My Borderline Supervillain-Slash-Hero System

Zane unfolded his palm, and the drone soared into the sky.

"Good! Now, let's make a nice boat so I can continue the journey."

He climbed a small hill, cut down a large tree, and dragged it to the riverbank. Taking out his curved knife, he began carving into the core, shaving off thick wood chips. An hour passed before the boat was finally shaped to his satisfaction.

It was his first time building a boat.

He eyed his crude creation and muttered with a smile, "Look at her. Not bad for a first try. Alright, I've spent enough time here."

He placed a pair of wooden oars into the boat, pushed it into the stream, and hopped aboard. With gentle strokes, he paddled along the current, letting the river carry him downstream. Conveniently, the drone was guiding him in the same direction.

"System, this place feels different. Any tips on how to further cultivate my law?" he asked.

[System: Host has already trained enough to pull mana and create things using only mental instruction.]

[Now, Host must focus and allow your mana-grappling skill to extract the radioactive mana from the riverbed. The latter half of the process will be similar to when you created your first Solar Thread.]

[However, the radioactive mana from the riverbed is raw and wild. Handle it with extreme care.]

"Fair enough. Warn me if there's any danger ahead," he said.

Then he sat cross-legged in the boat, closed his eyes, and began his breathing exercises. His mind slowly entered a state of calm. Weaving a series of hand seals, he extended his mental force—like thousands of invisible arms—deep beneath the surface of the river.

Almost immediately, he sensed the heat radiating from the radioactive mana, although it wasn't his physical body that detected it. He didn't rush the process. Carefully, he gathered the wild mana like threads of a net, drawing them gently toward his forehead and into his body.

"What a massive concentration of wild mana," he muttered, opening his mouth to breathe it in. He exhaled through his nose and inhaled with his mouth, absorbing the radioactive energy.

The familiar burning sensation returned, this time less overwhelming. He now understood the precise rate at which he could safely inhale.

Inside his body, the first Solar Thread glowed with dazzling yellow light, burning away impurities from the newly absorbed mana.

"The last part is always the trickiest," he murmured.

He collected the refined radioactive mana near his lower abdomen and compressed it using his mental senses. A spark ignited—a miniature nuclear fusion reaction. The pain surged through his core, but he clenched his teeth and endured, continuing to compress and stabilize the energy.

Finally, another Solar Thread formed, glowing with radiant yellow light.

Just as the second Solar Thread took shape, the original thread within his mana core began to react. They vibrated in resonance, and the new thread drifted inward, merging seamlessly with the first.

Zane looked inward and observed the change. The combined Solar Thread was now slightly thicker, its radiance noticeably more intense than before.

A smile crept onto his face as he opened his eyes.

"To create the first Solar Thread, I spent a fortune—endured hellish trials, impossible training, and pulled it off with sheer luck. But now… creating another one isn't so hard. If it's this easy, forget ten—I might even forge twenty more on the way," he said proudly to himself.

He shook his head with amusement, sat back down, and resumed the cultivation process.

For another five hours, the boat glided downstream.

By now, Zane was working on his twelfth Solar Thread.

Suddenly, a familiar chime rang in his ears, disrupting his concentration.

Ding!

[Ten Tributaries ahead.]

[Use your oar to move the boat and follow the drone.]

Zane exhaled sharply and spat out the half-formed twelfth Solar Thread. It crumbled in his palm, dispersing into tiny flames that vanished into the air.

He stood up and looked ahead.

Just as the system had warned, the main river branched into ten smaller tributaries.

For a brief moment, he was stunned by the breathtaking view.

"What a beautiful sight," he murmured.

Then, grabbing his wooden oars, he began steering the boat against the forceful current, guiding it toward the sixth tributary from the extreme left.

At first, it was like steering a ship through a stormy ocean.

But channeling a portion of his internal load into the oars, he wrestled the boat into the sixth stream's path and finally stabilized it within the tributary's current.

With that done, he returned to forging Solar Threads.

Along the journey, he forged seven more, bringing the total to twenty Solar Threads.

He examined the energy within his body—the combined thread was thicker now, its embedded law significantly more potent. Its presence surged through his core, enhancing every breath, every pulse of mana.

Finally, he felt he had mastered the rhythm of cultivating his law. So, he stopped.

Leaning back, Zane gazed around as the boat drifted gently downstream. The scenery was breathtaking—a sweet beam of light and mist painted over the flowing water.

As he savored the moment, the System chimed once more.

Ding!

[Emergency Quest Completed!]

[+100 points added to all stats]

[Host's Updated Stats:]

— Strength: 1464 (Core) + 5 (Divine Radiance) + 10 (Divine Strike) → 1479

— Agility: 1475 (Core) + 5 (Divine Radiance) + 10 (Luminous Step) → 1490

— Intelligence: 1470 (Core) + 5 (Divine Radiance) + 10 (Sacred Barrier) → 1485

— Health: 4250 / 4250 (Regen: 160 HP/s)

— Mana: 4370 / 4370 (Regen: 60 MP/s)

— Current Load: 29,567 kg

— Mana Core Rating: One-Star

It wasn't just numbers on a screen—he felt it. Every cell in his body throbbed with newfound strength. His senses were sharper, faster, more alive.

Grinning wide, Zane stood and began throwing a few sharp jabs and hooks into the air, his limbs moving like lightning.

"This feeling… I can't shake it," he said, breath quickening. "I want to fight someone strong."

He was so used to controlling the nearly 30,000 kg of weight that, while he was stretching his body and kicking and punching multiple zaps in the air, the boat didn't even shake.