After finishing the last of her honey bread juice, Lyra sighed and took a few bites of breadfruit before bed, hoping it would help speed up her magic recovery. As she chewed, her mind wandered. 'I wonder when I'll finally learn cooking magic; then I could just use a spell to squeeze the juice.'
Her thoughts tumbled forward, one after the other. 'Maybe I should just get a manual juicer... Or better yet, can I make a juicer into a card?' She paused, intrigued by the idea. 'And if I can make a juicer card, what about a honey bread juice card? No, wait; why stop there? If I can make a card for honey bread juice, why not go further and make one that directly restores magic power?'
Her musings spiraled even further. 'And magic itself; could it be turned into a card?'
With her head buzzing with possibilities, Lyra eventually drifted off into a deep sleep. In her dreams, the vivid memories of card games, board games, and the books she had read on Blue Star flashed through her mind, weaving together endless inspiration.
The next morning, the ringing of the college castle's bell jolted her awake. Without missing a beat, Lyra scrambled to her desk, grabbed a pen, and feverishly scribbled down every idea from her dream. She couldn't afford to forget any of them.
Once the last of her thoughts was on paper, she summoned the Book of Cards and carefully stored the two cards she had crafted the night before. With a quick flick, she pulled out her {Character Card - Intermediate - Lyra} and checked her magic levels.
[Magic: 180/989 Mana]
Her magic had recovered overnight, from 143 to 180 mana in just about six hours. She recalled what Senior Lilith had told her: 'The speed at which magic power recovers is directly related to how much is left.' How much magic remained before midnight was how much she could recover in the next 24 hours, up to half of her total mana.
And if her magic power ever dropped to zero? It would take a grueling seven days and nights just to recover from nothing to one.
Reflecting on this, Lyra realized that the breadfruit she ate last night had helped restore less than two mana points. Not much, really. 'I need to find a way to always have items that replenish magic power,' she thought. More importantly, she'd have to avoid draining her magic below 50%, or risk a slow recovery.
With no time to make more juice that morning, Lyra grabbed a fresh breadfruit and hurried off to class.
As she entered the courtyard, Sylph spotted her and, with a teasing grin, asked, "Lyra! Breadfruit again? You're still eating that plain stuff?"
Sylph raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised. "You've already mastered honey bread juice and breadcake! Isn't eating plain breadfruit a bit hard on your taste buds?"
Lyra sighed, knowing Sylph was right. "I didn't have time to make juice this morning," she explained. "I'm just trying to recover my magic power quickly."
Sylph chuckled but seemed sympathetic. 'She's always so practical,' she thought. 'Lyra's really willing to put up with anything to avoid waiting days for her magic to recover.'
As the conversation flowed, Vasida, standing nearby, activated her energy vision to take a closer look at Lyra. Her expression shifted to concern. "Lyra, why is your energy halo so dim again? It wasn't that bright yesterday either. Is your magic recovering okay?"
Lyra grinned sheepishly. "Well, I was up late working on the Book of Cards last night, and..."
"And drained your magic again, didn't you?" Vasida cut in, her tone worried. She remembered all too well how Lyra had fainted from exhaustion a few days earlier. "You didn't pass out again, did you?"
Vasida's concern was genuine, considering her own experience with magic. She often went to the breadfruit forest and stuffed herself with breadfruit, constantly replenishing her mana reserves. As a result, her energy halo was always bright and full, but she never paid attention to what that brightness actually meant in terms of mana levels.
Lyra quickly shook her head, eager to reassure her friends. "No, no, I'm fine! I've figured out how to manage my magic now. No more fainting, I promise!"
A bright smile spread across her face as she shared her newfound confidence. "I've finally learned how to use my talent manifestation properly!"
Lyra grinned as he pulled out two cards from his pocket and held them up proudly. "Look at these! I used up all my magic power just to make these two."
Sylph and Vasida's eyes widened as they admired the exquisite designs. The cards shimmered with intricate patterns, detailed with care and precision. But their curiosity grew. "They're beautiful! But… what exactly are they?" Sylph asked, while Vasida peered closer, puzzled by the unfamiliar symbols on the cards.
Lyra chuckled, realizing the confusion. "These are cards I created using the Book of Cards. Since it was my first time making them, I instinctively used Blue Star's Chinese characters." She pointed to the first card, a hint of pride in her voice. "This one here, the Card Book, helps me develop my talent manifestation. When I'm designing or making cards, it points out any problems or areas where I need more knowledge."
She then held up the second card. "And this one is designed to improve my strength. There's also this {Character Card}, which, once bound to me, can display all kinds of useful information—my race, level, current magic power, and even the magic I've mastered. For instance, it tells me that my total magic capacity is 989 mana, and I've got 180 left right now. Way more convenient than just guessing by looking at an energy halo, right?"
Sylph and Vasida were both awestruck. They didn't understand the words on the cards, but the sheer utility of them was clear. "That's so handy!" Vasida exclaimed, her voice filled with admiration.
"Isn't it?" Lyra replied, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "I finally figured out how to really harness my talent!"
"That's amazing!" Vasida said, a hint of envy creeping into her tone. "All my devouring stomach ever tells me is 'hungry' or 'eat.' It doesn't give me any clear inspiration. All I can do is eat as much as I can and hope it unlocks new functions."
Lyra laughed. "Come on, with your ability to convert food into magic power, you've got it pretty good! I bet every witch in the academy is jealous of your talent."
Despite the banter, Lyra couldn't help but think of all the ideas she had that were limited by her own mana capacity. Like Senior Lilith, she secretly hoped that Vasida would soon develop a way to rapidly replenish magic power, which could help them both immensely.
Sylph, standing off to the side, couldn't help but feel a little left behind. "You two are unbelievable," she said with a bitter smile. "Vasida's converting magic from food, and you, Lyra, have developed not one, but two amazing cards already. Meanwhile, I'm stuck. I only just planted the wind chime in my flowerpot, and it hasn't even sprouted. I have no idea what the Box of Ten Thousand Seeds does, let alone how to further develop it…"
Unlike Vasida, who was driven by an insatiable hunger, or Lyra, who had methodically unlocked her talent, Sylph found herself in a lull. While she had always been easygoing and patient, she couldn't help but feel anxious about the slow progress of her own talent manifestation.
Turning to Lyra, she let her hope slip through. "Lyra, I really wish you could come up with a card magic that could guide the development of our talent manifestations!"
Vasida, although hopeful, knew it wasn't that simple. "Witch magic requires deep understanding and years of research. The magic crafted by the witches before us took ages to mature and refine."
Sylph sighed, knowing that Vasida was right. "I know… it's just hard not to hope."
Lyra, feeling the weight of their expectations, scratched her nose thoughtfully. "Well, maybe…" she hesitated, unsure. "The cards I've made, they're physical objects. Once they're made, they exist independently from the Book of Cards. So, in a way, each card is like… a magical item created from the card book."
The gears in her mind were turning, and a spark of an idea flickered to life.