Chapter 4: Back to School

'I wonder how different it's going to be?'

I adjusted my glasses and began to walk along with the other students inside the school. From the get-go, it looked like a typical high school. To be honest, I felt nervous. I felt extremely nervous. I could even feel my palms getting wet from the sweat. I felt like an imposter as I had no memory of ever attending school. If the memories of this body came back faster. Kids were talking to each other, making noises, and some were even fighting each other. I looked at my watch and saw that it was 7:30 AM. My first class, History, would start at 8:00 PM.

Although, I had my class schedule along with their classrooms. I needed to find my way through school. It would be pretty embarrassing if I didn't know where my locker or where my classes were and amnesia wouldn't cut it. Even if I researched the school at home on my computer, it didn't compare t going there myself. Therefore, I decided to come to school a little early to explore it. As I walked down the halls, I saw teenagers forming their groups like jocks, nerds, goths, popular girls, and many more. It was weird. I was probably one of the loners of the school as no one gave me a glance which was a nostalgic feeling. However, it was better that way. It made my life easier as I didn't have to talk to others and embarrass or expose myself. They would probably send me to a psych ward to get myself checked out.

After almost ten minutes of searching around the school. I finally found my locker. As soon as I saw it, I couldn't help but wrinkle my nose in slight disgust at the sight of my locker. My insight gained from being gifted like a Necrotect made me shiver in horror at the sight of the locker. There was some rust to it, and the color was horrible. I could also see some damage to it. Normal teenagers wouldn't find anything wrong with it, but to me, it was like stepping in a pile of cow dung.

However, something seemed to click in my mind as memories appeared. I saw myself getting. Memories upon memories surfaced in my mind. Events that I knew for sure I didn't experience but felt all too real.

The sudden influx of memories was too intense, and I had to grab my head in pain.

"Ngh!"

I remembered my first day of high school. I remembered my excitement about starting the big kids' school. I remembered being given the code for my locker. I remembered everything. But I also remembered being ignored. I remembered being simply the guy who doesn't talk or do anything. Like a doormat.

I touched the damaged part of the locker. It looked recent and part of the locker was caved in as if something had hit it with a very strong force…

Or someone.

'Was I bullied?'

I couldn't help but frown,

'It's worse than I thought. No one was there to help you, huh Jay?'

Unfortunately, not every memory came back. It was mostly those related to my locker or in the area. I still don't remember if I had any friends, but I'm pretty sure I didn't have any after seeing the newly surfaced memories. I couldn't even see who bullied Jay before I arrived. It was all foggy.

Suddenly, as soon as I was about to unlock it, my Celestial Forge moved once more.

'Now!?'

I didn't have time to do anything as the energy inside of my astral body which was the name I had given to the body in which the energy for the Celestial Forge was stored. The energy reached out for another constellation called Time and plucked a small-sized star.

"Huh? Well, that's useful." I let out once the information about the power had been fully assimilated.

This power didn't come with any memories or physical modifications. The power I had gotten allowed me to slow down my progression of time. That's right, not perception, but progression. It would mean that everything around me would seem to slow down, but for everyone else, I would go faster. It was a really good power to have except for one thing. This power only works for anything related to cooking. It was a weird power that would make my sense of time funky when being in use. This power made my time progression slow as long as it is related to cooking. This includes acquiring ingredients, the cooking itself, and setting the table.

However, that made me think,

'Just what exactly qualifies as cooking?'

Cooking can be anything such as making food or drugs, but there are other things like making magical potions for example. Hell, according to the perk, even spell preparations can be qualified as cooking.

Before I could ponder on it, the bell rang.

'Oh shit. The first bell already rang!'

I quickly scrambled to take the books I needed and headed for my classroom. I arrived as soon as the bell rang. Fortunately, I remembered my seat otherwise, it would have been pretty embarrassing. Although, as if the Universe was mocking me, my seat was by the window which overlooked the school's entrance.

'That's the protagonist's seat. Why do I have the protagonist's seat?'

I silently went to my seat and sat down with a small smirk of amusement.

What kind of kid forgets their seat after using it for almost the whole school year? I looked around and saw the teenagers around me. They all looked awfully familiar. It was like I was having some sort of déjà-vu. Especially, two kids in my class.

The first one was a kid seating on my direct left and looked around 5'10''. He was probably two inches shorter than me as I was six feet. He had unruly brown hair and brown eyes that looked eager to start the class. He also wore a baggy checkered shirt along with some jeans and shoes. He already had his book out on whatever page this class was about.

The second one was a tall blonde guy. I would say he was around 6'3''. He was also well-built and had a letter jacket over a T-shirt. He also wore some ripped jeans as well as some name-brand shoes. It was the typical look of a jock playing in the school's football team. He was also surrounded by many of the other teenagers as they all talked with each other. One could say that group was the typical popular group.

Soon the teacher came in.

"Alright, everyone! Settle down and take your seats."

The kids soon took their seats, and the teacher began to speak,

"Grab your manual and go to page 234. Last class, we spoke about…"

I listened to the teacher start to talk about World War Two and the American influence in said war. I have already gone through this course back in my old life, but I didn't have an eidetic memory, therefore, it would be better if I listened a little. Even with the help of my shadow clones, memorizing is hard. To be honest, I hope the Celestial Forge granted me photographic memory or something.

Normally, I would use my phone and try to simply do anything else, but listen to the teacher drone about something we could read ourselves in the book, but this was my second life. In this life, I promised myself I would get my grades up at least. Although, it wouldn't matter much due to the multiple threats out there like Hydra which didn't exist in my previous life. I flipped the pages of my book and listened to the teacher when I heard something.

"Psst, Jay."

Narrowing my eyes, I looked to my left and saw the checkered-shirt guy looking at me.

"You called?" I replied, a little confused by the call.

"You okay? You didn't come for a whole week?" the boy asked.

Seems like Jay knew him… probably.

"Yeah, I was just sick," I replied.

"Are you okay now?" the guy asked.

He looked genuinely concerned.

'Who is he?'

It was like his name was on the tip of my tongue.

I nodded with a frown,

"Yeah. Nothing to worry about now."

The boy gave a small smile,

"That's good." He replied before suddenly lowering his voice,

"Was it because of him?"

'Him?'

"Him?"

"Yeah, you know Fl-"

Before the teen could reply, we heard a throat clearing. Both of us turned around and saw the teacher glaring at us.

"Do you perhaps have anything to share with the class, Mr. Patel and Mr. Parker?"

'Parker? Eh?'

It took my whole being to not whip my head at the guy talking to me.

Parker? As in Peter Parker? Really? Is it the same Peter Parker I know?

looked at the kid who grew nervous at the glare of the teacher as well as the eyes of all the other students on us. To be honest, I was also nervous a little. And I'm the one used to being stared at while wearing nothing but a speedo.

It's this body's fault.

"Huh, n-no Ms. Gladys." Peter replied with a slight stutter.

"Is that so? Then could you tell me what Hydra is and who is the leader of it?"

The boy straightened himself and answered,

"Hydra was the scientific branch of the Nazi Schutzstaffel which was the paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler. The leader of Hydra was Johann Schmidt."

The teacher's glare decreased, and she nodded,

"Good. At least you're paying attention. However, please do not interrupt the class."

She then turned to me,

"And Mr. Patel. I know you were unable to school due to your illness, but it is not an excuse to interrupt the class just to ask a question. If you need help, you can ask when I give you the opportunity. Also, since you were absent the whole week, you will need to ask someone for the notes of the material we have gone through while you were not here."

I didn't even say anything!

*Sigh*

"Yes, Ms. Gladys"

All of a sudden, the tall blonde guy laughed and said in a mocking tone,

"Oooooh! Patel and Parker got scolded by the teacher!"

The class burst into laughter.

"That's enough! That goes to you too Mr. Thompson."

"Yes, Teach." The blonde guy said with a smirk.

'Thompson? As in Eugene "Flash" Thompson?'

Is this real? Did I already meet my first Marvel characters? I turned to Parker and saw him give me an apologetic smile,

Sorry, He mouthed.

I simply gave him a smile and I looked at his books. On one of his notebooks, I could see his name written.

[Peter Parker

Grade 10]

Huh? It really is him. That means the guy in front really is Flash Thompson the bully. If I were to be honest, Spider-man was one of my favourite childhood heroes therefore seeing him in front of me brought weird emotions to me.

Not that kind of emotion.

I quickly shook my head as a question remained in my head. Was Peter my friend? From the way he was talking to me, I can at least assume that we were acquaintances. It felt weird. Even if I had a whole week to prepare, I wasn't ready to meet the characters of this world. I had so much going on in that very week, it was hard to keep track of everything.

'Wait no. They're people. They're real people. Not characters of ink in a piece of paper.' I had to remind myself.

Even if a week had passed, I hadn't totally adapted myself to this world. If I were to describe my life ever since I was transmigrated into this world, it would be that I was in the beginner city in an RPG game where players go through the tutorial or get used to the game mechanics.

However, a thought suddenly struck me.

'Did Peter get bitten by the spider yet?'

That was the bigger question for now. I tried to look at him discreetly and find any spider bite, but either he hadn't been bitten yet or it was hidden. I wasn't sure yet.

Oh well. I couldn't do anything for now. Let's just wait for later.

Soon, the class ended and I was picking up my books and I was about to my locker when I heard Peter call me,

"Jay! Wait up!"

I turned around and saw the boy quickly pick his books up and join me in the hallway.

"What's up, Peter?"

Peter looked at me,

"Over the week, I copied the notes of our classes since I figured you wouldn't be able to do it yourself. I wanted to give them to you."

I looked at him stunned. That… that was honestly one of the nicest things someone had done for me in this school and my last.

"Oh… sure. Let's go. Where's your locker?"

Peter looked at me strangely. Did I say something wrong?

"Did you forget or something? We're right next to each other."

I looked at him before letting out a chuckle,

"Sorry, it was a joke. The past week almost killed me."

Peter also let out a joke alongside me,

"Very funny, Jay. Come on. We don't want to be late for our classes."

I soon followed him through the hallway. Hunched back, books close to him, looking around slightly as if a little on guard, the way he was walking would mistake him being akin to a loner and a victim of bullying. However, Peter looked different. His looks weren't of one being scared or anything just cautious. We soon arrived at our locker and, what do you know, my locker really was beside his. I didn't know what to talk to him about, I had no memory of him or doing anything with him.

"Here."

I turned around and saw him give me some notebooks,

"These are all the notes for this week. Since the finals are coming up, it would be kind of bad if you don't get your grades due to some stupid sickness."

I looked at the books,

"You didn't have to do that you know?"

Peter raised an eyebrow,

"You're still my classmate, Jay. It's the least I can do for you. Besides, you helped me plenty of times too when dealing with Flash especially the week before."

That caught me off-guard. Did Jay help him? When? And how?

"When?" I asked.

"Did you forget? Flash tried to rip my books apart when you tried to stop him. You even took a beating for it. He then…"

Peter looked nervous,

"What?" I asked.

"He… he started insulting your mother."

My breath was caught in my throat.

'What?'

I took a deep breath, Don't get mad. Don't get mad.

"W-What did he say?"

Peter looked really nervous,

"It's okay. I won't be mad at you Peter."

The latter looked at me in concern,

"He told me how if it weren't for you, your mother would have a better- look, I don't want to say it, man."

I looked at him and slowly nodded. I could figure out what Flash told Jay,

"I understand. Thank you, Peter."

"No problem."

"Then what did I do after?"

"Well, as expected you didn't take it well."

I had the urge to deadpan at him, but I held myself.

"I figured."

"So you tried to fight him, but he and his lackeys beat you up. Do you really not remember? There's even the proof where he slammed you so hard, he damaged your locker a little." Peter replied while pointing at the caved-in part of my locker.

'So that's how it got there.'

"And the teachers? Did they do anything?"

It was Peter's turn to deadpan,

"Do you really think they would do anything? Look at us and look at him. He's the popular guy and the star athlete in the school. At most, it would be a slap on the wrist since it would be bad for him and the team if he were to get in trouble."

I could feel my chakra being turbulent inside me due to the emotions I was currently feeling. Even if this Meera was not my original mother, she was still my mother in all but soul. I could almost feel the previous Jay's emotion swirling inside of me. I quickly calmed myself down.

"I see. I remember Peter. Thanks. And thanks for the notes." I told him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. You're welcome, man. Now let's go. We have to get to our classes."

I nodded and closed my locker when I froze as I felt the Celestial Forge move.

"Actually, you can go ahead."

Peter looked at me,

"Really?"

"Yeah, I need to head to the bathroom real quick."

"Alright. Then see you in class."

I saw go away and I headed to the bathroom. As soon as I locked myself in the stall, the energy in my body reached out for a Constellation called Domain: Quality: Efficiency and grabbed one of the smallest stars there was. It was the smallest one I grabbed up to now. Suddenly, my mind was filled with information about computers and electronics. When I realized what it was, I couldn't help, but laugh out loud.

I think I startled someone outside.

Not sorry.

This new power was called Efficient Electricity. With it, I was now able to make electronic and digital devices that need less power than they usually need by a lot. However, to do that, I would need the knowledge to build said devices. Therefore, my mind was now filled with all sorts of information pertaining to the creation of computers and electronics.

It is my first crafting power. With this, I would be able to create devices that would help me tremendously in the future. However, this power only allowed me to create devices that handle energy more efficiently hence the constellation it came from. It didn't allow me to create supercomputers or an AI. I had the knowledge of a normal computer builder with a boost in energy consumption efficiency. Although, if I gain more knowledge, I could probably do something about more technologically advanced innovations. With my current knowledge, I could probably build devices on par with those that appeared in the market in 2022 in my past life.

The bell rang and it was soon time to go to class.

[***]

My second class was Spanish which was a pain in the ass to learn. I forgot everything I learned and it was hard to follow the course while my third class was Math class. Unfortunately, math was boring due to the material being the same as in my past life and the fact that I used my clones to read up on this year's course material. Although, thanks to Efficient Electricity, it became much easier to understand than before. I had now upgraded from an idiot to an average student. I still have a long way to go if I wanted to be as smart as Peter who was rumoured to be as smart or even smarter than Tony Stark. There were theories in my past life that he could even be smarter than Richard Reeds who was acknowledged as one of the smartest men in the comics.

*RIIIIINNNNGGG*

"Alright everyone, be sure to complete the assignment given today for the next class as it will be featured in your finals. Have a good day." The math teacher said, and everyone began to move as they packed their stuff.

Doing the same, I got off my seat and headed for my locker. It was now lunchtime and I headed for my locker to put my stuff away. Once there, as I was putting my stuff, I heard Peter beside me,

"Hey man." He spoke.

I turned and saw him put his stuff in his locker,

"Hey, Peter. How's it going?"

"I'm tired." Peter let out a sigh.

Quirking an eyebrow, I replied.

"Tired? How?"

"Math class was so boring. I don't know how Mr. Turner can keep on saying the same thing without even saying the same thing."

I let out a chuckle,

"I hear you," I replied as I closed the locker.

Peter looked at me for a moment.

"What?" I asked.

"Are you going to buy your lunch?"

I nodded. From the recent memories I got, Jay would usually bring his own lunch to school. However, when Sonia didn't have time to cook or there weren't any ingredients, he would use some of his meagre amount of pocket money. Today was one of those days.

"Yeah. I couldn't bring my lunch today."

"That's cool. Hmmm…. Wanna…like…. eat together?" Peter asked hesitatingly.

Well, that's an unexpected offer. But I see no reason to reject it.

I shrugged,

"Why not? Who's going to be there?"

Peter let out an awkward chuckle,

"Well… just me." He said as he looked to the side as if scared of being rejected.

Seeing how he was trying to invite me to eat just made me smile. Even if he were Spider-man or not, in front of me was a kid who just wanted to eat with someone. Besides, he reminded me of myself when I had difficulty talking to others. And he also helped me with the notes for the missed classes.

"That's okay. Then it's going to be you and me." I replied

Peter's face brightened and he closed his locker after pulling out his lunch bag.

"Great! We don't want to be late and lose seats." He said and turned around.

I quickly followed him through the sea of students. We soon arrived in the lunch hall which was full of teenagers messing around or talking or even playing around. And I have to say, this was the biggest lunch hall I had ever seen in my life.

"Hey, Jay. I'll go find us a seat." Peter told me.

"Sure. I'll go wait in line for the food." I replied.

I then saw him disappear as he tried to find a seat for us as I waited in line. Soon it was my turn and I got myself a plate of spaghetti with rosé sauce and parmesan along with some veggies and a jus. I also got an apple as dessert. Picking up my tray, I exited the line and found myself facing the sea of students. I tried to look around for Peter when I found him waving at me at an empty table away from everyone.

Nice find Peter!

Grinning, I went to his table where he had already taken out his lunch.

"How'd you find this table that fast?" I asked amazed by the speed. With all the students, it would be no surprise if there were no seats left.

Peter grinned,

"I usually eat here alone since it's away from everyone."

"Did you ever eat with anyone else?"

Peter's grin diminished a little,

"Well, I used to."

I nodded.

"Thanks for the notes once again man."

"It's no problem, Jay. As I said, you helped me before, and I'm repaying that favour," Peter replied.

"Is that so?"

That's when Peter asked me a question,

"By the way, are you going on the field trip?" he asked.

Field trip? What field trip?

"What field trip?" I asked.

Peter raised an eyebrow,

"The Stark Expo field trip. It's like the talk of the school now."

Say what now? We had a field trip to Stark Expo? Since when? None of the stories of Spider-man I had ever seen or read showed that Peter Parker attended the Stark Expo. Even in the MCU, it was said that he was like seven years old when he did. What world of Marvel am I even?

I pinched my nose,

"Can you tell me when it is?" I asked.

"It's the 3rd of May. How can you forget that? Are you sure, you're okay?"

I shook my head. So it's that thing huh? I should prepare something in case something happens. Actually, I don't even know if I'm even going. Did Sonia let me?

"Yeah, don't worry man. I guess I had a lot on my plate."

"Oh right. Sorry."

"Don't be. It's not your fault."

That's when an idea popped into my head,

"By the way, do you have a cellphone?" I asked.

Peter looked at me,

"Yeah. What about it?" he asked.

"Give me."

He looked at me confused,

"Why?"

"Just give. I want to give you something."

Peter took out his cell phone and unlocked it before giving it to me. I soon entered his phone app and saved my phone number. Although, he only had three contacts which I assumed were to his home and to his aunt and uncle.

"Here."

Peter looked at his phone,

"Is that your phone number?" he asked.

"Yeah," I nodded, "Try calling it."

He tapped on the screen and, a moment later, I felt my own phone vibrate in response.

I took It out and it showed an unknown number I assumed was his.

"Now you have my phone number," I told him.

Peter looked at it.

"Why did you give me your number?" he asked looking genuinely confused.

I cringed. Did I do something wrong? Was I weird for giving him my number like this?

"Well… I guess I wanted to be your friend. If that's okay with you," I replied.

Just saying this was hard for me. I have no clue how extroverted people seem to make friends left and right after a second of meeting each other. In my perspective, it's honestly some sort of talent they had. Making friends for me is like asking me to do quantum physics with only a paper and pencil since I'm not a very social person. I liked to keep to myself and simply observe everything around me without partaking in them.

However, I didn't want to repeat the same mistakes I did in my past life, and I genuinely wanted to change for myself.

And who wouldn't want Spider-man's number?

Peter then smiled,

"Sure." Peter smiled and put out his hand,

"I'm Peter Parker." He said with a cheeky grin.

I mirrored his grin and shook his hand,

"And I'm Jay Patel. A pleasure to meet you, Peter Parker."

I guess we're friends now. Was it that easy? Or was it just the fact that our circumstances are similar?

We continued to talk about schools and hobbies. I learned that Peter really likes to read stuff about science which wasn't a surprise. Although, he would sometimes talk about stuff I didn't even understand. It was like his words would go into one ear and go out in the other.

Suddenly, Peter mid-sentence, shot his hand out right by my left ear.

"Wha-" I was too stunned to speak.

I couldn't even register the speed at which Peter moved. He was frozen there with his hand stretched. I turned around and saw that he was holding a… meatball? Even he looked surprised at the fact he caught the meatball.

'The hell? Where did that come from?'

I turned to where it would have come from and saw Flash and his goons giggling like idiots while pointing at us. Flash at a spoon outstretched making it obvious what happened. I'm not going to lie I got angry. I didn't even care about Peter catching the meatball as I glared at the bullies. I didn't know what to do in this kind of situation. I was never really a victim of a bully in my past life. My first reaction was to get up and confront him. As I was about to get up, Peter pushed me down,

"Don't do it, Jay." he said

I whipped my head at him,

"What? You just saw what he did!" I replied.

"I know, but you can't do anything right now. Do you want to be beaten up again?"

Honestly, I wanted to beat him up. I looked back to Flash who was laughing and gave out a taunting smile as if telling me what I was going to do about it. I could feel my chakra swirling inside of me once more. I could use it and raise my strength to-wait.

Was I going to use chakra on Flash?

I didn't even know the full capabilities of chakra. If I used it on Flash, who knows what would happen? I could potentially kill him by exploding his head while punching him. I have to remind myself that I was not a normal human anymore. I was a human with the power of chakra now. I didn't even have time to fully research its potential.

'Calm down, Jay. You don't want to make a scene. It's better to deal with him another time when I can inflict the maximum damage without resorting to my chakra. Or I can first learn to control my chakra and then beat him up.'

I took a deep breath and calmed down.

"You alright?" Peter asked.

Before I could answer, another meatball flew into the air and was caught by him again.

"Alright. That's it!"

I don't know what it was. Maybe it was the fact that I was in the body of a fifteen years old or the fact that my whole day was stressful or even some remnant of the previous Jay's emotions but my anger boiled over and, before Peter could say anything, I snatched the meatball and threw it back where it came from with full force. Unconsciously, I used my chakra to reinforce my arm increasing its throwing power. The meatball zoomed into the air and smacked right into the smug face of Flash.

*SPLAT*

The force was so grand, his head literally rocked back and he fell on the ground with a loud noise. Everyone looked over to him falling while I was staring at him in complete shock.

'What the hell!? How did I even do that!?'

I must have used up all my luck of the day into that throw in order to hit his face or something. The meatball literally exploded on his face and splattered its pieces all over his friends. The girls in the group shrieked as bits of meatball and sauce landed on them.

"Holy shit! Flash just got meatballed!" one student shouted.

Students began to laugh at Flash after seeing the meatball explode on his face. To them, it was simply entertainment. They began turning heads and try to find out where it came from. Some were even pointing in my direction.

I turned to Peter, and he too was gawking at Flash falling down. I quickly took my plate and whispered to Peter,

"Let's get out of here before they try to beat us up."

Peter nodded and took his stuff. I had already finished my plates therefore I quickly put it on the plate rack.

"PATEEEL!" I could hear Flash shout.

I was in no mood to deal with a moody and shitty teenager. I'll do it later when I'm not in school therefore I wouldn't add more worries to Sonia who was already stressed enough. I also didn't want to deal with the school right now. Although, it was a bit hypocritical of me since I also succumbed to my emotions. We quickly fled out of the lunch hall with Flash and his lackeys behind us while the other students began to howl and snicker at the spectacle.

"Come here!" Peter shouted as we ran into the hall.

At one point, we crossed one of the teachers who shouted at us something. Probably something about not running in the hall. Peter then pulled me into a classroom and shut the door lock. A few moments later, we saw Flash with a red angry face going past the door along with other players of the football team.

Once the coast was clear, I turned to Peter who was also panting. We looked at each other and we burst out into laughter at the ridiculousness of the situation.

"Haha! That was amazing!" Peter said.

"I know," I replied as I tried to catch my breath.

Even I couldn't believe what I did. Usually, I would never act upon my emotions like that.

"Did you see Flash's face? It was hilarious!"

Once I caught my breath, I looked around and saw that we were in a chemistry lab.

"I usually hide here when I want to escape Flash and his goons. Which is almost every time." Peter said before whispering the last bit which was honestly sad.

But I was confused, by the way, he had reacted, did he have his powers? Usually, he would get confident and confront Flash. Unless it was really recent and he was still getting used to them. Am I wrong?

"That's…" I tried to come up with something, but I couldn't,"-not great."

"I know. But hey, whatever works."

"But how did you catch the meatballs?" I asked.

Peter looked at me before shrugging,

"Reflexes, I guess?"

"Huh?"

To be honest, reflexes can be a good answer, but this was Peter Parker.

Suspicious.

"By the way, I've been meaning to ask. Apart from the field trip to Stark Expo that's going to happen, did we have another field trip this year?"

Peter looked at me with a wry smile,

"Well, yeah. We went to Oscorp although I didn't see you there. Maybe you didn't go?"

I see. So the field trip to Oscorp already happened, huh? That means Peter already got bit by the mutated spider. Shame, I wanted to see if I could get my hands on the spider too.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, as I cursed for the umptieth time my lack of memories.

Soon the first bell rang,

"We better head to class. What do you have after?" Peter asked.

I recalled my schedule,

"I have English, Chemistry then Arts," I replied.

"Oh, well I have P.E., Chemistry then English"

"At least we have Chemistry together."

"Right."

Suddenly, I felt the Celestial Forge move once more.

'What? It hasn't even been a day yet!'

"Alright, then I'll see you later," I spoke.

"You too, Jay," Peter said and exited the class after making sure nobody was there to harass us.

I stood there in place, as the energy inside of me reached out for one of the biggest constellations called Domain: Skills: Magic.

Wait. Magic? For real?

The energy grabbed one of the smaller stars and my mind was flooded with knowledge even worse than when I got Efficient Electricity. It was so overwhelming I was paralyzed in place. My body also felt like it was on fire similar to when I got my chakra although this one was less painful.

Symbols.

Magic,

Circles.

Runes.

Once I absorbed the knowledge, I had to grab one of the counters of the lab in order to stabilize myself, but I had the biggest grin I could muster in my life.

Jackpot! I finally got a jackpot in the Celestial Forge lottery! If this was just one of the smaller stars, what could the bigger stars even mean? The power I got was the ability to cast Rune magic. This power gave me a genius at creating new innovations using Rune magic. Although we mostly attribute runes to the Norse and its gods, this magic was a little bit different. The runes were essentially programs that I could apply to reality using magic. In other words, I got a programming language that could be applied to reality instead of computers. My mind was filled with runes that unfolded an infinite possibility for me. My body unconsciously shivered in excitement. I wanted to try it so badly right now. But alas, I was in school and would be an idiot to try it in such an unsafe place.

Actually, I need to find somewhere I can practice my powers. My workshop was too small for it. Suddenly, I can feel some sort of warmth inside of me.

It was my well of mana.

It felt weird. I now had two energies inside of me. For some reason, they didn't seem to clash with each other. In fact, they seem to be perfectly content where they are. While my chakra came from my tenketsu points, my mana seem to come from a metaphysical organ in my heart. It wasn't physically there, but it can be interacted with using magic.

Although rune magic was amazingly versatile magic, it also came with its cons. Since this magic used runes, it can't be freely wielded. One must essentially combine the runes to create an effect. For example, a "Blast" rune and a "Fire" rune would create a fireball that I can shoot. However, I must write the runes in the air to cast the spells. Also, the more complex the spell, the more it would take time to write.

However, Rune magic can also be used to program magical devices. I can now essentially create magitech. The possibilities were endless.

I couldn't wait for the day to end and go home. Unfortunately, I must finish my class first. It was like ordering a kid to go do homework after gifting him an Xbox for his birthday. Not cool. I quickly ran to my locker and got my English material and headed for classes.

[***]

*RIIIIINNNNNGG*

I arced my back on my chair and I could hear the satisfying cracks of my spine. It was now 3:00 PM and Arts class just ended indicating the end of the day. I quickly gathered my stuff and almost ran to my locker where I grabbed my bag. I didn't see Peter, but I was in too much of a hurry to back home.

At least, I made a friend. Although, now I'm sure he already got his powers. But since there wasn't any news about a spider-themed vigilante in the streets, it meant that Peter didn't make his debit yet.

I got out of school and, ten minutes later, I arrived in front of my house. Being this close to school really was a blessing in disguise. I unlocked the door and entered the empty house. Sonia will be home at night therefore I had ample of time just for myself. I went up to my room and there I saw a clone of myself on the computer watching a video on… martial arts?

"What are you watching?" I asked as I set my bag down.

The clone turned around,

"Hey man. Just watching a video on self-defence. I figured it would come in handy for when we find ourselves in a bad situation," the clone replied.

'Self-defense, huh? Now that I think about it, I should probably find a way to learn how to fight like martial arts, huh?'

"That's good. Anyways, where are the others?"

The clone pointed at the slightly open closet door leading to the workshop,

"They're, in there, training chakra since you know how difficult it is to control it for us right now. Although, they did make some progress," He said.

I nodded,

"Alright. Follow me."

The clone got off the seat and we both entered the Workshop. I saw my two other clones sitting on the ground with multiple leaves around them. One of them was simply meditating while the other had a bunch of leaves sticking on different parts of his body. Although, some looked shaky while others looked solidly stuck on him.

Seeing them, I couldn't help, but grin.

'Who cares about not getting the spider? I can be my very own version of Spider-man. Although, that would be super lame.'

I clapped my hands.

"Alright, guys. Stop whatever you are doing!"

Both clones stopped and stood up,

"You can pop yourselves now." I then said.

"Alright, then." One of them said.

"Just watch out for the sudden influx of memories since we have gone the whole day without popping ourselves." The last clone said.

I nodded and all three of them popped themselves. As soon as they did, I felt a sudden rush of chakra along with three different sets of memories of the entire day.

"Ngh, fuck!" I couldn't help but groan at the large number of memories appearing in my mind.

Once it was done, I stabilized myself while taking deep breaths.

"Yeah, that was a bad idea."

I tried going a whole day without dispelling my clones to see how much memory I can absorb in one shot, and it was not good. I could still feel little nausea as well as dizziness from the influx of memories and I was not happy about it. Usually, I would let them out for a few hours before dispelling them, but since I was in school, I didn't have the opportunity to dispel them and then create another one.

Fortunately, I already had some Advil on the side for this kind of situation. Once I popped the pill, it took a few minutes to calm myself.

"Phew, that was intense. Although, I'm never doing that again."

I looked at the pile of leaves and picked on up and pulled on my chakra. I then held the leaf to my forehead and it stuck beautifully. I grinned at the achievement. After almost just over a week of practice, I can now stick leaves on my body without any problem. I took five leaves and stuck them on my limbs and chest, and they too stuck there without any problem.

"Finally! I did it."

The first step of chakra control? Complete.

Next step? Wall walking.

I then went over the memories of the clone who was watching self-defence. Although it looked easy on the video, with a body like mine, it would have been very hard. However, thanks to chakra, the difficulty was reduced a little.

I summoned three other clones.

*Pop* *Pop* *Pop*

"You want us to train wall walking?" one of them asked.

I nodded, but I had to check something first.

"Yeah, but before that, can you feel your mana?" I asked.

They all closed their eyes and every single one of them lifted their hands with a finger that lit up an eerie blue colour. This was the technique that allowed me to write runes on air.

"Yeah, but just like with chakra, since we are clones, we can't regenerate mana like the original. Once it's used up, we just lose the ability to use mana and, if we use up all of our chakra, we pop ourselves."

"But how is that possible?" I asked, "Mana is not chakra. And since you are made of chakra, how can you have also mana?"

"You ask me, but who am I supposed to ask." The clone shrugged.

Another clone then spoke up,

"I mean since mana is essentially spiritual energy, right? And Chakra is half physical energy and half spiritual energy. The Shadow Clone Jutsu probably recognized it as spiritual energy and emulated it in the clones?"

I scratched my head in confusion, but I shelved the thought for later.

"It doesn't matter for now. Just go train."

The clones went into the entrance hall. It was a five-meter-cube hall which meant there was enough space to practice without the clones injuring themselves.

Me?

I went downstairs and grabbed a snack. I then returned to my room where I changed into some joggers and a black T-shirt as well as a hoodie.

It was time for my workout. At the same time, I could also find a place to train since I only had a week before I go to Stark Expo. Maybe I could be lucky and it wouldn't happen on the day I visit with school, but I'm not taking a gamble when it was a matter of life and death. Even if I wanted to warn them, who am I going to warn? How am I going to do it? What if I did warn them and it spooked Ivan Vanko and he vanishes before being killed? I didn't want to be responsible for releasing a criminal on the streets.

I grabbed my phone, my earphones as well as a small backpack that I would use to put my water bottle inside and went outside. I then put on my music, and I was off.

I wanted to try out my powers, but I had to be patient. I didn't want to alert anybody if I used my powers in broad daylight. Therefore, I came to a decision, I would use it at night. After my sister falls asleep, I would sneak out and go find somewhere to train.

But first, let's finish working out.

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Perk gained:

-Time to Cook (Wonderland No More) (200CP)

Wonderland's sense of time is kind of screwy, and it's perfectly reasonable for a chef to go out for a midnight quest to a mountain for an egg and get back before the pot boils over. This perk essentially slows down the progression of time from a narrative standpoint as long as you are focusing on making food that includes everything from acquiring ingredients to preparing the food to setting the table. This does not slow or freeze the movements of those around you, but it basically means that as long as you are focused on cooking, you'll finish everything on time and nothing will interrupt you. For instance, if you are cooking a special potion to boost your troops in time to stop an invasion, you'll get the potion ready on time even if the siege was just an hour away. When you stop doing food-related things, time returns to its normal pace; spell preparations technically count as cooking by Wonderland rules, though.

-Efficient Electricity (Generic Video Game Developer) (100CP)

Energy. Computers, being devices able to calculate AI paths while simultaneously rendering graphics for players to see, use a decent amount of it. Thankfully, you seem to be extra skilled in the area of computer electronics, able to make devices that not only use smaller amounts of energy for the same work, but are also more resilient than the average gaming device, able to handle electrical surges far better than most.

-Runic Spell Innovator (World Seed) (200CP)

Considering that one simply needs to combine the runes for Blast and Fire to make a fireball, or use the do the same with the Reinforce and Mind runes to create a basic spell to protect against mind-altering effects, one might think that runic magic is incredibly easy. Well, one would be wrong. Runes can be considered a programming language of sorts, affecting reality. They are used to program magical devices, and also for Runic Magic, an alternative to Arcane Magic that uses less mana and requires less control over your mana, but only does exactly what you program it to do. Now, as with regular programming, any schmuck can do the equivalent of writing hello world and throw a fireball or two, but anything more complex than that requires intelligence, creativity, ingenuity, and patience. Things that you now possess in spades. And with that and the knowledge of the runic language, infinite possibilities lie open to you: whether it's bashing someone's head in with the Force rune, setting up intricate spell diagrams and runic circles to automate even the most complex of processes, or creating spells of all magical disciplines for anything you can think of and more, someone who truly knows how to use Runic Magic is a sight to behold. And your true talent, the invention and creation of new runic spells and programs, applies to all of these avenues. If you keep at it, no magic will be beyond your reach.

Points banked: 100