The Ice type is an extremely problematic type.
It was created to counter the Dragon type, but it fails at that because its damage output is not high enough.
Its defense is inconsistent, sometimes high, sometimes low, and it's even countered by several other types, making it a glass cannon.
But even as a glass cannon, it doesn't fully capitalize on that role, and it ends up being overshadowed by the Fairy type, which excels in many aspects and is considered an extremely strong type.
As a result, the Ice type is seen as useless.
Well, useless only if you don't know how to use it effectively.
Snowy knows that the Ice type has several fairly effective strategies, but they're very risky to execute.
And now, he has an Ice-type monster, and in the future, he'll likely have more Ice-type monsters due to his element and mana.
So, he needs to build a strong Ice-type team to avoid being out of the meta!
But first…
"Snowflake Sprite… Here it is," he said, picking up a library book with a smile.
This is a basic monster information book, providing clear and detailed information, including strengths and weaknesses.
Since Snowflake Sprite is the most basic monster, its information is very comprehensive.
And as expected, it lives in Snowy's hometown.
Because it avoids humans, it's rarely spotted by locals.
It's usually classified as a white or green card, but since the materials provided by the teacher were high-quality, there's a 100% chance of starting with a green card monster.
Unfortunately, because it's a starter monster, as people grow stronger in the future, it will mostly be used as a pet rather than for battles.
According to the book, it ranks 17th out of 18 types in terms of power… The weakest type is Dark, which is the type the protagonist currently possesses.
But since she's the protagonist, her monster will eventually surpass everyone else, no matter how weak its rank is.
Luckily, I'm a reincarnator and know all the necessary tools for the future.
I picked up the card and summoned it.
A soft but cold fluffball appeared, and unlike Bone Bat, it was floating.
I checked its traits, and sure enough, it has the floating trait!
Great! It's immune to Ground! That's one weakness down!
"Fur…" It floated for a bit before landing on my shoulder and falling asleep.
Is it lazy? Do card monsters have personalities too?
Snowy then looked for another book while it relaxed on his shoulder.
This time, he found a book summarizing card monsters.
"Hmm… It seems card monsters aren't very intelligent, just enough to follow commands and show a bit of emotion."
It's quite similar to Yu-Gi-Oh, where the monsters are mostly emotionless (except for Yubel, who's a bit… overly emotional).
"This won't do. I want them to behave like Pokémon. Emotionless isn't good at all."
Besides, monsters with emotions are better than those without, because who knows, they might surprise him in some way.
Touching the fluffball on his shoulder, it stayed still with its eyes closed.
"Hmm… Maybe I should create a card to give them thoughts and autonomy?"
After rummaging through his thoughts, he remembered a card.
An Evolution card!
When I played the game, this card was used in a villain's deck, and he used it to evolve his monsters.
However, the card had a limitation: it could only evolve specific monsters.
Even more disappointing, the monsters that could evolve weren't very strong, just enough to pressure opponents if they didn't have strong cards.
Heh… A game that took some inspiration from Pokémon but is extremely weak…
At least the Evolution card boosts the monsters' intelligence, even for those that can't evolve. The villain who owned it was always arguing with his monsters after their intelligence was boosted.
I'm a bit jealous of him.
So, I put that book away and looked for another one to create the Evolution card.
"…Is this it?"
Darwin's Theory of Evolution.
"Darwin exists in this world too?"
Whatever, I'll borrow it. Maybe I'll find some useful information.
After some searching, he found a short recipe book for creating the Evolution card.
Borrowing it from the librarian, I left the library and headed to the dormitory.
There's still class this afternoon, so I'll rest a bit before continuing. Ugh, so tiring…
Suddenly, a loud explosion startled me. I realized it came from the gym.
Curious, I headed to the gym and saw an unexpected scene.
A duel was taking place in the gym!
"I draw a card! I use a spell card to boost the defense of all my monsters on the field!" A guy placed a card in a slot on his duel disk, and all his monsters' defenses increased.
All three of his monsters were Dragons, so he's likely a Dragon deck user.
"Attack!"
All three Dragons charged, ready to tear into the opponent's monster.
"Stink Mushroom! Use your skill!" The opponent commanded, and a two-legged mushroom moved forward and jumped high.
As a Dragon monster bit it, the Stink Mushroom puffed up and exploded, releasing a cloud of toxic purple smoke!
The Dragon monster, hit by both the explosion and the poison, couldn't survive and turned into specks of light.
"Ah! Blue and Green! Cancel the attack!" He panicked, giving new orders to his remaining two monsters.
"Not so fast! Carnivorous Plant, use your skill!"
The Carnivorous Plant drove its roots into the ground, entangling the feet of the two remaining monsters.
"Turn 3 ends!"
Gritting his teeth, he watched his opponent draw another card.
He placed a card on his duel disk and summoned a vine-like monster.
"Vine! Use your skill on that Dragon monster!"
Vines wrapped tightly around the Dragon monster, immobilizing it.
He realized his monster was now controlled and couldn't be sacrificed to summon a stronger one.
This isn't good…
"Turn 4 ends!"
He drew a card and examined it closely.
"Here's my chance!" He smirked, regaining his confidence.
"I use the Reincarnation Spell card, allowing me to bring a monster from the graveyard back to the field, but it changes its type!"
A large rock suddenly rose from the ground, then melted like mud and reformed into the Dragon he had lost.
"And since I have both a Dragon-type and an Earth-type monster on the field, I can sacrifice both to summon—"
"TERRA DRAGON!"
He slammed the card onto his duel disk, and both monsters turned into light before entering the graveyard.
Immediately, a massive, spike-covered, slow-moving Dragon emerged from the ground.
Seeing the dire situation, the opponent used a slowing spell card, drastically reducing Terra Dragon's speed.
"Attack!"
Terra Dragon moved forward, and the opponent ordered their monsters to block it.
But with its massive, spiked body, it plowed through without taking damage.
The opposing monsters attacked relentlessly but dealt no significant damage.
"Terra Dragon! Use Spike Armor!"
Terra Dragon roared, its already tough skin sprouting even more spikes.
The attacking monsters took damage, their defense dropping continuously.
"No! Noooo!!"
"Terra Dragon! Stomp the Life Orb!"
It raised its foot and smashed the Life Orb into pieces.
"The duel is over! Biarump wins!"
Biarump smirked, collected his cards, and left.
The spectators discussed excitedly, while the opponent looked dejected but eventually calmed down and left.
I, however, felt differently.
"How is this game balanced? No wonder so few people play this game…"
Sighing, I walked away.
***
Noon is also when Caesar's pedestrian street opens.
First-year students excitedly take in the bustling atmosphere here.
This place sells everything: ingredients, food, clothing, and everyday items.
In short, if you need something, Caesar's got it.
Of course, to buy anything, you'll need to spend Credits.
"Hey, what do you think we should buy?"
A blonde girl with a cheerful, happy-go-lucky face asked the silver-haired girl.
Her name is Charlotte, often called Tea by those close to her, including Aelith.
Aelith looked around and pulled out her notebook.
She had written down a list of things she needed to do to avoid forgetting anything.
The first thing on her list was to create spell cards and trap cards.
She loved card dueling, and to duel, you need a complete deck.
You need at least 10 cards to compete, but she was sure she'd lose with just 10 cards—too limited!
So now, her goal was to make a full deck of 20 cards!
Charlotte spotted a candy stall and dragged Aelith over to it. Aelith glanced at it and smirked to herself.
'Hmph, so childish. A proper lady must stay focused on her goals!'
She grinned, licked her cotton candy, and continued exploring with Charlotte.
***
"I never thought there'd come a day when I'd be so engrossed in reading a book like this…" Snowy read Darwin's Theory of Evolution with fascination.
The Darwinian theory here is completely different from my original world because the environment and the diversity of creatures here are far greater.
It seems this Darwin guy dedicated his entire life to research, leaving behind this book as his legacy.
It's fascinating because the book is written in an engaging way and caters to those who seek knowledge.
Unfortunately, religious folks hate both the book and Darwin because they believe a god created everything.
Well, I hope there's no conflict between religion and science.
In general, after finishing this book, you can understand a few things.
Evolution is natural selection to adapt to living conditions—it's inevitable.
That's also why the Evolution card doesn't do much beyond boosting intelligence, because fundamentally, you can't force a creature to change instantly.
So, what should I do? I put my hand on my chin, thinking for a while.
Hmm… Wait, force?
Suddenly, a bold idea popped into his head.
If you can't force it, can you make it adapt instead?
Like putting a slime in a hot environment—at first, it wouldn't handle it, but if you let it stay long enough, it would gradually adapt to that environment.
But what, am I supposed to throw it in a microwave? That doesn't sound right at all…
Hmm…
I then glanced at the book on how to create the Evolution card.
"…Wait, I've got an idea."
But first, he had to prepare for the afternoon class.
Getting up, I set the book aside and left the dormitory.
"I need to earn a ton of Credits first."