Star Core of Higher Dimension.
Effect 1: Unlocks the "Special Draw" interface for a limited time of 10 minutes.
Effect 2: Grants a max-level Stand the chance to evolve again.
Two effects, short and to the point, but containing a lot of information.
"Special Draw...Stand Evolution...I knew it."
On the first day he got the system, Linto had already guessed about the "Normal Draw."
Since there's normal, there must be special.
He'd been waiting to see when the Special Draw interface would unlock, and just as he guessed, it was related to the world's bending.
Linto's eyes fell on the words "Special Draw."
A moment later, a detailed explanation popped up:
"Special Draws have no guarantee. You can draw 5-6 star Stands and items."
"One draw costs 100 Soul Shards."
Linto felt his lips go dry.
Too expensive!
The draw price increased tenfold directly.
He beat Yakura, defeated Obito, and the aftermath blew away a bunch of loyal followers. Adding the 1000 points from the world bending, he had less than 3700 Soul Shards in total.
That's 370 Normal Draws.
If he wasn't too unlucky, that would be enough to draw 2-3 five-star Stands.
But with Special Draws, 37 draws wouldn't get him anything good.
If he used the Star Core of Higher Dimension and opened the Special Draw for 10 minutes, and didn't draw a Stand, or didn't draw a suitable Stand, wouldn't it be a complete waste?
Linto's eyes landed on "Effect 2: Evolve Again."
When he looked, the silhouettes of several Stands he had appeared. Most of them were gray, indicating they didn't meet the requirements for evolving again.
Only Star Platinum, which had reached max level, had sparkling stars on it.
Linto understood.
"Either I take a gamble, spend my resources in 10 minutes, and hope I draw a six-star Stand."
"Or I play it safe, level up the suitable Stands I have to max level, and use the Star Core of Higher Dimension to evolve them again."
Star Platinum was a freebie from the first draw. If there wasn't the guarantee of a five-star Stand in the first ten draws, normally drawing a five-star Stand would take about 150-160 draws, plus the resources to level it from 1 to 5:
400+1000+2000+4000=7400.
To upgrade a five-star to a six-star would cost a total of 8900 Soul Shards + 1 Star Core of Higher Dimension.
From a cost perspective, it's definitely cheapest to draw a Stand from the Normal Draws, train it yourself, and then use the Star Core of Higher Dimension.
After all, even if he spent 8900 shards to draw a six-star Stand from the Special Draws, he'd still have to spend shards to train it. And if he was unlucky, he wouldn't get anything at all.
The problem is, many powerful Stands, like D4C and Weather Report, can't be drawn from the normal pool.
Linto had:
Star Platinum, which could evolve into Star Platinum: The World, with the ability to stop time.
White Snake, which could evolve into C-Moon, with the ability to control gravity.
Those were the known evolution paths.
As for Stands like Aerosmith and Catch the Rainbow, they might also be able to evolve.
For example...
Little Boy (Nuke Version) Aerosmith.
Jam Hsiao Catch the Rainbow.
But the original story didn't show it, so he couldn't be sure if their evolutions would be worth the cost.
Linto held the Star Core of Higher Dimension, and gradually made up his mind:
First, level up the Star Platinum and White Snake he had to level six, complete their evolutions, and then consider whether to do Special Draws, depending on the Star Cores of Higher Dimension and Soul Shards he gets.
After thinking it through, Linto clicked on the system.
"Use Star Core of Higher Dimension, target - Star Platinum."
Time stop was definitely the ability Linto wanted most. Five seconds of time stop was enough for him to crush any enemy who dared to stand before him.
The Star Core of Higher Dimension was put into Star Platinum's body. The next second, the system popped up a message:
"Star Platinum Trial Stage."
"Trial Difficulty: High."
"Trial Description: Take Star Platinum, travel alone to Cairo, and fight Dio Brando until victorious. Failing or dying means the challenge is failed, and the Star Core of Higher Dimension disappears."
Star Platinum's upgrade trial was to fight Dio?
He thought it was absurd, but after thinking about it carefully, it made a lot of sense.
Yeah, if he didn't beat Dio, how could he copy...master time stop?
Linto checked the restrictions.
"Only I and Star Platinum can participate. Other Stands, like White Snake and Hermit Purple, cannot be used. During the trial, time in the real world is paused, meaning no one will notice. But having said so much..."
He scratched his face:
"It seems there are no restrictions on my real body."
"Start trial?"
The system popped up another window.
He had been holding back from drawing new Stands and upgrading Star Platinum all this time for this moment. Linto had no reason to refuse.
"Start."
As the command fell, heaven and earth turned upside down.
Everything before his eyes looked like a melted oil painting thrown into a washing machine. The paint dripped, swirled, and shifted. When everything stopped, the view stabilized.
Linto was on a clean and tidy street.
Across the street, a man in a golden outer coat, with a black bodysuit underneath, a strong and muscular build, fair skin, and a beautiful and alluring face.
He walked step by step, his boots hitting the ground with a subtle click. An evil, dominant, and almost godlike aura of pressure crashed into Linto like a tide.
No explanation was needed. Only Dio Brando could have this demonic, strange aura.
Linto looked around, confirmed there were no cars, and walked toward Dio.
"Ho ho! Linto, instead of running away, you're walking to me?!"
Linto clenched his fist. Compared to the Hokage world, the natural energy here was thinner, and he didn't have the Destruction Sword.
But it didn't matter much.
"Enough with the greetings, let's fight."
Dio smiled. That was exactly what he wanted. He couldn't wait to tear Linto to pieces.
The two walked toward each other, until they were three steps apart—
"Ora!"
Star Platinum appeared and threw a punch.
On the other side, The World appeared even faster, and kicked Star Platinum's leg.
Rip!
Linto's pants tore, and a small wound appeared on his leg.
"Too slow! Too slow!"
Dio put his hands on his hips and sneered, "Whether it's speed or power, my 'The World' is above your 'Star Platinum.'"
Linto nodded and entered a cheat code:
"Looks like it's the same type of Stand as me."
Dio snorted. "People from the Joestar family, why are you always so stubborn? In that case—"
He was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly saw the wound on Linto's leg heal rapidly, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
"Hmm?"
Dio looked puzzled.
That kind of recovery—
Boom!
A clap of thunder interrupted Dio's thoughts.
Linto, wreathed in golden Ripple energy, stepped on the ground and shattered it. Even with a vampire's dynamic vision, he could barely catch a glimpse of a shadow.
"What?!"
Dio jerked his head to the side, looking at Linto, who was rushing toward him.
Ripple!
It was that damned Ripple!
The Ripple energy surging in the air made Dio's skin sting and almost paralyzed his whole body.
And that was just the stray, scattered Ripple power coming from Linto!
Then...how strong would the Ripple energy wrapped around Linto's fists be?!
In an instant, Dio's pupils dilated, as if traveling through time and space. Linto in front of him overlapped with another man in his memory—
Jonathan Joestar.
Dio vaguely saw Jonathan waving gently at him:
"Come with me, Dio."
"Get away! I am Dio. I will not die from Ripple, this ability that's going out of style!
Now is the age of Stands, the age of 'The World'!"
The last moment before Linto's fist landed.
Dio opened his arms and shouted loudly:
"Time Stop! The World!"
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