Dekan Begins to Vent His Anger on the Resurrection Church

Watching Alice's retreating figure, Theresia wanted to chase after her, but she felt that doing so would only make things more awkward.

However, if she didn't follow, she and Alice might not be able to speak to each other for a long time to come.

She looked at Dekan with a sense of helplessness.

The smile on Dekan's face seemed to be saying, "Sorry for the poor hospitality."

"Sigh."

Theresia let out a deep sigh.

This guy was becoming less and less human by the day.

Back when she first met him at that small shop on the border, she had actually thought he was quite normal...

Normal?

Pah, that Goblin Sheriff was clearly not something a normal person could come up with.

Seeming to notice Theresia's hesitation, Dekan called out to her, "Theresia, you should go find Her Highness Alice. I don't think I'll be able to leave here for a while."

It seemed the chief examiner had something important to discuss with him.

He also felt that Alice needed a little bit of comfort.

He had indeed been a bit too ruthless with his methods.

In truth, Dekan hadn't intended to create an Epic-grade card from the start.

He had originally thought that successfully crafting a Tier 3 Rare-grade card would be enough.

After all, he had paid such a high registration fee; he couldn't afford to lose money, even if he couldn't make the electric meter run backward.

But as he worked, he just got carried away.

It wouldn't have been strange if that card had exploded at any point during the crafting process.

After all, every single step involved defying and rewriting the Holy attribute.

Unfortunately, his luck was just too good.

Not only did it not explode, but it also successfully reached Epic quality.

What? You say I'm just a lucky bastard?

What are you talking about? I don't understand.

"Then we'll see each other at school!"

Theresia waved at Dekan and hurried away.

She had to go and salvage Alice's scorched and devastated heart.

The exam had concluded.

Several examiners were now gathered around Dekan.

The moment Dekan produced the orange card, the other candidates who were still struggling clearly couldn't handle the dazzling, earth-shattering special effects.

Without a doubt, they were all blinded and failed.

Or rather, their spirits had suffered such a shock that they no longer had the confidence to continue.

Regardless, being able to witness such a miracle up close didn't seem like such a bad deal.

"Mr. Dekan, we would like to trouble you to come with us to meet President Leren."

Even though the chief examiner was a Tier 6 Card Crafter, he was extremely polite toward Dekan at this moment.

Because Dekan was going to become a Special-grade Card Crafter.

For ranks from Tier 3 to Tier 1, one could go to the certification hall on the third floor to receive the corresponding license after passing the exam.

But they didn't have the materials for a Special-grade Card Crafter on hand!

It had to be reviewed and produced by the headquarters.

The specific details would have to be discussed between the president and Dekan.

The weight of the Special-grade title could not be described by mere tiers.

They were self-aware enough to know where Dekan would end up in the future, so they were exceptionally respectful toward him from now on.

"No problem."

"Please follow us."

"Alright."

Dekan followed the examiners through an internal passage and left the exam hall.

The chief examiner then led Dekan along a floating staircase all the way to the sixth floor.

It was also the top floor of the building.

The sixth floor was sparsely populated, and Dekan was led to the door of the most prominent office.

The examiner knocked gently, and after receiving a response from within, he pushed open the heavy door and gestured for Dekan to enter.

Inside the extravagantly spacious office sat an old man.

The old man appeared to be over sixty, yet his back was straight and his eyes gleamed with sharp light.

He wore the highest-grade style of the association uniform, his slightly graying hair hung loosely before his eyes, and a faint smile rested on his face.

The person before him was clearly the branch president of the Card Maker Association stationed in the Norton Kingdom.

To Dekan's surprise, before he had even walked over, the president stood up himself, walked around the desk, and came forward to shake his hand.

This left Dekan feeling somewhat flattered.

"Dekan, it is a pleasure to meet you."

"Greetings, President Leren."

Dekan noticed that seven purple stars were imprinted on the chest of the man's uniform.

Clearly, the man was a Tier 7 First-Class Card Maker.

A true big shot.

A Tier 7 powerhouse, even in a civilian role, was terrifying.

If he were to swing a hammer, taking out a Tier 3 or Tier 4 would be no problem at all.

After inviting Dekan to sit on the sofa to the side, Leren said, "First of all, congratulations on becoming a Special-Class Card Maker of the Card Maker Association. This is a lifelong honor, but it also faces very complex review procedures, so you may need to attend at least one more review meeting."

"Special-Class Card Makers are the highest-level core members of our association; regardless of the circumstances, the association will always be your backing."

"I cannot issue your badge, uniform, or license to you just yet, as the symbolic items for the Special-Class must be reviewed and approved by headquarters before they can be custom-made for you."

Dekan listened in a daze; he had not expected that creating a single Tier 3 Epic card would earn him such incredible treatment.

Although he had heard of Special-Class Card Makers, the Card Maker Association rarely publicized the mechanisms and permissions of the Special-Class to the outside world, so he did not know much about it.

"So, what am I considered for now...?"

Dekan asked with some confusion.

"Until you pass the review, you will temporarily hold the rights of a Tier 3 First-Class Card Maker."

"That's good then."

Dekan felt the Card Maker Association's coordination was quite decent.

Although the review sounded a bit cumbersome, the mechanism was reasonable enough.

"By the way, is the review difficult?"

"I have never heard of a Special-Class Card Maker being troubled by the review process, but... if it is you, it is possible that headquarters will conduct an extra investigation into whether you have any ties to the Resurrection Church, because your card-making style is truly... it even surpasses that of their archbishops."

President Leren's tone seemed to grow more uncertain as he spoke.

He, too, had heard of Dekan's glorious deeds of ravaging the Shadow World.

And those wicked, deviant cards of his.

"..."

Dekan fell silent for a moment.

He had the feeling that his package was going to be stuck in transit for a long time.

Moreover, he suddenly felt a strong urge to eradicate the Resurrection Church.

It was precisely because these people existed that a pure, good-natured citizen like himself was being mistaken for a cultist!

"Do not worry, Dekan. I will help you communicate actively with headquarters. You will definitely become the thirteenth Special-Class Card Maker among all currently registered card makers on the continent! And the second Special-Class Card Maker in the Norton Kingdom!"

Leren was clearly very excited about the fact that the Norton Kingdom could have two Special-Class Card Makers.

"Even if I am only Tier 3, can I be ranked alongside the other twelve?"

"The title of Special-Class does not change regardless of which tier you were at when you achieved it, even if your tier increases later."

Leren explained to Dekan.

If one participated in a Tier 3 exam while at Tier 4, no matter what quality of card was produced, it would only count as Third-Class.

To obtain a Second-Class rating or higher, one must produce a card of the same tier as oneself.

First-Class and Second-Class were also considered a form of honor.

They signified the ability to produce high-level cards of one's own tier.

However, the Special-Class completely transcended the concepts of the other three conventional levels; it was a symbol of a card maker's absolute strength.

Those capable of producing Epic cards were already famous card makers.

And card makers capable of producing Epic cards of their own tier were the rarest of the rare!