Chapter 38 : Fifth Step of Becoming King - Secure the allegiance of the Magical Chapter of the Planet (Patreon)

Disclaimer - I don’t own Marvel/Disney IP. I am just a humble keyboard warrior. Also, the Chaos Gacha was made by Bronz here. I am just dipping my toe in the water, so to speak.

New York City

–Mike–

In anticipation of the meeting tomorrow, he had already moved to New York City, waltzing into the country and roaming about without any issue, only using a cloak to keep his face hidden and using super speed to move about. Enjoying the sights, the people, the bustle and bustle, the food and more had been quite the experience. The last time he was here in New York, he had to flee on sight with Alcina because he’d encountered two cops who were far too interested in them to leave them alone, leading to a chase and then an escape using Gama the Frog, as he had to stay in its mouth before they could safely escape the river somewhere.

It had been exhilarating and scary in equal measure back then. It was not something he would ever have to repeat again, simply because he was not the same Mike anymore. Right now, he could fight against the strongest of the threats in the universe, and even if he could not come out on top every time, he would be damned sure to make himself a giant nuisance in the face of the powers of the galaxy.

Hell, even Thanos, without any Infinity Stones, seemed to be within reach of him, and with his new Viltrumite Powers, he could just travel through space unaided. Faster than Light travel, at his fingertips. It was bonkers, and sometimes, it felt like that fact still hadn’t settled in his mind, but yes, this was his reality now, and he was beginning to enjoy it a lot.

Especially since he had minions–Ahem–employees, to take care of most of the tedious labour that came with enjoying his powers in a responsible manner. Sure, acting destructively and in a manic manner would have been quite easy and maybe even more rewarding in terms of tickets gained, but it was not his style. The senseless loss of life that was over 10k people dead due to Ghidorah’s reveal had been more than enough for one lifetime. He had no intention of ever adding to that number, atleast not for innocent civilians.

Speaking of tickets, he glanced at the notification icon of the Chaos Gacha system and saw that he had many tickets before looking down at the slice in his hand. It was one good slice, so he quickly gulped it down and, after slipping into an alley, flew towards the Manhattan skyline.

New York seemed to have a lot of conveniently placed alleys to hide and change into superhero costumes. He supposed that it must be one of the reasons why the superhero community was so vibrant here and why every other week, a new villain or hero popped up here. After all, how could one put on spandex and play at being a hero or villain if they simply had no third place to change into their costume?

The first being their home, the second being the crime scene, with the third being secluded places with little to no surveillance and places to hide clothing or other articles that no one would ever think to look into.

Floating on top of one of the old style skyscrapers, he slowly landed on the top, overlooking quite a beautiful landscape, with the massive Central Park and the sea visible on one side as well. It was, frankly, far more picturesque than anything they had back in Krakoa. Well, for now anyway. 

While the concept of high rises was frankly unnecessary back home, at least for now, he could maybe build one that could house thousands as a pilot project to see if it stuck or not. Anyway, utilities were not going to be an issue with his total control over the island. Putting that aside for the future version of himself, he opened up the notification counter and saw all the feats and tickets.

For creating a rudimentary ruling structure for your yet unnamed country, Gold Ticket X1

For reaching 1000 people under your protection/rule, Silver Ticket X1

For reaching 5000 people under your protection/rule, Silver Ticket X1

For forcing movement across the normal as well as the magical world due to your existence, Gold Ticket X1

For forcing the Ancient One to move to “enforce” the treaty for the first time in centuries, Gold Ticket X1

For indirectly causing the deaths of multiple Dark entities, Silver Ticket X1

For being accepted as a King by 1000 people, Silver Ticket X1

For successfully dismantling the Brotherhood of Mutants and Xavier’s school, Platinum Ticket X1

For successfully creating a third source of Vibranium on the planet, Gold Ticket X1

For dismantling Sublime’s operations in Africa and remote parts of Australia, Gold Ticket X1

For successfully rescuing multiple mutants with Omega Level potential, Silver Ticket X1

His eyes widened at the number of tickets, realising that his utmost focus on creating and making sure his kingdom worked had racked up quite the backlog of tickets in the background. 

Well, the meeting was for tomorrow anyway, and he did feel a particular kind of badass sitting on top of a building Gargoyle. Let Fury and the others find him if they want to. Might as well meet the Man and take measure of what might be headed his way tomorrow. After all, even if he did want to keep all of that a surprise, he was not a one man show now, or even a small number of allies who could all be shoved in his personal pocket dimension man. He had responsibilities and, as such, could not truly walk anywhere without protection.

Which is why Ghidorah was kept back on the island, with strict instructions to make sure nothing entered through the Fog, even if it should be impossible to traverse that maze without his explicit permission. If they did try the extreme option and dropped a nuke somewhere around the Fog, Ghidorah was to instantly eat that thing, which would be the end of any aggressors anyway.

Beyond that, he hadn’t brought anyone with him for the meeting, despite Xavier’s extreme objections. Not just from a protection perspective but also from a diplomatic perspective. Xavier knew quite well what his views were on people trying to browbeat them somehow. If the people at the UN, which they were most likely to do, tried to suppress the country or try and put on airs about being bigger and better countries, then he might just go for the direct route and give them a rude awakening as to what the new world order was going to be.

Even if they didn't know it, their precious nukes were mostly rendered useless these days, not just because of the planetary barrier that the Ancient One had, but also because of the mutants in his employ. Eric alone should be the bane of any metal based missile. Beyond that, Ghidorah was one, and even before all of that, Krakoa itself was one.

At the cost of a massive loss of efficiency, Krakoa could use the Fog surrounding the island itself to absorb massive amounts of energy to fuel its operations. He didn’t know if it could just negate the output of a Nuclear missile, but it should help somewhat.

All of that together meant that nukes were really the start of a pyrrhic victory for the aggressor.

Shaking his head, he looked at the tickets in front of him before rolling them all, from lowest to highest, as was tradition.

For the first Silver Ticket, he got….

[Stockpile]

|Rare Ability|

Allows you to stockpile energy in this ability as long as it is in an active slot. This ability can hold up to 3x your own energy storage but takes 24 hours to fill up completely.

He smiled in joy seeing the ability. With this, his already disastrous Lightning would be amplified even more, provided he did the effort of storing it properly beforehand. That brought his total ability count to 23, with just two more left to unlock the sixth ability slot. He was going to keep this ability active in that slot, just in case he was ambushed and needed to remind them why it would be a bad idea to fight a Draconic/Thunderbird/Viltrimute hybrid.

The next Silver Ticket rolled….

[Scooby Snacks]

|Common Item|

Scooby Doo - A box of dog treats, no reason for anyone to consume these. But familiars and familiar candidates seem to like the taste. You have a lifetime supply as the treats will keep pouring out of the box indefinitely.

Well, he couldn't have all good rolls, now, could he?

Shaking his head, he moved on to the next Silver Ticket.

[Gearbox]

|Uncommon Ability|

Allows you to manipulate the output of machines you own, being able to make them act with lower output than they normally can to preserve their durability or suddenly switching gears to pushing a machine to its very limits even when there isn't anything in place that allows it to do so.

Reading through the description, he thought it to be a decent one, but mostly useless for him. He did not really use any machines to make proper use of it, but it served to increase the ability slot all the same. Now, the ability counter stood at 24, just one shy of the sixth slot.

Rolling the next Silver Ticket, he mused to himself that this time, he had received quite a lot of Silver Tickets.

[Blessing of Bast]

|Uncommon Trait|

You are blessed by the goddess Bast, the goddess of Cats and Grace. You have improved cat-like reflexes and agility as well as night vision. In addition, you are beloved by felines.

Hmm. He was kind of interested, not in the trait itself, as the benefits were negligible compared to having what was probably the pinnacle of physique on the planet through the other rolls he had rolled so far, but because of what Bast’s reaction might be. He wondered if the blessing was retroactively baked into the history of the world somehow, which would make the trait more than an Uncommon one, or that Bast would not recognise or remember giving him the trait, but acknowledge it all the same.

Hmm, maybe he could one day visit Wakanda, raise enough of a ruckus to gain Bast’s attention and check for himself?

Shaking his head, he dismissed that thought. Once again, he was no longer the one man show he previously was. He couldn't go and do completely optional activities and take on unnecessary risks, especially since Bast’s domain was spiritual, and he had no idea if his physical defenses extended to his soul or not.

Moving on to the fifth Silver roll, he got…

[Piercing Eyes]

|Uncommon Ability|

Your eyes can see far and see through objects, and you can adjust the level perfectly according to your needs.

Once again, totally useless, out of gaining yet another ability slot, which he got as a familiar TING! rang in his mind, adding the sixth ability slot and increasing his versatility even more. Alas, if only he had more useful abilities like Spirit Gathering. His eyesight was already advanced enough to the point that even equipping this ability felt like a waste. So, he did as he planned and added the [Stockpile] ability into the final slot, feeling it ready and eager even to gobble up all the energy he could provide the ability.

With that, the five Silver Rolls were done, leaving 5 Golden Tickets. Rolling them with a single command, he looked forward to the results. Hopefully, they would be better than the Gold Ones.

[Super Crown - Mario]

|Uncommon Item|

A magical crown that turns whoever wears it into a pretty girl.

He deadpanned at the roll he got, right after thinking that at least the Gold Ones would get him a better roll. Outside of fulfilling the wish of someone with body dysmorphia, he did not know what he could do with such an item. 

Shaking his head, he did not even deign to take the item out of the Item storage before looking at the next Gold roll.

[Sponge]

|Uncommon Ability|

Allows you to absorb and store vast quantities of water in your body by touching them; you can unleash this water at any time.

He sighed out loud, consoling himself that this atleast brought him one step closer to gaining the next ability slot, instead of being a useless item he couldn't even use on anyone. Once more, he prayed for something good this time, as he looked towards the next Golden Roll.

Honestly, why was the Gacha punishing him? Only one of the Silver tickets was useful enough, and none of the three that he had rolled so far had been useful.

[Conjure Rock]

|Uncommon Ability|

Allows you to manifest rock constructs out of your own energy; you do not have control over the rocks beyond creating and shaping them, simply creating constructs made of rocks. Such as rock weapons, boulders, rock walls, stone blocks, etc.

A defeated sigh escaped his lips this time, as he didn’t even feel the slightest bit of happiness at least growing a bit closer to the next ability slot. Rolling the next one, he got….

[V - The Hierophant]

|Rare Item|

Tarot Card - Allows you to dispel any illusions in your line of sight. 72 Hour Cooldown.

Finally! Something potentially useful. Though, looking at the tier of the item, chances were that if he couldn't see through an illusion with all his abilities and senses, then this card might not be all that helpful. Even so, this was an item so he could deposit it into the official treasury of the Country, so that anyone could use it in time of need.

Huh…That told him that he needed to create an official and, more importantly, secured Treasury to deposit all the different items he received as part of the Gacha Rolls. Even if they did not seem useful to him, they could be used by someone else who was part of his Kingdom. 

Looking at the last Golden roll, he got….

[Dragon Slayer]

|Uncommon Item|

Berserk - "It was too big to be called a sword. Massive, thick, heavy, and far too rough. Indeed, it was a heap of raw iron." A massive, dull unwieldy sword larger than a man, this sword is supernaturally durable, and having bathed in the blood of countless spirits and astral beings is capable of harming and killing the immaterial.

One more item that could be potentially useful to someone else and maybe even him, if he wanted to attack something like a soul. Though its rank was low, maybe it could grow after damaging more higher tier beings here? Once more, not really useful, and with that, the Golden Ticket rolls came to an end, giving him a couple of items, a few abilities, and out of them, only a single useful item.

Moving on to the highest tier Ticket he had on hand, he rolled the Platinum Ticket.

[Night Lich]

|Epic Trait|

Race Change - You are a Night Lich, an evolved undead with dark magic thrumming in their bones, specialising in raising armies of the dead, Dark Magic and Necromancy. Albeit lacking in physical might, you have great energy reserves and magical ability paired with nigh-unlimited stamina, as the only thing you need to sustain yourself with is your own Energy reserves. You have a great capacity for learning, developing and studying Necromancy and Dark Magic, and Necromancy-based abilities you use are more efficient. In addition, you can naturally use [Animate Undead] to raise your own Undead Servants; undead under your command are naturally more powerful and intelligent than they would otherwise be. You can also command more undead at once than you would otherwise. You can instinctively sense the dead around you like a sixth sense.

He only had a moment to widen his eyes as he doubled over the next moment, his entire being twisted from the inside out, as he felt the boundless strength from being a Viltrimute, the crackling energy of a Thunderbird, the roar of a Dragon, now accompanied by a dark static and a dark chuckle, as he felt himself change entirely.

Though his outward appearance did not change one bit, he knew that from the inside, he was entirely different now. Before coming here, one of his chief weaknesses was magic. Even being a magical creature in the form of a Thunderbird, he knew that his main physique was still vulnerable to magic of high tier.

Viltrumites were vulnerable to magic, he knew that much. The combination of being part dragon and Thunderbird was enough to ward off that weakness a little bit, but not entirely.

But this? Becoming a Night Lich? An Epic trait at that?

A laugh bubbled through his mouth as he laughed, full and unrestrained, as he realised that he had only grown stronger. Now, the Ancient One wouldn’t have to restrain any other Dark Being who might seek him out to use as fuel, cauldron, or simply as magical ingredients. Those were a recurring part of his nightmares, feeling helpless in the face of magic users who looked at him and only found a thing, instead of a King in the making.

Now, though?

Raising his hands, he flicked his wrist as a wave of darkness covered his entire arm, appearing as if it was eating away at the heat in the air and the ambient energy around him.

It was sooo exhilarating that he couldn't help but sigh and fall down on the floor, looking up at the bright orange sky, sunset arriving soon. Aside from the magical energy boost and magical defense boost, he got many other things as well. For one, he did not need to sleep, ever. Sure, he could have gone for weeks without sleep even before, but not needing was another thing entirely.

The Magical talent was another thing that was going to aid him immensely in the future. Even if he was rejected from Kamar Taj entirely because of his being, he could hunt down and find many other magic practitioners and learn from them with ease.

It was with this Dark Energy sense that he knew where to look for and say, “You can come out now.”

He was looking at one corner of the roof, waiting for a beat after saying those words, when that particular corner rippled and revealed the troubled looking form of the Ancient One.

More specifically, the Sorcerer Supreme who was secretly using Dark Energy to prolong her life to safeguard planet Earth a little bit longer.

He looked at her troubled face before rolling his eyes and waving his hand around them, creating a cube of pure darkness around them. It was not an attack. There was no need to attack a being of such magical might when she was going to owe him soon enough.

The effect of the Dark cube was immediate as a Dark Mark emerged on the Ancient One’s forehead, glowing bright purple for a bit before dimming entirely, making her gasp and reach for the mark on her forehead.

She looked at him, wide eyed and perhaps for the first time in centuries, unbalanced.

He grinned at the achievement of being the one to do that. Though he received no tickets for that, the personal feeling of achievement was enough.

“H-How?”

“That was easy. I just looked for the connection, and pressed a foot on it.”

It was a simplistic method of explaining things, but he supposed that he did not need to mansplain stuff to the Sorcerer Supreme.

What he had done was look for the strand that connected her to the Dark Dimension of Dormammu, and looking at it with his abilities, it was laughably easy to temporarily manipulate it and give the Ancient One a reprieve from feeling like she was continuously bathing in Dark Energy.

Now, removing that link without killing her? Now, that would be a real challenge, but he had no intention of doing that just yet.

After all, why would he do that when she wasn’t even a member of his kingdom yet?

Fifth Step of Becoming King - Secure the allegiance of the Magical Chapter of the Planet

Word Count - 3426