Thirteen years later.
In Kansas Town, the billboard that had been destroyed by a meteor was once again standing among the trees, bearing the familiar words "Global Creamed Corn Capital."
"Vroom!"
A roaring sports car sped past the billboard, kicking up a cloud of dust, and executed a beautiful drift around a bend.
The roaring engine propelled the car forward. It raced through fields, crossed streams, and finally screeched to a halt in front of a grand, ancient castle.
Two young men stepped out of the sports car.
The one driving had blond hair and a handsome, chiseled face, with hawk-like dark brown eyes, a high-bridged nose, and slightly thin lips.
He was undoubtedly a handsome and perfect man, and the expensive suit he wore only enhanced his youthful good looks, making him seem like a perfectly dashing medieval prince. It was just a pity that the "princess" in the passenger seat was a bald young man.
The other, with a smooth, round bald head, was none other than Lex Luthor.
Sigh, while he had avoided the baldness caused by the meteor impact, over more than ten years of schooling, the overly intelligent Luthor had still lost all his hair, becoming a bald young man.
Jino tilted his head, studying the ancient castle before him, a hint of emotion in his voice. "Wow, it really is just like you said, like a medieval castle, exuding an aura of history."
Lex sneered. "You mean it's old, don't you?"
Lex waved at the gatekeeper, and soon someone came to drive the car away. The old butler opened the main gate of the castle, a polite smile on his face, welcoming the master of the castle back to the ancient estate.
The two walked along a tree-lined path, breathing in the fresh country air, which instantly brightened their moods.
Lex looked at his blond-haired younger brother and said exasperatedly, "Congratulations, you've been exiled with me by that vampire to this godforsaken town."
Jino shrugged.
"I just hope this damn castle isn't haunted."
Lex glanced at Jino's muscular physique. Others might not know, but he was well aware of the terrifying power contained within his brother's body.
If the two of them really encountered zombies or similar monsters, the latter would be the only one running away.
"Come with me, I have a gift for you." Lex led Jino to the lawn behind the castle, where a silver-white sports car was parked on the vast expanse of grass.
Lex tapped the car's body. "A Bugatti EB110 Super Sport, with a quad-turbo V-12 supercharged engine, capable of reaching speeds of 216 miles per hour."
"Congratulations on officially starting your high school life."
With that, Lex tossed the keys in his hand to Jino.
"Come on, Lex." Jino caught the keys, somewhat helplessly. "You're not seriously agreeing with Dad's idiotic idea and planning for me to go to high school or something, are you?"
"Education is important. And also, you should call me 'brother'."
Lex grinned, seeing Jino's crestfallen expression. He couldn't be happier. The man snapped his fingers. "Anyway, if you choose to resist going to school, I'll tell Mother everything truthfully."
"You don't want her flying all the way from Metropolis to bother you, do you?"
Listening to Lex, Jino immediately imagined his mother, speaking in a gentle tone while simultaneously twisting his ear.
The young man raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Alright, I'll go to school."
Jino had a very open perspective on life; if he couldn't resist, he would accept it.
Besides, if he remembered correctly, the famous Clark would also be attending high school in the town, and Clark's high school life was quite tumultuous. He wouldn't have to worry about a lack of negative points at school. Over these thirteen years, he had also figured out the System's rules: the maximum points obtainable from a superhero or supervillain was 10,000 points. Therefore, if he wanted to exchange for more items with points, he would need to constantly acquire them from new heroes and villains.
Lex still had to inspect the family factory in town, and before leaving, he instructed Jino to report to school today.
"Ah, high school life."
Jino looked up at the sky, which was as clear as washed blue, and subconsciously thought of his miserable 9-to-5 high school life in his previous existence, where despite his best efforts, he only managed to scrape by with a regrettable associate's degree in the cutthroat environment.
"But now, all that's over," Jino said, smiling at the sun.
The gentle sunlight bathed him, constantly nourishing Jino's body. He could feel his blood boiling and roaring. The terrifying power contained within this body was enough to make the world tremble.
Jino slowly raised his powerful arm, as if forged from steel alloy, then opened his palm.
He gently clenched his fist.
"Bang!"
The terrifying force caused the air in his palm to explode with a sonic boom, truly achieving the feat of an air explosion.
"In this life, I will never live such a pathetic existence. I will embrace all the beautiful things life has to offer!"
Jino calmly ripped off his black suit, revealing his white shirt. He opened the car door and got in.
"High school life."
The young man smiled indifferently, and amidst the roar of the sports car, he slowly said, "Here I come!"
The Bugatti roared out of the estate, heading towards the town.
As he drove, the wind whipped past the car's sides, and Jino pondered his abilities.
Thirteen years had passed since he replicated Clark's abilities. He discovered that the abilities duplicated by the System were the same as young Clark's, gradually awakening over time, such as Man of Steel and Super Strength, which allowed him to easily snap a knife in half at first.
"I wonder when I'll be able to awaken Heat Vision."
Jino turned the steering wheel, and the sports car turned onto an even more open country dirt road.
After another turn, It was only when a yellow-brown school bus appeared in front of his car window that Jino realized his route to school perfectly overlapped with the bus's.
"Wait, that farm?"
Jino frowned, looking at the farm in the distance. Isn't that Jonathan and Martha Kent's farm? This is where I copied Clark's talent when I was little.
As he was thinking this, Jino saw a figure emerge from the red house on the farm. The person had a red canvas bag on their back, a head of thick, black curly hair, and a tall, imposing physique, though the old jacket they were wearing looked a bit unstylish.
The person stared at the distant school bus, then lowered their head in disappointment.
Clark Kent's negative emotion +1, +1.
"Here comes the big gift package." Jino glanced at Clark, who was standing at the farmhouse gate.
The next second, The young man slammed on the brakes, and the sports car came to a beautiful drift stop in front of Clark.
Jino rakishly took off the sunglasses on his face, lowered his head, and looked at the young boy. "Hey, friend, need a ride?"
Clark looked on in surprise at the cool silver sports car that had suddenly appeared, and the cool blonde young man.
"Hello, but I don't think I need—"
He had intended to say he would run to school, but before Clark could finish, Jino interrupted him.
The young man shrugged with an exaggerated expression. "Come on, you're a high school student too, right?"
"I just arrived at this school today, and I'm about to go register."
Jino pointed at the school bus, which was gradually driving away. "Do you really want to walk several kilometers to school?"
(To readers wondering why the protagonist is going to high school, if you're curious, skip to chapter twenty to see the reason. Little Mo originally planned for this to be a plot hole leading to a major event in the future magical world, but too many readers asked, so consider this a spoiler.)
(End of Chapter)