After a night had passed, Luke walked out of his room, yawning.
Last night, to make sure he bought Ninja Soldiers right on schedule, he had kept setting alarms, waking up every so often to buy more.
He remembered how he used to spend an entire night at an internet café and still go to class the next day, full of energy.
"Getting old." Luke patted his aging lower back and ambled out like an elderly man on a stroll.
As he walked, Luke recalled his exploration of the system last night.
After a night of experiments, Luke had become more familiar with dark space and dark energy.
Skipping the process, here were the results.
Luke discovered that the size of dark space depended on the number of Dark Energy Crystals.
If there were ten units of Dark Energy Crystals, dark space would measure nearly ten cubic meters.
The dark energy Luke had used before had been stored within those ten cubic meters of dark space.
This dark energy had escaped during the mining of Dark Energy Crystals, and its amount was tied to the Ninja Soldiers' mining speed.
Using the system's units, each Ninja Soldier provided Luke with energy regeneration of 0.1 per second, far faster than the rate of Energy Crystal mining.
After a night's work, Luke also had 31 Ninja Soldiers. If he were given a status panel, it would look like this.
[Luke Number of Ninja Soldiers: 31 Energy Crystal mining speed: 3.1/minute Energy regeneration speed: 3.1/second Current number of Energy Crystals: 9]
(A note from the author much, much later: You don't need to remember this panel or how the numbers work. The author stopped using them later because the protagonist was already overpowered by the late stages.)
Yawning all the way to the dining hall, Luke grabbed two steamed buns and ate them with a bowl of porridge.
"Not even any pickles?" Luke left the dining hall in disdain.
"Not satisfied with our food?"
A figure in yellow appeared before Luke. Ancient One stood right there.
"It's fine. As breakfasts go, it definitely passes," Luke offered his honest assessment. "Of course, some pickled long beans or something would make it even better."
Ancient One nodded seriously. "Then I'll have someone buy some in Hong Kong."
Luke was still yawning, and those words nearly made him dislocate his jaw. "What's gotten into you today?"
Her tone clearly hadn't changed, but Luke felt that something about Ancient One was inexplicably different today.
"Have you been possessed by Murphy?" Luke cautiously stepped back twice. Nearly thirty Ninja Soldiers appeared around them, attracting quite a few sorcerers' attention.
Ancient One shook her head helplessly. A magic circle flashed in her hand, and the surrounding Ninja Soldiers were all sent back to the shadow world.
"I completely purged Dormammu's power yesterday. I no longer need to suppress the side effects of that energy, so I can relax my mind a little."
Ancient One put one hand on her hip as dark energy gathered in her other hand.
"Besides, the energy you currently supply is enough for my daily use."
Luke checked, and sure enough, his energy had fully recovered.
He had thirty-one Ninja Soldiers, each providing 0.1 energy regeneration per second, for a total of 3.1 per second.
Luke tried using Shadow Form to move forward a short distance and consume some energy. He found that his regeneration was exactly 0.1 per second, which meant Ancient One consumed 3 energy every second.
That was 10,800 an hour. In a day...
Hiss. So this was the terrifying power of a big shot!
He hadn't expected extending Ancient One's life by a single day to require so much energy. Who knew how terrifying her consumption would be in a fight?
Luke estimated that he would need at least 1,000 Ninja Soldiers just to let her barely cut loose in a fight.
The thought of that number made Luke's liver ache.
"I came to tell you something else. You can leave now."
Luke: ?
He could clear out already? Hadn't she said she needed to observe him for a few days?
"I brought you here to confirm that you posed no threat to this world. Yesterday, I also checked the timeline and found that you hadn't done anything strange. Naturally, I can let you leave."
Ancient One looked at Luke. "Of course, you come from another world, and you know our timeline. Next, I will guide Stephen here to succeed me as Sorcerer Supreme. You might affect his development, so I suggest you find somewhere outside to stay."
Well, damn. She was getting rid of him now that he'd served his purpose.
Still, he hadn't expected Ancient One to remain set on retirement even after obtaining a stable, harmless supply of dark energy. He just didn't know what form that retirement would take. Hopefully, she wouldn't go throw her life away again.
Having finished speaking, Ancient One vanished, while Luke was teleported to Kamar-Taj's portal chamber.
Kamar-Taj's portal chamber had three portals leading to its Sanctums in Hong Kong, London, and the Big Apple, allowing rapid reinforcements to reach each Sanctum. Their function rivaled Asgard's Bifrost, but in the movies, Kamar-Taj's people always arrived after things had happened, bringing the Marvel world's military to mind.
Looking at the three portals, Luke couldn't read the signs beside them. Newly arrived in this world and unsure where to go, he simply decided to pick one at random.
Whichever he drew, that was where he would live. This was all the choice of Steins;Gate!
Choosing a portal that appealed to him, Luke took a big step through and arrived in another corner of the Earth.
Leaving the portal room, the first things he saw were rows of assorted magical relics. It looked like he had arrived at the New York Sanctum.
Luke searched around and found the future Doctor Strange's Cloak of Levitation, but the Cloak of Levitation clearly wasn't giving him any face. It didn't react at all.
Luke tapped the glass, trying to get a reaction from the Cloak inside, but a voice came from behind him.
"It does not favor you, so you will not receive its blessing."
Master Daniel watched him from behind, but his wary demeanor made it seem as though Luke were some ferocious beast.
Luke, whose hands got restless whenever he let himself go, awkwardly wiped the glass and pretended nothing had happened.
Daniel didn't mind. Instead, he surveyed the surrounding relics and explained:
"Relics also choose their own masters. Only those they select can become their masters."
He came to Luke's side and looked at the Cloak of Levitation inside. The Cloak of Levitation obligingly gave its caretaker a little reaction, then rubbed one corner against the glass.
Well, damn. It was copying him.
Luke looked at the spot the Cloak was wiping. Wasn't that exactly where he had just wiped?
Daniel smiled. Since the Cloak was being so obliging, he decided to give it a thorough cleaning next time.
Luke shook his head. "Looks like it and I aren't meant to be. Oh well, I'm going out for a walk."
Luke left the Sanctum and glanced at the address plaque beside it: 177A Bleecker Street, Manhattan, Big Apple.
Remember this spot. Don't end up unable to find the way back to Kamar-Taj. Luke headed out of Brick Street.
The moment he left Brick Street, a clamor filled his ears. Looking at the crowds, Luke felt as if he had just traveled here from prehistoric times.
Shaking that illusion out of his head, Luke strolled slowly down the street.
The Big Apple really was bustling. People filled the streets, but most were walking while talking on their phones, making Luke feel that they were all highly successful corporate drones.
Strange. Why weren't any aliens or superpowered people fighting? Was this still Marvel?
Luke walked for who knew how long without finding anything strange, leaving him a little disappointed.
After watching those movies, Luke had thought the Big Apple had alien invasions and supervillains showing up every day.
As he walked, he ended up somewhere unfamiliar. There were fewer pedestrians, and the streets were full of gangsters with strange tattoos, toying with pairs of knives.
Luke spotted graffiti on a wall reading "Welcome to Hell's Kitchen!" and looked around.
Was this the Big Apple's most chaotic district?
Looking at the gangsters minding their own business, with nobody coming to pick a fight or suddenly pulling a gun on someone, Luke was sorely disappointed. He had thought Hell's Kitchen would be much more chaotic. Didn't people say several truckloads of bodies had to be hauled out every day?
Luke looked at the scene around him, not only peaceful but excessively quiet, and shook his head. That was it?
A crackling burst of gunfire suddenly reached Luke's ears. The quiet streets instantly erupted in noise as a crowd appeared from who knew where, carrying all kinds of guns and running toward a certain spot, cursing.
Something worth watching! Luke's eyes lit up. He went into an alley, where several Ninja Soldiers appeared and formed a human sedan chair.
Luke sat down, and the ninjas climbed the wall as easily as walking on level ground, heading for the rooftop.
When watching a show, the higher the seat, the better!
Luke looked at the Ninja Soldiers carrying him and felt that every one of them was practically a knockoff Spider-Man. If he equipped them with Web-Shooters, wouldn't they turn straight into budget Little Spiders?
Unsure how to equip the Ninja Soldiers, Luke set the idea aside for now. Watching the show came first.
Reaching the rooftop, Luke lay down by its edge and watched the spectacle below.
It looked like two gangs fighting over territory. They had simply charged in without any tactics and started shooting at each other.
This was much more entertaining than quite a few Chinese gunfight movies. Both sides started with little pistols going pew-pew-pew, then gradually brought out AKs, shotguns, and the like.
By the end, they even brought out rockets!
Seeing "stark" written on the box, Luke couldn't help getting a little excited.
Rockets made by Stark were bound to be something special. He just wondered who those guys down there were, to be able to get their hands on something like that.
One man took out a rocket, loaded it, and fired straight at a dense cluster of people on the other side.
Trailing white smoke, the rocket precisely struck its target under everyone's gaze. Steel pellets burst out of it, spraying in every direction.
Watching the intact people below become blood-soaked figures under countless steel pellets, Luke drew a deep breath. Should he say that this was only to be expected of Stark? The weapon made very little noise. Used in an ambush, it could drop enemies before they even had time to react.
After marveling at how much impossibly advanced technology Marvel had, Luke saw that the outcome below was settled and started backing away.
Watching a show was one thing, but getting himself dragged into trouble was another. Luke didn't want to become someone else's entertainment.
Just as he pulled back, the rooftop door suddenly opened, and a burly man carrying an anti-materiel sniper rifle walked out.
"Punisher?!" Luke exclaimed in surprise at the man's outfit.
Frank had spent the last two days setting up a fairly large gang, but his investigation showed that its members were all very cautious, and its boss always stayed hidden behind the scenes.
So he had provoked another gang into attacking its territory, hoping to draw the boss out.
Having just spotted the gang boss emerging from the shadows, he had picked up his sniper rifle and headed for his planned firing position to kill that scumbag.
Instead, he discovered someone already there, who even shouted his codename.
An ambush! Frank's first reaction was that some gang wanted to kill him to make a name for itself. As for revenge?
Hmph. Whenever he dealt with a gang, he killed every last member. There was nobody left to take revenge.
Many thoughts flashed through his mind, but his hands never stopped.
He raised his suppressed M16 and sent bullet after bullet toward Luke.
Luke was no ordinary person either. Seeing Punisher immediately open fire, he reacted. Although Punisher's attack without a single word left him struggling a little, he was above Dormammu, after all.
Ninja Soldiers appeared in front of Luke one after another, reacting with incredible speed as they slashed the bullets apart. They didn't attack, however, and instead guarded Luke.
"Ninjas? Are you with The Hand?" Seeing this, Punisher ducked behind cover and shouted.
Luke looked at the Shadow Ninjas guarding him. He hadn't expected to be mistaken for one of The Hand's people, though both groups were ninjas, so they really were easy to confuse.
Still, he knew Punisher wasn't so easy to talk to, so he simply called back, "No," then slipped into stealth and fled.
Punisher wasn't his idol anyway. He had only watched his show because finishing the Avengers movies hadn't been enough, and he wasn't the type to fawn over superheroes on sight.
"Just my luck." Luke shook his head. He hadn't expected to run into a super antihero as soon as he went out for some fun. Still, the Big Apple really was impressive, worthy of being the center of the universe. He took back what he had said earlier.
Luke simply left Hell's Kitchen and ran toward somewhere more crowded.
Before you continue