Warm currents surged through his body, continuously strengthening King's physique.
He'd finally managed to piece together some of the system's rules—thanks for nothing, manual!
The system hands out rewards in all sorts of ways: making choices, hitting special achievements—whatever the trigger, you get the corresponding prize.
And every reward is generous; it never doles out stingy, proficiency-based skills or cheap trial cards.
After roughly acclimating to his current weakened state, King released Psychic Power and plummeted toward the ground.
The instant before impact, he reactivated Psychic Power and landed as steady as a rock.
It's called bungee-jumping, darling.
"KING-sensei!"
An anxious voice rang out; King turned to see Genos sprinting toward him.
Moments earlier, having seen the battle end, Genos had rushed over to see if he could help.
For instance, with post-combat resupply.
Genos scanned him with his Cybernetic Eyes, confirmed no injuries, and finally relaxed.
"KING-sensei, after such an intense fight you must be thirsty—please drink."
From nowhere he produced a bottle of Mineral Water and offered it with perfect solemnity, as if handing over classified documents.
"Uh…"
King, unnerved by the gravity of it all, took the bottle, twisted off the cap, and gulped.
He really was parched; after all, he'd lost several hundred liters of blood in that fight—dehydration was only natural.
After a few swigs he heard the scratch of pen on paper and a bad feeling struck.
He looked up: Genos was scribbling like mad, the pen a blur as pages filled with frantic notes.
What's he writing now?
Figuring Saitama would need time to aim before jumping back, King strolled over to peek at Genos's notes.
In the original story the Bald Demon King could hop straight back to the ship only because the vessel was so huge it showed as a black dot even from the moon.
This time the target was tiny; Saitama would have to line up his jump and would probably still land off-target.
The moment King's eyes hit the notebook his whole body froze.
[After an intense battle, KING-sensei immediately replenishes water, proving hydration's critical impact on combat. Although as a Cyborg drinking has little effect on me, this underscores the importance of logistics. KING-sensei's strategic insight is profound!]
[Additionally, the act of removing one's shirt before battle deserves consideration. KING-sensei also fought shirtless—does this mean clothing significantly affects performance? Whether humans even need clothes remains open to debate.]
King: "…"
A cold breeze swept past; he stiffly looked down and realized he was stark naked.
But of course—he'd been blown apart hundreds of times; it would've been a miracle for clothes to survive.
Problem: where do you find clothes in the middle of nowhere?
Left with no choice, King circulated his Blood-Qi, forming a crimson, form-fitting battle armor over his bare skin.
After this fight he'd discovered another nifty use for Blood-Qi.
Since it could become a kilometer-long Blood Qi Dragon when he unleashed Night Guy, naturally it could shape into other forms as well.
Clenching his fist, King felt something inside him crack open after the battle.
To figure out what, he opened his status panel for the first time in ages.
[Name: King]
[Gender: Male]
[Abilities: King Engine, ultra-Speed regeneration, Precise Control, Energy Control]
[Strength: 15,500]
[Speed: 14,000]
[Stamina: 12,000]
[Defense: 10,000]
[Spirit: 4,000]
[Note: Dragon Level threshold is 1,000 in every stat]
After scrutinizing the numbers he spotted an anomaly.
Why were all his stats a thousand points higher?
Tallying every reward the system had ever given, his current attributes were still a full thousand above the sum of his initial values plus those rewards.
Could it be…? Coupled with that sensation of something inside him shattering, a theory formed.
This battle had been a true life-and-death struggle; he'd hovered at death's door countless times and must have broken a Limiter, giving his overall strength a sizable boost.
A thousand points across the board might sound small, but in the system's rating a freshly minted Dragon Level monster only has 1,000 in every stat.
Just as King was about to chat further with Genos, a blazing meteor screamed down from the sky and slammed into the ground a few kilometers away.
Instantly the earth quaked; violent shockwaves whipped up sandstorms, and cracks spider-webbed across the ground beneath their feet.
"What's happening? Another enemy? Rest easy, KING-sensei—I'll hold them off!"
Genos snapped into combat mode, Palm Cannons aimed at the impact site, Energy Core blazing sapphire as he braced for battle.
While he tensed, King patted his shoulder, signaling him to relax and step back.
"Relax. It's just a certain baldy returning from outer space."
Hearing the word "baldy," Genos knew exactly who had landed; he retracted his cannons and whipped out Paper and Pen.
[KING-sensei calls Mr. Saitama "baldy," accurately assigning a codename based on appearance—proof of razor-sharp observational skill. In combat we must scrutinize the enemy to spot weaknesses and secure victory. KING-sensei is truly a master of combat thinking!]
"..."
...
(End of Chapter)
[Throw some stones]