There are benefits to being a cripple, such as an excuse to constantly ordering takeout or refusal to participate in any mundane human gathering. There are, of course, demerits as well, but I had long since taken to ignoring the state of the apartment, bills, or health for that matter. When you're a cripple, especially under circumstances such as mine, you can hardly bring yourself to.
"The screen is black."
Honestly though, I just might be the first person to waste their potential isekai adventure. "Is the computer on?" I intoned sluggishly.
Not that mine hadn't been eventful, mind you—if the lameness of my leg wasn't evidence enough. Indeed, I had once braved the fresh waters like a newly born fish, dreaming of making it big and climbing into the ranks of the true elite. Being bereft of powers had hardly proven to be a deterrent. If Tony Stark could do it, surely I could do at least half as well.
"Yes, the light is blinking."
Studying hard hadn't been easy, but the promise of a heroic life had fueled those late-night study sessions, like some divinely inspired motivational drink.
"Okay, move your mouse."
When the letter of approval popped into my notifications, my excitement had shot through the roof. Sure, I was no Peter Parker, but I had managed to score an internship at Stark Tech on my own merit.
"Done. It's still blank."
Who would've thought that my cape career would meet its end before it even began? ...Maybe the telepaths? Or the likes of cosmic entities? But they would hardly care about an inferior mortal.
"Try pressing the spacebar."
All it took was one bad day. A villain on his usual crime spree; a hero there to fight against him; and civilians waiting to be implicated or rescued.
"Oh, now it's working!"
Only, my rescue had arrived a little late. Though my life was saved, my mobility was permanently scarred.
"Great."
It wasn't, however, the loss of a limb that pained me the most. The loss of my dreams had. I left the company, dejected... and tired. I never again wanted to meddle in the affairs of superhumans.
"...But now all the letters are in capitals."
Though my current job could hardly be considered an improvement.
"...Did you press Caps instead of Space?"
But I was content.
"Maybe?"
I sighed, leaned back, and removed the headphones.
Maybe I should order a pizza or something now that I had wrapped up work. I wonder if Peter would be sent to deliver my pizza, and I'd score one for free, given his tendency to arrive late.
Hmm. Come to think of it, I don't even know what he's into these days.
"Forget it." I lifted my arms to stretch my muscles, then, using the table as leverage, stood up. A sudden bout of pain shot through my leg, making me keel over as I rubbed it soothingly. Even after nearly a year since the incident, and despite the treatment plan afforded by the company, the traces of the injury remained.
Thankfully, the contract covered limited company liability, which ended with me receiving 50k in hush money to waive further claims. Given that I made over $15 an hour as Tech Support, I was living about as comfortably as I had expected.
If only this damn leg could be fixed.
I had once considered the possibility of paying a visit to Kamar-Taj, but decided against it after some thought. Who knew whether getting involved with the supernatural would result in my death? Not to mention, there was no guarantee of actually learning the Mystic Arts or even meeting the Sorcerer Supreme.
I limped through the hallway, entered the living room, and settled on the sofa. Feeling hungry, I decided to order a pizza from a nearby Pizza Shack. Just as I unlocked my phone, a brief spell of dizziness washed over me, followed by a deep ringing in my ears.
I groaned, clutching my head to steady myself. The phone slipped from my fingers and clattered to the floor, but I barely noticed. Then, just as suddenly as it had arrived, the sensation vanished, leaving me with an unexpected sense of clarity.
Right before my eyes, floating mid-air, was a translucent screen. It displayed the icon of a book with a loading bar right beneath it, reading Fetching Archive...
I blinked through the confusion, trying to assess whether I was dreaming. Glancing down at the floor, I found my phone with a fresh dent in the frame.
This is too realistic to be a dream, I thought, frowning.
As the loading bar filled completely, a new line of text appeared:
[Welcome to the Codex Alexandria]
[A comprehensive library consisting of every power known to exist throughout the Omniverse]
[You may have heard of powers that let you mirror the abilities of your counterparts across the multiverse… but this Codex transcends that. It grants you access to every skill, every gift, every power wielded by every being across the entirety of the Omniverse]
[Good luck, Traveler]
"...What?" I finally blurted out.
A cheat code! The golden finger! My very own blend of superpowers!It had finally arrived.
A shallow laugh escaped my lips as the implications settled in my heart.
To grant access to every power and skill—what manner of insanity was that?
"I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth," I chided myself, regaining composure and focusing.
Somehow, I knew intuitively how to navigate the screen before me. There were two options at the front: one was the Archive, the other was World-Quest.
I mentally clicked on the Archive, and a new screen appeared before me:
[Tier 1]
[Tier 2]
Tier 1 was a blinking icon, while Tier 2 appeared grayed out. I considered a possibility and pressed Tier 2 first. As expected, nothing happened. I didn't seem to have access to that Tier yet.
Sighing, I clicked on Tier 1, and suddenly a long, seemingly infinite list manifested before my very eyes.
[Cooking]
[Medical Knowledge]
[Teaching]
[Engineering]
...
[Marksmanship]
[Boxing]
...
[Pattern Recognition]
[Critical Thinking]
...
[Singing]
[Painting]
[Acting]
...
[Gardening]
[Navigation]
...and the list went on.
The sheer number of skills left me baffled, but what confounded me even more was that—
"They're weak."
—They were practically mundane. No different from what a normal human was capable of. Even more audacious was the fact that each one of those skills cost 50 Points, of which I had none.
"Maybe Tier 1 lists only mundane skills..." I pondered, the possibility growing more and more likely. "In that case, Tier 2 should be where I can find superpowers."
The only issue was, I didn't know how to gain access to that Tier.
Just as the thought came to mind, a sudden line of text appeared on the screen:
[To access Tier 2 Archive, please deposit 50 Points]
"Same cost as the skills in Tier 1," I muttered under my breath.
Without the Points to spend, I moved to the other section, titled World-Quest.
[Current Reality: Host Reality]
[Active Quests: None]
[Omega-Charge: 100%]
[Selected Mode:
[Initiate Instance Hopping: Y/N]
I decided to voice my thoughts, hoping to gain some clarification. Unsurprisingly, a thorough explanation appeared on the screen before me.
Apparently, to earn Points, I had to complete quests. I could do so either by creating such scenarios myself or by World-Hopping to another Reality where I would be granted a quest. Depending on the difficulty of the quest, I would earn a set amount of Points.
Given that I lived in New York—not the most peaceful place out there—there was always a chance I could get embroiled in situations far beyond my capacity. In comparison, the Instance created, though random, would at least match my capability.
Of course, the reason I even bothered considering the possibility was because the Instance offered something called the Partial Quest System. Basically, I could finish a milestone quest and return to the Host Reality, then go back and continue whenever I pleased.
The downside, however, was that initiating a Hop and then returning would exhaust all Omega-Charge, just as it would if I completed every milestone. It would then require an entire week to recharge before another attempt could be made—a terribly inefficient process. The only silver lining was that no time would pass here during my stay in another Reality.
That last point was a tad concerning, given the absolute beings that resided in this Reality. What if they noticed something messing with time? What if they found out about me? What would happen then?
All questions I had no answers to. But honestly, I was done being a cripple.
Taking a deep breath, I closed the screen before me. Regardless of whether I wandered outside and triggered a quest or initiated a Jump and traveled to another Reality, I still needed to eat. And pizza sounded just about right.
The world could afford to wait an hour more.
***
With my hunger sated, I finally turned my attention to the matter at hand. To make effective use of my Superpower, I had to earn Points by completing quests. I might've preferred a genuine Superpower instead of this, but honestly, that mostly depended on how high the ceiling could be.
Tier 1 seemed to deal mostly with mundane professional skills—anything humanly possible. It wouldn't help in the broader perspective, but the existence of Tier 2 was reassuring.
"Oh well, no pain no gain."
Decision made, I closed my eyes and initiated the Jump.
Between one moment and the next, a sense of weightlessness enveloped me. And then came the smell—garbage, sewage, and engine exhaust melded into an unholy cocktail of nausea. I almost gagged and quickly scanned my surroundings to realize I was in a grimy alley littered with trash, black-water puddles, and broken crates.
Lumbering out of the alley, I was met with the scene of a modern city: cars, roads, tall skyscrapers, and people all too familiar. Wherever I was, it appeared remarkably similar to Earth—New York, even.
My appearance didn't draw any unwanted attention from the crowd. For that I was grateful, though I grew increasingly curious with each familiar corner I passed and every road I walked.
Up ahead was a comic book store. Curious, I pushed the door open and stepped inside. Shelves lined every aisle, stacked with issues—but what struck me most was that they all featured Marvel comics, with the occasional indie title sprinkled in. It was as if I had wandered into a golden mine, and an uncontrollable smile crept across my face.
A Universe where Marvel Comics exist, absolutely delightful.
I had read my fair share of comics in my previous life, both Marvel and DC, but the sheer volume of content the two franchises boasted meant I had only managed a handful of the most famous runs. But this was different. Now that I knew where I was, having knowledge about future events or hidden lore meant I could avoid disasters, and maybe even profit from them.
I reached for a Hulk issue and checked the price tag: $3.99. That was when I realized I'd forgotten to bring any money.
"Well, shit," I cursed, though I could hardly be blamed. Nowadays, people preferred cards and online payments over cash-filled wallets, and I was no different. Though I did keep some emergency cash, it was usually tucked away in my wallet at home.
Sighing, I slid the comic back and left the store. It was growing increasingly dark, and I had yet to secure any accommodation. Not to mention, my leg was beginning to feel stiff and achy.
Maybe I should look for an abandoned warehouse or something to spend the night.
"Hmm, what's that?"
As I turned onto another street, beneath the dim glow of streetlamps, a sudden motion caught my eye. I drew closer, and to my shock, it was a kid—struggling to wriggle his way out of a diving suit. He lay sprawled, bloodied, with limbs bent at grotesque angles.
Yet it wasn't the macabre display that rooted me to the ground. It was the uncanny familiarity of the scene that unsettled me.
[Milestone Quest triggered]
[Current Reality: Kick-Ass]