The sunlight was slightly dazzling, and the swaying tree shadows danced on the ground.
Ya Xi stood in front of the academy's circular gate and suddenly felt a slight breeze behind him; the next second, someone lightly patted his shoulder.
Before he could turn around, the girl leaped in front of him like a lark.
Her figure was graceful, her beauty like cherry blossoms against snow; looking into her eyes, one could clearly see her emerald pupils and golden hair, favored by the sun, tied up with a black bow at the back of her head, making her appear light and agile.
When Ya Xi first saw her, he thought she was a mascot from some old two-dimensional game, but the girl known as King Arthur was probably still waiting for her beloved in Avalon, so why would she be thrown into this both strange and familiar card world with him?
She was his original self's classmate, the eldest daughter of the Saint Cecilia Family, Veronica G. Saint Cecilia.
At the same time, she was also Ya Xi's current creditor.
That's right, the reason he, an orphan, could attend this famous Card Master Academy was entirely due to the Saint Cecilia Family, the city's “big magnate” and “great noble,” who provided funding and loans.
Not long ago, his original self signed a humiliating debt contract, burdening Ya Xi with a loan of over a million federal currency at a young age.
However, he was already considered one of the luckier ordinary people.
The degree of internal competition in this city was no less than that of college graduates looking for jobs in his hometown; people wanting to take on this debt could line up from the Golden Iris Academy's gate all the way to Heimlia City's city center.
There was only one reason: everyone wanted to become a Card Maker.
When Ya Xi first transmigrated, he thought he had merely been trafficked to some European country, but when he saw cards everywhere in daily life, he realized he had transmigrated.
This was a parallel universe that had developed almost identically to his original world, with only minor differences, but had completely veered in another direction hundreds of years ago.
From that point, vastly different from his world, it was an era where cards created and led everything.
From summoning miracles that moved mountains and changed the earth to daily items used in life, everything was encompassed within a small card.
This fully demonstrated how important Card Makers were in this society; power, status, and wealth were all built upon the cards in their hands.
The girl before him was a noble with Card Master talent, and one of the few people his original self could speak with.
“Our great painter actually came to class today, that's quite unexpected~”
Veronica leaned slightly, revealing her white shirt wrinkled from being pressed by softness, and the platinum rose family crest gleaming on her chest.
Before transmigrating, Ya Xi hadn't seen such a vibrant girl in a long time; the aura of youth almost overflowed from her, bringing a few rays of light to his heart, a social animal worn down by years of society.
Even with some teasing, it wouldn't cause any dissatisfaction.
If one didn't know them, they might even think it was a girl's affectionate coquetry born of a slight crush.
“Then please, Miss Vera, reduce some of my debt, so I can attend class with you every day.”
Ya Xi was already used to Veronica, who was a bit chattering in front of him.
He was glad that his creditor was such a virtuous and lovely beautiful girl, which wouldn't make his university life even worse.
“Hmm, if you can become an official Card Master, I can help you apply for a subsidy from the family.”
Veronica's serious thinking made Ya Xi break into a sweat; his original intention was just to end the conversation, but he didn't expect this young lady to actually be considering him, setting a small goal for his absurd life.
Money isn't everything, but without money, you can't do anything.
The brush-like coating materials, blank cards, material cards, and magic potions needed for card making were not cheap.
Even if Ya Xi wasn't in debt, he would need a lot of money to make cards; according to his original self's memories, humans didn't just make cards for convenience.
There were several dangerous secret realms outside the city, and monsters escaping from them often ran into the city.
If one didn't have the ability to protect themselves, encountering one would surely mean death.
Recalling the hideous appearance of those monsters in his memory, Ya Xi felt a chill down his spine even on a sunny day.
His original self had survived until now, firstly due to the care of the Saint Cecilia Family, and secondly because the Card Master forces in Heimlia were strong enough to resolve most crises.
But recently, the frequency of monster activity had been increasing, and the entire city was engulfed in an atmosphere of panic.
Ya Xi couldn't pray that good luck would always fall upon him.
There was just one thing he couldn't quite understand.
In his original self's memory, cards were the gateway for complex imaginations to descend into reality.
That is to say, throughout human history, there had been so many myths and legends; high-level Card Makers, following records, created those powerful deities or artifacts that roared across the world. This should have elevated human civilization to a new level, not left them so overwhelmed by monsters.
Many cities had even been destroyed due to the appearance of large secret realms, and humanity was retreating year by year.
“Let's go, I heard the professor for this 'Card Common Sense and Card Making Difficulty Research' class is quite a strict control-type Card Master; we'd better not be late.”
Hearing this, Ya Xi looked at the clock in the center of the Golden Hall; it was already very close to class time.
“It's said that he also shares his experiences as an archaeological Card Master in class, and maybe we can even make cards related to the past because of it.”
The girl walking ahead had a clear and pleasant voice, every word falling cleanly into Ya Xi's ears.
“Related to the past?”
He noticed the key phrase in her words.
“Yes, constructing a reasonable story is just the beginning for a Card Maker. If one can utilize legends that once existed, it will greatly improve both the card success rate and card quality beyond current standards.”
For a poor student like Ya Xi, it seemed normal not to know these things.
Veronica's patience seemed endless, at least in front of him.
“You mean, we don't know the legends of the past, or even the history that once was?”
Ya Xi's heart suddenly stopped for half a beat; he felt a huge surprise blooming deep in his soul.
This was something his original self's ordinary memories had never mentioned, but now it had become a lifeline that could help him escape his predicament.
Before transmigrating, he was a popular science UP master who was well-versed in the myths of civilizations worldwide; Ya Xi even knew exactly how many illegitimate children Zeus had.
From the creation of the world by Ymir in Norse mythology, to Tiamat giving birth to life in Sumerian mythology, and then to the extended pantheons under global animistic beliefs, a golden mythical gate sat before his eyes.
And the key to opening this gate was the unique cards of this world.
Through this gateway, illusory fantasies could descend into reality.
“Of course! Even as an adopted child, your common sense is a bit too lacking.”
Veronica pouted; as a noble young lady, Ya Xi's reaction made her suspect that there might be some major problem with Saint Cecilia's basic education.
“Ever since the second Earth-Moon collision, the lunar fragments and the Earth's surface created tens of thousands of secret realms. Human history was stripped into these dangerous sub-spaces, giving birth to monsters and various dungeons.”
Although Ya Xi had a rough idea of what secret realms were before, he clearly didn't have the broad perspective of this young lady, who could explain it clearly from beginning to end.
“And the disaster thus triggered eventually coalesced into a supernatural entity named by the Card Master Association as the disaster moon will. It has been constantly destroying humanity's past, such as various cultural relics and ancient texts, and interfering with dungeons.”
Being a teacher once in a while wasn't bad.
Veronica liked the way Ya Xi listened to her, like a little gray dog that would sit still and wait for a head pat when you extended your hand.
“So, if someone could restore all the myths and legends, wouldn't humanity be able to enter a mythical era?”
Ya Xi no longer cared about the time; he had to ask clearly.
“Everyone thought so at first, but the result was that the major pantheons shattered into pieces, and anyone who tried to piece them together only made things worse.”
Veronica turned around and said, but a layer of coldness spread in her emerald pupils.
“The world is fair; we gained the ability to make cards, and the other side of the scale is humanity's past.”
Such serious topics were rare between the two of them; perhaps this was the first time.
“As of now, the Card Master Association has only restored thirty-six mythical sequences, and many of them are incomplete.”
The girl stood on the steps, just able to look down at Ya Xi.
In short, humanity in this era was suffering from an extremely severe mythical discontinuity.
It was no exaggeration to describe the latter's heart as being turned upside down at this moment.
He was the omniscient one in this ignorant era; no one else could see through the truth of history, their perspective starting only after the loss of human history.
And the possibility of restoring historical truth became increasingly slim as the elderly with memories continuously passed away.
To this day, humanity could only rely on various conjectures and imaginings to touch that glorious past.
This was a global mythical treasure trove, known only to him, concealed in nothingness.
Or rather, he possessed an omniscient card perspective that no one else could possibly have.
The large pendulum swung back and forth behind the young man and woman.
..They were late.
