In 1939, in Brooklyn—now the epicenter of the world as it moved toward World War II—the world was in a state of depression, and no one was making money. On a poor street, an eighteen-year-old boy carried a cloth bag on his back. He looked somewhat strong and was not very tall, but he gave off a very gentle feeling.
Arnold arrived in front of a small duplex villa. It was small, but still acceptable. After a busy day, he unlocked several doors; the house wasn't dark at all but instead was brightly lit because he had turned on all the energy-saving lights. These energy-saving lamps were obtained by Wang Ming through a trade, redeemed from a unique talisman.
A fair-skinned, pretty blonde woman was reading a newspaper in the living room. Her eyes were a deep blue, typical of a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Caucasian woman. Her face was somewhat pale, but her expression was serene.
"Arnold, you're back?"
"Yes, Mom, I'm back. How are you feeling today?" Arnold went over to check on the beautiful woman.
This beautiful woman was Arnold's mother and also Steve's mother—Sarah, the mother of Captain America, Steve! When Arnold transmigrated, he was completely bewildered. He was the younger brother of the famous Captain America, Steve Rogers? This was both comical and left him feeling somewhat helpless.
As for where his biological father went? Don't ask. The answer is that he was robbed and killed in an accident. Steve, as the eldest brother, often worked odd jobs to earn money, but due to the poor economy, he struggled to even feed himself. He recently joined the army, which cost him a fortune, forcing him to borrow money from his half-brother. Without any hesitation, Arnold gave part of his earnings to him.
Sarah shook her head. "I'm fine. Thank you for taking care of me."
"You're my mother. If I don't take care of you, who will?" Arnold said before kissing Sarah's red lips. Sarah didn't mind and kissed Wang Ming back. She felt very sorry for her youngest son, who shouldered the burden of the family alone; she chose to ignore and tacitly allow certain intimate gestures. Even recently, when she wasn't feeling well, Arnold helped her take a bath.
Sarah was not in good health; she suffered from tuberculosis and relied on medication to stay alive. Arnold needed to earn points to cure her with medicine, but unfortunately, the special medicine was very expensive, so he could only treat her slowly with medication, which would take a long time.
Arnold went to the bathroom and washed away the blood. Looking at the amulet around his neck—which no one else could see except himself—it appeared to be a protective charm. Whether it had hypnotic properties was unknown, but it was actually an exchange shop. Inside, there was a wide variety of supplies that could be exchanged, ranging from the most basic necessities like firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea to high-end weapons.
They even possessed some secret magic, but as for why they didn't have the so-called "sword control technique," the system replied that only items fitting the power systems of the Marvel and DC universes would appear. "Hey kid, are you sure you didn't do this on purpose?"
The points system in the shop was quite simple: certain actions earned a variable number of points. Killing a good person deducted ten points; killing an ordinary person rewarded five points; and killing a bad person started at twenty points, with no upper limit. Even committing bestial acts could earn points; for example, French kissing his mother, Sarah, could earn him a thousand points. This could only be done once; it could not be repeated.
After taking a shower and changing into new clothes, Arnold sat on the sofa, looking at a skill book in his hand. This book was bought from the amulet shop, which offered everything imaginable—even passes to other worlds. Some of the worlds really excited Arnold: the chaotic world of The Walking Dead and games like Resident Evil, King of Fighters, and Warcraft—it seemed like every world had a pass. This gave Wang Ming a bold idea!
"The Beginner's Guide for a Magician" was a book that would enable him to become a magician, a true magician. This was something Arnold had worked hard for over the past two weeks, all for the sake of getting this skill book. The world of superheroes was exciting but also extremely dangerous. Who knew? The old lady on the street might be a superhuman who could punch mountains and stomp the earth.
The skill book transformed into a screen of light. Wang Ming blinked. On his panel, he saw a magic sphere used to monitor the level of his magic power. If it reached the critical point of overload, using magic might lead to death.
There were three categories of magic: practical magic, illusion magic, and wild magic. Practical magic was the ability to conjure food out of thin air or repair broken appliances; illusion magic was about creating illusions to deceive the enemy; and wild magic was offensive magic, such as lightning, fire, and ice.
Besides magic, there was also the famous alchemy, which could concoct all kinds of potions, such as aphrodisiacs to speed up wound healing, aphrodisiacs to make women more attractive, and eunuch drugs to make men infertile.
Arnold realized that he only possessed one of each of the three magic spells and knew how to make one potion. He could continue learning other spells and potion recipes, but only randomly! You might learn some amazing magic, or you might learn something ordinary.
Calm Mind Potion: A potion that accelerates skill proficiency!
Delicious: It can conjure up delicious magical food that can replenish energy and tastes amazing!
Blazing Fire: Unleash blazing flames to devour everything!
Nausea: Make the enemy feel disgusted and nauseous!
Arnold was a bit confused; this magic seemed to be different from what he had imagined!