After returning to the academy's villa district, Ryden introduced Raven to Aunt Sarah and the other nannies.
Raven's miserable past immediately triggered their maternal instincts.
Without exception, they treated her like their own daughter.
"Shirley, I'm entrusting Raven to you," Ryden said, patting Raven's head before patting Shirley's as well. "You're the big sister now. Take good care of your little sister, okay? She's had a hard life. Don't bully her."
Shirley was ecstatic.
Being a big sister felt amazing.
She grabbed Raven's hand, pulled her onto the sofa, and dumped a huge pile of snacks in front of her.
"My name is Shirley! I'm your big sister from now on! Don't worry, I'll take good care of you for Big Brother! If anyone bullies you, tell me, and I'll handle it!"
Raven nodded shyly.
For the first time, she reached out and took a potato chip.
This family didn't discriminate against her.
There was only sympathy.
And curiosity.
It made her feel unexpectedly at ease.
With a new member added, Lilliana went out to pick up Lex and Lena and bought extra groceries to celebrate.
Ryden stretched.
"The matter is finally settled."
Then he saw Aunt Laura wearing an apron.
And felt a familiar stirring.
"When someone's pretty, anything they wear looks good. Don't ask. It's just a gift."
He smiled and walked over.
"Aunt Laura, what are we eating today?"
"Grilled chicken wings and steak burgers. Your favorites," Aunt Laura said warmly. "You've been working hard lately. You should rest more. I made goji berry water for you. Take it to the lab. It's good for your health."
Goji berry water was healthy.
It wouldn't make him feel like a god.
But it was good for the body.
And it tasted decent.
"Alright. Thanks, Aunt Laura."
Ryden smiled brightly.
"This nanny I hired is really capable. See? Older nannies are the best. And women know how to take care of people."
"You're welcome. It's my responsibility," Aunt Laura replied, her eyes full of happiness. "Thank you for giving me this opportunity. You're a good person."
Ryden was in a great mood.
The more he did, the lighter everything felt.
At this point, it was habit.
He returned to the lab.
With the key in hand, he let himself in.
Ms. Jennifer wasn't there.
Maybe she'd gone home.
Or out for a walk.
Ryden picked up his flying backpack and continued modifying it.
Using magnetic pole repulsion to achieve flight was a solid idea.
But magnetic field strength varied by location.
He needed additional electromagnets to generate reverse poles.
Only then could he create differential strength between upper and lower fields.
That was the only way to fly.
There were still many problems to solve.
Backflow.
Structural stress.
Would the two electromagnets tear the backpack apart under excessive force?
If it exploded before takeoff, that would be humiliating.
Ryden popped a piece of chocolate into his mouth.
Hummed softly.
Made a cup of black tea to stay sharp.
He picked up needle-nose pliers and went back to work.
"First, I'll perfect my equipment. Then I'll get the super soldier serum. Learn all kinds of combat techniques. Military fighting. Martial arts from around the world."
"Most importantly..."
"Ancient martial arts with five thousand years of history."
What were martial arts, really?
The kind on stage?
In competitions?
Those barely qualified.
True martial arts existed for only one purpose.
Killing.
They were born from ancient warfare.
From close-quarters battlefields.
Every move was lethal.
If you didn't kill the enemy, they killed you.
Gunfights were the same.
Fail to shoot first, and you died.
That was how brutal Asian killing arts came to be.
Advanced technology.
Super soldier serum.
Refined close-combat techniques-
No.
That was wrong.
Refined out-of-bedroom fighting techniques.
With all that combined, he'd barely have the ability to protect himself.
Why was Captain America so strong?
Not just because of his body.
But because of that shield.
Adamantium alone wasn't enough.
Absolute defense meant you could fight anyone head-on.
That shield could even withstand Thor's hammer.
Ryden tossed aside the discarded components.
Someone would recycle them later.
He bit the end of his pen, scribbled down a formula, and started calculating.
Then froze.
Something was wrong.
"Damn it. What a pain."
"I don't have a computer. How am I supposed to calculate this?"
"...No."
"I'll just invent a computer first."
The sheer number of formulas was making his head spin.
No wonder Howard couldn't deduce the vibranium element.
There was no way to calculate it.
If Ryden had something like JARVIS right now, he could probably build an Iron Man suit too.
But that was impossible.
The calculator he had was primitive.
Two decimal places at most.
Every calculation took forever.
It was a massive bottleneck.
Completely killing his efficiency.
So he acted immediately.
Ryden summoned a pile of diodes and electronic conductors.
He might not have eaten pork, but he'd seen pigs run.
He dismantled the lab's calculator without hesitation.
Even though it had once cost fifty thousand dollars.
A fortune back then.
Pocket change now.
By the time he snapped out of it, it was ten at night.
Ryden stared at the massive, brick-like computer frame in front of him.
Straight out of the 1980s.
A sense of pride rose in his chest.
"Heh. I'm a genius too."
"Let's keep going."
"With this, my efficiency should skyrocket."
It wasn't that Ryden was a genius.
It was foresight.
With professional knowledge and a century of insight, this was inevitable.
If someone with modern knowledge traveled back to the Stone Age-
Even without skills-
They could still produce crystalline salt by evaporating seawater.
Something nonexistent at the time.
That was the power of foresight.
Would that traveler be a genius?
No.
Just someone abusing modern knowledge in ancient times.
But to the locals?
He'd look like a god.
The principle was simple.
But showing off felt good.
So good that you couldn't stop.
Ryden was exactly like that.
He had knowledge.
Theory.
Perspective.
Of course he could do this.
Some things were still impossible due to the era's limits.
So he had to move step by step.
Like playing soccer.
If I tell you to score a goal-
You'd first look for a ball, right?
Exactly.
No ball, no soccer.
You eat one bite at a time.
To learn how to walk-
Sometimes you think you need to learn to run first.
"...Wait."
"That's wrong."
"Howard said that."
"The correct order is crawling first."
"Alright."
"That settles it."
"This time, I'm right."
"Learn to crawl first."
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