Chapter 333: New Descent Card
The orange card's background radiated a deep black glow—it had to be another villain template. Had he really stumbled into a den full of villains?
Moments later, the light dispersed, and the image grew three-dimensional. A young man clad in black armor, a black cape, and a black face-covering helmet sat imposingly upon an iron throne made of countless blades and weapons. Behind him floated a sky castle suspended in the air. A simple, ancient-looking hammer lay casually beside him, and in his gloved right hand he held a silver-white chain—the other end bound to a loyal-looking green giant.
The name of this template: Ultimate Magneto · Zhou Ning.
Personality: Evil, contradictory, stubborn, and ambitious.
Talents: Magnetic Mastery (Red), Criminal Genius (Purple), Master Orator (Purple).
Skills: Magnetic Field Manipulation (Grandmaster), Magnetic Flight (Grandmaster), Brainwave Control (Master), Magnetic Field Defense (Grandmaster), Body Manipulation (Master).
Him? Magneto?
It looked a bit like the darkened version of Magneto from Ultimatum—the one who, in a fit of rage, could control a person's body by manipulating the trace amounts of iron in their blood, or alter the blood flow to the brain to influence thought. He could even reverse the Earth's magnetic poles and destroy the entire planet.
Magneto's power was not to be underestimated, but overall, Zhou Ning felt a little disappointed. The card's strength was barely at the edge of orange-tier—too mediocre. What happened to promises of the First Emperor or One Punch Man?!
With this draw, Mad Clown — Penguin — Ordinary Office Worker — Kyōka Suigetsu — Dark Knight — Ultimate Magneto, the six villain characters once again joined forces, raising his villain series to six and unlocking a new synergy in his template index.
Formidable Villains (6):
HP +800
Spirit +9
Agility +4
Synergy Effect: When using a villain template during a crossover, the completion rate of the instance rises faster, with a 30% chance of receiving an extra reward.
Not only did it grant +2 Strength and Agility, but now using villain templates for crossovers was far more cost-effective—30% extra reward probability wasn't just for show.
All in all, still worth it. Zhou Ning couldn't help but wonder—if he went to the Naruto or One Piece worlds, could Magneto's powers crush Tendō Pain or Kid?
Two random rewards remained. Zhou Ning chose to use one first, and the system interface popped up:
[This mission reward is random. You will randomly draw from the following: Specialty / Item / Skill / Random Template Card / Random Descent Card. Proceed? Yes / No]
This one was clearly higher-level than before, with new categories like skills and random descent cards added to the pool. Whatever he got would be fine—but ideally, Zhou Ning hoped for a legendary specialty.
[You have obtained the skill: Hive Shot.]
[You have obtained the skill: Tempest.]
[Hive Shot: You can infuse ripple energy / Haki into bullets to launch a high-speed burst, doubling the power of dual pistols. This skill can only be used with dual pistols.]
[Tempest: While airborne, invert and spin downward while firing, remaining in the air for an extended time and dealing 185% weapon damage to multiple targets. This skill can only be used with dual pistols.]
Zhou Ning: …
He thought he'd been shortchanged, but surprisingly, this pull was a double—two rewards in one. If he wasn't mistaken, these were both gun-mode skills from Dante in Devil May Cry, forming a perfect combo.
Not exactly a jackpot, but still a rare and valuable prize. They enriched his skill set and career path for future class upgrades—and could even be sold to players.
Cool and powerful aside, the fact that they were dual-pistol-exclusive meant he could sell every player another revolver. Zhou Ning knew how to do that kind of math.
One last random draw remained. Whether it turned out to be a legendary specialty or a random descent card, both were acceptable—the former could elevate him to a boss template, the latter gave him an extra life-saving trump card.
After some hesitation, Zhou Ning decided against using his Lucky Clover. He'd already used it twice in a row—without balancing his luck, his misfortune might have stacked up higher. Best to leave this one to fate.
[You have obtained a Random Descent Card: Oceanographer · Zhou Ning. This card can be traced.]
[Oceanographer Zhou Ning Possession Card: Temporarily grants you all abilities of Oceanographer · Zhou Ning for 15 minutes.]
As expected—his luck couldn't be trusted!
Unlucky Zhou Ning hung his head silently.
Although the original version of this "Oceanographer Zhou Ning" seemed invincible—based on Jotaro Kujo, with time-stopping powers and overwhelming style—its actual combat power in a world of gods and transcendent beings was uncertain.
The safest option was to "gild" it first, just like Pirate King · Zhou Ning had evolved into Lord of the Seven Seas · Zhou Ning—send it into the Marvel or One Piece worlds for refinement.
After finishing all his rewards, Zhou Ning had no intention of resting. Following his usual reading routine, he pulled a stack of papers and a pen from his drawer and continued transcribing Harry Potter.
The first volume, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was 228,000 words long. Since he had previously drawn a rare item—Great Writer Zhou Ning's Extensive Manuscripts—he only needed to translate the text into Brastonese.
Over the past few days, he had already copied 130,000 words. Just another 90,000 or so, and he would finish the first volume completely. Once successfully submitted, he would complete the hidden mission Literary Life (IV).
...
The next morning, snow was falling heavily again.
Zhou Ning put on a white trench coat, wrapped a white scarf, donned his hat, grabbed an umbrella, and opened his front door. He slipped a thick stack of envelopes into the mailbox.
Last night, he'd written at an incredible speed—almost burning his pen out—and finally finished copying the first Harry Potter. He mailed it to Darkland First Publishing House, whose address he'd looked up earlier.
Now, all that was left was to let fate decide.
Meanwhile, Sunken Star Beneath the Water had been waiting early that morning outside the alchemy shop, full of anticipation and surrounded by fellow merchants.
He'd heard from Wayne Sturwell that there would be a surprise today, so he'd prepared plenty of money and experience points, ready to splurge.
In the Starry Sky Guild's online list, Jinse's name had been lit since the day before yesterday, continuously grinding the Austin Manor Destruction Battle instance with her teammates. Her level was already 35—just five more and the professional league would officially begin. No wonder they said she'd "transferred all her chest fat to her liver."
After a while, a figure in a white trench coat appeared in the distance—Wayne Sturwell, walking slowly toward them.
"Only slightly less handsome than me!" Sunken Star Beneath the Water couldn't help but think to himself. He moved faster than anyone else, rushing up to Wayne Sturwell and opening the shop interface.
Instantly, he was stunned by the massive batch of new skills and equipment that appeared.