In the end, no one believed Mark had superpowers.
But Natasha promised she would never give Professor Connors a chance to take revenge on the Parker family.
Mark did not believe that, either.
He would sooner trust Peter to protect him than trust S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Why?!"
Watching the agents leave the scene, Mark threw back his head and sighed.
"Nobody believes the truth these days! At least give me a chance to show you more!"
"Don't lose heart, Mark. You'll get your chance," Peter reassured him.
He worried this might make Mark's condition worse.
So did Gwen Stacy.
Mark shook his head. "It's fine. I'm fine. I can process this."
He planned to spend some time alone.
When he got home, he shut himself in his room.
Since S.H.I.E.L.D. could not be bothered with him now,
once he hit the game's level cap, he would be way out of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s league!
That settled it.
Time to focus on gaming!
He began searching his room for paper and a pen, planning to map out the Holy Light Continent.
Instead, he found a neatly folded Spider-Suit in the cabinet.
Mark: "..."
Why did Peter put his suit in my room?
Wait, he was still at school. He'd just put on his suit to save Gwen Stacy, and now it was back in the room.
Was he really that fast?
Yeah, he must have been in such a hurry that he left it in my room.
After all, Peter had been sleeping on the couch these past few days. He did not have a room of his own.
Mark thought Peter was pretty pitiful.
So he put on Peter's suit to cosplay as Spider-Man.
"Thwip! Thwip! This is fun!"
He jumped onto the desk and pretended to shoot webs.
Only after tiring himself out did he fold the suit again and put it back where it belonged.
Then he began drawing a map of the Holy Light Continent by hand.
He started with the cabin, which stood in a forest.
Ahead of the forest was a city ravaged by an evil dragon. To the left was a small town, and to the right was the Demon Dragon Castle. He had yet to explore what lay behind it.
He could give that a try tonight.
The map slowly took shape.
Just then, Mark suddenly remembered the Wisdom Flower he had picked that day.
He summoned his game inventory, and a brilliant red seed appeared in his palm.
It was time to get serious about growing Wisdom Flowers.
He entered the game and found an empty patch of ground to clear.
He planned to bury the seed in the soil outside his door.
"I'm home."
The moment Peter walked through the door, he saw Mark cleaning.
Yes, cleaning while wearing the suit.
"All right, I know. It's time for your medicine."
He calmly took out a pill and handed it to Mark.
"Bruce, you really get me. I'm starving."
Mark accepted the drumstick Bruce offered him. "Bring something different next time. I'm sick of drumsticks."
"Sure. I'll buy you some with new packaging."
After agreeing, Peter watched Mark carefully bury a strand of hair in a flowerpot, then gently water it.
Watching Mark busily work, he spoke to himself:
"I spotted some unfamiliar faces around here. They must be the people S.H.I.E.L.D. sent to protect us.
"But if even I can spot them, Professor Connors definitely can.
"They can't protect us, so please get better soon, Mark..."
As Peter finished speaking, Mark slapped his forehead.
"Oh, right! I remember now. I need to go to town for quests and see if I can earn some gold."
He looked at Bruce. "Want to come with me?"
"Okay, I get it. Go have fun. I'll go by myself."
With that, he leaped out the window.
To be cautious, he remained in stealth mode.
Before long, he spotted an NPC wandering through the forest.
[Quest NPC: Olisi] [Level: None] [Status: Cannot be attacked.]
The disheveled man was crouching in the woods, searching for something.
A moment later, Mark leaped over and greeted him warmly:
"Hello. Are you taking a dump?"
"Holy shit!"
Startled, Professor Connors cried out, "Spider-Man!"
He had intended to have a proper talk with Peter, only to run into Spider-Man again.
This pest just wouldn't leave him alone.
Just as he was about to turn and flee, Mark warmly took his hand.
"Let go of me, you bastard!"
"Give me a quest! Hurry up! I need gold."
Professor Connors could not pull free of Spider-Man's grip, and he heard the fellow babbling about quests and gold.
His eyes shifted as he realized the fellow was short on money.
When he had no research funding, everything looked like gold coins to him, too.
"Heh heh. Is the histrionic personality taking over again?"
With a cold chuckle, he pointed at a nearby street.
"Help me take out those annoying agents."
"Chase the rats out of the field. Got it."
Without hesitation, Mark turned and charged toward the agents.
Soon, a few cries of pain rang out as Mark effortlessly tossed the nearby agents away.
"Done. Give me my reward." He held out his hand to Professor Connors.
Professor Connors wasted no words and simply gave him a coin.
"One gold coin?"
Mark was delighted. "Easy. Way too easy. I didn't even need three minutes. I earned a gold coin in just one minute."
"Got any more quests?" he asked.
Professor Connors sneered. "Yes, of course. Go over there and bring me Peter Parker." He pointed toward the cabin.
Mark looked over and immediately flew into a rage.
"What? You want me to capture Bruce?
"You bastard! He's my beloved companion, my brother!
"Don't underestimate the chick-bond between Bruce and me!!"
Burning with fury, Mark immediately used Holy Light Fist to send the NPC flying.
Can't be attacked, my ass.
What a load of bullshit!
Professor Connors, who had been violently blasted into a trash can: "..."
"Cough, cough... I let my guard down. He really does have a histrionic personality..."
Professor Connors crawled miserably out of the trash can. When he looked for Mark again, Mark had already vanished.
"Damn bug. I'll be back."
Gritting his teeth, Professor Connors could only give up for the time
being on Peter.
He suspected Spider-Man had not actually gone far.
Meanwhile, Mark arrived in town.
The crowds were so thick that he had no choice but to leap onto a rooftop.
"Oh my God, it's Spider-Man! I read the paper. He defeated Lizard Man today and saved an innocent girl!"
Spider-Man swung through Hoboken, and passersby cried out.
"He's not an Unknown Evil Entity."
"He's a hero!"
"Hey, hero..."
"So noisy." Mark gave the crowd in the street a disgusted glance.
These locals were so rude.
They were actually spitting at him.
He turned away and continued searching for quest NPCs.
At last, he found his second quest NPC.
[Quest NPC: Nini] [Level: None] [Status: Happy]
"Hey, kid. Got a quest for me?"
He climbed up Stark Tower.
Tonight, Tony was once again lost in drunken revelry.
At the pool party, the women kept enjoying themselves at Tony's gesture.
Tony looked over the Spider-Man before him and raised his glass slightly in greeting.
"Want a drink?"
"You're treating me to a meal?"
Mark was surprised. These locals were so friendly.
"I'm not hungry right now. I just want a quest." As he spoke, he picked up the fruit platter.
Tony: "..."
"Ahem. A quest..."
He thought for a moment, then began making conversation.
"Honestly, there's nothing I really want, because I already have it all. So I've reached a point in my life where I feel lost. I want..."
"Skip cutscene." Mark raised his hand and tapped the interface in front of him.
Tony: "..."
Those agents should count themselves lucky they had failed to catch Spider-Man.