"Yosaku, Yosaku, I got a drop too." Johnny hugged him and whooped as the three items skittered across the ground.
"Congrats, Johnny." Yosaku was genuinely happy for his partner. He had felt bad when Johnny hit that empty jar, but this time luck had turned.
Although Amon looked calm, his heart had jumped. Another empty and he would have run out of excuses.
"Mr. Amon, hurry, tell me what I got."
Johnny stared at the loot with bright eyes.
"Alright, I will check." Amon nodded and triggered a scan.
In his view, the properties flickered into place.
[50 Red Small Crystals]: A special item from a certain online game, used as a material for forging weapons.
[Da Vinci's Flashlight]: A curious flashlight crafted by the great inventor Leonardo da Vinci. Very mysterious.
[Iron Body]: One of the Marine Six Styles. Using the card teaches the technique, greatly boosting resistance to physical strikes.
To be honest, not bad. The first two looked a bit niche, but that last Iron Body card more than paid back the empty from earlier.
"How is it, Mr Amon?"
After Amon examined all three, Johnny leaned in with hope shining on his face.
"Pretty good, all around." Amon smiled.
"First, a flashlight." He lifted the Da Vinci piece. "This is Da Vinci's Flashlight, a product of a great inventor. A very impressive tool."
"Impressive how?" Johnny turned it over, baffled.
"It doesn't need oil. Or fire. Or anything," Amon said lightly. He raised it toward the sun.
The moment sunlight touched it, the lens glowed.
"…Eh?"
"It lights up by itself?"
The two boys froze. Then they grabbed it, fiddling with it from every angle. When the beam flashed on again, they burst out laughing.
"There's nothing inside! And it still shines!"
"It is a solar flashlight that needs no battery. When there is light, it lights up by itself. Magic, right." Amon raised it into the sun, and the lens glowed.
"Oh…" they said in unison, their faces blank with confusion.
A problem occurred to them a moment later. "Mr Amon, if there is no light, will it still turn on?"
"Absolutely not," Amon said crisply.
"Is there any chance it can shine when there is no light?"
"Good question. When there is no light, we give it light, then it shines."
"Watch." Amon cupped the head, and the beam went dark. A glint flashed from his fingertip, a thin streak of sword light. Bathed in that gleam, the flashlight lit again.
"See. No light, so you give it light, and it glows. Pretty magical, right."
"Heh... it is clever, but what is it good for. When I have light, I do not need a flashlight." Johnny felt a little swindled.
"Hehe, its uses are special, I admit. Still a treasure though. You just have not found the right scenario."
"Forget the flashlight, the second item is the real prize. Look at this card. This is a big one."
Amon set the light aside and held up the Marine Six Styles card for Iron Body.
"This is a skill card. Use it, and your body becomes like steel, blades and bullets cannot pierce you."
"No way."
Johnny stared, shaken by the claim.
Amon wanted to roll his eyes, but his smile never slipped. "It is true. Pinch the card and silently say 'use', and you will become a master no blade can cut. Imagine it. The enemy winds up a big finisher, slams it into you, and nothing happens. Their face, that despair, now that is satisfying."
"Hehe... hehe hehe..."
The picture bloomed in Johnny's mind. His grin stretched wider and a laugh escaped him.
"You can try it right now. Simple to use, the effect will not disappoint."
"Mm, I want to try."
Johnny steadied his breath, raised the card, and murmured in his heart: use.
The card flared with a soft glow, then dissolved into energy and sank into his body. The light faded.
"Uh..."
The sight stunned him, and before he could marvel, a line of knowledge surfaced in his mind.
'Beginner Iron Body skill card used. Skill acquired: Iron Body. When activated, the body hardens to an extreme, blades and bullets cannot penetrate.'
Johnny had never studied the Marine Six Styles, yet in that instant he grasped the technique. Feeling his body turn hard as iron, he nearly burst. This time, he had picked the right jar.
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