72. Upgrade Complete

'.....'= Thoughts 

"....."= Conversations 

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Harry woke up with a long yawn, his eyes watery as he blinked against the soft morning light filtering through the curtains. He sat up slowly, feeling the warmth of the bed beneath him, and glanced at the clock on the wall. Nearly twelve hours had passed since he had collapsed onto the bed.

'Not gonna lie, that was the best sleep I've had in years,' he thought, his gaze shifting back to the ultra-soft bed. Stretching his stiff body, he felt the fatigue from the battle drain away. For a brief moment, he savored the peacefulness of the room.

His hand hovered over the system panel, and with a flick of his wrist, it appeared before him. There were still ten minutes left for the system upgrade to complete.

'Woke up at the perfect time, didn't I?' Harry thought, yawning once more. The quietness of the room beckoned him back to sleep, but he resisted the urge, knowing he'd need to be alert once the upgrade finished.

Another yawn escaped him, and for a moment, he considered just lying back down. But the anticipation of the upgrade kept him sitting upright, waiting for the next step in his journey.

Harry finally shook off the sleepiness that clung to him. He blinked against the drowsiness that fogged his mind, feeling the softness of the bed almost pulling him back down. The excitement of the system upgrade hung in the air, pushing him to stay awake and focused. With a determined shake of his head, he sat up, his heart racing at the thought of what was about to happen. Each passing moment felt slow, but with every second, he grew more eager to tackle the challenges ahead.

As he settled into the quiet of the room, he took a moment to collect his thoughts. Then, his expression turned serious. With a quick motion, he pulled out a sealing paper from his system storage. The upgrade didn't affect the paper, which looked small and unassuming, but he knew how important it was. This sealing paper, from the famous Uzumaki bloodline, could tell him if someone was manipulating his mind.

Harry's breath caught as he activated the seal, watching in alarm as one-fourth of the paper turned black. He sighed in relief when he saw that the black area wasn't growing, and was the same as past few days.

..

....

A few days earlier as he was bathing, while enjoying a beautiful view thanks to Wei, Harry had decided to check out the system shop. He rarely took time for himself, so this was a nice break. While browsing through the various items, he found this sealing paper. The description caught his eye because he knew there were powerful people in the Marvel universe who could easily control minds. He wanted to be prepared, so he bought it for just 1,000 points—a small price for peace of mind.

When he activated the paper, he found out that one forth of the paper had turned black. The black mark had shocked him which actually depicted the influence of external energy on his brain.

The anger and confusion that followed felt overwhelming. He wasn't someone to let such an invasion go unchecked, and yet, here he was, facing the grim reality of being mentally manipulated. His thoughts immediately turned to the Ancient One, the only person who had the power to control him like this. How could she, the so-called protector of Earth, betray him? Maybe she had done so because she was the protector of the Earth. The thought made his skin crawl. He recalled how he had calmed down under her guidance, but he wondered whether he had truly changed or if she had molded him into someone more submissive.

As he reflected on his time at Kamar Taj, a surge of hatred washed over him. He despised being controlled, especially by someone like the Ancient One. Taking a deep breath, he tried to steady his racing heart. He couldn't just be angry; he needed to think clearly and regain his sense of self before it slipped away.

He replayed his memories, examining each interaction with the Ancient One for signs of influence. It felt like he was trapped in a maze, with each path leading back to her. This was driving him mad. He questioned whether he had genuinely matured or if her manipulation had hidden his rebellious spirit beneath a calm exterior. He had never been one to care about others' opinions, yet here he was, doubting every decision he made and wondering how she would view his choices.

'Son of a bitch,' he thought, frustration boiling inside him. He clenched his fists and focused on calming his breathing. Anger could lead to rash actions, and he couldn't afford to make mistakes. The Ancient One hadn't completely taken over his mind, which offered some relief. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling of unease about her motives. Why hadn't she fully controlled him? Did she think he wouldn't notice, or was it a slow, stealthy way of manipulating him or se was unable to control him quickly because of the system?

Even now a part of his mind was trying to comfort him that her manipulation might have been a strategic move to guide him toward what she thought was best. This also led a bubble of fear envelope his mind as his brain was trying to normalise mental manipulation.

In the back of his mind, he felt a glimmer of hope that the system and his abilities had thwarted her plans. He needed to act carefully, gathering information while pretending to be a loyal apprentice. Maybe after the system upgrade, he would find a way to free himself from this unwanted influence. He just needed to hang on long enough to regain his footing.

With renewed resolve, Harry promised himself to be cautious during his time in Kamar Taj. He wouldn't let his guard down. The mission to capture the Tesseract offered the perfect chance to escape.

'Maybe the past quests by the system were warning me to get out this damned place?' Harry couldn't help but thank the system otherwise he wouldn't have been able to know that he was being slowly controlled.

..

....

(Back to the present)

Entangled in all these thoughts, five minutes passed quickly and a series of notifications appeared in front of him.

[System Upgrade: Complete]

[System has been upgraded to Level 2]

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