Drake stared at the list for a few more seconds before closing the screen.
A smile slowly appeared on his face.
No matter what, he had gotten something amazing.
Maybe not Superior Iron Man.
But Agent Venom was far from weak.
And if the system really gave superior versions of templates, then this thing could become even more ridiculous in the future.
After that day, Drake's routine completely changed.
School was still school.
He attended classes, talked when needed, and acted like a normal kid.
But once school ended, things became different.
Every single day, he trained.
Practice was the key to improving synchronization.
If he wanted to raise the integration from fifty percent to a higher level, then he needed to use the template more often.
And more importantly—
He needed combat experience.
At first Drake thought about going out and fighting criminals immediately.
But he quickly gave up on that idea.
Most criminals had guns.
Drake looked down at his hands.
Sure, the symbiote could heal him.
But getting shot would still hurt.
A lot.
He had absolutely no interest in testing how painful bullets felt.
Not unless it was completely necessary.
Because of that, Drake found another abandoned warehouse.
This one was farther away and hidden in a nearly empty industrial area.
Almost nobody came there.
For Drake, it was perfect.
Day after day he trained there.
He practiced extending claws.
Then tendrils.
Then switching armor on and off.
At first, controlling the symbiote felt awkward.
Sometimes tendrils shot in the wrong direction.
Sometimes armor formed unevenly.
Once, Drake accidentally covered his whole face and nearly panicked when he couldn't see properly.
Another time he tried making blades.
Instead, he somehow created giant hammer hands.
Silence filled the warehouse.
Drake stared at his oversized black fists.
"...Okay."
"...That was definitely not intentional."
Days slowly turned into weeks.
And little by little...
He improved.
His movements became smoother.
His control improved.
And his synchronization slowly increased.
Then one evening—after a few months of nonstop training—
DING.
A system screen suddenly appeared before Drake.
[Agent Venom Template is now fully unlocked.]
Drake looked at the screen and nodded.
Finally.
With a single thought, black liquid instantly spread across his body.
Within seconds, the symbiote completely covered him.
Unlike before, this wasn't partial armor anymore.
This was full coverage.
The complete Agent Venom suit.
And because Drake had spent the last few months experimenting, his suit no longer looked like the original version.
During training, he had discovered that the symbiote could absorb and imitate materials from machinery and objects around him. After hundreds of tests and modifications, he had slowly started customizing it.
Drake stood in front of a broken mirror and looked at himself.
"...Now this is cool."
The suit was completely black.
Sleek.
Sharp.
It looked more like a ninja suit mixed with advanced armor.
There was a white symbol on his chest, but unlike Spider-Man's spider logo, Drake had changed it completely.
Instead, a large bat-shaped design stretched across his chest and wrapped around part of his shoulders.
Even the mask had small details resembling bat ears.
He had basically copied Batman.
No shame.
Batman didn't exist here anyway.
And honestly?
It looked amazing.
The design fit perfectly with Agent Venom.
Drake crossed his arms and nodded proudly.
"Looks way better."
Over the past few months he had also experimented with weapon creation.
At first he copied simple things.
Then knives.
Then daggers.
Then bows.
Eventually he started studying weapon designs online and forcing the symbiote to recreate them.
Drake raised his hand.
The black material around his arm instantly shifted.
A moment later—
Two long katanas formed in his hands.
They were completely black from blade to hilt, with only thin white patterns near the handle.
Drake swung them a few times.
Whoosh.
The movement felt smooth and natural.
He smiled beneath the mask.
These weren't normal swords.
The symbiote had created them specifically according to Drake's preferences.
Lighter.
Stronger.
Sharper.
Perfectly balanced.
Over time, he had also made claws, spears, bows, throwing knives, shields, and several other weapons.
His storage of weapon designs had become ridiculous.
Drake looked at his reflection one last time.
Then slowly grinned.
"Now that I'm fully synchronized..."
"...it's finally time."
He looked toward the city lights in the distance.
For months he had trained.
For months he had prepared.
And now—
New York was about to get its own Batman.
Except this Batman had a symbiote.
And katanas.
First, Drake returned home.
Even if he had fully unlocked the template, he wasn't planning to rush out immediately.
Melinda May was still at home, and with her being a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Drake had no intention of risking anything suspicious.
He had already learned over the past few months that being careful was important.
Very important.
So he waited.
A few days passed.
Then one morning during breakfast, May finally spoke.
"I'll be leaving for work for a few days," she said calmly while drinking coffee.
Drake looked up.
"A work trip? For weeks again?"
May nodded.
"Something like that."
Drake already knew what that probably meant.
S.H.I.E.L.D. business.
"As usual, I hired someone to look after things here. Don't make trouble."
Drake immediately nodded like a good kid.
"Got it."
Inside though—
Jackpot.
A caretaker came later that day to cook food and clean the house, but Drake barely paid attention.
He only waited.
For night.
Hours slowly passed.
Finally—
Darkness covered New York.
Inside his room, Drake looked at the clock.
11:42 PM.
Silence.
He waited another twenty minutes.
Then he slowly stood up.
Black liquid instantly covered his body.
Within seconds, the Agent Venom suit formed around him.
He opened the window.
Then jumped.
Whoosh.
Tendrils instantly shot toward nearby buildings.
A few swings later—
Drake landed on top of one of the tallest buildings nearby.
Cold wind brushed across his suit.
For the first time, Drake looked down at New York at night.