Marvel: The Gourmet God

"I'm actually unharmed?"

Upon regaining consciousness, Johnny took a moment to assess himself, his eyes lighting up with surprise and delight.

At that moment, his body bore no signs of injury whatsoever. Not only that, but a powerful energy coursed through him, giving him the illusion that he could shatter space with a single punch.

Johnny scanned his surroundings, taking in the space he was in.

Faint energy still lingered around him, glowing softly. However, the pulling force from his body had dissipated, and the remaining energy was now dispersing into the void.

"Could this energy be what caused the strange changes in my body?"

Watching the dissipating light, a contemplative look crossed Johnny's face. Then, he recalled the system notification he'd heard upon waking.

"System, what does 'optimization' mean?"

With this thought, Johnny mentally inquired.

"Host, after absorbing the immense energy of the pocket dimension, the system has completed its optimization. All related details have been uploaded to your brain and are available for review at any time," the system responded promptly.

As the system's voice faded, a wealth of information rapidly surfaced in Johnny's mind.

For a moment, he was stunned, but soon a look of excitement spread across his face.

"Devouring opponents allows me not only to acquire their abilities but also to strengthen and enhance them?"

Muttering to himself, Johnny processed the new knowledge.

It turned out that absorbing the immense energy had enabled the system to optimize its Devour function.

Before optimization, devouring an opponent allowed Johnny to improve himself and gain their abilities. However, these abilities came with limitations: while he could use them after a brief period of adaptation, his proficiency was capped at the level of the devoured opponent.

Now, post-optimization, the system offered two distinct options for devouring:

Ability Transfer: Completely strip and transfer the desired abilities from the devoured enemy to Johnny, exactly as they were.

Devour Points: Convert the devoured opponent into Devour Points, which could be used to enhance Johnny's existing skills. This enhancement was comprehensive and had no upper limit—the stronger the opponent, the more Devour Points Johnny would gain.

"System, display my attribute panel."

Eager to explore the changes, Johnny immediately activated his newly optimized attribute panel.

The attribute panel was one of the system's upgrades, allowing Johnny to view all his abilities and stats clearly and conveniently.

Following Johnny's command, a faintly glowing holographic panel materialized before him.

The panel was visible only to Johnny, the system's host.

On the left side of the panel was Johnny's portrait, while the right side displayed his attributes. The status section was divided into two parts: Devour Points and Skills.

Host: Johnny

Devour Points: 0

Skills:

Combat (Passive) - Lv3

Fire Manipulation - Lv2

Ice Manipulation - Lv2

Divine Power - Lv1

The attribute panel was simple and concise, with all skills clearly categorized and detailed beneath each entry.

Seeing the four abilities he currently possessed, Johnny couldn't help but feel a bit helpless.

He knew these abilities were obtained by devouring numerous prisoners and guards in the Divine Realm Dungeon. However, their levels—ranging between one and two—were rather underwhelming, making them feel more like a burden than a benefit.

"I get that Divine Power can be infused into Dawn, the weapon used by Divine Realm warriors, to enhance its strength. But I didn't even have the chance to familiarize myself with these fire and ice manipulation abilities before that damned Hela almost killed me," Johnny muttered to himself, still adjusting to the newly optimized system.

Boom!

As Johnny remained lost in thought, a sudden tremor in the surrounding space snapped him back to reality.

"What's happening to this space?!"

The abnormal vibrations made Johnny's face darken. Ever since waking, he'd been too focused on understanding the changes in himself to pay attention to his surroundings. Now, the increasingly violent quakes gave him a sinking feeling that the space was on the verge of collapse.

"Not good!"

Amid a deafening roar, Johnny's fears were confirmed. The entire space shattered like a fragile mirror, blinding light pouring in through the cracks. The intensity of the light forced Johnny to shut his eyes momentarily.

When the initial shock subsided, Johnny cautiously opened his eyes. Through the ever-widening gaps in the broken space, he saw the scene beyond—and was stunned.

The space he had been in was now completely exposed, its fragments hanging like shards of a shattered mirror. Through the cracks, Johnny caught a glimpse of another world—real and tangible.

A strange planet came into view. Its surface was piled high with endless heaps of garbage, forming mountains of waste. The sight immediately made Johnny roll his eyes.

"Seriously? What kind of messed-up environment is this?"

However, Johnny didn't have much time to dwell on his disdain. Before he could react, a massive crack appeared in the void before him. The planet's gravity reached through, disrupting his weightless state and pulling him down through the gap in the broken space.

"Damn it! This is way too high!"

Johnny barely had time to curse before he crashed with a loud thud into a massive pile of garbage.

The collision created a human-shaped crater in the heap of trash, which remained silent for a moment until Johnny's voice groaned in pain from within.

"Damn it! That hurts like hell!"

After a moment of struggle, Johnny finally climbed out of the pit he'd made. His previously clean appearance was now ruined—he was covered in all sorts of trash, looking as disheveled as one could imagine.

Though his appearance was pitiful, his body had suffered no significant injuries. For one, the strange energy he had absorbed in the peculiar space had fundamentally transformed his physique, making him far more resilient. Secondly, the trash heap, though filthy, was surprisingly soft and had cushioned much of the impact from his fall.

Standing atop the trash mountain he had landed on, Johnny looked around in frustration, trying to get a sense of where he was.

From his vantage point, he noticed the sky was riddled with massive holes, from which various types of garbage poured out sporadically, crashing haphazardly to the ground.

"Are you kidding me? Did I end up in some kind of cosmic junkyard?"

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