The next three days passed in a blur of focus and determination.

His instincts from the game slowly came back to him, the instincts of one who had reached Transcendence. He still had a way to go, but he was getting there.

He spent a good portion of a day just familiarizing himself with having a deck in this new, real-world setting. He realized he could adjust the height and position of his deck as he wished. After some tinkering, he decided he preferred to keep it in front of his chest, though that might change once he added more cards.

He spent much of his time running through the different types of casting he was familiar with. These had carried over from the game, but he had to practice them in this real world environment.

First, quick-casting. He directly slid a card straight off his deck instead of pulling it into his hand first. This resulted in a faster cast but decreased accuracy. He spent a few hours practicing on killing monsters with only quick-casts until he felt comfortable with it.

Second, and his bread-and-butter, was curve-casting. He threw the card in a way that it arced through the air. This was more difficult to re-learn, taking much of a whole day, but his muscle memory asserted itself quickly.

Third, there was hand-casting, where he cast a card directly from his hand. Useful in close quarter situations and as a finisher, as the closer a card was to the target the more damage it did. But it was also dangerous to get too close unless the monster was clearly immobilized.

Fourth was chain-casting, where he cast cards one after the other in quick succession. As he didn’t have enough Attacks to properly use this yet, he left it alone for now.

Finally, there was dual-casting. This was where he grabbed a card in both hands and cast at the same time. He quickly realized his accuracy with his left arm was much worse than his right; in the game, they had been the same. He spent the rest of that day only casting with his left arm to improve.

As he worked his way through the forest practicing his casts, he discovered new monsters: some Novice, but mostly Apprentice. That shouldn’t be the case. He was definitely not yet in the zone of the Great Woods where Apprentice monsters should be. Strangely, it seemed like they all were coming from the direction of the Great Oak itself.

Those analytical thoughts, however, were but a tiny drop of foam amidst the ocean of hunger in him—the hunger to reclaim his skill.

From the [Novice | Intermediate] — Pestilent Toads, he remembered to aim true.

From the [Novice | Intermediate] — Forest Goblins, he remembered to strike hard.

From the [Apprentice | Low] — Earth Bats, he remembered to watch his back.

From the [Apprentice | Intermediate] — Barkfur Wolves, he remembered to maintain distance.

From the[Apprentice | Intermediate] — Leafsworn Squires, he remembered to use momentum.

From the [Apprentice | High] — Hogrider Goblins, he remembered to read movements.

None of them landed a hit.

***

By the time Tristan decided he’d reclaimed at least a portion of his true skill, it was the night of his fifth day. He’d been fighting the last few monsters tonight using [Basic Nightvision] and decided to stop his training once he curve-cast a [Hamstring] around a tree to hit the monster in the back of the leg for the kill.

He chose a secluded little grotto as a place to rest closer to the Novice section of the woods, demarcated by the smaller, browner trees—mostly because he wasn’t in the mood to climb another tree as he had been the past three nights.

He checked on his foot wound. He’d just applied another two casts of [Healing Berries] to it, and it was back to normal. The wound had completely closed over, leaving behind an ugly, white scar; good. A visible reminder of the lesson he’d learned.

Unfortunately, cards with no casts couldn’t be swapped out until they refreshed, so he had to settle for removing [Earth Bolt] for [Simple Rations]. He was starving and dehydrated, having not eaten the whole day.

Chewing on his ration, Tristan summoned his [Binder] and sorted by items. He flipped through the pages in grim satisfaction at the sheer number of materials and [Blueprints] he’d gathered.

My hunting paid off, he thought, swallowing the rest of the ration. In more ways than one. He navigated to the [Equipment Cards], where he inspected the four new pieces he’d acquired.

[Apprentice/Equipment/Torso] — [Leafsworn Top]: A shirt taken from the body of a [Leafsworn Squire]. Its dappled green coloring helps the wearer blend in the leaves. (ARMOR: 40/40)

[Apprentice/Equipment/Outerwear] — Barkfur Cloak: A snarling wolf-head cloak formed from a [Barkfur Wolf]. Warm, insulated, and a little ghastly. (ARMOR: + 20 TO TOP).

[Apprentice/Equipment/Legs] —[Goblin Trousers]: A pair of smelly brown pants taken from the body of a [Hogrider Goblin]. Pretty gross. (ARMOR: 40/40).

[Apprentice/Equipment/Feet] — Hogskin Boots: A pair of soft, supple boots formed from the leather of a [Great Woods Hog]. Perfect for the well-traveled. (ARMOR: 15/15)

In the game, [Armor] was essentially a second health bar. The equipment would absorb damage from attacks which lowered its [Armor] rating. When the [Armor] reached 0, the equipment would “shatter” and revert into a regular piece of clothing, leaving you vulnerable.

Some equipment in the higher ranks were able to naturally regenerate their [Armor] over time, or provided an Equipment Perk with the same effect, but most of them required a blacksmith to repair.

He couldn’t equip these pieces until he Advanced. Which I’m about to do right now.

Turning from the [Equipment Cards], he navigated to the Apprentice Earth and Dark cards, sorting his [Blueprints] by what he could currently craft. From his hunt, he’d gathered a decent collection of both elements. He selected five to forge for now.

The last thing he wanted to do right now, if he was being honest, was make these cards, much less complete the Advancement Trial. Sleep was sounding very nice.

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But if he was being even more honest, he knew what kind of person he was. He couldn’t leave a grind unfinished; he wouldn’t be able to sleep until he completed what he set out to do.

So, with a resigned sigh, he summoned the [Forge].

It appeared, and he took out the [Blueprint] for the first Apprentice card he was going to forge: [Apprentice/Summon/Dark] — Shadow Wolf. The [Blueprint] had been a drop from a [Barkfur Wolf].

The requirements were 3x. [Sharpened Wolf Fang], 2x. [Rich Wolf Blood], 2x. [Minor Dark Essence], and 1x. [Apprentice Advancement Core].

The first two items he acquired from the wolves. The [Minor Dark Essence] he got from [Dark Bats]. But the [Apprentice Advancement Core]--that, he still needed.

He stood up and prepared to forge.

***

The jump from forging Novice cards to Apprentice was ridiculous. Perhaps it was a function of him having speedran to this point; it was only the fifth day after all, and the gamified aspect of forging had been erased, leaving behind a physical skill like any other.

Or maybe it was because he was tired. Regardless, he failed the first two attempts at forging [Shadow Wolf]. The first time, he thought it was due to burning the base. The second time, the more intricate image on the card—a black background with a wolf’s visage formed in the negative space—tripped him up.

Thankfully, he had resources to spare. On the third try, the notification appeared.

In order to complete forging 1x. [Apprentice/Summon/Dark] — Shadow Wolf, you must complete the Apprentice Advancement Trial.

Would you like to begin now?

Tristan slotted out his [Healing Berries] for [Earth Bolt]; the minor healing effect wouldn’t matter in the fight he was about to enter. After a quick double-check, Tristan thought, Yes.

[Apprentice Advancement Trial] initiating.

A circle of light started at his feet and expanded outwards. Where the circle went, silence followed. The symphony of the forest snuffed out until the only sound he could hear was the sound of his own breathing.

On the other side of the circle, a shadowed figure formed. Tristan nodded. This was familiar. His first [Apprentice Advancement Trial] had also been for a Dark Summon, so it seemed this side of the game translated over. That boded well for future Trials, but he set that thought aside for now.

[Apprentice | High] — Advancement Trial Duelist

A deck of six cards formed around the Duelist. One more than Tristan could slot in at Novice. Grinning, his weariness suddenly evaporating, he summoned his own deck.

The Duelist acted. It grabbed a card and cast it, throwing it out onto the empty space between them. The card morphed mid-air and landed, a [Shadow Elemental], a standard Apprentice-grade Dark Summon.

Tristan acted faster. As the Duelist cast its card, he was already [Dashing] forward, closing the gap between them and running at his opponent. The [Shadow Elemental] landed behind Tristan, spinning around as Tristan grabbed [Earth Bolt] and cast it at the Duelist.

With quick reflexes, the Duelist grabbed a card and cast it; [Shadow Shield], a Support Dark card that deflected one Attack before dissipating.

I’ve done this fight before, Tristan thought grimly, his back tingling. He blindly rolled to the side, dodging a burst of dark energy from the Elemental behind him; as he came to his feet, Tristan smoothly pulled [Hamstring] and curve-cast it.

As the shield faded, the Duelist was caught off guard by the [Hamstring]. The dark energy sickle sliced into its back leg. The condition fulfilled, [Slowing] it.

Interestingly, the System considered the Duelist as a cardbearer instead of a mob. The dark energy of his [Slow] lit up his cards. The Duelist grabbed a card and flung it at Tristan, but it moved sluggishly through the air, making it easy to dodge.

Tristan used [Dash] to avoid another attack from the Elemental and close the gap to the Duelist, who tried to cast [Shadow Cloak]--but it was slowed, the effect sluggish to cast.

Tristan placed [Earth Bolt] on the Duelist’s head and cast.

The green energy drilled into its head and ended the Trial.

The circle faded, and sound returned, along with a wave of messages.

You have successfully cleared the Apprentice Advancement Trial.

You have acquired 1x. Apprentice Advancement Core acquired.

You have successfully forged 1x. [Apprentice/Dark/Summon] — Shadow Wolf: Summon a wolf formed of shadow. Available skills: [Shadow Slash] and [Shadow Lunge]. (CASTS: 2 | DURATION: 5 MINUTES).

You have advanced into Apprentice rank! 1x. Summon slot unlocked. Apprentice Perks unlocked. Physical prowess improved. Deck size increased from 5 → 10.

You have advanced into Apprentice forging! Apprentice Forge Perks unlocked.

You have acquired 2x. [Apprentice Forgeshards].

A sudden flush of energy flowed through him. When it faded, Tristan felt stronger, his body more responsive. Interesting, he thought, flexing his hands. Looks like advancing a rank also increases your physical capabilities. It made sense. The higher Rank cards could do as much damage to him as his opponents if his body didn’t scale proportionally.

Tristan allowed himself a moment to appreciate what he’d accomplished. Just a moment, however; this was only Apprentice he reached. There was a whole mountain ahead.

He decided to call it for the night here. The difficulty of the Apprentice forging process was no doubt exacerbated by his exhaustion, plus the fact that he was working at night with [Basic Nightvision’s] meager help.

Tomorrow, he would finish off the rest of his cards, then start unlocking his Perks.

***

The [Withering Roots] Dungeon boss room…

“Aidas, no!” Eila shrieked, struggling against the twins. She cursed and screamed and wept as the two sisters dragged her away by the arms, Marr weeping, Varya cursing and bleeding.

“It’ll be okay!” her brother shouted from ahead. From where they were abandoning him. He looked over his shoulder at Eila, his blonde, unruly hair matted with sweat and blood, a tired but confident grin on his face. “It’ll be okay, Eila,” he said again, softly, almost too quiet to hear across the ever-widening gap between them. “I’m right behind you.”

Marr’s only response was a barely-stifled wail, Varya’s a pained groan. Eila’s shriek grew, trying to dig her heels in, stabbing her nails into their arms, but they ignored her. Dragging her closer to the exit. The three [Exit Passes] they’d found began to glow in Varya’s hand.

The briefly stunned monster shook its massive head, standing up on its many legs. Its deep, red eyes glowed with malice as it reared back and let loose a massive chitter that shook the deep underground cave, dirt dislodging from the ceiling above.

[Adept | Boss] — Corrupted Great Oak Devourer

Aidas, her stupid, idiotic brother, charged at it, his [Tyrant’s Polearm] in hand, an armor of water flowing around his body.

The last thing she saw before Marr and Varya dragged her through the exit, the Dungeon warping around her, was her brother.

Alone.