Early morning in Queens, New York.
On the second floor of a quiet suburban house, a teenager stirred awake, blinking against the soft sunlight streaming through the blinds.
"My head's spinning... feels like I just woke up from the longest dream," he muttered.
His name was Ethan Cole—a high school senior originally from overseas, now living in New York. He rented a small room in this quiet neighborhood and attended Midtown High School, the same school that would one day be known as Peter Parker's alma mater.
But here's the twist—Peter Parker wasn't there. In fact, there was no sign of him anywhere at school.
Not in the hallways. Not in the classrooms. Nowhere.
Two months ago, Ethan had mysteriously arrived in this world. It didn't take long for him to realize something was... different.
Thanks to a little digging online, he pieced things together.
At that point, it had only been a month since Tony Stark stood on a stage and said the words that would change history:
"I am Iron Man."
Steve Rogers was still frozen in the Arctic.
The timeline? Somewhere between Iron Man 1 and Iron Man 2.
This wasn't just any world—it was the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
At first, Ethan felt a jolt of excitement. Who wouldn't? Superheroes, high-tech armor, gods and legends walking among men.
But that rush was quickly replaced by something heavier: anxiety.
Sure, things seemed "calm" for now.
No alien invasions.
No giant purple tyrant snapping fingers.
But this was the Marvel Universe—danger is just a ticking time bomb away.
And Ethan? He was just an ordinary guy. No superpowers. No billion-dollar suits. Not even a solid plan.
In this country where "peace" meant gunfire on the evening news, he walked the streets like someone balancing on a wire.
Thankfully, as someone who'd been transported to another world, Ethan wasn't entirely out of luck.
He'd been given... a system.
Not the kind that makes you a god overnight. Not even the kind that gives you a million-dollar inheritance or secret martial arts.
No, his system was... weird.
---
> [Daily Draw System Activated]
Every day, you receive one scratch card.
Scratch it to earn a Girlfriend Card of varying rarity.
Each card grants you temporary access to the powers of the girlfriend's character… and her canon boyfriend counterpart.
The scratch card system had its own hierarchy:
Gray card: available daily.
White card: rewarded every Sunday.
Green card: given at the start of each month.
Cards could also be combined—three lower-tier cards could fuse into one of a higher tier.
Opening cards of different levels granted Girlfriend Cards of varying rarity and strength, each one linked to a unique character and their associated abilities.
The card color simply indicated its maximum potential. There were no guarantees.
In other words:
A gray card could only produce gray-tier characters.
A green card could offer a green-tier character... or still just end up as gray.
At first, Ethan tested a few gray cards. The results were... hard to put into words—certainly not something you'd write in a book without getting it banned.
Appearance aside, it was obvious these characters had "passionate" personalities that didn't exactly inspire confidence.
But last night, after two long months of saving and strategizing, Ethan finally managed to collect enough points to perform a full ten-card green draw.
He washed his hands like a ritual, sat upright with solemn determination, and tapped the "Draw x10" button.
With a flash of cheap gacha-game animations, the ten green scratch cards transformed before his eyes:
Seven gray cards
Two hundred white cards
One green card
Apparently, the ten-pull came with some kind of hidden mercy mechanic, because miraculously, both white and green cards appeared.
---
> [Ding! Opened "Girlfriend Card (Green)" and received an Excellent-level girlfriend card: "Pretty Top Student Classmate." Use it to obtain a classmate girlfriend.]
---
As Ethan stared at the green card, it felt like a divine light had descended from the heavens.
His entire soul lit up.
"Use it!" he selected instantly.
---
> [Ding! Used the Excellent-level Girlfriend Card: "Pretty Top Student Classmate." Classmate girlfriend is being delivered…]
---
"…Uh…"
His smile froze.
Being delivered…' what does that mean?"
"This system, you're useless!"
"Hey! System, what's your ID number? I'm filing a complaint against you..."
Ethan ranted at the system for a full ten minutes before finally giving up and going to sleep.
Then, he dreamed.
In the dream, he was a teenager who loved skateboarding, photography, and mechanical DIY projects.
It was nothing like the real Ethan Cole. Before arriving in this world, he'd been a worn-out, directionless office worker. And after that? Just a regular student living abroad in New York.
But this dream gave him three distinct skills—he became an expert skateboarder, a skilled photographer, and a passionate hands-on craftsman.
Though it was just a dream, everything felt incredibly real. So much so that after waking up, Ethan couldn't help but give it all a try.
He got up early, went to a nearby shop, and bought a skateboard and a camera. The cost? About a month's worth of his living expenses.
But he was thrilled.
Especially when he soared down the street on his skateboard. For the first time since coming to this world, Ethan felt like he was finally better than a dog.
Back in his old life, he used to watch videos on social media of dogs skateboarding and feel like even animals were living cooler lives than him.
Now, he'd finally turned the tables.
Gliding through the morning streets on his board, heading toward school, Ethan was in an excellent mood.
But not for long.
Shortly after walking through the school gates, something unpleasant happened.
He stopped at the bulletin board, checking for any updates related to his class schedule—when suddenly, a basketball flew straight into the side of his head.
It didn't hurt that much, but the sting was there—both physical and emotional.
Ethan turned around and saw three big, athletic boys standing a short distance away, clearly laughing at him. The one in front, their leader, grinned and shouted with fake concern:
"Oh, sorry!"
All three of them were tall and broad-shouldered. Even if they'd done it on purpose, what could Ethan do?
He wasn't a fighter. He wasn't stupid either. These guys looked like they could crush him in a second.
So he just rubbed the side of his head, gave an awkward smile, and quietly walked away.
Classmate girlfriend has been delivered. Please check!]
The system notification hovered in front of him.
Ethan sighed.
If he could just make it through the day and somehow "sign" with this classmate girlfriend—whatever that even meant—then he'd consider today a win.
He didn't know much about the three boys who had messed with him earlier.
All he knew was that their leader was called "Flash" by the others.
"Flash, huh?"
The name immediately reminded him of the sloth from Zootopia—slow, adorable, harmless.
Why couldn't this Flash be more like that one?
He shook his head with a dry smirk and turned to walk toward his locker.