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HC: Card Slinger | Ch. 60 - Challenge
🕑 Added 2025-04-21 09:17:59 +0000 UTCWhoever was speaking through Ratu, it wasn’t him. Gone was the cheeky attitude. Even the islander accent had vanished. Someone—or something—
Whoever was speaking through Ratu, it wasn’t him. Gone was the cheeky attitude. Even the islander accent had vanished. Someone—or something—was using Ratu as a mouthpiece.
Deckard cleared his throat. “I meant no disrespect. Who have I offended?”
A rasping sound echoed through the forest. Muffled. Warped. Like laughter bubbling up from underwater.
Ratu kept speaking. “Your ignorance is the only reason I don’t end your life where you stand.”
Deckard took a step forward, slow and casual. “Harsh words. Especially since I stole nothing.”
“Lies! I smell my precious subdimensionalizations on you.”
Deckard kept moving slowly, buying time. “I won them from Ratu. He was the one who bet your treasures, and I won fair and square.”
The air thickened. Breathing became harder. Whatever this thing was, it was getting angrier.
Then—thud. His shoulder struck something solid. Nothing visible, but the barrier was unmistakably there. His path was cut off.
“Trying to escape?” Ratu said. “You're trapped here until I’m done with you.”
Deckard swallowed. There went his plan to sprint toward the macaque dungeon. “What if I simply give the cards back?” he asked. “Will you let me go?”
Silence. Then: “If you offer proper compensation.”
“What do you want?”
“To satisfy my curiosity,” Ratu said for his master. “Someone so weak. No resources. How did you beat my superior cards? I want to see for myself. I challenge you.”
“What kind of challenge?”
A hologram flickered into the air—a miniature fortress with high stone walls.
A Terralore game!
He would have had zero chances if it were a head-on fight. This entity was strong enough to isolate part of the jungle. Fighting it head-on would probably be suicide.
But a Terralore match? That wasn’t a safe bet either. Wasn’t this the same backer who’d willingly lent epic cards to a loser like Ratu? Then what kind of cards did it keep to itself?
“What are the terms?” Deckard asked.
“You win, you keep those cards. If I win… I will take my cards back—and your whole deck!”
His throat dried. What an unfair bet! If he won, he got to keep what was already his. But if he lost, he would have to give up his whole deck—twenty cards! More if he chose not to play any of the sharks.
His collection had come a long way, but was it enough? “What if I say no?”
Another distorted laugh. “I’ll just kill you where you stand and take your cards anyway.”
He inhaled sharply, then took a step forward. “If I lose, and you get my deck as well as your cards back, will you stop pursuing me? Will our score be settled?”
“Yes.”
“Do I have your word?” Deckard pressed.
“Yes.”
“In that case,” he said, steadying himself, “I accept.”
You’ve received a new quest: [The Jungle’s Puppetmaster].
The Jungle’s Puppetmaster (Rare)
You’ve discovered a mysterious entity that resides in the jungle. It seems to have access to dimensionalization technology—and to a valuable card collection. It challenges you to a game.
Quest objectives:
Face the puppetmaster in battle.
A rare quest!
The last time that he landed one of these, it had eventually led him to obtain his class.
Deckard cracked his neck and opened his inventory. His hand hovered over the menu. He adjusted his spectacles, weighing everything he knew about his opponent—and everything he didn’t. After a pause, he bit his lip, made a last-minute change, and pulled the finalized deck.
The system pulled the deck from his hands and shuffled it automatically. Deckard stepped forward and glanced over the battlement of the holographic walls, though the opponent’s field and hand remained hidden for now.
He’d faced Ratu three times before in Terralore, but this wasn’t the same player. Ratu stood across from him—pale, trembling, and quiet. He kept glancing over his shoulder, flinching at shadows that weren’t there.
Puppetmaster... That’s what the quest had called them. Whoever they were, they were in control now. They didn’t share Ratu’s overeagerness. No tells. Just silence.
Deckard’s pulse quickened as he drew four cards from his shuffled deck. He slid a one-cost card face-down onto the board. The surface shimmered as the card locked into place.
A glowing line swept across the battlefield—the coin flip animation. It flickered once, then settled on Ratu.
The walls turned transparent, giving Deckard a clear view of his opponent’s board. Ratu’s hand was empty. He’d spent his entire opening hand on a single play.
A bold move.
The enemy card was revealed.
A legendary card?! Right off the bat!
Next to Ratu’s castle, the earth cracked with a deep rumble. A stone pedestal rose from the ground, chunks of mossy debris falling away as it lifted. At the top, a weathered statue shaped like a macaw unfurled its wings slowly, revealing a delicate fan clutched in one of its clawed feet—the only part of it painted in color.
A gust of wind burst outward from the statue. Four glowing feathers—each a different hue—red, green, blue, and gold—launched skyward. They arced through the air in a swirling pattern, leaving trails of colored light before vanishing into Ratu’s deck.
Deckard leaned forward, adjusting his glasses. So that’s where landmarks go in the battlefield. He’d always wondered if they used up a creature slot, ever since earning his first landmark through the crab’s collection. Apparently not.
He reviewed the card’s details again. “A combo deck,” he muttered.
That was trouble. It didn’t rely on dealing damage. Defense wouldn’t help. Worse, even if the combo failed, the statue had just added four more cards to Ratu’s deck. That gave him more breathing room while pushing Deckard closer to fatigue.
If his opponent stalled for too long, Deckard would run out of cards first and lose the game.
If only I had more disruption…
He glanced down at his hand and mentally reviewed every card in his deck. Nothing that could deal with landmarks. He was locked out of that angle completely.
His gaze narrowed at the new keyword.
Synergy: If all cards in your deck share this card’s affinity, you draw it in your opening hand.
So that’s how it had hit the board turn one. Deckard felt a knot twisting in his stomach. This wasn’t a slapped-together pile of cards. It was fine-tuned. Optimized. The work of someone who had done their homework.
I’m in trouble.
The system proceeded to reveal Deckard’s card:
A surge of water burst from the base of Deckard’s castle, sweeping upward in a spiraling wave as the foam cleared, plates of chitin formed along the outer walls, bubbling and curling as they hardened into a semi-transparent shell. The effect was short-lived. Cracks spread down the surface, and a hiss of steam escaped as his HP ticked down.
Deckard winced. “Now I just feel silly.”
Every other game against Ratu had been about tempo and pressure. Aggro plays and fast trades. He’d expected more of the same this time, which was why he’d opened with a slow-burn defensive skill.
At least his opponent had no cards in hand. Meanwhile, he’d have four to work with next turn.
As the round ended, his deck shimmered and pulsed. Two new cards slid smoothly into his hand. Deckard bit his lip, mentally running through his options. Logic told him one thing: he had to end the game fast. If Ratu completed the combo, it was over. But there was one problem—Deckard wasn’t running a particularly aggressive deck.
Argh. I’ll just have to play aggressively anyway, he thought.
He selected the two cards in his hand and dropped one on the field and the other into the graveyard. Light swirled over them in tightening rings as they snapped into place. The system dimmed in anticipation, readying the board for resolution.
A coral shelf erupted from the field, scattering bits of shell and saltwater across the lane. From the surge rose a broad-shelled crab, armored in sapphire chitin. Its claws snapped with sharp, rhythmic clicks as it lumbered into position on the attacking lane.
Across the field, Ratu had played nothing this turn. With no defenses in place, the Crab Enforcer advanced and slammed one of its heavy claws against the pale stone walls of Ratu’s castle.
Meanwhile, Deckard’s own castle began to shimmer with a faint glow. The cracked plating from his earlier [Molting Wall] pulsed with a wet, organic sound as it reformed, sections of chitin sliding back into place and sealing the damage.
The scoreboard said he was winning. Thirteen to eight. But despite the lead, he didn’t feel in control—not with that statue still looming next to the enemy castle and the colored feathers hidden somewhere in his deck.
Deckard drew two new cards and immediately spotted one that could help him wrap up the match if the conditions were right.
Yes! I just have to sit tight for this round, and if Ratu plays nothing, I can maybe actually win this.
He skipped his turn, choosing to save his cards. But across the field, Ratu had already placed a new card on the board.
With a flicker of green particles, the armored beast materialized out of thin air. It slammed its claws into the ground with a heavy thunk, curling into a defensive stance. Segmented plates of hardened shell shimmered under a soft emerald glow as it braced itself on Ratu’s defensive lane.
The point counter above Ratu’s side ticked upward to 6 points.
Deckard frowned. Such a great defensive card. Just as I thought—they’re going to stall.
He tapped on the new keyword that had appeared in his interface.
Immovable: This card can’t be moved.
So that meant tricks like [Taunting Shout] or [Forced March] wouldn’t work. The pangolin was rooted where it stood, and nothing short of direct removal was going to shift it.
The point count phase began. Deckard’s [Crab Enforcer] launched forward, claws raised and gleaming. But when it struck the pangolin’s shell, the blow glanced off with a flash of green light. The creature didn’t even flinch.
No damage made it through.
Deckard came into the next turn with a full hand. He scanned the cards quickly and sighed.
I know this isn’t the most efficient way of playing this card, he thought, but I have to go for it anyway.
He discarded four cards, fingers hesitating only briefly before selecting the fifth. The moment it hit the board, water pooled across the lane and shimmered with a slick, metallic sheen.
A dorsal fin sliced through the surface of the battlefield. The water churned violently, and a dark blur darted beneath the surface before the [Blacktip Shark] surged into view. Its sleek body twisted mid-air, landing on the field with a splash as it took position beside the [Crab Enforcer] on the attacking lane.
Seven points from the shark, two from the crab… Nine total. That should be enough to pierce through the pangolin’s defenses.
He glanced across the field. No new cards from Ratu.
As the point count phase began, the system tallied totals—Deckard’s lane at nine, Ratu’s at six. The [Blacktip Shark] lunged forward in a blur of speed, jaws wide, followed by the steady advance of the [Crab Enforcer]. The [Pangolin Defender] held firm, its armor glowing bright green as it absorbed part of the impact, but it wasn’t enough. A sharp pulse of energy slammed into Ratu’s castle.
A faint mist rose from the field behind Deckard’s walls. The water left behind by the shark’s attack surged toward his castle and was absorbed into the foundations.
Three more points of damage pushed him further into the lead. He was winning 15 to 5.
Deckard drew two more cards and glanced at the field. He bit his lip, weighing his odds. He had no choice but to keep pushing, even though this card was barely playable. He played another creature onto the attacking lane.
I have to wrap up this game fast, or I’m going to lose my deck.
