Herman wasn't entirely ignorant about the All-Seeing Eye.
He knew that when extracting an identity, the color of the eye's iris in his mind represented the rank of that identity.
A dazzling golden hue signified... a Gold-level identity! Sure enough, after checking, Herman confirmed his incredibly fortunate guess.
[Gold-level Identity – Hidden Superpowered Being!]
[Note – Once activated, this identity is permanent!]
[On the surface, you are merely a down-on-his-luck director. In truth, during a trip abroad in search of inspiration, you suffered an accident.]
[Deep in the mountains, you stumbled into a mysterious cave and absorbed the power of an enormous extraterrestrial crystal within.]
[This incomprehensible reality plagued you with recurring nightmares. Alongside these nightmares, you discovered you had awakened extraordinary abilities.]
[Due to the overwhelming power of these abilities, coupled with your lack of control, your life and mental state were severely affected.]
[Identity Exclusive Mission: Perfectly master the unstable power within you!]
[Mission Reward: Psychic Domination!]
The details of this new identity swiftly surfaced in his mind.
Herman couldn't help but speculate. Could there be causal links between the various identities created by the All-Seeing Eye?
If so, then it wouldn't be so strange that a once-rising director ended up making films that drove investors to suicide.
Maybe some unexpected incident had happened, and in his unstable mental state, he created something as mind-corrupting as Chasing Dreams in Hollywood.
A reasonable theory?
After receiving the Fallen Director identity, Herman had reviewed his past works. Chasing Dreams in Hollywood was without question an unspeakable creation.
It left people doubting their very existence, wondering if they'd gone insane for wasting over three hours on such a so-called "blockbuster."
It was hard to imagine a director who had once produced a smash-hit epic would, under normal circumstances, churn out something that felt like shoveling nonsense down the audience's throats.
"As I acquire more identities in the future, there has to be some kind of connection between them. Otherwise, it'd all end up full of logical holes, right?"
As the new identity fully loaded, a surge of pure energy suddenly flooded Herman's body, instantly transforming him.
The world resumed its flow.
Herman immediately sensed the changes. With this identity, he had gained several extraordinary powers.
Telekinesis!
Psychic Shield!
Mind Invasion!
X-Ray Vision!
And… an absurdly powerful Regenerative Healing Factor!
Beyond that, Herman felt his physical constitution had undergone an enormous boost. It seemed only a body of exceptional strength could bear the weight of so many superpowers.
"This power is seriously awesome!"
Herman gave his desk a quick test. The heavy piece of furniture, weighing several hundred pounds, was effortlessly lifted with one hand.
A rough estimate—lifting an SUV single-handedly probably wouldn't be an issue.
As for speed and reflexes, Herman could even perceive and track the movement of dust particles in the air.
Since the office was too cramped to really stretch out, he only tested it briefly. Still, his speed was blazing—bullet-fast. Within seven steps, he could definitely outrun a gun.
Telekinesis also doubled as a defense against bullets. As long as Herman reacted in time, he could block them before they reached his body.
Along with gaining this identity, Herman also acquired a fairly clear understanding of his powers.
His Regenerative Healing Factor might not match Wolverine's, but it wasn't far off either—strong enough to repair even a headshot.
Telekinesis, needless to say, was incredibly practical and powerful.
Herman tested it by levitating everything in the office into midair. It was effortless.
The Psychic Shield, meanwhile, acted as a safeguard for his mind, blocking memory-probing abilities. In a world like Marvel, it was extremely useful.
Who knew how many bizarre abilities existed that could peer into thoughts and memories? With this, Herman finally had a defense.
Of course, complete isolation from all detection was impossible.
After all, the Marvel Universe was filled with unreasonable powerhouses. Still, at the very least, no one could pry into his mind without him noticing.
As for Mind Invasion—just as the name implied, it let him enter another person's thoughts with mental power, reading their memories and ideas. Even if it could only be used on one target at a time, it was still an utterly terrifying ability.
Its strength lay in its unpredictability. He didn't even need eye contact. As long as Herman saw his target, he could slip into their mind, peering into their thoughts and memories.
And the reward for completing the identity-exclusive mission was even more enticing: direct Psychic Domination, the ability to control another's will. Herman couldn't deny how much that tempted him.
"Skye!"
He picked up the phone on his desk and dialed. With his director identity, he'd also gained three years' usage rights to one floor of the Stellar Tower in the city center—that was why he had an office in the first place.
The space had come from the profits of Apocalypse. For the past while, both Herman and Skye had been living in Stellar Tower.
Having a comfortable place to stay was probably the reason Skye hadn't ditched him yet. Before long, the assistant he'd sweet-talked into joining him came into the office.
"Another cup of instant coffee? Do you even realize I'm the one keeping investors from bolting?" Skye complained the moment she stepped inside.
These days, Herman had been busy writing his script.
And Skye had been busy making coffee—instant coffee.
"If possible, I'd like something better today." Herman wanted to send her downstairs to grab a proper cup, celebrating his rare streak of luck.
Of course, that wasn't the real reason he'd called her in. But since she brought it up, he figured a good coffee wouldn't hurt.
Looking at the girl in front of him, Herman decided to test his mind-reading ability.
He didn't dig into her deeper memories, just skimmed her current thoughts.
Perfect.
Sure enough, this little brat was silently cursing him for being a cheapskate… Since she dared to slander her boss in her mind, she couldn't blame him for experimenting with his new X-Ray Vision, could she?