The Tier 3 Digivice came with the Crest of Courage.
It could only be used by Tai. Upon activation, it would trigger Agumon's evolution to Mega level.
Two methods of evolution existed. The first was Warp Digivolution — direct evolution — producing a WarGreymon just over six feet tall. Compact. Dense with power.
But MetalGreymon, evolved stage by stage, stood dozens of feet high.
Ethan followed the image in his mind and drew the Digivice.
It took a while. The detail required was immense — the Crest of Courage embedded in the frame, the orange-and-white casing, the screen that displayed the evolution sequence.
Then he input the story concept. Tai's growth. The Digital World. The Dark Masters. The moment when all hope seemed lost and Tai's courage blazed bright enough to trigger the impossible.
Ethan watched the card shift colors. Gold — climbing past gold — a faint red — deepening to crimson.
Yes.
As expected.
The reason he couldn't make a Tier 3 Digivice before wasn't a design flaw. The card was simply too powerful for a normal base.
MetalGreymon already had Legendary-level combat power. WarGreymon was leagues beyond that. The gap wasn't small — it was an entire evolutionary stage.
After WarGreymon, his strength would be top-tier. Period.
But... thinking about WarGreymon opened another door.
If he also created Gabumon, could they fuse? Omnimon was—
Ethan shook his head. Tier 3 Special Card Bases were distributed once per month. He'd have to wait until next month for another Mega-level card. No point daydreaming.
He checked his Mental Strength. The maximum had increased by a full 150 points.
Wait — what?
A Tier 1 red card added 50. A Tier 3 added 150?
That pushed his total Mental Strength past 400.
At this rate, he'd hit Senior Card Maker in under half a year. Master-level in under five.
The youngest Master in American history had achieved the title at 29.
If Ethan could produce a red card every month, he'd get there by 25.
And that was counting only one Tier 3 and one Tier 1 per month. What about Tier 4? Tier 5?
He focused on the card. Its attributes materialized.
[Card Name]: Digivice (Courage)
[Quality]: Immortal (Red)
[Tier]: Tier 3
[Type]: Item Card
[Story System]: Digimon
[Cost]: 500 Psionic Energy
[Effect]: Evolves Agumon or MetalGreymon into WarGreymon. Requires Tai to activate.
[Traits]:
Eternal Existence: As an Immortal-grade item, its effect isn't limited to a single use. Once manifested, it persists permanently until recalled.
Indestructible: As an Immortal-grade item card, it cannot be destroyed.
Aura of Courage: The WarGreymon evolved from this Digivice gains an aura that increases attack and defense by 20% for all allies within a 300-foot radius.
[Evaluation]: "This is our bond — take this! MEGA EVOLUTION! ...Wait, wrong franchise. Agumon — WARP DIGIVOLVE!"
"It can exist permanently?"
One-time cost, permanent deployment. The Digivice would stay active until Ethan chose to recall it. No re-summoning required.
That trait alone was game-changing in the early stages. At higher Psionic levels, the cost savings would matter less — but right now, with only 800 base Psionic, saving 500 on a re-summon was the difference between winning and losing.
Plus: indestructible and a team-wide buff.
Red cards were something else.
After finishing creation, Ethan was essentially ready for the assault.
It was just past noon. He still needed to attend the System Auction this evening. Couldn't stay in the Rift forever.
Besides, sleeping on grass wasn't his thing.
As he was about to pocket the card, he noticed small numbers blinking on another part of the System panel.
"Private messages?"
He hadn't expected the System to have a DM function. Apparently, people had been messaging him for over an hour — since the moment he joined the Master chat group. He'd been too busy crafting to notice.
He opened the inbox.
Nearly everyone in the group had sent him something. Most were asking about the red card.
A few were... interesting.
[BlackGoat]: Hey — that art style on your card. I've never seen anything like it. The proportions, the line work — it's completely different from realistic rendering.
[BlackGoat]: Is that a new technique? Did you develop it yourself? Because if so, I need to understand the theory behind it.
[BlackGoat]: Seriously, just the style alone could revolutionize low-tier card production. Let's talk.
[BlackGoat]: You there? Brother?
He's fixated on the manga style.
Fair enough. In a world where every card was drawn in photorealistic style, manga must look like it came from another planet.
He left BlackGoat on read and checked the other DMs.
[FutureAdmin]: Hey — did you get Administrator status because of the red card?
[FutureAdmin]: A Tier 1 red card isn't THAT strong in raw combat. How about a trade — my Tier 6 Gold card for it?
[FutureAdmin]: Hello? Hello? Reply when you see this.
[Director Marshall]: Can you disclose any details? Don't worry — I just need to file the registration.
[Gorgeous & Deadly]: Hey how old are you? Got a photo? Big sister can set you up with some girls
Aren't these supposed to be the world's most powerful Card Makers?
Why is every single one of them unhinged?
After scanning through, Ethan replied only to Director Marshall. The man had a reputation — government-affiliated, straight-laced, trustworthy.
But Ethan was still too weak for that kind of spotlight. Even with good intentions, he wanted to stay under the radar.
At least until he had some real strength.
[Arceus is an Alpaca]: Sorry, Director Marshall. It's not convenient right now. I need to develop a bit more.
After the reply, Ethan pocketed his cards and stood up to head back.
With the red Digivice ready, clearing this Rift was entirely within reach.
Just as he was about to walk over—
"Whoa — another red card. How insane are you?"
Jake's voice. Right behind him.
Ethan spun around.
All three of them stood there. Watching.
"...When did you get here?"
"We've been watching the leaderboard," Jake said, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world. "When we saw a red card hit #1 on the Tier 3 rankings, we knew it was you."