With a resident fighter now freely available, Johnson's daily life became much more leisurely.
Recently, the martial artist Bang returned to his suburban dojo after traveling to other cities for hero activities.
Though he had visited many places and seen all sorts of things, he still hadn't found a disciple to his liking. Having seen the best, all other mediocre talents now seemed tasteless to him.
Upon learning of Bang's return, Johnson called Saitama, whose hair loss had become increasingly noticeable, and Z-City's original hotpot group gathered again. This time, they battled it out at Bang's dojo, with their three-way competition growing increasingly fierce.
"This kid..." The old man raised an eyebrow while watching Saitama's progress.
It seemed like only a month had passed since he last saw him, yet this young man could already hold his own against Johnson when fighting for meat — even gaining the upper hand at times.
What kind of monstrous growth rate is this!?
While Bang marveled at Saitama's rapidly improving strength, he kept giving Johnson death stares.
This left Johnson utterly confused — why stare at me instead of eating that tender, juicy steak?
Looking back at the misfits in his own training ground, Bang couldn't help but sigh deeply.
You've been secretly learning the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist for so long, and you haven't improved one bit!
What a waste of such an astonishing martial arts talent...
Regarding this, Johnson's skin was as thick as city walls, showing not the slightest shame. Martial arts weren't his main weapon — more like icing on the cake than essential aid.
Mastering a martial art could increase his understanding of that type of enemy, preventing disadvantages like he experienced against Tank Top Master due to lack of knowledge. In direct combat, Johnson still relied on his various superpowers.
Who would bother showing technique in a complete mismatch?
During this peaceful period, Johnson used up dozens of accumulated card draws.
With this substantial quantity, he received not only basic attribute cards of various levels but also several other valuable outputs.
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FANTASY CARD: Veteran Driver
CARD TYPE: Ability Card
RARITY: R
┌─ SYSTEM DESCRIPTION ─┐
The superpower of Dominic "Dom" Toretto, the family hero from the Fast and Furious world, Drive or Die.
┌─ PRIMARY FUNCTION — DRIVER NEVER DIES FROM FLIPPING ─┐
Driving skill Max, absolutely will not flip when driving any vehicle.
┌─ SECONDARY FUNCTION — VEHICLE ENHANCEMENT ─┐
All vehicle performance doubled, passive short-term flight ability when driving vehicles.
╚══════════════════════╝
╔══════════════════════╗
FANTASY CARD: Iron Physique (Lv 60/MAX)
CARD TYPE: Ability Card
RARITY: R
┌─ SYSTEM DESCRIPTION ─┐
A passive skill of the Fighter from the Arad Continent (DFO Online), a basic training technique.
┌─ PRIMARY FUNCTION — STEEL REINFORCEMENT ─┐
Continuous tempering makes the body as strong as steel.
┌─ SECONDARY FUNCTION — IRON BONES ─┐
Greatly enhances physical defense and physique.
╚══════════════════════╝
╔══════════════════════╗
FANTASY CARD: Teleport
CARD TYPE: Ability Card
RARITY: SR
┌─ SYSTEM DESCRIPTION ─┐
Psychic-type move from the Pokémon world.
┌─ PRIMARY FUNCTION — COMBAT WITHDRAWAL ─┐
Forcibly escape spatial lockdown and flee.
┌─ SECONDARY FUNCTION — TELEPORTATION ─┐
When used in battle, instantly teleport to a position locked by mental power; the longer the distance, the more energy consumed.
╚══════════════════════╝
╔══════════════════════╗
FANTASY CARD: Black Widow
CARD TYPE: Character Card — Hero
RARITY: SR
┌─ SYSTEM DESCRIPTION ─┐
Natalia Alianovna "Natasha" Romanoff, one of the original six Avengers from the Marvel world, a superhero with a special agent background.
┌─ PRIMARY FUNCTION — SUPER AGENT ─┐
Sharpshooter, ace pilot, top hacker, proficient with various firearms and high-tech weapons.
┌─ SECONDARY FUNCTION — GOLD MEDAL ATHLETE ─┐
World-class athlete, gymnast, acrobat, with agility and flexibility beyond normal humans, allowing the user to easily perform various complex movements.
┌─ TERTIARY FUNCTION — PERFORMANCE MASTER ─┐
The user gains incredible charisma, can disguise their true feelings, and can make men or women submit with just a glance.
┌─ QUATERNARY FUNCTION — ENHANCED HUMAN ─┐
The user's genetic structure adapts to these modifications, greatly reducing aging rate, increasing immunity, and providing maximum human physical capabilities.
┌─ QUINARY FUNCTION — TACTICAL HUMAN ─┐
Strategist, tactician, and commander, with outstanding abilities that allow the user to excel at almost any job.
╚══════════════════════╝
Two R cards, two SR cards.
The "Veteran Driver" card focused on increasing style points, and as the superpower of a family hero, its vehicle enhancement was nothing short of outrageous.
After drawing this divine card, Johnson immediately sent a report to the bureau requesting that the Special Affairs Division be equipped with a modified GTR police car to improve emergency response times.
Kyoko criticized him for blatantly abusing his power.
Then there was the max-level "Iron Physique", which had great compatibility with Johnson's body as a passive skill. After using it, his already superhuman physique took on a metallic sheen.
The "Teleport" Pokémon move proved useful for both combat and escape. Since mastering it, whenever Fubuki was present in battle, Johnson never failed to be there as her supervisor.
The last SR card was somewhat special — the Marvel superhero Black Widow's character card. While its strategic value and versatility were impressive, its strength was unfortunately too low.
For Johnson, whose power style was already taking shape, this enhancement couldn't compare to the equally SR-rated "Heart of the Tempest". Switching was out of the question.
{T/N: For those who don't remember, each Hero-Card is like wearing a uniform. He can equip two at the same time, but only the chosen one will have an effect.}
However, just because he couldn't use it didn't mean others couldn't.
Fantasy character cards could be loaded not only onto oneself but could also be bestowed upon others according to Johnson's will — even non-human creatures.
Like premium skins in MOBA games, they were plug-and-play. If the user developed ulterior motives, the character card and its granted abilities could be recalled with a single thought.
Johnson immediately thought of a suitable candidate.
What could be better than a capable deputy? An even more capable one, of course.
As the deputy director of the Special Affairs Division, Kyoko had impressive looks, but her combat ability was lacking. She barely passed the regular training courses. Being able to protect herself in emergencies was already something to be thankful for.
This was the reality for the entire Special Affairs Division and all civilian police officers in Z-City.
Johnson couldn't always watch over his subordinates. Given the danger level in Z-City during the Monster Association era, he needed to strengthen his police officers — not to turn them into major assets, but at least to ensure they could survive sudden disasters.
He would start with Kyoko.
With his mind made up, Johnson found the perfect use for the Black Widow Character-Card.
Unfortunately, most items he collected through his Stand's Element Collection were single ability cards. Character Cards could only be acquired through completely random destiny draws — a process that couldn't be rushed.
Monster Cards were technically Character Cards too, but Johnson would never use such power on ordinary humans. These cards were filled with uncertain factors and practically labeled "chaotic evil".
If someone were influenced by monster power and mutated into an actual monster, that would create serious problems.
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T/N: Favorite, comment and save to your library of best reads in the world, thank you for reading this far!
T/N: Follow me on Pa-treon for advanced chapters: MrBlackWing! ( ◕‿◕ )
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)