"Now that i have gained independence, what should I do after these bounty hunters leave." Goldie asked while knowing the obvious, she was of course going to start a card shop and she was contemplating if she should start in this continent or in another. Car makers are rare so she knew she wouldn't be at a loss of she started selling physical cards.
"Hmph. The answer is obvious," Goldie declared, placing her hands firmly on her hips. "A Card Maker's Emporium. A place where cards are not mere tools, but expressions of refined, devastating beauty.
A place where my family's legacy is honored, but my artistry is paramount."
She conjured a blank card with a practiced flick of her wrist, her newly restored Mana Pool feeling robust and eager. "But a successful shop requires stability, reputation, and, critically, enough capital to maintain my beautiful appearance and my gacha addiction. This First Continent, Victorise... it's too close to the Eighth, too exposed. Card Makers are rare, yes, but they are also feared here, not necessarily respected for their craft."
She paused, the gamer's strategic mind overriding the shopkeeper's immediate desire. "I need a continent where a highly skilled Card Maker can be seen as a necessary evil, or better yet, a prized commodity. I need to make a name for myself, but not as the 'Fledgling Disaster Star' running from her family, but as the creator of cards like the 'Little Match Girl's Matchbox'—art that kills."
Goldie quickly focused her intent onto the blank card. She needed to re-establish her disguise, but she couldn't afford to waste 50 mana every hour.
"I can't just slap on the hunched-back man again," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "Too common, too ugly. If I'm going to spend 50 Mana on a temporary card, it needs to be flawless."
She activated [Create Card], infusing it with a smaller, but still significant, 30 Mana.
"The goal: A disguise that doesn't just hide me, but makes me forgettable in a beautiful way."
The card shimmered, Goldie's thoughts racing through the lore fragments of both worlds. She focused on the concept of 'harmless elegance'—something common, yet untouchable.
The symbols on the card began to trace the outline of a young woman in pristine white robes.
[You have Created an Original Card Blueprint, as the concept is derived from common world lore (Clerics/Healers), the rewards will be reduced.]
[Congratulations, you have received 10 HiroGems.]
Goldie's lips twitched in satisfaction. Ten HiroGems! A marked improvement over the measly 2 she got for the generic Disguise Card. Her previous Little Match Girl creation had clearly boosted the system's perception of her quality. She was now at 10 HiroGems, a nice reserve.
[Cleric's Disguise Card (Consumable/Original Blueprint)]
[30 Mana required to use.]
[It is in the form of a serene, young Cleric of the White Order.]
[Effect: Changes appearance, clothes, and voice to match the blueprint. Grants a minor, passive aura of [Sanctuary], causing non-hostile observers to subconsciously dismiss the user as 'safe and non-threatening.']
"Perfect. Cute, elegant, and instantly makes me look too innocent to be the terrifying 'Fledgling Disaster Star.'"
She instantly played the card. [Play Card: Cleric's Disguise].
The familiar, fleeting stretch of distortion washed over her. The 10-year-old girl vanished, replaced by a slight, young woman with soft features, simple white robes, and a perpetually kind expression. Her platinum hair was now tucked neatly under a simple white veil, making it look like a common light brown.
"This is infinitely better," she thought, the voice in her mind sounding gentle and reassuring, a stark contrast to her previous soprano.
She felt the passive [Sanctuary] aura immediately. It wasn't a powerful protection, but it made her feel like any passerby would assume she was on her way to bless a sick child, not running from an A-Rank adventurer party.
Goldie, in her Cleric guise, stepped confidently out of the alley. She looked around the streets before she began walking towards the Spatial gate and thought about which continent she was going too.
She was currently posing as a cleric of the White order which was a church in a continent declared as the Holistic and fruitful land of the gods. Quite literally beings whose strengths have reached Tier 9 which is basically the last step before becoming a god exist there.
They go there to amass followers so they can safely advance to the holy land, it was actually the seventh continent.
But that destination was too powerful for a tier 0 being like her. In fact the continent she would be the most successful in is the the third continent, Freedris the continent of freedom where they worship the goddess of freedom, Artemis.
The price for travelling that distance was not cheap and after she did pay it, it would be her last continental trip until she had enough magic stones to travel to another continent.
As Goldie moved, people made way for her with a smile on their faces or giving her a gentle nod, though some figures clearly showed their disdain for her or the role she was playing, these figures were the Undead, Demonkins, Vampires, Dark Elves and also some other races who have a vendetta with the White Order.
Goldie was exasperated, it wasn't her fault that her obsessive family were chasing her?!!. If she chose any other Holy organisation to pose as, she would definitely have been in trouble, the White order was the only "free" Holy organisation in the entire eight continents.
As she reached the teleportation gate which was a large runic circular open portal that was made from countless rare metals and were embedded with eight different crystals gotten from each continent....the eight continents crystal was darkened though.
Upon seeing that, Goldie was overjoyed the crystal turning black meant that the Spatial passage to the eight continent has been cut which is actually not a good thing but is quite common in the eight continent, there were some clans of spacetime users in that continent which were powerful.
They could even rival the Droyars ability to manifest their imagination onto their cards, albeit with a cost that is. Either way it was non of Goldie's business.
She happily smiled under her veil and walked towards the man in charge of the Continental spacial gate.
The man had long curved horns and a scaly leg, his skin was red and so were his eyes, he was resting upon am arcane spare where there was an opening on the spearhead with a rotating core.
The man lazily looked at Goldie and tiled his head, he was a Tier 5 spear Lord with the ability of true sight, so seeing a little girl under the illusion of someone from the White order was indeed strange but he did not react anymore than that. Who was he to meddle in order people's business. He was only here to do his job.
"Where are you going Kid." The man asked lazily.
Goldie Smiled and made the White Orders Holy sign with her arms which was placing her left arm on her heart. "May the White Order be within your heart, I wish to go to the third continent to do some...business there."
The man did not return her greetings and spoke lazily. "250 magic Crystals."
Goldies lips twitched and she immediately took her Inventory card and took out the last of her Magic crystals, of course she faked putting her hands in her pocket and brought out the 250 pieces of the marble sized glowing crystals and gave it to the man.
The man collected it and didn't bother to count, he threw a dozen of them or so into bowl like mechanism near the portal and then began to draw something strange runes into the air. "Third Continent, Freedris, The City of True Freedom. Artemis."
As the man said that, the third crystal on the portal glowed a vibrant green, slowly spacetime began to be ripped apart in a orderly way, the scene made Goldie's eyes lit up, her blood boiled with a faint feeling of inspiration only a Droyar could feel.
The beauty of space being tipped apart in a vibrant green and graceful way...it made her want to create a card blueprint at this moment, using her entire reserves of mana and her blood but she suppressed that urge and bowed to the man and then she gracefully walked into the portal.
The moment she did, the portal shimmered and closed. The man yawned and took a single magic crystal and dropped it into his mouth, with a sickening crunch, he began chewing it.
As he did, a man with a scar across his face came to confront him. "Hello Gatekeeper, we are looking for a girl with gold hair tied into pigtails and wearing a fancy dress, can we ask if you have seen her?."
The man looked at the scarred man up and down, a Tier 3 swordsman, he thought and answered them. "I have but what are you willing to pay to know her location?."
Upon hearing that, the scarred man sighed, it seemed he had failed his mission. "In that case, is the portal to the eight continent cut off?."
The horned man frowned upon hearing that but still answered the swordsman. "Yeah, the Spatial passage has been disconnected again."
The scarred man groaned in annoyance and let out a sigh. "That's bad, say if I fix it can I use the portal without paying."
The horned man looked at the man suspiciously and gently shifted his weight on his spear. "Yeah...you can."
"Alright then." The scarred man put his hands inside of his pouch and brought out a pile of silver dust, the next second he crushed it with his arms and the sound of glass being broken made itself apparent, a moment later he opened his palm and a bright coloured silver crystal appeared. "Well then, I'll be on my way."
The scarred man tossed the crystal into the portal and then eight gem forcefully lit up with an ominous gray colour, the portal shifted apart like a murky swamp and within it only a pitch darkness was seen, within that darkness countless horrowing sounds were coming out.
The spear man looked terrified and he almost attacked the portal but stopped himself. The swordsman chuckled as he walked passed him and did not turn around when he neared the portal and entered it.
The spear man stood there frozen, stunned—Not only him but also the countless other passerbys. The Spearman was about to close the portal to the eight continent when an indescribable aura and voice stopped him. "Wait right there, let me take advantage of the Spatial passage being fixed and get out of this belated continent."
And thus a being from the eighth continent was released upon the first continent, this will mark the 50th incident of someone from the eighth continent causing damage to Victorise.
----
The third continent, the land of freedom and adventure, opportunities and reaches. The city of True Freedom named after the goddess of freedom, Artemis was large and filled with many individuals looking to make it big and filled with countless races.
This city had adventurers and merchants going in and out everyday, transporting goods and keeping it safe but it was not always like this.
There was once a time when a star crashed down into this continent releasing something known as the third disaster into this continent, the name of that disaster was the Green Witch also Known as the Devil of Nature.
As to why this is mentioned...well the moment she went out of the portal withouther disguise, showing off her young and vibrant form, she heard a notification that brought sock to her face.
[Due to travelling the land ruled by a Disaster, you have unlocked the banner of the Green Witch(Third disaster.).]