บท 7: Chapter 7. Tear of the Goddess and the Stealth Ward
The next morning, Noah sat on the couch, watching TV. On the screen, a race featuring Tony Stark was being broadcast.
Tony Stark, forced to constantly use the arc reactor in his chest to prevent shrapnel from reaching his heart, was suffering from palladium poisoning, which was necessary for the reactor's operation. He couldn't find a new element to replace it and realized that he had little time left. Aware of his impending death, he started living a life filled with dangerous thrills, participating in races. Even his secretary, Pepper Potts, didn't know about this.
"The events are now unfolding in the timeline of Iron Man 2," Noah thought, watching Tony greet the spectators before the start of the race. "As far as I remember, Tony was seriously poisoned by palladium, and Ivan Vanko should appear soon."
Tony's appearance triggered a wave of excitement among the audience, who considered themselves lucky to see him in person. Tony got into his car, and the race began.
On the track, one of the staff members, with a toothpick in his mouth and a mocking smile, ignored his colleagues' warnings and stepped onto the raceway. Everyone thought he was insane, as the cars were racing by at high speeds, and the risk of being hit was great.
This man was Ivan Vanko, who had harbored hatred for the Stark family since the death of his father. He had created a simplified version of the arc reactor using his father's blueprints and was now here to seek revenge on Tony.
Ivan walked across the track as race cars zoomed past at lightning speeds. His face showed no trace of fear. He pulled out two whips from his belt, and after pressing a few buttons, activated them, filling the air with blue lightning. Ivan's clothing caught fire from the high temperature emitted by the energy device, revealing his chest, which had an arc reactor similar to Tony Stark's.
Ivan swung the whips, striking the track and leaving charred cracks. At that moment, a race car was speeding toward him. The spectators watched in horror as Ivan's whip cut the car in half, sending one part flying into the air and the other crashing into a barrier.
The crowd screamed in terror, and tension filled the bar where Pepper was watching the race. She realized that this man had come for Tony. She grabbed a portable armor case and, together with the bodyguard Happy, rushed to the scene.
On the track, Tony came around a corner and saw a man in front of him. Before he could react, Ivan's whip slashed through his car, cutting it in two. Tony was thrown from the vehicle and began crawling out, but Ivan approached, continuing his attacks.
Tony managed to temporarily fend off Ivan with an explosion from his car. At that moment, Happy drove up and hit Ivan with the car, pinning him against a barrier.
Ivan recovered from the impact and slashed the car in half. A frightened Pepper threw Tony his portable "Mark V" armor. The spectators cheered as Tony suited up. Although the "Mark V" was only equipped with repulsors, it withstood several hits from Ivan's whips. Tony, drawing closer, struck Ivan a few times and then knocked him to the ground, ripping out his arc reactor.
As Noah watched the live broadcast, he realized that the plot involving Tony at the Stark Expo would begin soon. He knew this would be a great opportunity to complete a B-level quest.
He turned off the TV and opened his panel. Yesterday's mission to assist Daredevil had been successfully completed, earning him over 1,000 Essence. With his previous rewards, he was now just 1,000 Essence away from another lottery draw.
"A B-level mission was quite profitable and easy. Hopefully, Daredevil will bring me another mission soon," Noah thought cheerfully.
Although such thoughts might seem selfish, the mission had indeed been lucrative. He opened his inventory and looked at his potions. Health potions weren't necessary, as he could use his rune powers to heal. However, mana potions could come in handy since Yasuo, in reality, still needed mana. Then, he glanced at the Stealth Ward and Tear of the Goddess and willed them into his hands.
[Stealth Ward] [Places an invisible totem to survey the surrounding area. The totem lasts for one day. Its duration can be extended to five days by replenishing its magic energy]
[Tear of the Goddess] [A magical stone providing heroes with a constant source of magic energy. The energy capacity is limited]
Noah looked at the two items in his hands. The Stealth Ward resembled a small shrub with an orange, multi-faceted crystal floating above it.
The Tear of the Goddess looked like a blue crystal shaped like a droplet, with a transparent structure and tiny sparkling particles swirling inside. Its appearance was so delicate and beautiful that Noah couldn't help but admire it.
"These in-game items look way better in reality than I expected. This Tear of the Goddess is so gorgeous!" Noah exclaimed.
The stone was so stunning that it could easily outshine many real-world gemstones. No wonder it was a magical artifact.
"System, how do I use this equipment? Do I have to wear it?" Noah asked.
[Summoner, the system has six gear slots where you can equip armor, weapons, jewelry, and other items. These items will enhance your attributes. You can also wear equipment in real life]
"Got it."
Noah placed the Stealth Ward in the middle of the room. The totem rooted itself and became semi-transparent, though only to Noah's eyes, making it invisible to others. The moment the totem was placed, an additional vision appeared in his mind, allowing him to see the room from a 360-degree perspective.
Noah gathered his magic energy and directed it into the totem. Within a few seconds, its reserves were full, and it could now last for five days. In five days, all he would need to do was refill its energy, and the totem would continue functioning.
He then placed the Tear of the Goddess into the system's gear slot. After that, he felt a surge of magical energy. He could easily control this magic, though its quantity was still small. It would take time for the Tear to accumulate magic energy.
Once Noah was done equipping himself, he realized there wasn't much left to do. He decided to complete his daily missions at night, targeting gangs in Hell's Kitchen. Today was Sunday, and yesterday had been Saturday, so he didn't need to go to school. He thought of his friend Peter Parker, who hadn't yet become Spider-Man. He hadn't been bitten by the spider yet and was still just a regular high school student. (The author had adjusted the timeline, making Peter a teenager; otherwise, he would have been a child according to the original timeline.)
Noah glanced at the baseball bat lying on the table and wondered whether he should buy or order some decent weapons.
"Well, I'll wait for the system to provide me with weapons," Noah decided. He concluded that regular weapons weren't necessary since his strikes depended on the energy he infused into the bat.
After deciding to buy a few long fruit knives just in case, he stashed the bat in his inventory and sat down at the computer, starting to entertain himself.
... At the same time, in his basement, Tony, having returned from the hearing, was replacing the palladium plate in his arc reactor. After the replacement, he glanced at the green spots on his chest, the result of palladium poisoning. He had already tasked Jarvis with modeling all known elements, but none could replace palladium.
Tony lifted a glass of chlorophyll—he had to drink it to neutralize the poisoning. But each day, its effect was becoming weaker.
"Sir, Miss Potts is approaching," Jarvis reported.
Pepper Potts entered Tony's lab just as he was drinking the chlorophyll. She wanted to discuss why he had donated all his collectible art pieces. In truth, Tony knew he didn't have much time left and wanted to pass on his belongings.
He had appointed Pepper as the CEO of Stark Industries. She had also brought a notary to finalize the documents—who turned out to be the Black Widow, though neither Tony nor Pepper knew this yet.
Seeing her attractive figure, Tony's playboy tendencies resurfaced, and he wanted to make her his assistant. Of course, Pepper didn't give him that opportunity, and now she had become the CEO of Stark Industries.
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