The Hulk was huge.
He looked like a short, bulky half-sized Ultraman.
Ian had considered the possibility that he might have "logged into" some future day in his dream. He had also wondered whether he was under the effects of some magical curse, or undergoing a kind of time-locked exile through the universe.
However...
He had never imagined that this apocalyptic world was actually a world on the same level as the DC universe he lived in, and that he would actually see the Hulk's corpse here.
Yes, the Hulk.
That famous comic-book character who got bigger and greener when angry, the one said to possess limitless strength. A being like that should never have appeared in Ian's second life.
"Oh, by my old man above... this can't really just be my bad eyesight, can it?" Ian swallowed hard, feeling a surge of absurd disbelief shoot straight into his skull.
Was this the Marvel Universe?
No.
At the very least, it was not entirely the Marvel Universe.
The Hulk's enormous body was like a small mountain, his skin a cold blue-green. His muscles were still swollen and massive. Even though he had fallen onto his back, both hands were still frozen in the position of being raised high.
And it was the thing still trembling in the cold wind between those raised hands that had kept Ian from recovering from the shock of seeing the Hulk's corpse even now.
Who would not think this was bizarre?
There, in plain sight.
The Hulk, whose chest had a huge hole blown through it, still had both arms lifted toward the sky in a clenched position. In his left hand, he was gripping a blond head.
The head's eyes were wide open, its expression full of rage and unwillingness. The blood vessels in the neck and the torn strips of skin were all clearly visible, swaying in the wind along with the blond hair.
In the Hulk's other hand was the rest of the body.
The torn, muscular remains were dressed in a dark blue suit, with the stars and stripes of American pride draped across its back.
Was that not Homelander from The Boys, Ian's favorite TV series?
The Hulk and Homelander?
Two characters that had absolutely nothing to do with each other. And yet their corpses had appeared so abruptly before Ian's eyes. He no longer even wanted to think about what had happened, what the two of them had gone through before death, or what had turned this world into what it was now.
"I'm afraid I really am just dreaming. And I really can level up while dreaming."
Ian genuinely felt all of this was way too insane.
Honestly, this was unhinged.
Right now, he wanted nothing more than to find a reliable doctor and book himself a customized course of treatment.
Really.
If he did not swallow a few pounds of medication, Ian was worried he would not be able to suppress whatever condition he had.
"Which is more likely, that I'm crazy, or that this world is crazy? What a hard question to answer."
Ian could not help letting his thoughts run wild.
He slowly moved closer to the giant green monster.
The snow and ice around the Hulk had been smashed into a huge crater. Ian had to struggle quite a bit before finally managing to touch the Hulk's skin. At first, he had only been curious about what the corpse of a creature like this would feel like.
However...
The moment his hand came into contact with the hardened green blood on the giant's body.
The next second.
The system's voice suddenly rang in his ear.
[You have come into contact with an unknown extraordinary substance. A new class template has been unlocked. By fulfilling the required conditions for acquisition, you may obtain a corrected extraordinary class: [Berserker]]
Sure enough.
This system really was feeling more and more like a game system.
After hearing the notification, Ian only froze for a second.
Then, instead of immediately checking the requirements to obtain the so-called [Berserker] class, his eyes locked onto the grotesquely dismembered corpse of Homelander that was still being held aloft by the Hulk's body.
"What a miraculous bond between me and my old man!"
He moved like a scrawny little monkey on stimulants, using all his strength to climb up onto the Hulk's chest. Then he planned to use the Hulk's arm like a tree trunk and climb toward Homelander's remains.
It had to be said, young people really did think fast.
If the Hulk's blood could unlock a template for an extraordinary class, then Ian believed Homelander's blood and remains had to be able to do the same thing.
He wanted the [Berserker] class.
And he also wanted whatever extraordinary class Homelander might bring him.
Maybe the extraordinary class from Homelander could even help him get closer to his family.
The moment that thought crossed his mind, Ian grew even more excited, as if his whole body had been filled with adrenaline.
He clung to the Hulk's arm and kept climbing.
And climbing.
Splat.
At that moment, the downside of reading books instead of working out became painfully obvious. Because the Hulk's body was covered in frost and ice crystals, Ian's strength was only enough to support him for two or three meters of climbing height.
Then he slid down as smoothly as if he were hugging a steel pole covered in lubricant.
"I refuse to believe this!"
Ian started climbing again.
Splat.
This time he did not even make it to three meters before sliding back down.
"For the family!"
Ian charged once more and leaped upward, scrambling with both hands and feet. Unfortunately, shouting did not grant him miraculous power. He only made it about one-third of the way up the Hulk's arm.
Splat.
The same familiar slide back down.
This time, every muscle in Ian's arms and legs had been squeezed to its absolute limit.
They hurt like hell.
He dropped onto the Hulk's cold pectoral muscle, sitting there with eyes full of confusion and unwillingness.
This made no sense.
He had already raised the glorious banner of family, so why had he still not awakened some hidden explosive power?
"Sure enough! I still haven't fully integrated into the local culture!"
Somewhat helpless, Ian shook out his aching arms. Then he looked up one last time, full of reluctance, at Homelander's remains high above him.
"Giving up isn't running away! It just means we settle this tomorrow!"
Ian had always been extremely precise when it came to time.
And sure enough, the moment his bold declaration left his mouth.
The next second.
Dong~~~~
The first deep toll of a bell exploded beside his ears.
It sounded like the echo of an ancient church bell, carrying an irresistible force, as if the entire world were twisting and dissolving within that chime.
Ian's soul shuddered.
Fear and dread rose and fell inside him, entirely beyond his control.
Dong. Dong.
The second and third tolls followed one after another, and Ian's vision instantly blurred.
The Hulk's corpse, Homelander's savage severed head, the frozen streets... everything faded and collapsed within the ringing of the bells, as though being sucked into some invisible vortex.
Smack.
That was the sound of his forehead kissing the desk.
Ian lifted his head.
Instinctively, he looked at the peach-butt alarm clock sitting on his desk. It was a birthday gift his older brother Jordan had given him last year, and it produced a horrifying noise like the cackling laugh of a middle-aged aunt.
[00:42]
Just like always.
The time pointed to the correct moment.
(End of Chapter)
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