As Noah ascended into the sky, he noticed changes in the ecosystem around his estate, confirming his suspicions. The rune's influence extended far beyond his territory.
His estate was located near the coast, adjacent to a forest inhabited by deer and raccoons. Now, all plants and animals around, including trees and flowers, had transformed under the power of the rune. The most noticeable change was their size.
Noah observed a raccoon standing on its hind legs, reaching about 1.4 meters in height. By comparison, in America, adult raccoons usually range from 40 to 70 centimeters in length. This raccoon had grown to a size comparable to Rocket from the Guardians of the Galaxy.
The changes affected not only forest animals but also marine life. He noticed several fish, much larger than usual, leaping out of the water.
"It looks like I should buy all this land," Noah was already considering purchasing the area for his experiments, including large hextech robots.
"Noah, should we deal with this now?" Lissandra asked, hovering nearby.
"Not necessarily, we'll handle it later. For now, we need to test the capabilities of your new body."
Why not in the lab? Of course, it was to take a romantic walk in nature and strengthen their relationship!
Their destination was the Appalachian Mountains, the longest mountain range in eastern North America, stretching through the US and Canada, near New York.
Noah decided to head to the western part of the Appalachians, where the rugged terrain and hard-to-reach areas made the region sparsely populated, almost deserted.
Their speed was incredible. In just a few minutes, they reached their destination and landed in a canyon.
"This place will do, Lissandra," Noah said, descending from the sky. His propulsion device scattered leaves beneath his feet as he landed.
Lissandra landed much more gracefully, barely touching the ground without kicking up a speck of dust. Noah envied her magnetic levitation, admiring her elegance.
They found themselves in a desolate valley, under a sheer cliff, surrounded only by yellow wastelands and strange rock formations.
Lissandra's body, equipped with a multitude of technologies—PROJECT, hextech, and Lissandra's nanotechnology—enhanced by the power of the rune, was expected to be incredibly powerful.
"Let's begin, Lissandra," Noah said eagerly.
Lissandra raised her hand, and a prismatic nanoconstruct shot out of it. It flew faster than a bullet and struck a six-meter rock.
"Boom!"
The prismatic projectile penetrated the rock as if through butter, exploding inside, tearing the stone apart from within. Shards flew, leaving clean, blade-like cuts on the rocks and trees around them.
Then the shards turned into a stream of nanobots and returned to Lissandra's hand.
"Looks like a Q ability from the game," Noah thought.
Lissandra recalled the nanobots and, lowering her foot to the ground, summoned a giant mechanical claw that surged toward Noah. The claw left deep grooves in the earth.
He was initially confused but did not retreat, knowing she wouldn't harm him. Before the claw reached him, Lissandra vanished, and the claw turned into nanobots, reforming her right in front of him.
Noah felt her warm breath on his face, his heart beating faster. Lissandra caught his reaction, smiled, and continued demonstrating her abilities.
She surrounded a giant rock with nanobots, turning it into a crystalline cage, then shattered it from within.
She released countless nanobots, which merged into a cloud in the air, enveloping another rock, and Noah watched as it slowly disappeared, as if evaporating. The nanobots were disintegrating the stone particle by particle, giving the impression the rock was dissolving into thin air.
He realized that such an attack would be a terrifying weapon against enemies, tearing them apart from within.
Lissandra demonstrated the incredible versatility of nanotechnology, which was part of her innate abilities in the PROJECT world.
Additionally, she wielded gravitational technology, allowing her to move objects and levitate.
Noah and Lissandra also tested her magical abilities. Her body, a combination of hextech and PROJECT technologies, merged magic and science, and the power of the runes amplified her magical prowess.
He could feel her power as she channeled magic into her attacks, turning it into lasers or using it to enhance her own strength.
Noah was intrigued by how physically strong she was. In Avengers: Age of Ultron, after Ultron failed to transfer his consciousness into Vision's body, he created an even more powerful vibranium body, becoming stronger than Thor and possibly the Hulk.
Noah suspected that Lissandra's strength would surpass Ultron's. Her body used more vibranium, magic, and technology, as well as the power of the runes.
"I need to test Lissandra's full strength!" Noah decided, preparing for the next phase of trials.
At the beginning, when he received the Yasuo template and the weakened Resolve Rune, his power had already been comparable to Captain America's, possibly even surpassing it. Over the course of half a month, his physical strength had increased nearly fivefold.
Such rapid improvement was not only due to the bonuses from summoning the hero template but also the constant reinforcement from the Resolve Rune, leading to this accelerated progress.
The armor he wore also significantly enhanced his power. Adding magical support, Noah felt he could even take on the Hulk, and perhaps surpass him.
When he voiced this thought, Lissandra agreed and began to act.
"Crack!"
The ground beneath Lissandra cracked from the force of her movement. A golden blur flashed before Noah's eyes at incredible speed, but he managed to see her.
The sharp mind and combat experience of several heroes allowed him to react quickly, raising his arm to block and parrying the strike of Lissandra's snow-white but incredibly strong leg.
The immense force hit Noah's arm, making him retreat to disperse the impact. The ground beneath his feet cracked, revealing how powerful Lissandra's strike was.
Not willing to stay on the defensive, Noah responded with a powerful punch, accompanied by a deafening boom as it collided with Lissandra's fist.
"Bam! Bam!"
Two tremendous forces clashed, sending shockwaves that scattered stones and sand.
Then, a high-speed battle began, moving faster than the human eye could follow. Each clash generated heavy impacts that shattered rocks and felled trees.
Though Noah possessed the combat skills of several heroes, Lissandra outmatched him with her precise calculations, easily parrying his attacks. Both fought using only physical strength, without magic.
He felt Lissandra was stronger, and her blows constantly pushed him back. It became clear that her strength far exceeded his, even with the armor's enhancements.
However, despite this, Noah felt that with every hit, he was growing stronger, his movements becoming sharper, and a fire ignited in his chest.
"Whoosh~"
During the fight, a golden light flashed in his eyes, and his body was suddenly engulfed in golden flames, piercing through his armor. This was the power of Sett, manifesting at peak levels during combat.
Noah felt a surge of immense energy demanding release. Concentrating all his power into his right hand, he delivered a mighty blow.
"Facebreaker!!"
A golden shockwave, resembling a dragon's head, rushed forward. Sensing the threat, Lissandra immediately abandoned her resistance, teleporting away in an instant, reappearing in another spot.
The dragon, deprived of its target, continued forward, crashing into the cliffside.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
A loud explosion shook the surroundings, and the cliff began to collapse.
"The cliff is falling; we need to leave," Noah said, walking over to Lissandra after releasing his energy. They soared into the sky, leaving the danger zone behind.
Hovering in the air, Noah glanced at the massive gap he had just made in the cliff and felt that perhaps he had overdone it.
What's going on? He hadn't even received the Malphite template yet, and his IQ was already dropping?
"Ahem, Lissandra, sorry about that," Noah said, feeling awkward about using such a powerful attack against her.
"It's fine, Noah," Lissandra replied calmly, still watching him. "You seem to be concerned that I'm stronger than you?"
Lissandra had noticed it. Despite the helmet, she could see Noah's expression, as she controlled the suit.
"No, no, I just think I need to intensify my training. In the future, when we face powerful enemies, I can't let you protect me. It's my duty to protect you," Noah replied.
In this world, he had no family or close friends left. Now, Lissandra and Gwen were his family. Ever since their summoning, his thirst for power had only grown.
Though this was the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there were also extremely powerful enemies here. He wasn't afraid of battles, as he could always escape and return later. But with Lissandra and Gwen, he couldn't afford such luxuries. He needed to become stronger to protect them.
"Noah, I'm looking forward to the day when you protect me," Lissandra smiled slightly, her face lighting up with a warm, gentle smile that made Noah's heart race.
"Let's go. It's time to head back."
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