He was going to get increased rewards by going over the required kills for the floor? Did that mean more rewards in quantity or higher quality? Sadly, no more information could be gleaned from the system’s words.
“Donkey’s balls, this rat nearly turned my forearms into noodles.”
The young boy choked out a few mouthfuls of salty water that managed to enter his throat during the struggle, and clumsily dragged the badger’s corpse out of the river and to the moss-covered rocks. Two cards had dropped from the pesky monster, which the boy swiftly pocketed to his trousers.
The boy flung the creature on the rocky river bank and flopped beside it onto his drenched back. Shouren rasped with pained breaths as he circulated his diminishing lumen to aid the recovery in his arms. Why did all the monsters target his poor arms?
His earlier plan had a few flaws. The fox bone wasn’t sturdy or strong enough to pierce through any armored monsters. He was lucky so far with the injured beasts as they already had open gashes that he could take advantage of. However, the bone weapon failed magnificently when it struck the armored part of the badger.
Shouren was hidden underneath the water, making his visibility extremely low. He just saw that it was a smaller monster and chose to ambush it.
“If the dungeon will reward me more with higher kills, then I need to change my strategy. I’m not strong enough to take these monsters head on, and bone weapons won’t work for future ambushes.”
The lumen numbed the stinging pain from his arms, allowing the young boy to focus on his thoughts. He was aware of his deficiencies. Although the corruption granted him unbelievable powers, it didn’t translate into direct combat prowess. With all his attributes in the F rank, Shouren was majorly handicapped against the Tier 0 monsters.
“Let’s see what this fat rat dropped?”
Turning his attention to his recent loot, the boy retrieved the two new cards.
“Eh… great, I guess.”
Shouren mumbled unenthusiastically. He really wanted a spell card that could kill all the monsters with one shot. But luck didn’t favor him today. The badger had dropped two [Common] spell cards.
Tier 0 - Burrow [Common]
Dig into earth. Size and shape depend on caster and inputted lumen. Deeper soil increases lumen requirement.
Cost: 1 lumen to activate.
Tier 0 - Reinforce Material [Common]
Alter the density of common materials to grant it greater strength and defense. Can be applied weapons made of common metals.
Cost: 2 lumen.
The cards were great, and the second one would probably sell for quite a bit in the market, yet they wouldn’t help him directly kill the monsters. If only he could equip combat spell cards in his spell slot, he could’ve used the [Common] Hide Presence forever.
Shouren knew combat spell cards had much lower chance of dropping, but that didn’t quell his disappointment. He had a single [Uncommon] combat spell card, but he couldn’t even use that with his measly lumen capacity.
“I’m back to square one.”
The boy slowly got up with a sigh and squeezed out as much of the water as he could from his trousers.
I don’t mind the raw meat anymore, but this badger doesn’t look appetizing. I wish I could cook it over a fire at least.
Shouren glanced at the dead monster next to him and wrinkled his nose in distaste. The rocky bank was connected the forest glade, so there was an expansive area near him where he could start a small fire with the plentiful trees and branches. However, the smoke and smell alone would draw the attention of nearby monsters.
And Shouren had no weapon right now. Unless he dissected the badger for another bone.
“Wait…”
The boy halted abruptly in his tracks. He looked at the badger, the nearby rocks mixed with boulders, the flat plains of the forest, and the remaining cards in his arsenal.
His hazel-green eyes flashed with inspiration, an seedling of an idea taking root. An idea that could potentially solve his problem of fighting the monsters. It was a crazy plan. Crazy enough that if it failed, Shouren wouldn’t escape with merely a few injuries on his arms.
If he went through with his maniacal idea, a single small mistake would have him shaking hands with his dead ancestors in the afterlife.
“I was approaching this wrong from the beginning.”
Shouren’s eyes glazed with fervor. The boy finally realized his error. He kept trying to fight as a warrior or an assassin. But he was neither of those. He might have wanted to get a combat class card, but fate had a different path for him.
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He was a Cardsmith. It wasn’t what he ideally wanted, but it was his path now.
And if he wanted to fight, he needed to fight as a Cardsmith… with the cards and abilities he had.
“C’mon, you loser. I need you for this plan.”
Shouren smirked at the badger’s corpse and picked it up by its bushy tail. The boy laughed with anticipation as he walked into the open grass area.
This is where Shouren would commence his crazy plan.
Lumen: 10/10
“I’m ready, let’s start.
Shouren raised one arm holding the [Common] spell card, and shoved a chunk of raw badger meat in his other hand to his mouth, chewing through the lumen-enriched flesh as fast as he could to replenish his dwindling lumen reserves.
Tier 0 - Burrow [Common]
Dig into earth. Size and shape depend on caster and inputted lumen. Deeper soil increases lumen requirement.
Cost: 1 lumen to activate.
The spell card disintegrated into dust. Shouren rushed to get to work. He only had a minute to succeed.
The boy brought his hand over an empty patch of grass and clenched his fist. The spell dug into the soil. Shouren visualized a big rectangle the size of 3x2 meters and watched the lumen drill into earth.
The forest soil was fairly loose, causing no difficulty for the amateur Shouren to shape the size of the hole he wanted. Using his other hand, he tore through another bite of the monster meat.
Lumen: 7/10
Lumen: 6/10
Lumen: 5/10
Lumen: 6/10
Lumen: 5/10
Lumen: 6/10
Shouren had already dug three deep pits into the meadow, each separated by only a few feet. He was going to make the pits spread out in a circle from the center, creating a maze surrounding the small safe patch of land.
The boy remained steadfast, digging new pits and gobbling down the badger meat.
42 seconds left.
Shouren raced down the meadow, his hand clenching and un-clenching as new pits formed.
Lumen: 3/10
Lumen: 4/10
Lumen: 3/10
Lumen: 2/10
Lumen: 3/10
13 seconds left.
Lumen: 2/10
Lumen: 1/10
Lumen: 0/10
Lumen: 1/10
Lumen: 0/10
2 seconds left.
Shouren collapsed on the ground, wheezing out of breath as the spell left his body. With sweat cascading down his face and neck, he stared triumphantly at the 12 pits encircling the area. They were all contained inside the radius, giving off the appearance of a crude runic circle.
The boy jogged back to the center and tore another chunk from the dead badger. He needed to recover his lumen for the second stage of the plan.
Not all the pits were completely even, with several smaller or larger than others, but Shouren had gotten the job done. After another 20 minutes, his lumen was back to full capacity.
“Onto Stage 2!
Shouren wiped away the bloody trail leaking from his mouth and took out the second card, simultaneously triggering the corrupted ability once again.
Tier 0 - Reinforce Material [Common]
Alter the density of common materials to grant it greater strength and defense. Can be applied weapons made of common metals.
Cost: 2 lumen.
Another [Common] card crumbled into nothingness. Shouren leaped off to the nearest pit and placed his palm on the dirt around it. Tendrils of lumen swam into the soil, fusing itself with the grains. Shouren didn’t understand how the spell worked, but he watched in fascination.
The pit outwardly looked the same, but only by touching the sides of the soil could Shouren tell that it was structurally much harder.
Lumen: 4/10
“One pit took me 6 lumen to reinforce.”
Shouren clicked his tongue at the absurd cost of the spell. He wouldn’t be able to reinforce all 12 of the pits in time.
Racing against the clock, the young boy ignored the next pit and darted to another pit in the distance. If he could only reinforce a few pits, he’d spread them out. Swallowing another morsel of the monster meat, Shouren got to work.
After a while, Shouren felt the second spell dissipate from his body as well.
“I could’ve reinforced one more if I had the bear meat.”
Shouren sighed while scratching the side of his head. He’d reinforced 5 of the pits and had the time to do another one, but he was out of lumen. The badger meat was adequate, but Shouren recalled that the bear meat had much more lumen in the same amount of bite.
That must be due to the differences in attributes between all the Tier 0 monsters, despite the same tier.
“My back is killing me.”
Shouren stretched his muscles while taking in a deep breath. The last 2 minutes had physically and mentally drained him by constantly bringing his lumen to 0. He didn’t need lumen for the third stage, so he resumed his task.
Grabbing the thinnest branches from the nearby trees, Shouren got to piling them atop the pits. He left the leaves and stems attached to the branches to blend better with the grass. He needed the thin, flimsy branches to be fragile enough to break at the barest pressure. This entire process took a good 35 minutes to complete.
It took longer than expected because some branches were not long enough to cover the entirely of the pits. However, with all the pits covered in branches, Stage 3 was also completed. Shouren had spread the branches even on areas not with the pits, to make it appear like the whole area was covered with dead branches rather than just where the pits were.
The boy made sure to mark the pits with a distinct sign that only he’d recognize.
The sky was now starting to darken.
“Time for Stage 4.”
Shouren stated cheerlessly. This was the stage he least liked and didn’t want to do, but it was necessary for the plan to come to fruition.
The boy brought out his last [Common] card. It was the Rogue class card.
“Sharding.”
Shouren whispered with regret as his hands glowed with lumen. Touching the class card, he observed it shatter with a brilliant crack and break into 4 uneven shards.
He hated this stage as he could’ve had used that card to upgrade his class card. Shouren only hoped that his crazy plan would work, and in that case, the loss of the Rogue class card would be justified.
The boy took the illuminating shards and placed each one atop the branches on the reinforced pits.
Stage 4 was the accumulation of the bait for the monster lure. And nothing was more beguiling for a monster than the scent of a card. Shouren could have just used the badger’s carcass to lure monsters. However, that would only attract the weak scavengers.
Shouren didn’t go through all this effort to hunt another worm, dog-wolf, or badger. He wanted to aim for the stronger Tier 0 monsters like the alpha and the bear. Only the card drops from those monsters would be worth this hassle.
Still, the boy ran over the other pits and squeezed out a few drops of badger blood onto the pits, letting the branches soak in the viscous liquid.
It was night by the time Shouren finished placing the baits.
“And now, the final Stage 5.”
Shouren’s nerves thrummed with eager anticipation. His finger nervously took out the final card he needed for this crazy plan. It was also the stage that brought the biggest danger to Shouren.
His lumen capacity would be cut in half.
“Equip spell card.”
The radiating blue card in Shouren’s hand flashed with an intense blue light and morphed into an incandescent sphere. The ball of shining lumen blend into his skin and traced towards his heart where his class card rested.
[Equipped Tier 0 - Dimensional Vault [Rare] utility spell card to free slot.]
Status
Name: Shouren
Tier: 0 [Synchronization: 1%]
Class: Cardsmith [Common]
Spell Card Slots: 1/1 - Dimensional Vault [Rare]
Lumen: 3/10 (-5)
Strength: F
Agility: F
Constitution: F
Intelligence: F
Class Abilities
1 - Card Forge
2 - Sharding
3 - Card Sacrifice
Traits:
1 - Corrupted Cardsmith [Unique]
2 - Locked
3 - Locked
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