If he hadn't just gotten the Soaring Skill, Feeney would've been green with envy. Even so, his heart still felt sour. Why was it that the very thing he'd been striving for was something other people were born with?
Skye's Possessed by Evil Spirit was very different from when he wore it. Aside from the wings, which looked like a dragon's, the armor was a somewhat sexy women's design, protecting only a few vital areas.
You could tell just by looking that its defense was several times weaker than when he wore it.
Skye, experiencing this power for the first time, was also taking in the changes to her body. The Face Mask covered half her face, so Feeney couldn't see her expression, but the fact that she immediately sprang into the air and shot skyward made it clear how excited she was.
Worried that flying would use up too much of Skye's energy, Feeney quickly used the Soaring Skill to follow her.
Beneath the open sky, Skye soared at full speed. Her silver-white figure streaked past Feeney like a shining meteor, and she shouted excitedly, "Feeney, this armor is amazing!!!"
Of course it was. Who knew better than he did how powerful Possessed by Evil Spirit was?
Feeney rolled his eyes. Skye's excitement left him at a loss for words, but seeing how happy she was, he didn't say anything.
Possessed by Evil Spirit was powerful, but it was armor that consumed stamina. Skye had only barely managed to equip it thanks to the boost from Golden Great Deduction Technique. She hadn't even flown for a few minutes before she was exhausted and dropped back down, the armor automatically disappearing.
Though she was so weak she could barely stand, Skye still looked thrilled. That alone showed how much fun she'd had. "Feeney, how fast was I flying just now? Was I as fast as a plane?"
At that, Feeney couldn't help but shoot her down. "What are you talking about? You might not even have been fast enough to catch a plane's exhaust."
With Possessed by Evil Spirit's ability to evolve, its flying speed might well have rivaled a plane's. Unfortunately, Skye herself was too weak. Just now, she'd been flying slower than a car, and she was asking if she could match a plane.
Skye wasn't upset by his answer. She still looked happy, and gazed at him with big, watery eyes. "Feeney, do you have any more of this armor?"
"No. There's only one, and I need it myself. I'm not lending it out, thanks!"
Feeney cut off any hope she had, then added, "Besides, even if I gave it to you now, you wouldn't be able to use it. If you want to wear it someday, start exercising. It takes a lot of stamina to use."
Having experienced it firsthand, Skye understood exactly what he meant. Her expression turned resolute. "Starting tomorrow, I'm going jogging and working out."
He'd let Skye experience the power of the armor and rescued her from her increasingly chubby figure. Feeney felt the whole thing had been well worth it.
Seeing how exhausted Skye was, Feeney took her home to rest before opening another portal and returning to continue testing his abilities.
Under the starry sky, on Mount Everest, Feeney wore Possessed by Evil Spirit and soared freely with the Soaring Skill.
The Soaring Skill relied on manipulating qi, so its speed wasn't fixed. Just as even Sumire's Fried Chicken Roll could improve, every skill drawn from the system seemed to have room to grow.
Therefore, the speed of the Soaring Skill mainly depended on how well he could control qi and the limits his body could withstand.
With Possessed by Evil Spirit equipped, Feeney couldn't yet say what his body's speed limit was, but even at the limit of his current Qi Control, he still wasn't especially fast.
Well, he couldn't even reach the speed of sound.
Feeney felt a little disappointed. He remembered Iron Man had already broken the sound barrier with ease while making the Mark III.
Fortunately, he'd only just acquired the Soaring Skill and hadn't had much chance to practice. And if the powerful fighters in Dragon Ball were any indication, its potential was still tremendous.
After experiencing Possessed by Evil Spirit, Skye really did start exercising. She was working so hard that even Feeney was impressed.
It made him wonder: if he'd never come along, Skye would have followed her original path and become an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Her talent was clearly still there.
The days slipped by. Ever since Tony Stark had returned and announced the closure of his weapons development division, all the media had been watching him. But he'd gone into seclusion.
Aside from Feeney and Tony's assistant, Pepper Potts, no one seemed to know what he was doing.
"It's been almost three months. He should be nearly done building it by now."
In the living room, Feeney watched Tony Stark, who was still dominating the TV headlines, and counted the days. By now, Tony might well have nearly finished the Mark II.
"Should I go check it out?"
As soon as the thought occurred to him, Feeney couldn't help feeling tempted.
For the past two months, he'd been trying to figure out how to take part in this Iron Man Battle, but hadn't come up with anything.
Most importantly, he had no idea when the two would fight. If he waited until the news reported it and then rushed over, it might already be over.
So he'd kept hesitating over whether to take control of when the battle happened and join in.
But that brought up another problem. For Iron Monger to make his debut, a Miniature Arc Reactor was essential. Yet Tony was the only person who knew how to make one. How was Feeney supposed to get one made for Iron Monger?
Relying on his invisibility, teleportation, and flight, Feeney decided to check out Tony's house and see what he was up to. If he could use that to pin down when Iron Monger might appear, all the better.
With that, Feeney set off. He really wanted to use Compass to find the place, but couldn't fully focus on thinking about Tony's house. With no other choice, he had Skye search online, and after she tracked down the location, he took a taxi there using the map.
Looking at the luxurious seaside villa before him, Feeney suddenly felt that having more money might not be a bad thing. Now that he could open portals, distance didn't matter much. Buying a big villa and enjoying himself sounded pretty nice.
As the thought wandered through his mind, Feeney quietly found an empty spot, equipped Possessed by Evil Spirit, and turned invisible.
He tried entering through the front door first. When that didn't work, he had no choice but to open a portal and enter the luxurious villa. He quietly made his way toward the underground workshop.
He'd spent so long at Kamar-Taj that he'd almost forgotten: science might be different from magic, but it had its own strengths. So, just as he reached the entrance to the underground workshop, he faintly heard a voice.
"Sir, I detected an anomaly in your living room. This is the footage from that moment. My analysis suggests an unknown threat has entered your home."
Then Feeney saw Tony, wearing part of his armor on his arm, aiming the weapon in his palm at the doorway as he cautiously scanned the area.
At that moment, Feeney felt like an idiot. Why had he underestimated Artificial Intelligence? How had he forgotten about the cameras? And why would anyone install cameras in their own home?!
Feeney was exhausted. Once again, he'd messed up his first encounter with a big shot.
But was it too late to leave now?!
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