The Games We Play: Deck of Cards Prologue

Dreams can be fascinating and they can be just as disturbing. Some people dream of their future, and some dream of nonsensical horror after just watching a movie. Others dream of just weird stuff from stuffing themselves full of food.As weird as they are, they are a part of humanity.

Such a case happened with Raynor Valeron, a teen who was surfing on the internet  looking through the wiki of a certain video game.

'Hmm…so that's how it is… jeez…this will take me ages…'

As he read this over he stretched his hands over his head and then checked at the clock.

It was just past midnight!

"Oh, crap…"

He swiftly closed the web browser and then turned off the PC.

After that he went to the bathroom stealthily to brush his teeth and then returned to his room and sneaked into the bed after taking off his clothes.

With a quick check of his phone the alarm clock was set he proceeded to nap.

~~~

What he dreamed was strange as it was mist… which slowly took the form of walls…it continued to morph…expand until it became something like a labyrinth.

As it took shape, it turned real… there were stone walls, the ground looked like it was made from chiselled rock bricks…

On the top of it…torches started to appear on the walls at a calculated distance. The gap between them was at an exact distance.

They emitted optimal light for a clear vision.

When Raynor opened his eyes he was no longer dreaming of the sudden emergence of labyrinth…rather it was a generic pop up window

"...What the actual…fuck?"

His sockets popped open as he had a baffled look.

'Holy…'

[Select your starting template!]

—

[Lancelot]

[Type: Close Range All Rounder]

[Weapon: Arondight]

[Passive Abilities: Eternal Arms Mastery, Protection of the Lake.]

—

[Gawain]

[Type: Close Range Tank]

[Weapon: Excalibur Galantine]

[Passive Abilities: Numeral of The Saint, The Knight of the Sun]

—

[Tristan]

[Type: Medium Range]

[Weapon: Failnaught]

[Passive Abilities: Harp of Healing, Sharpshooter]

—

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Alright…this is cool…but why are you pushing into my face!?"

He tried to move around this floating window, but it kept following him. Not only that but it kept floating right into his face!

"Fine! I will select whatever is it you want me to do!"

With an annoyed look, he looked closer to what are these choices.

…

…

…

"Round table huh… an attacker, defender and ranger… well Gawain is out… I am in a dungeon, there is no sun here. The second one who is out is Tristan… I have no confidence to be an archer in such close quarters…

This then leaves Lancelot's template."

So without thinking more, he pressed on the card.

Next moment the window glowed and a card appeared on his hand.

It was not a class card from Fate Kaleid Prism… but something else entirely.

The back of the card was gold and it was a thin card… like something you use in a card game…like Yu–Gi–Oh or Magic The Gathering…

While the front had the picture of a familiar Knight the top had a classification of the card… which is Template Card… below it was the character name.

"...Well…what now?"

Sure enough…he heard the sound of someone walking coming towards him.

It was a green thing with a club…

"...Fuck!!!!Fuckk!!!"

He swiftly brought the card close to his chest.

"..."

"...Awaken?"

"...Damn…"

"Give me your power!?"

"...Fuck!"

Nothing was working and the goblin was getting closer! There was a shit-eating grin on that monster's face.

"...Fusion?"

At that moment the card glowed and consumed his whole body. After the light settled down and his clothes changed into white and golden armour and he gripped on a large sword.

This was Lancelot's gear!

Not only that he was feeling slightly more powerful. But… the weapon felt heavy?

Regardless he lunged forward and slashed at the dumbstruck goblin.

The swing has sent the thing flying into a wall before exploring particles and dust…

For a second he spaced out, he just slashed this goblin thing, and killed…he thought there will be some sort of blood and stuff… but…

'Calm down…this is game like dream thing…' After taking a breather he looked around.

What was left after was a card…

After taking a breather and calming down he looked at what just happened!

Raynor raised his eyebrow as he walked over and picked the thing up.

It was a bronze card with a club on it.

It's classified as a weapon's card.

"...interesting…so everything revolves around cards?"

At that moment he thought about where to put the card…and at the very same moment, a cardholder appeared in his hand. With the card already inside of it!

'...convenient'

It was a cardholder deck meant for his thigh which…has adjusted to the medieval armour he was wearing…

'Very fucking convenient! What is this place!?'

Regardless he proceeded to walk forward, slowly, checking around, the walls, and the torchers, wondering who put them there, eventually he passed his first corner and got a surprise… another two goblins!

One of these had a club and the other one had a rusty dagger.

The pair lunged at him.

Raynor easily dodged them and they proceeded to dissect them.

Thanks to his Eternal Arms Mastery he easily dealt with the goblins…

However after the second burst into dust and particles.

He was already sweaty!

'Okay… this thing is draining me! Like a lot!'

Regardless he couldn't handle this anymore and with a burst of light the fusion was undone.

The golden card dropped to the ground.

The teen collapsed on his ass and was breathing heavily.

After a few short minutes, he slowly leaned forward and took the golden card.

'It appears… The Eternal Arms Mastery is stamina draining thing…'

On top of that, the sword was heavy in the first place. It was only a matter of time before this will happen.

Yet, he only walked a few steps before being tired.

As he was resting he collected the two bronze cards these two monsters dropped.

A rusty knife and another club.

He inspected them. What he found was that they were identical to his template card. The only difference is the colour and what they do.

But, the size and design are the same…

'So… it's an actual system…'

After inspecting some more he got up from the ground and proceeded to walk forward. He had Lancelot's card ready. He noticed that the first goblin was blinded by the light. So he was able to dispose quickly of him.

He can use that surprise moment on the next one as well.

Though he pulled out the rusted dagger card as well.

"...Right let's see…manifest?"

At that moment the card glowed bronze and morphed into a rusted dagger.

"Neat! On the first try as well!"

With a rusted dagger at hand, he proceeded to walk forwards.

Taking a few turns before arriving in front of more Goblins…

Two goblins with clubs, one with a dagger and one at the back…

That one looked unique! It was dressed in robes and had a crude-looking staff!

The mage-like goblin lifted its staff and mumbled something before a small ball of fire rushed towards him.

'Oh SHIT!!!'

He lunged at the side and proceeded to fuse with Lancelot's card.

'I don't have much time… the Eternal Arms Mastery drains me. So I need to use it as little as possible this means taking them out as quickly as I can!'

With the help of a burst of light, he proceeded to swing the Holy Sword. Taking one goblin out which sends the head flying off. This instantly turned the monster into dust and particles.

He then swiftly dispose of the second and the other one with the backswing.

This only left the mage which took a step back…

'Yeah no… I have a dagger, mate.'

With Lancelot's power, he was a master at throwing knives as well…

The rusted knife flew and stabbed into the goblin's head. Killing the mage with a single attack.

However, once again the fusion was undone and he collapsed to the ground.

He once again was breathing heavily…this time it was much worse than before.

"...Fuck…not the greatest dungeon diver I am…"

However, at that moment a wall section just slide down and revealed a secret room.

"...Hmm?"

Slowly with gobbly legs he got up and proceeded to collect the loot.

He got another two club cards, one more dagger and a staff…

All of them were bronze cards.

Apart from those he picked up the original rusted knife he got.

He tried to undo the manifestation…

Which he got with simple thought…

"Oh…even more convenient…"

With all the cards in the cardholder, he walked into the secret room. Just in case he had Lancelot's card. But he is doubtful he can do much.

What he got in the room was an old wooden chest.

"...Cliche… but… I don't mind in the current situation."

As he walked over he inspected the chest. There were no bobby traps or anything like that.

Eventually, he slowly opened it up.

Inside this chest was a card.

It was a silver one!

"...Oh…"

He gently picked it up and checked what it was.

It was a drawing of a book!

[Introduction to Sorcery]

"...Damn…a jackpot!" Raynor said with some awe. As he inspected the card a little bit more.

It says… the card is classified as an Item.

"...Manifest."

With a silver burst of light, a thick book appeared in his hands.

He slowly opened and to my surprise, it was not handwritten but printed.

'Why does it feel so…cheap?'

He wondered to himself as he proceeded to read.

…

…

…

…

[Time is up!!!]

*Gasp!*

Raynor opened his eyes as he looked at his room's ceiling.

"What the…"

He looked around and moved up into a sitting position.

On his lap was an opened book he was reading before he got ejected.

His gaze went to the clock. It was just around 7 in the morning.

'So…7 hours?'

If this is true then he can stay there for seven hours before he gets sent back.

"Okay…but first… what the fuck is going on!?"

As he exclaimed, he got up from his bed and proceeded to pace back and forth.

He was in a dungeon, a cliche dungeon with goblins… hidden rooms…

But before that, he remembers the mist…the mist taking the form of a dungeon. Then he was spawned into it…

Strange…and curious…

Can he make the mist take any sort of form?

But what about the items?

As he thought about it he walked over to his bed and picked up the book.

He checked all the pages…they all are solid and informative. However, he wonders if he can truly perform magic.

Then of course…

He looked at the table next to his bed. There was his card deck…

He walked over and opened it… he spread out the cards on the table.

Lancelot's Template, four wooden clubs, two rusted daggers and one crude staff…

Raynor took the crude staff and said the magic word.

"Manifest."

The card glowed bronze and he was holding a short crude wooden staff.

"Okay… I can feel something from this…"

He realised that the whole magic thing might be real stuff…

Though he needs to activate that 'muscle' which corresponds with magic.

The book describes two forms of magic, internal and external.

Though there is some other stuff…like energy produced by muscles…

'Honestly… it feels like a jumbled mess of things… is it because this stuff is created by the mist? Or I am thinking too much.'

*Alarm Ringing*

Raynor walked over and dismissed the alarm before walking over and collecting the cards, then turning the book into a card and putting it into his deck.

Once this was done he went to the bathroom, took a shower and brushed his teeth before dressing up in his school uniform.

After finishing all his morning rituals he went downstairs and started to make some food.

It was still hard to wrap his head around the whole thing that he was in a dungeon and was killing goblins…

Getting loot as cards…

Though as minutes went onwards he realised that he was excited! Finally! Something interesting has happened!

Not only that but he felt that he can start doing something worthwhile!

'Can I become some sort of badass magic knight? I got Lancelot's template!

His sword is badass and chops those goblins to bits!'

Regardless, after getting over the excitement and finishing his food he swiftly rushed to school.

He needs to finish the day as soon as possible and get back to dungeon diving!

~~~~~~School~~~~~~

"Ray is something up?" Arno, Raynor's best friend asked him.

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Well, you don't look bored."

"Oh, sorta. Been busy lately, grinding materials for a new weapon on Honkai." The teen said the very first thing which came to his mind.

Arno rolled his eyes when he heard that.

"Really? Gatcha? Where do you get the cash?"

"Free to play, bro," Raynor answered with his eye roll.

"...Ah, I can feel the salt."

"...You don't say."

'Well, I did get Finality, so the rest don't matter that much…'

Raynor thought to himself. Though… gaming at this moment is not even on his radar.

He has a game-turned-reality in his dreams. So, turning on his PC is not even needed.

'However… it doesn't mean I can't play to waste time.'

As he thought about it he pulled out his phone and proceeded to start Honkai Impact 3rd.

Time to do some dailies!

~~~~~~Break Time~~~~~~

As Raynor sat down under a tree he summoned his book and proceeded to continue his read.

After a few more minutes, he decided to try sensing his magic. Though he has no idea if he should have it or not… he is going to try anyway. One can't simply skip trying to wield magic!

Remembering how he felt when he had that stuff, the teen summoned the crude staff and proceeded to place it on his lap.

'There it is!'

He started to focus on this feeling… and pull.

A few tries later he felt…something inside his body.

Like using a long-forgotten limb.

As one could expect it was extremely weak. As once again Raynor felt extremely tired. The tiredness is quite different… it's like it was partially a mental one… like he was not just physically tired but mentally as well.

'Well, this is just great…'

Regardless, he was excited that it worked so he decided to relax and same time train this magic muscle each time he recovers a little bit.

Training for a few seconds, by training it's like rotating magic inside his body. Increasing the amount there is… and then once again back to resting.

Eventually, he needed to get back to class.

Though he started to like this stuff… class helps him train as well. Mental-like training? Trying to pay attention while being mentally tired?

Something like that.

Eventually, the classes were over and Raynor proceeded to walk back home.

Though this time he was much more tired. So he didn't rush.

Once back at his house, he proceeded to lay in bed for a few minutes.

Before changing his clothes and proceeding to stuff himself with food.

It appears he got extremely hungry as well. Most likely his body has burned a lot of calories when he trained his magic.

'I am still confused how can I have magic?'

'Well, it doesn't matter, what matters I can use it!'

After finishing his food, Raynor proceeded to continue his reading on Sorcery.

'I see…so I do need foci… no surprise here… though I don't see myself using staff… maybe I can do something similar to what Doctor Strange has? Couple rings to summon magic?'

Thinking for a bit he continued to read. There were motions, possible chants even, followed by symbolism for rituals.

Then all sorts of stuff you see in cliche Isekais. It was not even amusing how everything was just like all those animes, light novels, and mangas…

'But why though?'

Regardless he continued to read and study.

While continuing to practise his magic.

~~~~~~Night Time~~~~~~

[Continue Dungeon Diving?]

(Basic Fantasy Universe) [Dungeon 1/10]

[YES] [NO]

[Create New Dungeon]

'Okay…this is interesting…'

Raynor looked at the screen in front of him. He was floating in the same mist in the same way he remembers in last night's dream before awakening in the dungeon.

'Well, I should try to finish the first dungeon before trying to create another one… I wonder how it works?'

For now, he pushed his curiosity down and instead, he pressed [YES].

The next moment he knew he was in the treasure room and his back was leaning against the chest.

As he slowly got up he checked himself. He was dressed in his regular clothes. His deck holster was on his left thigh tightly secured.

He opened it and checked the cards. All of them were with him.

The teen holster all of them except Lancelot's card.

Once ready left the room and proceeded to walk forward. A few turns later he saw a group of Goblins waiting.

The moment they saw him they started to charge at him.

With a small smile, Raynor activated the card which blinded the goblins.

He then proceeded to slice and dice.

The goblins with the club died first as they were the first ones to arrive.

Followed after was the one with a dagger. And lastly the mage one released a ball of fire which Raynor cut with his sword.

'Whoa! I can do that!?'

Without wasting time he swiftly stabbed the mage Goblin which died on the spot.

They left the same kind of loot as before. Two clubs, one dagger and one crude staff.

Though what Raynor noticed is that he wasn't as tired as before. It appears Eternal Arms Mastery is using his mana instead of stamina now.

Or is it layered up? Once mana runs out will it switch to stamina once again?

Well, he will see it eventually.

As he proceeded to walk forward.

'Right… so far there were no dead ends or crossroads… assuming it's because this is the first out of 10 'regular fantasy' dungeons.'

After killing another three small groups of goblins Raynor arrived at double doors…

[Card Deck]

['Lancelot' Template Card] {Gold} (Tier 3)

[Club x12] {Bronze} (Tier 1)

[Rusted Dagger x6] {Bronze}(Tier 1)

[Crude Staff x5] {Bronze} (Tier 1)

[Introduction to Sorcery x1] {Silver} (Tier 2)