Akashic_Tales & VIPER SCANS
CardMaster: Awakening the Mythic Codex
Chapter 4: Version 1.01 Update
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After finishing his meal and washing his dishes, Ethan sat down at his computer and entered the website address.
As soon as he accessed the site, a registration form popped up.
It required an ID number.
Ethan searched online for one, entered it, and surprisingly, it worked.
[Cardmaster Special Affairs Forum]
Ethan glanced at the site, which featured various videos of supernatural battles, including ones from other regions.
The content was extremely graphic, with many thumbnails showing scenes so bloody they were nauseating.
He clicked on one of the most popular videos.
It featured a black man from the Non-Federation Zone, but fortunately, he was speaking the Federation language, which Ethan understood.
"Our tribe is saved!!"
"A miracle has descended upon us!!"
The man began with frenzied gestures and an ecstatic expression.
Then he turned the camera.
A woman wearing traditional local attire stood on a platform.
Below her, black tribespeople lined up with bowls. When they approached the woman, she would pass her hand over their bowls, instantly filling them with water.
The recipients all knelt before the woman, hailing her as a deity.
The video ended there.
This woman likely had a Soul Card with water abilities, allowing her to summon water.
The tribespeople were treating her as divine.
"Drake, did you see it?" Noah sent another text message asking.
Ethan replied that he had watched one video.
Then Noah immediately initiated a video call.
As soon as the call connected, Noah exclaimed, "Damn, Drake, is your phone from ten years ago? It's so blurry."
Ethan's face darkened. "What is it? Just tell me."
Noah dropped his playful demeanor and became serious. "Drake, search for Tririver City and check it out. Don't hang up."
Ethan skeptically searched for Tririver City, which yielded dozens of videos.
"The one with the most likes."
Ethan looked at the first video, which had a river on the thumbnail.
Hmm? It looked somewhat like the Dragonflow River, the largest river in Tririver City.
He clicked on it and saw it was from a drone's perspective.
Someone was speaking.
"Guys, my ability is absolutely invincible. I can control machines with my mind. Right now I can only control small things like drones, but I estimate that as my level increases, becoming a one-man army isn't just a dream!"
Just another video of someone showing off their ability.
That was Ethan's first impression.
However, when the person began demonstrating their skills by rapidly lowering the drone and pointing the camera at the river surface...
Ethan immediately paused the video.
A massive shadow was visible beneath the water, rushing toward the surface.
He pressed play again.
The moment the shadow broke the surface, he paused it again.
"A fish?"
Ethan couldn't help but murmur.
The head, nearly ten meters wide, was indeed that of a fish.
He continued playing.
The fish head emerged from the water and swallowed the drone in one gulp.
The screen went dark, followed by the screams of the man from the beginning.
"Ahhh—"
The video ended there.
"Finished watching, Drake?"
"Yes, finished."
Ethan closed the video. Noah clearly wanted him to see this fish. Frowning, he asked, "Do you know where this fish came from?"
"Drake, do you remember what's next to my house?"
"A pet shop."
Noah nodded, his eyes still showing traces of fear. "Right, last night the pets in that shop, just like this fish, all underwent mutations."
Ethan's eyes widened. "They got this big too?"
Noah paused, then shook his head. "No, not that big."
"Oh, continue."
"Last night, I first heard dogs barking while I was sleeping. The barking got louder and louder until it woke me up, so I opened the window to take a look."
"And that scared you?"
Noah tightened the blanket covering him and shook his head. "No."
Seeing Ethan's teasing expression, he reluctantly nodded. "Fine, yes. You don't know how disgusting and frightening those pets were. They were like zombies, with glowing green eyes."
"Have those pets been found?"
"I don't know. Shortly after, a group of people in trench coats arrived with the police, and I stopped watching."
Ethan placed his phone on the table and advised, "Since those mutated pets have escaped, they probably won't come back. Just tell your parents to minimize going outside for now."
"Okay. Drake, what quality is your Soul Card?"
"Common quality."
"Really? Drake, you—"
Hearing Noah continuing to ramble, Ethan picked up his phone and gave him a skeptical look. "Are you just too scared and looking for someone to chat with?"
"No way. Gotta go, see you at school."
After tossing his phone aside, Ethan continued searching the website for videos about animal mutations.
He found quite a few examples.
Videos of mutated animals were appearing all over the Federation.
But none showed the zombie-like mutations Noah had described.
Most just featured animals that had grown significantly larger.
Finding no new useful information on the forum, Ethan began researching how to treat a sprained ankle and wilderness survival guides.
He wasn't sure if his body would still be injured when he entered the game again.
It never hurt to be prepared.
However, as dinnertime approached...
Text appeared before his eyes, similar to what he had seen the first time.
[Azure Star Cardmaster Realm Update 1.01 Version Announcement.]
[1. Game Realm Gates can now be selected by players for entry. Entry time is fixed at 00:00:00 each night. When entering a Realm Gate, world time pauses, and your body will be restored to its state when you last exited the game. Death in the game will result in random experience loss and respawn point reset.]
[2. Added game map function and friend function. After entering a Realm Gate, you can search for and add other players by their game names. Added game region divisions, with 9,999 game regions. Players are allowed to cross regions.]
[3. Game Easter Egg (giving players an early surpriserejoice): Random animals on Azure Star have been selected to undergo mutations, increasing in size. Players who defeat them will receive unexpected rewards~]
Ethan put down his knife and frowned in thought.
The first point confirmed that when he entered the Realm Gate tonight, he would still be in an injured state.
The second point seemed to encourage players to form teams in the game. Fortunately, he had changed his name, so he wouldn't have to worry about being recognized.
But what really made Ethan frown was the third point.
The announcement only mentioned increased size.
Combined with the videos he had watched earlier, which all showed size-increased mutated animals.
So… what were those zombie animals Noah had seen?
Thinking of this, Ethan sent him a text message.
"Those zombie animals you saw last night could very well be the result of a player's Soul Card ability. Be careful."
"Aww, thanks Drake, I love—"
Ethan quickly turned off his screen, preventing his eyes from being contaminated.
Then he began preparing dinner.
Once again, it was simple mashed potatoes mixed with rice.
After fiercely finishing the last bite, Ethan vowed that once there was a legitimate trading channel for material cards...
He would sell the [Tusk] material card at the first opportunity.
He was truly tired of mashed potatoes with rice.
And he didn't dare go out for part-time work recently.
After dinner, with the distant neon-lit high-rises flickering in the background...
Ethan began to simulate what he would do after entering the Realm Gate tonight.
Time quickly reached midnight.
A crisp game notification sound rang out.
"Enter Realm Gate?"
"Yes."