Marvel: DNF Invades

Just as Luke thought, Tony wouldn't come away empty-handed from his research on the Magic Stone.

The biggest discovery? Magic energy, or as Tony dubbed it—the beta element.

He didn't recall much else, but one thing was burned into his memory: the atomic structure of this new element.

With Jarvis's help, he ran countless tests and proved that the beta element could fully replace palladium, making it the perfect new energy source for the Arc Reactor he had been desperately searching for.

Although the original data was destroyed, Tony's deliberate memorization made reconstructing it a breeze.

For days, he worked tirelessly, rebuilding the beta element's atomic structure from memory. Once he had it, he synthesized the element in his lab with Jarvis assisting every step of the way.

It felt eerily similar to when he had cracked his father's clues to synthesize a new element in the movies.

With the beta element now in his hands, Tony wasted no time. He built a next-generation Arc Reactor prototype and tested it immediately.

"Sir, I still recommend conducting a few more safety tests before proceeding with the new Arc Reactor," Jarvis advised in his usual calm tone.

Tony ignored him, yanked out the palladium reactor from his chest, and muttered, "No time like the present." Then, without hesitation, he inserted the new reactor into his chest.

A powerful surge of energy coursed through his body, making him tremble uncontrollably.

"Oh…" He grimaced, his face contorting with discomfort. Then, he suddenly blurted, "Oh, shit! Why does it smell like turtle piss?"

The new Arc Reactor glowed brightly in his chest. Success.

—

The process was a real pain in the ass, so in the end, Luke only managed to make one adamantium grenade, keeping it as a last-resort weapon.

Five kilograms of adamantium alloy—hell, even the low-quality kind—would be obliterated in an explosion. After thinking it over, he just couldn't bring himself to make more.

At least for now, that kind of excessive spending was out of the question.

Rich guys might be able to afford that luxury, but not him.

Even though Stark Industries had shifted away from arms manufacturing, its foundation remained intact.

Luke had briefly entertained the idea of turning the Magic Stone into a missile.

That was until his assistant, Ross, handed him a cost report and outlined the necessary production process.

"Boss, even the cheapest air-to-air missiles cost two million dollars each."

"…How much?"

"Two million dollars. You currently have 5.03 million in your account."

"…Fuck."

And that was just an air-to-air missile. If he wanted an intercontinental one? Even pricier. His five million hadn't even had time to warm up his pockets, and if he blew it all on this, there wouldn't even be a ripple left.

"Why the hell are they so expensive?" Luke asked, baffled. He had assumed they could be built for a few tens of thousands.

"If you're making ordinary missiles, you could use a Magic Stone and adamantium to pre-fabricate fragmentation high-explosive warheads," Ross explained.

"So?"

"The tricky part is the propulsion system. You'd need to build a two-stage solid rocket engine first. The fuze system isn't as simple as just wiring it together; you'd need an active radar. The guidance system is even more complex—radio command correction, active radar, infrared imaging…"

"Okay, okay, forget I even asked…"

The difficulty of making a missile was damn near the same as building another G-0 Warlord.

And missiles were disposable.

Luke let out a long sigh, then, still unwilling to give up, asked, "What about smaller missiles? Like the ones Hammer Industries makes? Those tiny warheads?"

Ross chuckled. "Small missiles would definitely be cheaper, but they require much more sophisticated technology and high-end machine tools, which you don't have yet."

Luke nodded, finally admitting to himself—he was broke.

This wasn't just about technology.

Missiles that could be used in real combat required a fully developed military-industrial system. Hell, even a whole damn country needed an advanced, high-precision industrial infrastructure to support that kind of production.

He glanced at the second-hand machine tools gathering dust in his warehouse… and shrugged.

He had already built the Gale and the G-0 Warlord. He had the black-market blueprints and the know-how to replicate them. That was alien tech—light-years ahead of anything Earth had.

But building a missile? If he dedicated a year or two to figuring it out, maybe—just maybe—he could whip something up with his scraps.

But only an idiot would waste time on that.

Tossing a grenade was way simpler and got the job done.

Besides, the real beauty of an explosion wasn't in the complexity—it was in the raw, chaotic destruction.

Why didn't Deidara build missiles? Why did he just sculpt clay bombs and throw them?

Because explosions are an art form!

The explosion itself is the ultimate pursuit!

Everything else? Just tools. Just means to an end.

What? You're asking how to use a grenade with a 1,000-meter kill radius in actual combat?

Are you stupid?

Just throw it and run.

—

Days passed.

The G-0 Warlord, parked in Luke's warehouse, was nearing completion.

"Boss, the internal structure is 100% complete. Transmission system—done. Power system—done. Auxiliary operation and fire control systems—done. Internal titanium alloy armor—100% complete. However, the external armor hasn't been installed, and the weapon mounts are still empty. What's your plan?" Ross asked.

Luke stood in front of the towering six-meter-tall machine. His small frame looked almost comically tiny beside it.

He rubbed his chin, thinking. "Hmm…"

Just like the Tornado, the G-0 Warlord had no weapons mounted yet.

Luke needed a main gun, some secondary weapons—lasers would be nice since they looked cool.

What to do?

Time to throw more money at the problem.

He decided to use the magic box system.

Maybe he could pull some blueprints for weapons.

If not? Well, he'd just have to steal them.

He also had to figure out what to do with the remaining adamantium.

Out of the 50 kg he had, 10 kg was pure adamantium, and 35 kg was secondary-grade.

He considered two options:

1. Reinforce the G-0 Warlord with adamantium outer armor.

2. Forge a melee weapon for the mech—maybe a sword or a massive blade.

—

Meanwhile, Hawkeye felt like he had the worst luck lately.

Nick Fury had assigned him to keep watch on Luke's warehouse 24/7—for no apparent reason.

Fury didn't expect daily reports. Hell, he didn't even specify what Hawkeye was supposed to look for.

It was surveillance for the sake of surveillance.

Hawkeye had no clue what he had done to piss off the boss.

With no other choice, he spent day and night posted outside Luke's warehouse. He even considered building a treehouse just to keep out of the sun and rain.

Of course, Ross had already picked up on his presence.

Luke didn't give a damn that Hawkeye was watching from the tree across the street at all hours.

Sometimes, when he went to the nearby supermarket, they even made small talk.

Luke couldn't help but wonder—why the hell did all these Marvel heroes love climbing trees?

First Daredevil, now Hawkeye.

Had he missed something?

—

Back in the warehouse, Luke stared at Ross in disbelief.

"What did you just say?! The price of the magic box went up?!"

"Unfortunately, yes." Ross shrugged, his two tentacles wiggling—wait, where were his shoulders?

Luke immediately opened the system in his mind.

The price had jumped from $50 to $500.

"A tenfold increase?!"

Ross just smirked.

Luke was furious. He had just gotten money, and now the system was fucking him over.

"The hell is this bullshit?"

Ross, looking smug, replied, "This is to test your potential."

"Fuck you, Ross!!!"

Ross looked disgusted. "Damn, Luke. Didn't know you were into that kind of thing."

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Starting Chapter 100 and above you will see some Improvements on my translations 

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