Man of Steel Awakens

Tap tap tap… Vroom vroom vroom…

Across the empty farm, nothing but a fierce roar of noise echoed continuously.

Under the violent combustion of diesel, the old-fashioned lawn mower was like an unbridled wild horse, difficult to control.

Yet the distinctive scent released by fully burning diesel mixed with volatile aromatic hydrocarbons was not only not particularly pungent, but even carried a strange hint of pleasure.

"Mmm… This feels great."

At that moment, Peter pushed the lawn mower as he strolled across the empty farm.

Like an old man with nothing better to do, leisurely pushing a cart through a supermarket.

Swathes of weeds were instantly sliced apart by the mower’s sharp blades. From high above, the scene might have been even more stress-relieving than those carpet-cleaning videos online.

Beneath the sunlight overhead, Peter felt no fatigue whatsoever.

As time passed, the sunlight grew increasingly scorching.

It was as though something special inside him was awakening.

Every cell in his body became extraordinarily active beneath the sunlight.

Like a plant undergoing photosynthesis, absorbing sunlight before releasing an incomparably immense amount of energy.

The comfortable sensation had long made Peter forget all exhaustion.

He had even narrowed his eyes halfway, savoring the intense pleasure coursing through his body.

The wild mower that had initially required all his strength to tame now seemed remarkably docile.

Gradually, he no longer needed both hands to control it. He only needed to rest one hand lightly on the handle to guide it with ease.

This pleasant process did not end until the sun had completely set.

"Ha! So this is what it feels like to be full of strength?"

Clenching his fist hard, Peter felt that he was brimming with power.

That night, Peter lay in bed with nothing to do.

Despite working all day, he did not feel tired in the slightest.

"Open my panel."

Peter had a feeling that his body had undergone tremendous changes after merely one day beneath the sun.

Name: Peter Parker

Life Script: Superman (formerly Lizardman)

Character Template: Normal Superman

Character Abilities: Solar Energy Absorption (Awakened), Man of Steel (Awakened), Super Strength (Not Activated), Super Speed (Not Activated),...

Character Weaknesses: None

Points: 0 (Points can be exchanged for character templates, items, and more)

Point Shop: Not Opened

After quickly scanning his character panel, Peter immediately spotted the words "Awakened" after Man of Steel.

"Sure enough, the Man of Steel ability is already awakened."

After just one day of exposure to sunlight, the Man of Steel ability had already awakened.

This was still far inferior to the Kryptonian Warrior Zod, who awakened his abilities only one day after arriving on Earth.

But it was also far faster than Superman, who took more than a decade to awaken fully.

"Maybe it has something to do with my age."

Peter felt that the speed at which abilities awakened might be inseparably linked to age.

"Besides, Man of Steel seems more like a passive growth-type skill. It should be the easiest to awaken."

Anyone who had played games knew that passive skills were the easiest to obtain, but also the hardest to develop.

However, once they reached a certain level, they were also the most powerful.

"Right. I’ll keep going tomorrow and hurry up to awaken the other abilities."

After a full day beneath the sun, the passive Man of Steel could only make Peter somewhat stronger than an ordinary person.

Not to mention withstanding a direct nuclear blast like in the movies.

Even a powerful bullet could probably kill him.

"Keep a low profile. Don’t get cocky…"

Peter eagerly anticipated the moment his other, more powerful abilities awakened.

Congratulations to the host for successfully awakening an ability for the first time. A mission has now been issued.

Just as Peter prepared to keep his head down and spend the coming days focusing on sunbathing to awaken his other abilities, the system’s voice suddenly rang out in his mind.

Returning home in glory is better than wearing fine clothes in the dark. Now that you possess Superman’s abilities, you should show the world your strength.

However, your life is yours to define.

Please choose:

1: Show the world that you are a kind and loving Superman. Resolve an ongoing crime and shout, "I am Superman," at the scene.

Reward: 100 points, randomly awaken one ability. (First mission bonus. This reward will be removed once all abilities have been awakened.)

2: The greater the power, the crazier I get. Create chaos on a sufficient scale within the city. (To hell with Superman—I’m Homelander!)

Reward: 100 points, randomly awaken one ability.

Everything remains normal. Keep a low profile and continue growing stronger. (I am the Way of Caution Sage.)

Reward: Solar energy absorption efficiency multiplied tenfold for one day.

4: To hell with missions. I’ll do whatever I want!

Reward: Live a free and unconstrained life. (Please choose carefully.)

"…"

Looking at the several mission options appearing on the system panel, Peter fell silent for a moment.

"The first and second choices both have very generous rewards, but I’m currently on a farm in the outskirts, far from the city center. Even if I wanted to do them, I couldn’t."

"Besides, I’ve only just awakened Man of Steel. I can barely withstand birdshot right now, so it seems pretty dangerous and would make it easier to expose my identity."

"As for the fourth one, any smart person could see at a glance that something was wrong with it. Maybe if you choose it today, the system will leave you the next moment and give you a free and unconstrained life."

Therefore, Peter had nothing to hesitate over.

"I choose the third option."

Congratulations to the host for completing the mission. You have received the reward: "Solar energy absorption efficiency multiplied tenfold for one day, beginning at midnight tonight." (Note: If you violate the mission requirements and expose your abilities before others during the reward period, the reward will immediately end!)

"Ten times the efficiency of absorbing sunlight… Looks like my strength will increase by a huge amount tomorrow."

In only one day, Peter’s body had already become strong enough to almost withstand ordinary bullets.

With ten times the efficiency tomorrow, it would be like that battery slogan—one day equals ten days. Peter could not imagine how strong he would become by then.

"It’s just a little unfortunate that the reward time can’t be paused or accumulated. You can only see sunlight during the daytime, so the reward is directly cut in half."

"If it turns cloudy and rainy tomorrow, that’ll be even more annoying."

"I hope tomorrow brings good weather."

With expectations for tomorrow, Peter gradually fell asleep.

And in his dreams, his body underwent drastic changes at a visible rate.

His previously thin and frail body seemed to undergo an earth-shattering transformation.

Though he had never been particularly short, he shot up several centimeters taller overnight.

His body changed even more. Where he had once barely possessed a single defined muscle, he now had a complete set of eight-pack abs.

The muscles on his arms were as hard as steel.

His thick pectorals could nearly rival those of a certain competitor in this world who could go even with anyone.

Yet after undergoing such enormous changes overnight, Peter felt somewhat troubled when he woke up the next morning.

"With changes this drastic, it seems a little hard to hide them…"