Chapter 52: Status Promotion! World Acknowledgment!
The night wind howled.
Ian’s hair was blown into a mess.
He was glad he wasn’t British, otherwise letting his hair be blown by such fierce gale would surely raise the probability of going bald in his youth from eighty percent to around ninety percent.
“Are you sure you don’t need someone to handle the… problem in your body?” Clark carried Ian by the scruff of his neck with one hand while flying; this was already the fifth time he had stopped Ian from trying to flip over and ride on his back.
Actually, at first Clark didn’t refuse, since it was a chance to show fatherly love, but after discovering that Ian would try to tug his hair, he still chose to carry Ian in his hand—perhaps a teenager in his teens didn’t need to worry about going bald, but a Kryptonian in his forties didn’t have that much confidence.
“Really no need!”
Ian looked at the 【Blood Curse】 negative effect on his status panel, very glad that even though Miss Death had taken away that broken world, his negative status hadn’t been cleared like his old father’s.
【You are suffering Fel Energy Corruption, Experience Points +1】
This was Dormammu’s voice, practically the VIP-level treatment that only existed in a game capped at level 99, no different from enabling auto-idle leveling!
“I think you need… your body has already started to get polluted.” Superman looked down at his youngest son; Ian’s skin had indeed started turning green.
Clearly, he had already suffered severe Fel Energy Corruption.
But.
Ian didn’t care.
“Bearing such a curse can strengthen my mind and temper my superpowers!” Ian activated the 【Self-Healing Tide】 skill, making himself pink and tender again.
And sure enough.
In the blink of an eye, the green on Ian’s body surface had completely faded.
The flesh eroded by fel energy was healed.
As for the cost—it was just a bit of fat. Ian felt slightly hungry and missed the previous Ten-Ingredient Tonic Soup; how great it would be if he could drink a few mouthfuls of that soup anytime, anywhere.
It was just like mana potions in a game.
“Temper your mind and superpowers?” Clark wasn’t surprised that Ian could control the erosion of the strange energy; he had already noticed Ian’s unusualness when he had tailed him before.
“Yes, that’s right… this is a big shot’s way of tempering me!” Ian started waving a big flag; he often liked to tell little lies, and now it was to keep his negative status.
As for this.
Clark was silent for a moment but didn’t insist further, mainly because he really didn’t understand Ian’s strange abilities and was worried that his intervention might affect Ian’s “growth.”
“If you feel uncomfortable, tell me immediately.” Clark weighed it for a moment and ultimately chose to compromise; he knew the energy in Ian’s body was different from what he had been infected with before.
“No worries, if there’s a problem I’ll definitely find old dad; after all, I’m very afraid of dying.” Ian nodded quickly; this was the truth—over the years he had always worried his little life might be sacrificed at any moment.
Luckily, things were different now.
【Death Resistance】 made him feel unprecedentedly at ease.
Moreover.
【Name: Ian Kent】
【Ordinary Profession: Student lv7〔78/640〕】
【Supernatural Profession: Berserker LV3〔4/40〕】
【World Recognition: Independent NPC】
The change in the panel was also something Ian was quite pleased about. His 【World Recognition】 had changed, transforming from 【Ordinary NPC】 into 【Independent NPC】.
This was clearly the reward from “Them” that Miss Death had mentioned. Though it still carried the 【NPC】 label, Ian believed he was definitely now a character with his own “plot.” Yes, no longer the pitiful sacrifice used at the drop of a hat—at least it would take two disagreements or even three before being sacrificed.
The 【Death Resistance】 status.
Made him practically unkillable.
As long as it wasn’t some special event, it would be hard to affect him. This was the stable life state Ian had yearned for after being on edge for fourteen years!
If only it had been like this earlier.
Why would there even be a harmless little psychological issue?
“Praise Miss Death!”
Ian silently prayed in his heart.
He could feel that every time he prayed, he would mysteriously connect with some mysterious will; and sure enough, he now immediately sensed the other’s utterly speechless emotion.
“Oh right, Dad, what are we eating tonight?” Ian’s stomach growled after using the 【Self-Healing Tide】 ability; he looked at the street below, which was getting closer, with great anticipation.
“Still the white people food you call nutritionally lacking.” Clark responded, then paused briefly. “Don’t say anything at home that would scare your mother.”
“She’s been feeling chest tightness lately and her health isn’t great.” Clearly, Clark was afraid Ian would say something shocking upon returning home, causing huge emotional fluctuations for the ordinary person Lois.
“No problem!”
Ian patted his old father’s steel chest and gave assurance.
“…”
Superman was utterly helpless.
Soon.
He brought Ian back home.
In the dining room.
Warm yellow light spilled onto the wooden dining table; Lois carried a plate of freshly cooked eggs out of the kitchen, while Clark had already changed into his home sweater and put on his home glasses.
“Where are the big bros?”
Ian didn’t see his gaming older brother in the living room.
“They have social needs too, so they’re not coming back for dinner tonight.” Lois served Ian a few fried eggs, then brought out a large basin of sugary creamy mashed potatoes from the kitchen.
“Mom, you mean Jonathan went on a date with a girl, while Jordan is wandering the streets like a street bum, pretending he’s also out on a date with a girl?”
Ian knew his two older brothers too well; he wasn’t worried about getting diabetes at such a young age, so he immediately piled a lot of creamy mashed potatoes onto his plate.
“Yes…”
Lois nodded helplessly.
She knew her three sons well too.
Precisely because of that.
Lois was quite doubtful of Ian’s earlier “recap.”
“Let me sort out what you just said.”
“You’re sure a goddess who’s lived who knows how many billions of years loves you to death, and out of reluctance to see you sad, is willing to risk losing her godhood to guide you in resolving a crisis that might affect your father?” To be fair, Lois’s expression growing weirder wasn’t unfounded.
She felt this was like a plot from one of Ian’s brainless romance novels. Ever since reading Ian’s work, Lois felt like her brain was almost gone.
“Yes, I actually helped her solve a big problem too, but she didn’t even have the decency to say thanks.” Ian had been holding this grudge since the sewage plant earlier.
Dwelling on it.
