691 Daniel's Regret
Daniel looked at The Keeper, who was smiling at him while sitting in his chair, a book in hand. On the table beside him, a tea set sat, still piping hot.
"Would you like so tea?" The Keeper asked, nodding toward the tea set, which had another cup placed nearby.
"Yes, thank you very much, Mr. Keeper," Daniel replied, accepting the offer. He took a cup of tea from The Keeper and walked over to sit at the table where The Keeper had prepared for him to open cards.
Daniel slowly sipped the hobrewed Earl Grey tea that The Keeper had poured for him. The technique, the pour, and even the tea's temperature were perfect—like that of a seasoned butler who had served an aristocratic family for decades.
"Your skill has improved," Daniel said appreciatively. This was the second ti he had tasted The Keeper's tea-brewing expertise.
"Thank you for your kind words, Mr. Emberweave," The Keeper replied politely.
After sipping so tea and calming himself, Daniel finally spoke.
"Do you know how I can return ho?"
"Ah, yes, about that…" The Keeper nodded, glancing out through the floor-to-ceiling glass window behind him, where the Starry Abyss stretched infinitely.
"I noticed that you summoned the door to this space in the midst of... so inconvenience. However, I think the predicant you're in may not be entirely bad," The Keeper said.
"How so?" Daniel asked, curious.
"It's because the lock that prevented you from using The Rise of Calot set has loosened. I believe you'll soon be able to access it," The Keeper explained.
"I see…" Daniel nodded thoughtfully. But his mind was racing with The Keeper's words. If this were true, then sothing must have triggered this change. Could it be falling into the dinsional gap? But what connection could the dinsional gap have with Calot?
Seeing the contemplative look on Daniel's face, The Keeper shook his head and said, "You don't need to think too hard about it, Mr. Emberweave. As I ntioned before, when the ti is right for you, and you are able to use it, you'll understand the reason. Overthinking now won't help. It might even make your hairline recede."
09:50
"Mr. Emberweave, it will take so ti before the environnt outside calms enough for you to leave. I suggest you rest and enjoy the food and beverages in the shelter adjacent to this room. Or, if you prefer, you could open so boxes for entertainnt while you wait," he suggested.
Daniel looked at the point counter on the wall and saw that he had accumulated around 60,000 points. He nodded to himself thoughtfully.
"By the way, Mr. Keeper, how much would it cost to unlock the Cosmic War Set?" he asked.
Although the set was still an unfinished prototype, it contained many powerful cards that he hadn't fully balanced yet. This ant the cards were highly potent and likely ga-breaking.. It's exactly the kind of advantage he needed in real-life situations right now.
"Hmmm… about 100,000 points. You'll need to save up a lot more if you want to unlock it," The Keeper replied.
Hearing this, Daniel shrugged. Since unlocking the set wasn't imdiately feasible, he decided to use his points to open so boxes instead. After all, he might need a wide variety of cards from the sets he had already unlocked for future use.
He began purchasing boxes, including the Atlantean set, two Calot box sets, and several others to replenish his cards, After he had actualized individuals to fill the ranks of his organization and creatures to populate the Clockwork Enclosure.
After Daniel had enjoyed enough excitent and his points had run so low that he couldn't buy anything more, he spent so ti browsing the cards in the shop, fantasizing about how they might work if incorporated into a ga. Finally, he reluctantly left the shop and headed to the adjacent shelter room after bidding farewell to The Keeper.
Inside the shelter, Daniel noticed many books, mostly novels and comics, provided to help pass the ti. The cozy shelter also featured a refrigerator stocked with various drinks, snacks, and food.
Daniel walked over to the large window, which offered a view of the outside environnt. The scene was still chaotic, with turbulent streams of ti and dinsional instability wreaking havoc in the dinsional gap.
Deciding it was best to remain in the shelter, Daniel resolved that if the chaos beca too overwhelming, he could always return to the shop and invite The Keeper to play a ga of chess or two an excellent way to pass the ti.
With that plan in mind, Daniel began indulging in snacks, comics, and novels. He worked his way through the collection, book after book, comic after comic. When he felt sleepy, he would lie down on the generously sized couch, which was comfortable enough to accommodate him without issue.
He had no sense of how many days, perhaps even weeks, had passed, but he didn't care. He was finally having a chance to enjoy hobbies he hadn't been able to indulge in for a long ti.
Since becoming a mage, he had been consud by a lot of preparation work, constantly bracing himself for worst-case scenarios. Here, however, there was no need for such concerns. Free of those burdens, he spent his ti like a NEET, relishing every mont he had here.
Whenever he grew bored, he would visit the shop and invite The Keeper over to the shelter to play a ga of chess or two. These simple pleasures gave him a sense of fulfillnt and a carefree life that he hadn't experienced for a long ti.
One day, after waking up in the shelter, Daniel noticed sothing different. Through the window, he saw a vast, green plain stretching out before him, dotted with small bushes, patches of forest, and a large river winding through the landscape.
"What?" Daniel muttered as he slowly rose from the couch and approached the window. Staring out at the unexpected view, he was stunned. Without hesitation, he stepped outside and released several tal Scarabs to scout the surrounding area. When the results ca back, he was even more shocked.
There were no signs of modern structures. The nearest trace of human civilization was a small village about 10 kiloters away, and its architecture and technology seed characteristic of the Middle Ages.
"What the hell?" Daniel murmured in confusion as he reviewed the information transmitted by the tal Scarabs.
He inhaled deeply, noticing the air's remarkable freshness, free of pollution. From the aerial images captured by the scarabs, there was no sign of modern infrastructure. There were only dirt roads, the kind one might find in dieval countryside. Even in remote areas, there should have been paved roads or highways nearby, but here, none existed.
Daniel walked back into the shop and t with The Keeper.
"Do you know where we are?" Daniel asked.
Hearing this, The Keeper let out a mysterious smile. "The right question should be… where you are. The shop is always connected to you and will always be wherever you are, no matter the ti or place."
"As for the answer to your question…" The Keeper looked out of the window toward the Starry Abyss. "It should be around 490 AD."
"The 5th century?" Daniel repeated in disbelief, but The Keeper nodded in confirmation.
Now Daniel was utterly lost. He didn't know what to do, but then he rembered sothing: one of the prototype cards already designed in the Cosmic War set was the enchantnt card 'Ti Jump.'
This enchantnt is a magic circle that returns a creature card to its owner's deck in any order. In theory, if it were to be actualized in the real world, it should allow one to adjust the ti to travel to the future, potentially enabling travel into the future.
The card's lore explained its origin. The magic circle was created to combat a superpowerful cosmic entity. The protagonist of the set needed ti to prepare a trap and battlefield to counter the entity's overwhelming power. By sending the being into the future, the protagonist gained the ti needed for those preparations.
But unlocking the Cosmic War set required at least 100,000 points, and each box cost 10,000 points. Now, Daniel regretted spending all 60,000 points so carelessly! If he could turn back ti, he wanted nothing more than to slap his past self in the face and tell him to save up.
With a tired sigh, Daniel muttered, "Sigh~ It's no use crying over spilled milk." He left the shop without looking back, afraid that if he lingered any longer, he might not be able to stop himself from banging his head against the wall in frustration.
Outside the shop, Daniel decided to head toward the village visible on the far horizon. He needed as much information as possible right now.
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