Arcane Cardcaster
Chapter One: The Ordinary Ye Tian
Ye Tian, a student at a secondary key high school, harbors a fondness for novels, anime, and gaming, occasionally joining his classmates for a game of basketball. He believes that a healthy body is essential for pursuing one's passions.
In his second year of senior high school at the age of seventeen, Ye Tian stands at a modest height of 1.75 meters. With a slightly above-average appearance and a lean weight of fifty-five kilograms, he often consoles himself about his looks. His demeanor is scholarly, particularly with his glasses, making him seem like a harmless and upstanding citizen. His face alternates between melancholy, usually due to stress about exams, and radiant smiles, often caused by the joy of reading novels.
Sighing over his latest exam results, Ye Tian laments, "Another exam over, and these dreadful grades! If only I hadn't skipped studying to play Warcraft 3C with friends all night." He inwardly chides himself for his lack of discipline.
At home, Ye Tian is the epitome of a well-behaved child. Living close to school, he maintains good behavior to avoid his parents' inquiries about his academic performance. Before exams, he crams for a day, a strategy that surprisingly boosts his grades from below average to above.
Ye Tian's academic performance is marred by his tendency to prioritize novels over textbooks, only paying attention in class when his conscience strikes. Holidays find him at internet cafes, gaming, and at home, indulging in anime. "Though my days are decadent, they are fulfilling," he muses, comforting himself about his less-than-stellar grades.
Ye Tian once had his moment of academic glory. In junior high, his obsession with online gaming disappointed his parents until a teacher suggested a deal: a computer for ranking in the top three of his class. Motivated by the lure of a new computer, Ye Tian, despite a shaky start, topped his class after a year of diligent study, earning his prized computer. In the final months of junior high, spurred by thoughts of his hardworking parents, he managed to secure a place in a secondary key high school, much to his parents' relief and pride.
Resigned to inevitable criticism for his grades, Ye Tian decides, "Might as well head to the internet cafe again and face it all at once," spending another wild night gaming.
The next morning, after an all-nighter, Ye Tian, accustomed to the routine, walks home dizzily but determined to sleep. The sudden onset of wind and thunder, unforecasted, hastens his steps. "Why this sudden storm?" he wonders, quickening his pace to avoid the impending rain.
Walking briskly, Ye Tian is oblivious to a thick book plummeting from the stormy sky towards him. Struck by the book and enveloped in a bright light, he loses consciousness. When the light fades, both Ye Tian and the book have vanished, leaving behind a city shrouded in rain.
Awakening in an unfamiliar forest of towering trees and tangled underbrush, Ye Tian is engulfed in darkness, the air heavy with a foul scent. Panicked, he mutters, "Impossible, I was just heading home. How did I end up here?" His trembling body and throbbing head seem inconsequential in his confusion.
After some time, Ye Tian's shaking subsides, and he notices blood on his hand. "I'm bleeding; where can I find help?" he remarks sarcastically.
Considering his avid reading, Ye Tian's first thought is that he has somehow traveled to another world. This suspicion is confirmed when he encounters a rat as large as a pig, its mouth stained with blood.
Cursing his luck, Ye Tian thinks, "Why must these travels always lead to unknown forests and monstrous beasts? I'm no Liu Zhenhan; I'm no soldier..." Fear grips him as he retreats from the giant rat, unable to stand.
Desperate thoughts fill his mind, "I don't want this journey; I just want to sleep in my bed at home." But the pain in his head tells him this is no dream.
Retreating, Ye Tian's hand brushes against something strange. Without looking, he throws it at the rat, which vanishes in a flash of light. The object, glowing, flies into Ye Tian's chest, then goes still.
Astonished, Ye Tian inspects his chest to find an ancient book imprinted there, its mark still faintly glowing. Curious yet fearful, he touches the ancient seal on his chest, and the book materializes in his hands. "This could be my key to survival on this continent," he muses, wondering if it's a mystical artifact or a secret manual of great power.
Realizing his predicament in this foreign land, Ye Tian acknowledges his laziness. Survival here requires more than just exam tactics learned in school.
Excited yet apprehensive, Ye Tian opens the book, "
The Seal of Binding," written in fading gold script. The thick book, as voluminous as five of his high school textbooks stacked, contains more than he anticipated.
Hesitant, fearing the book might be empty, Ye Tian eventually turns the pages. To his relief, the first page describes the method of summoning the book and its contents. The summoning requires heartfelt calling, but the book's cryptic content leaves Ye Tian puzzled. "All things under heaven, strange and omnipresent, beyond reality and illusion, exist with intent and spirit. The Seal of Binding, encapsulating all, summons everything."
With this discovery, Ye Tian begins to accept his new reality, armed with a mysterious book that may hold the key to his survival in this strange world.