Teenage card master

Training Class

Over five hundred years ago, Rosenberg, the founder of card theory, first proposed the concept and successfully crafted the first card. Since then, after more than five centuries of development, a dazzling array of cards has emerged. Before this, primitive prototypes of cards were widely present in various religions, regarded as manifestations of supernatural power. Even today, some religions harbor highly skilled card makers and card wielders whose origins predate Rosenberg’s era, their traditions shrouded in deeper mystery.

But it was Rosenberg’s sudden rise that shattered the mystical aura surrounding the card system. He systematically researched and elucidated card structures, inventing numerous cards—like today’s energy card, whose standard structure was first proposed by Rosenberg. The mystical veil over cards was completely torn away, and card studies became a new academic discipline.

About three hundred years ago, another great card maker, Hainer Vancent, ushered card development into a golden age. The year of Hainer Vancent’s birth happened to be exactly two hundred years after Rosenberg formally proposed card theory. These two greatest card makers of the five centuries seemed to echo each other in this manner.

The era of Hainer Vancent was one teeming with heroes. During that century, countless cards were invented by many genius card makers. As a master card maker on par with Rosenberg, Hainer Vancent spearheaded the invention of ninety-seven types of cards. That period also saw the rise of many renowned card makers like Rozy and Chemoshikhe.

After so many years of development, modern card studies have become vastly different from those five hundred years ago. The discipline has grown more detailed, branching into numerous subfields, with research delving ever deeper.

The card theory of the Tianyou Federation spread to both the Mohadi Domain and the Baiyuan Prefecture as they established normal diplomatic relations. The outstanding talents of these two domains quickly absorbed it and, based on the unique characteristics of their own domains, developed distinct card theories suited to their needs. Thus, the card theory system was further supplemented and expanded, with new cards emerging endlessly. It was a glorious and dazzling era, one that countless people deeply yearned for.

With the continuous development of the card theory system and the emergence of all kinds of peculiar cards, categorizing card types became increasingly difficult. To this day, there is still no authoritative classification method.

However, if you want to know what a card actually does, there’s one most direct and simplest method—use it!

To use a card, you need a Duyi. Coincidentally, the Duyi was also invented by Rosenberg, the founder of card theory, and later perfected by Haina-Vansinte. Although modern Duyis have become more sophisticated with increasingly diverse auxiliary functions—such as Chen Mu’s Duyi, which has a searchlight—their core remains unchanged.

Externally, a Duyi is a rectangular box with three straps to fasten it to the arm. At the top of the Duyi are card slots for inserting cards. Generally, a Duyi has at least two slots, with higher-end models featuring more. One slot is for basic cards like energy cards, while the other is for the card the user wishes to activate. Essentially, a Duyi is a device that connects energy cards with other cards, using the energy card’s power to activate the desired card.

Chen Mu’s Duyi was certainly not high-end—what kind of premium item could you buy for just over 200 Oudi? Despite being an extremely widely used tool, Chen Mu rarely had occasion to use one.

Without hesitation, he inserted the card into the upper slot of the Duyi and placed an unused one-star energy card into the lower slot. After doing this, Chen Mu took a deep breath and pressed the activation button on the Duyi’s surface.

"Beep!"

A semi-transparent screen suddenly appeared before Chen Mu, displaying a line of text.

"Energy card does not meet specifications. Please use a three-star or higher energy card!"

A three-star energy card! It actually required a three-star or higher energy card! Stunned, Chen Mu was now certain—this card was undeniably a high-level one. Generally, the more advanced a card, the higher the energy card grade it demanded, and the faster it consumed energy. This was basic knowledge Chen Mu already possessed.

But Chen Mu was in a dilemma. He didn’t have a three-star energy card on hand, and if he wanted to know what kind of card this was, he would have to buy one. However, the price of a three-star energy card was no small amount!

A one-star energy card holds one hundred units of energy, a two-star card holds one thousand, and a three-star card’s capacity reaches as high as ten thousand units.

The standard retail price for a one-star energy card is one hundred and ten Odi, meaning each unit of energy costs an average of 1.1 Odi. A two-star energy card costs one thousand two hundred and fifty Odi, averaging 1.25 Odi per unit. The price of a three-star energy card soars to fifteen thousand Odi, averaging 1.5 Odi per unit of energy.

This is why one-star energy cards are the most widely used—after all, the world has far more poor people than wealthy ones.

Over the past three years, he had scrimped and saved, working day and night, yet his entire savings amounted to only eighty thousand Odi. Spending fifteen thousand Odi all at once made him hesitate deeply. Having experienced a life of wandering since childhood, he valued money more than most, knowing it was the foundation of survival.

After much deliberation, reason finally overcame impulse, and Chen Mu decided to set it aside for the time being. He didn’t discard the two films attached to the card either, keeping them carefully stored away.

Life returned to its usual calm, though Chen Mu developed a new habit—every day, he would unconsciously take out the card to examine it, losing himself in the intricate and flawless patterns each time.

But life had to go on. During this period, he wasn’t entirely unproductive—he successfully integrated the loop compression structure from another one-star energy card with a different design into his own, reducing his production cost by another two Odi per card. This meant his daily income now increased by fifty Odi compared to before.

It could be said that the structure of his one-star energy cards now differed significantly from the standard, though it was hard to notice unless inspected closely. But who would bother scrutinizing a newly purchased one-star energy card?

He retrieved the lecture pass Uncle Hua had given him last time—according to the date, it was valid for today.

The training class was held in a building next to Dongwei Academy. Initially, Chen Mu didn’t expect many attendees, but upon entering the classroom, he was met with a noisy crowd. The room was filled with young boys and girls, who naturally mingled quickly, laughing, teasing, and forming small groups, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Chen Mu casually found a seat by the window and sat down. Years of wandering had given him a keen eye for reading people. With just a quick glance, he understood that these individuals likely came from ordinary backgrounds. It made sense—if their families were wealthy, why would they send their children to such a low-level training class? They’d rather enroll them in Dongwei Academy.

Gazing out the window at Dongwei Academy, separated only by a wall, he had a clear view of its playground from this spot. The students there wore neat, clean uniforms, exuded confident smiles, and greeted each other with refined courtesy. Their demeanor was truly striking.

For some reason, Chen Mu felt a twinge of discomfort, a faint bitterness rising in his heart. He withdrew his gaze and sat blankly for a while before snapping out of it with a self-deprecating chuckle.

What’s wrong with me? Three years ago, I couldn’t have even dreamed of living like this. Now, what more could I possibly want? He reminded himself sternly—he should be content. He was already incredibly fortunate!

Having reconciled his thoughts, Chen Mu turned his eyes back to Dongwei Academy. Though his gaze still held a trace of quiet envy, it was now remarkably calm.

Just then, the instructor walked into the classroom, and silence immediately fell.

The lecturer was a young man in his twenties named Jia Ming. Though unremarkable in appearance, he had a silver tongue. Right off the bat, he boasted at length—claiming to be a direct disciple of Professor Jia Ziling from Dongwei Academy, having a partnership with the institution, and assuring everyone that landing a job after completing the course would be a breeze. His exaggerated pitch left the students wide-eyed with excitement.

Chen Mu, however, frowned. His life of wandering had sharpened his insight into human nature, far beyond what these young boys and girls could comprehend. To him, this lecturer seemed more like a swindler than a card theorist.

The bragging session lasted a good half of the morning.

But those hours left Chen Mu deeply disappointed. Jia Ming merely recited the textbook verbatim. Over the past three years, Chen Mu had been self-studying, poring over dozens of foundational books—many of which he knew by heart. He even recognized that Jia Ming was now reading from the widely-used 04th edition of "Introduction to Card Theory Fundamentals," compiled by Wang Jing.

He had flipped through this book no fewer than ten times, yet due to his weak foundation, many parts still eluded his understanding.

Soon, he focused his attention on the lecture. Time to push hard! There’s another session in the afternoon! Everyone, cast all your votes like lightning~