Alex POV:
I was hoping to be a slightly stronger totem, but I guess bear is fine as well. I was hoping for like a fundamental concept, like the totem of reality or something like that, but I guess I wanted too much when I got goddamn caught.
The moment the screen faded, I felt it.
Not like some anime-level explosion of aura or my eyes glowing red or whatever. It was more like… my body just quietly remembered what it was supposed to be.
A low hum started building in my chest, like someone flicked on a backup generator deep inside me. My arms suddenly didn't feel like noodles. My legs, which had been in constant pain for the last two months, felt… sturdy. Anchored.
I flexed my fingers, and the crack of my knuckles echoed louder than it should've. Was that... new?
Then it hit me. Literally everything hit me.
The creaking pipes in the walls. The faint whoosh of a breeze slipping through the cracked window. The faint trace of Natasha's perfume lingered in the air- a mix of vanilla, steel, and violence.
I froze.
I could smell her.
Okay, that came out weirder than I meant. Moving on.
My hearing was sharper. My balance shifted like my center of gravity had just upgraded. Every breath felt fuller. Every heartbeat felt heavier, like I could push harder, hit harder, take more.
This wasn't just an upgrade. This was a whole different operating system.
I muttered under my breath, "Okay... that's kinda badass."
Let's see...
Hey system! Status!
[Status]
[Name: Alex Lee]
[Stats]
[Strength: C -> B+]
[Agility: C- -> B-]
[Durability: C -> B+]
[Skills: Assess (Active), Bullshitting (Passive), Hand To Hand Combat (Passive), Bear Totem (Passive)]
Oh? I gained the skill in hand-to-hand combat? I wonder when that happened?
System, inspect skills hand to hand combat, and bear totem.
[Hand To Hand Combat (Passive)]
[You have gained enough skills in Hand To Hand Combat, enough for it to be shown as a skill at least. Subskills that make up your Hand To Hand Combat skill include
-Boxing
-Brawling
-Jiu Jitsu
-Karate
-Kickboxing
-Muay Thai
-Standard Shield Combat
-Taekwondo
-Wrestling
You gain a medium boost to all stats when fighting hand-to-hand.]
DAMNNNN I learnt all that in the last two months? I mean, I probably knew like boxing and brawling beforehand, but everything else? And how did this just show up? Why didn't the individual martial arts show up as skills beforehand?
[Not every skill you have shows up as a skill. If it did, your skill bar would be full of skills like breathing, walking, talking, and so on. Useless skills that everyone has. Only when you achieve enough with one action, or in general, do these become an actual system, passive skill. It's like invisible quests, where the objective is gaining enough proficiency with one action, and the reward is a buff when you are doing that action.]
(a/n I don't know if I did a good job of explaining this. If you got any questions ill answer them in comments.)
...How much bullshitting did I do that allowed me to gain a skill for it...
Whatever. Let's go see the Bear Totem.
[Bear Totem (Passive)]
[You have gained the power of the Bear Totem. A Totem is a multiversal aspect tied to people from each multiverse. In particular, you have gained the aspect of the bear. You have gained the subskills:
-Ursine Might
-Ursine Instinct
-The Last Claw
-Active Skill 1 (Locked)
-Active Skill 2 (Locked)
-Active Skill 3 (Locked)]
Okay, I'm guessing the Ursine Might is the strength and durability of a bear, with the Ursine Instinct being the increased senses, but what could the last claw be? I can't zoom into subskills, so I have no clue about what it is for now. And the locked active skills? Hopefully, I'll unlock them later with more quests.
As I stand there alone in that abandoned building, staring at the system, my phone vibrates. It's the Group Chat with Peter and Ned.
Park3r: Guys, my internship just ended. Let's meet up or something.
Me: Sure. Mine's done as well.
Hackerman69: Alright, guys! How about my house tomorrow?
Park3r: Sure, dude.
-o-
The next day
I was walking to neds house from my little apartment, I hear a familiar voice on one of those bigscreen TV's mounted on the side of a building.
It's a news report by... Oh, the Daily Bugle.
Then that voice I hear is-
"-Yesterday, a hooded freak was seen swinging out of Stark Tower! Many people think that they might be one of Stark's newest suits in testing, but I believe that that was a criminal who broke into the building, escaping with the stolen tech! Why would they break the window to leave if that wasn't the case?!?!" An old white guy with a square hairstyle and a Hitlerstache was raging into the camera.
Bro J Jonah Jamison is already on his ass? Goddamn that was fast. I wonder if he'll start propaganda about me as well if Peter and I start working together.
Oh, right, I should also check Peter's stats.
System? Give me the stats for Peter Parker.
[Status]
[Name: Peter Parker]
[Stats]
[Strength: B]
[Agility: B+]
[Durability: B-]
[Skills: Spider Totem (Passive), Nerd (Passive), Acrobatics (Passive)]
Oh, Peter also learnt some new skills! System, inspect Spider totem, Nerd, and Acrobatics.
[Acrobatics (Passive)]
[Due to mastering the art of acrobatics, the user can navigate the air like it is land. The user gains a major boost to all stats when the user is not touching the ground.]
[Nerd (Passive)]
[The user is a nerd. They are incredibly book smart. The Subskills that make up this skill include:
-Advanced Biochemical Engineering
-Quantum Mechanics
-Coding
-Robotics
-Electrical Engineering
-Theoretical Astrophysics
(...see more? Page 1/47)
Grants minor boosts to users' computing speed. Can perceive the world faster, and make quick decisions.]
...47 Pages? I'm not even going to question that. That passive skill is crazy overpowered, though.
[Spider Totem (Passive)]
[User has gained the power of the Spider Totem. A Totem is a multiversal aspect tied to people from each multiverse. In particular, the user has gained the aspect of the spider. The user has gained the subskills:
-Spider Strength
-Spider Muscles
-Spider Sense
-Active Skill 1 (Locked)
-Active Skill 2 (Locked)
-Active Skill 3 (Locked)]
Oh, that's cool. If spider strength is his physical enhancement, what might the second one be? Could it be like how a spider's muscles are super explosive and flexible? And he also has 3 locked skills?
Wait, system, why didn't you show me this screen last time I asked about this skill?
[You didn't want to know what the skill did in detail; you only wanted to know what a totem was, so I provided you with the information.] (a/n I didn't think of this system at that time. oopsies!)
Huh, either way, Peters is pretty strong too, huh. guess I wasn't the only one busting ass during the last few months. Speaking of, shouldn't Pete already have his suit if he interned with Stark? Shit, I'm falling behind.
I pull out my phone, send the guys a text that I'm going to be a little late, run back home, grab my gauntlets, and make my way to the nearest mall.
Ok, what do I need?
Since I'm pretty durable due to the new passive, I don't think I'll need much actual defence-type stuff, and my mobility should be ok, since bears are traditionally good at climbing, I can just run on the rooftops. All I need, I guess, is to look cool. I'm not planning to get outshone by some spandex-wearing bug-themed superhero.
I walk through the mall, scanning for possible costume ideas. Then I remember something that Nat told me on our last day. Something about a taxidermied bear rug... I got it.
Hear me out, what if I go for that World of Warcraft shaman-type costume, with a bear hood covering mine, with like shark teeth necklaces and accessories like that?
Since my main weapons should be those gauntlets I got from the kingpin quest, they should fit the look perfectly.
I tighten my senses, taking in everything in the mall. Leathery smell, leathery smell, leathe- I got it.
I speedwalk through the crowded mall, apologizing to everybody that I accidentally walk past, due to my big physique. I'm sure I made at least a few heads turn my way. Maybe I should get the costume to show my arms and abs. JJJ shouldn't be able to hate on me if my fanbase gets too big.
I finally made my way to the furniture shop and asked to see all of the bear rugs. The tough ones all cost a shit ton, but due to all the money that I invested into stark tech, and the prize money from kingpin, I probably won't have to worry about money for a long time.
Next, I go to the jewelry shop and buy a few shark tooth necklaces, so that I could get one around my neck and one around my arm or something. That would look sick. I then go to the hunting shop and buy some rope.
Finally, for the finishing touches, I go to the cosplay shop to look for some leather armour or anything close. I do find some, but the quality is all so horrible. I need to find it somewhere else.
I keep scouring the mall. It's so big that it's hard to look for anything. Wait, I got an idea.
I heighten my senses again and walk towards the sweatiest and smelliest shop in the mall.
Aha, just as I've thought. The DnD store.
I walk up to the counter, where there's a not exactly fat, but kinda fluffy looking dude with a man bun and an overgrown beard watching over the store.
"Hey dude, I'm about to run the best DnD session ever, everybody's gonna be dressed as their characters and stuff, but I couldn't find any cosplay stuff anywhere. You got any barbarian stuff here?"
"Sorry, man. We do have that stuff, but it's not for sale. Collectors' items, you know." He stated, looking kinda bad for me.
"Look, dude, I'll pay as much as you need. Money's not a problem for me, but showing up for the DnD sesh without anything is a problem."
He raises his eyebrow and gestures for me to enter the staff area of the store.
Inside, there are piles and piles of dungeon master pamphlets and boxes, but that's not what catches my eye. In the middle of the storage room, there's a mannequin with a full-on leather barbarian costume. The Chest was covered in gritty scales and leather, tied together with the weapon scabbards on the sides of the torso with leather straps, a leather utility belt, and a sick ass shoulder protector, also a mix between scales and leather, slinging across the torso.
I make eye contact with the storekeeper. And with a determined look,
"I'll take it."
"20,000$."
I cough up blood.
My bank account coughs up 20k.