"Hi, beautiful Princess! I finally found you."
By then, Mark had recovered enough to cling to Gwen Stacy's leg, tears streaming down his face.
"I was cursed by a demon while trying to save the people of the Kingdom of Ake! Your Highness, you have to save me!!"
Gwen Stacy: "..."
Venom grinned. "See? I told you he'd recover in no time."
Gwen Stacy glanced down at the wailing Mark and shook her head helplessly.
"Will this happen to him again?"
"Will what happen?"
"He suddenly gets weak like that."
"Probably not. This only happened because the curse was triggered. It was a warning of sorts. The curse's actual power probably isn't meant to destroy his body."
Venom's explanation put Gwen Stacy at ease.
She reached out and rubbed Mark's head. "You'll be all right."
"Thank you for granting me the power within your body, Your Highness."
Mark sprang to his feet, planted his hands on his hips, and laughed.
"Hahaha! I've obtained the pure magic power within the Princess! My curse is cured."
Gwen Stacy: "..."
She felt she should be more worried about Mark's mental state than his physical condition.
He had been like this for a long time.
After obtaining that power, Mark abandoned the Princess without hesitation and left the Kingdom of Ake.
"Your Highness, I'm off to hunt demons. Goodbye."
That power was the very reason he had come here.
Now that he had it, he needed to hunt more Demon Dragons so he could forge the Dragon-Slaying Sword.
As Mark swung away, Venom merged back into Gwen Stacy's body.
He said, "This guy seems to be hunting the Green Goblin. Looks pretty interesting."
Gwen Stacy pondered that.
"Then let's help him. You've been hungry for ages anyway."
Venom was touched.
"Gwen Stacy, you're finally willing to treat me to a meal. I'm starving~"
"I'll treat you to some demon."
"I only eat heads."
Gwen Stacy offered no response to Venom's picky tastes.
She simply gazed quietly at the places the Green Goblin had destroyed.
"The Stark Industries complex, Doctor Octavius's laboratory... they're all connected to weapons and energy. So the Green Goblin's target is..."
Recalling the news reports about the Green Goblin over the past two days, she quickly understood his intentions.
"Does he want to destroy these things to weaken the city's armed forces, or is it because... they're competitors?"
Gwen Stacy felt she was onto something.
Then she remembered Peter Parker, whom the Green Goblin had targeted on her birthday.
What connection was there between the two?
Right, Professor Connors went after Peter too!
A realization flashed through Gwen Stacy's mind, and her expression shifted.
She understood now. The Green Goblin and Professor Connors were working together.
Peter Parker wasn't their only target.
No, they had another target now.
Mark Parker!
Gwen Stacy suspected that, since Mark had repeatedly foiled the Green Goblin's and Professor Connors's plans, he would be the first person they eliminated before making their next move.
Their scheme could only succeed once Spider-Man was dead.
At that thought, Gwen Stacy said,
"Get ready. It could be tonight. They can't afford to wait much longer."
"Hehehe, got it."
Bleecker Street.
Mark exited the game.
Several clusters of holy light floated before him in his room.
They contained the Demon Dragon's Fang, the Demon Dragon's Claw, the Demon Dragon's Wing, and the pure magic power he had obtained from the Princess's body.
[Pure magic power x13] [Description: Has effects similar to demonic power, but is purer and significantly more effective.]
Thirteen portions. Besides what I need to forge the Dragon-Slaying Sword, the remaining three should also be able to...
Mark thought of the Wisdom Flower that had yet to mature.
So he entered the game again and placed a cluster of holy light containing pure magic power on the Wisdom Flower's sprout.
Hum~
The holy light shattered, scattering specks of radiance. The sprout grew and matured before his eyes.
A vivid red flower bloomed, its mistlike radiance spreading in a breathtaking display.
[Wisdom Flower (mature)]
Mark's face lit up with delight.
"One portion of pure magic power can make the Wisdom Flower mature, but it takes ten to forge the Dragon-Slaying Sword.
"The Dragon-Slaying Sword must be at least Ultra-Rare equipment."
That was his guess.
Soon, the Wisdom Flower began to wither, finally condensing into a white fruit.
The newly formed fruit was not yet ripe.
Mark crushed another portion of pure magic power.
Hum~
As the fruit grew larger, its color became increasingly red.
[Wisdom Fruit: 199 days until maturity]
It still wasn't enough, so Mark crushed another portion of pure magic power.
At last, a fruit resembling a red apple fell to the ground.
Mark picked up the Wisdom Fruit and was about to take a bite.
But after thinking it over, he decided to wait for Bruce.
They were best friends, after all. How could he keep such a delicious treat to himself?
Click~
Just then, Peter came home.
Seeing Mark crouched beside a flowerpot, muttering who knew what, Peter was already used to it.
"Time for your medicine."
He went ahead and dug out the medicine box.
Hearing Bruce's voice, Mark quickly got up and went over to him.
"Bruce, you're finally back! I'm going to share the Wisdom Flower's fruit with you."
Mark handed Peter Parker a little stone from the vase.
His face was full of anticipation. "Eat it! Go on, eat it!"
Peter: "..."
He nodded wearily, took the stone, and casually tossed it into the trash.
"I already ate it."
"Bruce, you're such a rascal."
Mark took an apple out of the fridge. "Trying to hide it away for yourself? That's not a good habit."
As he spoke, he bit into the apple, his face full of enjoyment.
"Wow, so this is the Wisdom Fruit? I feel like I'm about to grow a brain."
Mark radiated the light of wisdom.
[Your spirit +1...] [Your spirit +1...] [Your talent has leveled up.] [Holy light (level 2): Your magic damage increases by 20%.]
But all Peter saw was foolishness.
"Let's hope it really is a Wisdom Fruit," he quipped.
Then he snatched the apple from Mark's hand and replaced it with today's medication.
"Bruce, don't rush. I saved half for you."
Mark swallowed the pills, then stared expectantly at Peter.
Seeing this, Peter reluctantly took a bite of the apple.
[Bruce's spirit +1] [Bruce's spirit +1] [Bruce's skills +1] [Demon-Hunting Cloak (level 1): Condenses magic power into a Magic Cape, allowing brief flight. Consumes 0.5 spirit and 2 stamina per second. No cooldown.]
"Wow, Bruce, you can fly now!"
Watching Peter eat the apple, Mark exclaimed, "Just what I'd expect from a Wisdom Fruit! Bruce, you've gained a new skill."
"What?"
Peter tossed the apple core into the trash. Before he could say anything else, Mark eagerly dragged him up to the roof.
"Bruce, look over there. Try flying across."
Mark pointed at the rooftop opposite them and urged Peter to jump.
Peter leaned forward to glance at the ground, then swallowed.
"Stop messing around. I'm already disabled."
He lifted his sleeve. "If I fall from here, they might have to amputate my legs too." His face was helpless.
Mark paid none of that any mind. "Bruce, go!"
He shoved Peter off the roof.
"No~~ You're actually doing this..."
Peter cried out as he fell, then let out another startled cry in midair as sacred light burst from his body.
"This is~" His eyes widened as he felt a strange change taking place in his body.
In an instant, a Holy Light Cloak formed behind Peter.
Whoosh~~
The cloak fluttered in the wind, carrying Peter swiftly upward at his command.
"Well done, Bruce!"
Watching Bruce soar through the sky, Mark was even more excited than he would have been if he could fly himself.
Peter, meanwhile, hung frozen in midair, his understanding of the world quietly crumbling.
Bruce... was actually real!