9 of Diamonds
While the three were running ahead, they did actually end up seeing a cage in the distance holding onto a strange animal. However, it had to be noted that the cages themselves were many many times larger than necessary, to the point it was basically an entire habitat.
There was so much space it was almost like they weren't even caged in the first place.
The one that was caged inside in the first place was a gorilla that was almost four meters tall. Along with that, it had a total of six arms, making it look like an asura. As of now, it was just leisurely roaming around the grass, minding its own business.
Jack found the lock pad soon enough and saw its label.
6 of Clubs.
The lock pad itself had an indentation below it where a card could fit in, prompting Jack to try it out. However, the card was ejected right after. An annoyed voice came from above a tree next to him right after.
"What are you doing? I gave you a card with 9 of diamonds, not 6 of clubs. Even if you used a 3, the suits are still different!"
It was the man covered from head to toe in a suit. Jack scratched the side of his head.
"Sorry, I was just curious!"
The man let out a sigh before shooing him away.
"Just hurry up and go find the cage. While you have an hour, that doesn't mean you should use the entire damn hour. You will lose the game if it reaches that point, so show some anxiety!"
Jack pursed his lips before nodding.
"Ok, ok!"
Although Jessica and Mia were put off by his rude attitude, there definitely wasn't anything good about just wasting time, so they didn't say anything. Jack hurried on through the fields, encountering several other different strange animals that were more on the level of monsters.
There was a snake with three tails and heads that branched off the main body that was labeled as a 3 of hearts. As they continued on, they saw a rather giant Leopard with three tails labeled as a 7 of spades.
By the time twenty minutes had passed, they encountered their first diamonds suit.
It was a 5 of diamonds, and inside was a bipedal monkey that was the size of a human. If someone was looking at them from a distance, then they would probably think it was actually a human.
Jessica lifted up the padlock while raising her eyebrows.
"Jack! You could do this one. It doesn't seem like it would be too hard..."
However, Jack didn't take a second look, skipping ahead.
"That's the wrong number, silly!"
Mia's eyelid twitched.
"But you could just use a playing card so that you fight this one instead!"
Jack looked over his shoulder with a smile.
"But I got a higher number by chance! It would be a waste not to use it."
Although Jessica and Mia still felt the urge to protest, they were also too winded to continue speaking. Instead, they decided to just chase after him rather than convince him otherwise.
Jack himself was panting heavily by the thirty-minute mark, unable to really get himself to run any further. As he was taking a break, Jessica and Mia caught up to him, though they weren't in much of a better position. While panting, Mia glanced at Jack.
"Your stamina increased by so much compared to just a few days ago."
Jack let out a chuckle while putting a finger on his chin.
"Maybe it's just because I've been so excited these days!"
The man in a suit suddenly appeared above a tree next to them.
"If you really intend on going straight to the 9 of diamonds, then you can just go that way. It's right behind that hill."
He pointed over, prompting Jack to nod a few times.
"Ah, thanks!"
Mia blinked a few times, feeling a bit curious.
"Why are you telling us this?"
The man clicked his tongue.
"In the first place, the time limit is there so you don't just screw around trying to find the easiest option. But if you're going to go to the most difficult one anyway, I might as well just save everybody some time."
Mia nodded absentmindedly.
"Ah, I guess that makes sense."
Jack got up and hurriedly rushed over past the hill, prompting the other two to follow behind him, though they were quite exhausted at this point. Once Jack made it over the hill, to his surprise he saw that Emma was already there, just waiting.
With a smile, she waved to them.
"You've made it!"
Jack nodded a few times.
"Yeah!"
Mia and Jessica trailed behind, eyes widening in surprise when they saw that Emma was somehow ahead of them. Though their eyes were soon drawn towards the cage, and more specifically the thing inside it.
It was a three-meter-tall animal that had half the body of a fox, while the other half was a coyote. Though at the neck, it split off to become two heads, one representing each respective half.
Although three meters by itself wasn't too high, it was far longer than it was tall, making it a rather huge monster. However, Jack was quite unfazed by it. He ran up to the padlock, which indeed displayed a 9 of diamonds, and went to unlock it before thinking about anything else.
He did it with so little hesitation, most of them didn't even realize he had unlocked the cage until the large metal bars on the front side began sinking into the ground. The two-headed beast suddenly snapped to face Jack, staring him down.
In turn, Jack looked back at it with an innocent smile.
Jessica and Mia both were a tad bit freaked out when they saw what Jack had to face. If nothing else, the size was rather tremendous, making it quite the foe to beat. From what they've seen, while they knew Jack had a strong regenerative power, he also didn't have any real offensive tactic other than his higher than average strength.
In other words, this wasn't something Jack had a real way of beating.
However, it was already too late for them to do anything about it. In the end, they could only yell out their desperate encouragement.
"Don't die, Jack!"
"Be careful!"
As for Emma, she was noticeably looking on with interest. Her eyes were a tad bit wider than usual as though she didn't want to miss a single detail. On the other hand, the man in the suit watched on curiously, though he did seem to be on the verge of losing interest.
The two heads of the beast both silently bared their fangs before rushing over to Jack. Their speed outmatched Jack's by several times, and when they inevitably met, a bang resounded.
And Jack was violently thrown back like he was just a pebble, amid blood scattered into the air.
Emma raised an eyebrow in surprise, clearly not expecting such an outcome. As for the man in a suit, he simply shook his head and sighed.
"Another fool that doesn't understand their limits. Hm... who should go next, then?"
On the other hand, Mia and Jessica were both concerned, but neither of them thought that Jack was dead. After all, he had survived far worse already.
Jack was flying through the air with a smile, seemingly unaware that his arm was bent the wrong way, while the bottom half of one leg was just hanging uselessly. He let out a laugh, and at the same time, his Joker card shot out of his deck and covered his face in the form of a mask.
As he was in the air, his bent arm and broken knee gradually mended themselves. By the time he landed, other than being bloody and some flesh wounds, he was more or less fine.
While letting out a laugh, he pulled out a katana from his storage deck and began rushing forth again.
Emma let out a hum of interest while narrowing her eyes rather intensely. On the other hand, the man in the suit turned around with surprise, rubbing his chin rather intently.
"Eh? What is a Joker doing here?... Was there one that young too?..."
The two-headed beast was visibly surprised that Jack had gotten back up, but bared its teeth and got ready to rush forward again. However, this time, it went in a semicircle instead of a straight one.
As for Jack, he took a few looks at the katana, before realizing he had absolutely no idea what he was doing with it. After a moment of contemplation, he stopped in place before holding it far behind him.
Then, he threw it with a surprising amount of strength.
The katana shot through the air while spinning, audibly giving off a strong gust of wind. Although Jack was aiming for the head, due to the two-headed beast moving, it hit the body instead.
A long line of blood splashed up high in the sky, while both heads of the beast cried out in agony.
The actual wound wasn't too large compared to the rest of the body, only being a line less than a meter thick.
However, the katana itself had already pierced into the organs. Though since the beast was still standing, it appeared that nothing vital was hit. At least not that badly.
It was then that the coyote head looked at Jack angrily, before lifting its head up and howling loudly.
Then, massive trees began to grow out of the ground all around the place.