The magic card [Card Exchange], in You Ling's experience, was a card that was rarely used in actual duels. Its effect allowed both players to reveal their hands, and then each player could choose one card from the opponent's hand to add to their own. While it might seem like a 1-for-1 exchange, upon closer inspection, the player who activated [Card Exchange] still ended up losing a card from their hand.
"Tell me your reasoning for crafting this card, Aisha," You Ling asked curiously.
Aisha, her little head drooping and her white ahoge looking listless, nervously replied, "Because my monsters are too weak, Mr. You Ling. If I could use the monsters in my hand to exchange for stronger monsters from my opponent's hand, wouldn't that be a good deal? But... is that idea too naive?"
It was clear that Aisha lacked confidence.
"Don't be nervous, I'm not blaming you. We're in the same boat now. If you get expelled, it won't do me any good either."
If Aisha Carlos, his host in this other world, were to be expelled from Fusion Academy, it would mean that You Ling would have a much harder time accessing the top-tier duelist circles on this continent.
Moreover, although it had been mentioned casually, the loli goddess who sent You Ling to this world seemed to have hinted at something important.
("This world has magic. If you want a body, you'll have to figure out how to summon one yourself.")
You Ling wasn't sure how much of that was just a ploy, but if there was even a glimmer of hope, both he and Aisha would need to climb higher into the elite circles of this world to make it a reality.
First and foremost, it was essential to use Aisha Yuna Carlos's hands to revive the Carlos family through dueling.
"Besides, the idea behind the magic card [Card Exchange] isn't bad. At least it shows that you've put some serious thought into dueling, Aisha."
"..." Hearing You Ling's explanation, Aisha suddenly fell silent, and then, slowly, her cute little face began to redden, her eyes welling up with tears.
"What's wrong? Did I say something wrong? Let's talk it out, don't cry."
Although You Ling didn't want emotions to affect his card-playing speed, perhaps influenced by his older sister, he couldn't stand to see a girl cry in front of him.
And on his first day in this world, making his host cry? What kind of mutual trust was that?
"No, it's not your fault, Mr. You Ling..."
Even as she bit her lip to hold back her tears, large, clear teardrops rolled down Aisha's cheeks.
"Wuwuwuwu... It's just that this is the first time since I enrolled that someone has praised me for my dueling. I got too emotional. I'm sorry, Mr. You Ling, for showing you such an embarrassing side of me."
No matter how hard she tried, there was no reward.
Only countless failures, pressing down on her again and again.
This despair of not being recognized by anyone, like drowning in the deep sea, was something Aisha had kept bottled up inside for the past six months.
Today was the first time she had someone to truly confide in and receive acknowledgment from.
"Wuwuwu, thank you... thank you, Mr. You Ling..."
Wiping her tears with her hands, Aisha's crying naturally drew the attention of other students in the library.
Among them was the second-year librarian, Senior Irena.
"How pitiful, Aisha Yuna Carlos," Senior Irena said sympathetically. "The last duelist of the Carlos family, yet unable to avoid the fate of expulsion. The heavens truly are toying with the Carlos family."
Aisha's plight, as well as the struggles of the Carlos family, was an open 'secret' at Fusion Academy.
Not only Senior Irena, but the other students in the library who heard Aisha's crying couldn't help but think along those lines, casting sympathetic glances her way.
Even though the academy library was supposed to be a quiet place, everyone silently chose not to remind or stop Aisha.
Perhaps after tomorrow, the academy would no longer hear this girl's voice.
Sniff~! After about five minutes, Aisha sniffled and finally stopped crying.
"I'm sorry, Mr. You Ling. I didn't mean to make it seem like you were bullying me."
"It's fine, I understand how you feel," You Ling comforted her. "It's really helpless, isn't it? The feeling of not being rewarded for your efforts and not being recognized by anyone. It's like sailing alone on an endless sea—confusion is inevitable."
"Mr. You Ling, have you ever experienced something like that?"
"No, because I'm amazing, so I've never been through that," You Ling replied honestly.
"Mr. You Ling, you're so mean... hehe, hahaha." Aisha, who had just stopped crying, suddenly started laughing for no apparent reason.
"Is it really that funny?"
"I just feel like if I have such an interesting soul like Mr. You Ling by my side, it seems like even being expelled wouldn't matter."
Senior Irena, who had been secretly observing Aisha, shook her head worriedly, sensing something was wrong.
"First, she was crying so miserably, and now she's laughing for no reason. Has Aisha Carlos gone mad?"
You Ling said, "I told you, I won't let you get expelled. Don't say such discouraging things. Aren't we here to find a way to win?"
"Mm, then let's start by converting today's midterm test credits into spell points."
Aisha moved her fair fingertip and lightly tapped the Spell Catalog. The spiritual mana within the catalog began to stir.
In the midterm test, Aisha had scored the lowest, earning only 2 credits.
When converted into spell points at a 1:1 ratio, that would be 2 spell points.
However, these crucial 2 points just happened to complete the crafting progress for the magic card [Card Exchange].
[D-Rank Magic Card: "Card Exchange"]
[Crafting Progress: 10/10]
Accompanied by a faint glow of mana, the magic card [Card Exchange] emerged from the Spell Catalog, appearing right in front of Aisha.
You Ling: "Alright, now that we've got our first magic card, we can go challenge Kevin Seto."
Aisha retorted: "There's no way that's possible, Mr. You Ling!"
"Just kidding. Of course, I know it's not possible. The top priority now is to figure out how to get more spell points."
Even the most skilled housewife can't cook without rice. Even for You Ling, without enough magic and trap cards, using a deck full of weak monsters would yield the same result as if Aisha herself were dueling.
Calmly observing, You Ling scanned the pages of the Spell Catalog through Aisha's shared vision and suddenly noticed a piece of information in the bottom right corner that piqued his interest.
[Current Debt: 0]
"Aisha, what does this 'debt' mean?"
"Oh, that," Aisha explained. "It's a way the academy allows students to borrow a portion of spell points in advance. But basically, no one uses it because the interest rate is 10% per day. If you can't pay it back, the academy will forcibly deduct credits from your future earnings. If you keep failing to pay it back, they'll keep deducting—it's terrifying!"
"10% interest per day? That's ridiculously high. Even capitalists would cry hearing that," You Ling exclaimed.
However, even though the 10% interest rate was terrifying, borrowing spell points might be Aisha's last hope.
"Let me ask you this, Aisha. How many spell points can you borrow right now?"
"I'm not entirely sure about that. Before borrowing, you have to go through the librarian, who will assess your usual credibility and conduct before determining the exact amount you can borrow. I think the librarian on duty today is Senior Irena, right?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Aisha, who had been looking around for her target, happened to lock eyes with Senior Irena, who had been secretly watching her.