Chương 103: Fifty-two Cards

Blake had some sort of weapon ability that allowed him to move around his sword, does Colton have something similar? Are abilities within families similar? Elena once told him that certain powerful families had a way of guaranteeing fire-based abilities, so could he assume that Colton had a weapon-based ability? If I had family, would they have abilities similar to Eth?

"Like this?" Across from him, a girl in her twenties was awkwardly shuffling the cards.

"You're trying too hard to show how you're not doing the trick." Evel grabbed the cards, then performed the trick himself.

"Don't try to cut off their options for how the trick is done; it'll only make the real trick easier to find. Give them many suspicious movements that they think are the 'trick'. When they look even slightly below the surface, each suspicion will fail, and your trick will look flawless." The girl nodded and took her cards back.

"Metamorphosis." A flamboyant man yelled out.

"The voice is good, but exaggerate your movements to match. The crowd is so far away that they won't notice the subtle gestures you can use in a one-on-one."

"Alright!" He looked at the clock, then scanned the room for Yuna.

"Keep practicing." With the simple command, he walked over to her and tapped her shoulder.

"Let Mateo handle the rest. I know he's probably capable enough by now. I have other things I need to do." Without waiting for her to reply, he left. Whatever his ability is, I need to get stronger. One month. A lot could change in one month. A powerhouse… Evel walked through the streets, making his way into the forest where he'd fought Diana. Far enough to stumble on him, and close enough that he wasn't wasting his time. The objective of the day was simple: Get familiar with his new weapons.

Even with the discount, they were worth 1600 credits, over seventeen times his regular cards. Even with the discount, they were still worth over twelve times as much. They obviously wouldn't increase his fighting strength by that much, but the moment he became familiar with them, he would turn into a terrifying force. The bigger question lay in how he'd spend his time to get as strong as possible in just a month. He had a few options.

First, he could try to save up his credits for one big purchase: a powerful potion. A one-time-use potion that he didn't have to be concerned about expiry. Spending his entire fortune on one or two powerful potions would no doubt give a massive advantage in battle. But what would that accomplish? He rubbed his temple, the dull headache still persistent. Sooner or later, he'd need to fight people at that level, and he wouldn't have potions to save him.

If he spent all his wealth to secure one win only for all his credits to be reset to zero, what was the point? The solution couldn't be temporary; he needed something more permanent. With Ichors still out of his purchasing power, only one solid option really presented itself: Elixirs. With all the wealth he'd accumulated in recent times, he certainly could afford a few Risen Vials for the next month. But then what? What happened after the month was over, and he still needed to get stronger?

His mind kept returning to one superior option. No matter how he tried to rationalize anything else, they simply couldn't match up to the value of Sunken Vials. If he just increased his usage of the vials to three times a week… He didn't want to go much further, especially since they came with a cost. The line between self-harm and progress was one he'd have to toe very carefully. Although, if it's just for a month...

Risen vials were just so much more expensive than Sunken vials, and in the end, produced the same results. They were just too expensive. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. If it's just for a month… If he pushed himself really hard for just a month, then reverted to normal usage—maybe once or twice a week afterwards—would it really be that bad?

If he just went to four a week for the coming weeks, then reverted back as soon as the fight was done, just so he could get the boost he needed. With Albert's cleansing, the damage on his body wouldn't accumulate, and he'd only have to worry about the mental damage. That, he could handle. His mental prowess was the main strength that he needed to take advantage of. Four a week. Yeah. Then he'd go back to normal. Arriving in the open field, Evel took out the intricately designed box.

Sun on the top, moon on the bottom, with gold and silver designs throughout. With 52 cards in a playing deck, he theoretically had the option of 52 separate effects. But even ignoring the absurd cost, it wasn't something he wanted to do. Keeping track of the positions of the cards was possible for someone like him, but it didn't come without mental strain. Each card had a different ability, as well as a different Energy cost to activate.

In a life-or-death battle, using the wrong effect or being unable to afford the Energy cost because he lost track would spell his death. The other major issue was that cards could get lost. If one or two effects were his bread and butter and he ended up using them immediately or they got destroyed permanently, then he'd be in a tough situation. It was just far too much. Instead, he went for a more balanced approach: Eight different effects, based on suits, and organized by face value.

Within each suit, there'd be two separate effects: A basic one he'd be able to use often and with a relatively low Energy cost, from two to ten. A stronger, albeit more situational effect that costs more Energy, from the jack to the ace, with the Ace being a slightly stronger version that requires more Energy. He took out the first thirteen cards of the deck, the Spades. These were the bread and butter of his fighting, and the ones that were most similar to the most basic version.

He grabbed onto the two of spades and activated his ability. Eth floated gently above him, costing some Energy, but he felt a larger trickle go from his core to the card. After less than a second, it stopped. He launched the card at a nearby boulder. It sliced through the air, digging straight into the rock. It went deep, as cracks spread from the hole it created. Next, he walked closer to the rock and grabbed the jack of spades. After activating his aura, he launched it. Bam!

The card crashed into the rock with a heavy thud, destroying the already cracking rock. Spades were the simplest. They simply focused on improving what the cards were already doing. Two to Ten were sharper and cut deeper. The jack to king were heavier and hit harder. If he had even only these in his recent fight, he would have won a lot more convincingly based just on how much deeper the cards would have been able to pierce. The differences in quality really showed. The ace was just an even heavier card.

The jack really took a lot of effort to throw… It seems some of the increased weight of the impact is reflected even before the impact. At least the effect only happens after I use my Energy. Situational, but gave him an option when he needed the blunt damage. Next, he took out the Diamonds. Their focus was on persistent damage. He channelled his Energy again. Fwip! The four and the queen of diamonds zipped through the air and landed on the bark of a tree.

They didn't go too deep, nor did they cause any secondary effect. That was because its specialty only worked on living targets. The numbered cards disrupted the natural healing process and significantly increased bleeding of the target. For longer fights, getting an early one of these on the target would be greatly beneficial, but it didn't quite have the power of the spades. The face value of diamonds was focused on pain. A long, constant pain, which would completely disrupt the flow of any opponent.

The Ace simply took all that pain and concentrated it into one moment. Feels about the same as the previous metal cards in terms of throwing them… maybe even a little faster. Then came the clubs. For these, he'd kept Eth in mind. Eth's rules for 'harm' were weird. They relied almost exclusively on his intention, and there wasn't really any way to game it. At least none he'd found yet. At first, he wanted to create traps with Eth, but he always needed to give them an out or the hand wouldn't comply.

For example, he could light a fire surrounding somebody else, but only as long as the other person had a way to escape. Should he ever try to fully cut off their routes in an encirclement, the hand would refuse. But then if he knew the other person could teleport out at any point, then the hand would suddenly allow him to set as much fire as he wanted as long as it wasn't directly on the person.

But the thing was, as proven by how he made Graham's firearm explode, as long as he thought the person could teleport away, he was able to fully encircle them. Whether or not they actually could didn't matter at all. Fire and caltrops were actually two options he was really looking into, but their use cases were just too inconsistent and relied on too many different variables coming together too conveniently. Instead, he went with a more versatile approach.

He launched the 7 of clubs at a tree, and just before it came in contact with the tree, it exploded into a cloud of glue. A harmless but persistent glue. The expansion of the glue also trapped the card within it, ensuring that the card itself would never harm the opponent. Next, the jack of clubs. FSHHHHHH. A bellow of white smoke, similar to the smoke from the rest pods, expanded from the card. Although it didn't have any properties to stop its force before it hit someone, he could always aim it at a tree.

The ace added a really small but devastating effect. The smoke created a slight reflective effect that would show anyone standing in the smoke at the wrong angle. Duplicates, incorrect positioning, and so on. If the opponent figured it out, it wasn't that useful, but as a one time trick it was terrifying. Now, he could launch cards from seemingly any angle. Clubs were perfect for Eth. Finally, he took out the hearts and launched those too. These had a focus on applying ailments to the opponents body.

Again, about the same as his old cards. Two to ten had practically the same effect that Diana had used on the Skydart near the beginning of that battle, making the target's body heavier. Each of these cards he'd be able to land would make landing the next easier. For a quick, decisive fight, these were almost useless, but in a drawn-out battle, they could provide some great results. Decisive battles were where the face values of hearts came in. Getting hit would immediately cause a spike in adrenaline.

The fluctuation in the target's nervous system would send them straight into flight or fight. Either they'd get reckless or have a fatal hesitation to take advantage of it. Even if they were able to ignore it, the adrenaline crash afterwards would provide a golden opportunity for a follow-up. The Ace simply multiplied that effect, making the spike even stronger. Up until now, these were all effects he'd hand-picked himself, yet there were two cards he'd gotten as a gift. The red and black Jokers Diana had left him.

He waited a bit for some of his Energy to recover, then gave the jokers in his hand a long look. Only one way to find out, I guess. His aura flared.