The Marvel Prophet: I Publish Marvel Comics

I sat across from Nick Fury, my mind racing with thoughts about the future of our publishing house. "Have you noticed?" I said, leaning back in my chair, "This place is starting to feel a little too small for what we're doing."

Nick raised an eyebrow, surprised by the comment but catching on quickly. "You're thinking about expanding, aren't you?"

I gave a small smile. "Yeah. We're growing faster than we can keep up with. With the staff we have now, it's hard to keep everything running smoothly."

Nick nodded thoughtfully, his face softening with understanding. I could tell he was reflecting on how far we'd come. It wasn't that long ago that Marvel Publishing was just a modest operation. Now, after six volumes of *Iron Man*, the business had exploded. It felt surreal.

Looking at Nick, I could see the pride in his eyes. He had been with me every step of the way, guiding and supporting me like a father would. I knew he was thinking about his promise to my parents, how he'd taken me under his wing and helped me achieve more in a few months than they had in decades.

He finally broke the silence, his voice filled with pride. "Yeah, in no time at all, Marvel Publishing has become the best-selling name in comics. It's definitely time to scale up."

"I don't know much about running the logistics of it all," I admitted. "That's where you come in. I trust you to handle finding a new location and hiring more staff. Don't feel like you need to check in with me on every little thing. You've got my full trust."

Nick smiled, nodding in agreement. "You've got it. I'll take care of everything. You've got enough on your plate as it is."

I couldn't help but feel grateful for Nick's steady hand in all of this. I was lucky to have someone like him looking out for me, someone I trusted completely. And, well... there was also the fact that I was probably going to marry his daughter, Katie, at some point. The thought of it made me smile. After all, this was family, and trust ran deep.

"Don't worry," Nick continued, "I've got it all under control."

With that settled, we wrapped up our conversation. The publishing house's expansion was officially in the works, something we couldn't have imagined two months ago. The success we were seeing was nothing short of miraculous—an industry phenomenon. But even with all the sales and the growth, I knew this was only the beginning.

As the day wound down, we said our goodbyes, and I headed home.

Back in my apartment, I dropped onto the sofa, opening the attribute panel on my phone. The familiar cold voice of the system echoed in my ears.

**"The host has a total of exchange points."**

A rush of excitement ran through me as I saw the numbers. More than 57 million exchange points. All the work I'd put in was finally paying off. *Iron Man*'s hot streak had turned me into a very wealthy man—at least by system standards.

But as I scrolled through the catalog of items I could exchange, I realized something. For all the points I'd earned, there were still things well beyond my reach. I wasn't as rich as I thought.

Then something caught my eye. A shield. Not just any shield—the Captain's shield. It was listed for a cool 10 million exchange points.

It was iconic, the very symbol of Captain America. Half of the Captain's legend could be attributed to this shield. But something didn't add up. "Why is the shield so much more expensive than the serum?" I asked, a bit puzzled.

The system responded immediately. **"The value of the shield far exceeds that of the serum."**

It seemed like a vague answer, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Sure, the serum gave Captain America his powers, but without the shield, he wasn't much compared to some of the other Marvel heroes.

Take the Hulk, for instance. If Cap had to go up against the Hulk without that shield, he wouldn't stand a chance. But with the shield? It was a game-changer. The Captain with the shield was practically untouchable. He could block anything—from Iron Man's repulsor blasts to Thor's hammer.

The shield made him invincible. And that's why it was so precious. 

I stared at the shield in the catalog for a long moment, weighing my options. With all the points I'd earned, I could afford it. But did I really need it right now? Maybe I should wait—see what else the system had to offer before I made a decision.

I closed the catalog, deciding to think it over another day. There was no rush. 

After all, the future was wide open, and I was just getting started.