Chapter 1372: Chapter 1372: Clues at the Mountain Summit
Mr. Elfote said quite seriously, and Shard drew the [Big City Player: 1853 Tobesk Champion] of Star 12 suit, displaying it on the snow:
“I was last year’s Big City Player champion. My deck has many special cards.”
Mr. Elfote clapped his hands in surprise and laughed:
“The champion of 1853, indeed, 1853 was the year the Big City Player was held. I completely forgot… There was no chance during my lifeti to play cards with the Big City Player champion. I never thought I’d have this opportunity after death. No matter, please use all of your special cards; that respects the dignity of the Roder Card and card players. Life is indeed wondrous, dying here yet having such a marvelous encounter.”
Shard also smiled:
“I never expected to encounter an opponent with special cards this afternoon.”
He took out a dice and tossed it onto the snow, stopping little Mia who wanted to grab it:
“What rules should we use?”
“Keep it simple. The first to win twice is the victor.”
Mr. Elfote suggested, which was the simplest rule, representing the purest form of Roder Card.
“No problem.”
This card ga had no referee, and naturally, there was no need to inspect each other’s decks. The two sat across from each other in the snow, placing their cards on their right side and drawing the first hole card together.
“Speaking of which, I’m curious. This place is so far from the city, Mr. Elfote, what brought you here? Is there sothing noteworthy nearby?”
Shard asked while drawing the second card with Mr. Elfote. Shard’s second card was the newly obtained Moon 12 [Phantom Opera House: Silent Audience]. This card, when the previous card was also a Moon suit, could force the opponent to stop drawing cards. Unfortunately, Shard glanced at his hole card, which couldn’t activate any effects either—Sun 4 [Southern Carsonrick Folklore: Moon Dance Festival].
The Moon Dance Festival required a Moon suit card in hand upon drawing this card to activate its effect, so it had no effect as the first card.
“Look, you drew a special card right off the bat.”
The Spirit said in surprise while reading the rules with great interest, especially intrigued after hearing this was a new thed deck released in 1854:
“My special card was also drawn from the Prophet’s Society on the card’s release day.”
“It’s 16 points.”
Shard thought to himself, indicating he would draw a third card as Mr. Elfote continued to draw:
“Yes, I’m here for an investigation because there’s sothing noteworthy here. I heard from the townspeople that there’s an ancient temple ruin in the vicinity, located on a mountain.”
They both drew their third card, and Shard slightly frowned—it was Star 4. It had a special pattern but wasn’t a special rule card:
“I’ll stop here, Mr. Elfote. I have 20 points.”
He showed his three cards:
“You’re right; there is indeed an ancient temple nearby, located on that mountain over there. But it’s not a temple for the Earth; it’s for Darkness.”
“Is that so? It seems I got the wrong information.”
The Spirit said a bit regretfully, reaching out to draw its fourth card:
“Let
try my luck… Blowout.”
Star 5, Star 12, Sun 2, and Moon 7. The first three cards totaled 19 points, but the luck ran out with the last one.
The four cards Mr. Elfote drew were thrown on the tiger, while Shard placed his three cards on Mia.
The Spirit continued:
“Temples for the Darkness are truly rare, as the Darkness is usually worshiped alongside the Moon. I heard there’s also a protected Moon Worship Ruins on the city outskirts, but sadly I never got the chance to check it out.”
Shard felt increasingly sorry for him:
“Before the unexpected incident, did you find anything interesting in the area?”
The two started the second round of drawing cards, with the clearing in the Cedar Forest bathed in the warm evening sunlight, making Shard feel comfortably warm all over. At the sa ti, the cat serving as an impromptu ‘card rack’ also enjoyed the sunlight, lazily lying on Shard’s lap, reluctant to move.
“Yes, in search of the temple ruins the townspeople spoke of, I climbed the high mountain over there.”
Mr. Elfote pointed, and coincidentally it was in the direction of the Night Shrine:
“I confird I wasn’t mistaken, and as the townspeople said, there is indeed an entrance at the foot of the mountain. But after climbing to the top, I couldn’t see the temple ruins or the arch.”
They both drew their second card, and Shard laughed when looking at his card:
“[Big City Player: 1853 Tobesk Champion]. Suit: Star 12. When drawn, it allows you to view one of the opponent’s unrevealed hole cards.”
“I never thought I’d really encounter it.”
Mr. Elfote said excitedly, putting aside his second card “Flower 1” for the mont and then showing his hole card:
“I originally thought I could surprise you.”
On the card front, a beautiful girl holding a broom, wearing an apron, and with her headscarf on, seed to be dancing alone in front of a fireplace. Although the card face was black and white, the exquisite design still amazed people.
“The Prophet’s Society is planning to release cards with color illustrations; I’m looking forward to seeing the colored card faces.”
Shard said.
[Ancient Fairy Tale: Cinderella], Suit: Moon 3. If this card is the first hole card, the final points equal 19 will be adjusted to 20. If this card is the last card, the final points equal 18 will be adjusted to 19.
“The Ancient Fairy Tale series…”
Shard slightly squinted his eyes:
“I also have two cards from the Ancient Fairy Tale series.”
[Ancient Fairy Tale: Matchstick Girl], originally belonged to Shard’s friend, Baron Lavende. Shard helped him win it at Lakeside Manor from Baron Rwanda and temporarily kept it in Shard’s possession. But later, Baron Lavende promised Shard that if Shard won the Big City Player championship, the card would belong to Shard… The baron had obviously placed quite a bet in the autumn as well;
As for [Ancient Fairy Tale: Sleeping Princess], it was won by Shard in Midshire Fort from the “Third Nail” of Sicarl’s Interstice, from Earl Dalark of Canberra. The earl later reappeared on the night of the Sicarl Mountain battle to help him, and Shard fondly rembered the earl’s rapier technique.
“But, Cinderella refers to…”
Shard hesitated for a mont, and Mr. Elfote explained:
“This is another title for an ancient fairy tale. You must have heard the current trending nas of this tale, [Grey’s Crystal Shoes] or [Princess on the Pumpkin Carriage].”
Shard smiled:
“I’ve heard them, yes… So it really is that one.”
He also revealed his first hole card, even though he didn’t have to:
“Then I’ll reveal mine too, look, it’s this.”
[Genesis: Silver Moon] Suit: Sun 3. Using this card, you can adjust the number within the range of 1 to 5.
Shard currently had a total of 15 points. He temporarily did not use the adjustnt number rule of his hand. Mr. Elfote had 4 points and was still far from the end.
The small talk paused temporarily, and both were quite interested in the next card draw.
Shard drew the third card, hesitated for a mont, then started to laugh:
“Surprisingly, Star 2. I’ll stand, adjust Sun 3’s [Genesis: Silver Moon] to Sun 5, 5 12 2, my total points are 19.”
“That indeed is a very good choice.”
Mr. Elfote also said, then showcased his hand:
“Flower 13, I have 17 points.”
Shard nodded:
“If you draw 2 points next, adjusting 19 to 20, you win. If you draw 3 or 4, both are bigger than mine, you can also win.”
Spirit looked at the deck beside himself and took out the next card:
“Let
see… Ha, Flower 7, I’m not surprised at all.”
He laughed and shook his head, not caring at all:
“I’m already very satisfied, to have a wonderful match with the Big City Player champion, and even to see the Genesis series. I’m very content.”
He gathered his cards together and handed them to Shard:
“They belong to you now.”
“Thank you.”
Shard accepted the cards and stood up with the spirit. The tiger also stood up. It seed to have already realized what was about to happen, wandering around the spirit’s sides.
Mr. Elfote stroked the tiger’s fur and then said to Shard:
“This ti, please don’t kill it.”
“Alright.”
Shard nodded and then rummaged through his pocket, finding a toy piece of raw at, restored it, and threw it on the ground. Among the toys he carried, there was the most food.
Mr. Elfote then spoke to the tiger standing on the snow:
“I’m letting you go this ti, but if you harm people because of it, that’s my fault. Since we’ve lived together for two years, go into the forest. I hope you haven’t forgotten your hunting instincts.”
He patted the tiger’s head one last ti. The tiger looked up at him, picked up the at, and then turned to run deep into the Cedar Forest, not looking back this ti.
Mr. Elfote sighed, and his body gradually beca transparent. Shard drew a black crack to allow him to leave quickly:
“You actually didn’t choose the wrong place, but what you were looking for wasn’t the mountain top, but to climb from inside the cave to the peak after entering the cave… But it’s good that you didn’t enter that cave, it’s very dangerous there.”
The spirit slightly shook his head:
“It doesn’t matter anymore, that was sothing from when I was alive… I also found so interesting traces on the top of that mountain. If you are interested, you can go have a look.”
He slightly bowed to Shard, then his spiritual body disintegrated into light particles and flew toward the crack. Shard watched Mr. Elfote’s spirit appear on the calm and dark water in the distance, heading towards the Nether Moon along with myriad other spirits.
The crack closed. Shard picked out the Moon 3 [Ancient Fairy Tale: Cinderella] and added it to his deck, then held Mia in one hand while gazing at the distant mountains:
“So, the top of that mountain, is it?”
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