There’s Absolutely No Problem With The Magic Cards I Made!

Chapter 1: There’s Definitely Something Wrong With This Card!

“Jingle~ Jingle~”

With a melodious jingle, the old shop door was pushed open.

It was a classic convenience store. However, one could see the meticulous maintenance from the owner all over the store.

The simple layout divided the store into several areas. Apart from the counter, there were several neat shelves. Together with the cold breeze unique to the autumn evening of the kingdom’s border region, the orange sunset penetrated into the store and dyed the wooden infrastructure a layer of warm hue.

The visitor was a young woman. She was wearing a silvery-white military uniform. It was different from the regular military uniform. It seemed more like a reserve officer’s uniform, the ones worn by students.

The uniform wasn’t able to hide the young woman’s figure. Long violet-blue hair flowed past her shoulders. She exuded an aura of grace and refinement.

Behind the counter, Dekan was lounging lazily in a chair.

He had elf-like delicate features but his eyes were a little cold.

He propped his chin with one hand and held a red apple in the other, staring at it in a daze.

The young woman walked straight to the counter and knocked on the table with her hand, seemingly trying to get Dekan's attention.

Dekan frowned slightly and raised his head.

Soon, his eyes were attracted by the young woman’s clear gem-like blue eyes and cherry-like soft lips.

He couldn’t help himself from staring at her face for a brief moment.

Very well, I’ll forgive you from bothering me while I’m pondering about life.

Dekan sat up straight and asked with a business smile: "Are you looking to buy something?"

Theresia hesitated for a moment before checking around the little shop twice. She then looked at Dekan: "Are you the owner of this convenience store?"

"I just help look after it."

"Then, was this card sold by your store?"

Theresia took out a magic card and placed it in front of Dekan.

It was a tier 1 goblin summoning card.

As the easiest summoning card to make, it was generally very cheap.

Due to their extremely weak attributes and effects, very few people would bother to use a deck of goblins.

Dekan recognized the magic card at a glance. Sure enough, he was the one who made it.

The goblin on the card was wearing an extraordinary attire.

It was wearing a black mask and holding a strange weapon similar to a firearm.

"It was sold by our store, is there something wrong with it?"

"There’s nothing wrong with it but there’s a major issue with it!!"

Theresia immediately became emotional: "All of the magic card deck types in the Royal Capital’s Hevenlit Magic Academy has been disrupted by this card!"

"There’s such a thing?"

Dekan raised his eyebrows and looked at Theresia in confusion.

He mass-produced a batch of Goblin Gangster cards not long ago and sold them to a traveling merchant.

Never did he expect for there to be such a big response to that card.

He once again checked the card on the table and confirmed that it was indeed made by him.

"But this card is very ordinary..."

Dekan scratched his head in confusion as he looked at the description of the card.

[Goblin Gangster]

[Type: Summoning Card]

[Rarity: Blue Uncommon]

[Tier: 1]

[Attack: 100]

[Life: 100]

[Effect: When the summon deals damage, steal one of the enemy’s item instead of causing damage. ]

[Note: "Gangster-made Smith & Wesson M1917 here to solve all your troubles!"]

Dekan raised his head and looked at the young woman’s expression again. He suddenly realized why she was so emotional.

She’s probably disgusted by this card, right?

But, why…?

I didn’t even sell the real disgusting card…

"Wouldn’t the issue be solved if you just carry a few more Goblin Gangsters?"

If you can’t win, just join them.

Dekan's eyes were full of confusion.

"Who would carry so many tier 1 cards?! Besides, do you even know how much a single Goblin Gangster cost in the capital?!"

Theresia was driven a bit mad by Dekan’s remark. She determined that he was a layman and didn't understand magic cards at all!

The card wasn’t completely usable and unstoppable.

It was purely a disgusting card. The effect was completely up to luck.

If one was unlucky, one might only be able to find some candy from one’s opponent’s pocket. If one was lucky, one might even steal one’s opponent's entire deck of cards!

If one was to put more tier 1 Goblin Gangsters in one’s deck, it would be a waste of space in one’s deck. However, if one doesn’t bring a Goblin Gangster, one’s deck would lose the deterrence effect and might instead get screwed over by one’s opponent’s deck!

It was a rat race to the bottom!

"Then what?"

"...Do you have cards for a Goblin deck?"

Dekan: "...I do."

He would naturally not refuse a customer, much less someone who traveled all the way from the capital to this small village to purchase his cards.

Dekan opened the counter, took out a card folder and spread it out on the table. He turned to the end and found a tier 2 card he had just made.

"Goblin Sheriff, this is my recommendation for you."

"Sheriff?"

The style of artwork was the same. It was obvious that this card was made by the same genius.

Confusion filled Theresia’s face. Although this was a tier 2 card, wouldn’t there be a conflict between a sheriff and a gangster?

Dekan didn't say much. He took out the card and handed it to her.

[Goblin Sheriff]

[Type: Summoning Card]

[Rarity: Purple Rare]

[Tier: 2]

[Attack 200]

[Life 200]

[Effect: When there is a Goblin Gangster on the field, the summon will obtain the effect of the Goblin Gangster and summon two additional Goblin Gangsters. ]

[Note: "Sheriff is my side hustle, being a gangster is my real job!"]

"What the hell is this effect..."

Theresia was left flabbergasted upon reading the effect of the card.

Ignoring the appearance of the card, if four Goblin Gangsters were to suddenly rush toward her, she would most definitely choose to immediately turn around and flee.

The moment she came back to her senses, she immediately said to Dekan, "I’m buying it! How much?"

She was determined to not let anyone else obtain this disgusting card!

"...Actually, I don't know much about the prices of cards in the capital. How about you give me an offer?"

Dekan started to regret selling the batch of Goblin Gangsters to that traveling merchant for 100 cast coins each.

Although Dekan had no idea how high the price of the Goblin Gangsters reached in the capital, he knew that it must be higher than his expectations.

Theresia pondered for a while before asking tentatively, "How about 60 gold coins?"

Woah--!

Dekan nearly fell from his chair.

1 gold coin equals 1000 cast coins.

Twenty gold coins were enough living expenses for an entire year for a family in a small border village like his.

Theresia observed Dekan. Although Dekan appeared like someone who didn’t know the market price of his cards, she was reluctant to scam him.

She was certain that there was a legendary card marker in this little convenience store.

She needed to borrow the capabilities of this expert maker more.

Theresia bit her lip: "This card can definitely be sold at a higher price in the capital but I didn’t bring that much money with me. I need to leave some for my travel expenses back to the capital… If this is not enough, I can use some of my magic cards to make up for the price difference.”

While Theresia wanted to buy tier 3 and tier 4 cards, she knew that she wouldn’t be able to afford them.

"60 gold coins is fine."

Seeing that she was quite sincere, Dekan took out the ledger and started writing on it.

Theresia also took out a bag of gold coins from her waist and handed it to Dekan without any hesitation.

"By the way, can you show me what your tier 3 cards are like?"

Theresia is very curious about how marvelous the tier 3 cards produced by this store will be.

Even though she wouldn’t be able to afford them, she wanted to see them.

"We don't have tier 3 cards for sale here."

"How could that be?"

"That’s because I can't make tier 3 magic cards yet."

Theresia: "???"

"You made these cards?!"

Chapter 2: Dekan Decides To Become Rich

Theresia blinked, her mouth agape like a small hole.

"How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

Dekan answered unenthusiastically.

This made Theresia even more surprised, Dekan was a year younger than her!

Fifteen year old tier 2 magic card makers were very common in the Hevenlit Magic Academy. It could even be said that they’re the baseline for standards.

However, most of the rookie card makers in the Hevenlit Magic Academy were only capable of creating [White Common] grade magic cards!

Card grade largely reflected the strength and value of the card as well as the skill level of the maker.

If a rookie card maker could create [Blue Uncommon] magic cards, they would be deemed to be extraordinarily talented.

As for Dekan, the batch of Goblin Gangsters he made were all Blue Uncommon!

It was as if Blue Uncommon was his baseline!

When a card reaches [Purple Rare] grade, their cost begins to increase exponentially. They were simply unaffordable for ordinary people.

That was also the reason why the Goblin Sheriff card ended up costing all of Thearesia's budget.

For the wealthy nobles and those with power, Purple grade cards would often compose the core of their decks.

As for the next level in rarity, the [Orange Epic] cards, they were seen as the highest level card for most people and were like symbols far in the horizon.

For cities and villages located in the border, they would likely never witness a holder of an Epic card.

Even for the Hevenlit Magic Academy, not many of their professors possess an Epic card.

As for the highest rarity [Red Legend] cards, they exist almost only in legends. Most people weren’t even sure if they truly exist in this world.

A fifteen year old tier 2 card maker that could make Purple Rare cards was completely different from an ordinary fifteen year old tier 2 card maker!

Generally, only those tier 4 or 5 card makers would be able to make tier 1 or 2 Rare cards.

There was no doubt that Dekan was a true genius.

As for the cards that Dekan made, if one must describe them, they were extremely weird.

Those cards were capable of easily disrupting everything.

He must have a unique production method and skills to create those outrageous cards.

Theresia swallowed her saliva and asked tentatively: "By the way, do you still have any more magic cards for sale? I want the ones you made!"

"The magic cards I made... they were pretty much all sold. The villagers all "like" the magic cards I made. That said, let me have a look. I think I should have a couple more."

After speaking, Dekan rummaged through the card book. It didn't take long before he found a Blue grade card and handed it to Theresia.

[Hydrogen Explosion]

[Category: Spell Card]

[Rarity: Blue Uncommon]

[Tier: 2]

[Effect: Create violent explosion damage; unaffected by the caster's magic attribute. ]

[Note: Shooting stars is an art! ]

"This card can probably do a bit more damage than tier 3 fire magic. The disadvantage is that the mana consumption is slightly higher than ordinary tier 2 spell cards and the casting time is longer." Dekan explained.

"No! This doesn't conform to the principle of spell cards! It's outrageous enough that a tier 2 spell can cause tier 3 damage; why is it not affected by the magic attribute of the caster!?

Generally speaking, the damage caused by a spell card is a certain percentage multiplied by the magic attribute of the caster!

"That’s because of science."

"???"

After being puzzled for a long time, Theresia asked again: "The production of this card must be very complicated, right?"

"Not at all. Tier 2 Electric Shock plus tier 1 Waterball and tier 1 Fireball. Experiment a couple more times and it’s done."

"What the hell!?"

Theresia felt like she couldn't understand Dekan at all.

But she still bought the card.

Just as Theresia was happily preparing to find somewhere uninhabited to experiment Hydrogen Explosion, Dekan asked: "By the way, Miss, I'm going to take the entrance exam for Hevenlit Magic Academy this year. How much would it cost to hire you to escort me to the capital?"

Dekan’s teacher had told him that he should check out a major city if he wanted to learn how to make better magic cards.

He just so happened to encounter a student from the Hevenlit Magic Academy. It would be great if he could journey together with her.

"You need an escort?"

"...I’m only tier 2. Furthermore, I’m a scholarly individual."

Magic cards were equal to artifacts in this world. With abilities sealed inside them, they were tools for combat.

It was extremely dangerous to duel others with cards.

Dekan was not fond of battles at all. He only wanted to write and draw.

Of course, if others were to disturb his peace, it would be a different story.

After all, he had never lost to anyone.

Theresia was left momentarily stunned before extending her hand, "I won’t charge you! Let's be friends!"

She knew that Dekan had a bright future. After arriving in the capital, he might even become a master card maker in the future. At that time, one would have to line up in a long queue just to request for him to make cards for them.

Now is the perfect time to befriend him!

"Sure."

Dekan held Theresia's hand.

Mmm, so soft.

Dekan knew that what was free was actually the most expensive. Nevertheless, he admired Theresia’s foresight.

Respect me more and I'll make better cards for you!

Dekan's three favorite things were money, drawing, and being respected by others.

The two made an appointment to set out early tomorrow morning and chatted for a while before Theresia left the store.

Dekan leaned back on his chair with a cup of grapefruit tea. He was leisurely humming a song.

“Never was a cloudy day~”

It has been fifteen years since he was reincarnated into this world. In the fifteen years, he had not encountered any crisis nor had he awakened any special kind of system.

This world was quite peaceful. The only exception would be that natural disasters were quite frequent by comparison.

The kingdom he lived in also had a harmonious relationship with that of the neighboring kingdom. It was quite a satisfactory job to look after this convenience store.

However, since it was so easy to earn money, Dekan felt that he might as well spend a couple years in the capital before returning as a rich man!

Durkan's purpose in life was simple.

He enjoyed making magic cards.

His dream was to make the most beautiful wife card.

Ah, no, a Red Legendary card.

When he thought about his luxurious future and the beautiful lady cards, oh how satisfactory!

Pygmalion doesn’t lie.

The only thing Dekan was a bit unhappy about was that traveling merchant. That merchant purchased his batch of Goblin Gangsters at 100 cast coins each!

Theresia mentioned that the Goblin Gangster card had reached over 2 gold coins in the capital.

Back then, that dishonest merchant even told him: "This card is very ordinary, it’s just a little bit stronger than the White Ordinary goblin."

His teacher would also often tell him:” What kind of garbage are these magic cards you made?”

Because of that, Dekan really believed in that merchant.

The more he thought about it, the more furious he became!

That merchant actually scammed such a naive and kindhearted youth!

Theresia was the person who’s actually genuine and upright.

In order not to spoil his good mood, Dekan decided to think about happy things.

Unable to help himself, he took out a magic card. The moment the card appeared in the store, it instantly lit up the store.

There were faint ripples present on the surface of the card. As for the card itself, it was emitting an orange glimmer.

"Fortunately I didn't sell this card to that scamming merchant. This is the only Epic card I made."

Dekan smiled smugly, admiring his masterpiece.

Chapter 3: Dekan Embarks On A Journey

As the leaves scattered in the fall, layers of gold started to cover the Kuran Frontier.

There was still roughly a month before the new school year. Dekan and Theresia prepared to set out from the frontier.

The journey to the capital would take roughly a week by carriage.

Actually, one only needed to arrive for the entrance exam held two weeks before the start of the school year. However, if one were to try to arrive too close to the time limit, there would be a massive queue lined outside the capital from people coming to the entrance exam. The wealthy and nobles would even fight over their spot in the line.

Waiting in line was truly a waste of time.

Moreover, Dekan wanted to reach the capital early to do other things. As such, he decided to depart for the capital in haste.

"Little Dekan, you have all grown up!"

Seeing her son off, Dekan’s mother burst into tears.

"Son, make sure to hold yourself back when you get into conflicts with others in the capital. Don’t think about using those lousy cards of yours all the time! Think about your big neighbor next door, he’s completely messed up, somewhat delirious even, after being beaten by you."

Dekan’s father couldn't hide his prideful expression but his words were full of worry for Dekan.

There were many adventurers in the village who have been tortured by Dekan.

He was extremely worried that Dekan would be sent to the capital’s prison before he would even graduate.

Dekan nodded his head in an ‘okay, I got it,’ manner. However, that only made his father even more worried.

"Make sure to not use your magic cards in school. Especially [Hypnotic Gas], [Extremely Poisonous Spike] and [Hydrogen Explosion]. Also your summons and equipment; you’ll be deemed as an Evil Cultist if you use them!" entrusted Dekan’s father repeatedly.

"Don’t worry, don’t worry, I know how to hold myself back now! That aside, I left 30 gold coins in the counter drawer." Dekan smiled helplessly.

"Have a safe journey!"

"I'm off."

After saying goodbye, Dekan got into the carriage.

In the future, Dekan will live a dormitory life at the academy.

The tuition and miscellaneous fees were all paid for by the kingdom. There was practically nothing that students had to pay. Furthermore, they would gain access to the academy’s advanced facilities and resources for free. That was also what Dekan valued the most.

To him, earning a gold coin doesn’t mean that he truly earned a gold coin.

Only when he saved that gold coin would it mean that he earned it!

Being diligent and thrifty was the first step to becoming rich!

Of course, if Dekan wanted to become rich, he would need a lot of start-up capital.

It would be best if he could establish a shop in the royal capital.

If he wanted to make pretty girl cards, he would need a lot of money! In order to make money, he must become a higher level card maker!

With a dream to pursue, Dekan was filled with motivation!

The journey to the capital would take a week. So as to not become bored, Dekan brought along many books.

He had also investigated all of the famous sight-seeing spots on the journey. He would be able to check them out when passing by them..

In any case, the start of the trip felt surprisingly good.

This was Dekan's first trip away from home.

While he had left his village several times in the past, they were only to the neighboring frontier city to purchase items and sightsee.

Chatting with Theresia on the journey was quite enjoyable. However, it was impossible for the two of them to chat the entire journey. Most of the time they stared blankly at the scenery outside the window, witnessing the unfamiliar and sceneries that would enter their field of view..

Everything was fresh; this phrase represented Dekan's journey.

Even if nothing was to happen the entire trip, he would still not feel bored.

Who said that one must encounter monster attacks, bandit robberies or hero rescues on a journey?

A simple journey with nothing happening was the best!

The public safety of this kingdom he lived in was superb. One would practically never encounter any of the above three situations.

When Dekan and Theresia first entered the carriage, they were unfamiliar with each other and did not mention their personal circumstances.

However, as they were of similar ages and both possessed a carefree personality, the two of them became quite acquainted with each other after journeying for five days together. Naturally, they also began to cheerfully speak of their family.

Theresia was the young lady of an earl’s family. However, both her parents have passed away and her family was on the decline. She was working hard to revitalize the family.

Dekan, on the other hand, did not have as many worries as her.

His family was not a farming family. Even though there were some natural disasters occuring now and then, his family was able to save up some money.

They were not rich but they were able to feed themselves.

Furthermore, the lord of the Kuran Frontier was also a very good person. Not only does he not impose a high tax on the residents, he would even waive or reduce taxes for years for the regions affected by natural disasters. Moreover, he would even provide aid to those regions.

......

Outside, the sun had risen overhead. It brought forth a dry and comfortable breeze.

With her chin propped on her hand, Theresia was leaning against the window edge looking at the scenery outside.

Facing the incoming breeze, she asked Dekan, "By the way, Dekan, what do you want to do after you graduate? Do you plan to return to your hometown or work in the capital?"

"For now, I plan to become a businessman. As for the future, I’m not sure. It’s unpredictable, afterall. Regardless, I want to live a leisure and refreshing life."

Dekan closed the book in his hand and placed it aside before replying with a smile.

Theresia nodded. She seemed to highly approve of Dekan's outlook on life.

"What about you, Theresia?"

"I guess I’ll be working in the royal capital assisting in the raiding of Shadow Worlds."

Teresia replied.

"But Theresia, isn't it dangerous to raid Shadow Worlds?"

Dekan viewed ‘Shadow Worlds’ as instance dungeons.

They will appear at the fixed entrances in the world without warning.

"If you are to ignore the Shadow Worlds or fail to conquer them, they will lead to a natural disaster occurring somewhere in the world."

"I have witnessed natural disasters in my territory with my own eyes. It is also indirectly related to the subsequent decline of my family."

"Since then, I have vowed to work on clearing the Shadow Worlds. Most importantly, I don’t wish to see people suffering without being able to do anything."

Theresia’s voice grew gloom. Sadness was present in her tone.

"You’re a good noble like the Lord of our Kuran Frontier. I like people like you.”

Dekan gave some candies to Theresia.

The candies were his favorite fruit gummies.

He soon continued, "Don't you worry. When I become a master card maker, I will definitely make superior magic cards for you. Moreover, I’ll give you a super friend discount!"

He felt sincere admiration for Theresia.

After all, raiding Shadow Worlds was a very dangerous thing.

The only thing he could do to help Theresia was making magic cards.

Weapons, clothing and artifacts cannot be brought into the Shadow Realm at all.

The only exception was the magic cards bonded to one’s soul.

That was also the reason why magic cards became the main artifacts used for battle in this world.

They were vital when it came to raiding Shadow Worlds!

Fortunately for Dekan, he had some talent in making cards. Thus, he wouldn’t be reduced to being a blanket-covered beggar out on the streets of the capital.

"Thank you Dekan. But, the Shadow Worlds could also bring upon fame and wealth to me. It is a great way for me to revitalize my family!"

Theresia laughed happily.

Dekan was surprised.

"The Shadow Worlds are that profitable?”

"Of course, those 60 gold coins were all exchanged from the Shadow Worlds’ clearance rewards."

"Then... I think I can try out the Shadow Worlds too."

Dekan held his chin and muttered to himself.

As long as there was money to be made, a lot of things could be considered.

"You wish to become a battlefield card maker?"

Theresia asked.

There was a kind of support role called the "battlefield card maker" that would occasionally enter Shadow Worlds.

"I suppose."

Dekan’s approach was relatively unconventional. While it was similar to that of a battlefield card maker, it was essentially different.

Chapter 4: Dekan’s Marvelous Confidence

“We’re almost at the campus. Do you want me to show you around?” asked Theresia.

“Of course!”

Dekan was filled with expectations toward his future campus life.

Early in the morning, their horse carriage arrived at the campus.

The Hevenlit Magic Academy was located near the borders of the capital. It was enormous like a small town. It seemed somewhat lacking to call it a ‘campus.’

“Subarashii~”

“What?”

Theresia discovered that Dekan would often spurt out strange words.

“It’s Japanese, an ancient language,” said Dekan.

Dekan and Theresia arrived at the north entrance. After Theresia showed her student ID card, Dekan followed her into the campus. He began to look all around. Sure enough, the campus was enormous.

A giant pond. Fountains and flowerbeds extend from the entrance all the way into the school buildings.

Dekan nodded his head repeatedly. He was very pleased.

Even before his arrival at the campus, he had already sent off all his luggage from the carriage to a nearby inn for storage.

He did not bring with him a lot of clothes or daily necessities. Most of his luggage were his tools for card making.

One must travel on foot upon entering the campus. Dekan encountered a countless amount of interesting, appealing and imposing buildings.

“This district and these buildings here are all part of the College of Alchemy. Your entrance exam will be conducted in this main building here.”

Theresia pointed to an enormous yet strangely designed building.

The Hevenlit Magic Academy was split into four different colleges.

These four colleges were respectively the College of Summoning, Mage College, Knight College and the College of Alchemy.

The former three corresponded to three commonly seen battle styles.

Of course, there were talented people who would create their own unique path.

As for the College of Alchemy, it embodied medicine making, magic card making and various other manufacturing studies.

“With your skills, it should be extremely easy for you to pass the test for the College of Alchemy!”

Theresia placed her hand on her waist. It seemed as if she was planning to raise her nose up toward the sky.

Even though she was not the person who will be taking the entrance exam, she was the person who brought Lil Dekan from the kingdom’s border.

She was extremely proud of her friend.

“Mmhmm. But, I plan to take the test for Knight College!” said Dekan proudly.

“Mmhmm, mmhmm, you will definitely be able… ehhh?!”

Theresia started replying only to suddenly realize that something was amiss.

Knight College?

Didn’t you declare yourself to be a magic card maker who’s not fond of fighting?

“Dekan, did you read over the student enrollment brochure?”

Theresia placed her hand on Dekan’s shoulder and asked him with a very serious expression.

Even though she knew that Dekan possessed exceptional talents, this was not the way to display one’s talents!

If Dekan was to fail the exam, even if he was to understand which exam he should’ve taken, he wouldn’t be able to take the exam for the College of Alchemy until next year!

Theresia did not wish to witness Dekan wasting a precious year!

Dekan nodded his head: “The Knight College had the least amount of compulsory courses and the greatest amount of freedom in choosing one’s courses. The students there are still able to gain access to all the resources I need.”

“As for the College of Alchemy… those courses… they’re different from my approach. Even if I were to learn them, it wouldn’t be of much use to me. Moreover, I don’t want to have a personal advisor.”

“While it’s possible for me to choose either the Mage College or the College of Summoning, I am a complete failure when it comes to magic exams. As for the summoning exam, I have not prepared for that at all…”

Dekan had earnestly studied the various academic courses presented by the four different colleges of the Hevenlit Magic Academy.

Apart from the Mage College and the College of Summoning, he was pretty certain that he would be able to pass the exams for the Knight College and the College of Alchemy.

The structure of the Knight College allowed students to progress to their own abilities. Those with true abilities will inevitably top over all others. As such, they give a vast amount of freedom to their students.

Moreover, there were a ton of muscle-brained idiots in the Knight College. They were people that were unwilling to bother taking time to learn about the foundations of magic, information about the Shadow Worlds and whatnot.

The Knight College does not force them to study those courses either. Instead, as long as the students were able to obtain sufficient combat credits in the Shadow Worlds, they would be allowed to enter the next grade.

It was a sort of compromise toward idiots.

Comparatively, the College of Alchemy paid great attention toward foundation and learning.

The reason for that was because most students in the College of Alchemy would not be personally participating in the raiding of the Shadow Worlds.

As such, the College of Alchemy’s academic programs were extremely arduous.

Theresia started to ponder carefully.

She was able to understand Dekan’s train of thought.

Perhaps a genius like him wouldn’t want to be mired in minor details.

He wanted to become an unrestricted hero who would skip classes all day.

All that said, there was a major problem.

Would Dekan be able to pass the entrance exam for the Knight College?

The Knight College’s entrance exam was known to be extremely challenging -- it was a test of the examinee’s combat ability.

“Could it be that you’re an exceptional martial artist?”

Theresia pinched Dekan’s arm. She seemed to be checking if he had the physique of a martial artist.

“No no no, I am not at all specialized in direct combat.”

Dekan shook his head.

That said, the strength Theresia used to pinch him was perfect.

If possible, he would love to have her give him a whole body massage.

“Then how are you supposed to pass the Knight College’s exam?”

Theresia started to look at Dekan with worries in her eyes.

“I should be fine taking down the examiner,” said Dekan indifferently.

Generally, the Knight College’s exams would match the examinee with an examiner who’s under restrictions. Thus, as long as the examinee could defeat the examiner, they would be able to pass the entrance exam.

“Take down?! Depending on the structure of the exam, many of the higher grade students were unable to defeat their examiners! Also, do you know about the exam restrictions that have been imposed by the Knight College in recent years?”

“Of course. When undergoing exams, the examinees are only allowed to use one summoning magic card. There’s no restrictions toward equipment.”

Naturally, Dekan had seen the rules.

That rule was meant to prevent examinees without talents for battles from insisting on entering the Knight College.

Generally, they would be summoners or mages.

There’s all kinds of reasons as to why they would want to take the Knight College’s exams. For example, ‘I’m going to challenge Hell difficulty,’ I’m going to show off my close-combat mage abilities,’ ‘I’m the armored king, you can take your time fighting with my summons,’ and various others.

If one didn’t have sufficient skill, it would be very difficult to pass the exams from the College of Summoning and the Mage College.

That said, those who were able to forcibly pass the Knight College’s entrance exams were all highly talented!

The Knight College wholly welcomed those fully equipment-donned mages that were able to pass their entrance exams.

But…

Theresia had never heard of a card maker deciding to take on the entrance exam for the Knight College because they didn’t want to enter the College of Alchemy!

The only possible way would be for that card maker to be extremely powerful without having to depend on summoning cards or magic cards…

“Theresia, you don’t have to worry. Although my fighting abilities are horrible, there’s not that many squares that can defeat me in a one on one.”

“...square?”

“I’m talking about ordinary people that aren’t wicked.”

“Where did you learn all these terms…”

Theresia looked at Dekan with contempt.

Although she had only known him for a short while, he doesn’t strike her as someone who would boast.

Could it be that he really possesses cards to martial artists?

After seeing the Goblin Gangster and Goblin Sheriff he made, she felt that he was an outrageous card maker.

It seemed like one cannot view him with common sense.

Perhaps… he might really be able to shock everyone in the Knight College’s entrance exam?

Chapter 5: Dekan Capturing Attention

On the day of the entrance examination.

The people who passed the four colleges’ preliminary exam numbered over a thousand.

The preliminary exam was a very simple attribute test and a written test. Dekan’s attribute test wasn’t outstanding but he was still able to pass it without a hitch.

Of the people who passed the preliminary exam, roughly five hundred of them were here to take the Knight College’s entrance exam, the most of the four colleges.

It was common for martial artists to emerge among common folks. After all, a martial artist was a profession that relied on those pricey magic cards the least.

That being said, if one was to base things off the previous years, the Knight College’s acceptance rate for new applicants would be the lowest of the four colleges.

The reason for that was because the Knight College’s entrance exam was a live combat!

……

Hevenlit Magic Academy. Knight College. Main Building.

Dekan was sitting on a chair in the seventh floor examination venue and waiting for his turn.

There were several giant magic apparatuses placed in the center of the venue.

Light was being shined onto the magic apparatuses, causing them to reflect with blurry yet magnificent radiance.

Placed in a row, the giant magic apparatuses numbered tens of meters. They seemed to be composed of silver and magic crystals. While they looked very magnificent, they gave off a feeling of coldness.

They were one of the greatest masterpieces created by magic engineering in recent years -- an apparatus capable of creating an Artificial Shadow World!

The entrance exam will utilize the ‘Artificial Shadow World’ to give the examinees a live combat drill!

The majority of the examinees were anxious about the exam. There were also examinees whispering to each other. By contrast, Dekan was extremely calm.

He was holding his chin with a slight frown as he looked at the magic apparatuses.

“Hey, what are you looking at?”

Due to his handsome appearance, even though Dekan was wearing ordinary clothes, other people would still try to strike up a conversation with him.

“I’m thinking about how those things are made.”

“Haha, you should stop thinking about that. That’s not something that we, examinees, should be pondering now.”

Dekan nodded his head and stopped paying attention to that examinee.

Indeed, it was not something that a martial artist should worry about.

But, as Dekan was a scholar, he was extremely interested in it.

“Thump thump.”

As if deliberately, heavy footsteps sounded from outside the venue. The noisy exam venue immediately got quiet.

The examinees all turn their gaze toward one direction.

A person wearing a dark brown military outfit walked out from inside the venue. At this moment, it seemed like his footsteps were the only noise present on the seventh floor.

As the footsteps approached, the examinees were finally able to clearly see the incoming individual. He was a middle-aged man with sharp eyebrows, a hawk nose and a stern expression.

There was also a shocking scar on his right eye. However, that scar seemed to only make him appear more imposing.

He stopped his footsteps and stood before the examinees.

“I am your head examiner, Arnold Zerlett. I am also a professor and Associate Dean of the Knight College.”

Arnold spoke after sweeping his eyes over the examinees.

“The subject of today’s examination is ‘survivability.’”

“...overwhelmingly, you will not have to defeat opponents far superior to yourself if you were to follow the correct path to progress toward the main scenario in the Shadow Worlds.”

“However, if an accident or a mistake was to be made en route, it’s very possible for you to provoke enemies far stronger than yourself, enemies capable of easily killing you.”

“At such a time, fleeing is crucial.”

“If you are able to survive till the end of the Shadow World’s time limit, you will be teleported out from the Shadow World alive.”

Arnold suddenly stopped. His gaze turned sharp.

“Just last year, a sad accident occurred in the Hevenlit Magic Academy. The raid of a tier 4 Shadow World failed. Three students were lost.”

“The main cause for the failure is due to a Knight College’s student being overly conceited without sufficient abilities.”

“As such, we will pay extra focus on the examinees’ talent as ‘martial artists.’”

As Arnold continued, he seemed to turn his gaze toward a couple examinees.

Dekan was one of those examinees.

‘Could it be that he noticed my preliminary exam grades and started to pay close attention to me, an unconventional examinee?!’

‘Well, there’s nothing to be afraid of. The Knight College’s exams have always been fair without discrimination.’ thought Dekan as he rubbed his head.

“The exam will be conducted in batches. Every session will be half an hour long. You shall enter your examination in order of your batch number.”

“The Shadow Worlds that you, examinees, will enter will all be independent Shadow Worlds. Your opponent shall be a random examiner or their projection.”

“Of course, your examiner’s attributes and abilities will be strictly regulated.”

“This ‘Artificial Shadow World Apparatuses’ will at most be able to sustain 100 small-scale Shadow Worlds at once. Thus, examinee 1 to 100 shall be the first batch. Others will follow in a similar fashion…”

After giving a simple introduction, Arnold placed a crystal stone into the console behind him.

Then, several illusory entrances appeared before the enormous magic apparatuses!

They were Void Gates, entrances to the Shadow Worlds.

Arnold did not linger around and soon left the exam venue. The other examiners soon began to guide the examinees into the Shadow Worlds.

Dekan took a glance at his number.

It seemed like he would be in the fifth batch.

Unfortunately, examinees weren’t able to watch the battle progression of the other examinees. As such, the two hours were quite unbearable.

That said, the Knight College’s entrance exams could be viewed from outside.

The images inside the ‘Artificial Shadow World’ were being transmitted to the Central Control Office located in the College of Alchemy.

For the sake of making profits and giving publicity to their products, the College of Alchemy would then relay the transmission by broadcasting it to the entire Hevenlit Magic Academy.

……

Inside a conference room. A group of professors from the Knight Academy were watching the battle progression from the Artificial Shadow World.

Of the various battles occurring right now, the one the broadcast was focused on was a red-haired girl.

Different from the other examinees that were fleeing or hiding, she was confronting a tier 4 examiner!

Furthermore, she was not at all at a disadvantage!

“Arnold, what do you think about this year’s examinees?”

Seated on the main seat, the Dean couldn’t help himself from asking.

“There’s a couple decent ones. Especially this red-haired girl Cornelia…”

Arnold seemed to have thought about something, he paused before continuing, “But, there’s one that’s too much.”

“What do you mean?”

The dean blinked his eyes and turned his gaze away from the projection. He looked at Arnold with interest in his eyes.

Arnold sighed and spoke in a helpless manner, “I remember he’s called Dekan. He got full marks on his written exam. But, on his attribute test, apart from his extremely high Spirit, his Strength, Intelligence and Constitution are all extremely bad. There’s absolutely no sign that he has any aptitude in being a martial artist. In fact, it’s hard to even say that he could pass for a summoner.”

“However, his overall attributes still reached the standard, no?”

The Dean was stroking his head. He seemed to be very amused by the situation.

This caused Arnold’s frown to crease deeper.

“I’ve mentioned before that our Knight College should add a Strength or Constitution requirement for new students. You’re the one who has been insisting that we must keep the possibilities open for ‘unconventional martial artists.’”

The Dean was not angry after hearing Arnold’s remarks. Instead, he seemed to have a smile on his face. He asked, “In that case, why don’t we have a bet on whether that kid could pass the exam. I want that bottle of wine Marquis Purine gifted you…”

“...If I win, we will have to add the threshold I mentioned for future Knight College enxtrance exams; is that fine?”

“Of course.”

After hearing the Dean’s agreement, Arnold stood up and started walking out the conference room.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to test him myself.”

“......” The Dean paused for a bit, “That kid’s a bit strange, be careful.”

The Dean’s response surprised Professor Arnold.

He turned around, “You’re not worried for him but worried for me instead?”

Besides, what sort of danger could be present in an Artificial Shadow World?

The Dean didn’t say anything. He waved his hand to allow for Arnold to leave.

Chapter 6: Dekan Exposes His Fangs

Dekan was about to fall asleep waiting when an examiner finally called him to enter the Shadow World.

Dekan undone the first button on his shirt, twisted his neck and loosened his shoulders before following the examiner to the Void Gate.

The moment he stepped into the Void Gate, what appeared before him was a pitch-black space. He was unable to see anything at all.

His surroundings became extremely quiet. He could even hear the sound of his own breathing.

All the other sounds seemed to have been blocked.

Soon, his surroundings brightened up. He found himself in a strange dimensional space like a space-time tunnel.

Words appeared before his eyes.

[Welcome to the Artificial Shadow World ‘Phantom Valley.’]

[The content of your exam will be ‘Battle Simulation.’ You will not suffer any danger to your life.]

[The terrain will be random. Sense of pain will be ¼ of reality.]

[If you are killed or end up losing your consciousness completely in the Phantom Valley, you will be teleported out of the Phantom Valley.]

[You are also able to choose to give up and leave the Shadow World.]

[The examiner is the ‘hunter’ and you are the ‘prey.’ The examiner’s strength will be limited to tier 4. They will also be given White Common tier 4 equipment cards.]

[Examiner and examinee will start 500 meters from each other.]

[If you are able to last for 10 minutes in the Phantom Valley, you pass the exam. At the end of the exam, you will be teleported out from the Shadow World and your score will be calculated.]

[The longer you last and the more damage you dealt to your examiner, the more bonus score you shall receive.]

[The time limit is 30 minutes. At the 30 minutes mark, the Shadow World will close.]

[The rules above are the same for all other examinees.]

[Your examiner is: Arnold Zerlett]

[Your exam will begin in 30 seconds. Please prepare yourself.]

After the final notification message, the surroundings started to transform.

Dekan felt that he had arrived at an all-new world!

This must be what it was like to enter the Shadow World!

Dekan looked around.

It was a prairie as far as the eye can see.

“Is someone messing with me?”

Dekan rubbed his head.

The terrain was random. Yet, I got a flat plain.

Furthermore, the examiner was the Associate Dean.

I can even see the figure standing afar!

Whatever, there’s not much difference.

“Non turn-based card games are quite scary indeed.”

Dekan sighed. He took out two equipment cards, poured his magic power into them and equipped them.

Based on his previous life’s memories, Dekan felt that even though playing cards might endanger one’s life, it should be turn-based.

The people of this world viewed magic cards as weapons, scrolls and summons. It was truly too dangerous.

Two cards turned into flashes of light before gathering on Dekan’s body.

When the light dimmed, one transformed into a thorny crown of cold iron and was emitting a dark light.

As for the other, it was a cute looking gothic lolita hand doll that emitted an ominous aura.

……

Outside. A lot of spectators seemed to have taken note of Dekan’s exam.

“That kid’s truly unlucky! The other examinees’ terrains are all ravines or forests but he’s on a plain!”

“How is he supposed to hide on a plain? Is he going to have a run and chase against a tier 4 examiner? Ahahaha!”

“No other examinee had encountered Professor Arnold as their examiner either!”

“It’s all because of that accident from last year… It’s extremely obvious that the Knight College is not planning to let people like him pass the exam this year.”

“It’s obvious that they’re trying to teach those arrogant fellows a lesson. No matter how talented they are, their recklessness will lead to their death in the Shadow Worlds. Furthermore, their death would even implicate their teammates.”

“Holy shit, that kid took out two Purple Equipment Cards?!”

Seemingly because a lot of people were paying attention to Dekan, the broadcast screen also switched over to Dekan. It even deliberately showed the Equipment Cards Dekan was using on the screen.

[Cursed Doll]

[Category: Equipment Card]

[Rarity: Purple Rare]

[Tier: 2]

[Attack +0]

[Effect: Return 0.5% damage taken. Return 200% pain taken.]

[Note: I love big brother card maker the most!”]

……

[Crown of Suffering]

[Category: Equipment Card]

[Rarity: Purple Rare]

[Tier: 2]

[Defense +0]

[Effect: Receive 300% pain. Triggers invulnerability once. Cooldown period: 720hours.]

[Note: Oshiete oshiete yo.]

Someone like this is a fucking martial artist?

That fucker is most definitely a cultist that came out of nowhere!

That said, the audience were used to this sort of thing. After all, there were weirdos every year.

One couldn’t complain that Dekan was violating the rules either. He was acting strictly within the rules.

Based on the registry, it showed that he was only carrying with him two equipment cards and one summoning card.

“Is he a damage reflection type tank? But if that’s the case, why isn’t he using any armor or shield?”

“He doesn’t have the physique of a heavy armored martial artist either…”

“So he’s using those equipment cards that no one will bother using. I bet they’re not that much more expensive than Blue Uncommon cards.”

“The advantage of Purple Rare cards is that their special effects could greatly assist the performance of one’s deck type. But those two cards of his, they’ve both sacrificed their common attribute to focus their performance on their strange effects.”

“Yeah, it’s like the person who created that first equipment had something wrong with their head. It’s obvious that damage reflection is more important than anything but the creator of that card focused all of its usage on the reflection of pain.”

“The second equipment’s invulnerability effect is great but the cooldown period is simply too long and the side effect is too serious. Who would possibly be willing to wear something that would increase the sense of pain by three times just so that they can trigger invulnerability once? Before that invulnerability even triggers, you might’ve already fainted from the pain. Furthermore, what sort of accessory would have no additional defense…”

“Wait, how exactly does one add ‘pain’ to one’s equipment properties? Do any of you guys know?”

A couple students from the College of Alchemy started analyzing the two pieces of equipment.

“If those two pieces of equipment are used together, it can return six times the pain to one’s opponent. He must be using them deliberately.”

“Disgusting! I wouldn’t want to fight someone like him!”

“It’s a pity. The Phantom Valley only has ¼ the sense of pain. He’s unable to devastate the examiner.”

Theresia was watching Dekan’s exam via the College of Alchemy’s broadcast.

When she saw Dekan’s equipment, her eyes started twitching involuntarily.

Were you only planning to appall your opponent?

At this moment, she finally understood what Dekan meant when he used the words ‘human’ and ‘inhuman.’

But, little Dekan, do your best!

I’m still waiting for you to make cards for me!