The Master of Cards Chapter 62: Relaxing

Five in the evening, Alex had walked up to the gates of an imposing mansion that he had visited before. This was Lily's house, the mansion of the Hendricks Family.

Now that Alex had entered the Cave Dimension, he wasn't as ignorant as he used to be earlier. He understood that Hendricks Family was a relatively powerful family in the Family Alliance.

The gates opened for Alex and he calmly entered and was led to the tea garden where Lily was waiting for him.

When Lily saw Alex, her eyes trembled. "Alex, you seem to have undergone a tremendous change!"

Alex smiled. "I have? How exactly?"

Lily looked at him for some time. "The atmosphere around you seems to have completely changed. I can't see through you."

Alex laughed. "I got a little bit stronger than before. How are you? How have the past couple of months been?" He asked Lily.

Lily sighed. "The university is really strict. The past couple of months has been nothing but learning card theory, understanding the card dimension, studying about herbs and beasts as well as practicing combat." She prepared coffee for the two of them and then sat down.

"There are many strong individuals in the freshman year, and now we are preparing to enter the Card Dimension. Everyone is slightly tensed because we don't know which shelter we would end up in." She said.

Alex nodded. "Are you joining the Academic Alliance then? What about the Family Alliance?" He asked.

"I am joining both. The Family Alliance doesn't restrict us from joining the academic alliance, army alliance or the adventure house. Any other organization is not allowed." Lily said.

Alex nodded, understanding flashing on his face. "Are these four organizations allied?" He asked.

Lily shook her head. "No. But a lot of people in these alliances are also members of other alliances, so the four are connected together in an intricate web."

Lily changed the topic. "Have you been to the Card Dimension? You told me you were going to join the Special Division, but you never did and then you disappeared."

Alex nodded. "I discovered I had a physical limitation that made it unfeasible to join the Special Department and I entered the Card Dimension. I am at the Highland shelter."

After the two conversed for a while, Alex had a better understand of Star University. Ending the conversation, Alex left the mansion bidding farewell to Lily and went to the city center. He decided to shop for some clothes for himself.

As he entered a store and was picking up clothes, he heard a voice calling out behind him. "Alex?"

Alex turned around to see who it was and was surprised. It turned out to be his card tutor in high school, Tutor Kim.

"Tutor Kim?" Alex asked with a surprised smile.

"Just call me Kim, I am not your tutor anymore, besides we aren't that far off in age." Kim laughed.

"Chance meeting you here." Alex nodded.

Kim looked at Alex. "You never attended card classes after that incident at school, but I saw your exam results. You actually performed really well, why didn't you apply to university?"

Alex laughed. "I wasn't planning to join university, I spend most of my time in the card dimension now. I joined the Adventure House."

"So you joined Adventure House. Which shelter are you in?" Kim asked.

"Highland Shelter." Alex replied.

"Oh? I too am at highland shelter! May be we should team up to explore." Kim said with some excitement at the coincidence.

Alex nodded. "Sure. We can do that."

Kim sighed. "Actually, I've only been to the Shelter twice and only explored a little bit outside with my university group once. I wish to explore more, but my group from university is always cautious."

Alex nodded. He didn't know how to reply. Everyone had their own pace, he imagined to himself.

After the chance meeting and talking for a while, Alex bought his clothes and returned home after having a good dinner outside. Taking a break like this really calmed his mood and soothed him a bit. Alex scrolled through some of the other messages he had received on his phone in these days.

Surprisingly Bill Flynn had found his number as had Joyce Mills. The guy had been pretty dismissive of him in the beginning, but now Alex seemed to see that Joyce was the most eager in forging connections with him out of the young masters.

Alex returned to the dojo. The month of uninhabitation had left the place dusty. Alex took some time to clean the dojo and fix the signs. He hated cleaning before, but now, it felt like a therapeutic break.

After a good day, Alex decided to rest. Tomorrow, the Painful Vibration would arrive and he would begin practicing this ancient art.

The next day, Alex woke up and went for a run. When he returned two hours later, he freshened up a d began having breakfast, when he saw a large truck park in front of the dojo.

Puzzled, Alex walked out. "What is going on?" He asked at the group of five people who had jumped out of the truck.

"Are you Mr. Alex? We are from the Adventure House." One of the men said.

Alex nodded. The man then spoke again. "We have come to deliver your purchase." The man took out a small parcel and handed it over to Alex. Alex guessed it was the scroll he had purchased, but the man didn't seem like he was done.

He motioned to the other four and they opened the truck and took out a huge bronze bell out, carrying it into the dojo.

Alex was shocked. "What are you doing?"

The delivery man was confused. "We are delivering the items you purchased."

Alex looked at the receipt, and it simply said Painful Vibration. He showed it to the delivery person who understood and nodded.

"This Painful Vibration is a set of the scroll and the bell. You can tell us where to hand the bell, we will set it up for you." The delivery man said.

Alex was stunned. However, he calmed down and pointed to the large podium for matches. "You can set it up to hang at the center of the podium."

Chapter end