"So, I can travel to different worlds or dimensions, complete tasks, and earn rewards? Rewards that are presumably from those worlds—or at least related to the tasks?" Max mused, his eyes scanning the instructions on the interface.
"Easy! Not complicated at all," he declared, raising a fist in mock victory. His expression, however, carried a sarcastic undertone, subtly woven into his exaggerated enthusiasm.
With a heavy sigh, Max dropped the theatrics and grew serious again. He tapped the screen with his fingers, but it didn't respond. Neither did it react to his voice: "System? Hello, Google. Siri?"
A faint blush crept onto his face as he realized how ridiculous he looked. It quickly became clear the interface only responded to his eyes—or perhaps something connected to his brain.
The absence of an AI assistant was another source of frustration.
There was no voice to guide him, no entity to answer his questions. Everything he needed was buried in the help guide, alongside a couple of options like Travel and Space Backpack.
Once confident he'd understood the basics, Max leaned back in his seat, narrowing his eyes as he spotted the faint icon tucked back into the corner of his vision before the interface vanished again.
He heaved a deep breath, sinking further into the chair.
"At least I have a way to gain strength. It seems that's my only way for now," he muttered, a hint of hope in his voice.
What those rewards entailed was still a mystery. Powers? Advanced technology? Magic, perhaps? Whatever they were, the possibilities thrilled and terrified him in equal measure.
With his future knowledge as an advantage in this world, Max knew this could be the start of something extraordinary.
"All I need now is to decide my next steps," he said aloud, a thoughtful frown forming.
'Should I hold onto my current position and build resources as the head of the Knight household? Or should I start something new from scratch as a backup?'
Without the dimensional travel interface, Max might have leaned on his future knowledge to sell off the Knight family's New York properties, cash in some stocks, and disappear. That might've been a safer route—but not one without sacrifices.
He sighed again, emotions swirling. The memories of Max Knight weighed on him. The family legacy, Martha, and others close to him—still held a place in his heart.
"If I weren't such a rational person, I'd consider fleeing to Asia. But even that's no guaranteed safe bet," he mused.
'If the West has S.H.I.E.L.D., the East has SPEAR'. He vaguely remembered hearing that somewhere about the Marvel world, and it struck a chord.
One thing was certain: America was at the centre of everything in this extraordinary universe. It churned out brilliant scientists, innovators, and minds capable of elevating the world.
Tony Stark was proof of that. Unlike his old world, where rising nations competed with America as emerging superpowers, the Marvel Universe didn't follow the same rules.
Invasions—alien and otherwise—would strike America repeatedly. But they'd also bring unparalleled advancements in technology. Even common thugs would be wielding energy weapons before long, especially after the New York invasion.
In this world, America was the storm's eye—and its lightning rod.
Max shook his head at the thought. "The East being at peace? What a joke." He scoffed, dismissing the idea as wishful thinking.
'Nothing happens without consequences,' Max believed this to his core.
S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded when Peggy Carter and her colleagues realized the need for an organization capable of rivalling the world's extraordinary forces.
'Then what about SPEAR?' Max wondered.
'I refuse to believe its founder was just jealous of the West and decided to make one of their own.' He chuckled at the thought.
S.H.I.E.L.D. operated under the World Security Council (WSC), making it a legitimate organization that couldn't function without international approval.
By the same logic, SPEAR must have been created with similar global consent, which meant it had a purpose.
Rubbing his chin, Max concluded, "There must've been a proper reason for its creation."
His best guess? The East had its extraordinary threats—villainous martial arts organizations or other supernatural, mythical dangers.
K'un-Lun and the Ten Rings already existed in Marvel lore. If they were real, then other villainous groups likely existed too.
"The East isn't a safe place to run off to," Max muttered.
At the end of the day, he had to stand firm in the city where the best of Marvel's world would gather and his plot knowledge gives him advantage.
Fishing in troubled waters for his benefit was the only way forward.
Somehow, he'd have to build a power base of his own.
For now, he set aside thoughts of the system—there was no point diving into other worlds without proper preparation.
Instead, he turned his focus to the key and card given to him by Uncle Victor.
The key was instantly recognizable—it belonged to the locker in the study. The card, however, was a business card for a laboratory in Harlem.
Max closed his eyes for a moment and smirked. 'A young heir with dead parents? That's an overused plotline.'
'If my dad had alien tech, Hydra's probably involved. And if not, this is just a waste of setup. Seriously, who's writing such a novel?'
Without hesitation, he stood, key in hand, and unlocked the locker. Swallowing hard, he opened it.
Inside, to his disappointment, he found only a few documents and some old family photos. One photo showed Max with his parents, another showed his father with his grandparents.
The documents were surprisingly mundane—certificates for antiques and paintings owned by the Knight family. Maybe they'd be useful if the family ever needed to auction them in hard times.
No hidden secrets. No ancient artifacts. Just the card, pointing to a lab in Harlem called Cell Labs.
"Sounds like some biotech startup run by rookie scientists," Max muttered, unimpressed. The name didn't ring any bells from his Marvel knowledge.
He picked up the phone and dialled Victor. "Hello, Uncle. Sorry to bother you, but could you look into the place Cell Labs in Harlem? Yes... and send a file on KTech along with Cell Labs. Thank you."
With everything sorted for now, Max leaned back, thoughts returning to the system.
"Time to figure out how this thing works," he murmured.
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