“Cooldown and Consequences”

Alt title: Rewards, Regrets, and Regeneration Envy

The air in the training arena still smelled like blood and scorched shadow.

Cleanup crews were already arriving, eyes wide at the damage — the craters, the claw marks, the pools of red. Deadpool was sitting cross-legged in the middle of it all, mask off, sipping from a juice box with the haunted expression of a man who had stared down death and only got sarcasm in return.

"Well," he muttered to himself, "I survived. Sort of. At the cost of my dignity, three ribs, and whatever's left of my internal GPS."

He blinked as his Nexus System pinged.

[Quest Complete: Survive 5 Minutes Against Sung Jinwoo]

+20 Stat Points+Title Gained: "Shadow-Dodger"+1x Random Weapon Box

Note: You survived out of luck. Not skill....even though you have -120 Luck.

Would you like to assign your Stat Points now?

"Yeah, yeah," Deadpool grumbled. "Let's pump a few more numbers into agility and strength, pretend that makes me less squishy next time."

He assigned his points lazily. Half into Strength. Half into Agility. Not a single one into Luck.

Out of pure spite.

He opened the Random Weapon Box.

What emerged was a long, curved blade — single-edged, silver with glowing etchings down the side. Elegant. Lethal.

And completely unnamed.

"Cool," Deadpool muttered. "You gave me a knockoff anime katana. Great. I'm officially one step away from edgy fanboy cosplay."

He added it to his inventory anyway.

Across the room, Wolverine stood with his arms crossed, shirtless, crusted in blood like it didn't matter. Because to him, it didn't.

His wounds were gone. His skin was intact again. His claws slid back in with a shhk and he exhaled like a guy who'd just had a good stretch.

Jinwoo was near the far wall, seated quietly. No shadows around him now. His breathing was steady, but his body wasn't untouched.

He looked down at the faint scars that hadn't closed with mana.His fingers tightened slightly.

A healing potion sat empty beside him.

He wasn't angry. He wasn't shaken.

He was… curious.

They didn't use mana.But they endured.

They bled, and healed, and kept going.

Wolverine had taken strikes that should have ended him — and smiled through them.

Deadpool had been gutted, spine-cracked, and still made jokes.

Gunhee entered the room again. Alone this time. No staff. No guards.

Just him.

Deadpool glanced up. "Round two, old man?"

Gunhee didn't answer. He walked to the center of the room.

"I want to speak. With both of you."

Wolverine didn't move, just raised a brow.

Jinwoo stood, silent.

Deadpool sat up straighter and tossed the empty juice box over his shoulder.

"Alright. Let's hear it. Because I get the feeling you're not just here to rate our performance."

Gunhee looked between them.

"You're not from here. That much is clear."

"Nope," Deadpool said. "I'm from a universe where the laws of physics cry at night and people still wonder if I'm part of the X-Men or just the family disappointment."

Wolverine grunted.

"I didn't ask to come here," he said. "But I'm here now. That enough?"

Gunhee paused for a moment, then nodded once.

"For now."

He turned to Jinwoo.

"Rest. You've done more than enough."

Jinwoo nodded and left without a word.

Deadpool watched him go.

"He's not used to losing blood," he said. "It shows."

Gunhee's expression didn't change, but something in his posture did.

"He will need to get used to it," he said quietly.

And then he left.

Just like that.

Wolverine cracked his knuckles.

"Guy's old, but he knows what's coming."

Deadpool sighed.

"Yeah," he said. "And for once, I'm not the biggest problem in the room."

He stretched.

"...That's new."