Eric could barely contain his excitement.
"Fucking hell… I'm finally home!"
Only he knew what kind of hell he had endured in the past year. A lazy bum like him, thrown into a world like Solo Leveling—a world where the end was inevitable, where the universe itself would reset like a game—it was nothing short of torture.
At first, he hadn't even understood the full capabilities of his system, can this thing save him, if the universe got reset, so with help of system, he took Sun Jin Woo place. Before acquiring the power of the Monarchs, his days had been filled with fear, uncertainty, and the constant pressure of survival. Unlike Sung Jin-Woo, he had no delusions of grandeur, no innate thirst for power, he just want came back home at that time. But when he finally did gain the power of shadow Monarch, he felt invincible, but reality gave him slap to wake up bitch, he realized something terrifying—he could still die, until he can fully control his power.
And he almost did.
Several times.
All for the sake of leveling up.
So now, standing here in his original world, breathing the familiar air, he felt an overwhelming sense of relief. He had finally made it back.
As fate would have it, the first person he encountered was none other than Tony Stark himself.
—
Tony Stark.
A name that was known throughout North America and beyond. Even before he became Iron Man, he was a global celebrity—a genius, billionaire, and playboy, born with a golden spoon in his mouth. His father, the legendary Howard Stark, had left him a multi-billion-dollar empire, but more importantly, he had inherited his father's genius intellect.
For most of his life, Tony had it all. Money, women, luxury—everything a man could ever desire. He could sleep with any woman he wanted, buy anything that caught his eye, and indulge in whatever pleasure he craved. His life was a dream, one that 99% of the world could only fantasize about.
But someone—some poor bastard—must have cursed him out of sheer envy.
Because one day, his entire world came crashing down.
Boom.
A missile—his own missile—exploded right in front of him, as if the universe itself wanted to show him how perfect his craftsmanship was. One moment, he was a carefree billionaire, and the next, he was a prisoner in a godforsaken cave in the middle of Afghanistan.
He wasn't afraid of death—not really. Sure, he valued his life, but he had already lived it to the fullest. If he died here, so be it. He had no family left and no obligations.
But those bastards—his captors—had the audacity to force him to work like a slave.
The great Tony Stark, reduced to a tool?
Fuck that.
At that moment, he had two objectives. The first was to escape. The second was to turn this place into a flaming crater that would burn for two days straight.
So, despite the odds, he set to work. He built a miniature Arc Reactor—something that should have been nearly impossible to create under these conditions. And then, using that same Arc Reactor, he began constructing a suit—one that would let him fuck those bastards up before making his escape.
But deep down, he knew the truth.
His chances of survival were slim. No matter how confident he was, he needed a miracle to get out of there alive. He had already accepted his fate, do or die.
And then—
Everything changed.
—
One moment, Tony was hammering away at his armor, deep in concentration. The next, something—someone—appeared in front of him.
At first, he thought his mind was playing tricks on him. Maybe it was the exhaustion. Maybe it was the stress. But no—his instincts screamed that this was real.
A human figure had suddenly materialized in the air.
But before he could even process what he was seeing, all hell broke loose.
A deafening series of sonic booms exploded above them, shaking the cave like an earthquake. The sheer force of the air displacement sent tools and scraps of metal flying in every direction. Dust and debris whipped around the chamber, nearly blinding him.
And then, he saw it.
A hole—perfectly circular, human-sized—had been carved through the ceiling.
Tony's mind raced to an absurd conclusion.
He didn't just appear… he fell.
From the sky.
At an impossible speed.
His brain couldn't even register what had just happened. The sheer velocity of the event was beyond human comprehension. His first instinct was to dismiss it as a hallucination. No way this is real.
But then, his gaze landed on Ethan, his fellow captive, who was staring at the newcomer with an expression of equal disbelief.
Tony wasn't crazy. This was real.
Then, the boy moved.
Slowly, his eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the dim light of the cave. His gaze wandered across the chamber, taking in the surroundings. And then, finally, his eyes locked onto Tony.
A small, knowing smile formed on his face.
He muttered something in a foreign language—probably in Korean, he did not understand it. But the next words came in perfect English, clear as day:
"I'm finally back, baby!"
His voice carried through the cave, echoing slightly.
The sheer happiness in those words, the unrestrained excitement—it was absurd. Tony, still reeling from the chaos, could only squint as the sudden burst of air and dirt from that shout nearly blinded him.
Little bit more and he will be permanently deaf.
"Fuck," he muttered, shielding his ears and squinting his eyes.
With great difficulty, he pried his eyes open again.
The boy was grinning now—a full-blown grin stretched from ear to ear. He raised both hands to slick back his slightly disheveled hair, looking at Tony with a crazy expression.
Tony didn't know whether to be impressed or terrified.
And then, something clicked in his mind.
This guy—whoever the hell he was—recognized him.
Which meant…
Maybe—just maybe—he was their ticket out of here.
A glimmer of hope flashed in Tony's tired eyes. He wasn't one to beg for help, but hell, if he had a chance to escape, he wasn't going to let his pride get in the way.
"Man," Tony spoke, his voice laced with uncharacteristic desperation, "can you save us?"
The response he received was perhaps the most beautiful thing he had ever heard in his life.
With a smirk, the boy tilted his head slightly and replied,
"Do you need a lift? I'm also going to New York."