Alex Ray stared at the new exclusive skill on the screen, frowning in confusion.
Exclusive Skill: [I Treat Myself]
What… what does that even mean?
What kind of skill is this?
Is there really such a bizarre ability?
But as Alex studied it carefully, he had to admit—it was incredibly powerful. Still, a sense of disappointment crept in. The skill wasn't meant for him.
No, it wasn't for Alex Ray, but rather for his family.
That's right. This wasn't a personal skill. It was tailored specifically for his family members.
Exclusive Skill [I Treat Myself]
This skill is restricted to the host's family. When activated, a family member can invite a version of themselves—either from a parallel universe or from the future across different timelines—to possess their current self. The possession lasts 2.5 hours and has a 30-day cooldown.
Alex's first reaction when reading the description? Awesome.
His second? Total scam.
It was essentially a possession-type skill, akin to summoning a god to descend into your body—but with a twist. Instead of a deity or outside entity, it summoned alternate versions of yourself.
A skill like this could be terrifyingly effective. If a family member encountered an unbeatable enemy, they could call upon a stronger version of themselves to take over.
It could be utterly devastating in the right hands—like Thor's, for instance. If Thor ran into Thanos, he could summon his Rune King variant or channel the power of Odin himself. With either of those, he could beat Thanos down with ease.
Rune King Thor was a transcendent being who sacrificed his eyes to the World Tree, obtaining the ancient knowledge and cosmic sight of the runes. He could perceive all microcosmic and macrocosmic truths of the multiverse.
Basically, he was the strongest possible version of Thor.
Of course, the skill was far less useful for others—like Caine (aka Master Ye) or John Wick—who didn't have many powerful versions of themselves to draw from.
At first glance, it seemed like the skill was worthless for them.
But then Alex had a sudden thought.
What if the skill wasn't limited to just the Marvel Universe?
What if it could reach across entire franchises?
Then, maybe, Caine could summon Ip Man or even Iceman, since the actor who played Caine had also portrayed both. His title even included the word "侠"—vigilante hero—which actually felt quite fitting for the Marvel Universe.
And what about John Wick? That same actor had played John Constantine. How incredible would it be if he could summon Constantine into battle?
If the skill truly spanned multiple universes, then even the DC Universe could be within reach.
So why did Alex feel it was still a scam?
Because the summon was random.
Take Wanda, for example. If she tried to summon herself from an alternate timeline and landed the Darkhold Wanda from Multiverse of Madness—the one who massacred Kamar-Taj and obliterated the Illuminati—she'd be virtually unbeatable.
But if she accidentally summoned the homemaker Wanda raising kids in Westview?
Yeah. That would be catastrophic.
In battle, summoning a weaker version of yourself would be suicide.
So unless absolutely necessary, Alex concluded it was best not to use the skill. The risk was too high. Imagine summoning someone like Zombie Deadpool or Dark Doctor Strange. Would his family even be able to control that?
Still, there were upsides.
The skill could potentially allow someone to summon their future self, and gain insight into how events were unfolding in the universe.
It was full of infinite possibilities—but required serious experimentation.
What really bummed Alex out was that he couldn't use it himself.
He would've loved to summon a future version of himself—maybe one who had already returned to their original world, or had reached the absolute pinnacle of power.
But over time, Alex had started to understand the rules of the system he operated under.
Leveling up no longer improved him directly. The power boost now leaned heavily toward his family.
That made sense.
Alex Ray didn't need much help anymore. At this point, he could probably take on multiversal entities like the Living Tribunal or the Goddess of Death without breaking a sweat.
His family, however, was another matter.
Back in Hell's Kitchen, most of them were still hovering around the cosmic-level benchmark. Sure, some had powered up considerably—like Kingpin, who'd broken through his limits and obtained a durable diamond form—but they still paled in comparison to true heavyweights.
Even someone like Caine or Kingpin, while strong, would struggle against the Black Order—let alone someone like Thor or Captain Marvel.
Captain Marvel had once stood near the top, able to crush nearly every hero in existence. But unfortunately for her, she ran into Alex too early. He eliminated her before she ever reached her full potential.
Alex understood this deeply. Even though Hell's Kitchen currently stood as the most powerful force on Earth, without him, it was vulnerable.
Forget Thanos for a moment—there were still Eternals lurking on Earth. One of them had already crossed paths with Alex, and it hadn't gone well. The others hadn't acted yet, but who knew how long that would last?
What Alex needed most now was time—to raise up the next line of defense.
There were multiversal-level powerhouses scattered throughout Hell's Kitchen: Strange, Wanda, Pietro, Tony, Thor, Vongola I, Hulk...
Even the New Mutants like Jean Grey and Iceman had potential to rise to that level.
Alex let out a long sigh.
"...Still a long way to go."
He wondered about Loki.
If Loki could clean up his act, he'd be a multiversal threat too.
He didn't even need to reach the level of God of Stories Loki or Sorcerer Supreme Loki—even the Old Loki from the Disney+ show, who conjured an entire illusion of Asgard, was plenty terrifying.
"I really hope Loki turns over a new leaf this time in Hell's Kitchen…"
Meanwhile, Loki, the very one Alex was thinking about, was running for his life through Manhattan.
"Damn it! If you've got the guts, fight me one-on-one! There are too many maniacs in Hell's Kitchen!"
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Bonus Chapter - 150 Power Stones
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