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Strictly speaking, the Black Gate had appeared because of Luke. The spatial tolerance had cracked under his dragon's power, the rift had formed at his kill site, and the Abyss Predator had been drawn through because of energy his card released. The entire incident was, technically, his fault.
And now Victor was offering him compensation materials for the trouble.
Victor was aware of the irony. But he'd made the promise in front of everyone, and breaking it would give Harlow ammunition for the next decade. Better to take the hit gracefully.
"Dragon materials." Luke didn't hesitate. "Specifically, a Dragon Eye."
The room went very quiet.
"Dragon materials?" Harrison repeated. "A Dragon Eye?"
Victor and Harlow exchanged the same look they'd been exchanging all week: the one that said this kid is going to give me a heart attack.
Dragon-type materials were the rarest and most expensive category in the entire Association marketplace. Luke had already blown his savings on the Immortal Inferno Dragon's Reverse Scale for Black Star. And now he was asking for a Dragon Eye, which was even rarer. The immediate implication was obvious.
"Luke." Victor's tone was careful. "Am I correct in assuming you're planning to craft another dragon-type card?"
"Yes and no." Luke nodded, then shook his head.
Again with this. Victor, Harrison, and Harlow all felt the same twitch of frustration. Yes and no. What was that supposed to mean?
Luke could see the confusion. He wasn't being deliberately evasive. The truth was just complicated.
The Eye of Timaeus. That was his target. One of the three Legendary Dragons from Yu-Gi-Oh, a being of mythic power that existed in a tier far above anything Luke could currently construct. He had absolutely no ability to build the real Timaeus. Not even close.
But he didn't need the real Timaeus. He needed Timaeus's ability.
The Eye of Timaeus, as a card, concentrated the Legendary Dragon's power into a single function: fusion enhancement. It could merge with an existing Spellcaster to create something greater than either alone. Dark Magician Girl plus the Eye of Timaeus equaled Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight, a fusion form that would push Mana's power to an entirely new tier.
And because the card's function was concentrated in the "Eye," the critical material was, naturally, a Dragon Eye.
Luke didn't explain any of this. His card designs were private. But the request was real.
"I see." Victor couldn't crack the mystery, but he respected the boundary. Card Master secrets were sacred, and Luke's track record had earned him the benefit of the doubt.
If the kid said he needed a Dragon Eye, then he needed a Dragon Eye. His past two crafting results spoke for themselves.
"Unfortunately," Victor said, and Luke caught the note of genuine regret, "the City Lord's Mansion doesn't have one. Our last Dragon Eye was used three months ago."
He paused.
"By me. The craft failed. The Dragon Eye, along with every other material in the batch, was destroyed."
Luke winced internally. Dragon Eyes were obscenely expensive. Losing one to a failed craft was a setback that would make most Card Masters drink for a week.
Already, Luke's mind was pivoting. If Timaeus wasn't available, then Critias's Fang was an option. Or Hermos's Claw. The three Legendary Dragons each had card variants that focused their power into a single aspect. Any of them would serve as an upgrade path for Mana, just through different fusion routes.
He had options. He always had options. That was the advantage of building from an original worldview with hundreds of potential cards waiting to be extracted.
But before Luke could redirect his request, Victor spoke again.
"However." Victor's gaze slid sideways. "The City Lord's Mansion isn't the only institution in Ashenvale with access to high-tier materials."
He was looking directly at Harrison Cole.