The moment Leon locked the Gold Card, the air changed.
The hunters felt it.
They didn't know why—but instinct screamed at them that the situation had slipped out of their control.
"Take him," the raid leader ordered calmly.
The calm was practiced.
Experienced.
Deadly.
---
The two hunters blocking the exit moved at once.
One lunged forward with a short spear, the weapon humming with enchantments meant to pierce barriers. The other circled wide, blade low, eyes locked on Leon's hands.
Leon didn't retreat.
He threw.
The Gold Card flew straight and struck the spear wielder square in the chest.
Golden light burst outward.
The man froze mid-step, eyes wide, body locked in place.
"Stun—!" someone shouted.
Too late.
Leon pivoted.
Red Card.
The explosion went off at knee height.
The stunned hunter was blasted backward, crashing into a pillar with a sickening crack. His body slid down the stone, unmoving.
The second hunter hesitated.
That hesitation saved Leon's life.
---
Pain flared behind Leon's eyes as the cards resumed rotation.
Blue Card.
Red Card.
Gold Card.
His head felt like it was being squeezed in a vice.
Mental load was climbing fast.
Too fast.
The raid leader stepped forward, unsheathing his weapon—a long blade etched with layered runes.
"Enough," he said. "You're wasting potential."
Leon laughed.
It came out hoarse.
"Funny," Leon said. "That's exactly what I was thinking."
---
The leader moved.
Fast.
Too fast for an F-rank to track.
Leon barely had time to react.
Force Lock.
The system resisted again, harder this time.
Pain exploded behind his eyes, white-hot and blinding.
Gold Card — forced.
Leon threw it on instinct.
The raid leader twisted mid-stride.
The Gold Card grazed his shoulder instead of landing cleanly.
The stun hit—but weak.
Half a second at most.
The leader slid to a stop, teeth clenched.
"…So that's it," he said quietly. "That's your ceiling."
Leon didn't answer.
He couldn't.
Blood dripped from his nose onto the stone floor.
---
The leader raised his blade.
"Kill him."
The remaining hunters surged forward.
Leon staggered back, heart pounding.
No time.
No space.
His cards spun wildly.
Blue Card.
Red Card.
Gold Card.
He needed stamina.
Focus.
Anything.
Leon slammed his palm into the ground.
Blue Card.
The card shattered instantly, releasing a wave of cool light that surged through his body. The relief was immediate—but incomplete.
His limbs steadied.
His vision sharpened.
But the pain didn't vanish.
It stacked.
---
A hunter charged.
Leon threw Red.
The explosion tore the man off his feet, sending him crashing into rubble. Another followed close behind, shield raised.
Leon sidestepped and flicked his wrist.
Gold Card.
The stun landed clean.
Leon didn't follow up.
He ran.
---
The dungeon shook as the gate to the boss chamber began destabilizing.
Cleared dungeons didn't stay open forever.
Leon sprinted through the corridor, boots slipping on stone slick with monster blood.
Behind him, the raid leader's voice echoed.
"After him!"
Footsteps thundered.
Too many.
Too close.
Leon's breathing grew ragged.
Mental load warnings flashed repeatedly at the edge of his vision.
He ignored them all.
---
The exit chamber came into view.
Blue light flickered unevenly, the Gate already beginning to collapse.
Leon skidded to a stop just short of it.
A figure stepped between him and freedom.
The raid leader.
He stood calmly, blade resting against his shoulder.
"You're good," the man said. "Better than you should be."
Leon raised trembling hands.
His cards spun.
Slower now.
Unstable.
"But you're still alone."
The leader advanced.
Leon backed up until the Gate's light washed over his shoulders.
"Join Iron Vein," the man said. "I'll make this go away."
Leon laughed again.
This time, it didn't hurt.
"No," he said simply.
---
The leader lunged.
Leon threw his last card.
Gold.
The stun hit—but only for a heartbeat.
Leon followed with Red.
The explosion staggered them both.
Leon was thrown backward.
The Gate flared.
Pain tore through his body as the system forcibly ejected him.
---
Leon hit stone hard.
Real stone.
Open air rushed into his lungs as he rolled across the plaza outside Blackstone Citadel.
The Gate behind him collapsed with a thunderous crack, sealing itself shut.
For a long moment, Leon didn't move.
He just lay there, staring at the sky.
---
System text finally stabilized.
> [Dungeon Exit Complete]
[Survival Condition Met]
[Solo Escape Achieved]
Leon coughed and pushed himself up.
His entire body ached.
But he was alive.
That mattered.
---
Another message appeared.
One he'd never seen before.
> [Unique Path Confirmed]
[Class Designation Updated]
[Card Dealer — Irregular]
Leon's breath caught.
Irregular.
Not hunter.
Not support.
Not combat.
Something else.
---
The card window appeared again.
But it was different.
The rotation was no longer fixed.
The cards slowed… then stopped.
Blue Card.
Red Card.
Gold Card.
All visible.
All selectable.
Leon stared.
"…You're kidding," he whispered.
A final line appeared beneath the cards.
> [Deck Control Unlocked]
Leon laughed.
This time, it was uncontrollable.
In a world where power was fixed—
He had just broken the rules.
---
Far above the plaza, banners of the guilds fluttered in the wind.
And somewhere inside Blackstone Citadel, Iron Vein had just lost something far more valuable than a dungeon core.
They had lost control.