I fell in Marvel with Essence Gacha but I’ve never heard of Marvel

It took Lex another four days before he was finally able to get his hands on the complete formula for Compound V. Getting it had been considerably more troublesome than he had initially expected, requiring him to pressure quite a few people, track down several individuals who had attempted to disappear with pieces of the research, and, at one point, travel all the way to Alaska simply because one particularly important piece of information had ended up there.

By the time everything was finally assembled, Lex found himself wishing he still had his clones.

Well, technically, they still existed. They were simply back in his universe, lying unconscious somewhere because his connection to them had been severed the moment he left Marvel. The clones were intrinsically connected to his soul, but his soul was nowhere near strong enough to maintain that connection across realities. Since none of the clones possessed enough individuality to develop a consensus or act independently without him, they were probably doing nothing more than lying there in whatever state he had left them.

It was unfortunate, because having several versions of himself working on the same problem would have made this process considerably faster.

Instead, Lex had to do the work himself.

And so, while Kom was busy taking care of the world, Lex found himself spending an increasing amount of time inside laboratories, surrounded by samples, research notes, chemical equipment and enough Compound V research to make even someone like Tony Stark question whether Lex had developed an unhealthy obsession with science.

The more he studied Compound V, however, the more interesting it became.

The drug itself was not simply some miracle chemical that Vought had randomly stumbled upon. Its most important ingredient came from a particular plant that, as far as Raphael could determine, existed only in this universe. The plant could survive only in extremely cold environments, yet it also required a considerable amount of sunlight to grow properly, making its cultivation surprisingly difficult. Even worse, each plant produced only a single seed every year, and the plant itself survived for only seven years.

That meant that, under natural circumstances, a single plant could produce only a very limited number of seeds during its entire lifespan. Several of those seeds also had to be preserved to cultivate the next generation, leaving only a fraction available for Compound V production.

Fortunately for Vought, they had spent decades solving exactly that problem.

Through controlled cultivation and an enormous amount of research, they had managed to establish enough viable plants that their current production could provide roughly a hundred seeds every year. That was still a remarkably small amount considering the scale of the world's demand for Compound V, but Vought had built an entire industrial infrastructure around making every part of the plant count.

The seeds formed the primary ingredient of Compound V, while the leaves acted as an important auxiliary component. Other parts of the plant, including its roots and sap, also had valuable properties, and Vought had developed increasingly complicated methods of extracting and processing them alongside numerous other chemical agents.

Lex spent days dissecting the entire process.

He tested the individual components, compared their effects, studied how Compound V interacted with human genetics, experimented with different combinations of the plant's biological materials and gradually began stripping away the unnecessary complications that had accumulated throughout Vought's research.

It was not a quick process.

For days, he burned through seeds, leaves, roots, sap and countless other ingredients, sometimes discarding entire batches because one component destabilized another or because the resulting compound produced undesirable mutations. Raphael handled the calculations and comparisons while Lex worked directly with the physical samples, repeatedly refining the formula until the chaotic mess that Vought had spent decades developing began to resemble something far more elegant.

Eventually, after going through roughly twenty seeds and wasting countless other ingredients in the process, Lex finally looked at the solution sitting inside the containment chamber.

It was not merely another version of Compound V.

It was something new.

Something better.

<Using the Super Soldier Serum as the base, V Seeds for genetic evolution and superpower development, V roots for augmentation, and V sap for stabilization, I have successfully created a perfected version of Compound V. Unlike the original formula, this version can be administered directly to adults without requiring the recipient to undergo the same painful developmental process. It also possesses a significantly lower probability of producing deformities or undesirable mutations.>

Raphael's voice entered his mind as calmly as ever.

<The resulting enhancement is also substantially stronger and more stable than the original Compound V.>Lex stared at the solution for a moment before a grin slowly spread across his face.

"Now that's interesting."

He drew the perfected Compound V into a syringe, rolled up his sleeve and injected himself without hesitation.

For several seconds, he waited.

Nothing happened.

Lex blinked.

"That's it?"

He looked down at himself, half expecting some dramatic transformation.

Instead, he simply felt his existing abilities become stronger.

Not radically different. Not a new power appearing from nowhere. It was more like someone had taken the abilities he already possessed and turned up the volume.

The Starlight mutation he had acquired from Annie's powers became considerably stronger, and the various physical enhancements tied to it received a substantial boost as well.

Lex frowned slightly before Raphael supplied the explanation.

<Your genes have already evolved toward what can effectively be classified as a Super Gene. Because of that, Compound V is incapable of initiating an entirely new mutation within you. Instead, it has enhanced the Super Gene you already possess, temporarily increasing its overall expression and the abilities derived from it.>

"Oh."

Lex looked at his hand, flexing his fingers experimentally before shrugging.

"I suppose that's that."

He was a little disappointed. He had been hoping that Compound V might give him some completely new ability, but the disappointment barely lasted more than a few seconds. He already had an absurd number of powers, and the Gacha could potentially give him countless more in the future.

What mattered was that he had proven the formula worked.

More importantly, he now had something Vought had never managed to create: a genuinely superior version of Compound V that could be given directly to adults without putting them through the horrific process that had originally made the drug so unreliable. It was painless, far safer, significantly less likely to produce deformities, and capable of producing a considerably stronger result.

That alone made the entire trip to Alaska worthwhile.

While Lex was busy inside the laboratories, the actual business of conquering the world continued around him.

Kom had effectively taken over the role of Prime Minister of Earth.

Of course, the world had not exactly welcomed the arrangement with open arms.

There had been protests, political opposition, threats, attempts at resistance and more than a few governments that had quietly wondered whether they could somehow remove Kom before she became too entrenched. Unfortunately for them, the demonstration involving North Korea had made the consequences of open defiance rather difficult to ignore.

The North Korean leader had openly threatened Kom, declaring that if she attempted to interfere with his country, he would unleash its nuclear arsenal and bring about the destruction of the world.

Kom's response had been simple.

He was executed live on television.

There had been no trial, no lengthy speech and no attempt to hide what had happened. The message was brutally straightforward: the World Government was not a suggestion, and threatening to destroy the planet was not going to be tolerated simply because someone happened to possess nuclear weapons.

The incident caused an enormous uproar, but it also had an unexpected effect.

It made other governments realize that the old balance of power no longer existed.

Within roughly a month, the World Government had taken shape.

Administrators, diplomats, economists, military officials, legal experts and countless other specialists were recruited from across the world, with Kom overseeing the process and gradually establishing the machinery required to actually govern a planet.

The headquarters was eventually constructed in Norway.

There had been plenty of countries eager to host the new organization, each one hoping that becoming the home of the World Government would grant them influence, prestige or some degree of protection. Kom, however, had already received Hela's preference on the matter, and Hela had chosen Norway because its people had once worshiped her—or at least a version of her.

That was good enough for Kom.

The laws came next.

The basic structure was simple enough.

The only sovereignty recognized on Earth was the Everhart Empire, under which the World Government governed the planet. The laws of the World Government stood above the laws of individual nations, and whenever the two came into direct conflict, the World Government's law would prevail.

Disputes between states were to be handled through the World Government, and no nation was permitted to wage war against another without authorization. Any unauthorized war would constitute a violation of World Government law, with strict action to be taken against those who approved it, ordered it or knowingly participated in it.

Of course, those were merely the broad principles.

The actual legal framework was vastly more complicated.

There were rules covering international trade, military forces, territorial disputes, resource distribution, criminal jurisdiction, diplomatic relations, environmental protections, transportation, taxation, technological development and countless other aspects of planetary administration. The amount of work required to turn the vague concept of a world government into an actual functioning institution was enormous.

Fortunately, Lex had already provided Kom with everything she needed.

The laws were comprehensive.

Almost unnaturally so.

Every time Kom encountered a problem, she seemed to find that someone had already considered it and written a regulation for it. Every administrative loophole she discovered already had an answer. Every potential conflict between jurisdictions had already been addressed, and the entire structure fit together with such consistency that she found herself genuinely fascinated by it.

It was almost as if someone had spent an absurd amount of time planning every possible problem before it could happen.

Kom, naturally, assumed that person was Lex.

She had no idea that Raphael had produced practically all of it.

And that only made her admiration for Lex grow.

From Kom's perspective, Lex was not merely powerful enough to conquer Earth. He had somehow managed to understand how an entire planet could be governed and had prepared an administrative structure capable of doing exactly that before Kom had even stepped into the position.

She found that impressive.

Lex, meanwhile, was mostly unaware of how much his reputation was growing in Kom's eyes.

He had other problems to worry about.

Or rather, Hela had.

Hela had become increasingly interested in determining whether an Asgard existed in this universe.

There was reason to believe it might.

Records of Hela existed in this world's mythology. So did stories of Odin, Thor and the other figures associated with the Norse pantheon. Hela had never been particularly fond of the idea that mere mythology could be dismissed as fiction, especially when she herself was living proof that legends could have a basis in reality.

There wasn't smoke without fire.

If this world remembered Asgard, then perhaps Asgard existed somewhere beyond Earth as well.

So Hela began searching.

She examined historical records, studied mythology, questioned people and attempted to sense traces of Asgardian magic wherever possible. She searched for anything that might lead her toward the realm she remembered.

She found nothing.

There was no Asgard.

There was no recognizable trace of Odin.

There was no familiar magical presence waiting somewhere beyond the stars.

In fact, as far as Hela could determine, this world did not even possess magic.

That particular discovery should have been impossible.

Yet Hela could still use her own magic.

She simply couldn't understand why.

The answer, of course, was something she would never discover.

The magic she was using was ultimately being sustained by the Gacha itself, allowing her to retain the abilities she had brought with her despite this universe lacking the same magical framework that had existed in her own.

To Hela, however, the explanation was considerably simpler.

Her magic was coming from Lex.

After all, he was her summoner.

And while Hela found the arrangement strange, she had long since accepted that there were things about Lex that even she did not understand.

In truth, there was another reason Hela had become so occupied with the question.

Raphael did not trust Hela to simply sit around.

The woman was a goddess of death who had conquered kingdoms and spent her existence fighting, ruling and scheming. Leaving her with nothing to do was practically inviting her to find something entertaining on her own.

So, after a conversation with Lex, Raphael subtly encouraged Hela's interest in the gods and mythology of this universe.

Hela had taken the bait completely.

She had spent days investigating the possibility of Asgard, searching through records and trying to determine whether the legends of this world concealed any fragments of the reality she remembered.

There was, of course, absolutely nothing for her to find.

But that was precisely the point.

As long as Hela remained fascinated by the possibility that Asgard might exist somewhere in this universe, she had something to occupy her attention.

And with Lex experimenting in the laboratory, Kom busy running the World Government and Raphael quietly handling everything that needed to be handled in the background, that was exactly what they needed.

For once, conquering an entire world was proceeding almost suspiciously smoothly.