Mark of the Multiversal Pretender

The next morning was the same as usual but this time, Leo dedicated himself to finishing at least 5 Sub-Quests before his next shift tonight.

'Let's see here. Learn how to cook noodles? For only 0.001%? Sounds easy.' Leo smiled and mentally said to himself before entering the kitchen where Mr. Ping was cooking his specialty noodles as usual.

"What can I do for you, Leo? You just ended your shift." Without even turning around, Mr. Ping spoke, his eyes never leaving the wok as if a parent was watching over his child.

"It's nothing much, Mr. Ping. I was just....curious on how to make noodles. I wonder if you can teac-."

"You want to learn how to make noodles! How wonderful! Here, grab this and I'll teach you how to make noodles!" Without even letting Leo finish his sentence, Mr. Ping suddenly handed the wooden ladle to Leo before pushing him towards the wok.

"Oh this is so great! It's like teaching Po how to cook all over again!" Mr. Ping expressed his excitement.

Thankfully, Leo was a very fast learner and combined with Black Panther's template, he managed to make noodles after only 2 tries.

"You will be a great cook, someday Leo!" After handing the wooden ladle back to Mr. Ping, he complimented Leo.

"Thank you, Mr. Ping. And also for teaching me how to make noodles." Leo smiled and bowed his head in gratitude before leaving and going back to the cramped alley.

[• Sub-Quest #3: Learn how to make Noodles from Mr. Ping himself! (Completed)

Reward: 0.001% of Black Panther Template.(Claim)]]

"Easy." Leo smirked and claimed the reward, watching as the Sub-Quest vanished from the list of Sub-Quests before proceeding to open his status.

[Status

Name: Leonard Skinwalker

Current Templates:

- Template 1: Black Panther [10.003%]

- Template 2: [Locked]

- Reputation Points: 0

- Gacha

- Quest

- Inventory]

'Not much but it's still a progress.' Leo smiled to himself in satisfaction, clearly pleased with the outcome of his hard work.

"Alright! Next Sub-Quest!" Leo cracked his knuckles as he smiled, thrilled and excited at the thought of progressing by finishing Sub-Quests.

[• Sub-Quest #4: No rest for the wicked! Find a bandit and use him as a target practice for your strength!

- Bandit/s defeated: 0/1

- Bonus: Defeat 10 bandits - 0/10

Reward: 0.01% of Black Panther's Template, A black panther ceremonial mask.

Bonus Reward: 0.1% of Black Panther's Template!]

'What's this? Am I supposed to be some kind of hero now?' Leo's face twitched a bit after reading the Sub-Quest contents. It's not like he's against fighting evil but it's quite ironic for a con-man like him to become a street hero all of the sudden.

'Not to mention, how will I find a bandit? This valley is clearly under the Jade Palace's jurisdiction, which means the Furious Five are some kind of Peace Officers here.' Leo furiously scratched his head.

'Should I go out of the valley? Nah, too risky. I don't think I have the strength to handle a bear's strength or worse, a rhino.' After a few moments of contemplating, Leo was left with a single option.

'I'll just patrol around, especially at night. Who knows, I might get some luck by encountering a bandit.'

With that being said in his mind, Leo went back inside Mr. Ping's noodle shop and started helping out during Po's shift, just to finish one of the Sub-Quests.

[• Sub-Quest #5: An Employee of the Month! Help Po in his work during his shift. Show your kindness to the destined dragon warrior!

Reward: 0.005% of Black Panther Template.]

***

"Ugh..." Po groaned while massaging his stiff neck, he then grabbed several bowls and was about to go back to the kitchen to wash them when suddenly, someone snatched the stack of bowls from his hand.

"Leo? I thought your shift just ended, what are you doing here?" Looking up, Po saw Leo who was already heading towards the kitchen.

"Don't worry, Po. Let me help." Leo gave Po a thumbs up after turning around to face him.

"Are you sure?" Po expressed his concern.

"Of course. I can do this all day." Leo confidently smiled and quoted from a certain someone with an America's ass.

"'I can do this all day'....Woah. That's such a cool line!" Po silently whispered the quote to himself before looking at Leo's departing back with amazed filled eyes, as if a child looking up to his idol.

***

Soon, Po's shift ended and Leo still continued working, impressing not only Po and Mr. Ping but also the customers who came, eat and go.

In the end, he was even given the nickname of Unwavering Warrior. Leo doesn't know where the word Warrior came from.

Still, Mr. Ping gave him a surprise after closing down the noodle shop.

"Here's a gift for you, Leo. Open it!" Shoving the wooden box on Leo's arms, Mr. Ping excitedly tapped his feathered fingers against each other.

"Okay..." With uncertainty painted on his face, Leo slowly opened the wooden box, expecting some kind of weird gift from Mr. Ping.

"This is!!?" However, Leo was surprised to see an apron!

Not just any apron but a cool-looking apron!

"It's your apron!" As if assuming that Leo doesn't know what the gift is, Mr. Ping identified it for him.

"Wearing it will make you an official noodle waiter in my noodle shop! Isn't it amazing!? Huh?" Much to Mr. Ping's surprise, he was expecting a smile on Leo's face, he saw tears slowly dropping from Leo's eyes.

"Leo? What's wrong? Did you perhaps...not like it?" Mr. Ping nervously looked at Leo's face.

Hearing Mr. Ping's words, Leo noticed that Mr. Ping misunderstood his gesture, so he quickly wiped the tears from his face and said with a smile.

"No! I love it, Mr. Ping! Thank you. It's just that....this is the first time I received a gift. I don't remember ever receiving one." Leo said with a slight sad look on his face. What he said this time is not a lie. He was telling the truth.

In his past life, his parents died during his early days. Hence, he was left with no one to rely with but himself.

Even in growing up, he rarely made friends or had a lover thanks to his cautious nature.

The last time he had a friend, it turned out to be an undercover agent assigned to catch him while having his guard down.

Ever since then, Leo never made friends anymore.

"Aww...Come here." Before Leo could react, Mr. Ping approached him with his arms wide open before suddenly hugging his torso.

"It's okay....I may not know how it feels but I know you feel happy, because I was happy too when my father gifted me a Wok on my 5th birthday for the first time! And I'm still using it until now! It's right here!" Mr. Ping then grabbed a certain Wok hanging in a wall before showing it to Leo.

"See!"

"That....awesome." No, Leo truly felt awesome. He might not know how old Mr. Ping is but being able to maintain it since he was 5 is truly amazing, it doesn't even look like it has dents or scratches on it. It looks brand-new!

"I know right! Now, take my gift and see if it fits. We'll continue talking tomorrow." Mr. Ping then walked away towards his room, leaving Leo alone in the kitchen.

Taking out the apron from the wooden box, Leo could feel its fabric on his fingers, giving him a happy feeling.

"I'll definitely cherish this as Mr. Ping cherished his Wok." Leo said to himself before walking upstairs and entered Po's room, meeting the aforementioned individual, sleeping on his bed as usual.

"He doesn't look as tired as he was yesterday. Maybe I should help him every often?" Leo pondered to himself before putting it in the back of his mind.

Leo then carefully placed the newly folded apron beside his futon, as he liked to call it for now before going to the window.

"Now, it's time to find some bandits." Leo would be lying if he says he's not excited and thrilled by the thought of beating bandits up. Sure he had a share of a few fist fights back in his past life but this time would be different. Huge difference.

He would be like Muhammad Ali.

***

"Hahh~ I like how those Furious Five are asleep on the night while active on the day. Only an idiot would operate in the day unlike us. We're smart!" Inside a dark alley between two houses, a couple menacing looking hyenas were transferring crates upon crates on a caravan.

These crates were the metals they secretly stole from the Valley once every month in the night. After all, they can't keep stealing everyday hence the Jade Palace would notice them immediately.

"Let's bring this to Lord Shen. I heard his project would finally have its first prototype." Among them, the leader was a bigger hyena with several cut marks on his face.

"It's already so late at night, dogs. What about leaving all these....metals here and leaving peacefully." Suddenly, they heard an unknown voice from the other end of the alley.

Squinting their eyes, they were able to see a dark figure that looks very similar to one of the Furious Five members, Tigress.

"Who goes there?" Placing his lantern in front, the leader hyena along with the rest of the bandits were finally able to see what the figure looked like.

"Huh? Just a weird looking animal. And here I thought it was the Furious Five. I don't want to go to jail so early." A hyena sighed in relief while wiping the nonexistent sweat on his forehead.

"Oh don't worry, facing me would be much worse than going to jail." They then saw a menacing grin on the figure's face, giving them the chills.

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[Power Stones baby!]

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[Next Chapter: Ch. 8 - The Great Pretender's Secret Career]

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