Suddenly, an idea stirred in his mind, and his fingers deftly slipped the card into the slot of the Wrist Device on his wrist.
"Beep." The image projected from the card was still the same as last time.
What exactly had changed about this card? Chen Mu's curiosity suddenly burned so fiercely that he wanted to rush straight out into the street and buy a Three-Star Energy Card.
"Impulse is the devil! Impulse is the devil!" Chen Mu muttered, reminding himself that this was no small sum. Only after a tremendous struggle did he finally manage to restrain himself. Most people would probably have given in and bought a Three-Star Energy Card long ago. But Chen Mu forced himself to hold back. Self-control was something he had never lacked.
As he gradually calmed down, he soon sorted out his thoughts. For now, his first priority was learning to make illusion cards. That would be a qualitative leap for him. Though it was a simple, unremarkable wish, Chen Mu, who had always struggled to find his own way alone, had been looking forward to that day for a very, very long time.
He had no time to let other things distract him now. This wish was precisely why he refused to touch his savings. He had no idea how long he would have to grope his way forward or how much material he would consume, so he had kept gritting his teeth and resisted buying a Three-Star Energy Card. Mysterious as this card was, making illusion cards had been Chen Mu's dream for years. When he wandered the streets as a child, the illusion-card advertisements outside shops, formed from ever-changing light and color, had often held him spellbound. At those moments, he would always forget the cold that his thin clothing could not keep out.
Food and warmth were now well within his means. If not for this wish, he would never have studied card theory so seriously. Making Energy Cards alone was enough to sustain his current way of life indefinitely. To be honest, he was very satisfied with that life.
He was not a man of lofty ambitions. Most of his childhood wishes had been simple and ordinary: enough to eat, warm clothes, and somewhere to live. He had already achieved all of those. The only unfulfilled wish remaining was tied to those colorful illusion-card advertisements that still flickered through his memories of winter nights.
Chen Mu forcefully breathed out all the air in his lungs, then gently placed the mysterious card in his hand into a drawer. Until he learned to make illusion cards, he would absolutely not attempt to unravel this mysterious card's secrets.
Looking at the pile of Junk Cards on the table, Chen Mu sat down again without a word. He had long since grown accustomed to failure. He had always been feeling his way forward alone, and failure was his daily bread. If he lost heart whenever he failed, he would never have made it this far.
Keep trying! Chen Mu silently clenched his fists.
Seven days passed.
Fatigue was written plainly across Chen Mu's face, and his eyes were bloodshot. Countless cards lay piled before him. Not one had a complete pattern on its surface; they were all Junk Cards. For seven days, he had tried unceasingly to make illusion cards, yet he had not succeeded even once.
No matter what he did, he could not use his perception to control the pen in his hand. He could clearly sense the potent material properties within the card ink flowing from its tip, yet he simply could not use his perception to control that liquid and make it meld with the card. The liquid soaking the nib was like a wild horse that refused to obey him.
Chen Mu's perception was weak to begin with. After a few attempts, he would have no choice but to rest and wait for it to recover. For seven days, he had drawn illusion cards day and night, yet he had not produced a single successful one. The blow to his confidence wore him down far more than his mental and physical exhaustion.
Where exactly had I gone wrong?
Chen Mu tugged at his disheveled hair in anguish.
Slumped in his chair, Chen Mu stared blankly at the pile of Junk Cards on the table. These past few days had consumed not only his energy but also a great deal of money. Materials accounted for most of the expense. Even though these were only one-star illusion cards, he had already spent nearly ten thousand Odi.
My pitifully meager savings can't withstand many more rounds of this! Chen Mu smiled bitterly to himself.
He stood up and pushed open the window. Bright sunlight fell on his face, and its warmth made him narrow his eyes in pleasure. Whatever happens, I should take a break.
As he walked along the sun-drenched streets, the terrible mood brought on by his failure to make a one-star illusion card eased without his noticing. Clear, sunny weather was also one of a street child's favorite things. It meant there was no need to worry about the cold, no need to fear that life might quietly slip away in the freezing wind.
Humming a little tune, Chen Mu wandered aimlessly with his hands clasped behind his head.
Without realizing it, he reached the gates of East Guard Academy.
I haven't had a look inside East Guard Academy yet. With his spirits already lifted, Chen Mu headed straight inside without a second thought.
East Guard Academy placed no restrictions on outsiders entering or leaving. Its beautiful scenery and many historic sites drew large numbers of visitors. Every year, the academy earned a considerable profit from these visitors, so each successive school council worked hard to improve the campus grounds. This, too, had become one of East Guard Academy's distinguishing features. Although its strength could not secure it a place among the Federation's top hundred academies, it fought its way into the top ten of the "Federation's Most Beautiful Academies" selection every year. This was a source of pride for everyone in East Shang Guard City.
Inside East Guard Academy, visitors clustered everywhere in groups of three or five. Visitors and students were easy to tell apart, since the students always wore neat uniforms. But wherever Chen Mu went, he stood out like a sore thumb.
With his tousled, unruly hair, dirty, wrinkled clothes, a pair of slippers dragging on his feet, and a face he had not washed for days, he looked every inch a beggar.
Completely indifferent to the looks from those around him, Chen Mu calmly lay down on the grass. During his childhood on the streets, he had seen all the warmth and coldness the world had to offer. He had long since become immune to these looks of contempt and disgust.
He lay down on the ground so naturally that the people around him became even more certain he was a beggar, and they all detoured around him.
Chen Mu paid them no attention. He lay on the grass with narrowed eyes, basking in the sun, its rays filling his body with languid warmth. It was so comfortable that he did not want to move a muscle.
Just then, the sound of someone speaking reached his ears.
Third update!
(End of chapter)