Card Disciple is a Webnovel created by Fang Xiang, 方想.
This lightnovel is currently ongoing.
Chapter 3 – The Course
Around 500 years ago, the father of the Principle of Cards, Lawson Borg, put forward his theory on cards for the first time and successfully produced the first modern card using his method. Since then, through 500 years of development, all sorts of cards have been created. Up until before that point, a great amount of primitive cards exists amongst the countless religion and was considered a supernatural object. Even until now, some of the religions still possessed a lot of extremely skilled card maker and repairer taught using knowledge from even before Lawson Borg’s era, and in this aspect their heritage is even more secret and mystical.
Because of Lawson Borg, the mystical aura surrounding the card system was smashed into pieces. He systematically researched and elaborated the structure of a card and also invented much more of them, such as today’s standard structure for energy card, which is one of Lawson Borg’s earlier works. By removing that mystical aura, he created a new discipline of study about the Card System.
About three hundred years ago, the great Card Creator Heiner Vincent brought card development into the golden age. The year Heiner Vincent was born was exactly 200 years after Lawson Borg put forward his theory on the Principle of Cards. In the past 500 years, those two people are considered the best Card Maker Grandmaster, and so was their works.
The era of Heiner Vincent is the era of heroes. During that 100 year period, a lot of cards were invented by talented and genius card maker. Heiner Vincent’s accomplishment makes him to be equally famous as Card Grandmaster Lawson Borg, and also as a leading inventor he created 97 new types of cards. Also during that time period, a large number of famous Card Creator, such as Loki, QieMoXi Hertz 《切莫西赫》, and so on emerges.
After years of development, current Card School and Education and the school 500 years ago differs greatly. The subject has become more detailed, with numerous subdivision and increasingly thorough research.
Since TianYou Federation opened a diplomatic relationship with Mohadi Region and the Hundred Gulf State, TianYou Federation’s card theory was transmitted to and spread to both regions along with the diplomatic exchange. The preeminent young generation quickly absorbed it, and by merging the theory with their own foundation created a new system that suited their culture. The new systems were further expanded and a seemingly endless amount of new cards emerges. It is one glorious and magnificent era, in which many people yearns for.
Along with the Principle of Cards System’s unceasing development, all kinds of bizarre and fantastic cards appear. Since the increase in card variety it is getting more and more difficult to differentiate between them. There is still no standard rule today that can help differentiate the cards.
However, if someone wants to know what function a card has, there is one simple and direct method that can be used!
To use the card, a specific instrument is required. Coincidentally, the instrument is also Lawson Borg’s, the originator of Principle of Card, invention, but was perfected in Heiner Vincent’s hand. Current instrument, although it has become bigger and more elaborate with various kinds of auxiliary function was installed, such as the searchlight on Chen Mu’s instrument, the core still remains the same.
Looking at the external appearance of the instrument, it is a rectangular box with three straps attached that allows it to be worn on the arm. There are slots on the top of the instrument where the cards are inserted. Usually there are at least two slots on normal instrument, and more on high-quality instrument. One slot is for the energy card and other similar basic card, and the other slot is inserted with the card the user wants to use. To put it bluntly, the instrument works by linking the energy card and the effect card together, taking the energy from the energy card and use it to set off the effect card to achieve the desired result.
Chen Mu’s instrument certainly is not one of those high-quality goods; two hundred Odi can be used to buy what quality goods? Aside from Chen Mu, people that use the same instrument as him are few and far between.
Without the slightest hesitation, he picked up the card again, inserted it in the top card slot, selected a not yet empty 1-star energy card and inserted it in the bottom card slot. Everything done, Chen Mu took a single, deep breath and pressed the b.u.t.ton to activate the instrument.
”DI!”
A translucent screen suddenly appears in front of Chen Mu with a line of words written on it.
“Energy Card does not meet the required specification. Please insert 3-star or above energy card!”
Three star energy card! It actually needs a three-star energy card or above! Surprise and amazement were fixed across Chen Mu’s face, this is 100%, absolutely, a high-ranked card. Generally speaking, the higher the rank of a card is, the higher the grade of energy card is required and the faster the energy was used up. Chen Mu does know this small amount of common knowledge.
Chen Mu felt somewhat awkward. He did not have a three-star energy card at hand. If he wants to know what kind of card is that unknown card, then he needs to buy a three-star energy card. However, the price for a three-star energy card is not small.
One-star energy card possesses energy capacity of 100, two-star energy card is at one thousand points, and three-star energy card has up to ten thousand points in capacity.
Standard retail price for one-star energy card is one hundred and ten Odi, with average cost for one point of energy is 1.1 Odi. For two-star energy card, the price is 1,250 Odi and the average of one point of energy is 1.25 Odi. For three-star energy card, the standard selling price can reach up to 15,000 Odi, which means on average 1 point of energy cost 1.5 Odi.
This is also the reason why one-star energy card is the most widely used. After all, in this world most of the people are poor.
The past three years, he lives frugally, working hard day and night, his net worth only reached up to 80,000 Odi. To suddenly take out 15,000 Odi, he was extremely unwilling, Has lived a vagrant life as a child, thus he valued money greater than the average person because he understands that this is the most basic foundation needed to live.
Hesitating for quite a while, his rationality finally triumphed over his impulse, and decided to put it off for some time later. Both of the membrane covering the card weren’t thrown away, rather it was collected and stored carefully.
His daily life has reverted to its previous calmness, but Chen Mu has obtained a new routine. Every day he cannot help but to hold the card in his hand and fiddle with it, and each time he gave the card a once-over, he’ll be immersed in the complex and perfect structure and its lines.
Still, life must go on, though in this period of time he is not without accomplishment. He successfully grasps the other different card’s Circle Form Compression Structure 《回形压缩结构》 and installed it in his own structure, allowing him to reduce the cost of manufacturing one-star energy card by two Odi. In other words, his current daily income, compared to the past, is higher by 50 Odi.
It can be said that the current structure he used to make a one-star energy card and the standard structure has differed greatly, but if people do not look closer at it, would be very difficult to make out. However, who would need to carefully study the one-star energy card they just bought?
Taking out the course entry ticket Uncle Hua gave him last time, according to the date written on the ticket, the course date is today.
The training course is located inside a building on the side of Dong Wei Inst.i.tute. Chen Mu originally believes that there will not be too many people partic.i.p.ating, but didn’t expect that when he enters the cla.s.sroom he’ll discover that it is very noisy. Sitting inside are boys and girls, youngsters mingling together, playing shoving laughing cursing, a few even forms a group, having fun.
Chen Mu randomly chooses a seat near the windows and sat down. After years of living a wandering life, it gave him experience in reading people, their face, and their countenance. With a quick glance he immediately knows that all these people came from an ordinary family, not rich but not poor either. Thinking about it, if these people came from a rich family, how could they send their own children to attend this rudimentary training course? They would obviously choose to send them to Dong Wei Inst.i.tute.
Looking outside the window at the wall separating Dong Wei Inst.i.tute, from this position, Dong Wei Inst.i.tute’s playground is clearly visible. Neat and clean uniform, filled with a confident smile, greeting each other in a refined and courteous way, Dong Wei Inst.i.tute’s student’s style is very impressive.
Inexplicably, Chen Mu felt a little uncomfortable; in his heart he felt a trace of bitterness. Retracting his gaze, Chen Mu blankly sat for quite a while. When he recovers, he couldn’t help but laugh.
What happened to me? Three years ago I daydreamed to be able to live like I did in the present, now I am still not satisfied? The heart inwardly admonishes him, must be content with his lot, he has already obtained an extremely good fortune after all.
After straightening his thought, he returned his gaze towards the Dong Wei Inst.i.tute, still with a little envy, but abnormally calm.
Just then, the instructor entered the cla.s.sroom and the cla.s.sroom quieted down immediately.
The instructor is a 21-years-old young man called Jia Ming. He looks ordinary, but his lips are extraordinarily nimble. He spoke a lot at first, saying he was Dong Wei Inst.i.tute’s Professor Jia ZiLing immediate disciple, and was here as a result of cooperative partnerships with Dong Wei Inst.i.tute, so when the student graduated, when the time comes, finding a job is a simple matter. A few was agitated by his boasts, they straightened themselves and listened with shining eyes.
Chen Mu frowned when he heard that, since he was small he has lived a vagrant life that gave him insight into the workings of the world, which is something these young girls and boys could not compare with. As he sees it, this lecturer resembles a swindler more than a Card Creator.
His boasts took half of the morning.
That half of the morning left Chen Mu greatly disappointed. This Jia Ming person is completely scripted. The past three years, Chen Mu continuously studied, look over no less than 100 books about the basics and foundation, many of which he knows by heart. He knows that Jia Ming, and each and every inst.i.tution of higher learning today follows the guideline written in the fourth edition of > compiled by the Capital.
He has read over that book for more than 10 times, but owing to a great gap in his foundation, a lot of the parts are still somewhat unclear.
Though he’ll soon concentrate on the lecture.