Chapter 1. This Card Must Have Some Serious Problems!

“Ding ling~ ding ling~” Along with the sound of pleasant bells, the slightly old shop door was pushed open.

The general store had a classical style, but every corner bore traces of the shopkeeper’s careful maintenance.

The simple layout divided the store into several sections, aside from the counter there were a few neat shelves.

The orange-red sunset, carried by the cool breeze unique to autumn evenings at the kingdom’s border, slipped into the shop and cast a thin hue over the warm-toned wooden decorations.

The visitor was a young girl, dressed in a silver-white standard military uniform. Only, it did not quite belong to the regular army—it looked more like the reserve, the student type.

The uniform did not conceal the girl’s graceful and curvaceous figure. Her long dark-blue hair hung over her shoulders, her demeanor elegant and noble.

Behind the counter, I leaned lazily against the chair. I had delicate features like an elf, only my eyes carried a bit of coldness. I propped my chin up with one hand, while the other held a red apple. My gaze was fixed on the apple in a daze.

The girl walked straight to the counter and tapped on the desk, trying to draw my attention.

I frowned slightly and lifted my head. Soon, my sight was drawn to the girl’s eyes, clear and colored like gems. Unconsciously, I lingered on her face a little longer.

Fine, I’ll forgive you for interrupting my thoughts about life.

I sat up straight and put on a businesslike smile as I asked: “Do you need to buy something?”

The girl, Teresia, hesitated slightly as she surveyed the small shop twice before looking at me:

“Are you the owner of this general store?”

“Just watching the store.”

“Then is this card sold here?”

Teresia took out a magic card and placed it in front of me.

It was a first-tier Goblin Summoning Card. As the easiest summoning card to make, it was generally very cheap. Due to its extremely weak stats and effects, few people used Goblin-type decks.

Yet, with one glance, I recognized this magic card—it was indeed made by me.

The goblin on the card had an unusual outfit. It wore a black mask and held a strange weapon resembling a musket.

“Yes, we sold it. Did something go wrong with it?”

“It’s not that it malfunctioned, but its problem is very serious!!”

Teresia suddenly became a bit agitated: “Do you know that right now the entire magic card decks of Heavenlit Royal Academy have been disrupted by this card?!”

“There’s such a thing?”

I raised an eyebrow, looking at Teresia in confusion. Not long ago, I had indeed mass-produced a batch of Bandit Goblin cards and sold them to a traveling merchant.

I never thought this card would cause such a stir.

I examined the card on the table again, confirming it was my handiwork.

“This card looks pretty ordinary though...”

I scratched my head in doubt as I looked at the stats.

【Bandit Goblin】

【Type: Summoning Card】

【Grade: Blue, Rare】

【Tier: 1】

【Attack: 100】

【Health: 100】

【Effect: When this summon would deal damage to an enemy, it instead prioritizes forcibly seizing one item from the opponent.】

【Note: ‘M1917 Gangster Smith & Wesson, solving all your troubles!’】

I raised my head and looked again at the girl’s expression, suddenly realizing why she was so worked up.

Maybe this card disgusted her? Surely not…

I thought the truly absurd card was one I hadn’t even put out for sale.

“In that case, why don’t you just bring a few more Bandit Goblins with you?”

If you can’t beat them, join them.

My eyes were filled with confusion.

“Who in their right mind would bring so many tier-one cards! And do you even know how much a single Bandit Goblin costs in the capital right now?!” Teresia seemed a bit frantic. This clerk was clearly an outsider who didn’t understand magic cards!

This card wasn’t stable or overwhelmingly powerful. It was purely disgusting to deal with—what it stole depended entirely on luck. With bad luck, it might only steal candy from the opponent’s pocket. With good luck, it could snatch away the opponent’s entire card slot!

Bringing too many of these tier-one cards wasted deck space, but without Bandit Goblin, one lacked deterrence and might even get disgusted by the opponent’s use of it!

What was this? This was forced escalation!!

“Then what should be done?”

“...Do you have a Goblin-themed deck set here?”

“...”

“Actually, yes.”

Since someone wanted to buy my cards, I naturally wouldn’t refuse. Besides, this girl had climbed mountains from the capital academy all the way to this remote town.

I opened the counter, took out a card album, spread it on the desk, flipped to the last page, and found a card I had recently made.

“Goblin Sheriff, I recommend you buy this one.”

“Sheriff?”

The same bizarre art style—obviously from the same eccentric hand as Bandit Goblin.

Teresia was baffled. Though this was a tier-two card, didn't the Sheriff conflict with Bandits?

I said nothing more, simply pulled the card out and handed it to her for appraisal.

【Goblin Sheriff】

【Type: Summoning Card】

【Grade: Purple, Rare】

【Tier: 2】

【Attack: 200】

【Health: 200】

【Effect: When there is a Bandit Goblin nearby, this summon gains the Bandit Goblin’s effect and additionally summons two more Bandit Goblins.】

【Note: ‘Sheriff is just my side job, banditry is my true profession!’】

“What kind of absurd effect is this...” Teresia stared at the card’s effect, dumbfounded for quite a while, her beautiful demeanor completely forgotten.

Never mind whether this card was overpowered or not—If suddenly four Bandit Goblins charged at her, she would definitely turn and run.

“I’ll buy it! How much?” She snapped out of it and quickly said to me.

At the very least, this cursed card must not fall into anyone else’s hands!

“...Actually, I don’t really know the capital’s market prices, you name the price.”

I suddenly regretted selling that batch of Bandit Goblins to the merchant at 100 coins per card. Though I didn’t know exactly how much they had inflated in the capital, it was definitely higher than I imagined.

Teresia thought for a while, then cautiously asked: “How about 60 gold coins?”

Whoa—! I nearly fell off my chair.

One gold coin equaled 1000 coins.

Twenty gold coins were enough for a small border-town family to live for a whole year.

Teresia observed me. Though I looked like someone ignorant of the market, she did not want to deceive me.

There must be a legendary card-maker hidden in this shop.

She needed more help from this maker.

She bit her lip: “This card would surely sell for more in the capital, but I didn’t bring much money with me—I need to keep some for travel expenses back... If it’s not enough, I can make up the difference with magic cards.”

Though she wanted to buy tier-three or even tier-four cards, she knew she couldn’t afford them now.

“Alright then.” Seeing she seemed honest, I didn’t say much more, just pulled out the account book and scribbled on it.

Teresia decisively took a pouch of gold coins from her waist and handed it to me.

“By the way, could you let me see what your tier-three cards are like?”

She was very curious about how bizarre this shop’s tier-three cards might be.

Even if she couldn’t afford them, she wanted to take a look.

“We don’t have tier-three cards for sale.”

“How could that be?”

“Because I can’t make tier-three magic cards yet.”

“???”

“These cards were made by you?!”

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