"Peter, it's such a shame you didn't come intern at my dad's company over the break! You seriously can't imagine how many weird little gadgets there are in those labs!"
"If you'd gone, you definitely would've been thrilled!"
Peter's deskmate was a young noble heir. That's right, the son of Norman Osborn, founder of Oscorp: Harry Osborn.
Whether it was fate or whether every version of Peter Parker simply followed the same path, Peter and Harry had somehow ended up in the same class from elementary school to middle school to high school.
They were even deskmates.
Sometimes Peter honestly wondered if Harry had a thing for him. Otherwise, why did he keep running into him everywhere? It made no sense at all.
Then again, in the Marvel Universe, common sense was usually the least sensible thing of all.
"I heard the mentor for this internship was Curt Connors. Missing it really was a bit of a shame. But Harry, unless I'm remembering wrong, weren't you basically failing science? Since when are you interested in science?"
Peter glanced at Harry, who had been talking nonstop, and gave him a look that clearly said, If you suddenly started studying, I'd think I'd seen a ghost.
"Our family does scientific research for a living, so why can't I be interested in science?! Wow. After all these years of friendship, that's how you see me? Peter, was all those years of love really wasted...?"
"Oh, spare me. I know you too well. You're only interested in flashy new tech. And can you stop saying weird stuff like that? I'm worried Gwen's going to get the wrong idea."
Seeing Gwen at the desk in front of them turn around, frown, and look back and forth between the two of them with a thoroughly indescribable expression, Peter knew Harry was only saying it to gross him out on purpose.
"By the way, how's it going with MJ? Don't tell me you still haven't won her over yet. The great young prince still being a virgin at your age. All talk, but the second it's real, you fold. Honestly, that's impressive."
MJ.
Mary Jane.
She was the neighbor living next door to Peter's house. They had known each other since they were six, even one or two years earlier than he had met Gwen and Harry.
But Peter had absolutely no interest in her.
There was a reason for that.
When she was little, she had looked, frankly, pretty rough. Freckles all over her face, uneven teeth, and a short, capable haircut that made her look like a total tomboy.
Who could've guessed that once she grew up, let her hair grow out, and got her teeth fixed, Mary Jane would turn into someone stunning enough to stand alongside Gwen as one of Midtown High's two school beauties?
Still, she was not Peter's type.
She was fine as one of the guys, but as a girlfriend? No thanks.
He had no idea what was wrong with Harry's brain for liking someone whose punches hurt that much.
"I'm... still working on it. Almost there, almost there..."
Looking at Harry's guilty expression, Peter immediately understood that there had been zero real progress and that Harry was just trying to save face.
"Yaaawn. I'm gonna sleep for a bit, Peter. Wake me up when the teacher gets here."
Harry let out a huge yawn.
"You stayed up all night playing games again, didn't you? You're turning into a complete shut-in."
"That was a PS5, okay? The feel is incredible, and that game's graphics and frame rate are just..."
The second the subject turned to games, Harry seemed not sleepy at all anymore, but Peter promptly shoved his head down.
"Just go to sleep. I'm genuinely worried you're going to drop dead at school."
"Alright, alright, I'm done talking. I'm exhausted. Let me catch some sleep first, and I'll keep telling you about it later."
Harry dropped onto the desk and immediately began snoring.
Peter shook his head helplessly, then turned to look out the window and enjoy the scenery outside.
[Ding. How can someone with heroic power loaf around like this? One-star mission issued: Stop ten crimes within one week!]
[Mission reward: 20 Skin Points, one Level 1 Treasure Chest!]
Just as Peter was zoning out, a mechanical voice sounded in his ear.
The moment he heard it, the sleepiness in his head disappeared instantly.
He had thought the system was done after giving him those two starter gift packs. He had not expected it to issue missions too.
This really was pretty similar to some online games he had played in his previous life.
Peter had already figured out what Skin Points were for. Save up enough, and he could buy hero skins to gain different abilities.
As for the treasure chest, he had no idea yet. It was probably basically a loot box. Good or bad, all down to luck.
[Ding. Treasure Chests are divided into ten levels from low to high. The higher the level, the better the rewards inside. Rewards may include hero equipment, daily-use items, special skills, and more.]
Right.
So it really was just a loot box.
Sometimes Peter seriously suspected this system had evolved from some kind of game system. Everything about it felt like he was playing a game.
Even the mission description felt ridiculously sloppy. It had that unmistakable cheap online game vibe.
Looking at the explanation floating on the system panel, Peter could not help sighing.
Solving ten cases in one week was not going to be easy.
Sure, this was the free and beautiful United States, but that did not mean there were shootings every single day, right?
After all, growing up, he had only ever run into a few actual crimes himself.
...
When the final bell rang, the students began leaving the classroom one after another.
"Haaah..."
Peter stretched lazily.
After sitting in a chair all day, his waist and back really did feel sore. Still, the gains had been enormous.
The system really was incredible.
After gaining one-fifth of the first Spider-Man's abilities, Peter's overall physical capabilities had improved, but so had his memory.
Knowledge that would normally have taken him half a month to learn had been completely mastered and fully absorbed in a single day of study and comprehension.
To be fair, he had always thought this level of schoolwork was too childish to bother learning in the first place. But now it made for a decent way to pass the time. He could listen to class while reading a book at the same time, splitting his focus without losing efficiency.
"I absolutely can't use the Dark Suit yet. The good stuff has to be saved for when it's really needed. With what I can do now, I should be able to deal with criminals pretty easily. I should go home and put on the suit I already finished making instead..."
"Even though I can produce webbing myself now, I should still bring the electrostatic webbing too, just in case..."
"Damn it, where am I even supposed to find that many criminals?!"
"What are you muttering to yourself about? Peter, want to come over to my place tonight and play games? My dad was even saying it was kind of a shame he didn't get to see you. Seriously, I can't tell which one of us is actually his son."
Seeing Peter lower his head and mutter to himself, Harry sent over an invitation.
"No, not this time. I've been working on a little invention lately, and it's almost finished. I'm going to walk Gwen home, then I'll keep working on it. Once I'm done, the two of us can play as much as we want."
"What kind of weird little gadget is it this time?! You have to let me try it when it's done!"
The second he heard that, Harry got interested. He threw an arm around Peter's shoulder and spoke with obvious excitement.
"I'm planning to make a mini electromagnetic pulse cannon. The kind that'll blast you flying."
"Oh, get lost. Fine then, busy genius, go do your thing. I'm heading home to play games~"
Watching Harry hop into the car in just a few steps, Peter tilted his head and revealed a faintly meaningful smile.
"No wonder he can't catch up to Mary Jane. It's understandable. All he ever thinks about is gaming. There's really nothing else left in that brain..."
"Come on, Peter. Want to come over to my house for dinner tonight? My mom's been talking about you the whole time~"
With her backpack slung over one shoulder, Gwen bumped Peter lightly as he stood there spacing out. She wore that smile unique to a teenage girl, with a trace of shyness still lingering on her face.
It was not the first time she had invited Peter over for dinner, but somehow, every single time, she still got a little embarrassed.
"Sure. I'm already tired of Aunt May's cooking, and I haven't had Aunt Helen's apple pie in forever. Then I won't hold back tonight~"
"Who wants you to be polite, idiot~"
Gwen bounced up playfully and flicked him on the forehead, then ran forward with a laugh.
"Ow... with strength like that, you almost gave me a concussion. You really have no idea how strong you are, do you?"
Peter rubbed his forehead in pain, then put on an exaggeratedly vicious expression and chased after her while shouting, "Gwen, get back here! I'm flicking you on the forehead too!"
"Catch me first~"
The boy and girl ran off in pursuit, and neither of them noticed the broad, buzz-cut teenager standing behind them.
It was Flash.
Wearing the expression of someone who had just been force-fed too much sweetness, he slowly raised his middle finger toward the two of them, his face full of jealousy and resentment toward Peter.
(End of Chapter)
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