Deckard stared at the cards in front of him. The more he read the details of each card, the more sure he was: it was impossible to win a game with this deck. It was sad to admit, but [Sturdy Turtle] and [Healing Ray], the very cards he'd seen being completely outclassed just a moment ago, were among his top cards.

  A few other cards weren’t terrible, but they lacked synergy.

  Sea Wind ???

  Rarity: Common

  Type: Skill

  Affinity: ??

  Cost: 2

  Effects: +1 point to all seabirds in play.

  That would have worked great if the deck had stuck with a seagull theme. Sadly, however, the only creature in the deck that benefited from this skill was terrible.

  Cranky Seagull ??

  Rarity: Common

  Type: Creature

  Affinity: ??

  Points: 2

  Cost: 3

  Effect: -2 if the lane already has 2 or more creatures.

  Deckard’s lips tightened in frustration. Cranky Seagull wasn’t just bad. It was outright insulting. Three cards discarded to summon a seagull that was more of a liability than an asset?

  Seagull Poison ??

  Rarity: Common

  Type: Skill

  Affinity: ??

  Cost: 2

  Effect: -1 point to all enemy seagulls here this turn.

  [Seagull Poison] was even worse. It was ridiculously specific. He had seen zero seagulls among Ratu’s creatures when he played against Koli. Even if Ratu had seagulls in his deck, this debuff wasn’t even permanent.

  [The Worst Deck Ever] was worthy of its name; it had no win condition. Sure, in Terralore, playing cards required discarding others, so half of these cards were meant to be nothing but sacrificial fodder. But even that wasn’t enough to cobble together a strategy.

  He looked up, catching Ratu’s grin—the grin of a man who knew he couldn't lose. Deckard sighed heavily and flicked his eyes to the quest description. Was there something he was missing? Some hidden condition? Or was this really as hopeless as it seemed?

  There had to be a way. The game wouldn’t hand out a quest that was truly impossible, right? Deckard’s mind whirled, searching for some angle, some workaround that could explain how he was supposed to win with such a terrible deck, especially when he considered how the quest had landed in his lap to begin with.

  He’d only spoken to three people in the game about cards so far: Laisenia, Ronan, and Baldy. Baldy was out of the question—he wasn’t even an NPC. And his conversation with Laisenia had been brief, surface-level at best. That left Ronan.

  It has to be connected to Ronan.

  He still didn’t understand why or how, but his gut told him it was related to the chain quest he’d completed for the pale, mysterious artist. Maybe it was because he’d turned down the reward, explaining that he was only interested in cards, or maybe it was something deeper. The fact that, according to the quest description, Ratu had ‘stumbled’ across a deck and that everyone else here had been shocked by this interaction only made his suspicions grow.

  This wasn’t just luck. This was a test—a prelude to something bigger. A trial.

  Deckard clenched his jaw. He had to win. But there was only one way to do that: he needed better cards.

  Deckard cleared his throat and clapped his hands. What he was about to do was way outside his comfort zone, but it was the only way to turn this hopeless situation around.

  "H-hi, everyone! Hello!" It wasn’t hard to get the attention of the bar players; after being singled out by Ratu, most eyes were already on him. "Does anyone here have any cards I could borrow?" he asked, cutting straight to the point.

  A few glances flickered between the onlookers, but no one moved.

  “I need cards to beat this guy. Can anyone lend me theirs? I’ll give them back once I’m done.”

  Ratu interrupted with a cackle. “What’s this, eh? You cheating now, foreigner? Can’t handle what I gave ya?”

  Deckard shot him a sideways glance. "You never said I couldn’t trade or change the deck. All you said was I have to beat you." His words were steady, though inside, tension coiled tighter. He couldn’t afford to show any cracks.

  Ratu’s grin faltered momentarily but quickly recovered, spitting on the ground. “Bah. Foreigners all dishonest.”

  Deckard ignored him and turned back to the crowd. "Anyone? I could use some help here."

  The room tensed. Players exchanged greedy glances, but no one spoke up. Deckard could see it in their eyes—they were weighing their options, trying to decide if they should help or wait to see what happened. Maybe they wanted him to lose, hoping that Ratu would challenge one of them instead.

  Moreover, from what Deckard had read online, the chances of a mob dropping a card were quite low. Who would want to part with a treasured card?

  He felt his heart race, but he forced himself to stay calm. Asking for charity wasn’t going to cut it. He needed to make it worth their while.

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  "New deal. Lend me your cards. If I lose the game, I'll just return them to you. If I win, I'll keep them and trade them for whatever card you want from this NPC's deck. Sound fair?"

  A murmur rippled through the crowd. They had seen just how good some of Ratu’s cards were. The possibility of trading one of their cards for something rarer and better wasn’t enough to sway them, though. And yet, no one stepped forward.

  They’re still hesitating. They don’t trust me. He realized they feared he’d trade them garbage after using their cards. He had no choice but to up the stakes.

  "Fine. If I win, I’ll trade two of his cards for one of yours. I’ll let you pick the ones you want."

  He knew he was offering a lot, but he had no other option. Besides, he had no cards at all right now. If he only got one or two cards out of this for himself, he would still come out of it winning! He couldn't beat Ratu without sacrifices.

  Finally, someone stepped forward. It was the bald kid from earlier. "I’ll take that deal."

  Deckard tried not to let his relief show. "Let me see your card again," he said, and the kid handed it over.

  Charged Slash ??

  Rarity: Common

  Type: Skill

  Affinity: ??

  Cost: 1

  Effect: Removes a random 1-cost card from here next turn.

  It wasn’t great, but it was far better than the junk currently clogging his deck. "Alright, I’ll let you know once I’ve seen the others." He turned back to the room. "Anyone else?"

  The dam broke. Several players stepped forward this time. Deckard moved quickly, sorting through their cards. He suppressed a groan when he saw another [Seagull Poison] swiftly skipping over it.

  He reviewed the cards one by one, ignoring Ratu’s grumbling taunts from across the room. Most available cards were skills. Skill cards doubled as a method to learn skills in AstroTerra and play Terralore; therefore, their drop rate was more generous.

  Creatures, however, only served to be played in Terralore and were much harder to come by. This was a large crowd, though. He was still able to find two more creatures among the available cards.

  “Foreigner. You come and play!” Ratu said impatiently, but Deckard ignored him. Ratu should have included that limitation in his challenge if he wanted to prevent him from building a better deck.

  He evaluated each borrowed card and weighed possible synergies. He finally settled on the ones he needed. He approached Baldy first. “I'll need your card. I'll trade you two cards at the end. Is that alright?”

  “OK by me. Sign this agreement. I want to make sure you don't go back on your word.”

  Deckard studied the brat who dared to question his honesty, but he still nodded.

  Do you accept the terms of this agreement?

  Warning! Penalties will be imposed if you fail to comply with the terms of an agreement you have signed.

  Deckard double-checked that everything was in order and signed.

  He called out the other players whose cards he wanted. Deckard approached the last player, the only one with an uncommon creature card. It belonged to a burly man roughly his age.

  “I'll need your card,” Deckard said. “Shall we sign an-”

  “I recognize you,” the burly man interrupted.

  “You do?”

  “Yeah. You're the Stubborn Tiger.”

  Deckard chuckled. It had been a while since he’d been called that. His thoughts were momentarily dragged to the card he’d inherited from Andy and to the many years of championships, always with that card in every deck he played.

  The man seemed to take his reaction as admittance of his identity. “Your physique is slightly altered, but I recognized how you talk in the interviews. If you're here, that means Cardia is done for, uh?”

  “Yeah. They're shutting down the servers soon.”

  The man nodded solemnly. "I figured. Tell you what—you can borrow my card. No need to trade me any."

  “A-are you sure?”

  “Please. I'm a fan. It's my privilege.”

  Deckard shook hands with him. “Thanks.”

  With this, he had all he needed. He removed the worst cards from the deck or those that didn't synergize with anything and added the borrowed cards in. As he went through the deck, he nodded approvingly. This was much better. If his draw was good, he might just make it.

  He paused for a moment. This was the first time in many years that he was going to play a card game without the [Tiger Warrior] in his deck. It made him feel alone. The emotion only lasted a split moment, though.

  Ratu scoffed from the sidelines, pulling him away from his thoughts. “Hmph. Those cards ain’t going to save ya, boy.”

  Deckard didn’t flinch. He’d done everything he could to prepare. Now, it was time to prove himself. Let’s see what you’ve got, he thought, stepping forward and setting his deck on the table. Ratu mirrored him, his grin returning.

  The bar’s usual clamor faded into an expectant hush as the arena materialized between them. Two holographic castles shimmered into view, rising from the the field. A translucent wall stretched between them, hiding where each player would play their cards.

  The battlefield split into two vertical lanes: the left for defending, the right for launching attacks. Deckard’s heart quickened. This was real now.

  Across the field, Ratu grinned, his toothless smile full of smugness.

  Deckard vs. Ratu

  Begin!

  The system shuffled. Cards glowed faintly as Deckard drew his opening hand—four cards.

  He grimaced. Weak draw. Ratu really stacked this deck with junk. Still, he had to make do. He quickly discarded the worst card in his hand and played one of the few with any merit from [The Worst Deck Ever].

  The moment both players ended their turn, the field sparked to life. A virtual coin flipped in the air, and Deckard’s castle lit up. His card would be revealed first.

  On his attacking lane, a hulking blue crab with oversized pincers clattered forward.

  Crab Enforcer ??

  Rarity: Common

  Type: Creature

  Affinity: ??

  Cost: 1

  Points: 0

  Effect: +2 if on attacking lane.

  Across the field, Ratu revealed his play: a grinning macaque wielding a crude club. It stood on his attacking lane—Deckard’s defending side.

  Clubhouse Macaque ??

  Rarity: Common

  Type: Creature

  Affinity: ??

  Cost: 2

  Points: 1

  Effect: +2 if on attacking lane.

  The system tallied the results. Both creatures advanced, storming the opposing castles.

  Deckard’s castle shuddered as the Clubhouse Macaque slammed its club into the walls while letting out a cheeky laugh. Cracks spidered out. HP dropped by 3.

  The Crab Enforcer struck Ratu’s castle in turn, dealing 2 damage.

  Deckard exhaled sharply. Already behind. I knew this deck was weak, he thought, but seeing the numbers hurts.

  Two more cards slid into his hand from the system's shuffle. Across the field, Ratu sat back, all smug satisfaction. The guy probably thought he had this match in the bag.

  Deckard eyed the three cards in his hand. He discarded a weaker card and then played one of the cards he’d borrowed from the crowd, his expression neutral despite the pulse of excitement in his chest. He looked up, eager to see Ratu’s expression when the reveal came.

  You’re in for a surprise.

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