The gentle white light began penetrating every part of Peter's body, initiating a thorough and astonishingly efficient purification of his rapidly mutating genes.
Every inferior lizard gene responsible for genetic instability or monstrous physical transformations was ruthlessly eliminated.
Meanwhile, all the beneficial enhancements were preserved.
Extraordinary physical strength.
Powerful regenerative abilities.
The speed and jumping capacity needed to move freely between skyscrapers.
Specialized microscopic structures that allowed him to cling to walls.
And senses and motor reflexes far beyond anything an ordinary human could possess.
Every beneficial trait remained intact!
The tiny scales that had recently emerged across Peter's skin began disappearing even faster than they'd appeared, revealing smooth, healthy skin beneath.
His elongated claws rapidly retracted, returning to the appearance of neatly trimmed fingernails.
His swollen, distorted body underwent another transformation as his bones cracked and shifted back into place.
This time, however, the changes were different.
His physique was being reconstructed into a perfectly proportioned form, with muscle and bone arranged according to an almost ideal balance.
After what felt like an eternity, the agonizing pain that had engulfed his body finally receded.
In its place came an extraordinary sensation of strength.
Peter felt as though he could accomplish practically anything.
Slowly, he rose from the floor.
His loose clothing, which had been torn into something resembling strips of old rags during his transformation, had already been repaired by the Horse Talisman.
Now, however, the restored garments clung tightly to his body, as though they'd shrunk by an entire size.
Peter lowered his gaze toward his hands.
His arms were no longer thin and bony.
Instead, clearly defined muscles stretched beneath his skin, their contours as smooth and balanced as those of an ancient Greek sculpture.
And within those muscles, he could sense an astonishing reserve of explosive strength.
Peter experimentally moved his arms and shoulders.
As he felt the tremendous power flowing through his body, an uncontrollable grin spread across his face.
'It worked!'
He was no longer the pathetic weakling who became breathless after running a few steps!
Unable to resist, Peter reached down and touched his abdomen.
Eight beautifully defined abdominal muscles greeted his fingers.
It was something he'd never possessed in either of his two lives!
And the changes went far beyond his abs.
He could clearly feel that his entire body had undergone a fundamental transformation.
Strength!
Speed!
Endurance!
Every physical attribute had increased by several orders of magnitude!
His attention settled on the thick metal laboratory bench in front of him.
Taking a deep breath, Peter placed his hand against its edge and gave it a gentle squeeze.
The next moment, several finger-shaped indentations appeared in the solid metal.
They were approximately half a centimeter deep!
And this was a laboratory bench made entirely of metal!
The old Peter would have struggled to leave even the slightest dent in it using a hammer.
He might even have injured himself in the attempt.
But now, a casual squeeze of his fingers was enough to deform the metal!
This level of strength had surpassed the limits of the human body.
'If I grabbed someone's skull like that...'
Peter imagined the result and clicked his tongue.
'Yeah. That's a pretty gruesome picture.'
His five senses had also improved tremendously.
Through the laboratory window, he could clearly see a tiny spider diligently weaving its web a hundred meters away, despite the surrounding darkness.
The creature was barely the size of a grain of rice, yet its movements were perfectly visible to him.
His hearing had undergone a similar transformation.
Even the faint movements of insects, snakes, and rodents outside the building couldn't escape his ears.
In terms of physical abilities alone, setting aside combat experience, Peter could genuinely be described as a Pro Max version of Captain America.
Once he'd confirmed that his body had grown enormously stronger without losing his hair, Peter saw no reason to remain in the laboratory.
He activated the Horse Talisman and quickly restored the room to its original condition.
Then he quietly slipped out of the school.
Thanks to the wall-crawling ability granted by the Lizard Serum, combined with his vastly enhanced senses, Peter had no difficulty avoiding the security guard.
The man never even realized when Peter had left.
Later, when he discovered the chemistry laboratory was empty, the guard rubbed his eyes in confusion.
For a moment, he genuinely wondered whether he'd been overdoing his private activities lately and had started hallucinating.
...
Peter practically flew along the streets on his way home, his footsteps so light that he felt as though he might start floating at any moment.
The entire world looked different to him now.
The hurried movements of pedestrians seemed to unfold in slow motion.
Even the cars speeding past no longer inspired the slightest apprehension.
Peter was confident he could easily outrun those machines if he ran at full speed.
In fact, he suspected he could stop one of them with a single hand, reducing the vehicle to a heap of twisted metal!
Even getting hit by a car head-on probably wouldn't cause him any serious trouble.
"Huh? Is that Gwen?"
As he moved through the night, Peter's enhanced vision caught sight of a white-hooded figure leaping between the rooftops overhead.
He watched the familiar girl pass above him and disappear into the darkness.
A small smile appeared on his lips.
'Looks like I'll be able to fight alongside Gwen from now on.'
Still, he had no intention of revealing his abilities to her just yet.
The last thing he wanted was for Gwen to become a helpless little spider who relied on him for everything.
At the very least, he intended to wait until she'd matured enough to handle dangerous situations independently.
Only then would he consider revealing his secret.
Having made that decision, Peter withdrew his gaze.
He figured he should head home first and let Uncle Ben and Aunt May know he was safe.
But just as he was about to continue, a woman's scream reached his ears from somewhere in the distance.
Peter stopped.
His gaze instinctively turned toward the entrance of a dark alley.
With his enhanced hearing, he could clearly distinguish several sounds coming from within.
Heavy breathing.
A woman crying and pleading for mercy.
And a robber shouting aggressive threats and curses.
In the past, Peter's only realistic option would have been to hurry away and contact the police.
But now...
His figure blurred.
In an instant, he disappeared from where he'd been standing, leaving behind only the faintest disturbance in the night air.
The next moment, he was already inside the alley.
A Black robber holding a handgun was pinning a terrified white woman against the wall.
With his free hand, he was roughly attempting to tear her handbag away.
"Let her go."
A cold voice suddenly sounded behind the criminal.
The robber stiffened and immediately spun around.
But the person standing behind him was merely a teenage boy wearing unusually tight casual clothes.
"Get lost, you fucking queer! Or I'll deal with you too—"
The robber's aggressively rhythmic stream of threats abruptly stopped.
Before he could finish speaking, his vision blurred.
He didn't even have time to pull the trigger.
An enormous force suddenly struck him in the stomach, folding his body forward like a shrimp.
The impact was enough to nearly knock the air out of his lungs.
And Peter had used less than one-thousandth of his strength.
"You're the fucking queer!"
Peter's expression darkened.
'Seriously, what the hell is wrong with the local gangsters?'
'Just because my clothes are a little tight, that makes me gay?'
'Talk about ridiculous stereotypes!'
"Fuck you! You're dead!"
The robber, furious after being punched, reacted without thinking.
He immediately pulled the trigger.
Bang!
A vicious grin spread across his face.
He could already imagine the teenager collapsing into a pool of blood.
'You think the gun in my hand is a toy, asshole?!'
But the next instant...
Crack!
The sharp sound of breaking bones echoed through the quiet alley.
"AAAAARGH!"
The robber screamed like a slaughtered pig.
His entire arm was twisted at an unnatural angle, hanging uselessly at his side.
He stared at Peter with the expression of someone who'd just encountered a ghost.
'What... what the fuck did I just see?!'
'That kid actually dodged a bullet at point-blank range?!'
'Is he even human?!'
Peter, meanwhile, felt a faint chill run down his spine despite having successfully avoided the gunshot.
Fortunately, the physical enhancements he'd gained from the Lizard Serum were powerful enough to save him.
If his reactions had been even half a second slower, the bullet might have struck him directly in the head.
Granted, considering his current regenerative abilities and durability, even a gunshot to the head probably wouldn't have killed him.
But that didn't mean he wanted to experience it!
With that thought in mind, Peter looked at the robber again.
This time, his eyes carried a considerably more dangerous glint.
'Congratulations, asshole.'
'You've just given me a very good reason to kill you.'