Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.
During these two weeks, Peter and Gwen had "rendezvoused" on her rooftop almost every single night. The results of these sessions were nothing short of extraordinary.
Gwen was like a parched sponge, frantically absorbing the combat techniques and practical experience Peter fed her.
She was already a genius with a learning capacity rivaling Peter's own. Combined with the fact that, through daily sparring, she had learned to consciously tune her Spider-Sense to distinguish between "hostile intent" and "friendly training," her rate of improvement accelerated even further.
Now, she could stand toe-to-toe with Peter—even when he stood inside the circle using both hands—trading dozens of blows without falling into a disadvantage.
Peter estimated that Gwen's current combat level was roughly equivalent to his own when he first redeemed Kyogoku Makoto's Karate expertise.
Compared to the original cinematic Spiders, she could likely match the Garfield and Holland versions, falling just a hair short of the raw, "Bully Maguire" stats-monster.
Against one or two average supervillains working together, she was now more than capable.
Of course, Gwen wasn't the only one improving. Bolstered by the Cold Jade Bed and the K'un-L'un Thumb Ring, Peter's efficiency in absorbing "Ki" had steadily climbed. As his internal reserves grew, he began experimenting with the fusion of Ki and Chakra.
His conclusion: "Ki" was essentially a superior form of Nature Energy.
While harder to acquire than ambient Nature Energy, its advantages were clear. It was stable, gentle, and—most importantly—storable.
Unlike Nature Energy, which could turn a user into a stone statue if the 1:1:1 ratio with physical and spiritual energy fluctuated, Ki didn't backlash. It could even augment Chakra without a perfect fusion.
The most practical result? By infusing Ki into a Rasengan, the sphere could be thrown!
The more Ki he infused, the further the range. Peter calculated that if he accumulated enough Ki, he could eventually control a Rasengan like a flying sword, or a guided missile, striking enemies precisely from miles away.
Furthermore, he estimated that with one more month of accumulation, he could use Ki to replace Nature Energy entirely and trigger his own unique Sage Mode.
While Peter was busy drilling Gwen and refining his energy control, the other "players" in the world weren't idling.
Under Peter's direction, Harry Osborn had finished vacuuming up the Stark Industries stock dumped by panicked retail investors. They were now just waiting for Tony's press conference to officially become billionaires.
At the same time, Harry secured the last of the available shares, Tony Stark—who had been effectively ousted from his board by the other directors—returned from Afghanistan.
In the private lab atop Stark Tower, Tony hummed a nameless tune as robotic arms stripped the armor from his body.
He had just completed a "theatrical" debut in Afghanistan, destroying a massive cache of Stark-branded weapons. The looks of hope on the faces of the locals had given him a new sense of purpose.
"Jarvis, repair the damaged sections. Also, how is the progress on the gifts for Yinsen and that 'Arbiter' fellow?"
At Tony's query, the AI butler opened two 3D holographic projections.
The first was a suit designed with a black, red, and green color scheme—the colors of Yinsen's homeland.
After being rescued by Peter, Dr. Yinsen had declined to live a life of luxury in America. Instead, he chose to stay in Afghanistan to help refugees rebuild, using his brilliant mind to soothe the wounds of war.
Previously, Tony would have called that "stupid." Now, he felt nothing but respect. He had sent Yinsen a massive financial endowment and was now crafting this suit to ensure the doctor could protect himself and his people.
The second design was black and gold. It was still in the conceptual stage, lacking specific parameters. Tony wanted to give the "overly young sorcerer" something that would genuinely blow his mind, and he hadn't quite cracked the perfect design yet.
"Finish Yinsen's suit first. The situation over there is volatile; I want it shipped out ASAP."
Tony poured himself a whiskey. "Sir, your heart rate is slightly elevated. I suggest reducing your alcohol intake," Jarvis noted.
"Drop it, Jarvis. That's excitement, not alcoholism. I don't do stupid things to myself."
Just then, steady footsteps echoed from behind him. "Tony, aren't you going to pour your uncle a glass too?"
It was Obadiah Stane. He wore a genial smile, but his eyes were cold as ice. Detecting the unauthorized entry, Tony's face shifted.
He subtly moved toward the Mark III armor while maintaining his arrogant front. "Unless you're here to accept my proposal, no deal."
"You're still the same..." Obadiah shook his head, pulling a small remote from his pocket. "Just like your old man. Always doing things the hard way."
The moment Tony saw Obadiah drop the act, he lunged for the Mark III. But before his hand could touch the chassis...
VREEE—
An invisible sonic pulse rippled through the air. Tony's mind went blank, and his muscles locked instantly. He couldn't even twitch a finger. The armor was inches away, but it might as well have been on the moon.
"What... what the hell is this?"
"Just a little sonic paralysis frequency. Temporary, but effective." Obadiah leaned down, admiring the Arc Reactor in Tony's chest as if it were a piece of fine jewelry.
Then, without a shred of hesitation, he reached in and ripped the glowing device straight out of Tony's chest. He looked down at the pale, dying man and laughed.
"Go to hell, Tony. Just like your father."
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