Chapter 19

  Shouren had been in the process of coming up with a new plan since his conversation with his Rhea last night. They desperately needed chronas. His grandmother had paid the rent for this week, but the boy was clear that she didn’t have any more shards left for the following week.

  He only had a week to gather the required chronas for both the rent and the bills.

  I have enough cards in my vault to pay the rent for the next few months, but then I would be back to square one. I now have the Spectral Threads recipe for a stable cash flow, but I don’t want to sell it yet. It will be my primary mode of combat and I need enough cards to practice. Rather than counting on random cards, it’s better to start to create a strategy with the cards I can forge constantly.

  Shouren retrieved a shoddy wineskin from his vault and took a gulp of fresh water. The wineskin was made from the hide of a boar-like monster that he’d killed in the dungeon. He wasn’t skilled enough to process it into leather, so the boy simply stitched it with a tiny bone and some loose tendon. The water had a meaty aftertaste, but Shouren didn’t care. It won’t go rotten inside his vault.

  Besides the cards, I have the rest of the hides and monster parts I salvaged in the dungeon. They’re only Tier 0, but should still be worth a decent chunk of chronas. The next stage of the plan is to enter the 2nd Floor of the dungeon. Unlike the 1st Floor, the 2nd Floor has the possibility of spawning a Tier 1 monster. I need to go with a party.

  Shouren took another large gulp of the water before putting it inside his vault. His nose crinkled at the gamey aftertaste again. Except for the 1st Floor, the first five floors of the Akarsha Dungeon were populated with Tier 1 monsters, and starting from the 6th Floor, it was the realm of the Tier 2 creatures. The 1st Floor was the only floor where no evolved monsters existed.

  Tier 1 monster was a completely different kind of catastrophe.

  Monster evolutions worked disparate from the humans and other sentient beings. Until Tier 0, the monsters were only a light upgrade from the general animals. However, after their evolution, they became more attuned to lumen and could cultivate it directly into their flesh and bones.

  This is why the major factions and the most powerful Cardists in the world were unable to clear past the 27th Floor. It took an entire legion of Tier 6 Card Luminaries to kill a single Tier 6 monster.

  Shouren needed to find a party until he grew strong enough to challenge it solo. He wasn’t an idiot. There was no need to risk the 2nd Floor foolishly. A Cardsmith executed plans on his terms, and by using the full arsenal of his cards.

  “I need to buy a bed as well.”

  The young boy smiled sadly at the elderly sleeping figure on the cold floor. The hard tiles were painful on the old lady’s bones, but Rhea never complained.

  Shouren removed one of the hides from his vault and gently covered the old lady. It was a soft furry hide that should keep his grandmother warm while she slept. The boy didn’t mind missing out on the chronas from keeping that hide aside.

  Rhea meant everything to him.

  Putting on one of his old shirts and trousers, the boy quietly walked to the door and shut it behind him. He’d already informed Rhea last night that he’d go to the market in the morning.

  Shouren’s hazel-green eyes glanced up at the bright clear sky, the corner of his lips curling up. His fingers reached for a card inside his vault, and he smoothly corrupted the card.

  Tier 0 - Disguise Self [Uncommon]

  Replace yourself with an illusory appearance. Illusion unaffected to Tier 1 and above.

  Cost: 10 lumen per activation.

  This was one of the [Uncommon] cards dropped by the Tier 0 snake monster. Back then, Shouren thought this card was useless as the monsters wouldn’t care how the human looked. However, it didn’t have to be used against the monsters.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “Thankfully, it doesn’t need a continual flow of lumen to maintain the disguise.”

  Shouren’s voice grew deeper and scratchy. His body expanded, primarily his legs, torso, and shoulders. The boy’s neck bubbled with morphing flesh until it was thick like a lumberjack.

  In place of a young boy, there stood a staunch middle-aged man dressed in simple warrior robes. His features were bland and nondescript, as Shouren wanted to blend in without drawing much attention. The spell was an illusion. None of his actual flesh had physically changed at all.

  Shouren was going to act like he was a junior Cardist that was relatively new, but had been to the dungeon a few times. This would account for any surprises if the merchants caught him unaware of certain topics. He could just blame his fresh newbie status.

  Reaching once again into his vault, Shouren pulled out a flimsy burlap sack. He couldn’t reveal his Dimensional Vault, so the sack would act as a cover. Shouren filled the sack up with a number of random hides, but kept the cards in his vault. He’d need to make several stops at various vendors to offload all his loot.

  Selling them all at one place could warrant a lot of unnecessary questions.

  “Let’s go.”

  Shouren cheerfully flung the sack over his shoulder and made his way to the market.

  “Ew, try using soap next time you shower.”

  A lanky teen girl covered her nose and cursed in a muffled voice when Shouren walked past her.

  “Buy me one then.”

  Shouren grumbled through his fake voice, abashed. He didn’t need to change his voice, as the Disguise Self spell already took care of it. He was just glad that no one could see his pink cheeks right then.

  For the past few minutes, all the folk in the street gave Shouren a wide berth whenever he passed by them. The foul and pungent odor emanating from the hides was enough to dispel all the onlookers away.

  “Geez man, did you swim in a pool of rotten fish curry?”

  A chubby man in his early twenties dug his face into his shirt, making sure his nose was not exposed out to the air.

  Shouren simply sighed and moved on. The sooner he got rid of the hides, the quicker he could bury his head in a trash can with shame.

  “Young man, if you ever want to feel the touch of a woman, may I suggest taking a bath once every often?”

  Shouren heard a woman’s repulsed voice in the back yell at him. He wanted to shoot back with an insult of his own, but the boy swallowed the words down. Shouren couldn’t risk drawing more attention than he already had.

  Ogre’s right cheek, I forgot how bad the hides smell.

  The boy cussed in his mind.

  It didn’t matter anymore. He was at the market street.

  I can’t pick one of the bigger merchant shops. I want to go to them in the end after I get some chronas. I’ll stick to my original plan then. Hit multiple small shops to offload the hides and monster parts.

  Shouren was giddy, looking at all the various shops spread on the street. Their town might be small, but it was still home to a dungeon portal. That meant there would always be merchants around to buy and sell cards, along with monster remains.

  Some shops also functioned as outposts to their respective guilds and factions. Of course, no major figure would be stationed in a tiny town like Shouren’s.

  Sweet peaches, that’s the Tier 0 - Recovery spell card!

  Shouren trudged past one of the bigger shops and saw the [Uncommon] card in a showcase outside the glass window. It was a dark green store with delicate golden accents on the bricks. It most likely belonged to one of the top guilds.

  The boy almost plastered his face to the glass before collecting himself. He had to pretend like he was an adult and not a 10-year-old bumpkin.

  Any heal-type cards were super rare. It was why the shop had it out in the open for display. It was a marketing strategy to convey they had more similarly valuable cards inside. If anyone tried stealing that card, thinking it was common glass, they’d be in a shock of their lives.

  I’ll come here again.

  Shouren made a mental note and moved along. The smaller shops would be all the way at the back of the market. While the boy passed through multiple shops, he drooled at all the items that he could never afford. Armor, weapons, cards, tools, clothes, bags, and so much more.

  He even saw a real-estate shop that leased and sold houses in the main residential district of the town.

  One day, I’ll buy grandma new clothes and one of those fancy fur coats that the noble people wear. I think her favorite color is lavender. I’ll ask her next time.

  Shouren thought wishfully. He grew up hating the nobles, but he realized now that the nobles were only people who had at least one powerful Cardist in their family. His grandma would also be treated like a noble if he could one day become a mighty Cardist as well.

  He was tempted to stop by the real-estate shop to check the prices, but they would instantly kick him out the moment he stepped inside with his reeking sack of hides.

  If my plan succeeds, I’ll be back here soon.

  Shouren smiled as he walked away. He never told Rhea about his whole plan. The old lady would get a few surprises in the future shortly.

  After a few more minutes, Shouren finally arrived at the most deserted and shabby-looking shop on the street. There was a cracked wooden tile on the outside that read: “Dreamthorn”.

  What a weird name.

  Shouren frowned at the odd choice of a shop’s name and carefully inspected the exterior of the rundown structure. The outer bricks surprisingly looked clean, but the shop’s door and windows appeared as if they hadn’t seen a washcloth for decades.

  The boy shrugged and opened the door. He was just going to sell a few hides and move to the next shop.

  A melodious chime rang, making Shouren glance at the bell above the flimsy door.

  Before Shouren could register the setting inside the shop, an astonished voice spoke out loud.

  “Oh my, what’s a little brat doing with a spell like that?”

  Shit, it’s a Tier 1! What’s a Tier 1 doing in this goblin’s arse of a shop?

  Shouren cursed in panic and tried to bolt to the door. The boy wanted to cry at his terrible luck. He deliberately picked the shabbiest looking shop in the whole market, and his damned luck sent him straight into a Tier 1’s den.

  “Take another step, and I’ll carve both your legs into meat pudding.”

  We're trying to get into the Rising Stars, so please consider dropping a Rating or a Review!

  Bonus Chapter Milestones [Each milestone will unlock a Bonus Chapter each]:

  200 Followers [98/200]

  100 Favorites [12/200]

  50 Ratings [12/50]

  10 Reviews [0/10]