Nova came out of his thoughts as the door to his new Oscorp office slid open. Harry had arranged private offices for each of them — functional, secure, and equipped with both magical and technological amenities.
Elara stepped inside, composed as always. She walked straight up to him and held out a neatly organized document.
"Boss, this is—"
Nova raised a hand, cutting her off with a light shake of his head. "Don't call me 'boss'. It feels strange. Unless we're in a formal setting, just call me Nova — 'boss' makes it sound like I'm running a mafia front."
Elara's mouth twitched slightly at that, a flicker of amusement. She nodded and handed over the file.
"This is the finalized version of the serum profit agreement," she said. "It outlines your profit share, Oscorp's R&D rights, manufacturing permissions, and storage responsibilities. I've also included provisions in case we develop superior versions of the Training Potion."
Nova opened the document and scanned it lazily. The layout was efficient — no fluff, no filler, just clean structuring with bulletproof language. The kind of paperwork that let the science stay the focus.
"I also negotiated a clause," Elara added, "ensuring we retain equal development rights for all derivative formulas. That way, if we release an upgraded version of the serum, your claim remains untouched."
Nova shut the file with a nod of approval. "Looks clean. Honestly, Harry wouldn't let me walk into a bad deal — and if you handled the paperwork, I trust it's airtight."
He leaned back slightly, casually flicking his fingers in a way that seemed harmless to an outside observer. Elara didn't react — and why would she? Just a habit, maybe. A gesture.
But in reality, Nova had just layered the office with silent, temporary wards. No shimmer, no pulse, no shift in the air. Perfectly woven — blocking out eavesdropping, magical scans, or corporate surveillance. A private space, conjured in seconds.
He made another wave, more direct this time — and Elara, catching the cue, took the seat across from him.
Nova smiled.
"So," he began, voice smooth. "You officially work for me now."
His fingers snapped once, and a glowing, rune-etched contract materialized in the air between them, its pages suspended like weightless parchment woven from light.
"My offer stands — triple your current salary, full research autonomy, no dress code, no clock-ins, and absolutely no middle management breathing down your neck. Just you, a lab, and whatever brilliance you can cook up."
Elara raised an eyebrow but said nothing, eyes scanning the glowing contract now hovering at eye level.
She didn't comment on the lightshow. Maybe she assumed mutant ability. Maybe she'd seen stranger today and changed boss before the day ended. Either way, she just leaned forward slightly, grabbed the floating contract and began reading.
"Triple the pay... full lab autonomy... no dress code, flexible hours, and I report to no one but you," she muttered, skimming. "Okay. That part's dangerously appealing."
Nova just smirked, saying nothing.
Her brow twitched as she reached the next section. "Sixty percent lifetime discount… Trader's Shop? Is that new business you would be starting?" She glanced at him, eyebrow raised.
Nova casually waved a hand, not even bothering to explain. "Continue."
Elara gave him a look, but said nothing as her gaze slid further down the floating text.
"Health protections… mental safeguards… resistance to intrusive psychic probes…" She paused again. "Magical interference clauses?"
She looked up slowly, deadpan. "Seriously? Still going with the fantasy theme? Do my new boss have a documented condition involving delusions of wizardry, or is this just untreated childhood obsession?"
Nova only grinned wider, absolutely unfazed.
Sighing, Elara signed the contract with a pen, not a wand or glowing fingertip — just a solid, practical pen. The moment the ink settled, the contract split cleanly in two. One copy floated toward her tablet and embedded itself digitally with a faint shimmer, while the other vanished into thin air with a soft snap of displaced energy.
She blinked once.
Then glanced at Nova. "So… what's your mutant ability? Contracts? Is that your whole thing?"
Nova leaned back, smiling lazily. "I can do anything… as long as I understand the underlying logic and knowledge."
He paused for effect, then added with a wink, "That's the official version. You'll be filling that into my mutant registration form later. Congratulations — that's your first task under me."
Elara muttered, "Naturally."
Before she could say more or question about this very high potential ability, her tablet buzzed gently in her hand. A new list had appeared — categorized, prioritized, and already synced with purchase links.
Her eyes narrowed. "Did you just… send me an entire requisition order without saying a word?"
"Second task," Nova said cheerfully. "Procure those items. Most are available through the Trader's Shop, so use the linked internal discount code."
Elara stared at the screen. "You literally didn't touch anything."
"Multitasking," Nova replied, tapping the side of his head. "Try it — it's fun."
Her voice was flat. "You are uncomfortably proud of being this insufferable."
"Wait till task three," Nova said, grin widening. "Wanna go to Afghanistan?"
Elara's eyes snapped up from the list. "I beg your pardon?"
Nova stretched his arms, completely casual. "Need to pick someone up. You've got free travel access now, and your employment contract includes hazard coverage."
Elara gave him a long look, weighing sarcasm against genuine concern for her own sanity. "…Is there a safe word for working with you? Like an escape clause or mental health hotline?"
Nova tilted his head. "Sure. It's 'more funding.' Say it and I'll give you a lab upgrade."
Elara exhaled slowly, muttering, "Yup. Definitely working for a lunatic."
Nova leaned back, grinning wider than ever. He waved his hand and a ring appeared in his hand, the very same that he had given to his students, subordinates, and customers.
He had recently decided to formalize its title: Trader's Ring.
A simple name, he told himself — and certainly not because he lacked a sense for naming things creatively. That implication was entirely coincidental
This Trader's Ring would be the access point for the Trader's Shop. Based on one's rank, they would have various permissions. Like the secretaries — the ones who controlled their entire world's Trader business —enjoyed top-level permissions. These included unrestricted usage of GMD at full scaling tiers, as well as direct access to the complete compendium of the Shop's digital knowledge archives.
During his seclusion back in the Sanctum Vault, he had upgraded the ring various times. Now, along with its original functions, it also had GMD functionality embedded. He really loved Grey Matter.
By evolving the GMD over various generations, he had finally made it possible to fit it inside the ring. But it didn't have the same level of mental enhancement capabilities, only two percent at max. After all, you couldn't expect a finger-sized ring to match the cognitive output of an artifact the size of a crown.
The Trader's Ring provided a two percent mental enhancement access for free, but one had to consume their own strength and energy for its use. After all, GMD required energy to boost mental capabilities. All the current recipients of the Trader's Ring had their own energy source — magic as a power bank — to support the use of GMD, except for the Granger couple.
But since the Granger couple had used TC points to activate GMD once, Nova himself had to supply the energy for their use. After all, the Trader's Shop, provided premium service with zero margin for customer dissatisfaction.
He noticed this drawback and had ideas to solve the problem by developing an energy bank similar to the 'Arc Reactor' of Tony Stark. But at that time, he didn't have much time to create an energy bank for himself, so he shelved the idea for later use.
---
Nova came out of his thoughts as Elara flatly asked, "What is that ring for?"
He blinked, then his eyes lit up with mischief.
"Oh, this?" he said, and with an exaggerated flourish, dropped to one knee in front of her. He held the ring up between two fingers, gaze mock-serious. "As I first saw you at the reception... something inside me stirred. A feeling. A heartbeat. Like a drum echoing across time and space."
"You made my heart beat like a war drum, Elara. So I decided... I must propose to you."
Elara stared at him, entirely unmoved. No blush, no twitch. Just deadpan silence.
Nova held the pose for three seconds. Then sighed and muttered, "Killjoy."
Then, straightening up and dusting off his knee, he said in a perfectly normal tone, "It's called the Trader's Ring. Every customer of the Trader's Shop gets one, but with different access tiers. Since you're the secretary responsible for this world's entire Trader Shop business, you have the highest access permissions. Also it have all the details, of the Trader's Shop, and your future work."
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HELLO GUYS, I AM BACK. EARLIER I PROMISED THAT I WOULD POST THREE OR FOUR CHAPTERS DIRECTLY, BUT UNFORTUNATELY I WASN'T ABLE TO WRITE THEM DUE TO MY BUSY SCHEDULE. BUT DONT WORRY, I WILL POST DOUBLE CHAPTER THIS ENTIRE WEEK....
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→ 30 REVIEWS= 3 BONUS CHAPTER's
→ 200 POWER STONES= 1 BONUS CHAPTER
→ 400 POWER STONES= 2 BONUS CHAPTER's
CURRENT PROGRESS:↓
– FIRST OBJECTIVE:- 21/30 REVIEWS
– SECOND OBJECTIVE- 34/200 P.S
– THIRD OBJECTIVE- /400 P.S
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CHAPTER:- [78 - THE VARIABLE] IS AVAILABLE ON MY P@TREON.
https://www.patreon.com/Ghost_0007?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator