Blackstone Citadel did not sleep.
Even at dawn, the lower wards buzzed with movement—hunters returning from night clears, porters hauling monster parts, guild clerks already shouting over one another. News traveled fast in a city built around dungeons.
Leon Mercer moved slowly through the crowd, hood drawn low, every step sending a dull ache through his body.
He felt… different.
Not stronger.
Sharper.
As if something behind his eyes had been rearranged.
A translucent system window hovered before him, refusing to disappear.
[Class: Card Dealer — Irregular]
[Status: Unregistered]
Unregistered.
That word was dangerous.
In Blackstone, unregistered abilities meant one of two things: confiscation or containment.
Leon ducked into a narrow alley between stone buildings and leaned against the wall, breathing hard.
"Deck Control," he muttered.
He focused.
The familiar card window surfaced—but no longer in its old form.
The cards didn't rotate.
They floated, arranged in a clean line.
Blue Card.
Red Card.
Gold Card.
Leon reached out with his mind.
The Gold Card responded instantly, pulsing faintly.
"…So it's real."
He canceled the window and pushed off the wall.
First priority: disappear.
Iron Vein would move fast. Guilds always did when assets escaped. He couldn't afford to linger in the lower wards, where patrols were thick and faces were remembered.
Leon turned toward the Outer Ring.
Inside Iron Vein's guildhall, the mood was less controlled.
The raid leader stood before a long stone table, hands planted on its surface. Several senior members watched him in silence.
"You let him escape," one of them said flatly.
"He forced his way through the Gate," the raid leader replied. "Barely."
"An F-rank did that?"
The leader's jaw tightened. "He isn't F-rank anymore."
A ripple passed through the room.
"Explain."
"He stunned me," the leader said. "Twice. His control improved mid-fight."
Silence deepened.
"That shouldn't be possible."
"And yet it happened."
The guildmaster finally spoke. "What class?"
The raid leader hesitated.
"…Irregular."
The room went still.
"Unregistered Irregulars don't exist," a senior caster said slowly. "The system corrects them."
"Unless it can't," the raid leader replied.
The guildmaster leaned back in his chair.
"Post a quiet bounty," he said at last. "No public notice. No guild branding."
"How much?"
"Enough to make people talk."
The guildmaster's eyes hardened.
"And find out what kind of deck he's really holding."
Leon felt it before he heard it.
A subtle shift in the crowd.
Eyes lingering a fraction too long. Conversations pausing when he passed.
He quickened his pace.
A system message flickered at the edge of his vision.
[Warning: Hostile Intent Detected]
He turned sharply into a side street.
Footsteps followed.
Three of them.
Leon cursed under his breath.
Already.
He ducked into an abandoned warehouse near the Outer Ring, slipping inside through a half-collapsed door. Dust coated the floor, undisturbed for years.
Leon pressed his back to a crate, heart pounding.
Blue Card.
The name surfaced in his mind.
He didn't throw it.
He held it.
Something new happened.
Information flowed.
[Blue Card — Effect Expanded]
[Passive Regeneration: Minor]
Leon blinked.
"Passive…?"
The ache in his body dulled slightly.
Not much.
But constant.
His breathing steadied.
The door creaked.
"Spread out," a voice whispered.
Leon closed his eyes.
Focused.
Red Card.
Gold Card.
No rotation.
No delay.
Just choice.
The footsteps drew closer.
Leon stepped out.
Gold Card.
The stun hit the first hunter instantly, freezing him mid-step.
Leon pivoted.
Red Card.
The explosion hurled the second man into a stack of crates.
The third drew a blade—
Leon threw Red again.
Pain flared behind his eyes.
The explosion caught the hunter full-on, slamming him into the wall.
Silence returned.
Leon leaned heavily against a crate, breathing hard.
Mental load warnings pulsed faintly—but didn't spike.
Deck Control mattered.
He waited a full minute before moving.
Then another.
No pursuit.
Good.
Leon slumped to the floor and laughed quietly.
So this was the price.
A new system message appeared.
[Experience Condition Met]
[Card Proficiency Increased]
[Gold Card: Stun Stability Improved]
Leon stared at it.
Stable.
Control.
Growth.
He clenched his fist.
In a world where power was fixed—
He was still moving.
Leon rose and pulled his hood lower.
Iron Vein wasn't the only guild that would be interested now.
He needed information.
He needed allies.
Or at least a place where Irregulars didn't vanish.
Leon stepped back into the streets of Blackstone, eyes sharp, cards ready.
The Dealer was officially on the table.