Author’s Note: In modern English, Dice can be bother singular and plural, though it still makes me cringe a bit when I read ‘a dice’. The reason why I write dice as singular in this chapter however, is because a lot of times, when you see ‘die’, you don’t immediately think of dice lol. Plus, if you aren’t a native speaker or reader, you probably wouldn’t freak out over singular dice anyway.

 

***

“Arcana’s Games…” Matthew stared at the dice on the cover of the packet for a few minutes, before eventually opening it. He spread them out on the computer desk before him, placing his palms together and praying for luck.

[Why did you not simply Unsummon the Mutated Pigeons if you were afraid of them?]

However, before he could start examining his new cards, Providence asked him a question. He stared at the screen for a moment, before answering “Umm, well, that’s a good question. First I was startled and afraid, so I wasn’t really thinking. My fight or flight response is usually just running like hell and hoping for the best. But after I calmed down, I thought ‘What if these demonic birds actually managed to give me some experience points?’ So I let them fuck off and and didn’t Unsummon them. Besides that, it would’ve been a waste of Mana if I Unsummoned them, right?”

[Interesting… So you do not care if ‘innocent’ people die because of your actions?]

“Of course I care!” He sighed, then grumbled “What are the odds that those pigeons will go after regular people though? They’re more likely to go after the soldiers or gangsters… Hopefully…”

[I would assume that they would avoid targets that seem dangerous. Instead, they are more likely to hunt small children and household pets, since they are far more vulnerable.]

“Fuck! Maybe I should Unsummon them then?” Matt tried to Unsummon the Mutated Pigeons, but he received an error message instead.

[Targets are out of range. Cannot Unsummon at this time.]

“Providence, are you just fucking with me right now?” He complained as he tried to Unsummon the pigeons a few more times.

[No… You must be within a certain distance to Unsummon cards. However, that distance varies depending on the card. For example, if you Summoned a planet, you would be able to Unsummon it from potentially millions of kilometers. Some cards are impossible to Unsummon, including many Monsters, since they are often designed to pose a direct threat to the Summoner. If you were able to easily Unsummon them, then that would be rather boring.]

“Oh great, so it’s my job to entertain you then?” Matt snickered, shaking his head. Then he turned over the first card and yelled “Seriously?!”

[Spell: Arcana’s Blessing of Retribution
Type: Offensive
Rarity: Epic
Mana Cost: 6
Description: Summons a 6-sided Arcane Dice. When the Summoner casts the die, it will automatically roll a random number between 1 and 6. If the number is 1, a lightning storm will be generated and for the next 24 hours, all enemies will be repeatedly targeted by the lightning bolts. If the number is 2, a powerful earthquake will be created directly beneath the Summoner. If the number is 3, meteors will fall from the skies and target all enemies. If the number is 4, all enemies will be teleported to the Summoner. If the number is 5, the Summoner will be teleported to the most distant enemy. If the number is 6, the Summoner will instantly die, along with all of their enemies. Results may vary greatly depending on the location and how powerful the enemies of the Summoner are.]

“That’s fucking insane… Isn’t this basically a suicide Spell?!”

[It is an extremely potent Offensive Spell.]

“Yeah, too potent. Most of effects would literally kill me and everyone near me. Also, what determines whether someone is an enemy or not? Is it based on my thoughts or theirs?” Matt turned over the next card as he asked.

[Item: Arcane Storage Cube
Type: Tool
Rarity: Rare
Mana Cost: 6
Description: Summons a magical cube to temporarily store the target. Everything within 3 cubic meters of the targeted location will be trapped within the cube. After being used, the Arcane Storage Cube will enter the graveyard for 24 hours. The next time the cube is played, the stored space will be released. Players and Soulbound Items/Creatures cannot be stored.]

“Wait, this Arcane Storage Cube…” He smirked and asked “Could I use this to take my mother to a different world?”

[So long as she is not a Player, or Soulbound Item/Creature, then yes.]

Matt signed, grumbling “So I won’t even know if it’s possible until I try, or become Ranked.]

[Spell: Greater Arcane Resurrection
Type: Supportive
Rarity: Uncommon
Mana Cost: 6
Description: The Summoner can choose any Creature card in the graveyard and return it to their hand. If the card costs less than 7 Mana, then they can play it immediately for free. If they can’t play it immediately or decide not to play the card immediately, then they can choose a second Creature card from the graveyard to return to their deck.]

[Spell: Greater Arcane Empowerment
Type: Supportive
Rarity: Uncommon
Mana Cost: 6
Description: Summons 6 dice, each with six sides and numbered from 1 to 6. The Summoner casts all dice at the same time and receives Mana, equivalent to the combined numbers of all dice.]

[Creature: Arcane Wisps of Haste
Type: Critters
Rarity: Common
Mana Cost: 6
Description: Summons 2 to 5 glowing white orbs, which follow the Summoner around. They are extremely fragile and weak ethereal life forms, which are immune to most physical attacks, yet helpless against magic. Each Arcane Wisp of Haste will reduce the time it takes to generate Mana and draw cards by half.]

“I feel like I should’ve picked this kinda pack sooner. It’s like all these cards are super useful.” Matt smiled, wondering “If I have two Wisps out, will that mean it’ll only take fifteen minutes to generate one Mana?”

[Indeed… Also, “Arcana’s Games” cards are useful, but I would not recommend overly relying on them. They are mostly auxiliary and resource related cards. I still recommend choosing Old Earth Nature and History… Although there will be little to no magical elements involved, they are both very useful when playing Old Earth Online.]

“Fine, I’ll get some Old Earth Online packs later. But I’m gonna go for Arcana’s Games two more times, to see if I can get another achievement.” Matt snickered, examining his last few cards.

[Spell: Arcane Resurrection
Type: Supportive
Rarity: Common
Mana Cost: 6
Description: The Summoner can choose any Creature card in the graveyard and return it to their hand. If the card costs less than 6 Mana, then they can play it immediately for free. If they can’t play it immediately or decide not to play the card immediately, then they can choose a second Creature card from the graveyard to return to their deck.]

[Spell: Lesser Arcane Resurrection
Type: Supportive
Rarity: Trash
Mana Cost: 6
Description: The Summoner can choose any Creature card in the graveyard and return it to their hand. If the card costs less than 5 Mana, then they can play it immediately for free. If they can’t play it immediately or decide not to play the card immediately, then they can choose a second Creature card from the graveyard to return to their deck.]

[Spell: Lesser Arcane Empowerment
Type: Supportive
Rarity: Trash
Mana Cost: 6
Description: Summons 4 dice, each with six sides and numbered from 1 to 6. The Summoner casts all dice at the same time and receives Mana, equivalent to the combined numbers of all dice.]

[Spell: Arcane Roulette
Type: Passive
Rarity: Trash
Mana Cost: 6
Description: Summons a magical roulette wheel with 5 possible outcomes. 5% chance of the Summoner dying. 15% chance of a random Arcana’s Games card being rewarded. 20% chance of all cards in the graveyard being returned to the deck. 20% chance of gaining 1 experience point. 40% chance of the Summoner gaining 6 Mana and drawing a card to their hand.]

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