[What if, in the Marvel Universe, a soul that was never meant to be there suddenly appeared...]
New York City, Midtown Manhattan, 2012.
Inside a small, ordinary two-story apartment on Fifth Avenue, something a little strange was happening.
A boy around fourteen or fifteen years old, with brown hair and a handsome face, was alone in his bedroom, drawing and writing something with chalk on the wooden floor.
He wore a simple white shirt and looked tall and neat, with a pair of half-rimmed gold glasses resting on his face.
The sunlight shone through the blinds, casting patterns of light and shadow on his face.
From beneath his right sleeve, an obviously black prosthetic arm extending from his right arm made a faint creaking sound as it moved along with his writing.
However, compared to the somewhat noisy prosthetic arm, the circles the boy drew on the floor seemed even more out of place in the cozy surroundings.
"Hmm, this should be just about done. Next, I need the materials!"
The boy dropped the chalk without thinking, but before he could do anything else...
He heard two adults arguing in the living room downstairs.
Their voices were low as if they were trying not to be overheard, but the boy could still hear what they were saying.
"Gina! You should've at least discussed something like this with me beforehand. We finally escaped Sokovia and got out of there! And now you're going to just hand us back over and ask for cooperation?"
"You're practically throwing the company into danger!"
The man was clearly trying to stay calm but couldn't hide his anger.
On the other hand, the mature and beautiful woman across from him responded in a calm, cold, and stubborn tone.
"Herman, times have changed. You can't just rely on one or two inventions and a few patents to make stable money anymore. I can wait—but do you think the shareholders will wait for you?"
"We've already lost contracts from both Stark Industries and Hammer Industries. If we don't make changes soon, the company won't survive at all."
"I don't care what you think. Even if it's just for Luca's future quality of life—I have to keep the company alive!"
Hearing his wife's firm and stubborn words, the middle-aged man named Herman opened his mouth several times to speak, but the words wouldn't come.
In the end, Herman could only keep trying to explain his side, even though he sounded unsure.
Downstairs, the argument grew louder and louder—so much so that it became impossible to ignore.
Yet, in the upstairs bedroom, the boy simply shook his head helplessly, showing no intention of going down to intervene.
It wasn't that he was cold or indifferent or that he didn't care about his family.
It was just... he had only recently arrived in this new world. After that, he spent almost two months in the hospital.
He still couldn't quite make sense of the family dynamics around him.
His name now was Luca Von Orange.
In his previous life, Luca assisted the police in dismantling a major fraud ring. But on his way home afterwards, a large truck crashed right into him.
The last thing he saw before he died was that same truck smashing straight into him and then crashing into a building by the side of the road.
When he opened his eyes again, Luca had already transmigrated into the body of a boy who, coincidentally, had also died in a car accident.
After several days of emergency treatment, this boy ultimately survived, but he had lost everything below his right elbow.
Now, nearly two months later, Luca's old memories had slowly fused with the new ones, and now, he was starting to accept this new life with two parents and a rich, comfortable home.
'At the very least, in this world… I have a complete and loving family, right?'
That was how Luca had been consoling himself ever since he arrived in this world.
However, compared to this seemingly perfect family, the world itself was not nearly so "perfect."
During the two months he spent in the hospital, Luca often saw a billionaire on the news who wore a flashy suit of armour and flew around the world fighting crime.
Having watched plenty of Marvel movies in his previous life, Luca naturally had a good idea of what kind of world he had landed in.
However, the Marvel Universe was notoriously full of parallel worlds, so he couldn't be sure if this world would follow the same story he remembered.
Still, at least for now, the only superhero publicly known and active was Iron Man.
Moreover, there was one more reason Luca could relax for now… since he came from another world, Luca had gotten a cheating ability of his own!
Looking at the chalk circle he had drawn on the floor, Luca reached into a box beside him and pulled out… a plain red sneaker.
This red sneaker looked totally normal, but to Luca, it was glowing with a soft white light.
As soon as he held it in his hand, a faint blue text panel appeared above it.
[Power-Enhancing Kick Shoes]
[World: Conan – 1/5]
[Manufacturer: Professor Agasa]
[Core Component: Red and White Sneaker]
[Synthesis Materials: 0.5 meters of electrical wire, 6 medical shock pads, 1 small dial, 1 small battery]
[Item Description: These shoes use electricity and magnetic fields to stimulate their foot muscles, allowing them to kick objects with tremendous power.]
[Note: These shoes are tough, breathable, and odor-resistant, personally verified by a famous detective who hasn't changed his shoes in 30 years~]
This was the cheat ability Luca had acquired after arriving in this new world.
Back when he was lying in the hospital for nearly two months, Luca had tried all kinds of methods to awaken some "system" or "cheat" or anything magical to help him.
Initially, Luca thought he had no cheats or systems at all. He figured he'd just have to survive in the Marvel world using the little knowledge he had from watching the movies.
However, something strange happened after he returned home from the hospital.
He noticed that one of his old pencil cases was glowing faintly, but only he could see it.
The moment he touched the pencil case, a lot of strange information appeared: "World," "Manufacturer," "Synthesis Materials," and more.
That's when Luca realized that item turned out to be from the world of One Punch Man—a tool named 'Pencil Missile'.
And just a couple of days ago, Luca had successfully synthesized it using an assortment of materials like pencils, gunpowder, glue, and a firearm grip.
As for the 'Power-Enhancing Kick Shoes,' this was the second craftable item Luca had discovered—a pair of ordinary sneakers from a regular shoe store.
However, Luca still didn't fully understand all the abilities this cheat system offered.
'What did the "1/5" mean?'
'Why did a sort of "magic circle" pattern pop into my mind the moment I touched a "core component"?'
'And why was it that when I tried to draw the same "magic circle" again and use the same brand of pencil case and materials, I couldn't synthesize another 'Pencil Missile'?'
Still, at the very least, he had figured out the basic crafting function.
Luca placed the red-and-white sneakers in the middle of the circle and then arranged the other required components into their designated smaller circles.
Even though these were just ordinary items, like wires and batteries, they all began to glow softly—just like the sneaker labeled as the "core component."
"Huh? A size 5 battery doesn't work? Not even a small military battery?"
He tried several types of batteries, one after another, but none of them worked.
It wasn't until he placed a button battery into the circle that the white glow finally accepted it, enveloping it in light.
"Wait, this kind of battery? The kind that can't even vibrate a toy? How's that supposed to run a Power-Enhancing Kick Shoes?"
He shook his head to stop thinking too much, then placed both hands on the edge of the circle and silently chanted in his mind:
'Synthesize!'
Immediately, a burst of golden light burst out, covering the entire magic circle!
After the light eventually faded, the other materials in the circle vanished, leaving only a brand-new pair of red-and-white sneakers at the center.
However...
"Why are these shoes so small?"
Looking at the red-and-white sneakers in front of him, barely bigger than his palm, Luca was instantly speechless.
"Don't tell me… these Power-Enhancing Kick Shoes are only meant for elementary school kids?"
Muttering to himself, Luca stepped forward and picked up the clearly shrunken sneakers.
But the moment he touched the shoes, they suddenly expanded slightly, growing just enough to match Luca's usual shoe size.
"…What the…?"
Luca examined the shoes carefully.
They looked completely normal, just like any other sneakers—except for one thing: a small white dial on the outside of the right shoe.
Other than that, they seemed totally normal. Even the inside of the shoe showed no signs of batteries, wires, or shock pads.
If he hadn't seen the shoe change size just a moment ago, Luca would've thought it was just a regular pair of sneakers without any powers at all.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Luca ultimately decided not to take them apart with tools to investigate further.
He managed to extract two "missiles" from the previous 'Pencil Missile' item, planning to keep them for later in case he could somehow reverse-engineer and replicate something similar.
However, this pair of shoes was another story. They looked like one whole piece as if they weren't meant to be taken apart.
Since they were made with some crazy sci-fi item, Luca knew that with his tiny bit of knowledge, there was no way he could put them back together if he messed them up.
He figured he might as well just put them on and see how they worked.
"Wait… what if I kick something too hard and break my own foot?"
With that thought in mind, Luca quickly slipped the shoes on, fumbling a little with his somewhat clumsy mechanical right arm.
"Unfortunately, only the right shoe has a power adjustment dial... because this prosthetic arm is quite a hassle to use properly. If only I could get my hands on some kind of high-tech prosthetic or cyber arm later, that'd be perfect."
Feeling the awkwardness of his right hand, Luca moved his feet a little to get used to the shoes, then stood up again.
He was just about to go tell his parents he was heading downstairs to test the shoes when suddenly...
Whoooosh!
He heard loud whooshing sounds coming from outside the window!
Frowning with confusion, Luca quickly walked over to the bedroom window and looked out.
In the distance, a towering blue beam of light shot straight into the sky.
At the very top of that light beam, the sky appeared to have been ripped open, revealing a massive hole in the heavens.
From that hole, a group of aliens in shiny armour emerged, descending in waves and wreaking havoc across New York.
On the streets below, people were screaming and running for their lives with bright lasers rained down everywhere, causing explosions and fire.
Just from looking at all of it, Luca instantly knew what was happening.
"The Chitauri… have invaded!"