But the feelings behind those glances were written all over her eyes.
Ever since returning from the world of Underworld, Jonathan had been considering how he should increase his strength next.
Becoming a vampire was certainly an appealing option.
Aside from their vulnerability to sunlight and tendency to develop an addiction to blood, the vampires of Underworld were exceptional in almost every respect.
They possessed powerful bodies.
Their regenerative abilities were astonishing.
Ordinary human weapons also had limited effectiveness against them.
Unless Jonathan could obtain the ultraviolet ammunition developed by Andreas Tanis, confronting a vampire with his ordinary human body would be practically suicidal.
However, there was one very real problem.
He was still too weak.
Trying to seize a vampire bloodline directly in his current condition was little more than wishful thinking.
As for their fatal weakness to sunlight, it could theoretically be eliminated using the higher-grade Perfect Blood of Alexander Corvinus.
But someone at Jonathan’s current level was nowhere near qualified to interfere with an existence of that caliber.
As that thought crossed his mind, Jonathan’s gaze slowly shifted toward Peter Parker’s back.
Maybe…
He should take Spider-Man’s powers first.
Just then, the bell rang.
Its sharp chime immediately shattered the silence inside the classroom.
This had been their final class of the day.
The students poured out of the room like water released through a broken dam.
Only a handful of students who genuinely enjoyed studying remained in their seats, slowly reviewing what the teacher had just explained.
“Hey, Jonathan.
Want to walk home together?”
Gwen Stacy approached him with a smile as she slipped her backpack over her shoulders.
As childhood friends, she and Jonathan walked home together almost every day. Visit novelping.com for the full chapter.
“Sure.”
Jonathan turned and smiled at her.
The smile appeared perfectly natural.
It was also devastatingly charming.
They packed their belongings with practiced familiarity before leaving the classroom side by side.
Neither of them noticed Peter Parker sitting in the back row, watching Jonathan’s departing figure with an indescribably complicated expression.
There was envy in his eyes.
There was also a trace of disappointment that he could not quite suppress.
Ned Leeds quickly noticed the change in his friend.
He sighed, already knowing the truth perfectly well.
Given Peter’s painfully introverted personality, competing with Jonathan would be nearly impossible.
Their grades might not differ by much.
When it came to appearance, however, Peter lost far too decisively.
Jonathan’s sharp features and easy smile made him stand out wherever he went.
At Midtown High, he was practically a walking girl magnet.
No one knew how many girls at school secretly had feelings for him.
Gwen Stacy was naturally one of them.
That was why Ned had never believed Peter’s secret crush on Gwen stood much of a chance.
“Stop staring.
They’re already gone.”
Ned patted Peter with mild exasperation.
Peter said nothing.
He merely lowered his head, packed his schoolbag, and silently left the classroom with Ned.
Indeed, the Midtown High School of this world did not belong to any version Jonathan recognized.
Not only did it have Peter Parker and Michelle Jones, but it also had Harry Osborn, Gwen Stacy, and Mary Jane.
Nearly every major character from the Spider-Man franchise had somehow been gathered in one place. New chapters come out on novelping.com first.
When Jonathan first saw all of them together, he began to suspect that he was living in a fusion of The Amazing Spider-Man, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Sony’s Spider-Man films.
Of course, none of that was particularly important at the moment.
Only one thing occupied his mind.
Becoming stronger.
The Super Soldier Serum?
Captain America was still frozen beneath the ice.
Even if Jonathan somehow managed to approach that old human popsicle, he would most likely attract S.H.I.E.L.D.’s attention in the process.
Jonathan did not have the slightest favorable impression of an organization like S.H.I.E.L.D.
Until he possessed enough power to deal with them as an equal, he would never willingly make contact with those people.
Mutants?
He had already investigated that possibility as well.
Judging from everything he could find online, mutants simply did not exist in this Marvel Universe.
As for plundering abilities from ordinary people, Jonathan had already tested that route.
Before officially entering the world of Underworld, he had briefly moonlighted as a vigilante on the streets of Marvel’s New York.
He had beaten up several criminals and plundered their firearm proficiency and combat experience.
He had also helped himself to quite a few of their weapons.
The M1911 he had used to threaten Michael had come from one of those criminals.
After considering every possibility, Jonathan ultimately had no choice but to place his hopes on the next fictional world.
After waving goodbye to Gwen outside his house, he returned to his room and approached the bedroom door.
He reached out and turned the handle.
The next moment, he was back inside the Dimensional World.
“Welcome back.”
“I’m very happy to see you again, Jonathan.”
This time, Athena did not hide beside the doorway and frighten him.
Instead, she stood openly in front of him as though she had been waiting there for a long time.
Jonathan could tell immediately.