The Tentacle Monster

Zhou Ke coughed lightly. "Remember the only survivor of Russian roulette at magic level 43?"

"Back then, there was an assassin from the Skull Society trying to kill an ordinary freshman."

The girl waited politely for him to finish.

"Exactly! I was the one yesterday who—"

"Raaagh—!" The freakish man let out a furious roar.

Before Zhou Ke could finish his sentence, the monster suddenly accelerated, charging straight toward the two of them!!!

"Sorry, tell me later!" The girl instantly pushed his arm aside and rushed forward.

The tentacled freak locked his gaze onto the silver-haired girl the moment he saw her.

Then, he let out another hollow voice: "Target acquired for elimination!"

Huh?

Hearing the monster's words, Zhou Ke froze for a moment.

Target acquired?

Was this girl really the tentacle monster's target?

Does the Skull Society have this many people to kill at once?

Zhou Ke stood rooted in place, sensing the girl's exasperated gaze from ahead. He suddenly felt a little awkward.

[Beep— Divine Card JOKER, ability activation condition fulfilled.]

?

Why did the Divine Card trigger?

Zhou Ke clearly remembered the shrill voice that spoke when he first obtained the JOKER Divine Card:

[Ability: Possesses the abilities of all other playing cards.]

[Activation condition: Hidden.]

The ability's activation condition wasn't disclosed.

But now, somehow, the ability had activated.

[Randomly drawing Divine Card ability—]

The voice was still shrill, unmistakably distinctive.

Zhou Ke recalled that the owner of this voice called itself [The Joker God].

In this situation, drawing a combat-oriented ability would undoubtedly be better.

Honestly, Zhou Ke really hoped he could pull a cool, flashy battle ability.

That way, he could elegantly slay the monster, save everyone on the train, and bask in countless awestruck gazes.

He stared intently at the Divine Card in his hand.

Just like when he first obtained it, Zhou Ke watched as the card flipped in midair, transforming into another card.

Seven of Hearts.

[Divine Card: Seven of Hearts]

[Skill: Read the thoughts of any person.]

[After use, this Divine Card reverts to JOKER.]

Huh? Mind-reading? Could it get any more useless?

Zhou Ke was speechless. To put it bluntly, in a situation where they were under attack by a monster, this ability was practically… worthless.

[Read the thoughts of any person.]

Whose thoughts was he supposed to read? The monster's? Did that tentacle freak even count as a person?

But he quickly accepted it.

After all, the ability was drawn randomly.

Not getting one suited to the current situation was only natural.

In the blink of an eye, the monster had closed in on them.

The silver-haired girl activated her Divine Card ability again, instantly summoning a longsword, which she swung hard at the monster.

But the tentacle freak reacted swiftly. It raised one of its left tentacles and swatted the blade away.

Before she could recover, it lifted a second tentacle from its right sleeve and thrust it toward her body.

The girl trembled slightly, as if giving up, and closed her eyes.

At that moment, Zhou Ke took a few steps [closer].

Since he wasn’t the assassination target, there was no need to worry.

Getting closer shouldn’t be a problem.

Crack.

Just as Zhou Ke passed by the monster…

The tentacle freak’s hand froze midair.

Its head tilted slightly, the hooded face turning toward Zhou Ke.

Zhou Ke thought he saw a pair of glowing eyes beneath the hood, staring straight at him.

?

Zhou Ke blinked.

You’re here to kill someone—why are you looking at me?

The tentacle freak’s withered mouth opened again:

"Target acquired. Changing elimination subject."

It instantly turned, its gaze locked onto Zhou Ke.

!!!

Wait—what?!

Wasn’t the girl your target just a second ago? Why switch to me now?

It lashed out with a tentacle, striking toward Zhou Ke at a speed he couldn’t possibly evade.

Swish!!!

The expected pain never came.

The girl stood in the distance, her hand still in a throwing motion.

She had somehow produced another longsword and hurled it at the tentacle freak, throwing its attack off course.

Zhou Ke didn’t know how to react.

"Don’t just stand there—run!"

The girl shouted from afar.

In an instant, the tentacle freak’s arm swung down like a thousand-pound weight toward Zhou Ke.

Zhou Ke barely managed to leap to the right.

Boom!!!

It missed his head by a hair’s breadth.

The tentacle freak moved fast, charging at Zhou Ke and attacking again.

Zhou Ke, now on the ground, rolled away just in time.

He zigzagged through the train car, drawing screams from the passengers.

But the tentacle freak ignored everyone else, fixated solely on chasing Zhou Ke.

"Big octopus, what did I ever do to you? Why does the Skull Society want me dead?" Zhou Ke thought bitterly as he dodged.

"[Spade] shatters armies, [Queen] forges divine arms!"

The girl in the distance swiftly drew her Divine Card and shouted again.

Whoosh!!

This time, she conjured a spear and hurled it with all her might at the tentacle freak.

The monster dodged with a sidestep.

The spear shattered the subway window, eliciting more screams.

Zhou Ke finally had a brief moment to catch his breath.

Divine Card ability…

From what Zhou Ke had observed, her ability seemed to be summoning any weapon she desired without limit.

Compared to his, that was clearly far more suited for combat.

But…

He wasn’t just some clueless civilian anymore. He was a member of the Divine Card Academy now—he needed to learn how to use his ability.

His JOKER had turned into the Seven of Hearts. Even if mind-reading wasn’t helpful in this situation, it was better than nothing!

Following her example, Zhou Ke raised his Divine Card:

"Do I have to recite some weird poetic line too?"

"Whatever—I’m using my Divine Card!"

In an instant, a strange sensation surged through Zhou Ke.

He felt magic energy flowing through his body.

It was the same feeling as when he used the King of Clubs during the exam.

At the same time, an incantation spilled naturally from his lips, as if he’d always known it:

"[Heart] steals souls, [Seven] unveils truth."

He could feel the ability taking effect.

Suddenly, everything before Zhou Ke’s eyes seemed veiled in a faint crimson haze.

A chaotic, murky voice flooded his mind.

[Execute elimination.]

[Following orders:]

[Royal blood… eradicate.]

Zhou Ke froze again.

Was this… the tentacle freak’s thoughts?

He recalled what the girl had said earlier.

This monster was a killing machine trained by the Skull Society, acting only on orders.

"Royal blood eradicate"? Was that its kill order?

Royal blood… did that mean royal lineage?

A hypothesis instantly formed in his mind.

The tentacle freak didn’t stop attacking.

Zhou Ke relied on his agility, dodging left and right to evade the monster’s two flailing limbs.

Boom!!!

His back slammed against the subway railing, the cold bite of metal sending a shiver down his spine.

Zhou Ke finally managed to put some distance between himself and the tentacled monstrosity.

But then...

That dark, guttural voice oozed through the air again:

[Royal blood, erase.]

[Target out of range. Switching focus.]

The creature's tentacles instantly retracted.

Then lashed toward the silver-haired girl instead.

The girl startled, leaping backward to create distance.

The moment the gap widened, Zhou Ke heard the monster's inner voice again—

identical to before.

[Target out of range. Switching focus.]

In a flash, the tentacled horror redirected its assault toward Zhou Ke.

!

Could it be...?

Zhou Ke began piecing together the logic behind the creature's attacks.