[Baron Nashor]
[Category: Summon Card]
[Quality: 3-Star Purple Card]
[Attribute: Void, Dark]
[Racial Trait: Void Corruption]
[(Note: Baron Protection Plan, ensuring there is only ever one Baron in the world!)]
Looking at the summon card in his hand, which emanated an eerie purple glow, the corners of Gu Xin’s mouth couldn’t help but curl up into a wide grin.
A dual-attribute summon card, and a 3-Star Epic Purple card at that!
Without a doubt, this card was incredibly powerful.
If he were to sell it, Gu Xin wouldn’t part with it even for thirty million Great Xia dollars.
This was a 3-Star Purple card!
“Heh heh~ I always knew I was a genius Card Crafter.”
Gu Xin tucked [Baron Nashor] away, planning to bind it to himself later, and gave a lazy stretch.
He was currently only a Tier 2 Card Crafter.
If other crafters found out he had leaped a tier to create a 3-Star Purple magic card, their jaws would drop.
A Card Crafter’s creation process relied heavily on the mysterious and elusive element of ‘luck.’ Just because you used high-level materials didn’t guarantee a high-star, powerful card.
Take Gu Xin’s earlier magic card, [Change of Heart], for example.
Its effect was undeniably abstract and powerful, so why was he so dissatisfied with it now?
Because one of the base materials for [Change of Heart] was the Tier 3 [Eye of Darkness]!
Using a Tier 3 [Eye of Darkness] only to produce a 2-Star Blue card was, quite frankly, a rather embarrassing outcome for Gu Xin.
Even if its effect seemed utterly terrifying to outsiders.
Gu Xin stored the remaining materials, cleaned up the waste from his failed attempts, and left the laboratory to return to his room.
Sitting down at his desk, he took out his alchemy notebook and recorded the day’s sequence of failures along with the material combination of his successful case.
“So, adding that [Baby Dragon] was the right move.”
Tapping the end of his ballpoint pen against his chin, Gu Xin pondered.
The success of [Baron Nashor] was a fluke, but in some situations, a fluke also implied an inevitability.
The [Baby Dragon] was one of the Tier 2 materials Gu Xin had scavenged from Uncle Chen’s general store; it was essentially just the corpse of a deceased infant dragon.
Of course, despite the name, a baby dragon was actually just a wyvern subspecies.
They possessed Tier 3 strength in adulthood, but since this one was in its infant stage, it was simply called a baby dragon.
“It’s a pity there was only one baby dragon.
Old Chen really needs to step up his game and get more precious corpses.”
Gu Xin sighed with deep regret.
Otherwise, he could have bought another [Soul-Devouring Worm] later and tried to see if he could craft a second [Baron Nashor].
Even though he succeeded this time, using the exact same materials could still result in a completely different card.
A perfect replica was never guaranteed.
During the crafting process, a crafter’s mana, materials, mindset, and mental state were all crucial.
It was a profoundly mystical process.
The slightest deviation could lead to a different outcome.
Well, though the highest probability was actually just blowing up into useless scrap.
Afterward, Gu Xin took a sip of water and went to take a shower.
Having fired up the alchemy furnace so many times today, he had nearly drained his mana completely.
He was thoroughly exhausted.
Lying on his soft, spacious bed after his shower, Gu Xin promptly pulled out his phone to surf the web and browse the university forum.
Just then, an @all notification popped up in his class group chat.
Gu Xin was a freshman at Yin City University, belonging to the Card Crafter vocational department on the Mage side.
However, because the number of Card Crafter students was so small…
…he had actually been assigned to Mage Class 4.
Yeah, his liberal arts grades weren’t exactly stellar.
Yin U First-Year Class 4:
[She Went to Learn Skills]: Holy shit guys, did you watch the news?
I heard a demi-human monster appeared in Yin City recently.
(Shock)
[Eighteen This Year]: For real?
A monster managed to get into the city?
(Scratching Head)
[Boss I Miss You]: I saw the news too.
The City Guard is useless, and apparently, someone already died.
[You Can’t Handle My Staff]: A demi-human?
What race of demi-human?
(Σ(ŎдŎ|||))
[Magic is the Best]: Is it a lizardman?
Is it, is it?
I love lizardmen!
((≧ω≦))
*Bro, no.
A man cannot, or at least, he shouldn’t.*
Gu Xin lurked in the chat, watching his classmates discuss the demi-human with great interest.
He occasionally sent a meme to bubble up and prove he was still alive.
Demi-humans were a type of humanoid creature that looked similar to humans but were entirely distinct.
They didn’t fall under the category of magical beasts or monsters; they were an independent biological classification.
It was worth noting that these so-called demi-humans were essentially the beastmen from Gu Xin’s memories.
Foxmen, wolfmen, minotaurs, weaselmen, and many more—they possessed human traits while retaining their bestial characteristics.
Such as tails, claws, ears, skin, or even their heads.
Gu Xin had seen demi-humans before.
He still remembered when a circus came to perform in Yin City last year, featuring an act by a fox-girl.
Those bouncing, milky-white breasts, that soft, swaying waist, that alluring figure, that big fluffy tail…
It truly was unforgettable.
“How strange.
There aren’t any demi-human secret realms near Yin City, so how did one suddenly pop out?
And it seems to be a vicious one, too.”
Gu Xin searched for information about the demi-human on the Yin City forum, and sure enough, a thread popped up.
The demi-human races weren’t actually native to this world.
They had arrived from a massive secret realm hundreds of years ago.
Rumor had it that they had charged in shouting “For the Horde,” attempting to conquer this world.
And then…
And then they were beaten black and blue by the combined forces of several major empires.
Suffering heavy casualties, the demi-human races eventually signed a treaty with the human empires and migrated entirely to the West Wind Steppe.
However, over the centuries, there had been several clashes between the demi-humans and the human empires.
At least, according to the news Gu Xin had watched growing up.
For the vast majority of demi-humans, their bestial nature outweighed their humanity.
They truly couldn’t be called ‘human.’
“The victim was drained of blood and their organs were hollowed out, leaving a gruesome scene?”
Gu Xin frowned slightly as he read the description from someone in the thread claiming to be an insider.
If this was true, then this demi-human was incredibly vicious.
And how exactly did it get into the city?
“I hope the City Guard catches it soon.”
“Speaking of which, it seems demi-humans can also be used as alchemy materials…”
The thought suddenly struck Gu Xin.
Crafting magic cards required all sorts of wondrous materials.
It could be the flesh of monsters and magical beasts, various magical items, or even…
humans!
That’s right, humans could also be used as alchemy materials.
Some extremely depraved Dark Card Crafters would use professionals possessing aura and mana as alchemy materials to create magic cards.
And demi-humans, naturally, could be used as alchemy materials too.
At this thought, Gu Xin’s heartbeat suddenly accelerated.
“There does seem to be a dark web that sells demi-humans, and the ugly ones probably aren’t priced very high.”
Gu Xin’s mouth gradually went dry.
If he really used demi-humans as materials, his creative space for card crafting would undoubtedly expand significantly.
Because he really did want to craft humanoid cards.
But regardless, demi-humans were different from magical beasts.
They possessed human-like traits.
Using them as alchemy materials would undoubtedly lower a person’s empathy and moral baseline.
Today it’s demi-humans, tomorrow it could be humans!
Many Dark Card Crafters probably fell into depravity step by step in exactly this manner.
So Gu Xin fell into a moment of hesitation, but soon, a sudden realization dawned on him.
“Wait, no.
Evil, vicious demi-humans are beasts!
Not humans!”
“Using their bodies to craft cards is called eliminating a public threat and recycling waste!”
“They should be thanking me.
If they become cards, they won’t even need to be cremated and buried!”