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Chapter 112: Lanchi is in Great Shape
Chapter 112: Lanchi is in Great Shape
Hutton Walking Plaza was bustling with activity as the morning sun brightened the sky. The large department stores with their meticulously designed window displays caught the eyes of passersby, filling the Saturday morning with a lively atmosphere.
On the second floor of the Card Maker's Association, a giant magic screen seamlessly integrated into the glass curtain wall had switched from the association's promotional loop to a preview of the upcoming Registered Card Maker Exam.
Families strolled through the plaza, their children laughing and full of energy, while couples smiled at each other, enjoying the leisurely weekend. Outdoor seating areas at cafes and restaurants were also filled with customers.
At that moment, some people started to look up, their gazes shifting from the bustling street scene to the giant glass screen of the Association.
Fifth floor of the Card Maker's Association.
Lanchi and Hepburn chatted leisurely as they gazed out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the expansive square below.
According to the signs, they would be able to reach the Registered Card Maker Exam area soon by heading towards the atrium.
"I feel great today!" Lanchi said, checking the time. It was almost time to enter the exam room, so he bid Hepburn a temporary farewell.
Having just done a good deed, Lanchi felt fantastic, and his confidence in card making had increased.
"...Good luck, Lanchi," Hepburn said. Although she felt that Lanchi being in such high spirits was definitely not good news for Sophia.
But she would wholeheartedly wish him well.
Hepburn couldn't say for sure if Lanchi was the type to pull out all the stops and showcase his lifetime's worth of card-making skills just for the fun of it.
Oh well, she was used to it.
Hepburn's feelings were complicated. She hoped that Lanchi would pass and get a good ranking, but she also worried that he might perform too well, causing Sophia to crumble under the pressure.
However, she figured it would probably be fine.
Hepburn had also looked into the Registered Card Maker Exam process.
Usually, it was already very difficult to skip the first Iron rank and go straight to the second rank of Copper.
Examinees had a total of five card-making attempts, and they needed to succeed at least three times to pass. Additionally, they had to create cards from three different categories: Spell Cards, Equipment Cards, and Summoning Cards.
This was why it was challenging to pass the exam purely based on luck.
On top of that, the Association would grade the magic cards created during the exam.
The total score of all the finished cards would determine the examinee's final grade.
To reach the advancement score for the initial Copper rank, one would need to create three blue-colored Rare cards.
Those with such skills already possessed the abilities of a Copper-rank card maker.
The Silver rank was even more difficult to attain, like trying to climb to the heavens.
Hepburn had already discussed Lanchi's card-making abilities with him, and she knew that his skills had a high ceiling but a low floor. What he lacked the most was consistency in card quality, and he could only ensure a high success rate when making Seal cards.
As for the Epic card, "Great Loving Poet," it was the masterpiece of his teacher, and he had never made a pink-colored Sacred card himself.
So, Hepburn thought that if Lanchi performed as expected today and made one purple and two white cards, achieving the Copper rank would already be quite impressive.
"Then, Lanchi, I'll be waiting for you on the third floor later," Hepburn said, waving at him to indicate that he should head into the exam room.
She planned to go up to the third floor to check on Enoch and Sophia. If they were getting along well, she would stay with them and watch the Registered Card Maker Exam through the magical screens on that level.
"Okay, I'll find you after the exam," Lanchi nodded and turned to stride towards the exam area.
...
Over ten minutes later.
The spacious lobby of the Registered Card Maker Exam.
Natural light streamed through the large rose windows in the dome, illuminating the interior.
Lanchi had already passed the qualification confirmation and was now sitting quietly in the waiting area, awaiting the start of the exam.
Along the walls of the grand hall stood several gigantic magic devices, like silent giants. The soft lighting reflected off their surfaces, creating a mysterious and majestic glow.
The massive magic engineering components, with their intricate connections, were made of mithril and magic crystal, giving off a cold and stunning visual impact.
Many of the exam takers who were seeing this large-scale magic machinery for the first time couldn't help but be amazed by one of the pinnacle achievements of magic engineering.
However, Lanchi had already seen this kind of device before and was no longer surprised by it.
The "Artificial Shadow World Initiation Terminal" had been used during his entrance exam at the Academy of Ikelite.
In recent years, the Registered Card Maker Exam had been improved from a traditional exam format to an artificial shadow world exam.
After the exam began, the examinees would carry their [Portable Card-Making Toolkit] set of magic cards and enter a harmless, single-person, first-level artificial shadow world.
The separated individual shadow worlds ensured that the card makers were unaffected by any external factors and would not interfere with each other, while the Association could conveniently record and evaluate the exam process.
The entire exam would be broadcast not only to the headquarters of the Card Maker's Association but also on a smaller scale on the giant screen outside the Association's building in the royal capital of Ikelite and the magic screens on each floor.
Usually, after the card-making exam began, guests who came to the Card Maker's Association to transact business would also watch the exam as a diversion.
There were also a few citizens in Hutton Walking Plaza who would sit on the resting flower boxes or the stone steps at the edge of the tree platform to watch the exam.
This led to quite a few first-time takers, and even those who had failed several times, feeling nervous.
Compared to the anxious card makers around him, Lanchi remained exceptionally calm.
His steady demeanor made him seem like he was there to supervise the exam rather than take it.
Having experienced two artificial shadow world exams and one real shadow world exam, Lanchi was unfazed.
Ever since he returned from that dreamlike Demon Realm Academy, Lanchi felt like his heart had been taken by the demon realm, and he would probably never experience joy or sorrow again in this life.
Lanchi waited with a calm mind.
At some point, steady footsteps echoed through the lobby, reaching the ears of the waiting examinees.
The arrival of the examiners naturally quieted the slightly noisy exam room.
Lanchi followed the direction of everyone's gazes.
A figure walked in from the side of the lobby entrance, dressed in a dark suit with a pocket outside and a lapel pin indicating the identity of a registered card maker and a senior examiner of the Card Maker's Association.
He was a well-dressed middle-aged man in his forties, but his eyes showed a hint of fatigue.
He quickly walked to the front of the waiting area and looked at the group of examinees.
Among the waiting candidates were many young people, most of whom were students from Ikelite Academy or other schools in different cities, such as the Saint Teaching Research Society and the Sacred Craft Academy, who had come to take this registration exam.
Although there were other large cities in the Hutton Kingdom that offered the Registered Card Maker Exam, there were fewer exam spots, and the cycles were different. Sometimes, to take the exam as soon as possible, many candidates would also take the magic rail train to the royal capital of Ikelite.
Most of the faculty and students at Ikelite Academy didn't care about this kind of registered card maker exam, and it was often only the School of Magic Engineering that paid attention to it.
If a student performed exceptionally well on the Registered Card Maker Exam, the Association would notify Professor Polauo, the dean of the School of Magic Engineering at Ikelite Academy.
On the days of the Registered Card Maker Exam, when there were promising students from the School of Magic Engineering taking the exam, the professors from the school would eagerly await good news.
However, today, it seemed that none of the promising new students from the School of Magic Engineering were taking the exam, so the professors there probably weren't too concerned about it.
The middle-aged man thought casually to himself, then said, "I am today's chief examiner, Lawrence."
Even without introducing himself further, his identity as a Gold-rank card maker was enough to establish his authority.
"Each of you will enter a single, harmless shadow world, and you can choose your environment freely. The exam will last for a maximum of 5 hours, and you will have 30 minutes of preparation time after the exam begins to read the specific exam rules and purchase card-making materials."
"The exam will officially start at nine o'clock and end at two-thirty in the afternoon. Also, if you get hungry during the exam, you can purchase lunch within the artificial shadow world."
After a brief introduction of the process, Lawrence inserted a secret key, which was glowing with a white luster, into the "Artificial Shadow World Initiation Terminal."
Immediately, the space in front of the magical apparatus began to distort, the color gradually turning from transparent to deep and dark, until it finally took shape, revealing an artificially created void gate.
At the same time, the staff of the Card Maker's Association began guiding the examinees into the artificial shadow world.
Meanwhile,
The giant glass wall of the Ikelite Card Maker's Association branch finally switched to a broadcast of the Registered Card Maker Exam!
(End of Chapter)
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