[Name: Leo Faith]
[LV 1 (81/100)]
[Quest: None]
[Skills: Parkour, Freerunning, Climbing, Woodworking]
[Abilities: BS Protection, Stable Mind, Eidetic Memory]
[Templates Absorbed: Bob Belcher, John Nolan, Dexter Morgan]
[Templates in Progress]
[____]
[____]
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[Summons: Om Nom]
In front of me was a large, oddly shaped piece of wood I'd been whittling for what felt like hours.
So far, my only options to get more XP were either doing quests or taking down criminals. The first one depended on the system, and the second one seemed too dangerous with my current skill set.
Luckily, a third path had appeared. Either the system forgot to mention it, or maybe I just didn't notice, but apparently interacting with "important characters" gave me XP. Who would've known?
But that was easier said than done. At the moment, my options were limited.
Black Widow and Hawkeye were working for S.H.I.E.L.D., and I'd rather not be on their radar.
Bruce Banner, aka The Hulk? He was either hiding in Brazil or India, I'm not entirely sure. He moved around a lot, at least in the movies he did, I'm not so sure about the comics
As for Iron Man and Captain America, well… Iron Man's currently a raging alcoholic who only surrounds himself with beautiful women. As for Cap, he's still frozen somewhere in the Arctic.
That did give me an idea though, I wonder if I could find and rescue him before Fury does. Wait a second… Maybe I should do that with all the Avengers. Poach them before Fury can recruit them.
Saving that note for later, my other options were just as limited. Luke Cage wasn't exactly the type to talk and befriend a teenager.
Matt Murdock is a walking lie detector, and I have too many things I want to keep secret at the moment.
As for the Fantastic Four. Well, I have no idea where they are. They haven't built their building yet, so I have no idea where they live or work.
Doctor Strange was still a famous surgeon, so it would cost me cash I don't have just to meet him.
Which meant I only had one option: I needed to befriend somebody my own age. The only issue is that the only "important character" in my school was Harry Osborn.
A sharp pain in my finger snapped me out of my thoughts. "Fuck!" Maybe that's enough whittling for today.
There was a large splinter in my finger. Like a true woodsman, I yanked it out with my teeth. So far I've whittled most of the clock's frame; all that was left now was the more precise and decorative part.
I glanced down. "Damn." The floor was covered in wood dust. "I should've placed down a tarp first… Heh, I'll sweep tomorrow." For now though, I'm going to bed.
-
Harry Osborn's POV
Leo sat beside me, an annoying grin on his face. "Hey, Harry."
"No." I'm not dealing with this right now.
"What? But I didn't even say anything yet." His face spoke for itself.
"You didn't need to, I've seen that expression before. From the looks of it, you want something." He probably wants money, that's what everybody wants from me.
"What if all I want… is friendship?" He smirked as he pulled out a pair of finger guns.
"…Bullshit." With that said, I walked away.
"Oh come on, give me a shot." Unfortunately, Leo decided to follow me.
"I'm not going to buy you anything, so don't even bother." Hopefully he'll give up soon.
"Hey, I'm poor, but I'm not poor enough to beg," He argued. "I'm serious, I want to be your friend."
Is he serious? Doesn't matter, after an hour or so, he'll eventually give up.
-
Ding, Ding, Ding
As the final bell of the day rang, I let out a tired sigh.
"Be my friend." Apparently Leo was more dedicated than I thought.
"For fuck's sake, it's been seven hours." The entire day he's been asking me to be his friend, and it was infuriating.
Eventually I broke down and offered him a hundred bucks to leave me alone. Unfortunately, he refused.
We walked through the hall; the day was over, but Leo still hadn't given up.
As we reached the exit, my day went from annoying to worse. "Crap."
"What's the problem?" Leo glanced over my shoulder.
"It's my dad."
-
Leo's POV
Ah, Norman Osborn. Father of Harry Osborn, and the first Green Goblin.
Depending on the writer, he was either neglectful to Harry or overbearing and expected absolute perfection from him.
"Harry," Norman greeted his son as he glanced at his watch. "Right on time. A meeting came up; I need you to accompany me." His tone sounded more like a demand than a request.
For a brief second, an annoyed expression washed over Harry's face. "Are you sure you need me, Dad? Maybe—"
"I don't need you, but you should be there," Norman cut his son off. "Meetings like these are important. If you want to run the company one day, then you should start learning now."
Oh! That gave me an idea. "Wait, Harry. What about our project?"
Both Norman and Harry raised their brows in confusion. "Project? What project is he talking about, Harry?"
Before Harry could open his mouth, I answered for him. "Me and Harry have a class project together. It's worth thirty percent of our grade."
Norman narrowed his eyes. "And when were you going to tell me this?" He glared at his son.
Harry sighed. "Well, I was—"
Norman cut him off. "Never mind. I'll go to the meeting on my own. For now, focus on your grades…you'll accompany me next time." Norman signaled his limo over.
Just as suddenly as he appeared, he left.
The moment he left, Harry glared at me. "What the hell was that?! Why did you tell my dad about the class project, and that you were a teammate?"
I just shrugged my shoulders. "What's the problem? I got you out of that meeting."
"The problem is that now he's going to be micro-managing me the entire time," he answered.
"Oh… my bad." In my defense, how was I supposed to know that?
Harry just let out a tired sigh, like he had given up on life. "Never mind… it's not like it matters. He would've probably figured it out eventually."
He seemed… depressed. "Wanna get some food or something?"
He shrugged his shoulders in response. "Heh, might as well."
-
"It's just so infuriating," Harry complained.
Despite literally asking for this, I'm still wondering what I did to deserve this.
After ditching Harry's dad, we decided to get some coffee. Well, Harry got coffee; I'm eating a muffin.
I've been told the best way to connect with somebody is to show interest in what they hate, and apparently Harry hated his dad. Who would've guessed?
Harry continued to rant. "He's always looking over my shoulder, micro-managing my schedule, and-and-and-" Harry stumbled on his words, but eventually just let out a tired sigh. "Well, that's basically it, but that's most of my life."
Wow, that sucks. "Maybe I'm the wrong person to say this, but why do you put up with it? It's not like he's going to hit you if you disobey… he doesn't hit you, right?"
"God, no." Harry denied the accusation. "It would be a PR nightmare if he hit me, but you have a point. I've considered it before, but then I remember…he pays for everything. And if there's anything worse than having somebody micro-managing your life, it's being broke as hell."
"True that. Whoever said money doesn't bring happiness is either a liar or an idiot." Hmm… I wonder. "Well, if money is the issue, then why don't you make your own money?"
"Already tried it." Harry sipped his drink. "Every place I've considered is either owned by my dad or a competitor. Hell, even this place is owned by my dad." He gestured to a sign, "A subsidiary of Oscorp" written near the bottom.
"Damn." Why would Oscorp own a coffee shop?
"Not to mention, even if I got lucky and found something independent, the media would be all over it. My dad would probably flip. Guess I'm destined to work for my dad and his company one day."
A metaphorical bulb appeared above me.
"Wait! I have an idea." My face broke into a wide grin.
Harry just raised a brow. "One, not so loud. And two, what's the idea?"
I raised my finger. "Well, it's more of a concept at the moment. I'll need time to work out the kinks, but if it works out, you'll never have to depend on your dad ever again."
For the first time all day, Harry smiled. "Sounds like paradise." Though he sounded sarcastic, he probably doubted me.
I pulled out my phone. "Give me your number, and I'll message you when I work everything out."
Harry just sighed. "Fine, but I better not get any spam calls." He smirked.
"Was that a joke?" Harry made a joke?
"What? I can make jokes; I just don't do it that often." Harry defended. "Whatever." He handed my phone back. "I should get going, see you later man."
As Harry walked out the door, a ding filled my ears.
[You have befriended Harry Osborn. 25XP has been earned.]
[You have reached the level-up threshold. Would you like to proceed with a level-up?]
[Y/N]
A manic expression formed on my face. It's all coming together.
-
After I received the notification, I ran back home as fast as possible. After all this time, I'm getting a power-up.
"Proceed with the level-up?" I never know what to say.
[Congratulations, you are now Level 2.]
"Well, that was kind of anti-climactic." Not sure what I was expecting, but it just seems like it's lacking.
[ERROR—ERROR. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Gacha System will go under modification.]
Modification? "Umm… what do you mean by that?" Hopefully this doesn't screw me over.
[Gacha draws now cost more. The price will be relative to the level.]
"Fuck! What kind of bullshit is that?"
[As an apology, a new mechanic has been added to the system.]
[Level-Up Reward: Each level-up will come with special reward(s) and other items.]
[Would you like to open your Level 2 Reward Pack?]
[Y/N]
Damn, I'll be honest, I'm kinda annoyed. Just as I was about to get a major power boost, it feels like I've been nerfed. Like some crappy writer realized the gacha was too OP and had to find a way to weaken me.
It didn't matter though; it's not like I can change it. Well, at least I got something special out of it.
"Alright, open package." The screen did its usual show of lights. Sadly, they didn't have the same effect on me as last time.
"Holy shit." My eyes widened at the three cards in front of me.
[Ability: Intuitive Aptitude]
[Intuitive Aptitude: Doesn't matter how advanced or foreign the technology is, if given enough time, you can understand it and replicate it.]
An ability like this was a game-changer. Marvel was filled with next-level technology, from alien tech to Stark's, and now… now I can understand all of it. Well, eventually.
[Ability: Summoner's Background]
[Summoner's Background: The main issue with bringing beings from across the omniverse? The lack of identification. With Summoner's Background, each summon will come pre-packaged with a background in their new world. (Warning: limited to physical items only. New memories or current memories will not be added or changed to support background.)]
Now that's interesting. That'll come in handy.
While both abilities were pretty useful, they weren't my favorite rewards. That had to go to the last one. It wasn't even a competition.
[17 Gacha Points have been added to your account. Don't expect this to be a regular thing.]
Seventeen, add that to my current three. That was twenty, and according to Gacha, that was enough for ten rolls.
I raised my hand in victory and excitement. "It's time for another big Gacha!"