Marvel: Emotion Farming System

John felt his heart thumping excitement to reach the university.

It wasn’t anything innocent like excitement to learn, to hell with that. Empire State University was home to important figures in Marvel.

And the thing with important figures in such a plot was that they gave more points when interacted with.

‘If I can get even one of them to read, heh.’ John’s smirk widened as he locked the door and walked down the stairs that smelled like blue cheese.

The commute was a rush of bodies and heavy smoke from the busy metropolis. The passersby, on their way to work or university, seemed to care little about his mental turmoil as he kept opening and closing his phone, his eyes burning a hole through the system panel.

He had posted the fourth chapter before leaving; it was an evil cliffhanger, hoping it would get him something extra. Too bad he couldn’t check the website constantly anymore.

‘Just you wait.’ He looked at the iPhone ad plastered on billboards, clenching his fist to get a better phone for his browsing addiction.

Passing through the gates of the university, John passed by the happy students who chatted on the way to class as shouts from the ones who practiced in the field echoed, not to mention the several strong perfumes of the girls buzzing around the place.

But what caught his eye was a big guy picking on another student by the lockers. The bigger guy had a jacket with the name Flash on the back in bright yellow. And the second guy looked especially scrawny in front of him.

The guy had this nerdy energy with his checkered shirt and dull pants. To any jock, he was basically a walking invitation for bullying.

‘Flash Gordon and Peter Parker.’ The names just resurfaced in his mind on their own like a whale.

John, involuntarily, had become the audience just like the other students. No one seemed fazed, almost like this was a daily occurrence; it probably was.

‘But Peter should have his powers at this age; no, he shouldn’t even be in University right now.’ John’s head spun the more he thought about it.

Given that Tony was just attacked during the Monaco Grand Prix, things didn’t match here. Regardless, Peter should’ve stopped the bullying by teaching Flash a lesson by now.

But it wasn’t that this friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man didn’t choose to fight back; he just couldn’t do it.

That was when a blur of blonde passed by him; it was a girl in a light blue hoodie, tight black pants, and squeaky Velcro shoes. She slipped through the crowd holding a bunch of books close to her chest, with a professor lagging behind her. But before she could reach Peter, the bell rang.

“Don’t be late to class, Peter! See you at lunch.” Flash slipped away laughing, a few of his cronies running after him.

The other students also dispersed as the professor started to focus on sending them off to class, leaving the blonde-haired girl and Peter by the locker.

‘So, it's Gwen Stacy route here?’ John allowed his feet to take him to the faculty office first, nodding happily that there wasn’t any MJ in sight. ‘My goat Peter deserves better.’

As someone who had spent the better half of his life in a Spider-Man onesie, John felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders as he talked with a professor.

After giving the reason for his absence with random bullshit go, John entered his class. Professor Henderson was a quiet man; he didn’t ask him why he came in late or why he was absent before and allowed him to sit down.

‘Biochemistry…’ His face hardened like stone as lectures passed by with him nodding along, making the professor beam at this mountain-like concentration.

‘I see, I don’t understand shit.’ He slumped in his seat as he had just gone through 100 rounds of UFC against Khabib.

He could see his scholarship flying away in real time. Still, it wasn’t all bad. Just before lunch, he got to sit next to Gwen in the lab.

The professor was running late, so the students were left to their devices for a moment. John glanced at the blonde next to him and then at the stack of books before her; she kept tapping the counter at a steady rhythm, lost in her own mind.

Thankfully, it wasn’t just textbooks; there was a novel tucked away below, with a title he actually knew. A niche title not many read because of its problematic plot developments and inability to stay true to its genre.

‘It’s good to see this book is in this world too.’ His mind churned, trying to find the opening line.

“If you look at it any harder, you’ll burn a hole through it.” However, she was the one who started.

Although the tone was dry, John’s eyes met Gwen’s slight smile. He had been thinking of how to start a dialogue with her, and here came his chance.

“I didn’t expect someone here to be reading this.” John shook his head; this book was a bit of a train wreck.

“Well, I guess that makes both of us weirdos.” Gwen shrugged.

“I wouldn’t go as far as to call us weirdos, awkward at most.” He shook his head. “What are your thoughts on the ambitious supernatural crime thriller with a dash of sci-fi?”

“The start was interesting to say the least.” Her wry smile was enough of an answer.

As their chat continued, he had confirmed that Gwen loved reading, as he knew. Before Peter, he had to see how many EP she would give, as an important member of the cast.

“The ending did leave a lot to be desired, and the third act was honestly too ambitious…” John nodded knowingly as a sharp glint flashed in his eyes. Finding the perfect moment for the shameless plug.

“I actually found a novel online last night that has a great start so far. Honestly, I can’t wait to see where it goes.” He sighed the way readers do when they find a masterpiece before it reached 100 chapters.

That agonizing pain of having to wait for releases but still gritting your teeth cause you know it’ll be worth it.

“Online, huh.” Gwen showed an interest along with some apprehension.

Around this time, there wasn’t a lack of interesting works being abandoned or taking a nosedive in the online sphere. However, none of this would happen to the work he had posted.

“Yeah, it was real interesting.” As John spoke, Gwen started to look sold on the idea. He had to put a little meat on the hook to get the fish.

‘A guy and girl switching bodies? That’s a disaster waiting to happen.’ Although Gwen enjoyed crime thrillers, such silly plots were always welcome from time to time.

They worked as good palate cleansers between the heavy and gritty thriller novels she read. And she could see the passion in John’s eyes when he spoke; that alone was enough to convince her to give this one a try.

She didn’t know him well enough, aside from the name, as he always blended in the background. So, watching the enthusiasm and genuine love for the work he recommended, she didn’t want to insult him by not checking it.

During lunch, instead of the cafeteria, she took a bag of chips and a burger to the computer lab after saying goodbye to Peter.

With the work’s name fresh in her mind, she searched Rivulta and found it in no time. The author’s name made her chuckle as it matched the protagonist’s name from the book she had discussed with John.

‘JohnDoe6769, huh? Not very John Doe, is he?’ Glancing over the title and the spoiler-free setting she heard about, this looked like a proper romance comedy.

Settling into her chair while taking a bite of the burger, Gwen clicked on the first chapter.