"Spare money? Change places?" Koga muttered Azrael's words, his expression gloomy. "Is this bastard calling me out?"
He refused to believe that Azrael was talking nonsense; this was definitely directed at him. However, when he thought about the information the Crimson Oath Society had revealed, Koga couldn't help but sneer with disdain.
"The ship is about to sink. If I don't jump ship now, when will I get another chance?"
Koga silently considered relocating but quickly abandoned the idea. Moving now would only make him look guilty, and that was the last thing he needed.
Meanwhile, Azrael remained unaware that Koga was engaged in an intense internal struggle.
After yesterday's close call, Azrael had come to the sobering realization that his defenses were still pathetically inadequate. Had Kaneki not been strong enough to handle that vampire, Azrael would have been dead meat at first contact.
Time to fix that problem.
He sprawled across the sofa, scrolling through his phone to find suitable materials for a defensive prop card.
His current inventory included the following items: [Blood-stained chessboard] (green), [Golden beads] (green), [Life-binding red rope] (blue), and [Broken handle of ancient sword] (blue).
When his eyes landed on the golden beads and the life-binding red rope, Azrael's face lit up with inspiration. He knew exactly what he wanted to create.
The Three Treasures Bead is a defensive artifact created by Ma Xianhong, the Inheritor of the Mysterious Mechanism that Converts All Art from The Outcast. (It's an anime.)
In the original work, the Three Treasures Bead is a high-end magical weapon with self-repairing capabilities. The three beads worked in harmony: the middle bead activated protection, and each time that protection shattered, the outer beads dimmed as they channeled their power to restore the center. Three chances to cheat death.
However, Azrael didn't need the self-repair function. Even if his card was completely destroyed, it would only enter a 24-hour cooldown period. What he wanted was raw defensive power, the kind that could save his life when things went sideways.
The cuckoo bird delivered the materials within the hour.
"Just over 70,000. Even if this fails completely, the loss won't break me," he thought, though his fingers trembled slightly as he handled the expensive components.
Azrael carefully drew the Three Treasures pattern on a blank card. It was three golden beads strung on a thin red cord, each bead radiating a warm, protective light.
Slowly wrapping his mental power around the materials, Azrael felt reality fade as he entered the dark, mysterious space that governed card creation.
Prop cards weren't as demanding as biological cards when it came to background stories, but you couldn't just wing it and expect success. Azrael had learned that lesson the hard way.
He silently fed the Three Treasures' story into the mysterious space and held his breath as he waited for judgment.
To his relief, no catastrophic failure occurred. The space accepted his carefully crafted narrative about the Three Treasures.
When his consciousness returned to reality, the completed prop card floated gently before him, pulsing with contained power.
Azrael immediately absorbed the card into his mind.
The next moment, a red cord with three golden beads materialized around his neck, the metal warm against his skin.
[Three Treasures]
Rank: Black Iron
Quality: Blue
Category: Prop
Skills: Can withstand three Black Iron-level attacks or one Bronze-level attack per day. The usage count resets at midnight.
Chain: Can be combined with the card Ma Xianhong to form a chain card.
It was a simple, elegant one-skill card, exactly what he needed.
Azrael wasn't disappointed by its straightforward nature. If the Three Treasures could only block Black Iron attacks, they would be nearly useless. But being able to withstand a Bronze-level assault? That changed everything.
Azrael was confident that Kaneki could handle most Black Iron threats unless they had exceptional cards. Azrael had never encountered any information suggesting that Black Iron rank could produce color-quality cards. Not even the original owner of this body had any memory of such anomalies at higher levels.
However, surviving a Bronze-level attack could introduce significant variables in real combat. In fact, even in Lore Cardian duels, this artifact could be equipped by Yoriichi or Kaneki.
"The four-school joint examination should be a cakewalk now," Azrael said with a smile, feeling a weight lift from his shoulders.
Originally, he hadn't been eager to dominate the competition. However, after Gustav's pointed suggestions, Azrael understood exactly what the examination meant and how it could impact his future.
Closing his eyes, Azrael began his daily meditation routine. The sooner he broke through to Bronze rank, the sooner he could craft Bronze-level cards. He could feel the threshold tantalizingly close, like standing at the edge of a cliff with one foot already over the precipice.
Beside him, Yoriichi and Kaneki maintained their silent vigil, ever-watchful guardians of their master's cultivation.
"All right, this week's ranking test is officially over!" Victoria's voice rang across the Silverbrook High School battle arena. "The top three performers in our class are Azrael, Gabi, and Yurek.
These three students will represent our school in the four-school joint examination."
Time had flown by faster than Azrael expected. During this time, the Crimson Oath Society had remained frustratingly silent: no contact, no moves, nothing. Either they were planning something big, or they'd decided he wasn't worth the trouble.
As Azrael had predicted, he sailed through the rankings unchallenged. None of his classmates had the courage—or the stupidity—to take him on.
Gabi had enjoyed similar immunity.
Poor Yurek, however, had been treated like a piñata. As Cory's replacement, every ambitious student saw him as the weak link, the soft target they could beat.
Fortunately, Yurek managed to defend his position, though not without considerable effort and stress.
"Man, Azrael and Gabi are straight-up monsters. I wouldn't even dream of challenging them," one student muttered from the sidelines.
"Yeah, and Yurek's no pushover either," another added.
"I was so close, though! If I had managed to craft a decent prop card, I could have taken Yurek's spot," a third student complained.
Victoria ignored the post-match chatter and approached the three winners with a rare smile. "Go home and get some good rest tonight. Tomorrow's the four-school joint exam, and I expect you all to win."
In Victoria's experienced opinion, Silverbrook High School had never looked more promising. Two students creating purple-quality cards right at the beginning of their Lore Cardian careers? In all her years of teaching, she had never witnessed such a spectacular start.
This could be their year.
As Victoria walked away, Yurek scratched the back of his head with his characteristic sheepish grin. "Azrael, Gabi, I know I'm the weak link here. You two are going to have to carry me through this."
Azrael shook his head dismissively. "You're selling yourself short. Just focus on doing your best."
In Azrael's honest opinion, Yurek's abilities were solid for an ordinary student. The kid had even crafted a steel, fork-like prop card for his minotaur, clearly preparing to create the Soul Catching Minotaur, though that was at least a bronze-level challenge.
However, it was Gabi's worried expression that caught Azrael's attention. "I heard from my father that someone at Ardenne High school created a gold-quality card. I'm worried we might be in over our heads."
Azrael blinked in confusion. "What the hell? Didn't Uncle Gustav tell her that I made a red-quality card?"
However, since Gustav had chosen not to reveal Azrael's trump card, Azrael certainly wasn't stupid enough to blow his own cover.
"We won't know until we face them," Azrael said with practiced nonchalance. "All we can do is give it our best shot."
Yurek and Gabi nodded solemnly, though pessimism still clouded their expressions. After all, the gap between purple and gold quality cards was substantial. Sure, some purple cards could defeat gold ones, but that usually required exceptional prop card support or perfect tactical execution.
Seeing their deflated reactions, Azrael simply shook his head and headed back to the classroom.
Let them worry. Tomorrow, they would see exactly what he was capable of.
...
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