Wait, this kind of thing actually happens?
That was the first thought that popped into Russell's mind.
Principal Shepherd gave a warm smile and picked up a booklet from his desk. "Russell, take a look. You can pick one material from here—we'll have it delivered to your home after school."
Russell accepted the booklet and flipped through it carefully.
[Steelblade Sword] (Blue), [Bloodstained Amulet] (Purple), [Corpse Hound - Muscle Enhancement Type] (Purple)...
Page after page revealed rare black-iron-level materials, all of blue quality or higher.
Suddenly, Russell's eyes sharpened. "Principal Shepherd, I'll take this one."
Everyone turned to see which item he pointed to.
[Elite Ghoul] (Purple).
Seeing Russell's choice, Marcus hesitated before finally speaking up. "Russell, I'd recommend picking a tool-type material to create an equipment card that can boost your current summon."
Typically, a beginner cardmaker's second card was a support item. Not only could equipment cards enhance existing monsters, but rushing to make a second summon too soon often led to wasted materials—especially if the first success was just beginner's luck.
But Russell shook his head and replied, "Uncle Marcus, thank you for the advice—but I'm sticking with this."
Seeing how resolute he was, no one tried to persuade him further.
After all, interfering with a cardmaker's creative direction was practically taboo.
At that point, Mr. Williams spoke up. "Principal Shepherd, President Marcus—if it's alright, I'll take Russell over to the honors class to get him registered."
The two nodded in approval.
As they walked out, Marcus chuckled. "Old Shepherd, looks like your school might actually have a shot at the Four-School Trials next month."
Principal Shepherd smiled faintly, but worry still clouded his eyes. "I've heard the other schools have some promising candidates too... In fact, there's even a rumor that someone at Central High crafted a gold-grade card as their first."
Marcus, however, wasn't convinced. Card quality alone was never the true measure of a cardmaker.
To him, the fact that Russell had stood up during a monster outbreak already made him stronger than any so-called 'seed student' the other schools had to offer.
Just as Marcus was inwardly praising Russell, Principal Shepherd suddenly turned and said, "Marcus... there's something I'd like to ask of you. I haven't asked for a favor in years..."
On the way, Mr. Williams asked, "Want to go say goodbye to your old classmates?"
Russell considered it and shook his head. "It's not like I'm graduating. I'm still at First High. If they want to see me, they can find me."
"Fair enough."
They arrived at the honors classroom.
Due to the low odds of becoming a cardmaker, New Metro First High only had one honors class dedicated to training them.
"Ms. Song, could you come out for a moment?" Mr. Williams called from the door.
Soon, a middle-aged woman stepped out.
"This is Russell. Starting today, he'll be one of your students," Mr. Williams said, then turned to Russell. "This is Ms. Song—she's one of our most experienced teachers. She'll be your homeroom teacher from now on."
Russell nodded politely. "Good morning, Ms. Song."
"Hello, Russell. Go on in and get familiar with the others," she replied, adjusting her glasses. Then she turned and murmured to Mr. Williams, "So he's the one..."
As the two adults spoke outside, Russell stepped onto the classroom platform. "Hey everyone, I'm Russell. Let's all get along."
He scanned the room.
There were twelve students total—including him. Only one was a girl.
That girl gasped. "Wait—you're the Russell?"
Russell raised an eyebrow. "You know me?"
"Of course! You're our role model!" she said, grinning brightly. "I'm Nancy."
Her father, a high-ranking gold-tier cardmaker, had told her all about Russell the night before.
Russell chuckled. He couldn't shake the feeling that her praise sounded oddly sarcastic. "The Association's just hyping me up, that's all."
"Alright, quiet down now," Ms. Song said as she entered the room.
"I'm sure most of you already know Russell here. Yesterday, during the Nest outbreak, he risked his life to save a neighborhood full of people. Let's give him a round of applause."
She clapped first, and the others followed.
In the middle of the applause, Russell gave a modest smile. "Anyone here would've done the same in my shoes."
It never hurt to say a few humble words. People appreciated that kind of thing.
Ms. Song cleared her throat. "Alright, time for introductions. Let's get to know each other."
Russell stepped down to make room.
After all the students had introduced themselves, Russell mentally marked down two people of interest.
One was Nancy, whose card was [Three-Tailed Fox] (Black Iron, Purple). In his memory, the fox-spirits line had once produced a legendary red diamond-grade card: [Nine-Tails: Daji].
The other was a short-ponytailed boy named Darren, whose summon was [Green Ghoul] (Black Iron, Purple).
The zombie-type card line had great potential—and unlike the fox types, its evolution path was smooth and steady.
Russell knew Darren all too well. He had been in the same class before—and had even led efforts to isolate and bully Russell for being an orphan. Only Mr. Williams had stopped it back then.
"Tch. Rabid mutt..."Russell's gaze turned cold at the memory.
Ms. Song clapped her hands. "Attention! I have an announcement to make."
"In one month, the Four-School Trial will be held in our district. The winning school will earn a chance to train inside a rift dungeon."
A rift?!
Everyone's hearts started racing.
Access to a rift meant rare materials—treasures that could be sold or used to make powerful cards.
Seeing she had their full attention, Ms. Song smiled triumphantly. "Only three students per school will be chosen. And only they'll be allowed into the rift."
"So from now on, the honors class will operate under a—"
"Ranking system."
She paused, then continued. "Tomorrow, we'll hold the first rankings."
"The format: official cardmaker duels."
In these duels, cardmakers couldn't attack each other directly—but otherwise, anything went.
Once a cardmaker's current-level cards were exhausted, they usually chose to surrender. Also worth noting: when a summon was destroyed, it would enter a one-day cooldown period.
After delivering the news, Ms. Song exited the room.
Darren sneered as he walked over to Russell. "Well, well... Look who turned from trash into treasure overnight."
Darren had always thought of himself as a prodigy. Seeing the once-pathetic orphan now stealing the spotlight made his jealousy boil over.
Russell rolled his eyes and replied flatly, "Sure, sure. You're way better than me. Congratulations."
That flippant tone sent Darren into a rage. "You little orphan—you dare look down on me?!"
A twisted smirk crept onto his face. "Tomorrow during the rankings, I'll tear your card to shreds in front of everyone."
Russell couldn't be bothered. He simply gave Darren a bored look.
Meanwhile, Mr. Williams returned to his old class—only to find it in complete chaos.
One student, Moe, ran up to him with a heartbroken look. "Mr. Williams! Did Russell really drop out to work full-time?"
Mr. Williams stared at him, baffled. "Where'd you get that nonsense?"
"Russell's become a cardmaker and transferred into the honors class."
The entire classroom froze.
And then—bedlam.
"Whaaaaaaaaat?!"