The bounty did not stay quiet.
It never did.
By the time Leon returned to the Outer Ring safehouse, rumors had already mutated into something uglier than truth. A card user who froze bosses. An Irregular who broke dungeon rules. A dealer whose abilities escalated mid-fight.
Leon sat on a cracked stone bench, staring at his system window.
Deck Expansion Threshold Approaching.
It pulsed steadily, like a heartbeat.
Nyx stood nearby, arms crossed. "You should leave Blackstone."
Rook snorted from the doorway. "And go where? Word travels faster outside the walls."
Graves leaned against a support beam. "Let them come."
Leon shook his head. "They won't come all at once."
Nyx's eyes sharpened. "You're thinking layered pressure."
"Guilds probe first," Leon said. "Then freelancers. Then specialists."
As if summoned by his words, the system chimed.
Warning: Multiple Hostile Signatures Detected.
Rook cursed softly. "That didn't take long."
---
The first attack came from below.
The floor buckled as a burrowing beast erupted into the chamber, stone and dust exploding outward. Its body was plated with dungeon chitin, runes glowing faintly across its back.
"Dungeon-bred," Elric shouted. "Modified!"
Leon didn't hesitate.
Gold Card.
The stun hit—but slid.
Partial resistance.
Leon grimaced.
So that was the answer.
He switched.
Red Card.
The explosion blasted open the beast's flank, sending ichor spraying across the floor.
Graves finished it with a downward strike that cracked the floor.
No time to breathe.
The ceiling shattered next.
Three figures dropped through the dust—hunters wearing mismatched gear, faces hidden behind enchanted masks.
Bounty hunters.
Professionals.
Nyx moved first, blades flashing.
Leon felt the pressure spike.
Blue Card.
The regeneration surged, barely keeping up with the mental drain.
He spotted the leader—a woman standing back, hands glowing with binding magic.
Controller.
Leon focused.
Gold Card.
But instead of releasing it, he twisted.
The card bent.
The system protested.
Warning: Unauthorized Manipulation.
Leon ignored it.
The stun curved mid-flight, snapping around the binding caster and locking her in place.
Her eyes widened.
Red Card followed.
The explosion sent her crashing into the wall, unconscious.
The remaining hunters hesitated.
Fatal mistake.
Graves and Nyx tore through them.
Silence returned.
Briefly.
---
Rook was already moving.
"That was the opener," he said grimly. "They're testing your resistances."
Leon wiped sweat from his brow.
"And they learned."
Nyx nodded. "Which means the next wave will counter."
The system window flickered violently.
Deck Expansion Threshold Reached.
Leon froze.
A new interface unfolded.
Card Slot Unlocked.
Unknown Card Forming.
Pain lanced through his skull.
Leon dropped to one knee.
Nyx caught him. "Leon!"
"I'm fine," he gasped. "Just—give me a second."
The world slowed.
A new card emerged in his perception.
Black.
Not void—black edged with shifting silver lines, like rules being rewritten mid-motion.
Name unresolved.
Effect unknown.
Leon's breath hitched.
Rook stared. "That's not a color."
Leon met his gaze. "It is now."
---
They didn't get time to celebrate.
The air thickened.
Mana pressure descended like a weight.
A presence stepped out of thin air at the center of the chamber.
Tall.
Clad in Iron Vein insignia.
A guild enforcer.
S-rank.
Nyx swore. "They skipped steps."
The enforcer's eyes locked onto Leon.
"So you're the dealer," he said calmly. "You've caused quite the inconvenience."
Leon forced himself to stand.
Gold Card pulsed weakly.
Red strained.
Blue flickered.
All near limit.
The black card hovered silently.
Untested.
The enforcer raised a hand.
Leon moved.
He drew the black card.
The system screamed.
Critical Warning: Effect Undefined.
Leon released it.
The world stuttered.
The enforcer's raised hand stopped.
Not frozen.
Reordered.
His motion rewound half a second and replayed incorrectly, joints bending the wrong way, mana flow desynchronizing.
The enforcer staggered.
"What—"
Nyx didn't waste it.
Her blades struck.
Graves followed.
The enforcer crashed through the wall, retreating in a burst of emergency teleportation.
Silence fell.
Everyone stared at Leon.
He stared at his hand.
The black card dissolved into motes of silver.
System update appeared.
New Card Registered.
Color: Black
Designation: Wild
Effect: Rule Interference (Minor)
Stability: Extremely Low
Leon exhaled slowly.
Nyx laughed once, sharp and breathless.
"Well," she said. "That bounty just became impossible."
Rook rubbed his temples. "Every guild is going to want you."
Leon looked at the fading system window.
At the growing deck.
At the path closing behind him.
"Then," he said quietly, "we change the table."
Outside, the mana currents of Blackstone twisted, reacting to something new.
The dungeon world had noticed the dealer.
And it was watching.