Card Mage

In a flash of light both Mack and Leo found themselves in a vast greenery, a large and dense forest right behind them and the small outline of the starting town in the horizon. By the looks of it both had been transported to a few yards away from town, most probably for safety reasons, Mack guessed.

Looking around, his eyes soon found way towards the sun shining in the sky, and by his position Mack could guess that it was near mid-day, if not a little past it.

Not wanting to waist more time he gave a light whistle, bringing Leo out from his post teleportation trance before giving him a warm smile and motioning towards the town. The little cub understood his partner's intentions and happily yapped and both soon departed.

*

*

*

Passing the Town's gates it became quite clear that the majority of the Players had already gotten their classes and were now getting ready to grind Xp.

As expected, the majority of the classes were related to physical abilities; mages and clerics were quite few and, sure enough, would become a commodity in the later stages of the game.

Leo, who was walking beside Mack, looked at the new environment with interest and excitement. As a Calamity Beast he couldn't wander around on his own due to the pact between him and Boromir, thus, the little lion never really got a chance to roam across the world and see towns, cities, and other things. For him this was all new, a playground of sorts where he could finally play.

Mack shook his head at the sight of Leo eyeing every Player and NPC as if they were prey or a toy, but it was refreshing seeing him act like that. Who knows how many battles he fought and how many lives he took? On Mack's understanding Leo deserved a break, and seeing him acting like a curious kitty just made the feeling even stronger.

For that reason Mack took the long route towards the old woman's place just to show Leo around the town, something that made the cub very happy.

When they arrived outside the purple tent Leo had a huge grin in his face, brown eyes sparkling as if he was about to open his birthday present, or was it his Christmas's gift?

Mack just gave him a sideway look and said in a 'very' sad tone, "Sorry buddy, but I can't take you inside with me. I will have to make you go back inside your card".

Leo pouted hearing this, his eyes became watery. If anyone else saw this they would most probably rush to Leo's side and give Mack a beating he would never forget.

He just rolled his eyes and summoned the card in his hand. In a puff of smoke Leo became a streak of light and flew back to the card, disappearing on contact.

While Mack wished to show Leo the wonders of the world, he couldn't allow others to know what he was, at least no now, it was too dangerous. Once both were stronger and higher leveled they wouldn't have to worry so much, after all, the stronger can survive far easier than the weak, especially if the world you are in is dictated by power.

Once he was sure no one had seen him he entered the tent, the old fortune teller was sitting at the table just like when he had left, the deck of cards in her hands as she drew card after card as if she was trying to make a reading, but it didn't seem to be going well.

Positioning himself in front of her Mack gave a small cough, just to alert the old woman she had company, but what happened was quite different from what he intended. She became aware that there was someone else in the tent, but the way she jumped looked like she had just had an encounter with Death himself, or was it "she"?

Anyway, the woman jumped from her sit, cards falling towards the ground. As she collected herself from the sudden jump scare she turned towards Mack, an ugly and scary look in her eyes, almost strong enough to burn one's soul, until she noticed that it was Mack who was standing in front of her.

Forcing a smile upon her face, she hastily tried to amend the situation, "Ah! Young Adventurer, you are ali- I mean, you are back! Forgive this old lady, I was too immersed checking my future and didn't hear you entering."

Not noticing the slip up Mack smiled at her, "It's nothing, though I should be the one to apologize. Here, let me help you." Kneeling down he started to pick the cards that were still on the ground. Once all had been collected he returned them to the old teller before standing up.

"Were you capable of creating the card?" She inquired, curiosity all but dripping from her words and eyes to the point one could see them shine.

Giving a light chuckle Mack spread his hand towards her. "I wouldn't be here if I failed," a red card appeared hovering above his spread palm.

The teller's eyes widened and she hurried towards him, holding his arm still as she inspected the card with gleaming eyes. The card depicted a raging storm of flames in the shape of a tornado, the small embers seemingly dancing as light hit the card.

"Young man, this-this is a Master piece!" The woman exclaimed as she looked at the card wide eyed. "How did you find a mage willing to make this?"

Mack already knew she was going to ask that question. A spell card could only be made by a mage, or someone who could cast spells, so bringing one from the insides of a volcano was bound to suspicious. Thankfully he only needed to half lie to her to explain himself.

Mack told the woman almost everything like it happened, him appearing inner area of the volcano, finding the two monsters fighting and then falling inside a hole. After that came the lie. He said he found an old mage who had went to the volcano to grab rare materials for a special potion he was developing, but ended up falling and getting hurt; Mack offered his help, allowing both to escape the area. As a sign of thanks, the mage accepted to make him a spell card once he learned of Mack's mission.

Once he finished his tale Mack looked at the old woman. If she noticed that he was lying then she wasn't giving any signs. She continued to look at the hovering card for a few more seconds before stepping back, a warm smile appearing on her wrinkled face.

"It has been a long time since I last saw a card come to life and, despite not being there to see it personally, just watching the completed card is more than enough to warm this old lady's heart. Thank you, young man, for fulfilling my wish."

The old teller walked behind the table and looked back at Mack, "Of course, such an act of kindness cannot be left unrewarded, so, please, accept my blessing, and may it help you on your future adventures."

As she talked the cards that were resting on the table started to rise in the air before moving in a circle around the two of them. At first, the movement was slow, but it soon caught speed, moving faster and closer towards Mack until he was the only one enclosed in the whirlwind of cards.

That continued for a few seconds before the momentum died down, the cards then flew towards the old woman, landing on her spread hand, reforming her deck.

Ding!

< You have completed the Hidden Quest [Card's Birth]! >

< For completing the Hidden Quest your Class will be Updated! >

< All stats will be modified in accordance to your new Class >

The sound of System notifications caught Mack's ears and he soon smiled. Almost shaking of excitement he opened his status and checked the new changes.

Name: Mesphist

Level: 0

Class: Card Mage

HP: 110

MP: 350 (50+300)

Attack: 1 – 2

Defense: 0

World Reputation: 320

Titles: 1

Spell Cards: 1

Summon Cards: 1

Special Blank Card: 1

Normal Blank Cards: 37

There wasn't much change in his HP, but that was quite expected, after all, mages didn't rely much in that stat, they relied on MP to power their spells, but even that was quite low for a mage.

That was a small drawback of the class, low amount of starting MP, but a descent and steady growth as you leveled up, though, thanks to the [Necklace of DreamLand] Mack had equipped with him, that small shortcoming had been completely erased.

Looking back at the smiling woman Mack gave a deep bow in respect and as a sign of thanks before bidding farewell and saying that he would return in the future to show how much he had grown.

Exiting the tent he walked a few blocks away before diving in an alleyway. He had one last thing that needed to be done before he went to level up.

*

*

*

Inside the tent, the old woman was sitting behind her table, light chuckling coming from her as a voice very different from the one used to talk with Mack escaped her lips.

"He was an interesting one. Perhaps I will finally be able to see something fun, after so many years things are finally getting exciting."

It was a sultry and beautiful voice, something that didn't match the elderly body from which it came from, though, as to fix such a mistake, the old teller's body started to change. She grew taller, her back becoming straight as her skin became tanned bronze, her eyes sparkled with life.

No more an old lady stood behind the table; instead, a beautiful woman in gipsy attire took her place. If any male or female were to look at her they would be mesmerized by her looks, her well defined body and alluring voice.

As she continued to chuckle, thinking of what was to come, one of her cards flew in front of her, an old man with two horns protruding from his head and glowing golden eyes on it.

With a huff she took the card, making the others spin around her. "Let's see what that old geezer wants, but he better not mess with my fun or a tantrum will be the last thing he will have to deal with."

The cards rotated faster until, in a flash of light, the woman disappeared, the place where the tent once stood now completely empty.