Marilyn presented Nero with the card she seemingly pulled out of thin air, though Nero knew it was just a simple sleight of hand trick. Almost everyone alive used cards a lot, so it was quite normal for everyone to learn card tricks. Of course, not everyone attempted to learn them as it was up to preference, but as kids few could resist it, which meant most people ended up learning them.
Nero grabbed the card and read, surprised to find it was both familiar and unfamiliar.
Name: Snowflake Frost
Image: A single snowflake, spreading frost all around it
Type: Innate
Star rank: 3
Ability: [A snowflake that freezes everything it cuts, becoming stronger and sharper the more it freezes things. Can only be used by Marilyn Grant.]
Flavour text: "A curse will only kill you, but I can do so much worse" - Marilyn Grant
There was a lot to unpack in this card, not in the least because it was completely different from the Innate card Marilyn had given him before! How was that possible? An Innate card couldn't be changed!
Although Snowflake, which was the original innate card his mother had given him, was used up and thus destroyed, Nero remembered its details well.
Name: Snowflake
Image: A single snowflake falling
Type: Innate
Star rank: 0
Ability: [A snowflake that grows stronger and sharper as it absorbs heat.]
Flavour text: "I have no enemies, just volunteers who help paint my snowflakes red" - Marilyn Grant
The question stunned Marilyn, for she never considered it. That was the drawback of a formal education. By having a pre-existing foundation, a person is forced to look at a subject through a preexisting lens of knowledge. It becomes more difficult to look at a situation with unorthodox perspectives. But in this case...
"No, for a card that is already completed, you cannot change the spell model, however you have touched upon a very high levelled topic. Although you cannot change a spell model for an existing card, you can refresh the durability of a card once it has undergone some use. Of course, it's far from simple, and requires a very high levelled artisan.
These things are beyond you for now, but it's good to remain interested in such things."
Nero and his mother kept chatting with one another as the van drove through the city, with Edward chiming in from time to time, and eventually exited from the toll. They had brought along snacks - apparently it was a tradition for road trips. With Nero's limited experience in the field, he could not judge whether it was true, but he happily accepted any food thrown his way.
For the first hour, the drive was smooth as the road was well maintained and the environment was relatively tame. But in the second hour, as they drove further away from the city and the regularly used routes, they encountered their first problem.
"Normally, when the army has large movements, they send a few cars ahead of the main group to take care of such matters. Since we don't have that luxury, we'll have to take care of it ourselves," said Marilyn as she looked out the front window. In front of them, the road seemed to disappear into a field of tall grass that was at least three metres (9.8 feet) tall.
The grass blades were practically trees. Clearly they had been cursed, and were spreading across the hills.
"Mom, when I was using Snowflake, they served as fuel for my innate ability, making them stronger. Maybe you could use that now - my innate ability is very good at countering curses."
Marilyn shook her head.
"Maybe you can handle curses on the Neophyte level, but for stronger curses, no matter how effective your flames are, they'll just get smothered out. No, let me handle this. Even if I can't destroy the curse, I can destroy the body carrying the curse, which is just as good."
Marilyn was getting ready while Nero moved to the front and sat beside Edward. Nero was not allowed to leave the van under any circumstances, and one of his parents would remain with him at all times.
"Quiz time," Edward said as he pulled out a protein bar and tore it open. "What do you need to be careful of when facing cursed plants such as this?"
Nero looked at the grass which was dozens of metres away, and then tried to imagine how the grass could possibly attack. It looked like they could only attack physically.
"It's to maintain a certain distance and stay out of their attack radius?"
"I suppose, but no. Plants have roots, and the roots can extend far greater distances underground than the actual plant above ground. So while it seems like you can estimate the attack range of a plant from a glance, in truth you should always assume you're within its attack range. Watch."
Everything seemed to be calm and peaceful outside when Marilyn opened the sidedoor of the van and leaped out into the distance. The moment she touched the ground there was an earthquake, and suddenly the earth erupted from underneath her!
Nero only saw a cloud of brown smoke, and a few moments later, he saw white roots sticking out from the ground like spikes. Yet Marilyn was nowhere to be seen. Edward placed a hand on Nero's shoulder, and a warm energy flowed into his body, augmenting him. He suddenly saw the world in slow motion, which finally allowed him to catch sight of his mother doing what she did best - cutting things down.