I Told You to Create Cards, Not to Slay Gods. [5]

[Alice decided to head to the City of Sin to rescue Anna.]

[She gathered her belongings and departed, digging out her hidden savings from the ruins and purchasing a horse from a woman preparing to flee the village.]

Ding! You obtained the Follower Card: Alice’s Mare.

City of Sin?

Just the name alone hinted at trouble.

Curious, Shen Sui pulled out the documents Lin Ke'er had given him, flipping to the section about the City of Sin.

As one of the most dangerous cities on the Continent of Dawn, the City of Sin was a haven for criminals from all corners of the continent—powerful sorcerers, ruthless bandits, and pervasive evil. It was the domain of the Evil God, Lord of Sin, and had been for three hundred years. People had long since forgotten its original name: Modena City.

Wait... Modena City?

Damn! Isn’t that the city I built in the game? How did it become a den of evil?!

Shen Sui knew all too well about the Lord of Sin—a formidable early-game boss who had eventually fallen to his max-level character.

How did my city turn into the capital of chaos?

According to the information, Modena City was now undeniably perilous. As the Lord of Sin’s territory, it was the only place on the Continent of Dawn where all crimes were pardoned. Nearly every calamity could be traced back to its residents.

Three gods had once formed an alliance to wage a divine war against the Lord of Sin, yet failed to kill him due to his unique traits. The city remained standing to this day.

There was another, more significant reason for its survival: the gods believed that if Modena City were destroyed, the missing Twilight Archbishop would return.

After reading this, Shen Sui had no intention of letting Alice barge into the City of Sin. If she ended up getting herself killed, he’d be devastated. He quickly entered a command.

[You described the dangers of the City of Sin to Alice, using the most terrifying descriptions you could muster.]

[However, Alice’s resolve only grew stronger. She couldn’t bear to leave Anna in such dire straits. Anna’s mother had given up on saving her, but Alice was determined to bring her back.]

This girl... why is she so stubborn?!

Frustrated, Shen Sui decided to take a different approach.

[You persuaded Alice that her current strength wasn’t enough.]

[Alice agreed, asking you how she could quickly become stronger.]

Finally! Let’s level up first before tackling the City of Sin!

Shen Sui felt a surge of satisfaction.

Wait a second... Did she just trick me? Did she plan all along to get training advice out of me?

Shaking his head, Shen Sui glanced over at Eldrin’s inventory.

As a level 169, tier-16 being surpassing even the gods, Shen Sui rarely carried low-tier spellbooks in his inventory. The Fireball spellbook he’d given Alice was just a random drop before his save file got wiped. However, he remembered leaving a storage chest by Lake Payinja not far from Andrew City.

Lake Payinja was the only place in the game where he could catch the King of Spring Fish. As a completionist, Shen Sui hadn’t missed the chance.

Dawn’s Link had a mishmash of game mechanics, from mining to fishing, and its storage system had a Stardew Valley-like vibe. Treasure chests popped up during fishing, containing items and spellbooks. Limited inventory space had prompted Shen Sui to leave a chest by the lake to stash his finds.

He recalled being around level 55—fifth-tier—when he caught the King of Spring Fish, so the items in that chest would be quite useful for Alice at her current stage.

With that in mind, Shen Sui typed another command.

[You told Alice about a storage chest you had left by Lake Payinja. Alice decided to visit the lake before heading to the City of Sin.]

[She set off, riding her little mare, now en route.]

The message meant that Shen Sui could take a short break. It was late, and he planned to sleep, but remembering how Alice was nearly killed in less than an hour the last time he went idle, he decided to be cautious.

Opening his skill menu, Shen Sui activated Stellar Super Magic Array.

It was a 13th-tier skill, powerful enough that Shen Sui still relied on it even after reaching tier 16 in new DLC challenges.

Stellar Super Magic Array allowed him to record up to two spells, erasing their usage costs and enabling repeated casting.

The spells he registered in the array were Resurrection.

[You used Stellar Super Magic Array on Alice.]

Ding! You obtained the Permanent Spell Card: Stellar Super Magic Array.

Finally, I can take a breather.

Reviewing his haul, Shen Sui was impressed. Since drawing Alice, she had netted him eight cards besides herself:

Magic Ring, Resurrection, Fireball, Feigned Weakness, Grim Resolve, Thunder Strike, Alice’s Mare, and now Stellar Super Magic Array.

Although three of the cards were directly his own spells, the overall gain was significant.

He glanced at the three most recent cards.

Thunder Strike had a straightforward effect—destroying an opponent’s follower. Shen Sui had considered modifying it to destroy all enemy followers, but the card was only 3-star, too weak to handle such an upgrade.

Stellar Super Magic Array, on the other hand, was a 13-star Permanent Spell Card, giving Shen Sui plenty of room to tweak it.

His plan for the duel exam was already forming in his mind, so he began modifying Stellar Super Magic Array.

Alice’s Apprentice Mage effect allowed her to use spells during the opponent's turn.

Spells activated from the deck, graveyard, or hand through her effect didn’t require any costs. Shen Sui envisioned a strategy where she would cast Resurrection in response to an opponent’s move.

An enemy would summon a follower, triggering Alice’s effect to destroy it. If Alice herself was destroyed in the process, she could use Resurrection from the deck to bring herself back—an elegantly vicious loop.

What’s still missing?

He needed a way to recycle Resurrection from the graveyard back to the deck.

With a clear goal, Shen Sui’s modification proceeded swiftly. The flexibility of the 13-star card made it easy.

Card Name: [Stellar Super Magic Array]
Type: Permanent Spell Card
Star Rating: 13-Star
Effect:
① While this card is on the field, when a Spell Card is sent to the graveyard outside of your turn, you may return it to the deck, removing any usage limitations.
② At the start of your turn, you may add one Spell Card returned to the deck by this effect to your hand.

Perfect! It’s flawless!

The ultimate chain was complete. A grin spread across Shen Sui’s face, his fatigue ebbing away. He even felt a burning desire to duel someone right away.

Sadly, his current collection of Soul Cards wasn’t enough to form a proper deck.

If I can get this setup on my first turn, the victory loop is guaranteed. There’s a good chance it’ll get reported and banned, but I’ll have passed the duel exam by then.

Now, his challenge was to quickly draw Alice and Stellar Super Magic Array in a duel.

His next batch of cards should focus on search mechanics.

Like the Dark Magician decks—once you have the win condition, it’s all about finding it as quickly as possible.

And he’d also need a strategy to dismantle an opponent’s board if he drew a second turn.

It’s time to start building my deck for the ultimate victory.