The Card Apprentice

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Hong Tao shook his head, "Apparently they essentially haven't made any progress."

Zuo Tingyi said coldly, "Based on their strength, the probability of success is about nil."

'Why do you say that?" Wang Ze couldn't help asking. After those few days getting along, he was starting to understand Zuo Tingyi's temperament. He knew that he was extremely serious in his attitude toward anything regarding the handling of cards. Hong Tao knew him even better, and he was also astonished at Zuo Tingyi.

Zuo Tingyi didn't know what he thought, and his expression was a little odd, "I've studied that card play set, and it's not as simple as it looks on its surface."

Hong Tao and Wang Ze looked at one another in dismay, and then turned toward him in unison waiting for the next step in the explanation.

"The person who made this card play is quite clever. He's made some changes to the fantasy card composition, and I still haven't figured out how these changes to the composition are used. But I can conjecture that it's very likely that they are for blocking other people from copying." Zuo Tingyi hesitated for a bit, and then continued, "What I said is a conjecture, and doesn't exclude other possibilities. Although no matter how you say it, this card master is at a very high level." He paused for a moment, and said again more emphatically, "Extremely high!"

A name flashed through his mind: Blockhead! The names of the card master and the scriptwriter were written on the card play. Blockhead and Copper, those two names reverberated all through the Eastern Wei Academy female student sector. Zuo Tingyi had no interest in the playwright Copper, but he was full of curiosity about the card master Blockhead.

Hong Tao and Wang Ze were quite surprised, since that was their first time ever hearing Zuo Tingyi give anyone such a high evaluation.

Hong Tao stammered out, "It doesn't seem likely. Isn't it said that this card play set is all first-level fantasy cards? If he's so awesome, then where did his awesomeness go?"

Zuo Tingyi's gaze as he looked at Hong Tao was as though he were looking at an idiot, "I don't discuss card making affairs with card making idiots." Hong Tao made a gesture to Wang Ze, which meant for him to come over.

Wang Ze mumbled "I'm not very familiar with card making either, although I've heard people say that those who can judge a card master's level don't consider what the star level of the card is, but rather his understanding of the principles of card making, and his understanding of energy."

Hong Tao nodded his head as though he both understood and didn't understand, and blurted out, "isn't that the same as with card artisans, that one doesn't look at how high the level of the card is that he's using, but rather one should look at how he wields the card, and controls its energy?"

"That's what I mean." Wang Ze very deliberately nodded his head, taking a look at Hong Tao, "Big brother Tao, you just need to be a little more flexible on your solid foundation, make a few more tries, and then you'll certainly be able to get further ahead."

Wang Ze and Hong Tao had long since become very familiar with one another. Hong Tao hadn't yet seen what Wang Ze's real strength was like, but on that day of field combat, those Star Academy students were extremely respectful toward him.

Hong Tao listened to what Wang Ze had to say, remembered it, and was enlightened by it.

Chen Mu likely had no idea that the card he made could have so many people studying it, nor certainly giving it such a high evaluation. The so-called changes to the card were not actually any kind of anti-piracy structure, but were rather a way to use the "token." He just put together what he knew about the "token" with the fantasy card, which is why the card play set had only ten fantasy cards. In general, a similar length story would probably need thirty fantasy cards.

Having tasted the sweetness, Chen Mu quickly felt more interested in knowledge related to the token card, and constantly blended token card knowledge into his fantasy card making. He found out that token card composition could greatly increase the efficiency of dynamic fantasy cards, while toward still fantasy cards it didn't provide much help. In making the same image with two cards, the one having the token card composition consumed much less perception than the ordinary fantasy card.

But most of his energy was being spent on that mysterious card.

Finished? Is this already finished? Chen Mu was more or less haphazardly watching the illusion already in front of him, and unconsciously had already finished watching all of the fundamentals about the token card.

When he had finished watching the last sentence, the fantasy realm which had been stable all along suddenly changed. It was a void as always, but the two cards which represented the fantasy card and the token card had both completely vanished.

In front of him were twelve grey cards - dark grey - and one could vaguely make out the design on their surface, but if one wanted to look closely one would get nothing.

Chen Mu tried to touch one of the cards, since he had used the method last time to touch-off the fantasy card and the token card.

"Quasi water environment fantasy card. Required level; one star. Simulated water environment, can utilize a power card below three-star to energize it. The specific parameters are as follows:"

Chen Mu watched dumbly.

What kind of a fantasy card is a quasi water-environment fantasy card? From the above requirements, it should be able to simulate an environment in the water, but how could there be such a fantasy card? Maybe it was his own ignorance, Chen Mu comforted himself.

The detailed parameters which came before immediately allowed Chen Mu to understand the scheme of that mysterious card. It required him to make the twelve cards!

That was certainly the way it was! To prove it, Chen Mu touched each and every one.

Each of the cards was very strange, not only in ways that Chen Mu hadn't heard about, but in ways that he had never even thought about. And the requirements that had been indicated above were just bizarre. It was as though there were some swordfish fantasy card, and there were not only extremely stringent requirements regarding the swordfish's speed, it also demanded that the trajectory of their movements accord with extremely complicated rules. Shedding any light on that formula made his scalp tingle.

After touching the twelve cards, Chen Mu couldn't help sucking in a breath of cold air.

Although he could understand what the cards were for, it was certain that not one of the cards would be easy to make, and that the degree of difficulty in making them was extremely high. Although most of them were still in the category of one-star or two-star fantasy cards, still, so far, Chen Mu didn't have a clue.

Among the twelve cards, eleven were fantasy cards, with the remaining one being a token card; it was fully and completely a token card.

Was he really expected to make those twelve cards? Chen Mu tasted something bitter in his mouth as he stared blankly at the twelve dark grey cards.

Cost was the second idea which appeared in his mind. The costs required for those twelve cards . . .

The bitter astringent taste in Chen Mu's mouth got a little heavier. He was afraid that even if he dropped in all the money he had, it would still not be enough. After finally having enough cash on hand to live comfortably for a few days, never mind the heartache from spending so much, it would be a complete joke.

But in his heart, there was still this faint anticipation, if only . . . if only he could really make those twelve cards . . .

Having those fantasy cards with the bizarre requirements, what was most important was that there was only a single dedicated token card among the twelve cards! For those few days, what Chen Mu had been feeling the most was the power of the token card. He had only been using the token card techniques in the composition of the fantasy cards to get such great results as he had. And that dedicated token card? He didn't dare imagine!

It was just that kind of anticipation, or one might call it curiosity, which made Chen Mu decide in the end.

All in! Chen Mu gritted his teeth and steeled his heart.