CHAPTER 46: ANOTHER SR

"Thank you for everything."

Liam bowed deeply. Behind him stood the mayor and many of the townspeople, all gathered at the north gate of Lily Town to see us off. Today, we were setting out toward Rose City.

We made the decision after our conversation with the mayor last night. He said something which sound...off. According to him, the attack happened just a few days after he rejected a proposal from the city, a deal that would’ve allowed them to buy control over the town and dictate the flow of its farm harvests. In return, the city promised a fixed monthly payment. The timing felt too convenient. The mayor suspected foul play.

To me, it sounded like a classic corporate land grab...just in this world they used swords and magics instead of contracts and lawyers.

"It’s okay, man. How many times are you guys going to thank us?" Bob said, waving lazily.

He acted like he didn’t care for praise, but the goofy grin on his face said otherwise. Honestly, if they built a statue of him in the village square, he’d probably cry from happiness.

Just as we were about to climb onto the cart, a familiar voice called out.

"Wait!"

It was Tania, hurrying over with a small package in each hand. She handed each of us a wooden box bento-style meals.

Bob’s eyes sparkled like he’d just discovered treasure.

"Thank you, Tania. I hope we meet again," I said with a smile.

Bob just stood there, speechless. That was probably the happiest face I’d ever seen him.

Soon after, our ride arrived, a wooden cart pulled by two sturdy horses. It creaked as it came to a halt. The driver, a man from the city, nodded at us. This was a regular transport service that came to Lily Town three times a week.

We hopped on, waving one last time at the people who had become part of our journey.

It felt like something straight out of a drama, villagers leaving their humble beginnings behind, setting off for the big city in search of something greater.

We kept waving until Lily Town disappeared from view.

"What a great starting arc," Bob said, holding Tania’s lunch box close to his chest. He sat across from me in the cart, eyes closed and smiled, letting the breeze brush across his face as the cart rocked gently along the road. "Tania will surely miss me. I feel bad for her."

Nope, I think Tania is probably enjoying her freedom right now.

"Bob, can I borrow your checklist notebook?" I asked, extending my hand.

"Huh? What for?" he asked.

"Just hand it over."

With a dramatic sigh, he gently set Tania’s lunch box aside and pulled the notebook from his pocket, passing it to me.

I flipped it open and started jotting things down.

"I’m grateful things ended well in Lily Town, even if we suffered some casualties," I said while writing. "But a lot of questions still hang in the air, the origin of that ancient weapon, the humanoid figure in the wall, the Kaoslith..."

"Uuuu, look at you getting all invested." Bob leaned forward, smirking. "Where’s the guy who used to hate fantasy worlds and all that isekai stuff?"

"I told you, I’ve decided to see this through. If not, you’d be rotting alone in this world by now."

I snapped the pen shut and handed the notebook back.

"Hehe... thanks, Alan. For sacrificing yourself to accompany me," he said with a grin, taking the notebook from me. He glanced at what I’d written. "Looks like it’s going to be a long journey, huh? If this were a NovelBin, we’d probably be over a thousand Chapters in and sitting at the top of the rankings."

As he tucked the notebook into his pocket, I could see a glimpse of his red cape stuffed alongside it.

"Oh, and one more thing," I added. "The sudden loss of our powers. We need to figure that out, fast. I don’t want to go through that moment of helplessness again."

"Ermm... yeah. That too," he muttered, looking away.

I exhaled and opened up my status window,

---

Name: Alan

Bond Level: 3 (Leveled up!)

Current Class: Mage

Trait: Burden of a Loner

Base Attributes:

HP: 45

MP: 110

ATK: 11

DEF: 12

INT: 35

AGI: 2

Additional Attributes:

Mag Attack: 75 (From Indra)

Titles Equipped: (2/5)

1. Goblin Slayer

-increased damage to goblin race

2. Secret Admirer

-increased chance to gain secret pack from loot.

Equipment:

Weapon: Indra (Lv 2)

Cloak: Apprentice Robe

---

It looks like my MP and INT had increased quite a lot, probably thanks to the bonus from leveling up in the Mage class. My AGI, however, was still in the sad, single-digit club. Right now, it’s only looking decent because of the temporary boost from Indra.

Speaking of Indra, it had leveled up to Level 2. Its Magic Attack stat had increased, a lot, which should translate into better spell damage.

As I scrolled through my status screen, I noticed a new section had been unlocked now that we were Level 3. It was called [Bond].

The [Bond] section listed every person who had ever officially joined our party and their relationship with us. At the moment, there were only four names: Evelyn’s group, all marked as Acquaintance, and Kiwi, who was still listed as Stranger.

We weren’t sure what this system was for yet, but I had a feeling it might play a role later on. Bob, of course, was already excited. He said it reminded him of a dating sim. One step closer to my dream harem, he said.

"This is not good," he suddenly muttered, shaking his head.

I raised an eyebrow. "What’s wrong now?"

Bob leaned back against the cart wall. "Those classes we’re getting through interactions, like Mage, Warrior, and the rest, they’re kind of... weak. Or at least, limited. We only get the full benefit if there’s a Prime Rank version of that class actually joining us in battle. We really struggled against that bull and gorilla with what we had."

I nodded slowly, putting a finger to my chin. "Yeah... I’ve been feeling the same. The skills we have right now are pretty shallow."

He open his status "See this? Woodland Scout, I pulled that class before. It has a level progression. If I keep equipping it and using it more, it’ll level up and eventually unlock more skills. That way, we won’t have to rely so much on others."

"So pulling as many classes as possible becomes a priority," I said, catching on.

"Yup," he nodded, satisfied.

I glanced at our BP, now close to 4000. We’d earned a solid chunk from the last fight. It seemed that destroying the Kaoslith gave both EXP and BP. If we ever see one again, we’ll know exactly what to do.

I navigated to the [Shop] section. Another ten booster packs had been unlocked. For now, we were sticking to just booster packs because single cards and booster boxes were absurdly expensive.

But something new had appeared: a new category called [Secret Pack].

There was only one available at the moment, Oath of the Vengeful.

---

[Oath of the Vengeful]

Rarity Range: Rare to Legendary

Pack Type: ultra offensive pack

Theme: agressive,high risk high reward

Description:

"They were wronged, betrayed and murdered. Their names were forgotten, but their oaths were eternal. The power of vengeance, bound in crystals, returns to those who dare unseal the Pack"

Total Cards collected: 0/100

Price: 50000 BP

Free 1 Pull (expired in 29 days)

---

Gulp.

I swallowed hard. There was something seriously scary about this pack.

First of all, a dark mist kept swirling around it like it was possessed. Second, it had a warning label that mention "High Risk, High Reward." That alone sent red flags waving in my brain. The last thing we needed was a skill that activated by drinking our own blood or sacrificing limbs. And lastly, the description of the pack was dark as hell.

Despite the free pull, I told Bob not to touch it. Not yet. We weren’t ready to bet our lives on a gamble like that.

Surprisingly, Bob actually listened.

I scrolled away from the [Secret Pack] section and headed into [Booster Pack]. There were new sets available now, and each had a rarity range from Common to SR. Of course, the chance of actually getting an SR was about as slim as squeezing through a keyhole.

At the top of the page, a flashing section caught my eyes. There was a progress bar marked 9/10 Cards Obtained, and next to it, a gift box bounced up and down like it ready to explode. Below it, a line read:

[Obtain 1 more card to unlock your prize!]

Nice psychological trick from the system. It knew how to bait us into pulling more cards.

"Alan! Let’s open the Level Up reward!" Bob shouted from across the cart, practically glowing with excitement.

"You go ahead," I said, eyes still on the shop. "I want to buy a booster pack."

"You sure? Don’t come crying when I pull an SR and you get nothing but trash." He gave me a smug grin.

"And don’t sulk when yours turns out to be garbage," I shot back with a smirk.

Bob opened his Level Up Reward. A pack materialized in his hand, same design as before: red with a white dragon curling around it. He tore it open and peeked inside, then slowly looked up at me, took a deep breath, and flipped the card over with a dramatic flair.

Golden light burst out.

"NO WAY, IT’S AN SR!" we shouted in unison, practically bouncing off the cart. We celebrated like lunatics until the cart driver coughed pointedly behind us.

"Ah, sorry!" we both said at once, quickly sitting back down.

I leaned over. "So, what card did you get?"

"Uhh... it says it’s a Dungeon Card?" Bob tilted his head in confusion.

---

Thornroot Hollow

Rarity: Super Rare (SR)

Type: Dungeon

Theme: Forest Labyrinth

---

Description:

Thornroot Hollow is a cursed grove overrun by sentient flora and twisting paths. Once a sacred glade tended by druids and dryads, it was overtaken by a primal force of vengeance after the forest was desecrated by invaders. The forest grew wild and hateful, sealing itself off from the world and forming an impenetrable, living labyrinth.

---

"This card is good, right?" I asked Bob, squinting at the glowing SR card in his hands.

"Of course it is! It’s an SR!" Bob defended it, puffing up with pride.

...

Silence.

"Arghhh! I really wanted a new weapon!" Bob groaned, burying his face in both hands.

Even though it was an SR card, it turned out to be a dungeon card, not something we could equip or use immediately.

Still, I stayed optimistic. "If we enter that dungeon, we might get lots of good loot and cards, right?"

"Ermm" Bob mumbled.

This guy was fully in sulk mode now.

Just then, a new notification popped up in front of me:

[You have pulled 10 cards! Tap the box to receive your prize!]

The jumping gift box was back, practically begging me to press it. I tapped it without hesitation.

[You received 1000 BP!]

"Hehh... this system’s actually a bit generous," I muttered. "Even if it’s a sneaky point-grabber."

With our total BP now nearing 5000, it was finally my turn to pull cards.