Chapter 35

  “Little goblin, I can ask Isola to look into the branch’s history and try to sort out things with them and your grandma. I know life has not been fair to your family, but it doesn’t mean everyone at the Cardsmith Guild are bad people.”

  Rubin sighed and walked towards the young boy.

  When higher-ups usually issued such orders, the guilds would attempt to find scapegoats to escape completing the tasks. Especially since there was no hierarchy among the factions. Starhaven was the undisputed strongest faction, but Sunspire came a close second, and there was Verdura, and many other collection of guilds and kingdoms.

  This made it impossible to establish a single dominant ruler among them. That was why the Starhaven’s leader moved in secret and looking for ways to evolve to Tier 7. With the birth of the first Tier 7 Cardist, he could unite all the factions under him.

  Until then, corruption would ensue to rot the chains of command.

  “I don’t care about them, and I don’t need their help. I will work on my class abilities on my own.”

  Shouren refused firmly. No way would he join the same people that humiliated his grandma. Unlike Rhea, Shouren was a young, promising Cardsmith. Rhea had a unique talent, but she was still old and not worth the investment from the guild’s perspective. On the other hand, Shouren could still be molded into their liking.

  Joining the Cardsmith Guild would also give Shouren an alibi for his card recipe and provide him with an additional layer of protection. Of course, they would first demand its source, and then allocate a cut of the profits. This was the route most Cardsmiths took before they joined a more powerful faction, becoming their exclusive Cardsmith.

  Rubin worried for the boy. Shouren was occasionally reckless, like the incident with blowing up his hands in an attempt to exceed the Sharding limits set by the system. If the boy could get the tutelage of professional Cardsmiths, at least he would be in safe hands until he learned the basics of his class.

  “Alright, kid. I will not force you. You’re plenty resourceful on your own.”

  Rubin could sense he’d lose Shouren’s friendship if he insisted further on this matter.

  “But if you ever reconsider, I would suggest going to the Cardsmith Guild branch in the city of Thales. It’s the closest trade city to your town, and only a few days’ ride on a horse. None of the folks there have anything to do with mistreating your grandmother, and it could be a fresh start for both of you.”

  Rubin ended his speech, raising his palm in the air to let Shouren know he was dropping the matter here.

  Thales? I heard about that city from the merchants talking in the market. It’s the major trade hub in the surrounding area and most of the town’s wares come from there.

  Shouren lodged the name in his mind, but didn’t dwell on it further. He had no intention of ever joining the Cardsmith Guild. Rhea was too old and frail to travel a few days on the road, and besides, Shouren didn’t think his grandma would like to leave her home.

  He didn’t need the guild. Shouren would venture into the dungeon on his own, collect enough cards for this class card upgrade, and then evolve his grandmother’s class card as well. Both of them would be fine on their own.

  “I still didn’t forget about the part where you scammed me of my final floor loot, pumpkin-head.”

  Shouren nodded at the older teen’s suggestion. Right after, the boy’s face distorted when he remembered what Rubin had been talking about. His loot!

  “It’s not my fault, kid. It’s the rules set by the dungeon!”

  Rubin chuckled nervously as Shouren’s eyes stared at him with accusation.

  “Then give me some of your loot at the end.”

  Shouren scowled. It was one thing to deceive him contractually, but trying to pocket his loot was a grave issue. Shouren would never let it slide.

  “I can’t, little goblin. At the end of the floor, I’ll be using the portal directly to the Starhaven Guild’s base. I won’t be able to see you once we exit the floor.”

  Rubin explained to the miffed boy. That was the advantage of having a base on the 10th or the 20th floor. You could use the dungeon’s portal to travel instantly between them. If Rubin returned to the town, then he would have to wait for the cooldown to pass before using the portal again.

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  “Make a system contract with me stating that you’ll hand 50% of the floor rewards when you next see me.”

  Shouren held out his hand, refusing to budge until the older teen agreed.

  “The original deal was that you would simply be a spectator and shard the cards while I killed all the monsters. It’s true that I didn’t disclose about the contribution system, but 50% of the rewards is hardly fair. I’ll give you 10% as an apology.”

  Rubin stared at the younger boy with an unbelievable expression. Shouren had the audacity to demand 50% of the rewards when he basically just sat and enjoyed the dungeon run.

  “Where is your conscious, pumpkin-head? You tried to trick a 10-year-old child. I want 49%”

  Shouren remained steadfast in his negotiation.

  “Who would consider you an innocent 10-year-old kid? I saw you gnaw on a raw monster leg with blood dribbling down your chin. That’s not a normal 10-year-old kid! 10% is the final offer. Either take that or stick with your 0%.”

  Rubin snorted in response. He was used to the boy’s antics. Give an inch to Shouren, and the boy would take your entire family’s fortunes with him.

  “48% or I’ll tell Isola that you secretly have a crush on her.”

  Shouren smirked and used his ultimate blackmail strategy.

  “Don’t care. I already proposed to her long ago.”

  Rubin beamed with pride. Shouren had no leverage on him.

  “Dude, she’s like 40 years old.”

  Shouren gawked at Rubin. The older teen had no shame.

  “You’re too young to know this, little goblin. But true love has no boundaries.”

  Rubin was unfazed and chided the younger boy in a sagely tone.

  “I think Thalin is dating her.”

  Shouren quietly dropped a bomb on Rubin’s dreams.

  “H-How do you know this?”

  Rubin choked on his words.

  “47% and I’ll give you the evidence.”

  Shouren was focused on the task. The boy wanted that loot, no matter what.

  “11% and I’ll consider it.”

  Rubin relented in the end, but didn’t raise the offer by more than 1%.

  The two boys continued to bicker at each other for hours until they finally settled on a conclusion. Rubin would hand 15% of the floor rewards to Shouren the next time they saw each other, and in exchange, Shouren would ask Isola if she was single or not.

  Both boys smiled in satisfaction.

  “Here.”

  Shouren finished sharding the last card and tossed all four pieces to the nearby Rubin. The two party members had spent half the day hunting for monsters and, luckily, they didn’t encounter another large pack like the earlier dire wolves.

  A mound of crushed shells lay scattered across the grassland, trails of slimy mucus leaking through the chitinous cracks. A clutter of dead snail corpses lay still underneath the warm sunlight.

  [Floor 1 Clear Conditions: Kill 3 Tier 0 entities]

  [Current Kills: 27/3]

  [Updated: Kill count exceeded clear conditions. Increased floor rewards will be distributed upon exit or new floor.]

  [Exit: Yes/No]

  [Enter Floor 2: Yes/No]

  Pumpkin-head killed all of them by himself, and it took him only a few days.

  Shouren saw the blinking notification and let out a low whistle. Back then, Shouren had taken an entire week to kill 16 monsters, and the boy thought that was an impressive number. And Rubin had a non-combatant class card just like him.

  “You already bought the last [Common] class card. That means you should have 16 shards left, right?”

  Rubin inquired with amusement as the shards rested on his palm.

  “Uh-huh.”

  Shouren looked at the older boy, his lips curling upwards. Both knew what was going to happen.

  “Go ahead, little goblin. Tell me which [Uncommon] class card you want.”

  Rubin laughed, taking out three green cards with his other hand. These were the only [Uncommon] class cards that dropped from all the monsters combined. The older teen didn’t know why Shouren was so enamored with the green class cards, but he let the peculiar little Cardsmith have his pick.

  Tier 0 - Armorsmith [Uncommon]

  Tier 0 - Dark Archer [Uncommon]

  Tier 0 - Appraiser [Uncommon]

  Shouren didn’t hesitate and snatched the Armorsmith [Uncommon] class card. The boy didn’t know the actual worth of each card in chronas, but the Armorsmith class card resonated with him. In the end, it wouldn’t matter which [Uncommon] class card he absorbed later, but Shouren thought it was the best sounding one from the lot.

  With today’s two hunts, Shouren now held 40 [Common] class cards and a single normal shard which was sitting on Rubin’s palm.

  I almost forgot! I have to complete the card order for Isola.

  Thinking about his nice stack of class cards, Shouren remembered the deal he’d previously signed with Isola. He had to deliver 10 Spectral Threads spell cards in a few days for the initial 12 class cards he took from her. Then every 10 spell cards would give him 8 [Common] class cards in return, after deducting Isola’s cut.

  “Here’s your last shard, kid. Take care of yourself, and you better have at least 20% synchronization when I see you again.”

  Rubin gave the last shard to Shouren, and patted the boy on the shoulder, a dejected look on the teen’s face. He was really going to miss the strange kid. It was time to exit the dungeon and head to the guild’s base.

  Shouren took the shard. After a temporary pause, the boy clasped the older teen’s arm and pulled him into a tight hug.

  “Thank you for everything, Rubin. I learned a lot during my time with you.”

  Rubin’s sapphire eyes softened as he hugged the younger boy back. He sincerely hoped that he would see Shouren once again.

  “Stop rubbing your grimy sweat on me, brat.”

  Rubin chuckled as he pushed Shouren away.

  Then, with one final wink at the boy, Rubin vanished from the spot. He entered the room of the floor’s rewards. Unbeknown to the older teen, Shouren had snuck the final shard into Rubin’s trousers. It was the boy’s parting gift to the older teen.

  Time to leave.

  Shouren mentally clicked on the exit and found himself back in the familiar white room.

  [Congratulations on clearing Floor 1.]

  [Party contribution scores active. Current contribution: 0%]

  [Awarded with 3 [Common] cards for normal clear. No additional rewards.]

  [Floor 1 clear rating “B”]

  Pumpkin-head, you better give me my loot when we meet.

  Shouren cried at the measly dungeon rewards and exited the room.

  Amidst the bustling town center, a dark-haired boy appeared at the town’s dungeon entrance. He glanced around before deciding on the direction to head. There was a faint annoyed expression on the boy’s face.

  The observer noticed that the older blonde boy had not returned with the other kid.

  A pair of eyes, hidden in the shadows of the market, silently watched the boy disappear into the busy street.

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