CHAPTER 1: CHAPTER 1: DUEL WORLD

May 30, 2023.

The playground of Zuili City’s Fourth Senior High School was crowded with students who planned to forgo the regular college entrance exam in favor of the duel examination. They were lining up to draw their Soul Cards, which would be the most crucial cards in their future careers as Life Card Masters and the key tools that would determine their survival in the duel examination seven days later.

In this world, Life Card Master is one of the most popular professions. The massive national budget invested annually in exploring the Soul Card World provides ample funding for this industry. Even a first-tier professional Life Card Master receives a minimum monthly subsidy of five thousand, not to mention the various duel tournament prizes.

It’s a lucrative career, one that everyone with the opportunity aspires to pursue.

Shen Sui was also among the people queuing.

The experiences of the past week still felt so fantastical to him.

He was a transmigrator from Earth who inexplicably found himself crossing over to this modern society similar to Earth during an evening walk after dinner. His body remained the same, but his age had reverted to eighteen.

Didn’t I just go out for a walk because I was upset that my niece deleted my max-level game save? Did I really have to transmigrate?

Without any identity, homeless, and lacking the currency of this world, Shen Sui was naturally taken to the police station by patrolling officers at midnight.

And then... then he suddenly had an identity?

Looking at the ID card in his hand with a photo identical to his own, if it weren’t for his clear, vivid, and coherent Earth memories, Shen Sui might have started believing he truly was that student who jumped into the river after performing poorly on the Life Card Master’s theory test.

"Shen Sui, don’t worry. Even if your theory results aren’t ideal, as long as you defeat the instructor in the duel examination, you can still enter the Tianyi Academy in Modu as you wish!" A pretty elder sister in a white dress ran over, handed Shen Sui a bottle of Coke, and said to him with a smile.

Her name was Lin Ke’Er, Shen Sui’s homeroom teacher in his third year of high school, and the one who took him back to school upon receiving the police’s notification.

"Miss Lin, thanks, but I don’t really like drinking this." Shen Sui gently refused.

"Huh? Didn’t you used to love Coke the most?"

"But it’s sugar-free, and it’s no fun at all." Shen Sui expressed disdain, "You might as well buy me some Pepsi."

"All right, all right." Lin Ke’Er wasn’t upset. Seeing the student in front of her regaining his vitality, she couldn’t have been happier.

Shen Sui was the most unique existence in her class. Being an orphan, he was silent and withdrawn but also unusually proud.

Upon learning that Shen Sui had failed the theory test, Lin Ke’Er worried he might do something irrational. She didn’t expect things to escalate so quickly, so when Shen Sui "came back to life" and stood before her, she became even more cautious.

"Even though I’ve told you many times, I’ll emphasize it once more." Lin Ke’Er talked to Shen Sui again about the Soul Card drawing matters, "The Soul Card is the most important tool for a Life Card Master. The Soul Card Followers are your only link to that Otherworld. If your Soul Card Followers die in that world, you will permanently lose the ability to acquire new cards."

"There are thirty-three Life Card Worlds in total, thirteen of which are Peaceful Worlds. The Followers in these worlds basically don’t die due to attacks or wars. I know you prefer the Fantasy Worlds, but believe me, those worlds are really dangerous. The Followers you draw might encounter unexpected deaths at any moment, especially in the world named Dawn Continent!"

Lin Ke’Er glanced at Shen Sui with a bit of concern. Over the past week, Shen Sui had consulted her several times for information about the Dawn Continent.

Among the thirty-three Life Card Worlds, the Dawn Continent is one of the top-tier Soul Card Worlds in terms of combat power, yet it is also one of the most dangerous. In this world, wars between Gods have persisted for nearly a thousand years. Various factions attack each other, and the cruel persecution of heretics makes it such that everyone on the Dawn Continent must be prepared to face death from the moment they are born.

"I know you want to draw a powerful Soul Card to defeat the duel examination’s instructor, but there’s no need to wager your future on it! Everyone can only draw a Soul Card once in their lifetime. If your Soul Card Followers die, you’ve lost your chance to become a Life Card Master. If they die quickly, that’s fine; you can retake the ordinary college entrance exam a year later. But what if your Soul Card Followers die only after several years? Would you still have the courage to take the college entrance exam alongside students who are five or six years younger than you?"

"Shen Sui! I’m your teacher; I must be responsible for your future. You have seven days to train your Soul Card Followers. There’s no need to risk drawing a Follower from such a dangerous world."

"Thank you for your concern, teacher, but I have made my decision." Shen Sui gave Lin Ke’Er a brilliant smile, "I’m an adult now, and I have no family. I can take responsibility for my own choices."

"Number 88!"

"Present!" Shen Sui raised his hand.

"I’m heading in, teacher." Shen Sui bowed to Lin Ke’Er, "Thank you for the Coke."

Shen Sui briskly walked into a tent-constructed temporary classroom. The classroom’s walls were covered with posters, totaling thirty-three, each introducing one of the Soul Card Worlds.

Among them were Science Fiction Worlds with mechas and starships, modern cities with superpowers, Immortal Worlds with Sword Immortals, and Fantasy Worlds with magic and witchcraft.

Some were peaceful, others chaotic, forming a dazzling spectrum on the Life Card Duel stage.

Shen Sui’s gaze landed on the introduction of the Dawn Continent.

[Dawn Continent, a world filled with magical colors, where bizarre and powerful forces pervade with omnipresent dangers.]

[Silver Moon Calendar, year 922, the Twilight Bishop Claude Modena, who suppressed all the earthly Gods, mysteriously disappeared. In hidden corners, the believers of the Gods once again raised their flags.]

[Silver Moon Calendar, year 923, the Twilight Saintess Vivian was burned to death by the populace in Modena City.]

[Silver Moon Calendar, year 950, the Goddess of Nature recovered, and the Gods began to return.]

[...]

The poster roughly described the subsequent thousand-year history of the Dawn Continent.

From today’s perspective, it reads like a very clichéd ancient fantasy novel’s plot.

The hypocritical Church Court and the evil empire.

The struggles between humans, elves, and beastmen—such elements were not much different from the various fantasy novels Shen Sui had read in the past.

The reason Shen Sui chose this world is because he recognized this Twilight Bishop Claude Modena.

Claude Modena was just the name given to him by the native inhabitants of the Dawn Continent, while Shen Sui was more familiar with Claude’s nickname: Warm Inside the White Dragon.

Because that was his gaming ID.

And the so-called mysterious disappearance of the Twilight Bishop was not so mysterious at all, as it was entirely due to our bishop’s game save being deleted by his niece.

Yes, the Dawn Continent was the game continent from the second-dimensional hybrid 3A grand production ’Dawn Link,’ which was Shen Sui’s past life’s deleted game save.

And this world’s so-called Life Card Duels were actually a card duel mini-game integrated by ’Dawn Link’s’ developer into the game. As a famous hybrid in the gaming world, the rules of this Life Card Duel were filled with a sense of déjà vu from turn-based card games like Yu-Gi-Oh! and Shadowverse. As someone who cleared the second playthrough of this game, Shen Sui felt something was off the moment he saw this world’s Life Card Duel system, and upon further investigation, he indeed discovered the familiar Dawn Continent.

Since his game character had already appeared in the history of the Dawn Continent, the storage boxes he had left behind in various places in the continent during his gameplay were most likely still there as well.

Although most of the storage boxes were ones Shen Sui used to store various gathered items, ores, and fish caught from various unidentified waters, some of them contained items and Skill Books that he couldn’t use because his backpack was full.

In the game’s setting, storage boxes were indestructible and could only be opened with the owner’s consent.

If they still existed in the Dawn Continent now, Shen Sui was confident in quickly training his drawn Soul Card Followers to become one of the top contenders.

He was currently penniless and had long returned all his high school knowledge to the teachers. If he couldn’t pass the duel examination, then after graduating high school, without the capability to sit for the college entrance exam, he might end up homeless and wandering the streets until he earned enough from manual labor. Therefore, choosing an appropriate and familiar world was critical.

"Please choose the world from which you wish to draw your Soul Card." The guide began inquiring to Shen Sui.

"Dawn Continent!"

Shen Sui declared unequivocally.