He ran.
He chased.
Ian felt like he was one pair of wings short of being completely doomed.
He had gained a new class and a new talent.
And Ian's stats really had improved quite a bit.
[Name: Ian Kent]
[Ordinary Class: Student Lv.7 (125/640)]
[Extraordinary Classes: Berserker Lv.4 (9/80), Savage Tyrant Lv.1 (0/10)]
[World Recognition: Independent NPC]
[Strength: 11 → 13]
[Constitution: 8.9 → 14]
[Intelligence: 2.8 → 3.0]
[Spirit: 7.5 → 7.6]
...
The problem was, none of that helped in an emergency.
"Help! Somebody save me!"
Ian had no idea who he was even supposed to ask for help. Martha's house was still pretty far away. And calling Mom to ask her to change her name to Martha was obviously no longer an option.
Two legs were never going to outrun someone who could fly.
He had barely gotten a few steps before Clark had already caught up and grabbed him by the back of the neck. Ian had not even found any random street thugs he could throw at Superman as a distraction.
Bad news:
his old man had caught him effortlessly.
Good news:
his old man had only thrown him down in front of the house.
"Wait at home until I get back!"
Then he flew off again as if he had some other heroic business to deal with.
Ian had, for the moment, won himself a few precious breaths of survival time.
Which also meant he had a little time to think up a countermeasure.
"Whew..."
Letting out a long breath, Ian stripped off the cheap Batman costume and stuffed the bull-headed demon back into his little school bag.
At last, he could take a look at his new talent.
[Perfect Divinity: You may absorb chemical substances and automatically synthesize the enhancement compounds your body requires for growth. Every internal chemical synthesis will grant a corresponding amount of experience.
Whenever you are mocked in any form, your body will enter Unmatched Mode. In this mode, all your attributes increase by 30%, but your moral standards will steadily decline.]
It had to be said, the Constitution boost from the Savage Tyrant class was absurd.
Looking at the raw stat increase alone, it even seemed stronger than the Berserker template.
"That doesn't make sense. Homelander was the unlucky one who got ripped apart."
Ian suspected these classes might have further evolutions, and that Savage Tyrant was probably more of an early-stage class.
There was no way to prove that yet.
Still, the newly gained extraordinary talent definitely had something going for it.
Ian felt like he had somehow aligned himself with the great path of leveling up through heaven's will.
"Of course. That's because I'm amazing."
Ian pulled out his custom drink and took a big swig.
[Savage Tyrant EXP +1]
It worked.
That instantly sent Mr. White's value through the roof.
Ian pulled out the battered thermos and decided that, when he got the chance, he ought to upgrade his chemistry teacher to a more expensive flask.
"I've got one skill point for Savage Tyrant. Let's see what I can learn."
Ian stood at the front door.
He was absolutely not stalling before going inside.
[Solar Gaze: Your eyes can release high-intensity beams. Continuous use will temporarily impair your vision. Beam strength depends on the user's Spirit.]
[Mutation Breath: You will continuously generate mutation factors within your body and may exhale them through your lungs as gas, inducing severe biological mutation in targets.]
[Iron Body: Your body's surface will be greatly reinforced, significantly increasing Strength and Constitution.]
...
There was, once again, a dazzling number of skills.
But at Ian's current level, only those three were actually available.
Flight was not among them.
"If there's a passive, you always take the passive. Anyone who's ever played games knows that."
Ian did not hesitate for long.
He immediately chose the skill that would bring him closest to his family.
[Iron Body]
"System, can you please rename it Steel Body? I've suffered enough from cheap knockoffs."
Ian tried negotiating with the system.
The system, as cold and silent as ever, responded only by granting him the skill.
[Strength: 13 → 21]
[Constitution: 14 → 38]
[Intelligence: 3.0]
[Spirit: 7.6]
...
A qualitative leap.
This level of physical enhancement was honestly beyond Ian's expectations.
If he had more Savage Tyrant skill points right now, he was not sure he could resist pouring them all into this skill immediately.
Yes.
Ordinary skills could be upgraded, and class skills were no exception.
It was just that every level required double the skill points of the previous one, which was why Ian had always been too stingy to spend the Berserker skill points he had saved up.
"I really need to grind hard now!"
Ian felt that, just like himself, the system knew how to listen.
Silence meant consent.
The next time he upgraded the skill, the system would definitely and quietly rename it for him.
"Don't let me down."
Having tried to emotionally manipulate his own system, Ian finally had to go inside.
He stepped through the front door carefully and crept into the living room on tiptoe.
Jordan was sprawled across the couch watching TV.
On the news, Superman had just stopped a nuclear plant leak, his red cape snapping in the radioactive dust.
So that was why Clark had rushed off just now.
"Where are Mom and Jonathan?"
Ian tried fishing for information from his second brother.
Jordan glanced back at his younger brother, who had been coming home late a lot these past few days and now genuinely looked like he might have a real love life.
"Jonathan went to the field for extra practice. And Mom went out too..."
"This is the weird part. She saw some Batman news and ran out in a hurry, cursing under her breath the whole time. I think she must really not like that superhero from the next city over."
Jordan rubbed his chin and delivered what he clearly thought was a Sherlock Holmes-level deduction.
"Ahaha, yeah, Batman's the worst..."
Ian's forehead started sweating a little. It was not too bad at first, but the moment he reached into his pocket, his whole body froze.
"Of course, even so, I still really like Batman. Totally love him."
That was Ian trying to save himself in time, because the phone Batman had dropped for him was still in his pocket.
He had not thrown it away.
After all, Ian wanted a Red Lantern.
He needed to keep building his relationship with Batman. Before, he had not had a contact method, but now Batman was receiving the same treatment as Lady Death.
"Huh?"
Jordan snapped his head around.
"Something's off with you."
There was open suspicion in his voice.
"What do you mean?"
Ian felt instantly guilty. For a second, he thought Jordan had figured something out.
But instead,
"You got a boyfriend too?"
Jordan's tone was packed with implications. He sounded worried.
Worried for his brother.
And, somehow, for his own future too.
"What do you mean, too?!"
Ian froze.
His eyes widened.
He did not dare think too deeply about it.
The moment his intelligence got involved, the implications would become terrifying.
"This... never mind. You can't know. You tell the adults everything anyway."
Jordan had clearly been about to say more, but in the end stopped himself.
"Has it ever occurred to you that I've literally never snitched on anyone?"
Ian was genuinely wronged this time. Sure, he was a top student, but he did not have those more annoying top-student habits.
"Heh."
Jordan clearly did not believe him.
Then he pulled a piece of mail out from under himself.
"You got a letter. Probably a love letter... there was no return address and no signature. I've gotten those too."
That last bit was emphasized just a little too deliberately.
"A green envelope? No way that's a love letter."
Ian rolled his eyes.
He took the letter and opened it curiously.
Inside was indeed a thin note.
And another sheet of paper.
A check.
One with seven zeros on it.
"A prank?"
No one in their right mind would believe it was real.
Ian looked down at the letter in confusion.
The wording was gentlemanly, polished, and full of style.
Even so, it still left Ian completely baffled.
[To Mr. Ian Kent,
I hope this letter finds you well!
I write to you only because, after reading your great work, I found myself unable to suppress the deep admiration and excitement stirring in my heart. Thus, I felt compelled to use this humble letter to express my sincere praise for your masterpiece. Please allow me to offer my highest admiration for your extraordinary work, The Tragic Love Story of Batman.
Your artistic talent is astonishing.
Your portrayal of character psychology is truly exquisite.
When Batman trembled and said, "How could I possibly be your half-brother by the same father," I was deeply shaken! What a genius concept! What a dramatic twist!
To support your continued writing, please accept this gift from me, and also accept my eager anticipation for the story's continuation. Within three days, I wish to see the next update.
Please.
Satisfy your most loyal reader on Earth.
Otherwise, I'm afraid I may not be able to control myself.
Handwritten personally by your admirer, Joker.]
(End of Chapter)
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