HAA
HAA
HAA
Ali was breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling erratically as he felt his muscles and blood vessels tearing apart from the inside.
'I'm dying…'
That was the only thought that crossed his mind as his body struggled to regenerate fast enough to keep up with its own self-destruction. Every second that passed, his healing factor fell further behind, unable to repair the sheer damage done to his body.
'That was too much… I forced my body to hold in more than it could handle…'
Even now, he could feel it—traces of that cosmic power still lingering inside him, refusing to dissipate, eating him alive from the inside out. It was as if tiny remnants of that silver energy had fused with his flesh, tearing him apart on a cellular level.
'I can't control it…'
Ali clenched his jaw, trying desperately to will it into submission, but his connection to the power was non-existent. It wasn't like Spirit, which he could call upon naturally. This was something else entirely.
Blood trickled from his nose and dripped from the corners of his mouth, dark crimson streaks staining his lips. His legs trembled, his vision blurred, and he could barely stand.
'I'll make it.'
Despite the pain, he wasn't worried. The countdown was almost over—only a few seconds left before he'd be pulled out of this world and instantly healed upon return.
BOOOOOOOM
A deafening explosion shook the already destroyed street opposite Ali, the impact sending another wave of rubble and dust through the air.
Ali slowly raised his head, forcing himself to look through the smoke.
A beam of golden light descended from the sky.
A deep, commanding voice echoed across the ruined battlefield.
"What have you done, mortal?"
Ali squinted through the smoke, his body swaying from blood loss and exhaustion. His lips curled into a smirk despite the agony.
"You're too late, Thor."
His voice was hoarse, his throat raw from the blood pooling inside his mouth. He spat it out, letting the thick crimson hit the ground.
As the dust settled, the golden light dispersed, revealing a towering figure floating above the ground—a massive blonde warrior clad in ancient Asgardian armour, his hand gripping the legendary Mjolnir, lightning crackling wildly around him.
Thor's piercing blue eyes locked onto Ali, filled with anger. He didn't waste time with words.
Instead, he raised Mjolnir and threw it.
Ali didn't even see it move.
One moment, the hammer was in Thor's hand. The next—
It was already inches away from his face.
'I'll be back…'
That was his final thought as his body vanished just before Mjolnir could hit him, the world of Marvel dissolving into nothingness around him.
The hammer obliterated the spot where he once stood, its sheer force erasing the entire skyscraper from the ground up.
Ali opened his eyes to the familiar vastness of space.
His time in Marvel was over—for now.
He let out a slow breath, turning his focus inward, sinking into his Spirit Realm.
The moment he did, he froze.
His Spirit Pond was enormous.
Twice the size it had been before, and still growing, expanding second by second, as though it were hungry for more space.
Ali's gaze drifted upwards.
His Black Spirit energy was already replenished, but unlike before, the liquid wasn't settling in the pond. Instead, it floated above him, suspended in mid-air, swirling in a dense, weightless mass.
"So this is how Paradise stops my Spirit from overflowing…"
Ali observed with fascination.
It wasn't spilling over or being wasted. Paradise was keeping it contained, holding it in stasis until there was enough space for it all.
He turned his attention to the pond's edges.
The fog that once shrouded the limits of his Spirit Realm was clearing away. He watched as chunks of the surrounding ground broke apart, crumbling into the pond, where they dissolved completely—not disappearing, but reinforcing the pond's walls, making them stronger.
Ali raised his hand, letting some of the Black Spirit floating above him coat his fingers.
It was… different.
Denser.
Heavier.
More viscous.
Not like before, when it felt light and fluid.
"The quality changes too…"
That was another realisation.
Not only was his Spirit growing in quantity, but the density and power of the energy itself was increasing.
He narrowed his eyes.
"But does this happen every time I put points into Spirit? Or only after reaching a certain threshold?"
Ali sighed, frustrated that he hadn't experimented more before the battle. He could have figured this out earlier instead of leaving it to the last second.
Not that it mattered now. He'd find out soon enough.
"Let's see what a failed mission looks like."
Ali returned to his physical form, where the interface was already waiting for him.
"You have failed to complete World Event: Find the Super Soldier Serum in under two days."
Reward: None.
"You have failed to complete Personal Mission: Destroy a Hydra Underground Laboratory in New York (0/1)"
Reward: None.
Then—
"Personal Mission: Defeat an Avenger (3/1)"
Reward: 0.1 Attribute Points
Bonus for exceeding mission requirements: +0.1 Attribute Points
Bonus for going beyond double the requirements: 200 Paradise Coins
Ali blinked.
Then blinked again.
"…That's it?"
He stared at the tiny reward.
Then, for the first time in a long while—
Ali felt genuinely pissed off.
"Are you fucking kidding me?"
His expression darkened as his fingers twitched at his sides.
"I killed THREE Avengers. Do you know how much goddamn ORIGIN that is in this world? And I get… this?"
The interface remained unchanged, mocking him in its silence.
Ali exhaled sharply, forcing himself to calm down.
"They really wanna limit me…"
His eyes narrowed.
The screen flickered again, shifting to another message.
"Analysing Inventory…"
"Found Item: Captain America's Vibranium Shield"
"Player can pay 20,000 Paradise Coins for item, or item will be removed."
"Yeah, I fucking saw that coming."
There was no way Paradise was going to just let him walk away with that shield for free.
"20,000 PC… that's a lot."
He doubted even the Merchant's Guild would have buyers willing to cough up that much, unless they planned to melt it down and reforge it into something else.
Then—
The familiar flickering white lights surrounded him.
His surroundings shifted.
When the light faded, Ali was back in his garden, the soft green grass beneath him, the warm glow of Paradise's sun overhead.
He stretched, exhaling.
"Only an hour passed…"
Ali stood up slowly, stretching his limbs as he adjusted to being back in Paradise.
Ali opened his interface once more.
[Status Update]
Free Attribute Points: 0.3 → 0.5
Paradise Coins: 783 → 983
He tapped into his attribute menu.
"Let's see…"
[Attribute Distribution]
Free AP: 0
Strength: 0 → 0.2
Body: 0 → 0.1
Speed: 0 → 0.2
Spirit: 5
Intelligence: 0
Luck: 0
Ali flexed his arms and legs, rolling his shoulders to get a feel for the changes.
'I'm stronger. Definitely stronger.'
It wasn't just raw power—he could feel his muscles more clearly, as if every movement was sharper and more refined.
Ali suddenly threw a punch forward.
SWOOSH.
His fist cut through the air with a precision that hadn't been there before.
'My connection to my body has improved… that must be the effect of the Body attribute.'
His eyes narrowed slightly as he analysed the feeling.
'As for Strength, I don't even need to test it—I can already tell my maximum just jumped by at least twenty kilos.'
He turned his attention to Speed.
Ali took a deep breath, then suddenly exploded forward.
BOOM.
In the blink of an eye, he crossed the entire garden, his surroundings blurring for a brief moment before he came to a stop.
'A quarter of a second faster…'
It might not seem like much, but in a real battle, that fraction of a second could mean the difference between life and death.
"This is pretty good."
Ali smirked to himself, satisfied with the results.
But then—
His gaze drifted back to his interface.
More specifically, to the two attributes still sitting at zero.
Intelligence.
Luck.
'Intelligence is for specialists and mages.'
He recalled the guidebook he had read on the second level in Paradise, he'd bought it by exchanging some miscellaneous items he got from the death duel.
That attribute determined a player's understanding of complex systems—things like alchemy, enchanting, building, programming, and spell-craft.
To mages, Intelligence was just as important as Spirit, if not more. It allowed them to comprehend their spells better, making their casting more efficient and unlocking greater control over their abilities.
But Ali wasn't a mage.
At least, not yet.
'Maybe I'll invest in it later… but for now, there's no point.'
Then there was Luck.
Ali had seen the warnings in the guidebook.
Many veteran players heavily recommended putting points into Luck.
It affected everything—from loot drops to random encounters, even influencing the probability of getting dragged into dangerous situations.
It was the ultimate wildcard stat.
But Ali just smiled.
"So what if I get thrown into life-threatening situations?"
His black eyes gleamed.
"That's the fun part."
Ali let out a low chuckle, turning his gaze toward the sky.
The sun shone brightly above, its warmth pleasant against his skin.
The peace of Paradise was in stark contrast to the chaos of Marvel, but Ali knew better than to relax.
He had spent enough time here to understand.
Paradise was only peaceful on the surface.
In reality, it was a constant battlefield, and every single player was fighting to become stronger—because if you didn't, you would die.
DING.
A notification appeared on his interface.
[New Message Received]
———————-
Author here, this chapter ends the small marvel arc, to be honest I struggled with this one, I found it a fun idea but writing the fights in a way where I gave respect to the marvel character's power was kinda hard. Maybe I was too ambitious with having them all against Ali and should have went with 1 vs 1. Oh well, if you guys enjoyed then it doesn't matter anymore.
Please donate some of your power stones, it would help my ff massively.
Five chapters ahead of webnovel on patreon.com/Rondo312