A battle Uncontested

Joe found himself standing in the middle of an old museum.

"How did I get here?"

He had no idea as to what was going on. The last thing he remembered was closing his eyes and going off to sleep.

He looked around. No one was there. Not even the guards. He scanned the hallway where the main specimens were kept.

A large skeleton of Brachiosaurus was staring down at him.

"I'm starting to see things." Joe shook his head and blinked his eyes.

It was weird enough that he had his phone with him. He didn't want to think of anything else.

He walked as he turned his head around towards a preserved mammoth.

"That looks evil", his spine shivered at the sight of it.

He could feel it. The vibe of the place wasn't really good. The place didn't have any lights turned on, still it was dimly lit to the extent that he could see what was placed where.

Snakes, sharks, dinosaurs, fossils, plants, he could see all types of preserved specimens.

"This museum sure has a large collection", Joe admired.

His phone's screen lit up with a 'Ding!' sound accompanying it.

"All the best."

"What? Bu I'm still at my resting state, and I haven't completely recovered from the last fight. Neither has my energy been restored fully. What in the world is happening?"

The Tyrannosaurus looked right at him. No, to be precise, every specimen was looking right at him.

His eyes widened as he realized he didn't have the deck of cards with him.

He couldn't think of anything but escaping.

He ran toward the gates of the museum and tried to open them, but to no avail. As he realized he couldn't escape through the gates, he searched frantically for a different exit. Joe saw a row of open doors right in front of him.

"They must be the doors to different specimens. I need to get out of the main hall as soon as possible."

The floor rumbled as the mammoth took a step forward.

T.Rex was right behind him, it's jaws looming over his head.

He ducked as it made a jab for him, and dashed through the mammoth's trunk. He sprinted across the hall, and towards the extreme left door, as the specimens followed him.

He found nothing but another set of bloodthirsty bones staring down at him. A shield warrior put up his sword and made a slash in the air and Joe leaped sideways to save himself from the attack.

"You have 50 points left, and your energy level is 200/500."

He blinked at his phone. His energy level was on the boundary of being used up. He had to think of something fast, otherwise he would die there. He didn't want to be another specimen in the museum for others to see.

He came up with an idea.

"I need an eight of Clubs, I repeat, an eight of Clubs!" He shouted in the microphone of his mobile as he kept running, making rounds, with the specimens following him.

His phone's blue screen glitched as an eight of clubs appeared in front of his eyes.

"You have 40 points left. 10 points will be deducted for every weapon request you make."

"Shit." Joe murmured.

He pointed the card towards the following specimens. 8 wind attacks destroyed 8 of them, but the larger ones were still following him with a limb or two missing.

"I need energy to make larger attacks. I only have 150 left, which means I can only make another attack with full power!"

He had to take a chance, otherwise he wouldn't be able to take one at all.

He made another request for an ace of Diamonds.

He only had 30 points left now. Praying, he pointed it at the mammoth and Tyrannosaurus.

A large wave of energy moved toward them and destroyed them.

He fell down to the ground.

"I did it!"

He looked at his screen. A message popped up.

"You've accomplished the mission and thus cleared the Training Phase. You're now prepared to fight a real battle. As a result, you're rewarded with 50 points. You now have 20 units of energy left with 80 points in total."

His energy level was close to 0. He was on the brink of death.

"Is this how it's gonna be? Is this how I bid my farewell?"

The museum disintegrated. He was laying down on the sand, at the shore of a beach with the moon shining bright in the night sky.

"It's beautiful."

Joe closed his eyes and a breeze blew through his hair.