Elix felt tired, his legs ached from the long march, not to mention his head felt swamped with information due to constantly pulling out the magic map and checking for danger. So far, nothing out of the ordinary had happened, well, other than Lef telepathically chatting to him every now and then, and the party asking him to summon water or food from cards they provided. One of his duties as the squire of the party was to use his mana to summon daily essentials like food and water so that the other party members could conserve their mana. He did not mind this task as he was also given a portion of the refreshments.

  After a conversation with Lef, he had established that food created through card summoning would replenish a person’s stats. For example, a certain type of apple card would provide a small increase in health, and a certain soup could replenish some of your mana resources. This was in contrast to non-card summoned food that would simply dispel the feeling of hunger and somewhat nourish the physical body. He enjoyed learning about card magic; his favourite topic was cards that had an ability effect. There were cards for weapons, armour, and potions—these were useful, but the most amazing cards were the ones that allowed you to use an ability. As the party walked, he noticed that Dorgo was using such a card.

  "Hey, Dorgo, got a min?" Elix shouted, walking faster to catch up to the Druen.

  "What's up, kid?" replied Dorgo.

  "Well, I have noticed that you’ve been using an ability card and wondered if you would show it to me?" asked Elix as politely as he could manage.

  "Erm, sure, here, take a look." Dorgo materialised a card in his hand and showed its face to Elix.

  An M.i box appeared:

  Fleeting Step

  Effect: Activating this card will halve the body weight of the user for one hour. Stamina usage is reduced during prolonged exertion. Only one instance of Fleeting Step can be active at a time.

  Requirements: Rank G, any attribute

  "That's so cool! So basically, you activate this card and can keep up with the party despite being... never mind." Elix cut himself off mid-sentence so that he didn’t body shame the Druen. Dorgo just gave him a warning glance and moved off to walk with Ren and the others.

  Elisa and Ren stopped when Dorgo reached them, and in turn, Elix stopped a few meters behind. They were walking a white stone track that had neatly cut grass on either side, adorned with various flowers and bushes. The area was very well-kept and stood in stark contrast to the rough wildlands they had been trekking through all day. Elix noticed that a cart, pulled along by a creature he had never seen before, was coming toward them..

  There were three people—one on one side of the cart and two on the other. The driver sat at the front of the cart holding a whip. The creature pulling the cart had four thick legs, dark grey skin, and two horns on its head. A leather harness was attached to the creature, connecting it to the cart it pulled behind. As the cart approached, purple smoke billowed from a small chimney on its roof. It ground to a halt in front of Ren. Gazing down from atop the cart, the driver eyed Ren up and down.

  "What have we here?" the driver snarled. He had filed down teeth and worn, scarred skin on his face. He wore leather armour, nothing special. A G rank card, thought Elix. The other three, two males and a female, all wore the same armour.

  One of the males moved around to flank the party, standing behind Elix. The female and the other male both took up positions on their respective sides, surrounding the party. The driver spoke again.

  "SunSiro guild scum. You are a long way from Ayire, a very long way." The driver licked his lips, and his eyes flashed with danger.

  "We are more than enough for you. What guild do you serve? We are not looking for a fight," spoke Ren, indicating to the strangers that he was the party leader.

  Elix used Unveil while the two were conversing, and to his surprise, the group consisted of G ranks. Ren, Elisa, Latrus, and Dorgo were all G ranks in their own right, so this was not a situation that meant certain defeat should it escalate. Also, they do have me, he thought. If I could do what I did against the Grier and increase my level somehow, I would be able to fight, giving us an advantage.

  "We are Lianz Guild. Praise Lord Dagernor." shouted the driver.

  Upon saying these words, a card materialised in the driver’s hand, and a bolt of red lightning spread out, forking at each member of the party.

  Ren jumped to the side, summoning his sword. The lightning missed him. Dorgo had summoned a warhammer, smashing it into the lightning to dispel it. Elisa summoned her white glove, backhanding the lightning, which crackled and disappeared, doing no damage to her. Latrus summoned a card that seemed to empower his body, which now glowed red, the lightning being absorbed into him but causing no harm.

  Elix, on the other hand, had no cards he could summon at his current level. He stooped down, trying to avoid the lightning, which was headed straight for his face. He heard a sizzling sound as it met an invisible barrier in front of him. Ren had summoned a barrier using a card. Elix had not even seen him use the card, but he assumed Ren must have activated it when he summoned his sword.

  With survival in mind, Elix looked around for an escape route, knowing he was defenceless.

  "Hey, kid, that barrier has a cooldown. When I give the signal, make a run for it," shouted Ren over his shoulder.

  His sword began to glow, and the air around it began to distort like heat rising from a road in the hot sun. Elix stared at the battle about to unfold and chose his escape route. He noticed that one of the strangers to the right of the party had summoned a dagger.

  That way. Yeah, a dagger has limited range. It doesn’t look like a throwing dagger, it’s too ornate. If Latrus engages him due to being the closest, his close-combat style will tie up the stranger, giving me a chance to rush by out of range, thought Elix.

  "Now!" shouted Ren.

  In the blink of an eye, Ren disappeared, reappearing on the roof of the cart behind the driver. Instantly, he thrust his empowered sword downward toward the back of the driver’s head. The driver, with keen reflexes on full display, summoned a card and activated it. He threw his arm behind his head while activating the card. The resulting magic effect was a pulse of force that sent both the driver and Ren tumbling to the floor from the cart.

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  They landed a few feet away, both getting to their feet and standing in a fighting stance.

  Latrus charged at the stranger with the dagger, and to Elix’s relief, engaged him in close melee combat. Latrus had summoned another card; this time, its effect increased his strength, his muscles visibly growing in size, and his vascular body glowing more intensely. As Latrus grabbed both arms of the stranger, Elix rushed past, jumping into a forward roll and stopping next to a large rock. He placed his hand on it to turn back around and view the battle.

  Elisa had a card in her left hand and her white glove on her right. The stranger she was facing was the female. She activated the card in her hand, and a staff materialised. The staff was a sleek black colour and had a spike protruding from its end. Elisa rushed her opponent and attempted the same backhand slap that had taken the head off the Grier in the forest. This time, however, Elix was shocked as the result was very different.

  Elisa moved fast, tearing up the grass as she got close enough to perform her signature slap, but just as she was about to deal her blow, the stranger summoned a card that immediately caused a thin beam of light to shoot from the end of her staff. The beam of light hit Elisa's hand, and the strike was directed to a sharp point at the end of the staff. All of the force of Elisa's attack was focused on the sharp spike, which penetrated her through the back of her hand. Immediately, she fell to the floor in agony, letting out a scream. The stranger wasn’t finished yet—she summoned a card and activated it, causing the staff to crackle with electricity, which in turn began to electrocute Elisa.

  Averting his gaze to Dorgo, Elix noticed he was not faring much better at all. Dorgo was lying flat on his back, vines protruding from the ground and holding him down, he was unable to move. His Warhammer was lifted into the air by vines as the stranger he was facing stood laughing. The hammer crashed down into Dorgo's leg, shattering his left knee. He let out an agonising shout as the bones splintered. Latrus staggered back, falling over Dorgo. He had around fifteen daggers sticking out of the front of his body, which no longer glowed and had returned to its normal size.

  Elix turned to look at Ren, hoping he was faring better, but to his surprise, the party leader was not. Ren was unconscious, and a strange smog filled the air, with a purple hue that gave the area Ren was battling a tinted glow. Ren was kneeling against his sword, trying to stand up. The driver he was fighting summoned a card, and the smog changed colour from purple to green. Ren seemed to sway for a moment, then collapsed next to his sword, which was now sticking out of the ground.

  The party was defeated: Elisa passed out from her electrocution; Dorgo passed out from the pain of having his bones crushed by his own Warhammer; Latrus was bleeding out, clinging to life; and the party leader, Ren, was unconscious due to some kind of toxin that had been summoned.

  Lef. Lef, wake up. LEF! Elix screamed internally.

  Urgh... what, kid? I'm sleeping, replied Lef.

  Listen, I have four powerful Cardmancers who are about to kill me. Any advice?

  Four? Oh, damn, it's been nice knowing you, kid.

  Lef climbed up to rest on Elix’s head and survey the situation. Listen, kid, when you faced that Grier in the forest, you did something—you made your level increase and your stats increased. I think I have an idea, said Lef as he sat on top of Elix’s head.

  Ok, I’m all ears. Whatever the idea is, now’s a good time to share it, Elix replied, standing and observing the desolation of the party. He knew it would only be a matter of time until the assailants turned their attention to him.

  Ok, so what were you thinking about when your level increased? Asked Lef.

  I was thinking... I was thinking that I was level 19, answered Elix.

  That’s the key. You thought it, and it happened. Isn’t it obvious? You can control your level by willing it to increase.

  At saying this, Lef climbed back down to Elix’s pocket. Just before he nestled back in, he looked up at Elix. Good luck. Try not to die, he said as he curled back up.

  As Elix stood and had his brief conversation with Lef, the driver ordered the three who had arrived with him to attack Elix. They walked over menacingly, with the woman in front. Elix stood there, he had no choice; he would have to fight for his life.

  His adrenaline kicked in, and he summoned his halberd. Closing his eyes, he focused his mind on his level. The woman had her staff ready, holding it with the spiked end pointing directly at Elix. All three of the assailants paused. Elix’s aura had changed; it was becoming stronger and more intense.

  “What is happening?” The woman shouted in anger.

  All three of them used Unveil, and Elix’s level became visible.

  “What’s going on? His level is increasing. How is this possible? He was level 5; now he’s at level 15! This aura feels strong, be careful, he’s dangerous, shouted one of the males.

  The male with the dagger stepped forward. “He’s still weak”, he shouted. “I will take him out now!”

  The male lunged forward, dagger held in front of him.

  “Wait, look out! He’s level 20!” The woman screeched as Elix’s aura pulsated in the air.

  Elix felt it, the rush of an increase in power and his stat points returning. His body felt light, and he could feel confidence flowing through him. He had all of his previous power, and this time, he wasn’t confused or scared. This time, he had control. Lightning crackled and sparked from his body as his aura pulsed.

  The male summoned a second dagger in response to Elix’s display of power. As the attacker lunged forward with both daggers, Elix dodged them, one just catching his sleeve.

  "He's fast!" shouted the male as he landed, planting both feet on the floor. Elix had sidestepped out of the way and was positioned a few feet away. His speed increase meant that he had heightened reflexes. This was mainly down to agility being his highest stat.

  The male gritted his teeth, and the dagger in his hand was switched with a card. He then held up the card, and four smaller throwing daggers materialised in his hand. He began to throw the daggers at Elix.

  The daggers flew toward Elix at high speed. As they approached, he raised his halberd and swatted each one away, the clink of metal sounding out for each one he hit.

  This angered the male, who summoned eight more daggers, four in each hand. The other two decided that Elix was too much of a threat to ignore. Vines shot up through the ground, gripping Elix by the ankles and rendering him immobile. The female pointed her staff at Elix, aiming it at his chest.

  This is it... Damn, one Level 19 would be no problem, but three... I had no chance, Elix thought as he stared at the point of the staff now aimed at his heart.

  "I don't know what kind of power lets you change your level, but unfortunately for you, that trick won't catch us off guard again. You're done!"

  The female raised the staff, and Elix could feel power building within it.

  Elix stared into her eyes, grit and resolve etched into his face. There was a loud bang, and warm red blood splattered on Elix’s face.

  The female blinked once and fell to the floor, an arrow point protruding through her forehead.

  There, standing near where Ren was lying, was Ren’s MIB, Pon.

  Ren was unconscious.

  He must have summoned her with his last bit of strength, thought Elix. It was now two on two, and he preferred those odds much more.