Alex, Carina, and Neo have been walking through this forest for three days. They are taking much longer to reach a city.
Mainly due to Neo's extremely slow speed, as he is regenerating slowly. Because of this, they can't move at full speed.
However, according to Neo's calculations, his arm and leg will fully regenerate in about five more days at this current pace.
During these three days, he taught Alex the basics of cursed energy manipulation and discovered something incredible about Alex—he is incredibly weak.
Knowing this, after teaching the basics of cursed energy manipulation, Neo realized that it would be pointless to train cursed energy without the strength to keep up with it.
Therefore, Alex is currently undergoing an intense training regimen. He can't walk without carrying a large log either on his back or dragging it behind him.
Because of this training, Alex is always exhausted and falls asleep as soon as they stop to rest.
But there are already some results showing, as now he can carry the log on his back for a longer period, although it's still a small improvement.
Now, when it comes to cursed energy, Alex is incredibly talented. Of course, he's not at the level of Higuruma, Gojo, or Sukuna, but it is a rare talent.
Neo is starting to suspect that maybe Alex has an innate technique, but there's no way to know until he awakens his innate technique, which could take around five months at Alex's current speed.
But there's no problem with the timing for now.
Neo doesn't know where exactly they are in the Marvel timeline, but he does know one thing thanks to Alex—Tony Stark hasn't disappeared yet, so they're still before the creation of Iron Man.
Regarding food... there's nothing they can complain about. Whenever she can, Carina goes out hunting so they don't run out of food, all because of a black hole called Neo.
Recently, Neo discovered something about his regeneration power: the more protein he has available, the faster his regeneration is. The problem with this is that he burns protein like a rocket.
So, he's been eating six meals a day to speed up his recovery as much as possible. Even so, his regeneration hasn't reached Wolverine or Deadpool levels, but it's enough for now.
Another thing he discovered recently is that apparently, mutants can see cursed energy but cannot manipulate it.
How did Neo discover this? Simple. When he was training Alex, Carina saw the cursed energy training and asked what it was.
It was discovered by Neo through the system that mutants have many different things in their bodies that require more processing, which means they have slightly different brains than humans, causing them to be able to see cursed energy.
Speaking of Carina, Neo also decided to train her, but clearly, since she already had some strength and couldn't use cursed energy, he's trying to teach her how to use her mutant powers more efficiently.
Now, Neo's strength hasn't changed much, apart from learning to better control his cursed energy output.
But the real change was with Hiten and Kamutoke, who are now not only stronger but more conscious.
Now Kamutoke can release a small lightning bolt that, when it hits an enemy, causes what seems to be the same reaction as when someone licks an electrical socket. It's still weak, but it's more useful than before.
Hiten hasn't changed, it's just sharper and has at least absurd resistance. The edge of Hiten is now so sharp that Neo can cut a tree in one blow.
In the middle of the forest, Neo's group is having a heated argument.
Alex: Shut up, brat, the master would clearly defeat Captain America in less than a minute. This five-minute story is insane; he wouldn't be able to take all that.
Carina looks at Alex, already irritated enough to seem like she wants to jump on his neck, and then she yells.
Carina: SHUT UP! YOU CAN'T EVEN LIFT A STICK! Of course, Neo would win, I'm just saying that Captain America would at least give him some trouble!
Neo can't stand this nonsense anymore. They've been arguing for a literal two hours. It started with armies and animals, but when they reached the "heroes" level, the fight got ugly.
At one point, he had to stop them because they almost reached the point of trying to use their powers against each other.
But just as he was about to respond to them or reprimand them, he felt something heading toward them at a surprising speed.
When he realized what was happening, he shouted to the two of them.
Neo: Shut up, both of you! Something is coming!
When the two heard this, they immediately fell silent and prepared for battle.
Right after Neo, Alex also sensed the approaching entity and raised his fists.
Carina couldn't feel the energy, but she could sense something malevolent coming, so she took a fighting stance.
But before the entity arrived, Neo's eyes widened as he muttered:
Neo: "No way..."
Noticing the change in Neo's demeanor, Alex asked:
Alex: "What is it, Master? Do you recognize the energy?"
Neo looked Alex in the eyes for a second, then spoke in disbelief:
Neo: "No, but I know what's coming for us."
Feeling uneasy, Alex asked Neo:
Alex: "What is it, Master?"
Neo turned his gaze toward the approaching entity and answered:
Neo: "It's a curse."
__________________________________________
Meanwhile, at a secret government base...
A Black man with an eyepatch and a claw scar over his left eye, dressed entirely in black, was reading a report with a grim expression.
In front of him stood a White man in a suit, with a round face, brown hair, and an obvious balding problem. He stood at attention before the man in black.
It was obvious who these two were—Nick Fury and Phil Coulson. Coulson had just handed Fury a report about invisible monsters that only certain people could see—monsters that kill, destroy everything around them, and are intangible.
Nick: "Agent Coulson, is this serious?"
Coulson felt nervous about bringing such a dire report to humanity's doorstep.
If these monsters began reproducing and growing more numerous than they already were, humanity was doomed.
Coulson: "Yes, Director. Unfortunately, there's no solution for these creatures other than trying to lure them into forests, where they seem to hunt each other."
Fury threw the report onto the desk in frustration, massaged his temples, and asked Coulson:
Fury: "How's Project Glacier coming along?"
Coulson regained at least a bit of confidence before answering:
Coulson: "Project Glacier is progressing well. It won't take more than two months."
Fury took a deep breath, sank into his chair, and spoke:
Fury: "Redirect all research funds toward trying to subdue these intangible monsters. Leave only enough to keep the other projects alive."
Coulson nodded and rushed off to carry out his orders.
Fury looked up at the ceiling and muttered:
Fury: "God save Amer—... No, not this time. God save... the world."
__________________________________________
Back in the forest
Before Alex could finish processing what Neo had said, a 13-foot-tall (4 meters) and 10-foot-long (3 meters) leopard leaped toward them.
Its body was completely hairless, with oily skin. Its face was covered by a steel mask resembling a Japanese demon, featuring massive fangs. Its tail was lined with spikes.
The beast pounced at them—only for Neo to grab its head, twist it, and slam its body into the ground, knocking the curse out cold.
Alex and Carina's jaws nearly hit the floor. They stared at the unconscious leopard, then at Neo.
But as Neo turned around, he suddenly dropped to one knee in pain.
Alex: "MASTER!"
Carina: "NEO!"
They ran toward him to help, but he quickly stood up and reassured them:
Neo: "Don't worry, I'm fine. Just a little pain."
As he looked at the leopard in front of him, something appeared in his hand as if he had pulled it from his pocket.
Neo stared at the leopard and debated with himself:
"Should I use the talisman or not?"
After a brief moment of thought, he pulled out the talisman and placed it on the cursed leopard's forehead, right in front of Alex and Carina.
The giant beast vanished into thin air.
Alex, dumbfounded, stammered:
Alex: "M-Master... what just happened? Where did that monster go? What was that paper you used?"
Carina looked even more confused than Alex, practically seeing stars from the overwhelming amount of information.
Neo took a deep breath and explained:
Neo: "First, that 'monster' was a curse, a being born from society's collective fear that manifests into physical form."
Neo: "Second, this paper is a Jujutsu talisman, used to turn curses into shikigami or perform other techniques."
Neo then picked up the talisman from the ground, recited a chant, and threw it down—causing the leopard to reappear out of nowhere.
Neo: "Third, a shikigami is what happens when you tame a curse and turn it into a combat pet."
Alex and Carina stood there, absolutely shocked and paralyzed from the sheer amount of new information.
Neo climbed onto the leopard's back. Seeing the two dumbstruck fools still standing there with their mouths open, he shouted:
Neo: "Do you want me to leave you here for other curses to find you?"
Seeing that the leopard started moving, the two began running after Neo. Of course, he didn't let the leopard run at full speed; otherwise, he would have left the other two behind.
And for the first time in Marvel history, someone has a shikigami.
Two days later, Neo's group, along with the newest member of the team, Brownie… yes, that's the ridiculous name Neo gave to a 13-foot (4-meter) leopard.
But since we don't question other people's tastes, let's move on.
Alex was a little stronger.
Carina was more proficient with her powers.
Neo hadn't changed at all.
And Brownie… well, he's just a leopard.
After days of seeing nothing, they finally saw something ahead—a sign.
WELCOME TO NEW YORK!
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Hey guys, how's it going? As always, if you're enjoying the fic, please send some power stones my way.
I added this thing about mutants being able to see curses so it wouldn't be just sorcerers and there would actually be some Marvel characters capable of seeing them. I'll be making a few exceptions to make things more interesting. As always, I'm doing my best, so if you have any feedback, just let me know—I always read the comments.
P.S.: To the person who asked for longer chapters, I tried, but it still ended up kinda short. I'll keep trying to make them longer!