Anime Card System

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Up in the stands, Principal Wu's jaw dropped. He lurched forward, his hands gripping the metal railing so tightly his knuckles turned white. He stared at the white-haired figure on the field, his mind reeling. He turned to Principal Shepherd, his voice a hoarse whisper of disbelief. "You... Shepherd, you sly old fox. You hid this from everyone."

But Shepherd was in no state to gloat. He was just as stunned as everyone else, his own carefully maintained composure shattered. He truly had no idea Russell possessed a second creature card, let alone one that radiated such a terrifying aura.

Beside them, Principal Hawthorne could only mutter to himself, a new, bitter understanding dawning on him. "So this is what you meant by a 'good seedling,' Shepherd." Jealousy, potent and sharp, twisted his features.

Down on the sidelines, Nancy and Liam were frozen in a state of shared shock. The pieces clicked into place for Nancy with dizzying speed. The gold-rarity materials her father had given to Russell... they hadn't been for a prop card. He had crafted another creature. By that logic, the absolute minimum quality of Russell's new card was gold.

"N-Nancy," Liam stammered, his eyes glued to the field. "Did you... did you know Russell had another creature card?"

Nancy shook her head, her gaze never leaving the white-haired figure. "He kept it hidden from all of us." She couldn't fault him, though. A cardmaker's deck was their most guarded secret. If the opponent hadn't been so overwhelmingly powerful, Russell would never have been forced to reveal an ace of this magnitude.

The scene snapped back to the battlefield. Jansen Crowe's initial shock melted away, replaced by a wild, manic grin. "Hahaha! So I did underestimate the world's heroes!" he roared, his voice echoing in the arena. "Russell, you magnificent bastard, you are incredible!"

Russell just looked at him, speechless. This guy is such a child.

But the creature on the field, Kaneki, was not affected by Jansen's theatrics. He was pure, silent purpose. He burst into a low, predatory run, the four black-and-red tentacles trailing behind him like grotesque banners of war, carving shallow furrows in the arena floor as he closed the distance to the Yaksha.

In the blink of an eye, he was upon it. Kaneki leaped, soaring high into the air before tucking into a vicious downward spiral. The four Rinkaku kagune, the legacy of Rize Kamishiro, coalesced into a single, massive drill and smashed down onto the Sea Warden Yaksha.

BOOM!

The impact was cataclysmic. The arena floor buckled and cracked, sending a shockwave of dust and debris billowing outwards. Yet Kaneki's expression remained a mask of cold indifference. His four tentacles, which had just delivered the blow, slammed into the ground around the impact crater, anchoring him in mid-air like a monstrous, arachnid predator.

Then, the second attack came. The centipede-like Kakuja kagune, coiled at his back, lashed out with a sound like tearing metal. It struck the smoke-filled crater where the Yaksha was buried, a brutal, percussive bombardment that sent tremors through the entire stadium.

Liam, watching from the sidelines, swallowed hard. "God... Russell's card is a monster."

Nancy could only nod in fervent agreement. The raw, savage power of this white-haired creature was on an entirely different plane from her elegant Three-Tailed Fox.

Just as everyone thought the battle was decided, a whizzing sound cut through the air. A dark blue, circular blade of pure, compressed water shot out from the smoke cloud. It moved with impossible speed, and in a single, clean motion, it sliced through all four of Kaneki's grounded tentacles.

Freed from his anchors, Kaneki flipped backwards, landing silently and steadily on his feet. The Yaksha emerged slowly from the dissipating smoke, wounded and enraged, its water armor flickering. A hint of pride returned to Jansen's voice. "Russell, your card is undeniably powerful. But its main weapons are gone. Victory is mine!"

He believed it. The four primary tentacles, the source of that devastating attack, were severed. The advantage was clearly his.

But then, under the horrified gazes of every single person watching, a sickening, wet, tearing sound was heard. Four new, black-and-red tentacles, identical to the ones that had been cut, erupted from Kaneki's tailbone, fully formed in an instant.

In the original ghoul world, a kagune was merely a hunting tool. The true power source was the kakuhou, the organ that processed RC cells from… consumed sources. For Kaneki the card, that gruesome fuel had been replaced by Russell's own vast reserves of mental energy. And if there was one thing Russell had in abundance, it was mental power.

Kaneki cracked his index finger again—a small, chilling sound in the now-silent arena. He launched himself forward once more.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

This time, there was no pause. It was a relentless, overwhelming onslaught. The Rinkaku kagune hammered the Yaksha from all sides, a storm of brutal, bludgeoning strikes. The ground shattered. The Yaksha, bellowing in fury, tried to counter-attack with its trident and water blades, but every attempt was effortlessly parried and blocked by the coiling, whip-fast centipede kagune that acted as a perfect, impenetrable defense.

The barrage continued, a symphony of destruction. Gradually, the Yaksha's movements slowed. Its roars of defiance became pained groans. Soon, there was no movement at all from within the dust cloud.

Kaneki ceased his attack and landed softly in front of Russell.

The smoke cleared.

The Sea Warden Yaksha was gone. It had been utterly annihilated.

Jansen Crowe was defeated, and he had been defeated so completely that he hadn't even forced Kaneki to use his half-kakuja transformation.

Jansen's two followers were next. Their cards were not the shrimp and crab minions Russell had half-joked about, but they were just ordinary monsters, easily and anticlimactically swept aside by Kaneki.

"New Metro First High wins!"

As the referee's voice declared the final result, Principal Shepherd felt like he was floating in a dream. If someone had told him before the exam that his school would be the champions, he would have laughed in their face. This victory meant more than just a trophy. It meant Russell, Nancy, and Liam would gain entry to the secret realm. It meant New Metro First High would receive a massive increase in resources from the Cardmaker Association next year. The strong get stronger, and the weak get weaker; that was the iron rule. For years, his school and Evergrove First had been brothers in failure. To break that cycle required a miracle—a genius like Russell.

Principal Wu felt a pit in his stomach, the same sour feeling as a failed thesis defense. A victory that had been a certainty was snatched from his grasp. Principal Hawthorne was so consumed by envy it felt like his heart was overflowing with acid. It was as if his lifelong broke friend had suddenly announced he was a secret billionaire, and wasn't planning on sharing.

He couldn't help himself. "Shepherd," he whined, "you absolutely have to treat me to dinner."

Principal Shepherd's face was flushed with pride and joy. He had no idea how Russell had done it, but a win was a win. "Of course, of course!" he boomed. "My treat! You all have to be there!"

Back in the arena, Nancy and Liam approached Russell, their expressions a complex mix of awe and bewilderment. "Russell," Nancy said, her eyes looking past him to Kaneki, "I never imagined you had a card like this." She thought back to her earlier assessment. Seeing how easily he won, Kaneki wasn't just a gold card. He had to be red-rarity, a level of power even her own father couldn't achieve.

Liam, meanwhile, was simply dazed, stunned by the golden opportunity that had fallen into his lap. He had never dreamed he would get access to a secret realm. He struggled for words for a long moment before finally managing to utter, "Awesome."

Russell just laughed.

As the three of them were talking, Marcus and the principals walked over.

"Congratulations to the three of you from New Metro First High on your victory," Marcus said with a professional smile. "I believe you are aware of the prize: entry into a bronze-level secret realm."

Seeing them nod, he continued, his tone shifting slightly. "This particular bronze-level realm is... special. It has only just appeared."

He saw their expressions and quickly added, "But don't worry. We will assign you to an established bronze-level cardmaker team. Your safety will be guaranteed." A standard team, one bronze and several iron-level cardmakers, was more than enough for exploring a typical bronze realm.

But Principal Shepherd hesitated. A frown creased his forehead. "President Marcus," he began, choosing his words carefully, "the initial prize was entry into a realm the Association had already explored and secured. Why the sudden change?"

Marcus sighed, and a flicker of something dark crossed his eyes. "Time waits for no one, Principal."

Shepherd was still uneasy. "But President Marcus, isn't this far too dangerous for students?"

Marcus looked at him, his expression unreadable, a half-smile playing on his lips. "They can choose not to go," he said coolly. "No one is forcing them."

(End of Chapter)