The last thing I felt was the cold, hard glint in my twin brother's eyes. Then, nothing.
I woke to the gnawing ache of an empty stomach, the familiar taste of dirt in my mouth. For a moment, a wave of confusion washed over me. The opulent throne room, the cheers of my followers, the weight of the Top Mythical Card in my hand—it was all gone. Replaced by the stench of stale refuse and the sound of my twin's ragged breathing beside me.
My twin. The boy who would one day plunge a blade into my back.
I was a king. I had conquered a hundred monsters, mastered every card, and crushed empires beneath my heel. I was the master of this world's rules. But in the end, it was a betrayal by the two people I had foolishly called family that brought me down. My brother, consumed by a green-eyed envy that festered since our childhood, and my wife, a viper who had plotted in the shadows, her smile a beautiful lie.
They wanted my power. They wanted my Mythical Cards. And they had them. All except one. My final, secret weapon, the ? card. A card with no name, no ability, no rank, and a secret I had discovered only in my last moments of life. Its power wasn't to summon a beast or cast a spell. It was to turn back the hands of time.
Now, I was a child again. Just another piece of trash in this filthy, nameless slum.
The details of this new reality flooded my senses. The ragged clothes on my body, the scrawny arms, the familiar, gnawing hunger that had been my constant companion for the first decade of my life. My mythical cards, my legendary collection, my absolute power—all gone. All that remained was a worthless Common Gauntlet on my left wrist and the unyielding fury of my reborn soul.
A sob escaped my twin brother, his small body shivering under the thin blanket we shared. He was dreaming. Probably of a warm meal or a heroic hunter who would rescue us from this squalor. I felt nothing for him. Pity was a luxury for fools. He was a future monster, a viper waiting to strike. My task was simple: to ensure he never got the chance.
The fundamental truth of this world had never changed. We are all living in a grand, brutal game. Monsters roam the wild, dropping cards that contain their very essence. Are we a simulation? A cruel game played by bored gods? The theories are as numerous as the monsters themselves, but they are all ultimately pointless. The reason doesn't matter. What matters is the reality of our existence. This world is a meat grinder, and if you don't evolve, you get ground into dust. The cards aren't a gift from a creator; they are the rules of the game. A game I would master and ultimately dominate.
In my previous life, I had climbed the ladder of power the hard way. I had to scheme, fight, and kill to acquire every rare card, to level up my artifact, and to fend off powerful clans. This time would be different. This time, I had a shortcut.
The so-called "trash" gauntlet on my wrist was my greatest weapon. Every hunter, every clan, every self-proclaimed expert knew these Common Gauntlets were a joke. They could only absorb the lowest-tier cards and level up with the weakest of essences. But in my previous life, during one of my ruthless schemes to acquire a rare card, I had stumbled upon an ancient scroll that revealed a hidden truth. The gauntlet's true power wasn't in its ability to absorb powerful cards. It was in its compatibility with seemingly useless Common Cards. When combined in a specific sequence, these worthless cards could trigger a hidden ability within the gauntlet itself, an ability that could rival a Rare or even an Epic card's power. It was a secret that no one bothered to discover because no one had the time or inclination to experiment with junk.
I got up, careful not to wake my brother. The sun hadn't risen yet, but the city was already alive with the sounds of misery. Hunters preparing for their daily grind, merchants setting up their meager stalls, and the hungry cries of children echoing in the alleyways.
My gauntlet felt cold and heavy. I looked at my hands, at the calloused fingers and ragged nails. This body was weak, a far cry from the pinnacle of power I had reached. But it was just a tool. And tools can be forged.
My first task was clear. I needed to acquire a specific set of Common Cards. Cards that others would discard as worthless junk. I had a precise sequence in mind, a combination that would give me a powerful ability to use in my first hunt. It wouldn't be flashy, but it would be effective. And that's all that mattered.
I crept out of the alleyway, the stench of trash growing stronger as I moved towards the main street. I knew where to find them. The black market for hunters. While the wealthy clans traded Legendary Cards and priceless artifacts, the common hunters haggled over worthless items. And among the junk, I would find what I needed.
I walked the familiar streets, the faces of the people I passed a blur of misery and despair. They were all playing the game, but they didn't know the rules. They didn't know that their lives were just pawns in a grand chess match they would never win. But I did.
I found the stall of an old, haggard hunter who was trying to sell off a massive pile of cheap, Common Cards. They were all useless. A card of a weak, low-level monster that could only grant a pathetic burst of speed. A card of another that could only create a small spark of fire. And another that could only make a faint, distracting sound.
"Hey, kid. What do you want?" the hunter grumbled, his eyes fixed on a more profitable customer.
I pointed to a small stack of cards at the bottom of the pile. "These. How much for all of them?"
The old hunter scoffed. "Fifty coppers. Take it or leave it. They're useless anyway."
I didn't even haggle. I placed the few coppers I had saved on the table. He took the money, not even bothering to count it, and shoved the cards into my hand.
I walked away from the stall, my heart pounding with a mix of anticipation and a cold, familiar thrill. I had done it. My first step. I held the cards in my hand, their mundane images a stark contrast to the power they contained.
I found a quiet alleyway and placed the gauntlet on my left hand. I looked at the three cards: Swiftfoot Beetle, Firefly Spark, and Grumbling Golem. Individually, they were useless. But in the correct sequence...
I placed the Swiftfoot Beetle card in the gauntlet's slot first. A faint, greenish light pulsed through the artifact. Then, the Firefly Spark card. The light turned a fiery orange. Finally, I placed the Grumbling Golem card in the slot.
For a moment, nothing happened.
And then, the gauntlet began to hum with a low, powerful energy. The colors swirled, mixing and twisting, before settling into a vibrant, pulsing gold. The ability wasn't what was written on the cards. It was something entirely new. An ability only the gauntlet could produce from this specific combination of cards.
A powerful golden light emanated from the gauntlet, and I felt a surge of energy flow through my body. The gauntlet's core ability had just been unlocked. It wasn't a powerful attack, or a defensive shield, but something more strategic: "Essence Absorption." It would allow me to absorb the essence of a monster three times as powerful as my current level, a feat that should have been impossible for a low-level hunter.
I had done it. Right under the noses of powerful hunters who would have paid a fortune for a single Rare Card. They were blind, foolishly chasing after power when it was right there in front of them, waiting to be unlocked.
My first step was complete. My twin brother was still sleeping, dreaming of a hero who would save him. He would be my first victim. My first enemy in this new life. I had no illusions about the future. I would climb to the peak again, and this time, there would be no one to betray me. Because this time, I would be alone.
The game had just begun.