NOVPUBSouth Continent, Cerryti Empire.
Hidden deep underground, there lies a dark palace that symbolizes absolute power.
This prehistoric underground metropolis, surrounded by darkness, yet meticulously mimicked by magic devices casting a pale light as if from a blood moon; the broad and empty streets are lined with buildings constructed of dark stone, monumental and robust. The silhouettes outline ancient artistry, quietly situated inside this dark city, encrusted with the dust of infinite time.
At the edge of the underground City-State emanates a mysterious, sinister vibe of powerful magic. A humongous castle stands erect, the exterior walls made of natural obsidian, inlaid with icy silver edges and transparent medieval-style red crystal carvings.
A figure cloaked in a long coat comes to the entrance of the castle. He steps further and deeper inside, passing through the sumptuous decorations and corridors, he pushes open the enormous black iron door before him - revealing a magnificent palace akin to a council hall, bombarding his field of view with an intense aura of authority and a strong sense of history.
Beneath a rose window, covered in immortal crystals, opulent lamps hang from the cold iron chains casting luxurious halos. The carpet, like a red flowing river, extends to the end of his vision. As light refracts off the crystals, it resembled distant stars, adding just a tinge of mysterious beauty to the entire space.
In the midst of this towering council room, a banquet table several dozen meters long crafted from pitch-dark fine iron claimed the center position. The table drawn with intricate Blood Clan Magic Symbol Curse, symbolizes the stylistic taste of the Blood Clan World. On both sides of the long table, the high backrest of every chair resembles a throne, the top of each chairback has a gemstone totem corresponding to its holder.
Yet at this moment,
The council room seemed unusually quiet, with only a single figure sitting amongst the thirteen high back chairs.
The figure that entered the palace, elegantly stands at the end of the table, without taking a seat.
"Marquis Heratier, the Resurrection Believer encountered that creature of the Half-Demon tribe, but failed."
He greeted and spoke, in a masculine voice.
In the distance.
The figure seated at the seventh high back chair had its eyes closed all along, slowly raising their head as if they could peer through the dome to see the luminous totem woven from stars in the profound night sky.
"That shouldn’t be."
She muttered to herself,
"The death knell for that half-blood demon has already appeared twice, but both times it has been dispelled."
"..."
The man didn’t utter a word; he clearly knew which two death knells the Marquis referred to.
The first instance, Hyperion should have failed his entrance examination and subsequently met an untimely demise at the Capital of Hutton.
And the second time, Hyperion should have been killed by the Resurrection Believer within the Shadow World.
However, these things which were meant to happen didn’t. Instead, they took a twist.
All of this is related to a newly arrived human student from Ichrite Academy.
"The remnants of the Demon Race, by any means, must be eradicated."
The Blood Clan female Marquis’ voice was distant yet cold; sounding as if she was lamenting, resentful, helpless, and yet seemingly filled with a hint of regret that no amount of time could wipe out.
"History tells us, only when human and demon forces are combined can a power be brought forth that can threaten us."
The Marquis finally opened her deep red blood eyes; under the shadow, no one could see the ancient memory she might be harboring.
In the current era, the Demon Race was obliterated by human hands.
Beneath unlimited desires, heresy ran rampant, the North and South Continent began to crumble, and humans are still fighting amongst themselves for power.
All these foolish actions only mean one thing—
"The era of the Blood Moon will return, and mankind needs to remember their nature as slaves."
The Marquis’s face, which had grown cold and alluring, was serene, accompanied by a remote majesty that dared not be violated by anyone.
Each word resonated crisply in the palace, like freezing drops thawing at the end of winter.
...
Hutton Kingdom, Capital City Ekrite.
When the golden rays of the rising sun gently shone on the campus of the old Ichrite Academy, the brick buildings were imbued with a warm amber glow, carrying and radiating a sense of historical sedimentation.
The Sage Academy Dormitory, too, seemed to have been awakened, with students going in and out of the entrance now and then.
It was now the third morning of the term.
Lanci held a cup of coffee, leaning on his balcony door, listening to the chirping of the birds in the trees, and watching his classmates go off to school.
Having returned from the Shadow World yesterday morning, he had slept a long time, not waking until the early hours of today.
After leaving his dormitory in the middle of the night to eat a meal that he was unsure whether to call breakfast or supper, he had returned to his desk to research card making, with the "Southern Continent Card Maker Association Registration Charter" placed at his side.
He had now reached third-order, acquiring the most basic reference qualification.
Only by becoming a registered card-making master of the Southern Continent Card Maker Association could he gain official patent protection, alleviating much of the burdensome authentication guarantee process and reducing fees.
The power of the benefits was also related to the level of the card maker.
If they wanted to open a shop selling exclusive magic cards next, aside from securing the license from Hyperion, he also needed to obtain the identity of a registered card-making master, the higher the level, the better, as it would directly determine the speed of their startup.
The next registered card-making master examination taking place in the capital of Hutton would not be until more than a month later.
Although it felt quite lengthy, in reality, even if Lanci was given another month, he didn’t have much confidence that he could pass directly.
He still needed to learn from Talia about the production of third-order magic cards.
His card-making process was still not stable enough, and if he couldn’t make significant improvements, whether he could produce a finished card in the examination would depend on luck.
But it was not hopeless. 𝚗𝚘v𝚙𝚞b.𝚌𝚘m
Lanci remembered that Talia had told him that if he wanted to pursue the highest card-making success rate, he just needed to choose the "magic type" with the highest compatibility during the examination.
Because this would directly affect the success rate of card makers.
That’s why in the later stage, card makers would choose a specialty direction that belongs to themselves.
For instance, Talia’s best three types are "Curse", "Spirit", and "Poison" magics, which are also her best compatible ones.
Among them, "Curse" is excellent, "Spirit" and "Poison" are good, this led to Talia’s specialty as a card maker using curse magic.
As for other types of magic, such as elemental magic and some special types of magic, her compatibility is not good.
And based on Talia’s estimates, Lanci’s "Spirit" magic is better, "Poison" is worse, "Curse" is extremely bad, and she didn’t bother to look at the rest.
If he also had excellent or good compatibility with a certain type of magic, just like Talia.
Then he should focus on that type in the card maker examination!
Moreover, these magic types, may also become his optional specialty direction in his card-making career.
