Chapter 3: Holy Sword Card Deck

"Sigh."

Finally, Rhode was able to take a deep breath, then he laid down on the bed once again.

After chatting with Lize, he confirmed that this place was indeed Dragon Soul Continent. But it was not in the era that he was in before — it was far more distant— the Twilight Era. If this timeline was compared to the game, it was supposed to be when Dragon Soul Continent Online was in its open beta testing period.

How did I arrive here?

Rhode sighed, then shook his head, no longer wanting to think about these strange and mysterious things. In any case, he was already here, and this fact couldn't change. So what was he going to do next?

First of all, Rhode decided to try what he could do for now. Soon, after giving a thought, a clear and familiar system prompts showed up in front of him. It showed his current status and attributes:

[Rhode Alander]

[Level 1

Race: Mixed Race (??)

Talent: Locked

Racial Reward: Locked

Racial Characteristics: Locked

Class: Summoning Swordsman (Hero)

Class Skills: Summon (Rank E)

Special Swordsmanship: Moon Shadow Swordsmanship (Rank E) (Available Skills - Blade of Destruction)

Other Classes: Alchemist (Expertise in Mysterious Creation)

Special Skills: Shaping (Rank E)]

This was the very ordinary yet unusual Character Status screen. But when he saw the first line, Rhode almost shouted out loud.

Mixed race? Why am I a mixed race?!

In the Dragon Soul Continent, the meaning of the so-called mixed race was no different to the one on Earth. The mixed race here was born with the marriage between humans and other races. Rhode was very sure that he was a human, and even in the game, his role was also human. But why did his Character Status show that he was a mixed race? And it was also followed by question marks which meant that his other half-blood had not yet awakened. The racial bonuses and characteristics were also still locked. It meant that to unlock it, he must understand what kind of blood he had first in order to awaken the power within him.

For Rhode, this could be considered a concern because, usually, the race reward was automatically provided after creating the character. For example, the human race bonuses were able to shorten the time in learning skills, immunity to poison, enhanced reputation and many others. But now, he would be unable to get these bonuses and characteristics until he awakened it.

But it wasn't surprising either since he also found new additions to his essential skills like Swordsmanship and Alchemy. Because he had not forgotten his Swordsmanship and Alchemy skills that he had learned, it was displayed below his status, but the color was dark. It meant he did not have the required ability and level to learn and use them. However, he did not really have to worry about it. As long as he could raise his ability, he would be able to use those skills once again. Of course, the skill rank was also reduced to the lowest rank, which was E, rather than SS Rank.

However, Rhode did not care about those little things because what he valued the most was not the rank, but their sources. Many of those Swordsmanships were difficult to learn. Not only did he need to raise his level and stats, he also needed to complete chain quests, increase his reputation and find hidden items. To finish those, he would need a lot of money, time, and luck. In the game, it was only in the last year in Dragon Soul Continent that he managed to completely build his own character, thereby having the confidence to challenge the Void Dragon.

Unfortunately, everything had its own ups and downs. Even though his Swordsmanship had no problems, he quickly found out that his experience, level, and rank were all gone, and the most important thing that he had lost was the most crucial to the existence of a Spirit Swordsman— his Summoned Spirits.

In the Dragon Soul Continent, the Spirit Swordsman was a class with many dilemmas. In the beginning, when it was officially launched, it had garnered everyone's attention since it was an exclusive class. But after the official release of the class, because a Spirit Swordsman needed to cultivate both magic and Swordsmanship, both of them had totally different sub-stats, as well as the complexity of coordination with the Summoned Spirit. There was also the class knowledge gaining process, which meant that the player needed to play the class in all three aspects to know the class well. That was why this class was such a huge disappointment.

The Spirit Swordsman's 'summon' and the Mage's 'summon' appeared to be the same, but in fact, both of them were very different. A Mage's 'summon' consumed their own power to open a portal for the creature to enter the world, and control things by using magic. However, the Spirit Swordsman's 'summon' was different. They did not have the power to open a portal, because their power came from the world itself, and one of their abilities enabled them to awaken the soul from mysterious and historical relics. They could even make a contract and seal them for their own use.

Although it did sound very strong, it was still too bothersome. In fact, many players had been confused by the skills. They thought that by buying cheap ancient relics from the merchants, they could use the summoning skill to awaken the soul of those things and make a contract, effortlessly gaining an artifact.

Unfortunately, no matter how easy they thought it was, the truth still hurt. Not to mention, only high-level summoners could awaken the soul from ancient relics, and as a spirit, they had lost their material form, so their power was also much weaker than before. For example, the artifact that Rhode had used in Dragon Soul Continent Online, the "Dragon King's Wrath", was the only thing that he was able to awaken the soul from, and it was also when he had achieved the highest level.

There were three methods to obtain a summoned spirit. The first was by awakening and condensing the soul from dead magical creatures and turning it into a summoned spirit. But its stats would change based on the owner's stats, the environment, and other factors. For example, if a Spirit Swordsman killed a Fire Snake to obtain its soul, but the soul was summoned in snowy weather or the snake had been killed by equipment with the Dark Element, it would be really difficult to find out about the summoned spirit stats. If it was a Hydra, then it would be much better if it had the Dark Element. However, if it was only an ordinary weak monster with a conflicting element, then it would be better just to cry.

The second method to obtain a summoned spirit was to defeat non-human creatures and fulfill certain conditions. Afterward, one can make a contract and seal them up as a summoned spirit. This was a more simple method, but it was also more dangerous since non-human creatures had their own will and conscious, which meant that they could resist the summoner's order and act according to their own judgment. Of course, this method would not be welcomed by anyone since they would not want to summon something that created trouble.

As for the last method, it was by activating the special skill called 'Soul Awakening' at Level 10 and awaken a soul by fusing a certain number of spirits to produce a new higher level spirit. With this method, the player can control the summoned spirit to a certain extent. As long as the player was familiar with the fused summoned spirit's characteristics, race, and stats, the player can easily tell the fusion result. But this kind of method was way too risky and might also be disappointing because the level of the new summoned spirit was unknown. When two high-level spirits were fused, it might result in a Level 1 summoned spirit; it might also result in an even higher level spirit or even a useless spirit. If it was the former, it was still okay since the level could be raised, but if it were the latter, then it would be better to just delete it.

The summoned spirit's experience gain was shared with its owner. This was also one of the reasons why a Spirit Swordsman was far slower in leveling than other classes. For the others, they could just level up by themselves, but a Spirit Swordsman must share their experience to level up their summoned spirit so that they could evolve. But from the first point, one should know that a summoned spirit's evolution was affected by the environment, its owner's attributes and other external factors. Sometimes, the result of the evolution was not necessarily what the owner had expected.

Because of its disappointing characteristic, it had turned from the 'Most Popular' class into one of the '10 Most Disappointing Classes' in the Dragon Soul Continent official website. There were even people who regarded those who had chosen this class as newbies, or rookies that were cheated on by the introduction and CGI announcement, or players that only played for fun or even gambling addicts, and the last ones were people like...Rhode.

From a simple, regular player, he had turned into a legendary phenomenon. Using this troublesome class, the Spirit Swordsman, Rhode had taken 1st place on numerous servers and had even continuously conquered the three eras. How were the other players supposed to feel?

Most other players did not like those kinds of random methods because it would make them feel like the result was not within their grasp. But it was precisely because of that, Rhode felt really happy because it was challenging. This was also the reason why he had chosen this class. In fact, in his long gaming career, he had also experienced many of those 'disappointments', but he never gave up because only by conquering those difficulties would it make him more satisfied.

But now, his seven years of training dozens of high-level spirits were gone, just like that. Although on the back of his right hand, the mysterious summoning circle still existed, he could not feel his summoned spirits' existence anymore. It was no surprise though since his body was no longer the same as the game.

But...

Rhode reached out his hand, touched his chest pocket, and quickly found a card.

It was a white card. Painted above it was a thorn circling a pure white longsword. The sword was engraved with a complex carving. There were beautiful wings beside it; just looking at it gave a kind of pleasant feeling. At the four corners of the card, there were four different symbols. On the upper right corner, there was a white semi-circle; on the upper left corner, there was a small X written. Below, on the lower right and left corner, there were two small numbers written —3. Behind it, there was a line of mysterious elegant text emerging on the surface.

[The 10th Eternal Holy Sword: Star Mark, No stats, Available for Fusion— No matter how long time has passed, it is still unable to bury its dazzling brilliance.]

It's actually still here!

Looking at the card in his hand, Rhode was slightly surprised for a moment. This was a Summon Card Deck, and he was also very familiar with this card. This rare card was something that he had obtained when he joined the official game event. At that time, he has led his guild and won the combined-server 1st place for two consecutive quarters. To honor him as the strongest top player, the game company had gifted him this card. Of course, this kind of card was often sold in the game shop, but for him, it was a waste of money to buy such things that were good-looking but useless. That was why he kept this card with him. When he received it, he treated it like a lifesaver and always kept it by his side since it did not really take up much space.

Originally, there was nothing special about it except it was a limited edition card. But now, a weak light was emitting from the surface of the card and shining on his hand.

Should I give it a try?

Rhode hesitated for a second. After that, his right hand tightly gripped the card. The magic circle on his right hand shone, blue magic lines spread out, running through all his fingers. Suddenly, the white card burst out a dazzling white light, and turned into tiny specks of dust, completely disappearing into the thin air.

At this moment, a system prompt appeared before him.

[1/10 of Eternal Deck has been obtained, The 10th Rank Eternal Holy Sword, Star Mark]

"Sigh..."

Looking at the system prompt, Rhode could not help but sigh. He did not know why this card had a summoning function in this world, while it was useless previously. In the game, before reaching Level 15, finding a +2 to all stats weapon was very difficult, and the 'Star Mark' sword had +3 to all stats, which was sufficient to help him cover his current weakness. In addition, it was also available for fusion which meant that as long as he was able to find a spirit that suited him, he could add it to his own. He needed the power of 'Soul Awakening' to use the special skill. That was why this weapon was still inferior compared to other ordinary weapons. But based on its attack power, this weapon was considered as a rare and powerful equipment.

However, it was really difficult for him to feel excited right now because he still felt strange about being involved in this kind of situation.

Is this a game? Or reality? If it's a reality then how can I go back?

Knock. At this moment, a knocking sound was heard.

Rhode looked up and saw a middle-aged man walking inside. He wore an adventurer's leather armor, with bright red hair which was casually combed back. Looking at Rhode, the man smiled.

"Hello Sir, I am the leader of the Crescent Star mercenary group, Carter."