I Told You to Create Cards, Not to Slay Gods. [2]

The guide looked at Shen Sui with visible shock.

Continent of Dawn!

No one had chosen this Soul Card world in years.

Once, someone had summed up the reputation of this world: “Followers drawn from the Continent of Dawn either die instantly or are on the path to death.”

On the Cardmaster duel stage, almost no one used Soul Cards from the Continent of Dawn.

Countless aspiring Cardmasters, eager to summon powerful and invincible Soul Card followers from this world, had lost their qualifications when their followers died.

"Let me warn you," the guide said, "so far, the follower who survived the longest from the Continent of Dawn was a sixth-tier Cardmaster. His Soul Card follower died in a battle between the Lady of Daylight and the Lord of the Burning Sun over control of the Sun's authority—reduced to ashes by divine radiance. The follower survived a total of two and a half years."

Reaching sixth-tier in two and a half years was an impressive feat. However, the loss of the follower had forced the Cardmaster into early retirement, making it a bitter end to a promising career.

“If you want to last in this field, I suggest not choosing the Continent of Dawn. You might want to reconsider.”

“No, there's no need to reconsider.” Shen Sui’s voice was resolute.

The beautiful guide hesitated, but in the end, she sighed, rummaging under the desk until she pulled out a dusty metal box.

Shen Sui recognized the box. It had appeared in Lin Ke'er’s teaching slides—the box used for drawing Soul Cards.

Engraved with mysterious sigils, the box had the words "Continent of Dawn" emblazoned at its center.

“Sign here and press your fingerprint,” the guide said, writing “Continent of Dawn” on Shen Sui’s application form. “Are you absolutely sure about this?”

With quick, practiced movements, Shen Sui signed his name and pressed his thumb down. “I’m sure.”

The guide stamped the application with a seal, then handed Shen Sui the box. “Very well, you may draw your card. Just be prepared—even from the Continent of Dawn, you might only end up with a commoner follower…”

Before she could finish her warning, Shen Sui’s hand was already on the metal box, his fingers deftly activating the mechanism without waiting for instruction. He had clearly rehearsed this moment many times in his mind.

“Beep! Drawing Soul Card…”

“Beep! Congratulations, you have drawn the follower card: [Country Maiden · Alice].”

A card shot out from the device. Shen Sui caught it, feeling its cool metallic surface in his hands. The back displayed a pattern of stars, with a dark void at the center, as if symbolizing an inescapable fate.

On the front was a portrait of a beautiful girl standing in a field of flowers.

She was stunning, her rural garb doing little to hide her striking beauty.

Her looks were nearly on par with Vivian’s.

Though Vivian was still a notch better.

Shen Sui preferred girls with a bit more... figure.

Card Name: [Country Maiden · Alice]
Type: Follower Card
Star Rating: 1-Star
Effect: None
Spirit Value: 9

Seeing the card in Shen Sui's hand, the guide’s expression turned to one of pity. Such a card was about as useless as they came. It seemed this young man had no real destiny with the world of Cardmasters. Even if his follower somehow avoided an early death, there was little hope for success on the harsh and hierarchical Continent of Dawn.

“This is your Duel Disk,” she said, handing him a device. “Insert your Soul Card into it, and you’ll be able to monitor your follower’s actions in the Soul Card world. You can also guide your follower’s decisions, as long as you’ve set up a reasonable backstory and they’re willing to follow your advice.”

Even though she had mentally written off Shen Sui’s future, the guide still dutifully explained the procedure.

“Your follower’s progress and choices might earn you more Soul Cards. They come in two types: follower cards and spell cards. You’ve already covered this in your theory classes, so I won’t go into detail.”

She glanced at Shen Sui, who nodded, indicating he didn’t need further explanation.

In Soul Card duels, follower cards were akin to Yu-Gi-Oh! monster cards, while spell cards encompassed all other card types. In a duel, there were five slots for follower cards and five for spell cards—mirroring the format but not replicating it exactly.

Unlike in Yu-Gi-Oh!, Soul Card dueling required players to spend Soul Points to activate cards. The number of Soul Points available per turn depended on the rules—16 for tournaments, but with unlimited Soul Points in free-for-all mode.

Unless otherwise stated, the Soul Points cost of a card matched its star rating.

The guide continued, “The duel exam is scheduled for seven days from now, on June 6th. In that time, you must guide and support your Soul Card follower to acquire at least twenty Soul Cards. If you fail, you will be automatically disqualified.”

She went over the details of the exam, leaving Shen Sui to figure out the nuances of guiding his follower to collect enough cards—a task his teachers had already covered.

Unlike traditional exams, the duel exam required students to choose a dueling academy based on their theory scores before the practical began. Failing the duel meant taking the traditional college entrance exam the next day, severing any ties with the path of a Cardmaster.

The pressure was far greater than a normal college exam. With only one chance in a lifetime, every choice, every decision, every random draw could make or break someone’s future. Many students crumbled under the weight of that pressure.

Shen Sui’s theory scores were far from ideal, barely passing. The top duel academies in China were out of the question. After his “resurrection,” Lin Ke'er had spent several days researching and finally settled on a newly established academy for him—Tianyi Academy in Magic City.

This academy was a youth training ground established by Tianyi Club, a professional dueling club. There were no strict requirements for theory scores—students who failed the theory test could still enroll. Passing the duel exam was enough, and all fees were covered. The only catch was that Tianyi Club had the first right to sign any graduates.

It was the perfect fit for Shen Sui, who had no money and poor theory scores.

For that, he was genuinely grateful to Lin Ke'er. She truly had his best interests at heart.

Listening to the guide’s instructions, Shen Sui inserted the Soul Card into his Duel Disk. Instantly, information about Alice appeared before him.

[Alice Hoseweil, a common girl from the rural outskirts of Andrew City in the Rolyn Empire.]

[At 16, she dreams of becoming a powerful mage, roaming the Continent of Dawn, and using her abilities to fight for justice and change the world.]

[However, her parents were burned as heretics by the Church of the Thunder Lord, leaving Alice with a deep-seated hatred for the gods. She refuses to worship any deity, making her ineligible for any divine inheritance. Her path to extraordinary power is essentially blocked—unless a miracle occurs.]

[Right now, she is troubled; she must harvest another acre of wheat, or her aunt will refuse to feed her tonight.]

The Duel Disk projected Alice’s attributes:

Name: Alice Hoseweil
Level: 1 (0-Tier)
HP: 9 / 9
Strength: 3
Defense: 1
Willpower: 5
Agility: 9

A completely ordinary, even somewhat weak girl.

Well, I certainly didn’t get lucky, Shen Sui thought. He fiddled with the Duel Disk, considering creating a persona to guide Alice’s actions.

However, as he accessed the character creation screen, a prompt appeared:

[A pre-existing character has been detected in the Continent of Dawn. Would you like to activate it?]

Curious, Shen Sui immediately clicked “Activate.” The Duel Disk whirred into motion, and the status screen for Eldrin appeared.

Name: Eldrin Modena
Alias: Warden of the Evernight
Level: 169 (16-Tier)
HP: 114,514 / 114,514
Strength: 9,999
Defense: 9,999
Willpower: 9,999
Agility: 9,999
Titles: Twilight Archbishop, Godslayer, Slayer of the Divine...
Skills: Twilight Symphony, Death's Elegy, Resurrection, Grand Healing, Fireball...
Inventory: [Fireball · Skill Book], [Grimoire · Naïve Malice], [Star Codex]...

[Your name is Eldrin Modena, the legendary Twilight Archbishop. You mysteriously disappeared in Year 922 of the Silver Moon Calendar. Now, you have returned, and the world consciousness of the Continent of Dawn has sensed your presence, humbly asking for the reason behind your return.]

World consciousness... Oh, I remember. That’s the buggy AI from the game, the clueless little mascot whose permissions kept getting hijacked by the gods. She was only useful for handing out quest rewards. The main culprit behind the chaos in the Continent of Dawn.

[You express interest in Alice Hoseweil. The world consciousness acknowledges your interest.]

Ding! Alice found a mage’s ring in the wheat field, inheriting the legacy of an unknown mage. Alice has become a first-tier mage. Your Soul Card has transformed into: [Apprentice Mage · Alice].

Ding! You obtained the Equip Spell Card: [Magic Ring].

Card Name: [Apprentice Mage · Alice]
Type: Follower Card
Star Rating: 1-Star
Effect: None
Spirit Value: 100

Card Name: [Magic Ring]
Type: Equip Spell Card
Star Rating: 1-Star
Effect: As long as the equipped follower remains on the field, gain 3 Soul Points at the start of your main phase.

In the Continent of Dawn, strength ranged from the first tier for mortals to the fifteenth for gods, corresponding to the star ratings of Soul Cards. In the game, each tier was split into levels—roughly ten levels per tier. Alice becoming an Apprentice Mage raised her to level 9, but she was still a first-tier, so the star rating of her card remained unchanged.

Still too weak!

At that moment, new text appeared on the Duel Disk:

[You express dissatisfaction with Alice’s current card effects. The world consciousness, recognizing your power, allows you to modify the card effects within the limits of its star rating.]

Wait, does that mean I can essentially print my own cards? Shen Sui's eyes gleamed with excitement. Countless card effects from his previous life flashed through his mind.

Board wipes, effect negations, field locks...

Ash Blossom, Maxx "C", Infinite Impermanence, Nibiru...

Maybe I should give my opponents an occasional Level 8 behemoth?

Or should I try printing Victory Dragon?

If only I’d memorized the banlist before I crossed over...

Shen Sui’s thoughts raced, but he quickly calmed himself. The Soul Card dueling system did have its own set of bans. Except for Soul Cards, any card could be reported. If more than ten opponents complained, the Cardmaster Association would review the card for potential banning (meaning it would be banned from association-sanctioned tournaments).

Since I can adjust the effects myself, I need to carefully plan for the upcoming duel exam.

After much thought, Shen Sui inscribed the new effect on Alice’s card:

Card Name: [Apprentice Mage · Alice]
Type: Follower Card
Star Rating: 1-Star
Effect: When your opponent summons or special summons a follower, you may target one follower on each side of the field. Destroy the chosen followers. If [Apprentice Mage · Alice] is destroyed, you may activate a spell card from your deck upon her entry into the graveyard.
Spirit Value: 100