Nimel glanced at Caroso. Caroso ignored her and strode forward.
Seeing this, Nimel followed behind Caroso, and the four of them entered the simulated dungeon together.
When Caroso opened his eyes, he found Bai standing not far away, while Nimel and the others were far from them.
"What kind of battlefield do you want? Mountains, rivers?" Bai looked calmly at Caroso. "As the current top student, I can help you perform better."
"No need. We can start now."
After saying that, Caroso decisively drew two cards.
He poured his magic into the cards, and the two cards immediately became four.
Caroso froze when he saw the cards' descriptions.
[Name: Drowsy Algae Farmer] [Category: Follower] [Star Level: 2] [Grade: Blue Rare] [Class Restriction: None] [Description: Can only be summoned when Black Scale Patrol is present. Combat power increases by 30% in watery environments!](MISSING)
The descriptions on follower cards were actually incomplete. Their owners had to uncover the abilities themselves.
Some powerful cardmakers even hid parts of the descriptions, making their cards impossible to figure out.
How strong these monsters truly were could only be learned through testing.
They also displayed different levels of power depending on their owner.
However, Bai forcibly suppressed most of her magic, so the followers she summoned were about as strong as Caroso's.
[Name: Skilled Gardener] [Category: Follower] [Star Level: 2] [Grade: Blue Rare] [Class Restriction: None] [Description: Can only be summoned when Gardener Captain is present. Combat power increases by 30% in watery environments!.(MISSING)]
The other two were much the same. Of the four follower cards, not one could be used!
"You specifically countered my deck!" Caroso instinctively looked at Bai.
"This is the first lesson I'm teaching you. No deck is invincible." Bai smiled. "I have seventy points, and the two decks I brought both cost thirty points. Switching decks doesn't consume all my magic—it only uses three-sevenths of it, leaving me with four-sevenths."
"Your cards are impressive. They can turn two cards into four."
"I think you must also have an upgraded version of that card. You can either spend a large amount of magic awakening it and try to draw the main card I have here, or conserve your magic and pretend those two or three points don't exist."
"This isn't cheating. Even if I only used this deck without switching, it would still be enough to handle all of you. Switching specifically for you is a sign of respect for the number one genius."
Even if she only switched to a thirty-point deck full of one-, two-, and three-star cards, the magic consumed was still calculated proportionally. That was an ironclad rule.
Thus, backup decks had another use.
Using Caroso as an example, he could put only around ten points into a backup deck. After using up thirty points and retaining over one-third of his magic, he could spend one-third of it to add ten more cards.
But with thirty cards, most people would run out of magic before using them all, so few played that way. More often, they simply abandoned the dozen or so cards that no longer seemed useful and switched to a backup deck. It was a combat mode changed according to environmental conditions.
[As expected of me, I'm amazing!]
[Boss Caro has such awful luck. He didn't draw a single captain?]
[Hahahaha, does she think she's won just because she countered the priest's cards?]
[Seriously, she has no idea what dirty tactics really are.]
"I've learned something." Caroso nodded seriously.
"Are you going to surrender?" Bai asked. "Your deck has already been countered by mine."
"There is no such thing as surrender in the Kolia family." Caroso held out his small hand. "You don't really think I've been relying on those two card-copying cards all this time, do you?"
A golden light flashed behind him.
The phantom of a giant wreathed in flames stood behind Caroso.
[Holy shit, why does everything Boss Caro says make him sound like a villain who's about to get slapped in the face?]
[That's literally Boss Caro's character setting...]
[Without us, Boss Caro would probably get taught a lesson by Bai...]
"Roar!"
"Bintink!" Caroso called in a low voice.
The flaming giant transformed into a longsword and flew into Caroso's hand.
[Name: Bintink's Flaming Sword] [Category: Equipment] [Star Level: 3] [Grade: Golden Legendary] [Class Restriction: None] [Description: Once, Bintink set a mountain ablaze. Countless souls came seeking revenge, but he reduced them all to ashes with this sword. In the end, he was captured and executed by fire, while this sword remained.]
The descriptions on epic-grade equipment and above were more about telling the equipment's story than listing its exact effects.
Legendary cards in particular were as cryptic as the game itself, leaving players thoroughly tormented.
Caroso threw out several more cards. Rare-grade armor, boots, a belt, shoulder guards, and knee guards appeared on his body.
"Eighteen points at once. Including the other two cards, you've already used twenty-two points... Why aren't you using epic equipment? With your circumstances, you should be able to afford it." Bai smiled faintly.
"No need." The moment Caroso spoke, he charged toward Bai.
Caroso was still growing and was not yet as tall as Bai.
Combined with his somewhat childish face and serious expression, he looked especially adorable.
"Come at me!" Bai pushed off the ground and began retreating.
Purple light flashed around Bai, and four dazzling magic circles appeared behind her.
Swish, swish, swish, swish...
Four three-star epic Naga followers appeared on the field!
They were all female, with human upper bodies and fish tails. Their faces and hands bore monstrous traits as well. Some had hair like fish fins, while others had hair like water snakes, making them look terrifying.
They were each around two meters tall, forming a stark contrast with the somewhat short Caroso.
"Roar!"
Two of them gripped the forks in their hands and thrust them at Caroso.
Bai was still holding back. Otherwise, she would not have used a follower deck that could only display greater power in water. She would have used a deck that could serve the same purpose on land.
At this level, they could not yet use terrain magic cards that altered the environment.
"I'm not done yet!" Bai cried, throwing out another eight cards, each one Blue Rare.
Eight Naga followers appeared on the battlefield.
To target him, Bai had brought only one copy of each epic card rather than two, and her Blue Rare followers were also divided among four types.
With that, Bai had directly used twenty-eight points. She intended to bury Caroso under sheer numbers!
Before you continue