I Told You to Create Cards, Not to Slay Gods. [3]

Lin Ke'er anxiously waited at the entrance to the schoolyard. Most of the students from her class who participated in the Soul Card draw had already come out. Only Shen Sui was nowhere to be seen.

Did something go wrong?

The thought of Shen Sui insisting on choosing the Continent of Dawn filled her with a deep sense of unease.

Could it be that his follower has already died?

In the Continent of Dawn, such a thing was entirely possible. There was once a "lucky" unlucky student who had chosen the Continent of Dawn and managed to draw a powerful twelfth-tier follower—only for that follower to be struck down by divine punishment before the student even left the card-drawing room.

By noon, the Fourth High School playground had mostly cleared out. With just seven days to collect twenty cards, every second counted for the students.

Lin Ke'er kept waiting until, finally, she saw Shen Sui’s figure through the green metal fence.

“How did it go?” she asked cautiously, worried she might be rubbing salt into a wound.

In her mind, she was already preparing words of comfort.

If the duel exam doesn't work out, there’s always the traditional college entrance exam...

“I got a pretty decent follower card,” Shen Sui said with a smile. He wasn’t the type to hide his success from those who genuinely cared.

“A Mage Apprentice, huh? Not bad,” Lin Ke'er said, seeing the joy in Shen Sui’s eyes. She chose not to voice her true thoughts.

In the Continent of Dawn, a Mage Apprentice was the lowest rung on the ladder. It wasn't exactly a lucky draw.

“The card effect seems pretty strong!” Her eyes lit up as she focused on Alice’s card. The effect was indeed impressive, strong enough to be the core of a deck. “I can’t believe a 1-star follower has such a powerful ability!”

It usually doesn’t, because I printed it myself, Shen Sui thought silently.

“Don’t get complacent,” Lin Ke'er warned. “Just because the effect is strong doesn’t mean your follower is powerful. The Continent of Dawn is incredibly dangerous, so you need to make sure she avoids unnecessary risks.”

“If she doesn’t get involved in events, I won’t be able to gather enough cards to build a proper deck,” Shen Sui replied.

That was why few dared to choose that world. It was dangerous, but to avoid disqualification, followers had to be actively engaged.

“As long as your Soul Card follower survives, even if you fail the duel exam, you haven’t lost your chance at becoming a professional Cardmaster,” Lin Ke'er said seriously. Seeing the effect on Shen Sui’s card, she truly believed he had the potential. “Your follower is quite strong. You don’t need to risk her life for the exam. You could slowly accumulate enough cards, participate in amateur duels, and eventually qualify for the professional ranks...”

Shen Sui shook his head. “Too slow.”

He was penniless, living in the school dorms, with Lin Ke'er sponsoring his meals out of sympathy. He couldn't rely on her kindness forever.

“I have my own plan, Miss Lin,” Shen Sui said earnestly.

Lin Ke'er didn’t press further. She handed Shen Sui a collection of information she had gathered about the Continent of Dawn, urging him to study it.

Few Cardmasters chose the Continent of Dawn, but the world was vast and there was no shortage of reckless adventurers. The intelligence compiled by domestic and international Cardmasters provided a rough overview of the war-torn, god-ravaged world.

Shen Sui was particularly curious about Vivian’s cause of death.

In the game, Vivian had been one of the key romance options. Her storyline was central to the Dawn’s Link "Twilight of the Gods" arc. The girl who had sworn to rid the world of all gods, declaring that “there should be no gods above all living beings,” was ultimately burned to death by the very people she had saved.

What happened in between? Vivian had been the strongest character besides him, able to hold off three major deities single-handedly during the quest to kill the Lord of the Burning Sun. What had led her to accept such a fate?

Puzzled, Shen Sui returned to his dorm room. Because of his solitary nature and mental health concerns, the school had refrained from assigning him a roommate. He had the eight-person dorm to himself, with the dorm supervisor’s room right next door. Every hour, the supervisor would check in on him to make sure he was safe.

Shen Sui didn’t mind. He understood the school’s precautions.

His main task now was to grind out twenty cards to qualify for the duel exam.

Activating his Duel Disk, Shen Sui saw that Alice had continued her activities even when he wasn't watching. This made sense—the Continent of Dawn was now a real world, not a game. There was no pause button.

[Alice used magic to harvest an acre of wheat, but when she looked back at the village, she saw it engulfed in flames.]

[A group of vicious raiders had attacked, slaughtering all the men in the village. They gathered the remaining women, chanting the name of their sinister god. They planned to take the women to the City of Sin for a dark ritual.]

[Alice, hiding in the grass, witnessed everything. She saw her aunt’s tear-streaked face and the despair in her best friend Anna’s eyes, but she was helpless—just an Apprentice Mage.]

[Sensing her presence, the raiders' leader cast a second-tier spell: Death’s Favor in Alice’s direction.]

[Alice was unable to dodge and was struck, tumbling down the hillside.]

[Badly wounded, she lay dying.]

Shen Sui’s Duel Disk sounded an urgent alarm.

What the—?! I wasn’t even away for that long, and my follower is already on the brink of death?!

Save her!

Save her now!

Panicking, Shen Sui typed commands into the Duel Disk.

[You appeared by Alice’s side and cast a fifteenth-tier spell: Resurrection.]

Ding! You obtained the Spell Card: Resurrection.

Card Name: [Resurrection]
Type: Spell Card
Star Rating: 15-Star
Effect: Target one follower in your graveyard. Special Summon it to your field.

[Alice regained consciousness. Sitting by the creek, she thought of her aunt’s cries and Anna’s desperate eyes. She began to weep, now homeless and alone, having lost all her friends with no way to help them.]

Perfect! This is the moment to guide her!

Seizing the opportunity, Shen Sui quickly input more commands into the Duel Disk.

[Using a spell, you entered Alice’s mage ring, speaking to the grieving girl.]

[Such a sorrowful child! Do you seek power?]

[Who are you?]

[I am the Twilight Archbishop, Eldrin Modena. I can help you fulfill your desires, granting you great strength.]

[What do you want from me in return?]

Alice was wary. Since childhood, she had been told that nothing in the world was free—that every gift came with a price.

Hey, hey, hey! I’m giving you a cheat code, and you ask what I want?

Do I need a reason to give you OP powers?

Shen Sui grumbled internally, but he knew this was a critical moment to earn Alice’s trust. He quickly typed his response:

[I was betrayed by my enemies, stripped of my body. I need you to gather materials to restore my physical form. In return, I will grant you immense power and assist you when needed.]

It’s a lie, of course!

Shen Sui’s avatar could move freely, but Alice remained his Soul Card follower. He couldn’t risk her moving out of his sight.

In truth, with the items in his inventory, Shen Sui was confident he could turn Alice into a reasonably competent mage. But doing so wouldn’t yield many cards.

Research had shown that the weaker the drawn Soul Card follower, the more growth-based spell cards one could obtain as they advanced. Those cards were also of higher quality.

Of course, most people preferred drawing a slightly stronger follower from the start to ensure their survival.

[Really? I don’t believe you.]

“What the hell?! Are you crazy? I’m literally giving you a cheat, and you refuse?” Shen Sui yelled, nearly jumping up in frustration.