Limiter Breakthrough ACT2

"This is my turf! Who gave you permission to move in here!?"

"Huh?" Saitama tilted his head back and looked curiously at the Streetlight Monster, whose lamp had sprouted human features. "Are you saying we have to pay you rent? But I don't have any money!"

"No money, and you still expect to live here for free? No, this isn't about money!" The Streetlight Monster spread his stick-insect-thin body, his lamp-head face twisting into a vicious grin. "Since you're here, you can die for me! Ahahahaha... urk!"

With a thunderclap, Josen activated Lightning Release Chakra Mode and leaped above the Streetlight Monster's head.

The Heart of the Freljord was clearly meant to be a ranged assassin, yet in Josen's hands, her character card had ended up fighting in melee.

Why bother painstakingly stacking a passive when one punch could kill the enemy? That was the true essence of a tank-build mage!

Without another word, he gathered raging lightning in his right hand and drew his body back like a fully bent bow. Under the Streetlight Monster's now beady-eyed stare, he threw a punch without the slightest flourish.

Boom!

Metal was utterly worthless against his lightning-clad fist. One punch shattered the lamp head, and the lightning blasted the rest of the body into a twisted length of scrap iron.

"Next time you run into a weakling who loves running his mouth like this, just beat him to death."

"Got it!"

Watching from the sidelines, Saitama's eyes shone. He wholeheartedly agreed with Josen's philosophy.

Using psychic power, Josen smoothed over the ground the monster had damaged, then tossed the Streetlight Monster's corpse into a nearby unfinished construction site. While he was at it, he dismantled the monster card and absorbed another batch of stats.

The fellow had looked big and tall, but he was all show. His strength was only around Tiger-level, and the stats he yielded were barely better than nothing-roughly equivalent to one or two N-rank strength cards.

As the sun set, Saitama finished tidying his room and officially moved in. Josen brought out the hot pot ingredients and beer he had prepared well in advance to celebrate.

With their rematch taking place on new ground, Saitama's fighting power had improved considerably. He shoveled scalding food into his mouth without blinking, and his magic resistance to the spicy broth had increased dramatically too.

Shocked, Josen had no choice but to enter serious mode. Only then did he barely manage to eat his fill under Saitama's relentless assault.

"Burp..."

"I'll leave the important job of washing dishes to you. I'm heading out!"

Saitama: "..."

Watching a certain irresponsible police officer drift lazily away from the balcony, Saitama, who was likewise sprawled on the floor, rubbed his belly in utter contentment. He was already looking forward to their next battle.

[Fantasy Card: Limiter Fragments] X20

[Fusion available!]

One hot pot dinner had completed his card collection, and his Stand finally notified him that fusion was available.

Thankfully, it only required twice as many fragments as the first fusion.

Josen breathed a sigh of relief. He had originally thought a second "Limiter Breakthrough" would require at least a hundred fragments.

On the way home, the card fusion was completed.

[Fantasy Card: Limiter Breakthrough ACT2]

[Card type: Special Card]

[Rarity: N+]

[Description: Formed by fusing unknown fragments; an otherwise invisible conceptual power.]

[Effect 1: Limiter Release]

[Designate any target and break through its racial growth limit once.]

[Effect 2: Controlled breakthrough]

[Select any one attribute of any target and break through its racial growth limit.]

Hmm?

The familiar bald version of Saitama appeared on the card again, and Josen's eyes lit up. The "Limiter Breakthrough ACT2" formed from twenty fragments really was more powerful!

The half-step increase in rarity was negligible, but the newly added second effect, "Controlled breakthrough," was practically tailor-made for him.

Huh? Why aren't you fighting me for it this time?

Puzzled, Josen summoned his Stand. The stack of Fantasy Cards in his hand, whose thickness never changed, sent him an aggrieved message.

Too full. Still digesting...

Tch. You little scrub. You just don't have what it takes!

Driven back into the void by its user's merciless mockery, the Fantasy Cards vanished. Josen took the quickest shower he could, wrapped a bath towel around himself, and stepped out of the bathroom.

Crystal-clear droplets gleamed on his perfect, steel-forged physique. The contours of almost every muscle approached the golden ratio.

Damn, I'm handsome!

After admiring himself in the mirror for a while, Josen made his preparations and slapped the newly acquired Limiter Breakthrough into his chest.

Hot. Way too hot!

A magma-like heat erupted from his heart and spread throughout his body in an instant!

Startled, Josen first checked the floor beneath his feet and found it completely intact.

Only then did he realize that all the surging heat from the card was firmly locked inside his body.

Reassured, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to this unprecedented evolution of his species.

The first change was a comprehensive improvement in his own stats and abilities.

The four stats in his Stand system soared. After reaching their peaks, they disregarded his racial limits and broke through, then continued breaking through!

His flesh ran wild, and his soul ascended!

Compared with the enhancements from his daily card draws and dismantling monster cards, the changes brought by "Limiter Breakthrough" were like leaping straight from the steam revolution into the nuclear age. Their scales were practically dimensions apart!

Next came the various abilities Josen had mastered.

"Spider-Sense" UP↗

"Psychic Power" UP↗

"Twenty Years of Power in One Punch" UP↗

"AT Force Field" UP↗

"Water Breathing Technique" + "Body Flicker Art" → "Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist: Remnant"

There were not many, but all of them were refined at once, their power, speed, energy efficiency, proficiency, and other aspects improving dramatically.

In terms of martial arts mastery, he had progressed from a first glimpse of the basics to a rudimentary understanding, then all the way to polished mastery and true proficiency!

Everything fell naturally into place, without the slightest resistance.

When it was all settled, the scorching sensation enveloping his body ebbed away like the tide.

Yet the enhancement process was not over.

Strength, speed, constitution, spirit!

The four attribute options appeared before his eyes as though projected onto his retinas.

Following his gaze, Josen's will focused on the option he had chosen long ago. A moment later, it happened all over again-the energy of Limiter Breakthrough surged through him once more!

Spirit!

Azure psychic power broke out of the sea of consciousness behind his brow and spread ceaselessly into the real world. Countless polygonal force-field planes flickered in and out of existence around Josen.

Creak, creak...

In an instant, Josen heard the apartment building's internal structure groaning under an unbearable burden.

He snapped out of it.

By then, his spontaneously expanding psychic power had enveloped the entire building. Seen from above, its azure radiance shone like neon, clearly marking the apartment building on the ground.

Under Josen's control, the psychic power began to contract, and the apartment building slowly steadied after enduring that unbearable weight.

But the crisis was not over. He discovered that his normally docile psychic power was actually showing signs of slipping out of control!

His peripheral vision swept across the night sky outside the window, and Josen made an immediate decision.

His immense psychic power propelled his body out of the apartment as though he had teleported. At the same time, an exceptionally sturdy AT Force Field formed beneath his feet.