A Strange One-Star Energy Card

The soft sigh from Zoe Thediing woke up Zeller Ja, whose eyelids were already feeling heavy. He forced his eyes open and tidied up his appearance. Seeing that his hairstyle was still in place, he cleared his throat and asked, "Zoe, what's the matter?"

Zoe paid no attention, staring blankly at the card in his hand.

Zeller frowned slightly and raised his voice, sounding a bit displeased, "Zoe, what's going on?"

Only then did Zoe snap out of it, quickly turning around, "Teacher, this card is a bit strange."

"Strange? In what way?" Zeller asked, somewhat puzzled.

Zoe quickly handed the one-star energy card to his teacher, "It's this card... this card... this card..." He hesitated, trying to find the right words.

"What's up with him today?" Zeller frowned slightly. Zoe was usually decisive and straightforward, never hesitant. Zeller directly said, "Let me see it."

Zeller took the card from Zoe's hand. A one-star energy card—what's there to make such a fuss about? He was a bit dismissive, but he still glanced at the card.

"Huh?!"

He suddenly sat up straight, the indifference on his face vanishing instantly, replaced by an intense seriousness.

"Indeed, there's something strange about it," Zeller muttered to himself, staring intently at the one-star energy card in his hand. Even for him, a senior card maker at East Guard Academy, it was difficult to immediately tell if there was something wrong with this card.

The structure of this one-star energy card differed significantly from the standard structure. With his extensive experience, Zeller could tell that this structure was based on the standard one but had undergone some modifications. However, he couldn't quite decide if these changes were genuine improvements or just mistakes. The altered structures were something he had never encountered before.

Zoe noticed Zeller's dilemma and couldn't help but suggest, "Teacher, why don't we test it and see if this energy card actually works?"

Zeller's eyes lit up—of course! Testing whether the card was functional would reveal if it was a mistake or not. He maintained a composed expression, lightly clearing his throat, "Hmm, Zoe, you're making progress; you thought of the same thing as I did."

Zoe humbly replied, "Teacher, your wisdom is unbelievable; how could a student compare?"

Zeller was pleased but said, "No need to be overly modest. Among the students, there are few who can match you."

"It's all thanks to your guidance that I've achieved what I have today," Zoe said with a slight bow.

"It's rare to see a student who remembers their teacher's kindness, Zoe. Truly rare," Zeller remarked with satisfaction.

After their mutual praise, Zeller, feigning deep thought, said, "Alright, let's go see what's so special about this one-star energy card."

Zeller Ja's card-making room was fully equipped with all kinds of devices.

Although card-making is a complex and demanding field, it attracts many learners. Within the card-making profession, there is a significant disparity between the levels, leading to extreme differences in wealth. Low-level card makers often struggle to make ends meet, while mid-level card makers can earn a decent income. Once someone becomes a senior card maker, they become highly sought after, drawing the attention of various factions and companies.

Low-level card makers can only produce one-star and two-star cards, which are now largely manufactured through industrial processes. This is why their livelihoods are often challenging. In contrast, three-star and higher cards can only be made by skilled card makers, which is why mid-level and senior card makers are in such high demand.

East Guard Academy offers extremely generous conditions to attract senior card makers as faculty. Not only do they provide excellent salaries, but they also offer annual research funding and other benefits that are highly attractive. Zeller Ja, for example, has his own personal card-making room, equipped with various instruments funded by East Guard Academy.

He was currently using a card analyzer, a highly specialized and complex instrument, typically purchased and learned to operate only by card makers. Its capabilities are impressive, allowing it to analyze the material, structure, and production time of a card, among other details. Naturally, its price is also extremely high.

"Indeed, it's a new structure!" Seeing the final analysis report, Zeller Ja, deep in thought despite Zoe Thediing's astonishment, knew that the structure of one-star energy cards could vary widely beyond the standard design. His experience far exceeded that of Zoe, so he was well aware that there were many alternative structures for one-star energy cards.

The analysis report was very detailed. It showed that the material used in this one-star energy card was identical to that of a standard one-star energy card. Although the design differed, the performance was the same as the standard one-star card, with no improvements or optimizations.

"Not valuable at all!" Shaking his head, Zeller felt a bit disappointed. After spending so much time, he hadn't uncovered anything useful. As a senior card maker, he would never have guessed that the optimization in this one-star energy card was not about its performance but its cost.

In his view, obsessively optimizing the cost of a one-star energy card might seem like a rather odd idea. He tossed the card aside and decided not to waste any more time on it. After all, the time of a distinguished senior card maker was incredibly valuable!

Zoe also hadn't considered that the optimization of this one-star energy card might focus on cost. Coming from a wealthy background, he viewed money as insignificant and couldn't imagine someone trying to make a profit from a card that only costs a little over a hundred Oudis. In fact, he had never used any energy cards below three stars.

However, as the only complete card among the three paper bags, Zoe felt a certain admiration for its creator after seeing how this card had survived countless damaged ones. He initially intended to help the creator advance in their career, but after searching for a long time and finding no information about the creator, the matter ended there.

Chris Wood's life remained unchanged. He continued to produce one-star energy cards as usual. Due to the recent gains from the training course, his learning progress has been rapid. This was most directly reflected in the brushstrokes of his energy card designs, which had become more fluid and refined. He estimated that this improvement could increase the efficiency of his cards by about three percent.

Given that one-star energy cards already have minimal energy, a three percent increase didn't make much noticeable difference...