Shocking Nimel

"Besides going to the dungeon together, I also have a few cards for you," Caroso said.

"Cards?" Nimel tilted her head.

Caroso casually pulled out six cards and handed them to Nimel.

Nimel looked at the six cards, and her eyes immediately widened. "Th-this isn't magic!"

[Name: Freeze Spell]

[Category: Spell]

[Star Level: 0]

[Grade: Gray Common]

[Class Restriction: Mage]

[Description: Cast a spell to freeze the enemy. The spell's effect is related to the user's magic power and the enemy's strength.]

[Name: Elemental Companion]

[Category: Spell]

[Star Level: 0]

[Grade: Gray Common]

[Class Restriction: Mage]

[Description: When casting elemental spells below fourth-tier, reduce mana consumption by one-fifth.]

[Name: Flame Companion]

[Category: Spell]

[Star Level: 0]

[Grade: Gray Common]

[Class Restriction: Mage]

[Description: When casting fire spells below fourth-tier, reduce mana consumption by one-fifth.]

"Zero-Star cards? Why are there Zero-Star cards?" Nimel stared at Caroso in utter disbelief. "Aren't One-Star cards the lower limit of all cards?"

Caroso did not know how to explain it either. When he had made these cards back then, his mind had also been filled with disbelief.

Still, these cards came after Hand of Greed. No matter how shocked Caroso was, he had not completely lost his reason.

The cards from the bullet comments were simply too bizarre. Caroso felt that most of the cards they created were the kind that overturned everything he knew.

[Wahahahaha, Nimel will be shocked for an entire year!]

[The Nimel we usually see is always sickly and half-asleep. When she gets serious, she looks like she has everything under control. Compared to that, this Nimel is cuter.]

"That's right. It was only because my friend broke through that lower limit that cards like these appeared," Caroso said.

"If there were more of these cards... wouldn't they counter a priest's 'Thank You'?" Nimel immediately thought of that.

"That's right." Caroso nodded.

The Naga Deck Bai had used before had locked down Caroso's cards, leaving him unable to cast even when he drew them.

It was just that Bai had not expected that the priest card was not Caroso's killing move... Frenzy was.

"Also, these cards require absolutely no mana to cast, and they don't take up space in a deck. If you want to increase the power of Freeze Spell, you can pour mana into it as well," Caroso explained seriously.

It had been mentioned before that battle card decks in this world had no limit on the number of cards, only on points. In theory, even a top ninth-tier expert only had ninety points and could bring at most ninety First-tier cards.

But if these Zero-Star cards were added in, it would be equivalent to bringing ninety-six cards—six extra cards out of thin air!

If a priest stole these six cards... Priests could not use elemental spells anyway, so Elemental Companion and Flame Companion would be completely useless to them. If their luck was bad, it would be the same as wasting four points of their own deck space for nothing.

"Using third-tier Spell Cards to make the fullest use of mana—if the cost is reduced by one-fifth, it's equivalent to increasing the power by one-fifth without paying any price at all." Nimel murmured, "This is simply the greatest invention!"

Even with Nimel, Caroso did not dare trust her completely, so he did not give Hand of Greed to her.

"How is it? Feeling a lot more confident now?" Caroso asked.

"Mm, thank you, older brother," Nimel said softly. "Older brother must have given up a great deal for me..."

Caroso really wanted to say that he had not given up anything, but the frantic reminders from the bullet comments made him fall silent.

Whew. He had to complete the Netizens' task properly.

"We still have time. Before tomorrow morning, I'm going to make several cards. By then, we'll set aside three hours for meditation and recovery, and one hour for eating and washing up," Caroso said. "Are you ready?"

"I'm ready!"

For the first time, Nimel wanted so badly to help Caroso make cards.

"Do not reveal any information about these cards," Caroso instructed seriously.

"Mm, I understand." Nimel nodded vigorously.

Then Caroso summoned the card-making assistants again and had them work overtime through the night.

Of course, Caroso was paying triple wages for this overtime.

At eight o'clock the next morning, Caroso arrived at class looking refreshed and full of energy, then took his seat.

"Recovered?" Bai said to Caroso. "Elena brought you yesterday's homework, right?"

"Sorry, I didn't do it." Caroso rose to his feet and said it as if it were only natural.

"Huh?" Bai froze for a moment. "You didn't do it?"

If it had been any other spoiled young master, Bai would not have dwelled on them skipping their homework.

But Caroso did not seem like that sort of person!

"I wanted to conquer a dungeon, so I spent the whole night making cards," Caroso said. "Can I sign up now?"

"Wait, wait, wait." Bai was a little too stunned to process it. "You want to conquer a dungeon?"

"Yes." Caroso nodded.

"The rules for entering a dungeon are that those who have participated in conquering dungeons of the same tier get priority, those with combat ratings of A or above get priority, and upper-year students get priority. Before entering, you also need to sign a statement proving that you are voluntarily participating in the dungeon conquest," Bai said. "In theory, freshmen are not allowed to conquer dungeons. Freshmen have absolutely no experience conquering dungeons! The youngest participants are at least second-years."

"You said it yourself—in theory. I can be the exception."

"You're not short of money, are you?" Bai frowned.

"I'm not, but I have to take part in this kind of challenge," Caroso said firmly.

"I'm telling you, this is a randomly appearing dungeon, not one of the scheduled kind. We have no idea what it's like inside," Bai said helplessly. "For certain kinds of third-tier dungeons, even fourth-tier professionals may not be guaranteed to come out alive! Random means the risk is maximized! With your abilities, there's no need for you to go there."

"Teacher, I'm stronger than an ordinary third-tier professional. If I go, my chances of survival will definitely be higher than those of an ordinary third-tier professional."

"Don't forget, you're a card maker, not a warrior." Bai was exasperated. "If a card maker is also a warrior, which country would send him to fight on the battlefield instead of having him safely make cards in the rear?"

It was like handing Einstein a gun and sending him to the battlefield as cannon fodder. Even if Einstein were a king of soldiers, it still would not be worth it!

"I know," Caroso said. "But Kolia has never feared a challenge. Since it's random, I have even more reason to conquer it!"

"Fine. I can count your entrance test results as your combat rating, but can the rest of your qualifications compete with everyone else's?" Bai crossed her arms over her chest and looked down at Caroso.

"I have conquered first-tier dungeons twice, second-tier dungeons five times, and third-tier dungeons three times. My dungeon rating was above B every time."

"First-tier..." Bai was stunned. "How old were you then?"

"Eight."

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