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    Chapter 6: Card Crafting

    After flying at high speed for a while, they could see the silhouettes of several flying demons ahead.

    "Brother, I heard this area is infested with temperamental avian magical beasts. Did you sense them?"

    "I've heard about it, but they should all be taken care of by now. After all, we have quite a few strong and hot-tempered demons in our group."

    "Hmm, really? But I still feel like there's danger lurking."

    "Good afternoon~"

    A light and pleasant laughter echoed from behind the two demons. One of them spun around, locking eyes with a pair of pink irises. Before he could react, a faint pink mist appeared before his vision, ephemeral and elusive. It dissipated within a second, leaving him questioning if he had just imagined it.

    Wen Ying watched the scene unfold with rapt attention, not blinking once.

    For the first time, Essence felt uneasy. After displaying his innate talent, the demon's gaze was fixated on him with an intense infatuation. Turning to the other demon, known as the "Rural Devil," he saw the white demon staring at him with unblinking silver-gray eyes, as bright as a laser beam in the human world.

    Upon noticing Essence looking back, the Rural Devil bashfully smiled and showered him with effusive praise, "What an amazing skill! You're so incredible!"

    "Uh-huh." Feeling praised for the first time was an odd experience. Essence sensed something was off.

    The bewitched demon gazed at Essence with infatuation, struggling to speak coherently. Essence casually kicked him towards another demon and instructed, "Hold him down."

    The demon grumbled inwardly but dared not show any disobedience on the surface.

    "In how long will this effect last?" Wen Ying approached Essence curiously.

    "It depends on the subject and how focused I am. For this one," Essence glanced at the demon whose eyes were fixated on him, "about ten to fifteen minutes."

    A sensation stirred within Wen Ying, causing his fingers to curl slightly. It wasn't the right time to make cards; there was still a considerable distance to their destination. As he looked at Essence, the latter suddenly unbuttoned his shirt.

    Wen Ying: "?"

    "The heat of your gaze is making it hard for me to resist..."

    Essence's slightly repressed breathing sent shivers down Wen Ying's spine from head to toe. Yesterday, when he first saw Essence in the square, the latter seemed to have a habit of not wearing his clothes properly.

    Seeing Wen Ying's astonishment, the unfortunate demon nearby whispered a reminder, "Are you from the countryside? Lord Essence has a... uh, exhibitionist kink!"

    Under Essence's seemingly affectionate but stern gaze, the demon changed its tune.

    Were all incubi like this? Wen Ying hurriedly said, "Uh, I suddenly remembered that we're still in the test, so I'll be going now!"

    He flipped to the page with the speed spell on his cheat sheet, found one, and recited it. This time, the spell worked on the first try, and Wen Ying darted away swiftly.

    "Suddenly, my darling is so shy," Essence sighed, tilting their head in confusion.

    Wen Ying was soon caught up with by Essence.

    "Need some help?" Essence asked with a smile.

    Wen Ying shook their head. "I think an exam is an exam, and cheating isn't allowed. You should hurry and fly, or being at the bottom of the rankings will be embarrassing."

    Essence pondered for a moment. "Then I'll wait for you at the finish line."

    "In fact, there's no need."

    Essence flew forward for a bit before returning and casually asked, "By the way, what's your relationship with Aruda?"

    "I'm her great-grandson," Wen Ying replied straightforwardly.

    Unexpectedly, Essence's expression changed abruptly upon hearing this. "You... You live in that castle?"

    Wen Ying nodded, answering naturally, "Mm-hm, she'll be coming to pick me up later."

    Essence scratched the back of his head, his eyes filled with a complicated mix of emotions, a hint of anxiety and struggle evident. Finally, he said, "I suddenly remembered something. I won't be able to wait for you at the finish line later."

    That was excellent news, but Wen Ying refrained from revealing his overwhelming joy. "It's alright."

    Essence flew away reluctantly.

    Was Essence afraid of Aruda? Wen Ying pondered as he flew, but soon dismissed the thought. Instead, he focused on replaying the scene of Essence using his innate ability in his mind, striving to remember every detail.

    Recalling the group of demons who had mocked him, although it was true that he was weak, Wen Ying was still displeased by their ridicule. He intended to teach those arrogant demons a lesson about the treacherous nature of humans.

    If he couldn't handle the three-headed dog, surely he could manage some ordinary demons, right?

    Soon, Wen Ying arrived at the mist-shrouded area. He cautiously scanned his surroundings, wary of any ferocious beasts that might suddenly emerge from the desolate fog.

    Amidst the living beasts, there were countless corpses, their blood staining the water red. Some of them had lost limbs, with obvious signs of tearing.

    Wen Ying muttered, "These demons are truly cruel."

    Nothing happened along the way. Wen Ying was prepared for an attack from wild beasts. He held the fireball card he created, yet he reached the end unscathed. By then, it was already late in the day.

    "Come on, come on." The staff waiting at the finish line called out impatiently to him.

    Wen Ying's flight speed was like a tortoise crawling. After landing at the end, he gasped for air and rested for a long time before he could recover.

    In the Human Realm, he didn't have to run 800 meters, but in the Demon Realm, he had to fly a marathon. It was exhausting; his shoulder blades burned with pain.

    After taking a moment to catch his breath, Wen Ying finally had the energy to look around. There weren't many demons present. His gaze lingered on a tall canine demon, Berlos.

    Their eyes met, and with the demon's keen vision, Wen Ying could clearly see Berlos' scrutiny, as well as the disdainful look he gave him.

    Wen Ying clenched the card in his hand. Trash, huh? Trash... For now, he really couldn't do anything to the other party.

    Berlos chuckled. That white creature dared to be angry but not speak. He was different from the other weaklings. Berlos found him interesting, wondering what species he belonged to.

    What research is Aruda up to this time?

    Those arrogant demons were really annoying, Wen Ying pouted. Humans were much better, knowing how to be modest.

    Exiting the testing ground, which was this canyon, he spotted Aruda at first glance. Aruda had a unique aura that made it impossible to overlook him... How strange, there wasn't a single person around Aruda, as if it was a vacuum zone.

    Wen Ying walked over in confusion.

    Aruda sized him up and down with a smile, saying, "You're unharmed, that's great."

    Wen Ying replied, "I was one of the slowest. It seems those beasts were taken care of by the people ahead."

    "Ah, so the magical beasts were dealt with by those in front. You're really lucky," Aruda seemed genuinely happy for Wen Ying.

    Wen Ying: ... He couldn't understand the elder's way of thinking. His statement implied he was at the back, yet Aruda was celebrating as if he had been among the frontrunners.

    "Come, let's head home."

    Wen Ying nodded.

    Wen Ying passed through the magnificent city, carved as if by divine hands, but instead of admiring it, he stole glances at Aruda, a hint of contemplation flickering in his eyes.

    Lost in thought, Wen Ying unknowingly arrived back at the castle. Aruda mentioned she was going to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

    "Grandmother, I'll be out in the courtyard for a bit."

    "Go ahead."

    Wen Ying first fetched a bucket of water and set it aside. He took out the Black Fog Fireball card, infused it with magic, and activated it. The card illuminated with a white glow, and soon, a burning fireball hovered in the palm of his hand.

    Extending his left hand, he recited the fireball spell he had memorized. After a few attempts, on the fifth try, the spell finally succeeded, and a fireball also suspended in the air above his left hand.

    Observing the two fireballs, Wen Ying found no discernible difference between them. They seemed to have similar power, except for the consumption of magic energy.

    The fireball conjured from the card consumed ten times less magic power than the one produced by the spell! Though Wen Ying didn't fully understand the demonic concept of magic reserves, he intuitively sensed that this was an astonishing discovery, a potential game-changer that could make those demons bow down and call him "dad".

    Reciting spells required time, whereas his card, after a few seconds of charging, was virtually instant...

    Wen Ying dispersed the fireball and pulled out another Black Mist Fireball Card from his pocket, a sly smile gradually forming on his face.

    Taking advantage of the vivid memory of the succubus's skill usage in his mind, Wen Ying hurried back to his room to create more cards.

    His room was on the second floor. The stairway was lined with various flower pots filled with peculiar plants. There was one that Wen Ying thought resembled a carnivorous plant. In the past, he had always tiptoed nervously up and down the stairs. Today, however, with a card in hand, he suddenly straightened his back.

    There was a popular saying online: "All fears stem from inadequate firepower."

    Wen Ying returned to his room with delight, closed the door, and eagerly began his experiment.

    His innate talent had now developed muscle memory. Lifting his hand, his index finger emitted a faint white glow. Gradually, the white light condensed into a flat rectangular shape.

    In his mind, he replayed the scene of the succubus casting her spell, repeating it over and over again, while simultaneously constructing an image on the card.

    The materialized card still had a ring of mist around it. As Wen Ying traced his fingers, the mist swirled along, stroke by stroke. With his eyes closed, his fingers outlined the figure that resided in his imagination.

    "Bang!"

    After a sound akin to a firecracker, the floating card exploded, reverting back into magical aura and blending into the air.

    Wen Ying frowned and tried again, but still failed. He fell into deep thought as his fingers continued to sketch.

    As Wen Ying's fingers moved across the blank card, the mist gradually stabilized, and a final ripple dissipated. The magic-infused card floated into Wen Ying's hand.

    On the white card, there was only a pink, cartoonish eye - indicating it was an R-card. Below it, the skill bar read 'Low-Level Enchantment Spell from an Upper-Class Succubus'.

    Wen Ying intuitively felt that attempting a realistic version might still end in failure. Perhaps the talent skill he had witnessed Essence use was currently at the limit of his own abilities, which was only on par with an R-card’s power. To create an SR card, he would need to witness Essence using his powers more seriously.

    "Low-Level Enchantment Spell..." Wen Ying held the card, pondered for a moment, then returned to the castle, heading straight for the grotesque plants on the stairs.

    He infused the card with magic and used it on a carnivorous plant with sharp teeth.

    The carnivorous plant immediately closed its mouth, hiding its sharp teeth. It extended a branch, swaying gently towards Wen Ying. The main stem beneath the flower twisted into an S-shape.

    Despite being just a potted plant, Wen Ying could somehow perceive its intentions - "Officer, come and have some fun."

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    1. silverfox_26
      Apr 21, '24 at 12:23

      Wen Ying intuitively felt that attempting a realistic version might still end in failure. Perhaps the talent skill he had witnessed Essence use was currently at the limit of his own abilities, which was only on par with an R-card’s power. To create an SR card, he would need to witness Essence using heris powers more seriously.

    Note