Cost

The female teacher murmured, "That's already a level only the top ten core cards among all the students who awakened today could reach."

"The thing is, those top ten core cards were all grade A or higher from the moment they awakened. But Su Mu's card grew to this level through his own design."

The bespectacled teacher added, his voice carrying an indescribable emotion.

The people in the office looked at one another, none of them knowing what to say for a moment.

After a long while, the director of studies finally said softly, "Su Mu's compatibility with the Journey to the West theme has probably reached an unimaginable level. A single name let an E-grade card jump three grades at once. Even someone who awakened an SSS-grade theme might not be able to do that, right?"

"Absolutely impossible," the old mentor said firmly. "Even with Ye Qingxue's SSS-grade Ice and Snow World, if she renamed an E-grade ice-element card, it would rise to C-grade at most. A three-grade jump has never happened in the entire history of Rongcheng."

"This is beyond what you could call high compatibility."

Zhao Jianguo spoke slowly. "It's almost as if... his theme is tailor-making cards for him. He only needs to attach a concept, and the theme itself fills in the rest."

Everyone fell silent again.

For the first time, they truly realized that the "special" theme Su Mu had awakened might be far more terrifying than they had imagined.

"But even so..."

The female teacher hesitated, then said it anyway. "Su Mu has only just caught up with those top students. His combat value has risen, but there's only one Little Drill Wind. Ye Qingxue's Ice and Snow World has a combination of a core card and three other cards, Wang Hao has six fighting creature cards plus Martial Soul Resonance, and Li Ming has three barracks."

"No matter how strong a single card is, it can still be surrounded and killed."

The director of studies had also calmed down. "And his core card is still that stone, after all. Once Little Drill Wind falls, the entire dungeon will be defenseless."

"That's true," the bespectacled teacher suddenly said. "But have you considered one thing... Su Mu made an A-grade card himself, so what about the future?"

Everyone was taken aback.

"If he can grow an E-grade card to A-grade, that means he doesn't need to spend a fortune buying high-grade cards. He only needs to buy low-grade cards with the same concept, then slowly nurture them using the Journey to the West theme. The difference in cost is like heaven and earth."

The old mentor's eyes lit up. "Exactly. The market price of an A-grade card can easily reach hundreds of thousands or even a million Alliance coins. And how much does an E-grade card cost? Besides, don't forget that embedding cards in a dungeon consumes soul power. And that consumption is directly tied to the card's grade."

As he spoke, he tapped his fingers on the table, as though working out the numbers for everyone.

"An F-grade card takes only ten soul power to embed. E-grade takes thirty, D-grade seventy, C-grade one hundred and fifty, B-grade three hundred, and A-grade a full five hundred. That's just the basic embedding cost. In other words, if you want to put an A-grade card straight into a dungeon, the soul points for embedding it alone are enough to give an ordinary student a hard time."

"Not to mention the cost of trial and error."

The bespectacled teacher added, "After a card is embedded, it still needs adjustments and time to mesh. If it doesn't fit the theme, its attributes will be reduced, or it might even be rejected. Then not only is the card ruined, but the soul power spent embedding it goes down the drain too."

"So for most people, having a C-grade card besides their core card in the early stages is already an extremely impressive, astonishing achievement."

The director of studies nodded. "Take our school, for example. Wang Hao's six F-grade creature cards cost only sixty points to embed altogether. But if he embedded a C-grade card, deducting that one hundred and fifty soul power would throw his entire build for the day into disarray."

"That's why everyone stresses being cautious in the early stages." The female

teacher sighed. "Even if your family has money, you can't just throw in high-grade cards. Soul power is a hard requirement. If you haven't reached the right level, you simply can't support them."

"But what about Su Mu?" The old mentor pointed at the screen. "He embedded an E-grade card for a cost of thirty points.

Then, through naming and concept anchoring inside the dungeon, he managed to raise it all the way to the peak of A-grade. No five-hundred-point embedding cost, no risk of rejection, and the entire growth process was powered by the theme's resonance."

"In other words, he bypassed the entire card system's 'high-grade card embedding tax.'" The bespectacled teacher drew a deep breath. "For thirty points, he got an A-grade card worth a million that would normally take five hundred soul power to embed."

The air in the office seemed to freeze for a moment.

"Then doesn't that mean... he can mass-produce A-grade cards in the future?" The director of studies' voice sounded a little dry.

"Mass production is impossible." The old mentor shook his head. "He succeeded this time because that mountain-patrolling lesser demon card was already compatible with his theme, and the name 'Little Drill Wind' must hold a special place in the Journey to the West theme.

"Concept anchoring at this level is something you can only encounter by chance, not seek out. He would need to find a suitable base card and a corresponding conceptual identity within the theme before he could repeat it."

"But even so, his path is already very clear."

Zhao Jianguo spoke slowly. "If he can't grow high-grade cards, he can buy low-grade cards and raise them himself. As long as he finds the right concept and combines it with his abundant soul power, when others bankrupt themselves for an A-grade card in the future, he'll only need to spend a few thousand to buy a base card."

"For a student without a family background, it's practically the perfect path," the female teacher said softly.

"But let's not be too optimistic." The director of studies fell silent for a while, then calmed down. "Su Mu has only just caught up with the others, and judging by combat power index alone, he still isn't among the very best. Ye Qingxue is a full seven thousand points above him, and Wang Hao is more than three thousand ahead too. Besides, Ye Qingxue's build is very well developed. With a core card and three other cards, she has a complete system and plenty of room to grow."

"That's right." The old mentor nodded. "Su Mu's strength lies in Little Drill Wind being an exceptionally high-quality individual card. But his weakness is just as obvious... his entire dungeon has only that one creature card. If Little Drill Wind falls, there'll be nothing behind him but an empty city. He's unlike Ye Qingxue or Wang Hao, whose systems have depth and alternatives."

"But look at it from another angle," the bespectacled teacher suddenly said. "Su Mu's growth curve is completely different from an ordinary student's. He doesn't have any money right now, so he can only start with the lowest-grade base cards.

"But think about it. Once he gains experience and resources through the trial and starts buying similar low-grade cards, then raises them the same way..."