Chapter 182: Dekan's Ultimate Happy Card 2 (1/2) |
The legendary 【Red Legend】 that was said to be above 【Orange Epic】, many people were not even sure if cards of this grade truly existed in the current era.
At least Dekan had asked the Ice Snow Princess.
She was very sure she couldn't make a Red Legend card.
She couldn't even make a 1st-rank Red Legend card.
However, Dekan had the idea of trying this time.
He wanted to see what level of card he could make with all his effort.
Dekan first began to clean his workbench unhurriedly.
His workbench was already covered with his material calculation ratios, production process designs, and notes written in demonic script.
He had almost finished organizing when Cornelia visited earlier.
After clearing a spacious area on the workbench, Dekan opened the storage cabinet.
Although the cabinet was filled with all sorts of materials, the top shelf held several partitioned trays.
They were materials that Dekan had already proportioned.
After taking them out, Dekan applied the skills he had honed for years, handling the materials calmly and skillfully.
Not only was he talented and had a high aptitude for learning, but he had also put in several times more effort than others, honing his basic skills to be impeccable.
The boxes of 【Captain De'erkan】 in his dormitory were the best proof.
This time, Dekan was making an Equipment Card.
To make this card, just buying the materials had cost him most of his savings to date.
The amount of materials was unbelievably exaggerated. Even if the wealthy princess Iris were to see Dekan's preparations, she would definitely exclaim and ask Dekan what he was making this time.
Since Dekan enjoyed the highest level of preferential treatment at the Norton Kingdom branch of the Card Makers' Association, President Relun had quickly acquired all the materials Dekan needed for him.
And he gave Dekan a huge discount.
That was why Dekan was able to gather these materials so smoothly and quickly.
Most of them were 4th-rank Epic demon-type materials.
As well as the highest quality consumables related to curse magic.
Although an ordinary card maker would probably have trembling hands when handling these materials.
But when Dekan was focused on card making, he had a calm heart.
No matter how precious the materials were, or how valuable the opportunity, or how severe the consequences of a failed card making attempt, he could completely ignore them.
He wholeheartedly used his best state to create magic cards.
Several tens of minutes passed unknowingly, and Dekan had already completed all the preparatory work.
“Talomati, are you ready?”
After confirming once again that all preparatory steps were complete, Dekan called out Shijiang's name in his heart.
“Yes, no problem.”
While Dekan was resting every day, Shijiang had also been trying to reverse-engineer the 【True Word Blood Pact】 brand left on Dekan.
Although she couldn't reverse-calculate the spell and crack it.
But Dekan and Shijiang's goal was not to learn the True Word Blood Pact, but just to decipher a part of its magical principles.
Dekan had left all the work of deciphering this part to Shijiang.
With Shijiang's knowledge, she had successfully translated the deciphered results into demonic script.
Dekan closed the door of the card-making workshop and activated the barrier Cloix had set up for him.
Then, Dekan walked to the workbench, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.
When he opened his eyes again, his pupils had completely turned a brilliant gold.
And a horn had also appeared on his right forehead.
He unreservedly transformed into a true half-demon—Dekan Talomati.
At this moment, Dekan's body was not completely controlled by himself, nor was it controlled by Shijiang Talomati.
Rather, they were working together in one heart and mind.
This was the second time Dekan had collaborated with Shijiang to make a magic card.
Previously, they had only cooperated when making 【Three Corpses Berserk】.
【Three Corpses Berserk】 was a mental-type spell mastered by Shijiang, combined with Dekan's rewriting and production.
If Dekan wanted to first learn the spell from Shijiang and then make the card himself, it would take at least several months.
It was more efficient to make it directly with Shijiang.
But this time, the situation was different.
Dekan wanted to try to touch the realm of 【Red Legend】, and he had almost no hope on his own.
So he once again requested to collaborate with Shijiang.
After entering this state, Dekan didn't hesitate much and began to mix the already ground dark-attribute magic crystal powder with the curse-specialized magic core liquid to prepare the ink.
Even if Dekan didn't measure it deliberately, he could casually mix a perfect ratio.
It was all about familiarity.
Compared to drawing his own magic power to synchronize with the ink, the ink Dekan mixed seemed to actively cater to Dekan's magic power.
After mixing the magic ink, Dekan filled the magic pen with it, then unsealed the magic scroll and sealed the equipment prototype he had previously made with high-grade materials onto the blank card.
Next would be the most crucial step.
That is, the rewriting and shaping of the enchantment structure by the card maker.
It would stimulate the characteristics of the materials and truly give the Equipment Card its attributes.
This process required the card maker to be fully focused, concentrating all their mental energy on it.
As the magic pen in Dekan's hand moved, he and Shijiang integrated their magic power perfectly and evenly into every magic circuit, carving the complex and intertwined magic runes on the card, which were as fine and twisted as ants.
Dekan carved quickly and skillfully, but due to the huge amount of carving, his progress seemed exceptionally slow.
Just by burying his head and completing this step, he seemed to have lost the concept of time.
Even when the curtains were already reflecting the light of the rising sun in the early morning, Dekan was completely unaware.
It wasn't until dawn that Dekan finally finished the carving in a state of self-forgetfulness.
The unfinished magic card on the workbench was emitting dangerous orange electric arcs, seeming extremely unstable and ready to explode at any moment.
Dekan unhesitatingly entered the final stage, debugging, processing, and sealing.
He connected the countless magic engravings at the same time to form a magic energy circulation, so that the magic card could be recharged and reused after its magic power was depleted.
Although the card making was close to success, Dekan's real trouble only truly manifested at this point.
He had to ensure the correct operation of every magic structure at the time of activation, without conflicting with other structures. Any failure would cause the card to directly collapse, and could even cause it to explode!
Compared to sealing a card, Dekan now looked more like a reckless bomb disposal expert!
“Dekan, if it fails, the explosive power will far exceed your calculations!”
Shijiang warned in Dekan's mind.
She knew that Dekan had increased the complexity of the enchantment based on practical feasibility during the production process.
Although Dekan had a safety helmet with a health lock, if the explosion broke the barrier and caused the room to collapse, Dekan could still be crushed to death.
“Shijiang, trust me!”
“...”
Shijiang didn't say much and fully assisted Dekan in completing his final step, which was almost a gamble with his life.
Perhaps because Dekan was too focused, he didn't notice the change in the card's surface at all.
The change happened slowly until it was completely finished, and only then did Dekan truly notice it.
It was a sudden burst of light that appeared the moment Dekan's eyes couldn't bear the strong light and he closed his eyelids.
A flash of strong light illuminated the room for an instant, and then gradually weakened.
...
PART 2
“Holy shit, did Dekan's dormitory explode?”
“He's making a card! But what the hell did he make at home?!”
Seeing the burst of light from the window of the most famous room 404 in the Knight Faculty dormitory building, many passing students exclaimed.
Even the curtains couldn't completely block this dazzling light.
But even making an Epic card shouldn't have such an exaggerated special effect!
Some couldn't help but wonder, could it be that a Red Legend card, unheard of in this world for many years, was about to be born?!
“No, what Dekan made is an Epic card. The light just now was still orange!”
“But it's definitely not an ordinary Epic card. I've seen an Epic card being born, and it wasn't that dazzling!”
More and more students gathered under the Knight Faculty dormitory building.
Many students who wanted to see the excitement were attracted over.
They were discussing what kind of new card Dekan had made.
...
In the dormitory, Dekan sat at the workbench covering his eyes, having just recovered from being dazzled.
At close range, he was almost blinded by the magic card he had made.
He realized that in the future when he was preparing to make high-quality magic cards, he would also have to wear his welding mask, the 【Red Center Mask】.
“Phew.”
Dekan only now let out a sigh of relief.
If he had failed to make the card just now.
The resulting explosion would likely have put him in danger.
He looked at the successfully made card floating in the air.
Without a doubt, this card was still Epic and had not reached the grade of 【Red Legend】.
“Sigh, is it still too far to make a Legend card?”
Dekan smiled wryly and shook his head.
In fact, Dekan already felt that this was his limit.
Because even if he were to make a 1st-rank card, exerting his skills to the extreme and carving the most complex and dangerous structure, he could only achieve this much.
“I am missing memories in this area.”
Shijiang was silent for a moment and then replied.
“But what exactly is missing... materials? Or is it luck? But the materials have already reached the perfect ratio, and even luck was maxed out this time to barely complete it.”
Dekan said with some helplessness.
In this production, not only did he use all his strength, but he also had Shijiang's assistance.
Even with the two of them cooperating, they couldn't create a Legend.
He couldn't find a direction for improvement for a while.
“Don't be discouraged, we will definitely find the answer. After all, look at this card, it's not an ordinary Epic.”
“Mmm.”
Dekan held this brand-new card in his hand.
He looked at this card with some gratification.
Regardless, the masterpiece he had constructed with his lifelong learning had finally succeeded.
In addition.
Although this card was Epic.
But it was different from any Epic card Dekan had seen before.
Because.
Besides the dazzling orange light on the card's surface.
There was also a faint crimson halo mixed in!
Dekan satisfyingly bound this Equipment Card to his soul.
Then he summoned it, and a grimoire exuding an ominous aura appeared in Dekan's hands.
It didn't look like a product that should exist in this world, as if it recorded forbidden truths within.
The appearance of this book was somewhat similar to Cornelia's 【Bloodstained Casebook】, only this book was pitch black and thicker.
Holding the book, Dekan looked less like a detective and more like a judge in charge of life and death.
【Dekan's Gospel】
【Category: Equipment Card】
【Grade: Crimson Epic】
【Rank: 4】
【Effect: Write the target's true name, race, and gender. The user's consciousness must clearly identify the target's true form to activate the curse effect on the target.】
【The base intensity of the curse effect is related to the user's mental strength. Mana can be additionally consumed to strengthen the curse effect.】
【Cooldown: 10 minutes. Continuous or overloaded use of Dekan's Gospel will cause all-around damage to the user.】
【Note: The supreme work of Dekan and Talomati's collaboration.】
“From now on, this will be my exclusive weapon. Well, but I won't let anyone see it.”
Dekan had no intention of letting anyone know about the existence of this card.
Because once the effect of this 【Dekan's Gospel】 was exposed, Dekan would face endless trouble.
This was the only magic card he needed to use secretly at home.
Dekan's original intention in making this spell card was to slowly grind down the several major bishops of the Resurrection Church.
Who knew that later a group of idiots from the northern kingdoms of the Kingdom Federation would jump out to block fate's bullets for the bishops.
Then, of course, Dekan had to give the best arrangement to these guys who took the initiative to jump in his face.
The production principle of this card combined all of Dekan's skills and knowledge so far, as well as all the resources he could utilize.
First, the ancestral law cannot be changed.
The curse characteristic of Dekan's main weapon, the 【Cursed Doll】, was his specialty, and the new weapon was also made with the principle of demon-type curses as its core.
Secondly, in the construction of the new weapon, he had borrowed from Cornelia's 【Bloodstained Casebook】 as the basic prototype.
After all, this was the strongest weapon he had seen so far.
In addition, the ancestral position cannot be moved.
Dekan had too many enemies.
He didn't have the time to deal with them one by one.
So Dekan had always had Shijiang help him analyze the principle of "true name lock" in the 【True Word Blood Pact】.
Combining all of the above, this was the strongest magic card Dekan could currently make!
However, due to the great difficulty of combining these principles, it resulted in extremely high production difficulty and risk.
In the end, even though Dekan had sacrificed some of the strength in the design process in exchange for its compatibility, he still couldn't eliminate the side effects that might accompany it.
But as long as it was used in moderation, it would be fine!
Dekan quickly pulled open a drawer and took out a stack of documents.
He spread the stack of documents on the table and pulled out a list from among them, placing it in front of him.
“Hehehe, come, let's pick a lucky one first.”
This list was the one given to him by the Ice Snow Princess at Tristine Magic Academy.
It recorded the names of people in the Kingdom Federation and the Empire who wanted to make things difficult for Dekan.
Dekan eagerly rubbed his hands.
Then, with a devilish smile, he began to poke at the list with a rhythmic frequency!
“Eeny-meeny-miny-moe-whoever-I-pick-gets-to-be-happy-today!”