The power of elementalization was formidable, but it was by no means invincible.
Ordinary Group Owner: "That's true enough."
Ordinary Group Owner: "But it still feels a little exaggerated. How has he lived for so long?"
If Dugu Qiubai really dated back to before the Divine Condor era, then nothing more needed to be said. But in a martial arts world, how had he survived for centuries?
Child of Nature: "Who can say? It's not as though martial arts worlds lack methods of longevity."
Child of Nature: "Or maybe Dugu Qiubai found a breakthrough in the way of the sword, something that extended his lifespan."
Invincible East: "Perhaps so."
Invincible East: "I only know that Master's power exceeded anything I could imagine."
For Invincible East, it didn't matter when her master had lived. What mattered was simple: a master was a master, and that was enough.
Longevity had never been her concern, and with the chat group, it mattered even less.
Anyone could buy an extra year of life for ten thousand points.
With luck, even the daily sign-in function could earn that much in a year. And she had amassed countless martial manuals besides.
Himouto Umaru-chan: "Hey, isn't Souji Tendou's world part of a series?"
Himouto Umaru-chan: "The memory copy was called Kamen Rider. Aren't there other series with different Riders as protagonists?"
Ordinary Group Owner: "There are. Quite a few, actually."
Ordinary Group Owner: "I haven't seen that many myself—mostly just Heisei-era ones."
Ordinary Group Owner: "Worth noting though: Tendou might not be the strongest Kamen Rider, but he's definitely the biggest show-off."
Tendou Souji: "…"
Richest Man: "Honestly, Tendou reminds me of Daigu. Both fight monsters—one against kaiju, one against Worms. Both transform—one's a Kamen Rider, the other an Ultraman."
Richest Man: "The difference is, Tendou starts out max level while Daigu grows slowly over time."
Richest Man: "But at the core, both protect the people and save the world."
Boil Daigu into Soup: "I'd say I'm pretty much max-level myself now."
Thanks to two giant statues and the points from salvaged monster corpses, he'd bought plenty of goods from the shop.
Boxing, Muay Thai, Jeet Kune Do, even Uchiha Madara's taijutsu techniques. He'd also purchased a Sage Body and a Sharingan. As far as human hosts went, there probably wasn't anyone stronger.
As for Tendou's talents in areas like cooking and other skills? He fell short there—but points could buy those too, if he wanted.
Not that he intended to become a second Tendou Souji. Though he did rather enjoy Tendou's flair for grandstanding.
He briefly considered trying the one-finger-to-the-sky pose. Then shook the thought away.
He couldn't pull off lines the way Tendou did. For him, it would only feel embarrassing.
Ordinary Group Owner: "Now that the group shop's open, have all your powers gotten way stronger?"
Ordinary Group Owner: "Before, wasn't Daigu as Ultraman Tiga the strongest here? Is he still top now? Selling monster corpses for points must be a pretty lucrative gig."
Richest Man: "Why don't you ask me that question?"
Ordinary Group Owner: "???"
Ordinary Group Owner: "Wait—did you partner with Wakanda? No, that can't be right."
Ordinary Group Owner: "Did I ever even post Black Panther's memory copy? I don't remember doing that."
Richest Man: "???"
Richest Man: "What I meant was, I'm one of the poorest in this group!"
Richest Man: "Black Panther? Wakanda?"
Richest Man: "Group Owner, I think you and I need to sit down and talk. You really ought to post all the plots from my world—including this Black Panther one."
Aside from the Iron Man storyline, nearly everything else had been casually mentioned by the group owner in passing—like that "purple potato" and the Infinity Stones.
But as for full memory copies? Not a single one had ever been posted.
Ordinary Group Owner: "Hehehe, next time for sure."
Child of Nature: "In terms of points, first place should be Angel Yan."
Child of Nature: "As the current heir of the Angel Civilization, she has access to resources we can't even fathom. I'd wager her points aren't just for herself—they're being funneled into the entire Angel Civilization."
Child of Nature: "If the dog Thor sold items from the Ten Cold Jokes world, though, that might change things."
Child of Nature: "But for raw strength, right now the strongest in the chat group is Thor. Angel Yan comes second."
Child of Nature: "Third would be Daigu. Fourth, I'm not sure."
Child of Nature: "It's hard to rank Uchiha Madara, Whitebeard, and Kurumi right now."
Child of Nature: "If lifespan could be traded, Kurumi would be far stronger. But it can't."
Otherwise, she could've abused the Dog Talisman for an endless loop.
The chat group would never allow such a loophole.
Richest Man: "With a whole cosmic-tier civilization backing her, if her growth were slow it would be too unbelievable."
Richest Man: "As for the dog, well—it's a comedy series."
Glory of the Northern God: "Smirking dog face.jpg"
Glory of the Northern God: "You're not even as good as a dog."
Richest Man: "Damn it!"
Richest Man: "I swear, I'm going to beat you up one of these days!"
Richest Man: "You mangy mutt, just you wait!"
Tony Stark had been irritated with this "dog Thor" from the moment he joined. From that very first disruption, he'd been nothing but an eyesore.
If not for the fact that the mutt really did have some bite, Tony would already have shown up in his Iron Man armor to give him a lesson.
Hmph.
Maybe he couldn't beat this Thor, but could he really not handle the Thor of his world?
Someday, he'd deliver a proper thrashing.
Meanwhile, in Asgard, Thor had no idea that simply sharing a name had earned him Tony Stark's ire—and that one day his own actions would indeed land him a beating.
Ordinary Group Owner: "Anyway, with the chat group here, all our powers are only going to keep growing stronger."
Ordinary Group Owner: "The only difference is the speed."
High-Martial World.
Roxie Vale rested her chin on her hand, troubled. Her strength was far too low.
Here in this little backwater, she was considered outstanding among her generation. But compared to the geniuses of the great cities, the gap was vast.
Forget suppressing them—she struggled just to stand as their equal.
Still, with the chat group, she had faith she could catch up soon. Even surpass them.
But they were never meant to be her true target.
Her sights were set on the people of the chat group themselves.
(End of Chapter)