episode_0001

There are various games in this world.

Action, adventure, management, MMORPG, and so on.

Among the numerous game genres, which genre requires the most luck?

First of all, card games.

Due to the existence of something called a ‘hand,’ the importance of luck is high.

Next is roguelike games.

Based on permanent death and employing numerous random elements, this game is, true to its genre, difficult even for experts if luck isn’t on their side.

These genres are often called ‘luck-based garbage games’ even with just one of these elements.

What if these were all combined?

It would be absolutely horrifying.

But unfortunately, I fell deeply in love with the roguelike card game that combined these two, [Card the Top].

While watching all sorts of ganking unfold, I kept headbutting, thinking, “Either I die or you die,” and before I knew it, my playtime reached 1000 hours.

As my playtime exceeded 2000 hours, the shorts I uploaded out of boredom got a good response, and I started broadcasting ever since.

My live viewership averages 100 people.

I recently hit 20,000 subscribers on YouTube.

I’m past being a small-time streamer, but the viewership is ambiguous to make a living from.

The only saving grace is that I’m the only one playing this game, so the donations come in well.

You could say I have loyal viewers.

[I wonder how much I’ll get ganked today?]

[Yesterday was legendary; you couldn’t get past Act 1 with the plant character even once.]

[lol fr]

However, since the first video I uploaded was “Gamer Getting Ganked.”

My character was strangely established.

Not as a hardcore player who has reached the extreme of the game, but as a streamer who dies from getting ganked every single day.

“Ugh, trash game.”

[Monster pattern is real?]

[Wow, he broke through those odds.]

Some might ask why I’m still playing this trash game, saying I have no luck.

Well, I basically like games that make you use your brain.

And this game had quite a large area where you could cover luck with skill.

Even with trash cards, or so-called low-value cards, you can still see the ending if you combine them well somehow.

The fact that a different deck is built each game.

The fact that I have to use my brain to the max because of that, fascinated me.

For example, I once caught a boss with reflect damage even without a single damage card.

Videos of me strangely catching bosses like that get even more views, so it’s a win-win situation.

“Hehehe.”

Today, I’m also one man climbing the Tower.

“…Huh?”

For some reason, the game is going too well today.

[Wow, that actually came up?]

[Everything you say is coming up? Is this a mic hack?]

Unlike usual, the cards I want are coming out one after another.

If that only happened with one character, it wouldn’t be so strange, but I cleared all four characters in the game with overpowered decks with ease.

[Why did you beat the ending with all 4 characters today without any ganking?]

[lol fr How much more ganking are you going to get?]

“Well, there should be a happy climbing life sometimes too.”

[You’re definitely going to drop your phone and crack the screen while walking, aren’t you?]

[Aren’t you going to have your mic break down like last time and take a few days off again?]

“Haha, then that’s it for today’s broadcast. Have a great day.”

[There are still 2 hours left today though?]

Click.

After finishing the broadcast, I was looking at the internet before going to bed.

“Huh?”

There was an email.

Isn’t this from the developer of [Card the Top]?

[Hello. This is Studio Cardlove, the developer of Card the Top.]

[We are sending this email to Kang Hyun-soo, who has been a great help among Korean gamers, to ask him to be a beta tester for Card the Top 2. Please download and play the game, and then leave feedback.]

[Please do not broadcast this as it is a closed beta test.]

Wow! I can’t pass this up.

A beta test for the sequel that was announced not too long ago!

I immediately downloaded it and ran it.

A screen with majestic music.

The word ‘Demo’ is largely imprinted on the top right, so I really feel like I’m doing a beta test.

I immediately pressed the Start button.

『Congratulations!』

『Your job is a Card Magician.』

『This power has a high potential, but the low end is disastrously low.』

『Use your wisdom and perseverance to break through the maze to the end!』

“…? What are you talking about?”

Flash!!!

I closed my eyes at the light that burst from the monitor.

My consciousness gradually fades.

Come to think of it, luck was really good today.

I get backstabbed like this at the very end…

*

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was an unfamiliar ceiling…

I can’t see it?

This place where I can’t see an inch ahead.

Where the hell am I?

First, I opened my ears and collected the surrounding sounds.

Drip.

Drip.

All I hear is the sound of water droplets falling.

It doesn’t seem like I can know anything from just the sound.

First, I touched my body here and there with my hands.

It was slightly damp as if it was wet with sweat, which made me feel bad.

It was also somewhat sticky.

The items I had were leather armor, a bag, a small wooden shield, a sword, and a torch…

Why am I carrying these things?

Let’s organize.

I ran the beta test game for Card the Top, saw a strange phrase, lost consciousness, and then this place.

I can’t see an inch ahead. Looking at the equipment I’m wearing and the items I have, I feel like I’ve become an adventurer in a medieval fantasy.

Let’s light the torch first.

Usually, in the movies I’ve seen, they light fires with flint.

Is it in the bag?

Tap, tap!

When I rummaged through the bag, there were two stones inside.

Sparks flew every time they hit each other.

Am I supposed to do it like this?

It’s harder than I thought.

Whoosh.

“Got it.”

I’m overwhelmed with emotion when I see the radiant light of the torch.

First, I look around.

Whether I look to the left or to the right, it’s all stone.

It seems like I’m in a cave.

“Wait.”

Something’s wrong with my body.

There is a large hole in the center of the leather armor, and blood splashed around it.

As if my chest was pierced and I died.

Moreover, my hands and feet were different from my original body.

When I put my right hand on my face, the shape of my face was completely different.

You could say I’m very skinny.

I feel like I’ve gotten a lot taller too.

‘Did I possess someone?’

I think I’ve heard of the concept of possession roughly in a novel I read a long time ago.

A story about possessing and living as one of the characters in other games, novels, and other media.

With rational judgment, it is right to see that happened to me now.

Then the culprit is obviously.

“Card the Top…”

There is a high probability that it is the game’s creator.

Of course, there is also the possibility of it being a spam email.

But they wouldn’t have hacked the official account.

I got up from my seat and looked around more.

A cave blocked on both sides and behind.

There is only one way to go forward.

Since there is nowhere else to go anyway, I have to go forward.

Thump, thump.

I move along the straight path.

Sniff, sniff.

A strange smell stings my nose.

A smell I’ve never smelled before in my life.

I cover my nose with my right hand and walk forward.

How many steps have I taken?

Red blood began to appear on the floor.

“……!!!”

Blood, and corpses.

Corpses wearing clothes similar to mine.

One body.

Two bodies.

Three bodies.

Four bodies.

“…….”

There are 13.

“Haa…, haa….”

Thump, thump!!

Have I ever had my heart beat this fast?

First, I moved away from the corpses and leaned against the cave wall.

“Whew…”

I try to calm my breathing and calm my chest somehow.

The sound of my heart slowly subsides.

My head, which had turned white, has also returned a little, allowing for rational thought.

“Hoo!!!”

I take a deep breath, cover my nose, and

I carefully approached the corpse.

All of them are dead with large holes in their chests.

“…….”

All the corpses have scarves around their necks.

A blue scarf with a white sun drawn on it.

…and I had it around my neck too.

‘Was I, or rather, the original owner of this body, in the same party?’

An image is drawn.

There was a big battle here and they lost.

And me, the original owner of this body, ran away but eventually died.

And perhaps that’s.

It’s highly likely that it’s a monster.

I approached another corpse next to the corpses.

A goblin.

There were piles of goblin corpses with their necks cut off and chests pierced.

“…….”

I moved away from the corpses, leaned against the cave wall again, and fell into thought.

Can I survive here?

All I have is a shield and a sword.

No matter how much I touch my body, I am just an ordinary human male.

Is there nothing special?

“……What is this?”

When I looked closely at my left wrist, there was one more thing besides the equipped shield.

Something wrapped around my wrist like a watch.

And inside it was a card.

“A deck?”

The thickness is thin, so it looks like there are about 10 cards.

“No way.”

The starting deck of [Card the Top] has 10 to 12 cards.

In the phrase I saw just before coming here, there was the word ‘card mage’.

If this has something to do with it, the breakthrough may be there.

Just as I was about to reach out to check the cards.

Clack!!

I turned the torch toward the sound of the strange footsteps hitting my ears.

A goblin.

Green skin, about the height of my waist, a small knife in his hand.

The so-called goblin was looking at me while maintaining a distance.

Goosebumps appeared all over my body.

Tension fills my whole body and my head becomes a mess.

Should I draw my sword first?

Or should I block it with a shield?

Is that guy alone?

What if there are more goblins?

Wouldn’t it be more effective to attack with a torch?

All sorts of thoughts swirled around.

“…What is this?”

There were already 5 cards in my left hand holding the torch.

『Encountered a monster! Draw 5 cards.』

『60 until the next draw…, 59…,』

Then, a status window appeared in front of me.

I understood roughly.

This power must be the power of [Card the Top].

First, I quickly spread out the five cards and checked the contents.

[Shield(1)] [Slam(1)] [Shield(1)] [Slam(1)] [Slam(1)]

The effects are not listed, but I can roughly guess.

The number attached to the back must be the cost.

Slam is attack, shield is defense.

But how do I use this?

Should I throw the card first?

Clack!!

Before I could even finish thinking, the goblin suddenly rushed at me.

First, I threw any card into the air as my hand went.

[Shield]

The card melts into the air and disappears.

After that, my vision becomes slightly blurred. As if a thin shield formed around me.

Clang!!

The goblin’s blade bounces off.

I can’t stop now.

I throw the [Slam] card into the air.

Then an image is drawn in my head.

As if familiar, I flew the [Slam] magic towards the goblin’s head.

Bang!!

The impact strongly hit the goblin.

The goblin’s waist bends.

Crack!!

Then I hear the sound of bones breaking.

It’s not over yet.

[Slam]

Bang!!!

Paaaat!!

Then the goblin’s head exploded.

“……Ugh.”

I frowned without realizing it.

The feeling of killing something.

I realize that this is not easy.

Float.

Three cards float above the goblin’s corpse.

『Check the card rewards,』

[Fireball(1)] [Ice Arrow(1)] [Wind Blade(0)]

“This is……?”

If my power is related to [Card the Top].

I should be able to choose one of these and put it in my deck like in the game.

However, the unfortunate thing is that the exact effects of the cards were not listed.

In the end, I had to use them to find out the effects…

My worry didn’t last long.

The one I chose was [Wind Blade].

Due to the characteristic of 5 draws and a cost of 3, you can only use 3 cards in one turn at first. It’s a big advantage that you can use 4 cards if you have 0 cost.

So, it is beneficial to pick up a 0-cost damage card as much as possible in the early part of Act 1.

Of course, you shouldn’t expect a strong effect as it is a 0 cost card.

Whoosh!!

The card I was holding and [Wind Blade] flew away and went into the deck.

I looked through the deck.

The used cards don’t disappear or anything.

It’s exactly the same as the original.

“Hoo…”

I calm my trembling heart and take a breath.

“……Not bad.”

I can’t be sure, but I was relieved that I at least had the minimum power to defeat the goblin right now.

By the way, how do I check the cost?

I immediately looked closely at the deck, and there were three faint red lights on the side.

That must be the cost.

Since I checked it anyway, I roughly looked around the deck and finished the test.

“…Let’s move on.”

There will be no change in the situation even if I stay here.

Rather, it will help my survival to continue catching goblins and getting stronger in real time.

“……I’m sorry.”

I walked to the corpses, paid a light silent tribute, and rummaged through my bag.

I took a few torches and preserved food from inside.

“……This must be a potion?”

Red liquid in a glass bottle.

What else could it be if not a potion?

I took 3 potions.

And then I move on again.

Into the endless cave.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

『Deck List』

[Slam] [Slam] [Slam] [Slam] [Slam]

[Shield] [Shield] [Shield] [Shield]

[Charge] [Wind Blade(New)]

6 attack cards

5 skill cards

0 power cards

0 curse cards

A total of 11 cards.