Game Master of marvel

After the system update, the game mechanics underwent significant changes, transforming from obtaining game technologies through reputation points to requiring players to travel around the game world to unlock them.

"Goodness, this update is massive."

The term "game world" intrigued Merlin. Originally, he intended to check out the new game technologies during his flight, but the recent changes—like the shift in how reputation values are utilized—required a reevaluation. Reputation points had now become a consumable resource.

This update was likely tied to the newly unlocked game, Death Stranding. The technology in Death Stranding was fundamentally rooted in Cayrol materials, which did not exist in Merlin's world. Elements such as BTs, the Beach, Time Rain, and tar were entirely foreign concepts.

"Hmm... If the butter is unlocked..." Merlin closed his eyes, the corners of his mouth twitching as if he'd thought of something particularly amusing.

[Reputation Value: 900 million]

Merlin reviewed his current reputation score. It had initially been 600 million, but his exploits in Los Santos had boosted it by another 300 million. Although his influence remained global, several nations, fearing the platform's impact on societal stability, had begun blocking relevant information. As a result, his reputation increase was now slower.

At most, it might climb by another 100 million, leaving him at a total of 1 billion. This meant that if he activated the system for 24 hours at a stretch—using the standard conversion ratio of 100 million reputation points for 6 in-game hours—it would last for 60 in-game days, or 10 real-world days.

While smaller investments of 10 million or 50 million points were more time-efficient, they consumed reputation faster. The decision boiled down to whether he had the time to make longer-term investments.

Despite having sufficient reputation points to unlock the game world now, Merlin understood that Death Stranding represented a post-apocalyptic setting and demanded serious preparation. Mastering the abilities of Dumus and researching Cayrol substances would be essential.

He also noted an improvement in his intelligence following the system update, which had increased by three points. With photographic memory as his baseline ability, it seemed like a waste not to learn magic.

After familiarizing himself with the new system rules, Merlin began recalling Death Stranding's lore:

In a future world, human technology had made groundbreaking advancements. Using the concept of "infant perception," scientists developed a "dimension space perception system". Initially dismissed by the scientific community, the "infant sensory perspective theory" gained traction with the evolution of technology.

This breakthrough was an extension of humanity's success with "in vitro synthetic babies".

At first, sonar-based sensors were used to detect substances in subspace. As technology advanced, researchers employed "micronucleus explosions" to distort and expand space, inadvertently opening a passage to an alternate dimension parallel to Earth.

To their surprise, this alien environment bore striking similarities to Earth's ecology. Human forces formed specialized teams worldwide to explore this space. One such team included former Marine Sam, who became a pivotal employee.

To avoid detection by alien entities, team members utilized "baby sensing containers" connected to their equipment. This enabled "subspace object searchers"—mounted on their backs—to locate the movement of these creatures.

However, society suffered catastrophic consequences from this discovery. Many humans were transformed into puppets called BTs (Beached Things). These entities could not die completely and were invisible to the naked eye, leading to the phenomenon known as death stranding.

The US splintered, giving rise to the City Federation.

The alternate dimension, now referred to as the Beach, became the liminal space between life and death. The protagonist, Sam, was a repatriate who couldn't die in the conventional sense. Upon death, Sam would enter the underworld before returning to the physical world.

For most people, death entailed the soul transitioning from the Beach to the world of the dead. However, when souls were stranded on the Beach and reconnected to their bodies via umbilical cords, they became BTs.

BTs contained antimatter, and if they consumed a living person, it triggered a massive annihilation reaction, resulting in a voidout explosion.

All of this tied into the narrative of the sixth mass extinction. Amélie, the extinct entity of this cycle, sought to hasten the process to avoid waiting millennia for its natural arrival. She created the Cayrol Network, connecting the entire USNation. This increased the concentration of Cayrol materials, linking individual Beaches and culminating in the final extinction event—the sixth mass extinction.

Merlin's ambition was clear: he wanted to replace Amélie and become the extinct entity. Doing so would grant players the ability to become repatriates capable of traversing dimensions.

Armed with spatial travel abilities, Merlin wouldn't suffer the loneliness that plagued Amélie.

Merlin stayed up all night, deeply immersed in the details of the Death Stranding game world. This time, the game wasn't just about the players—it was for him as well!

By mastering the Beach, Merlin would gain not only the ability to teleport but also the power to control BTs (Beached Things). He could potentially send players back for resurrection at will. However, he couldn't help but wonder: What would happen if this dimension collided with others?

"Ding!"

The sharp sound of a notification pulled Merlin out of his thoughts. He rubbed his eyebrows, opened his phone, and checked the message.

[10 o'clock tonight. Don't be late.]

The sender? Spider-Woman.

Merlin snapped back to the present. Of course, today was the scheduled day. If not for this timely reminder, he might have spent the entire day exploring the Death Stranding world.

Aside from the main Hades Beach, there were also rare treasures like Cayrol matter and antimatter to be found—priceless resources for further study.

8:00 p.m., Lion Cinema, Queens.

Due to the aftermath of the Los Santos incident, the streets of Liberty City were still eerily quiet, with most people avoiding public spaces out of fear.

Merlin arrived at the cinema astride his black-and-white Spider Web Motorcycle. Parking it near the entrance, he retrieved his reserved ticket and walked into the screening room.

The movie had already started, but Merlin noted with growing impatience that Spider-Woman was nowhere to be seen.

"You're not going to bail on me again, are you..." Merlin muttered, slumping slightly in his seat.

The love story playing on the big screen didn't help his mood. The empty cinema only emphasized his growing frustration.

Just as he was about to give up, he heard a faint sound above.

Thwip!

A figure descended from the ceiling, hanging upside down like a spider, stopping directly in front of him.

,...

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