Harry was no longer who he was when he first arrived here. Without realizing it, he had already grown strong enough to look down upon most of the well-known figures in the world.
Although he still couldn't compare to the truly powerful beings out there, he had long surpassed the level of ordinary people.
His current position was simple: not good enough to reach the very top, but far above the bottom. This was the most accurate description of who he was now.
"What do you want to do with it?"
Hearing Dr. Carl's question, Harry thought for a moment before lifting his head.
"Even though the fog-particle light blade is sharp enough, it puts too much strain on the material itself, so I made a few knife handles using Adamantium," Harry said.
"Building a few knives won't use up all the Adamantium. What about the rest? What do you want to do with it?" Dr. Carl nodded at Harry's request, then asked again.
"Make the remaining metal into the blade for the new flying skateboard," Harry answered after thinking it over.
"Well, that's workable. But even then, there will still be some leftovers," Dr. Carl calculated inwardly and found that some material would remain.
"We'll keep the rest. I think that guy will be willing to pay a lot of money for it." Harry pinched his chin, the corners of his mouth rising as he narrowed his eyes with a smile.
...
Night was falling. Harry said goodbye to Dr. Carl and drove toward home.
In the car, Harry activated the system screen, searching for the cause of his declining mental power.
Name: Harry Osborn
Age: 21
Physical Condition: Healthy (Mental Decline)
Abilities:
Physical Enhancement (40), Static Adhesion (30), Spider-Sense (50), Invisible Force Field (40), Electrical Control (40), Infinite Rage Power (100), High-Speed Regeneration (50), Magnetic Field Generation (80), Phoenix Force (30)
Items: Simple Armor (20), New Flying Skateboard (20)
Remaining Points: 130
"—huh."
On the road, the blue supercar skimmed along the pavement and screeched to a halt at the roadside.
"The Phoenix Force?!" Harry stared at the new ability on the screen, stunned. He wasn't only surprised—he was terrified.
The Phoenix Force… this famous power had always held an awkward place in Harry's mind. Although the Black Phoenix's reality-destroying might—comparable to a demon god—deeply fascinated him, Harry had no confidence in controlling that power. Jean Grey turning into the Dark Phoenix in the original timeline was more than enough reason for Harry to worry.
Caught between fear and hesitation, Harry shifted his gaze back to the screen.
"—whew."
Looking carefully, he saw no indication of a dark split personality in the status panel. Harry finally exhaled deeply in relief.
Although he didn't know where this Phoenix Force came from, the fact that it hadn't produced a second destructive persona like in Jean Grey's case was enough for Harry to calm down. Also, his recent mental decline was probably caused by the Phoenix Force. Judging by its nature, strong mental power would naturally draw it in.
However, this wasn't a loss for Harry. On the contrary, because of the decrease in his mental power, he had finally solved the flaw of being unable to control vast amounts of psychic energy with precise detail.
At the same time, his ability to manipulate Magneto's magnetic field became more refined on a microscopic level. The way he could alter the helmet's shape earlier was the most direct proof. Even though his reduced mental power meant the magnetic field's range was smaller, making it impossible to suppress large-scale situations like Magneto could, the increase in fine control was worth the trade-off.
Besides, Harry's mental strength would only grow stronger with experience.
"Fortunately, it wasn't the worst outcome. That really scared me." He wiped the sweat on his forehead and smiled.
"Phoenix Force, huh? Let's try it." Now that the thing he feared hadn't appeared, Harry's mood immediately shifted. His understanding of the Phoenix Force only made him more excited.
Closing his eyes, Harry steadied his breathing and tried to sense the Phoenix Force hidden deep within his mind—though he had failed to feel anything when using psychic power earlier.
In the deep blue ocean of his consciousness, Harry searched everywhere for the Phoenix Force. Finding no trace, he searched again and again, narrowing his mental focus into more obscure corners. Finally, in an insignificant area, he sensed a faint anomaly.
A tiny portion of psychic energy in that corner suddenly diminished. That subtle change allowed Harry to pinpoint where the Phoenix Force was hiding. With a thought, he drew out the crimson power buried in that small corner.
Inside the car, Harry snapped his eyes open. A brilliant dark-red gleam flashed across his light-blue irises, and the deep red slowly overtook the blue.
Raising his hand slightly, a red flame ignited over his palm. As he stretched his hand forward, the flame shot toward the car window.
Harry clenched his fist, withdrawing the Phoenix Force—which burst outward like fireworks—then froze for a moment and cursed.
"Dammit!" Harry kicked the car door off its hinges with a loud bang, sending it crashing onto the road. He rolled out of the car in the next second, narrowly escaping.
"Oh! Damn, that is incredible! Haha!" Harry stared wide-eyed at the sight before him, momentarily stunned before bursting into laughter.
On the blue supercar in front of him, red flames spread from the hood outward. As the flames crawled across the vehicle, the million-dollar sports car gradually disintegrated into floating ash, dissolving into nothingness.
Harry looked at his hands, then at the rapidly vanishing car, and grinned happily. Even though he already possessed many powerful abilities, nothing had shocked him as much as what he had just witnessed.
"But… how am I supposed to get home?"
It took about five minutes for the sports car to completely turn into ash. That was normal—his Phoenix Force rating was only thirty, after all. And within those five minutes, Harry finally realized the problem.
He stared at the lone car door lying on the road and remembered he still needed to get home.
Without the car, and with his mental strength greatly reduced, he couldn't lift himself with his invisible force field to fly back. He was only halfway home, with the rest still a long drive away.
And he couldn't just hitch a ride. If he stopped a car on the road now, who knew what tomorrow's newspapers would say?
Now he finally understood his mistake.
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