The Joker, The Trickster, And The Magician

Ten minutes passed since he killed the three soldiers yet no one came to check what happened. It seemed that survivors didn't have spare fighters to dispatch.

'Fear... they refuse to leave their safe base and didn't even attempt to go to higher floors. I need to capture one alive to understand how this facility works.'

Since he was always blindfolded, Wolfram doesn't know how to reach the surface. Is there a hidden elevator or just stairs? In any case, he found nothing that slightly resembled an elevator.

For now, Wolfram didn't intend on raiding their base. There are more paths to tread before heading their way. Since they're still here even after a day or two passed then it means either the exit is blocked or it's not in that area.

After the last fight and the CP he earned, he finally managed to get Card Speed to 3 points. Now, all he had to do is test the might of his cards. If one of the three stats is lower than the other two then there will be some kind of compatibility problem. If his speculation is correct, his control over the cards will be increased, just like the sharpness despite the two stat not receiving any kind of boost.

It's because the three stats reached a checkpoint. With the metal wall facing him, Wolfram took out his deck of cards and fiddled with swift and smooth movements as if he's a card expert.

Heck! The way he moved them couldn't be seen even with someone who trained for more than twenty years. This shows the might of the stats.

The same applies to his physical stats, which allowed him to do things normal things. Wolfram played with the cards for a few minutes before he started throwing them at the metal wall. As expected from reinforced walls that belonged to a military facility, the cards obviously didn't manage to cut through them, nevertheless, their speed and sharpness were definitely out of the norm.

Though they're not as fast as bullets, they're still hard to follow with the n.a.k.e.d eyes. The world record for the fastest thrown card is 148-kilometer per hour and such a record was easily broken by Wolfram.

With his stats right now, he had the confidence to kill a human if he's accurate enough.

'There must be a reason this Card System exists and I'll surely find it!'

Why was he different than the others? He had to look at the black card to check his system. It was strange and totally different than what the soldiers from before talked about.

Apparently, a blue window will appear before them and it'll show them their status. The window was illusory and you can click on it for further details. As for Wolfram, it's a red card when something news is acquired or skill levels up. Others don't see the red card or the stats card dropped from corpses.

As for his deck of cards, it's still unknown if they see it or not. However, there's a strong chance they can or else it would be a cheat. There was a problem that was bugging Wolfram... first, why does he need such an outrageous amount of experience to level up and second, why isn't he getting an active skill.

All the skills he got now are passives, sure, they are helpful but he needs some sort of a trump card, an active skill that can be used in case of emergencies.

After experimenting with the cards for twenty minutes, Wolfram hid them in his sleeves and returned to where the murder scene. His steps were soundless and his breathing was calm and steady. He couldn't hear any noise which can only mean that he's alone.

Once he reached the blockage, he looked to the left, where the path is dark and there are bloodstains all over the place and furrowed his brows.

He stared at the sign that had an arrow pointing to the left and saw the words '5th floor'. This indicates two things, either he's in the 6th floor or the 4th floor. What made him hesitate was the absence of the 'exit' sign. Though this path may lead to higher floors, it isn't necessarily an exit.

He inspected the bloodied ground and walls and pondered for a few seconds before he clicked his tongue and thought

'Go big or go home! I can smell the scent of delicious prey!'

Whatever was hiding in that darkness, it definitely wasn't a hobgoblin. From its silence and its non-interference with the previous fight, it's either asleep or waiting for a golden opportunity to strike. It may be a nocturnal beast and being exposed to any kind of illumination greatly weakens it, at least that's what Wolfram speculated.

With slow steps, he advanced toward the darkness with a hand holding his knife and the other positioned near the handgun on his waist. Of course, even if he couldn't access the gun in time, he can still make use of his cards, which are hidden under his sleeves.

Fortunately, he found two stat cards in the way, which added, respectively, 0.09 Strength and 0.1 Speed. A small increase but very useful. Wolfram welcomes anything he can get, especially Stat Cards.

It didn't take long before he entered a world of darkness, where there's nothing around him, in fact, for a few moments, Wolfram felt as if he's blind.

'This is no normal darkness. Must be some sort of a nocturnal monster, most likely something that intensifies darkness or controls it. Best to think it's strengthened by darkness and weakened by light hence it's lack of activity outside of this area. The corpses outside had claw and fang marks either on their head or shoulders.... so it attacks from above, probably an aerial type. It's safe to assume it can use poison too, just in case.'

Wolfram analyzed everything as he slowly walked forward. Even with his enhanced physical stats, he could barely see in this absolute darkness. It's a definitely a disadvantageous place to fight in.

If the enemy is indeed afraid of light, so afraid to the point of not attacking defenseless targets just outside of this place, then it must be very weak against any light.

For example, guns produce a small spark that appears for a split second. The duration is extremely short but if he continuously shoots, especially with the rifle then it'll be affected. Furthermore, he won't be shooting at the air but at his enemy.

Basically, the fight will be decided after the first attack, if he can safely resist the sneak-attack, he'll be able to locate it and bombard it with bullets.

Of course, there is the chance that there are more than one beast hiding here, however, Wolfram found it rather unlikely. Since the Goblins are on this floor then at most, there exists a monster that is slightly stronger than them.

Wolfram knew they came from some sort of a portal which means the beast hiding here lived alongside the goblins or it fed on them. If the ugly green monsters are the monster's food then the presence of multiple ones will break their ecosystem and despite their great number, the goblins will soon be eradicated.

The real question was, when will it attack. This place that has nothing but darkness isn't particularly big, at most, it covered the area from the blockage to the stairs, around 50 meters, at most.

Although he was advancing slowly, Wolfram was still advancing and he'll soon reach an illuminated area. In fact, he started seeing a door and stairs that led upstairs.

The distance separating him from the stairs was approximatively fifteen meters and if his guess was right, the monster will attack when he's just about to leave, when he thinks he's safe.

In a way, the monster was using the same tactic he used on the soldiers. Attack when they drop their guard and think they're in a safe place. For Wolfram, a place with light is a safe place thus the beast intended to attack when his target is defenseless.

'Attacking from the front is problematic for it.... so it'll attack from behind and above, probably the back of my neck or directly slashing my head. I don't know how big it is so I can't predict its range of attack.... tsk!'