10. On How to Forge a Sacred Armor in the Marvel Universe

Five days later.

Midtown High School.

The physics teacher was lecturing at the front of the room. Sitting near the window, Hawk was busy writing three names in his notebook.

Orichalcum!
Gammanium!
And Stardust Sand!

Taken individually, these three items might mean nothing to most people, but together, they were instantly recognizable to many:

The Cloth!
The battle armor of the Saints. Once donned, it allowed a Saint to connect with their constellation and significantly enhance their combat prowess. To forge a Cloth, these three materials were essential.

The good news: Since he was the only one in this universe who possessed a Cosmo, he did not need to manually forge anything. He only needed to locate these three materials, and his constellation would refine them on its own, creating a Cloth unique to him.

The bad news: Could someone please tell him how to find things that only existed in the Saint Seiya universe while trapped in the Marvel Universe?

Hawk felt a headache coming on. Fortunately, he still had time. Since he hadn't yet awakened his constellation, the need for a Cloth wasn't urgent. But... it was better to be prepared than to scramble later. Instead of waiting until after he awakened his constellation to search for these items, he was better off starting his preparations now.

Therefore, Hawk looked at "Orichalcum" in his notebook and, after a moment of thought, wrote another word beside it.

Vibranium?

Orichalcum, one of the three main materials for a Cloth, was an alloy from ancient Greek legend, a miraculous metal capable of resisting ordinary impacts.

Coincidentally, Vibranium was also a legendary alloy in the Marvel Universe—and the most premium one at that. It possessed the unique property of infinite shock absorption. Captain America’s shield was forged from it.

Unique. Peerless.

As a metal that existed only in legend, Vibranium was essentially priceless and unavailable on the open market.

But... Hawk knew there was a place in this world that possessed vast quantities of it—a place whose reserves, without exaggeration, were likely enough to forge all forty-eight Bronze Cloths, twenty-four Silver Cloths, and twelve Gold Cloths with plenty to spare.

That’s right. He was talking about Wakanda, a nation that, in the twenty-first century, not only practiced isolationism but also feigned poverty to trick the United Nations into providing relief supplies.

If Vibranium could truly substitute for Orichalcum, then... Hawk was determined to get his hands on it.

What? Wakanda wouldn't give it up?

Ha. My need for Vibranium has nothing to do with you!

He was not a man who sought conflict, but if anyone stood in his way of becoming stronger, then that became a matter of "Dao contention."

Dao contention... a fight to the death!

With that thought in mind, Hawk looked at "Stardust Sand" in his notebook. After a brief pause, he wrote "Meteorite" beside it.

Stardust Sand. As the name implied, it was sand ground down from stars within the galaxy. Meteorites were, by definition, fallen stars. As long as he could find a meteorite and crush it using the energy of his own burning Cosmo, he could produce Stardust Sand.

But... Gammanium.

This one? If Orichalcum provided the malleability for the Cloth and the Stardust Sand—refined through the burning of Cosmo—granted it self-repair capabilities, then Gammanium was the element that provided a fusion platform and imbued the Cloth with a sentient consciousness.

In short: Orichalcum and Stardust Sand were not the keys to forging a Cloth. Gammanium was. Without Gammanium, a suit made of Orichalcum and Stardust Sand would be nothing more than a lifeless, ordinary object. Only with Gammanium could it become a true battle garment for a Saint.

But! Hawk furrowed his brow, pondered for a while, wrote "Gamma Rays" beside it, and drew a small question mark.

Given that it could grant a consciousness to the Cloth, and drawing a connection from the "Gamma" in "Gammanium," it was undoubtedly reminiscent of Hulk’s "mother"—gamma radiation. Hulk was born after Bruce Banner was exposed to gamma rays. From a life-giving perspective, gamma radiation was essentially Hulk's mother.

Of course, if Bruce Banner were a woman, gamma radiation could be his father. Regardless, even if gamma radiation wasn't Gammanium, it certainly shared some kind of critical connection.

Hawk closed his eyes, his fingertips subconsciously tapping the notebook as he thought deeply.

Just then, he felt a nudge. Hawk opened his eyes and looked at Gwen, who had poked him with her elbow.

"Mr. Anderson is calling you."

"..."

Hawk blinked, then looked up at the podium. Mr. Anderson, with his slightly graying hair, smiled as he saw Hawk’s gaze land on him. "Hawk, why don't you answer this question?"

Well, he’d been caught daydreaming by the teacher.

However... as Hawk rose from his seat, he only needed a moment to think before providing a perfect answer to the question Mr. Anderson had posed.

Now, it was Mr. Anderson’s turn to be stunned. But since the answer was correct, the teacher merely gave Hawk a look that said, "You got lucky this time," before telling him to sit down.

Hawk muttered a thank you and sat back down. Just as he intended to continue pondering the possibilities between "Gammanium" and "gamma rays," a note was pushed over from beside him.

Hawk looked at the content of the note.

"Is the court hearing for your emancipation confirmed?"

"...Yes, this afternoon."

Hawk thought for a moment, scribbled his reply under the elegant handwriting on the note, and pushed it back.

His apartment had been demolished during the alien invasion, and the new welfare housing had yet to be assigned. Hawk figured he probably wouldn't be waiting for it. The efficiency of the New York municipal government was notoriously slow, and he wasn't the only orphan who had lost their home. Hawk estimated that by the time his turn came, it would be next year.

And by next year, he would be eighteen.

So, Hawk had been looking for a cheaper apartment to rent. After all, he couldn't just stay in a hangar like a refugee, surrounded by all sorts of smells, and constantly worry about whether the people who had lost their homes and lacked insurance might do something extreme.

Since he had to move eventually, he might as well just do it now. But because he was under eighteen, legally speaking, he had no standing, and no one would rent a place to him.

That was why Hawk had been taking leave in the afternoons to go to the Queens Family Court to apply for early emancipation. Gwen knew the reason for his leave because she was a student assistant in his grade.

It wasn't that Hawk had volunteered the information; he wasn't that bored.

In short, Hawk was a student, and Gwen was the student assistant.