[Mission Complete]
At this moment, another good news sounded in his ears, making him jump in surprise.
Yesterday, even after defeating Kilgrave, he still hadn't gotten the notification of Mission Completion.
Unexpectedly, he got it now.
Thinking about it, he could deduce the cause. The task also indirectly hinted at preventing Kilgrave from destroying others' lives.
If Will hadn't interfered, Jessica might have run away on her own and Patricia's family might have been targeted.
Just now, after he completely settled their matter, the mission was completed. It seems that he needs to pay attention to the wording from next time.
But for now, Will was in great anticipation for the reward. An Aura Powered Skill. What could it be?
Will excitedly checked the interface.
[Mission Complete]
[The Aura you gained during the Mission: 2742]
[Total Aura: 3165]
[Completion Rating: 8/10]
[Do you wish to receive the Reward
Y/N]
"Yes! Of course yes!" Will all but shouted. He couldn't wait to get that Aura Powered Skill at all!
[Reward: Random Aura Powered Skill => Mind Boost (Tier 1)
Bonus: Depending on Completion Rating 8/10 => Iron Will (Tier 1)]
[The Cognitive Skills Branch has been opened]
[Congratu—
.
.
A bunch of notifications began sounding. And as soon as Will saw the Skill [Mind Boost], he jumped and punched the wall in excitement, not even minding his injured hand. This was it! This was what he was talking about!
All the risk he took was bloody well worth it!
In fact, now he even somewhat regretted not collecting more aura. Like, he could have let Kilgrave create a bigger scene or something.
But his joy could only last a few moments before a piercing pain shot through his mind. It felt like lines were being carved right through his brain, causing him immense pain.
It was so bad that Will directly passed out.
He woke up only a few minutes later, but the pain in head was almost gone except for a faint throbbing, as if that blinding agony was just his imagination.
Will quickly checked the new status.
Name: William Osborne
Age: 22
Tier: Novice Aura Farmer
Aura: 0
Normal Skills: Shooting Lv2, Fighting Lv2, US Special Forces Lv1, Cooking Lv 1…(expand)
Aura Skill Tree:
Cognitive Branch: Mind Boost (T1), Iron Will (T1)
Tasks: None
Tier Bonus: None
He quickly clicked on the new skill to see their description.
Mind Boost (active): Temporarily increases intelligence, analysis, and processing speed at aura cost.
Iron Will (Passive): Resistance to mental control, fear, emotional manipulation.
Mind Boost! It really is as he had thought! He can temporarily make himself smarter!
Will can call himself smart, but compared to the geniuses of marvel he is really embarrassed to even compete.
Since he doesn't have superpowers, the scientific and tech routes were his best bet for survival. And now, with this skill, the way ahead might be much smoother.
The Other skill, 'Iron Will', is also not bad. Kilgrave is not the only being in Marvel who can influence people's minds.
Both the skills are related to the Mind, i.e. from the Cognitive Branch of the Skill Tree. And the mission was also related to Kilgrave, someone with powers related to the Mind.
Does this mean that the type rewards he gets from the task would be directly related to the contents of the task?
That's something worth pondering over.
For the time being, Will continued checking the new notification. Since he had gotten the rewards, he hadn't paid attention to the rest.
[The Multiverse Aura Farming Feature has been Unlocked]
[You can now travel to other worlds to perform Aura Farming Tasks]
Will's eyes widened.
Fuck
Other worlds! Not even other Marvel Worlds, but actual other worlds!
Will recalled the other books, series, and comics he had enjoyed in her previous life and wondered which world it would be.
Thinking about it, he was quite excited about the upcoming Multiverse Task. But, at the same time, he was also a bit apprehensive.
After all, here in Marvel, he was still pretty well established and had a lot of options to increase his survival chances. The same cannot be said about the other worlds.
'But let's not get ahead of ourselves.'
Will first exited the lab and went to a secluded place. Then, he looked at his very first skill.
"Now, how do I activate this thing?"
'Mind Boost, Activate.'
Will tried giving a mental command, and when that didn't work, he tried using a verbal one.
"Mind Boost, Activate."
Still nothing. Will tapped his brain a few times and even tried tapping the system interface. Still, nothing worked.
Then Will opened up difficult math questions in his phone and tried brainstorming them, hoping for a sudden boost.
Unfortunately, this didn't seem to work either. His intelligence didn't increase at all.
Will closed his eyes and concentrated his attention 'inside' his brain, trying to regain the feeling he had when those burning lines were being etched in his brain.
He concentrated on that slight difference he could actually 'feel' inside his brain.
And then, he felt something connect.
Suddenly, he could vaguely sense some type of layer surrounding him in a thin layer.
Feeling the connection tugging at his mind, Will also pulled. And then, he felt something rushing through his brain.
!!!
His eyes shot open, his pupils constricting to dots.
'What the hell?'
'Damn, this is Mind Boost?'
'I really do feel smarter.'
'Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.' I now understand what Einstein meant by that.
Thoughts raced through his mind at an exhilarating speed. It was as if his thoughts had shifted from trudging through mud to sprinting on ground.
He felt like he could finally get around to doing that Serum research on his own. Though with his enhanced intelligence, he also had the self awareness that his current intelligence still might not be enough.
At least, it would take a lot of time.
Will focused on the connection once again, and this time, he severed it.
Immediately, he felt like he hadn't slept for a day. His body was the same but mentally, he felt exhausted and sluggish.
He had basically figured out the ins and outs of how the aura-powered skills work.
The pain he felt in his mind was more like the system making Aura pathways in his brain, or making his brain adaptable to Aura enhancement.
The intangible film he had felt around himself must be what the system calls Aura.
When the connection was established, Will could use that energy to activate the skill.
Will checked the Aura Expenditure of the Skill and cursed.
"50?!"
In just a few seconds, he had lost 50 Aura points. Now, Will felt the evergrowing need to farm Aura.
After arranging for Jessica's accommodations, Will left the company on his Glider, one hand carrying the White Elf Exoskeleton Briefcase.
Crossing through the security parameter, he reached home.
Brock stood in the door, having gotten the heads up through the security system. His face looked grim, like he was angry.
Beside him stood Ethan with his head down, like he had made a mistake.
John and Rocky stood behind them, looking relatively relaxed.
"Boss, we're sorry for yesterday's blunder,"
Both Brock and Ethan bowed their heads as he stepped on the Glider. It turns out they were apologizing for yesterday's mishap.
Will nodded.
"Well, it's good enough that you managed to inform me. But… do you now get the meaning of the Anti-Supe tactics I taught you?"
"Loud and clear! Boss!"
"Good. Remember. The first rule is prevention, the second: Running away."
"Yes Boss!"
"Boss! The suit and the fight were really cool!" Ethan blurted out, getting a glare from Brock.
Of course, the two of them were inside the class with Kilgrave so they had witnessed the whole thing along with the other parents and students.
"Thanks. I'll get you guys better equipment as well after I figure out how to block all times of Mind Control," he said, getting a cheer.
"Now listen up. I have new orders."
"Brock, send some people to protect Patricia Walker and her family."
"Yes boss."
Along with being the head of the security division, Brock is also a higher executive of his security company Anubis. His wife also works there as a manager.
"Also, I have recruited Jessica. John and Rocky, you two will teach her everything you know."
John and Rocky, these two guys are actually a couple, though it never affects work discipline. It's 2007. While others in this world might not hire them, Will doesn't care as long as they're competent.
John is an expert in intelligence and reconnaissance and Rocky is good at infiltration and assassination. These two should be able to keep Jessica busy until he finds better alternatives.
"Boss… what about me?" Asked Ethan, feeling left out.
"You come spar with me. I need to test out some things."
Ethan's face lit up. "I'm always ready for sparring."
Ethan was the best in hand-to-hand combat among the four.
A while later, they stood in the ring of his gym with Ethan.
"Boss, are you sure about this?" Ethan asked hesitantly.
Will had taken off his shirt, revealing his bandaged torso. His hands were also wrapped up due to injuries.
Will closed his eyes.
"Don't worry, and don't hold back. I'll be fine."
When he opened his eyes, his pupils had constricted and his thoughts had accelerated.
[Mind Boost: Activated]
[-15]
[-15]
"Alright then."
Ethan is a straight forward guy. Will asked him to fight seriously, then that's what he did.
He took a step forward and Will just studied him.
Ethan's stance, the shift in his shoulders, the twitch in his calf — Will saw it all coming a split-second before it happened.
'Left feint, real attack from the right. Spin elbow.'
Will calmly took a step back.
Ethan quickly followed with a joint kick. Usually, this kind of kick is very difficult to defend against since you can't dodge.
The best way to counter is to raise the knee to the landing point.
Will did exactly that and the knee blocked the leg, causing Ethan to grit his teeth in pain.
But, he felt it. He was a bit slow to defend, which caused him to lose balance.
His mind might have become faster and smarter, allowing him to predict the moves. But sometimes, the fight just comes down to who is physically stronger and faster.
And right now, with his body aching badly, Will cannot exert his strength, no matter how much stronger he is in full health.
Ethan moved again, throwing a volley of jabs with quick footwork.
'He's baiting me into the corner. Redirect him. Shift weight, then feint low—'
Will moved again, foot snapping out at Ethan's shin, then ducked under a hook. This time, he did predict right. His knee caught Ethan's ribs with satisfying force, drawing a grunt.
The combat sequence just continued in his head, focusing on Ethan's weak points and Will just followed.
As Ethan instinctively lowered his hand to receive the blow, Will's right hand snuck up to his jaw in an upper cut.
His other hand targeted the solar plexus. Now, with Ethan completely stunned, Will did a 360 hand spin, his reverse fist stopping right before it hit Ethan's jaw.
The momentum was so strong that it managed to move the bodyguard's hair through the wind force.
Ethan collapsed on one knee, gasping in pain.
"Boss… was that a new combo?"
The other bodyguards were also amazed. Will even got some aura points out of it.
Combo is a sequence of moves designed in a way that, when performed in rapid succession, can catch an enemy off guard.
"You can think of it like that."
What Will did was indeed a combo but one that was designed and performed on the spot.
Will didn't explain much, just continued his experiment, calling in the rest of the bodyguards as well.
Then, Will was beaten up.
Will can think fast but these guys are not vegetarian. They can see that Will is predicting their moves so they just attacked randomly.
Plus, due to his injuries, his superior physique cannot be used.
What can one guy do against four when there's not much difference in physique.
It was only two minutes, but when Will turned off the skill, his head started to ache.
[Iron Will]
At this moment, another stream of energy seemed to flow through his mind, soothing his aching mind somewhat.
Will was pleasantly surprised.
'So, this is [Iron Will (Passive)].'
Lying on the bed, Will looked at the huge Aura consumption of the skill and shook his head.
Looks like there's no choice.
"Iris, activate the Celebrity Route Plan."
"Are you sure, Master William?"
"Yep, just do it."
"Activating Plan Celebrity Route."
....
A.N.: There's another chapter. Hope you enjoyed.
Please vote with Aura of Powerstones!!
As for the multiverse travel, don't worry, the fic is mostly focused on Marvel!
the missions to other worlds would be short and scarce and only to the popular worlds like Harry Potter, DC, or naruto.
For now, I only plan to add one world. And we'll see how it goes after that. I'll only focus on Marvel if it doesn't go well.
And I'll write it in a way that anyone can read it without needing to see or remember the source material.
I'm sure plenty of you haven't seen Jessica Jones series or ready Jessica Jones comics either, but did you feel the need to when reading the previous chapters? No, because I provided all the details.
Lastly, Please giving POWERSTONES!