Chapter 11: Fae Cards
Hill and Fina experienced Joshua's swift and decisive style of action for the first time.
"Hey... you guys only got back from another world a few hours ago, right? After enduring such a long and arduous battle."
As the group once again passed through the teleportation array, arriving at the marble teleportation hall at the foot of Nissier Snow Mountain, which had only been built less than a month ago, Hill looked incredulously at the Divine Mechanism siblings beside him. "You haven't even been back in Moldavia for thirty seconds after returning from the Fairyland, and now you're going to meet two Legendary experts again... Don't you get any rest time?"
"Hmm, haven't we been resting all along?"
But what greeted him was the rather resentful voices of the weapon siblings. "If anything, when will the master give us something substantial to do?"
Hill: "???"
For those following behind Joshua, few could keep up with the warrior's fast-paced lifestyle. If it were ordinary people, even someone as decisive as Israel, or someone as transcendent as Eagle, they would inevitably prepare for thirty minutes to two hours before meeting the two Legendary mages, Baniel and William. They would prepare appropriate clothing and decorations, notify the other party, and show respect. But not Joshua. He would set off immediately, without any notice, catching everyone off guard.
Naturally, this included the two Legendary mages.
At the foot of Nissier Snow Mountain, the flag of Winterfell Academy, located halfway up the mountain, fluttered in the howling north wind. Amidst the rolling thick snow clouds, a blue dragon could be seen leading over a dozen white young dragons flying through the clouds, its imposing figure appearing and disappearing in the wind and snow. On the ground, a group of knights clad in heavy armor were desperately running through the icy wilderness, following the flight path of their future mounts.
"They've grown quite a bit. Looks like they have good potential in the future."
Joshua glanced over and then praised the knight order. "Very hardworking. As expected of the elites I personally selected."
[To ride on a dragon's back, one must keep pace with the dragon's steps.] This ancient dragon knight proverb might have been interpreted too directly and roughly by a certain warrior, but if one could keep up with a dragon's speed on foot, then their strength would surely follow.
Hill and Fina immediately felt the pressure of the dragons, but before they could offer any commentary from their perspective as predecessors on this newly emerging northern dragon knight order, their attention was drawn to a loud noise from another direction.
"Boom—boom—boom—"
Muffled explosive sounds, like blasting, were coming from underground. Rin promptly provided an explanation: "That's the project called the 'subway track,' a collaboration between the Moldavia Lord's Mansion and the northern dwarves. The explosions should be from expanding the tunnels... This project is under Miss Number Three's responsibility, but unfortunately, she's in charge of monitoring the main city's safety and can't come here to explain it to you in person."
"Oh, oh... the subway, huh?"
Unlike Fina, who was content with just knowing a name and didn't intend to delve deeper, Hill thought more. He quickly grasped the true meaning of the so-called subway from the keywords "tunnel" and "underground"—it was probably some kind of high-speed transportation channel underground. But Joshua didn't give him time to think further. The warrior had already stepped onto the path leading to the mountainside.
As the strength of the Lord of Moldavia gradually climbed to the Legendary realm, more and more external investments began to pour into this northern county. Winterfell Academy, as an institution jointly controlled by two Legendary experts, Joshua and Nostradamus, naturally became the top priority for those investors. In just a few months, the once somewhat modest Winterfell Academy had completed its third internal expansion of the mountain and exterior renovations. Students from the northern lands, the central region of the Northern Empire, and the western mountain ranges provided several hundred new students, and this number was expected to multiply several times over in the coming years.
Because of the two Legendary experts, this newly established academy had surpassed dozens of long-established old schools in the Eastern Plains in terms of both faculty and student body in a short time. But no one thought this was unfair; instead, they considered it taken for granted.
After all, Joshua had taken on several nominal disciples at this academy! Who knew if Nostradamus might also take on a few batches? Just for that, any price was worth paying.
Unlike Hill and the others, who were captivated by the exquisite sculptures, orderly steps, and beautiful scenery along the way, Joshua himself didn't care about these complex capital issues. His attitude toward the increasingly solemn academy and the cleaner, tidier mountain path of Nissier Snow Mountain was merely "not bad." Soon, the warrior reached the mountainside, arrived at the academy's main gate, and prepared to sense the fluctuations of power to find Baniel and William.
The entire Nissier Snow Mountain, along with the forests and lakes at its base, belonged to Winterfell Academy. The spaces located at the mountainside and inside the mountain itself housed the teaching buildings, library, dormitories, and laboratories. The academy's true main gate was at the edge of the forest at the mountain's base; the gate at the mountainside was actually just the entrance to the teaching building.
But just in front of this teaching building gate, Joshua unexpectedly heard quite a bit of noise.
"Oh my... how exquisite!"
"What is this? Is this also magic?"
"Can magic really achieve this level?"
The clamorous voices could be clearly heard even through the gate. Not only Joshua, but Ying and Rin also blinked in surprise, let alone Hill and Fina, who had come along hoping to meet the two Legendary mages.
Guessing would only waste time. Joshua shook his head, directly opened the gate, and walked in.
As the gate opened, a slightly humid warm breeze, different from the outside, greeted them. But what everyone saw was not the thirty-meter-high welcoming hall of Winterfell Academy, but a sea of people formed by hundreds of students, with even some teachers mixed in. They all surrounded the center, watching with curious expressions. Some students, unable to see the inside due to their height, even flexibly used the magic they had learned, employing detection arrays to observe the situation inside.
Completely in the dark about what was happening, Joshua naturally didn't need to use detection magic. His vision could directly penetrate human clothing, skin, blood, and bones, bypassing the flesh-and-blood wall of the crowd to see the inside. Then, he discovered a shocking fact: surrounded by hundreds of students were precisely the two Legendary mages he was looking for, Baniel and William!
What were these two doing? Weren't the students afraid of these two Legendary mages? Although they were indeed known as approachable experts...
Before Joshua could finish his thoughts, he slightly raised his head and immediately spotted another familiar face in the crowd—not exactly familiar, just someone he knew. With a delicate, handsome face, dark golden hair like his father's, a helpless expression, and purple pupils. The Empire's Sixth Prince, Adrian, a rare guest, was chatting with his younger brother, the Seventh Prince, Alva. Joshua could also see an invisible fairy perched on Adrian's shoulder, watching the two Legendary experts in the center of the crowd with great interest.
"Is that the incarnation of the Wind Fairy Queen, 'Long Wind'?"
Joshua was somewhat puzzled. He had come to Winterfell Academy this time only because of Baniel and the others, never expecting to encounter so many unexpected events. Just then, students at the edge of the crowd noticed the cold wind surging back and the gate wide open. Naturally, they also spotted Joshua's arrival.
"Dean!"
"Lord Count!"
"Lord!"
Students from different countries, regions, and races let out various exclamations. These young students and some teachers instantly felt a chill run down their spines, a tremor from the depths of their marrow and soul spreading through their bodies. Soon, almost everyone present, under the contagious fear, noticed the silent Joshua. In an instant, the human wall in front of Joshua parted like the Red Sea before Moses, clearing a path to the center of the crowd.
"...Quite self-aware."
Without saying a word, the crowd had automatically done everything. Joshua didn't bother to say much more. He just nodded slightly, signaling everyone to continue their previous activities, and then walked forward on his own.
Then he saw the two Legendary experts sitting on either side of a small table, Baniel and William. This duo, who had been chasing the traces of ancient dragons, were now frowning, holding a handful of cards, deep in thought.
"Oh?"
Even Joshua couldn't help but let out a soft exclamation. He quickened his pace, approaching the two deep in thought, looking at the rectangular cards in their hands and the table.
The cards were made of excellent material, using the unique 'Immortal Wood' from the jungles of the Far South, giving them self-repairing properties. The faint magical glow and rune marks on the card backs indicated they were more than just simple cards, as evidenced by the specially shaped table.
"I use 'Thought Steal' to copy two cards from your deck and add them to my hand!"
Just as Joshua was observing, the Legendary Bard, [Mind Master] William, played the first card since the warrior's arrival. As this young, handsome Legendary mage placed a card from his hand onto the table, accompanied by a glow of magic, a 3D image of a person clutching their head in pain appeared on William's side of the table, which was made entirely of steel and crystal. Two cards automatically flew from Baniel's side, who maintained a calm expression, and merged into William's hand.
William glanced at the two extra cards and clicked his tongue. At this point, only two of the ten pale blue crystals on his side of the table were still lit, but he still ended his turn: "End!"
On the other side, [Rune Master] Baniel's cards didn't have as many effects. Facing his friend William's cold expression, this slightly older-looking Legendary mage just flashed a bright smile. "My turn? Then I play [Lava Raider], followed by two [Fire Elementals]... and the rest all go face!"
[Lava Raider, 3 cost 2/2, Rush, +1 Attack for each Elemental card played] [Fire Elemental, 1 cost 1/2]
As the three cards were placed on the table, small phantom images of three monsters appeared. Before this, four monsters were already on the field. At Baniel's command, they all cheerfully charged toward William's area. As magical symbols like '-2', '-1', and '-4' appeared, the heart-shaped number representing William in the center of the table dropped to 16, while Baniel's number remained a solid '30'.
Aren't these Fae Cards?
Watching this familiar card battle, Joshua recalled memories that seemed buried deep in his memory.
Fae Cards, also known as Light and Shadow Poetry, were a mini-game built into the Continent of Strife in his past life. Developed by fairies and published by dwarves, it was a phenomenal card game that swept the continent. With its unique and interesting gameplay and diverse combinations, it won the love of all races. Joshua had played it for a while but hadn't delved deeply, as he was responsible for pioneering new bosses and didn't have extra time to study card games.
But that didn't stop him from understanding Fae Cards. In Joshua's eyes, what Baniel and William were using should be the 'Initial Fae Card Table' once housed in the Northern Empire Museum—the first magical mechanical device developed specifically for Fae Card entertainment. Such tables were expensive, but later dwarves modified them to be very cheap, so cheap that even every tavern could afford a few for Fae Card players. According to Joshua's memory, this thing should have been completed in the year 837 of the Falling Stars Era, then spread across the continent by 839. Until the start of the world-class war in 853 of the Falling Stars Era, Fae Cards were the most widespread form of entertainment on the Mycroft Continent.
Now it's only 836. Has the finished product already been made? It seems my arrival has influenced many aspects.
Just as Joshua was still reminiscing, the battle on the table reached a climax.
"I want to use [Mind Control] to take control of one of your minions!"
At this point, with no field presence and only 5 health left, like a candle flickering in the wind, William played a powerful spell card. After placing the card down, he hesitated to specify which minion to target, instead staring into Baniel's eyes. The Legendary Bard's eyes flickered with a hazy, deep purple glow. A powerful mental force radiated from William, instantly piercing into Baniel's brain. Caught off guard, Baniel shuddered, then his right hand moved toward the lower right corner of the table, where the [Exit] button was.
"No! William, you bastard, that's too despicable! It's the card's Mind Control, not your personal Mind Control over me!"
But Baniel was also a Legendary mage. Being momentarily caught off guard by a friend's trick was one thing; he quickly reacted, slamming the table and shouting angrily: "That's a violation of the rules!"
"You violated the rules too! I've long suspected you, you damn bastard, of using your rune skills to alter the card faces and print your own cards! I said, how come you never get stuck with a bad hand? Who prints cards in real-time like that?!"
"Bull—shit! And isn't it normal for a Rune Master to use runes to control cards? This is a legal operation!"
"Then using mental control on you is also a legal operation!"
"You didn't succeed in controlling me, did you..."
"Alright, what exactly is going on here?"
Seeing the two Legendary mages arguing without any dignity in front of a crowd, Joshua had to step in to stop the conflict. He had also noticed that during the previous match, Baniel, using his superb rune skills, had directly altered the card faces of the Fae Cards he drew at the nanoscale level. This move, in terms of technical skill, was no less than the molecular disintegration-level attacks of a Void Mother Beast. Unfortunately, this power wasn't used for spells but for... cheating.
"All students, dismissed! This should be class time. What are you doing outside the classroom? If I see any of you still out here in three minutes, you'll lose fifty points from your annual total!"
To be honest, Joshua wanted to laugh, but if he did, the situation would never become serious again. So he decisively gave orders, sending all the students and teachers who had been enjoying the spectacle back to their places. At the same time, he commanded: "Adrian, Alva, and Miss Long Wind, don't leave. Stay and explain things clearly."