Summer. Hu City. A place called "Happy Homeland."
Russell blinked in confusion as he slowly opened his eyes. The television in the room was broadcasting the news.
"Master-level Cardmaker Yama Bai Yueming has arrived in Hu City today. We warmly welcome Master Bai's guidance."
"It is said that Master Bai is a grandmaster of the Netherworld archetype."
"His visit is to assist in containing unrest in the offshore rift zone known as The Demon Nest."
"Reports suggest that the disturbance in The Demon Nest may have been instigated by the Spirit-Begging Society."
"Citizens are urged to report any suspicious individuals immediately."
The voice from the television grated on Russell's nerves.
Memories came flooding into his mind in massive, uncontrollable waves.
"Wait... did I just transmigrate?" Russell muttered.
Before this, Russell had been a "2D slave" — a freelance anime illustrator scraping by. But after AI-generated artwork swept the industry, he'd been out of work for six months. One drunken night, he choked on his own vomit and died.
"What a humiliating way to go… Damn it! I never wiped my hard drive!"
Thinking of the incriminating files on his computer, Russell's face turned pale.
With a deep breath and nothing to do but pray his friends were savvy enough to wipe his data, he began sorting through the new flood of memories.
In this world — still called Blue Star, oddly enough — there existed a mysterious profession: Cardmakers.
The early history of this world seemed to align with what Russell knew. That is, until a key historical turning point — when Wu Sangui opened the gates to foreign invaders — triggered global catastrophe.
All around the world, spatial rifts began to tear open, revealing hidden realms brimming with monstrous beings.
Amid the chaos, a hulking soldier of the Ming Dynasty named Lu Sheng accidentally fell into one of these rifts.
What no one expected was that this brute of a man would fight and defeat the otherworldly monsters barehanded — and in doing so, he obtained the first card ever created on Blue Star.
From that moment on, the tide turned. The Ming held their ground and pushed back the invading forces. It's been over six hundred years since, and the dynasty still stands.
Once order was restored, they discovered that one of the surrounding smaller nations had already fallen. A fox-demon of immense power had descended upon its land and turned the territory into what is now simply known as the Demon Kingdom.
These days, the Ming royal family functions more as a ceremonial symbol — the real power lies in the Imperial Cabinet.
Scratching his head, Russell muttered,
"This version of the Ming Dynasty… is it even constitutional?"
According to his inherited memories, the conflict between humanity and the Riftborn monsters had only intensified in recent years. In some regions, entire human and monster armies now face off on a regular basis.
To bolster its military forces, the Cardmaker Association of the Ming Empire holds an annual aptitude test for high school juniors, scouting for potential recruits to train.
The body's previous owner had been preparing to create his first card — but died suddenly from overexertion after studying through the night.
Thinking of this, Russell couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
"Looks like I landed the 'mythical cardmaker' storyline."
Eagerly flipping through the Illustrated World Mythology Compendium, Revised Edition 4.8, Russell's excitement quickly turned to despair.
"Crap... I don't know anything about mythology."
He finally realized that his knowledge of mythology was superficial at best — nowhere near the encyclopedic recall the real veterans had.
Sure, he could name a few of the more famous deities, but at his current tier, he didn't have the qualifications to make cards from them anyway.
With his plan to specialize in mythological cards officially scrapped, he listlessly reached for another book on the desk: How to Write Stories Like a Redhead.
Suddenly, his eyes narrowed.
He read aloud:
"As long as your logic is sound and your setting is coherent… even fictional concepts can be turned into cards?"
Russell's mind began to spin.
"Do the anime I watched before count…?"
As a lifelong anime artist, he was intimately familiar with countless shows and storylines.
Setting aside his wandering thoughts, he continued flipping through the cardmaking materials in front of him.
"Mental energy, materials, story concept, card visuals — I need all four?"
Of these, mental energy was the least of Russell's concerns. Maybe due to his transmigration, his mental strength had already reached the Black Iron tier.
Still, this profession clearly demanded a lot from its practitioners.
And yet, the world could not do without Cardmakers — so, naturally, they had become a class of elites.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Russell returned to organizing the memories in his mind.
"…Online loans?"
The original Russell had been an orphan. His parents—just ordinary citizens—had died during a Rift Beast incursion, leaving behind only this old apartment and just enough money to scrape through high school.
But if he wanted to become a Cardmaker, that savings would never be enough.
Naturally, he'd turned to online lending.
As hoped, he managed to secure a startup loan of 100,000 credits. The catch? If he couldn't pay it back within a month, the loan sharks would seize this very apartment.
Russell couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
According to the inherited memories, if he successfully became a Cardmaker, Hu City First High School would award a scholarship of up to 150,000 credits.
Not only would he be able to pay off the loan, he'd have enough left to make it through college—barely.
But if he failed...
He'd be out on the street, surviving on scraps and cold wind.
With a long sigh, Russell muttered,
"No more stalling. It's do-or-die now."
He powered up the battered, antique-looking desktop computer and opened the official marketplace affiliated with the Cardmakers' Association.
This platform showed different listings based on account level.
As a civilian, Russell was restricted to purchasing only Black Iron-grade materials.
The listings scrolled before his eyes:
Biological Materials:
[Rookie Pirate] (White), [Elite Swordsman] (Blue), [Snake with a Human Face] (Green), [Corpse Hound] (Green), [Hanged Wraith] (Blue), [Avenger] (Green)
Item Materials:
[Katana] (Green), [Ming-Style Lamellar Armor] (Blue), [Ring-Hilt Saber] (Green), [Track Suit] (White)
Tapping his fingers absently on the desk, Russell pondered what kind of character card he might be able to create with his current options.
Then suddenly, his eyes lit up.
Without hesitation, he added the following to his cart:
[Elite Swordsman] (Blue), [Avenger] (Green), [Katana] (Green) — and one blank card base.
Total cost: over 90,000 credits.
Gritting his teeth, Russell confirmed the purchase.
"This is it. All or nothing."
Once the payment went through, an odd emptiness welled up in him.
He sank back into his chair, sitting quietly for a moment to collect himself.
About half an hour later, a light tapping came at the window.
Knock knock knock.
Outside was a snow-white, round-headed bird grooming its feathers on the sill.
Its most eye-catching feature? A tiny satchel slung diagonally across its back.
Russell searched the memories for a match — ah, yes.
This was a Coo-Coo Chicken, a Black Iron-grade white creature card commonly used for intra-city civilian logistics.
He opened the window. The bird reached into its pouch and delicately pulled out an envelope, offering it to him with its beak.
Then it pecked at a button on the satchel. A pleasant female voice played from within:
"Please confirm receipt of delivery."
Russell opened the envelope. Inside were the exact items he had ordered:
[Elite Swordsman] (Blue), [Avenger] (Green), [Katana] (Green), and one blank card base.
"Yup, that's everything." He nodded at the bird and reached out to pet it.
But the Coo-Coo Chicken hopped back warily, then pecked another button.
"Please refrain from touching delivery personnel during work hours."
And with a flutter of wings, it soared away.
Watching the quirky bird disappear into the sky, Russell couldn't help but feel a spark of admiration for the Cardmaker profession.
Up until now, everything he knew had been filtered through someone else's memories — like peering through foggy glass.
But this? This was real. He was finally seeing the magic with his own eyes.
"Well then... it's time to make my first card."
(End of Chapter)