Swarming In

On the first day of the Month of Flowing Fire (April), Warren Potion Shop had yet to open, but an enormous crowd of customers had already gathered outside.

There were ordinary workers who had taken time out of their busy schedules to make a detour, as well as idle nobles enjoying life. There were ladies in long dresses waving fans, and mischievous children not yet old enough for school.

They had come from every corner of Priest, united by the same goal.

That was to buy the latest batch of cola.

The Daily Priest's advertising was remarkably effective in this city. Three consecutive days of reports in different formats had made the news of cola's new cards known to every household. Though some people scoffed at such things, most were still willing to come and join in the excitement.

"What are these cards even for?"

A young man asked. His father was a merchant who liked collecting all sorts of cups. He himself wanted for nothing, and the trendy new drink called cola had captured his heart. When he heard that New Moon Cola would be releasing cards featuring great mages, he had come out of curiosity, only to find such a long queue.

"No idea, but I heard some people rushed over here at dawn today because they were worried the cola would sell out."

A woman beside him replied, unable to resist glancing at the young man as she thought that he was quite to her liking.

"According to the information published in the newspaper, these cards feature various legendary mages. Once you collect them all, you can exchange them for a mysterious card. Ordinary people might not see it, heh, but as a collector, I know full well that these things are bound to become valuable collectibles, just like antiques and famous paintings."

A pot-bellied man adjusted his glasses and spoke coldly, drawing the woman's and the young man's attention.

"Collectibles? No way. They're just cards. What value could they possibly have?"

Just as they were arguing, the shop doors opened. Warren emerged with two clerks. Looking at the vast crowd of eager customers, he smiled slightly before speaking.

"Everyone, I understand how you feel, but to ensure that everyone can enjoy cola, our shop's policy is that each person may purchase at most three bottles of cola and similar beverages. Please understand."

Warren had stocked up on goods this time, but for better promotional effect—and because of the so-called hunger marketing plan Rainer had mentioned before—he imposed this limit.

The crowd raised no objections. In truth, many people did not know much about the cards and were simply following the trend.

The queue moved forward slowly, and those at the front quickly bought their cola and exchanged the labels for three cards.

Moria was one of them. Ever since he had tried cola, he had become utterly enamored with this exciting new beverage, drinking at least three bottles every day. He also loved New Moon Cola's new products. It could be said that he was one of its most fervent fans.

When he saw the newspaper reports about the cards appearing alongside cola, he had been beside himself with excitement. He had come to wait outside Warren Potion Shop at dawn that day, only to discover that someone had already beaten him to it.

Still, as one of the earliest arrivals, Moria got his wish and bought three bottles of cola. He impatiently tore off the labels, revealing the hidden serial numbers, then received three black bags containing cards from the clerk specifically responsible for handing them out.

Without a second thought, he immediately opened them. Luckily, none of the three cards were duplicates.

Moria gently stroked the three cards in his hand. They were made of stiff paper, with the texture of an old book. The back bore a magic array used to prevent counterfeiting. Moria did not know magic, but he had seen mage apprentices channel a trace of mana into it, causing the array to emerge and rotate in midair. Though it was merely a simple spell for verifying signatures, it still filled Moria with envy.

Turning the cards over, Moria examined what he had received.

One showed a man standing atop a cliff, gazing into the distance. Around him were four animals: a brown bear, an eagle, a lynx, and a dragonhawk. At the bottom of the card, the mage's name was embossed in gold lettering: Vandal-Aman, Lord of Nature.

"Vandal-Aman rose to fame in Azure Moon Calendar Year 5. He was a master of the Transmutation School, capable of transforming into four kinds of beasts. At the same time, he was a pioneer in bloodline research. Throughout his life, he devoted himself to perfectly fusing the bloodlines of magical creatures into mages' bodies. His legacy was later carried forward by bloodline mages, becoming the origin of beast mages."

Below this account of the mage's life was a line of yellow text.

"Only when one transforms into a beast can one understand the wisdom of humankind—Vandal-Aman."

There was also a cursive number in the upper-right corner of the card. Clearly, this was the twenty-third card.

Moria looked again at the mage depicted on the card. He had never seen this style of portraiture before. Though it was clearly exaggerated and simplified, it captured all of the mage's defining traits and left a deep impression.

He did not know whether the real Vandal-Aman had looked like this in history, but Moria believed that if he ever had the chance to see a portrait of the man, he would recognize him from the impression this card had left.

"This is practically a work of art."

Moria exclaimed in admiration, hurriedly turning to the other two cards.

One card depicted an old man in gray robes. He held a pure white staff topped with a brilliant crystal. Standing atop a high tower, the old man seemed to be deep in thought. Countless rays of light gathered around him, forming a seven-colored rainbow.

This was Lincoln Woolthorpe, the Light Chaser. Even Moria, who knew no magic, knew that this mage had been the first to discover that sunlight was actually composed of many colors mixed together, and that with special instruments, it could be separated into seven colors—the colors of the rainbow.

The description also stated that Lincoln Woolthorpe was a master of illusion magic, and that seventy-two commonly used illusion spells were currently named after him.

The other card showed a handsome young man in loose robes, seated at a table and writing. Around him, countless triangles, circles, and rectangles intertwined, while formulas flickered in and out of view.

Moria did not recognize this mage, but from the written introduction, he learned that this was Thales Anax, a mage active eighteen hundred years ago. He was the first to discover that, on a plane, the sum of the squares of the two legs of a right triangle equaled the square of its hypotenuse. This conclusion later became known as the Anax Theorem, one of the earliest mathematical theorems proposed in the history of magic.

His title was equally impressive: the Theorem Arbiter.

Just as Moria was immersed in these mages' stories, feeling an inexplicable surge of excitement, a girl beside him suddenly cried out.

"Ah! This card is actually sparkling!"

Moria followed the sound and saw that the card in the girl's hand also depicted a mage, but the entire card gave off a glittering shine, making it look far more premium.

"Oh, look at this lucky lady."

Seeing this, Warren said with a smile.

"She pulled a rare foil card."