Working alongside Big Big Wolf over the last two days had done wonders for Leo's creative block. While his deck wasn't quite "perfected" yet, the core strategy was locked in.
On Sunday afternoon, Leo threw on his backpack and set off for campus. The university was in a neighboring city, a brisk two-hour trip on the high-speed rail.
During the ride, Leo scrolled through the Card Master forums, catching up on the latest headlines:
* "Registration for the Binhai Inter-School Tournament closing soon—137 teams confirmed..."
* "SHOCKER: First Tier 3 Gold Card in three years! Monthly rankings updated; Naruto Uzumaki takes the #1 spot!!"
* "Rift Exploration: Recruitment open for Nightfall Manor. Seeking Tier 2+ teams. High-risk, high-reward..."
Leo tapped over to the official rankings. [Naruto Uzumaki] was still sitting comfortably at the top of the Tier 3 list, while [Big Big Wolf] had climbed to third place in the Tier 1 bracket.
He checked the prize pool for the monthly rankings. They were substantial. If he could hold these spots until the end of the month, he'd never have to worry about rent or card materials again.
At 6:00 PM, Leo finally stepped back onto the grounds of Binhai University of Science and Technology. The Card Maker dorms were located on the north side of campus—modern, well-maintained double rooms.
In this world, most students started learning the basics of Card Making in high school, but you couldn't officially manifest a card until eighteen. Even then, half the student population realized within six months that they lacked the mental aptitude to produce even a Tier 1 card and switched majors. Getting into a university program for Card Making meant you were already part of a talented minority.
Leo swiped his ID and pushed open the dorm door.
"Holy crap, Leo! You're finally back!"
A boy lounging on his bed nearly fumbled his phone as he bolted upright. This was Leo's roommate, Jax. They had been friends since high school and were lucky enough to be roomed together at university.
Leo tossed his bag onto his bunk. "How was the week?"
"Boring as hell. All I do is breathe and sleep Card Theory," Jax said, hopping down with a groan. "What about you? Did your 'seclusion' pay off? Come up with anything badass?"
"A few," Leo said vaguely, opening his locker to organize his gear.
"A few?" Jax looked surprised. "What system? Martial arts? Or did you go back to Western Fantasy?"
"Experimented with some new stuff," Leo replied. "By the way, did you sign up for the tournament?"
"You bet." Jax wandered over. "Signed up for solo and team play. I'm actually hitching a ride on Chloe's team. We're still one person short—you in?"
"Chloe?" Leo searched his memory. Another high school classmate. They were on speaking terms, but they weren't exactly close. He knew Jax was trying to help him out, but he shook his head. "I think I'll sit the team matches out for now."
The team competition was a 4v4 format. While Leo was confident in the quality of his individual cards, he wasn't sure how they'd synergize with others. Besides, the competition at Binhai was fierce. He liked his odds 1v1, but relying on teammates was a variable he wasn't ready to tackle.
"Don't be like that! We're the 'Dynamic Duo' of Linjiang High! Together, we're invincible," Jax urged. Then, leaning in closer, he added, "And Chloe just finished a Tier 2 Purple Card. It's got insane healing and DPS."
"A Tier 2 Purple?" Leo's interest piqued.
Tier 2 was the most cutthroat bracket; nearly the entire top ten were Purple (Epic) quality. In comparison, Tier 1 only had five Epic cards on the current board, and Tier 3 only had three—one of which was his own Gold card.
"What character?" Leo asked.
"Join the team and I'll tell you."
"Let me sleep on it."
Leo didn't have anything against the team tournament; it was mostly his old "shut-in" habits kicking in. He wasn't great at social networking, especially with the opposite sex.
"Quit overthinking it. Let's go—I'm buying hotpot. We can talk on the way." Jax grabbed his jacket and practically shoved Leo out the door. "With the 'Dynamic Duo' back in action, we're taking the #1 spot in the academy!"
Jax gossiped the entire way to the restaurant, filling Leo in on the campus drama: which professor had cracked a new deck archetype, which seniors were getting rich in the Rifts, and which "Ice Queen" senior had just been scouted by a Tier 1 corporation.
"By the way, you remember Kai?" Jax asked suddenly.
"The arrogant guy from the student council? Yeah."
"He's been unbearable lately," Jax grumbled, rolling his eyes. "He got his hands on a new Tier 2 Purple Card called Storm Blademaster. Apparently, it's a monster. He spent all last week in the training hall wiping the floor with people—three-match win streak and counting."
Leo raised an eyebrow. "Storm Blademaster? Martial arts system?"
"Nah, Western Fantasy," Jax said. "His dad is some high-level Master Card Maker, so he's definitely getting private coaching. Now he's going around trying to scout the best players, bragging that he's going to lead a team into the city's top ten."
"And you didn't think about 'riding his coattails'?"
"I'd rather ride a cactus," Jax retorted. "You know Kai and I have beef."
They reached the hotpot place, found a booth by the window, and ordered a split broth. While they waited for the food to boil, Jax nudged him again. "Seriously though, what did you actually make this week? Give me a teaser."
Leo figured there was no harm in sharing with his best friend. He reached into his card box and pulled out Big Big Wolf.
"Holy... an Epic?" Jax's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Wait, I recognize this card from the rankings..." He whipped out his phone and checked the board. "Damn, dude! Rank 3! That's you?!"
"Just got lucky," Leo said modestly. "Testing out a new system."
"What system?"
"It's called Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf."
Jax's face went blank.
"What?" He blinked, certain he'd misheard. "What the hell is a 'Pleasant Goat'?"
Leo paused. He had to remember that the anime industry in this world was prehistoric. Only a few shows from a century ago were still in the public consciousness, and even those were seen as relics.
"Did you ever see those ancient cartoons like The Little Tadpoles?"
"Yeah, in elementary school. But those are just... kid stuff, right?" Jax looked at the card art for a long time before blaring out, "You built an entire Story System based on a cartoon?"
"Pretty much," Leo nodded.
"That is wild. Does it actually do anything?"
"See for yourself." Leo handed the card over.
Because of the way the world worked, possessing a card allowed you to view its stats and effects. Card theft used to be a massive problem until a Master Card Maker created a security-governance card system to track ownership.
"The stats look solid, but what about the combat? How does he actually fight?" Jax asked, handing it back.
"Think of it this way: a normal wolf is a common White card. A low-level martial arts disciple is also a White card. But that disciple can usually take on three wolves at once."
"Right. Tier and quality don't always mean raw power."
"Exactly," Leo said. "Looking at the image, he doesn't look intimidating, right? If you treat him like a normal wolf, he's weak for an Epic."
"Then how did he hit Rank 3?"
"Let's save that for later. Tell me more about Chloe's Purple card."
PLEASE ADD TO YOUR COLLECTION AND THROW SOME POWERSTONE