The Talismans

Hector P.O.V.

Huff~ After the World Attunement, I feel incredibly refreshed. It even washed away some of my sadness. This confirms that it affects more than my body.

Initially, I thought that it would be a waste to use World Attunement in a world like this, without a proper power system to learn and thrive. The thing is, I am not ready for these “strong” worlds for now. Chakra, Haki, Reryoku, Nen… all on my list, and I will probably spend years in the respective worlds to learn them.

And enjoy the world per se, of course. That is very important! I love those shonen anime, and I even planned my “Shonen Training Arc” already.

For now, I will use World Attunement in low-level magical, spiritual, or any world that is a little special so that I can increase my talent to the fated time that I will be able to enjoy my adventures. 

Who would not want to be a genius, right?

Ah man, jutsus and Harry Potter Wizardry is so Op and convenient~ I really want it! But I need to be patient. I also want to be a strong and talented person when I get there. There’s a lot of danger in the shape of mind magic and jutsus. Those esoteric things scare me for now.

I can’t drop on the One Piece world weaker than Ussop, for example! 

And being stronger will allow me to enjoy more. That is very important!

That is only half the reason I chose the world of Jackie Chan Adventures. In truth, it is the reason I waited till now to come here. This world has some spirituality and magic, so World Attunement would benefit me more than if I used it in a normal modern setting like… John Wick or The Walking Dead.

Those powerless and modern worlds are only good for me to get resources.

This one here is magical enough to give me a nice boost, but not dangerous enough to be worrying… And the most important reason: It has items of power that I can use immediately.

The famous Twelve Talismans. With them, I will be able to have an easy jump in power.

When NZT-Boosted Hector made the list, I was surprised by the number of seemingly children's cartoon that has a lot of useful things for me. I will go get them before my Shonen Training Arc.

The Jackie Chan Adventures is first in the list because of the high reward and low risk. I also like the cartoon… And it is also modern… And I can learn martial arts too… And it was very short…

Okay, before I become like Uncle listing “one more thing…”, let’s go grab those talismans.

Ah, and one more thing… Because I watched, I know where all of them are. It was a cartoon old enough that I could download from pirate sites to watch and study the plot offline.

That will be easy… 

“This one should be the first…” I say while checking the holographic list coming from my wristwatch

My travel powers give me some freedom to choose the location where I drop in, it can be any place “plot relevant”, so unfortunately, I can’t drop off at my destination directly, in this case.

The Island of Galapagos houses a turtle called Aesop, and ironically, in its shell, the Rabbit Talisman rests. In the cartoon, two researchers bring the turtle to San Francisco, but at this point in the timeline, the Aesop is still chilling in Galapagos.

From the twelve zodiac-based talismans, this one obviously gives the user super-speed. I don’t know the exact numbers, but it will not be anything crazy, I’m sure, but it will be a boost.

It’s probably the best talisman to fight and search for the others. Probably the only talisman that can threaten me too… So I want it out of the “market”.

…………………………………..

I underestimated a little how long it would take to find this damn turtle.

After wasting hours, I almost gave up and went to grab another talisman, like the ones that are in a motionless place and not in an animal!

But I push forward, my vision is good enough that allow me to fly over the islands and check downwards like a thin comb.

“The turtle may be under something, like inside a cave… Or moving at super-speed.” Ugh, am I that unlucky that this turtle is moving to the places that I’m not looking at the moment? Avoiding me unknowingly?

And I spent more and more hours searching for a damn turtle.

It reached a point where I am simply existing. Having pulled out the Magic Carpet from my inventory - Yes, I brought it - and letting it fly freely while I lie on my stomach, my head hanging over the edge, while I look down.

“It feels like I’m grinding for a rare item…” I yawn. Wow, when was the last time I yawned? 

My eyesight now is 20/20, maybe even better, and I still can’t find this turtle. The worst part is that I searched the island on foot. Running and jumping from place to place, but I searched.

“Will I really need to go full hunting? Tracking and sniffing around?” The fear that maybe the turtle is not here appears in my mind. “Ah c’mon, not even a day has passed since I arrived in this world… A Butterfly Effect couldn’t have gone this far.” I didn’t even interact with anything. That is how important the Rabbit Talisman is for me.

At this point, Jackie must be fighting for the Rooster Talisman. It’s night, but my eyesight is good enough that a full moon makes things as clear as the day to me.

During my yawn, while my narrowed eyes are blurry because of some moisture, I caught something… The blur moved in the corner of my eye

“!!!” I go full attention instantly, yanking the Magic Carpet to make it do a vertical 360 turn. I need to clutch it tightly, but my legs dangle in the air while one hand holds the carpet.

Despite the awkward situation, my eyes are fixed on one point…

“There!” I laugh and release my hand so that I can fall and float on my own “Yoink!” The same hand that was holding was moved forward in a snatch movement, and I removed the turtle from the ground.

The talisman imbued in the middle of its shell is unmistakable, and how fast its legs are moving while I keep it locked in the air is the last confirmation needed. It’s kinda cute…

All my anger from this damned turtle disappeared after I caught it. Yep, exactly like grinding in a game, when you succeed in getting the item you want, everything becomes worthwhile.

“There, there… calm down, little turtle.” I talk with the not-so-little turtle in a soft voice. The thing is scared as heck, but I can’t do much about it. “It will be over in an instant.”

Turning her around slowly, I ignore the Magic Carpet landing close to me and reach for the octagonal rock talisman with purple markings in the shape of a rabbit. Very carefully, I reach with my telekinesis, even putting my fingers very close to increase my precision, and probe it.

“A little tight, so it will be better if I do it quickly… Like pulling a tooth.” I give some strong pats on its shell, above the talisman… And then I pull suddenly!!

Tac

It comes off in one go, and in my hands I hold the Rabbit Talisman! 

“...” I should acquire some powers to make it thunder behind me when I do dramatic poses like this one.

I put the turtle down, and it simply walks away from me at a slow pace; it’s just a chill dude.

First things first, I need to test some things… two things, more exactly. 

“Let’s see how fast it makes me and if stacks, or if caps at a certain point… I’m already pretty fast, so I hope it's a multiplier…”

Gripping the talisman tightly, I willed it to work, and it worked just like that… I can feel power pulsing through me and…

Whoosh Zoom–

………………………………………..

“Hahahaha!” That is fun as heck! Speed is really the best stat.

I’m really moving much faster than what I could normally do, so maybe it multiplies the base speed of the person. But I think there’s a limit; this magic is not all-powerful after all.

I broke the sound barrier. This talisman will be more than enough to use for a long time.

“It’s a good Starting item.” I comment. 

And second, it doesn’t work just with running or other physical activity. It increased my flight speed with telekinesis, too.

That’s huge! I was ready to just use it in fights, but being able to increase my travel speed is an excellent bonus.

And talking about travel speed…

“Now to Brazil…” I say while putting the talisman on the Magic Carpet, the symbol shines and…

WHOOOOOOOSH

I almost fell back thanks to the increase in speed. If I were not strong and had telekinesis to hold on, I would have lost the skin of my face, haha.

But the multiplier is not exact… that’s why I think there’s a limit. It’s not as fast as it should be if multiplied as much as me.

…………………………………..

Some hours later and I’m leaving that old temple with the Snake Talisman in my hands. The traps, mechanisms, and even the snakes are useless against me, so I got it pretty easily.

Theoretically, I should go to the area with the most concentration of talismans to get them quickly, but the Snake Talisman's power of Invisibility will help me get the rest too.

With a press of a button, my wristwatch shows the information relevant to this world that I prepared beforehand. It goes from information about the characters to the locations of the Talismans, and even to the plot.

I pass the page, after the list of talismans, to show a holographic image of the planet with the locations of the talismans.

“While going to San Francisco, I can grab the Ox Talisman in Mexico and then it’s over to this world…” They will not have more firepower to deal with me after that. “I can make a detour and grab the Dragon Talisman in Hawaii, too.” 

The location of the Tiger Talisman is in Texas, which would be the correct next target after leaving Mexico - because they are close - but the talisman only appeared in that eating pie contest.

It’s an item that you can only acquire during an event. I’m also not in a hurry for this one, and I can always get that Talisman Locator that Shendu gave to his minions.

There are a lot of talismans in Europe too… But the most troublesome one will be the Monkey Talisman that is sunken in the ocean.

“I also need to get the Rat Talisman in San Francisco…” That is the one that allows Shendu to animate himself, being free from his confinement as a statue. I can’t allow any Butterfly Effect that can make things worse.

The Sheep talisman also frees the dragon guy in its own way, but it is in Turkey.

Taking some last pictures of this hidden temple, which is pretty cool, I hop on the Magic Carpet and start heading north. I can stay up a lot of time without sleep, so let’s push a little more in the beginning.

“After that, I will need to confirm if they can locate the talismans inside my inventory…” I sigh. 

This will be super important… it will decide how I will be spending my next year here in this world.

It will be great if it can, but if not…

“I will have to roll with it while I’m enemies with everyone…” 

Hm, now that I think about it… It can be pretty fun!

……………………………………..

It’s morning already in Mexico, unfortunately, this is the year 2000, so I can’t use the internet as a reliable source of all kinds of information. Fortunately for me, El Toro Fuerte is a pretty famous guy around here.

The invincible wrestler is a legend; his great bullshit feats of strength also helped bring him popularity. Weird that no one finds it strange, I guess people can accept that one guy is built differently. He is pretty big, too.

But he is a cheater… not that I blame him. Cheater is just a fancy word for Winner. And the guy went and proved that he is more than the Ox Talisman that gives him Super Strength eventually.

Anyway, as luck would have it… El Toro Fuerte fought yesterday. So I just missed the chance of an easy grab.

I tried to ask some locals if they knew where he lives or where he is staying because I’m a fan, but none could give me an answer. The guy is secretive. Understandable, really.

I don’t think they are lying to me. I speak perfect Spanish because of the Learning Chambers I have. Not only Spanish, but all the most popular languages of the world.

Locals are nice to people who speak their language, so I made some friends easily.

I found that fanboy too… Now I know he will fight again next week, at the same place.

The problem is that the Ox Talisman is literally the second talisman that appears on the cartoon, so it will probably be next week that the specific episode happens.

Should I let it happen and steal it amidst the confusion? No, that would reveal the existence of a third party… But do I even care? For now, yes…

I want to try something before becoming enemies with everyone, including Section 13, that spy organization. Ugh, even more annoying than a dragon sorcerer, only a spy organization in my ass.

And I also don’t want to kill the good guys here, but I don’t think they will trust my word that I don’t want to use the talismans for any nefarious purposes.

It will be a lie, too, because I plan to steal some things to restock. Just a little…

Yeah, better to get this Ox Talisman now before things get complicated.

If the guy performs every week here, it means that he must stay close, right?

So I will fucking stay right here and wait! Now that I have invisibility - should I enter a women's bathhouse? Just for the experience? - I can simply hover in the sky while observing this town and waiting for the guy to appear.

Even if he doesn’t fight, he must appear in the arena or at some Gym.

………………………………………

Waiting paid off, even if I wasted hours and hours floating in the air. But when it compares with the whole year that I will be spending in this world, it’s not that bad.

I even have time to contemplate silly things like whether I can get a tan while invisible… I mean, I was under the hot Mexican sun for a long time, and I think my brain fried a little. Normally, if the Snake Talisman is deflecting light around me to make me invisible, I wouldn’t be able to see either.

But the talisman is magic, and magic is bullshit, like the Genie said. It just works, like King Crimson.

I found the masked wrestler when he went to have some lunch. It seems he knows the place and is friends with the owner; there’s a picture of him on the wall. He talked with a lot of people, greeting them and all that. But because they didn’t create a crowd around him, I think his appearance is nothing new or rare.

I waited for the man to finish his meal. I’m not a savage. He paid and everything. A little problem happens because the end of his meal is like a green light to more people to approach him, so I need to wait more.

It’s okay, I don’t want to humiliate the guy in front of his fans either. I like this guy. I hope he can bounce back after I take the talisman. Not that I care if he doesn’t. I will not lose any sleep over destroying his career.

I’m a patient man, and now that I have him in my sights, I’m much more relaxed, so I just wait for him to do his thing before I strike.

The opportunity appears when he goes back home… The guy apparently lives on a trailer.

This will be easier than I expected. With my newly-acquired invisibility, I snuck behind him and waited for him to do anything that needed to remove his mask…But he doesn’t!

The guy remains in character all the time! Do you even take a bath, dude?

Okay, one hour is enough! While he was curling some iron, still wearing his mask, I raised my hand and, with a pulling motion, ripped off his talisman, half of the mask coming with it. Only the part that is tight around his neck prevented the whole thing from being ripped off his face completely.

“Qué?!?” He shouts

“Esto no es para ti, Hombre. Conviértete en un verdadero luchador o colgar la maskara para siempre.” I say in spanish (This is not for you, dude. Become a real wrestler or put the mask aside forever)

He is able to look straight at me because I make the Ox Talisman slowly float before I remove it from the remind of his mask and throw it back at him.

I don’t stay to talk more… I don’t care how he will interpret this; the message was delivered. He may think God took his blessing, that some alien, or alien… What I want is for him not to hang onto his talisman, like going searching for it. He should give up on it.

If he has no hope of finding it, he will be forced to focus on the real and important issue. It’s the only thing I can do for him, put him in the right direction.

“Hasta nunca más.” (Till never)

…………………………………

“Three talismans in two days is a good number.” It could have been more, and I think I can get all of them in less than a week, but I will be happy with this last one for now and let the others do the work for me.

The Magic Carpet lands on the volcano in Hawaii, and I enter the cave while holding the Ox Talisman. To test my strength, I casually punch a rock nearby, making it become dust.

Boom

“Yep, it’s making me stronger.” I’m already strong, but the boost is welcome till I improve by myself. “Does this talisman also increase durability? I think no… The Dog Talisman that gives immortality, but is more of a Healing Factor than a bulletproof skin.”

Not that I’m worried about bullets, they can’t reach my organs anyway. The healing factor will be welcome too.

Checking the map again, I remind myself that the Dog talisman is in the Netherlands, on a windmill. Pretty easy to grab, but a little far. There’s something I want to try before going to Europe.

There are some talismans here in America, too. Jackie and company must have the Rooster Talisman by now, the Rat is in San Francisco, and the Tiger is still in Texas.

I will search the Rat Talisman after this. Can’t let Shendu have it.

Without anyone to get on my way, I easily found the Dragon Talisman in the deepest parts of the volcanic cave.

“This is too fucking easy.” I laugh. Oh man, being an Omniversal traveler is too easy!

A telekinetic grasp later, and I have another talisman on my hands. A third of the way already. 

I obviously need to test it, but I’m not dumb enough to do this in a cave, so I walked outside and looked for another rock.

The Dragon Talisman goes on my palm, and I extend it, and then a burst of fire is emitted from it. I can feel the heat, but I don’t get burned…

I try something different… Holding the talisman in my right hand, I extend my left to try to shoot fire from there.

Fwoosh

And I succeed… Interesting… I don’t need to hold the talisman. I always thought the Pig and the Dragon Talismans were a little similar, but the Dragon Talisman appears to be a little better.

This reminds me…

“Raaaah!!” I open my mouth and try to spit fire…

“...” And nothing comes out… that’s embarrassing. I’m glad no one saw that.

So only Shendu can shoot fire because he is a dragon? Or is it an innate ability? Maybe it's a mastery issue…

Well, the answer to that is it will only appear in the future… I can only write down that this talisman allows me to shoot fire from my hands for now.

……………………

With four talismans in my inventory, I travel to San Francisco, the “plot nexus” of this world.

“Ugh, San Francisco…” I jokingly make a disgusting face while flying over the place. “This place has too many steep roads, walking here must be hell half the time… That bridge is cool though.”

Once again, I need to look around to find the right location, but at least the place of search is reduced to Chinatown from here. Speaking some Mandarin to gain brownie points, I find what I’m looking for quicker than I expected.

An old antique shop… The Old Antique Shop! Uncle’s Rare Finds.

The aesthetic, the yellow paint, the red roof… Ahh~, so great! I love my power that allows me to be here.

I enter the shop, and a bell rings when I open the door.

“Coming!” An aged, very recognizable voice, shouts from the back. I can’t help but smile a little while looking around the “organized mess” of books and artifacts. It smells exactly like how I expected.

Never thought smelling things would be interesting… You can’t smell the media of anything you consume. It’s good to discover how things smell. How do some of my waifus smell? It's only curiosity, I'm not a pervert...

While I was lost in those strange thoughts, the man I’m looking for finally appeared.

Uncle Chan, the old asina man with thin grey hair, wearing blue pants, a white shirt, and a yellow polyester vest. He also wears small armless glasses.

“Welcome, welcome~ How can I help you?” He says in his thick Chinese accent, his face has the smile of a seller.

I decided to be direct “I’m not here to buy anything…”

“Bah! Then bye, don’t waste my time!” His smile evaporates and he turns around and starts walking away

“...” Pff, hahaha! Okay, don’t laugh. “I’m a student conducting a research on ancient Chinese history… I wanted to work here while studying.”

“Not hiring, not hiring!” He waves his hand without even turning around.

“I don’t need to be paid, a roof and three meals will be enough. I will be using this place to study, so treat me like an intern-”

“You’re hired!”

“...” That’s easy…