Bets

After Benjamin and Carol spent the day touring Sakaar and eventually spending their first night on an alien planet, the sun rose again on the next day and it was time for the race.

When the two regrouped with the others while Carol was massaging her hips and unsteady walk, Drax laughed as he looked at Benjamin.

"Ha! What a beast! You sure plowed her well!"

"..."

Without a word, Carol condensed her energy on her fist and shot a blast toward Drax, catapulting him somewhere in the distance.

Rocket Racoon, who was about to comment about it as well, quickly shut up and looked away.

Benjamin cleared his throat and led the others to the venue where the Grandmaster and Voyager were waiting along with the awakened Superman and several other gladiators.

Looking around, Benjamin also saw a talking rock figure and a woman with white markings on her face. These should be Korg and Valkyrie.

It seems the two also joined the death race and teamed up as they were riding a huge vehicle with Valkyrie driving and Korg at the back holding a huge weapon that seemed to resemble a gatling-gun.

At this moment, Thor approached Benjamin who had already let out his DeLorean.

"Ahem. Ben, buddy. Mind if I join you?"

Benjamin looked at him in confusion but nodded anyway.

Anyway, Thor doesn't really need to do anything. He probably felt bad about the fight yesterday and wanted to make up for it.

Benjamin nodded, thinking that Thor had grown up a bit.

Thor grinned then turned to Valkyrie.

"Valkyrie! Don't forget our bet!"

"..."

Benjamin was speechless.

Grown up…as if! Turns out, this guy had another bet!

What God of Thunder!? He might as well be the God of Betting!

Odin, is it really alright to entrust Asgard to this guy!?

Benjamin sighed and no longer minded this fool.

He turned to the Grandmaster and saw him riding on top of a chariot-like vehicle with numerous weapons on it.

Pulling that chariot was…Superman.

Benjamin scoffed.

As expected. This guy was upto no good.

With Superman's super speed, his win is all but assured…of course, that's if they don't count Benjamin's Infinity Car.

Although he's not using all stones right now, he can still win without any problems with just the Space Stone.

After all, he can just teleport to the other end.

But that's not fun.

Benjamin grinned.

He knew that the Grandmaster wouldn't just simply speed all the way to the finish line. He's the type of person who would wants to see his opponents suffer along the way, thinking they have hope in defeating him but ultimately fail.

Since that was the case, Benjamin would give him a taste of his own medicine.

Naturally, it wouldn't be the same way the Grandmaster was going about it.

Benjamin's way was far simpler and his win was 100% sure without even giving any ounce of chance for others to somehow win.

All he needed was the Reality Stone.

Make them all see a neck-in-neck race when in reality, Benjamin was already at the finish line.

This was more fun than simply teleporting to the end.

Thinking about this, Benjamin clicked his tongue.

These Infinity Stones are really too OP.

Especially this Reality Stone.

Benjamin wondered why, in the movie version, Thanos even bothered with the war when he could just use the Reality Stone to easily take the other stones from others.

[Host, you are using the System's Reality Stone which is more powerful and without side effects.]

Oh, right. There were probably some bullshit reasons and side effects for the 'original' stones to justify and lengthen the movie.

Benjamin sighed once again at his own power.

It seems he is too OP now.

[Host, it is the Infinity Stones that are OP. It is not your power. At least, not yet.]

…Right. I got a bit arrogant just now. That was bad.

Looking at the plot, I would definitely get nerfed soon for some reason. I shouldn't get complacent.

[...Host, can you not copy Deadpool and speak properly?]

Although he was joking around with the System, Benjamin still took its advice to heart.

The System was right. After thinking about it a bit, he seems to be overly relying on external things lately.

His Untainted Symbiote, despite being bound to him, is ultimately not his own power.

The Makluan Ring, Spin…well, nevermind. He hasn't used it in a long time now.

The Necklace of One, he only used occasionally but whenever he's too lazy to think of a solution, he would rely on this and simply use up a word.

The Soul Dagger, although he doesn't use it often, is the only way for him to access Limbo at the moment. Benjamin wondered how powerful he could be if he were to gain access to the power from Limbo directly.

There's also Mjolnir, Gungnir, and the Necrosword.

Finally, the Infinity Stones.

These were all external items that weren't his actual power.

As for his actual power, he only ever relies on the God of Nature and Hellfire.

The rest of his powers were minor conveniences like invisibility or elemental bodies like electricity or earth.

The God of Nature skill was gained too easily such that Benjamin hasn't even properly sat down to explore his ability further.

Benjamin scratched his head and sighed.

Forget it. I'll think about it some more later.

Benjamin didn't even think of something like sealing his items and only use his own skills…that's just stupid.

At most, he would think of his own skills first before considering his items. Not the other way around.

No need to intentionally nerf myself.

Benjamin nodded to himself.

He then looked at the car in front of him and decided.

I'll start doing that after the race!

…Alright, he was also procrastinating.

As Benjamin entered his car, Voyager approached her father, the Grandmaster.

"Father, let's make a bet between us as well."

"Oh? What's the wager, dear?"

"Simple. If I win, I want that guy."

The Grandmaster chuckled.

By 'that guy', he knew that she meant Benjamin.

It seems his daughter has an eye on that little god.

The Grandmaster didn't mind it and asked.

"And if I win?"

"I'll stake my identity as your daughter!"

"...Come again?"

"I said that if I lose, I'll no longer be your daughter!"

The Grandmaster was speechless.

If I lose, I lose a powerful warrior. But if I win, I lose a daughter…won't I still lose something!?

Voyager explained further.

"Wagers must be of equal value. I believe only by using myself as wager can this bet be equal. If I'm no longer your daughter, you are free to use me however you wish! Be it as another warrior in your arena, a tool to trade, anything!"

"...I see…"

The Grandmaster fell silent.

He didn't admonish his daughter but grinned instead.

"How…interesting…!"

The Grandmaster laughed.

"Very well! You have a deal!"

Superman watched all this from the side and felt a shiver down his spine.

This family…there's something wrong with their heads!

However, there was also another question in his mind.

What happens if they both lose though?

Superman turned to look at Benjamin who was getting ready in his car.

If that guy wins…will he be free? Or will his owner simply change hands?

Superman sighed.

Forget it. As long as the bomb in my head exists, I have to keep winning.

With Superman's super hearing, the ticking bomb in his head serves as a constant warning to him.

He will never be free.

As the contestants revved their engines, the red light signal started to blink.

Soon, it turned orange and the revving got even more intense.

At this moment, Benjamin turned to look at Superman and smiled.

Superman was confused but before he could think more about it, The Grandmaster stood on his chariot and spread out his hands.

"Let the race…BEGIN!"

The light turned green.

At the same time…the ticking sound in his head…disappeared!