s tone was firm and strong. He didn’t care about Saiyans or not, as long as they weren’t Kryptonians, then hooray. Not understanding didn’t mean he wouldn’t stand firmly by Ian’s side.
“Just fighting monsters, not turning into monsters, doesn’t sound as worrying?” Lois didn’t detect any bad signs as she stared into Ian’s golden eyes.
“Mmm, my mutation is very environmentally friendly. If you don’t believe me, I can go downstairs and boil a pot of water for you.”
Ian nodded. He was very considerate. He became a Super Saiyan, his dad was relieved, his mom was happy, and everyone had a bright future.
The whole family wins together.
“Forget it, forget it, I’ll boil the water. You two tidy up and don’t wander around in your pajamas.” Lois put on a bathrobe and darted downstairs.
Ian didn’t know if the refrigerator door was open.
But both he and Clark heard the sound of the wine cabinet door opening.
“Oh, so that’s how it is, I understand now.”
Lois seemed to have finally fully understood Ian’s explanation.
Very reasonable.
After all, Reasonable Man had grasped her loyal alcohol.
…
Breakfast was oatmeal with bacon sandwiches.
Whether it was tasty or not, Ian couldn’t eat any.
“I can still evolve, but I need to starve for a while…” Ian spoke so many truths in the morning, which was very rare. He reluctantly refused the sandwich his mother offered.
“Why hasn’t Miss Death come to find me yet?”
Ian looked around, not finding a target to feed, and felt a bit helpless. He looked towards the second floor, “Jordan isn’t eating breakfast because he’s testing his room’s soundproofing system.”
“Then what about Jonathan?” Ian didn’t see his eldest brother and felt a little confused, because as usual, his eldest brother Jonathan should be up by now and mixing protein powder.
“He left at six this morning, saying he was going to visit the church.” Clark knew his son’s movements like the back of his hand. After a moment of silence, he added.
“He is indeed at the church right now.”
This was clearly confirmed using his abilities. Ian truly pitied his second brother, but his second brother was also lucky, at least he didn’t know how perverted his old father’s hearing was yet.
“We both need to work overtime today. You’d better not run out and bring back any strange things again.” Clark instructed him earnestly.
“Mmm.”
Ian nodded.
He didn’t refute his father’s idea.
However.
“Hey! How can you call Ian’s car strange? It’s so cool!” Lois retorted, pushing Clark’s shoulder.
Clark slumped onto the table to provide emotional value to Lois.
“Beep beep~”
Hellcat’s horn sounded outside.
“It’s going to rain tonight, so you’d better make time to come back and build a room for Ian’s car in the yard. Don’t let the merciless heavy rain ruin my son’s beloved little car.”
Lois, having had a drink, was quite assertive.
“Mmm.”
Clark nodded, slumped on the table.
“Thank you, Dad.”
Ian quickly thanked him.
“It’s nothing, just a carport, it can be put up easily.”
Clark attempted to change the subject.
“It’s a room! It’s a member of our family now, isn’t it? It’s a girl, it told me last night… using its car radio.”
Lois corrected Clark’s statement.
“I knew my car was a female cat! I felt it the first day!” Ian was very happy, he had once again proven that he indeed possessed superhuman discernment.
“Okay, a room, I understand.”
Clark nodded helplessly.
“So, can I drive you to work? We’re almost late now.” He glanced at the time, then picked up Lois, who was still holding a glass of red wine, and vanished from the room.
Ian, who had already considered himself incredibly powerful, didn’t even notice the door opening and closing.
“…”
After a moment of silence.
“They must have gone through the window.”
Ian could only comfort himself this way; what else could he do? He thought he was closing the gap with his old father, but for some reason, he now had the illusion that the gap was widening.
“Clang~”
God must have a grudge against Ian.
Otherwise, why would Ian hear something hitting the window right after mentioning it? Whatever coincidence happens in the world, it’s always safe to blame God.
“I wonder what Jonathan is doing at the church, is he dating a Catholic girl?” Ian, while secretly speculating, walked towards the source of the sound.
He saw.
The window was tightly shut, and a fine spiderweb-like crack had appeared on the glass. At the center of the crack, a black fly was stuck, its six legs twitching incessantly.
“This head is almost as big as my little finger. What does it eat to grow so fat?” Carefully pinching the fly’s back, he pulled it out of the glass crack.
“A fly monk, giving his all in a battle against the upper realms, but sadly falling victim to a celestial’s poisoned hand.” Ian looked at the fly in his hand. The fly was still alive and showed no signs of kicking the bucket.
It even struggled a couple of times at his fingertips.
Its wings buzzed.
The strength had a hint of that of a heavenly fly clan.
“Wow, it’s quite strong?” Ian raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. He carefully examined the shiny black fly in his hand, feeling that it was different from ordinary flies – the fly’s exoskeleton had a strange metallic sheen under the sunlight, and its compound eyes were more crimson than those of ordinary flies.
“At times like this, it’s time to call in the professionals.” Ian remembered that the appearance of demons was always associated with flies, so he believed there must be a very special bond between the two.
He scurried upstairs with a clatter.
Ian took out the demon head from the cabinet.
“Let me taste this, what’s going on? Is there a demon attached to it?” Ian made a reasonable guess, but things seemed to be different from what he imagined.
Before the demon head could react, Ian shoved a live fly into its mouth. It chewed reflexively a couple of times, and suddenly its cloudy pupils contracted.
“Mmm—!”
It let out a grunt that was somewhere between pain and pleasure, then swallowed. After a while, it spoke, its voice filled with shock: “It’s really strong, this is definitely not an ordinary fly.”
The Demonic Minotaur was spouting nonsense again with a tone of certainty.
“No demonic scent?”
Ian pressed for details.
“No.” The demon head answered honestly. It savored the taste, its expression growing more astonished. It even felt a slight increase in its power.
It was as if it had digested some kind of soul.
“It must be a Kryptonian fly.”
The demon’s tone was extremely certain.
“I have relatives who have eaten Kryptonian souls, and my relatives described this taste.” It did have some authority, but perhaps not too much.
It was somewhat similar to what a friend told me.
“You mean this fly grew into a super fly by eating my dad’s super energy drink and drinking my dad’s super iced tea?”
Ian frowned, his expression one of disbelief.
The air suddenly became quiet.
“…”
The Demonic Minotaur was very silent.
After a few seconds, it cautiously spoke.
“Great God Ian, I don’t think it’s like that. A reasonable guess would be that it’s a mutated fly that escaped from some laboratory.”
“Perhaps your scientists, who are crazier than demons, cultivated this fly with Kryptonian blood. As for it nurturing a soul that doesn’t belong to it.”
The demon head cautiously made its analysis.
“Blood is also bodily fluid.”
Ian stroked his chin and thought for a while, feeling that what this guy said was similar to what he was trying to express. For such plagiarism of ideas, he immediately responded with a forceful slam to the forehead.
The demon head dared to cry but not to speak.
It had no idea where it had gone wrong.
As expected.
Accompanying a ruler is like accompanying a tiger.
The more it made the demon uneasy, the more it felt like a true lord of hell with an unfathomable mind. Thinking this, the demon head saw Ian run out of the room again and start searching all over the house.
“Are there any other flies?”
Ian wanted to find a second mutated fly.
Especially the restroom.
Ian turned it upside down. However, after searching for a long time, and even outside the house, he couldn’t find a single fly inside.
He searched outside the house too.
Not only were there no mutated flies.
There were no suspicious vehicles either.
“Can you spit it out? I think there’s a demon behind this.” Ian returned to the room with some helplessness, picked up the demon head, and softened his tone.
However.
This made the demon head tremble even more.
“Great God Ian…”
It wanted to cry but had no tears.
“Do you think I’m that powerful?”
The demon head’s voice was filled with timid fear.
It feared this was Ian’s new way of tormenting it, but it clearly underestimated Ian’s personal character. Ian wasn’t being unreasonable; he just sighed and scratched his head.
“I’ve experienced too little. Encountering something strange like this, I should have first let my Uncle Batman test the waters.” Ian was genuinely reflecting on his approach.
The Demonic Minotaur didn’t dare to respond, only wanting to change the subject.
“Can you ask your Second Brother to stop?” It sighed heavily; clearly, Jordan’s soundproof cotton set, bought from somewhere, couldn’t even block its ears.
“He just awakened and is unlocking new gameplay. It’s all like this.” Ian understood Second Brother very well because he knew Second Brother truly had a mental illness of depression and social anxiety.
Jordan had even gone to see a psychiatrist earlier than him, but Jordan had always pretended he hadn’t. He knew there was a reason Ian’s medicine wasn’t kept from being sold at school.
“Sigh.”
The demon head sighed again.
“But it’s been three hours.”
It mainly heard the sound, and it felt even more terrified. After all, Ian would at most torture it, but the little brat in the other room had more terrifying intentions towards it.
“Did you read the comic I drew last night? Captain America can fight Iron Man all day, so after my Second Brother awakened, he can certainly fight himself all day.”
“He needs time to adapt.”
Ian didn’t bother with the hesitant Minotaur anymore. He quietly put on his headphones, then took out another demon from the cabinet, which had become Ian’s Creation God Book.
“Finished reflecting? It’s time to evolve after reflecting.” Ian still needed to starve, so since he was idle, he might as well reasonably research the resources in his hand.
Briefly employing his thinking ability.
Ian immediately understood that language was not the product of carrying thoughts—the brain was. Thus, he lowered his head, pressing his forehead firmly against Ian’s Creation God Book.
Absolutely not by chance.
Pure wisdom was at play.
Only then.
Golden light seeped from the gaps in the pages, like countless tiny light snakes crawling on the paper. Ian’s consciousness began to merge with this collectible from the Demon King.
…
At the same time.
In the Marvel Universe, Kamar-Taj.
Doctor Strange sat cross-legged before a low table in the library, with a magic tome spread open before him, emitting a faint scent of parchment. He was meditating with his eyes closed when a strange magical fluctuation suddenly made him open his eyes.
“What is this…?”
His gaze fixed on Ian’s Magic Book on the corner of the table—it was glowing, the golden light pulsing like breathing, its pages turning in the wind as if calling to him.
“Magic is being generated…”
Doctor Strange’s brows furrowed. He cautiously reached out and picked up the book. The moment his fingertips touched it, the light on the pages suddenly surged, and an unfamiliar magic instantly poured into his body through his fingertips!
“This is bad!”
He instinctively tried to pull his hand away but found himself unable to move—some kind of invisible contract was rapidly taking shape. Magic flowed through his body, finally etching a mark deep within his soul.
“This… is this the connection that guy mentioned he established with a dimensional demon god?!”
Doctor Strange’s expression changed drastically. He tried to sever the magical link, but the contract was already complete, like an invisible net, tightly binding his soul.
“Damn it!”
Doctor Strange was greatly alarmed. He had never encountered such a situation—as the Sorcerer Supreme, he was always the one controlling magic, not being controlled by it.
Teacher The Ancient One lied again!
“I need to save myself. No, I can’t save myself anymore, but this might not be a bad thing. After all, that guy said before that old sorcerers used to cultivate magic like this.”
Doctor Strange forced himself to calm down and carefully felt the contents of the contract. The more he felt it, the more the man in his thirties wanted to cry uncontrollably.
He stiffened as if struck by lightning.
“What do you mean, if I try to break the contract, I have to forcibly hand over half of my magic?! And I have to hand over thirty percent of the magic I’ve accumulated through my usual practice?”
“What the hell! The contract calls this ‘magic income tax’?!” Doctor Strange’s pupils contracted sharply, his fingers trembling slightly. The current Sorcerer Supreme was experiencing true wickedness for the first time.
The risks of dealing with dimensional demon gods were now known to the world for the first time.
“The price is this high?!” Doctor Strange was completely flustered, frantically flipping through the pages. “What about the benefits? Didn’t it say I could borrow power and receive magical gifts?!”
The pages rustled.
On the blank pages.
Golden text slowly appeared.
As expected, the unique magical power of a dimensional demon god was displayed.
“This…”
Doctor Strange stared intently at the pages.
His brain crashed.
“Demons! They are indeed demons!” Doctor Strange cried, truly crying, wailing loudly. His face was as pale as a naive, blank piece of paper.
There was magic.
But dare to learn it?
“No! Is this magic meant for humans to learn?”
Doctor Strange’s mindset was completely shattered. He felt deeply schemed against, that everything was a trap. How could such magic exist in this world?
Look!
Look at the records in this magic book! The first spell the dimensional demon god recorded in the book was actually teaching others how to turn their appendix into a storage bag!
Dimensional Demon God.
Was their mind truly normal?
Or did non-human creatures all find using their appendix as a storage bag fashionable and useful?
…
The night wind in New York carried a cool dampness, whistling softly as it passed between the skyscrapers. Gwen Stacy sat on the windowsill of her apartment, her legs dangling, hundreds of meters above the ground. The brightly lit city spread out beneath her like a fallen galaxy.
She didn’t look down, just sat quietly, her fingers tapping rhythmically on the window frame, like some unconscious habit.
The night wind brushed through the girl’s blonde hair, which shimmered with a silvery sheen in the moonlight.
“Ian… Tony… Spider-Man…” She whispered these names, her voice so soft it was almost carried away by the wind, her mind still a jumbled mess of fragmented memories.
“Is that so.”
Murmuring softly.
She reached behind her.
“Swoosh!”
A slender strand of webbing shot from her wrist, precisely hitting the wardrobe door in the corner of the room. However, the opened wardrobe did not contain what her fragmented memories suggested it should.
“What is wrong with me.”
Gwen clutched her wrist.
Feeling a bit confused.
“Why am I so familiar with the name Spider-Man, and that boy?” She stood up on the balcony, showing no fear of the height below.
“Hoo…”
Gwen took a deep breath and gently pushed off with her toes, performing an action she had done many times in this city—wandering aimlessly, relying on an ability she didn’t know the origin of.
Just like most people with special abilities. In the morning, when Ian took her “flying,” the girl’s lack of fear of heights was naturally because she was already accustomed to high altitudes.
Falling.
Her body instantly left the windowsill, gravity yanking her towards the ground. The wind howled in her ears, but her gaze was remarkably calm. As she fell midway, Gwen’s wrist flicked sharply, and webbing shot out, sticking to the outer wall of a distant building. Her body suddenly stopped, then swung forward with inertia.
“Perhaps, I should do something for this city.”
Gwen was like a flash of black and white interwoven.
Cutting through the New York night sky.
…
In an old apartment in Queens.
Peter Parker slammed the door shut, shutting out the outside noise. His breathing was heavy, his fingers clenched involuntarily, his nails digging deeply into his palms.
“Damn it! How dare someone mock me!”
His voice was low and hoarse, like the growl of a wild beast. Without turning on the light, Peter Parker walked directly into the bathroom and punched the mirror on the sink with a “bang.”
“Crack—!”
The glass shattered instantly, spiderweb-like cracks spreading from his knuckles. Blood dripped from his knuckles, yet he felt no pain.
The boy slowly raised his head, staring at his broken reflection—
In the darkness, crimson eyes flickered. His mouth twisted, as if something sharp was trying to pierce his skin and emerge from his lips. A sharp pain shot through his mouth, causing the writhing boy to involuntarily hunch over, his hands gripping the edge of the sink tightly.
“Ugh—!”
Extremely painful.
“What… is this?” Peter’s voice trembled. He reached out to touch his face, his fingertips clearly feeling a strange wriggling beneath his skin.
That was.
Fangs.
…
Evil may not have spawned at the dawn of the world.
But it will always be nurtured.
Of course.
So will justice.
