1
Hello, everyone. I am an R card in a card collection game.
This game takes place in a Western fantasy setting, with three factions to choose from: the Church of Light, the Church of Darkness, and the Free Alliance. Of course, to ensure everyone occasionally bands together in harmony, there’s a common enemy called “Monsters”—just like every game’s traditional setup. As the “Chosen One” the player starts off by waking up with amnesia on the outskirts of a town, where a kind-hearted Holy Knight finds them while out on a mission, triggering the first beginner’s quest.
Yes, I am that kind-hearted Holy Knight.
To be precise, I am the game’s beginner guide. My sole purpose is to help players pick a username and activate the battle panel. I’m so unimportant that I wasn’t even given a face by the artist, nor a name. I only have five lines of dialogue:
– “You’re awake?”
– “Watch out, it’s a monster!”
– “Nice moves, what’s your name?”
– “Me? I’m just an ordinary knight.”
– “Let’s go. I’ll take you back to Xinshi City.”
After saying these five lines, I would become the player’s first R card, destined to be eternally stored away. After all, the first main quest rewards you with an SR card, which is the one actually useful for battles. Unlike me, a one-time-use utility card, with all my stats lazily set to 1, even weaker than a regular R card.
That was how things were supposed to go.
However, on the first day of the server launch, something unexpected happened. Due to a slip of the programmer’s hand, I accidentally got upgraded from an R card to an SSR card. By the time the developers realized, the news about starting the game with a free SSR card had already spread. At this point, telling the players it was just a bug…
“We’d definitely get killed,” sighed the developer as they patted me on the shoulder. “We held an emergency meeting and decided to just roll with it. So—congratulations, you’re now the [SSR Holy Knight Captain]!”
Me: “…”
And just like that, I was forced to become a real SSR card.
2
There’s a pretty big difference between R cards and SSR cards. For example…
I stared blankly at my stat panel, which was now adorned with shiny gold borders, showing off my pathetically lazy five 1’s.
The developer laughed awkwardly, “We didn’t have time to change the stats… but we’ve already had the artist create a new model for you! It’ll be added to the shop with the next update!”
I was puzzled. “Why didn’t you have time to change my stats but found time to draw new skins?”
“Well… uh… anyway, congratulations, Captain, you’ve got a face now!!!”
“…”
I reached up to touch the full-face helmet on my shoulders and, sure enough, I could take it off now. Curious, I removed the helmet and used its reflective surface to check out my new face—what appeared was a golden-haired, blue-eyed, incredibly handsome face that embodied the very essence of a Holy Knight. Even the distorted reflection on the curved surface couldn’t diminish his overwhelming attractiveness. I tried making a basic smile, and the reflection responded with a radiant smile that nearly blinded me.
“…This is way too much, isn’t it?!” I stared in horror at the hidden stat labeled [Charisma], which had jumped from 1 to 8. “Isn’t the max value only 10?!”
“Well, it’s an SSR after all. It can lack in stats, but the charisma value has to be high…” The developer mumbled and then pulled out a string of data from their pocket, slapping it onto me. “Oh, by the way, this face comes with a new skin.”
After the data loaded, my canned armor instantly changed style. Not only did it become thin and shiny, with gems embedded everywhere, but the cape now dragged on the ground. Oddly enough, parts of my chest, waist, and thighs were exposed, making my eyelid twitch. “…This thing has no protective function at all, does it?!”
“But it’ll sell well! This set is worth 168 bucks!” The developer argued confidently.
Me: “…”
“Ahem, look on the bright side. You’re already one of the more covered SSRs. Just take a look at the Dark Saint—he’s only wearing a scarf…”
“…”
“Oh, right. To match the prestige of an SSR card, we’ve added a hidden identity for you…” The developer quickly changed the subject before I could say anything, gesturing grandly as they pulled up a projection. “…And we’ve even added you to the new opening animation!”
The opening animation wasn’t anything special, just a simple introduction to the continent ruled by the Gods of Light and Darkness, the history of the two factions clashing, and the main storyline of the continent being plagued by monsters. Then the background music changes, and one day, both the God of Light and the God of Darkness send down an oracle—a prophecy announcing the arrival of the “Savior” who would completely defeat the monsters. The Pope of the Light faction orders the Holy Knights to search for the prophesied “Savior” while the Dark faction sends out the Dark Saint to do whatever it takes to recruit the “Savior”. Even the Free Alliance, mainly composed of non-human races who don’t believe in either god, receives the news and starts searching for this “Savior”—which is when all the SSRs make their appearance.
Of course, we all know that the “Savior” is the player, the main character of the game.
Rewatching the animation, I noticed that the Light faction had secretly added a few extra seconds of footage. Originally, the scene showed the Pope standing before the glowing statue of the God of Light, eyes closed as he received the oracle, before turning to command the Holy Knight standing slightly behind him: “Find him. He is our only hope.” Then the scene would cut to the Dark faction. But in the new animation, the Holy Knight, who originally only had a blurry silhouette, now knelt down on one knee. The camera then shifted, revealing a close-up of a golden-haired, blue-eyed face, lingering for a full two seconds, allowing viewers to see every single eyelash before the Holy Knight bowed his head and said, “Yes.”
Me: “…”
Isn’t this overkill just to sell a skin?
This is the only full face close-up in the entire plot! Not even the Dark Saint, who is officially listed with a max charisma score of 10, gets this kind of special treatment!
“Hey, since you jumped ahead and became the game’s first skin release, you’ve gotta have some prestige…”
I was a bit touched. “You guys have worked hard.”
The developer waved it off. “Not at all, not at all. Besides, you’ll be killed off in the plot soon, so we won’t need to add too many more scenes…”
Me: “…”
Wait, what did I just hear? “…Killed off in the plot?!”
“…Ahaha, the maintenance is about to end. Delaying the server opening means we’ll have to compensate the players with in-game currency, so I’d better get going. If you have any other questions, let’s talk next time—”
“Hey?! Wait—”
He vanished.
Me: “…”
3
So now, not only am I an SSR card, but I’m also an SSR card that’s about to be killed off in the story.
Resigned, I sighed and quickly switched my skin back to my original canned Holy Knight look before the server restarted. The next second, the world emitted a low rumble as everything revived, and brilliant sunlight poured down without any hindrance. I reflexively raised a hand to shield myself from the blinding light, then froze.
—This isn’t the outskirts of Xinshi City. This is the headquarters of the Light faction, the Great Cathedral of Light in the holy capital, Kaerya.
According to the game’s lore, all Holy Knights have visited the Pope here at some point, but in reality, I’d never set foot in this place. I was just a beginner guide; my daily activity area was limited to the outskirts of Xinshi City, where I could only say generic NPC lines like, “Haha, we meet again” or, “The weather’s nice today” if players talked to me…
But as I looked around, I realized I was incredibly familiar with this place. The fully unlocked map further confirmed that this wasn’t just a baseless feeling—I had access to the entire cathedral, not just the surface level but also the complex network of underground tunnels.
A chill ran down my spine.
—Damn it, I forgot to ask the developer what kind of hidden identity they gave me!
Just as I was staring blankly at the mini-map, the weight on my neck suddenly lightened. It was only then that I realized someone had removed my massive full-face helmet from behind!
I didn’t react at first—after all, I used to not have a face, and the helmet was basically my head, so it wasn’t something that could be taken off.
But now things were different!
My new face was worth 168 bucks—how could I let someone see it for free?!
I hurriedly turned around, only to find a white-haired boy, barely tall enough to reach my chest, looking up at me. It was none other than the [SR Light Saint].
—Yes, the Light Saint is only an SR card; the Light Pope is the SSR, opposite to their rivals in the Dark faction.
“I knew it was you,” the Light Saint said, staring at me with a complicated expression in his golden eyes. “Alvin, you shouldn’t have come back.”
I was taken aback.
—Wait, so the devs even gave me a name?
The Light Saint handed the helmet back to me. As I reached out to take it, he added, “Don’t come back again. This isn’t a place for heretics.”
My movements froze.
Wait, what’s with this ‘heretic’ thing?! Didn’t the developers say I was the Holy Knight Captain?!
‘Heretic’ is the name of a buff in the game, usually given to characters who defect from their faction and can’t be removed. In this game, there are three factions. After completing the first main quest, players are forced to choose between the Light and Dark factions. If they want to join the Free Alliance, they need to complete a special quest called “Defection” and receive this buff before joining the hidden faction…
I thought about the Light Saint’s strange actions earlier and realized something. I touched the spot where he had just touched—a small wound left from a battle with monsters.
—After all, if I don’t get hit by monsters, how will the player activate the battle panel, right?
Originally, this battle damage should have shown up on my helmet, but perhaps because I now had a face, it transferred to my face instead. The Light Saint is a healing card, and he had clearly used a healing skill on me just now, but the wound hadn’t healed…
The special thing about the “Heretic” buff is that the person who has it is rejected by divine power. If you defect from the Light faction, you’ll be rejected by the God of Light, and all healing skills based on divine light will become ineffective.
Thinking of this, I quickly opened my status panel to check—
There’s no “Curse” buff.
Since I’m not a heretic, then how…
Wait.
I looked closer at my status panel and found a strange icon—‘Curse.’ The description for this status was just three question marks.
Now I was even more confused—apparently, this newly minted [SSR Holy Knight Captain] of mine was being rejected by divine light because of some unknown curse. But the Light Saint thought I was a heretic, yet I could still receive important missions like finding the “Savior” from the Light Pope…
Before I could figure it out, a powerful force suddenly pressed down on my shoulders, forcing me to kneel. At the same time, beams of white light shot up from the ground around me, quickly intertwining to form a cage. The Light Saint turned around sharply to look at me, then gazed past me to someone behind me, calling out in shock, “…Teacher?”
Huh? The highest-level SSR of the Light faction is here too?!
I wanted to turn around, but the pressure on me was so heavy that I couldn’t move my head. If it weren’t for this can-like armor supporting me, I might have already collapsed on the ground. All I could see were a pair of white boots walking from behind me to my front, stopping for a few seconds. Then, a gentle yet cold male voice spoke.
“Take him away.”
With those words, the light cage shattered, reforming into chains that bound my wrists in front of me. The heavy pressure vanished, and I was finally able to lift my head. But before I could see the Light Pope’s face, the sound of clanking footsteps reached me from behind. Something heavy slammed into the back of my neck with a gust of wind. I lowered my head from the blow and instinctively turned to see who hit me.
It was a Holy Knight guard with a higher-grade model than I had before—at least he had a face, though it was a very generic one. His hand was still raised as if about to strike me again, but he seemed surprised that I hadn’t been knocked unconscious by the weak-point attack. His expression was one of shock.
—I’m a beginner guide. During the battle with monsters, I help players activate the battle panel. To reduce the chances of bugs during combat, the programmers lazily gave me the same setup as my stat panel, so I can’t be stunned, knocked back, or even die—I only have 1 HP, so it can’t go any lower. Even if a player logs off during the tutorial and leaves me to get hit by monsters for seven or eight hours, I’ll still be standing there, ready to continue the battle tutorial seamlessly when they return.
Under my emotionless gaze, the Holy Knight guard took a step back. His expression shifted from shock to disbelief, and then, as if about to cry, he trembled as he called out, “Captain Alvin…”
Me: “…”
Huh? So, I really am the Holy Knight Captain now?
Another Holy Knight guard, identical except for his face, walked over. He looked at me with disgust and said coldly, “He’s no longer our captain. He’s just a disgrace to the Holy Knight Order!”
Me: “…”
So, what kind of weird character backstory did the developers give me…
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