Kaya picked her way through the mostly tranquil woods, limping and dragging her injured leg as she went. The birdsong here sounded different. There weren’t as many varieties of squirrels and chipmunks. Still, she was able to appreciate the natural beauty of this land for what it was. Scents of pine and rich earth hung in the air. It was certainly superior to any of the orcish badlands she knew.
[1 Rune Power Recharged! (1/1)]
Some time had passed since she defeated the Ogrock in battle using her conjured spear. As she guessed, it took her magical ability a while to regenerate, but now she could use her cards again. She already checked her deck box to confirm that she was still in possession of the Primitive Spear card—it had found its way back into her box somehow. All the card’s color had turned gray, and she didn’t feel the same latent magical power from it anymore. Was it lost to her forever? Or did it, too, need time to regenerate before it could be used again? Time would tell.
With access to her magic again, she was finally able to do something about her wounds.
“I conjure the item known as Combat Medkit!” she said in a reverent tone. Holding up the card, she extended her free hand to accept what it would produce.
[Combat Medkit (Rune Cost: 1 Warrior) -Item-
Effect: Heal equipped Warrior ♡10, then destroy Combat Medkit.
Rarity: ◾Common]
[RUNE TAPPED (1) | RUNE POWER 0/1]
From a hovering orb of soupy green magic-light fell a small rectangular box with rounded corners. It was made of base-looking metal, but that didn’t matter to her now. Kaya pried it open, her hands seemingly working on autopilot to stitch and dress her wounds, dried blood evaporating and bruises fading away from her skin. She drew a shuddering breath that she let out in a smooth sigh when it was done. After that, her breathing leveled out again.
KAYA [LV1 (♡10/10)]
Her bites and bruises were all healed by the magic of another card. No more pain. All of a sudden, her vigor and vitality came surging back good as new.
“Praise the magic of this forest,” she breathed. The elf studied the smooth skin of her hand, flexing her fingers, feeling her taut muscle stretching and contracting beneath her forearm.
The sun had passed its zenith over the strange woods and was now bound for the other horizon. West. This was the way she would go. There had to be a way out of this alien place; every forest had its boundary, where the trees gave way to grasslands, or mountainous rock, or water, or even desert.
I will find my way home, she thought. She believed it with religious conviction—a deeply felt certainty, but ultimately predicated on faith alone. I must. My people need me.
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
Along the path she forged through the trees, she came across another wooden chest. It had iron trim like the first one. Still, wary of another Wood Mimic, she grabbed a stick from the forest floor, prying the lid open from a distance... and finding it was a real chest after all. It contained another gold coin, which she dropped in her pouch, and a package unlike anything she’d seen in this place so far.
“Forest Pack,” she read aloud. It was a waxy package that felt like it contained several more cards. On the front of it was an illustration of three trees surrounded by a brown circle. She peeled the wrapping apart gingerly, exposing a stack of ten cards inside.
[New cards discovered!
(Goblin Grunt)
(Garlek)
(Stunflower)
(Rancorous Kobold)
(Whipvines)
(Stalag)
(Gobling)
(Azure Jay)
(Rockfang)
(Howlet)
[Cards Discovered: 65/10,000)]
[New RUNE unlocked! (GOBLIN) | Runes Unlocked: 6/100]
[New RUNE unlocked! (BIRD) | Runes Unlocked: 7/100]
Nine new cards and two new runes. She wasn’t sure why, but seeing these numbers go up gave her hope that she was moving in the right direction—even if the Goblin rune was repugnant to her as an elf.
[Level UP! LV1→LV2]
[1 Rune Power Recharged! (1/1)]
[Upgrade Available (1)]
Upgrade? What does this mean?
[♡10] [+1♡?]
[STRENGTH: 10] [+1?]
[DEFENSE: 7] [+1?]
[RUNE POWER: 1] [+1?]
[REGEN: 1/hour)] [+1 REGEN?] [½ time?]
She was greeted with six upgrade options, six ways she could improve her capabilities in the Hundred Realms. My Rune Power is the total magical energy at my disposal for calling upon my magical Warrior cards. My Regen is the rate of regeneration—I regain one measure of Rune Power every hour.
It would make no sense to increase her Regen without first increasing her Rune Power. She considered doubling her Rune Power, giving her access to more cards—or stronger cards—from her deck. But when she meditated on her training, there was only one answer that called to her.
“I am Warrior Princess of the Sylvan Queendom,” she said solemnly. “My people need me. My woods depend on me. On my power to defend them... And a warrior survives on her might alone. I choose Strength.”
[Upgrade Applied! +1 Strength (11)]
Kaya flexed again, feeling the tingle of a single point of additional power now coursing through her muscles. She didn’t yet understand how she attained the Level Up, but if she could do it again, she would keep adding to her Strength as much as possible.
She pressed on deeper into the forest, knowing that the way home was waiting for her, and that if she couldn’t walk there, she would find a magical way home somehow—the same sort of magic brought her here, after all.
Emboldened, she knew she would beat back any creatures or obstacles that stood between her and the Sylvan Queendom. She would make it home to defend her people from the orcs.
Until then, she would survive by her strength alone.