Chapter 9: CH 8 – Lesson Learned

*Mage Class has been changed to Magic Class and Adventurer Guild has been changed to Adventure Guild.

After waiting for 30 minutes, Luke and his party arrived. A lot of other parties have also gathered in the town square by now.

"Ah, Miss Veronica, you look beautiful today." Axel Blaze praised the woman as soon as he saw her.

"Hey, hey, are you trying to hit on our wizard? Be careful she is already taken." Max put his arm across Axel Blaze.

Axel Blaze saw Luke glaring at him. He scratched his cheek in embarrassment, "You don't need to hit on a woman to praise her beauty do you? I was just being honest, hehe."

Veronica giggled listening to Axel Blaze.

"Is everyone prepared?" Luke asked from the side.

"Yes leader, we are all ready." Max answered. The rest nodded.

A tall man, supposedly the leader, in-charge of the quest, climbed on the bench near the fountain and called for attention. He explained their quest and the roles every party has to play. After that everyone marched towards the forest where the Orcs settlement is.

As Axel Blaze was following his group suddenly a man from another party whispered in his ear, "You seem to be new in this town, are you a porter?" Axel Blaze was surprised to hear the man whispering but he nodded.

"Be careful of this party, especially Luke and Veronica, they both-" Before the man could finish speaking he was interrupted by Veronica.

"Hey Jeff, what are you whispering to our porter? Don't you party already have a porter? Don't try to snatch ours." She warned while covering Axel Blaze. She then pulled Axel Blaze's hand and took him away. Axel Blaze followed, somewhat confused and somewhat blushing.

The man, Jeff, snorted and went back to his party. Axel Blaze looked back at him to only read his lips telling him to be careful. This made Axel Blaze more confused.

"Don't listen to any gibberish that guy said. They are just jealous of our party and want to disrupt our harmony. It's not the first time they tried to do so." Veronica explained.

Axel Blaze, still confused, looked at Harth, the thief and saw him nodding. The guy with lack of presence and who rarely speaks confirming Veronica's words made Axel Blaze believe her as well.

"Don't worry, I am not a fool who will believe whatever others say." Axel Blaze affirmed.

"By the way, you seem to have visited the store near the Commerce Guild. They have all the necessary stuff required for adventure. Did you buy potions and other medicines? You may require them in this quest." Veronica asked.

With the money he currently has, if Axel Blaze buys any potions, he will have to sleep on the streets. But he can't say that to Veronica.

He nodded, "Yes I have bought whatever I thought was necessary."

Just a large bag that is.

Axel Blaze opened his Status Window.

[Status Window Upgrade 67.8%]

[Party]    [Friends]    [A560]    [Inventory]

The 'Party' button is created when you add a friend and they call you in a party. Right now Axel Blaze has 4 friends and he is in party with them. The members of Silver Wolf Party.

Yes! Our protagonist only has these 4 people in his friend list.

...

God, night stay is so expensive even in a shabby inn. And this upgrade thingy is so slow. Sigh!

"Hey beauty what's your name?" While resting in the middle of their journey, Axel Blaze approached a woman from another party eating her lunch.

A hunk of a man walked from the side, "Do you have any business with my sister."

"Ah, is she your sister?" Axel Blaze asked with surprise. The girl is slender and beautiful unlike her brother who is tall and bulky with a square face.

"She is really beautiful." Axel Blaze praised.

"I know. So?" The man breathed out hot air from his nostrils, threatening.

"So, nothing, nothing. Hehe, I was just passing by." Axel Blaze gulped and ran with his tail tucked between his legs.

"Humph!" The man snorted and joined his sister in her meal.

"Your sister will never get married if you keep chasing every man away. This guy wasn't that bad looking." A woman sleeping on the tree branch, mocked.

"Why don't you marry that man if you like his looks? I will decide what man is worthy of my sister." The man retorted.

The woman started snoring, ignoring the man.

...

The raid is supposed to be carried at night, so everyone is gathered around the Orc settlement, hiding behind bushes and rocks.

After a few assassins went in and slay the guard Orcs the battle ensued.

It's about 500 Orcs vs 50 adventurers.

"Fire Ball" Veronica shouted shooting a large fireball at a huge Orc holding a double bladed axe.

"Roar!!" The Orc roared upon getting hit by the Fire Ball and charged towards Veronica.

Slash! Suddenly a shadow appeared behind the Orc and slashed at its achilles tendon with a dagger leaving a shallow mark.

"Tch! It's too shallow." Harth clicked his tongue, vanishing into the darkness.

"Slash" Luke shouted and charged with his broad sword and clashed with the Orc's axe, stopping his charge towards Veronica. "Max!" He called.

"Here!—Taunt" The Orc's aggro shifted to Max and it hurled its axe on the shield Max was holding.

"A level 40 Orc King is too much for us, we should better leave it to the adventurers from the capital." Veronica suggested while drinking a Mana Potion.

"No way! It is our chance to make it big. I am not letting anyone get in our way." Luke denied and used various skills on the Orc King.

Max groaned, "I can't hold it much longer."

Looking at the troubled Max, Luke spat with frustration, "Ok let's fall back for now and heal up. We will attack again after that. Let another party aggro it till then. It's all fine till we land the last blow."

Following Luke's order everyone fell back. But on the way to safety they were attacked by normal Orcs. They couldn't get any rest.

At last Max and Harth defended while Luke and Veronica rejuvenated. Axel supplied them with water while dismantling the corps and collecting the drops in the bag.

"Hey porter, pass me a VIT potion." Suddenly Luke asked from behind.

Axel Blaze has thought of the possibility but he never expected to really be asked for potions. Though porters are paid for anything they supply, they are not obligated to do so. It is obvious for adventurers to carry their own supplies to avoid being on the mercy of others. After all, being an adventurer is a risky occupation. You can lose your life anytime.

He scratched his cheek with embarrassment, "Sorry but I used up all the VIT potions I had when I got surprise-attacked by a few Orcs on our way to the Orc King."

"What? Don't you dare lie, when did you get attacked by any Orcs? I killed all the Orcs which got in our way here." Luke rebuked.

"As I said, it was a surprise attack-" Axel Blaze tried to convince him but Luke snapped.

"You mean I let the Orcs pass behind me to attack you? You want to say I, the best Swordsman in Kat town can't even protect his own backline?" Luke pointed at himself.

"No-" Axel Blaze wanted to deny but Luke wouldn't let him speak.

"Don't you dare make any excuses. I knew it, we shouldn't have hired an unknown porter. These are all leeches who leech Experience Points in a party without offering anything in return. Fucking bastards." Luke cursed.

Axel Blaze was indeed attacked by a few Orcs which he managed to hold back till Max and Harth helped him. Luke must have seen it but he is denying it right now and Axel Blaze can't refute the party leader.

"Do you have any Mana Potions, or you drank those too?" Veronica asked from the side.

"Er..." Axel Blaze scratched his head, "Sorry p, I didn't buy any since I thought I won't need those."

"What's the use of a porter if they can't even provide necessary supplies?" Luke yelled.

He gritted his teeth, "That bitch receptionist, is this man her gigolo or what? I will kill him to get back at her." Luke raised his broadsword at Axel Blaze.

"Hey, leader, we need some help here." Suddenly Max shouted, breathing heavily.

You are reading story Card Collector [LitRPG] at novel35.com

"Help my ass. Get back here, let this porter fight. Didn't he say he can fight?" Luke spoke while enraged.

"Hey, will you be serious? He can only fight level 7 monsters. These Orcs are level 11 and up. Come on, my hands are giving up." Max begged for help.

"Tch!" Luke clicked his tongue and stood up. He glared at Axel Blaze, "Make sure to collect all the materials. I am counting our kills, if you miss even a single one-" He went to help Max without finishing his words.

Veronica stood up and joined the battle while Max and Harth stepped back to rest.

Axel Blaze handed them some water pouches and went to dismantle the corpses.

"Hey that's our corpse." Axel Blaze shouted at another porter dismantling the Orc Max and Harth has killed.

"Is your name written on it? Don't you know whoever dismantles a corpse keeps the items?— Where did this retard came from? Wasting my time." The man cursed, rushing to another corpse.

"What the fuck? There's such a thing." Axel Blaze staggered and hurried to dismantle whatever corpse he saw.

After hearing that he can dismantle any corpse no matter which party it belongs to, Axel Blaze went on full throttle. He got so immersed in the task that he unknowingly walked in the battle area of the Orc King.

This time there are 4 Orc Lords, supporting the Orc King. The battle is quite heated unlike before. There are about 7 adventurers engaging the Orc King while 15 adventurers are distracting the level 25 Orc Lords.

"Hey watch out." Along with a shout, Axel Blaze was pushed hard by someone from the side.

Axel Blaze walked several steps to the side before he tripped and fell. At the same moment a Lightning Bolt skill landed on the spot Axel Blaze was standing before.

"Are you alright?" A dark brown skinned man extended his hand to Axel Blaze.

Axel Blaze took his hand to stand up thanking him in the process.

"These Players are always careless about our lives. They really think of this world as a game. Fucking rascals!" The dark brown skin man cursed the guy who launched the Lightning Bolt skill, supposedly the leader in-charge of this quest.

"Player?" Axel Blaze looked confused. This is the first time he heard this word.

The dark brown skinned man looked at Axel Blaze, "Are you new to business?" He then again extended his hand, "I am Ahamad. What's your name?"

"Ahamad? The best porter of Kat Town?" Axel Blaze yelped with shock.

"Best porter? I only have a Porter Job. At the end of the day it's just another Non-Combat Class Job." Ahamad looked somewhat embarrassed.

"Ah." Axel Blaze instantly shook Ahamad's hand, "I am Axel Blaze. I became a porter yesterday." He introduced himself.

"I see, that's why you don't know about Players." Ahamad smiled slightly.

"Hey NPC porter, stop chatting and dismantle this Orc Lord." Suddenly a man from the leader in-charge's party called Ahamad.

"Yes Sir!" Ahamad replied back. "I have to go." He patted Axel Blaze's upper arm and went away.

"Player... NPC... What the fuck?" Axel Blaze stood confused as he got called by his own party who are surprisingly also there fighting an Orc Lord.

As Axel Blaze arrived at his position, Luke shouted while fighting the Orc Lord, "Hey porter, hand me your Rare weapon, my sword is too damaged."

"What?" Axel Blaze yelped with surprise. 

Luke didn't ask him to lend the weapon but to hand it over. Axel Blaze hesitated.

"What are you waiting for? Do you want me to die?" Luck shouted again.

He has no choice but to comply. Axel Blaze threw his short sword to Luke and Luke started fighting with it.

"I am only lending it to you, please return it after the quest, it is a gift from my grandfather." Axel Blaze added but got no reply. Well he can only hope now.

But things don't end there. Soon the armor set Axel Blaze was wearing got called for action—in Luke's hands.

Though Axel Blaze directly denied this time, Veronica vouched for Luke while affirming to Axel Blaze that Luke is only borrowing them. But the man using Axel Blaze's equipment never said so.

This is the first time Axel Blaze felt so helpless. Even though he has an inkling of what is going on, he can't fight back. He is powerless.

His only solace was that he is getting some Experience Points from this raid...

Damn it!

Upon checking his Status Window, Axel Blaze discovered that the Party button has disappeared and upon checking his friend list, there is only one name, Max.

"Hey!" Axel Blaze instantly called for Luke but the Silver Wolf party is now engaging the Orc King.

Axel Blaze tried to get close to talk with them, but random skill shots scared him away.

Axel Blaze hung his head waiting for the raid to complete. That's all he can do. He felt quite sad but this is not a place to cry.

But how dare he not cry? He has to cry!

Poor Axel Blaze was crying inside the inn room the next day night.

...

After the raid was done and the quest was complete. Axel Blaze confronted Luke and his party. There they decided to chat after returning to Kat Town, as it was near dawn and everyone felt tired. Again Axel Blaze could only comply.

But they didn't forget to check his inventory as per porter rules.

They were supposed to meet at the Adventure Guild in the afternoon, but Axel Blaze found no one there. Upon asking the receptionist guy, he told Axel Blaze to collect his reward at the Commerce Guild.

Axel Blaze went to the Commerce Guild but only got shouted at by the receptionist lady. She blamed him for his bad service and cursed him for degrading her name.

As for reward, he got -10 Reputation Points. Negative Reputation Points mean he has almost zero chance of being offered any work. His career as a porter ended as soon as it started. No matter how much Axel Blaze reasoned, no one was going to hear a nobody like him.

He waited in front of the Adventure Guild for the Silver Wolf Party to confront them but got beaten to a pulp by Luke and Harth in a dark alley. Veronica didn't forget to sprinkle salt on his injuries by mocking him and offering him money after looking at his balance of 560 amilots.

In all this bullying, only Max was unavailable.

Axel Blaze complained to the Adventure Guild to which the receptionist showed sympathy but due to Axel Blaze having no evidence they couldn't do anything about it.

As for the Commerce Guild, they have already closed their doors for him.

...

"Fucking unjust world! Fucking bullies! Fucking guilds! Fucking... Boohoo..." Axel Blaze sobbed and sobbed.

"I thought my bad days were over after leaving Meri Town. I will have a fresh start and make many friends. But... Sniff, sniff." He cried again.

"I knew it, no one can be trusted. The world is filled with selfish people. Fucking bastards! I will kill them all!" Axel Blaze cursed with snot jiggling through his nose.

Two sentences especially made Axel Blaze lose all hope in humanity. 'Only if you died from those Orcs, I wouldn't have to act like a villain to snatch your equipment, a poor bastard like you doesn't deserve such good equipment.' and 'Rather than berating us you should be thanking us, we hired you as a meat shield but you are still alive, aren't you?'

Yes, Luke intentionally let those Orcs escape to get rid of Axel Blaze and get his hands on his equipment.

Sitting in the bed, Axel Blaze wiped his face with the blanket, decorating it with his tears and snot. He gritted his teeth and shouted, "Luke, Veronica, Harth, you motherfuckers! Just you wait. Once I level up, I will feed you to the pigs."

"As for Max..." Axel Blaze frowned.

Yes, what about max?

"Hey, keep quiet! It's not your home." The inn owner shouted from the ground floor.

Suddenly Axel Blaze got a ping with a message from Max to meet him at the town's gate the next morning.

"Tomorrow morning? I am leaving the town tomorrow, what does he want?" Confused, Axel Blaze sent him a message asking for the reason. To which he got the reply to just meet him.

"This bastard! It's not some plan by Luke is it? Does he want to get rid of me out of town since I may ruin their reputation?" Axel Blaze snorted.

Again a ping appeared where Max affirmed to him that he isn't working with Luke without Axel Blaze asking. This made Axel Blaze more confused and he agreed to meet Max.

Well if anything happens I can just grab the legs of the gatekeepers.

No, I can't depend on anyone, I have learned my lesson.

Yes, I will bite them to death!

He went to sleep.

You can find story with these keywords: Card Collector [LitRPG], Read Card Collector [LitRPG], Card Collector [LitRPG] novel, Card Collector [LitRPG] book, Card Collector [LitRPG] story, Card Collector [LitRPG] full, Card Collector [LitRPG] Latest Chapter