Magic Card Era: Infinite Deck Enhancement — Chapter 60

Chapter 60: Eye of Timaeus!

[Eye of Timaeus]

Race: Dragon / Legendary Dragon

Type: Special Magic Card – Projection

Effect: Summons a projection of the Legendary Dragon Timaeus. This projection possesses independent combat power and can initiate a Fusion with a designated target. Post-Fusion, it no longer occupies a Magic Card summon slot. It provides a baseline enhancement of increasing the target’s level and quality by one tier, and grants new abilities based on the specific Fusion target.

‘I feel like it’s a bit of a hybrid?’Luke muttered inwardly, scrutinizing the glowing data hovering in his mind. The classification of this newly forged Magic Card had shifted once again. It was explicitly categorized as a’Special Magic Card,’with a unique’Projection’ tag tacked onto the end. This marked the third distinct category of Magic Cards he had created, standing entirely apart from his previous equipment and counter cards.

Unlike those standard support cards, the Eye of Timaeus possessed the intrinsic racial characteristics of a regular monster card. Yet, paradoxically, it lacked a definitive star level or innate skills, relying solely on its potent equipment-like effects.

The sheer utility of it was staggering. As long as a designated target Fused with the projection of Timaeus, its level and quality would unconditionally surge by an entire tier. That baseline enhancement alone was enough to cement the Eye of Timaeus as an absolute powerhouse in his arsenal.

But the true terror of the card lay in its versatility. Depending on the chosen Fusion target, the resulting Fused Magic Card Spirit would awaken entirely different effects. It was the ultimate trump card for battlefield adaptability, allowing Luke to pivot his tactics on a dime and leaving his enemies scrambling to counter an ever-shifting threat.

also, this new Magic Card harbored an unexpected, game-changing bonus. While summoning the Eye of Timaeus initially occupied a precious Magic Card summon slot, the moment it Fused with a target Spirit, it automatically relinquished that slot back to him. In a high-stakes duel, that meant he could flood the field with even more Magic Card Spirits.

This trait alone skyrocketed the strategic value of the Eye of Timaeus. Coupled with the fact that the projection itself wielded formidable combat power before even initiating a Fusion, the operational ceiling for this card was practically limitless.

With a mere thought, the ethereal form of the Eye of Timaeus dissolved into motes of light, smoothly integrating into his body to float alongside the dormant Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon. Having secured his new prize, Luke finally opened his eyes, letting out a long, steady breath.

“Was it successful?” Chairman Yu asked, his voice tight with anticipation the moment Luke’s eyelids fluttered open.

The creation process they had just witnessed was fraught with unmatched anomalies. Chief among them were the eight illusory, shimmering stars that had materialized around the final pillar of light. Even with his decades of experience, Chairman Yu couldn’t begin to fathom what those phantom stars signified. It was a phenomenon entirely alien to him. Even though he could clearly sense that Luke’s personal cultivation level had surged, the seasoned chairman didn’t dare jump to conclusions without the boy’s explicit confirmation.

“It was a success,” Luke nodded calmly.

Through their innate telepathic bond, Mana’s crisp voice echoed in his mind, eagerly detailing the bizarre visual anomalies that had erupted in the real world during the card’s forging. Hearing her account, Luke realized just how drastically this creation process had deviated from his previous endeavors.

Yet, even he was somewhat stumped by the appearance of the creation pillar’s phantom stars.

‘Could it be because the Eye of Timaeus channels a fraction of a Legendary Dragon’s power?’Luke pondered silently.’I didn’t forge the complete, true form of the Legendary Dragon this time. Maybe that discrepancy is what triggered the anomaly.’

In the complex lore he had established during the creation process, the Dragon Eyes possessed the unique authority to summon the Legendary Dragon Timaeus. However, the finalized Magic Card was explicitly not the true body of the ancient beast—it was merely a projection. It stood to reason that this incomplete manifestation was the cause of those eight illusory stars dancing around the pillar of light.

It perfectly explained why the system had rigidly classified the Eye of Timaeus as a Special Magic Card with a ‘Projection’tag.’Still, these are just educated guesses,’Luke thought, mentally shaking his head.’I won’t know for sure until I push it to its limits in actual combat.’

“Thank goodness it succeeded.” Hearing Luke’s confident reply, Chairman Yu let out a heavy sigh of relief, the tension bleeding from his shoulders. A failed creation attempt, coupled with the catastrophic destruction of high-grade materials, often dealt a crippling psychological blow to a Magic Card Master, shattering their confidence.

Chairman Yu desperately needed Luke at the peak of his game. With the grueling Youth Training Competition and the all-important college entrance exams looming on the horizon, the boy couldn’t afford a setback.

The chairman didn’t press for the card’s specific details, but he was absolutely certain of one thing: Luke’s newly forged Magic Card was, at the very least, a Six-Star powerhouse.

The sheer volume of Magic Power Feedback that had washed over Luke didn’t quite match the apocalyptic surge of an Eight-Star creation, but the boy’s explosive advancement was an indisputable reality. If the resulting Magic Card had been of a lower tier, there was simply no way Luke’s cultivation could have violently shattered through three consecutive bottlenecks.

Judging by the sheer density of Luke’s newly acquired aura, a top-tier, high-quality Six-Star Magic Card was the most logical conclusion. Still, the memory of those eight phantom stars lingered like a stubborn thorn in Chairman Yu’s mind.

“Dark Magician Girl, Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon, and now this newly forged card…” Chairman Yu murmured, forcibly shelving his lingering doubts. A look of deep admiration softened his usually stern features. “You now possess three Six-Star Magic Cards. This means your treatment and standing within the Association must be elevated immediately.”

Even though Luke hadn’t explicitly revealed the new card’s attributes, Chairman Yu had already cemented his assumption. In his eyes, the card was undeniably Six-Star, perhaps even flirting with the boundaries of something greater.

Successfully forging three Magic Cards of Six-Star caliber or higher meant Luke had flawlessly met the stringent conditions Yu had set for him. The boy was now fully entitled to the lavish resources and privileges of an elite member of the Magic Card Association.

Originally, Chairman Yu would have considered it a monumental triumph if Luke had achieved this milestone just before the college entrance exams. He never dared to dream the boy would complete the gauntlet before the exam period had even properly begun.

In truth, Luke hadn’t just completed the task—he had utterly obliterated expectations. Because every single one of those three Magic Cards was an Original creation!

When Yu first laid down the challenge, the word ‘Original’ hadn’t even crossed his lips. He hadn’t believed it was humanly possible for a student to continuously forge entirely new concepts. In his mind, the creation of the Original Dark Magician Girl was already a once-in-a-lifetime miracle that proved Luke’s monstrous potential.

If the subsequent two cards had been standard, well-documented Six-Star templates, Chairman Yu would have been perfectly satisfied. After all, Original Magic Cards were the stuff of legends—mythical anomalies that hadn’t graced the world in hundreds, perhaps nearly a thousand years.

Yet, against all logic and reason, Luke had birthed three Original Six-Star Magic Cards in rapid succession. The sheer magnitude of this achievement was staggering.

And beneath the shock, a fierce, burning excitement ignited in Chairman Yu’s chest.

Because no matter how high this boy soared, Luke was a son of Cangling City. He was a registered member of the Cangling City Magic Card Association. The brighter Luke’s talent blazed, the more glory and resources would rain down upon their local branch!

“Uh…” Hearing the chairman’s reverent sigh, Luke instantly realized the older man had completely misjudged the Eye of Timaeus’s star level. Strictly speaking, the Eye of Timaeus was a no-star Magic Card, occupying the same unique classification as his Spellbook and Magic Cylinder.

However, since the card could manifest a projection of a Legendary Dragon that wielded its own formidable combat power, it wasn’t exactly weak.

Though he hadn’t formally tested the projection’s limits in the field, Luke’s instincts told him its raw strength was likely on par with both Dark Magician Girl and Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon.

Therefore, letting Chairman Yu believe the Eye of Timaeus was a Six-Star Magic Card wasn’t exactly a lie. It certainly hit like one.

Luke opened his mouth, hovering on the edge of a correction, but ultimately snapped it shut. A little misunderstanding was fine. It didn’t negatively impact him in the slightest.

Besides, what was he supposed to do? Manually project the bizarre, starless attributes of the Eye of Timaeus just to prove the old man wrong? It was better to let the mystery stand.