Chapter 12

The situation was improving.

The relationships with Emma and Loki indeed dropped, but they settled at the level of "strong friendship." 

Emma even felt a bit self-conscious about it since she had constantly flirted with me before, but now she started dating Cyclops, whom she snatched from the missing Jean Grey. 

I reassured her and made it clear that I had no hard feelings, so we remained friends and even business partners.

Through some of my small incidents, I managed to gradually launder my "black salary," which I called my "dungeon money." 

I invested the new funds in Frost Industries. 

At this point, I had already invested a million dollars in the company's stock, bought myself a small country house, and expanded my business. 

By a stroke of luck, I managed to buy an abandoned five-story building with two wings in Brooklyn, specifically in Brighton Beach.

There, I opened a restaurant, hired local staff, and renovated the place with them. 

Moreover, I've built good relationships with the locals, the police work well in Brighton Beach, and everything's going smoothly.

There haven't been any major troubles, and no one has been bothering me. 

The only time I got involved in a conflict after the Phoenix events was during a robbery attempt, or rather, a fight with some thugs.

As for dungeons and leveling up, I no longer push myself to train every day. 

Instead, I set aside time for dungeon runs, boxing lessons, shooting range practice, jogging, and the gym three to four times a week.

...

New York City had snow on the streets, and the snowplows were having trouble keeping up. 

I was driving very carefully because of this. 

In these kinds of blizzards, there are way more accidents than in normal weather. 

I wasn't heading to my apartment but to my country house. 

My friends and employees had all gone to their homes or were at house parties. Even Mrs. Donovan was spending time with her friends, reminiscing about their younger days. 

Emma had gone to Paris with her older brother two days ago, and she had invited me along but I declined. 

I would have just felt like a third wheel there.

Then I ran into Jessica Jones, who had started occasionally showing up at my place for a meal. 

We'd managed to improve our relationship a bit, but that was about it. 

She had already started dating Luke Cage. 

I saw him at my café once, and we exchanged a few words, but I wasn't eager to take things further with Jessica.

The Stacy family had invited me to join them for Christmas, but I felt uncomfortable accepting and told them I had to leave the city on business.

After some thought, I decided it would be better to head to my little house on the outskirts of New York. 

That's why yesterday, I took a trip there to clean up and get everything in order with the help of my "minions." 

Today, I planned to celebrate the holiday in a rocking chair by the fireplace with a blanket and a cup of cocoa. 

By seven evening, I had arrived at my country house. 

The only drinks I had were tea and coffee, and I opted for tea. 

I had a couple of wine barrels stored in the cellar, but I didn't feel like touching them.

By around ten in the evening, I was sipping tea, eating cookies, and staring at the fire in the fireplace. 

A sense of peace in my heart was abruptly interrupted by a knock at the door.

The map showed that there were only two people outside. 

I opened the door and was a bit taken aback. 

Even without the System, I could recognize these individuals.

Standing before me were two people dressed in simple, decent clothing with black coats over them. 

The girl was fairly attractive, while the man had a rugged, "purely masculine" look.

"Hello." 

I greeted them with a friendly smile, recognizing Logan and what seemed to be X-23. 

"How can I help you?"

"Our car broke down. Would it be possible to make a call from your place?" 

Logan asked.

"Yes, of course. Please come in, it's cold outside."

"Thank you."

Logan replied, stepping inside, followed by Laura, who nodded as she entered.

"Ding!"

[1% chance of encountering a "celebrity."]

Logan actually resembled a young Hugh Jackman, while Laura didn't look much like the girl from the final part of the Wolverine trilogy. 

She appeared older, around sixteen or seventeen, but still carried a strong sense of gloom and cold.

I felt curious to check their stats, but there wasn't anything particularly unusual when I did. 

It's almost the same as any other mutant, adjusted for their age, strength, and a couple of Titles.

"Please, have a seat. Would you like some tea? Or coffee?" 

I offered.

"Tea, if it's not too much trouble." 

Logan nodded appreciatively.

"Alright. The phone is in the living room. Make yourselves comfortable, and I'll be back shortly with some hot drinks."

[+100 relationship with James "Logan" Howlett/Wolverine.] 

[+100 relationship with Laura Kinney/X-23.]

After preparing everything, I walked into the living room, where Logan had just hung up the phone, looking frustrated.

"No signal. It must've gone out."

"It happens. I remember when I lived on a farm with my parents, the same thing used to happen."

I said.

"Did you move here recently?" 

He asked.

"Yeah. Actually, I just bought the place not long ago. I live and run my small business in New York—I'm a chef. I own a café, a restaurant, and a bakery. I'm just here celebrating Christmas. By the way, my name is Christian Smith."

"Nice to meet you. I'm James Howlett, and this is..." 

He hesitated. 

"My daughter, Laura. We were on our way home from a small… family trip. But our car is old, so we ended up in this situation."

"It's nice to meet you too. Maybe you're hungry? I didn't cook much since I don't eat much, but I love cooking."

"That's not necessary. We don't want to impose. Besides, we should probably be heading out..."

"No, no, I insist." 

I said, stopping them. 

"I'm just a simple guy, and my parents raised me well, at least most of it stuck. However, I'm not about to send people out into the cold or leave anyone hungry. Stay the night. I guarantee a warm bed and a hearty dinner." 

I grinned like Naruto.

"Well, if you insist, then we'd be grateful." 

Logan replied.

Soon, I was peeling potatoes and marinating some meat for a small positive dinner. 

As I was just finishing up with the potatoes, I heard a strange noise coming from the living room where the mutants were.

Then, there were gunshots.

I immediately dropped what I was doing, put on my armor, grabbed my rifle, and headed to the living room.

I found Logan and X-23 already "cleaned up," having taken down six armed attackers there. 

As I looked closer, I noticed three more bodies outside the shattered windows that had been thrown out. 

Judging by the reflection in the living room mirror, there were twelve dead in my house in total.

"I apologize for the mess and the noise."

Logan said, slightly embarrassed, glancing at my appearance and the weapon in my hands that I had wisely lowered. 

On the other hand, Laura looked more aggressive and was even preparing to attack me.

"Stop, Laura! He's not the enemy!"

"That's right, I just heard the noise, and my instincts told me something bad was happening. So, I geared up." 

I said.

"Fast." 

Logan noted while assessing me.

"Everyone has their secrets." 

I replied, nodding at their claws.

"Sorry for hiding that, but we didn't suspect anyone was hunting us. We didn't want to drag you into our affairs."

"It happens." 

I said, putting my weapon and armor back in my Inventory. 

"There's no more enemies on my radar, so we can talk calmly now."

[+200 relationship with James "Logan" Howlett/Wolverine.]

[+200 relationship with Laura Kinney/X-23.]

"Are you a mutant?" 

Laura asked with surprise.

"No, I'm human, just possess some abilities."

"So, you're a mutant?" 

She insisted.

"No, it's complicated to explain my abilities in words. It's a long story, but I am truly human and not a simple one."

"Are you sure? It's just..."

"I'm sure, Logan. My powers are quite interesting, but they also confirmed for me that I am human. This world is more complicated than you think. So even if you were to test my DNA, you wouldn't find anything unusual." 

I assured him.

"I see. We need to leave." 

He hesitated again. 

"Those people chasing us won't harm you, don't worry. Just tell the truth without mentioning your powers. Stryker will think you just got caught in the crossfire. He doesn't target ordinary people. In fact, it's more advantageous for him to have people who have seen what... mutants are capable of."

"Don't worry about me. You should take care of yourselves instead. Here."

I tossed them my keys. 

"You can take my car. It's good, and despite the blizzard, you should be able to get to your home or wherever you're headed quietly in my car. There's a full tank, so you'll get wherever you need to go."

"And what about you?" 

Logan asked.

"I'm my own boss; I don't have to work tomorrow, and I'll easily sort out the rest of my problems on my own." 

I waved it off.

"Thank you. We'll return it to you once everything is settled."

"Good luck, guys." 

I smiled at them one last time, then began to ponder what to do about the bodies and what to tell the arriving authorities about this psycho.

After twenty minutes, the map indicated twenty dots surrounding the house.

Then another dozen appeared.

One group stood out, and five individuals burst into my home first and… stopped. 

I was genuinely startled when I recognized one of the women with Asian origins with her claws looked particularly menacing.

 I hadn't paid much attention to the others.

"Where are they?" 

She demanded.

"They… uh… left." 

I pressed myself against the wall.

"Sir." 

She placed a hand to her ear. 

"There are no targets here. Only a civilian…"

At that moment, one of them approached me and waved some kind of scanner along my body.

"Clean."

"Yes… yes… of course. The civilian is clean, and he's not a mutant."

After another hour, I was left alone in a house with broken windows and a kicked-in door. 

Fortunately, I quickly repaired everything, leveled up my "Jack of All Trades" skill, and increased my resistance to cold.

By that time, it was already midnight.

After sitting by the fireplace for a bit longer, I decided to drink a little of my wine from the cellar. 

Just as I was about to go to sleep, I received a notification from the System.

"Ding!"

[You saved two mutants from the "X-Men" faction, gaining a +250 reputation with each and a +1% chance of becoming a "hero." You also received +100 relationship points with all mutants without exception.]

[You will now get +250 relationship points with the "faction" or "family" of the mutant you save and +100 relationship points with other mutants regardless of your acquaintance or affiliation with factions, organizations, and groups.]

Not bad. 

I did a good deed and earned some perks. Overall, I had a pretty decent Christmas.

After the winter holidays, I received news from Bobby that she was leaving her job for family matters. 

Naturally, I offered my help and promised that I could assist if needed, using my usual charm, but she declined.

I don't know why, but it seems like S.H.I.E.L.D. decided that I was useless and dull enough not to warrant keeping one of their best agents around.

However, it became easier for me to breathe but the hidden cameras hadn't gone anywhere. 

Emma Frost, Jones, and Cage sometimes dropped by, and I had even seen Matt Murdock a couple of times, not in the café but in the bakery.

As for my car… no one ever returned it to me, neither at the country house nor at my apartment. 

Other than that, things were going well. 

Moreover, I even accidentally acquired the skill "Devourer."

[Devourer: This skill allows you to absorb anything without any significant "fatal" harm to yourself. In the process, you gain additional attributes and points and increase your health, skills, probabilities, and so on. It all depends on what you absorb.]

I accidentally unlocked it when I swallowed a shotgun shell by mistake. 

As a result, I gained +1 to stomach strength, along with the skill itself. 

After that, I started eating myself with various things, such as cut flesh from different creatures, rare herbs, and more. 

However, I only increased my life and managed to level up a couple of skills. 

One of them was the Regeneration I got when I ate a lizard... alive. 

Occasionally, I go to the movies, theater, and various exhibitions, just enjoying life.

Meanwhile, I'm keeping an eye on the "Store" for a weight-loss solution because I've finally realized that I'm not achieving anything through physical exercise. 

Moreover, I've understood that even if I eat everything in sight, I won't gain a single gram.

If I had a normal physique, I would be thrilled about this, but right now, it's eating me away. 

Soon, I'll end up with some serious emotional trauma from this.

While I was sitting in the park feeding the pigeons, George Stacy called me.

"Hey George, how's it going?"

"Hey. Not great."

"What happened?"

"It's nothing serious. We have elections for the city mayor coming up. On Friday, we'll have a gathering at the town hall and the closing of the season for submitting candidacies for the election. So, it looks like we won't be able to go bowling together. I need to be there as a representative of the authorities from our district."

"Is that so? What a shame..." 

I genuinely regretted it.

"And who's stepping into "big politics"? Do you know, heh?"

"Of course! There are three candidates." 

The current mayor, his deputy, and another lady from Harlem. 

What's strange is that it's only three because usually there are more than just a bunch of freak running for it.

"Well, maybe this time, a few more good people will step up."

"Unless that lady from Harlem is somewhat qualified for the role. The rest are all covered in the same ink."

"I see."

"Maybe you should run?" 

He joked.

"Why would I? Who would vote for me?"

"Well, my wife and I would support you. Additionally, you're not an ordinary person; you have your own business, even if it's small, and you gained some fame during the Chitauri invasion. You have Emma Frost as a friend, and you're a good guy and reliable."

"Ha ha ha. You've made my day with that."

"Alright." 

George laughed into the phone.

"Think about it, potential candidate, and it seems like I've got some work coming. Good luck."

"And to you too, George."

"Ding!"

[New Quest: "Elections, voters, candidates…"

Description: You have the opportunity to become the mayor of New York City and become the new city leader "of the people."

Reward: 

+1000 relationships with other officials and bureaucrats.

1 Level Up

+1 Attributes and Skills

+Title: "Mayor of New York City."

+You will become "Worthy of Honor," but the nature of that honor will be revealed later… perhaps…

+New plot quests and branching paths.]

[Failure or Refusal: Death/prison sentence/doom to become an outcast in the eyes of the public.]

'System, why are you putting me in such a position?'

'I don't want to go into politics; everything is fine as it is! Why do I need these problems?'

'What will I gain from this?'

"Ding!"

[The Game God has noticed that you are not fully motivated to win and are working "under duress." Therefore, he has added a bonus "Special Reward for the Winner of the Election Race!"]

'What am I supposed to do now? What is this prize? What have I gotten myself into again?'

To be continued…