Shameless Note from a Shameless Author 😎
I just wanted to clear up a couple of things. First off, the previous cover was only temporary. I've finally updated it to something more in line with what I had in mind. I hope you like it! 😎
Now, I know some of you are getting a bit impatient about Max not having the Solo Leveling system yet, and trust me, I'm counting down the days to get to that part myself. I'm so excited to write it! Please bear with me a little longer because it's coming soon, and it's going to be epic! 🎯
After this training arc, things are going to get even more exciting: Max will face off against Tombstone, and once that arc wraps up, there'll be a time jump to the preparations for the Battle of New York. And finally, finally, Max will get the Solo Leveling system. 🎉
So, please, don't worry. We're almost there! Thanks for sticking with me on this journey, and for your constant support! 🙌
If you're enjoying the story, don't forget to leave a comment. Your feedback is what keeps me going and motivates me to keep writing! 💖
---
After walking through several hallways, Max finally found himself in front of a door with the sign "Training Field" written in large, clear letters. The door was located at the end of a spacious hallway, where the echo of his footsteps resonated softly. To his side, there was an entrance similar to a garage door, with a large metal door that looked sturdy, but it wasn't the one he was interested in.
Determined, he approached the small door, but upon trying to open it, he realized there was no obvious way to do so. To the left of the door, there was a card reader and a keypad, indicating he needed to authenticate his access. With no clear way in, Max decided to wait patiently for someone to pass by.
It wasn't long before a young woman in her early 20s approached. She had long red hair tied in a high ponytail. Her face was youthful but had a hardened expression, as if she had been facing challenges for years. Her bright green eyes showed determination, and her athletic build made it clear she was no stranger to physical discipline. Her movements were fluid, but with a confidence in each step that conveyed trustworthiness.
Max, seeing her, positioned himself right behind her, hoping to seize the opportunity to enter. But in an instant, he felt a blow to his legs that knocked him to the ground. He turned from the impact, and when he looked up, he found the young woman standing in front of him, her arms crossed and an intense, serious look on her face, as if she had no patience for games.
"Mind telling me what you were trying to do?" she asked, her tone firm, as if she wasn't willing to tolerate any distractions.
Max, recovering from the shock, stammered, "I-I... I just wanted to get into the training field. I forgot my key and thought I could get in with you," he said, trying to justify his action while getting up from the ground.
The young woman looked at him with a curious expression, observing his situation. "This field is a restricted area," she said, her voice becoming more serious as she looked at the clearly younger boy. "You can't get in if you're just a cadet in training," she remarked, eyeing Max's uniform with a slight grimace of disdain.
With a playful smile, she turned without saying more, and with a small jump, crossed through the door, leaving him there on the ground, as if mocking him for not being able to get through.
—
Back in the conference room, Clint was watching Max's steps from a corner. He placed a hand on his face and sighed, resigned. "Oh, Natt..." he said, palm facing his face in frustration. "Could you be a little less aggressive?" he asked, his tone filled with sarcasm and exasperation.
—
The scene shifted again, showing Max, still determined to enter the training field. This time, he noticed a man who seemed distracted, in his 30s. Max positioned himself behind him, waiting for the right moment. Just as the man crossed through the door, Max seized the opportunity and, with agility, slipped in behind him.
For a moment, it seemed like he had succeeded, but just as he was crossing the door, he felt an electric shock course through his body, as if he had been electrocuted. A sharp pain ran through him, leaving him stunned. Before he could react, two guards appeared on top of him, holding him down as he fell to the ground.
"What the hell..." he muttered to himself, confused and still in shock, not understanding what had just happened. Suddenly, the garage door slid open, and without ceremony, they dragged him out like a sack of potatoes, letting him fall to the ground carelessly.
Still dazed, Max slowly got up from the ground, looking in disbelief as the door closed behind him. The two guards stared at him silently, but their attitude made it clear they had no intention of letting him back in.
Disoriented, Max began walking in circles, searching for an exit or something that would allow him to get back to action. However, he was trapped outside the training field, with no other choice but to try to find another way in.
Max repeated Fury's words in his mind: "The first mission is to gather information." As he walked, he saw a distracted boy coming out of the training field. He didn't seem like an agent, but more like a scientist. He wore a lab coat and thin-framed glasses, his dark hair was slightly messy, and his face showed signs of exhaustion.
Max followed closely, watching each step of the scientist, ready to steal his access card to the training field. If gathering information was what he needed, he thought that getting that card would be a quick way to obtain "information" and gain access to the place.
Determined, he pretended to trip and, with precision, bumped into him from behind. Both of them fell to the floor with a loud thud.
The boy groaned in pain, and when he looked up, he saw a young man similar to him. "Hey," he said, quickly getting up. "I'm Leo Fitz. You're new, right?" Max noticed the lab coat and the boy's curious face. He looked at him briefly, noticing that he didn't seem like someone who was there to train.
Impatient, Max responded coldly, "Max. Yeah, I just got here actually. I'm on a mission, if you don't mind..." Max tried to quickly get out of the situation, trying to avoid Fitz suspecting anything.
Fitz, curious and excited to meet someone his age, asked, "Did Mr. Hall give you a mission too? What kind of mission did you get? They sent me to test a new simulation system in the training field. Looks like there's a glitch in the software," he explained, tapping his head as he seemed to think out loud. "What mission did you get? Was it related to security or something scientific?"
Max stopped for a moment, surprised by the change in the boy's tone. "No," he said, averting his gaze. "Just... a reconnaissance mission. Nothing big," he quickly responded. "So... I have to go," he said, trying to cut the conversation short.
The boy seemed somewhat disappointed but didn't press further. "Oh, well. Good luck with your thing, Max," he said, before awkwardly getting up and adjusting his lab coat.
With Fitz's access card in hand, Max quickly walked toward the entrance of the complex. As he neared the training field entrance, a chill ran down his spine. He wasn't alone. Before he could react, two guards appeared out of nowhere, moving with almost inhuman precision.
"Hey, wait..." he managed to say, but didn't have time for more.
One of the guards raised a compact device, and in an instant, an electric shock hit him squarely. Max felt his muscles tense up all at once, collapsing to the ground as if an invisible weight had crushed him.
"What the hell...?" he managed to mutter, still dazed by the shock. As he tried to regain his mobility, the guards surrounded him, looking at him with impassive expressions.
At that moment, a voice boomed from a nearby speaker.
"Stealing inside the complex is forbidden, Max. This is your one warning. Return the card to the boy who also has a mission."
Still stunned by the surprise, Max watched as the guards escorted him out of the area. Without much ceremony, they dropped him back on the ground like a sack of potatoes. Max lay there, thinking, his mind repeatedly asking, How do I get in now?
—
In the meeting room, Clint watched the monitors with a mix of frustration and nervousness. Max, the cadet assigned to him, had just messed up another recruit's mission. It was a disaster, and Clint didn't know how to handle it. It was hard for him not to be responsible for every step the kid took, but there was something inside him that made him feel a bit paternal.
With one hand on his face and the other scratching his neck, he sighed.
"Really?" he muttered, almost exasperated. "Why do they always make things so complicated for me?"
—
Max frowned. How the hell did they know my name? he thought as he felt the tension rise.
Meanwhile, Fitz, unaware of what was happening with Max, hurried toward the opposite side of the complex. His mind was filled with thoughts about the mission he needed to complete, analyzing the data he had collected and preparing to meet with the professor waiting for him. He was so focused on his task that he didn't even notice what had happened with the boy he had just crossed paths with.
When Fitz arrived at the security room, he paused for a moment to catch his breath. He knew his mission was important, and he hoped his work would be enough to impress the professor. As he entered the room, his mind was focused on one thing: fixing the security system. Correcting the software errors...
Max hurried down the hall, still somewhat irritated by the warning he had received. "Return the card to the boy," that voice had said. He couldn't afford to ignore it. He knew Fitz was nearby, and this was his only chance to return the card without raising suspicion.
Turning a corner, he saw him again. Fitz was walking with a furrowed brow, holding a pile of papers in one hand and rummaging through his lab coat pocket with the other, apparently looking for something. "Where is it...?" Fitz muttered, clearly frustrated. "I'm sure I had it here..."
Max gave a small smile. The guy was just as distracted as before. Straightening the collar of his outfit, he took a deep breath and moved forward with determination. This time, he had to make it look completely natural.
He quickly approached, and just before reaching him, he pretended to trip. The collision was light enough not to knock them to the ground but enough to make Fitz stagger and drop a couple of papers.
"Oh, no, not you again!" Fitz exclaimed, turning to Max with a mix of surprise and annoyance. "Do you have some kind of magnet for accidents or what?"
Max raised his hands in an apologetic gesture. "Sorry, sorry. It wasn't intentional... again."
Fitz let out an exasperated sigh as he bent down to pick up the papers he had dropped. Max seized the moment. With a quick and precise motion, he slipped the card back into one of Fitz's coat pockets, making sure it was well hidden.
When Fitz stood up, he frowned as he looked at Max. "You know? You're the strangest guy I've met today."
Max feigned an innocent smile. "That's a compliment, right?"
Fitz rolled his eyes, adjusting the papers under his arm. "I'm not sure I'd call that a 'compliment,' but... anyway, I'm busy. If you have another 'bumping into people' mission, do it away from me, okay?"
Max raised his eyebrows, entertained by the young scientist's attitude. "Sure, sure. Last thing I want is to interrupt your big secret mission."
"More than secret, it's important. And frankly, you've already made me waste time," Fitz replied, adjusting his glasses and resuming his walk, still muttering about "software tweaks" and "system reports."
Max watched him walk away, making sure he didn't notice anything. A satisfied smile spread across his face. "Back and he didn't even notice," he thought, proud of his skill.
But as he stepped back toward the opposite hall, he couldn't help but think about how peculiar Fitz was. In his own clumsy way, the scientist had made an impression on him.
After returning the card to Fitz, Max headed back to the entrance to the training field. Still unsure how to get in, he began to think through his options. A crazy but exciting idea came to mind: wait for someone to enter and then run behind them as fast as he could, dodging the guards.
"With my speed, I definitely have a chance," he told himself, feeling confident.
Ready to execute his brilliant plan, he leaned against the wall near the entrance, watching patiently. Before long, a man in his 30s appeared, walking toward the door, distracted, chatting animatedly on his phone. This was his chance. Max bent his legs, positioned himself like a sprinter at the starting line, and when the man activated the access, he shot off like a lightning bolt right behind him.
The guards, caught by surprise, barely managed to react when Max had already crossed the entrance. "That's it! Come on, come on!" he told himself as he ran like a bat out of hell across the training field, zigzagging at top speed.
For a brief moment, he thought he had pulled off the feat... until he felt an electric shock course through his body. His whole body tensed up, and he ended up face down on the ground. Grinding his teeth, he tried to speak, but all that came out was a muffled grunt: "Seriously!?" he managed to stammer, still shaken by the lingering shock.
The guards arrived a few seconds later, shaking their heads in disapproval. "Not again," one said as they lifted him effortlessly.
"This kid doesn't learn," another commented with a mocking smile.
Carrying him like a sack of fertilizer, they took him back to the entrance, ignoring his weak protests. Once again, they threw him outside, letting him drop to the ground with a dull thud.
Max slowly got up, shaking off the dust and still with wobbly legs. As the guards returned to their post, he glared at them with narrowed eyes and muttered: "One day, I'll make it... one day."
He sat for a moment, rubbing his hands as he tried to come up with a plan that didn't involve getting electrocuted again.
Max, determined to try a less direct (and less painful) approach, found an abandoned cleaning cart near the entrance. Among the items was a perfectly white sheet. He grinned mischievously.
"This is perfect. If they can't see me, they can't stop me," he thought to himself, covering himself completely with the sheet and adjusting it to give him a "ghostly" appearance.
He walked slowly toward the entrance, swaying as though he were a wandering specter. Each step was accompanied by a deep, theatrical sound: "Uuuuhhh... let me pass, I am the spirit of the training grounds!"
The guards, seeing him, exchanged incredulous looks. "Is this guy for real?" one asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Let him be," the other replied with an amused smile. "I want to see how far he goes."
Max continued forward, convinced his act was working. He was almost past the entrance when one of the guards pressed a button on a nearby panel. Immediately, a sensor in the door detected his presence and released a direct electric shock toward him.
Max let out a strangled scream as the current ran through him from head to toe. The sheet, tangled around his body, made him trip and fall to the ground with a loud "Thud!"
"Seriously?!" he shouted, still trembling from the shock.
The guards burst into laughter. "Looks like even ghosts need clearance to enter," one said, wiping a tear from laughing so hard.
"And here I thought ghosts didn't leave thermal signatures," the other added, pointing to the sensor that had detected him.
Max, still on the ground, muttered to himself as he removed the burned sheet "What kind of system has anti-ghost sensors?"
Before he could get up, the guards surrounded him, picked him up like a sack of potatoes (again), and escorted him out, tossing him outside the complex's door.
Still on the ground, Max sighed as he watched the guards return to their posts. "This isn't over," he muttered, glancing at the entrance while thinking of his next plan.
Max walked for a couple of hours, thinking about his next move. Despite the frustration, his mind kept working, searching for the best way to sneak into the complex. The exhaustion was starting to take its toll, but the thought of finding a way in kept him alert.
Finally, after walking through some hallways, Max came across what seemed to be a cafeteria inside the complex. "Why not?" he thought. Maybe he'd find something useful there. He entered and walked toward the back, where he noticed some delivery uniforms hanging in a corner and an empty pizza box. "This is perfect!" he thought, with a sly smile.
He grabbed a delivery hat and the empty box, feeling that he was finally one step closer to his goal. "People don't question delivery drivers," he said to himself, convinced that with a bit of luck and his best acting, he could fool the guards.
With the box in his hands and the hat on his head, he walked toward the entrance of the complex, sure that this time his plan would be foolproof.
Before he got to the complex, Max started walking confidently, his new delivery disguise perfectly put together. Just as he was about to approach the entrance, a deep, clearly amused voice came from a nearby speaker.
"Max, seriously?" the voice sounded with an incredulous tone. "First the ghost thing, and now this? I'm worried about your mental health..."
Max froze, looking around as if he expected someone to be hiding behind a corner. His heart skipped a beat, but he quickly regained composure, though his face couldn't hide a grimace of frustration.
"No... this can't be..." he thought, now completely caught in the situation. The only thing he could mutter under his breath, while trying to stick to his plan, was:
"Does everyone here have a way to monitor me?"
"Wait," Max told himself, a spark of inspiration lighting up his mind. "Monitor me..." he thought, processing the idea. If they were watching him, then he had to take advantage of it. Without thinking twice, he started devising a new plan. "If the cameras are tracking me, then I need to figure out how. Maybe I can turn it to my advantage."
In Fury's conference room…
Fury arrived at his office and, as always, headed to his desk with firm steps. However, before he could sit down, something caught his attention. On the screen in front of him, Max was there, staring intently at one of the security cameras in the complex, almost as if he could see through it. He moved with unsettling precision, always keeping his gaze fixed on the camera, as if he were playing a game of observation with the monitoring system.
Fury furrowed his brow, analyzing the scene closely. Then, he turned toward Clint, who was watching the screen with a mix of curiosity and amusement.
"What's the kid doing?" Fury asked, his voice more serious than usual, his authority clear.
Clint, trying not to burst out laughing, cleared his throat before answering. "I think he's lost it," Clint said, holding back the laughter but unable to stop himself. "His latest plans were—" he laughed without being able to hold it back— "pretty curious."
Fury didn't respond immediately. He was too focused on Clint, thinking about how Max's behavior had managed to make his normally serious teammate lose his composure. However, as he continued to observe Clint, something on the screen caught his attention.
He looked back at the monitor just in time to realize that Max, the kid who always appeared on the screen, had disappeared. The cameras had been tracking him, but now... nothing. Fury furrowed his brow, staring at the screen more intensely, confused. "Where did he go?" he muttered, his tone one of surprise and a hint of concern.
Clint, still with a mischievous smile, looked at him for a moment before shrugging. "Beats me, I was looking at the camera a second ago... and now, he's gone." His voice became somewhat more serious as he realized how strange the situation was.
Fury stared at him for a moment, and suddenly, a crazy idea crossed Clint's mind.
"Wait... the spirit of the training grounds'..."