The decorations inside my office in my manor in Nova City surprised me. Someone—probably Justin—had gone back to my apartment in Los Angeles and grabbed some of the decor from my old apartment.

There were a variety of Marvel superhero posters, and a few cheap paintings of waves and fruit and shit I had found at a flea market.

It was a nice gesture, but it felt somewhat infantilizing. I was a superhero, now. I didn’t need these posters to look up to.

Or, at least, I should be a superhero. But it’s funny how the world works, sometimes.

I glanced at the Communication Amulet that was looped through my belt. I kept waiting for it to buzz, ready to go on the next adventure, but it hadn’t, yet.

It was a strange feeling, the feeling of not being needed. Here I was. Jarek Novak, Zonebane.

No, that sounded lame.

Jarek Novak, Bane of the Zone Lords.

That sounded a bit better.

I had killed three Zone Lords—two in the last 24 hours. You would think that would make me one of the most influential people in the world.

But it didn’t, because the world was like that.

Dawnbreaker was still vaguely suspicious of me, even though I swore that Evangeline had tried to kill me. In retrospect, I should have expected it. And I kind of did.

I guess a track record of backstabbing makes me less believable. Who knew? I thought, sarcastically, to Samantha.

If I had wanted Evangeline dead, then I could have killed her easily. Saying that to Dawnbreaker didn’t seem to help my case, though.

The other Hell Mode Challengers had successfully killed Africa’s Zone Lord, and Dawnbreaker was currently meeting with them discussing world politics and shit.

I hadn’t been invited.

Instead, after my meeting with Dawnbreaker, I, Jarek Zonebane, voluntarily walked into my underground prison in order to be tortured by my older sister.

Well, fortunately, at least, no torturing was necessary. Petra didn’t find any signs of Samantha’s tampering in my brain after interrogating each of us in turn, and so I was quickly released.

But it left a sour taste in my mouth, this feeling of powerlessness.

I knew I should be thankful for this brief respite from battle. Soon, our coastal cities would be under attack, and then in just a few more days, far more dangerous threats would appear in our world.

I wasn’t some battle junkie. I didn’t have an itch to continue fighting. If I did, that would be an easy fix. I could just pick up my sword and march to any of the dozens of cities that were currently under attack.

It was something else that didn’t sit well with me. It was that whatever I did, I couldn’t shake this feeling that people didn’t trust me.

Uman promised that he was working on improving my PR, publicizing news about how I have defeated three Zone Lords, but even that… did heroes really need to publish their deeds, spinning them in a positive light? My actions shouldn’t need a spin to look positive.

I let River die, in order to kill a shade.

I let Dawnbreaker carry the team, acting as the spotter until the Gravity Leech was wounded, and then I struck once Dawnbreaker did all the hard work.

I killed the Sandman in Europe, but now Evangeline is saying that I we killed it together, and I ran away with all the loot and tried to kill her when she protested.

Dawnbreaker had sent me a message saying that Evangeline even had soldiers swearing that we left to defeat the Sandman together.

I glanced up at the superheroes on the wall. What would it take, to become one of them?

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Samantha said, blasély.

I jolted somewhat, slightly surprised by Samantha’s voice.

Right, I said, feeling a slight thrill of excitement at the thought of the Treasury in front of me. What do you think I should get?

Samantha continued.

At Samantha’s suggestion, I opened the Treasury, and a blue, translucent screen unfolded over half my vision.

I filtered for Rune Pattern Blueprints, and Samantha continued her explanation. she said.

Mana Cannon Rune Pattern Blueprint (C-rank): When activated, converts attuned Mana Beads, Mana Shards, Mana Crystals, or Mana Orbs into long-ranged, elemental attacks of varied range and size. Requires: Rune Master (C-rank).

I paused, uncertain how to react to Samantha’s suggestion. Are you saying you will turn me into a cannon?

Samantha said.

Samantha continued.

Here’s a thought, I said. I could tell Samantha was excited about this. Whenever I try criticizing your ideas, you’re always quick to fire back. So here’s my question: What are the biggest downsides to this? Why would buying this make me unhappy?

Samantha was quiet for a few seconds.

This isn’t a job interview, I shot back. You don’t have to turn your flaw back into your greatest strength. Next issue.

Samantha said, mimicking clearing her throat in mild embarrassment.

Next, I thought, immediately. And stop trying to run out the clock.

Our ten minutes to choose our item were rapidly disappearing, and I was starting to realize Samantha was delaying in order to force me to choose this option before the time ran out on our access to the Treasury.

Samantha said.

Just fucking tell me.

Samantha said.

What kind of pain are we talking about, and how much damage? I was acutely aware that we were running out of time to make our selection.

Samantha said.