Sometimes Chen Mu thought of the black card in his drawer, its lines as vast and intricate as a star-filled sky. But the moment he remembered that a Three-Star Energy Card cost a full fifteen thousand Odi, his enthusiasm cooled. Spending a little time each day handling that mysterious, intricate card had already become a habit. Now he had left it casually on his desk.
Chen Mu was intensely curious about the black card with silver lines, but he restrained himself and did not buy a Three-Star Energy Card. This was a decision he had reached after careful consideration. Aside from the issue of the Three-Star Energy Card, the fundamental reason lay in his own circumstances.
His foundation was poor—terribly poor, worse even than that of an ordinary low-level Card Crafter. Spending his time on this card now would do little to help his development. With an unstable foundation, the higher he climbed, the greater the danger, and the narrower the path would become. He knew nothing of grand principles, but his childhood spent wandering the streets had taught him this simple truth.
Over the past few days, he had been immersed in the exhilaration of rapid progress. Through years of accumulated experience, he had never stopped thinking, though a few crucial problems he had no idea how to unravel had held him back. Once those plugs were pulled free, the exhilaration that poured out was simply beyond compare.
He believed he was ready to try making a one-star Illusion Card.
Illusion Cards had traditionally been a strength of the Tianyou Federation. Rosenberg, the founder of card theory, had been most skilled at making Illusion Cards. Their elementary stage was phantom image, and their advanced stage was object simulation. Elementary Illusion Cards were not particularly useful. They could only project illusions, and though these illusions were lifelike, they were merely images and could not harm anyone. An experienced observer could see through them at a glance.
Advanced Illusion Cards, however, possessed terrifying power. They could activate the energy in an Energy Card and simulate physical objects through special arrangements and combinations. They represented high-end weaponry and were weapons used exclusively by Card Adepts. Such Illusion Cards were called Illusion Skill Cards. Generally, when ordinary people spoke of Illusion Cards, they meant low-level ones.
Making Illusion Cards was very different from making Energy Cards. A Card Crafter could produce an Energy Card as long as he understood its structure and possessed sufficient skill in drawing cards. Illusion Cards, however, were different. They required a certain degree of perception—the ability of a Card Crafter to communicate with energy.
Energy and the properties of matter were the most essential things a Card Crafter needed to master.
Perception could be improved through special methods, and this was a required part of every Card Crafter's training. In the current examinations for Card Crafters, perception was one of the most important and fundamental abilities, with an extremely strict system of ranks.
Of course, Card Crafters were not the only ones who needed perception. Certain other professions, such as Card Adepts—professional card users—also placed considerable demands on it.
In fact, during the early development of the card system, in Rosenberg's era, the profession of Card Adept had not existed. As the creators of cards, Card Crafters were also the people most familiar with them, and using and controlling cards came just as naturally to them. The most common practitioners of that era were Card Masters, who trained in both card making and card techniques.
By the era of Hainer Vincent three hundred years ago, more than two centuries of development had brought both the variety and number of Card Crafters to considerable levels. This also allowed more cards to circulate into the hands of people other than Card Crafters. As the card system grew increasingly complex, Card Crafters had far more to learn than in Rosenberg's era, and they gradually began concentrating on research and study.
It was also then that a new profession emerged—Card Adepts. They were specialists in using cards. Because they devoted all their effort to drawing out the greatest possible power from cards, they were far better at using them than Card Crafters were. A person's energy was limited, and Card Crafters who both studied card making and practiced using cards often failed to achieve much in either field. As time passed, the distinction between the two professions grew as clear as the divide between the Jing and Wei rivers.
There were exceptions, however, such as Hainer Vincent. He was a genius Card Crafter, but also one of the greatest Card Adepts of his era. He became the last Card Master in recorded history.
In modern times, Card Crafters and Card Adepts emphasized different aspects of perception training. Most Card Crafters focused on sensing energy, while Card Adepts focused on controlling it.
There were many methods of training perception, but they shared one feature: they required a medium. Different mediums directly affected the characteristics of perception, which in turn directly affected the cards a Card Crafter produced. The nature of those cards would then directly affect the Card Adepts who used them. Thus, in many places and within certain schools, Card Crafters and Card Adepts often coexisted. These Card Adepts used cards made by their own school, and because they cultivated the same kind of perception, they could often unleash a card's greatest power. The renowned Bitter Solitude Temple was one example. The various Mind Cards it produced were almost impossible to use for anyone who had not trained there, and even those who could use them were unable to draw out their full power.
Card Adepts were more numerous than Card Crafters. The prestige of Card Crafters went without saying, but only if one managed to reach at least the intermediate or advanced ranks. Compared with Card Crafters, Card Adepts were far more adaptable: private bodyguards, explorers, mercenaries... Those skilled in controlling Water Shuttle Cards, for instance, could move freely underwater, making them ideal candidates for seabed exploration and surveying. Card Adepts proficient in controlling Detection Cards were essential not only to local law enforcement but also to every exploration team.
Cards came in a dazzling variety, and the Card Adepts who used them were just as diverse and unusual.
Today's first installment.
(End of chapter)