For 30 advance/early chapters : p atreon.com/AutumnXd
"A Moon Spirit Ring."
Helena Frost spoke for the first time since the matches began. Her voice cut through the arena like a blade through silk.
"If Ashenvale wins this exchange, Moonvale will put up a Moon Spirit Ring as the stakes."
Every person on the Ashenvale side who understood what that meant went very, very still.
The Moon Spirit Ring was unique to Moonvale City. A specialized piece of equipment with a single, devastatingly useful effect: it nourished the wearer's spiritual energy and accelerated its recovery rate.
That effect remained relevant all the way up to the Sovereign Realm. For a Card Master at any stage of their career, spiritual energy was the bottleneck. It determined how long you could sustain card construction, how many simulations you could run, how many cards you could maintain in combat. Running out of spiritual energy during a critical crafting session was one of the most common reasons high-star constructions failed.
An item that passively enhanced spiritual recovery was, in the most literal sense, career-defining.
But the Moon Spirit Ring's production was agonizingly limited. Moonvale's entire annual output was five rings. Total. For the whole city.
Worse, each ring bonded permanently to the first person who wore it. The ring synchronized with the wearer's unique spiritual frequency on first contact, and after that, it was useless to anyone else. No inheritance. No resale. One ring, one owner, forever.
Even within Moonvale, the rings were chronically scarce. For Card Masters outside Moonvale, getting one was essentially impossible.
"Helena." Even Victor Ashford couldn't fully mask his surprise. "You're serious?"
"Naturally." A glint of challenge flickered in Helena's cold eyes. She'd proposed the exchange match. She'd chosen the stakes. And she'd done it because she had absolute confidence in Moonvale's victory. "The question is whether Ashenvale dares to accept."
She and Edwin were on the same page. They'd already run this exact play against Sunridge City. This was just a repeat performance.
Between last year's college entrance exam success and this year's crop of students, headlined by Lily Everhart, Moonvale's confidence wasn't arrogance. It was arithmetic.
"That crazy woman really went all in." Victor's thoughts raced behind a calm exterior.
The battlefield told a clear story. Outside of Luke and Hailey, Marcus had been Ashenvale's best. And the student who'd beaten Marcus, Levi Sharpe, was only Moonvale's fifth strongest.
"If this were any other year, you'd probably get away with this," Victor thought. "But this year, we have something you haven't accounted for."
He glanced toward Luke, so briefly it could've been a blink. The boy's expression hadn't changed since the matches started. Calm. Unbothered. Like he was watching a show that hadn't reached the interesting part yet.
"Why not?" Victor answered Helena after a calculated pause, long enough to look like deliberation. He didn't state Ashenvale's counter-stake. He didn't need to. Everyone understood: if Moonvale won, Victor would match the Moon Spirit Ring's value from Ashenvale's coffers.
The real gamble wasn't the prize. It was the belief that Luke could deliver.
Harlow and the other two principals understood Victor's reasoning. They shared his assessment. This exchange match was far from decided.
On the arena floor, the next round was about to start.
"I'll go." Hailey took a breath and stepped forward. Marcus was done. The other Ashenvale students would only get crushed. Between her and Luke, she was the logical next fighter.
Better to let herself test Levi's remaining strength and soften Moonvale's lineup before Luke had to step in.
Her Water Azure Beast had an elemental advantage over Inferno Knight. Even if Levi's was Collectible quality, she liked her odds.
"No." Luke's hand caught her arm. "I'll take it from here."
Hailey blinked.
"I've been wanting to shut this guy up since round one." Luke's voice was even, but his eyes had gone cold. "Might as well do it myself."
He released her arm and walked toward the arena.
"Oh." Hailey watched his back for a moment, then quietly returned her Water Azure Beast card to its holder. Okay then.
If Luke was going in, there was nothing left for her to do except cheer from the sidelines. Which, honestly, beat getting punched off the stage.
"Wait, Luke's going up NOW? Isn't that too early?"
"Who cares about early? I'm sick of watching Levi run his mouth. If Luke puts him down, I'll forgive everything."
"Relax. With Luke's power, he'll demolish Moonvale."
The Ashenvale students lit up the moment Luke stepped onto the field. Marcus, Hailey, the other representatives. The shift in energy was instant and electric.
The Moonvale side noticed.
"Talk is cheap. Win first, celebrate later."
"Ha! If this Luke guy can beat Levi in under a minute, I'll do a handstand and take a dump!"
"So this is Luke?" Among the Moonvale students, Lily Everhart's gaze settled on the boy walking into the arena. A flicker of curiosity crossed her face.
She hadn't joined the trash talk. Pointless noise didn't interest her. But watching the Ashenvale delegation's reaction to Luke's entrance told her something: this was their trump card. The one they'd been saving.
She studied him for a moment. Then she turned her attention back to the arena.
Lily didn't know what Luke could do. She didn't need to. Confidence wasn't something she borrowed from information. It came from the card in her hand and the years of work behind it.
Whatever happened in the next few rounds, when the time came for her to fight, she would win. She would bring Moonvale the final victory.
Of that, she had no doubt
Plz Throw Powerstones.