"Ooooooh! Did it work?!"
The bear-like Deion let out a booming shout of excitement the moment the golden, radiant liquid from the reagent dropped onto the card.
For the first time ever, the Card Imprinting experiment had overcome its most difficult phase. Even Irene and Magic Club President Shira weren't sure if what they had just witnessed counted as a success.
Miles could only feel the massive surge of spirit energy drained from his soul in an instant.
Just for synthesizing a magical reagent? The drain was even worse than playing an entire Shadow Game.
Clearly, in the world of the Spirit Continent, altering the effect of a card itself was far harder than winning a Shadow Game.
Shira's dark eyes didn't blink once as she closely observed the transformation reagent now fused into a single drop, watching how it spread across the surface of [Metamorphosis].
"As long as our theory isn't wrong, this should be a success."
"But the card's effect hasn't changed," Miles asked through Irene's mouth.
Changing a card's effect was already a drastic thing. And [Metamorphosis] was a card so powerful it was outright banned—an A-rank card in the Spirit grading system.
If it could get even stronger… wouldn't that be completely overpowered?
"We're not altering the card's effect. If the experiment succeeds, a brand-new card will be created."
Shira pointed to the card now fully coated in golden liquid.
Flowing from the card's corners, the Transformation Potion seemed to draw magic from the card and traced a second golden trail beyond it.
And then, something Shiraculous happened.
The golden liquid that spilled off [Metamorphosis] pooled beside it, forming a new card-shaped square—a sheet of liquid slowly solidifying.
"This is… a new card?"
Shira explained, "Among the many reagents we fused, one was a Copying Agent. It allows replication of an object's external form. That's the magical foundation of creating a card template."
Of course, the Copying Agent could only replicate physical appearances.
If it could duplicate effects too, it wouldn't be Card Imprinting—that would be alchemy. You could copy one A-rank Tradable Card and become financially free.
However, the true charm of Card Imprinting was in creating something completely new.
As everyone watched to see what kind of card would emerge from the interaction between [Metamorphosis] and the Transformation Potion—the golden liquid on the table didn't stop.
After solidifying into one card shape, it kept expanding.
To the astonishment of all, a second card template began forming.
"Two brand new cards were born?!"
Shira gasped, then clasped Miles' hands with shining eyes.
"Ren-chan, you're a genius with spirit energy! At the final stage, you injected enough to form two full cards!"
"That's amazing, Miles!"
Of course, Irene knew she wasn't the real genius here.
"The Magic Club President just called you a genius! I knew I was right about you—you're incredible!"
If focus determined the lower bound of the experiment's success… Then the spirit energy decided on the upper bound.
Honestly, Miles didn't care if he was called a genius.
That said, printing two cards at once did feel like double the profit.
Yet just as everyone was thrilled at how successful the trial had turned out—
The golden liquid still didn't stop. It ultimately formed a third card template.
Only then did it seem to have exhausted its magic power, the golden light dimming at last.
"T-T-Three cards?!"
Printing two brand-new cards would've already shocked the Magic Club—No one had expected the trial's outcome to reach an unbelievable three-card jackpot.
Almost a 300% yield.
Before their joy could set in, everyone first stood in awe of the bottomless spirit energy of the red-haired girl.
It far exceeded any human, elf, or even draconic level.
"So cool, R-Ren-chan!"
Aisha rushed in with a tight hug, full of pride for Miles, who was the true mastermind behind this feat.
"Aisha, you're hugging too tightly."
"What? It's just a celebration hug for my best friend's big success—what's wrong with squeezing a bit?"
That was a lie.
Though she was a little jealous that Miles was "loaned out," it wasn't all bad.
Because like this, even if the body belonged to her friend, Aisha knew it was Miles' soul inside.
Hugging Miles like this? That would be impossible if he were still inside her.
Since the Millennium Puzzle was loaned out, she was going to reclaim the interest by hugging Miles all she wanted—full snuggle mode activated.
"Ehehe, ehehehe~"
"You can celebrate, but why are you drooling?"
While Aisha clung obsessively to Irene, Miles turned his attention to the three card templates now solidified from the reagent. As the golden glow faded, they distinctly resembled Duel Monster Cards—though they had no text or artwork.
"What happened, President Shira? Was it a failure?"
"No, it was a great success. This is exactly the outcome we theorized. There's only one step left."
"One step?"
Shira picked up the three card templates and solemnly handed them to Miles.
"Ren-chan, since these cards were imprinted with your spirit energy, the final step is to awaken them—through a Duel."
"Awaken them through a Duel!"
That was so like Miles.
First, you imprint the cards, then awaken them through combat.
In a way, even with all the magical reagents as groundwork, this aligned perfectly with the logic of Card Imprinting.
After all, card creation and Dueling were inseparable.
"I understand. So, who will I be Dueling?"
Shira nodded with a smile. "That would be me. Ren-chan, you and I will—"
"Hold it!"
Interrupting Shira, Deion thrust forward his burly fist.
"Leave the Duel to me! This is a moment that marks card creation history. Let me see for myself the true power of a Duelist with such terrifying spirit energy!"
Thus, the final phase of the Card Imprinting trial had suddenly escalated into a Duel between Irene and a royal.
...
If you want to support, please consider Patreon, and read advanced chapters! Your support keeps this series going!
[Patreon.com/RedZTL]