Chapter 55: Fantasy Time

As Russell tapped the cards in his mind, Zoro and Luffy instantly appeared in front of him.

"Hey, Zoro!" Luffy greeted the swordsman with his trademark, infectious smile. The stories of the two characters were deeply intertwined, so Russell wasn't surprised that the cards already knew each other. If they didn't, the [Straw Hat Pirates] bond effect could never be triggered.

"Oh, it's you, Luffy," the green-haired young man with the three golden teardrop-shaped earrings on his left ear responded, his tone gruff but not unfriendly.

Looking at the three swords that came with the card on Zoro's waist, Russell became thoughtful. Maybe I can make a few better swords for Zoro to use first. As a swordsman, his weapons were a key factor affecting his strength. According to Zoro's story, there were several famous blades that could be made as chain cards, like the pure white [Wado Ichimonji] or the cursed blade [Enma].

But then he considered the limitations. The weapons in the One Piece world, while powerful, often had no special abilities and could be a burden on their wielder. If he was going to make a master-eating sword, why not aim higher? Why not the [Tenseiga] from Inuyasha, a sword that could slay beings from the netherworld? Or legendary weapons like [Tianjing] and [Hupo] from the old manhua? The destructive power of those weapons, however, was far beyond the standard of what he could currently produce. It seemed there were quite a few prop cards he could daydream about making.

He also realized his [Three Treasures] prop card could no longer keep up with his own rapid development. He needed a new defensive item. He had long coveted a modified version of the seven-layered shield, [Rho Aias], wielded by a certain red-coated, white-haired hero, but that too was obviously impossible to make right now. And Pidgeot, which had just been an emergency measure at the beginning, also needed to be replaced eventually. He had even considered the Zanpakutō from Bleach, but those were more like extensions of a character's own soul; he probably couldn't produce them as separate items. And even if he could, how would cards from other worlds master Shikai and Bankai without the most basic spiritual pressure?

But as he saw the cold, hard number of his 1.6 million credit balance on his account, a bucket of ice water was poured over his head.

Poor! He was still too poor.

Moreover, many of the best materials couldn't be bought with money at all. He could only make plans based on what he could actually get his hands on.

Pushing the complicated thoughts from his mind, he decided to test the synergy of his current team. He called out Yoriichi Tsugikuni.

As expected, the moment Yoriichi appeared, Zoro's eyes became sharp, his focus absolute. "This swordsman... he's strong." His swordsman's heart was sending out frantic warnings at that moment. If it weren't for the difference in our world's power levels, he thought, he would be a truly formidable enemy.

This was a source of frustration for Russell. According to Yoriichi's performance in his original story, his power should not have been limited to this level. But because the initial materials were of poor quality, the current Yoriichi was just a "youthful version," all his abilities weakened. And the upper limit of the Demon Slayer world meant that there was no advanced path for him.

"How about we have a sparring match?" Zoro asked, his hand already resting on the hilt of one of his swords.

Yoriichi, upon appearing, had instantly recognized the immense skill of the man in front of him. But one thing confused him. Why does he have three swords? In his entire career of slaying demons, he had never seen anyone carry three blades at once.

Fortunately, Russell stopped Zoro in time. "If you want to spar, wait until tomorrow," he said helplessly. "I'll apply for a venue from the school. If you fight here and break something, you'll have to pay for it."

Hearing this, Zoro's fighting intent gradually subsided. As Russell's card, he could sense that his master was telling the truth. Yoriichi, for his part, was not very keen on fighting other humans anyway. Since childhood, the feeling of a blade cutting human flesh had made him uncomfortable. The demons in the secret realms were different; in his eyes, they were no different from the man-eating monsters that served Muzan. This was why Russell always had Kaneki do the cleanup.

The next day, Russell came to school after a long absence. He hadn't attended a single class in the more than half a month since the joint examination had begun. Not that there was much left for him to learn in the standard high school courses now.

After a night of meditation, he was in good spirits. Seeing Nancy Whitemore lying on her desk in a listless state, he couldn't help but ask in a strange voice, "Long time no see, Nancy. Why do you look like this?" The two hadn't met since the [Black Flag] incident, as she had still been in her own secret realm during the Prodigy Cup.

Nancy heard his voice, looked up, and said weakly, "It's you, Russell. Long time no see. Congratulations, oh great genius, for winning first place in the Prodigy Cup."

Yep, that's definitely Nancy, Russell thought to himself. She had a unique skill for stating facts in the most sarcastic way possible.

"I look like this because I didn't sleep well last night," Nancy said sullenly, her head slumping back onto the table.

Russell was shocked. "That's illegal! You're a minor, you know!"

Hearing his words, Nancy raised her head blankly. "What's illegal? What are you talking about?" A moment later, she realized what he was implying. She rolled her eyes at him unhappily. "What are you thinking?" she said, exasperated. "It's about my father."

Russell was stunned. Mr. Whitemore? What could possibly happen to a gold-level cardmaker like him?

Fortunately, Nancy didn't intend to keep it a secret. "He came home from work last night, and he was really unhappy about something. He can hide it from others, but he can't hide it from me, his own daughter."

Hearing this, Russell was silent for a while before asking, "Did he say what it was?" After all, Jonathan Whitemore had taken good care of him. If something had happened, he couldn't just stand by and do nothing, even though a problem a gold-level cardmaker couldn't solve was likely far beyond his own ability to fix.

Nancy leaned back on the table, her voice muffled. "It's because I don't have any answers that I feel so bad."

"Ah, this..." Russell felt a little at a loss. There was nothing he could do about her family's internal affairs. And as a single parent, it must have been very difficult for Jonathan to raise Nancy all these years. Middle-aged men just have those days, was all Russell could think.

Returning to his seat, Russell began the day's classes. After school, he asked Victoria Song for permission to borrow the battle arena. Naturally, she had no reason to refuse.

He arrived at the empty battle site and summoned his cards. On the field, Yoriichi Tsugikuni looked at Zoro opposite him and finally, finally understood.

So that's how someone can be a three-sword master!

(End of this chapter)