The first thing Leon learned about a Domain was this—
It attracted attention.
Not immediately. Not loudly. But with inevitability, like blood dispersing through water.
Leon stood at the edge of the Dealer's Table, watching the Fracture Belt react. Dungeon fragments that once drifted aimlessly now adjusted their trajectories subtly, aligning just enough to remain within his Domain's influence.
Predators circled.
Not mindless ones.
Hunters.
His system window pulsed.
Domain Maintenance Cost Increasing.
External Observation Detected.
Leon frowned.
"Observation?"
The word felt heavier than hostile intent.
---
The first visitor didn't attack.
A figure stepped across the Domain boundary without resistance.
Humanoid. Tall. Cloaked in layered dungeon sigils that shifted continuously, never settling into a fixed pattern.
Leon felt the Gold Card tense.
Not threat.
Not ally.
An equal variable.
"You deal strangely," the figure said, voice echoing as if spoken from multiple directions.
Leon didn't respond immediately.
Gold Card remained idle.
Red stayed embedded.
Blue sustained the Domain's baseline.
Black slept.
"You're standing in my space," Leon said finally.
The figure laughed softly. "No. I'm standing at your table."
Leon's eyes narrowed.
"Who are you?"
The figure inclined its head. "An Observer. Once."
Once.
Leon didn't like that.
---
More presences gathered beyond the Domain's edge.
Silhouettes distorted by inconsistent rules. Entities formed from half-failed dungeon evolutions. Even a few unmistakably human shapes, watching from afar.
Bounty hunters didn't come this deep.
Which meant—
"Others like you?" Leon asked.
The Observer's sigils rippled. "Irregulars. System rejects. Domain holders who failed."
Leon's chest tightened.
"Failed how?"
"They overextended," the Observer said simply. "The system dislikes precedent."
Leon glanced at the Wild Card.
Of course it did.
---
The Observer stepped closer.
The Domain reacted, pressure increasing, cards humming in response.
"I'm not here to fight," the Observer said. "I'm here to measure."
Leon's lips curved slightly. "And if I don't like the result?"
The Observer paused.
"Then you'll try to erase me."
Leon raised a hand.
Gold Card lifted.
The Observer didn't move.
"You can try," it said calmly. "But you'll learn something unpleasant."
Leon lowered the card.
"Talk," he said.
---
"The system isn't a god," the Observer said. "It's an enforcement mechanism. Domains like yours create contradictions. Contradictions attract correction."
Leon nodded slowly. "Enforcers."
"Eventually," the Observer agreed. "But first come the scavengers. Those who feed on instability."
As if summoned by the words, the Domain shuddered.
A tear opened at its boundary.
Something massive pressed against it from the outside.
Leon felt Red Card strain.
Gold wavered.
Blue surged.
The Wild Card pulsed faintly.
The Observer smiled.
"Like that."
---
The thing forced its way through.
A colossal amalgamation of dungeon rules, its body layered with overlapping mechanics—regeneration, reflection, assimilation. A walking contradiction.
Leon breathed out.
"Finally," he said.
He moved.
Not forward.
Inward.
The Dealer's Table responded.
Gold zones tightened.
Red traps primed.
Blue anchors reinforced.
Leon placed a Gold Card directly beneath the creature.
Not stun.
Delay.
The monster's movement fractured, each step lagging behind intent.
Red followed.
Three placements.
Conditional.
When resistance exceeded threshold—
The explosion collapsed inward, tearing through layered defenses.
The creature roared.
Adapted.
Leon smiled wider.
"Good," he said. "You learn fast."
The Wild Card rose.
Black shimmered.
The system screamed.
Leon placed it at the heart of the Domain.
Rule Interference expanded.
The monster's adaptations unraveled, mechanics colliding destructively.
It imploded.
Silence followed.
Leon staggered, blood streaming freely now.
Domain Stability dropped sharply.
The Observer stared.
"…You didn't erase it," it said slowly. "You made it incompatible."
Leon wiped his mouth.
"House rules," he replied.
---
The Observer bowed.
"Then you're further along than I thought," it said. "I'll remember this table."
It stepped back, dissolving into layered sigils.
The onlookers retreated.
The pressure eased.
Leon collapsed onto the stone.
His system window flared one final time.
Domain Status Updated.
Dealer's Table Recognized.
Classification: Anomalous Authority.
Warning: System Attention Increased.
Leon laughed weakly.
"Figures."
He stared up at the fractured sky.
This wasn't survival anymore.
It was escalation.
And the world had finally accepted that the Dealer wasn't a bug.
He was a variable the system would have to play around.