Magic Card Era: Infinite Deck Enhancement — Chapter 68

Chapter 68: Robbing the Cradle?

Card Slash. It was a unique battle and evolution mechanic from Digimon Tamers, a system where swiping physical cards through a terminal granted Digimon various combat enhancements and even triggered their evolution to higher stages.

‘By using the Card Slash method to offload some of the Digivice’s core functions, the sheer difficulty of manufacturing the Digivice will drop significantly,’Luke thought, his pen flying across the drafting paper.’I might even be able to segment the evolution data according to the different growth stages of the Digimon, perfectly adapting it to my current limitations.’

The more he turned the concept over in his mind, the more brilliantly feasible it became.

Inspiration struck like a lightning bolt, and Luke refused to let the spark fade. As he pushed deeper into the theoretical framework, the critical bottlenecks restricting the creation of Digimon Magic Cards and their evolutionary pathways began to unravel before his eyes.

Hours bled away. When Luke finally surfaced from his state of absolute focus, the chaotic storm of ideas in his mind had settled into a crystal-clear blueprint.

He closed his personal terminal, immediately burying himself back into the physical conception of the Digimon Magic Cards and the complex lore required for their evolution settings.

He was so absorbed that when Mana quietly slipped into the room, he did not even register her presence.

Seeing her master locked in such deep concentration, the Dark Magician Girl offered no words to break his flow. She simply left the room as silently as a shadow.

It was not until the dead of night that Luke finally set down his pen. A deeply satisfied smile curved his lips.

The session had been relatively short, but the sheer volume of insight he had extracted from that single burst of inspiration was staggering. It would drastically cut down the time required to bring the Digimon series to life.

“Master, you have not rested all day. Please eat something to fill your stomach first.”

Mana had materialized in the room once again. She held a tray of food, the rich, savory steam wafting through the cool night air. It was obvious she had been waiting on standby for hours, keeping the meal perfectly hot for the exact moment he finished his work.

Hearing her soft voice, Luke glanced toward the window. The moon hung high and bright against a scattering of distant stars. Right on cue, his stomach let out a hollow, demanding growl.

“You always take such good care of me,” Luke said, accepting the tray.

Under Mana’s attentive gaze, he quickly cleared the plates, the warm food revitalizing his exhausted body. He set aside his drafting tools for the night. Even the most obsessive Magic Card production required a strict balance of work and rest.

Several days passed. Fully rested and prepared, Luke gathered his finalized materials and headed straight for the Cang Ling City Magic Card Association.

The morning air was still crisp, and the grand lobby of the association was relatively empty. However, the few Magic Card Masters scattered across the floor all had their attention firmly pinned on a single figure standing near the main entrance.

Miao Ruoling.

She was Chairman Yu Haojia’s personal secretary. Even if one stripped away that prestigious title, she was a powerhouse in her own right, possessing genuine Monarch Realm strength. She could effortlessly crush nearly every Magic Card Master currently standing in the lobby.

“Who do you think Secretary Miao is waiting for?” a man whispered near the reception desk.

“No idea, but it has to be a massive heavyweight. She is the Chairman’s direct proxy. For her to stand at the door as a greeter, the guest’s background must be absolutely terrifying.”

As the hushed speculation continued, the crowd watched Miao Ruoling’s eyes suddenly light up. A bright, welcoming smile bloomed across her elegant features as she stepped forward, walking briskly toward a young man who had just walked through the sliding glass doors.

Luke.

Sharp intakes of breath echoed across the lobby. Eyes widened in sheer disbelief.

They had braced themselves for the arrival of a legendary veteran or a high-ranking official from the capital. They never expected the VIP to be a young, completely unrecognized Magic Card Master.

“Look at his age. He looks like a high school student who hasn’t even taken his finals yet.”

“Wait, Secretary Miao has been single for years without a single rumor attached to her name. Don’t tell me she has a thing for robbing the cradle?”

The whispers were quiet, but to a Monarch Realm expert like Miao Ruoling, they might as well have been shouted through a megaphone.

A furious blush flared across her cheeks. Her fingers twitched with the sudden urge to teach these loose-lipped gossips a very painful lesson in respect. However, the VIP Chairman Yu had explicitly ordered her to receive was standing right in front of her. The mission took absolute priority.

“Hello, Luke,” Miao Ruoling said, forcing her professional composure back into place. “Welcome.”

She had studied his file and seen his photograph, but this was her first time seeing Luke in the flesh. Unconcealed curiosity danced in her eyes.

He was just as young as his file claimed, perhaps even a bit more handsome in person. Yet, no matter how intensely she scrutinized his aura, she could not detect anything that separated him from an ordinary, low-level Magic Card Master.

But this seemingly average high school student had achieved the impossible. In just a few short days, he had been officially promoted to an elite member of the association, a status strictly verified and approved by the general headquarters.

That was the detail that shocked Miao Ruoling to her core.

The general association held absolute veto power over any elite nominations submitted by the local branches. When she had filed the paperwork under Chairman Yu Haojia’s direct orders, she had been terrified the headquarters would reject the absurdly young candidate outright.

Instead, Luke had passed the rigorous review process without a single hurdle.

Having processed the documents with her own hands, Miao Ruoling knew for a fact that Luke had shattered the historical record for the fastest elite promotion in the history of the Magic Card Association. It was a terrifying anomaly that would likely never be replicated.

She also knew exactly why he was here today. This newly minted elite member was going to represent the Cang Ling City branch in the upcoming Youth Training Competition.

That single fact proved Luke was a monster hiding in plain sight.

He had not been on the original roster. Chairman Yu Haojia had personally amended the list, ruthlessly cutting a Commander Realm participant just to make room for Luke.

The implication was staggering. In the Chairman’s eyes, this high school student who hadn’t even taken his college entrance exams was vastly superior to a seasoned Commander Realm expert.

Was such a thing even mathematically possible?

No matter how hard she tried to dissect the situation, Miao Ruoling simply could not fathom the depths of the Chairman’s calculations.

“Secretary Miao, is there something on my face?”

Luke’s voice broke her train of thought. They had communicated briefly before his arrival, so he was not surprised to see her waiting, but her intense, unblinking stare was starting to feel a bit strange.

“Ah, no, nothing at all.” Realizing she had been staring, a charming flush of embarrassment colored her cheeks once more. “The Chairman and the others are already waiting in the office. I will escort you there now.”

She turned sharply on her heel, her movements slightly rigid and flustered.

She could hardly admit that she was trying to dissect his secrets with her eyes. If she confessed that, he would absolutely misunderstand her intentions and assume she was some kind of strange pervert.

“Thank you for the trouble,” Luke replied smoothly. He noticed her sudden awkwardness but chose to ignore it, following her deeper into the grand architecture of the association.

Back in the lobby, the crowd watched them leave, their curiosity burning hotter than ever.

“Wait, they are heading straight for the Chairman’s private office?”

Were their dirty jokes completely off the mark? Was this not a case of an older woman indulging in a young boy, but rather a meeting of true titans?

Regardless of the truth, the mystery surrounding Luke’s identity skyrocketed. To be personally escorted by a Monarch Realm secretary directly into the Chairman’s inner sanctum was a privilege reserved for the absolute elite.

Unfortunately for the gossiping crowd, neither Luke nor Miao Ruoling had any intention of explaining themselves.

Within a few blinks, their figures disappeared down the exclusive VIP corridor.

The onlookers could only pull back their lingering gazes, painfully aware that they lacked the qualifications to take even a single step into the deeper territories of the association.