Magic Card Era: Infinite Deck Enhancement — Chapter 129

Chapter 129: True RNG God! Ten Consecutive Pulls, Absolute Jackpot!

“Eh?” As Luke checked his system interface, Celestine, the Ancient Spirit Tree Spirit, let out a soft murmur. Her bare feet hovered inches above the ethereal ground, and a flicker of deep confusion rippled through her emerald-green pupils.

She had felt a highly anomalous energy signature weave through the air just a moment ago. Though it dissipated like mist, Celestine trusted her senses implicitly—especially here, deep within the domain of the Ancient Spirit God Tree’s true body. Yet, the energy had manifested and vanished with such unnatural speed that she couldn’t trace its origin.

“In all these countless years, you are the very first Magic Card Master who has ever entertained the thought of uprooting and stealing my main body.” Finding no trace of the anomaly, Celestine withdrew her scattered divine senses. Her beautiful, ancient eyes locked deeply onto Luke.

That bizarre energy had never appeared in her realm before. The most logical conclusion was that it emanated from the young man standing before her. But as a World Tree’s spirit, Celestine found it utterly baffling how a mere Commander Realm Magic Card Master could mask his presence so flawlessly. Let alone a Commander, even high-tier Monarchs, Immortals, or Undying Realm powerhouses could never escape her omniscient perception.

Her voice was as gentle as her ethereal appearance, carrying the soothing cadence of rustling leaves, but her words left Luke momentarily speechless.

“Uh…” Confronted with his own greedy inner murmurs, Luke offered a slightly awkward smile. He didn’t bother denying it. He really had been contemplating how to dig up the colossal tree just seconds ago.

“You truly are a unique Magic Card Master.” Celestine chuckled softly, a melodic sound that eased the tension in the air. “Has another year already passed in the outside world? That means you are the reigning champion of this year’s Eastern Region College Entrance Examination.”

Her emerald gaze drifted toward the massive, imposing figure beside him. “A Dragon-type Magic Card. One of the absolute apex races among all Magic Card Elves. It is indeed an exceptionally rare and formidable companion.”

“Roar…” Beneath Celestine’s serene scrutiny, the Red-Eyes Meteor Dragon let out a low, rumbling growl. The Ancient Spirit Tree Spirit exuded an invisible, crushing pressure. Despite its innate draconic pride, the Red-Eyes Meteor Dragon possessed the combat instincts to know it was hopelessly outmatched by the entity floating before them.

“Easy, don’t be nervous…” Luke patted the dragon’s dark, obsidian-like scales, his demeanor relaxed. “She doesn’t have any ill intentions.”

Although the Land of the New Moon was steeped in enigmatic phenomena, Celestine radiated a tranquil aura devoid of malice. More, if this realm harbored genuine lethal threats, his teacher, the Night Queen, would never have sent her precious students here to die. The New Moon Blessing had been the ultimate reward for the top exam scorer for years; its safety was practically guaranteed.

“Allow me to formally introduce myself.” Celestine withdrew her gaze from the tense dragon and focused entirely on Luke. “I am Celestine, the tree spirit of the Ancient Spirit God Tree, and the sovereign mistress of this Land of the New Moon.”

As she spoke, the colossal canopy of the Ancient Spirit God Tree swayed in tandem, its massive branches and shimmering leaves rustling as if echoing her introduction. Since the tree was her physical vessel, Luke found the synchronized display perfectly logical.

“Luke.” Unsure of the full extent of Celestine’s divine capabilities, Luke kept his response brief and measured, offering only his name.

Standing before her, he felt an overwhelming sense of insignificance. Even Shangguan Hong hadn’t projected such a suffocating, absolute aura of suppression—and Celestine was merely floating there in silence. The only other time Luke had experienced this deep, soul-crushing disparity in power was in the presence of his teacher, the Night Empress, Moon Neon Clothes.

This realization meant the beautiful spirit before him was, at the very least, an Undying Realm powerhouse, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Night Queen. Whether she had breached the mythical Supreme Realm was impossible for him to gauge. After all, there was only one publicly acknowledged Supreme in the entire Ancient Kingdom, an existence far beyond Luke’s current comprehension.

Truthfully, if it hadn’t been for a chaotic string of coincidences involving Cang Fenghua, Cang Ao, and Meng Ningdie, Luke knew he wouldn’t have crossed paths with an Undying Realm titan like the Night Queen this early in his journey. She was the Eastern Region Lord; even an Immortal-level official governing the capital couldn’t simply request an audience with her.

Yet, if the outside world ever learned that an Undying Realm entity resided within the Land of the New Moon, it would trigger a seismic upheaval across the continent. On paper, the Ancient Kingdom only boasted four Undying Realm masters—the four Region Lords.

Celestine’s existence proved that the Land of the New Moon was inextricably linked to the deepest, darkest secrets of the Ancient Kingdom’s highest echelon. The ruling council would never permit such a terrifying anomaly to exist unmonitored otherwise. But these were political depths Luke had no business diving into just yet.

No student who clawed their way to the top of the Eastern Region exams was a fool. Every past champion who stood here must have deduced the same terrifying truth. It was likely the exact reason why all concrete details regarding the Land of the New Moon and its Blessing were strictly censored from the public.

“Luke, is it?” Celestine repeated his name softly, her gentle tone laced with a blend of ancient curiosity and genuine amusement. “I find myself quite intrigued to see exactly what kind of blessing fate will bestow upon you.”

Beneath the flowing folds of her pure white priestess robe, Celestine raised a pale, flawless arm. With a graceful sweep of her hand, the very fabric of space warped. They remained standing within the Land of the New Moon, but the air in front of Luke fractured, giving birth to a colossal, floating clock. Its gears were exposed, its metallic face fractured and incomplete, radiating an aura of ancient mystery.

‘Another clock?’Luke stared at the massive construct, a dry sense of amusement bubbling up in his chest. He had been running into an awful lot of clock-themed phenomena lately. Was he cosmically bound to timepieces?’At this rate, I should just build myself a Ziku-Driver and become a Kamen Rider.’

“This is the Memory Rift,” Celestine’s voice drifted over, pulling him from his pop-culture musings. She remained suspended in the ethereal air, patiently guiding him through the ritual. “Every Magic Card Master who steps foot into the Land of the New Moon must manually turn the hands of the Memory Rift to draw their New Moon Blessing.”

“The Rift houses a vast multitude of blessings, but the exact nature of the reward you pull… relies entirely upon your own personal luck.” As she spoke, Celestine’s emerald eyes locked onto him, watching with keen anticipation.

‘Oh, if you frame it like that, I’m wide awake.’

Hearing the mechanics explained so plainly, Luke felt a familiar, intoxicating rush of adrenaline spike his blood pressure. This wasn’t a sacred ritual; this was the ultimate, high-stakes gacha pull.

He trusted that this divine mechanism operated on true, unadulterated RNG, completely devoid of the predatory pseudo-random algorithms and rigged pity systems favored by the shameless mobile game developers of his past life. Here, the rates were fair. The outcome was pure.

Which meant this really all came down to raw luck. Should he go wash his hands and face first?

Despite his supreme confidence in his own fortune, the deeply ingrained superstitions of a veteran gacha gamer flared to life. ‘If you don’t wash your face before a ten-pull, you’re just asking for trash!’

Shaking off the urge, Luke stepped forward, raised his hand, and firmly grasped the cold, metallic hands of the Memory Rift. With a decisive push, he spun them.

The hour, minute, and second hands blurred into a frenzied rotation. They spun faster and faster, accelerating until the sheer velocity shattered the physical form of the clock. With a deafening, crystalline chime, the Memory Rift detonated into countless streaks of blinding light that flooded the void.

As far as the eye could see, the shattered remnants of the Rift transformed into millions of prismatic, golden shards. They drifted and danced through the air, swirling around Luke in a stunning vortex. In that breathless moment, he stood at the epicenter of a boundless, shimmering golden ocean.

[Akarin’s Note: “European Emperor” is a popular Chinese internet slang term referring to someone with incredibly good luck, particularly in gacha games, pulling ultra-rare items effortlessly. It contrasts with “African Chieftain,” which refers to someone with terrible luck. The chapter title has been localized to “True RNG God” to convey the same meaning.]