Because the exploratory mission had just been issued, the Lore Cardians in the city who received it wouldn't depart immediately, they needed time to make preparations. Of course, if any team remained in Gaza Town and delayed their departure, Kageyami would naturally hold them accountable.
This gave Azrael precious time to create his cards.
"65,150 points. That should be enough."
Glancing at his remaining balance, Azrael immediately opened the points platform. His heart began racing with anticipation.
"Emerald-grade [Legendary Warrior's Full Armor] (Purple), 14,800 points."
"Perfect."
Azrael's pulse quickened as he purchased the first material. One piece of Emerald-grade purple material was equivalent to a gold-grade red one in value and quality.
"Emerald-grade [Elemental·Flame Holy Sword] (Red), 24,990 points."
"Exactly what I need."
After securing two more pieces, his points dropped to 25,360.
"Spending too fast! Ulquiorra will have to wait until yesterday's battle points arrive."
Azrael muttered his complaint while searching for the final ingredient, the most crucial component for this card creation, in his opinion.
"Emerald Grade [Pretty Girl's Used Magic Book] (Red), priced at 30,000?"
"Seriously? That's overpriced."
Azrael grimaced at the first search result. The ingredient was completely different from what he needed, yet absurdly expensive for something with no apparent special properties.
Shaking his head, he continued his search for suitable materials.
"Emerald Grade [Travel Record Booklet] (Red), 23,000 points."
"Emerald Grade [Anderson's Story Manuscript] (Red), 25,000 points."
After several minutes of careful consideration, Azrael weighed the two ingredients he'd selected. Both possessed excellent qualities, but after much deliberation, he chose the Anderson Story Manuscript. Though it cost two thousand points more than the Travel Notebook, the material was clearly more suitable for his specific needs.
He refused to cut corners on card creation costs.
This time, his focus centered on the sword and story elements, hence using purple material for the armor component.
After purchasing all materials, Azrael felt transported back to pre-liberation poverty. Seeing only 360 points remaining made his heart race nervously.
Since Emerald-grade materials required personal pickup, he had to travel to Beijing himself. Fortunately, Beijing wasn't far from Gaza Town, allowing him to return home before dark.
With such high stakes, Azrael chose meditation to calm his nerves and center his mind.
After a long moment, the young man opened his bright eyes, picked up his brush, and began painting on the blank card surface.
Soon, a transformation belt with a flaming longsword pierced through it appeared on the card.
[Please begin to write your story.]
[In a marvelous world created by an omniscient and omnipotent book, two holy swords were forged: the Lightsteel Sword Saikallen and the Dark Sword Yue'an.
Two thousand years ago, a being named Yuri wielded these sacred blades, repelling evil and ultimately merging with the Lightsteel Sword Saikallen.
With the conflict resolved, someone founded the Sword of Truth, an organization dedicated to protecting the world.
The Daishinji Temple clan of the Sword of Truth carefully studied the Lightsteel Sword Saikallen and the Dark Sword Yue'an, eventually forging the first artificial holy sword, the Kaenken Rekka.
Holy swords possess the ability to read various fantastical Wonder Ride Books and manifest their power within them.
These book-shaped items record diverse powers and stories. Examples include Divine Beast Books recording the powers of mythological creatures, Creature Books capturing real-world animal abilities, and Story Books containing the powers generated by heroic adventures.
The Kaenken Rekka, beyond these abilities, can evolve into an almighty sword possessing the power of all elements.
Due to Kaenken Rekka's immense power, the Flame Swordsman Daichi Kamijo sealed it away to prevent potential catastrophe.
The Kaenken Rekka remained sealed within dark space, waiting to be summoned by the worthy successor, Touma Kamiyama.
"Success!"
Card creation was complete, and Azrael, though visibly weary, felt overwhelming nervousness as he gazed at the floating card before him.
His choice of Kamen Rider Saber's transformation belt stemmed from the series' perfect alignment with the Lore Cardian profession, both centered around the power of stories and books.
Of course, other options like Decade existed, but ultimately, he felt story-crafting remained most important for a Lore Cardian. Without that foundation, he could have easily chosen Zi-O, Armor Hero, or Ultraman transformation devices, all viable alternatives.
"I hope this works."
Azrael's heart pounded with anxiety. Although he'd created cards many times before, this represented a significant gamble.
However, seeing the card emit light similar to Shiraori's filled him with relief.
"At least it guarantees Sovereign-level quality."
Azrael took a deep breath and stored the card in his mind.
Prize draw!
, , , ,
[Seiken Seiken Swordriver]
Rank: Emerald
Quality: Red
Category: Item
Skills:
[Seiken Swordriver]: The belt holder can transform into Kamen Rider Saber using different Wonder Ride Books. Each Wonder Ride Book reveals different powers and forms.
Features:
[The Story's Ending is Decided by Me]: Different Wonder Ride Books unlock based on the user's level, with Wonder Ride Books derived from the holder's existing cards.
Current Divine Beast Book: [Brave Dragon Wonder Ride Book].
Current Creature Books: None.
Current Story Books: [Pride Wonder Ride Book], [Kaneki Wonder Ride Book], [Nami Wonder Ride Book], [Yoriichi Wonder Ride Book], [Pidgeot Wonder Ride Book], [Artoria Wonder Ride Book], [Fubuki Wonder Ride Book], [Shinobu Wonder Ride Book], [Unohana Wonder Ride Book], [Misaka Wonder Ride Book], [Luffy Wonder Ride Book], [Zoro Wonder Ride Book], [Sasuke Wonder Ride Book], [Aizen Wonder Ride Book], [Nelliel Wonder Ride Book], [Shiraori Wonder Ride Book], [Ulquiorra Wonder Ride Book].
Description: Definitely read! Blazing draw!
Advancement: Emerald-level [Seiken Seiken Swordriver] → Sovereign-level [Haouken Xross Saber - Ten Holy Blades Seiken Swordriver].
Note: To advance to Sovereign-level [Haouken Xross Saber - Ten Holy Blades Seiken Swordriver], you must invest ten sword materials meeting required attributes. Currently invested: [Flame]. Attributes needed: [Water], [Thunder], [Earth], [Wind], [Sound], [Smoke], [Darkness], [Light], [Time].
Note: For every three sword materials of current level invested, the card's level increases by one tier.
Chain: Can be combined with [Promised Superman - Touma Kamiyama] to form a chain card.
, , , ,
After checking the card information, Azrael couldn't contain his excitement, "It actually worked!"
He wanted to laugh with pure joy. Honestly, before examining the card details, he'd mentally prepared for potential failure. If no Wonder Ride Books had been generated, Azrael would have needed to borrow points from Delila to buy materials for creating cards featuring Wonder Ride Books.
Now, that seemed unnecessary.
"Am I really a genius?!"
Azrael muttered excitedly. Ever since conceiving the Saber concept, he'd wondered if his card stories could transform into Wonder Ride Books. He hadn't expected it to work perfectly.
"Even without the story books below, I at least have the [Brave Dragon Wonder Ride Book]."
Azrael calmed his excitement momentarily as the heavy belt materialized around his waist. He examined the small picture book featuring a giant red dragon, his expression growing serious.
"Let's test it first."
He inserted the [Brave Dragon Wonder Ride Book] into the rightmost slot of the belt.
Immediately, stirring musical sounds echoed mysteriously from the void.
"So that's what I should shout now."
Azrael placed his right hand on the hilt of the Kaenken Rekka.
"Henshin!"
As he drew the Flame Sword, music swelled inexplicably in the void.
"Brave Dragon! Brave Dragon! One Book of Brave Dragon! When the valiant dragon and Kaenken Rekka unite, the crimson sword will pierce through evil!"
In one fluid motion, Azrael was perfectly clad in black and red armor, with a ferocious red dragon shoulder guard adorning his right shoulder.
Feeling the sudden surge of power, he slowly exhaled, "That's a massive strength increase."
"Next, let's test whether different Wonder Ride Books provide different enhancements."
With that, he released his transformation.
Azrael swapped the [Brave Dragon Wonder Ride Book] for the [Ulquiorra Wonder Ride Book] and transformed again.
"Rekka Battou! Nihility Bat!"
The next moment, armor appeared, half pale green, half black and red.
"The strength difference isn't significant, but the abilities vary considerably."
While the [Brave Dragon Wonder Ride Book] granted Azrael normal Emerald-level melee capabilities and fire control, the [Ulquiorra Wonder Ride Book] provided aerial combat abilities, though with poor compatibility.
He then switched to the [Pride Wonder Ride Book], immediately sensing something amiss.
"Vangeance Wonder Ride Books generated from lower-level cards have reduced power?"
He could sense his strength had dropped to roughly Gold-level.
"So the power still depends on the Wonder Ride Book itself. That makes sense."
Throughout the night, the young man tested every Wonder Ride Book available. He discovered an intriguing combination: the [Brave Dragon Wonder Ride Book] and [Artoria Wonder Ride Book] together proved even more powerful than three-book combinations.
Furthermore, after receiving special enhancements from the [Artoria Wonder Ride Book], he found his swordsmanship significantly improved.
"Artoria is also King Arthur, that makes perfect sense!"
Azrael's combat power in this form matched top-tier Emerald-level fighters, making it an excellent life-saving measure.
Kageyami frowned as he gazed toward Azrael's residence, muttering, "What is Jacob's Junior Brother doing?"
The bald man could sense Azrael's aura fluctuating wildly all night, like a roller coaster of power levels.
Shaking his head, he chose not to intervene. As long as no damage occurred in Gaza Town, it would be fine.
A day later, Azrael and Wendy crouched on a high slope, hidden from view.
Gaza Town had recently received intelligence that a nearby demon stronghold was escorting crucial experimental materials to the rear. They were ordered to intercept and eliminate the convoy.
Consequently, nearly all exploration teams had halted their current missions to prepare for the interception.
At that moment, Wendy secretly nudged Azrael and whispered, "Azrael, are you certain you're okay?"
He nodded confidently, "As long as no Diamond-level demons attack, I can definitely protect myself."
"Good."
After that, they remained silent, waiting for the demon convoy they'd been tipped about.
After a long wait, Wendy suddenly tensed, "Azrael, scratch my back, it's itchy."
"..."
Silently, Azrael reached out and began scratching the short-haired woman's back.
"Here they come!"
Just as he was scratching vigorously, Wendy suddenly grabbed his right hand.
Beyond their sight, a small convoy slowly approached the slope.
However, as the convoy drew closer, Azrael and Wendy exchanged puzzled glances.
The issue wasn't the convoy itself, but rather the surprisingly weak escort: only three Emerald-level individuals, two of whom were clearly low-level demons.
"Never mind, let's attack first."
Without hesitation, they decided to eliminate the demon army as the convoy approached.
The next moment, Ulquiorra and Wendy's cards appeared within the convoy's field of vision.
"Enemy attack!"
The convoy barely raised its alarm before Ulquiorra and the others arrived.
In a single encounter, numerous low-level demons were slain.
For a moment, Azrael stared blankly at the now-still battlefield in the distance. His prepared life-saving measures had been completely unnecessary.
"This feels strange," Azrael muttered, frowning. Wendy nodded in agreement.
Neither was foolish. Based on the intelligence, if the experimental materials were truly important, such a weak defensive force made no sense.
Soon, Ulquiorra and the others returned with the so-called experimental materials.
However, Azrael was stunned when he saw the items in their hands, several tubes of blood that reminded him of the [Sublimated Blood] he'd obtained earlier in Donglai.
Azrael couldn't help but wonder silently, "Is this also an important experimental item?"
Regardless, the mission was complete, and they chose to retreat first.
As for the materials dropped by the only Emerald-level demon at the scene, Azrael gave them to Wendy, choosing to pay half the points instead. A piece of green Emerald-level material was worth little over 7,000 points at most, and he had no use for it.
As they departed, all that remained was a shattered convoy filled with demon corpses.
Shortly after Azrael's team attacked the convoy, in a command room shrouded in vast, dark blue light, a strange-looking man in military uniform smiled coldly.
"Have they taken the bait?" a woman with a fox-like tail whispered behind him.
"Yes, sir. Most convoys sent from the stronghold have been destroyed. This confirms the Northern Defense Army possesses secret intelligence-gathering methods."
Upon hearing this, the strange man rubbed his smooth chin thoughtfully, "Now that the fish has taken the bait, it's time to close the net."
"Inform everyone. This time, have the cadres accompany us personally. Don't let those fleas escape."
Hearing his order, the woman immediately bowed, "Yes, I'll arrange it right away."
A smile curved the corners of the strange man's mouth as he listened to the fading sound of high heels.
"Northern Defense Army..."
"Let me see how long you can hold out."