Daily life

With a free resident enforcer on hand, Josen's daily life suddenly became much more leisurely.

Recently, the martial artist Bang had also returned to his dojo in the outskirts after traveling to other cities and doing some hero work along the way.

He had visited plenty of places and seen all sorts of things, but unfortunately, he still hadn't found a disciple he liked.

Perhaps, after seeing the best, all the other mediocre prospects simply lost their appeal.

Hearing that Bang was back, Josen called up Saitama, whose hair loss had grown increasingly noticeable lately. Z City's original hot pot trio reunited, taking their rematch to Bang's dojo this time, where the three-way battle grew even more brutal.

This kid...

Saitama's progress made the old man raise an eyebrow. It felt as though they had only been apart for a month, yet the kid could already trade blows with Josen while fighting over meat, even holding his own for a while.

What the hell was this rate of growth?!

While marveling at how quickly Saitama's strength had improved, Bang kept shooting death glares at Josen.

The latter couldn't help feeling baffled. Why keep staring at me instead of eating these tender, juicy little steaks?

Thinking back to the sorry bunch in his own training grounds, Bang wanted to throw his head back and sigh.

You stole the Flowing Water Force so long ago, and you really haven't improved one damn bit!

What a waste of that astonishing martial arts talent...

Josen, however, had skin thicker than a city wall and felt no shame whatsoever.

Martial arts weren't a mainstay of his arsenal. They were icing on the cake, not a lifeline.

Mastering a martial art gave him a better understanding of enemies of that type, so he wouldn't end up getting beaten like Tank-Top Master because of gaps in his knowledge when he encountered them later. In a head-on fight, Josen still relied on his various Psychic Powers.

Who bothered showing off technique when they could just steamroll the opposition?

During those peaceful days, he also used up the dozens of card draws he had accumulated.

With enough draws to work with, he received quite a few other rewards besides the basic attribute cards of various grades.

[Fantasy Card: Veteran driver]

[Card type: Ability card]

[Rarity: R]

[Description: The Psychic Powers of Dominic, the family man from the Fast & Furious world. Drive or Die.]

[Effect 1: Drivers don't die in rollovers]

[Driving skill: Max. You will never roll over while operating any vehicle.]

[Effect 2: Vehicle enhancement]

[All vehicle performance is doubled. Passively grants brief flight capability while driving.]

[Fantasy Card: Steel Muscle and Iron Bone (LvMax)]

[Card type: Ability card]

[Rarity: R]

[Description: A fighter's passive skill from Arad World. A basic training technique.]

[Effect 1: Steel muscle]

[Unceasing training makes the body as tough as steel.]

[Effect 2: Iron bone]

[Greatly enhances physical defense and constitution.]

[Fantasy Card: Instant Transmission]

[Card type: Ability card]

[Rarity: SR]

[Description: A Psychic-type move from the Pokémon world.]

[Effect 1: Disengage]

[Forcibly breaks free of spatial lockdowns and escapes.]

[Effect 2: Teleport]

[When used in combat, instantly transports you to a location locked onto with Psychic Power. The greater the distance, the greater the energy consumption.]

[Fantasy Card: Black Widow]

[Card type: Character card (Hero)]

[Rarity: SR]

[Description: Natasha Romanoff, one of the six founding Avengers in the Marvel Universe. A superhero with a background as a spy.]

[Effect 1: Super spy]

[A sharpshooter, ace pilot, and top-tier hacker, skilled in the use of various firearms and high-tech weapons.]

[Effect 2: Gold medal athlete]

[A world-class athlete, gymnast, and acrobat. Her superhuman agility and flexibility allow her to perform all manner of complex movements with ease.]

[Effect 3: Master performer]

[Natasha possesses incredible personal charm and can conceal her true feelings. A single glance can bring men to their knees.]

[Effect 4: Enhanced human]

[The genetic modification experiments Natasha underwent greatly slowed her aging and strengthened her immune system, granting her peak human physical capabilities.]

[Effect 5: Tactical expert]

[A strategist, tactician, and commander. Her outstanding abilities make Natasha capable of handling almost any job.]

Two R cards and two SR cards.

"Veteran driver" focused on boosting his cool factor. As the family man's Psychic Powers, its bonuses to vehicles were downright absurd.

The moment Josen drew this god-tier card, he submitted a request to the bureau for a modified GTR police car to be assigned to the Special Affairs Section, citing improved mobility for emergency response.

Kyoko called him out for blatantly abusing his authority for personal gain.

Next came the max-level "Steel Muscle and Iron Bone." As a passive skill, it was highly compatible with Josen's own body. After he used it, his already inhuman physique took on a metallic sheen.

"Instant Transmission" was a Pokémon move suited to both fighting and fleeing. Ever since mastering it, Josen had never missed a battle involving Fubuki, serving as her supervisor.

The final SR was somewhat unusual: a character card for Black Widow, one of Marvel's superheroes. Its strategic value and versatility were quite good, but unfortunately, its power was too low.

For Josen, whose abilities and fighting style had already begun to take shape, its bonuses were nowhere near those of the equally SR-ranked "Heart of the Freljord." There was no way he would switch.

But just because Josen had no use for it didn't mean nobody else could use it.

Yes, character-type Fantasy Cards could be equipped on more than just his own body. At Josen's discretion, they could be bestowed upon other people, or even nonhuman creatures.

Like paid skins in a MOBA game, they were plug-and-play. If the user developed disloyal intentions, he could reclaim the character card and the abilities it granted with a single thought.

Josen immediately thought of a suitable candidate.

What could be a better choice than a capable assistant?

A more capable assistant, of course.

As the deputy chief of the Special Affairs Section, Kyoko certainly had plenty going for her in the looks department. But when it came to her own combat ability...

She barely scraped a passing grade in regular training sessions. If she could protect herself during an emergency, that alone would be a blessing.

That was also the state of the Special Affairs Section, and indeed all the desk officers in Z City.

Josen couldn't watch over his subordinates at every moment. Considering how dangerous Z City would become during the Monster Association crisis, he felt it necessary to give the officers' capabilities a boost. They didn't need to become much help to him; at the very least, they needed to be able to keep themselves safe during sudden disasters.

He would start with Kyoko.

Having made up his mind, Josen settled on a use for the Black Widow character card.

Unfortunately, most of what he obtained through essence collection consisted of individual ability cards. At present, the only way to acquire character cards was through completely random fate draws, so there was no rushing it.

Monster cards were actually a type of character card as well. But with powers so full of uncertainties that they might as well have "chaotic evil" stamped on them, Josen would never use them on ordinary humans.

If the monsters' powers affected them and mutated them into actual monsters, he would have a serious problem.