Where Did You Say This Place Is?
4: Chapter 4: Wait…
Where Did You Say This Place Is?
Rowan stood in the middle of the desert, breathing heavily in frustration.
This stupid system had completely screwed him over.
But getting angry wasn’t going to solve anything.
His top priority right now was survival.
Given the harsh environment and the chaotic situation in this part of the Middle East, there was a good chance he wouldn’t live long enough to see his skills finish optimizing.
“Looks like I’ll have to make contact with those American soldiers after all.” “Hopefully their convoy hasn’t gone too far.” When he’d descended earlier, he’d happened to be flying in the same direction the convoy was traveling.
The situation had been too urgent for him to adjust course.
Given the speed he’d been moving, the convoy shouldn’t have passed yet.
Letting out a sigh, Rowan headed toward the road.
The crash site wasn’t far away—only a few hundred meters.
Soon he reached the roadside and waited.
Before long, the American convoy appeared in the distance.
The lead vehicle spotted him almost immediately and pulled over.
A soldier stepped out with his rifle raised and cautiously approached.
Rowan quickly raised both hands.
“Help!
I’m from Silvara!” The moment the soldier heard that, his expression visibly relaxed.
Even so, he remained cautious as he frisked Rowan for weapons.
After confirming he wasn’t armed, the soldier slung his rifle over his shoulder.
“Kid, why are you out here alone?” “Where’s your family?” Rowan immediately put on a frightened expression.
“I don’t have any family.” “I don’t know how I got here either.” “When I woke up, I was already in the desert.” The soldier frowned.
“Wait here.
I’ll report this.” He turned and walked back toward the middle vehicle.
After speaking to someone inside, he waved Rowan over.
Rowan hurried across.
“The boss agreed.” The soldier smiled.
“Get in.
Once we return, we’ll help contact your embassy.” “Thank you, big brother!” Rowan quickly climbed aboard.
Inside sat the man the soldier had called “boss.” He wore a perfectly tailored suit, expensive sunglasses, and sported an impressively groomed mustache.
The man glanced at Rowan.
“Hello, sir.” “Thanks for letting me ride along.” The man simply smiled.
Then he turned and resumed chatting with the soldiers in front.
Rowan wisely kept quiet and sat obediently in his seat.
A few minutes later— BOOM!
A deafening explosion shook the desert.
The vehicle at the front of the convoy was launched into the air.
Rowan stared in shock.
A young soldier beside the mustached man watched his comrades die and immediately charged out of the vehicle, screaming.
Moments later, bullets tore him apart.
The mustached man saw his entire security detail wiped out.
Without hesitation, he grabbed Rowan’s arm and jumped from the vehicle.
The two sprinted behind a nearby boulder.
The man pulled out his phone, clearly attempting to call for help.
Then— A missile landed nearby.
His pupils shrank.
He immediately yanked Rowan to his feet and prepared to run.
The missile exploded.
Everything turned red.
A terrifying force slammed into Rowan’s body.
His vision went black.
And consciousness vanished.
Somewhere Later…
When Rowan finally regained consciousness, his head felt like it was filled with buzzing bees.
Every part of his body hurt.
Yet strangely…
He wasn’t injured.
Not even a scratch.
Rubbing his aching head, Rowan slowly sorted through his thoughts.
A blast that close should have killed him.
The only explanation was the defensive buffs he’d cast before crashing into the desert.
Summoning his status panel, he checked his condition.
Health: 100% No internal injuries either.
And even if there had been, Rejuvenation had probably healed them already.
His gaze shifted downward.
Skill Optimization Remaining: 6 Days “I was unconscious for over ten hours?” Rowan blinked in surprise.
The explosion must have been much closer than he’d thought.
Even with multiple defensive buffs, he’d still been knocked out for half a day.
As for the man who had pulled him out of danger…
Rowan wasn’t optimistic.
If someone as durable as himself had ended up unconscious for that long, an ordinary human likely hadn’t survived.
“…Sigh.” After a moment of silence, Rowan began examining his surroundings.
He had obviously been moved while unconscious.
The place looked like some sort of cave.
Dim emergency lights mounted overhead and near a distant metal door provided the only illumination.
Mechanical parts and scrap equipment were scattered everywhere.
The entire place felt gloomy and abandoned.
“This doesn’t look like somewhere good people hang out.” A bad feeling began creeping into his heart.
Rowan stood up and started looking around.
Then a voice suddenly came from the darkness.
“You’re awake, kid.” “Do you understand English?” Rowan jumped slightly.
Someone was there.
Looking toward the source of the voice, he saw a man sitting in the corner.
“Yeah, I understand.” “Who are you?” “Were you the one who brought me here?” The man shook his head.
“No.” “I’m a prisoner too.” “We were both captured by the same people.” “We?” Rowan frowned.
“Who else?” The man pointed toward someone lying nearby.
“Isn’t he with you?” “When you arrived, he was holding your hand.” “The guards said it took quite a while to separate you.” “You must be important to him.” Rowan’s heart skipped a beat.
Ignoring everything else, he rushed over.
The unconscious man was exactly the person who had let him into the convoy.
“What happened to him?” “Is he alive?” Bandages covered the man’s chest.
Several wires ran from his body to a small device nearby.
The other man nodded.
“Alive.” “But not doing well.” “Shrapnel struck his chest.” “I removed most of the fragments, but some tiny pieces remain.” “They’re slowly moving toward his heart.” He pointed at the device.
“So I built an electromagnet and placed it on his chest.” “It keeps the fragments from moving.” “The car battery next to him supplies power.” “You’re a doctor?” Only now did Rowan get a proper look at the speaker.
The man wore glasses.
His hairline had retreated so far it looked ready to abandon ship entirely.
He was dressed in a suit, but there was a tiredness about him that made him seem much older than he probably was.
“Yes.” “I’m a doctor.” “My name is Yinsen.” “What’s yours?” “Rowan Ashford.” The name felt strangely familiar somehow, though Rowan couldn’t place why.
“Then I’ll call you Rowan.” Yinsen smiled.
“Silvarise names are difficult for me.” He extended his hand.
“Rowan, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” “Though I wish it were under better circumstances.” Rowan shook it.
“Nice to meet you too, Uncle Yinsen.” Then he asked the most important question.
“Do you know where we are?” Yinsen nodded.
“The people holding us belong to a terrorist organization called the Ten Rings.” “This is one of their camps.” “We were all kidnapped.” He said it so casually that it almost sounded like someone else’s problem.
Rowan frowned.
“The Ten Rings…” “That sounds familiar.” Then another question occurred to him.
“Why would they kidnap me?” “I’m just a kid.” “What use am I to terrorists?” Yinsen pointed toward the unconscious man.
“They weren’t after you.” “They wanted him.” “You were just collateral.” Then Yinsen looked him up and down.
“Honestly, your luck is incredible.” “You survived an explosion that should have killed you.” “And somehow these terrorists brought you back alive.” “They aren’t exactly known for kindness.” “They usually don’t do extra work unless there’s a reason.” Luck?
Rowan nearly laughed.
Ever since this stupid system showed up, his life had become a nonstop disaster.
First, he fell out of the sky.
Then he got blown up.
Now he’d been kidnapped by terrorists.
Super Invincible Ultimate Support System?
More like the Super Invincible Ultimate Bad Luck System.
The name was obviously false advertising.
Trying to distract himself, Rowan looked at the unconscious man.
“Who exactly is this guy?” “Why would they go through all this trouble to kidnap him?” Yinsen blinked.
“You don’t know?” “You’re not together?” “No.” Rowan shook his head.
“I’ve never met him before.” Yinsen looked genuinely surprised.
“That’s Tony Stark.” “The Tony Stark.” “The world’s most famous billionaire.” “Genius inventor.” “Playboy.” “Industrialist.” The rest of Yinsen’s words faded away.
Because Rowan’s brain had completely frozen.
Only a single sentence remained echoing inside his head.
Holy shit.
This was bad.
Really bad.
The good news?
He was still on Earth.
The bad news?
This Earth wasn’t normal.
This was the Marvel Universe.
A world where gods, monsters, aliens, mad scientists, demons, and cosmic horrors treated Earth like their personal playground.
A world where global catastrophes happened so frequently they might as well have been annual holidays.
Rowan seriously suspected that even Cenarius himself—the legendary demigod mentor of Druids—would get slapped around here.
And him?
A tiny little Druid with no gear and all his skills disabled?
What was he supposed to do?
Look cute?
At that moment, Rowan felt depression knocking firmly on his door.
Very firmly.