Magic Card Era: Infinite Deck Enhancement — Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Boys Must Protect Themselves When Outside

[Joint Examination Second Phase: Beast Resistance Concluded. All examinees, please note that you will be teleported out in ten seconds.]

The unexpected system prompt flooded across the massive live stream interface, and the chat immediately exploded into a frenzy of digital shouting.

“It’s over? Just like that? Why does it feel like this exam blew its entire budget on the opening and just fizzled out at the end?”

“Are you blind? That’s totally normal. The final beast was a Six-Star Storm Cloud Sparrow. The City Lord’s Mansion obviously set that thing up as the ultimate boss for the second phase.”

“Fair point, but that just makes Luke look like an absolute freak of nature.”

Even though the joint examination had officially closed its curtains, the public fervor surrounding Luke didn’t cool down in the slightest. If anything, the hype escalated to a fever pitch as the viewers eagerly debated the results.

“Look at the history of our Cangling City. In the last college entrance exam, our absolute top student only managed to craft a Four-Star Magic Card. That’s basically where Wang Ping and Bei Hanyun are sitting right now.”

“And then this monster Luke drops into the current session and casually obliterates a Six-Star Storm Cloud Sparrow into dust.”

“Good heavens, Luke didn’t just pass the joint exam; he completely broke it. What kind of nightmare performance is he going to pull off during the actual college entrance examination?”

“Wait, think about the Eastern Region records. Last year, anyone who crafted a Six-Star Magic Card was guaranteed a spot in the top twenty, at the very least. Did you see how relaxed the Dark Magician Girl looked? If Luke had competed last year, he would have had a serious shot at breaking into the top ten!”

The Ancient Kingdom was vastly partitioned into the Four Great Regions: East, South, West, and North. While the national college entrance examinations commenced simultaneously across all territories, the leaderboards were strictly segregated by region due to a complex web of historical treaties and rivalries.

Historically, the mere thought of a Cangling City student contending for a top-ten spot in the Eastern Region was a pipe dream no one dared to entertain.

“Look! He’s out!”

A flash of teleportation light washed over the grand plaza. As Luke materialized, having just recalled the Dark Magician Girl into his soul sea, the sprawling courtyard instantly plunged into a dead, eerie silence. Thousands of eyes snapped toward him, wide and unblinking.

‘What the hell is going on?’ Luke thought, his boots barely touching the pavement before he noticed the heavy atmosphere.

The silence didn’t last. Across the plaza, the female students were staring at him with a predatory intensity. Even from a distance, Luke could practically see the hungry, green glint in their eyes, as if they were a pack of wolves ready to devour him alive. The sheer weight of their collective gaze made him swallow hard.

Then, the dam broke.

“Luke! Why are you alone? Where did you hide the Dark Magician Girl?”

“Who gave you permission to call him Luke? That’s Brother Luke to you! Brother, please, just one more look at your Dark Magician Girl!”

“Luke! Honestly, I’ve always harbored deep feelings for you. How about we skip the small talk and try dating?”

Surrounded by the deafening chatter and the pressing heat of his classmates, Luke finally pieced the situation together. This absolute madness was entirely due to the Dark Magician Girl’s flawless, overwhelming display of power in the second phase.

, he had single-handedly secured the top rank for Third High School in the Cangling City joint examination, giving his peers the ultimate bragging rights to crush the arrogant elites from First and Second High School. It was no wonder the crowd was acting like a mob of starved zealots.

As for that last shameless confession? Luke smoothly tuned it out. Why would he bother with mortal dating when he had a flawless Magic Card Spirit wife who would never betray him?

“Alright, back off, everyone! Luke just finished a grueling, fierce battle against the Storm Cloud Sparrow. Give him some space to rest!”

Just as the crowd threatened to crush him, Zhang Ming, his homeroom teacher, shoved his way through the frontline, acting as a human shield against the increasingly rabid student body.

‘Fierce battle?’Luke raised an eyebrow.’Are we really calling a one-hit obliteration a fierce battle? Besides, the Dark Magician Girl did all the heavy lifting.’

Despite their obvious reluctance, the students still possessed a deep-seated deference to faculty authority. Since Zhang Ming was Luke’s direct homeroom teacher, the mob slowly began to disperse, though many girls cast lingering, calculating glances over their shoulders. If they couldn’t cling to his thigh today, they would absolutely try again tomorrow.

“Thanks, Old Zhang,” Luke muttered, breathing a heavy sigh of relief as the suffocating wall of bodies finally cleared. He quickly adjusted his skewed collar and smoothed out his uniform, having just survived the terrifying enthusiasm of a high school mob.

“You leave me no choice. Who told you to cause such an devastating scene this time?” Zhang Ming quipped, completely unbothered by Luke’s casual lack of honorifics. When a student was this exceptionally talented, they naturally earned a few privileges.

Glancing around to ensure no one was eavesdropping, Zhang Ming leaned in, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Now that it’s just us… tell me the actual grade of that Magic Card of yours.”

The star level was the most absolute metric for evaluating a Magic Card’s raw power. Even though he had a strong suspicion, Zhang Ming needed to hear the confirmation straight from the source.

‘You thick-browed traitor, I didn’t expect you to be the biggest gossip of them all!’

Luke rolled his eyes at the older man’s burning curiosity. Still, considering the teacher had just rescued him from being swarmed to death, he casually dropped the truth. “Six-Star.”

“I knew it!” Even with his mental preparations, hearing the confirmation directly from Luke made Zhang Ming’s heart slam heavily against his ribs.

Taking a deep breath to steady his racing pulse, Zhang Ming quickly regained his professional composure. “Let’s get moving. The Vice Principal just sent word. She wants me to bring you to her office immediately.”

Both the Principal’s and Vice Principal’s offices were situated deep within the administrative wing of Third High School. As they handled the polished corridors, Luke noticed the shifting atmosphere. Every teacher and student they passed stopped to whisper, their eyes tracking his every move.

The first and second-year juniors were especially bold. Having watched the live broadcast of his absolute dominance, several pretty underclassmen flushed red, waving eagerly and calling out greetings as he walked by.

“So, how does it feel to be the most popular man in school?” Zhang Ming teased, catching sight of another group of giggling girls waving at his student.

“It feels fantastic. Have you ever tried it, Old Zhang?” Luke shot back, his tone dry and laced with casual amusement.

Hearing the deadpan rhetorical question, Zhang Ming felt an invisible arrow pierce his chest, triggering a phantom myocardial infarction. If he had been even a fraction that popular back in his academy days, would he still be a miserable single dog right now?

‘Why did my brain short-circuit and ask him such a self-destructive question?’ Zhang Ming questioned his life choices in deep silence, refusing to utter another word as he led the way.

Seeing his teacher’s defeated slump, Luke enjoyed the quiet peace. In the blink of an eye, the duo arrived at the heavy oak doors of Zhou Rong’s office.

“You’re here.”

As Zhang Ming ushered Luke into the spacious room, Zhou Rong’s traditionally strict and icy demeanor melted into a radiant, welcoming smile. “First and foremost, congratulations, Luke.”

She stepped out from behind her mahogany desk, her eyes shining with genuine pride. “Your performance in the joint examination was nothing short of stunning. You completely eclipsed the elites of First High School and Second High School, bringing unmatched honor to our Third High School.”

Even though she was the Vice Principal and knew such blatant favoritism might be slightly unprofessional, Zhou Rong simply couldn’t suppress her excitement.

Third High School was a relatively young institution. Despite the relentless efforts of Principal Gu and the faculty to drag their average academic scores up to par with the older academies, they had always suffered a crushing deficit when it came to apex-level prodigies.

Luke’s sudden, meteoric rise had violently shattered the long-standing monopoly held by First and Second High School, injecting a blazing ray of hope into the heart of their academy.

“Thank you, Vice Principal,” Luke replied, his expression remaining remarkably calm and understated. He had seen this exact flavor of shock and awe on so many faces today that he had already developed a complete immunity to it.

His grounded, unarrogant reaction only made Zhou Rong appreciate him more. A genius with a steady temperament was a rare treasure.

“Principal Gu is currently still tied up at the City Lord’s Mansion,” Zhou Rong continued, swiftly transitioning to official business after their brief exchange. “The physical rewards issued by the City Lord’s Mansion will have to wait until he returns to be formally distributed to you.”

For the examinees, the joint examination’s conclusion meant a time to rest and celebrate. But for the academy’s leadership—principals and teachers like Zhou Rong and Zhang Ming—the real administrative war had only just begun.