https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-9-Lanchi-is-about-to-start-Card-Making/12582086/
Chapter 10: Is There a Problem with the Magic Cards Lance Made?
Chapter 10: Is There a Problem with the Magic Cards Lance Made?
Bright light illuminated the card-making workshop, shining on the magical instruments and vessels. These tools, exuding an ancient aura, had witnessed the rise of countless card makers on their path to mastery.
At this moment, Lance was fully focused on his workbench. He carefully counted the basic materials, took out a divided tray, and measured out the required amounts for his endeavor. He meticulously placed each ingredient into the respective compartments.
Thalia watched his selection of materials, her brow furrowing unconsciously. What was this guy up to with all these materials? As Thalia wondered, Lance gradually finished his preparations.
Having lived frugally for a long time, Thalia had almost forgotten her past life of affluence.
Lance rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, his face filled with anticipation as he prepared to embark on the crafting of his first magic card. He began to mix the already ground attribute-less magic crystal powder with the magic core liquid to create ink, using a measuring device to monitor the magical fluctuations during the mixing process.
As he had not yet mastered the art of synchronizing his magic with the ink-mixing process, Lance could only rely on magical tools for assistance.
"...It's not that difficult," he thought to himself. "I just need someone to teach me. Reading about it in books isn't enough."
Thalia observed Lance's novice maneuvers with an unperturbed gaze. However, she had no interest in guiding this magically inept human boy, nor did she see any need to do so.
Thalia could already guess Lance's intentions without reading further.
Lance opened the magic scroll that he would use for transcription, extraction, and engraving. It was none other than the first-level mental magic spell, 'Mental Interference'.
Compared to magic scrolls that were rendered useless after a single use, transcribing this spell onto a magic card would allow for repeated use—
Mental Interference
[Card Type: Spell Card]
[Rarity: Blue Rare]
[Attribute: Mental]
[Tier: 1]
[Effect: Only effective against enemies within 3 meters, briefly rendering them unable to act. The duration of the effect and mana consumption depend on the mental disparity between the user and the target. Cooldown: 120 seconds.]
In most cases, creating a magic card based on this single magic scroll would result in an effect similar to the scroll, with minor fluctuations in the control duration.
A highly skilled card maker might even be able to produce a more advanced [Purple Rare] quality card. Such a card would be more powerful and could have additional effects.
Of course, even as a first-tier magic, a [Blue Rare] quality card presented a significant challenge to novice card makers. Preventing the card from exploding or managing to create a downgraded [White Common] quality card would already be impressive.
Thalia couldn't comment on Lance's talent or predict the outcome of his endeavor. However, she knew that for humans, starting to learn card making at this stage was already quite late.
Lance's family background seemed well-off. If he had talent, he should have been provided with the best resources to begin his studies much earlier. It was unusual for him to be dabbling in card making out of mere interest at this point.
"Tara, do you know how to make cards?" Lance asked, his eyes fixed on the scroll as he seemed to sense Thalia's gaze upon him. Perhaps having someone to chat with in the workshop wouldn't be so bad.
"...” Thalia ignored him, simply averting her gaze. She didn't want to lie about such a trivial matter, nor did she want to reveal anything unnecessary to this human.
Lance smiled faintly, understanding her silence. He decided not to bother Thalia further. Just as the Card Makers' Association viewed him, he thought that he might possess some value as a merchant, but as a card maker, he seemed utterly worthless.
So far, the only people who seemed to believe in him were the butler, Hans, and the maid, Francine, from the mansion.
Lance continued to pour the mixed magic ink into the engraving pen while his thoughts wandered. He needed to focus now, as he was about to enter the most crucial step in the magic card-making process—rewriting and setting the magic structure and circuits.
First-tier mental magic spells typically involved minor mental interference, and strong control-type mental magic often required proximity to the target to be effective. If one wished to alter the spell's effect, it would require not only extremely strong magic creation abilities but also numerous experiments and improvements, making the difficulty far surpass that of normal card making.
Lance concentrated, channeling all his mental energy towards the task at hand. As he slowly moved the engraving pen, he carefully infused his magic into each magical circuit.
The magic structure of a card wasn't something that any magician or magic craftsman could create. It was a process that involved understanding, creation, and spellcasting simultaneously. Without exceptional talent and a profound understanding, one might be able to replicate the appearance of a card, but they would fail to imbue it with the necessary power.
Lance held his breath as if he were facing his greatest challenge yet. The most troublesome part of engraving was the intricate magical text that had to be inscribed on the card. These twisted characters, resembling ants crawling on the surface, were indecipherable without keen eyesight, let alone reproducible.
With a furrowed brow, he slowly engraved the text. Like an artist painting a masterpiece, each stroke was incredibly delicate yet imbued with a sense of stability.
Even Thalia, standing by his side, couldn't help but regard Lance with a hint of seriousness.
Regardless of the simplicity of the card Lance was attempting to create or his obvious lack of experience, the aura he exuded in this moment was not that of an amateur card maker but that of a master artisan!
Several seconds passed, and then—an explosion.
"..." Thalia shook her head imperceptibly as the faint smoke from the explosion wafted through the air. As she had expected, he was a wasteful mediocrity.
Although she wasn't well-versed in the intricacies of human magic scrolls, she could tell that Lance was attempting something unusual—
It seemed he wasn't content with simply transcribing 'Mental Interference'. Instead, he was trying to modify the spell during the transcription and engraving process before encapsulating it into a card.
It was like a beginner trying to skip the basics of walking and running and attempting to fly instead.
Only an extremely arrogant genius or a foolish dreamer would attempt such a thing.
"Why did it explode...?" Lance stared at the card in his hand, which had burst apart like a firecracker, shattering his dream of card making.
The protective lightweight barrier within the card-making workshop shielded Lance from harm.
The next second, Lance rushed out of the workshop as if he had suddenly remembered something.
"This guy..."
Thalia muttered to herself, her brow furrowed.
Even if her employer was leaving in a huff after being dealt a blow to his morale, he shouldn't have stormed off and left her behind like that.
She hated it when anyone abandoned her without a care.
Just as Thalia was about to leave the workshop with a displeased expression, Lance rushed back in and hurried to the workbench, where he began jotting something down with a pen.
"You're not leaving?" Thalia asked.
"No, I'm not going anywhere. We've only just begun! I just asked the butler to bring me a few more things," Lance replied matter-of-factly.
He didn't seem discouraged at all; instead, his eyes sparkled with enthusiasm and anticipation, as if he had an insatiable curiosity about the art of card-making.
Thalia didn't say anything further and returned to her seat.
She was patient and content to sit there all day, earning 3 pounds a day for her services.
However, she wondered how long it would be before Lance gave up due to repeated failures.
Soon, the butler arrived with the additional books and materials that Lance had requested.
Lance eagerly took the books and began flipping through them at the long table, his eyes gleaming with fascination.
For the rest of the afternoon, he alternated between card explosions, recording his failed attempts, and poring over the books to learn from his mistakes.
...
This routine continued for an entire fortnight.
Every day, Lance and Thalia would arrive at the card-making workshop, spending almost the entire day there—Lance experimenting and failing, and Thalia observing and taking notes.
However, Lance had yet to produce a decent 'Mental Interference' card.
Thalia remained seated in her usual spot, gently holding a book and flipping through the pages at a leisurely pace, fulfilling her duty of protecting her employer.
Though, she had stopped paying close attention to Lance's card-making process and was now merely passing time by reading.
In her opinion, Lance's failures were to be expected.
Even with Lance's relentless trial and error approach, a beginner attempting to create a Blue Rare card would typically require numerous attempts and repeated failures.
Indeed, Lance seemed to lack innate talent.
Those with talent would likely have crafted a few usable first-tier magic cards by now.
There were even rare geniuses who could create Blue Rare cards on their first attempt.
Unlike Lance, who had been producing nothing but waste for half a month.
A faint light flickered at the edge of Thalia's vision.
Even as her attention remained on her book, she knew that the sound of a magic card exploding was imminent.
Lance had failed at this particular step countless times before.
However.
As the light intensified and then faded, the expected explosion did not occur.
"..."
Thalia's eyes drifted slightly from the book's pages.
She saw Lance, his expression focused and intense, like a craftsman putting the finishing touches on a masterpiece.
The magic card in his hand began to emit a soft, glowing aura.
It seemed that he had finally succeeded, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
At last, a card worthy of being called a finished product was born, enveloped in mist! Lance's face lit up with satisfaction as he admired the card's face.
He seemed pleased with the card's quality, and even as a card maker himself, he couldn't help but admire it for a moment longer.
The card shimmered with amethyst light.
Even Thalia was drawn to glance at Lance with a hint of curiosity.
Without any guidance, for his first card to be of Purple Rare quality was impressive. Most card makers would only attempt to create Rare cards at higher tiers, like four or five, and even then, creating a Purple Rare card would be a challenge.
While Lance had indeed spent an excessive amount of time and resources, there were more extravagant talents within the demon tribe.
However, what surprised Thalia was that this human she had happened to encounter possessed such talent...
It seemed that even fate favored humans.
A sense of powerlessness inexplicably crept into her heart.
In that moment, she felt that the demon tribe's dream of restoring their nation was but an elusive fantasy.
"Tara, come and see my masterpiece!"
Lance's cheerful voice caused Thalia to lift her slightly lowered gaze.
In her opinion...
A first-tier Purple Rare card wasn't that extraordinary.
Moreover, compared to the resources Lance had wasted, the value of this card didn't even come close to making up for the losses.
Even a Purple Rare 'Mental Interference' card was ultimately a low-cost mental magic spell, not an essential item, and not even a versatile one at that.
It was more likely to be used by close-range professions than by those who relied on long-range attacks.
However, as she thought about it...
Thalia's brows furrowed as she discerned the effect of the card in Lance's hand.
Because...
She saw that the effect of this modified 'Mental Interference' card was...
Basic Courtesy
[Card Type: Spell Card]
[Rarity: Purple Rare]
[Attribute: Mental]
[Tier: 1]
[Effect: Only effective against enemies within 3 meters, causing them to kneel before you. The amount of mana consumed depends on the mental disparity between the user and the target. Cooldown: 120 seconds.]
[Note: Sir, please refrain from peeping through doors and getting carried away with your success.]
"..."
She pondered the fact that such cards usually inflicted a brief freeze effect, causing enemies to be unable to move for a fraction of a second. While Lance's card had a similar effect, it seemed to have a slightly longer duration than 'Mental Interference'.
But...
There were some things she couldn't bring herself to say.
"Are you selling this card?"
After some thought, Thalia finally asked, making her first attempt at initiating a conversation with Lance.
This was the first time she had actively tried to engage him in dialogue.
With the dozens of pounds she had earned from Lance so far, purchasing a low-tier Purple Rare magic card was well within her means.
Of course, this only applied to regular cards on the market.
Lance's unique spell card was one of a kind, and its price was impossible to estimate.
Its value didn't lie in its usefulness but in the fact that it must never fall into the wrong hands.
Therefore, it was best if she acquired it herself!
"No, I'm keeping this one. It's a pretty handy card to have in case I need to save my life," Lance replied, slightly taken aback by Thalia's interest, but he soon shook his head and refused with a smile.
Thalia: "?"
A handy card for saving his life?
...Are you sure this card will save your life?
Perhaps you wouldn't have died in a fight otherwise.
But using this card, which practically screams 'anger me' and 'mock me,' makes that a lot less certain.
...
(End of Chapter)
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