Noah Vale slowed to a stop outside Midtown High School, glancing at the system interface hovering in his vision.
The analysis from his morning run had just updated.
He had completed the two-kilometer route in four minutes and forty seconds.
That was two seconds faster than the official human record.
Noah wasn't surprised.
It didn't mean he had surpassed humanity's ultimate limits in any single category.
His sprint speed still wouldn't match elite track athletes.
His endurance wouldn't beat professional long-distance runners.
And his raw strength wasn't comparable to the kind of strongmen who pulled trucks for sport.
But his overall physical balance was extraordinary.
He was close to the peak of human capability in every category at the same time.
That meant when all those attributes worked together, the result outperformed specialists who focused on only one area.
In short—
In sprinting, his strength helped him.
In weightlifting, his endurance helped him.
In long-distance running, his speed helped him.
The combination let him outperform athletes who were technically superior in individual categories.
"Hey, Noah! Why did you skip school on Friday?"
A hand suddenly dropped onto his shoulder.
Pain flared instantly across Noah's sensitive skin.
He flinched and grabbed the arm, pulling it away.
"I don't like people grabbing my shoulders," Noah said flatly as he turned around.
Behind him stood one of his classmates, Evan.
Evan stared at him in silence for a moment.
"…Whoa."
Then his eyes widened.
"Did you get plastic surgery over the weekend or something?"
He reached out as if to poke Noah's face.
Noah caught his wrist immediately.
"I just said I don't like people touching me," Noah said dryly. "What's with you? You secretly into guys or something?"
"Of course not," Evan protested.
"But seriously—did you do something to your face? If there's a clinic that can pull that off, I might consider it."
Noah rolled his eyes.
Evan kept talking, but Noah had already lost interest.
He turned and headed toward his seat.
As soon as he sat down, the student next to him leaned closer.
"Okay, now I have to ask," said Peter Parker.
"Why do you suddenly look way better than before?"
Peter adjusted his glasses and stared at him.
"Seriously. You could walk straight into the entertainment industry and probably get famous overnight."
Noah sighed.
"You too?"
He glanced around the classroom.
Other students were sneaking curious looks in his direction.
The changes to his appearance had clearly become noticeable.
Before gaining the system, Noah might have seriously considered the idea of becoming a celebrity.
Now?
That wasn't even remotely interesting.
His ambitions had changed.
If his training continued at this pace, fame would be meaningless compared to real power.
Why chase applause when you could become someone who shaped the world itself?
At that point, recognition would be inevitable anyway.
Peter kept talking.
"You know how lucky you are? If I looked like that, I'd become an actor immediately. Then my Aunt May and Uncle Ben wouldn't have to work so hard anymore."
Noah glanced sideways.
Peter's situation was rough.
Both of his parents were gone, and he was being raised by his aunt and uncle.
Then Peter suddenly remembered something.
"Oh right! While you were gone on Friday, the teacher announced something."
He leaned closer.
"This Wednesday our class is visiting Oscorp for a tour. If someone makes a good impression, there's a chance they could even get an internship there."
Peter paused mid-sentence.
"…Why are you looking at me like that?"
Noah quickly looked away.
"Nothing," he said.
"Just… congratulations in advance."
Peter blinked.
"Congratulations? For what? Getting an internship?"
"You might," Noah replied vaguely.
If things followed the usual timeline, this was where Peter's story would start heading toward becoming Spider-Man.
The classic lesson.
With great power comes great responsibility.
Noah hoped that when the time came, he might be able to prevent the tragedy that would change Peter's life.
While Peter continued chatting, Noah casually opened his system panel.
Then something strange happened.
A new message appeared.
Alert: Hostile interaction detected.Analyzing target.
Name: Eric ChrisStrength: 1.1Agility: 1.0Endurance: 1.0Mind: 1.0Charisma: 1.1
Noah blinked.
Wait.
He glanced toward the front row, where Eric Chris was sitting.
The system must have triggered when Eric had grabbed his shoulder earlier.
Noah leaned toward Peter.
"Hey. Slap my back for a second."
Peter frowned.
"…Why?"
"Just do it."
Confused, Peter lightly smacked Noah's back.
A faint sting spread across his skin.
Immediately, the system updated again.
Alert: Hostile interaction detected.Analyzing target.
Name: Peter ParkerStrength: 0.9Agility: 1.0Endurance: 0.8Mind: 1.6Charisma: 1.0
Noah stared at the numbers.
Wow.
Peter's physical stats were below average.
But his mental attribute was astonishingly high.
That probably explained his intelligence.
One thing confused Noah, though.
The panel listed Agility for other people—but his own stats didn't include that category.
After thinking about it for a moment, Noah formed a theory.
Maybe agility was already included in strength.
After all, speed was ultimately the result of applied force.
The bell rang.
Moments later, the teacher entered the classroom and began the day's lesson.
Noah leaned back in his chair.
But instead of listening, irritation slowly crept into his mind.
After three days of rapid progress, sitting in a classroom suddenly felt unbearable.
With his Mind attribute at 1.4, he could easily absorb an entire semester's worth of material in a single night of reading.
Spending hours listening to lectures felt painfully inefficient.
Right now, the only thing he wanted to do was return to the gym and keep improving.
This place is impossible to sit through.
Maybe I should just practice the breathing method instead…
Noah lowered his head and rested his forehead on his arms, preparing to circulate his internal energy quietly.
Unfortunately, he had underestimated something.
His new appearance attracted attention.
A lot of attention.
The moment he put his head down, a voice called out from the front of the classroom.
"Noah, are you feeling unwell?"
The young teacher, Emma, was looking at him with obvious concern.
Every student in the room turned to look.
Noah raised his head.
"Yes, actually," he said calmly.
"I'm feeling a little dizzy. I was thinking about visiting the administrative office."
Emma immediately stepped forward.
"If you're dizzy, I can walk you to the nurse's office."
That suggestion triggered a wave of suspicious looks from the rest of the class.
Noah shook his head.
"That won't be necessary. I can go by myself."
Emma hesitated.
Then she nodded reluctantly.
Under her slightly disappointed gaze, Noah picked up his bag and walked out of the classroom alone.