What If...?

[What if, in the Marvel Universe, an out-of-place soul appeared—one that never should have belonged there...]

2012, New York, Midtown Manhattan.

Inside an ordinary two-story apartment, barely 500 square meters in size, on Fifth Avenue.

A handsome chestnut-haired boy of around fourteen or fifteen was alone in his bedroom, scribbling something in chalk across the oak floor.

He wore a casual white shirt. Tall and well-built, with finely sculpted features, he had on a pair of gold-rimmed half-frame glasses.

Sunlight filtered through the blinds, dappling the boy's profile. Combined with the cozy furnishings, it made the room feel quiet and airy.

Except...

The black mechanical right arm beneath the sleeve of his right arm was glaringly out of place. As he drew, it gave off a faint creaking sound.

Yet compared to the noisy mechanical arm, the circles he was sketching across the floor—magic arrays that looked like something from an evil ritual—seemed even more out of place.

"Mm, that should just about do it. Now for the materials!"

He casually tossed aside the chalk, but before he could do anything else,

the muffled sound of a middle-aged couple arguing in hushed voices drifted up from the living room downstairs.

"Gina! You should have at least discussed something like this with me beforehand! We'd finally gotten out of Sokovia and escaped those people! And now you want us to go looking for a partnership with them!"

"You're practically pushing the company into a fire pit!"

The middle-aged man was doing his best to keep his voice down, but he still couldn't hide his anger.

By contrast, the mature, beautiful woman facing him was remarkably calm and firm.

"Herman, times have changed. We can't make a living in peace anymore with just a couple of inventions and a few patents."

"I can wait, but will the shareholders wait for you?"

"We've already lost orders from both Stark Industries and Hammer Industries. If we don't make changes soon, the company won't be able to stay afloat."

"I don't care what you think. Even if it's only for Luca's future quality of life, I have to save the company!"

Hearing his wife's firm words, the middle-aged man named Herman opened his mouth several times, but couldn't think of a rebuttal. All he could do was stubbornly argue his case.

The argument downstairs was growing louder, impossible to ignore, but the boy in the upstairs bedroom merely shook his head in exasperation. He had no intention of going down to intervene.

It wasn't that he was cold or didn't care about keeping the family together.

It was just that he'd only arrived in this world recently, and after spending nearly two months in the hospital, he still couldn't quite sort out the family dynamics.

Luca von Orange.

What his original name had been no longer mattered.

In his previous life, he'd helped the police take down a major fraud ring once again. On his way home, a dump truck loaded with gravel had come straight at him and hit him head-on.

The last thing he saw before dying was the truck—which might have been there to get revenge on him—plowing without slowing into an apartment building by the roadside, with him caught in its path.

When he opened his eyes again, Luca had crossed over into the body of a boy who had also died in a car accident.

Perhaps the god of transmigration had worked a miracle, or perhaps Luca's soul had breathed new life into this body.

After several days of emergency treatment, he had lost everything below his right elbow, but the body had ultimately pulled through.

Now, nearly two months later, as his memories gradually melded together, Luca—who had been all alone in his previous life—was slowly coming to terms with his new family: loving parents and a comfortable home.

"At least in this world, I have a happy family. Don't I?"

Ever since arriving in this world, Luca had kept telling himself that.

Yet compared to this happy family, the world itself was not so "wonderful."

During nearly two months in the hospital, the only thing Luca could do, aside from piecing together his memories, was watch TV in his room.

And the billionaire who went around the world every day in his flashy armor to fight crime was naturally the news's most frequent face.

Luca had watched plenty of Marvel movies in his previous life, so he knew what kind of world he was probably in.

Still, the Marvel Universe was famous for having countless parallel worlds, so he couldn't be sure the future would unfold the way he remembered.

Fortunately, as far as the public knew, Iron Man was the only active superhero. At least the world hadn't gone so far off the rails that ordinary people couldn't make a living.

Of course, another reason Luca could put his mind at ease for now was this:

After crossing over, he'd acquired a cheat of his own!

Looking at the circle he'd drawn on the floor, which resembled some kind of evil ritual, Luca took an ordinary red-and-white sneaker from the box beside him.

To everyone else, it was a completely unremarkable sneaker. But in Luca's eyes, it glowed with a faint white light. And when he picked it up, a pale blue text panel appeared above it.

[Power-Enhancing Shoes]

[Conan World 1/5]

[Maker: Dr. Agasa]

[Core Component: Red-and-White Sneakers]

[Synthesis Materials: 0.5 meters of electrical wire, 6 medical electrode pads, 1 small dial, 1 small battery]

[Item Description: The amazing Power-Enhancing Shoes use electric shocks to stimulate acupoints and enhance kicking power. Gear First kicks people in the head, Gear Second wrecks vehicles, and Gear Third blows up satellites. Incredibly powerful without hurting your feet, and unfailingly accurate without hurting anyone. The perfect tool for travel and fighting crime!]

[Tip: These shoes are wear-resistant, breathable, and prevent foot odor, among other features. Personally tested by a certain famous detective who hasn't changed shoes in 30 years~]

Yes, this was the cheat Luca had acquired after crossing over.

While lying in the hospital for nearly two months, Luca had tried every method he could think of to awaken a "system," an "old grandpa," or anything of the sort. All his attempts had failed.

He'd figured he simply didn't have a cheat and would have to scrape by on his limited knowledge of the Marvel Universe.

But after returning home from the hospital, he discovered that a pencil case he'd used in the past was giving off a faint glow that only he could see.

When he touched the pencil case, all sorts of information popped up: "world of origin," "maker," "synthesis materials," and more.

The item from the One-Punch Man world, called the [Pencil Missile], had already been synthesized by Luca two days ago using a "pencil," "gunpowder," "glue," "gun grip," and a bunch of other seemingly unrelated materials.

As for the [Power-Enhancing Shoes], they were the second item he'd found that he could synthesize: an ordinary sneaker from an ordinary shoe store.

Luca still hadn't figured out all the ins and outs of his cheat.

For instance, what did the "1/5" after "Conan World" mean?

For instance, why did touching a "Core Component" make something like a "magic array" appear in his mind?

And why, after drawing the same "magic array" for a second time, couldn't he make another [Pencil Missile] with a pencil case of the same brand and the same materials?

But at least he'd more or less figured out the basic "synthesis" function.

He placed the red-and-white sneaker at the very center of the circular array, then set the other items into their corresponding small circles.

These things, which had been ordinary materials, immediately began glowing like the red-and-white sneaker, the item known as the "Core Component."

"Hm? A size-five battery won't work? What about a small military-grade rechargeable battery?"

He tried several batteries in a row. Only when he placed an ordinary button battery from the supermarket into the array did the white glow finally envelop it.

"Uh, can a button battery that can't even power a vibrating toy really run the Power-Enhancing Shoes?"

Quickly brushing aside his wild thoughts, Luca placed both hands on the edge of the array and silently thought:

"Synthesize!"

At once, golden light surged, swallowing the entire array.

By the time the light faded completely, all the other materials in the array had vanished. Only a brand-new pair of red-and-white sneakers remained in the center.

Except...

"Why are these shoes so much smaller?"

Looking at the red-and-white sneaker before him, which was barely larger than his hand, Luca felt utterly speechless.

"Don't tell me these Power-Enhancing Shoes are only meant for elementary school kids?"

As he spoke, Luca stepped forward and picked up the sneaker, which was several sizes smaller than the original.

But as soon as it touched his hand, the sneaker seemed to sense him and immediately grew larger, until it was just about his usual size.

"This..."

Luca inspected it closely. It was flawless, with no difference from an ordinary sneaker except for a white dial on the outside of the right shoe.

Even inside the shoe, there was no sign of a battery, wires, or electrode pads.

If it weren't for the way it had changed sizes just now, anyone would have thought that, without the Synthesis Panel, the red-and-white sneaker was just an ordinary shoe.

After a brief hesitation, Luca decided not to take any tools to the sneaker and inspect it.

He had taken two "missiles" from the [Pencil Missile] earlier, planning to see if he could take them apart and put them back together again someday.

But this shoe was seamless to begin with, and it was famous for being a piece of absurdly advanced technology. If he took it apart recklessly, there was no way he'd be able to put it back together with his pitiful theoretical knowledge and meager practical skills.

He might as well put it on and test what it could do.

"Come to think of it, if I kick something with these, won't I break my foot?"

Thinking this, Luca quickly put on the shoes, managing the task with his somewhat clumsy mechanical right hand.

"Too bad there's a dial to adjust the kicking power only on the right shoe. Using my right hand is going to be a pain, too."

"If I could find some kind of high-tech arm later, that'd be great."

Feeling the inconvenience of his right hand, Luca tested his feet with a few movements, then stood up again.

He was wondering whether he should tell his parents he was going downstairs to find something to kick when,

several sharp whistles suddenly came from outside the window.

Luca looked puzzled and hurried over to the bedroom window to peer outside.

Then he saw it.

In the distance, a blue pillar of light shot straight into the sky. At its very top, the sky seemed to have been opened up by a massive hole.

Countless armored aliens riding flying craft poured through the opening, then rampaged through New York.

Even more enormous biological warships, each over a hundred meters long and resembling the mythical Leviathan, swept down from the sky, crashing into building after building.

On the ground, people screamed and called for help in a panic. Beams from alien weapons rained down like a shower, setting off explosion after explosion.

All of New York seemed to have been plunged into a living hell.

All these sights added up to one answer.

"The Chitauri have invaded!"