After making his way through the pitch-black forest, Roger saw that the three protagonists had just entered the underground cave.
Feeling somewhat nervous, he crept quietly to the cave entrance and peeked inside.
Unfortunately, it was completely dark, and he couldn’t see a thing.
At the deepest part of the cave lay a gigantic, mysterious mineral.
Wrapped tightly in tree roots, it resembled a blue heart.
Once a human body touched this heart-shaped stone and transferred body heat into it…
Its color would change to red, releasing a mysterious energy that stimulated the human mind.
That was the true reason the three protagonists awakened their telekinetic powers.
According to the original film, the cave sloped downward for over a dozen meters.
Getting down there required a light source.
However, using one now would alert the three protagonists and alter the course of the story.
So Roger had to wait.
Once the three of them touched the mysterious stone, they would lose consciousness for a short time.
That would be Roger’s cue to make his entrance.
Among all movie universes, the telekinesis from Chronicle was arguably one of the easiest superpowers to obtain.
It wasn’t particularly dangerous.
It was extremely practical.
Most importantly—
Once your mastery became high enough…
You could fly!
And with telekinesis, you could even control flying swords and become a majestic sword immortal, showing the bumpkins of the Marvel Universe what true style looked like.
There was, however, one thing he had to be especially careful about.
During the awakening process, anyone remaining near the psychic stone would awaken telekinesis together and establish a unique mental connection.
If Roger wanted to avoid future complications, it would be best not to become linked with the three protagonists.
After quietly waiting for around ten minutes, Roger finally heard faint screams echoing from below.
Overjoyed, he immediately switched on his flashlight and carefully made his way into the cave.
The cave floor, more than ten meters below, was soon within reach.
Before the enormous blue heart-shaped stone, the three protagonists lay unconscious on the ground.
Apparently, they had already completed their awakening.
Roger dragged them out of the cave one by one and laid them side by side on the grass outside.
Then he returned alone to stand before the mysterious meteorite.
The three protagonists were now separated from him by more than ten meters of solid rock.
The psychic radiation from the stone probably couldn’t penetrate such a thick barrier.
Otherwise, someone would have discovered this place long ago.
At least, Roger believed there shouldn’t be any problem.
Taking a deep breath, Roger fixed his gaze on the mesmerizing mysterious stone before him.
He held his breath.
His vision began to blur.
His ears rang violently.
Feeling as though he were drunk, Roger steadied himself against the cave wall.
After letting out a long breath, he endured the constant buzzing in his ears and stepped forward, placing both hands on the mysterious stone.
Buzz!
A brilliant crimson light erupted!
A violent wave of energy burst forth instantly.
Roger clutched his head in agony and collapsed to his knees.
Blood streamed continuously from his nose.
It felt as though his skull were being smashed repeatedly with a hammer.
After recovering for a while, Roger managed to withstand the psychic radiation without passing out.
The 10% rapid healing ability he had inherited from Wolverine was rapidly restoring his condition.
Dozens of seconds later, Roger had completely adapted to the pain.
Gritting his teeth, he embraced the mysterious stone once again.
Deep within the cavern, crimson and azure lights flashed continuously.
The sight was unbelievably eerie.
[You followed the three protagonists into the underground cave. Upon seeing them unconscious, you carried them outside onto the grass, away from the mysterious stone.]
[You touched the Psychic Stone in an attempt to awaken telekinesis. Psychic energy erupted.]
[Relying on your extraordinary regenerative ability, you repeatedly touched the mysterious stone, triggering successive waves of psychic radiation. The radiation eventually overflowed onto the surface. Unable to withstand a second awakening, the brains of the three unconscious protagonists suffered fatal damage.]
[The timeline of this world has suffered catastrophic destruction. Exploration terminated.]
Hearing the system announce the end of the exploration, Roger endured the excruciating pain and staggered toward Andrew and Steve.
He reached out and wiped away the blood flowing from their noses.
The next moment—
The world spun around him.
A blinding white light flashed.
Soon afterward, Roger lost consciousness.
When he opened his eyes again, he had already returned to Parallel Universe No. 12580.
“Haa… haa…”
Roger gasped for air.
In the darkness of his room, he stared at his own hands with wide eyes and muttered in disbelief,
“That’s… it?”
Looking at the time, he discovered that only three hours had passed.
“Mr. Roger, may I ask what happened?”
“JARVIS detected that you suddenly disappeared for 16 minutes and 32 seconds, beginning 2 hours and 43 minutes ago.”
Hearing JARVIS’s question, Roger blankly waved his hand to indicate that he was fine.
After a brief pause, he added,
“JARVIS, don’t tell anyone about what just happened.”
“Delete all the records if possible.”
“This is my privacy.”
Watching Roger sink into another daze, JARVIS found itself unsure how to respond.
It was merely an emotionless artificial intelligence.
Why wasn’t Mr. Stark’s privacy considered privacy…
But Mr. Roger’s privacy was?
…
Roger wiped the blood from his nose with his sleeve, lay back on the bed, and closed his eyes.
Within his consciousness, the system began calculating the rewards for this Real Exploration.
[Congratulations on completing your first Real Exploration!]
[The Recharge Feature has now been unlocked.]
[Friendly Reminder: Your daily recharge limit is US$100,000. Please spend responsibly and enjoy in moderation.]
[Having completed your first Real Exploration, you may choose two of the following five rewards.]
Option 1: Andrew’s Telekinesis Talent (Control)
Option 2: Steve’s Telekinesis Talent (Growth)
Option 3: Matt’s Telekinesis Talent (Average)
Option 4: Steve’s Life Experience / Basic Academic Knowledge / Mathematics Knowledge…
Option 5: Andrew’s Life Experience / Basic Academic Knowledge / Mathematics Knowledge…
Roger shook his head as he recovered and began considering which rewards to choose.
In Chronicle, Andrew’s gift lay in control.
His talent for manipulating objects with telekinesis was phenomenal.
Using telekinesis felt as natural to him as moving his own hands.
Steve’s gift, on the other hand, was growth potential.
Among the three, his telekinesis improved the fastest.
He was also the first to independently master flight.
As for Matt…
He was simply average.
There was nothing particularly outstanding about him.
Once Roger finished thinking it through, the choice became obvious.
As for the protagonists’ memories and life experiences…
They were nothing but junk.
There was no reason to pick them.
The moment Roger confirmed his choices, a clear, spring-like chime echoed through the world inside his mind.
[Congratulations!]
[You have obtained Andrew’s Telekinesis Talent (Control) and Steve’s Telekinesis Talent (Growth).]
[It has been detected that you obtained blood samples from Andrew and Steve. They have been converted into Original Serums and stored in your personal inventory. Please check them at your convenience.]
…
With a thought, Roger opened his portable inventory.
Dozens of inventory slots were filled with every kind of food imaginable.
Backed by Tony Stark—the ridiculously wealthy benefactor—Roger never hesitated to unlock additional inventory slots.
Aside from the occupied slots containing food and the serums, there were still several thousand empty slots remaining.
However, Roger’s portable inventory could only freely store rewards obtained through explorations.
If he wanted to store items acquired by other means…
He had to pay extra.
That was why he had unlocked several thousand inventory slots in the first place.
After all, it had only cost him a few hundred thousand dollars.
What Roger hadn’t realized, however, was that this inventory system was utterly shameless.
Because…
Aside from exploration rewards, storing an ordinary item cost US$10,000 per slot.
A supernatural item cost US$100,000 per slot.
A divine-tier item cost US$1,000,000 per slot.
For example, if Roger wanted to place the mysterious psychic stone that awakened telekinesis into his inventory…
Not only would he first have to be capable of lifting it—
He would also have to pay an additional US$1,000,000 as a storage fee.
Furthermore, he couldn’t store it during the Real Exploration itself.
He first had to bring it back to the main world before placing it into his portable inventory.
Although the stone had been obtained during the Real Exploration, it wasn’t a reward granted directly by the system.
The purpose of paying the storage fee was to convert the item into a recognized system reward, giving it an effect similar to official registration.
It was greedy.
But, in a way…
It was still reasonable.
After all, this was a gacha system.
Having suffered through countless predatory mobile games in his previous life, Roger was already more than used to it.