"Marvel's Princess Becomes the King"

The Mental Shield could help Bella resist mind-reading techniques and even certain types of curses.

Inside her Spirit Lake, this spell manifested as an abstract, web-like symbol—proof that Bella had fully mastered it and could use it with ease.

The deeper her understanding of her own psychic power, the stronger this shield would become.

For now, however, it was still at an elementary stage. It could block basic telepathy, but if someone like Charles Xavier used Cerebro, or if an angel or demon descended to forcibly probe her mind, there was no way she could defend against it.

Bella's previous emotional control ability had also been integrated into her Mental Shield. Under its protection, she was now far less affected by negative emotions, able to maintain a long-lasting optimistic, positive, and stable mental state.

This was crucial. "Good swimmers drown in water"—and 99% of those with psychic powers suffered from psychological disorders. Keeping a stable mindset and remembering one's position was more important than anything else.

After testing her powers repeatedly, Bella discovered that aside from her Mental Shield, she had also gained two additional passive abilities.

The first was a significant boost in physical attributes.

Her spirit energy enhanced her strength, speed, endurance, and reflexes—all showing a noticeable increase. She didn't yet know where the upper limit was, only that there was still huge potential for growth.

The Mental Shield came from her predecessor's manifested ability, and her boosted physique was an inevitable byproduct of her spirit energy reinforcing her body. But the third ability… was something unique to this Bella.

Death Premonition!

Call it fear of death or reverence for it—either way, Bella could now glimpse brief fragments of her own potential death before it happened.

This ability also had limitations; it was far from a perfect precognition, and interpreting what she saw correctly was an even bigger challenge.

After experimenting repeatedly, Bella felt dizzy, as if she might faint at any moment.

"Wow… so much smoke! Cough, cough!!"

Looking around at the thick haze filling the room, she realized she was suffocating. She quickly opened the windows to ventilate the space and explained herself to her neighbors before finally cleaning up all traces of her spiritual ritual.

She still had enough materials for one more séance. She decided to save it until after she resolved the Grim Reaper incident—then she could perform another ritual to "report to her ancestors." For now, she put everything away.

With her improved physique, her recovery rate also accelerated. The wound in her palm would probably heal within three days.

By the time Charlie rushed home after hearing about the fire, Bella had already gained basic control over her new abilities.

After a plane crash and now a fire, Charlie was full of sympathy for his daughter. He grabbed his wallet and immediately took her out to eat.

Bella was starving. Her enhanced body required more food, and while she could technically use her spirit energy to trick her body into thinking it was full, that was nothing but an illusion. She wasn't at the level where she could literally "draw strength from nothing," so if someone was offering a meal, she wasn't going to say no.

Charlie, single for seventeen years, had no wife and no major expenses. A few meals out wouldn't bankrupt him.

Golden fried pork cutlets, delicately crafted cakes, a big bowl of beef-and-potato stew, a plate of fragrant wheat bread, and—just to be safe—Charlie even asked the chef to bring out a crispy, oil-glazed fried fish.

As they ate, Charlie noticed something about his daughter.

"You… what's going on with you? You look so much more energetic all of a sudden."

Her appearance hadn't changed, nor her clothes or accessories, but there was something subtly different about her. Ordinary people wouldn't notice, but someone who saw her every day could.

Bella elegantly cut into her berry pie, deliberately eating with poise rather than like a starving ghost.

She asked casually, "Charlie, do you think I look prettier now?"

It would've been normal if a little girl had asked her father that, but Bella was nearly eighteen. It was… a little unusual.

Still, this was a country that valued individuality. Nobody here was shy about such questions.

Charlie nodded without hesitation. "You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

Bella quietly reached inward, feeling her Spirit Lake. Her hand tightened around her fork—yes! The total amount of spirit energy had increased, just slightly, but it had worked.

Her experiment was a success! Bella swallowed her pie with satisfaction.

Her method was simple: based on how animals seek approval, she drew genuine praise from others to reinforce her confidence. Her foundation for self-confidence was her beauty.

Courage and wisdom? Please. In the Marvel universe, people braver and smarter than her were everywhere.

But when it came to beauty? Well, she figured she could compete. Natasha Romanoff's looks were top-tier, and Bella considered herself at least on par.

Therefore, she decided: why compete with brains when she could compete with beauty?

The spirit energy feedback from compliments wasn't much, but it was essentially free power!

Over the next few days, Bella pestered everyone in Forks—from the coffee shop owner to Jacob the lovesick puppy.

Jacob's answer was the most enthusiastic and sincere.

"Am I the most beautiful woman you've ever seen?"

"Yes! You're the most beautiful woman in my heart!"

"Okay. Bye."

"???"

Bella even called Natasha in Phoenix. They were sort of half-friends now.

"Natasha, do you think I'm the most beautiful woman?"

There was silence on the other end.

"…Where do you get this confidence from?"

Natasha yawned. "Sure, sure, you're the most beautiful woman. Happy?"

No spirit energy gain. Bella immediately noted that it wasn't sincere.

She pulled out a small black notebook: On [Date], Natasha brushed me off. I'll remember this!

By the time she had asked nearly everyone she knew in Forks, her spirit energy had increased by about one-third. Half of that came from her own daily affirmations—constant self-hypnosis: I'm the prettiest. No one is prettier than me. I'm just too beautiful.

Forks didn't have any professional training facilities, but through her own testing, Bella confirmed that her physical abilities had now far surpassed human limits.

Her muscles remained lean and unassuming, but her body was filled with power. She could accelerate fast enough to cover a hundred meters in a second, bench-press over a ton with ease, and when hunting in the woods with Charlie, she could even faintly track the flight path of a bullet.