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*「 Guilmon. A Rookie Digimon with the appearance of a dinosaur, yet retaining a lingering trace of childishness. 」*
*「 Though merely a Rookie-stage Digimon, as a combat species born and bred, Guilmon possesses remarkably high fighting capability. In special circumstances, the power it erupts with is enough to rival, or even surpass, Champion-stage Digimon. 」*
*「 Matching the ferocity lurking within it, carved upon Guilmon's chest is a terrifying power known as the "Digital Hazard." When that power is fully released, it will drive Guilmon to evolve into the Digital World's guardian, or its destroyer! 」*
Within the dimensional plane, inside the wooden cabin Mana and the others had built, Luke's attention was wholly consumed by editing and recording Guilmon's background and design, with not a shred of guard spared for the outside world.
With Mana, Blanc, and his other card spirits present, to say nothing of a top-tier powerhouse like Celestine on hand, and this being his own territory besides, Luke naturally had no cause to worry about his safety in the slightest.
"Blanc, what kind of card do you think Master will make this time?" A short distance away, Mana asked in a low voice, her eyes glued to the spot where Luke sat.
"Um, I don't know either." Blanc blinked, answering blankly.
Luke had said this one would be a Digimon card, but there were so very many Digimon. How was she supposed to know which one he'd choose?
"Fair point." Patting Blanc on the head, Mana recognized her question hadn't been quite fair. Though, perhaps under Luke's influence, she'd lately grown rather fond of dealing Blanc head-pats of her own.
And honestly, it felt wonderful to the touch. No wonder Master loved head-pats so much. So thinking, Mana went ahead and gathered Blanc up whole into her arms for a snuggle, petting away with even greater enthusiasm.
Which, unfortunately, spelled misery for Blanc. Given that her personality already leaned toward the meek, all she could do was silently endure Mana's ministrations.
Off to the side, Celestine shook her head, but made no move to intervene, clearly long since accustomed to it. This was, more or less, the daily routine of the two little cuties.
*「 Card background approved. Please complete the card art and add materials. 」*
Spiritual power became ink and brush, and amid its rising and falling flourishes, the image of Guilmon's card art sprang vividly into being within the Card Editor.
With the card art's outlining complete, Luke swept a hand through the air, and the materials he'd spent this stretch of time rewriting and fusing surfaced one after another, then were fed by him into the Card Editor.
Noticing this, Mana finally stopped her petting, and Blanc, seizing the opening, scurried out of Mana's arms in a flash and ducked behind Celestine, both little hands clutching tight to her clothes.
As for Celestine, her eyes never once left Luke.
The instant the materials entered the Card Editor, a special force melted them down into pigment, which then steadily dyed its way through Guilmon's card art, at last completing the coloring of the entire image.
Seconds later, a golden pillar of light erupted skyward from Luke, linking the heaven and earth of the entire Eternal Land.
This, too, was the reason Luke had chosen to enter the Eternal Land before crafting Guilmon's card. Dragging Mana outside to raise a barrier would have been one solution, certainly, but there was no need for all that trouble.
*「 Construction successful. Mana backflow obtained. 」*
"Still not enough mana to ascend to the Monarch Realm, huh?" Sensing the mana within him grow a shade more robust, yet still failing to break the bottleneck between the Leader Realm and the Monarch Realm, Luke shook his head. "Then again, this was within expectations. The same sort of thing happened back when I crafted Blanc's card."
"The question is whether the mana from crafting the X-Antibody evolution card in a bit will manage the breakthrough." Even as he spoke, Luke had already drawn out Guilmon's card to examine it.
*「 Guilmon 」*
Race: Digimon, Reptile type
Quality: Collectible
Level: ★★★ (Three-Star)
Skills: Rock Breaker, Pyro Sphere, Blazing Rock Breaker, Fighting Spirit Focus
Rock Breaker: Swings powerful claws in an attack whose force can effortlessly shatter even the hardest stone.
Pyro Sphere: Fires high-temperature flame from the mouth. When charged, the skill's power is enough to rival a strike from a Champion-stage Digimon.
Blazing Rock Breaker: Flame entwines and infuses both claws, delivering a Rock Breaker against the target that inflicts dual shattering and searing damage.
Fighting Spirit Focus: Concentrates and strengthens the damage dealt by the next attack.
"Three-Star Collectible, the same grade as Blanc. Though if it actually came to a fight, Blanc might not be a match for Guilmon." Calling Guilmon's showings to mind, Luke mulled it over quietly. "And while Blanc's evolution routes can climb all the way to the Three Great Angels, the Seven Great Demon Lords, the Miracle Flower, and the Goddess of Dawn, Guilmon's ultimate summit, the Royal Knights, gives up nothing to any of them."
With a sweep of his hand, the D-Ark appeared.
Card Slash! Guilmon!
*「 Information registered. Guilmon has been bound. Higher-tier functions may be unlocked through the D-Ark. 」*
The D-Ark in one hand, the Digimon card in the other, and under Celestine's curious gaze, along with Mana's and Blanc's expectant ones, Luke slashed Guilmon's card through. Within the D-Ark, alongside the data for Sistermon Blanc, Sistermon Noir, and Angewomon, a fresh entry of data on Guilmon now took its place.
"Come to think of it, any Digimon whose evolution information has been registered in the D-Ark can evolve directly, or even be summoned with the evolution process skipped altogether, no need to slash the card again to evolve. That's a considerable convenience." Even as he slashed Guilmon's card through, Luke recalled something Blanc had once told him.
It had happened one time when Blanc, powerless to resist under Luke's teasing, had abruptly evolved straight into Noir on her own. The sight had given Luke a genuine start back then; after all, he hadn't slashed any evolution card, and yet Blanc had evolved of her own accord.
It was only after Noir's explanation afterward that Luke learned the D-Ark carried an effect like that.
With a flick of his hand, Luke cast Guilmon's card out, and in the empty air it materialized into that red figure with the familiar look.
"No matter how many times I turn it over, I cannot work out why Guilmon, who looks every inch a dinosaur, ended up classified as a Reptile type." Gazing at that silhouette so familiar from memory, Luke was struck all over again by the sheer unreasonableness of Digimon type classifications.
"Tamer?" The freshly summoned Guilmon first cast a blank look around its surroundings, and then, upon spotting Luke, displayed an intensely powerful sense of kinship, its oversized head burrowing into Luke's arms and nuzzling away without pause, for all the world like a child playing spoiled.
"As expected of one of the Tamers three great cuties." Faced with behavior so at odds with Guilmon's faintly ferocious appearance, Luke was a little surprised at how quickly he'd taken to it. Then again, on second thought, this was Guilmon they were talking about. That explained everything on its own.
"All right, Guilmon. Go and get acquainted with Blanc and the girls first." Patting Guilmon on the head, Luke had Blanc and the others lead it away, and then turned his gaze back toward the Card Editor. "Next up, the X-Antibody evolution card."