Black Cat

"It's good that I can get Omni Coins at Miles' world." Sol muttered before asking, "When will this portal appear then?"

Seraph answered.

[It should be in 2 weeks.]

"2 weeks... That should be fine." Sol mumbled.

He then began looking at his stats before casually adding a point into his strength.

Clenching his fists, he immediately noticed a difference in the power behind them, showing the wondrous abilities of his system.

His stats were quite uneven due to his gene mutation that took on the traits of a jumping spider. He planned to make them all even eventually, so he wouldn't have obvious weaknesses. The first thing he'd do was to raise all his stats to 100 first — starting with strength. Viewing his panel, his strength of 85 turned to 86.

After that, he wanted to test and try out something. He wanted to know how much his symbiote strengthens him.

Sol once again shrouded himself in darkness as the symbiote enveloped his entire body.

Despite not wearing his jacket, the symbiote had remembered his appearance, the logo, the assassin like style and even the hood was still all there.

Sol then asked, "Sera, what are my stats with me fusing with the symbiote?:

[Calculating... Displaying stats with Calamity suit:

Strength: 86(286)

Speed: 140(180)

Endurance: 90(200)

Agility: 105(135)

Reflexes: 125

Durability: 80(180)

Looking at his vast increase in stats, his eyes widened slightly.

"You said you sold everything to save me, which I'm guessing was this symbiote... how many Omni Coins did it cost?" Sol had read the description of his symbiote and learnt of its history and origins. It was a creature closely related to Knull, being an offspring of a symbiote dragon, molded by the void itself.

Such a description sounded quite impressive, but he didn't get any abilities to back that epic description.

It's description said it was weaker than its ancestor, Knull, which was reasonable considering he was literally the eldritch god of darkness, the creator of symbiotes. However, he didn't get any noteworthy abilities. He had black tendrils and could fuse with his symbiote. But such abilities was common even with other symbiotes.

The only thing different was his devour ability, which he guessed was an ability of his symbiote.

Seraph replied.

[You shouldn't underestimate this symbiote. I bent the rules slightly for the host to get this. The actual price was around 87,000,000 OC. But that price was for its full power. The current symbiote hasn't even existed for a minute before it was suddenly summoned by me and placed in front of the host. After selling everything, I had about 100,000 OC. Using 75,000 OC, I bought it for the host to heal you.]

[As for the rest of the Omni Coins, I used the rest to terminate its sentience. Even at its youngest form, Calamity was too much for the host to control or handle. It is currently at level 1, giving host the basic abilities you have currently. However, by devouring, the symbiote can level up — evolve! You just have to eat lifeforms such as humans, beasts and magical creatures. The stronger, the better.

[You can 'eat' them in two ways: literally eat them and digest it in your belly or use the devour skill where you will spawn the manifestation of darkness that will slowly envelope and corrode the target into energy(EXP). Of course, the target would have to be dead. This was a key ability of Calamity that allowed it to become extremely powerful. In the distant future, Calamity was nicknamed the Devouring Scourge.]

"That... makes more sense... 87,000,000 OC worth of potential..." Sol couldn't help but chuckle. He pretty much got early access to an overpowered item at the beginning of his journey. Although it is weakened, it is still very good and can even get stronger as he trains himself and go to different worlds.

"Even at its weakest form, it managed to triple my strength stat and nearly double all of my other stats. As long as I find monsters and beasts, I can level up my symbiote which would likely unlock more powers." Sol mumbled, contemplating. He obviously wouldn't actually eat them and instead use his devour skill.

After finishing his observations of his symbiote, Sol felt a little tired so he decided to go to sleep.

He was going to continue with his vigilante work in the morning. Though, he was definitely going to be more mindful with the time.

...

Pitter-patter.

Droplets of rain fell over New York, causing ripples on puddles that were scattered over the city. Gray clouds hung overhead as cars splashed through the shallow puddles. Although it was just a little past the afternoon, the weather wasn't too pleasant.

Pedestrians hurried under their umbrellas, feeling uncomfortable against the chill and wetness caused by the weather.

It was strangely peaceful — the kind of calm that only existed in the rain...

However...

At this moment, instead of peace, someone was currently feeling a sense of dread.

In a narrow alley, hidden from the bustling crowds, a man sprinted, his face pale with panic. His breath was hurried, coming out in desperate gasps. It felt as if he had been running endlessly!

The alley was like a maze and fatigue started to consume him, but he didn't dare stop. His heart pounded in his chest as he glanced over his shoulder.

He didn't know what was chasing him, but he knew he had to get away.

The alley narrowed further until he found himself at a dead-end, with only trash cans and dumpsters scattered around.

He felt his heart drop. How unlucky could he be!

He quickly hid behind one of the dumpsters, pressing his back against the cold, damp bricks. His chest heaved, his eyes cautiously locked on the shadows as if something will jump out of it.

For a moment, there was silence — just the rain and the distant noise of the city.

Maybe he had lost him. Maybe—

He then suddenly felt a light tap on his shoulder.

The man froze. His stomach dropped as his body turned cold. He felt goosebumps before he slowly turned his head.

There, standing behind him, was the vigilante that was becoming a hot topic in New York.

Shrouded in black, his suit was still nightmare fuel, the strange material of the symbiote repelling the rain. A hood covered his head, casting a shadow over his face, making his appearance even more unnerving.

"You really thought hiding behind a dumpster was gonna work?" Sol's voice was calm, though there was a hint of amusement.

The man's mouth opened, but no sound came out. He was trembling, his body locked in place by terror.

"Man, you really ran as if your life was on the line." Sol said with a sigh. Tilting his head slightly, he crouched down to the man's level, his gaze on him. "Running feels like a good idea. But it really just made things more difficult. We could have sorted this out through a friendly conversation, but you had to get your buddies to attack me..."

The man wanted to run away from fear.

However, before the man could even think about it, a black tendril shot out from Sol's back, wrapping tightly around his wrists. The man let out a scream as he was yanked out from his hiding spot and into the open.

Sol spoke. "I don't really enjoy chasing people. And I'm not a fan of this weather either. So how about we make this easy? You just tell me what I need to know and this will all be over."

"I-I don't know what you're—" The man stammered, his voice shaking.

"Cut the crap," Sol said, his voice becoming colder. The tendrils tightened slightly, but not enough to hurt him — just enough to remind him that there was no escape. "Got any information of some powerful gangs or groups? Maybe even anything on Tombstone?"

The man's eyes widened, feeling a sense of helplessness and fear. "Y-yes... okay! I'll tell you everything I know!"

The man began telling Sol literally everything. However, as expected, it was just more useless information. This guy thought his life was on the line if he couldn't provide any useful information so he just thought of anything about the topics Sol had asked for.

But it wasn't anything he didn't already know from the other thugs he had beaten up.

With a breath of helplessness, Sol released the grip on his tendrils.

The man's knees trembled, dropping to the floor. Sol then binded his wrists with his black silk.

"Relax, you're not gonna die." Sol added, his voice steady as he glanced over the man. "I'll only be sending you to the authorities. Happy with that?"

The man's lips quivered, but he remained silent, too terrified to even mumble a sound. He gulped, only able to give a small nod. He remembered how they had 12 men surrounding him, yet they had all got beaten up within seconds!

Any place where he wasn't near this demonic looking guy would be a million times better!

After Sol forced the man to call the cops to hand himself in, Sol webbed him up.

As Sol was preparing to leave, he caught a shift in the shadows of the alley. The droplets of rain fell lightly, masking nearly all sound, but there was a subtle movement, almost imperceptible in the shadows. Due to his sharp senses and keen eyesight, he had managed to notice such a small detail.

"You can stop hiding now, you know?" Sol spoke casually, though he raised his vigilance. To nearly go undetected from his senses was a whole different level of skill...

With his words, a figure stepped out from the darkness. Sol's eyes slightly narrowed as he observed cautiously.

A woman emerged from the shadows, her silhouette slowly materializing under the dim light of the alley. Her black attire hugged her curves, as she gave off a feeling of elegance and a dangerous gracefulness...

Sol felt like she was some kind of feline. Moreover, the way she had removed any presence of her footsteps made her also feel like a ghost.

'What... is Black Cat doing here?' Sol contemplated. He obviously knew her from the comics. She was quite the beauty and also a dangerously charming individual. Her unique white hair flowed to her waist as her red lips curved into a playful smile.

She stopped just short of him, smirking. She seemed confident and her expression was one of playfulness.

"You're not as easy to sneak up on as thought. I'm quite impressed." she spoke, crossing her arms, her eyes gleaming with amusement.

She continued. "I've been watching you, you know. You're making quite the name for yourself for someone who's only been around for… what, two days?" Her voice held some admiration as she glanced at the thug webbed up to the wall.

Sol pondered slightly as he replied.

"I'm not sure if I should be worried or flattered that I'm being watched and sneaked up on... You a fan or something?" Sol replied, joking a little.

Felicia's smirk deepened. "You could say that... though, I just have a habit of sneaking up on people. It's one of my charms."

"Not sure if I'd call that a charm," Sol said, "More like a hazard sign — approach with caution, or you might regret it later..."

Felicia chuckled, as she playfully said, "You wound me, Spider~ " Giving Sol a nickname casually.

She continued, "Well, enough with the formalities, I'm just here to have a nice conversation with you. You interested?"