SUP Chapter 105: The Great Source! Ian's Magic! (Part One)

Gotham's night was always so deep and somber.

Batman was the eternal flower language of this city. Ian, listening to the howls of Gotham's freaks on the other end of the phone, couldn't help but furrow his brow and speak softly to Batman.

"Is this Gotham-style father-son bonding time... You Gotham people are really weird." His superhuman hearing had already detected the suspicious nature hidden within the chaotic background noise from the other end of the phone.

This might also be related to the excellent sound quality restoration of the phone Batman had given him.

"Hmm?" Batman didn't stop his actions, but his voice still came through the phone, "The help you've received, can it also let you monitor me through the phone?"

What a suspicious Gotham weirdo.

Ian heard the sound of Batman dismantling his phone for inspection.

"I'm simply using my super hearing to distinguish things. Even if I don't often hit people, I can still tell the difference between two hands hitting people and four hands hitting people."

Ian believed Batman wouldn't grow four hands overnight, after all, Batman wasn't a Pokémon and wouldn't evolve into Gotham Machamp just from drinking two extra sips of Gotham's toxic water.

"..."

There was no response from the other end of the phone, only more intense fighting sounds. Ian could even imagine Batman striking mercilessly while a child beside him followed suit.

The most authentic Gotham underworld perhaps needed to be cultivated from childhood.

"There aren't many people who can provide you with help. I'll find out who it is." Batman seemed to be taking a break mid-fight, holding the phone and making a "promise" to Ian in his deep voice.

"I don't think you'll find them."

Ian was very honest but Batman had never really liked his honesty.

"We'll see."

Batman spoke with confidence, then immediately hung up the call with Ian, only to discover he couldn't hang up. He fell into another bout of heavy breathing silence.

People who used too much technology breathed like that.

Ian wasn't surprised and Batman could only vent his anger on the villain who thought the "game" was already over.

We still don't know who this poor villain actually was.

"Liar, all liars, the sky clearly doesn't rain cherry blossoms when you're angry!"

"The Joker deceived me!"

...

Before Batman removed the battery and crushed the phone, Ian could only hear this unnamed villain gentleman crying out to Batman in a voice that sounded like shattered dreams.

"I was wondering why Gotham people don't make a sound when they're beaten, turns out crying only happens when dreams are shattered." Ian had an epiphany and once again reinforced his stereotypical impression of Gotham.

"It's clearly iris petals falling, obviously didn't read my book carefully. Such fans are simply inferior fans." Ian put away the magical black box that the new Teacher Tony had given him.

Moonlight streamed through the window curtain gaps, carving a silver line across the floor.

He stared at that ray of light for a while, not continuing to work on his manuscript. After all, he'd already obtained the ability, so naturally he became lazy, just like some online authors who disappear for a day or two after receiving their manuscript fees.

Of course, Ian wasn't that kind of lowly author but slight laziness was still an occupational fate he couldn't escape.

"Speaking of occupations, I remember I should still have a new profession to unlock." Ian pressed down on the alcohol bottle, squeezing out some disinfectant to wipe his hands and face.

This was to avoid bad luck and encountering terrible job transfer conditions.

From today onwards, he would give mysticism a little trust. Of course, he had to believe in science too, so there was no bathing and changing clothes ritual. Wiping his entire body with alcohol was much purer than bathing and changing clothes.

After doing all this, Ian then set fire... well, actually there was no fire. He simply opened his personal panel and switched to the profession selection interface.

[New Profession Unlocked]

[Currently Available Professions: 1]

[Entropy Annihilation Lord: When the cloak stirs spacetime folds and the scepter shatters dimensional barriers, the entire world will become a footnote to its power in the dirge of entropy annihilation.]

The only unlock icon kept flashing. The name of this unlockable profession [Entropy Annihilation Lord] was very conspicuous, and the system's profession description always looked so passionate.

"Actually, this kind of description would be better if we set a grand goal, like making Galactus become a knockoff Ian." Ian tried to persuade his system to change the profession description.

That way, when the moment came that Superman was called a knockoff Ian, he could throw all the blame on the system.

It was a good plan but unfortunately, the system didn't fall for it.

It maintained its consistently aloof attitude, giving no response to any of Ian's words.

"Boring."

Ian sighed and selected the [Entropy Annihilation Lord] option and bound the profession. Like the [Savage Tyrant] profession, it set no third profession entry threshold for Ian.

There was only an on-site activation job transfer task. With Ian's confirmation, instantly, lines of text appeared, exceptionally clear in a field of vision only he could see.

[Job Transfer Condition: Maintain hunger state for 48 hours, then consume any planetary metal minerals.]

Such job transfer conditions seemed harsh, and indeed they were very harsh. The metal minerals part was manageable, since Earth should be one of the "any planets."

However, the forty-eight hours of starvation was definitely the most troublesome job transfer task Ian had ever encountered. He could already feel the deep malice from the Planetary Starver.

"The bad news has been seen, so the good news..." Ian looked at the countdown in the lower left corner of his vision, where the [43:32] countdown was obviously the good news.

The law of luck conservation was still consistently correct.

The time he spent in the Marvel universe would also be counted in this hunger countdown. Of course, even so, Ian, who had always been gluttonous, felt this ordeal would definitely be the greatest challenge he'd faced in his lifetime.

"Simply trying to starve Lord Ian to death." Ian would occasionally try to converse with the system, not out of loneliness, but because he was always dedicated to gaslighting his own system.

Moreover, he had quite a few speculations about this system in his heart.

"You must be the Pangu car system installed on that Great Fortune Celestial that hit me!" The probe received no response. Ian, who had originally planned to go to the kitchen to eat something, could only lie back on his bed.

"Abyssal Magic Bucket, it's your turn to guest star as an abyssal speaker..." Ian couldn't sleep, so he called the demon skull to sing him a lullaby, but this damn thing's broken gong voice sang even worse than his own.

"Ah ah ah~"

The demon skull began singing with full emotion.

"Baby shatter my dear little sacrifice~~"

It began howling with a voice comparable to a rusty door hinge.

"Damn it! I wanted a lullaby!" Ian didn't dare use his socks to stuff the demon skull's mouth, since the demon skull that had awakened some strange attributes might think that was a reward.

"This is what lullabies in hell sound like."

After hearing Ian's scolding, the demon skull's wrinkled bull face was completely filled with grievance. It was hard to imagine it had grown up listening to this kind of thing.

"Shut up, shut up."

Ian didn't dare continue listening and just at that moment.

"Rock-a-bye baby, on the treetop~"

Outside the window, the Hellcat's car stereo suddenly started playing the classic American traditional lullaby "Rock-a-Bye Baby." It had probably been eavesdropping on the movements in Ian's room all along.

The sound quality was great, comparable to vinyl records.

Competition between demons was just so plain and simple.

"Now that's more like it."

Ian didn't blame the Hellcat for eavesdropping. He was very empathetic and knew how difficult it was for hardworking bootlickers. He'd never been a bootlicker himself, but he had several at school.

At least the Hellcat didn't want to sleep with him, so he was very willing to empathize with it.

"Great Ian God, I have already felt your divine power. It can definitely grant me perfect singing ability." The demon skull was obviously unwilling to have its attention stolen.

It wanted to get a second chance and Ian's blessing.

"Is that so?"

Ian was still tossing and turning, unable to sleep. He couldn't help but wonder whether Teacher Tony had truly become a thing of the past. Would there really never again be a man who would call him Iron Man?

They hadn't known each other long, so there certainly weren't many feelings involved.

It was simply because this wasn't the Marvel universe Ian had hoped to see.

So the boy was somewhat troubled.

"I felt it... your magical power belonging to a demon god... although not much is emanating, this must be you testing my observational skills regarding details." The demon skull opened those cloudy eyes, which it thought contained wisdom, its voice hoarse and reverent.

"Magic power?"

Ian thought of what Tony had said about him becoming the [source] of a new emerging force. He sprang up from bed with a carp leap, instantly energized.

"So, what does it feel like to possess magic power?"

Since returning to DC, Ian had actually already noticed changes in himself, but couldn't describe what kind of changes. It was just like his head was filled with water, feeling cool and breezy.

"Uh, the feeling of having magic power?" The demon skull fell silent for a while, seemingly racking its brains to figure out how to explain an ultra-dimensional experience to a human.

Finally, it answered dryly, "Probably... having sufficient magic power feels full, lacking it feels hungry?"

The bull-headed demon's words were like saying nothing at all.

"I really should install a horse's mouth on you." Getting out of bed barefoot, stepping on the cold floor, he came to his desk and turned on his desk lamp again.

The warm yellow halo carved out a small territory in the darkness.

"If I remember correctly, this book supposedly can create things that don't exist?" Ian still remembered what the hell prince had said before becoming a "Spicy Prince" snack.

He pulled out that "Ian's Genesis God Book" from behind his butt. The cover was still that chaotic design, but now had a tiny bit of golden radiance.

"A more great source?"

Ian picked up his pen to draw, but as soon as the pen tip touched the paper, the ink was wiped away by some invisible force and quickly dissipated. Ian frowned and tried again.

The result was the same.

At this moment, perhaps sensing Ian's dissatisfaction, a line of bold text suddenly appeared on the page:

"Ian's Incorrectly Used Genesis God Book"

The self-aware book even enlarged the font specifically, afraid Ian couldn't see it and would angrily throw it in his mouth and chew it. At least in this book's view, this was truly possible.

"Heh? I'm using it incorrectly? The only thing incorrect is how you look!" After Ian finished speaking, he saw the name "Ian's Incorrectly Used Genesis God Book" change again to "Ian's Book of Self-Reflection."

It had to be said, it surrendered the fastest.

It didn't even try to be stubborn for even a moment.

"..."

Ian felt no sense of achievement.

"You deserve to sit at the same table as this head."

He snapped the book shut with a "clap" and turned to stuff it into the cabinet where the demon skull was located, "If you dare give birth to a litter of demon babies, I guarantee very bad things will happen."

This was preventive measures, since humans had never known demons' reproduction methods.

"????"

Under the watchful eyes of the demon skull and the book that had grown a round, bulging little eye, Ian walked back to his bedside. He'd just lain down for two seconds when he threw off the covers and ran back to the desk.

He didn't touch that broken book, just pulled out an ordinary piece of drawing paper, spread it out, and flattened it.

"Won't know unless I try." The paintbrush spun once at his fingertips. Ian stared at the blank paper surface, remained silent for a while, then began to put pen to paper.

Stroke by stroke. The pen tip lightly touched the paper surface.

When the first line fell, it seemed to awaken some long-dormant memory.

"At least, I tried my best."

Ian kept switching between different colored paintbrushes. The outline of red-gold armor gradually emerged, with the arc reactor's blue light spreading across the paper. The desk lamp's light reflected on the drawing paper, coating the lines of mortal and steel with a layer of soft warm color, as if they might leap from the paper surface at any moment.

[You are creating, Writer experience +1]

[You are creating, Writer experience +1]

[You are creating, Writer experience +1]

...

This was Iron Man's story.

The night outside was deep, with occasional wind blowing through the treetops, rustling softly. Ian didn't stop drawing, continuing to sketch as if the lines and shadows could find their own direction to extend.

Drawing worlds with a pen. Every stroke was a memory. Every line was also a different kind of connection.

The boy stayed up all night.

Outside the window, the first ray of morning light penetrated the clouds, landing right on those drawings. In the interplay of light and shadow, Ian's Writer profession also welcomed another upgrade at this moment.

[Writer LV3 (1/40)]

"No one knows how hard it is to suppress my world-shocking talent... don't disappoint me too much." Ian stopped drawing and put away his pen. After checking the time, he grabbed a hard drive from the desk.

This was something he'd brought back from the Marvel world.

The new Teacher Tony's knowledge base wasn't as good as Teacher Tony's. The technical data he provided was almost entirely military products. Stark Industries without Tony Stark was a thoroughly military enterprise.

Before the time was ripe, Ian didn't think he had the conditions to manufacture military equipment.

It wasn't that he lacked the relevant background, but if he dared say he wanted to start a company manufacturing weapons of mass destruction right now, his old father would definitely let him know what real weapons of mass destruction were.

That's how it was before coming of age. After coming of age, what else would he want to build?

"The invincible Ian Spin Super Invincible Thunderbolt Missile can only see the light of day and illuminate people's faces after I trick Jonathan into being my company's legal representative."

Ian knew where such precious things should be stored.

"Knock knock knock~"

He knocked on his parents' bedroom door. After getting a response, he opened the door and, under the gaze of two pairs of eyes, stepped inside and went straight under his parents' bed.

"Ian, what are you doing? Did you forget to say good morning?" Lois's head hung down from the bed, her long hair dragging to the floor in a messy state.

She looked like Sadako, staring at Ian under the bed.

"No, do you know how tiring it is to lay flooring?" The second head to peek down belonged to Clark, whose expression was equally full of confusion.

The two just watched as Ian pried up the floorboard and stuffed a black hard drive inside. Subsequently, the well-prepared boy began repairing the floor under the bed.

"I hope that's not a bomb."

Lois felt around the bedside but couldn't find her "reasonable potion."

"I just stored some knowledge in there."

Ian honestly gave a response. His "floor laying" work proceeded very quickly, and he even put on special sealing tape to prevent Clark from inspecting it after he left.

[Whoever peeks will step on kryptonite every day when going out, plus pig shit.] This was actually just a declarative act. At least in this family, parents generally respected children's emphasis on privacy.

"..."

"..."

Clark and Lois both turned their heads, hanging upside down as they gazed at each other, seeming to communicate through eye contact. Clark spoke on Lois's behalf.

"The knowledge you mentioned, is it the kind of knowledge we all understand, or the knowledge that Jonathan 'passed down' to you?" Clark used extremely euphemistic vocabulary, speaking carefully.

"Probably the kind that can irradiate the world, making everyone as radiant as the East Sea and live as long as epiphyllum flowers." Ian crawled out from under the bed bit by bit.

His American idioms weren't standard, so neither of the highly educated parents could figure out what he meant.

"What is he saying?"

"If you could use super speed to help me get a bottle of wine, I'd definitely understand." Lois and Clark just watched as Ian stood up and scampered out of the room.

"Batman couldn't steal my hard drive." Ian firmly believed this, because Dad's private money was also hidden in a corner of the room, so Clark would definitely monitor 24/7.

This was the safest place in the world.

Everyone in the Kent family was good at finding their own Fortress of Solitude. Not just the youngest son, when Ian left his parents' room, he heard the sound of his second brother Jordan renovating his room.

Foolish Jordan actually thought whole-house soundproofing cotton could deal with Superman's super hearing. What was this called? This was called ignorance. Not studying physics properly led to this when grown up.

The advertisements claimed it could defend against Superman, and Jordan actually believed it.

"Only bullying superheroes who don't dare come forward to sue them." Ian sighed at the capitalists' cunning. He hadn't even walked back to his room when he found his dad standing in front of him.

"Why didn't my super vision activate..."

Ian really hadn't reacted at all, feeling Clark's speed was even faster than before. This wasn't scientific at all, and even talking about mysticism, he felt it was somewhat inexplicable.

"What's wrong with your eyes?"

Clark had long noticed Ian's abnormality. Lois said Ian was playing with colored contacts, but only he could see clearly that there were no foreign objects in Ian's eyes at all.

Those golden, brilliant eyes were Ian's own eyes.

"I've awakened again."

Ian began telling today's share of truth.

Upon hearing this, Clark immediately became alert.

"What awakened?" Not only did his expression change, but even his facial features changed. The poor old man had only been in bed for less than two hours.

He didn't want to cause another misunderstanding.

Without even turning around, Clark could already sense Lois leaning against the door frame.

The old father stared at Ian frantically, truly frantically, the kind of eye-squinting and eyebrow-wiggling that could spend two days at Arkham.

"What I awakened was my potential as a Super Saiyan. Do you know about Super Saiyans? If you don't know, I'll take time to draw them for you tomorrow. As warriors who maintain cosmic peace, the Saiyans of the M78 Nebula usually project their bloodline onto Earthlings with considerable aptitude for various reasons."

"Of course, accepting this bloodline means that in the future I'll also have to deal with various little monsters invading Earth." Ian received the hint signals from his dad that could be received by Pluto.

"Is that so?"

Lois was stunned by Ian's serious explanation.

"Of course it is!"

Clark's tone was firm and powerful. He didn't care about Saiyans or not-Saiyans. As long as it wasn't Kryptonians, that was cause for celebration. Not understanding didn't mean he wouldn't firmly stand on Ian's side.

"Just fighting monsters, not becoming monsters. It doesn't sound so worrying?" Lois stared at Ian's golden eyes but didn't detect any bad signs.

"Yeah, my mutation is very environmentally friendly. If you don't believe me, I can go downstairs and help you boil some water."

Ian nodded. He was still very considerate. He'd become a Super Saiyan, Dad was at ease, Mom was happy, and everyone had a beautiful future.

The whole family wins together.

"Forget it, forget it. Let me go boil the water. You two get dressed and don't wander around in your pajamas." Lois put on a robe and scurried downstairs.

Ian didn't know if the refrigerator door had opened, but both he and Clark heard the liquor cabinet door open.

"Oh, I see. I understand again."

Lois seemed to finally completely understand Ian's explanation.

Very reasonable. After all, the Reasonable Hero had grasped her loyal alcohol.

[NEXT CHAPTER]