On one of New York's beaches adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean, people were scattered everywhere, sunbathing and playing, resembling ants when viewed from above.
Noah made his way through the crowd of people lying on towels, basking in the sun, heading toward the sea. He wore only beach shorts and a light shirt, unbuttoned, revealing his perfectly toned body, enhanced after acquiring the Yasuo template and the Resolve Rune. Naturally, he caught everyone's attention.
"I don't understand why Americans love sunbathing so much," Noah remarked as he stood by the ocean, gazing into the distance of the Atlantic. Somewhere in its depths lay the underwater kingdom of Talokan, though its exact location was unknown to him.
"Hey, handsome, could you help us apply sunscreen?" came a soft female voice behind him.
He turned to see a beautiful girl with long, wavy blonde hair wearing a bikini. Her pale skin glistened in the sunlight. She held a bottle of sunscreen and beckoned Noah. Beside her stood another beauty with blue hair and equally striking eyes, looking at him with interest.
"Is this flirting? This is the first time I've encountered something like this in both lives. I guess I really am too attractive," Noah thought, completely unfazed. He had always been handsome, but after the enhancements, his appearance had become ideal. He stood out from the crowd, and many might assume that a movie star was on set.
Noah suddenly remembered that in both his previous and current lives, he hadn't experienced any romantic relationships. "In my last life, I didn't have time, but in this one, I'll definitely make room for love," he mused about the future. However, now he had more pressing matters.
"Sorry, ladies, but I have a meeting soon and can't help with the sunscreen. Also, I'm only 16 years old, so it wouldn't be legal," Noah said with a smile.
"Look! It's Iron Man!"
"Oh my gosh! Iron Man is here!" the blonde and her friend suddenly exclaimed, turning around. Many people nearby heard Noah's shout and started looking around. But, of course, there was no Iron Man.
"Who the hell yelled that?"
"Who's spouting nonsense?" came disgruntled voices.
When the blonde turned back to Noah, he was already gone. Feeling tricked, she angrily kicked the sand.
At the far end of the beach, behind a large rock where Noah had used his Ghost ability to slip away, he smiled.
"Noah, it seems your appearance is very popular among humans," said Lissandra.
"Of course, I'm a heartthrob," Noah responded. The enhancements had indeed made his appearance even more striking.
"Lissandra, when I create a body for you, I'll make you the most beautiful woman," Noah said, imagining Lissandra looking like one of the champions from League of Legends.
"Very well, Noah. I'll wait," Lissandra replied. Although she could change her appearance, she was willing to take on the form Noah liked.
Noah touched the watch on his wrist. These were Lissandra, who had taken this form using nanotechnology to avoid drawing attention. After all, carrying around a floating, high-tech object would be far too conspicuous.
"Vibranium is at the bottom of this ocean, but I don't know the exact location. What should I do? Maybe I could use the system to set a mission for finding vibranium? I'll give it a try," Noah thought.
Searching for vibranium in the ocean without any hints would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. In Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, there was a girl who built a device to detect vibranium, but Noah didn't know how to find her. However, he remembered his task system and decided to use it.
He opened the system and attempted to set a mission for locating vibranium. The system's loading icon spun for a while before displaying information about the mission, much to his pleasant surprise.
[A-Level Mission – Vibranium Retrieval: Retrieve vibranium from the underwater kingdom of Talokan]
"Whoa, it's an A-level mission! This is the first time I've received such a high-level task," Noah exclaimed. Up until now, the missions on his list were only B- and C-level. This was his first A-level mission.
"An A-level mission... Does that mean I'll have to fight all of Talokan?" he wondered, stroking his chin. If he really had to face an entire underwater kingdom, the task would be incredibly challenging. Talokan was a powerful nation with access to vibranium, although it didn't seem that formidable in the film.
Moreover, the mission was underwater, and Noah wasn't sure if his armor could function in such an environment. That made things even more complicated.
"Even if I decide to mine vibranium secretly, it'll take time to prepare. I wonder if the mission has a time limit?" he pondered. He suddenly realized he had never checked if the system's tasks had deadlines since he had always completed them immediately.
"System, do the missions have time limits? Can I accept this mission today and complete it later?" Noah asked.
[Summoner, system missions do not have time restrictions and are not limited in number. You can accept the mission today and complete it at a later time without affecting other tasks.]
"Great, I'll accept the mission now and prepare for it thoroughly," Noah decided. He needed time to get ready for a battle with an entire nation possessing vibranium. He wasn't sure if he could handle it, but he was willing to try. He clicked the button to accept the mission.
[A-Level Mission Accepted – Vibranium Retrieval. As this is your first mission of such level, the system will provide assistance… Assessing mission difficulty… Assessment complete… Creating a suitable auxiliary item…]
"What's happening?" Noah wondered, watching the system's screen. He hadn't expected that after accepting an A-level mission, the system would offer help.
[Item detected in inventory: Random Hero Card (one-day duration). Item has been modified… Successfully transformed into a Hero Card: Tahm Kench (active until the mission is completed).]
"Tahm Kench?!" Noah exclaimed. Tahm Kench was a tank support champion from League of Legends, an ancient demon with the power of a demi-god.
"So, I'll be completing this mission in the form of Tahm Kench?" Noah thought, holding the card with Tahm's image.
Initially, he was planning to accept the mission, prepare for it, and then go after the vibranium. But now, with the system's help, he felt confident enough to complete the mission today.
"Lissandra, revert to your previous form," Noah asked, preparing to transform into Tahm Kench. He feared that in this form, he might accidentally harm her.
"Okay, Noah. What's going on?" Lissandra asked as she returned to her spherical robot form.
"Nothing serious. I'm just going to take on a different form and head for the vibranium," he replied with a smile.
"I wonder how powerful Tahm's abilities are? This is going to be exciting," Noah said as he held the card, ready to begin the mission.
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