advance/early chapters : p atreon.com/Ritesh_Jadhav0869
It was early June, and the weather was already turning hot. In the Capital, located in the northern part of the Daming Federation, the residents had switched to light, short-sleeved shirts.
"It's still just as impressive as ever," Coach Carter sighed, shielding his eyes from the sun as he looked out from the central railway station. Behind him, his five students stood with varying expressions.
"I'm back," Lucian muttered to himself, squeezing Yuna's hand. "This year... I have to win." Last year, he had followed the then-sophomore seniors to the Capital for the national competition. Unfortunately, Northgate University had been a weak team back then, completely wiped out in both the individual and team events.
"Let's go. We'll head to the hotel first." Carter summoned his trusty van and waved the team inside. Accompanied by its signature, strange theme music, the van drove all the way to a hotel that towered into the clouds.
A skyscraper of this height was a rare sight in the Daming Federation. Because of the existence of secret realms and flying monsters, no one knew when a building might become a target. Therefore, the general limit for most structures was only around ten floors. Anyone who built higher was either an official government department or had high-level cardmakers permanently stationed as guards.
Lucian wasn't surprised, having been here before, but seeing Russell and the other three looking up in awe, he explained, "This hotel was built with joint funds from the court and the Association. It's used specifically to house students during the national competitions. Normally, it's open to the public."
Russell understood. No wonder the atmosphere around here felt strange; he couldn't even detect the spiritual pressure of the cardmakers inside. The Capital court must have gathered all the students together for ease of management and protection. After all, almost all the young geniuses of the Federation were gathered here. The loss of even one would be painful for the officials.
While they talked, Coach Carter completed the check-in procedures. "Let's go to the old place. The 18th floor." He handed out the room cards.
"Northgate has been assigned to the 18th floor for years," Lucian whispered to Russell. "Last year, Imperial College was on the same floor. It should be the same this year."
Ding.
The elevator doors opened, revealing a luxurious corridor covered in plush crimson carpet. As the Northgate team stepped out, they ran head-on into another group.
"Hey, old Carter. You're here."
"From Imperial College," Lucian whispered. Russell didn't need the reminder; he recognized the uniforms.
"Old Fang, long time no see." Carter politely shook the hand of the middle-aged man leading the other group.
Old Fang had a smile on his face, but his eyes were fixed on Russell. "This must be the new treasure Northgate picked up this year. I watched his matches a few days ago. The young man is really capable."
Russell laughed politely in agreement but didn't answer. Several students behind Old Fang looked at him with scrutinizing gazes. However, nothing provocative happened. With the strength Russell had shown recently, any school that took the national competition seriously would definitely mark him as a key target.
"Imperial College has always been strong," Carter said after the other group had left. "Last year, they won third place in the team competition, and one of their students made it to the top eight in the individual competition. Hopefully, we can surpass them this year."
Russell and the others nodded silently. Since they were already here, no one was willing to be just a runner-up. Everyone wanted to make a final push.
Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit heavy, Carter almost told Russell that it didn't matter if he lost, as he would still have a chance next year. But he held back. This was the last year for Lucian and the others. Saying that now would only discourage them. Besides, he believed Russell wasn't the kind of fragile student who needed comfort. Unfortunately, Carter didn't know that Russell had already touched the threshold of the gold level. Once he broke through, he wouldn't be eligible for next year's competition anyway.
After putting their luggage away, the Northgate team set out to familiarize themselves with the battlefield in advance. Along the way, Russell saw a plethora of strange vehicles: dogs, horses, motorcycles, birds. This showed that the number of cardmakers in the Capital far exceeded that of the other cities he had lived in.
Just as the noise of the city began to fade, a massive circular building appeared in Russell's eyes.
"So big!?" Russell was surprised. He hadn't expected the venue to be this large. He would have believed it if someone told him it was an arena for gold or even emerald-level cardmakers.
However, when he entered, he understood why. Inside, there were multiple fighting platforms. With so many participants, it was impossible to hold the competition one game at a time. To improve efficiency, many matches would be played simultaneously. Only when the number of teams dwindled would these small venues be integrated into one large arena for the finals.
At this time, there were already many people scattered around the venue. Russell immediately spotted the most eye-catching female cardmaker among them. She was sitting on the shoulder of a giant, muscular man.
Lucian followed his gaze and shook his head. "From Capital University. She participated last year, but her strength was at the bottom of their club. And that muscle man..."
Russell nodded. "I know."
Lucian was stunned. He hadn't expected Russell to have any connection with students from Capital University. But what Russell was thinking about was the female cardmaker Zephyr Flynn had mentioned when he first came to this world—the one who liked to ride muscular men. He hadn't expected to meet her here.
Your circle is really messy, Russell sighed inwardly. But thinking about how he also frequently... "battled Pokémon"... he felt relieved. We are like-minded people. Respect and understanding! However, as a trainer, Russell used an Onix, while she used a Cloyster. Thinking of Onix's quadruple weakness to water... he couldn't help but feel a little sympathetic towards her card.
"Okay, that's it for the venue. Let's go back, and I'll tell you about a few schools you need to pay attention to," Carter's voice pulled Russell out of his wild thoughts.
Back in Carter's room, the coach solemnly took out five tablets from his storage card and handed them to the team. "The information is all in there. Take a good look."
"Due to the nature of the national competition system, the strength of major universities fluctuates greatly every year," Carter explained. Since students had to choose a job for practical training in their third year, the main members of the combat clubs were only sophomores at most. This meant the roster turned over very quickly. A champion team one year could be completely replaced by rookies the next.
"Also," he added, looking at Russell, "the team competition is held before the individual competition, so..."
Russell understood. Because of the order, some cardmakers might choose to hide their trump cards in the team matches to save them for the individual tournament. He nodded silently.
"The first one is Imperial College, our neighbors on the 18th floor," Carter continued. "They were third last year, so they'll be pushing hard. However, since their main members are already juniors, all the contestants this year are new. Personally, I think they have little hope."
Russell looked through the information and agreed. Their cards were mediocre, mostly generic Ox-Head and Horse-Face generals. Even Lucian could beat them.
"Next is last year's champion and this year's defending champion, Daming Science & Technology University. They had two key players last year who were freshmen, and they will definitely continue to compete this year. To be honest, it's not going to be easy. Even with Russell, we might not be able to win."
Russell found the information on the two aces. Troy, male, used exotic beasts from the Classic of Mountains and Seas. Sienna, female, used cards derived from the Edda, the source of Norse mythology.
As expected of geniuses, Russell sighed. Their knowledge reserves are solid. Normal cardmakers had no way to understand the specific mythological systems outside of the Federation. The World Mythology Atlas only recorded the most famous foreign gods. More detailed works like the Iliad and the Edda were rare.
"Finally, Kirin University also needs attention," Carter said, looking at Russell. "This year, there is an acquaintance of yours on their team. Holden. After the unified exam, he was accepted as a disciple by Master Frank and taken to Kirin University."
Russell remembered the young martial artist whose dreams had been shattered by Luffy's fists.
"Master Frank's fighting style is very similar to Holden's," Carter warned. "So even though we didn't get any useful information about his new cards, he's probably going to be tricky."
The "War Sage" Frank Dragomir was a cardmaker who believed in the heresy of hand-to-hand combat. Or rather, no one dared to call it heresy in front of him anymore, since he had conquered the entire north with his own fists. Under his guidance, Holden had probably achieved a qualitative change.
What is this? A physical battle against a skeleton? Russell felt a little nervous thinking about the possible scenes. In fact, he wasn't weak in close combat. His body was doubly strengthened by his vampire bloodline and Arrogance, and his combat experience could be supplemented by the symbiote's [Battle Master] trait. It was just that his cards were usually so powerful he didn't need to make a move. Of course, if someone thought he was weak because he was a cardmaker, his terrifying physical strength would give them a big surprise.
"Others, such as Capital University, Amoy University, and Zhejiang University, should not be underestimated," Carter concluded. "However, our strength this year means we have a chance. I hope everyone can work together to achieve a good ranking." His personal expectation for the team was the semi-finals. For the individual competition, he thought Russell had a chance to win the championship, provided no dark horse emerged with a sudden epiphany.
"Okay, go back and rest. Don't forget there's an opening ceremony tomorrow."
Seeing the five students return to their rooms, Carter sighed silently. "I hope we can get a good result this year."
(End of this chapter)
PLZ THROW POWERSTONES.