Catastrophe Card King

After his teammates left, Leonard Churchill cautiously walked toward the direction of the firelight.

He descended the rusted staircase, and from halfway down, he had a birds-eye view of the lively camp.

The firelight dispersed the fog, and the camp was crowded with people.

It was a machinery town. Treasure hunters had constructed a towering steel wall from scavenged iron plates and enormous rivets, as if patching it together.

Lights shone brightly within the town, the hum of human activity was deafening, and at a rough estimate, there were tens of thousands of people. Nearly every building had smoke puffing out of chimneys.

Leonard had previously thought this world’s technological development leaned more towards steam power, and this sight confirmed his suspicions.

He immediately noticed the steam train in the town, long and winding like a steel serpent, as large mechanized cranes lifted various goods. Even manual laborers wore mechanical exoskeletons of odd shapes and sizes, allowing them to easily carry several tons of goods.

He had been worried that his clothes would attract attention and bring trouble, but after observing the hunters’ attire in the camp, Leonard immediately felt he had been overthinking it.

Tactical vests and boots, standard equipment in this land.

Among ten hunters in the camp, seven or eight were dressed this way, even their gas masks were similar in design.

Leonard, now relieved, climbed down the stairs and landed on the ground.

He went forward. The camp gate was wide open. Several hunters on the watchtower were indifferently scanning the surroundings.

As long as there was no monster attack, no one cared who entered the camp.

There were many people coming and going, discussing exciting stories from the ruins with each other.

Leonard blended into the crowd and entered the camp without any difficulty.

This camp was built for the exploration of the ruins, and all the facilities inside were designed to serve the hunters.

A card shop, firearm emporium, machinery modification shop, potion shop, materials store… all kinds of supply stores were present.

As Leonard passed by these shops, he looked longingly at the numerous firearms and single soldier mechanical equipment.

He had thought his Revolver was decent, but compared to this, it was just basic.

Even the bullets came in dozens of types, such as demon-breaking bullets, armor-piercing bullets, demon driving bullets, incendiary bullets…

He glanced at the prices posted at the door of the shop:

[Armor-Piercing Bullets]: $3

[High-Explosive Grenades]: $300

[M127 Revolver]: $1300

[Double-Barreled Demon Hunting Gun]: $2550

[Single Soldier Mechanical Power Skeleton (800KG)]: $32500

Prices were clearly shown.

The same big-caliber revolver at his waist was valued at only 1300, while more exquisite equipment cost tens of thousands.

There were also daggers, leather armor, tactical boots, flying ropes…

In short, with money, one could buy a better set of adventure equipment.

Equipment was essential for survival, and hunters, naturally, wouldn’t skimp on money. These shops were crowded with all sorts of hunters.

As Leonard walked along, he bought a tactical backpack and upgraded some essential equipment.

He didn’t look at the mechanical skeletons.

They were too expensive.

The target they presented was also too big.

He pressed on. At the heart of the camp was a large store, sporting the sign of “Hansen Commerce Guild’s Card House”.

The entrance had a beautifully designed glass display, inside which various colored magic cards were placed.

[Wind Blade Card]: $3000

[Explosion Card]: $5000

[Arcane Barrage]: $15555

The display featured mostly disposable skill cards, blank containment cards, energy cards, and other inexplicable spirit communication cards, armament cards…

Leonard took one glance and didn’t even enter the shop, muttering to himself, “So it’s because they’re cheap, huh?”

Previously in the Alternate Dimension, he had watched as Camilla and the mercenaries used a few magic cards.

But they didn’t use them frequently.

Firearms were more common.

Now looking at the prices, he immediately understood why.

While the power of magic cards was indeed much stronger than firearms and could cater to different combat needs,

their prices were exorbitant.

A grenade cost merely 300, but a First Tier [Explosion Card] cost 5000.

The physical damage was similar, but there was over ten-fold difference in price.

But there was nothing difficult to understand about it.

Firearms and the like could be produced through factory assembly lines. Given how advanced steam machinery was in this world, the manufacturing cost definitely wasn’t high.

Cards, however, involved magic and magical power storage, which at the moment, seemed to necessitate manual production.

There’s a reason why they’re expensive.

Furthermore, the potential of Magic Cards was evidently higher.

Grenades were already amongst the most formidable ammunition in individual operations, yet their power was only comparable to that of the lowest tier cards.

A glimpse at the names of those extravagantly priced, higher tier cards suggested to Leonard Churchill their formidable power, each endowed with some unusual magical effects.

Take for example the Chain Lightning Card priced over a hundred grand.

Its skill effect was to inflict group lightning damage and paralysis within a range, instantly.

Manipulating thunder with the human body?

That was even challenging for the technology of his previous world.

Seeing this left Leonard in awe, but also filled with anticipation for the extraordinary power humanity could wield in this world.

There was also a Potion Shop next door, selling some fantastically effective alchemy potions.

Leonard found himself nearly cross-eyed as he looked over rows of potions, bursting with fascinating labels. He selected a number of essential basic potions and then stopped looking.

Higher tier potions equated to one word: Expensive!

Leonard only had a modest sum culled from the corpses of mercenaries, nowhere near enough to purchase a higher tier potion.

Unaware of the level of commodity prices in this world and purchasing power, he found a reference soon enough.

There was a humble tavern in the camp, filled with hunters eating, drinking, and chatting.

As Leonard walked down the street, he caught sight of the prices; black bread, 15 per loaf, drinking water, 3 per litre.

Not exactly expensive.

After walking for awhile, his stomach began to grumble. He purchased an arm-long piece of black bread, the size of a baseball bat and just as hard.

But to his surprise, if he ignored the chance of it breaking his teeth, the bread tasted rather pleasant.

Once chewed, the carbohydrates broke down under his saliva, and a sweet taste engulfed his taste buds.

It reminded him of compressed biscuits from his past life. They didn’t prioritize taste, but supplying energy demands instead.

After a few bites, Leonard already felt re-energized.

Everything in the Demon Cross Camp was new to Leonard.

If possible, he planned to explore or perhaps, sit in the tavern, listen to people’s stories and understand this world.

But now was not the time.

Having purchased a few provisions, Leonard hurried towards the railway station at the camp’s far end.

All the while, his peripheral view was attentive to his surroundings.

The camp, equivalent to the size of a small town, didn’t take long to traverse, and he soon arrived at the train station.

It was a rudimentary platform, appearing like an ancient ruin, with marks of time visible at every corner.

The station was crowded and busy.

Workers were bustling about loading the various materials found in the ruins onto the train while the treasure hunters, their harvest plentiful, cheerfully boarded in groups.

A treasure hunt’s conclusion meant that everyone who survived gained something.

The hunters would take this train back to Sinless City, then start a lengthy period of indulgence.

Leonard, being an astute observer, identified an anomaly almost immediately upon arrival.

“Blackwater Mercenary Group,” he muttered.

Within the busy and noisy crowd, Leonard discerned several individuals behaving strangely.

While other hunters were eager to board the train, these men scanned the crowd with sidelong glances, as if they were searching for something.

Leonard wasn’t sure if those men were looking for him.

However, even if they were, their information was likely limited. Perhaps they only knew that the targets were a man and a woman?

The fourth master of the Miller family hadn’t seen Leonard’s face in the Alternate Dimension, because of the gas mask, and thus, little detail was exposed.

As long as he didn’t give himself away, the chances of them recognizing him were slim.

However, this was a world of extraordinary powers.

Leonard didn’t let his guard down.

He skillfully blended into the crowd, mimicking the jubilant poise of passersby. There was no ducking or diving, he simply walked towards the train with unfaltering confidence..