Defeating the Iron Monger had earned Feeney far more experience than he had imagined. In his mind, the Iron Monger's strength was at most about on par with Mordo's; he was just more destructive.
That was assuming he had the special advantages of flight, ample weaponry, and strong defenses. Otherwise, Mordo could beat him easily with his skillful use of portals.
After all, the Iron Monger had been modified from the Mark I. No matter how strong he was, there were limits. Yet even this one Iron Monger had given Feeney nearly a tenth of his experience. Measured in Experience Babies like Mordo, that was more than thirty Mordos.
In other words, if he took down seven or eight more Iron Mongers, he could draw another skill.
Feeney couldn't make sense of it.
Was the Iron Monger that strong?
Feeney hadn't thought he was weak, but he hadn't thought he was that strong, either. At least, Feeney hadn't expected to gain this much experience.
"Could it be because I killed him?"
Feeney fell silent, pondering the question.
It had been more than ten years since he'd arrived in the Marvel Universe and gained the system. After all that time studying it, he increasingly felt that it worked like a game's leveling system.
Defeat monsters to gain experience and level up, then draw skills to grow stronger, then defeat more monsters and level up...
Maybe he'd gained so little experience before because he hadn't eliminated any "monsters." This time, he had eliminated one, so his experience had increased!?
Feeney thought of the Ancient One again. She had said that he had too much influence on this world, and she didn't want him to be controlled by power. Could that be the reason?
Feeney couldn't get an answer to that question. The Ancient One probably wouldn't tell him, at least. And if killing an enemy really did earn him more experience, would he choose to kill?
When he was little, he had secretly killed animals ranging from ants to chickens and fish to test how he gained experience. But intelligent beings were different.
Killing people just to gain more experience went against the values he had developed over both his previous life and this one.
What had happened with Obadiah this time was just an accident. At the time, Feeney hadn't thought that much about it; he simply hadn't wanted Obadiah to escape. Besides, it was still unclear whether Obadiah was actually dead. Maybe he was one of those villains destined to survive, and had made it through somehow.
What was more, all of this was just speculation. There was still one thing he couldn't explain: he seemed to have gained the experience soon after the avalanche buried Obadiah. That didn't seem like enough time for Obadiah to have actually died.
Regardless, Feeney made up his mind.
Let things take their course!
He wouldn't spare someone out of pity, nor would he deliberately kill someone for the sake of gaining experience. At least not now. He hadn't yet reached the point where he would stop at nothing to grow stronger.
If that day ever came, he could think about doing something like that then.
Having put the matter to rest, and with a huge windfall of experience under his belt, Feeney was in a wonderful mood. There was also a good chance he'd get to acquire an entire set of Iron Man Series Armor Experience Babies.
There was no way Tony would refuse if Feeney asked him to test the performance of future Mark Series Armor after saving Pepper and fighting alongside him, right!?
Looking forward to his Fifth Skill, Feeney drifted off to sleep, completely unaware that Coulson was so worried about figuring out his identity that his hair was practically falling out.
"Miss Potts, I apologize for the intrusion. I have something very important about Mr. Stark that I'd like to discuss with you."
It had taken Coulson a great deal of effort to track down Pepper after she'd returned home from Rhodes's place. This was the most direct way he could think of to find out what had happened.
"I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you mean."
A lot had happened that day, and Pepper was exhausted. She had finally gotten through it all and, after taking Tony's call, had just been planning to get some rest when Coulson showed up at her door.
"Our investigation found that you and Mr. Stark were both at the company today, but later, no one saw when either of you left."
Coulson asked politely, "Also, do you know anything about the three people in armor who appeared outside your company tonight?"
"We left very late. The security guards might not have noticed us. As for the three people you mentioned, I don't know anything about them. I'll have someone put together a report for you tomorrow." Since Pepper didn't lie often, her expression was a little unnatural.
As an experienced agent, Coulson could tell at a glance that Pepper wasn't telling the truth. But that also meant she knew something.
"Miss Pepper, you know we mean no harm."
Coulson gave her the kindly look of a father and tried to win her trust. "I just want to understand what happened so I can be prepared for anything unpleasant."
"Tony was inside the armor, wasn't he?"
Coulson suddenly asked.
Pepper's pupils contracted, and her hands clenched slightly. Coulson didn't miss it. He was now almost certain that Tony had developed something new.
"I don't know. Tony's at home resting right now." Pepper tried to look natural, then politely ushered him out. "It's very late. I need to get some rest. We can talk about this tomorrow."
"I'm sorry to have bothered you. Good night!"
Coulson didn't press her. He didn't want to sour their relationship, and he'd already gotten some important information.
Once he was outside, Coulson immediately called Nick Fury. "Sir, we've confirmed that one of them was indeed Tony, and he's returned safely. It looks like he won."
"What about the other two?"
"Based on the information we've collected, one of them was very likely Obadiah Stane. He's currently missing, and no one's been able to find him. As for the last one, I'm sorry, sir, but we still haven't found any information about him."
"But I think Tony and his assistant, Pepper Potts, know who he is."
"I don't care what you think. I want results!"
Fury's voice left no room for argument, making Coulson, whose hair was already sparse, even more worried.
"Yes, sir. Please give me a little more time."
After hanging up, Coulson let out a quiet sigh. If he couldn't get anywhere with Pepper, he had no choice but to go to the other person.
"Sir, someone's here to see you!"
In the workshop, Tony had been through a major battle but still had to get back to work when he heard Jarvis's report.
"Who is it?"
Tony asked without looking up.
"The visitor's identity is classified. I can't find him online."
At that, Tony finally looked up and saw Coulson smiling at the security camera by the door. His half-bald head reminded Tony who he was.
"Was he with that... whatever-it-was agency?"
Tony tapped a finger in the air, but still couldn't remember the name S.H.I.E.L.D. He knew the organization seemed important, though, because Feeney had said earlier that he didn't want to deal with them for the time being.
Tony had noticed the words "for the time being." That meant Feeney didn't want to deal with them now, not that he'd never deal with them.
Am I the rookie with the fewest recommendation votes!? Don't tell me I'm not. I won't listen, I won't listen~(ˇˇ)...
Before you continue