SHUFFLE OF FATE: A Deckbuilding LitRPG
CHAPTER 15: HUMAN NATURE
The alleyway was narrow, blocked on both ends by the rotting wood of shantytown buildings. The only light came from a flickering streetlamp humming with dying mana.
Kai set the burlap sack down gently. *Clink.*
"Three against one," Kai noted, his voice calm. "That's standard cowardice, isn't it?"
The leader of the trio, a man with a thick neck and a wooden club studded with rusty nails, stepped forward.
"We prefer the term 'business partners,'" the thug grinned, revealing missing teeth. "You're new. You don't know the rules of Sector 7. You walk our streets, you pay the toll."
He pointed his club at the sack. "Leave the loot. Walk away. And maybe you keep your teeth."
Kai scanned them using his basic interface.
* **Thug A (Leader)**: Level 4 [Brawler]. Weapon: Nail Club.
* **Thug B**: Level 3 [Thief]. Weapon: Knife.
* **Thug C**: Level 3 [Mage - Unawakened]. Weapon: Spark spell.
They were weak. But unlike monsters, they were intelligent. They surrounded him in a triangle formation.
"I can't kill them," Kai thought. "Self-defense allows for injury, but murder inside the city walls? The Iron Guild would execute me just to make an example."
He needed to end this without a body count.
"Last chance, kid," the leader growled.
"I agree," Kai said. "Last chance to walk away."
The leader laughed. "Get him!"
Thug B lunged from behind with the knife. Thug C began chanting a spell, a small ball of fire forming in his palm.
Kai didn't draw his Bone Shiv. He closed his eyes.
"Now."
He crushed the **[Flashbang]**.
*BANG!*
The alley turned into a supernova of white light. Because the alley was narrow, the light reflected off the walls, amplifying the effect.
"ARGH! MY EYES!"
"I CAN'T SEE!"
The thugs screamed, clutching their faces. They stumbled, swinging their weapons blindly. The leader accidentally smacked Thug B in the shoulder with his club.
Kai opened his eyes. Blinked away the spots.
"Phase Two," Kai whispered.
He raised his hand toward the fire escape ladder hanging above the alley.
"Summon: **[Silk Binding]**."
A thick white stream shot up, wrapping around the metal rungs. Kai yanked it, testing the tension. Solid.
He turned to the blinded leader. He fired a second stream of silk, wrapping it tightly around the man's ankles.
"Up you go."
Kai pulled. The [Silk Binding] card didn't just create silk; it allowed him to manipulate the tension like a pulley system. With a grunt of effort, Kai hoisted the heavy man into the air.
"Whoa! Put me down!" the leader shrieked as he was yanked upside down, dangling ten feet off the ground like a caught fish.
Kai didn't stop.
He spun around and fired two more shots. One caught the knife-wielder by the waist, pinning him against the brick wall. The silk hardened instantly, cementing him to the building like a fly in a web.
The mage was trying to run away, rubbing his watery eyes. Kai shot a glob of silk at his feet. The mage tripped and face-planted into the mud.
"Stay," Kai commanded.
The mage whimpered, glued to the floor.
It took less than twenty seconds. The fight was over before it began.
Kai walked over to the leader, who was spinning slowly in the air, his face turning red from the blood rushing to his head.
"Let me down!" the thug shouted, swinging his club uselessly at the air. "The Vipers will hear about this! You're dead meat!"
Kai picked up his sack of slime cores. He looked up at the dangling man.
"The Vipers?" Kai asked. "Is that your gang?"
"Yeah! And when my boss finds out—"
"Tell your boss," Kai interrupted, his voice cold, "that the spider doesn't like flies in his territory."
He walked over to the pinned knife-wielder and patted him down. He found a small pouch of coins.
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[Loot: 45 Coins]
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"Toll fee," Kai said, pocketing the money. "For wasting my time."