Chapter 1: Training the Cos-o-sphere in the Marvel Universe (Please Bookmark!!)
The Marvel Universe.
June 15, 2012.
Friday.
Midtown High School, New York City.
Seventeen-year-old Hawk was sweating it out in the old gymnasium.
Thump!
Thump, thump, thump!
A series of solid thuds echoed through the hall. As Hawk relentlessly pummeled the black punching bag hanging from the ceiling, its iron chains screeched with every sway.
Hawk's hair was completely soaked in sweat.
Sweat trickled down his high cheekbones, tracing his tense jawline before dripping onto the collar of his old, sweat-drenched T-shirt.
But his eyes never left the punching bag.
He was completely absorbed.
At this moment, the punching bag was his entire world.
"Nine thousand nine hundred fifty-one!"
"Nine thousand nine hundred fifty-two!"
"..."
Hawk adjusted his stance, mentally counting his punches as he deftly dodged the swing of the bag. Without a moment's pause, he launched into a flurry of left hooks and right crosses... every punch landing with a satisfying impact. The bag swung violently under his relentless assault, its worn leather surface becoming even more tattered with each blow.
Punch.
Retract.
Punch again.
With every punch, Hawk's movements seemed to get faster.
Faster and faster.
Until...
"Ten thousand!"
BAM!
A fiery glint erupted in the depths of Hawk's eyes. His retracted fist shot out like lightning, striking the falling punching bag with the precision of a cobra. The bag crumpled inward with a muffled groan, and the chain holding it finally snapped.
Unleashed from its tether, the bag flew backward with a mournful whine, crashing heavily onto the floor with a loud thud.
CRASH!
Whew!
Having completed his ten thousand punches for the day, Hawk finally let out the breath he'd been holding. He watched the torn bag lying on the floor, his chest rising and falling as he regulated his breathing.
Sweat poured down his face, gathering at the tip of his chin before dripping onto the leg of his cheap sweatpants.
Of course.
"Cheap" was a relative term.
To others, a pair of pants worth twelve dollars might be considered cheap, even extremely cheap.
But not to Hawk.
After all...
He was an orphan in this life, a soul who had transmigrated into the Marvel Universe.
If it weren't for his excellent grades, which earned him a scholarship to Midtown High, he wouldn't have been able to afford the tens of thousands of dollars in tuition fees each semester.
But even with the scholarship, Hawk was still incredibly frugal.
This wasn't because he was good at saving money, but because his scholarship wasn't the highest tier.
It wasn't like the one received by Gwen Stacy, the student assistant in his grade.
Gwen Stacy had the top-tier scholarship.
Not only did she get free tuition, but the school also gave her a stipend each semester, not to mention the prize money from all the academic competitions she won.
Hawk's scholarship was the most common kind, one that only covered tuition.
After all, his grades were just excellent, not outstanding.
But Hawk was still satisfied.
Midtown High waived his tuition, and because he was a federal orphan between the ages of sixteen and eighteen—a period known as the "independent transition period"—he received a monthly stipend of eight hundred dollars.
On top of that, since Midtown High was an elite school in New York State, the state also provided him with an additional five hundred dollars per month.
When you added it all up, he had an income of thirteen hundred dollars a month.
This amount might not be enough for an adult living in New York City, but for Hawk, who was a federal orphan with free schooling, it was more than enough for now.
It was even more than he needed.
After all, he ate at school and slept in a low-rent federal welfare apartment.
Out of his thirteen-hundred-dollar monthly stipend, he could spend five hundred on basic living expenses and still save eight hundred.
What's that?
Five hundred isn't enough?
Like I said.
Maybe not for an adult, but it was plenty for Hawk.
Every afternoon, he would go to the gym to complete his "ten thousand punches a day" routine. He'd shower at the gym and wash his clothes there, then take the last free school bus home. He'd go straight to bed and then take the earliest bus back to school the next day.
He didn't even have to pay for water or electricity, let alone phone or internet bills.
He was an orphan.
He had no family to feed but himself.
Who would he call, and who would call him?
As for the internet?
He didn't even own a computer. The school library had public computers he could use whenever he needed to, and even printing was free.
So...
Even though he was an orphan again in this life, Hawk felt he was doing pretty well.
He could save eight hundred dollars every month and still occasionally treat himself to a big bucket of fried chicken from a cheap chicken joint to replenish his energy.
He'd already saved up over thirty thousand dollars.
Sweet.
Of course.
It would be even better if the chicken place had fewer people of a certain complexion.
A moment later.
Standing still with his eyes slightly closed, Hawk slowly opened them, gazing at the punching bag lying on the floor. He seemed to be in a daze.
Because he wasn't looking at the punching bag. He was looking at a prompt box floating in front of him.
To be precise, it was his system.
[Cos-o-sphere Training!]
[Current Status: "Inactive"]
[Activation Requirement: "Ten thousand punches a day for a thousand consecutive days."]
[Activation Progress: "999/1000"]
"Almost there!"
"Almost."
"It'll be active tomorrow."
Hawk's heart raced as he looked at the progress bar on the prompt box only he could see. He wished he could just teleport to tomorrow.
This system had appeared when he was fifteen.
To be exact, on September 10, 2009.
He remembered it so clearly.
That day was the day Hulk and Abomination fought in New York City.
So he didn't slack off for a single moment.
He would train as soon as the system was ready!
He had no choice.
After all, he had transmigrated to the Marvel Universe—a world where "superheroes walk all over, cosmic gods roam freely, and super-powered beings are as common as dogs."
Before he had a system, he just lay low.
But now that he had a system, would he just lie down?
That would be a huge waste of a golden opportunity.
So...
The day his system came online, Hawk began his routine of ten thousand punches a day.
He didn't miss a single day.
Come rain or shine.
Nothing could stop him.
In short, one simple rule.
He could skip a meal.
But he could not skip a workout.
And now...
He was finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!