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[You have been eliminated. No resurrection slot awarded. Reward: Strength +0.1 tons.]
[9 restart chances remaining. Restart?]
Back in the massive spiderweb space, Julian let out a slow breath and tapped [Restart].
Restarting the resurrection matches—now this was his real cheat.
And every restart came with a little bonus. A little here, a little there, and eventually he'd catch up to the other Spider-Men.
A strange power surged through him. His bones crackled, his body loosened up, and his muscle density climbed again.
His strength had only been a pitiful one ton before this. A 0.1-ton boost meant nothing to most Spider-Men, but to him, a ten-percent increase wasn't bad at all.
The added strength also nudged up all his other stats. That settled his earlier worries—he wasn't going to lose control and explode from some weird imbalance.
If he won this resurrection match, ten tons of strength would be enough to shake off the Green Goblin tailing him.
After the last round, he'd figured out that the "Peter Parker" competing with him was actually the Lizard. The guy's strength was terrifying—easily over twenty tons—and his defense wasn't far behind.
He was slower, sure, but if Julian's Spider-Sense didn't trigger fast enough, he wouldn't be dodging anything.
And the Chitauri soldiers? Their firepower was no joke either. Julian could maybe solo one or two, but ten? No chance.
"Nanotech armor... wait, is that Tony from Infinity War?" Julian muttered.
Well, that was going to be a problem.
Tony with the nanotech suit was basically the MVP of any resurrection match.
If it were Endgame Tony, the one who snapped his fingers, even Thanos would be eating dirt.
Zero chance of winning.
If Tony won this match, the guy might be halfway to Avengers 6 by now.
He had to try again.
With that thought, the void swallowed him once more. The world around him melted, reforming into the city of The Amazing Spider-Man.
[Scene: The Amazing Spider-Man Universe]
[Mission: Go to the clock tower and save Gwen from falling.]
...
Second resurrection match. Same notification.
Julian landed lightly on the side of a skyscraper. The match hadn't begun yet, so he couldn't move too far.
Thinking back to the first round, Tony and the Chitauri seemed farther from the tower. The Lizard-Parker was slower, but somehow reached the tower almost at the same time as Julian—his "spawn point" was clearly the closest.
Everyone arrived within seconds of each other. It probably wasn't random.
Thirty seconds later, the countdown hit zero.
Julian flipped off the skyscraper, wind roaring past as he fired web after web, diving straight into a shadowy alley.
This time, he wasn't planning to rush in first.
But the moment he landed, he spotted a half-dressed couple hiding behind a dumpster. They glared at him like he was some monstrous intruder.
"Shit, we've got a pervert watching us."
"Get lost, or I'll break your little buddy right off—"
Julian: "..."
Wow. This run was off to a wild start.
Before he could say anything, several streaks of fire blasted across the sky overhead.
In the alley, Julian glanced at the couple—still shouting—and shot a web that yanked the dumpster in front of them.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing?!"
"You bastard, I'll rinse your eyeballs down the sewer—"
Thwip!
He shot another web. Their clothes vanished into the darkness.
Right in front of them, he whistled, wrapped the clothes in webbing, and hung the bundle ten meters up the wall.
"Bye, you two spicy exhibitionists. Next time, maybe wear a mask."
With that, he vaulted up the wall and swung away.
Julian raced toward the clock tower, eyes locked on the flashes ahead.
Above the city, Chitauri soldiers fired nonstop beams at Tony, but the nanotech suit dodged everything effortlessly.
Following them wasn't easy. Soon, Julian was falling behind.
"Oh! Spider-Man!"
"Wait—Spider-Man is still at the power station!"
People gasped as he passed, but Julian took his time reaching a rooftop near the clock tower.
And the place was chaos.
"Peter, we're best friends! And even then, you wouldn't give me one drop of your blood!"
"So now—hahaha—taste despair!"
On the rooftop, a monstrous Harry Osborn cackled and hurled Gwen right off the tower.
"No!!"
Peter dove after her with zero hesitation.
Webs shot out rapidly, wrapping around the falling Gwen.
"Boom!!"
Before Peter could grab her, a pumpkin bomb exploded, heat roaring through the air. The webs melted instantly. Gwen fell again, faster than before.
"HAHAHAHA! Despair, Peter!"
"No!!"
Peter tried to rush through the flames, but Harry blocked him.
Just then, a green reptilian blur crawled up the tower, then launched itself downward toward Gwen.
"Dr. Connors?!" Peter shouted.
But Connors should've been…
Right before Lizard-Parker could catch Gwen, a blast streaked through the sky. The impact sent him flying into the tower hard enough to blow out a whole section.
The tower erupted in sparks and gears as Gwen slipped further away.
"No…!"
Then Tony streaked past at full speed, his floating nanotech weapons zipping ahead even faster. In the blink of an eye, they reached Gwen and caught her mid-fall.
"Was that a lizard just now?" Tony blinked.
"Sir, I've searched: Lizards are reptiles of the order Squamata—"
"Friday, that was a joke."
"Thank you."
Seeing Tony swoop in with Gwen, Harry threw a tantrum and hurled pumpkin bombs everywhere.
"You freaks can't save her!"
"No—"
Peter fired webs mid-air, snatching two of the bombs, but the rest detonated.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—
Explosions tore through the tower. Peter was blasted back. The gigantic clock mechanism snapped free and toppled toward Tony.
"This is such a headache."
"Jarvis—no, Friday."
"Understood, sir."
Tony's shoulders shifted as nanotech rippled. Several tiny missiles shot out, blasting the falling clock to pieces.
Shards rained down. Tony raised his arm to shield Gwen, but the Chitauri were already on him.
Laser fire flew everywhere. Tony dodged and counter-attacked instantly, nanotech guns firing in full force.
Handling the grunts wasn't hard.
But Gwen didn't have much time left.
CRASH!
The Lizard burst through the tower wall again, rubble spraying everywhere, claws tearing at the stone.
This time, he reached Gwen, caught her in his arms, and smiled—a small, sad smile.
"I won't let you die."
In his arms, Gwen trembled but saw something strange—an emotion in his monstrous eyes, something like…
Sorrow.
Thud!!
A second later, the floor under them gave way. They hit the next level hard enough to spider-crack the concrete.
Gwen's body convulsed. Blood streamed from her nose, ears, and eyes.
The Lizard hadn't been able to absorb the impact.
"No… no…"
Holding the dying girl, he threw his head back and screamed in anguish.
On the balcony above, Julian arrived too late and stood in silence.
Great. Everyone fought over who got to save her, and somehow they made her die even worse.
Forget it. Restart.
"....."