Chapter 185: Tables

I stared at the blue system notification floating right in front of my face.

[Experience Points Granted: +15,000 EXP]

’15,000 EXP? For playing a three-minute card game?’ I thought to myself, blinking behind my paper bag.

Viora walked over to my left side. Her soft fingers reached out, easily finding my hand and wrapping around it.

"Are you alright, Woo Jin?" Viora asked softly, tilting her head toward me.

"I’m fine," I said softly, giving her small hand a gentle squeeze. "Did you get tired standing there the whole time?"

"Not at all. It was actually very fun watching you."

"Hey... guys?"

Tim slowly shuffled forward from behind us. His wooden bow was still held tightly in his hands, but his jaw was practically hanging open as he stared at the four of us with wide, shocked eyes.

"Who ARE you people?!" Tim gasped, his voice trembling in complete disbelief. "You just humiliated a C-Rank Scenario Boss in less than five minutes! You didn’t even draw a single weapon! And you did it all while wearing grocery bags on your heads!"

"It’s about mindset, Tim," I said deadpan, turning my paper bag toward him. "A true hunter keeps his head cool and his face covered."

Tim blinked, completely lost for words. "I... I guess?"

Carmilla rolled her eyes under her mask and cracked her knuckles with a loud SNAP. "Stop babbling, bow boy. We have a golden archway standing right in front of us. Are we going through or are you going to keep crying about paper bags?"

"Right, right! Going through!" Tim squeaked, quickly stepping behind Raymond to stay away from Carmilla.

I looked at Carmilla for a moment, wondering why was she acting like that, then at the massive stone archway standing in the middle of the clearing. The golden portal inside was spinning lazily, emitting a warm, soothing breeze that smelled like dry sand and old stone.

[PATHWAY TO THE LOST CITY OF ELARIA - UNLOCKED]

"Let me take the lead," Raymond said, stepping forward. "As your butler, it is proper for me to ensure the portal’s spatial stability before you step through, Young Master."

Well, what can I say? I am glad that he is here.

"Go ahead," I nodded.

Raymond walked up to the golden archway and stepped straight into the glowing light. His figure dissolved smoothly into the spatial magic without making a single sound. Two seconds later, he stepped right back out.

"It is completely stable, Young Master," Raymond reported. "There are no immediate traps on the other side."

"Alright," I said, looking at Viora and Carmilla. "Let me hold your hand tightly, Viora. Don’t let go while we cross."

"I won’t," Viora whispered, her grip on my fingers tightening instantly.

The five of us stepped together into the swirling golden portal.

SWOOSH.

The damp smell of the forest vanished instantly.

Instead, a dry wave of warm air hit my face. The scent of ozone, dried sand, and old stone filled my lungs.

When I opened my eyes, we were standing at the edge of a massive stone cliff.

Below us lay the Lost City of Elaria.

It was enormous. The city stretched out for miles under a vast, deep purple sky filled with two shining moons. Ancient white marble buildings, massive grand palaces, and tall stone towers lined the wide streets below. But every single building looked untouched, as if the entire city was frozen in time.

Surrounding the outer perimeter of the giant city was a massive, glowing red barrier made of magical energy.

Right where we stood at the edge of the cliff, a huge golden drawbridge extended from our position all the way down to the main front gates of the white city.

"Whoa..." Tim breathed out, staring down at the ancient city in absolute shock. "Look at that place... It looks like something straight out of an ancient fairytale book!"

Suddenly, another blue system screen popped up directly in my view.

DING!

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

[Region Entered: The Outer Gates of Elaria]

[Current Main Objective: Enter the Central Casino and Confront ’The Gambler’]

[Requirement to Enter Central City: Collect 3 Master Keys]

I read the screen carefully before dismissing it. ’So we need two more keys. The first spade key came from the Dealer back in the forest. That means there are two other Dealers or trials hidden around this place.’

"Look over there!" Tim pointed his bow toward the far right side of the canyon cliff.

A loud commotion was echoing through the dry air.

Down on a lower stone ledge about two hundred yards away, another group of hunters was locked in a fierce fight.

It was one of the eight five-man teams from our original forty-person raid squad.

They were fighting against three massive stone gargoyles that were soaring through the air, diving down and tearing at the hunters with razor-sharp stone claws.

"Aaagh! My arm!" a shield bearer screamed as a gargoyle slammed its heavy stone tail against his iron guard, sending him sliding across the rough dirt.

"Shoot them down! Mage, cast a binding spell!" the team leader shouted frantically, swinging his sword at the flying beasts.

The mage in their group scrambled back, her hands trembling as she tried to form a fireball. But her magic was wildly unstable, flickering out before she could launch it.

"They took a different path," Raymond noted calmly, standing beside me on the cliff edge. "It appears those who did not get to solve a Dealer’s table were redirected to combat trails."

"Should... should we help them?!" Tim asked, looking back and forth between us and the struggling hunters.

I glanced over at Raymond and he immediately understood the assignment.

"Young Master I will take care of it."

He raised his hand and flicked his finger causing a bolt of lightning to fall from the sky.

Zzzrzrzrrrrrzzz!

The fight down on the lower ledge was over in less than three seconds.

The five hunters on the ledge stood completely frozen. The team leader held his broadsword halfway raised, staring up at the sky where the gargoyles had been flying just a second ago, his mouth hanging wide open in pure confusion.

"W-What happened?!" the mage hunter stammered, looking around frantically. "That... lightning... Did... did someone just blow them up?!"

The team leader slowly turned his head, looking up toward the top of the high cliff where we were standing.

From their perspective down below, all they could see were four people standing at the top of the cliff wearing matching brown paper lunch bags on their heads, along with one nervous archer holding a wooden bow.

"Is... is that the paper bag group?" the shield bearer asked, wiping blood from his cheek. "Did one of them just control the lightning?!"

"Don’t look at them!" the leader whispered. "Move! Let’s get to the lower bridge before anything else happens!"

I lowered my hand, wiping a speck of dust off my shirt. "Well, at least they’re safe now."

Tim was staring at Raymond’s right hand. "You... you just destroyed three flying stone monsters with your finger... without even using a spell phrase?!"

"It’s just basic mana control, Tim," I said. "Don’t overthink it."

"BASIC?!" Tim practically squeaked, clutching his wooden bow so hard his knuckles turned white. "What kind of basic hunter shoots electricity from the heavens while wearing a lunch bag?!"

Carmilla snorted loudly from inside her paper mask. "Shut up, bow boy. You’re giving me a headache."

"Yes, ma’am! Sorry, ma’am!" Tim squeaked, quickly shutting his mouth.

I didn’t know about the reason behind her reactions but, well, whatever... She must have her own reasons.

Raymond walked over to the edge of the long golden drawbridge that led down toward the front of the ancient white city. He looked down at the massive red barrier surrounding the city walls.

"Young Master," Raymond called out. "Look at the main gate below."

I walked over beside him, looking down the long drawbridge.

At the end of the bridge, right in front of the giant iron gates of the white city, sat two more large mahogany card tables.

Sitting at the left table was another shadowy figure wearing a bright red velvet suit and a golden metallic mask shaped like a playing card Queen.

Sitting at the right table was a towering figure in a dark blue suit wearing a golden metallic mask shaped like a playing card King.

Hovering above their tables were two large, glowing system screens that everyone near the bridge could see clearly.

[Table 2: The Queen’s Trial - Reward: Key of the Second Table]

[Table 3: The King’s Trial - Reward: Key of the Third Table]

"Looks like we found the other two keys," I said, narrowing my eyes behind my paper mask.

"It appears the other raid teams will eventually be forced to converge here as well," Raymond noted, pointing down toward the base of the canyon.

Several other paths leading out of the dark forest were connecting near the canyon floor. We could already see two other five-man teams emerging from the tree line, looking bruised, tired, and covered in dirt from fighting their way through normal monster paths.

"Shall we go?"

I looked at Viora, offering my hand to her again. She took it gently, her soft fingers wrapping around mine with familiar warmth.

"Most certainly, Woo Jin."