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"Youth Training Competition?" Luke blinked.
He could guess the general idea from the name alone. His old world had youth training programs for everything from football to esports. Apparently, Magic Card Civilization had its own version.
Please don't tell me it's a five-versus-five ranked match.
"It's held every year," Harrison explained. "The participants are new Association members from across all twelve cities under the Capital, plus the Capital itself. Think of it as a rookie tournament for the entire Ashenmere region. Most competitors are Commander Realm. The final winner receives substantial rewards."
Harrison had been called to Ashenmere recently specifically to discuss the competition logistics. In previous years, he hadn't invested much hope in Ashenvale's performance. The city's representatives had consistently landed in the middle of the pack, solid but unremarkable. Nothing that moved the needle on resource allocation.
But this year was different. This year, he had Luke.
"Beyond individual rewards, the competition results directly affect each branch's resource allocation for the following year," Harrison continued. "Higher placement means a bigger share of Association resources for the entire Ashenvale branch. So a strong performance from you doesn't just benefit you personally. It lifts every Card Master in the city."
That was the real reason Harrison wanted Luke to participate. The roster Nina had compiled was competent, but if Luke didn't replace one of the slots, the outcome would look the same as every other year. Luke was the variable that could break the pattern.
"Sounds interesting." Luke didn't need long to decide. Harrison had gone out of his way, multiple times, for his benefit. The direct enrollment into the Association, bypassing every standard procedure. The Dragon Eye delivery, personally. And now the investment gift. Refusing a simple competition request after all of that would be ungrateful.
Besides, a tournament against Card Masters from across the region was exactly the challenge he wanted.
"I knew I hadn't misjudged you." Harrison's smile was genuine. This was why he'd held off confirming the roster yesterday. He'd been saving Luke's slot.
With the business settled, Luke cleared his workspace, centered himself, and opened the Card Editor.
Harrison hadn't moved from his chair. The Dragon Eye was delivered. The competition was settled. By all rights, he should leave.
He didn't.
During their conversation, Harrison had picked up that Luke had already completed the Eye of Timaeus's background and design work. The card was ready to build. Luke had been waiting on nothing but the material that was now sitting in his Card Editor.
Which meant construction could begin right now. And Harrison Cole was not, under any circumstances, going to miss it.
He'd already missed the unified exam. He'd watched Luke craft Black Star through a monitoring screen instead of in person. This was his chance to witness an Original Card construction up close, from start to finish, and he'd rather chew through his own desk than walk away.
"Mind if I stay?" Harrison asked, abandoning any pretense of subtlety.
Luke considered it. Harrison had seen Mana. He'd seen Black Star. He knew about the Original Card status. Letting him watch the construction process didn't expose anything new. The real secrets, the worldview lore, the card background, the specific design choices, were all locked inside the Card Editor. Without access to the Duel Spirits worldview itself, no one could replicate what Luke built, regardless of what they observed during construction.
Even an Immortal or Undying Realm Card Master couldn't extract usable information just by watching. The process was visible. The foundation was not.
"Go ahead." Luke gestured to the chair. "Pull up a seat."
Harrison settled in like a man who'd just secured front-row tickets to a once-in-a-lifetime show.
Mana set a fresh cup of tea beside him and took her own position nearby, relaxed and familiar with the routine.
Luke closed his eyes and began.
「 In an age long past, a dark sovereign known as the Shadow King wielded the power of the Orichalcum to corrupt and devour the Duel Spirit Realm. 」
「 Three Legendary Dragons rose to oppose him. Together, they led the spirits of the Realm in a war that spanned generations. 」
「 Timaeus. Critias. Hermos. These were the true names of the three legends, recorded in the deepest annals of the Spirit Realm's history. 」
「 After a war that consumed eras, the three Legendary Dragons defeated the Shadow King. But they lacked the power to destroy him utterly. In the end, they sealed him away and cast the prison into the void between worlds. 」
「 The sealing cost the dragons everything they had. Before falling into their eternal slumber, each left behind a fragment of themselves for a future generation to find. 」
「 Timaeus left his Eyes, that the worthy might see through all darkness. Critias left his Fang, that the worthy might pierce any falsehood. Hermos left his Claw, that the worthy might forge any weapon. 」
「 Through the Eye of Timaeus, the bearer may summon a projection of the Legendary Dragon. This projection possesses the power to merge with the summoner's existing forces, igniting a miracle born from the union of dragon and spirit. 」
The lore flowed through the Card Editor with practiced precision. Luke had spent days refining every line. The Legendary Dragons occupied a tier above anything else in the Duel Spirits worldview, entities whose power was woven into the fabric of the Spirit Realm itself. Building the full Timaeus was impossible at Luke's current level. But the Eye was different. It distilled the essence of the dragon into a single function: fusion.
And that function was what would elevate Mana to her next stage.
「 Card background approved. Please complete the card art and add materials. 」
Luke's spiritual energy shaped itself into a brush, and the Eye of Timaeus took form on the Card Editor. A massive dragon rendered in emerald and gold, ancient beyond measure, its body radiating an authority that predated civilizations. But the true focal point of the card art wasn't the dragon's body or wings.
It was the eyes.
Even unfinished, even before materials had been added to bring color and life to the image, the dragon's pupils radiated a pressure that made the air in the room feel heavier. They seemed to look through the card, through the Editor, through Luke himself, and into something deeper.
"The eyes really are the essence of this card." Luke murmured it almost to himself. His original concept had been right. The Eye of Timaeus's power was concentrated entirely in the dragon's gaze. Everything else, the body, the wings, the scales, was secondary. The eyes were the weapon.
Which means, he noted for future reference, Critias's Fang will need dragon fangs as its core material, and Hermos's Claw will need dragon claws. Fortunately, dragon fangs and claws were more common than dragon eyes, hearts, or reverse scales. Acquiring them would be expensive but not impossible.
A problem for another day.
The card art completed, and the room shifted.
A sound rose from the Card Editor. Low, resonant, building in layers. The dragon roar.
The same phenomenon that had appeared during Black Star's construction. The unmistakable signature of a dragon-type card nearing successful completion.
"Dragon roar!" Harrison's tea went cold and forgotten. His eyes were locked on the Card Editor, body leaning forward, barely breathing.
Mana heard it too, but unlike Harrison, she didn't flinch. She'd been through this once already with Black Star. Her hands moved automatically, deploying a mana barrier across the room's walls and ceiling.
First time's a surprise, she thought, settling the barrier into place with the ease of someone who'd rehearsed the move. Second time's just routine.
She glanced at Harrison, who looked like he might vibrate out of his chair, and smiled to herself. The old man clearly hadn't gotten the memo about staying calm.