"I'm back..."
After returning from the Flaxans' universe to Blue Star, Jupiter went straight home.
"Welcome back, my son."
As soon as Jupiter walked in, Nolan, fully recovered, gave him a big hug.
"Hey, Dad, you're all better?"
Jupiter looked at Nolan, restored to his former self, and brightened.
"Of course. That little bit of damage wasn't enough to kill your old man."
The muscles on Nolan's body flexed slightly, and an oppressive aura radiated from him. It was clear that he had completely recovered.
"I'm going to take a shower first..."
"The fight was more intense than I expected. I'm covered in sweat."
Jupiter pulled away from Nolan's embrace, saying he was exhausted.
"Bro, did you take care of the enemy?"
Mark looked at Jupiter, who had returned home, his eyes filled with delight.
"The enemy was even more unreasonable than I expected, but I still used some gentle methods to get rid of them all. They shouldn't ever come bother us again."
Jupiter smiled faintly at Mark's question.
"Bro, what exactly did you do? Can you tell me all about it?"
Mark looked at Jupiter with curiosity.
"Haha, you couldn't pull it off."
"I'm going to take a shower..."
"By the way, Mom, what are we having for dinner? I want something fresh after my shower."
Jupiter glanced at Deborah, who was busy working in the kitchen.
"Don't worry! It'll definitely be something you like."
Deborah gave him a gentle smile.
"Okay..."
Jupiter nodded and went into the bathroom.
"..."
Mark was left standing there, his face drooping.
"Mark, don't always look so glum. Your father and brother both came back safe and sound. You should be happy. I'll spend all day training with you tomorrow."
Nolan looked at Mark's troubled expression and patted him on the shoulder.
"Okay, Dad!"
When Mark heard Nolan say he'd spend the day training with him, his brain automatically translated it as Nolan promising to spend the day playing with him. Naturally, he was thrilled that Nolan would be keeping him company.
"Phew..."
In the bathroom, the cool water washed over Jupiter, leaving him feeling refreshed.
After showering, Jupiter saw the table laden with food, grinned, and dug in, eating his fill...
Then he slept soundly in his soft bed all night. It wasn't until morning, when sunlight fell on his face, that he slowly opened his eyes and checked his energy panel.
Everything else was unchanged, but the Spacetime Gate's energy gauge left Jupiter stunned.
Spacetime Gate Energy: 4598328%
"Holy shit..."
Jupiter had no better words for it than "holy shit."
"How many little pickles did I kill?!"
Jupiter thought back to his heroic performance the day before. He pondered it for a moment, then gave up.
Who remembered how many slices of bread or cucumbers they'd eaten?
But with all this energy, Jupiter had many more things he could do.
At one hundred percent energy, Jupiter could use Spacetime Travel. If his energy exceeded one hundred percent, he gained even more control.
First, Jupiter removed that damn percent sign and replaced it with Energy Points. He now had 4,598,328 points left, and traveling to another world cost one hundred points.
For example...
"System Edit!"
"Add Spacetime World Capture Technology."
Jupiter began upgrading his system in his mind.
That's right, Jupiter was upgrading his own cheat! He'd designed it himself, so he was perfectly entitled to improve it...
The fake Ancestor Person relied on a system given to him by some unknown entity, becoming the system's servant. He looked like an Ancestor Person, but was really just a son of a nobody. A true Ancestor Person made his own system, added whatever features he wanted, and did whatever the hell he pleased...
"System edit successful..."
"Spacetime World Capture Technology successfully added."
After a long string of coding in his mind, Jupiter finally created the system he wanted. It could capture and connect to worlds. Once it had captured a world, he could choose when to travel there. That way, he could avoid garbage worlds and worlds that were too powerful, and visit only those where he could do whatever he wanted and that could benefit him.
"First world capture."
Sitting on the bed, Jupiter initiated the Spacetime Gate's first world capture.
"Searching..."
"Unknown advanced world detected. Reading information... The world contains entities whose power far exceeds the master's. Reading failed. Would you like to spend one million Energy Points to connect?"
"Damn, the very first world is an advanced one?!"
Jupiter didn't know whether his luck was good or bad. The first world he found was an advanced one. In the game worlds he'd designed before, the odds of randomly entering an advanced world were about the same as the odds of drawing an SSR in a certain card game. Now, right after he'd finished upgrading his system, the very first world he found was an advanced one...
"Spend one million Energy Points and connect to the advanced world."
Jupiter didn't hesitate for a second. He connected to the unknown advanced world. The chance to encounter one was rare, and even if he didn't go now, he could save it for when it came in handy.
Obtained advanced world: MCU...
Note: This world contains many entities whose power far exceeds the master's and who could threaten the master's life...
World Danger Level: Extreme.
"MCU? I'm not going there yet! I'll save it for when I'm prepared and the opportunity is right..."
"I want to go to a world where the strongest being is at Strong Surface or Explosive Star level."
When Jupiter saw it was the MCU, he shook his head repeatedly. The MCU was extremely dangerous. The What If...? animated series had raised the MCU's power level by several tiers. Odin, The Ancient One, Dormammu, Thanos, the Eternals, the Celestials, and all those ridiculously powerful figures from the comics who might show up in the MCU were serious trouble.
"Let's see what the next one is..."
Just as Jupiter was about to continue drawing, the sound outside the window caught his attention.
Outside the house, Cissels was talking with Nolan, Mark, and Deborah. Their conversation didn't sound pleasant.
"There's an unknown life-form in space, approaching Earth at supersonic speed. With the Guardians away, we need your help, Nolan."
Cissels explained why he had come.
"Listen, Cissels! Nolan just recovered. There are still plenty of places where he hasn't healed yet!"
Deborah planted her hands on her hips and glared at Cissels, clearly distrustful of him.
"But right now, no one but Nolan can stop that thing..."
Cissels emphasized how powerful the enemy was.
"Maybe..."
Mark's eyes lit up as he listened to them. Maybe he could take his father's place and fight the thing in the sky.
"Maybe I can go in my father's place."
Just as Mark was about to volunteer, Jupiter flew straight down from the second-floor window, beating him to it. He decided to go meet the poor, lost fellow in the sky.
A hint of murderous intent shone in Jupiter's eyes. That's right, he planned to kill the one-eyed man in the sky, because he wanted the man's ability: as long as he survived each battle, he became stronger!
He was practically a Saiyan knockoff! Jupiter would never let anyone else take this perfect prey from him.
"Jupiter, you just went through a fierce battle."
Deborah looked at him with concern. She didn't want her son to work himself so hard.
"It's okay, Mom. I'm not tired."
Jupiter waved her off. He wasn't tired at all. In fact, he felt great and full of energy. He couldn't wait to snap that one-eyed man's neck and devour his ability.
"But..."
Deborah still seemed unsure.
"Let him go, Deborah! That alien isn't very strong."
Nolan put an arm around Deborah's shoulders and spoke gently.
"All right."
Deborah looked helpless. She realized she couldn't win an argument with this father-and-son pair.
"..."
Cissels looked at the murderous Jupiter, and his heart sank. Just as he'd expected, Jupiter was brimming with bloodlust.
By now, Cissels had already decided that Jupiter was an unruly, bloodthirsty, evil little brat...
And as Cissels watched Jupiter, wondering how to deal with the menace, Nolan rubbed his chin, considering how to take down the Global Security Bureau.
Before you continue