SHUFFLE OF FATE: A Deckbuilding LitRPG
CHAPTER 10: SURFACE TENSION
The light was violent.
It wasn't the soft glow of moss or the harsh flash of a spell. It was the blinding, searing brilliance of the sun.
Kai stumbled out of the fissure, shielding his eyes with a trembling arm. Tears streamed down his face as his pupils, dilated from years in the dark, frantically tried to adjust.
He fell onto his knees. He didn't feel cold stone. He felt grass. Real, living grass.
He inhaled deeply. The air didn't smell of rot or sulfur. It smelled of wind, pine, and distant woodsmoke.
"I made it," Kai whispered, his voice cracking. "I actually made it."
He waited for his vision to clear. Slowly, the white blur resolved into shapes and colors.
Kai stood on a rocky ridge overlooking a vast valley. Below him lay the outskirts of Sector 7—a sprawling shantytown of wooden shacks and canvas tents that housed the lower class.
But beyond the slums, rising from the center of the world like a needle piercing the heavens, stood **The Spire**.
It was a monolith of white marble and gold, so tall the top disappeared into the clouds. Floating islands drifted around its mid-section, tethered by massive chains. That was where the High Deckholders lived. That was where the Gods watched.
Kai clenched his fist. "One day," he promised.
He checked his status one last time before entering civilization.
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[Name: Kai]
[Level: 5 ( Awakened )]
[HP: 100/100]
[Aether: 25/25]
[Deck: 4/10]
[Cards: Rusted Dagger (Destroyed), Scavenger Rat, Flashbang, Silk Binding, The Wildcard]
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He was no longer a civilian. He was Level 5. He was a Player.
Kai took a step forward, intending to walk down the ridge toward the city gates.
"HALT!"
The command was accompanied by the sound of metal sliding against metal.
Kai froze.
Three men stepped out from behind a cluster of boulders. They wore the polished steel armor of the City Guard, emblazoned with the emblem of the **Iron Guild**.
The lead guard leveled a heavy spear at Kai's throat. The tip of the spear glowed with a faint blue aura—an Enchanted weapon.
"Identify yourself!" the guard barked. "No one comes out of the Dead Mines. It's a forbidden zone."
Kai raised his hands slowly. "My name is Kai. I was a miner in Sector 4. The tunnel collapsed."
The guard narrowed his eyes. "Sector 4 collapsed three days ago. Everyone died."
He stepped closer, the spear tip inches from Kai's jugular. "You don't look like a ghost. And you don't look like a miner anymore."
The guard's eyes flicked to the invisible interface that all people in this world could sense. He was using an **[Inspect]** skill.
"Level 5," the guard muttered, surprised. "You awakened?"
"I got lucky," Kai lied smoothly. "I found a dead adventurer. Took his deck."
"Show me," the guard commanded. "Show me your Deck Registration. If you're holding illegal cards or Chaos Artifacts, I have the authority to execute you on the spot."
Kai's heart hammered against his ribs.
**[The Wildcard]**.
It was a Glitch. A chaotic anomaly. If the guard saw a card that constantly changed colors and displayed error codes, he wouldn't just confiscate it. He would kill Kai and sell the card to the highest bidder in the Spire.
Kai had to hide it.
"I said show me!" the guard pressed the spear forward, drawing a drop of blood from Kai's neck.
Kai mentally accessed his Deck. He willed the system to bring forward his legitimate cards.
"Here," Kai said.
He summoned three cards into his hand, fanning them out like a poker player.
1. **[Scavenger Rat]** (Common)
2. **[Flashbang]** (Common - Damaged)
3. **[Silk Binding]** (Rare)
He kept the *Wildcard* unsummoned, hidden deep in his soul storage.
The guard glanced at the rat. He sneered. He looked at the broken flashbang. He laughed.
But then his eyes stopped on the third card. The silver glow of the **[Silk Binding]**.
"A Rare Skill card?" The guard's eyebrows shot up. Greed flickered in his eyes for a second, but he suppressed it. A miner with a Rare card was lucky, but killing an Awakened right outside the city gates would require too much paperwork.
The guard lowered his spear. "You killed a spider for that?"
"I found it on a corpse," Kai lied again. "Like I said. Lucky."
The guard spat on the ground. "Lucky indeed. Listen here, rat. You might be Level 5, but you're still trash from the mines. You enter the city, you pay the tax. You cause trouble, you die. Clear?"
"Clear," Kai said, keeping his head down.
"Get moving."
The guards stepped aside, opening the path.
Kai walked past them. He could feel their eyes burning into his back. He knew they would report this. He knew the Guilds would be watching him now. A newbie with a Rare card was a target.
But as Kai walked down the dirt road toward the bustling, noisy slums of the city, a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
They thought he was lucky because he had a Rare card.
They had no idea.
Kai looked at the hidden notification in the corner of his vision.
**[The Wildcard is ready.]**
"The game has just begun," Kai whispered.
He pulled his hood up and disappeared into the crowd.
***
**END OF ARC 1: THE TUTORIAL**