Harper's experimental data wasn't kept under wraps—it was compiled into a standard laboratory report and submitted to the academy as a magic research paper.
Soon, news about the Scalevine spread like wildfire. Naturally, Edith found out almost immediately.
With a copy of the paper in hand, she first sought out Harper to verify its authenticity. Once confirmed, she left the academy and went straight to the Elven Priestess.
"Edith? Is something the matter?" The Elven Priestess sat on a vine-woven chair in her courtyard. Under her control, the Scalevine unfurled its leaves, looking just like a warrior's armor.
"Yes, I do have something to discuss with you." Edith handed over the paper.
The Priestess, well over 300 years old, took the document, gently recalling the Scalevine and flipping through the pages.
"These are the experimental results and data on the Scalevine. You can skip to the end to read the summary," Edith explained.
The Priestess turned to the conclusion section, read Harper's final assessment, and fell into deep thought.
"You've cultivated a Scalevine, too, haven't you? Did you nurture it for fifteen days?" she asked.
Edith shook her head. "I only fed it blood for three days and then stopped. But I spoke with several of the volunteers involved in the experiment. The data is accurate and trustworthy."
"If it's true that wood-element mages can cultivate more powerful Scalevines…" The Priestess's tone turned reflective. "Then… it's practically tailor-made for us…"
"Do you have any plans?" Edith had already been amazed on the way over, but was doing her best to stay calm.
"I need to return to the tribe for a bit." The Priestess stood up decisively. "As promising as these results are, we must test the Scalevine ourselves before deciding on large-scale purchases."
"But the paper also says the earlier one buys, the better. The sooner someone has a Scalevine, the more powerful it can become," Edith reminded her.
"If the Scalevine truly has such miraculous potential, it could become a necessity for every single one of our people," the Priestess said, her gaze sharpening. "With nearly a hundred million elves, one Scalevine per person at five gold coins each… that's around five hundred million gold. That's not something I can decide on my own."
"…" Edith's mouth opened slightly, visibly startled. She hadn't expected the Priestess to think that far ahead. "What about the orcs fleeing the winter war?"
"Didn't we already buy a few hundred Scalevines?" the Priestess replied. "They're more than enough to handle those orcish stragglers—and it'll give us a chance to test them in real combat."
Edith went quiet, then said, "You really think things through."
"All thanks to the paper you brought," the Priestess smiled, waving as she walked out of the courtyard. "I'm heading back to the tribe now. In the meantime, you should maintain a good relationship with His Eminence Ron and work on securing a stable supply of Scalevines for our people."
"Understood."
"Your Eminence Ron, these are the design blueprints for the furniture materials you requested. Please have a look."
Ron took the blueprints from the construction team leader and listened as he described each wood type, mentally noting which ones would be best suited for the shop.
After wrapping that up, Ron left the renovation of the barbecue shop—no, now it was being rebranded as a tabletop-themed tavern—to the construction team and went back to the store for lunch.
That afternoon, Kiel came knocking. He followed Ron into the study and spread a stack of research notes across the desk for him to review.
"These are the rules and gameplay variations I've collected recently for Dueling Magic," Kiel said enthusiastically, pulling out a deck of Element Cards—the version that had spread throughout the academy—and began a demonstration.
Based on the numbers on the Element Cards:
"A" and "2" cards depicted Tier-1 spells.
"3" and "4" cards showed Tier-2 spells.
"J" and "Q" had Tier-6 spells.
"K" featured Tier-7 Legendary Magic.
As for the Jokers, they were represented by:
Magiko, the God of Magic — a dashing middle-aged man.
Eremont, the Goddess of Elements — a sweet and elegant woman.
Since the Element Goddess was traditionally depicted as female in mythology, the card art wasn't considered blasphemous.
Over time, the rules for Dueling Magic had evolved far beyond the original version Mason and the others had played.
While the academy students might not have the same theoretical knowledge as the instructors, their creativity when it came to fun was unmatched.
Even Ron was surprised by how fully developed this alternate use of the Element Cards had become.
For example, in a two-player game, the rules went like this:
At the start, each player draws five Element Cards.
A randomly chosen player begins the first round.
On their turn, the attacker draws one card from the top of the deck—this becomes the Random Attack Card.
They then have three options:
Use the Random Attack Card to initiate a direct attack.
Replace it with a card from their hand to attack.
Combine a card from their hand with the Random Attack Card to create a Combo Spell and launch an attack.
The defending player must use a card from their hand to block the attack.
If successful, all played cards go into the discard pile.
If unsuccessful, the Attack Card is placed at the defender's side, indicating they've taken a hit.
Then, both players draw cards from the deck to replenish their hands to five.
This concludes Round One.
The second round begins with roles reversed, and the game continues until the deck runs out.
Whoever takes the most hits loses.
"Well done," Ron said, giving Kiel's shoulder a firm pat. "All we need now is to finalize the card combinations and include them in the instruction manual."
"Hehe, it was all thanks to your guidance, Your Eminence," Kiel grinned. "I knew from the start that splitting the Element Cards into a Noble Edition and a Civilian Edition was brilliant."
"But the more I think about it, the more I realize—it's downright ingenious!"
"We can first mass-produce the Noble Edition—the ones illustrated with spell artwork—and promote them under the slogan, 'Even the mages of the Royal Capital Magic Academy are hooked on this!' Nobles who dream of their children becoming magicians will be dying to get their hands on them."
"Then, once the Noble Edition becomes popular, we release the Civilian Edition—cards without spell art—using the angle of 'The card game all the nobles are crazy about!' That'll create a huge buzz among commoners."
"So many commoners admire noble lifestyles—they'll definitely want to play the same card game the nobles are obsessed with."
"And when nobles find out about the Civilian Edition, they won't be offended. On the contrary, they'll feel a sense of superiority knowing commoners can only afford the version without spell illustrations."
"This plan is flawless!"
"…," Ron stared at Kiel, speechless.
Where was all this coming from? Since when did I plan all that?
Kiel, too hyped to notice Ron's expression, went on with excitement:
"And that's not even all!"
"See, even though the Noble Edition features four elements and seven spell tiers, each tier only has at most two unique spells."
"Once the market is saturated, we can roll out new Element Cards featuring different spell illustrations!"
"That'll keep the game fresh and expand the Dueling Magic card pool—killing two birds with one stone!"
"The Noble Edition builds prestige, the Civilian Edition captures market share—one enhances reputation, the other maximizes profit. It's a perfect combo!"
"Your Eminence Ron, you're a genius in business!"
?
Ron's mind blanked. A literal question mark popped up in his thoughts.
Everything Kiel said… sounded reasonable, but—
Since when did I become a business genius?!