How should I put this... this time, Ronan might have moved faster than any other time in his life.
Even faster than his "first time," perhaps.
Upon realizing the time, Ronan immediately opened a portal with the Mystic Arts and jumped straight back to Kamar-Taj without a second thought.
At lightning speed, he brushed his teeth, washed his face, and even changed his pants.
After all, his pants had been soaked with wine, and it was incredibly uncomfortable!
Then, he opened another portal and dashed to his home in New York, packed his backpack in less than thirty seconds, and hopped on his bike, speeding out the door at a pace that could rival a Maybach.
Of course, this refers to a Maybach stuck in New York traffic.
Finally, in the very last minute before being late, Ronan made it!
See? That's Kamar-Taj speed for you!
If you ever wonder about the consequences of drinking too much, just look at Ronan, who was standing while listening to class, feeling the aftermath.
By the time of his last class in the morning, Ronan couldn't hold it anymore and slumped over, passing out on his desk.
In the previously quiet and peaceful classroom, a soft snore could suddenly be heard.
What would the teacher do?
Without a doubt, Ronan was discovered by the teacher and made to stand for the rest of the lesson.
Although American schools have lots of homework, there aren't many students in class.
So if there's even the slightest disturbance, the teacher will immediately notice.
Especially when Ronan was snoring so "blatantly."
If it weren't for his normally good performance and the fact that his skin color was "correct," who knows what consequences he might have faced.
Finally, as soon as the bell rang, Ronan perked up.
There were no classes in the afternoon, and tomorrow was a holiday.
According to the school's rules, starting tomorrow, the next four weeks would be winter break, including Christmas.
Ronan could finally get some well-deserved rest during this time.
He hadn't slept the previous night due to finishing assignments, and on top of that, he'd been up until 5 a.m. the night before, suffering from insomnia.
Ronan felt like he was completely drained.
He desperately needed to go back and sleep—sleep for the entire afternoon!
That intense "summer camp" he had just experienced had left Ronan with no time to properly rest.
Now, he finally had time!
The moment the teacher stepped out of the room, Ronan packed his bag and quickly made his way to the door.
"Ronan!"
"Ronan!"
Two voices called out to him in unison.
Ronan, surprised, turned his head to see who was calling.
It was Gwen Stacy and Peter Parker.
What did they want?
Normally, Ronan wasn't particularly close to either of them—just ordinary classmates at best.
No, to be precise, Ronan was pretty much just ordinary classmates with everyone.
But it wasn't just Ronan who was surprised; even Gwen and Peter seemed shocked that they had called out to him at the same time.
"What's up?"
Being polite, Ronan couldn't just ignore them.
So he forced himself to stay awake and stopped.
"You go first."
"You go first."
Once again, they spoke in unison.
Ronan couldn't help but roll his eyes.
Don't tell me you two are deliberately showing off how in sync you are in front of me.
"Fine, you speak first!"
"No, you speak first!"
For some reason, it seemed like they both knew what the other was thinking.
Ronan, standing beside them, could even see the subtle exchange in their eyes.
"Alright, enough! Neither of you speak—I'll speak."
"Ladies first, Gwen, you go ahead."
Ronan had had enough of their random display of affection and decided to set the speaking order himself.
He was afraid that if this continued, he'd be force-fed dog food.
"After winter break, on the first day back—four weeks from now—there will be an internship interview at Stark Industries."
"We need to be at Stark Tower by 2:30 p.m. to participate in the interview."
Gwen handed Ronan an invitation.
On the invitation was written the details of the Stark Industries interview.
Huh???
Ronan's face was full of question marks.
He was aware of this; their school had partnerships with several major corporations, and every year, these companies would select a group of high school students to attend interviews.
If the interview went well, they would become interns at the company.
If the internship went well, the company would sponsor their college tuition.
But the catch was that after graduation, the student would have to work for the company.
For the companies, it was a way to secure talent early.
For top-performing students, it was a great opportunity to work for a major corporation.
This was especially beneficial for students from low-income families.
Of course, at their school, there weren't many low-income students.
This was all pretty standard stuff, but what puzzled Ronan was why he had been selected.
Sure, he had signed up—he had casually put down Stark Industries because it was the name he was most familiar with.
After all, the whole class had to symbolically sign up, and it would've been too strange if he didn't participate.
Who says the U.S. doesn't have formalism? If anyone said that, Ronan would definitely punch them.
He had thought that with his mid-tier performance, Stark Industries would surely eliminate him.
But now, something seemed off.
Stark Industries was at the top of the corporate pyramid—why would they be interested in him?
"Are you okay?"
Gwen waved the invitation in front of Ronan, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Oh, um, I'm fine."
"So, uh, can I skip it?"
Ronan forced a smile as he took the invitation from Gwen.
He felt very conflicted.
He had just saved Tony Stark's life, and now he was supposed to work for him as an intern?
And not just any intern—a grunt-level intern?
What a joke!
"Then I suggest you have a chat with Ms. Jenny."
Gwen smiled and gave Ronan a clear path forward.
Ronan's face darkened.
Ms. Jenny?
She was known for being a busybody at the school.
If she found out that one of her students had been selected by Stark Industries but chose to pass it up...
Well, the consequences were obvious.
"But didn't Stark Tower get destroyed in that alien invasion?"
"Will they even be ready in time?"
Ronan recalled the scene he saw yesterday when he returned.
He was struggling!
He was still making one last desperate struggle!
"Four weeks is plenty of time for Stark Tower to be rebuilt. They're incredibly fast at construction."
"I heard they're even using some cutting-edge technology."
Clearly, Gwen had done her research.
With her stellar academic performance, she could easily choose between Stark Industries or Oscorp.
It was up to her to decide where she wanted to go.
"Ok, ok. I got it."
Ronan was one step away from shrugging like a bear cub.
Gwen nodded, glanced at Peter, and then walked out of the classroom, leaving Ronan and Peter alone.
"Alright, what do you want?"
Ronan slipped the invitation into his bag and turned toward Peter Parker.
Peter opened his mouth but hesitated, glancing around before grabbing Ronan's wrist and dragging him out of the classroom.
Such strength!
Ronan was slightly shocked. He instinctively prepared to summon the Rings of Raggadorr.
But a second later, he realized something.
Could it be? Has Peter Parker already turned into Spider-Man?
Without resisting, Ronan let Peter pull him all the way into a secluded alley.
There was no one around.
"Alright, now can you tell me what you're up to?"
Ronan shook his wrist, feeling a faint pain.
Good thing it was him. If it had been anyone else, Peter's grip would've likely fractured their wrist.
Based on this, Ronan deduced that Peter Parker had already become the failed-man... I mean, Spider-Man.