Dekan's Amazement

Dekan looked at Theresia helplessly, a hint of a plea for help in his eyes.

This was his first time encountering royalty from this kingdom.

Every word he said from here on out could potentially affect his peaceful life.

"Your Highness Alice, let me have a word with Dekan."

Theresia quickly tossed out this sentence and pulled Dekan aside.

She whispered to Dekan, "Alice is actually a good person; she's just a bit willful and loves to be the center of attention. Just play along and make her happy."

Dekan nodded slightly and looked toward Alice.

"Your Highness Alice, it just so happens that our party is in need of a Tier 4 Mass Purification spell card. Could we commission you to craft one for us?"

Dekan was not yet able to craft Tier 4 magic cards, and essential spell cards like Mass Purification were things he usually bought directly.

One of the reasons he had come to the Card Maker Association today was to purchase this very card.

A second-year student from the Alchemy Academy should be capable of crafting a Tier 4 spell card, right?

"Hmph, you certainly have an eye for talent! My card-making skills will surely leave you in awe! Then, without further ado, watch closely as I craft this card!"

Seeing Dekan's attitude, Alice's joyful mood was instantly written all over her face, her tone overflowing with delight.

She seemed impatient to make Dekan, this little demon king, admire her even more.

The high-ranking deacon waiting nearby understood the situation immediately.

He walked quickly to the front of the three, performed a respectful bow, and leaned slightly, "Your Highness Alice, and your friends, please follow me."

Led by the deacon, they bypassed half of the association grounds and took a floating staircase directly to the fourth floor.

The third floor of the association was the venue for certification exams for Tier 5 card makers and below; anything higher was clearly not a place for ordinary visitors.

The corridor on the fourth floor looked as if it had a history of hundreds of years, but to preserve certain historical relics, it had not undergone excessive renovation.

At the end of the corridor, a room with a white sign hanging on the door came into view. The deacon opened the door for them, then stepped aside, signaling for the three of them to enter.

Dekan could tell at a glance that this spacious room, which looked like an ancient workshop, was a master-level card-making studio.

It was far more high-end than the workshop he had modified in his dormitory.

Every tool imaginable was available inside, and all of them were top-tier equipment.

Soon, staff members began delivering materials.

They had already heard that the princess intended to craft Mass Purification and had brought every material that might be needed.

In addition to blank cards, mana crystals, and mana core fluid, there were several scrolls.

The primary materials required to craft the three types of magic cards differed.

Crafting equipment cards required equipment prototypes, as well as enchanting and sealing tools.

Crafting summon cards required monster cores or soul crystals.

Meanwhile, crafting spell cards required magic scrolls as materials, which were then processed and rewritten.

For instance, Dekan's Hydrogen Explosion included scrolls of Fireball, Waterball, and Lightning Strike among its materials.

The crafting steps for the three types of cards differed significantly, and this distinction became more pronounced at higher tiers.

Therefore, once card makers reached higher tiers, they often chose a specialized direction.

While waiting for the staff to finish delivering the materials, Alice chatted idly with Dekan and the others for a while.

The deacon locked the door, and then Alice opened the storage cabinet.

Sure enough, the cabinet was also filled with all sorts of materials.

Alice counted them carefully, took out a partitioned tray, and retrieved a portion of each required material from the storage cabinet.

She placed them one by one into the compartments of the tray.

She seemed to have visited this room many times, as she was very familiar with where the materials were stored.

Dekan watched her selection of materials, his brow furrowing unconsciously.

Why is she taking so many materials?

However, just as Dekan was feeling puzzled, Alice had already finished her preparations.

"Watch closely, Dekan! Opportunities to witness a card maker crafting magic cards are rare."

Alice rolled up her sleeves, her face beaming with a bright smile, as if she were already anticipating Dekan's look of admiration.

"...Understood."

Dekan decided he would watch carefully and learn well.

He might even need to take notes where necessary.

After all, aside from his Master, he hadn't heard of any other "super-amazing magic card makers."

If she actually managed to craft a Tier 4 Epic-grade purification spell, that would be truly incredible.

Alice's expression turned serious.

She began mixing the finely ground light-attribute magic crystal powder with the magic core liquid to create ink, sensing the fluctuations of mana as they blended.

She synchronized her own mana with the mixture, which would make it easier to infuse mana into the magic circle when she drew it later.

Once the magic ink was prepared, Alice filled her magic pen, then began to unroll the scroll, extracting, trimming, and engraving the magic onto a blank white card.

Next came the most critical step.

This was the card creator's process of rewriting and finalizing the magic structure and circuits.

This process required the card creator to be fully focused, pouring every ounce of their mental energy into the task.

As Alice's magic pen moved, she infused her mana with perfect equilibrium into every single magic circuit.

The magic structure of a card is not something any mage can draw at will; it is a process that simultaneously requires understanding, creation, and spellcasting.

Without extraordinary talent and a thorough understanding, even if one could draw the shape, they would be unable to imbue it with its proper power.

Alice held her breath, seemingly entering the moment of her greatest challenge.

The most troublesome part of the engraving was the ring of dense, intricate magic runes that had to be inscribed onto the card.

These twisted things, looking like ants crawling all over the place, were impossible for anyone but a top scholar to recognize, let alone write out.

She furrowed her brows, engraving slowly.

She looked like a master painter creating a magnificent scroll; every stroke was so delicate, and every line was filled with power.

A sacred and noble aura radiated from her, making one wonder what realm she had already attained.

Dozens of minutes passed.

The magic card began to emit a soft, hazy glow.

It seemed to be a success, and Alice let out a sigh of relief.

Next, she entered the third step.

The best carriers for magic are mithril and adamantine; after carefully drawing the magic circle on the blank card base, she heat-pressed a small amount of Holy Radiance Stone powder, used to activate light-attribute magic, onto the card surface.

This formed a framework, locking the energy within the magic card.

Alice began the fine-tuning, connecting several magic engravings simultaneously to form a mana energy loop, allowing the magic card to recharge after mana depletion so it could be used again.

Although she was nearing a great success in card creation, this penultimate step remained quite complex, as parts of each magic circle had to overlap.

She had to ensure that every part of the magic structure functioned correctly upon activation while preventing conflicts between the different structures.

If she failed even once, the card would collapse, and some improper operations could even cause it to explode.

Alice's technique was highly skilled, and she completed this process smoothly.

With that, the production was basically finished, leaving only the final sealing of the magic card!

She boiled various alchemical materials into a paste and coated the surface of the magic card.

Using a magic device to rapidly solidify it, she formed a transparent film.

Alice frowned, her expression deeply focused, like a craftsman completing the final step of a masterpiece.

Finally, a Tier 4 spell card, [Mass Purification], emerged amidst a puff of mist!

Alice revealed a gratified smile, staring at the card face.

She seemed very satisfied with the quality of the card; even she, as the card creator, couldn't help but admire it for a moment.

She glanced at Dekan, the corners of her mouth curling into a perfect arc, as if she had already foreseen the look of astonishment that would soon appear on his face.

This made Dekan unable to help but swallow hard.

Is it purple-rare?

Looking at Alice like this, could it even be an epic?

"Heh heh."

Alice chuckled twice, handed the spell card to Dekan, and then took out a handkerchief to gently wipe the sweat from her forehead.

Dekan took the card.

He saw the card glowing with a deep blue light.

This really made Dekan unable to stop himself from showing an expression of surprise.

Alice was very satisfied with Dekan's expression and said proudly, "Dekan, did you see clearly? This is how a masterpiece is born. Isn't it magical?"

Dekan: "..."

He remained silent for a long while, seemingly trying to calm his inner emotions.

Going to such great lengths to produce a Tier 4 blue spell card.

This is a super-powerful magic card creator?

How dare you!

Dekan: "Wow! That's so cool!" (Monotone)

After confirming Dekan's reaction, Alice put her hands on her hips and laughed joyfully.

"Ho ho ho, I'm glad you like it!"

The mere thought that the next time Dekan went on a rampage in the Shadow World, she would be able to brag to others, "Dekan and his team are using cards I made," made it even harder for her to control the corners of her mouth.

She even fell into a daydream for a moment.

The trio arrived at the appraisal room on the fourth floor.

After appraisal and testing, the quality of the card was excellent and fully met Dekan's needs.

Alice was still immersed in the pleasure of having earned Dekan's admiration.

Theresia, however, had long since seen through Dekan's thoughts and couldn't help but feel a bit awkward.

Alice actually possessed the standard level of a Tier 4 Card Creator.

It was just that she had indeed bragged a bit too much.

After all, Dekan, a rising star who had recently become famous in the Royal Capital, was an exceptionally meaningful subject for Alice to boast about.

Theresia could understand that she had simply lost control for a moment.

But.

She really couldn't keep bragging like this.

My Princess.

The person standing in front of you is a genuine card-creating genius!

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Dekan put the card away and counted out 20 gold coins for Alice.

The market price for this card was about 25 gold coins, so Alice only charging him 20 was a very friendly price.

Counting the cost of materials, she barely made a profit.

She had done it purely to show off in front of Dekan.

"Then I'll accept it."

Alice didn't make things difficult for Dekan and neatly accepted the gold coins he handed over.

After all, if she refused his money at this time, it would make him feel like he owed her a massive favor.

For the vast majority of people, owing a favor to royalty was not a good thing.

"Let's go back to the academy together; my carriage is right outside."

Alice seemed to feel she hit it off well with Dekan and wanted to brag to him a bit more on the way.

She thoroughly enjoyed this feeling of showing off in front of others.

At this moment, she noticed that the expressions of both Dekan and Theresia were somewhat troubled, and they seemed to be exchanging glances.

"Do you two have other plans?"

Alice asked.

Dekan sighed and said truthfully, "Actually, I came here to take the Tier 3 Card Creator exam."

After all, everyone would know about this eventually.

There was nothing to hide.

"Oh? So you know how to create cards too, Dekan?"

Alice asked, full of surprise.

"I know a little."

"Ho ho, then you are truly lucky to have met me! The Tier 3 Card Creator certification isn't that simple. Let me tell you the key points of the exam..."

Alice laughed even more happily.

She knew that there were very few people in the Knight Academy who could create cards.

Repairing equipment was a good skill for warriors to have.

However, these Knight Academy card creators were basically only capable of making equipment cards.

It was still very difficult for them to pass the professional Card Creator exam.

Alice felt she had found even more topics to brag about in front of Dekan.

"Mm, mm-hmm."

One dared to teach, and the other dared to learn.

Alice taught him everything she knew, seemingly wanting to pass on her life's work to Dekan in just a few dozen minutes.

Dekan listened patiently.

He looked at Alice with eyes full of thirst for knowledge from time to time.

"It just so happens that I'm free this morning, so let me and Theresia watch your performance later!"

Alice patted Dekan on the shoulder and said to him with a smile.

It felt quite like a teacher sending a student off to an exam.

The three of them had already arrived at the examination hall on the third floor of the Card Maker Association.

Dekan was about to enter the exam hall to take his certification test.

There was a viewing gallery in the hall, and the entire process was open to the public.

"Mm, alright."

Dekan appeared very humble.

"Dekan, if you need any guidance on making magic cards, you can come to the Alchemy Academy to find me at any time. Although I am also a student, teaching you shouldn't be a problem!"

"Pfft!"

Dekan finally couldn't help but be amused by Alice.

This brought a genuine smile to his face.

"Then I truly thank you, Her Highness Alice."

"Ho ho, I'm not bragging to you, but not long ago I made a Tier 2 Purple Card! This isn't something an ordinary card maker can do. Aren't you impressed by me?"

Alice seemed to be getting more and more carried away, completely failing to notice Theresia's strange expression.

"Amazing! If heaven had not birthed me, Alice, the history of Norton would be like a long, eternal night."

Dekan felt he had found some amusement now.

Flattery—just praising her was enough.

This princess must look beautiful when she cries.

"What?! Say that again!"

However, Dekan's previous remark seemed to shock Alice, and she stared at him with wide eyes.

"...At the peak of card making, who is the master? One glimpse of the Princess, and the path to the Dao is empty."

Dekan tried another line just to see.

"!!!"

Alice forgot to close her mouth for a moment.

"You, you let me write down those two sentences!"

Alice's voice was incredibly excited.

Theresia had completely averted her gaze, looking off into the distance.

Your Highness, I beg you, please stop talking.

If you keep going, you really won't be able to step down from this later!