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Seeing that Ethan didn't push the sibling thing any further, Jake let out a quiet breath of relief.
The feeling he'd had while confessing was like two guys swearing a blood pact to be gaming buddies for life — and then one of them suddenly gets a girlfriend.
If Ethan had really wanted to lay into him...
Jake's only defense would've been: Hey, I didn't lie. I just... didn't volunteer the information.
"We were planning to train after registering," Jake continued, "but then we ran into Ryan. He wasn't having it. Why should you get to be on the team?"
"Lily told him you were really strong."
"Ryan's from the Combat Department. You know how those guys are — they spend every single day researching battle tactics and drilling matchups. They're legitimately better at actual combat than Card Making students. So the second Lily said you were strong, he took it as a personal challenge."
"But you weren't there, so he couldn't confront you directly. That made him even more frustrated."
"So he said he'd fight us instead — to prove his strength and show who deserved the spot more."
Jake paused and looked at Ethan.
Ethan could already guess the rest. "And then you guys fought. Three of you couldn't beat one?"
"Hey — don't say it like that." Jake held up a finger. "It was three separate one-on-one matches. We each lost individually. It wasn't a three-on-one."
Isn't that basically the same thing?
Ethan was speechless. Even if Ryan was from the Combat Department, the Card Making Department should have a better understanding of card mechanics and synergy. How do you lose three times to one person?
Even if Jake and Sophie couldn't win, Lily's deck was solid. She had four or five Purple cards — already exceptional for a college student. Most people were lucky to have one.
And even she lost?
"Is he that strong?"
"It's not really about strength," Jake said, looking uncomfortable. "He's just... weird."
He began to describe the fight: "The quality of his deck is absurdly high. Every card he plays is Purple."
"I seriously don't understand it. I have one Purple card. He has at least seven or eight?"
"If he were a Card Maker, fine — maybe he had a breakthrough like you and cranked out a few Purples. But all of his were bought."
Seven or eight... Ethan ran the numbers. If they were all Tier 2, that's roughly a hundred Spirit Crystals each — seven or eight hundred total.
Not a trivial amount.
And he definitely had Tier 3 cards too. Those were far more expensive — one Tier 3 Purple was worth seven or eight Tier 2s.
Rich kid, then.
"And then?" Ethan asked.
"Then — even though we lost, we still vouched for you. But the more we talked you up, the more pissed Ryan got. Finally he declared he'd fight you tomorrow." Jake scratched his neck. "The reason I'm back so late is that I went to Sophie and Lily's to plan tactics for you."
Ethan: "..."
"I know you're strong too, but Ryan's deck is nasty. Most people don't have flying cards at the lower tiers — but his Tier 1 and Tier 2 openers are all flyers. You literally can't touch them from the ground."
"So we figured, if you fight him tomorrow, we'll lend you Lily's Water Servant. It's ranged and can hit airborne targets."
"Thank you so much," Ethan said, completely deadpan. "Not only did you accept a duel on my behalf without asking, you also planned my strategy for me. Really. From the bottom of my heart."
"You're welcome! That's what bros are for."
"You genuinely cannot tell the difference between a compliment and sarcasm, can you?" Ethan rolled his eyes.
He wasn't afraid of a fight. He actually wanted more battle experience to test his deck and find weaknesses. But he wasn't invincible yet, and he didn't love the idea of a pride-on-the-line duel he hadn't agreed to.
Still — the anti-air point was valid.
He currently had exactly one flying unit, and it was a Tier 3 card he'd just made tonight with the Nathan money. He'd figured a Tier 3 flyer was enough and that the early game didn't matter.
But hearing Jake's description, he should probably have some insurance for the lower tiers too. Whether he needed it or not, better safe than sorry.
Jake gave a sheepish grin. "Come on — I'm trusting you with this, aren't I? If you beat him tomorrow, I'll cover your breakfast for a month."
Ethan thought for a second. "Forget breakfast. Call me 'Godfather' for a week."
Jake went quiet. He seemed to be weighing the cost.
After a long pause: "...Deal."
The moment Jake agreed, Ethan was off the bed.
"What are you doing?" Jake flinched at the sudden movement.
"Making cards." Ethan glanced over his shoulder on the way to the card-making room. "Your father needs to take care of that kid tomorrow."
"Godfather's got that much inspiration? You're just gonna crank out cards right now?"
Ethan turned back with a grin. "I'm not like some people who make one Purple card and hit a creative wall. I'm the epiphany type — one breakthrough and I'm in the zone. Pure genius. Unstoppable."
He struck a dramatic pose in the doorway. "Hahahaha!"
Jake watched him disappear into the card room and sat in silence for a moment.
Mixed emotions.
He really did need to sit down and reflect.
Looking back, he'd been a bit of a prodigy himself. In the second semester of freshman year, while everyone else was still grinding out Tier 1 and 2 cards, he'd jumped straight to creating a Tier 3 Purple — Sir Ashford. Even the professors had taken notice. They'd told him to come to them if he ever needed guidance.
And then... nothing.
Everyone else gradually started producing Purple cards. Jake got stuck.
Forget a second Tier 3 Purple — he couldn't even make a Tier 1 Purple anymore.
"Man, I really need to study harder." He sighed, steeling his resolve.
He opened TikTok and searched: how to effectively create purple cards.
Five minutes later... Okay, this cosplayer's Frost Maiden outfit is insane, but that Shield Maiden one is also top-tier... hard to pick a favorite...
On the other side of the wall, Ethan stared at the blank card base in his hand.
Flying units. The first thing that came to mind was naturally Flying-type Pokémon.
But Tier 1 cards corresponded to base forms — the unevolved stage. And the combat power of unevolved Flying-types was genuinely limited. Something like Swablu would struggle against an adult human, let alone a Purple card.
He couldn't just cram Dragonite in and call it Tier 1. The system would reject it.
Wait — no. Base forms shouldn't automatically be written off as weak.
Ethan remembered a web novel from his previous life where a certain internet-addicted Eevee could practically go toe-to-toe with legendary beasts while still in its unevolved form.
But that was different. That Eevee was strong through training. Ethan's cards were based on settings — the story framework he wrote into the card. If he overloaded the lore, the creation would fail.
Whatever. Tier 1 cards aren't expensive to make. I'll try Dragonite first and see if the system accepts it.
If it doesn't, I'll just switch to something else.
Plz THROW POWER STONES.