Chapter 32 – "Harlem Goes High Fantasy (and Jessica Hates It)"
"Okay, so this is your magic floating city, huh?" Luke muttered, stepping through the portal onto the pristine marble platform floating above the endless sea of mana.
Adam floated in behind him, wearing an unnecessarily regal cape and a mug that read: '#1 Multiversal Daddy'.
"Welcome to Utopia Beta. Population: Emotionally unstable, heavily armed, and sarcastic as hell."
Luke surveyed the hovering gardens, the mana ocean, and a giant bronze statue of Adam heroically stabbing what looked suspiciously like Tony Stark in the wallet.
Luke: "Why is that statue—?"
Adam: "Tax trauma. Let it go."
🍌 Jessica's Welcome Tour (and Rage)
Jessica Jones was already in the dimension, sipping spiritual fruit wine (80% mana, 20% grapes, 100% 'blackout in five sips') on a bench.
She turned as Luke approached, narrowed her eyes, and said:
"Oh hell no. You're here too?"
Luke grinned. "Didn't want to miss your cult's happy hour."
Adam beamed. "Yes! Sarcasm ping! The spiritual fruit loves bitterness. Adds flavor."
Jessica crossed her arms. "You dragged me into a mystical rehab center with talking vegetables."
Adam nodded. "And yet, your liver has never been happier."
🧙♂️ Training Time: Magic Punch Edition
Adam led Luke to the new "Combat Garden," a mystically-reinforced arena surrounded by trees that grew strength-boosting peaches and ego-shrinking apples (Adam never ate those).
"Let's calibrate your new gear."
Luke tested the Titan's Compact:
The gauntlet shifted seamlessly into a hammer and crushed a mana boulder.
The shock gauntlet knocked over three enchanted scarecrows.
The mana-tether chain yo-yo'd a floating golem into a tree.
Jessica clapped sarcastically. "Yay. Luke got toys."
Adam snapped. "And what did you get, Miss I-Love-Drowning-My-Feelings-in-Bourbon?"
Jessica: "Trauma. And some disturbingly nice soap."
🧄 Recruitment Report: Farmers Galore
Meanwhile, Adam opened a thousand new portals around the globe, offering shelter and prosperity to skilled farmers:
A spiritual garlic farmer from Italy (who blessed every seed with Latin curses).
A retired rice grower from Japan who kept confusing Adam with a Shinto deity.
A goat cheese expert from France who named her mana-enhanced goats things like "Napoleon Jr."
The mana fields were blooming.
Too bad none of them could cook.
🤝 Recruit Processing: Personality Clash (Deluxe Edition)
Jessica stormed into Adam's manor that evening, tossing a magically hovering grape at his forehead.
"You just hired thirty people and three goats to grow mana food for magical PTSD patients. You realize this is insane, right?"
Adam: "Jessica, everything you just said made me more proud of myself."
Luke: "She's not wrong, though."
Adam sighed, then smiled wickedly. "Okay, time for your rewards ceremony. Sparkles, please."
Mana lights formed a magical banner that read: 'Congrats on Not Punching Me Yet!'
🧬 System Integration – Stat Growth
[TIME IN HIGH-MANA DIMENSION DETECTED – Luke Cage]
Passive cultivation triggered.
+1 Strength
+1 Stamina
[EMOTIONAL SPIKE – Jessica Jones]
Publicly annoyed. Secretly grateful. Proud Luke is safe. Mildly impressed by goat cheese.
+4% Skill Fragment: Adaptive Will
+4% Skill Fragment: Grappling Mastery
+$6,000 System Bonus
[EMOTIONAL SPIKE – Luke Cage]
Shocked by environment. Intrigued by infinite gym potential. Suspects Adam might not be crazy (just annoying).
+3% Skill Fragment: Grounded Strength
+1 Charisma
+$5,000 System Bonus
[EMOTIONAL SPIKE – Adam]
Emotionally validated. 20% smug increase detected.
+2% Skill Fragment: Dimensional Manager
+$7,000 System Bonus
📋 Chapter 32 Summary
Stat Gains:
Luke: +1 Strength, +1 Stamina
Luke: +1 Charisma
Adam: No stat gains
Skill Fragments Gained:
Adaptive Will (Jessica) +4%
Grappling Mastery (Jessica) +4%
Grounded Strength (Luke) +3%
Dimensional Manager (Adam) +2%
Cash Gained:
Jessica: +$6,000
Luke: +$5,000
Adam: +$7,000
Major Events:
Luke arrives in the floating city
Jessica and Luke resume their professional snarkfest
Combat arena demo successful
Magical farmers begin cultivating mana crops
Goats hired (unironically)
System payouts for emotional chaos
Next up: Chapter 33 – "Breakfast, Betrayal, and a Really Angry Root Vegetable"
(Where someone tries to poison a mana potato and Adam finally loses his mind over it.)