Late at night, the quiet calm of a New York police station was shattered by a flood of emergency calls.
Within minutes, patrol cars were racing through the streets toward the bank where the explosion had occurred. The building was close to the precinct, so the first units arrived in less than ten minutes.
Police Commissioner George Stacy stepped out of his car and surveyed the scene. Officers were already setting up barricades and sealing off the area.
He walked toward one of the responding officers.
"What's the situation inside?"
The officer hesitated slightly before answering.
"Sir… the group responsible for the explosion has been arrested. All of them."
George raised an eyebrow.
"That's good news. So what's the problem?"
The officer cleared his throat.
"According to their statements, someone else showed up while they were looting the vault."
George's expression darkened.
"Someone else?"
"Yes, sir. The individual took all the money and valuables the robbers had gathered. Then he shot all four suspects in the ankles and drove off in their getaway car."
George rubbed his forehead.
"So let me get this straight."
He sighed heavily.
"We caught the bombing suspects… but the bank's money was still stolen by someone else?"
"Yes, sir."
George already felt a headache forming.
Tomorrow's newspapers would have a field day with this.
Another mysterious criminal operating in New York. Another case the police couldn't fully control.
And unfortunately, ordinary officers weren't exactly equipped to deal with people capable of pulling off something like that.
Elsewhere in the city, Noah Vale sprinted through the darkness.
His body had already recovered thanks to the boost in his constitution, and the miles beneath his feet disappeared quickly.
Twenty kilometers.
He covered the distance in just over half an hour.
By the time he reached home, it was already one in the morning.
Despite the chaos of the night, the results had been surprisingly productive.
Financially, he'd secured over a million dollars' worth of cash, gold, and valuables.
More importantly, he had finally figured out how his attribute system actually worked.
If tonight hadn't happened, he might have kept hoarding those attribute points for months before testing them.
That would have been a massive waste of time.
After the long run, even Noah felt some fatigue.
He peeled off his sweat-soaked clothes and took a few slow breaths before sitting cross-legged on the floor.
Then he began circulating the strange energy he had learned to cultivate within his body.
Within minutes, a thin thread of energy condensed inside him.
The process was far faster than before.
When his constitution had been lower, producing even a small amount took far longer.
Now the efficiency had increased dramatically.
Clearly, improving his physical condition also boosted his natural aptitude for training.
After confirming the change, Noah stopped and stood up.
Tonight, he planned to push his limits even further.
Strength.
Focus.
Both needed to improve.
The room was dark except for the faint glow of the city outside.
Noah filled a container with diluted sulfuric acid and stepped into it.
Then he lifted a stack of furniture onto his shoulders and began exercising.
The chemical solution burned slightly against his skin, while the added weight forced his muscles to work harder.
Brutal training.
But effective.
Tonight's encounter with both the robbers and Daredevil had reminded him of something important.
This was the Marvel Universe.
Danger existed everywhere.
If you were an ordinary person, supervillains might prey on you.
But if you became a criminal yourself, there were countless superheroes waiting to stop you.
Power was the only real safety.
If you became strong enough, both heroes and villains would think twice before crossing you.
And when someone's strength reached a truly overwhelming level…
The world around them tended to become much friendlier.
With that thought in mind, Noah continued training through the night.
By morning, sunlight streamed through the window.
Noah stood quietly as the system interface updated.
Name: Noah ValeLifespan: 18 / 150Strength: 1.5 + 0.2Constitution: 1.4Mental Focus: 1.5Charisma: 1.4Unassigned Attribute Points: 0.3
During the night, both his strength and mental focus had improved through intense training.
The equipped attribute points still stacked on top of his natural abilities, pushing his effective strength even higher.
Noah clenched his fist slowly.
With a base strength of 1.5 and the additional boost from attribute points, his effective power had reached 1.7.
That was impressive.
But it also came with a risk.
If his strength rose too far ahead of his body's durability, he could damage himself again—just like during the fight with Daredevil.
The same problem applied to mental focus.
If his body moved faster than his reactions could keep up with, he'd lose control during combat.
Balance mattered.
Strength.
Durability.
Focus.
All three needed to grow together.
Noah considered spending one of his remaining attribute points on constitution.
But after a moment, he shook his head.
Those points were too valuable to waste impulsively.
He decided to hold onto them for now.
Instead, he walked to the kitchen and grabbed something to eat.
Ten minutes later, breakfast finished, Noah prepared another glass of diluted sulfuric acid.
He carefully poured a small amount of acid into a glass filled with water, stirring it slowly until the mixture was properly diluted.
Then he picked up the glass.
Without hesitation, he drank it.
The liquid slid down his throat with a faint acidic taste.
Warm.
Sharp.
Strangely smooth.
He smacked his lips thoughtfully afterward.
There was even a faint sweetness beneath the sourness.
"Not bad," he muttered.
From Noah's perspective, drinking diluted acid counted as another form of physical conditioning.
Strengthening the body inside and out.
He set the glass down and checked the time.
Then he headed out the door.
Originally, Noah had planned to skip school today.
But after last night's events—the bank robbery and his encounter with Daredevil—it was safer to show his face in public.
An ordinary student attending class looked far less suspicious than someone mysteriously absent.
As he walked toward Midtown High, Noah deliberately kept his pace slow.
With his current strength, running at full speed would probably make people think they'd just seen a mutant sprint past.
Better to keep things low-key.
Ironically, slowing down caused a different problem.
People kept stopping him.
"Excuse me… hi."
A young woman stepped into his path.
Noah stopped and gave her a polite smile.
"Can I help you with something?"
Inside, though, he remained cautious.
The timing felt suspicious.
Why approach him today of all days?
The girl looked up at him, her cheeks turning bright red.
"My name's Ellie," she said nervously. "I… I was wondering if we could be friends."
Noah blinked.
"…Oh."
For a second, he had been expecting some kind of trap.
Instead, it turned out she was just attracted to him.
He studied her briefly.
She was cute, but nothing about her sparked any real interest.
"I'm sorry," Noah said politely. "I already have a girlfriend. She wouldn't be happy if I got too close with other girls."
The disappointment on her face was immediate.
After she left, Noah continued walking toward school.
And realized something strange.
That hadn't been the first person to stop him.
Or the second.
By the time he reached campus, five or six people had tried to strike up conversations with him.
Some were girls.
Some were guys.
Noah rubbed his temple.
"…Okay, this might actually be getting out of hand."