While Eric was lost in thought, absentmindedly tapping his fingers on the table, a sudden knock snapped him back to reality.
"Our little Superman, what are you thinking about so deeply?" Tony's playful voice rang out.
Eric blinked and looked up, finding Tony Stark lounging comfortably in a chair on the other side of the table. His trademark smirk was firmly in place. But Eric wasn't in the mood for playful banter.
"Oh, did your eyes finally stop working because of your age? You're one hour late," Eric retorted dryly, raising an eyebrow.
Tony gasped, clutching his chest dramatically. "Oh no! How can it be? But everything I did, I did for you! And now you blame me? How cruel."
Eric rolled his eyes, the sarcasm dripping from Tony's voice not lost on him. "Oh? And what great deed did you achieve, my general?"
With a triumphant grin, Tony gave a small bow. "The Stark Group will now be at your disposal."
Eric's eyes widened slightly. "Already? It's done?"
"Yeah. Took me almost a month to convince those greedy bastards, but I did it." Tony's voice held a tinge of irritation. Clearly, dealing with stubborn corporate heads had been more taxing than he liked to admit.
"Here are the formal documents." He tossed a thick folder toward Eric, which landed on the table with a thud.
Eric picked it up and quickly scanned the contents. His eyebrows raised in surprise. "Twenty percent stock and two billion in cash? That's... generous."
Tony smirked proudly. "Well, what can I say? You've got a great representative. And, of course, those technologies you gave me are nothing short of revolutionary. Even the most reluctant board members couldn't pass up an opportunity like that."
Eric's thoughts briefly drifted back to the Solo Leveling world. Despite its lack of modern infrastructure inside the dungeons, the outside world had been far more advanced than people gave it credit for. They had developed groundbreaking technologies — from mana-based energy systems to highly efficient medical devices. Sure, nukes were little more than fireworks to S-Rankers, but for lower-ranked individuals, modern weaponry still held significant power. The technological advancements in weapons, energy, and other sectors had simply been too valuable to pass up.
Before leaving that world, Eric had done something a little unorthodox — he'd taken all the knowledge he could. Countries had fiercely guarded their tech, but with his power, sneaking around and acquiring it all had been easy. He'd practically vacuumed up an entire planet's worth of research data. His initial plan had been simple: build a company, introduce the technology, and become the richest man in no time.
But, as it turned out, reality was a little different from his expectations.
Establishing a massive corporation wasn't just about throwing money around. There were countless challenges — managing thousands of employees, dealing with bureaucracy, and inevitably stepping on the toes of powerful figures. It was more trouble than it was worth. Eric didn't particularly care about money itself. In a world like Marvel, where supervillains popped up like weeds and apocalyptic threats were commonplace, cash was only useful for convenience.
Yet, money still mattered. Even if Earth was one crisis away from destruction, wealth meant power. Look at Tony Stark. The man had nearly brought about world-ending events multiple times, yet he still walked free — a living example of the incredible shielding effect that money and influence provided.
However, Eric wanted no part of the headaches that came with running a business empire. So he'd opted for the simpler route — selling the tech. With Tony's help, it had gone far smoother than expected.
Of course, there was another obstacle before he could even sell the technology. Most of it relied heavily on mana, making it useless in a world without naturally abundant magic. Unlike in the Solo Leveling world, Earth's mana levels were practically nonexistent.
Eric wasn't a genius in the typical Marvel sense. While he was intelligent, he wasn't one of those comic-book prodigies who could reverse-engineer alien tech in a day. Modifying the mana-based systems himself was out of the question. And that's where Tony had come in.
The billionaire inventor, always obsessed with pushing the boundaries of technology, had been eager to collaborate. Tony managed to adapt the tech to Earth's conditions in just one month. He have to say, it is almost like a superpower.
At first it was a business, but their partnership had grown into something unexpected. In the four months they had known each other, Tony had become one of Eric's closest friends. Maybe it was the influence of Eric's previous life memory — he didn't particularly enjoy mingling with kids his age after coming back, finding their conversations dull and unrelatable. And Tony, despite his public bravado, was often painfully lonely. Even Rhodey, his supposed best friend, was more of a colleague than a true companion.
What made their friendship work was the mutual respect. Unlike others, Tony, saw Eric as his equal, with all his ego he still cannot look down on someone, who could destroy your planet as easily as popping a balloon. Sure, he teased him relentlessly, but deep down, Tony acknowledged Eric's strength and also his somewhat decent intelligence. And Eric, he really did not care about anything, this guy is funny so he stuck around, like a funny sidekick.
He don't know what tony will think, if he knew that eric though of him as a sidekick.
With a shake of his head, Eric flipped through the rest of the documents. It was official. The deal was sealed. He might not own a massive corporation, but he had just secured enough influence and money to move freely without unnecessary interference. And in a modern world, that was worth more than anything.
"Well then," Eric said, leaning back in his chair. "I guess I owe you one."
"Damn right you do. I expect at least one chess burgur in the future."
"We'll see. Just don't be late next time."
Tony grinned. "No promises."
[yesterday I was playing marvel rivals, so I forgot about it, sorry]