Breakthrough

"Yuri, why the sad face? Do you have something troubling you? Don't keep it to yourself, okay?" A woman's voice, gentle and pleasant, drifted into Chris's ears. Though he couldn't help but mentally note how nice it sounded, he had no intention of opening his eyes. It held no appeal for him at the moment.

He had once seen an extremely beautiful woman who, despite her lovely appearance, had ruthlessly stomped on a fellow wanderer with her high heels while hurling the most vicious insults. The only "crime" of his companion had been accidentally dirtying her high heels while begging. This experience had shown him that a pleasant voice didn't necessarily reflect a kind heart.

At that time, his companion was only six years old, and Chris was eight. Without a second thought, he rushed at the beautiful woman, trying to push her away, but his young age made his efforts futile. The result was that both of them ended up with numerous bruises. His companion, unable to withstand the harsh winter, passed away that season and never woke up again.

Since then, whenever he hears a pleasant female voice, he can't help but think of that scene.

Chris frowned slightly but quickly relaxed his expression. He reminded himself that it wasn't worth letting this voice ruin his good mood. The voices of the two people continued to drift into his ears.

"Older sister, I don't know what's wrong, but I just can't make the blue-skinned rabbit illusion card. I've tried so many times, and it just won't work! My perception is the best in the class, but I'm the only one who hasn't made an illusion card yet!" The high-pitched voice sounded dejected.

The voice belonged to a young girl, and Chris could roughly guess her age without opening his eyes—she was definitely no older than twelve.

"Yuri, tell your sister about your feelings when making the card," the older sister coaxed gently.

"Well, I can't really explain it. It just feels like the pen in my hand won't obey. I remember its structure clearly, but when I try to make it, it just doesn't work," the girl said, sounding frustrated.

Chris suddenly opened his eyes, even though he was lying on the ground with his back to the sisters. His ears were perked up, straining not to miss a single word. The girl's problem was almost identical to his own!

"Yuri, don't be anxious. One-star illusion cards are quite simple. You're so smart, you'll definitely succeed," the older sister began by encouraging her younger sibling before delving into key advice.

"You haven't made cards before, so it's normal to lack experience even if your perception is high. Many teachers don't explain this part very clearly. We don't use our perception to directly control the bonding of materials. Instead, we induce their bonding; it's like a catalyst, merely guiding the process. The actual bonding and changes depend on the inherent physical properties of the materials themselves. Do you understand, Yuri?"

It was as if a thunderclap had struck in Chris's mind, suddenly illuminating everything. Induction... induction... induction—so that was it! At that moment, all his questions seemed to be resolved.

When Chris got up, the two sisters had already gone away. He was unaware that they had been gone for over an hour; he had been lost in thought for more than an hour without realizing it.

He couldn't wait to start. If only he had a flight card, he could have flown back! Running at full speed, he almost burst through the door. As soon as he entered the room, he sat down at the table and dove into making the one-star illusion card. His heart was now filled with confidence, and he had a strong premonition that this time, he was sure to succeed!

Taking a deep breath to calm the tumult within, Chris gradually composed himself. Once he felt settled, he picked up a blank card and placed it in front of him. Gently, he picked up the pen with his right hand. Without hesitation, the pen tip touched the card's surface. His perception enveloped the pen tip with clarity and ease, gliding smoothly over the surface like skimming across a perfectly smooth ice sheet, without a hint of obstruction.

Chris completed the entire pattern in one smooth stroke, with no trace of difficulty. The sensation was simply exquisite! Proudly examining the finished card, he was filled with a deep sense of accomplishment. The world truly was full of wonders—sometimes, breaking through a single barrier could lead to an entirely new realm!

Inserting the completed card into the slot of the measurement device, he pressed the activation button. A fist-sized sphere of light floated before him, warm and radiating a soft, white glow.

Chris, filled with excitement, reached out his finger and gently touched the light sphere. His finger seemed to sink into the sphere as if it were entering air—this light sphere was a mere illusion, not a tangible entity. This was a characteristic of low-level illusion cards. On the other hand, high-level illusion cards could use energy to create tangible entities, highlighting the fundamental difference between low-level and high-level illusion cards.

The success of the one-star illusion card allowed Chris to finally relax the taut string of tension he had been holding. The relentless work of the past few days had pushed his body to the brink of exhaustion. With the pressure off, Chris was immediately overwhelmed by an immense wave of sleepiness and quickly succumbed to rest.

He slept for a full two days and nights, eventually being awakened by hunger.

When Chris woke up, he scrambled to find something to eat to satisfy his hunger.

Habitually sitting at the table, he found himself lost in thought. The biggest question that had weighed on his mind—successfully creating the one-star illusion card—was now resolved. Moving forward with one-star illusion cards would be a matter of refining the technique, a slow process that required day-and-night dedication to achieve.

Creating an illusion card had been Chris's long-held wish, and now that it was fulfilled, he found himself feeling a bit lost. Two-star illusion cards? The principles behind their creation were no different from those of one-star cards, posing no real challenge for him.

For a moment, Chris felt aimless. There was a time when the one-star illusion card seemed so far out of reach, and he had dedicated himself to achieving that goal. He had never considered what he should pursue next after mastering the creation of the one-star illusion card. Now that his long-standing dream had been realized, he found himself uncertain about what to learn or strive for next.

"Forget it," Chris thought to himself. "Life goes on, and I still need to make a living."

He decided to continue making one-star energy cards, especially since he had spent a lot of money recently and his savings had significantly dwindled. He needed to replenish them. Just as he was about to start working on a one-star energy card, he suddenly remembered the mysterious card.

The pen hovered in mid-air.

The mysterious card seemed to exert a strange pull on him, lingering in his mind no matter how hard he tried to shake it off.

Setting the pen down, Chris retrieved the card from the drawer. The intricate silver patterns that once resembled spider webs had long since vanished. Now, the pitch-black surface of the card was dotted with countless silver points, some large, some small, some dim, and some bright.

Every time he looked at the card, he couldn't help but feel a sense of vastness, an odd sensation of immensity.

"Vastness? What a strange feeling," Chris mused with a self-deprecating smile.