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*****
Gwen stuffed the last bite of food into her mouth, planted a firm kiss on Mike's cheek, and dashed toward the door, grabbing her schoolbag on the way.
"Wait until I tell them about this! They're going to be so happy!"
Gwen exclaimed joyfully, pulling open the door and rushing out.
Mike smiled and shook his head.
That kid, always in such a rush.
Raven watched Mike, noticing the smile and the faint trace of excitement in his captivating, ice-blue eyes. She remarked with surprise, "You seem especially happy today."
"Is it that obvious?"
Mike raised an eyebrow, unable to resist saying, "I really did run into some good news."
Raven looked at Mike with amusement. "Just like a child, you can't hide it when you're even a little happy."
With that, Raven stood up to clear the dishes, smiling. "I'll take care of this, you go get busy."
Mike gave Raven a kiss and headed upstairs.
He was, in fact, feeling a bit anxious.
Because he had heard the system's notification.
Nowadays, he could only hear the system's notification sound when his abilities were upgrading.
This meant...
A warmth surged in his heart. He instantly disappeared from the staircase and reappeared in the bedroom.
After communicating with the system, some information appeared in Mike's mind.
Host: Mike Kent.
Newbie Gift: Assassin Time.
Ability: Memory Fantasy Manifestation.
Upgrade Rewards:
Eternal Cigarette Case.
Dimensional Pocket.
Kryptonian Bloodline.
Manifestation Power Recovery Speed Increased.
Current Ability Level: lv6.
Current Upgrade Progress: 1%.
Son: Clark Kent (Kryptonian).
Son: Erik Kent (Mutant, Awakened).
Son: Charles Kent (Mutant, Awakened).
Daughter: Gwen Kent (Spirit of Vengeance Contractor).
Lv6!
Seeing this new level, Mike felt a wave of relief wash over him.
After two eventful years, he had finally earned a level increase.
So, what ability would he possess after this upgrade?
Lv1, can manifest items.
Lv2, can manifest skills.
Lv3, manifest a character's abilities.
Lv4, manifestation power continuously increases with upgrades.
Lv5, character manifestation.
So now...
Mike looked at the system, a flash of surprise in his eyes.
This ability, while it didn't grant him a new manifestation power and wasn't even a new type of ability, was, for the cards themselves, quite simply a legendary-level enhancement.
Lv6: Card Enhancement.
It allowed the consumption of identical cards to enhance a card. The higher the enhancement level, the more cards were required, and the greater the card's power increase after enhancement. Conversely, the higher the enhancement level, the greater the probability of failure.
Note: If enhancement fails, the card being enhanced will be destroyed.
Card Enhancement?
Mike was stunned.
Was this system copying the mechanics of that kind of game?
Wasn't this just forcing him to endlessly grind and 'whale' for cards?
However... this ability was still incredibly appealing!
The card's power would increase with the enhancement level, and this enhancement level was limitless.
In other words, even a card he had already phased out, one that was completely useless to him now, could reach a terrifying level of power as long as it underwent continuous enhancement.
Even an ordinary 'Ice Arrow' or something similar, if enhanced constantly, could it destroy a star with a single shot?
Of course, that was a bit of an exaggeration. After all, to enhance it to that extent, what level would the enhancement need to reach? And how terrifyingly low would the success probability become?
Mike couldn't help but get a headache just thinking about it.
Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Mike turned his attention to the single lottery draw opportunity he received from the ability upgrade.
A virtual lottery box appeared in front of Mike.
Every reward drawn was related to the ability obtained at the previous level. So, what reward would he get this time?
His last ability was Character Manifestation, so this time...
Mike mused for a moment and initiated the lottery draw.
The box shook gently, items flashing one by one above it as potential rewards.
After several seconds, the rapidly shaking box came to a halt.
Mike reached his hand into the lottery box, feeling as if he had grasped something. When he withdrew his hand, the ball of light held in his palm flickered slightly before transforming into the reward and rushing into his body.
Upgrade Reward: Permanent Character Manifestation.
By consuming a large amount of manifestation power, one can permanently manifest a character or a character card.
Permanently manifest a character?
This was practically creating life.
Mike paused in thought, said a quick word to Raven, and then vanished from the house. He opened a portal, appearing in an uninhabited region on Kent Star.
He had some questions regarding the Permanent Character Manifestation that required experimentation.
First, permanent manifestation without using a card.
Mike considered for a moment, then manifested a simple character that wouldn't consume much of his power.
Pang Hu.
Manifesting such a simple character didn't take long. With Mike's current ability level and manifestation proficiency, even a permanent manifestation wouldn't require much time or manifestation power.
In just two or three seconds, a child with a slightly protruding belly appeared before Mike.
Pang Hu looked around, his gaze finally landing on Mike. Mike gave a casual wave, letting Pang Hu play in the vicinity. As Mike watched Pang Hu curiously exploring the surroundings, he silently assessed the situation.
He was a real existence, no different from an ordinary person. As time passed, no manifestation power was being consumed. However, Mike still had complete control over him, and Pang Hu would completely obey his commands. With just a single thought, Mike could make him vanish.
A moment later, with a simple thought from Mike, Pang Hu, who had been curiously exploring, disappeared.
Next up was permanent manifestation using a card.
A blank card appeared, and Mike, holding the card, used his manifestation ability.
Three seconds later, a lifelike Pang Hu appeared on the card.
Following that, Mike used the Permanent Manifestation ability on this character card.
The card flickered faintly and gained the 'permanent' attribute.
With a thought, the card dissolved into motes of light, and a Pang Hu, identical to the one from before, appeared in front of Mike.
Watching Pang Hu curiously observe his surroundings, Mike pondered.
It felt exactly the same as before—a permanent character. But...
Mike snapped his fingers. Pang Hu once again dissolved into motes of light, turning back into a card that flew into Mike's hand.
Does this mean the character card can be reused?
Rubbing his chin, Mike manifested the card in his hand once more.
Pang Hu appeared before him again.
"How many times have I summoned you now?" Mike asked Pang Hu.
Pang Hu held up his fingers, bending them back and forth a couple of times, and said happily to Mike, "Master, you have summoned me two times!"
He needed his fingers to count to two?
Mike's expression darkened slightly, and he turned Pang Hu back into a card.
"In that case, as long as a character card is made permanent, even if the character is turned back into a card after manifestation, their memories from the manifestation won't disappear."
"Now that is interesting."
Mike raised an eyebrow.
Next, there was one more thing to test.
With a thought, another card appeared in Mike's hand. A few seconds later, another Pang Hu card was created.
Character manifestation only allowed one instance of the same character to be manifested at a time; Mike certainly hadn't forgotten that. The reason he created another identical card was for... Enhancement!
With a simple thought, Mike activated the new ability he had gained from the upgrade.
The card designated as enhancement material dissolved into motes of light and surged into the permanent card that was being enhanced.
In the next instant, the light dissipated, and the enhanced card revealed a slight change.
Name: Pang Hu (Permanent, Enhanced +1)
Description: A child.
Note: Ha! Nobita! Here I come!
Looking at the card, Mike felt a jolt of excitement.
This works too!
That meant that even a weak character could become extremely strong, as long as they were enhanced.
Mike gave a faint smile, and with a light squeeze, the card in his hand was destroyed, dissipating into nothing.
Enhancement combined with permanent characters...
This was getting interesting.
In that case, rather than permanently manifesting a character directly, it was better to permanently manifest a character card. This was because the latter could have its strength increased even after manifestation.
With a thought, a cigarette case appeared in Mike's hand. It was entirely silver, slightly smaller than his palm, and etched with intricate golden lines, giving it an incredibly mysterious appearance.
Eternal Cigarette Case: Stores items. After a stored item is used, the consumed item will automatically be restored after twenty-four hours.
Now, the function of this item could be maximized.
Mike emptied all the cards from it, then selected a few specific cards and placed them back inside.
The items within the Eternal Cigarette Case would only restore after they had been used.
If there wasn't an empty slot available inside, a consumed card would not be restored.
Now, he could use the daily restored cards for enhancement. This would save a significant amount of time, especially when enhancing powerful cards that normally required a long time to manifest.
Mike raised an eyebrow. With a flash of light, a few cards appeared in his hand.
Rejuvenation.
He often used this card to heal others, so he had stocked up quite a few of them.
Enhance!
Mike began the enhancement process.
Several minutes later, Mike stared at the enhanced card in his hand, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.
Apart from the very first enhancement, every subsequent enhancement had a possibility of failure. Naturally, the higher the current enhancement level, the higher the failure rate for the next attempt.
That part was normal, but...
What was this about the number of cards required being equal to the current enhancement level?
When a card reached Enhancement +10, it required 10 identical cards to attempt the next level. The success probability at that stage was ridiculously low, and the failure chance was high. If it failed, the card would be destroyed, and all the previous effort would be wasted.
Mike pressed his forehead, utterly speechless.
"Who did this damn system learn from? This is such a pit!"
Mike griped, but he couldn't help but be reminded of some games he had played a long time ago.
The enhancement system was a scam, but it was truly addictive.
Mike tapped his forehead.
It was appealing, yes, but he couldn't let it get to his head.
After giving himself a mental reminder, Mike opened a portal and returned home.
From this day forward, he had something new to keep him busy.
...
Gwen's School.
Although the Sentinel incident had caused a massive impact, fortunately, Gwen's school had not been affected.
The buzz surrounding the Sentinel incident hadn't died down; in fact, it was still growing.
"Wow, Superman is so handsome!"
"The X-Men are just so noble! They came to help even during a time like this. I admire them so much."
"I know, right!"
"The Kent family... It would be amazing if I were a member of the Kent family. Just the thought of Superman being my brother... my heart can't handle it."
"I'm announcing it right now: my new goal in life is to work hard so I can marry a member of the Kent family!"
Gwen, sitting in the cafeteria eating lunch with her friends, listened to the other children's discussions and exclamations, her heart swelling with pride.
But...
"You're too boy-crazy! To keep an eye on you, I'll just reluctantly marry Mike Kent and become your stepmother!"
"Pfft! In your dreams! Mike Kent is mine!"
"Oh, oh! I won't fight you guys for Mike Kent, then. I'll just reluctantly take Superman, Magneto, and Professor X for myself. Monday and Tuesday with Superman, Wednesday and Thursday with Magneto, Friday and Saturday with the Professor, and on Sunday, I'll just have that Gwen Kent give me a leg massage while I take a nice day off. How wonderful!"
"I'm impressed!"
"Amazing!"
"Hehe, haha!"
Gwen's face was so dark it looked like ink could drip from it. Noticing the three across from her—Peter and the others—whose mouths were twitching uncontrollably, Gwen let out a long breath. She shot a fierce glare at her three friends before turning back to the table of chattering girls and snapping, "If you're going to eat, then just eat! What's all this nonsense! Aren't you annoying!?"
The little girls looked at Gwen angrily, but after spotting Luke and the others with her, they lowered their heads reluctantly, though they continued to mutter under their breath.
Gwen shot them another fierce glare, and the girls quickly shut their mouths.
Gwen angrily clenched her fists, making a sharp cracking sound.
So annoying. I really want to give each of them a fist the size of a sandbag.
But...
Gwen sighed dejectedly.
It definitely wasn't just these few people who had such thoughts.
Still, why on earth did they want me to massage their legs?
Just thinking about that remark made the anger inside Gwen flare up.
"Pfft!"
Harry finally couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha!"
He lightly slapped the table, collapsing onto it in laughter.
Peter and Luke couldn't help but laugh out loud as well.
Looking at her three shameless friends, Gwen was so angry she looked like a fluffy kitten whose fur was standing on end.
"Keep laughing, and I'll get physical, you know!"
A few seconds later, seeing the three still laughing uncontrollably, Gwen issued a physical warning with a dark expression.
It was immediately effective.
The trio struggled to close their mouths, but their shoulders continued to tremble slightly.
Gwen looked completely exasperated. Noticing Mary Jane walking toward them, she waved her over.
Mary Jane flashed a brilliant smile. As soon as she saw Gwen's gaze move away, the smile on her face vanished instantly. She reached up to brush her hair, covering the faint finger marks on her cheek, and strode over.
"Mary, quick, sit down! I have great news to tell you all!" Gwen announced excitedly.
"What's up?"
Mary sat down and opened her lunch box.
"Are you learning to cook Chinese food?" Harry exclaimed upon seeing the food in Mary's lunch box.
Mary nodded. "Want to try some?"
"Then I won't hold back!"
The friends didn't hold back, each taking a bite and nodding in approval.
The flavor was actually pretty good.
"How is it?"
Mary looked at them expectantly, though her gaze lingered on Harry's face for an extra moment.
"Not bad!"
Harry gave his praise, and the smile on Mary's face brightened another notch.
"Oh right, Gwen, what was your good news?"
(End of this chapter)