"Raaa!!" Lars shouted at the top of his lungs. He thrust the spear straight into the Red Kobold Sage’s chest, dealing massive damage. But the boss still had a sliver of HP left.
Lars pulled back his spear and unleashed a chain of skills without stopping.
"Impulse Swing!"
"Flash Skewer!"
"Piercing Thrust!"
Kreeek!
The boss stood no chance against Lars’s relentless assault. Its remaining HP instantly dropped to zero.
[You have cleared the Kobold Mine dungeon. Max CP increased by 1.]
"Yes!" Lars clenched his fist and raised it.
"Yahoo! Banzai! Banzai!" Justin cheered as he rushed toward Lars.
"Alright everyone! That’s all for today. Stay tuned for more action next time. Bye-bye, Justin roger and out!" Justin closed his livestream.
"What a fight, dude! You were like a hero in a movie just now. The way you slashed and thrust at the enemies was just... amazing!" Justin said excitedly.
Suddenly, his expression froze as Lars pointed at the broken spear.
"Sorry...I broke it," Lars said.
"Sniff! It’s okay! I will consider it a small sacrifice for a better future," Justin replied, holding the broken shaft in one hand and the spearhead in the other.
"Ohhh, here’s your payment, 3,000 Zents." Justin pulled the money from his pocket.
"Are you sure? I just broke your favorite spear..."
"It’s fine. I already promised you, so I have to keep my word."
The two of them then collected the loot. One of the drops was a Common Rank Class Book, Brawler. Lars kept it, thinking it might be useful later.
After that, they exited the dungeon. By the time they stepped outside, night had already fallen. The plaza was nearly empty, as most people had called it a day.
"By the way, what’s your hunter rank?" Justin suddenly asked.
"Me? I’m only F-rank. I just started being a hunter six months ago. Still a newbie."
"F-rank? Hahaha, you don’t have to be humble with me. There’s no way an F-rank can fight like that."
Lars pulled out his hunter card and showed it to Justin. He froze in shock.
"You’re really F-rank! But how did you beat that boss just now?" Justin still couldn’t believe it.
"Ermmm... luck, maybe?" Lars shrugged. He then walked to his scooter and put on his helmet.
"Hey, Lars. Can I get your contact number? That livestream just now was amazing. Guess how much I made in those few hours? 5,000 Zents! That’s the most I’ve ever earned as a vlogger."
"So next time you go into a dungeon, let me know, alright?" Justin said eagerly.
Lars then shared his contact number with Justin. Right now, he only had a few contacts in his phone. There was no harm in adding more friends.
Soon, they went their separate ways. As Lars rode down the road, he suddenly noticed a familiar figure standing by the roadside. He immediately stopped.
"Granny!"
"Ahh, young man. Fancy meeting you here."
The old lady was a fortune teller. She was the one who had given Lars the map to the lost dungeon. Back when Lars was at his lowest, when he felt like he had nothing left to live for and might as well disappear, she had appeared and offered to read his fortune.
And everything changed after that.
"Come into my small tent. Let me make some coffee." The old lady with her back hunched, walked inside using her cane.
Lars followed her in. He had been here a few times already, yet he still felt uneasy as he looked at the drawings, masks, puppets, and statues covering the walls and shelves.
"Please, have a seat. Let me look at your hand."
"Granny! I actually got-"
"Shhh!" The old lady silenced him. She took Lars’s hand and examined it. Her palms were rough and coarse. After a few minutes, she stopped.
"It seems you have found the treasure."
"That’s what I wanted to tell you." Lars narrowed his eyes.
"Kikiki! So, how has your life been after that? Has it changed the way you desired?"
"Not yet. But there’s progress. By the way, Granny... don’t you think 5 million is too expensive for a map?" Lars asked. The old lady had demanded that amount in exchange for changing his future, and gave him the map in return.
"Kikiki. Five million is just a small sacrifice you needed to make. Don’t worry. Soon, you will live a very rich life and have everything you desire, money, power, women, and influence, all within your grasp."
Lars smiled mischievously as he heard her words. In his mind, he was already imagining himself surrounded by beautiful women and mountains of gold.
"However..." the old lady suddenly said.
At the same time, she laid out tarot cards across the table, arranging them in a circle before placing a single folded card at the center.
"With that power comes risk. The moment you obtained that book, all Eyes were already on you." She flipped the folded card, revealing The Fool.
"Eyes... what do you mean?" Lars asked, staring at the cards in front of him. She must mean the Fool as himself, but other 21 major arcana cards, is she mean there are people out there watching him?
"Kikiki. I don’t know either. It’s just what I read from your hands," the old lady laughed.
"Tch! What a way to build suspense." Lars clicked his tongue.
Soon, they chatted for a while over coffee. After that, Lars excused himself.
"See you again, Granny."
The old lady watched as Lars rode away on his bike. A faint smile slowly formed on her face.
"This will be the last time we meet, young man. If we ever meet again, perhaps we won’t even recognize each other."
She then entered her tent when suddenly a strong gust of wind rushed inside, scattering everything around. As she walked closer to the table, only two cards remained, and one of them lay on top of The Fool.
"Kikiki... that young man still has misfortune following him. It seems the first ’Eyes ’ he encounters will be one of the worst."
She looked at the remaining card.
It was The Empress.