Chapter 12: A New Objective

Without a doubt, among all of Jos’s current abilities, it was the “Desperate Stand” that proved the most practical. Aside from requiring a bit of personal interpretation to grasp the wordplay behind it, its function was straightforward and its effect truly formidable.

However, the way this ability was activated was far too conspicuous. If not for someone like Jason, whose head was filled with nothing but muscle, most adversaries would have targeted the water bottle at once.

“Still, perhaps I could do as those superheroes like Captain America do, and have a suit specially made for myself. Even if it doesn’t grant any special power, at least it could keep the water hidden… But I hope I won’t end up being called ‘Waterback Man,’ right?”

Imagining such a ridiculous possibility, Jos was immediately struck by a wave of hopelessness about his own future.

Yet, considering the sense of grandeur, the Marvel world did have a bit more prestige than that neighboring universe, so he decided not to dwell on a matter whose resolution was still far in the future.

“But judging by the prompt about ‘a proud smile’… combining abilities should be possible, right?”

What Jos was considering, of course, was not the kind of pointless combinations offered by the system, but rather something with much greater practical value. For instance, if he could find one or several water-controlling abilities and combine them with the Desperate Stand, his combat power would surely rise by several levels.

“...But with my current abilities so few, I can’t even begin to test that. So the immediate priority is to collect as many different abilities as possible.”

Once he realized this, Jos was somewhat helpless. In order to gain more powers, he could only rack his brains to complete the system's missions.

But these missions were generally all quite suicidal—one wrong move and he might end up dead. In the end, it became something of a paradox.

[System upgrade complete.]

Just as Jos was lost in thought, the system’s cold mechanical voice interrupted his musings.

[Congratulations, Host, on successfully passing the novice phase. The following changes have been made in this upgrade.]

[From now on, mission rewards will change from fixed ability draws to “Source of Recklessness.” Host may freely allocate use of the Source of Recklessness.]

[Source of Recklessness ability draw project added. Each draw requires 100 points of Source of Recklessness. Ten consecutive draws grant one extra chance.]

[System upgrade project added. The current system level is LV.1. Upgrading to the next level requires 1000 points of Source of Recklessness.]

[The mission system is now divided into mainline and side missions. Mainline missions remain unchanged before completion; side missions are triggered randomly.]

[Current mainline mission: Acquire any object capable of granting superhuman power (e.g., Super Soldier Serum, symbiote, Mjolnir, etc.)]

[Current side mission: None]

Staring at the lines of prompts flashing before him, Jos suddenly realized he’d been overthinking things.

This system upgrade brought Jos many pleasant surprises, but overall the changes weren’t drastic. The biggest revelation was in the mainline mission.

“That’s it. I don’t have to rely entirely on this unreliable system, do I? The Marvel world is full of powers—why not take advantage of that?”

Although seeing Jason’s Abomination transformation made Jos suspect that much of what he knew about the plot had probably changed, there was one thing that ought not to have changed.

And that was the origin of each hero!

Perhaps, thanks to the presence of that great OAA, these events were like the convergence of worldlines: no matter how many parallel universes the Marvel world had, those iconic figures would always exist in each one.

The details, powers, and personalities might differ, but the identities of those superheroes and supervillains would never change!

“From this angle, my options multiply. There’s the spider that bit Peter Parker, Hulk’s gamma rays, the Super Soldier Serum used by Captain America and his peers, Iron Man’s armor…”

Even though Jos was not a rabid Marvel fan, anyone who had seen the movies would be familiar with the origins of these heroes’ powers.

“I wonder if these things could be combined… Actually, the comics are full of such storylines.”

After some careful thought, Jos weeded out options that were too difficult to find, too expensive, too limited, or too dangerous, and was left with just one.

“As things stand, the Super Soldier Serum is probably the most suitable and least risky for me.”

Ordinarily, Jos would never have considered going after something like that.

Not because he worried about turning into a Red Skull—this was a matter of life and death, so concerns like appearance were the last thing he’d care about. He would never be so melodramatic or foolish.

But he did worry whether the serum would even work after injection, or if it might prove fatal.

Besides, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there might not even be any perfect serum left. Even the imitation serum Hydra used on the Winter Soldier might be out of stock by now.

But Jason’s appearance proved to Jos that not only did the Super Soldier Serum still exist, it might even be in mass production.

And that was just something held by a remnant of Hydra. Thinking further, Abomination—the Hulk’s old enemy—had also set his sights on the serum and had been bathed in gamma rays.

And his supply came from the US military; it shouldn’t be impossible to find a vial there.

“Yes, this plan should work. So tracking down the serum will be my primary goal for now.”

After weighing the pros and cons, Jos narrowed his focus to the Super Soldier Serum.

He wasn’t sure what the system wanted him to do with these items, but there was no doubt that the serum had the highest cost-effectiveness among his options.

It was relatively easier to acquire, had minor side effects, and the improvement it provided was comprehensive and targeted to the body itself. If, by then, he had also finished making his battle suit and could use Desperate Stand at will, he believed he could easily handle even the mutated Jason.

“But right now, I still need to collect as many new abilities as possible. After all, something like the serum can’t be obtained overnight, so I shouldn’t focus too much on it for now.”

“Well… but not today. I’ll rest before heading out again.”

Though he knew that improving his strength was a matter of utmost urgency, Jos had only just arrived in this world.

He’d gone through a lot in the past few days, and after what happened today, it was all a bit overwhelming for someone who had come from an era of peace.

Even knowing the importance of growing stronger, Jos wasn’t in the right mental state to rush out looking for a new mission just yet.

But life is unpredictable—sometimes, even if you don’t go looking for trouble, trouble comes looking for you. After all, I have a friend named Trouble… cough…

At exactly 11:43:12 p.m. (yes, Jos could always read the time with such precision), as he lay in bed watching TV to pass the time, a violent and frenzied pounding suddenly resounded at his door!