Kapitel 11: How Strong Am I?

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(Brian's P.O.V)

There was a construction yard just a few blocks from the abandoned building. I left my base after securing the entry and made my way there. The rooftops flew by me as I ran at a speed that would shame captain America. The high speed was due to my increased cognitive skills, increased flexibility and spatial awareness of where to put my foot next and how far I should jump.

"Whooaa!"

I shouted at the new York atmosphere as I jumped a whole street and onto the next building, an unnecessary roll and I was back to sprinting once again. Finally after just a few minutes I stopped before the construction yard. There was a huge wall surrounding the area and inside I saw working machines and materials.

I scouted the place and there was only one security guard at the gate. He had headphones on and was busy bobbing his head to NSYNC. Oh buddy, if you only knew, they've already broken up. Fortunately, he would be too busy listening to music to hear the ruckus I was about to create.

I doubled back and ensured that there was no one else around before making my way to a bulldozer. An average bulldozer weight is about 17,400 pounds ( 8.7 tons) for a small dozer. This is about 6 times the weight of an average car. How do I know this? Uncle Ben was a construction work nut, so facts like those were easy to know due to him. What was before me, however was a Caterpillar D9. And. It. Was. Huge.

I rubbed my hands and stared at the huge beast of a machine. It's total weight came to a whooping 180000 pounds, that's 90 tons. I got a hold of it's track chain rails and tilted it. I was expecting to at least struggle a little but although I felt the weight it wasn't anything heavy. It was like lifting a school bag full of books for the average human.

I adjusted my grip and held it from below then gingerly…I started lifting it.

"What…"

I knew I was strong but this was crazy. I was barely feeling it. Infact - I heaved and threw the huge machine up in the air. The momentum carried it to about 10 meters before I caught it again. I felt like I could juggle the whole thing.

"I doubt Peter is as strong as I am currently."

My eyebrows lifted up in confusion when the bulldozer started groaning. The blade looked a bit crooked and the metal had twisted a bit.

"Oh. I don't have tactile telekinesis so the force I exert on the machine stresses the point of contact."

I rationalized before gently putting the bulldozer down. That was a bummer. It didn't kill my excitement though. Just think! I had just lifted 90 tons of weight like it was nothing!

Taking into account I could only lift 800kg without my resistance seals before the spider bite, my strength had roughly been multiplied by 170. Which would put me in the range of roughly 140 tons. That wasn't all…the seal formation I'd put the spider in to rejuvenate it's vitality and increase the potency of the bite must have enhanced my strength even more so maybe 160 tons? Yeah thereabouts.

Next I grabbed some iron sheets. Gripping each end before exerting a little strength and ripped them apart like a piece of paper. Next up was testing my durability. I'd edited the spider bite to give me increased durability at the cost of two of Spiderman's most notable abilities.

There was a store room that I raided, snapping the lock in two without even meaning to and there I found a jack hammer. Now I know what you're gonna say but come on - I'd rather get hurt in a situation where I could control the outcome than test how durable I was in a gun fight. Bullets don't retreat.

I pressed the jack hammer to my palm and turned it on.

"That tickles."

I smirked. ' Hell yeah, I think I'm bullet proof.'

The security guard must have heard the commotion caused and came to check because I saw a torch light shining near my position.

"Time to get the hell out of here."

I threw a stone at the opposite direction, distracting the guard and then jumped onto a crane, then over the wall of the construction facility.

I walked a few meters away and stopped. The only thing I hadn't tested yet was my speed and the other additional abilities I'd gotten. Looking at the time I could tell I only had a hour before 6. How was I going to test my speed? I turned on a running app called Strava and set my finish line to a hill overlooking the city. Luckily it wasn't that far off. Maybe 5 miles ( 9 km ). It wasn't an even track but I could always just test my speed in an Olympic field whenever I got the chance. Right now I wanted to see how fast I could move while weaving and ducking over trees and buildings.

" 1, 2, 3. Go!"

The ground beneath my feet didn't technically crack but due to my strength the first step seemed like a jump. The second step I minimized the force and concentrated on making smaller but faster paces. The wind passed by me as my eyes glowed with excitement. I felt like shouting in happiness as I'd never moved this fast before. The first obstacle I came upon was a huge motel. I bent my knees and whoosh! Cleared the whole building in one fell swoop.

For a moment I imitated Naruto's tree jumping once I came upon a small forest and not long after I stopped before a few boulders overlooking a part of the city. I looked at the app and my speed shocked me. 4 minutes. I used 4 minutes to clear a distance of 5 miles and that's with obstacles in place.

"Holy shit."

I looked at the horizon and saw the first tell-tale signs of the sun rising up. It was time to leave. But first…

" Ok, here we go."

I tried to enter a state of zen and look inside me. And just as I'd thought- there was something new inside me. I felt an energy in my cells that was begging to be used. One pull and red electric energy started flowing down my hands. I pointed my palm at a bolder and the energy shot forward with a boom.

The boulder lost a quarter of it's size leaving behind ash and a scorch mark at the targeted area. I pulled the energy once more but this time coated my fist with it.

"Double echo."

I softly said, adding echo into the mix. A huge blast occured as my attack ate through the boulder obliterating it…the shockwave sent soil, patches of grass and trees outward.

When the dust settled only a few trunks were left and the hill had lost a significant piece of itself. I looked at my fist in wonder. That hadn't even been 50% of my full power. I was now also able to use double echo without hurting myself. Just how much stronger was I? I shook my head. It doesn't matter how strong I'd become. I couldn't lose myself to the feeling of power. There's much more to a fight than physical strength. Not to mention, a few months from now I was going to face literal gods while going for the medallion.

I didn't pay much heed to the Green Goblin if I'm being honest. I doubt he had much in his arsenal that could even hurt me. I wasn't going to let him off if he came for me though. But for now, he was Peter's problem. I would have keep an eye on him to keep up with the development of the Oz serum. It would hopefully give me the push I need in my cultivation to help me be prepared for the fight for the medallion.

Now back to my bio-electric aura blast. Otherwise known as Venom blast. After the two attacks I had unleashed upon the poor boulder the energy lessened quite considerably. The energy itself was life-force. In other words, the manifestation of my physical power. I had a speculation that the skill itself would change after I'd advanced in my cultivation. Growing stronger with my cultivation level. Chi or life-force was different from Qi.

If you ask me Qi was the manifestation of all your energy. A mixture of spiritual, physical, mental and natural energy that culminated in a personal energy that enabled a mortal to upgrade their existence to a higher being. Hence it was stronger than Chi.

That was also why it was so hard to cultivate in a world with little natural energy (qi in the air). I had achieved the first level of qi condensation and it was only the first step in a very very long journey. A journey that could take billions of years before coming to an end. Was I ready? The truth was I didn't know. But to achieve my dream I would do anything that didn't break my morals.

The sun's first rays hit me and I came to the realization that I had been meditating. I got up and jumped from the hill. The air ruffled my clothes and I hit the ground in a crouch. I got up barely feeling a thing and started running home. I had tested all my powers except for danger sense but I knew when I would test that. After all there were still many criminals in the city. It's known as the city that never sleeps for a reason you know.

I made my way to our house and used the window, gently landing inside and sneaking back to my room. Before I could enter I stumbled upon Peter while he was coming from the bathroom. My heart skipped a beat before my face settled into an impassive stare.

"Morning Pete. How'd you sleep?"

Peter's face was showing surprise but he mumbled out a 'morning too' but I'd already ducked into my room.

Luckily, I'd changed out of my costume and was dressed in my running clothes so hopefully he'd think I was coming from a run. I went to my bed and threw myself on top of it. One thing was bothering me however.

"Was it just me or was Peter taller?"