2012, New York.
Three months had passed since the Battle of New York, but the city still hadn't fully recovered.
Even with Stark Industries pouring in money and tech, rebuilding the towers shattered by the Chitauri was no easy feat. And the leftover alien tech scattered across the city? That only made things worse—every shady organization and wannabe genius was trying to weaponize it.
Because of that, the Avengers, who had already made global headlines, were back in the spotlight again.
Stark Tower – Avengers Headquarters
Aside from the core Avengers, most of the staff here were civilians hired by Tony Stark—managers, analysts, logistics, the whole nine yards. Their job was to handle the Avengers' day-to-day chaos so the heroes didn't burn the place down.
Inside a top-floor office, a young man in a yellow pin-striped suit lounged near the window, a cup of coffee in hand as he watched the sunset wash over Manhattan.
Kai glanced at his wristwatch. It was already five o'clock.
"Half an hour till clock-out," he murmured. "Now that's the good life."
Compared to the frantic staff typing and running around outside, Kai looked completely out of place—like a professional slacker hiding in plain sight.
System Online.
"Open panel," he said lazily.
In his mind, the familiar screen appeared.
[God-Level Role-Playing System]
Name: Kai
Templates:
• Makoto Kyogoku (Progress 92.5%)
• Borsalino – 'Kizaru' (Progress 37.2%)
(Next template unlocks at 80% progress.)
Abilities: Monster Physique, World-Class Karate, Glint-Glint Fruit (Unawakened), Navy Six Styles…
"Tsk," Kai muttered. "Playing Kizaru is way more exhausting than it looks."
Two years ago, Kai had transmigrated into the Marvel Universe. When he first realized where he was, he nearly had a breakdown. Fortunately, that was when the System activated and granted him his first role—Makoto Kyogoku, the ultimate karate prodigy.
Sure, Kyogoku was just a high-school student in his world, but his strength bordered on supernatural—punching through stone, dodging bullets, basically human DLC.
Even in Marvel's chaos, that kind of power made Kai a respectable street-level hero.
He spent months entering karate tournaments worldwide, stacking four hundred straight wins until he became World Champion. That victory boosted his Kyogoku progress past eighty percent, unlocking his second template—Borsalino, a.k.a. Admiral Kizaru.
And that changed everything.
Kizaru wasn't human—he was a walking natural disaster. A man who could turn into pure light, wield Haki, and slice through mountains while acting like he was on a coffee break.
"A humanoid nuke… my kind of upgrade," Kai said with a smirk.
He started mimicking Kizaru's lazy drawl, his mannerisms, even the annoying smirk. But after ten percent progress, things slowed down.
That was right before the Battle of New York.
During the invasion, Kai had already mastered partial light-speed movement. He ended up saving hundreds of civilians, which naturally caught Tony Stark's attention.
Tony recruited him into the Avengers—mainly to keep him close (and maybe to figure out how he bent physics like that).
Kai didn't mind. Joining a team sounded like a good way to "study teamwork" while collecting a paycheck for doing nothing.
And he was right.
Slacking off somehow increased his role-playing progress even faster.
Tony, being the generous capitalist he was, offered him two million dollars per month after taxes.
Kai happily signed the contract. Tony, on the other hand, immediately regretted it.
Meanwhile, two Avengers returned from the field, heading toward Kai's office.
Natasha Romanoff glanced at Tony as they walked. "Tony, I admit the kid did fine during the invasion, but are we seriously trusting him with this mission?"
Tony sighed, rubbing his temples. "What's wrong with him? You saw his powers. Even Thor gets uncomfortable around that guy."
He paused, lowering his voice. "But if I don't make him actually do something, I might as well burn two million a month for fun."
Natasha chuckled. "You, the billionaire, worrying about pocket change?"
"It's not the money, Nat," Tony replied. "It's the principle. A true capitalist doesn't get scammed by his own employee."
She smirked. "Alright, fine. We'll bring him along. But if he screws up, I'm pulling him out midway."
Given that their target was HYDRA, she didn't want to take chances.
They took the elevator up to Kai's office.
5:30 PM – The Golden Freeloader
As the door slid open, they found Kai lounging in his chair, feet up, sipping coffee, gazing out over the skyline.
Tony's patience immediately wore thin. "Hey, Kai!" he called out. "I hired you to fix problems, not stare at the damn sunset!"
Just the sight of him chilling while collecting that salary made Tony's blood pressure spike.
Kai turned lazily and grinned. "Huh? We agreed, remember? Two million's just the base salary. Actual acting costs extra."
Tony blinked, momentarily speechless. He was this close to giving a billionaire-level rant when Natasha stepped in.
"We've found a suspected HYDRA base," she said calmly. "You're coming with us."
Kai raised an eyebrow. "Oh come on, I'm working for big capitalist Tony Stark. I've got a lot on my plate every—"
"Spare me," Tony cut him off sharply. "Bonus hits your account in five minutes."
Kai froze for a second, then straightened up immediately, flashing a bright grin. "Don't worry, leave it to me!"
Natasha and Tony exchanged a relieved glance—maybe he was finally taking something seriously.
Then Kai spoke again.
"So… can we start tomorrow? It's already clock-out time."
He pointed at his watch—5:30 PM—and looked deadly serious.
Tony Stark nearly combusted on the spot.