- Zzooop!
The transition was so seamless it was nauseating. One moment, Raizer was standing in the cooling ruins of a fantasy palace in Orario; the next, the heavy scent of incense and ozone was replaced by the stale, familiar air of his apartment in New York.
He was standing in the center of his small living room. The clock on the wall ticked forward—not a single second had passed since he was plucked from this reality.
However, Raizer was no longer the man he had been a month ago. He stood there, a grim silhouette caked in the dust of the Labyrinth, clad in reinforced chainmail and dark leather armor that hummed with a foreign energy. The twin blades at his waist were real, their weight pulling at his belt, and his inventory—a spatial pocket filled with monster shards and high-tier loot—remained tethered to his soul.
[Home sweet home, Host!] The System's voice crackled in his mind, sounding remarkably domestic for a dimensional parasite. [The air quality here is 40% worse, but the Wi-Fi signal is excellent. Shall we order a pizza to celebrate not being dead?]
Raizer didn't answer. He closed his eyes, activating Absolute Control. He hadn't noticed it before leaving but his senses could clearly feel it now.
Through the thin walls of his apartment, the world felt different now. He could hear the micro-vibrations of the city—the hum of the refrigerator, the distant rumble of the subway—but then, he felt the anomaly. A low-frequency tremor was vibrating through the floorboards, coming from the north. Clearly, Marvel was going through some shit... Again.
Raizer stood in the center of his living room, the adrenaline of Orario still thrumming in his veins. He ignored the vibration of the city for a moment to focus on the blue interface flickering in his vision.
[Main Quest: Proof of a King — COMPLETED]
- You have received the Trait: King's Aura (EX)!
Description: You don't have to act like a King to be feared! Your silence is a threat; your presence is a death sentence! The more power an opponent has, the more their own instincts will scream that you are the 'End' of them!
Effect #1: Your presence is absolute! You can't be erased!
Effect #2: Your presence itself is terror to your enemies!
- For surpassing expectations, you have been rewarded: Absolute Control Level 2 -> Absolute Control Level 3
Raizer gained another (EX) trait. Even his only skill leveled up. Thinking about it, except for 'Absolute Control', he had no other skill. And because he not only defeated a Level 4, but also a Level 5, he had that skill leveled up.
Shaking his head, he pulled up his status.
[Raizer Haze]
[Title: King-To-Be(provisional)]
- HP: 2304/2304 {Regen: 2.3/min}
- SP: 2304/2304 {Regen: 2.3/min}
- MP: 3101/3101 {Regen: 2.59/min}
[Attributes]
- Physique: 23.04
- Mind: 25.9 (???)
- Spirit: 31.01
- Free Attributes: 00
[Traits] - ⟪King Engine (EX)⟫ / ⟪King's Resolve (EX)⟫ / ⟪King's Aura (EX)⟫
[Skills] - ⌈Absolute Control Lvl 3⌋
[Inventory]
At least, by now, he was strong enough to slack for a while.
He opened his inventory to grab his tactical gear, but as his hand touched the screen, the System screen turned a bright, warning amber.
[DENIED.]
"What?" Raizer frowned.
[Host, have you learned nothing from the 'Greatest Man Alive'? The true essence of the King isn't found in gold-plated armor or visible blades. To be the King, you must embrace the 'Ordinary.' The strongest man in the world doesn't need a sword to look like a threat; he needs a sweater vest and a misunderstood expression.]
"I'm in the middle of a war zone," Raizer argued. "I need the defense stats."
[NO. You will put on your white dress shirt. You will put on your charcoal slacks. You will put on that slightly-too-tight blazer. The System is enforcing a 'Standard Professional' dress code. If you want to check up on the source of that rumbling, you do it in business casual!]
Before Raizer could protest, the System forcefully unequipped his Orario armor, sending it back into his inventory with a series of digital clicks. In its place, his old accountant attire was manifested back onto his body.
He looked in the mirror. He was back to being the unassuming office worker—crisp white shirt, sensible shoes, and a face that looked like it worried about tax returns. But the eyes... the eyes were still the ones that had seen a Goddess burn.
[There! Perfect!] The System chirped. [Now, go out there and look like you're lost!]
'Well, the real 'King' would actually be lost while trying to run away.'
Raizer sighed, adjusting his tie. He stepped out of his apartment, looking like a man who had forgotten his briefcase, and began his trek towards the source of the trouble, his feet carried him with a clear, crisp gait of confidence.
The moment Raizer found the source of the shockwaves, he realized what was happening. After all, the center was at Harlem.
The streets were a chaotic mess of fleeing civilians and sirens. The further north he walked, the more the air tasted like ozone and pulverized concrete.
- ROAR!
The Abomination's voice tore through the night. The sound was enough to make the average man lose control of his bowels. Raizer didn't flinch. He simply walked, his hands in his pockets, weaving through the panicked crowd like a salmon swimming upstream.
As he crossed 110th street, the King's Aura began to bleed out.
He looked entirely out of place. Amidst people covered in soot and blood, he was a clean, sharp-dressed man walking toward the explosions. A group of police officers tried to stop him.
"Hey! You! Get back! It's a war zone up there!" the sergeant yelled, reaching out to grab Raizer's shoulder.
Raizer stopped and turned his head slightly. He didn't say a word. He didn't even glare. He just looked at the officer with the tired, neutral expression of a man who had seen too many spreadsheets.
The officer froze. His hand stopped inches from Raizer's blazer. His pupils dilated, and cold sweat broke out on his neck. His lizard-brain was screaming at him that if he touched this man, the entire city might collapse.
"I... I..." the officer stammered, stepping back, his knees shaking. "Sorry, sir. Carry on."
Raizer continued walking. He reached the final intersection where the battle was most intense. The Hulk was buried under a pile of rubble, and the Abomination was standing over him, laughing as he raised a massive piece of a destroyed building to finish the job.
Raizer stepped into the center of the street, fifty yards away. The fires illuminated his white shirt, making him stand out like a beacon in the dark.
- THUMP!
The King Engine ignited.
In the silence between the explosions, the heartbeat began. It was low, rhythmic, and incredibly heavy. The Abomination paused, the rubble still held above his head. He smelled something. Not the scent of a hero, but the scent of death.
He turned his monstrous head toward the lone man in the suit.
- THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
- Your Engine is beating with doubt!
- Your stats have been increased by 50%!
It seemed that Raizer drew the short end of the stick again.
'Fck! Fck!'
[... Do you want roses on your grave, host?]
.
.
.
The streetlights of Harlem flickered and died as the King Engine roared to life. To the civilians hiding in the shadows, it sounded like a heavy bomber squadron approaching; to the Abomination, it sounded like a countdown.
Raizer stood dead center of the asphalt, his cheap blazer fluttering in the superheated wind. Inwardly, he was sweating. His stats had surged by 50%, pushing him into the peak of Level 4. A god among men in Orario, but against a Gamma-fueled engine of destruction like Emil Blonsky? It was like bringing a tactical knife to a nuclear meltdown. If the Abomination lunged, Raizer knew his strength wouldn't be enough to stop a fist the size of a fridge.
But the 'King's Aura (EX)' didn't care about the truth. Host is weak? You know that, I know that. The enemy doesn't know that!
The Abomination, sensing the crushing pressure emanating from the human, felt a cold shiver crawl up his mutated spine. He saw the calm, bored expression on Raizer's face and his mind spiraled. 'The military... they did it. The Perfected Super-Soldier. No green skin, no rage—just pure, concentrated power in a human shell.'
He had mistaken Raizer for a true Super Soldier, surpassing Steve Rogers.
'Damn it, did Ross send him to hunt me down?'
Blonsky took a hesitant step back, his grip on the massive concrete slab loosening. That split second of hesitation was all the opening the Green Giant needed.
From beneath the pile of twisted rebar and brick, a massive green hand erupted. With a roar that shattered the remaining windows on the block, the Hulk surged upward, catching the Abomination off-guard.
The Green Goliath didn't lead with a punch; he led with a tackle that carried both monsters through the brick facade of a nearby electronics store. The sound of glass and steel screaming filled the air. Inside the store, the fight was a blurred whirlwind of primary colors and catastrophic force. The Hulk grabbed a display rack and smashed it over Blonsky's head, but the Abomination simply snarled, his bony protrusions glowing with the heat of the impact.
Blonsky counter-attacked, his elbow—sharp as a jagged rock—driving deep into the Hulk's ribs. The Hulk gasped, a spray of green blood hitting the floor, but the pain only fed the furnace. His muscles expanded, his skin turning a darker, more bruised shade of emerald.
They tumbled back onto the street, locked in a titan's struggle. The Abomination grabbed the Hulk by his throat, lifting him into the air with one hand while the other rained down hammer-blows on the Hulk's skull.
- CRACK!
- CRACK!
Each punch sent a shockwave through the ground that Raizer felt in his teeth.
But the Hulk's healing factor was accelerating. Every time Blonsky broke a bone, it knitted back together stronger. The Hulk's eyes, once full of a confused pain, were now burning with a singular, focused hate. He caught the Abomination's descending fist mid-air. The sound of their hands meeting was like two tectonic plates grinding.
The Hulk began to squeeze. The Abomination's knuckles groaned and popped.
"HULK... SMASH!"
The Green Giant delivered a thunderous headbutt that sent Blonsky reeling. Before the monster could steady himself, the Hulk lunged, grabbing a length of heavy industrial chain from a fallen crane. He wrapped it around the Abomination's neck, his massive biceps bulging as he pulled with the strength of a dying star.
The Abomination thrashed, his heels digging deep furrows into the asphalt, but the Hulk was a wall of pure, unadulterated rage. With a final, guttural scream, the Hulk slammed the Abomination face-first into the street and leaped into the air, bringing both fists down in a Gamma Slam.
- KABOOM!
The street collapsed. A crater ten feet deep formed instantly, with the Abomination lying at the bottom, unconscious and broken.
The dust began to settle. The fires hissed in the wreckage.
The Hulk stood at the edge of the crater, his chest heaving, steam rising from his green skin. He turned his head slowly, his predatory gaze locking onto Raizer.
Raizer stood exactly where he had been. His hair was windswept, his tie slightly askew, his hands buried deep in his trouser pockets. To the Hulk, Raizer looked like an immovable pillar of gold—a creature that hadn't even found the fight worthy of his intervention.
Inwardly, Raizer was screaming. His legs felt like they were made of overcooked noodles. The only reason he hadn't fallen over was that his muscles were locked in a state of sheer, petrified tension. He stared into the Hulk's glowing green eyes, his 'King's Resolve' barely keeping his heart from exploding out of his chest.
'Don't move. Don't blink. If you show fear, he'll turn you into a red smear on the pavement.'
The Hulk let out a low, vibrating huff. He sensed the "King's Aura". Feeling that this tiny man was a mountain that couldn't be climbed. The Green Giant, exhausted and sensing the approach of Ross's military choppers, decided the risk wasn't worth the reward. He gave one final, defiant snort toward Raizer, then turned and leaped, clearing three buildings in a single bound as he disappeared into the night.
Raizer stood alone in the silence.
He waited until the roar of the Hulk's departure faded into the distance. Then, he let out a long, shuddering breath. He tried to take a step, but his knees buckled, forcing him to lean heavily against a nearby lamp post.
"System..." Raizer wheezed, his voice trembling. "Remind me... to never... do that again."
[Host! That was incredible! You successfully intimidated the Strongest Avenger! My metrics show your 'Coolness Rating' just broke the scale!]
"I'm going to throw up," Raizer muttered, wiping cold sweat from his forehead.
He composed himself just enough to limp away into the shadows before the army arrived to secure the Abomination. He didn't see the flickering red light of a smartphone camera in a second-story window above him.
The next morning, the internet would wake up to a grainy, viral video titled: "THE MAN WHO STOOD STILL: Mystery Man scares off the Hulk and the Monster!"