In the Marvel Universe, supernatural power is rarely achieved through self-cultivation. It is almost always borrowed.
The lenders are various: dimensional lords, dimensional gods, or dimensional demons. You pray, submit an application for power, the dimension responds after a credit check, and once a contract is signed, outlining the terms of the loan and repayment, you possess supernatural strength.
Or, if you are as formidable as the Sorcerer Supreme, you simply commit highway robbery. As long as you can withstand the dimension's wrath, anything goes.
To put it bluntly, the Sorcerer Supreme is a deadbeat debtor. While most dimensional lords are greedy, it's still considered poor form to borrow money and then refuse to pay it back just because the interest is high. The saving grace for the Sorcerer Supreme is that there is no "inter-dimensional credit bureau" to share debtor information. That is why Kamar-Taj gets away with it time and again.
Locke had only just realized that while he possessed an infinite source of energy, and Carrie possessed the talent, she lacked a "lender" to help her complete her class change.
'Can I lend it to her?'
He only had five days left. He couldn't stay here forever. Locke rubbed his chin and tentatively tossed this question into the endless sea of energy rooted in his consciousness.
In the next second, the sea of energy surged violently, a tempest within his mind. As for the response Locke was hoping for? There was none.
However, this lack of response actually made Locke breathe a sigh of relief. If the energy sea had actually "spoken" back, he would have been worried—much like how he had repeatedly tested the rigid System to see if it possessed true intelligence. No response meant the energy was just energy.
Still, it left him in a bit of a daze. It meant that maybe he could, or maybe he couldn't; even if he could, he had no idea how to become Carrie White's creditor.
Should he just run up to her and say: "Hey, girl, want some power? If you do, just nod. It's ten percent interest, no hidden fees, just a small processing charge?"
Locke blinked. 'Actually... that might work.'
...
The next morning, Mrs. Cord dragged the chemistry teacher off to meet the parents of the students she planned to poach for Midtown High. Locke, Gwen, Cindy, and Kahn headed to a local burger joint for breakfast.
"I'm not planning on going to the Winter Ball here," Gwen said over her meal. "Locke and I were thinking of heading out this afternoon to see some of the further-away sights. We can spend two days doing a proper tour. What about you guys?"
Cindy shrugged. "We'll go with you. If you aren't going to the dance, there's no point in us going. We aren't even students here. Besides, showing up at their dance right after we crushed them in the competition feels like we're just going there to gloat. We might get punched."
Gwen nodded. "Great. Let's head back to our place later and finalize the itinerary."
Without the dance, they could extend their travel routes or even stay overnight at a resort. Between the four of them, they had $4,000 in reimbursement money.
After breakfast, as they returned home, Locke raised an eyebrow. He spotted a figure slipping into the woods near the residential community. He followed the group inside, but while Gwen, Cindy, and Kahn spread out maps and travel guides, Locke let out a yawn.
"I'm going upstairs to lie down for a bit."
Gwen didn't look up from the map. "Sure. We'll call you once we've settled on the route."
Over the last few months, Gwen had come to understand Locke's character. Others might see him as eccentric or difficult, but Gwen, Kahn, and Cindy saw him as someone who simply didn't care about social conventions. He was easygoing in his own way; once you knew him, the labels other students gave him felt like pure imagination.
...
In the forest.
Locke, wearing sunglasses, tracked down Carrie White. She was standing like a novice mage, eyes shut tight, her right hand extended toward a fork she had jammed into a tree branch. Her expression looked strained, almost like she was constipated.
After a long moment, the fork remained perfectly still.
Locke, standing at a distance, blinked.
Carrie opened her eyes. "Strange... why isn't it working again?"
Locke was about to speak when Carrie's expression suddenly shifted. She started talking to herself. "No! Impossible!"
Locke stayed put. 'What is she doing?'
Carrie's face became agitated. "My mother... I won't sacrifice my mother! Don't even think about it!"
Locke's eyebrows shot up. He understood now. 'That was close. Someone almost beat me to the punch.'
He stepped out from his hiding spot, tilting his head as he looked at Carrie, who was now crouching on the ground, clutching her head. "What are you doing?"
Carrie looked up in terror. Sunglasses. A suit. A handsome stranger. She scrambled to hide her distress, lowered her head, and turned to walk away without a word.
Locke's lips curled into a smirk. "You don't want to sacrifice your mother to some demon tempting you with power?"
Carrie froze. She stopped in her tracks. After a long silence, she turned around like a shy quail, peeking at Locke. "Who... who are you?"
Locke thought for a moment. "You can call me... Peerless."
"Pe... Peerless?"
(T/N:- og author just said peerless in chinese instead of english here, Wushuang which literally means Peerless. So I removed that, although idk if she'll be relevant in future but remember she thinks he's Wushuang, not Assassin Peerless)
"Yes." Locke stood with his hands in his pockets, looking at the girl who was full of wariness but also a flicker of desperation. "Perhaps I can help you."
Carrie's pupils shrank. "You're like the demon that just tempted me. Are you a demon too?"
"A demon?" Locke shook his head. "I've killed a few people, but a demon? Hardly. At the very least, I won't ask you to sacrifice your mother to me."
Carrie looked at him timidly. "Is that the truth?"
"Yes." Locke didn't even know if he could successfully "lend" power yet. Even if he could, he didn't plan on making a habit of it.
His primary goal was just to use Carrie as a bridge to complete his own class change.
If someone else "snatched" her, he wouldn't care—except that the current "lender" was demanding she kill her mother to level up. That's a bad class. If he copied that and found himself becoming a "Demonic Mage" or a "Warlock," what would be the point? Anything with the word "Demon" in it never ended well.
Just look at Constantine. Or the brothers from the other show. One is a handsome guy who ruined his life fighting demons; the others lost their father, their mother, and one of them keeps dying repeatedly.
Carrie fell silent. Locke didn't pressure her. After a while, she seemed to summon her courage, looking at the man who, in her eyes, was undoubtedly some sort of supernatural entity. "Can you teach me?"
"Of course," Locke smiled. "But I can't guarantee success."
He stepped forward. Carrie instinctively wanted to turn and run, but she stayed her ground with sheer willpower. Soon, Locke was standing right in front of her. At sixteen, she should have been in the prime of her life, yet she had turned what should be her most radiant years into a nightmare she'd never want to remember.
"Look up."
"..."
Carrie bit her lip, her body trembling slightly as she slowly raised her head. She wasn't ugly; she was just hindered by a lack of grooming and clothes she should never have been wearing. When she looked up, if one ignored the outfit and focused purely on her features, she was undeniably a beauty.
Locke smiled. "If you want my power, it's very simple: never bow your head. There is no one in this world, and nothing, worth you looking down for."
Carrie's eyes flickered.
Locke continued, "With my power, you may kill. When people are killed, they die—that is the law. When you possess the power to judge the lives of others, no one is worth bowing to. Do you understand, Carrie?"
Carrie was frightened by his words, but then she froze. "How... how do you know my name?"
Locke just smiled and didn't answer. He extended his right hand. "If you want my power, take my hand. I will give you my strength. In return, all I ask is that you never bow. Never bow to anyone again."
Carrie bit her lip, staring at the hand. She was afraid. But she was more afraid of her current life—a life so stiflingly calm it made her want to end it. Ignoring the demonic whispers screaming in her head, she gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, and reached out.
'Here we go.'
Behind his sunglasses, Locke's eyebrows twitched.
Their hands clasped tightly.
Carrie's eyes flew wide, her head tilting back slightly. Locke remained silent as well. Within his consciousness, the infinite sea of energy surged like a category-ten tsunami.
A massive column of energy soared upward, swirling in the air to form a blurred, humanoid silhouette.
*Whoosh!*
Locke suddenly opened his eyes. In the distance...
A demon was watching!
***
Bonus as promised, next one is on 300 stones
Read 30 Chapters early on P-atreon.com/Redestro666