In the morning, after working up a sweat from exercise, Alex finally calmed down.
While eating breakfast, he opened his "shop" and checked what new items had been added.
[Black Panther Suit: Armor made of Vibranium.]
[Helicarrier: The technological crystallization of S.H.I.E.L.D., an amphibious combat carrier for sea, land, and air.]
[Leviathan Warship: A transport vessel used by the Chitauri.]
[Rune Stone 'Ring of Raggadorr': When worn, allows use of the 'Ring of Raggadorr,' a powerful defensive spell.]
[Rune Stone 'Winds of Watoomb': Grants the corresponding magic when worn.]
[Rune Stone 'Crimson Bands of Cyttorak'…]
There were quite a few new items, but Alex only glanced at them before skipping ahead. None of them were particularly useful to him.
Suddenly, he saw something interesting.
[Traveler's Ring: A derivative item of the Space Stone. Allows the wearer to travel to multiverses they have previously visited. Can choose a specific multiverse or a random one. For recently visited multiverses, there is a 30-day cooldown.]
[Note: Derivative items of Infinity Stones can only be purchased once. After purchase, the price of similar items will increase tenfold.]
[Price: Proficiency Essence *100]
"Good stuff!"
Alex's eyes lit up.
"If I can go back to multiverses I've been to, then I can take the Tesseract back to the Marvel universe."
"And I won't have to worry about Caitlin randomly dropping me somewhere. As long as I've been there once, I can use this ring to go wherever I want."
"Hmm! Everything about it is great except the price."
"100 'Proficiency Essence'… that's equivalent to 2000 proficiency."
"But expensive for a reason…"
Alex suppressed the urge to buy it immediately and kept looking.
[Hypnosis Necklace: A derivative item of the Mind Stone. Can be used to hypnotize targets, making them unknowingly carry out all arrangements you give them.]
[Price: Proficiency Essence *100]
[Hourglass of Time: A derivative item of the Time Stone. Using it allows time to reverse to a specified point, but the rewind duration cannot exceed 24 hours.]
[Price: Proficiency Essence *100]
"These are all good items."
"But…"
"If I buy any one of them, the price of the others will increase tenfold."
Alex narrowed his eyes slightly, then decided to purchase the Traveler's Ring first.
This item allowed him to freely enter and exit multiverses he had already experienced. For now, it was more useful than the other two.
Alex checked his inventory. He currently had 136 'Proficiency Essence,' more than enough to buy the ring.
So Alex decisively chose to purchase it.
Immediately, the corresponding item appeared in his inventory.
Alex took out the ring. On his hand, there was now a classically styled ring set with a small blue gemstone.
That sapphire, like the Tesseract, emitted a soft blue glow.
As Alex stared at it, corresponding information appeared on his retina.
[Traveler's Ring: Entering a multiverse and staying in a multiverse both require payment.]
[Entering a random multiverse consumes 5 'Dim Proficiency Essences.' Entering a designated multiverse consumes 1 'Proficiency Essence.']
[Staying in a multiverse consumes 1 'Dim Proficiency Essence' per day.]
After reading it, Alex murmured, "That's acceptable."
Then he looked at the final updated item in the shop.
[Mjolnir (Thor's Hammer)]
[Description: A divine artifact from the Marvel universe, a warhammer forged from Uru, a special metal native to Asgard that can carry vast amounts of magic and energy. The hammerhead was forged within a dying star. The enchantment placed upon the artifact ensures that, aside from the purchaser, no other lifeform can use it. When used, the hammer can unleash unstoppable impact force when striking, channel lightning for attacks, and grant the user the ability to fly.]
[Price: Multiverse Crystals *20]
"Just like Wonder Woman's 'Bracelets of Hercules,' it's a divine-tier item."
"The 'Bracelets of Hercules' can temporarily boost combat power when stimulated by lightning."
"And 'Thor's Hammer' can summon lightning. If that's the case, wouldn't these two divine items work together?"
Alex rubbed his cheek again, "But together they cost 55 multiverse crystals. Right now I only have 24, so at most I can buy the hammer."
"But the hammer alone isn't that useful. Whether it's the shockwaves from attacks, summoning lightning, or flight, none of that is especially helpful to me."
"The boost from the 'Bracelets of Hercules' is more obvious. I'll wait a bit longer. As long as I go through one more 'multiverse,' I should be able to get the bracelets."
Alex closed the shop.
He touched the ring on his hand, but didn't have any intention of entering the multiverse right away.
After all, he had just gone through one last night. He needed some time to recover.
Taking off his casual clothes, he tapped the nano-battle suit bracelet Shuri had made. In an instant, Alex was wearing a vibranium battle suit.
Then he draped the "Cape of Justice" over his back and headed to the command hall.
———
Inside the command hall, Queen Maeve, the Element Woman, the Electric Man, and Ice Princess were already present.
Seeing Alex enter, they all looked over.
Alex spread his hands and smiled, "Good morning, everyone."
"It's been a while since we've all gathered together. I think it's necessary from time to time, like now, for everyone to get together and exchange information."
"Ice Princess, how's the investigation into Blue Hawk going?"
Alex walked behind the tall, model-like beautiful woman and lightly pressed her shoulders.
"You must have some good news for me, right?"
Ice Princess said somewhat nervously, "I'm very sorry, Homelander."
"After the suspect Butcher escaped last time, Element Woman and I have been tracking him. But he seems to have gained some kind of protection or cover. Every time we find clues, they get cut off quickly."
"Is that so?"
Alex stared at her, the smile gradually fading from his face.
Ice Princess began to tremble slightly. Even without lifting her head, she could feel the pressure in Alex's gaze.
She swallowed. Her pale chest rose and fell slightly. A bead of sweat slid down from the tip of her nose, disappearing into the shadow of her collar.
Just as she was about to break under the pressure, she suddenly heard Alex laugh, "It's fine. Keep trying, but don't make me wait too long."
In that instant, the pressure melted away like snow. Ice Princess almost wanted to cry.
Then she heard Alex say, "Didn't you capture two accomplices? Think about whether they can be used."
"For example, let them go, then secretly monitor them, and follow the trail to find Butcher."
"However, the suspect is very cunning. You'll need to think carefully about how to release the accomplices."
"It has to be done without leaving any trace. In the end, it should look like the two accomplices escaped by their own ability."
Ice Princess nodded quickly.