Lenas is an elven adventurer with an almost obsessive passion for unknown ruins and ancient treasures. The more dangerous the place, the more she cannot resist it.
That day, she stepped alone into the depths of a long-sleeping ancient ruin.
The symbols carved into the stone walls had long faded. The air was thick with a mixture of dampness and dust. The corridors twisted and branched like a deliberate maze designed to mislead intruders.
Before long, she stopped and frowned.
"…Strange. Did I take a wrong turn?"
She found herself at another dead end, and even the path behind her had begun to feel unfamiliar. She tried tracing the wall to find her way back, but every corridor looked exactly the same.
Lenas sighed and took a teleportation scroll from her pocket.
Using it would let her escape immediately.
But her hand stopped mid-air.
"…But I haven't found the treasure yet."
After a brief hesitation, she put the scroll away.
"I'll search a little longer."
She continued forward until she reached a strange circular floor.
Intricate ancient patterns were carved into the ground, resembling some kind of mechanism.
Carefully, she stepped onto it.
The next moment.
"—Huh?"
The floor collapsed without warning.
Stone fragments gave way instantly, and the air beneath her vanished. She fell into the darkness.
Wind screamed past her ears, and her consciousness blurred from the impact.
After an unknown amount of time, she slowly opened her eyes.
Her body ached dully, but she was not fatally injured.
She took out a necklace from her chest. Fortunately, the protective gemstone had absorbed the fatal damage.
She pushed herself up and looked around.
It was an unfamiliar lower chamber, dim but not completely sealed off, like a forgotten room.
And then she saw it.
In the corner, a beautifully crafted treasure chest covered in age-old scratches quietly sat there.
Lenas' eyes lit up.
"…A treasure chest!"
She carefully approached and touched the chain.
It was already brittle. It broke with a light touch.
The lid slowly opened.
A faint glow spilled out from within.
Inside were fifty neatly arranged cards.
Excited, she tried to examine their purpose, but found no images on them—only faint flows of magical energy.
"…Magic cards?"
She picked one up and turned it over.
No text. No symbols.
She tried injecting magic into it, but nothing happened.
"…I have no idea how these work."
After some thought, she decided to leave the ruins first.
Back at home, she spread the cards across the table and studied them for three days straight.
Still, no progress.
At one point, she slumped over the table in mild frustration.
But quickly forced herself to cheer up.
"…Whatever. I should eat first."
She stood up and placed pasta and coffee on the table.
At that moment, there was a knock at the door.
A voice called from outside—it was me.
Lenas immediately brightened up and said, "Come in!"
Her friend, a mage, entered the room.
"You still haven't figured them out?"
Lenas smiled bitterly.
"…No. I have no idea how to use them."
The mage glanced at the cards on the table, then at her.
"Also, it seems the Demon King's seal has weakened recently. Dungeons and monsters have been acting strangely."
The moment she said that—
The bread on the table suddenly disappeared.
As if it had been "pulled away" by some force.
At the same time, one of the cards faintly lit up, glowing softly.
Lenas stood up abruptly.
"…That was just now… the bread got sealed?"
A brief silence filled the room.
"Wait…"
Lenas' eyes suddenly sharpened.
"What you just said… was that a trigger condition?"
The mage frowned, recalling her words.
"Seal… weakening of the Demon King's seal…"
She paused.
"The keyword… is 'seal'?"
They began experimenting.
First, with objects on the table.
Books, utensils, even small pieces of bread.
Whenever the concept of "sealing" was clearly mentioned, the cards would faintly glow and absorb the object.
Each success made the cards feel more "alive," radiating increasingly stable magical energy.
The mage, Lyria, suddenly had an idea.
She looked at the cat sleeping in the corner of the room.
"…If even living beings can be sealed…"
The cat looked up.
"Meow?"
The cards trembled slightly.
Lenas froze instantly.
"No no no no."
She quickly put the cards away.
"We should definitely not try that yet…"
The mage nodded.
"Agreed. Sealing living beings is too dangerous. Let's continue testing non-living objects first."
And so, they systematically tested:
Weapons
Magic scrolls
Everyday items
Food
Each successful seal made the cards glow clearer and more defined.
A certain rule… was beginning to emerge.