Anime Card System

Is there really such a good thing? The thought couldn't help but cross Russell's mind.

Principal Shepherd smiled and picked up a booklet from his desk. "Student Russell, as a reward from the school, you may choose any one of these materials. It will be delivered to your home after school today."

Russell took the booklet and looked through it carefully. It was filled with Black Iron-grade materials of blue quality or higher.

[Fine Steel Sword] (Blue), [Bloodstained Jade Pendant] (Purple), [Corpse Dog · Body Enhancement Type] (Purple)...

Suddenly, Russell's eyes narrowed, locking onto one specific item. "Thank you, Principal. I choose this one."

Principal Shepherd and the others looked at the material Russell was pointing to.

[Elite Ghoul] (Purple).

Seeing his choice, Marcus hesitated for a moment before offering some advice. "Russell, I would suggest you choose an item material. You could make a prop card to enhance the creature card you already have."

This was the conventional wisdom. A novice cardmaker's second card was almost always a prop. It was a safer bet; it increased the combat effectiveness of their one proven success, and it avoided the high risk of wasting valuable materials on a second creature card that might fail. The first success could have been a fluke, after all.

But Russell just shook his head. "Uncle Marcus, thank you for your advice. I've still decided to choose this one."

Seeing that his mind was made up, the adults in the room didn't press the issue. Interfering with a cardmaker's creative process was a major taboo.

"Well then, Principal Shepherd, President Marcus," Mr. Williams said, "I will take Russell to report to the key class first." The two men nodded slightly.

As they watched the pair walk out of the office, Marcus smiled. "Old Shepherd, it seems your school has produced a real seedling this time. I think you might have some confidence for the Evergrove District Joint Examination in a month."

A trace of worry crossed Principal Shepherd's brow. "I've heard the other schools have produced some good seedlings as well. Isn't there a rumor that a student from Evergrove First High created a gold-quality card on their first try?"

Marcus, however, didn't seem too concerned. The measure of a cardmaker wasn't just the quality of their cards. In his opinion, a young man like Russell, who was willing to stand up and risk his life in a crisis, was already far better than any so-called genius from another school.

"Old Marcus," Principal Shepherd's voice came from the side, his tone suddenly serious. "I want to ask you for a favor. In all my years, I've never asked anyone for anything..."

"Do you want to go back and say goodbye to your old classmates?" Mr. Williams asked Russell on the way.

Russell thought about it, then shook his head. "It's not like I'm graduating. We're all still in the same school. We can see each other whenever we want."

"True," Mr. Williams agreed.

As they were talking, they arrived at the door of the "key class." The probability of producing a real cardmaker in the early years of high school was low, so New Metro First High had only a single elite class for its most promising students.

"Ms. Song, could you please come out for a moment?" Mr. Williams called into the classroom.

Soon, a middle-aged female teacher came to the door.

"This is Russell. From today on, he is one of your students," Mr. Williams said, gesturing to Russell. Then he turned to Russell. "This is Victoria Song, a senior teacher at our school. She will be your homeroom teacher from now on."

Russell nodded and greeted her. "Good morning, Ms. Song."

"Hello, Russell. Go on in and get acquainted with your new classmates first," Victoria said, pushing up her glasses. She then cast a probing look at Mr. Williams. "So he's the one..."

As the two teachers began talking outside the window, Russell stood on the classroom podium. "Hello everyone, I'm Russell. Please take care of me in the future."

He glanced around the classroom. Including him, there were twelve students in total, and only one other girl. After hearing his introduction, that girl exclaimed, "Wait, you're the Russell?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Do you know me?"

"Of course I know you!" she said with a bright smile. "You're our role model. My name is Nancy Whitemore." Her father was a gold-level cardmaker, and he had told her all about Russell's heroic deed last night.

Russell gave a small, dumbfounded laugh, feeling as if she were being sarcastic. "It was just the Association building me up."

"Okay, everyone, let's quiet down for a moment," Victoria Song said, walking into the classroom. "I'm sure you all know who this is. Yesterday, during the [Demon's Nest] riot, Russell bravely saved an entire community of residents. Let's give him a round of applause."

She took the lead, and the class followed suit. Facing everyone's curious and admiring gazes, Russell just smiled. "Anyone in my shoes would have done the same thing." Saying nice words doesn't cost anything, he thought.

"Ahem," Victoria cleared her throat. "Now, let's have everyone else introduce themselves."

Russell walked down from the podium. As the self-introductions went on, he found that there were two people in the class who warranted special attention. One was the girl, Nancy Whitemore. Her card was the Iron-level purple [Three-Tailed Fox]. In Russell's memory, the Fox Demon series had an incredible top end, culminating in the red-quality [Nine-Tailed Fox · Da Ji].

The other person was a young man with a short ponytail named Darren. His card was the Iron-level purple [Green Zombie]. The zombie series had a very smooth and powerful progression path. But Russell knew Darren. He had been a classmate of the original Russell, and because of his orphan status, Darren had taken the lead in isolating and bullying him before Mr. Williams had stepped in.

Tsk. A bully who only picks on the weak, Russell thought, his eyes turning cold.

"Okay," Victoria clapped her hands, getting everyone's attention. "Next, I have an announcement to make. In one month, our district will hold a joint examination between four schools. The winning school will be granted an opportunity to enter a secret realm for practical training."

A secret realm!

The words sent a jolt of excitement through the students. Entering a secret realm meant access to rich material resources, which could be sold for a fortune or used to create powerful new cards.

Seeing she had their full attention, Victoria smiled. "However, each school can only send three students to participate, and only those three can enter the secret realm. Therefore, our key class will be implementing... a ranking system." She paused for effect. "Tomorrow, we will conduct our first ranking practical. The method will be a standard cardmaker duel."

The rules were simple: anything was allowed except directly attacking the opposing cardmaker. Most duels ended when one side's cards were all defeated. It was worth noting that when a creature card was defeated, it entered a cooldown period of up to one day.

After announcing the news, Victoria left the classroom.

Immediately, Darren walked slowly over to Russell's desk, a hint of disdain in his eyes. "Well, well, Russell. I haven't seen you in a few days, and you've somehow turned into a phoenix." He had always considered himself a child of destiny. Seeing the former orphan he used to bully now being celebrated as a hero filled him with a sour, burning jealousy.

Russell just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, you're much better than me. Congratulations."

Seeing Russell's dismissive, perfunctory attitude, Darren felt a surge of humiliation. "You cricket! An orphan dares to have such an attitude!?" A sinister look appeared on his face. "In the ranking match tomorrow, I'm going to tear your card to pieces in front of everyone."

Russell didn't even bother to argue, just looking at him with a tired, speechless expression.

When Mr. Williams returned to his old classroom, he found it in chaos.

When Marvin saw him, he immediately ran over, his face a mask of sadness. "Mr. Williams! Did Russell really have to drop out of school to work?"

Mr. Williams looked at him, completely confused. "Where did you hear that?" "Russell has been promoted to the key class. He's an official cardmaker now."

The classroom fell into a dead silence. It was soon broken by a single, deafening, collective shout.

"...Huh?!"

(End of this chapter)