I sat in the shadows of the abandoned building, the faint echoes of Juggernaut's rampage still ringing in the distance. It had taken every ounce of my restraint not to jump into that fight. But I knew better. I wasn't ready to take on someone of that caliber. Not yet. I had the tools—a bit of Spider-Man's agility, a sliver of Batman's genius—but it wasn't enough.
If I was going to survive in this world, I had to grow stronger. Not by leaping into battles unprepared, but by being smart about it.
The gacha system flashed in my mind. I had one month before I could roll again. One month to figure out how to train my meta-gene and maximize the power from the two templates I already had. The meta-gene—the mutant ability Douglas Ramsey had awakened—was the key. If I could unlock more of its potential, I wouldn't just be scraping by. I'd be a force to be reckoned with.
Days in the city passed by without much fanfare. I'd found a small, unremarkable apartment on the outskirts, tucked away from the more chaotic parts of the city. It was cheap, not exactly homey, but it was perfect for what I needed—privacy. For now, my focus was simple: live quietly, blend in, and grow stronger. The gacha system had given me a starting point, but I knew it wasn't enough.
Most days were spent like anyone else—shopping for groceries, visiting cafés, wandering the streets like any normal person. I picked up small jobs here and there, just enough to pay for my basic needs, all while keeping my head low. There was no need to attract attention, not when the real work happened when the city went to sleep.
Nights were different. That's when I trained.
It started with the small things—getting used to the subtle improvements in my body, the hints of power that were trickling in from the Spider-Man and Batman templates. Spider-Man's agility wasn't overwhelming at first, but it was there. I practiced in the alleyways, using walls for short bursts of parkour, testing how quickly I could move between rooftops. With each passing night, the movements felt less forced, more natural.
The system flashed regularly now, showing incremental progress. Spider-Man: 25%, Batman: 20%. I could feel it—my muscles growing leaner, my reflexes sharper. The slow but steady integration of their powers was speeding up.
By the time I'd reached 50% on Spider-Man's template, the change was undeniable. I no longer stumbled when leaping across rooftops. My landings were precise, my balance effortless. Walls? I could climb them now, almost without thinking. The first time I scaled a building from ground level to rooftop in under ten seconds, I couldn't help but grin. This is real.
Batman's template was just as noticeable, but in a different way. It wasn't about physical prowess—at least, not yet. No, it was my mind. I started noticing things, details that escaped most people. In conversations, I picked up on patterns in people's speech, their habits, their body language. I could analyze a room in seconds, mentally mapping exits and objects I could use in a pinch. It was as if my brain had been rewired to see the world through a tactical lens.
But the real game-changer was my meta-gene. Douglas Ramsey's power was far more than just a knack for languages. The meta-gene was evolving, syncing with the abilities I was gaining from the gacha pulls. It wasn't just about language anymore—it was adaptation. My body and mind were absorbing knowledge faster, adapting to new environments with alarming speed. By the time I hit 60% on both Spider-Man and Batman's templates, I knew I was no longer the same person I had been when I first woke up in this universe.
Life in the city wasn't bad, either. I'd started to make connections with the people around me—nothing deep, just casual acquaintances. The guy at the corner store knew me by name now, and there was a little café where the barista always greeted me with a smile. I wasn't alone, but I didn't get too close to anyone either. There was a fine line between living a normal life and hiding in plain sight. I had to walk that line carefully.
Even as I lived this quiet life, the system kept integrating the templates. The nights grew longer, the jumps between buildings faster, the combat drills more fluid. Every muscle in my body responded like it had been trained for years. Batman's influence was sharpening my mind at an incredible rate. It was a strange mix of instincts—Spider-Man's agility fused with Batman's strategy. By now, I was at Spider-Man: 75%, Batman: 70%, and the effects were getting harder to ignore.
One evening, after a particularly intense training session, I returned to my apartment and collapsed onto the couch, staring at the ceiling. My body hummed with energy. I could feel the integration reaching its peak. The meta-gene had fully awakened, allowing me to absorb the last traces of Spider-Man's agility and Batman's strategic prowess. I could react to danger in milliseconds, plan several moves ahead in any situation, and my reflexes were at the peak of human ability.
The system flashed again: Spider-Man: 100%, Batman: 100%. Full integration.
I took a deep breath, letting the weight of that sink in. I had spent a month honing these abilities, and now, they were fully mine. Spider-Man's agility, Batman's mind—both were part of me now, seamlessly fused with my own capabilities.
But it wasn't just about the powers. Over the last month, I had learned how to live in this world. I had my routines, my habits, and a strange sense of normalcy. The people around me knew me as the quiet guy who lived in the small apartment and worked odd jobs. I was just another face in the crowd, hidden in plain sight.
That was all about to change.
I opened the system. My points had accumulated again, and I still had the Low Anime World Travel card in my inventory. I had spent a month preparing, growing stronger, faster, smarter. I was ready for the next step.
I stared at the system for a moment, then smiled. It was time to push myself further.
I activated the card, the familiar sense of anticipation bubbling up inside me. The world around me began to shift, colors blending and warping as the system prepared to send me to my next destination.
"Travel to alternate universe – Confirm?"
This time, there was no hesitation.
"Confirm."