Chapter Two: The First Glimmer of Ability

At five o’clock in the morning, a lone figure ran through the biting cold—Arthur. Determined to survive in this world, he had resolved to undergo rigorous physical training every day. Though it was only five, the sky was not shrouded in night; the sun hung above, casting its pale light. This was Iceland’s phenomenon of the midnight sun, a result of its proximity to the Arctic, where days and nights could stretch endlessly.

The temperature outside hovered just above freezing, yet Arthur wore only a short-sleeved T-shirt, dashing through the chilling wind. Though his pace was slow, he had already been running for two hours. His golden hair was soaked with sweat, now frozen into icy strands, and steam rose from his head.

Arthur felt a measure of satisfaction with his endurance. He had never feared the cold, and his love for swimming since childhood had made him far more resilient than other sixteen-year-olds. At least, after two hours of running, he could still push on.

After his run, Arthur pushed himself through a series of exercises: push-ups, frog jumps, pull-ups, and boxing drills. “If I keep training like this, I’ll probably go bald one day,” he still had the strength to joke to himself.

At noon, Arthur ate grilled fish again. The initial aversion he had felt toward fish had long since dulled; now, he was simply numb to it.

Sated, Arthur made his way to the dock. Gazing out at the endless expanse of ocean, a strange fear gripped him—a lingering trauma from his ordeal at sea. That sense of helplessness before the raw power of nature still haunted him.

Yet, in the end, Arthur overcame his fear. Stripping off his clothes, he dove headfirst into the sea.

Once submerged, not only did his fear vanish, but he was seized by a profound sense of familiarity, as if he had returned home, as though a power within his very blood had awakened. Arthur could not explain the feeling; it was unlike anything he had experienced before.

He opened his eyes underwater. Truth be told, this was his first real dive. Though his memories as Arthur were filled with countless dives, for Lin Feng, this was a first.

Arthur was awestruck by the scene before him—a breathtaking underwater world, vibrant with colorful corals, schools of fish weaving through the water, great sea turtles, and glowing jellyfish.

He had never seen anything so beautiful; even the nature documentaries he’d watched paled in comparison. The water was crystal clear—he could see everything with perfect clarity.

Stunned by the spectacle, it was only when he regained his senses that he remembered he was underwater. Yet, he felt no discomfort. It was as if he could breathe freely beneath the waves, without the need for air, without suffocation. How was this possible?

He had no system, but he certainly had a golden finger—this ability felt so familiar.

Reflecting on his situation, he recalled another superhero movie he’d seen: DC’s Aquaman, a hero he greatly admired. It was as if he had gained Aquaman’s powers. But this was the world of Marvel!

To understand his new abilities, he conducted several tests. He tried speaking underwater. “Ah~ oh~ eh~ yi—what the hell! I can really talk underwater!”

“Did I really get Aquaman’s powers?” Remembering the movie, Arthur floated in the sea and, with a powerful kick, shot forward like a missile at incredible speed.

“Ah!…” he shouted with excitement, kicking harder and harder, surging through the water. Mimicking Iron Man, he used his hands to alter his trajectory, quickly learning to control his direction.

Where he had first only been able to swim straight, soon he moved with agility and precision, as though he were a sleek fish—chasing after schools of sardines, after sea turtles, leaping from the water like a dolphin.

It was exhilarating!

Arthur played like a child with a beloved toy, diving to the ocean floor, watching sunlight streaming down from above. With a powerful push off the seabed, he shot straight towards the surface, accelerating to his utmost limit.

As the surface drew near, Arthur burst from the sea, propelled upward by his own momentum. He soared more than a hundred meters above the waves before finally losing thrust and plummeting back toward the ocean.

“Ah… ah…!!!”

He crashed heavily into the water, but felt no pain; his body seemed reinforced, immune even to the crushing pressure of the deep, as if he could dive to ten thousand meters and still feel nothing.

Remembering that Aquaman’s skin could withstand bullets, Arthur decided to test his own. He found a sharp, rusted piece of iron on the seabed and stabbed it forcefully into his thigh. The metal bent, leaving not a mark on his skin.

Arthur was stunned. He had truly gained the powers of Aquaman from the movies.

And Aquaman could communicate with sea creatures—could he do the same?

Closing his eyes, Arthur slowly sank to the ocean floor, focusing his mind on the world around him. As he stilled his thoughts, he began to hear the voices of the surrounding fish.

Concentrating with all his might, the sounds grew louder. The calls of the various fish echoed in his mind. He raised his hand toward the nearest fish.

A miracle occurred—a wave of sound emanated from his hand, as if he could communicate with it. Under the influence of this pulse, the fish seemed to come under his control, swimming toward him.

How extraordinary!