What does SS-Rank mean? It's incredibly scary!
David, a level 5 mutant, was only rated S-Rank by the system. But Fury was actually rated SS-Rank, instantly rewarding Raymond with 300 Exploration Points.
This confirmed to Raymond that the system's evaluation of "story characters" wasn't based solely on strength or potential. There had to be other criteria as well.
Otherwise, it wouldn't explain why Fury and Hill were rated so highly.
As for what these other criteria were, Raymond had some guesses, but without enough examples, he couldn't be sure yet. He would have to figure it out later.
"This trip to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy is the perfect chance to test the system's reward rules and find ways to earn more rewards…" Raymond thought to himself.
If he could get a few more sub-personalities, he would feel much safer. That way, if he ever had a disagreement with S.H.I.E.L.D., he could leave whenever he wanted.
For now, though, there was no rush to leave.
He had just arrived, so it made sense to take some time to adjust.
"Becoming a teacher at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy? That doesn't sound too bad, actually." Now that he had accepted the idea, Raymond found himself unexpectedly looking forward to what was to come.
After setting up Raymond's new role, Fury left.
It was already late at night, and since Raymond had just been discharged from the hospital, it wasn't the right time for a long conversation.
Hill and May stayed with Raymond at the estate, planning to leave as soon as he was settled in.
The estate was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s many properties, usually reserved for VIP guests. However, high-Ranking agents such as Hill and May could also use it temporarily.
After returning to his assigned room, Raymond didn't go to sleep right away. Instead, he checked his recent gains.
Earlier, he had avoided looking at the system's alerts to prevent Hill and the others from noticing anything unusual. Whether on the way from the hospital or during his meeting with Fury, he had held back.
Now he finally had time to check.
"System, show my current stats." Raymond thought.
The next moment, his status panel appeared in his mind:
[Strength: 0.9 | Agility: 0.8 | Constitution: 0.9 | Mind: 1.7]
[Exploration Points: 420]
[Sub-Personality: Kuro of a Hundred Plans]
"Did I just get rich all of a sudden?"
Seeing his Exploration Points skyrocket to 420, Raymond felt a deep sense of satisfaction—like seeing an unexpected extra zero in his bank account after a big job in his past life.
Before this, after redeeming Kuro's sub-personality, he had encountered Shadow King and Raina, earning a total of 60 points.
However, due to testing and battles, he had used the [Equipment Manifestation] function twice, which cost him 20 Exploration Points. (TL/N: Equipment Materialization is now Equipment Manifestation)
The manifested equipment would disappear when he switched back to his main personality.
Kuro's sub-personality was Bronze-tier, costing 100 universal points, meaning each manifestation cost 10 points.
Since Raymond used it twice, that was 20 points spent.
The exchange rate of Exploration Points to Universal Points was 1:1, so after those two manifestations, he was left with just 40 Exploration Points.
Now, adding Hill's 50 points, May's 30 points, and Fury's 300 points—thanks to his insane SS-Rank rating—his total perfectly reached 420 Exploration Points.
That was enough to redeem four Bronze-tier character cards in one go, with some points left to spare.
Raymond was excited as he thought about getting more trump cards. Even though it was late at night, there was no way he could sleep!
"System, exchange two [Bronze - Character Cards]!"
After a moment's thought, he decided to exchange two Bronze character cards first.
[Activate [Bronze Character Card] now?]
"Yes!" Raymond skillfully replied in his mind.
[Bronze Character Card] Activation in progress...
[Bronze Sub-personality 'Deadshot' Floyd Lawton - Activation Successful!]
Origin: 'Deadshot' Floyd Lawton, from the DC Universe, a core member of the Suicide Squad. A master of hand-to-hand combat and all kinds of firearms, he possesses an incredible talent for accuracy—able to hit any target without even looking, and even curve bullets mid-flight!
[Bronze - Character Card] Activation in progress…
[Silver Sub-Personality 'The World's Greatest Assassin' Tao Pai Pai - Activation successful!]
Origin: Tao Pai Pai, from the Dragon Ball world, younger brother of Master Shen, founder of the Crane School. Every part of his body can be used as a weapon—even his tongue is deadly! His strength is terrifying.
Since Raymond had already experienced activating a sub-personality once before, he remained fairly calm when he saw that his first new sub-personality was DC's top marksman.
But when he saw the second one… there was no staying calm.
"What the hell?! Tao Pai Pai?!"
At first, he was ecstatic to see that his second Bronze-tier card had actually activated a Silver-tier sub-personality!
According to the system's "Beginner's Guide", the chances of activating a higher-tier sub-personality were incredibly low—rarer than winning a free drink from an iced tea bottle cap!
So far, he had only redeemed three Bronze-tier character cards, and one of them turned out to be Silver-tier. His luck was off the charts!
But when he saw who that Silver-tier sub-personality was, he felt like he had swallowed a fly…
Because Tao Pai Pai was just too disgusting.
Killing people was one thing, but why did he have to do it with his tongue?!
And the worst part? He was a grown man!
Back when Raymond first watched that scene, he had already thought Tao Pai Pai was absolutely insane and beyond redemption. He never imagined that one day he'd be connected to this psychopath in such a bizarre way.
Based on his previous observations of Kuro's sub-personality, Raymond wasn't sure if sub-personalities were exact copies of their originals. However, their abilities, habits, and basic memories seemed to remain intact.
For example, Kuro's subpersonality would sometimes unconsciously push up an invisible pair of glasses, even though there were none on his face. It was just a habitual movement.
It was true that Raymond had absolute control over switching sub-personalities, and since they shared the same body, a sub-personality wouldn't deliberately act against his interests.
However, while the sub-personality was in control, he couldn't completely restrain its actions. Even if he could sense its thoughts, there was no guarantee he could stop everything in time.
For example, if he switched to Tao Pai Pai in the middle of a fight and that lunatic suddenly decided to lick someone to death… Raymond might not be able to stop it in time.
Just imagining himself suddenly killing an enemy with his tongue sent shivers down his spine!
(A/N): Writing late into the night, I just heard the news that Stan Lee has passed away… It's hard to put my feelings into words. As a Marvel fan, I've always deeply respected him. Just a few days ago, I saw his cameo in Venom—it was such a fun little moment. And now, suddenly, he's gone… Life is unpredictable. Rest in peace, Stan Lee.
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