Chapter 14 Interesting

Neo was standing in front of the school gate, surrounded by teenagers of all types and appearances.

He hated the idea of being here, but why was he? Simple—he was forced by the law. Since Neo is under 16, he's obligated to complete his first year of high school.

You might be thinking he could just ignore it and not go, right?

The damn problem is, if Neo doesn't attend, his legal guardian will go to prison and he'll end up in the damn foster system.

Meaning, he'll lose everything he has now—his house, his jujutsu forge, and everything else. So between losing everything or THIS, he prefers the second option.

Neo was seething with anger deep in his soul, especially since when the uniform arrived, Alex and Adrian laughed at him until Alex passed out from laughing too hard, and Adrian ran off to avoid being cut in half.

But the most interesting part of all this was that Alex found out why Neo wasn't being hunted as a mutant.

It's because Neo's existence was completely erased, as if even his shadow didn't exist.

When Neo found out, the only person he could think of who could pull something like that off was a certain bald man with a scar.

But now there was no point in complaining. He had the advantage of not being hunted by the government for being a mutant... for now.

Now, he just had to deal with the misery of going through high school for the second time in his life.

As Neo walked through, he clearly attracted a lot of attention because of his tattoos, to the point that a monitor started picking a fight with him while he was heading to his classroom.

Only after the principal gave the monitor a scolding did Neo finally make it to class, albeit late.

When he entered, everyone in the classroom looked at him, surprised by his appearance, especially his tattoos.

Seeing the new student, the teacher quickly spoke.

Teacher: Looks like the new student arrived. Can I ask why you're late?

Neo looked at the teacher, not really caring, and calmly responded.

Neo: Simple, that damn monitor stopped me because of the Marks.

The teacher quickly corrected him.

Teacher: We don't use that kind of language here. I'll give you a chance, considering your… condition.

Neo, hearing that, forgot he wasn't supposed to curse at school.

The teacher looked at him and said.

Teacher: Why don't you introduce yourself to the class?

Neo wanted to refuse, but since he'd be stuck here for the whole year, he figured it was better not to be another outcast.

He sighed deeply and introduced himself.

Neo: Nice to meet you, I'm Neo Wayne. I came from nowhere and I'm here against my will.

He said this with a gentle smile, clearly mocking the situation.

Some students chuckled lightly, while the rest stayed silent.

Seeing that Neo wasn't going to correct his mockery, the teacher, with no patience, simply said.

Teacher: Choose a seat.

Noticing it was time to pick a desk, Neo started looking for a place to sit. After a few seconds, he realized there was only one seat left, next to a strange kid with thick glasses.

Ignoring the kid, Neo sat down and started analyzing the system again.

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Host Name: Neo Weyne

Race: Hybrid

Merged Characters:

Sukuna, the King of Curses (30%)

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Current Items:Not Summoned: SAMURAI SANDALS (USED), A HEALING POTION FROM NAZARICK, AN EXTREMELY SHARP AND DURABLE KATANA, $200 GIFT CARD FOR WALMART.

Summoned Items: Sukuna Set (Hiten and Kamutoke).

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Available Roulette Spins:Technology Roulette

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Seeing that almost nothing had changed—aside from the fact that there were only 70% left until full fusion with Sukuna, which was a good thing—what was really missing was—

Glasses Kid: Psst, hey.

Hearing something, Neo turned to the boy, confused, and asked.

Neo: What do you want?

Hearing how blunt he was, the boy spoke.

Peter: H-Hi, I'm Peter Parker. I just wanted to know the story behind those cool tattoos.

Peter asked innocently, but Neo's surprised look made him think he might have asked the wrong question. However, Neo quickly responded.

Neo: They're not tattoos. They're marks.

Peter looked at him with understanding and said.

Peter: Cool.

What was surprising here was the boy in front of him—who should be Spider-Man. But considering the current Gwen Stacy in this universe, it was likely that he was destined to die.

Peter asked dozens of questions throughout class, most of which turned out to be useless, since at the end of the day, Neo only knew specific things about this world. He had no knowledge of its pop culture.

So, the conversation was mostly one-sided, with Peter doing all the talking.

After a few hours, the bell rang, signaling the start of lunch break.

As Neo was heading out to buy something to eat, Gwen appeared in front of him like a ghost—at least to others. To Neo, that was impossible; he had sensed Gwen long before she showed up.

Peter, on the other hand, nearly jumped out of his skin and almost fell to the floor. But seeing who it was, he instantly became annoyed.

Peter: Come on, Gwen, you know I hate jump scares!

Ignoring the grumpy Peter, Gwen turned to Neo and said.

Gwen: Nice to meet you, my name is Gwendolyn Stacy. What's yours?

Neo, looking at the girl who was likely the future Spider-Woman, thought it was a waste—her talent for jujutsu was immense. But that was a conversation for another time.

Because at that moment, Gwen said something that caught Neo off guard. She looked at him and asked.

Gwen: Want to have lunch with me and my friends?

Hearing that, Neo was about to refuse, but then he remembered that in his past life, he never even had the chance to have friends. So, before he could think twice, he replied.

Neo: Sure.

Normally, he would've turned her down, but he didn't want to be the same sad, lonely person he had been before.

When Gwen heard that, she gave him a bright, happy smile and said.

Gwen: Then let's go!

Gwen dragged Neo and Peter to the cafeteria, where Harry was eating a burger while waiting for them. He was chatting with MJ—Mary Jane—and the two were laughing together.

That immediately made Peter jealous, prompting Gwen to let go of his arm so she could butt into her friends' conversation.

Seeing that, Gwen started laughing, but when she turned to look at Neo, she saw that he had a deep scowl on his face.

Confused, she asked him.

Gwen: Did something happen? Do you not like Harry or MJ?

Neo wasn't paying attention to Gwen at that moment. In front of him, following Harry closely, was a Grade 2 curse. It resembled a tall woman with long black hair, but the tips of her strands ended in sharp hooks. She had no eyes, wore a strange blue dress, and the most striking feature—she had a massive mouth.

With the power boost from reaching 30% fusion with Sukuna, killing this curse would be easy... if it weren't clinging to Harry's back.

If Neo tried to use "Dismantle" or "Cleave," he'd only end up hurting Harry.

Hand-to-hand combat? That would just expose the existence of Jujutsu, and Neo wasn't ready for that to happen so soon.

But seeing how this curse was latched onto Harry, he had two options—wait for it to slip up and turn it into mincemeat, or figure out why and how it was there in the first place.

Gwen: NEO!!!

Hearing Gwen's sudden yell, he snapped his head toward her and spoke.

Neo: WHAT?! Sorry, I was distracted.

Gwen didn't believe that for a second, but she let it slide and repeated what she was saying.

Gwen: That preppy guy over there is Harry. He's the son of Norman Osborn, the owner of Oscorp. The other guy, well, you already met Peter—his most defining trait is that he never shuts up. And the girl they're both obviously in love with is Mary Jane, or MJ for short.

That last comment wasn't an exaggeration. The two looked like lions fighting over a mate.

Without thinking, Neo muttered.

Neo: Bunch of monkeys.

Gwen, having heard it, burst out laughing and nodded in agreement.

When Gwen and Neo reached the table, Harry and MJ looked at Neo in confusion—they didn't recognize the new guy.

But Gwen quickly spoke up.

Gwen: Guys, this is Neo. He's a cool dude, and Peter here can vouch for that. Neo, this is the gang. You already know Peter, that overly polished guy is Harry—

Harry: HEY!!

Ignoring Harry's reaction, Gwen continued.

Gwen: And this is Mary Jane—MJ for short—the official hottie of the class.

MJ didn't say anything about the nickname.

And finally, Gwen finished with herself.

Gwen: And last but definitely not least, me, the queen of this group—GWEN!

She struck a superhero pose to seal the introduction.

As she introduced everyone, Gwen turned to Neo and asked:

Gwen: Now it's your turn to introduce yourself.

Realizing that he now had to say something about himself, Neo tried to think of what to say. After a few seconds of silence, Gwen interrupted his thoughts.

Gwen: Don't worry if you don't want to introduce yourself.

Seeing Gwen's encouragement, Harry quickly chimed in.

Harry: Yeah, man, don't stress about it. We don't really care.

Neo watched as they innocently tried to make him feel comfortable. Fully integrating into the group, he finally spoke.

Neo: My name is Neo, and I'm really strong.

He chose not to tell the truth—because if he did, this brief moment of peace he was enjoying might come to an abrupt end.

He continued chatting with the group throughout the break and even bonded with them a little. In the end, going back to school wasn't all that bad.

But don't be mistaken—it was still awful.

Now, Neo was running through the city streets at an absurd speed, searching for a worthy opponent.

Why was Neo looking for a fight?

Simple. He had figured out how to use Black Flash. However, since it couldn't be activated at will, that was a problem. There was only one reliable way to increase the odds of successfully triggering a Black Flash—difficult battles.

The harder the fight, the closer he got to using Black Flash.

Of course, it wasn't guaranteed—it was just a very, very small chance.

With that in mind, he had been searching for something—anything—that could pose even a minor challenge on his way home. But so far, nothing had shown itself.

That was until he passed by an electronics store and abruptly stopped.

On one of the TV screens, a news headline left him utterly confused.

"TONY STARK RETURNS"

Neo couldn't understand how that was possible. Stark was supposed to take longer to return from captivity.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?"

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Hey, everyone! As always, if you're enjoying my fic, please send some power stones.

Hey, guys! Sorry for the delay in releasing this new chapter—I've just had my cat spayed, so I've been a bit worried. But if there's anything you didn't like, didn't understand, or if you have any tips or constructive criticism, just let me know! I'll do my best to improve.