When Lan Qi stepped into the vast Gate of Nothingness with his usual steady pace, once again he felt himself swallowed by boundless darkness.
Nothing could be seen, not even the sound of his own heartbeat remained. It was a familiar feeling.
Only this time, when the surroundings lit up again, it would no longer be that academy.
Gradually, a faint glimmer appeared, like the first light of dawn glimpsed by a lost sailor drifting in the endless night—it fell into Lan Qi’s eyes.
With the appearance of the silver-white radiance, a series of words streaked across his vision like shooting stars in the sky—
【Welcome to the Registered Cardmaster Examination Hall, the artificially-created simulated Shadow World.】
【You are currently in preparation time. The formal exam will begin once preparation ends.】
【Remaining preparation time: 29 minutes 50 seconds.】
【During preparation and throughout the exam, you may make payments to purchase any required materials. Within 5 minutes, purchased materials will be delivered to your personal Shadow World.】
【Materials of purple rare grade or higher may only be used to create examination cards. They cannot be taken out of the Shadow World. Unused materials will be reclaimed by the Association, with 80% of the cost refunded.】【If materials are successfully made into magic cards, part of the cost will be refunded as a bonus: White (Common) 10%, Blue (Uncommon) 20%, Purple (Rare) 30%, Pink (Sacred) 40%, Orange (Epic) 50%.】
【Finished cards and patents belong to the examinee. The South Continent Cardmaster Association retains display rights only.】
【Examinees must create cards no lower than Tier 3. Higher-tier cards will earn bonus points, while cards below the examinee’s own tier will suffer deductions.】
【Once you leave the Shadow World, your results and assessment will be automatically calculated.】
【…】
【The above information may be checked anytime during the exam.】
【Do you acknowledge and agree to enter the exam environment?】
【Continue / Exit】
Lan Qi quickly skimmed through.
As someone familiar with legal documents, he knew every clause had its purpose.
For instance, the rule that unused materials are refunded at only 80% wasn’t just greed from the Association. It prevented wealthy examinees from hoarding scarce resources at the start, blocking others from purchasing them.
The ban on taking materials out of the exam world likewise prevented scalpers from buying high-grade resources here to manipulate market prices outside.
As for the score adjustments, Lan Qi found them fair enough. A Tier 4 or Tier 5 cardmaster who only produced a Tier 3 card deserved deductions, while producing one above their level deserved bonuses.
But for someone like him—taking the exam as a Tier 3—he could only aim for Tier 3 cards. No extra adjustments, up or down.
As his fingertip touched 【Continue】, ripples spread across the silver-white screen, expanding outward until it vanished.
Light returned all around. Lan Qi now stood inside a standard-sized cardmaking workshop.
Before him, the 【Examinee Operations Panel】 displayed new options such as 【Select Scenario】 and 【Purchase Materials】.
During preparation, candidates could not yet begin crafting cards—only preparatory work.
Lan Qi calmly began by choosing a scenario.
The available environments ranged from indoors to outdoors, all kinds of styles—practically every recorded map within the Shadow World.
Soon, Lan Qi selected a spacious room styled after a headmaster’s office.
Only here did he feel most at ease—and work at his highest efficiency.
Next, he began purchasing materials.
Through the panel, he could browse the full stock of the Ikerite branch of the Association, with details on each item.
Some basic essentials were already covered by the exam fee. The Association would provide five sets of core crafting consumables at the start—representing five attempts. These could not be bought again.
All other materials could be freely purchased as needed.
Lan Qi adjusted the filter to 【Sealing】, 【Spirit】, 【Light】, 【Healing】, then began browsing.
【Spell-Inscribed Ring: Blue (Uncommon); required for light sealing or creature-based magic; £12.】
【Mysterious Gem: White (Common); can act as a medium for sealing energy; £1.】
【Sacred Seal: Purple (Rare); produced by the Church, imbued with divine scripture, suppresses evil entities; £65.】
【Holy Water: Purple (Rare); consumable with potent healing effect, also effective against undead, or usable as a blending agent; £20.】
【Healing Blossom: White (Common); can be ground into powder or mixed into mana ink; £0.5.】
【Feather of Light: Purple (Rare); from a light fairy, serves as medium for powerful light spells; £115.】
【…】
Opening each entry revealed its quality, detailed introduction, evaluations, and recommended usage.
Lan Qi knew sealing magic offered him the best success rate. But for high scores, he might need to blend in other elements depending on the available rare materials. Composite magic cards could earn better evaluations.
So, he quickly added the standard sealing essentials without hesitation.
But when it came to other schools of magic, he paused to consider—perhaps a few spares for potential higher-quality cards.
Though he had 30 minutes, it took him barely 10 to settle most purchases.
His plan was clear: guarantee one white-quality equipment card for safety, then aim for blue or purple-quality summon or spell cards—his specialties.
If he succeeded, that would at least secure him Bronze rank. Two purples and one white, with one purple card exceeding expectations, could even push him to Silver.
Just as he was swiftly scrolling through the lists—he stopped.
Then he scrolled back.
His hand slowed, pausing completely.
There it was—a unique, pink sacred-grade material: 【Unnamed Light Element Stone】.
According to the Association’s evaluations, no known method could fully refine it. Used as-is like a traditional element stone, it would only yield effects comparable to a purple rare.
Yet, its price was staggering—£1250 for a single piece.
Lan Qi had no intention of considering such an expensive item.
But the longer he studied its form, the deeper his frown grew.
He had seen this kind of chondritic structure in scientific journals of his past life.
This wasn’t an earthly stone at all. It was the product of condensation from a solar nebula, shaped over eons of accretion—
In other words, it was a meteorite from space.
Lan Qi stood before the purchase panel, chin resting on his hand, thinking.
Last time, he had received a £650 bonus. Huperion hadn’t taken a penny—he kept it all.
When he left the South Mantina borderlands, his personal fortune of around £1000 had already been partly given to Talia, with more future support promised.
Meaning—if he bought this stone and succeeded, he’d still get a bit back as a bonus.
But if he failed, he would be flat broke, forced to ask his family for support before making money in another Shadow World.
If possible, he didn’t want to ask his family for money again so soon.
He knew his butler Hans was probably enjoying keeping things secret, not telling his father, Noé—who was abroad—that Lan Qi had already gotten into the Sage’s Institute.
Lan Qi himself didn’t mind. He wanted to make a name for himself in Ikrerite's capital first, then surprise his father—ideally after returning from the Northern Continent with some great achievement.
Since Noé had invested in him, Lan Qi would definitely repay that expectation.
After much consideration, he made his choice.
He removed most of the purple rare options from his cart, and instead purchased this element stone—adjusting his other materials accordingly.
Minute by minute, time passed.
And finally—the signal came: the official exam was about to begin!