Extra Chapter for 200 powerestones
Let's reach 300 powerstones for an extra chapter
***
A few days crawl by, and I'm back in my dingy New York apartment, the same as always. The only difference is that my bank account is about to explode, so that's a huge plus. I glance at the TV, and Tony Stark's face is plastered across every channel. The dude is officially Iron Man, and the world is losing its collective mind.
I grab a soda and flop onto my ratty couch, watching the news reports with a mixture of amusement and morbid curiosity. Seeing Tony take center stage like this confirms what I already suspected: the age of superheroes is officially here. I'm living in a comic book now, baby, and it's about to get wild.
"Can you believe this?" I say to Gatomon, who's curled up on the armrest, grooming her fur. BlackGatomon is perched on the windowsill, watching the city below with a predatory glint in her eyes. "Stark just straight-up told the world he's Iron Man. No secret identity, no 'mysterious benefactor' crap. Just boom, I'm Iron Man, deal with it."
Gatomon pauses her grooming and gives me a look. "Well, he always was one for theatrics, wasn't he?"
BlackGatomon chuckles, her tail twitching. "He's got balls, I'll give him that. But it's gonna make him a target, that's for sure."
The news anchor drones on about the implications of Stark's announcement, the potential dangers of a superhero arms race, the ethical dilemmas of vigilante justice. Blah, blah, blah. I zone out, more interested in the reporters trying to squeeze info out of Tony about the whole dinosaur situation.
"Mr. Stark, can you confirm the rumors of a giant reptile appearing during your battle with Obadiah Stane?"
"Mr. Stark, was this creature one of your inventions, or something else entirely?"
Tony just smirks, dodging the questions with practiced ease. "I have no comment on that at this time."
Smooth, Stark, real smooth. Way to fuel the conspiracy theories.
Speaking of Obadiah Stane, that snake got caught, too. Apparently, he was selling Stark weapons to anyone with a pulse and a wad of cash, including terrorists. And he was the one in the Iron Monger suit, trying to stomp Tony into paste. The guy was a walking, talking, mustache-twirling supervillain. Glad I could give him a hard time.
"Well, at least the bad guy got what he deserved."
My attention shifts away from the news cycle and lands on the rewards blinking on my Digivice screen. Thirty Supply Boxes? Score. And something called Digi-Boots? What the heck are those?
I tap the icon, and the System pops up a description. [Digi-Boots: Footwear that enhances jumping ability and allows adhesion to any surface.]
Huh.
"System, elaborate on 'adhesion to any surface.'"
[The Digi-Boots utilize micro-scale digital manipulation to create temporary bonds with surfaces, allowing the user to adhere to walls, ceilings, and other previously un-traversable environments. The bonds are strong enough to support the user's weight, but can be deactivated at will for normal movement.]
Okay, that is beyond cool. So, like, Spider-Man's wall crawling, but for my feet? Foot climbing? I can already picture myself scaling skyscrapers like some kind of parkour ninja. This could be way more useful than I initially thought.
I look over to Gatomon and BlackGatomon, ready to share my excitement, but they're both silent, lost in their own thoughts. Gatomon continues grooming, and BlackGatomon stares out the window. They do not even turn their heads to acknowledge me. I shrug, figuring they are still annoyed at me. Time to open all these supply boxes and hope for some luck.
I tap the Digivice screen, activating the first batch of Supply Boxes. The animations flash, and the results roll in. Digi-Coins, Digi-Coins, Digi-Coins… Ugh, this is so boring. I swear, the System rigs these things to give you the worst possible loot. It must be a business plan to make you pay. Nine boxes later, I'm swimming in digital change but still craving something actually useful.
Finally, the tenth box glows purple, signaling an Epic reward. I watch with bated breath as the item materializes on the screen: Hyper Wing Digi-Modify card. Alright, not bad. A Digi-Modify card is always welcome.
I tap the card for more details.
[Hyper Wing: This card allows one Digimon to sprout temporary wings, granting them the power of flight for a limited time. Duration and effectiveness depend on the Digimon's stats and compatibility.]
A grin spreads across my face. Wings? Sweet! None of my crew can fly yet, so this could be a game changer in the right situation. This is a decent reward, I suppose. Now to see what else the rest of these boxes will give me.
I open the next ten boxes, and the same old story unfolds: nine piles of digital pennies. Seriously, what's the point of these things? Well, at least the tenth shines purple again. What will it be this time?
I watch, and the item solidifies, revealing a Royal Shield.
[Royal Shield: A hexagonal beam shield, owned by Vespamon. Provides excellent defense against a variety of attacks.]
Not too shabby. A shield is always useful, especially if it can block energy blasts. This'll definitely come in handy against the weird stuff I'm bound to face.
Alright, last ten boxes. Time to see if my luck can turn around. I tap the screen, and the coins keep pouring in. Digi-Coins, Digi-Coins, Digi-Coins… I'm starting to feel like Scrooge McDuck, except instead of a vault of gold, I have a mountain of useless digital pennies. Eight boxes down, and my hopes are fading fast.
Then, the ninth box glows blue. At least it is not coins. I see it is a Digi-Memory of Angemon, so it is not all bad.
"I wish I could get another Digimon egg." I complain to no one.
I tap the final box, and it glows gold. My jaw drops. Seriously? A Legendary reward? After all the digital junk I have gotten, I get a reward worth something! This is a surprise! The item solidifies, and I can't believe my eyes.
[Human Spirit of Thunder: Beetlemon].
"No way!"
It looks like a small, intricately carved statue, resembling a beetle lying down. The blue and yellow colors pop. I grab the statue, wondering what this means.
"Holy crap, I got the Human Spirit of Thunder, Beetlemon," I say. I know all about Beetlemon.
In Digimon Frontier, the ten fallen Legendary Warriors who sealed Lucemon entrusted their elemental essences to powerful relics known as the Spirits. Each element, such as Fire, Light, Wind, Thunder, etc., possesses both a Human Spirit, which contains a Champion-level humanoid warrior, and a Beast Spirit, containing Ultimate-level beast warriors.
The DigiDestined in the series have two Spirits—one of each type—and trigger Spirit Evolution by releasing their own Fractal Code and scanning it with their Digivices, D-Tectors. This grants them the ability to merge with spiritual armor and become the Legendary Warriors themselves.
By mastering both a Human and Beast Spirit in tandem, they can ascend via Fusion Evolution to Mega-tier, and in rare cases, harness five Spirits for a Unified Spirit Evolution.
In Digimon Frontier, Beetlemon embodies the explosive power of the Human Thunder Spirit and the indomitable spirit of J.P. Shibayama, manifesting as a muscular, armor-clad humanoid Digimon charged with crackling electricity. Despite its massive, mechanical frame, Beetlemon moves with surprising agility thanks to a self-generated anti-gravity magnetic field.
My brain short-circuits for a moment as the reality sinks in. I, Ethan Kepler, have the power to become Beetlemon. How cool is that? I can just imagine the possibilities. "System, can I try out the Beetlemon thing?"
[Affirmative. However, the user can only Spirit Evolve when reaching level 10.].
My excitement deflates like a punctured balloon. "Seriously? Level 10? That's such a ripoff!" I'm only level 7. The System always has to find a way to rain on my parade. "How many more missions do I need to do before I can evolve?" I grumble.
[Two more missions will be sufficient to reach level 10.]
I sigh. At least there is light at the end of the tunnel. If I grind a little bit, I can become Beetlemon!
Despite the System's tease, I can't complain about this haul. I got a flying card, a shield, and the Beetlemon Spirit. I need to thank Obadiah Stane for this. If he didn't make me do that mission, I wouldn't have gotten all of these rewards. I almost feel bad for what I did to him. Almost.
***
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