SHUFFLE OF FATE: A Deckbuilding LitRPG
CHAPTER 18: EVOLUTION
The Coin Exchange of the Iron Guild was a brightly lit building on the main street. A line of terrified merchants and F-Rankers stood outside, clutching pouches of gold to pay their "Protection Tax."
Kai stood across the street, watching them.
In his hand, he held the heavy sack containing 2,000 coins. It was his freedom. He could walk across the street, hand it to Lieutenant Kaelen, and buy himself another month of peace.
Kai looked at the bruise on his arm where the wolf had bitten him. He looked at the cracked edge of his Bone Shiv.
"Peace is just a slow death," Kai whispered.
He turned his back on the Guild building. He walked into the shadows of the Lower District, toward a shop that had no sign, only a symbol of a black cauldron painted on the door.
He knocked. Three times slow, two times fast.
A slide-window opened. A pair of goggles stared out.
"We're closed," a raspy voice said.
"I have gold," Kai said. "And I have monster parts."
The bolts unlocked. The door creaked open.
The interior of the shop smelled of sulfur and burnt hair. Vials of bubbling liquid lined the shelves, and a massive rune-etched anvil sat in the center of the room. This was the workshop of Vex, an exiled Alchemist-Smith who operated outside Guild regulations.
"Show me the color," Vex grunted, extending a soot-stained hand.
Kai dumped the sack of coins on the table. The gold glittered in the candlelight.
"2,000 coins," Kai stated. "I want an Evolution."
Vex's eyes widened behind his goggles. "Evolution is dangerous, kid. If the synthesis fails, the card burns. You lose the card, the materials, and the gold."
"I'm a gambler," Kai said calmly. "Do it."
He placed his cards and materials on the workbench.
1. **[Card: Scavenger Rat]** (Common)
2. **[Material: Acid Slime Cores]** (x10) - Obtained from the warehouse job.
3. **[Material: Dire Wolf Fangs]** (x2) - Scavenged from the arena fight.
Vex picked up the items. "Slime for toxicity. Wolf for aggression. You're trying to turn a scavenger into a killer."
"Can you do it?"
"For 2,000? I can make it sing."
Vex swept the gold into a safe and began to work. He drew a complex magic circle on the anvil using chalk made from crushed mana stones. He placed the **[Scavenger Rat]** card in the center.
He crushed the Slime Cores, dripping the neon-green acid onto the card. The card sizzled and smoked.
"Stabilizing!" Vex shouted, chanting a spell.
He took the Wolf Fangs and hammered them into the card's energy field. *CLANG. CLANG.*
The room flashed with green and red light. The screeching sound of a rat echoed in the air, but it twisted, becoming deeper, throatier, and more malicious.
Kai held his breath.
If this failed, he would have no gold and no summon. He would be defenseless against the Iron Guild.
Vex struck the anvil one last time.
*BOOM.*
A shockwave of green smoke blew the candles out.
Silence filled the room.
"Light it up," Vex coughed.
Kai re-lit a candle. On the anvil, the materials were gone. The card remained.
But it had changed.
The border wasn't the dull grey of a Common card anymore. It pulsed with a sickly green aura. The illustration of the small, gray rat was gone. In its place was a monstrosity—a rat the size of a wolf, with matted fur dripping with green slime and eyes glowing red.
Kai picked it up. His hands trembled.
--------------------------------------------------
[Evolution Successful!]
[Card: Plague Rat]
[Rarity: Uncommon]
[Type: Unit]
[Cost: 3 Aether]
[Stats: 8 ATK / 15 HP]
[Passive: Toxic Aura - Deals 1 damage per second to nearby enemies.]
[Attack Effect: Infection - Bites apply a stacking Poison debuff (-2 HP/sec).]
--------------------------------------------------
"It's beautiful," Kai whispered.
"It's nasty," Vex corrected, wiping sweat from his forehead. "That thing isn't a pet anymore. It's a bio-weapon."
Kai equipped the card. His deck felt heavier, deadlier.
**Current Deck:**
1. **[Plague Rat]** (Main DPS/Tank)
2. **[Flashbang]** (CC)
3. **[Silk Binding]** (Utility)
4. **[Bone Shiv]** (Sustain)
5. **[Gambler's Coin]** (Passive)
6. **[The Wildcard]** (Trump Card)
"You're broke again," Vex noted, pointing at the empty gold sack.
"I know," Kai said, turning to the door.
"The Iron Guild deadline is tomorrow, isn't it?" Vex asked, cleaning his goggles. "You spent their tax money on a rat."
Kai stopped at the threshold. The night air of Sector 7 drifted in, cold and sharp.
"Let them come," Kai said, his eyes glowing with the reflection of the streetlamps. "I'm done paying for protection. It's time they learned why they need protection from me."