[System Prompt]
[Deck was deactivated because of lack of mana. Ember as your first summon can work independently from the deck.]
[ Sense Ember is summoned and no longer in the deck you are now missing two cards in your deck minimum. The special consumable Spirit Crystal of Wind and Sea and now Ember. Please fill those two remaining card slots before summoning the deck. ]
[Would you like to begin the tutorial on card creation? [Yes? or No]
The system prompt floated before Jalen’s eyes, its glowing text cutting through the fog of his lingering exhaustion. His fingers twitched involuntarily as he read the message, a mixture of relief and dread bubbling to the surface.
“Missing cards?” Jalen muttered, his brow furrowing. Ember glanced up at him from his spot on the ground, tilting his head. The salamander’s tail flicked faintly, reflecting Jalen’s unease. “And card creation? I didn’t even know that was an option.”
Ember, clearly still shaken by Jalen’s earlier collapse, hopped up onto his shoulder. “This sounds like something you need to figure out fast. Missing two cards? How did you lose two cards, Jalen? You only summoned two cards. Your 2/0 on card loss.
Hey Ember, I thought you were supposed to be on my side.
I am on your side Jalen ember sighed as if he was explaining the concept of time to a new born. It's just at the rate you lose cards. You'll need a whole new deck in the next hour. It only took around 5 minutes to lose cards. It will take a hour and 40 minutes to lose them all.
“What do you mean at the rate I lose cards? You are one of the missing cards. Do you want to go back into the deck so I will only have one missing card? ”
Jalen’s sharp retort hung in the air as Ember fixed him with a deadpan look, his golden eyes narrowing slightly. The salamander crossed his tiny arms, the fiery tip of his tail flickering impatiently. “Go back into the deck? Are you serious right now? I’m out here saving your life, and you’re asking me to get back into some mana-sucking void so you don’t have to think about your deck management?”
Jalen groaned, rubbing his temple. “Alright, alright, you’ve got a point. But you’re not exactly helping with the motivational speech, you know?”
“I am helping,” Ember huffed, puffing up his tiny chest. “If you can’t handle a little banter, how are you going to handle combat when you’re down to no cards and no mana? You’re lucky I’m independent now. Imagine if I had gone back into the deck—you wouldn’t see my cute face again. ”
Jalen sighed, conceding the point. “Fine. You’re right. I need to figure this out fast before the rest of the deck becomes useless. And I do need to learn how to create cards anyway.” He glanced at the system prompt floating before him, its glow slightly pulsating as if waiting impatiently for his decision.
“Alright,” Jalen said, addressing the system. “Let’s do this. Yes, start the tutorial.”
The moment he confirmed, the system chimed, and Ember leapt down from his shoulder, pacing in small circles while the tutorial’s text began to unfurl.
[Card Creation Tutorial Initiated.]
[Step 1: Define Your Class Approach.]
Your cards reflect your strategy and personality. Are you aggressive, defensive, or adaptive? Select your focus:
•Aggressive: Overwhelm opponents with offense.
•Defensive: Fortify and outlast.
•Adaptive: Flexible and versatile.
Jalen stared at the options, hesitating. He’d always prided himself on being adaptable. “I think adaptive makes the most sense. I’ve been making do with what I have, and I’ll need versatility to cover my weak points.”
“You sure?” Ember piped up, looking up at him with a raised brow. “I mean, if you’re losing cards left and right, maybe going defensive would buy you more time.”
Jalen shot him a look. “I’m not building a bunker. Adaptive fits my class better.” He selected the Adaptive option, and the system chimed in approval.
[System Prompt]
[So glad you remembered your class. Thought you might hit your head and thought you became a berserker. Secret Reward obtained. ]
The system is acting weird; it's more personal than it normally is.
[Step 2: Determine Missing Card Needs.]
Your deck currently lacks balance due to two missing cards. Please address the needs of your deck by selecting card types:
•Summon Card
•Spell Card
•Enhancement Card
“Easy,” Jalen said, already deciding. “One summon to replace Ember and utility spell maybe something to help me summon more cards. Maybe a defensive boost.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
[Step 3: [Summon the Card Catalog.]
Jalen complied.
[Open the Card Catalog to the first page of the Card Collection.]
When Jalen opened the book to the correct page, a screen appeared, showing the image of a single card. Where the other cards he’d seen all looked to be made of a light gold metal of some kind, the one in front of him was completely white. It almost looked like a sheet of paper.
Above the card was a line of text.
[Blank Card Template.]
As Jalen wondered what to do next, the System’s prompt came again.
[Touch the Blank Card Template, and channel mana into its image.]
Jalen hesitated, his fingers hovering above the blank card displayed on the glowing screen. The stark whiteness of the template was unnerving, like staring at an empty page with no idea how to fill it. Ember hopped back up to his shoulder, his tail curling around Jalen’s neck like a flickering scarf.
“You gonna stare at it all day, or are you actually going to do something?” Ember teased, leaning over to peer at the blank card with mild curiosity.
Jalen shot him a look. “You know, I could really use some constructive feedback for once.”
“I am being constructive. I’m constructing sarcasm to motivate you.”
Ignoring him, Jalen took a deep breath and pressed his fingers to the glowing card. The surface was cold at first, then grew warm as he began channeling his mana into it. He could feel the familiar pull within him—the swirling currents of his mana core responding to the card’s silent demand.
The system chimed again, its voice oddly chipper: Creation a Success
[Name: Blank Card]
[Type: N/A]
[Summoning Cost: N/A]
[Activation Cost: N/A]
[Effect: N/A]
[Would you like to use your Secret Reward to help in card crafting. Cards require ingredients to increase their potential. Would you like use your secret reward as ingredients for card
[ Yes or No]
Yes I guess.
[Turn to the next page of the Card Catalog and place the Blank Card on its surface.]
Jalen followed the instructions feeling a little drained, finding the next page completely empty. When the card touched the surface, there was a brief flash of white light, and then the card was gone.
A screen appeared in front of the catalog displaying the same image seen on its last page, but there was different text.
[Blank Card]
[Quantity: 1]
So, this thing both creates and stores Blank Cards?
He’d already known the catalog could hold his cards. After all, when he’d first received his deck that’s where its cards had gone. But the process at the time had been automatic. This Blank Card was the first time he’d added something to the book himself.
[Under normal circumstances, a Deckmaster may only create a number of Blank Cards per day equal to double their Class Tier.]
[For the purposes of this Tutorial, this restriction has been relaxed.]
[Create and store 14 more Blank Cards to continue.]
14 more but I’m still on mana restrictions. Jalen checked his mana to find it didn’t regenerate and even went down ten.
This is going to take a while so he crafted four more cards to be on the safe side then started meditating. It increased his mana regeneration by a bit.
It took him about eighty minutes to complete the entire 15 cards. I feel drained and I still have a 80 minutes left on this debuff. I haven’t even completed the trail yet. I’m not confident I can punch straight through the steel puppets with my bare hands yet. This is a disaster but it’s finally over.
Jalen sat back against the cool stone wall, his breathing heavy, sweat dripping down his face as the last Blank Card slid into the catalog. Ember had remained silent for the past hour, pacing back and forth on the ground like a restless guard. Now, the salamander climbed onto Jalen’s lap, his golden eyes staring up at him with a mixture of concern and impatience.
“Well, you made it,” Ember said, his tone dry but tinged with relief. “Fifteen cards. Didn’t think you had it in you.”
Jalen groaned, running a hand through his damp hair. “Yeah, and I feel like I’ve run a marathon uphill. Twice.” He glanced at the glowing system prompt that hovered in the air.
[Congratulations! 15 Blank Cards successfully created and stored. Deck Capacity has been restored. Tutorial progress: 60%.]
[Your Secret Reward has been incorporated into the deck’s potential. Prepare for the next step.]
Jalen sighed. “Wait, there’s more? Of course, there’s more.”
“Did you really think it’d be that easy?” Ember asked, hopping up to perch on Jalen’s shoulder again. “You’ve barely started. And let’s not forget—your mana’s still on lockdown. So unless you’re planning to use your fists against steel puppets, you better hope this next step gives you something useful.”
Jalen nodded, closing his eyes for a moment to steady himself. His mana reserves were pitifully low, and even meditating hadn’t restored as much as he’d hoped. The lingering effects of his earlier collapse were still haunting him. But he couldn’t afford to quit now—not when his survival hinged on mastering the deck.
The system chimed again.
[Step 4: Card Imprinting.]
[Use your Blank Cards to design new cards. You may select from pre-generated templates or create custom cards. Remember: Each card drains mana based on its complexity. Be strategic.]
Jalen opened the catalog again, flipping through its shimmering pages. The first page displayed two options:
[Option 1: Pre-Generated Templates.]
A collection of basic cards designed to provide immediate utility. These include low-cost summon, spell, and enhancement cards.
[Option 2: Custom Creation.]
Design your cards from scratch, imprinting them with unique traits and abilities. Requires higher mana investment but offers greater versatility.
“Pre-generated or custom?” Jalen muttered, glancing at Ember. “What do you think?”
Ember tapped his tail against Jalen’s shoulder, his flame flickering thoughtfully. “If it were me, I’d say start with the pre-generated ones. You don’t exactly have a lot of mana to play with, and you’re still learning. Save the custom stuff for when you’re not running on fumes.”
Jalen frowned but nodded. It was a practical suggestion, even if it stung his pride. “Alright, let’s check out the pre-generated templates first.”
Selecting the option, the system displayed a series of cards, each glowing faintly as they hovered in the air. Jalen scanned the options quickly:
1.Summon Card: Aqueous Serpent.
swift and fluid water elemental in the form of a serpentine creature.
2.Spell Card: Spirit Pulse
A low-cost magic burst that disrupts enemy movements and can damage multiple targets.
3.Enhancement Card: Mana Stabilizer
Increases mana regeneration for a short time, reducing overall spell costs.
Jalen stared at the glowing cards suspended before him, their faint light illuminating the dim space around him. The decision wasn’t particularly hard—he needed something versatile and something to buy himself some breathing room.
“I’ll take the Aqueous Serpent and the Mana Stabilizer,” he said decisively.
The moment the words left his lips, the two chosen cards detached from the selection grid, glowing brighter as they floated toward him. Each card felt alive in its own way—one cool and flowing like a gentle stream, the other steady and grounding like an anchor.
As he was about to reach for the cards he got another system prompt.
[ Using the secret gift to upgrade the two chosen cards.]
[Selections Confirmed.]
[Summon Card: Aqueous Serpent and Enhancement Card:
Turning secret gifts into ingredients. Secret gift turned into a water serpent and mana crystal.