Card Chapter 6: Reward (Patreon)

There’s a bonus like that too?

The thought flashed across Russell’s mind.

Principal Xie smiled and took a booklet from his desk.

“Russell, you may choose any one of these materials. It will be delivered to your home after classes.”

Russell leafed through the booklet carefully.

[Refined‑Steel Sword] (Blue)

[Blood‑stained Jade Pendant] (Purple)

[Corpse Hound · Flesh‑Enhancement Type] (Purple)

Every entry was a Black‑Iron material of blue quality or higher.

Russell’s eyes suddenly sharpened. “Principal Xie, I’ll take this one.”

The others looked at the item he indicated:

[Elite Ghoul] (Purple).

Chairman Ma opened his mouth, hesitated, and finally spoke:

“Student Luo, I’d suggest choosing an item material and crafting a tool card to boost your existing creature card.”

That was the usual path for beginners: a second card was typically an item, partly to strengthen one’s first creature and partly because rushing a second creature often wasted resources.

Russell shook his head. “Thanks for the advice, Uncle Ma, but I’ve decided on this.”

Seeing his resolve, no one tried further to dissuade him—interrupting a Crafter’s creative train of thought was taboo.

Teacher Wang Ming now said, “Principal Xie, Chairman Ma, I’ll take Russell to report to the honors class.”

The two nodded slightly.

After the pair left, Chairman Ma chuckled. “Old Xie, looks like you’ve got a real prospect this year. You must feel better about the Ning’an District four‑school exam next month.”

Principal Xie’s brow furrowed. “I hear the other schools have good seedlings too. Isn’t Ning’an No. 1 rumored to have a student whose first card was gold quality?”

Ma wasn’t convinced. A Crafter’s strength was never judged on card rarity alone, and Russell had proven himself by stepping up in a crisis—far more valuable than any ‘seed’ from the other schools.

Just then Principal Xie spoke in a rare, earnest tone: “Old Ma, I’d like to ask you a favor—first time in all these years…”

…

“Want to go back and say goodbye to your old classmates?” Wang Ming asked.

Russell thought a moment, then shook his head. “It’s not graduation—I’m still at No. 1. We’ll see each other plenty.”

“True.”

They arrived at the honors‑class door.
Because very few eleventh‑graders at Shanghai No. 1 managed to become Crafters, the whole school had only one such class.

“Ms Song, could you step out a moment?” Wang called into the room.

A middle‑aged woman appeared quickly.

“This is Russell—he’ll be your student from today.”

Turning to Russell, Wang said, “This is Ms Song Qian, a veteran teacher here. She’ll be your new homeroom teacher.”

Russell nodded. “Good morning, Ms Song.”

“Hello, Russell. Go inside and get acquainted.” She adjusted her glasses, giving Wang a questioning glance—Is this the one?

Inside, Russell stood at the podium. “Hi, everyone, I’m Russell. Please take care of me.”

He scanned the room: including him, twelve students—only one girl.

The girl gasped. “You’re Russell?”

“You know me?” he raised an eyebrow.

“Of course! You’re our role model. I’m Jiang Nanxi,” she said with a grin.

Her father was a Gold‑tier Crafter; she’d heard Russell’s story from him last night.

Russell chuckled—she sounded half‑teasing. “The Association’s just putting me on a pedestal, that’s all.”

“Okay, quiet please.” Ms Song entered.

“I think we all recognize Student Luo. Yesterday he risked himself during the Demon Nest incident and saved an entire housing estate. Let’s give him a hand.”

She led the applause.

Facing the curious eyes, Russell smiled. “Any of you would have done the same.”

A little flattery costs nothing.

“A‑hem,” Ms Song cleared her throat. “Let’s start with introductions.”

Russell stepped down as the others spoke. When it was over he noted two stand‑outs:

Jiang Nanxi — Black‑Iron purple [Three‑Tailed Fox]. (Fox spirits have reached as high as diamond‑red [Nine‑Tails · Daji] in recorded history.)

Du Heng, a short‑ponytailed boy — Black‑Iron purple [Green‑Jiangshi]. Zombie series cards scale smoothly and have great prospects.

Russell knew Du Heng from his old class: he had led the bullying against orphan Russell until Teacher Wang put a stop to it.

Tch, bully mutt. A cold light flashed in Russell’s eyes.

“Right,” Ms Song clapped to regain attention. “In one month Ning’an District will hold a four‑school joint exam. The winning school earns a training expedition into a secret realm.”

Secret realm! Hearts in the room beat faster; such trips meant abundant materials—prime cash or crafting fodder.

“But each school may send only three students,” she continued, smiling as the hook sank in. “So this honors class will adopt… a ranking system.”

She paused. “Tomorrow we’ll have our first ranking battle—Crafter vs. Crafter.”

In these duels, anything goes except attacking the opposing Crafter directly. Most concede once their current‑tier cards are exhausted. A creature card that ‘dies’ enters a 24‑hour cooldown.

With that, Ms Song left.

Du Heng sauntered over with a sneer. “Well, look who turned from a mangy mutt into a phoenix in just days!”

He’d always fancied himself heaven‑sent; seeing the orphan suddenly outshine him fanned his jealousy.

Russell rolled his eyes. “Uh‑huh, you’re way better than me—congrats.”

Feeling mocked, Du Heng snarled, “You little orphan dare act like that? Tomorrow I’ll rip your card to shreds in front of everyone.”

Russell couldn’t be bothered to answer and gave him a blank look.

…

When Wang Ming returned, he found chaos.

Mo Fang, looking distraught, blurted, “Mr Wang, did Russell drop out to get a job?”

Wang stared. “Where did you hear that? Russell became a Crafter and joined the honors class.”

Silence crashed over the room—then an ear‑splitting chorus:

“W‑WHAT?!”