Ms. Song's announcement hit like a bomb dropped into still water.
Liam was the first to break the silence. "Ms. Song, are all of us allowed to go?"
She smiled and nodded. "Yes, this time every student in the honors class gets to participate in this field training inside a cardmaking Space."
"Of course, this is one of the most basic types of space."
A faint wave of disappointment rippled through the students.
Russell noticed and shook his head inwardly. Even getting access to a space is already a privilege.
Plenty of senior students would kill for this chance—and they were getting it just because of their class ranking.
Ms. Song continued, "The training will take place in two weeks. The space is forest-type. Make sure you're prepared."
Standing next to Russell, Nancy leaned in and said softly, "Ms. Song's basically hinting we should make a mount-type creature card or a vehicle-type item card."
Her tone was casual, but her advice was solid—her father was a Gold-tier Cardmaker, after all.
Forest terrain wasn't too complicated, but having a ride saved a ton of trouble.
From the corner of his eye, Russell caught a glimpse of Darren, who had been silent and brooding ever since the rankings ended. He probably knows this too.
Russell nodded slightly and said, "Thanks for the tip."
Nancy smiled. "Don't mention it."
With the ranking matches wrapped up, everyone returned to class for the afternoon lessons.
For the honors class, lessons usually rotated between cardmaking theory and meditation training, with the occasional wilderness survival course thrown in—after all, anything could happen inside a realm.
The Cardmaker Association didn't want sheltered duelists. They wanted field-ready professionals.
This afternoon's session was meditation class.
Although "class" might've been too generous a term—it was basically self-study.
Everyone was practicing the same [Deep Blue Meditation Technique], and there wasn't much a teacher could add at this stage.
Russell closed his eyes and focused, slowly allowing his mental power to expand. He exhaled quietly, a faint sense of satisfaction spreading through him.
Ever since his transmigration, he'd noticed that his cultivation speed was far faster than the original owner of this body.
Whether it was due to the soul merger or some hidden talent, he wasn't sure—and frankly, he didn't care.
All that mattered was he wouldn't be bottlenecked by mental strength anytime soon.
Time flew by during meditation. Before long, school was over.
"See you tomorrow, Russell!" Nancy waved cheerfully as she left.
Russell nodded. "See you."
Watching her walk away, he turned and started heading home.
Not long after getting home, there was a knock on the window.
Tap tap tap.
He turned toward the sound. It was a courier cuckoo.
"I don't remember ordering anything…" he murmured, opening the window.
The bird pecked the button on its delivery pouch, and a crisp, mechanical voice played: "Dear seller, please ship your listed goods promptly."
Ah—right. He'd totally forgotten about the seven [Ghouls] (Green) he listed on the trading site.
He rushed inside, grabbed the packaged materials, and handed them over. The cuckoo chirped, stuffed them into its pouch, and took off into the sky.
Watching the bird disappear into a dot in the distance, Russell found himself thinking seriously about getting a ride of his own.
Take advice when it's given. Nancy had gone out of her way to remind him—he wasn't going to ignore that.
But his funds were limited. Even after selling the ghouls, he only had a little over 300,000 Credits.
That would only get him a basic card—probably a green-tier one at best.
He opened up the trading website and started browsing for materials he could afford.
Technically, a Black Iron-tier cardmaker could handle Bronze-tier materials, but Russell decided to play it safe.
For one, his mental strength wasn't quite there yet.
For two… well, he was broke.
Soon, he settled on a few affordable components:
[Chirpy Sparrow] (White)
[White-Tailed Eagle] (Green)
1 Blank Card
All three cost him around 30,000 Credits total.
The delivery cuckoo arrived promptly, and Russell quickly received his items.
Sitting down at his desk, he picked up his cardmaking pen and began sketching on the blank card.
Bit by bit, a large yellow eagle took shape.
When the drawing was complete, he placed the two materials and the card together, then focused his mental power to begin the synthesis.
The next moment, he was pulled into the familiar card-weaving dimension.
[Please begin crafting your story.]
[Pidgeot has a large build, wide wingspan, and short, pink, three-toed claws.]
[Its feathers are mainly brown, with black markings around its eyes. Its crest feathers are red with a yellow stripe down the center. Its fan-like tail is also red.]
[Ash Ketchum first met Pidgeot's pre-evolved form, Pidgey, in Viridian Forest. After a hard battle, he successfully caught it.]
[Together, Ash and Pidgey traveled across the region, defeating Team Rocket and conquering gym challenges. Their bond grew stronger.]
[When they returned to Viridian Forest, a flock of Spearow was attacking the local Pidgey group. Ash's Pidgey fought valiantly and evolved into Pidgeot to protect its kind.]
[After the battle, Ash left Pidgeot in the forest, promising to return once his journey was done.]
Russell finished the story and waited quietly as the system processed it.
In the next blink, he was back in his apartment. A card floated in front of him, displaying the image of a majestic brown eagle.
"Success." Russell smiled, absorbing the card into his mindscape.
[Pidgeot]
Tier: Black Iron
Quality: Green
Type: Creature
Skills: None
Traits: None
Description: "Reunited after 24 years. Let's fly together again."
Russell wasn't surprised by the stats.
The story was straightforward, and the materials were low-grade. The result was exactly what he expected.
He hadn't made this card for combat—it was meant for travel.
Summoning the Pidgeot, Russell gave it a thorough look.
It stood about 1.5 meters tall. Easily large enough to carry him through the sky.
Of course, he wasn't planning to hop on right away. He wasn't some overpowered protagonist from a fantasy novel.
Also, to ride a creature in the city, you had to register it with the Cardmaker Association.
Since Pidgeot wasn't a combat card, Russell didn't mind registering it. Honestly, it was worth it just to stop hearing the soul-draining voice on the public bus that kept repeating "You are riding a welfare card…"
He patted Pidgeot on the head, then recalled it into his mindscape.
After grabbing a jacket, Russell headed out the door—destination: Cardmaker Association registration office.