"Ah! A Golden Legendary!!!"
Pandaria Continent, Vale of Eternal Blossoms, Temple of the Seven Stars—the neutral capital city open to outsiders.
Oscar stood outside a shop, surrounded by wrapping paper littered across the ground by this unhygienic, uncultured dwarf brother.
The dwarf's face was filled with delight as he held a card high in both hands, as though it were some legendary artifact famed throughout the world.
Well... yes, it really was just an enchanted card with an exquisite illustration. It depicted Al'Akir, the former Elemental Lord of Air, in lifelike detail, while the blank space on the front had been filled with orange.
This was a tabletop card game invented by the Pandaren after they reentered the world, called "Hearthstone: Heroes of Azeroth."
The card game quickly became popular across the world. In taverns and inns where adventurers gathered in large numbers, Hearthstone had become the mainstream card game.
The cards featured all the famous figures currently known in the World of Azeroth, as well as ordinary character cards representing various professions, such as Goldshire Guards, Leper Gnomes, Drunken Dwarves, and so on.
Their rarity tiers were then carefully determined according to their strength in reality. The more famous and powerful a person was, the fewer cards depicting them were printed.
As the game's inventors, the Pandaren made a fortune. After signing distribution agreements with the major Goblin consortiums, Hearthstone card pack counters appeared in Goblin shops all over the world.
A pack of cards cost ten silver coins. Everyone could afford this cheap form of entertainment, satisfy their urge to collect, and experience the thrill of commanding famous figures in battle. They were only cards, sure, but why not?
As the Fat Lord and lord of Stratholme, Oscar had settled down considerably after getting married and rarely went