“Be careful, little potato.”
Rhea pulled her grandson close to her, embracing his small frame tightly.
It was late evening and Shouren had come to tell her than he needed to go into the dungeon. She tried to prod him further, but her grandson stopped her with a firm shake of his head. The boy was serious.
Rhea wanted to know what had happened at the market, but she trusted Shouren. Every child after obtaining their class card had to be treated as an adult.
In many ways, by simply entering the dungeon alone, Shouren had proved that he was a better Cardist than herself.
“Don’t worry about me, grandma. I won’t be fighting this time and just need to confirm something inside the dungeon. I didn’t get time to sell everything I wanted, but these two cards should be enough with these chronas.”
Shouren retrieved the pouch of chronas he received from Isola, along with 2 other [Common] spell cards. They were mediocre spells that Shouren didn’t need. Combined with the chronas and the two spell cards, it should cover the rent and other bills for a while until he returned from the dungeon.
Shouren looked inside his vault to gaze at the stack of cards neatly aligned on the side.
Class Cards:
[Common] x28
[Uncommon] x3
Spell Cards:
[Common] x12
[Uncommon] x3
Those were a lot of cards. He already had more than a quarter of the [Common] class cards he needed to upgrade to [Uncommon] Cardsmith. He originally started with 14 [Common] class cards from the monsters on the 1st Floor, then an additional 2 from the 5 total cards the dungeon gave as final reward, and the 12 class cards he obtained from Isola just a brief while ago.
Should I save the [Uncommon] class cards or trade them for more [Common] class cards so I can upgrade my class sooner?
Shouren was conflicted. Gathering [Common] class cards were simply a matter of time as they were both cheap and frequently dropped on the first floor. However, [Uncommon] class cards were still… well, uncommon.
No, I’ll keep them. If I really need to, I can trade the [Uncommon] spell cards, but I need the class cards to later upgrade to [Rare] Cardsmith. It won’t be easy as the [Common] class cards. Even Isola wouldn’t be able to promise them.
Shouren was tempted to use the
“You need the cards for sharding…”
Rhea began before Shouren interrupted her as he ran out the door.
“And live like bats in a cave with no lights? Forget it, grandma. I won’t forget to shard cards but we also need to sell some to live decently. I’ll see you soon and remember to eat your meals, grandma!”
Shouren gave a final stern look to Rhea before the boy grinned as he left the house.
Rhea glanced down at the cards and pouch, chucking softly to herself. It was an amusing situation with her 10-year-old grandson reproaching her with a serious expression on his youthful face.
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Well, his Intelligence is higher than mine at E rank.
The small town was bustling this evening. The past few days, the dungeon’s entrance was closed by the orders of the Sunspire Theocracy, the rulers of the 10th floor of the Akarsha Dungeon.
No one knew why, but the governor abided by the order and forbade anyone from entering the dungeon for 3 days earlier in the week. It was grave matter, as Sunspire had even sent one of their bishops to the small town.
As the de facto rulers of the 10th floor, the Sunspire Theocracy had an ample leeway in the real world as well. Although they couldn’t bar anyone from directly entering the 10th floor, they could restrict resources for the various guilds and factions.
After every 10 floors, the dungeon brought about significant changes in the real world. Starhaven Guild was the world’s current most powerful organization as they cleared the 20th floor, but Sunspire still retained their formidable status for clearing the 10th floor first.
The lumen density on the 10th floor was essential to Tier 2 classes and above. The higher tiered spell cards had monstrous amounts of lumen required to activate, and the Cardists would run dry without being able to replenish their lumen. Crafting classes like Blacksmiths, Tinkers, Cardsmiths, etc., needed alarming pools of lumen in the atmosphere to craft their wares.
Since only Tier 4 Cardists and above could risk delving to the 20th floor, Sunspire’s 10th floor was the final destination for a lot of the adventurers. Many smaller guilds and kingdoms had system contracts with Sunspire for the use of the floor to train their recruits, and some even splurged fortunes to buy land inside the 10th floor.
This was one of the rewards for clearing every 10th floor. Sunspire had raked in billions of chronas every year just from real estate transactions on the floor. Owning land on that floor meant that one could directly enter the 10th floor from any portal.
This was why the various powers of the world were vying to clear the 30th floor for decades. However, they were stuck because they realized they needed to might of a Tier 7 to clear 27th floor onwards.
And there was no Tier 7 in the world yet.
The moment one appeared, the race would start again.
“Why did the geezer put me on the entrance surveillance duty? I’m a merchant, not a lousy scout.”
Master Boris scowled in irritation as he scanned the dungeon’s portal from his shop. Being one of the grand shops overlooking the dungeon entrance, the bishop from Sunspire had tasked Boris with looking out for any suspicious individuals.
The old bishop was a devious bag of bones, but as one of the top figures in the Theocracy, he didn’t get there by being a kind and benevolent worshiper. Sunspire’s faith was rooted in worshiping the new, mysterious sun that came with the Akarsha Dungeon. Its arrival saw the old sun devoured in a blink, giving birth to a civilization born with lumen and cards.
“What a pain. The geezer is taking revenge on me for letting that rat escape into the dungeon last week.”
Boris took a small sip of his rose petal tea, his eyebrows locked in anger. Last week, he noticed a small kid trying to sneak into the dungeon, but since Boris was lazing around, it was too late to stop the boy from jumping inside.
He didn’t get a good look at the brat’s face as the child’s back was to him, but Boris didn’t care either way. It was a dumb order in the first place to stop people from entering the dungeon. Sunspire still hadn’t told anyone why they sent that order in the first place.
Master Boris was one of the many merchants within the Sunspire Theocracy. Their positions weren’t as prestigious as the clergy, and they had to pay an obscene amount of taxes on top of that. But it all came with one major bonus: an unrestricted access to the 10th floor.
That clause was enough for Boris to sign his soul to the devil… or the sun god.
“Blasted barefooted fools. Do they know how much I’m worth? Ordering me around like a peasant scum.”
Boris muttered to himself, indignation coiled inside his stomach like a waiting viper. The proud merchant wanted to go sit in his chilled office, but he was certain that the bishop would have someone else watching over him as well.
The merchant had already sent a list of various groups of people he thought acted suspicious near the dungeon, but he was met with abject silence. The meaning was clear from the bishop: they hadn’t found the people Sunspire was looking for.
“Eh?”
Boris paused for a moment and put his cup down. He was watching a pair of boys greet each other near the dungeon’s entrance. They didn’t seem suspicious, but the merchant’s instincts were sensing something was off.
The older blonde kid appeared to chide the dark-haired one in jest, while the latter thumped his chest in protest. Boris didn’t care what the brats were talking about. It was the difference in their outfits that was throwing the merchant off.
The blonde kid had a simple but pristine tunic and trousers, along with a few patches of leather armor. Boris could detect the glint of a small metal blade latched to his side. Then there was the shorter and younger kid with the obvious attire of the slum kids. Sections of the fabric were torn in rough markings, and the shaggy black hair didn’t help the boy’s image at all.
“They’re different social status, but why are they so relaxed with each other?”
Boris placed his hand on his chin, his dark eyes crinkling in thought.
He didn’t think the dark-haired boy was the same rat he let escape into the dungeon earlier this week. How could Boris have known Shouren had undergone his awakening inside the dungeon and looked taller and more filled out than before?
The smaller kid had his hand held out towards the older kid, as if asking for more money. The older blonde kid then smacked the smaller one’s head in annoyance, pulling him into the dungeon. The short, dark-haired kid shrugged in mock defeat and waddled behind the blonde kid, their figures quickly vanishing into the dungeon.
“Did the blonde kid recruit the slum kid, and now they’re disagreeing with the payment terms? No, wait, that doesn’t make any sense. Who would hire a slum kid as a guide for a dungeon? That’s preposterous! Should I send a message to the bishop’s knight? Though, they don’t match the description for a group as the geezer asked.”
Boris was in a conundrum. He had to report any small groups of suspicious people entering the dungeon, but the two boys were a pair, not a group. The two brats didn’t seem like people the Sunspire Theocracy would be interested in.
The merchant hesitated with the comms card in his hand. Boris only cared about chronas. He just had to follow the task as instructed to him. Nothing more, nothing less. The boys were not in a group, so he didn’t have to report it.
“I might have something to report.”
Boris sent his voice into the comms card, causing it to light up in response.
He didn’t care about the rotten geezer. But Boris had the instincts of a seasoned merchant, and his gut was telling him that there were chronas to be made here.
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