Campus Unrest

Queens, New York—Midtown High School.

The morning sunlight was warm and pleasant as energetic young students entered the school gates in groups, laughing and greeting one another. A silver-gray sedan stopped at the entrance, and a handsome young man stepped out. Passing students cast envious or jealous looks his way. Midtown High School was merely a public school funded by government grants, and most of its students came from ordinary families.

A wealthy young master who could afford to come to school in a sedan ought to have been attending an expensive private high school—the preferred place for the rich to educate their children.

"Harry," called a bespectacled boy.

The handsome young man turned around and saw that it was his only friend at school calling him. Because of his privileged family background, Harry Osborn was not particularly well-liked at Midtown High School. If the teachers had not often given him special treatment, he might have ended up as a punching bag for the school bullies, just like his friend Peter.

"The school is organizing a trip to Columbia University's research center tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to it!"

Peter, looking every bit the bookworm, was brimming with excitement. He had always been deeply interested in strange and novel things.

"Oh, it should be a wonderful trip."

Harry sounded distracted. The wealthy young master's gaze followed a red-haired girl ahead of them. That was Mary Jane, a pretty girl capable of setting young men's hormones racing.

"Move aside, please."

A voice sounded behind Peter and Harry. A casually dressed young man looked at the two blocking his path, an unreadable glint flickering in his eyes.

"...Morning, Sean." Once Peter saw who it was, he hurriedly pulled his best friend away, as though avoiding the plague.

"Has that guy bullied you too?" Harry asked curiously.

"No, but it's better to stay away from him." Peter shook his head. "I heard Sean offended some gang members. Yesterday, someone saw a group of punks take him to an abandoned factory in the suburbs."

Upon hearing that, Harry turned to look at the guy. He appeared refined and mild-mannered; Harry had not expected him to be involved with street thugs outside school. It was truly surprising.

Walking ahead of them, Sean let out a faint smile. He had heard Peter and Harry's conversation. His former self had been rather withdrawn, with few friends at school, always alone. The thugs had noticed that and made Sean sell marijuana pills for them. Public schools were not strictly managed, and rebellious young people could easily become a stable customer base.

"So I really did come to that amazing world of Superheroes and Mutants."

Sean looked up at the sun overhead. Warm light pierced through the clouds and shone upon the earth. He clenched his fists, feeling an unprecedented power surge through his body.

No one would have imagined that a bottle of mysterious golden potion had brought about earth-shaking changes to this human body. Sean could clearly feel the sunlight seeping into him bit by bit, as though he were absorbing energy from the star every moment. Though the process was incredibly subtle and slow, the pleasure of steadily growing stronger, little by little, intoxicated him beyond measure.

"Spider-Man, Green Goblin... who else will I meet next?"

A brilliant smile appeared on Sean's face. He had quickly accepted the reality of being transported here, as well as his new identity. The Virtual Character Fighting System in his mind had given the young man confidence and purpose. Since he had come to such a new world full of endless wonders and possibilities, he ought to enjoy everything it had to offer. Whether he encountered Superheroes or terrifying enemies, they would all become part of his new life.

Sitting in the classroom, Sean felt both familiar and strange. The Tenth Grade curriculum was not particularly difficult, at least not for someone whose mental awareness had been strengthened. He casually flipped through the textbooks, and the knowledge within seemed like simply structured diagrams, easily understood and absorbed.

Bored out of his mind, Sean slowly swept his gaze around the room. There were quite a few familiar faces sharing the classroom with him. The wealthy young master Harry Osborn was secretly exchanging flirtatious glances with Mary Jane. Peter Parker had his head buried in a book; the young and inexperienced Spider-Man was currently just an introverted bookworm. Then there was a curly-haired boy leaning against the wall in the corner, someone Sean vaguely found familiar.

"Who's that guy?" Sean quietly asked the student beside him.

"His name is Dave. Dave Lizewski."

Ignoring his classmate's strange look, Sean finally recalled the name. Dave Lizewski, born into a single-parent family, had suffered the same treatment at school as Peter. Due to his timid nature, he was often bullied and extorted by his classmates. And interestingly enough, he too would eventually become a "Superhero," just like Peter.

"That guy probably wouldn't even count as bottom-tier in the Fighting System."

Sean could not help curling his lip as he glanced at the curly-haired boy, whose mind seemed to be elsewhere. If possessing the tenacious vitality of a cockroach counted as a superpower, then Dave Lizewski, who later became "Kick-Ass," could indeed be called a "Superhero."

After experiencing a day in the life of a Tenth Grade student, Sean slowly left the classroom. Word of his trouble with the street thugs seemed to have spread, so everyone kept their distance from him, intentionally or otherwise. After all, no one wanted to be associated with gang members; they might even get expelled from school because of it.

The moment he stepped out of the school gates, Sean spotted a group of people standing at the entrance to an alley on the street corner. A red motorcycle rumbled loudly as the gang leader sat astride it, staring at him with malicious intent.

"Whoa, you sure have a tough life, kid. You actually played dead and fooled us yesterday! Let's see where you can run to today!"

The gang leader, dressed in hip-hop fashion, grinned viciously at the young man with his hands in his pockets.

Yesterday, he had thought he had killed someone and had been scared half to death, nearly ready to pack up and flee. Then someone told him today that Sean was still alive and well, without a single problem, and had even swaggered back to school for class.

"Boss, there isn't even a scratch on this kid's face. He must've gone to some big hospital for treatment!" said a Black man wearing a nose ring.

"You're right. Looks like we'll have to give this kid some fresh wounds today!"

The gang leader laughed wildly, his vicious gaze sweeping over the surroundings. The students near the school entrance quickly moved away, afraid of being dragged into trouble.

"Peter, what are you doing?" Harry grabbed his friend, afraid that the bookworm would do something rash.

"I'm going to get a teacher. Otherwise, Sean's going to get beaten to death. Those guys aren't good people."

Though his personality was somewhat weak, Peter still possessed a strong sense of justice and could not stand by while his classmate was beaten and bullied by those thugs.

"Teachers can't handle people like them. Even calling the police would be useless."

Harry spoke helplessly. Even if the police came to deal with it, these punks would only be locked up for a day or two before being released. Then Sean would suffer even more vicious retaliation.

While Peter and Harry were discussing it, Sean had already walked up to the gang leader. He set down the backpack on his shoulder, looking relaxed, as if he were not at all afraid of the beating about to come.

"I was just looking for you guys," the black-haired young man said with a smile.

"Boss, did you hear what this kid just said?" The Black man with the nose ring burst into laughter.

"You were looking for us? What, did you think yesterday's beating wasn't hard enough, so you want to experience it again? Hahaha!" The gang leader roared with laughter, wondering whether he had beaten the kid stupid.

Sean stood there calmly, letting the thugs mock him. Only after their laughter died down did he slowly speak. "You have two choices now. First, I beat you up, and then you get lost. Second, you beat yourselves up, and then you get lost."

"Which one will you choose?"