The Card Maker

Lin Qi looked at the five one-star Implement Cards in front of him, then at the Mercenary's Saber in his hand that could no longer be turned back.

Lin Qi looked one way, then the other.

He wondered how to equip the Skeleton Soldier with a weapon.

"Huh, what if I did this?"

A flash of inspiration struck him, and a bold idea popped into his head.

He waved the Skeleton Soldier over, pointed at the Mercenary's Saber on the ground, and gave it an order.

"Hold this sword!"

The soul fire flickered in the Skeleton Soldier's empty eye sockets. It reached out with a thick skeletal hand and gripped the hilt of the Mercenary's Saber firmly.

Lin Qi took a deep breath, focused, and shouted:

"The moment to witness a miracle has arrived!"

"Card Recall!"

As soon as he gave the command, white light surrounded the Skeleton Soldier. It and the Mercenary's Saber in its hand turned into a streak of light, flew back into Lin Qi's hand, and became a card again.

Lin Qi looked down and was delighted.

The picture on the card had changed!

The image had originally shown only the Skeleton Soldier, but now it also showed a Mercenary's Saber held tightly in its hand.

"Great, so I can do that too."

Lin Qi was thrilled to see that a weapon field had appeared in the card's information.

"I'll take a break and promote the Skeleton Soldier once my Source Power recovers."

With five Mercenary's Saber cards in his pocket, Lin Qi walked out through the front door and into the shop.

Lin Feng was sitting behind the counter, packing the coagulation ointment he had made into small wooden boxes.

Sensing Lin Qi enter, he asked without looking up:

"How did things go at the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion? Did you find a card you liked?"

Lin Qi smiled confidently.

"Of course. Not only did I buy the cards I needed, but our shop can also try selling cards in the future."

"Hahaha, that's my boy. You've got ambition."

Lin Feng praised him briefly, but didn't take it seriously. He continued packing the finished coagulation ointment into boxes.

Seeing that his father didn't believe him, Lin Qi laid the Implement Cards on the counter one by one.

As a card master, Lin Feng quickly sensed the cards' distinctive fluctuations.

He looked at the five Implement Cards on the counter and opened his mouth, only to swallow what he had been about to say.

"Dad, if you have something to say, just say it. Don't hold it in."

Seeing Lin Qi's encouraging expression, Lin Feng finally couldn't hold back. He pointed at the Implement Cards on the counter, his tone filled with a measure of distress.

"You wasteful brat! Why did you buy so many Mercenary's Sabers? Five of them cost a thousand Ka'en! You could've bought a green-quality Implement Card with that money. Wouldn't that be much more useful than these five white cards?"

"Cards are about quality, not quantity! Besides, you're only a One-Star Card Apprentice. Your Card Slot Space can only link to one card."

At that, Lin Feng's indignant expression suddenly froze.

He suddenly remembered hearing veteran mercenaries in his mercenary group say that some exceptionally gifted card masters might gain a few extra slots when they awakened their Card Slot Space.

"Could it be!?"

Lin Feng leaned closer to Lin Qi with a mysterious look on his face.

"Son, tell me secretly. Do you have several card slots?"

"Hm?"

Lin Qi looked puzzled. "I'm a One-Star Card Apprentice. I only have one."

Lin Feng was dumbfounded.

"Then why did you buy these five Implement Cards? You're not really planning to sell them, are you?"

"When people in Stone Iron City buy cards, they only go to the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion. It has a wide selection and a good reputation. Unless your prices are as cheap as the black market's, nobody will buy from us!"

"The black market?"

Lin Qi had caught an unfamiliar term.

"Is there a black market in Stone Iron City? How come I've never heard of it?"

Lin Feng shook his head and continued packing the coagulation ointment as he explained.

"Stone Iron City is a godforsaken place. What black market could there be here?

"I'm talking about Xinyao City. That's where the black market is. The cards there are cheaper than at the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion, but most are secondhand, and there are even defective ones. It's very risky."

Lin Qi nodded thoughtfully, a gleam flashing in his eyes.

"Then it's fine. From now on, our Wonderful Tales Shop will be Stone Iron City's equivalent of a black market. Our cards will be both cheap and good. I guarantee people will come buy them!"

"Son, stop fooling around!"

Lin Feng sounded a little helpless. "Selling cards isn't like selling ointment. It's not that simple!

"First, you need a card maker to supply them. Our family's profit for a whole year isn't enough to hire even a low-level card maker.

"Besides, even if we hired one, making cards requires a lot of precious materials. We simply couldn't afford it!"

Lin Qi didn't argue. He just stared at Lin Feng with a smile, and that strange smile made Lin Feng's scalp tingle.

"Dad, if I told you I was a card maker, would you believe me?"

Lin Feng pointed at Lin Qi.

"You? Make cards?"

Lin Qi nodded seriously. "That's right."

Father and son stared at each other, and the air fell silent.

A few seconds later, Lin Feng let out a snort. He couldn't hold it in any longer and clutched his stomach, laughing out loud.

"Hahahaha! Son, that's a good joke. Even funnier than the ones your Uncle Ruilian tells!

"As long as I can remember, there's never been a card maker in Stone Iron City's history. If you could become one, the sun could rise in the west!"

"Ahahaha..."

As Lin Feng laughed, he suddenly felt that mocking his son like this was a little unkind.

He immediately coughed and gave him an encouraging look.

"Ahem, son, wanting to become a card maker is a good goal. You've got ambition! Whether or not the Lin family bloodline has what it takes to produce a card maker, Dad supports you!

"But ideals are ideals, and reality is reality. Let's keep our feet on the ground and focus on selling ointment first. Once you're stronger, it won't be too late to think about making cards."

Lin Qi said nothing. He simply took the purple source crystal card from his pocket and held it out to Lin Feng.

Lin Feng glanced at it but didn't take it.

"That card is for you. Keep it and spend it yourself. I still have money, so you don't need to give it to me."

Lin Qi said calmly, "Look at the balance."

Lin Feng glanced at it curiously. There were eighty-seven thousand Ka'en left, three thousand less than before.

At the sight of that number, Lin Feng's expression immediately turned strained, and his voice grew a little anxious:

"You child! Five Mercenary's Sabers would only cost a thousand Ka'en at the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion. How did you spend two thousand more? Did someone swindle you?"

Without a word, Lin Qi took out ten Skeleton Minion Summoning Cards glowing with white light and placed them on the counter alongside the five Mercenary's Saber cards.

"This..."

Lin Feng was dumbfounded again. His eyes were as wide as saucers as he stared at the fifteen cards on the counter, his mind buzzing.

Skeleton Minion Summoning Cards sold for three hundred Ka'en each at the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion. Ten would cost three thousand.

The five Mercenary's Sabers cost a thousand Ka'en, making four thousand in total. But the stored-value card was only missing three thousand. The numbers didn't add up!

He racked his brains but couldn't figure out how three thousand Ka'en could buy ten one-star summoning cards and five one-star Implement Cards.

Could Lin Qi have found them?

But Lin Qi had awakened a useless bone card and had terrible luck. He'd be lucky to find a single Dust Star Card, so how could he possibly have found fifteen one-star cards at once?

Could he have stolen them?

He knew his son. Lin Qi had known his limits since he was little and had a strong sense of morality. He would never do anything dishonest.

Could my son really be a natural-born card maker?

A bold thought suddenly popped into Lin Feng's head.

Why call him a natural-born card maker?

Because most card makers on the Source Card Continent needed to inherit their craft.

But natural-born card makers were different. They were born able to sense the energy of cards and could make them without learning how. Such people were the stuff of legend!

Lin Feng's breathing immediately grew rapid. He grabbed Lin Qi's arm, his voice trembling slightly.

"Son, could you show your dad what you can do? I've never seen a card maker craft a card in my life. Give me a demonstration and let me see, all right?"

Seeing this, Lin Qi's lips curved upward, and he raised his chin in a show of arrogance.

"Oh? Now you believe I'm a card maker? That's not what you were saying just now."

Lin Feng shook his head. "Not quite yet. I'll only believe you once you've shown me."

"Fine, then I'll open your eyes and show you what real card making is!"

Lin Qi picked up two Skeleton Minion Summoning Cards from the counter and waved them in front of Lin Feng. Then he slapped both cards and injected Source Power into them at the same time.

A vortex appeared and vanished, the whole process taking only two seconds.

When he turned his hand over, only one card remained.

A one-star summoning card, Skeleton Soldier.

Lin Feng watched, his eyes widening even further. He stood there in a daze for a long moment before murmuring:

"Son, aren't card makers supposed to make cards? How did you make two cards disappear and leave only one? That's not card making, that's waste!"

He had turned two one-star summoning cards into one.

What a wasteful child!

Lin Qi rolled his eyes helplessly. He placed the Skeleton Soldier Card in his hand beside a Skeleton Minion Card on the counter and pushed them in front of Lin Feng.

"Compare these two cards. Feel their Source Power fluctuations and you'll know what's different."

"They're both one-star cards. How different could they be?"

Lin Feng picked up the Skeleton Soldier and Skeleton Foot Soldier cards with a pained expression and carefully sensed them.

"Huh?"

"Although this card's quality hasn't broken through to two stars, it's definitely twice as strong as an ordinary Skeleton Foot Soldier! Son, how did you do this?"

Lin Qi smiled without answering. This was only the beginning.

He fused another Skeleton Foot Soldier into it, and when he saw that the vortex still hadn't turned green, he added two more.

Finally, a glimmer of light appeared—the kind the cuckold king was extremely sensitive to!

Summoning card: Skeleton Warrior

Star rating: two stars

Quality: green

Skill: Fearless Charge. Receives a temporary enhancement, increasing his attack and speed.

Card description: His bones have a gray-iron sheen and are extremely hard, greatly increasing his defense. His soul fire burns vigorously, with blue flames in his eyes. His strength and endurance are significantly enhanced.

Evaluation: A true warrior and a comrade you can trust on the battlefield.

"This... this is a two-star green card!"

Lin Feng stared at the green light on the card, his jaw nearly hitting the counter.

"This summoning card is even stronger than your Wind Chime Cat! Son, you... you really are a card maker!"

Compared to Lin Qi's composure, Lin Feng was so excited he could barely speak coherently. He walked around the counter twice, then suddenly grabbed Lin Qi's hand.

"Son, I'm not dreaming, am I? Punch me and wake me up!"

Lin Qi rolled his eyes at him. "What kind of son hits his father? If word gets out, people will think I'm unfilial."

"Bang."

Lin Qi knocked Lin Feng down with one punch. He rubbed his hand and said reluctantly, "I'll grant you that wish this once, but there won't be a next time."

"Hehe, hehe."

Lin Feng lay on the floor, the pain in his face making him realize he wasn't dreaming.

"This is wonderful. My son is a card maker. My son is a natural-born card maker."