Betrayal

Alex was confused why the burly doctor was telling him all these things, but he had a bad feeling when he saw the doctor's expression.

"Doctor, I just discovered about the card world a year ago. This is my first base card. Are you trying to say my base card is defective in the same way as those people who managed to generate their second base card?" Alex asked.

The burly doctor shook his head. "No child. I am trying to say that this base card, is your second base card. That is why you failed when you tried to congeal a rank 1 card. It is impossible for you to practice absorption."

"This... is my second base card? How is this possible? Doctor you must have made a mistake. I wasn't aware about the card world before a year ago, how can it be my second base card?" Alex asked, stunned.

The burly doctor breathed out slowly and looked into Alex's eyes. "You have formed a base card before, there is no denying that. Your energy signals as well as blood reports suggest that. Either you somehow destroyed it or... your base card was taken away from you!"

The burly doctor's eyes were filled with rage. Obviously he guessed it was the second possibility. "There is a technique that allows for the base card to be taken away, but the owner of the base card must be willing. If I am not wrong, you probably awakened your base card as a child and then this technique was used on you."

Alex was filled with shock. This possibility, he did not wish to think of it. But the thought continued to bear fruit within his mind. His family... could they really become so cruel in this changed world?

Alex sighed as his eyes turned watery and a tear flowed out. Indeed, he had seen his best friend change so radically right in front of his eyes, but his own family? His parents? Alex wiped away the tear. With a choked voice he asked the doctor. "Doctor, how sure are you about this?"

The Doctor also made some guesses of his own. He sighed when he saw the boy tear up. "There is no question that this is your second base card."

Alex digested the response, before quietly nodding. "Is there no way I can generate cards?"

The doctor shook his head. "I do not know. Our research on such situations is quiet bare. However, absorption of source energy through formulas isn't the only way to create cards. May be there could be hope in the card dimension."

Alex nodded. He quietly clutched his fist very hard, as his nails dug into his skin. For some reason, he was still reluctant to believe that his family would do such a thing, but it seems that this base card was his second base card was without doubt.

"No wonder I couldn't sense the inner world for so long, no wonder I had to extend to my physical limits just to discover the inner world unlike others who could simply meditate for a few minutes."

Alex got himself discharged from the hospital. Old Ren had just arrived to see Alex leaving. "Are you done? What did Dr. Bing say?"

Alex nodded. "Let's go back. The doctor explained my situation." He didn't explain any further, but Old Ren could feel the coldness and detachment in Alex's voice.

Old Ren didn't say anything and the two went back to the dojo. "Kid, what happened? What did the doctor say?" He finally asked Alex.

"I'm a cripple. I cannot absorb source energy to create cards." Alex calmly said.

"You... what? How is this possible? Your talent is one in a billion!" Old Ren was shocked.

Alex shook his head. "There is no doubt. The tests showed that I cannot absorb the world's source energy to form active cards. It is probably what my father meant when he said I do not have the talent."

Old Ren refused to believe it. "How is this possible? I will talk to that Bing." He called the burly doctor to ask if what he found out was true.

Alex had instructed the Doctor not to tell this fact to anyone else. The doctor respected his privacy and did not disclose the matter, simply agreeing with what Alex had told Old Ren.

Old Ren seemed shocked. He had never heard of such a situation before. He looked at Alex. "There must be some way?"

Alex shrugged. "I don't know if there is a way, but I will try everything out. Didn't you tell me that I could obtain Card Fragments that generate cards in a different manner than on Earth? There are also these special items with Light attribute essence that I found on the Card Frontier, that I presume are from the Card Dimension."

Old Ren nodded. "Perhaps that way will work. I will try to find other ways for you in the meantime."

Meanwhile, the results of the high school exams had arrived. Alex did pretty well, better than he expected and his result with the card was quite good as well.

However, he did not apply to any university. The Special department also contacted him to invite him. Alex informed them that he had discovered that he suffered from an illness that made it impossible to generate cards. He thus excused himself from the recruitment process.

When Will, the chief of the special department heard of this, he was shocked. He called up Old Ren, who sighed and explained the situation. Will shook his head in disappointment. "Such a talented seed was actually played over by fate."

In a quiet garden away from sound, a woman checked the high school results. This person was Kathy Lune. Beside her a powerful man, Robert Lune, was sipping tea.

"Oh, his results aren't poor. He actually formed a pretty good base card even without much help." Kathy sighed.

However Robert was emotionless. "It is quite surprising that he was able to forge a Base Card with his condition, but that in itself, while difficult was not impossible. However, trying to manifest any future cards is certainly impossible."