In another world, Lu Mingfei is learning card making.

"Awoo."

Lu Mingfei didn't back down at all, and decisively bit down on his arm—

The smell that wafted out was not the slightly salty smell of sweat he had expected, but rather a fresh fragrance that seemed to come from tree branches and leaves.

Is this... a leak of rituals and magic circles affecting my senses?

Lu Mingfei loosened his teeth, seemingly lost in thought.

Lintel raised his hand and, not minding Lu Mingfei's abruptness, shared half of the pastry in front of him with Lu Mingfei: "Lu, regarding your so-called 'Hero's Dream'... is there anything you need to tell me?"

"Should I tell you anything?" Lu Mingfei said bluntly, picking up the food and eating it. "As far as I know, there's no reason for schools to collect the knowledge taught in each student's home, is there?"

"Indeed, no." Unlike Lu Mingfei, who devoured small cakes one at a time, Lintel's movements were remarkably composed. He parted his lips slightly, took a gentle bite, and ate with considerable elegance. "But... the school has an obligation to suppress knowledge that may originate from the abyss, lest students be seduced by demons..."

"As far as I know, all the knowledge and heritage of heroes are kept within the Holy Church. To prevent demons from corrupting it, it has never been leaked. Even the descendants of those heroes have not been able to inherit anything about heroes."

"Regarding this, Lu Mingfei, do you have anything to explain?"

...I knew it; this explanation that was offered to me was definitely not reliable.

Why did I reveal the whole thing about the online variety show in the first place?

Lu Mingfei closed his eyes slightly, a subtle sense of regret arising in his heart—but immediately, this regret was thrown to the back of his mind, leaving only his thoughts spinning rapidly.

First of all, the fact that it was Professor Lintel who came to our door, rather than the Crusader Knights of the Holy Church or Teacher Rhine, means that things haven't reached the most serious stage yet.

Secondly, Asmon hadn't been to school for at least two days before his serious incident, suggesting he might be the first to be questioned.

Well, maybe he wasn't questioned at all, after all, he has the Tiss family behind him, while I have nothing.

Lu Mingfei opened his eyes, leaned back, and shifted into a relaxed position:

"So, Professor Lintel, what would you like to hear? Or what wouldn't you like to hear?"

"I don't want to hear any discussion about Asmodeus in the Knights' Academy." Lintel nodded approvingly. "The Tiss family has made their offer; hopefully, this matter will end here."

"Is this your idea, or the academy's idea?" Lu Mingfei blinked and quietly flipped his hand over on the table.

Lintel didn't answer immediately, but instead handed over a card with the back facing up. Lu Mingfei took it in his hand and felt it briefly—was this a bank card?

"Seriously, is the academy really that unseemly?" Lu Mingfei's expression shifted repeatedly. "I thought saying it directly would be more subtle..."

"If you put it in someone else's shoes, it would be more subtle: you would find that your family members only encounter good people, your father would have smooth sailing in his career and rise through the ranks, your mother would meet a good friend who catches her eye, and that friend would bring her considerable convenience—"

"But you're different," Lintel said with a hint of helplessness. "You don't have any truly close friends at the academy, and you don't usually show any enthusiasm for anything..."

"So they had no choice but to choose this very obvious, even potentially vulnerable, exchange."

Lu Mingfei nodded knowingly, and then, without any hesitation in front of Lintel, put the card into his card holder.

"Let's move on to the next topic—this is compensation from the Tiss family, so as the first provider of this new set of numerical symbols, what reward would you like? Well, you can consider it a wish, as long as it's within my capabilities." Lintel tapped the table.

A wish?

After a moment's thought, Lu Mingfei decided to raise a question that had recently come to mind:

"Why do so many people fail to craft a single field card? It doesn't seem that difficult to me."

"Field cards? Why are you researching these?" Lintel's face showed undisguised surprise. "These are things that upperclassmen start researching; they're too difficult for freshmen."

"I guess you could say it's... a lineage." Lu Mingfei blinked. "I first studied magical spirits. Although they are individual entities, they are actually individual entities that have been inherited from a larger category."

"For example, if a dragon spirit is created, then this spirit is born from the overall concept of 'dragon'. It will have all the characteristics that a 'dragon' should have. Only through further nurturing can this spirit develop something of its own."

"So the field cards should be the same; the only difference between them should be whether they create a single Pokémon or a field."

"But I don't understand why venue access cards are exclusive to higher-level players?"

When Lintel heard the word "major category," the smile that usually graced his face vanished. His expression grew increasingly serious, and after Lu Mingfei uttered the word "holistic concept," he even manipulated the magic array in the room, drawing layer upon layer of seals on the walls.

"Ah, sorry, it's not that I'm trying to protect myself from you." Lintel's previous casualness was completely gone. "It's just that your research is really very in-depth, and if someone else overhears it, it could cause a big problem."

After sealing off the room, Lintel sat back down in front of Lu Mingfei. "Now that you've researched this far, do you understand the difference between Elf Cards and Field Cards?"

What exactly is the difference?

The moment Lu Mingfei realized the question, he felt a sense of pressure. To an outsider, the difference would be enormous:

One is a field, the other is just an elf; one generates mana, the other needs mana to summon it.

Even if you ask those who aren't Summoners but just casual viewers who enjoy watching the games, they can all give you a decent answer to this question.

But since he's already gone this far in his research, he certainly won't just focus on these superficial appearances.

What he saw was a deeper level of essence:

"The difference lies in... the soul?"

"No, magical spirits don't actually possess souls." Lintel shook his head. "A more accurate term would be 'mind'."

"Only with the support of the mind can a card become an 'Elf Card'; otherwise, they will only be a meaningless crystal of magic, just an immobile sculpture."

"But the field card itself is an 'immovable sculpture,' only this sculpture is extremely large, sometimes even the size of a city—but it can't truly become a meaningless crystallization of magic, so what should be done?"

"Go...to find spiritual support?" Lu Mingfei said almost subconsciously.