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The First Circle: A Deckbuilding Apocalypse LitRPG
Chapter 5: Rusty's Dusty Lost & Found Emporium

Chapter 5: Rusty's Dusty Lost & Found Emporium

"One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

~Slogan of the Lost & Found Emporium

“Those motherfuckers.” Lenny huffed as he limped through the decrepit halls of the hotel that was now their hideout.

At least that’s what he referred to in his head. The boss hated it when he called the hotel he “acquired” that.

He learned not to get on the boss’s nerve’s after the first time.

“I’ll teach those motherfuckers to mess with us.” Lenny barged through the door to the back office, but flinched when he caught a whiff of what was inside.

Blood covered every surface. It was on the floor, the desk, the curtains, even the ceiling. Somehow, Lenny knew that this was too much blood for the single man his boss stood over.

He definitely healed him. Probably more than once, sick bastard.

“Ah, Lenny. Some good news, I hope.” Bateman, his boss said with a cruel smile, somehow spotless despite being surrounded in blood.

Lenny suppressed the urge to shudder. “Good news, and bad news boss.” His gut curdled at the thought of disappointing his boss, but withholding information from him was much, much worse.

Bateman’s smile lessened a fraction. He kicked the charred remains from underneath, and leaned on the lobby desk with his arms firmly crossed. “Bad news, first.”

Lenny’s stomach drop—if he didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought that it fell out of his asshole. “Um, turns out they had a super. They fucked up Rob and Tanner real bad too.”

“I don’t care about those rats you call friends.” The air in the lobby stilled as Bateman stepped closer. Sweat ran down his forehead. “But you’re an arcanist. I made you that way.”

“Yeah, but—” The words stopped in Lenny‘s throat as Bateman clamped his hand around his neck, and lifted him into the air.

“I made you a Super, but you were bested by who? A couple kids? An old man past his prime?” Bateman's eyes were lit with angry flame. His creepy smile evaporated into a seething frown in the rapidly heating air.

“You let them break MY things. Why shouldn’t I break YOU?” His questions burned the air, demanding an answer

Lenny tried to choke out a reply, but the iron grip on his throat refused to budget. He glanced around the room, and his eyes landed on the tortured body in the corner.

Fear spiked through Lenny’s gut. Batsman’s gaze unsettled him way more than his primal need for air. It was like looking at the guards behind bars sometimes—this creepy bastard saw him less than human.

He was literally in the palm of his hands.

Lenny threw his hands up, waving them whatever way he could to plead mercy. It was only when his vision began to darkened did the pressure let up.

“It was the college kid.” Lenny coughed out. “He's stronger than me, boss, but barely. And I know where he is.”

Bateman stared at Lenny for an uncomfortable amount of time, before giving him a smile, just as unnerving as the last. “I knew there was a reason I let you follow me. Here, I have a reward for your loyalty.

“This is a race enhancer, some loot I picked up.” The boss handed Lenny a small, dark pill as well as three cards. “Also a pile of cards I managed to pry off that idiot. I don’t need them so you can take what you need. It should make you strong enough to deal with those stupid kids, right?”

“Of course.” Lenny nodded repeatedly. I’ll teach those bastards to mess with me. “What about Rob and Tanner?”

“Stop worrying about those losers, and lead the way, Lenard.” Bateman pushed him casually, yet threw him out the front door.

Despite being tossed like a ragdoll nearly twenty feet, Lenny hid his discontent with a placating smile. “Yessir, I’ll guide you.” He said with gritted teeth.

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A couple hours earlier

“You shouldn’t have let them go. It's just gonna come back to bite you on the ass.” Bella, Devin’s long-lost sister, told him once again.

“Shut up.” Devin said for the umpteenth time.

“Hold on, back up.” Ben held up a hand. “What do you mean you’re from the Tower? There’s some interplanetary competition? I need you to elaborate.”

“I’m still stuck on the fact that our own teammate is a superhuman.” Ken whispered in awe.

Devin winced. “I only just became one. I barely know half of what’s going on.”

“That’ll change real quick.” Bella said. “I’m going to need to get you up to speed if I plan on taking you with me.”

Ken gasped. “Does that mean you’ll power level us too?”

Bella looked at him, confused. “What?”

“That means we get to be supers. This is amazing!” Ken gushed with excitement.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Bella scrunched up her face. “I never volunteered to do that.” She said, correcting his misunderstanding and deflating his happiness.

“Hold up. Let me try talking to her.” Devin told the twins as he grabbed her arm to lead her into the hallway.

“I don’t care what you say, I’m not wasting my time here.” Bella tore her arm from his grasp. “I already got my hands full trying to come here and get you.” She said without even turning around, instead looking at the cleared out mudroom.

Bossy as ever, Devin smiled wryly. “I’m not asking you to do anything, except tell me what you're hiding. Trust me you're not subtle.” He answered when she turned back and narrowed her eyes.

“Mhm.” Bella looked him up and down. “You’re taller than me now.”

“Huh?” Although the change of subject wasn’t subtle, it was jarring enough to throw him off. “I guess so.”

“Makes sense. Dad was pretty tall, and you should be 22, now—“

“Why are you talking about this?” Devin cut to the chase. “It’s been like 10 years since we last saw each other

Bella sighed, running a hand through her short hair. “There’s some things I can’t tell you about. It’s not the right time, and you don’t have the authority to know. I just need you to trust me and come with me.”

“I did trust you. You texted me out of nowhere, and I crossed hundreds of miles, ran from monsters, collected shards—all to get to this dingy ass town. Now you tell me I don’t need to know why you’re telling me to leave?”

Devin laughed at the absurdity.

“Dev—”

“No! I don’t want to hear it.” Devin yelled. “Let’s get one thing straight; I don’t need you. I’ve done just fine alone for the past month—for the last few years!”

A stomp in the other room reminded him of his guests. He reigned in his anger, thinking of a better way to solve this situation. “...Give me a few days. I made a promise, so I need to at least make sure they’ll be alright by themselves.”

She shook her head. “You don’t get a choice. Either pack your shit, or I’m carrying you out of here in a suitcase.”

Devin grit his teeth. Of course she has to have it her way. But he wouldn’t make it easy on her.

He went upstairs without a huff. “Just because you were in some tutorial doesn’t mean you're some overlord that gets to control what I do. I can be just as strong as you.” A black void appeared before him and dropped a card that shined a brilliant white into his hand.

“Wait here while I do some shopping.” He said, summoning his circle to activate a card in his Main Deck.

Rusty Dusty’s Lost &

Found Emporium (Rare)

Dimensional/Store

Treasure amongst the

vast sea of trash

1st Class

Instantly teleports to destination

Devin had to give his sister credit, because when Bella noticed what he was doing, she sprinted towards him faster than his eye could track. Yet even her supernatural speed wasn’t fast enough to catch instant teleportation.

----------------------------------------

In a shower of sparks, Devin was transported from one dark, moldy, dusty room to another. He almost thought the card didn’t work until a deep, hacking cough echoed from the otherside of the room.

That doesn't sound anything like Bella. “Uh, hello?” Devin called out. The cough turned into a wheezing choke.

A clap reverberated in the darkness, signaling a light from above to turn on. Devin held back a flinch as it illuminated an old, mangy rat that stood on two legs and was the size of a preteen. It lounged behind a counter covered with dusty, miscellaneous knick-knacks..

“Customer! I’ve been waiting.” The rat spoke English with a slight accent that was difficult to place, common with universal translation.

But to see it’s snout flap to some unknown rhythm was bizarre to say the least. Okay, this Is officially the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.

“Is this Rusty’s Dusty…Lost & Found Emporium?” He sighed as the name left his lips. Saying it aloud, he realized this looked exactly like the card’s name.

Trash everywhere. A certifiable dump.

“Yes, it is. The one and only, as you humans say.” The ratman said with a disgusting smile filled with rotting teeth and exuding bad breath worse than literally garbage. “We have a wide selection to choose from.”

Thankfully, the ratman didn’t get any closer. A snap of their fingers summoned a screen that displayed all his wares. SO this is how shop cards work. I hope I can find something useful before I have to go back.

Confronting Bella without a plan would be suicide.

Devin scrolled through pages upon pages, and soon came to a distressing realization.

“This is all garbage!”

“Yes! We sell the best garbage across the Greater Universe, and dare I say, across the entire Star Stream. I must warn you though, since your remote planet has just completed the beginning of integration, the selection is very thin.”

Devin slammed his head into his palms, blowing an angry breath across his face. The only part of the list that didn’t mention recyclables were the front page, and each item and card was listed for thousands of shards.

Here I thought I would immediately soar in power. He lamented. I’m just a hick on some backwater planet, playing around in literal garbage.

“Wait.” Devin’s mind caught on the merchant’s words. “The beginning? Are you saying that this is just the start? What else is coming?”

The ratman paused, unnervingly staring straight at Devin down its snout. “Sorry, I can not tell you that; you lack the authority.”

Again, there goes that authority. “Please I need—”

“I can not. It is against the rules,” It said firmly.

Devin sighed. “Do you have any texts, books, or primers? I’ll take anything, but I’m really looking for information about cards, skills…and the history of the Star Stream.” He didn’t have a clue about the last one, but it sounded big and important from the ratman’s context.

If I can find a hint of what’s going on, that would be good enough for me.

“Ah, those moldy books.” He said with disgust. “They’re inedible, but I guess you might find something. It is not really up my alley, as you Earthlings say. Dewey will guide you to where your taste might lie”

The garbage merchant snapped his fingers again, but this time a normal brown field mouse appeared from one of the shadowy corners on the counter. The mouse floated up from the table, and plopped on Devin’s shoulder.

After resisting the urge to shove the thing off of him, Devin realized it was kinda cute, in a pre-apocalypse rodent type way. It wasn’t like anything that ran around the wilderness nowadays.

“Books are over there.” The ratman said with a yawn, going right back to his nap.

“That’s actually really impressive.” Devin was more than a little jealous watching the ratman sleep so fitfully without a care for the world.

He walked away, looking at the little mouse on his shoulder in skepticism. “I don’t know if you can understand me, but my planet is undergoing something called integration. So what I really need is information.

“Any books about cards, shards, history of the Star Stream at large, and any other useful information would be greatly appreciated.” Devin reiterated.

It was crazy to even try to communicate with the mouse, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

Surprisingly, it worked. The mouse rubbed its whiskers with a squeak, and nodded its head in affirmation. It slapped his cheek with its tiny paw, and pointed down the corridor behind him.

Devin allowed a tiny spark of hope to bloom in his chest. Now we’re working with something.

----------------------------------------

It took an embarrassingly long time to recognize the shimmer of a magical circle around Devin and the white shine of a store card in his hand, but when she did, Bella lunged after her brother.

She was close, but not close enough to touch the idiot, and hitch a ride wherever he was going.

“YOU MOTHER—!!!” Bella screamed, punching a hole through the wall.

I should’ve just taken him with me. She seethed. He wouldn’t have been able to squirm tied down to the Warden.

Despite it being the house she had spent her entire life in almost a year prior, Bella didn’t regret it one bit. Not only was Destroying something cathartic, it helped her come to a realization.

Whatever store he was going to, the trip would only be temporary, and any spatial cards couldn’t be activated within the bounds of a store.

She just needed to wait him out.

Unfortunately, it seemed like life had other plans. A pair of stomps ran up the stairs. The boys Devin wanted to protect burst into the room, ready for a fight.

“Where is he?! What did you do with Devin?” The loud one yelled while the quiet one sent harsh death glares at her.

Lord, why do you always give your strongest soldiers the toughest battles? Bella calmed the growing headache by pinching the bridge of her nose. “Nothing. Your friend told me to babysit while he went shopping. Where he got a Store Card from, I have no idea.”

“Is that how you supers get your powers? I only heard rumors about what supers see.” The loud one’s eyes sparkled, previous threats forgotten. “What kind of powers do you have?

Bella sighed, the headache intensifying under the boy’s endless conversation. “Kid, stop calling us supers, you’re embarrassing Earth.”

“My name’s not Kid. I’m Ken, he’s Ben.” He said, pointing to himself, and his brother respectively.

“Ken and Ben, huh.” Bella said, looking between the two.

“Please no jokes,” The quiet one—Ben—pleaded. “I already got enough of that when school was still a thing.”

Bella’s hard eyes soften. I was so concerned about saving it that I forgot about the people in it.

“The world really ended, hmm.” She whispered to herself, then shook herself out of it. “Aren’t there other people, or groups helping people awaken? Or did the government and military completely collapse?“

“No, but they’re hoarding all the power.” Ken grumbled, Ben sadly nodded his head. “They are only giving powers to people loyal to them, and their groups. I even heard that the mayor has been making people sign a magical contract before letting people become supers.”

“Not supers, kid.”

“Then what are you guys?”

“People who wield cards are called arcanists in most worlds.”

“So there really are aliens out there?” Ben asked “Other worlds we can live on?”

“It isn’t that simple. You’ll need to get way stronger than you are now before you even get a chance to get off-planet.”

“What can we do?” Ken yelled, frustration clear in his voice. “We can barely get on teams to hunt monsters, and whatever we earn goes straight to living. We can’t afford to save how many shards you need to become supers.”

I can see why he feels responsible for these kids. It was hard seeing two boys in their teens trying their hardest to survive in a broken world.

It made her think of Devin before he was taken from her.

“...Get up.” Bella sighed. “I’ll help you boys forge your circles.”

“What do you mean?” Ben asked, while Ken excitedly got to his feet.

“Woohoo!” Ken whooped loudly. “We’re finally being carried.”

I’m already starting to regret this. Bella pinched the bridge of her nose once more.