Ability Awakening

"They're here! So fast!"

No sooner had Ron taken it than he noticed something strange happening to his body: a surge of heat rose from his tailbone, eventually converging along his spine, causing eight bulges to appear.

Pfft

The white school uniform, designed to protect against small-caliber bullets, was easily stretched open, and a green halo spread from its back.

"Ugh~"

Ron's face flushed red, and as he trembled, the entity within the halo materialized, revealing eight spider legs as thick as arms, enveloping Ron's entire body.

These eight spider legs are crystal clear, as if they were made entirely of green Crystal, resembling a fine work of art. It is only when one notices the cold light at the sharp ends that one realizes they are also deadly weapons.

Magneto, whose ability is to control magnetic fields, can see more. He can sense that as the spider legs unfold, a force field begins to spread from Ron's body, enveloping him completely. His intuition tells him that this is not a simple protective shield, but a deadly trap that can devour a person like peeling away layers.

"What's wrong with me!" Ron woke up to find himself suspended in mid-air, and it seemed as if he had eight extra limbs that he could control. It wasn't just a feeling; it was real!

Eight spider legs landed on the ground, lifting his feet off the ground.

Furthermore, he gained a 360-degree perspective, making the whole world much clearer in his eyes.

He then easily discovered the details.

What broke his defenses even more was something else.

"You--"

None of the others had taken their medication yet.

So you're using him as a guinea pig?

"Ron, are you alright?" Peter asked, his face filled with concern.

However, half of this worry is directed at myself.

He's also a contractor of the [Spider Totem], so could he also grow eight legs?

"You're eating too fast," Shadowcat explained. "So we wanted to see how long the body modification would take to complete and whether we needed to go back to our dorms to eat."

"This isn't—" Ron was about to continue joking around when he noticed the screen on his arm suddenly light up. "What news? This is Merlin's Beard!"

"What's wrong?" Ralph asked.

Ron said with a pained expression, "I have to go back to that room tomorrow for the physical test again."

"What?" Seeing that Ron, the test subject, was unharmed, Loki, who was about to swallow [Compound V], stopped. "More?!"

The others also blushed with embarrassment.

They didn't want to do such a shameful thing again.

But.

[Compound V] has produced S-class superpowered individuals before!

"Great, it can be taken back!" Ron exclaimed excitedly. The eight spider legs had disappeared, and the tear in the school uniform on his back was repairing itself at a speed visible to the naked eye.

His actions inspired the others.

Loki the pill less than an inch from his lips, tilted his head back, gulped, and was the first to take the medicine.

Magneto four companions, who were about to take the medication, immediately stopped.

They decided to take another look.

For some reason, Ron felt very happy.

And Loki.

He no longer had time to complain.

Because his skin is turning blue—changing in the direction of Frost Giant.

How so!

Although he was indeed Frost Giant, due to the magic of his father, he was endowed with divinity, making him a thoroughly Asgardian.

The reason it turned blue before was because he came into contact with the [The Winter Box], which the Giant also called the [Casket of Ancient Winters].

The Winter Box is a legendary artifact passed down by the Frost Giant.

It contains the harbinger of Ragnarok — the Fimbulwinter, composed of the Winter of Wind, the Winter of Sword, and the Winter of Wolf.

The Winter's Power, which cannot be matched by the combined might of thousands of deadly winters.

When fully activated, it can be a deadly artifact that turns the Nine Realms into an Ice Age.

And now.

He had only ingested [Compound V created by the Midgardian, and Odin's magic on him had failed.

The [Winter's Power] within him suddenly surpassed the Asgardian God-Force, and his body seemed to be constantly growing taller.

The slightest wisp of cold air filled the room with frost, and a heavy snow began to fall.

"Protego Totalum!" Ralph quickly drew his wand.

Under the corrosive influence of the cold air, the invisible protective shield instantly materialized and froze into ice.

Pfft

Green Crystal -like spider legs burst forth once more. Overwhelmed with joy, Ron chanted a spell, "Protego Totalum!"

Eight columnar blue plasma-like magical rays landed on the ice shield.

The protective shield vanished once more, and the wind and snow that filled the room were driven away by the protective power, ultimately confining them within a meter of the tall blue figure.

"It can be done like this?" Ron stroked the spider's legs. "This is even better than a wand!"

He could sense that this was even more powerful than the simplified version of the Force Furnace he used— the Heart of White Magic.

It's important to know that the [Heart of White Magic] also absorbed spell cards, thus benefiting from their enhancements.

So each spider leg is not only a derivative of his senses, but its sharp ends can be used as spears, and each one is also an enhanced wand.

He alone is equivalent to nine wizards!

Ron was overjoyed, while the rest of the group remained shaken.

One has long legs on its back, and the other becomes a little blue man.

Loki, upon waking, was utterly devastated.

Although he was transformed from a short, Frost Giant with congenital defects into a healthy, tall version, all he wanted was to be Asgardian!

The Invisible Woman felt a little better when Loki's appearance reminded her of her childhood, and she seemed to hear a song playing in her ears. "Over the mountains and across the sea, there lives a group of Smurfs. They are lively and clever, they are mischievous and quick-witted."

"Um," Peter still wanted to take the medicine, "Can your skin color return to normal? Without magic."

"Okay." Loki, however, was not happy.

He has roughly figured out why he is like this.

His awakened ability is the same as that of the Frost Giant, which can bring winter to all things.

But the former is magical, creating low temperatures by consuming [Winter's Power].

The latter is more scientific, absorbing heat and lowering the surrounding temperature.

The reason he has now transformed into the form of Frost Giant is the complete opposite of what it was before.

One reason is that after coming into contact with the [The Winter Box], there was an excess of [Winter's Power] in the body, which led to forced Transfiguration.

Another reason is that it stored too much heat, which made its Frost Giant bloodline feel threatened, causing it to automatically reactivate.

If he could absorb heat and burn away his Frost Giant bloodline, becoming Loki, the god of fire in the mythology created by the Midgardian, would not be a bad choice.

But the irony is that the Frost Giant bloodline within him received some kind of support from the low-temperature environment created after absorbing heat, further completing and perfecting it.

Now it's a loop.

Absorb heat to activate the Frost Giant form.

As the surrounding temperature decreased, the Frost Giant's form strengthened and stabilized.

It stimulates the body to absorb more heat.

The surrounding temperature is even lower, Frost Giant's form becomes even stronger.

That's outrageous.

As this cycle continued, Loki suspected that he might even reach absolute zero and attain the same level of Skyfather as God the Father.

Returning to its original state is also simple: release heat.

Boom--

A huge fireball appeared from Loki's blue hand. As the fireball grew larger, the blue Giant's figure shrank and faded.

Seeing Loki return to normal, Magneto first breathed a sigh of relief, then exclaimed in surprise, "Create fire? [Compound V] can also awaken abilities that are the opposite of one's original power?"

His gaze naturally fell upon the Invisible Woman.

The students in the Support Hero Class received more academic education, and their first learning was about deciphering human superpowers—[Compound V].

The Invisible Woman noticed Magneto's gaze. "That does happen, but most of the time it's about enhancing existing abilities and giving the superhuman a physique with at least a B level of resilience."

"Did the Golden Boy, the Deep, and the Two-Face inject themselves with [Compound V]?" Loki suddenly asked.

His curiosity stemmed from his desire to secure a spot in the "Black" The Seven, and get closer to Homelander.

The three of them, including [Golden Boy], were already very close to S-rank; without the injection, then...

After all, the Seven are a superhero team. While the strength of their abilities is important, it is even more important how well their abilities are suited for rescue operations.

The judging criteria for the college competition held in the middle of this year were also the same.

Rescue > Protection > Offense

[Golden Boy] After all, the three of them are native to this world and are outstanding superpowered individuals.

They already have a very sophisticated way of using their abilities in superhero operations.

Even if they are also S-level, his overall score might not be higher than theirs, thus securing a spot in the Seven.

"No."

Upon hearing the Invisible Woman's reply, Loki's expression turned grim.

Everyone else besides Ron had the same thought, and their expressions also turned serious.

The most direct result was that the group stopped observing and immediately took the medicine.

"Aren't we going to do it one at a time?" Ron was still a little unaccustomed to it and didn't understand why it had to be done this way.

Ralph, whose lower body had turned into a snake tail, Magneto, whose body had turned into metal and crackled with electric arcs, Shadowcat, whose figure was layered and seemed to be seen through the fog, Invisible Woman, whose body was suspended in the air and shrouded in an invisible shield, and Peter figure had not changed and seemed to be asleep, did not respond to him.

Ralph felt as if he were surrounded by countless hissing sounds. Although he could understand Serpent Tongue, he seemed to have lost his ability to Parseltongue at this moment. It was as if thousands of snakes were surging inside his body, constantly tearing him apart and rebuilding him.

For the first time Magneto sensed the Dadi beneath him with such clarity; he felt as if he had become part of this blue planet, and boundless power manifested through his body.

Shadowcat felt as if it had become one with this space, simultaneously existing in multiple locations.

The Invisible Woman felt a field emanating from herself, as if it were part of her hands, feet, eyes, and body; she could use it to become invisible, to attack, to defend, and even to lift herself up.

Peter felt as if he were seeing a blurry, large net, and a pair of scissors appeared at the point where he connected with the net.

"Hiss hiss cough, what's wrong with me?" Ralph opened his eyes and saw scarlet snake eyes. He looked around in surprise. As he woke up, the atmosphere, the light, and even the wool carpet on the ground turned into hissing snakes.

No, it's everything in the room except for Ron and his group.

However, judging from Ron and the others' calm expressions, nothing around them had turned into snakes.

As a wizard, he quickly understood the nature of his abilities.

So, I am a psychovisual alienation, seeing everything I can manipulate as snakes, and then controlling them?

He confirmed this by manipulating the air into snakes and seeing the small tornado appear out of thin air in his palm.

His gaze shifted guiltily from Ron. Perhaps because Ron's clothes were still torn and unrepaired, and he wasn't enveloped by Ralph's magnetic field, Ralph saw Ron as a naked man wrapped in a snake.

So, if he wants

He can now... cough cough

No, this can't be done!

With this thought in mind, Ralph's spirit withdrew from the [snake's] perspective, his eyes returned to normal, and his legs reappeared.

Ron stared in astonishment at Ralph's lower body. "This is too magical! Your pants and shoes turned into a snake tail, and when they turned back into legs, your pants and shoes were perfectly intact. Just like Animagus. This is a superpower, isn't it? How can this be so unscientific?"

"It's definitely not scientific." Magneto, upon waking, emitted a clanging sound like swords clashing. "Every part of me, including my blood, has turned into metal, yet I'm still alive, and all my body's systems are still functioning normally."

"Now," she said, following the awakened Shadowcat, reaching out her hand. Her small, white hand appeared out of thin air in another part of the room. "I can do the same thing as Blink."

She wasn't too surprised; it was just an extension of her abilities, or rather, a time travel, this time through space.

But this was a very significant breakthrough for her.

During her journey through time, she becomes one with the matter or phenomenon she is traversing, which is why she can float in the air—because she is part of the air at that moment.

She can also remain in the 'wearing' state indefinitely, so unless the space itself is destroyed, she will be immune to any attack as she is one with the space.

Furthermore, since she was traversing space rather than solid materials like steel, she didn't need to temporarily stop breathing. Just like when she was one with the air, she could maintain this state until she became exhausted.

But ironically, her body has now been strengthened, including her stamina.

She can merge with the space all day long.

The only pity is that she is still human. If the air is filled with colorless poison gas, she, who needs to breathe, may still be poisoned.

"I can Create from Nothing," the Invisible Woman said, bouncing around in the air before sliding down what seemed like an invisible slide. "How interesting."

"How are you?" Ron looked at Peter, who was the last to wake up, his eyes filled with curiosity.

This is a contractor of the same [Spider Totem] as him, and the only one among them who did not have any sound or visual effects during the awakening process.

"Freedom?" Peter, still in a daze, said, "I won't suffer my predetermined fate anymore? Wait... what did I just say?"

Peter, who regained consciousness the next second, could hardly believe what he had said before.

Fate and all that, it's too magical.

That's too mystical.

He's a scientific mutation caused by a spider bite, and [Compound V] has nothing to do with magic.