I finally completed the inspection of my whole room, and it's reassuring that I didn't find any bugs set up anywhere.
Initially, I was about to check the rest of the cards, starting with the Inventory I got. I was even going to test its function, but suddenly a thought came to me. What if someone sees it?
It may sound a little crazy, but given how insane the Goblin is, who knows what goes through his mind.
So I started checking for anything suspicious.
And once I began the search, I went further than I expected. I checked places I would have never thought of before.
I may have some basic understanding of how surveillance works from watching movies and shows, but I'm not arrogant enough to assume I know everything. Still, these spots should never have crossed my mind.
But they did.
It seems Robin's training has already started to affect me. To change me.
And that makes me question, what's the limit of that change? Am I going to completely become him one day, or will it be some kind of blend between us? If I collect more templates, will I end up like Legion or like Raven, with multiple voices running inside my head, each carrying their own goals and ideologies? Or will I simply integrate them all, quietly and seamlessly, without inner conflict tearing me apart? Just absorb their skills and abilities and be better version of myself?
It's a little terrifying to think that I might not even remain fully myself.
But only for a second.
Because then I remember something simple. People change all the time. Growth itself is a form of replacement. And I'm not Sheldon, rigid and allergic to deviation. Change, especially in my current situation, might not be such a bad thing.
Right now, I am just a normal teen in this world with meta-knowledge, something similar to a precognition ability, except there is nothing absolute about it. Too many variables. Too many branching outcomes. Too many factors capable of derailing the future I think I know.
It may look like a blessing. But it can just as easily be a curse.
The curse of knowledge.
I know things others don't. I know what is coming, at least in fragments. And I would be lying if I said I am not scared.
There are fates worse than death in this multiverse and I don't want to face any of that.
So I think I'm going to accept these changes, whatever they bring, as long as they make me stronger and harder to break.
Of course, with some exceptions.
Like The JOKER.
Some lines should never be crossed.
Shaking my head to clear those thoughts, I came back to the present and clicked on the Inventory card.
[Do you want to equip the Inventory?]
[Yes] [No]
So it asks before letting me use it. That didn't happen when I slotted the templates. Interesting. Wondering about the reason behind it, I clicked Yes.
[Inventory Online]
The moment the notification appeared, I felt something inside me that hadn't been there before. A subtle connection.
Inventory," I muttered.
Another holographic screen appeared in front of me. Unlike the GACHA interface, this one was much larger. A clean 10x10 grid stretched across it, perfectly aligned. In the lower-left corner, it showed 0/100.
Does that mean the storage limit is one hundred items?
Hmm.
I picked up a pillow and carefully pushed it toward the screen.
Holy shit it vanished.
Immediately, one of the empty slots displayed a small pillow icon, and the number changed to 1/100.
"It's so cool," I couldn't help but say out loud. Although there's numerous times I had used it before but it was just all on the screen.
My first actual super ability.
Technically, I have the Spider-Man template slotted, but I haven't progressed enough to manifest any of his abilities yet. This, however, is immediate.
I pulled the pillow back out with a thought, and it reappeared in my hand instantly.
So how does it work? Is it using an already existing pocket dimension within this universe, or does it create a completely new one? Can others detect it? Track it? Access it forcefully?
I suddenly have far too many questions. Peter is it your effect?
Taking out my wallet, I picked a ten-dollar bill and put it into the Inventory. When I saw x1 appear at the top of the new icon, I confirmed it wasn't my imagination when I noticed it on the pillow earlier.
I took out another ten-dollar bill and placed it inside. The number increased to x2 on the same icon. So I can stack multiple items of the same type in a single slot.
Interesting.
But where does the system draw the line for distinction? Does it categorize by object type, material, function, or exact identity? Will every currency note be counted as the same?
To test that, I took out a hundred-dollar bill and inserted it.
This time, it didn't merge with the tens but appeared in another slot.
I should also check how many of the same item I can stack, and whether mass and size matter here. There has to be some kind of limit. One hundred slots does not necessarily mean infinite capacity per slot. If each stack can hold unlimited quantity, then this ability borders on broken.
Also, I need to find out whether time passes inside. If it doesn't, then this is the perfect place to store emergency food, water and medical supplies. Who knows if tomorrow is the start of a zombie outbreak.
Maybe I should keep some gold too, in case I have to live in hiding. Gold is one of the few universally accepted assets. On this planet at least. If currencies fail, gold usually survives.
It would be smarter to keep it in pieces or small bars rather than one large chunk. Smaller units mean easier exchange and more flexible usage. If stacking works by identical type and weight category, then standardized gold biscuits would optimize storage efficiency.
Look at me.
I barely had this ability for ten minutes, and I'm already planning economic collapse contingencies.
I took a mental note to make a list of priority items for surviving an apocalypse, not the mutant but the global collapse kind, well there's not much difference in them.
Moving on to check the next superpower I got.
Cloud.
It's the quirk of the guy whose corpse was used to create Kurogiri, the fog teleporter. The original ability allowed him to generate dense clouds, thick enough to carry weight and function as a medium for transportation.
I'm conflicted about endowing myself with it right now.
There's a possibility that integrating it might awaken my X-gene, if I even have one. Both quirks and mutant abilities originate from genetic mutations, even if they're from different worlds.
There's a very real chance it attract Xavier which isn't a very good thing
The last thing I need right now is telepathic attention from one of the most powerful minds on the planet.
And who knows which version of him this is? The idealistic mentor… or the quiet manipulator who rewrites memories for the "greater good."
No. Cloud can wait.
Unless I'm cornered and forced to use it to stay alive, I won't add it to my arsenal yet. Mobility is powerful, but staying off certain radars is even more important.
I shifted my focus to the consumable cards.
Power Boost is self-explanatory. It increases the level of a power, its range, damage potential, and possibly other hidden attributes. The wording is vague, which means the scaling might be flexible.
Can I use it on Inventory? I'll test that later carefully.
Then there's the Background Customizer. If I combine it with travel cards, I won't appear as a random drop-in when entering another world. I would have legal documents, records, a digital footprint and more. In the same way, it could stabilize the existence of anyone I summon here.
The Movie Traveling Card is self-explanatory too. It allows me to travel to a movie world, but only for a day.
Only a day.
Still… that's more than enough.
I would be lying if I said I'm not tempted to jump straight into some apocalyptic world and start looting freely. Empty cities. Abandoned bunkers. Military stockpiles with no one left to guard them. No moral complications. No witnesses. Just pure acquisition.
The idea is appealing.
I would have gone for NZT or something SIMILAR if I didn't have any other option like GACHA, but I do. I'm not average teen with Peter and Damian's templates. And who knows if using something external would create a conflict with the powers I gained through the System.
I was already hesitant about absorbing Bucky because of the Super Soldier Serum interacting with Spider-based enhancements. In the end, I decided to trust GACHA and proceed, believing the system wouldn't sabotage its own user.
It's a risk, sure, but I need more cases to understand how the system works.
Though I don't have to take the same risk with something outside GACHA. I don't have power adaption after all.
Maybe I should target a more advanced world instead, somewhere with cutting-edge tech worth stealing. Of course, that also means tighter security.Advanced tech always comes paired with advanced countermeasures.
Then I think of this world and can't help but mutter, "…generally."
I'll have to think this through seriously.
I checked the rest of my gains, and that's when I saw it. A space station.
Not just any random orbital platform either. It's SWORD's.
I don't even know if the organization is established in this world yet. I only remember, they used that station to hold aliens too dangerous to experiment on peacefully.
It hasn't even been a full day since I got here, and I already own a space station.
At this rate, maybe someday I'll even have a personal Death Star.
That would be so fucking cool.
I grin like an absolute idiot at the thought before forcing myself to focus and pulling out my first supernatural weapon, literally.
The Demon Killing Knife.
Although not against the hell lords, at the very least, it should work on low-tier residence of down there, which means I'm not completely unprepared against actual supernatural threats. Mutants, enhanced humans and aliens are one thing. Demons are something else entirely.
I summon it into my hand.
It looks… ordinary.
Just a normal serrated blade at first glance. Unless you pay attention to the symbols engraved along the metal.
After inspecting it for a moment longer, I store it in my personal inventory. Once something leaves the System storage, it can't go back in, which means I need to be careful about what I pull out and when.
Let's see what else I got before going to sleep.
********************
Movie World to travel suggestions