[... (Click here to REVEAL the card's contents)..]
"So this is how I get skills in this system without spending money. I don't have a skill shop yet, and it seems that these skill cards I get as quest rewards are random, so I can't choose the skills I get, nor can I level up or improve my attributes yet. Well, even though they're random skills, at least I can get skills without spending card points on the roulette wheel. All I have to do is click here and..."
When my fingers finally touched REVEAL, the window glowed brightly and started spinning until it turned into a card.
[Unique Skill Card Revealed!]
[The "ONE FOR ALL 20%" Skill Card has been obtained!]
["ONE FOR ALL 20%" has been added to your inventory.]
"One for all"? This is what I'm talking about! I finally got some kind of super strength. Having super strength in Marvel is practically a minimum requirement. It's only 20%, but One for All isn't just a strength skill, it's a body skill. It's a skill that allows me to gain 20% more agility, speed, and strength, and it's not 20% of my current strength, it's 20% of the total of One for All. Of course, in the long run, it would be better if I obtained the Kayoken, which would increase my power by up to 20 times, but it's still very good.
However, One for All had its limitations and risks. It reminded me of how Izuku Midoriya had serious problems with it, and it took him many months to master it. Also, at the beginning of the anime, it was said that if the One for All user who received the skill didn't have the body ready for such power, it could cause their body to implode.
"I didn't get 100% of One for All, but I wonder: what could 20% do to my body?" I muttered to myself, trying to control my excitement and think rationally. "Calm down, Lucas. Don't be an idiot. Just because you've been given a powerful skill doesn't mean you can go off and use it without thinking."
The skill would only effectively become a part of me if I put it in my deck, just like when I equipped the Sharingan. It was wise to assume that One for All could only affect me if I chose to equip it.
"If I try to use it without being prepared, I could end up much worse off than when I was in the hospital. I might even die, because although I'm slightly tall, I don't have an athletic body at all..."
I wasn't completely skinny, but I probably didn't have half the strength to withstand One for All yet, considering that Izuku Midoriya had to clear tons of garbage from a beach before he was fit.
I let out a tired sigh and fell back onto the sofa. No matter how tempting it was to try this skill now, I knew it would be foolish.
Luckily, I felt I was a bit more advanced than the nerdy Izuku from the beginning of Boku no Hero, as he was slim and short, so a few days of weight training would probably be enough for me to handle the 20% of One for All.
"Okay, Lucas. Let's do this smart..." I said after deciding I wouldn't use it, but then I thought of another alternative instead of leaving the skill card in my inventory. "System, how long would it take me to assimilate the "One for All 20%" Skill Card if I decided to do it now?"
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[About 16 hours.]
"Ouch, it's much smaller than the Sharingan. Is there a reason for that?"
[The "One for All 20%" Skill Card is a card with a predefined limit in the essence of that card. The Sharingan Skill Card is a card with an undefined limit, i.e. you evolve the card.]
"Basically, I can get another Tomoe in my Sharingan and so on, but I'll never be able to reach 21% of One for All... Alright, system, you can set it to assimilate One for All, please."
[The "One for All 20%" skill card has been placed in the assimilation slot and will remain there for the next 16 hours.]
[This action cannot be reversed, but as a benefit, assimilation will nullify all possible side effects of using the skill.]
[You now have 0 assimilation slots.]
It was a good idea to assimilate One for All. Thanks to the benefit of assimilation, I wouldn't have to train to endure this quirk, so I closed the interface with a simple thought and went to the messy bed in my room.
The mattress was thin and hard, and the bedding was far from inviting, but after the crazy events of the day, I was mentally exhausted. I needed energy and clarity to face the next day. After all, what had happened so far was just the beginning.
The next morning...
I was still in a semi-conscious state in my bed when the shrill sound of a ringing telephone began to echo through the room. It took me a few moments to remember where I was and why I was there. It was my first night of sleep after months in the hospital, and it was a relief to wake up and see not a white ceiling, but the window of my apartment with sunlight streaming in.
The phone was still ringing.
"Who is calling me at this hour?" When I managed to answer the phone, my voice was still hoarse from sleep. "Hello? Who is this...?"
"Lucas? Where are you, man?"
The voice on the other end of the line was familiar, but my brain still wasn't processing it properly. Who was...?
"Are you still sleeping? Wake up, bro! Today's a school day and there's also a match, remember?"
"Match...? Class...?" I asked automatically, taking the phone away from my ear for a second to see the name of the contact I was talking to. "Oh, shit... Flash, what time is it?" I asked, because the old phone was incapable of holding a call and displaying the time. I could already imagine that the time wasn't in my favor.
"It's almost half past eleven! I can understand you not coming to other classes, but you have to come to the game at least!"
"All right and... where do we go to school anyway?"
"Midtown High School, man! What world are you in?"
"Right! I'll be there!" I quickly hung up the phone.
I was so focused on all the chaos that had happened since I had been thrown into this universe that, honestly, the idea of a normal routine like school had completely slipped my mind. However, if I was living the life of Lucas Hayes in this world, that meant I had normal teenage responsibilities... including going to school and... playing on the team? Man, being part of the popular crowd really took some effort.
When I got up, I looked in the mirror next to my bed and saw that I was still wearing the same wrinkled clothes from yesterday. I didn't have much time to get ready, but I had to at least get out of those dirty clothes and take a shower to get rid of the smell of sweat.
The day had barely begun, and I was already racing against the clock.
After hurriedly getting dressed, I left the apartment. When I arrived at the bus stop, I joined a small crowd of workers waiting for the next bus.
I only had to wait for the bus to arrive, but my thoughts returned to the system I now had at my disposal. It was addictive to think about the possibilities. I had already acquired the Sharingan, one of the most iconic skills in the Naruto universe, and also One for All. But I wanted more!
The roulette wheel could give me Common Skill Cards, which I imagined would be something like knowing how to cut vegetables, but it could also give me Uncommon and Rare Skills from all over the omniverse.
I know I couldn't always get something as powerful as the Sharingan, but maybe I could get a Haki Skill Card from One Piece, which wasn't as rare a power as a Kekkei Genkai like the Sharingan was in the Naruto universe, or maybe I could get "The Force" from Star Wars?
I had 300 CPs, enough to spin the roulette wheel 15 times. Normally I could only spin 10 times a day, but the day before I had earned 5 extra spins for 5 days. So, while my bus didn't arrive, I mentally opened the system interface and selected the daily roulette wheel.
"Come on, something good, I want something good..."