7 Chapter 7: A day of growth

Saturday morning bathed Peter's room in a soft glow, signaling the start of a weekend filled with promise and challenges. His eyes flickered open, and a sense of determination filled him. It was time to explore the depths of his newfound abilities. As the cityscape unfolded beyond his window, Peter couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.

Leaving his bathroom after his morning routine, Peter contemplated the day ahead. With the weekend stretching before him, he decided to make the most of it, taking full advantage of the free time.

After a quick breakfast with Aunt May, during which she teased him about his studies and asked about his friends, Peter prepared to leave. As he bent down to grab his bag, May noticed the subtle muscle definition. "Have you been working out?" she inquired with a smile.

"Yeah, just trying to stay fit," Peter replied, returning the smile. He hugged May, assuring her not to worry about him, and left the apartment with a sense of purpose.

Exiting into the crisp morning air, Peter took a moment to savor the freedom that the weekend offered. He decided to explore his new dimensions, acknowledging that it would become an integral part of honing his skills as Spider-Man.

Finding a quiet spot away from prying eyes, Peter activated his ID skill. The base mirror dimension unfolded around him, a tranquil canvas awaiting his touch.

Contemplating the possibilities, Peter felt a surge of curiosity. What lies beyond the base dimension? What challenges awaited him in the Taskmaster's simulations? With a determined expression, he selected the Taskmaster challenges tab.

The options glowed before him—Bomb, Combat, Drone, and Stealth. Peter considered the challenges, each offering a unique avenue for improvement. To not hinder him, he put his bag in his inventory and selected his first challenge of the day.

For his first challenge, Peter chose Stealth. The transition was seamless, and he found himself in a virtual New York City, more specifically in Hell's Kitchen. The challenge was to traverse through an environment undetected and silently take down enemies.

The vantage points scattered around the area provided ample opportunities for Peter to test his stealth abilities. Enemies with heightened awareness patrolled the area, and Peter had to move undetected.

At first, Peter's movements were far from stealthy. Tripping and stumbling into view, he made a series of mistakes. The virtual enemies responded swiftly, catching him every time. However, frustration fueled determination, and Peter adjusted his approach.

He experimented with different routes, timing his movements with precision. The virtual enemies became formidable adversaries, actually getting more alert when they realized some people were disappearing. Peter learned to use distractions and shadows to his advantage, avoiding their line of sight.

As he moved through the landscape, Peter became more adept at using the environment to mask his presence. The challenge pushed him to think strategically, and by the end, he barely secured a gold medal. The XP gained felt like a tangible reward for his efforts.

The next challenge Peter tackled was Bombs. Transported to a bustling cityscape, he faced a series of ticking bombs scattered across the area. The task was to defuse them within a time limit.

The first few attempts were chaotic. Peter struggled with prioritizing certain bombs and the routes needed to get to them, often finding himself running out of time. The virtual city echoed with explosions as he failed repeatedly.

Determined to master the challenge, Peter developed a systematic approach. He categorized bombs based on their proximity, swiftly defusing them one by one by throwing them into the air and webbing them to cause them to explode away from the city. The virtual city became a maze of danger, each bomb a test of his focus and agility.

By the end of the challenge, Peter efficiently defused each bomb, earning another gold medal, while also allowing him to familiarize himself with part of New York. The XP gained reflected his growth in defusing skills, a testament to the practical applications of his training.

The Combat challenge transported Peter to yet another area of New York, Peter instantly recognized this as an area in Central Park, where a wave of thugs were hanging around and kicking a civilian on the ground. The higher the combo he gains without being hit, the more points he'll gain.

The first wave was barely a struggle. Peter began to find himself overwhelmed as more waves came, often taking hits amid combat. The virtual enemies adapted to his fighting style, making each encounter more challenging.

Frustration fueled determination once again. Peter experimented with different combat techniques, utilizing his enhanced strength and agility to outmaneuver the virtual adversaries. The combat challenges became a dance of skill and strategy.

By the end, Peter seamlessly moved through the virtual arena, taking down enemies with precision even mixing in web shooting into his fighting style to keep certain enemies away and to drag and throw others. The combat challenge not only honed his fighting skills but also showcased the adaptability of his Gamer's Constitution. Another gold medal adorned his achievements, and the XP gained marked a significant improvement in combat proficiency.

The final challenge for the day was Drones. Peter found himself in Chinatown with a drone flying in front of him. His task was to follow the movements of the drone and to go through each checkpoint left behind till finally reaching the end and destroying the drone.

The drone maneuvers gave Peter just the challenge he needed to train his more micro-movements when traversing New York. Peter struggled to navigate the city skyline while also swinging or jumping through each checkpoint. The city became a perfect obstacle course for Peter, and his initial attempts were met with missing certain checkpoints adding unnecessary time to the clock and worsening his grade.

Determined to conquer the challenge, Peter focused on enhancing his agility and precision. He swung through the virtual city, using buildings and structures as cover. The drones became a test of his web-slinging and acrobatic abilities.

As the challenge progressed, Peter fine-tuned his movements, memorizing the locations of the checkpoints and perfecting his route. The XP gained reflected not only his success in disabling the drones but also the enhancement of his web-slinging skills. Each challenge was a perfect test and training simulation of skills required for him to become Spider-Man. At the end of getting gold medals in each of the 4 challenges, Peter witnessed the growth gained in just this one day with a smile on his face.

{Name: Peter Parker}

{Occupation: The Gamer}

{Level 5 XP 219/500}

{Current State: Bruised and battered}

Strength: 36

Agility: 28

Dexterity: 26

Constitution: 24

Intelligence: 42

Wisdom: 7

Charisma: 5

Luck: 2

Unspent Attribute Points: 12

{Gamer's Constitution}

{Wall-Crawling LVL 4, 22/50 XP}

{Spider-Sense LVL 5, 14/100 XP}

{Enhanced Physique (Passive)}

{Organic Web-Shooting LVL 9, 157/800 XP}

{Web-slinging LVL 11, 2/1250 XP}

{CQC LVL 7, 69/400 XP}

<Sub-Dimension >

<Taskmaster's Challenges>

{Bomb Challenge}

{Combat Challenge}

{Drone Challenge}

{Stealth Challenge}

Exiting the ID, Peter returned to the real world. Fatigue clung to him with aching muscles, but a sense of accomplishment overshadowed it. The challenges not only provided XP but also real-life money as a reward increasing his saving more and more. The day's training elevated him to level 5, a testament to his progress.

Meanwhile, deep within Oscorp, the frustrated scientist marveled at a test subject, a mouse that had regrown a previously amputated limb. Excitement bubbled within him; it seemed he had finally cracked the code for the regeneration serum.

Driven by impatience, the stress forced onto him by his boss, and the allure of success, the scientist disregarded caution. The human trials, usually reserved for the final stages of testing beckoned him with the allure of gaining back his lost arm. Determination and anticipation filled his eyes as he injected the serum into his stump.

Yet another day had passed, concluded with a mysterious twist. As Peter's skills soared and the scientist embarked on a risky venture, the weekend held promises and perils for an unaware Peter slowly walking home making sure his bruises were concealed by his clothes to not worry Aunt May.

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