Chapter 45
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Interlude: For Sale - Card Pack, Never Opened
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Every story has a beginning and an end.
Before long, the Two Heroes series, which had soared past chapter 100 to become Truth Newspaper's flagship title, would one day reach its conclusion as well.
But there was one person—a dwarf, to be precise—who firmly believed that day wasn't today.
The master architect of the Empire, who had brought Caesar's encirclement strategy to life in a single night. That was Borin Blackrock.
Far from the stereotype that dwarves were unrefined brutes, he loved novels.
After all, hadn't he taken the lead in realizing Caesar's Architectural Theory in the real world?
Of course.
The Two Heroes series by author Ulysses had struck a deep chord in his heart as well.
"Behold the radiant gleam of my Green Dragon Crescent Blade!"
"Ooh...!"
It had been enough to make him pick up his forging hammer, which he'd neglected for ages—the exploits of the dwarf war god Guan Yu filled his chest with racial pride.
"But isn't Guan Yu human?"
"Nonsense! Guan Yu's a dwarf! His beard proves it!"
What else could a man growing such a magnificent beard be but a dwarf? Obviously a dwarf! Zhang Fei too! Liu Bei was just a human with slightly pointy ears, not an elf!
He loved the Two Heroes story so much that he had his own unique interpretations of the characters. More precisely, he loved the part where the imperial clan hides its bloodline.
And so, when he saw this...
Two Heroes: The Imperial Clan Hides Its Bloodline concludes Part 1 here. We'll return with Part 2.
"Wha... t the heeeeell...!"
His beard quivered with sheer devastation.
Part 1 complete? That was just code for the serialization being dropped!
As Borin interpreted it.
In the serialized novel industry, at least, "Part 1 complete" was synonymous with the author ghosting or getting axed for poor performance.
And Two Heroes was undeniably still riding high in popularity.
Could the author have run away...!?
No way, not my Ulysses!
There were still so many stories left to tell.
He'd skimmed it because he didn't like the protagonist much, but in The Villain Hides His Ambition, the guy had just conquered the entire northern continent.
Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei had entrusted themselves to Liu Biao, a relative, and were steadily building their power base.
Heck, the most recent chapters had even dedicated a whopping two installments to recruiting the ultimate strategist!
Sure, it felt a bit too much like author self-insertion favoritism, but new character hires like that were supposed to herald massive plot twists in classic developments.
And yet... Part 1 complete...!?
Swallowing his boiling rage and crushing despair, Borin clung to a sliver of hope and turned the page.
And there it was.
Experience the breathless rush of Two Heroes! Discover the heroes' untold stories in the Hero Assembly card game!
It felt like a blatant "no purchase, no sequel" threat—a full-page ad hawking novel merch.
.
.
.
- Wake up, Truth Newspaper!
- Keep serializing Two Heroes!
- Ulysses, come back!
- Triple daily updates!
Borin spotted furious crowds mobbing Truth Newspaper's headquarters as he navigated the streets.
But instead of joining that barbaric mob, he chose the dwarf-capitalist path of revenge.
He beelined straight for the card game retailer listed in the paper.
"Get lost! This board game lounge is under our control!"
"Shut your trap!"
"U-u-uwah!"
"Card packs! More card packs!"
Plowing through the freakish horde obsessed with new games, he snagged a Liu Bei basic set and a few packs everyone was dying for.
Back home, he ripped open the basic set first.
He had no intention of actually playing, so he chucked the rulebook aside.
"Hoh... "
He fanned through the cards, letting out sighs of admiration.
The faint elven magic on them irked him a bit, but the vibrant illustrations grabbed his eyes first.
A light tap on the game effect text—which he wasn't all that curious about—and...
[Guan Yu (Youth)]
[A native of Xie District in Hailing Commandery, he killed a salt merchant profiteer and was hunted by the authorities...]
Details absent from the original novel unfolded before him.
That alone made his purchase feel worth it.
Enchanted, he savored the texts on the Liu Bei basic set's characters, event cards like "Passing the Three Barriers," and equipment like the "Dual-Sex Greatsword."
Then he tore into one of his card packs.
The instant he did, a brilliant golden light poured from his hand.
"Oh, ooh?"
With his gasp of awe, five cards from the pack floated into the air.
『Hee-hee cards!』
He'd already swallowed his surprise at the weird voices echoing from the shop earlier.
Reaching for the golden card among the floaters, he snatched it.
And then.
With trembling hands, he checked the front.
[3 Cost] [SR Zhang Hong in Golden Helmet]
[Unique Effect: Frustration forges a man!]
[When lord is Cao Cao and this card is deployed, opponent cannot attack the lord; Zhang Hong takes 1 reduced damage.]
"...Who?"
Unfortunately, Borin's memory of Cao Cao getting wrecked by Sun Jian while chasing evacuating Dong Zhuo during the anti-Dong coalition had long faded.
He checked the rest of the junk cards, still feeling shortchanged.
Unthinkingly, he picked up the remaining slip from the opened pack and read it.
[This card pack contains the following cards:]
[SSR Liu Bei Chasing Lü Bu]
[SSR Guan Yu Beheads Hua Xiong]
[SSR Cao Cao Enthrones Emperor Xian]
[...]
[R Gan Ong]
[R Sun Jian]
[R Mi Fang]
The keyword "Guan Yu Beheads Hua Xiong" struck him right in the heart.
He ripped open the remaining packs to check their contents.
"Card packs! Bring all the card packs! Anyone with an SSR Guan Yu Beheads Hua Xiong, sell it to me!"
Borin dashed back to the shop, lined up like the other demons, and bellowed his buying intent.
Of course, no one was selling.
.
.
.
After repeating the cycle of queuing and despair from lunch till night—max five packs per purchase—he finally...
"Ooooh...! Noble dwarf! Our pride! Glory forged from hundreds of gold invested!"
Laid eyes on the SSR "Guan Yu Beheads Hua Xiong" he'd craved.
The card depicted Guan Yu astride his mount, gripping the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, his majestic form sparkling. It brought tears to Borin's eyes.
Hero Assembly began setting the imperial capital ablaze.
"Huh...? This is kinda fun...?"
"The rules are more sophisticated than I thought. Love using strategy cards."
"Gah, pulling Lady Zou the married woman card right there!? You brought anti-Cao Cao snipers just 'cause I'm running Cao deck?!"
"It's strategy. Who told you to run Cao Cao?"
The tavern heroes were retooled as faction leaders.
Minions as generals or soldiers.
Spells as strategies or events.
Locations as battlefields.
With blatant cross-media IP theft transcending eras and realms, plus magic making offline play seamless.
Historie's ploy—absorbing Blizzard's game design wholesale—smashed the board game nerds' skulls wide open.
And just as vicious economic criminal Kim Yul had schemed.
"Daddyyy! I want an SSR card too! James next door has me so jealooous!"
"Sigh... Daddy doesn't have any either."
"Waaah!"
"What the hell, kids and dads acting up?!"
Even without playing, the design and lore tickled collector instincts just fine.
Scooping up kids' snotty allowance and adults' nosebleed cash alike.
Cards' big perk: portable.
Add a few lines...
And they're perfect for flaunting on the go...!
"You ain't got none like this at yer place?"
"I do! I got 'em!"
Kids too.
"Well... I really wanted Liu Bei Chasing Lü Bu, but weirdly, my one pack pull got me Cao Cao Enthroning Emperor Xian right away. Sigh... Don't even like Cao Cao..."
"You little...?"
Adults too.
Eyes rolled back.
Madness swirled.
.
.
.
And so.
Just as the capital had fallen, word spread stealthily, and nearby cities succumbed to Hero Assembly mania.
Stores with exclusive pack rights started posting one ad poster each.
The World of Novels, Novelpia Launch Guide
Truth Newspaper embarks on an unprecedented challenge to deliver higher quality and more novels to our readers. A paper dedicated solely to novels. Novelpia is...
- What does the mutt like? Hmm... Chewing solid gold bars, ugh, that kinda insane taste, and otherwise novels? Seems like she reads everything published.
Duke Schneisen's political savvy was SSR-tier, unmatched across the Empire.
Naturally, he was fully prepped to pander to Her Great Gold Dragon Excellency's favorite pastime.
And thus.
Duke Schneisen's coffers-draining project started making waves.
He even vacuumed up big-name authors from Empire Newspaper, bulking up the roster—more than enough to hook novel fans.
And the killer bait.
Alluring even to non-readers.
Inaugural Issue Bonus: Limited Hero Assembly Card (Random of 10 Types) Included!
"...!"
"Hey! You taking reservations?"
"Reserve me 10 copies!"
"Bring more! No, sweep up every last one! Hoard all local stock!"
"Sorry, no reservations, and hoarding gets your sales rights revoked on the spot..."
One week until Novelpia's inaugural issue.
Thanks to the masterful bundling ploy.
- Limited card, eh? If you want it, it's yours... Look closely! I've left the whole world in there!
The great novel era dawned.
And.
The Two Heroes series Part 2s.
Sequel to The Imperial Clan Hides Its Bloodline:
The Greatest Genius Doesn't Hide His Loyalty.
Sequel to The Villain Hides His Ambition:
The Empire's No. 2 Hides His Power Lust Masterfully.
Both primed for takeoff as the new magazine's flagships.