Javier took the entirety of the group toward the station. The same scene played out in front of their very eyes. People, vendors, and children were all milling about. Finally, they reached the harbor again and this time Javier went towards one of the fishmongers who was carrying a rather large fish back. The man immediately straightened his back when he saw the mayor and gave him a polite bow of courtesy.

The fishmonger was one of those people who lived their entire lives on the shore of the seas. Salt and sweat were their daily lives and they were also the most affected by pirates who roamed on the outskirts. The man was one of those people who caught and sold fish to the locals. That was how they earned their daily bread. Javier said something to the man. Ark who was far away from them could only hear the mention of food. Both of them shook hands and then the fishmonger gestured at the group to follow him.

He took them to a stall near the harbor which had an entire setup for frying. The smell of fried food could be sensed from a long distance. Apparently, the man was quite famous among the locals for his fried fish and potato chips. Without wasting any more time, the man got to preparing the fish as he cleanly cut off a fillet and dredged it in the batter. What followed was something Ark could not make heads or tails of. The man seemed to procure some ingredients out of nowhere and garnish the fish.

That fish was distributed amongst Adam’s group much to the dismay of the locals. Ark guessed that a coin transaction had taken place between the Mayor and the fishmonger which had netted them this food. If you were a local and the Mayor told you to do something, then you better do it. There was another interesting thing that Ark noticed. The whole transaction had taken place by the shaking of hands.

This was a mode of transaction in the tower. You could shake hands and transfer coins from yourself to others. Ark had no doubt that this was exactly what had happened. This fried fish and potato chips were the first luxury that Javier was bestowing upon them. They had not even started their trip yet and almost already they were being treated to food.

Ark too was handed a fried fish and he took a bite out of it. If Ark had to put it simply, then he would definitely say that this was the most delicious item he had tasted till now. The flavors of the fish were melting on his tongue. The exotic seasoning and the soft and fluffy fillet made Ark drool even before he took another bite. After Ark’s second bite, more and more spices made their appearance known. Ark had to note one thing though, the spices never became too much.

Whenever it felt like the spice was being too overpowering, with magical effect, a hint of zesty lime would touch the roof of Ark’s mouth. Ark had little doubt now that the fishmonger was one of the people who gave out utility-based cards. Ark thought that this was the exact reason Javier had brought them here. Locals, who were specially selected by the mayor himself could make a copy of their utility cards and give it out to people who needed it.

Ark was sure that a demonstration would be in his sights very soon and Ark was not surprised at all when one of the burly men from Adam’s group went ahead to talk to the busy man. This was no doubt rehearsed beforehand. Ark had no expectations from Adam’s group. They were a lively bunch when they were together but when they got exposed to the world of the supernatural they became like mice, hiding from a cat.

That was why it was all the more surprising that Javier was able to convince the man to go and talk to the fishmonger. Ark thought that the man’s name was Chris but he could be wrong. Chris went ahead in front of the stall the man was frying the fish in

“So you fish yourself and bring them back?” Chris began casually

The fishmonger who was wearing a Hawaiian shirt looked up at Chris and smiled

“Yes Yes! Locals love Bubba’s fish so Bubba goes and fish every day…”

“So…Bubba can you teach me how to fish like you?” The entire exchange seemed scripted to Ark. Probably because it was. Chris was probably the scapegoat Javier had picked. Well, Chris would thank Javier later if the conversation went the way Javier wanted

“Ho! Bubba likes teaching young kids to fish! Bubba thinks they learn very fast…but” Bubba frowned and stopped at that

“But what? Bubba?”

“Bubba thinks you too big!” Bubba’s eyebrows rose up, “Bubba have brilliant idea. Bubba gives you a fishing card and you bring back to Bubba 5 fish!”

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

And there it was. The Hook. Ark thought to himself as he watched the entire conversation unfold. This was the way obtaining cards worked in the third scenario. If Ark wanted to be a swordsman, he would have to go to one of the training halls. There he would probably meet one of the sergeants who ran the whole place. The Seargent would give Ark the basic cards in exchange for a certain mundane task related to that very same job.

The decks which focused on a single thing were called Class Decks. There could be many different class decks ranging from Fishing Decks to full-blown Kingdom building ones. There was a single thing that did not please Ark about class decks and that was a deal breaker for him. If Ark had just taken a combat deck pertaining to swords, he would not be able to do anything else. There were ways to gain cards of certain decks without getting the whole deck. Ark had been using hybrid decks all his life.

“I agree Bubba!”

“Bubba shake hands with Chris” And then they both shook hands. Even in the bright sun that was staying high up above in the sky, a visible golden aura could be seen forming between their hands. The golden glow stopped and out came several different cards, each with a unique picture on them. Ark noted, however, that every single card was a utility one and related to fishing. Those cards also did not have the same golden arches and engraving as was present on Ark’s own cards.

Despite that, the process was quite magical. Someone getting their first card deck was always a memorable experience and for Chris, it was doubly so. He had been coaxed into it by the mayor without any prior input from himself but now he had a card deck that let him do the thing he wanted. Cards could be of all types, unfortunately for the locals, most of them only gave rare, uncommon, or common rarity cards. If the circumstances were particularly eventful, some locals like the Mayor could also hand out epic ranked cards.

Chris who had finished selecting his cards jumped with joy as he wandered towards the sea in search of fish. It was a mutual impulse that spurred people to do the thing that was mentioned as a condition. It was similar to the oath of existence but even if Chris managed to reign his emotions in and did not fish, he would be able to keep his card. Perhaps only Bubba would be sad. What would happen with an Oath of Existence was that if the condition were not met, your story would be completely erased and you would cease to exist.

That was not a fun way to go, that was for sure. Chris came back ten minutes later with five rather large fishes, all of the different varieties. He took them and placed them in front of Bubba and began skinning them like a professional. It was no doubt a result of his utility cards. When Chris managed to get to the first floor of the tower, he could make quite a decent living just fishing for stuff.

This reminded Ark that there were also advanced versions of cards. If Ark had to guess, Chris had the ‘cooking’ utility card which allowed him to prepare fish the same way Bubba did. There were also advanced forms of the same card set. This was probably the second thing Javier was going to be showing them today. Ark always felt good when one of his predictions was correct. In this case, though, it was not a prediction. Ark just knew what could or could not happen.

Javier led them to a distant part of the shore where people were relaxing on the sand as the waves of water brought back starfish from the ocean. This was one of the most harmless areas on the entire island. This was strictly a residential area which meant that guards with combat cards were present everywhere, looking out for any and all pirates. The tropical heat had finally caught up to the people as they were perspiring at an alarming rate.

If this kept up, then very soon everyone would get dehydrated and fall face down on the ground. Ark only had to thank his sword for the fact that he was not yet dying of thirst. This was the same reason that they stopped under the shade of a rather large tree. Ark leaned back against the tree as he smelt the scent of seaweed and sea salt. This was an unfamiliar time in Ark’s life. After he had reached a certain level of strength, he did not have the option of just lazing around.

When you got strong, it was your duty to protect the weak. If only Ark could have done a better job about it. Ark let out a breath of air in regret. He could not change what had happened in his past life. That didn't mean he could not reminiscence about those times. Even if they were bad memories, they were memories Ark had. He could not just undermine them entirely. Just then Ark felt something crashing down on his head.

Ark did not even hesitate as he cut down whatever it was that had been falling. Turned out that it was just a coconut. The interesting thing about it though, was that it was cut cleanly in half. That was not the entire thing though. Ark would have lamented the fact that the coconut water was spilled when he noticed that there was not a hint of water. That was weird.

Ark went ahead and knelt down on the hot sand to see what had happened. Turns out his sword had already frozen the water. Ark had cut the coconut in an instant and yet the water was frozen. Even from this simple encounter with a coconut, Ark now knew about the power of his sword. Ark looked up to see the tree which had coconuts on it. Adam’s group was already dehydrated from a lack of water. It would not be a bad idea to give them coconuts and so Ark got to work.

A few minutes later, Ark walked with a fulfilled group to a place where someone was going to get their first advanced card deck. It was going to be interesting.

Ark hummed a tune native to the island as he walked slowly. A bit of rest could never be declined after all!