Obsessed

From the initial body exercises to the subsequent one-star illusion card production demonstration, there seemed to be no connection between the two in his view.

Never before had such intense curiosity lingered in Chris's mind. He wanted to understand, to uncover all the secrets of this enigmatic card, and at the very least, to know what its ultimate purpose was.

With the guidance from the tutorial on this card, Chris made rapid progress in creating illusion cards. The knowledge about cards provided in the tutorial was eye-opening for him. Apart from the time spent on training and making energy cards, he was fully immersed in the magical realm of the mysterious card.

The remaining time was spent observing the surrounding environment. The tutorial only taught theoretical knowledge, and improving required a great deal of practical experience. Observation was the first step. To achieve the so-called "seemingly real, yet illusory," one must first have a clear concept of real images. This, in turn, requires extensive and detailed observation.

This is essential for crafting low-level illusion cards.

It also brought about serious side effects, such as when eating bread, he would often find himself staring blankly at the bread in his hand for six or seven minutes, and by the time he snapped out of it, his stomach would be so hungry it felt like it was cramping.

Once he begins to closely observe something, he easily falls into a prolonged state of absorption, or what is commonly known as being engrossed. During these times, his reactions become extremely sluggish, and everything around him seems to be isolated from him.

Once, when visiting Ray, the two were chatting and savoring the Sky Water with appreciation. As they were drinking, Chris suddenly fell silent. Despite Ray calling his name repeatedly with no response, Chris continued to stare blankly at his cup. Seeing this, Ray was terrified, his face turning as white as a sheet, fearing something had happened to Chris.

The profession of a card maker is notoriously expensive due to the need for extensive practical experience with each card. Chris, with limited funds, cannot afford to burn money like wealthy heirs. Instead, he focuses on careful observation and thorough preparation to minimize costs when creating illusion cards. Besides his initial encounter with the blue card in the void, Chris has avoided the so-called "compute card" tutorial, as the existing knowledge already provides more than enough for him to process.

Chris always practices restraint, aware that overextending himself can be counterproductive. He values and takes every opportunity to create illusion cards very seriously, meticulously revising each plan dozens of times before starting. He leaves no detail unchecked. Only when everything is thoroughly considered does he proceed. If someone were to see this level of meticulousness, they would never guess that he is merely producing a one or two-star illusion card.

The results prove that Chris's method is effective. The illusions released by the cards he creates now achieve an extremely realistic level. Yet, he is not satisfied. Every time he thinks of the nearly terrifying illusions from that mysterious card, any hint of pride he might have had immediately vanishes.

Chris knows that the illusions of one-star and two-star cards cannot be compared to those of higher-level cards. The difference between them is not just in color, light, shadow, or shape, but in the distinction between virtual and physical reality. This goes beyond his current capabilities.

Since it's not feasible to work on that aspect, he decided to focus on the level of realism. He plans to make an illusion card billboard for Uncle Hua.

Thinking of Uncle Hua, his heart feels heavy. Uncle Hua's health seems to be deteriorating, with worsening cough and increasingly poor complexion. Recently, Chris has been visiting Uncle Hua's small shop more frequently, sometimes helping out and chatting. However, Chris is usually at a loss for words, and most of the time it's Uncle Hua who talks while he listens.

Chris has always wanted to give Uncle Hua a perfect, flawless illusion card billboard. He never started on it, feeling his skills were not yet sufficient. This has been one of the reasons for his rapid progress recently.

Recent progress has made him feel it is time to start. He has a lingering concern about Uncle Hua's health, which is why he made this decision. Another important reason is that he recently made a breakthrough in producing dynamic illusion cards, a challenge that had troubled him for quite some time.

The structure of dynamic illusion cards only adds a cyclic component compared to static illusion cards. Any card maker knows that the difficulty of producing dynamic illusion cards is significantly higher than that of static ones. This is most directly reflected in the price, with dynamic illusion card billboards costing more than three times as much as static illusion cards.

How to make illusions move, smoothly and naturally, is a significant challenge for beginners. For instance, if an illusion card is to depict a waterfall, many novices produce illusions that resemble uncooked noodle strands. Achieving true realism requires attention to many details, such as the ripples and folds in the flowing water, the spray of water droplets, and the mist in the air. Experienced card makers are the ones who can successfully capture all these elements, and many advanced card makers find themselves less skilled in this area compared to specialized lower-level card makers who focus solely on dynamic illusions.

In the world of card making, there is a famous saying: "Details determine the outcome." This is a painstaking craft that allows for no shortcuts.

Chris is very patient, which is closely related to his childhood experiences. For a vagrant, obtaining food is not easy without sufficient patience. And for someone like him, a "master" of the vagrant world who survived long-term wandering, his patience is remarkably exceptional. Observing, and observing for long periods, never feels tedious to him. His progress is rapid, so much so that even he is surprised. For the first time, he wonders if he might actually have a talent for card making.

Eagles soaring, rabbits darting, wind rustling through water, the morning sun and evening twilight—his dynamic illusion cards are all exceptionally vivid. Besides, the dynamic illusions he creates that are most lifelike are not these grand scenes but the busy, hurried pedestrians, and the cats and dogs wandering at night. These childhood scenes are deeply engraved in his mind, and he can almost portray them without thinking. This has become one of his valuable assets.

Today, he plans to make an illusion card billboard for Uncle Hua. As it is his first time creating an illusion card billboard and he has no prior experience, Chris decides to take a stroll through the streets to observe how other people's illusion card billboards look.