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Fini, who had successfully maintained his winning streak, ignored the disdainful glares from the surrounding sorcerers and happily checked the growth of his system's experience bar.
While such behavior might be seen as "killing the goose that lays the golden eggs"—potentially making other sorcerers reluctant to spar with him in the future—he couldn't afford to care about that right now. His "Iron Man EXP Farm" was about to go online, and that was his top priority.
Finally, on March 8th—International Women's Day—Tony gave Fini a call. Of course, he wasn't calling to wish him a happy holiday; he was calling to announce that the new element was a success.
"Really? Have you tested it yet?"
The long-awaited experience baby was finally ready, and Fini was beyond excited. After his recent period of relentless shamelessness at Kamar-Taj, his experience bar was already more than half full. If Tony's new armor was powerful enough, there was a high chance he could draw his fifth skill in the near future.
"Not yet, I'm just about to!" Tony replied over the phone, his excited tone making it clear that he was just as pumped.
"Wait for me! I'll help you test its performance," Fini said immediately.
It was time to see just how much experience the Iron Man was worth. He wondered if Tony would be worth several "Mordos."
Filled with silent anticipation, Fini took a leave of absence from school that afternoon and opened a portal directly into Tony's villa.
The villa had undergone a total transformation. If he hadn't trusted the precision of his own portals, Fini might have thought he had stepped into the wrong house.
"Did you decide to demolish the place?"
Looking at the living room cluttered with various scientific instruments and conduits, Fini realized he couldn't even find a place to sit down.
"First, get me a fried chicken roll!"
Though exhaustion lined Tony's face, his eyes were bright and sharp. The moment he saw Fini arrive, his first order of business was to demand food.
Fini casually summoned a fried chicken roll and handed it over. He couldn't help but confirm, "You really created the new element?"
"Of course!"
Tony mumbled through a mouthful of chicken, gesturing toward his chest. There, the new Arc Reactor glowed with a distinct, triangular light.
"Fantastic!"
Fini's heart leaped with joy. Tony's pace in upgrading his armor was legendary. This meant he could farm the armor by day and the sorcerers at night, causing his experience points to skyrocket every day.
Thinking this way, Fini felt wonderful.
Tony had no idea Fini had already begun planning to use him as a dedicated tool for leveling up. He finished the roll quickly, wiped his mouth, and asked, "Are you sure you want to test the armor's performance against me?"
"Hurry up!" Fini urged.
Even though Tony had been constantly refining his tech during this time, Fini was confident. His daily, grueling cultivation wasn't just for show.
Without further ado, Tony stepped into his armor. The process was significantly more streamlined than the initial versions, though it still lacked the instantaneous nature of Incursio.
The battle took place in the Himalayas once again.
Since the fight with Iron Monger, Tony had clearly taken environmental factors into account, which caught Fini slightly off guard. At Fini's insistence, Tony didn't hold back, unleashing a barrage of missiles and laser cannons. Fortunately, they had chosen a remote location where even a triggered avalanche wouldn't cause any harm.
Since both could fly, the fight turned into an aerial dogfight—a novel experience for Fini, who had mostly been grinding against grounded sorcerers at Kamar-Taj.
Due to the lethality of high-tech weaponry, Fini didn't dare hold back either. Facing Tony's missiles, he dodged what he could; for those he couldn't evade, he used portals to redirect them. Only when redirection was impossible did he rely on the formidable defense of Incursio to tank the hits directly.
The back-and-forth lasted for over an hour, finally ending when Tony's weapon reserves were depleted and his energy levels hit the red zone.
Back at the villa, Fini immediately deactivated Incursio. The battle had taken a significant toll on his stamina, and his body ached from the sheer number of impacts he had absorbed.
Despite the soreness, he was elated. He looked at Tony, who was stepping out of his armor, and raised an eyebrow. "I won!"
"I was just taking it easy on a kid!" Tony replied with a stiff face. He added, "Besides, I have secret weapons I didn't use because I didn't want to hurt you."
Fini curled his lip but didn't argue. Tony had just contributed a massive amount of experience, so he let it slide. He checked his progress the moment the fight ended.
Using Mordo as a unit of measurement, this one fight was worth about five Mordos.
Fini didn't quite understand the system's exact calculation method. Setting the Iron Monger incident aside, he felt experience gain was tied to skill usage. In this fight, he had used almost all of his abilities except for the "Fried Chicken Roll" itself—though technically he had used it for pre-battle prep.
He had used Incursio for power and defense, Bukujutsu for flight, and Ars Magna to assist in accelerating his portal casting. Every ability was in constant use.
In contrast, at Kamar-Taj, Incursio alone was usually enough for Mordo and the others. He only used Bukujutsu to "cheat" when he was on the verge of losing, which usually signaled the end of the match anyway.
The experience Tony provided made Fini extremely happy. By his estimation, if he farmed Iron Man by day and sorcerers by night, he could unlock his fifth skill within a month at most.
But how should I put this?
Fini looked at Tony. Unlike the sorcerers at Kamar-Taj who trained every day as a way of life, Tony was a busy man. Getting him to agree to daily combat would be a challenge.
"What do you think would happen if I handed the entire company over to Pepper?"
Before Fini could even come up with a reason to fight again, Tony asked him a question.
"Huh?" Fini was momentarily stunned, then answered naturally, "It would be great. Isn't she basically running it already? She's just missing the official title."
Tony nodded silently.
"Can you do me a favor?" Fini decided to be direct. "I want to improve my combat experience. How about you set aside some time to spar with me a few more times?"
"Then I won't be holding back next time," Tony agreed without hesitation. Given everything Fini had done for him, this was a small price to pay.
With his "EXP Farm" secured, Fini was happy. Over the next few weeks, his life fell into a productive rhythm: school, Tony's villa, and Kamar-Taj. It was a fulfilling, if busy, cycle.
After Tony handed the company over to Pepper, he was free as well. He had more time to research and improve his armor, and Fini could feel Tony's progress with every battle.
Through this frequent contact, Fini also began to learn about some of Tony's troubles.
"The Military Committee sent you a subpoena?"
Arriving at Tony's villa one morning, Fini was surprised to see Tony dressed up and ready to head out.
"Yeah. They'll use any tactic to get their hands on it," Tony said, glancing at the line of Iron Man suits in his workshop. He tugged at his collar, prompting Pepper, who was helping him with his tie, to ask, "Do you have a plan to deal with them?"
"Don't worry. No one is taking these from me," Tony said proudly. He glanced at Fini, who looked unimpressed, and added, "And even if they could take them, they wouldn't be able to use them anyway."
(End of Chapter)