Cards and Cards
"Do not covet what is not yours."
That was the moral hidden within this Hidden Piece.
If you get greedy, the EX-rank card explodes.
But if you restrain your greed, you receive a guaranteed D-rank card.
"And as a bonus, your affinity with the card swindler skyrockets."
Affinity with the card swindler Chero affects the probability of card promotion.
Knowing all of this, I could answer correctly no matter what Chero said.
"You're sure this isn't your card? I dunno, looks like it belongs to you to me~."
"It's not."
"Huhhh? Then whose is it, eh? 'Cause I sure don't know the owner~!"
"..."
Like a fisherman teasing his bait, Chero fluttered the card right in front of my face.
Honestly, this was more annoying than in the original.
In that case—
"If it's not yours either, then it must be trash lying on the street."
I reached out toward the Trap Investigator card.
"Give it here. I'll tear it up and throw it away."
Chero's eyes glimmered.
"Oho, you? You're saying you'll tear up this card? You think you can really do that?"
He looked doubtful that I'd actually destroy an EX-rank card.
But I didn't hesitate for even a second.
Riiip—!
In one swift motion, I snatched the card from his hand and tore it clean apart.
"...!"
Before the quartered Trap Investigator card, Chero froze, mouth agape.
I couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.
"He's so expressive I almost feel bad."
But I couldn't let myself get caught by a trap like this—not when I knew this world so well.
"All right, enough of the opening act. Let's get to the main part."
Feigning innocence, I smiled at the flustered Chero.
"Satisfied?"
"Didn't think you'd actually rip it up."
He looked utterly dumbfounded.
"Sheesh, two pieces would've been enough—you didn't have to make four!"
He carefully picked up the shredded pieces and tucked them gently into his pocket.
"Didn't you say it wasn't your card?"
"Yeah, well, actually it was. I was just testing you."
"Testing me how?"
"What do you mean 'how'? Obviously, the Card's Test."
Chero straightened up slowly and stared at my face.
"...!"
That sudden gaze made me involuntarily take a step back.
For an instant, a chill froze a corner of my calm.
His eyes—deep, dignified, and unnaturally cold.
Within those black pupils coiled a silent, bottomless abyss.
Something monstrous lurked there, waiting.
Gulp.
I swallowed dryly, hand instinctively gripping my sword hilt—
"...Good. Very good. Excellent!"
And then it vanished.
The terrifying gaze disappeared as if it had never been, replaced once more by the goofy, unhinged old man's expression.
What was that…?
I didn't relax my guard, but the strange light in his eyes was completely gone.
And then the system message appeared.
[You have received an unknown reward from 'Card Swindler Chero'.]
[Reward Details]
1x Guaranteed D-Rank Destiny Card Ticket
As expected.
I nodded silently.
Meanwhile, Chero, acting as though nothing had happened, gestured toward the items scattered on the ground.
"Mind giving me a hand? I've just got too much stuff, y'see."
He casually opened his trouser pocket.
The pocket was far too small for all those items—
but that was where they had come from in the first place.
"...Sure."
I nodded slowly, watching him.
"Definitely a strange NPC."
This man was not human.
Even I couldn't tell what he truly was.
Something existed in this world that even I—who thought I knew everything—didn't understand.
"Hah! Someday I really oughta dump all this junk at the Thirteenth Demon Temple!"
At that moment, a strange sense of déjà vu ran through me.
"What did he just say?"
Did he just say 'Thirteenth Demon Temple'?
And ten minutes later—
"Ah, thanks! Thanks! Some nasty bastard cursed me, you see! Feels so much better cleaning out my pockets!"
"Ahem. That so?"
"Sure does! Vile curse, that one! Bet it won't come back now!"
He started fiddling nonstop with his hole-riddled fedora, rambling on.
"Right! Since fate's brought us together, let's grab a drink on me! Let's gooo!"
Without even asking, he strode ahead cheerfully.
Meanwhile, I hesitated.
Something had gone off-track.
My original plan was simple:
Keep feeding him silver coins until he goes nuts and turns his pocket inside out.
Then I'd approach, return the trap card, and trigger the Hidden Piece.
After claiming the guaranteed D-rank card ticket,
use the boosted affinity to naturally lead Chero to the 'Cold Sun' questline.
That way, I'd snag the Hidden Piece and complete Lucard's quest neatly.
Finishing that quest would fill the EXP gap to reach level 10.
Then the Second Card Draw would begin.
And on top of that, Chero's original role—teaching the Card Promotion function—would unlock.
Meaning, in one smooth move I'd get:
Hidden Piece ✅ + Quest ✅ + Level Up ✅ + New Function ✅
That was the optimal route to make the most of my first meeting with Chero.
So I had chosen it without hesitation—
and I'd already finished about half of it.
All that's left is to lure him to the tavern I know.
That was the plan…
…but suddenly everything changed.
Because of that one unexpected phrase Chero mentioned:
'The Thirteenth Demon Temple.'
It threw me into complete confusion.
That damned temple—
"It was deleted from the final version! Why's it showing up now?!"
It was a location that had existed only in the beta version of World Abandoned by God.
No wonder I was shaken.
I'd been playing this game since before its official release.
I knew exactly which features had been removed.
That's why I immediately caught his words.
He definitely said "The Thirteenth Demon Temple.
Then… Could it be?
"Do the places and functions from the beta version still exist?"
If that's the case… what happens to the game's balance?
"...Ah."
"Huh? What's wrong? Did you just come up with an amazing cocktail recipe or something?"
"No. Just an iced Americano."
Come to think of it, there's no need to worry about balance.
This isn't a game anymore.
Still, my mind was spinning.
It meant I had to think things through more carefully.
"What a headache. First, I need to fix the current situation."
Time to change plans.
Eventually, I'd have to visit the Thirteenth Demon Temple.
But if I handed Chero over to Lucard right now and tanked my affinity with him… that would be impossible.
That temple could only be accessed by certain NPCs through teleportation.
So using my affinity with Chero—who knew about the Thirteenth Demon Temple—for something as minor as Lucard's quest would be an enormous waste.
"But I still need to finish that quest… What do I do?"
My level 10 milestone andThomson's turnaround both depended on it.
It would be a shame to just let the quest fail.
There had to be another way.
"..."
After thinking for a moment, I came up with an alternative.
"Yeah. That could work."
Not a perfect solution, but one that could satisfy Lucard well enough.
I glanced toward Thomson, who was following from a distance, and gave him a small nod.
He blinked in confusion.
'What's that nod supposed to mean?'
It wasn't a prearranged signal.
While Chero was rambling about the fine qualities of whiskey, I moved my lips slightly.
"Steal everything this time."
'…Not put it in?'
Thomson's eyes widened at the sudden reversal.
But this was exactly his specialty—he'd pull it off easily.
Time to move on.
"Mr. Chero, how do I use this thing?"
I pulled out the Card Draw Ticket from my inventory.
"Oho! That's a fine Card Summoning Ticket, my boy!"
Feigning ignorance, Chero slipped seamlessly into his role as an NPC.
"Now, cards—ah, cards! Would you believe they're fragments of the divine itself!"
[The 'Fate Card Enhancement' feature has been unlocked!]
[Use various methods to strengthen your Fate Cards even further!]
Time to hear the explanation about Fate Card enhancement—one of the game's core mechanics.
The Fate Card System
Everyone who's played this game knows that Fate Cards can be obtained through draws.
From the very start, players witness a grand cinematic introducing their first draw—it's impossible to miss.
However, far fewer players truly understood how enhancement worked.
"Sure, everyone knows you can upgrade cards…"
"But what's the most efficient way to do it?"
That part was still obscure.
Most players treated Fate Cards like disposable skill bundles—use them, then toss them.
But when a player starts using a Fate Card, it begins accumulating a hidden stat called Merit (공적치).
This measures how much the card has contributed to the player's actions.
The key to successful enhancement lay in maximizing this Merit.
"That's how you boost your success rate."
Enhancement always began by colliding two cards together.
If two cards of the same rank were fused, a higher-ranked card of the same type would usually emerge.
But when mixing cards of different ranks, the odds dropped drastically.
Naturally.
For example:
If fusing two A-rank cards had a 50% chance to produce an S-rank,
then fusing an A-rank with a B-rank might only give a 25% chance.
It wasn't an exact ratio, but that was the general idea.
"Now, here's the tricky part."
What if you wanted to do the reverse?
Feed a higher-rank card to a lower-rank card—say, because you preferred the latter?
In that case, you had to dismantle the higher-rank card.
Split the upper card into two fragments, then attempt promotion using the lower one.
It even looked like you were getting an extra promotion attempt—seemingly a good deal.
But here's where Merit came in.
"Once you dismantle a card, its Merit is completely erased."
Merit doubled—or more—the chance of success.
So dismantling didn't raise success rates—it could actually lower them.
"And the kicker? Merit carries over when a promotion succeeds."
In short, delaying promotion until later was always the better play.
You'd want to collect as many cards as possible and calculate every variable before fusing.
I planned to do exactly that tonight.
"Ssoo nnoww you knnnowww da secrret of caarrds! Ssssee? Ess-rannkk! Ssupeerb! Yeeh, youu can doo it!"
This guy's tongue was totally twisted now.
I clicked my tongue at the sight of Chero, slumped over the tavern table.
Just like when I first saw him at dawn—completely wasted.
He'd been chugging alcohol nonstop while explaining card promotions,
and this was the result.
I'd originally planned to drag him straight to the Cold Sun to avoid this mess.
"You should be grateful, old man."
It was that Demon Temple that saved your hide.
"...Krrr."
Out cold.
I clicked my tongue again and stood up from the table.
Thomson, who had been watching from the corner, quietly approached.
"What now?"
I shrugged.
"I told you—take everything. There's only one thing of real value anyway."
"...?"
"There should be a forged contract with Lucard's name on it. That's all we need."
With that, the quest would be complete.
The reward EXP would push me to level 10.
"Now then… what card will I draw next?"