It's been three years since I ended up in this Marvel world.
I'm rich now, sure, but I crossed over into Brazil. That's weird. Don't most travelers land in New York? Why am I the only one in Brazil? Brazil doesn't have much going on in terms of plot, which makes it relatively safe at the start.
On top of that, I woke up in the body of a 35-year-old middle-aged man. Before crossing over, I was just 18—full of youth and energy. Now I'm stuck in this body that has done nothing but lose his entire life.
Fortunately, both of our names are the same: Sam Jackson. But I prefer calling myself SJ. Simple, and cool enough.
Sam's parents were both middle-class workers. His father runs a small tea and roasted egg shop. His mother left after the divorce. As for why—this Sam never knew, and never cared. There's no memory of him missing her, so it's just been him and the old man running the shop.
In my last life, I was only good at making one dish—egg fried rice. So I added it to the menu.
In the past three years, I haven't made millions, but I've saved a few hundred thousand dollars. These days, my—well, Sam's—father is retired, and we own a few big shops and one small shop. All of them are known for our signature dishes: egg fried rice and chicken fried rice.
Right now, I'm closing the small shop. My last customer just finished dinner. The other three shops are handled by my secretary, Kyle, who I hired from a three-star restaurant. Kyle is amazing—not only as a business manager, but also as a chef and secretary. Thanks to her, I'm relatively free. But since I like cooking, I still take over the small shop sometimes.
After closing, I ate dinner made by my father. The old man is still energetic in his 70s. Then I went upstairs to the second floor, which doubles as my home. I showered, got into bed, and prepared for sleep. Today had been tiring; we had a lot of customers.
But no matter what, I couldn't fall asleep.
Why? Because Iron Man already exists in this world. It's 2010, which means that in a few months Loki will attack, and the Avengers will form. I don't even know what kind of universe this is. There are mutants, Reed Richards, Doctor Doom, and countless other lunatics out there.
If only I had a golden finger… maybe I could become a hero. Or a villain.
Suddenly, a cold, electronic voice rang in my ears:
> [Ding – 10,000-Times Multiplier Strengthening System is online and binding…]
[Binding…]
[Binding successful. Hello, host. This is the 10,000-Times Multiplier Strengthening System, which can strengthen any non-living thing.]
[Current limit: 100x multiplier, no point system, no restrictions. The user can freely use all features at will.]
A system! Of course I knew about systems. I was a fan of fantasy novels, so I'd read plenty of them. But this one was different. It wasn't the usual kind. This one felt… above the usual.
Think about it: if you strengthen a gun, and suddenly it fires like a missile—or even like a nuclear bomb—that's heaven-defying.
With the system's arrival, the weight on my shoulders finally lifted. I drifted into the best sleep I'd had in years.
Tomorrow morning, I'll check it out.