The rest of the afternoon was all storycraft classes, and Russell couldn't stop yawning.
Still, he forced himself to stay awake. His head was full of anime stories, sure—but turning them into usable, balanced cards was a whole other art.
When the final bell rang, he headed out—only to find Darren blocking the classroom door.
"Russell, let's have our match now!"
Does this guy not realize that card death causes a 24-hour cooldown?
No brains. Just arrogance. Russell mentally stamped both labels on Darren's forehead. Out loud, he said with forced politeness, "Let's not. I've got something urgent to do at home. The ranking matches are tomorrow anyway—you can hold out one more day."
When Darren refused to move, Russell just shoved his way past.
Darren watched him leave, eyes dark with jealousy.
"Hmph. Just a lucky bastard. That first card will be mine."
Russell took the bus home, arriving at his old, beat-up apartment.
He sat down at his computer, reviewing what he had so far.
First off, he had seven copies of [Ghoul] (Green), dropped from the low-level Corpse Eaters he'd hunted. He didn't plan to use them—he priced them at 20,000 Metro Dollars each and listed all seven on a trading platform.
Then there was [Elite Ghoul] (Purple)—his next core material. That one was staying put.
As for cash, New Metro First High gave a 150,000 Metro Dollar bonus to students who made it into the Advanced Track. On top of that, there was a 20,000/month stipend for Iron-rank cardcrafters, and the 100,000 reward for his bravery at the Nest incident. After paying off most of his student loan, he still had just over 280,000 in cash on hand.
Russell exhaled.
Things were finally starting to look up.
He picked up his phone and sent a message to someone saved as "Tiger – Loan Shark":
"Tiger, I've scraped together the money. Can you stop by today? I want to clear my debt."
Elsewhere, a bald, heavily built man read the message labeled:
"Russell – Student – Low Potential – Possible Recruitment Target."
This was Tiger himself.
"He managed to pull the money? Did he borrow from somewhere else?"
Tiger thought for a moment, then replied:
"Sure, Russell. We'll be right over."
He turned to a lanky man nearby.
"Skinny, grab the contract—let's head out."
"It's on the Potential Targets shelf."
"Got it, boss."
The two drove over to Happiness Gardens.
Knock knock knock.
"Coming," a voice called from inside.
Russell opened the door.
"You're Tiger, right? Come in. No need to take your shoes off."
They sat on the old sofa. Russell pushed an envelope across the coffee table.
"Twelve grand in here. Should cover the original loan plus interest."
As he spoke, he summoned Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
The samurai stood silently against the wall, arms folded around his sword, staring down the two loan agents.
"A registered cardcrafter…" Tiger's eyes narrowed.
He hadn't expected the kid to actually awaken. His background check had shown poor potential.
But Tiger quickly switched to a beaming smile.
"Congratulations, Russell! Becoming a cardcrafter—now that's something. Tell you what, you don't even have to repay the loan. Consider it a graduation gift from Dodo Financial."
He took the contract from Skinny and dramatically tore it in half.
Russell watched the performance, inwardly sneering.
No one gives anything for free—especially scumbags like you.
Still, he kept his expression friendly.
"A man's only as good as his word. Tiger, please take the money. Pay what you owe, borrow with confidence."
Tiger's smile froze.
This kid isn't buying it. Soft sell doesn't work, hard sell won't either.
But Tiger was no amateur. There was no way he'd risk offending a registered cardcrafter—even a low-tier one—for a measly twelve grand.
After a moment's pause, he chuckled and pocketed the cash.
"You're a man of principle, Russell. I respect that. We're square."
"Won't keep you any longer, then."
Tiger and Skinny exited the apartment.
—
Downstairs, Skinny leaned in and muttered, "Boss, that punk doesn't know how to appreciate kindness—"
SMACK!
A heavy slap shut him up instantly.
Tiger's eyes turned venomous.
"You idiot. Say that again and I'll have you turned into card fodder like the last few."
"We stay low profile. Are you crazy or am I? Trying to mess with a registered cardcrafter now?"
Skinny's face was already swelling. Remembering what happened to their "former colleagues," he shuddered and lowered his head.
"S-sorry, boss. I won't say another word."
"Hmph. Let's move. Next stop—the ones who can't pay us back."
—
Back upstairs, Russell finally breathed easy.
Debt's gone. Crisis averted. Now it was time to plan his next card.
He already had a few candidates in mind.
Top of the list:
[Kokushibo · Michikatsu Tsugikuni].
Not only did it synergize with his current card, Yoriichi, but Kokushibo had the power level of an Upper Moon One demon—a perfect candidate for a high-rarity card.
With strong enough materials, Russell might even reach Gold rarity.
The problem was…
Light sensitivity.
Kokushibo was vulnerable to sunlight. If he wanted to craft this card, Russell needed to find a workaround.
At the moment, his only viable material was the Elite Ghoul (Purple). The rest were missing, so he still had time to figure things out.
"Still short on cash though…"
He sighed. Even the weakest purple-tier material started at 150,000, and that was for ones with poor synergy. Strong ones were far pricier.
And that's just for Iron-rank materials.
Higher-tier crafting materials were often untradeable—used in secret deals or barters among top crafters.
As a student, Russell didn't exactly have legal income streams.
His only shot was winning the Four-School Joint Exam a month from now.
That prize included access to the Secret Realm, and that meant loot.
Unfortunately, New Metro First High hadn't done well in past years…
Shaking off those thoughts, Russell sat cross-legged and prepared to meditate.
The officially taught method was "Deep Blue Meditation", said to have been popularized by a legendary figure known only as Ruthless Rex.
Everyone in the Daming Federation used it—other surviving nations too. There were no hidden family methods or exclusive lineages.
Meditation wasn't the bottleneck in this field.
The real hurdle was your ability to craft stories.