154: The power of the mechanism, start to brush the list

Chapter 154: The Power of Mechanics, Starting to Climb the Ranks

Participating in the Torch Raising Ceremony during this period gave Shi Li the opportunity to battle many Platinum-ranked Card Masters.

Among them, one point resonated deeply with him.

That was, upon reaching this rank, he no longer held a significant advantage in terms of hand card reserves.

There were several reasons for this.

The most important reason was "hand card overflow."

A card game typically lasts only about 10 rounds, and you can only use about 10 hand cards.

Having many hand cards only gives the Card Master more choices; it doesn't allow the Card Master to play more hand cards at once.

When everyone's hand card foundation is roughly similar, the impact of hand cards on the game will be greatly reduced.

To give a specific example, when everyone wants to prevent the opponent's hand cards from taking effect, they will constantly spam Counter or Isolation.

The ultimate result is that neither side benefits, essentially canceling each other's hand cards.

"No wonder I heard that some tournaments adopt a single-hand card rule."

Shi Li now somewhat understood.

The single-hand card rule means that in each independent game, each type of ordinary hand card can only be used once.

For example, if you used LV1 Healing this round, and you want to heal again next round, you can only use Recovery, Healing, or LV2 Healing.

Recovery-type hand cards are fine, as there are many varieties.

However, Counter, as a hand card targeted by this rule, can at most be used 3 times (LV1, 2, and 3).

This way, there won't be situations where players constantly throw Counter and Isolation at each other, or one side endlessly spams Healing like a perpetual motion machine.

Besides the single-hand card rule, there are also relatively lenient 2-hand card and 3-hand card rules, all depending on the organizer's discretion.

Some special areas in foreign lands, or even entire foreign lands, even have 1, 2, or 3-hand card rules.

"But regardless of whether it's free hand cards, or single, double, or triple-hand card rules, Anti-Magic Mark is extremely useful."

"It can help me block the opponent's Counter or Isolation in rounds where I need to use key hand cards."

Next, Shi Li tested Baimo Magician's practical mechanics on a simulated card table on-site.

The conclusion he reached was, to say the least, astonishing.

First is the Anti-Magic Mark entry.

It is an active skill, and using it consumes Baimo Magician's action quota.

However, character card skills involving hand cards are rare items, so one shouldn't ask for too much.

What's truly astonishing is this Eradicate Evil.

In fact, the first time Shi Li saw this entry, he thought of a problem.

That is, without considering hand card Charge and entry limit increases, Eradicate Evil, with 10 Energy consumption, can at most be used 3 times.

But what if, within one round, multiple enemy targets have more than half their HP remaining?

The answer obtained from the test was that Baimo Magician would activate a Finishing Blow on all of them.

Its mechanism is similar to how a Rage card, with only 10 HP left, can temporarily activate a 30-cost skill.

Cube cards are settled uniformly, so when multiple targets simultaneously have more than half their HP, Eradicate Evil will trigger simultaneously, delivering multiple Finishing Blows.

The only consequence afterward is that Baimo Magician's Energy value returns to 0.

Of course, if Baimo Magician's Energy is less than 10 in the current round, insufficient to trigger a Finishing Blow, then the above phenomenon will not occur.

"This is the power of automation."

Shi Li couldn't help but exclaim.

He could even imagine that under extreme ideal conditions, Baimo Magician could even land 5 to 6 Finishing Blows in 1 round.

Of course, those were extreme ideal conditions.

"Alright, let's go take a look first."

After organizing everything, Shi Li got up and headed to the combat zone.

The so-called combat zone was actually where the stone tablet rankings were.

The teleportation gates next to the stone tablets corresponded to each Abyssal Kind monster.

Many Card Masters were chatting in the open space not far away; after challenging, they would gather together to rest and exchange experiences.

Shi Li's arrival attracted the attention of many.

"Strange, how can a Platinum 6 Card Master get in?"

"He probably has some background, came in to boost his resume and get some prestige."

"Sigh, resources are so tight now, and there are always people using backdoors."

"Platinum 6, he can probably only handle 1-evolution stages at most."

Clearly, they were not welcoming of Shi Li's arrival.

Currently, the Abyss has a limited capacity, with a maximum of 300 people at a time.

Someone using a backdoor to enter meant taking away a spot that originally belonged to someone else.

Among the crowd, Wu Tianjin and a few others were also sitting in a corner.

"Captain, look at that person."

A team member spotted Shi Li.

"Isn't that the young man who was with Old Hou yesterday?"

"To be able to come in with Old Hou, his background must be significant."

"I wonder which family's second generation he is."

"How long do you think he can last?"

Someone joked.

They had come in earlier and had already seen several young Card Masters who got in through connections.

None of the previous young Card Masters managed to clear even 1 stage; they all left dejectedly after failing their challenges.

So, discussing how many stages he could clear was meaningless.

In their opinion, discussing how long it would take for him to break down was more appropriate.

"Was he brought in by Old Hou? I really didn't pay attention at the time."

Wu Tianjin said with a smile, sipping his goji berry tea.

His team members had already started betting, but he wouldn't participate in such a boring game.

Under the strange gazes of the crowd, Shi Li walked into the first teleportation gate.

After a slight sensation of weightlessness, he arrived in a pure purplish-black space.

The environment here was very similar to when he encountered the final BOSS last time, with an O/1 Abyssal Kind flesh mass silently floating in the center of the space.

Shi Li sent a cursor directly over.

Buzz—.

The card table unfolded before him, and 9+1 card slots appeared opposite him.

During his break from refreshing the two-star mission, he had taken the opportunity to learn some specific details.

The Abyssal Kind here were indeed different from those he had encountered before.

Firstly, they were all composed of 9+1 cards.

This was the norm; otherwise, how would there be the saying that one isn't a true Card Master until they reach Platinum 10?

Secondly, their initial states were random, and their evolutions were not fixed.

The random initial states made it impossible to use Probe beforehand.

The unfixed evolutions meant that new entries could not be predicted.

Each evolution would inevitably add 1 new entry, but the base numerical panel would not increase without reason.

Finally, there was no penalty for failing a challenge, only a significant loss of Energy.

Card Masters with high Energy could challenge more frequently, giving them more opportunities.

"Before evolution, they are still very easy to deal with."

Except for the Abyss Ace card, which had 60 Attack and 200 HP, all others had 30 Attack and 100 HP.

Moreover, they had no entries; in essence, they were a 9+1 starless card deck.

"Just play casually."

After scanning the face of each card, Shi Li also laid out his deck.

From the front row to the Ace, it was as follows:

bo shan, Tiao Tiao

cloud river, Cicada Wing

Flower Cudgel Leader, Empty Slot

Red Blade

It wasn't that he didn't want to bring Baimo Magician.

Besides not having enough card slots, the main reason was insufficient score.

Flower Cudgel Leader and Red Blade Maiden both cost 40 points, so they had to appear together with the 20-point cloud river and the +10 score Cicada Wing Patrol.

Then, cloud river and bo shan had linked innate hand cards, which couldn't be sacrificed.

He was fighting outnumbered, so Tiao Tiao Guard was a necessary damage-absorbing card.

If, to bring Baimo Magician onto the field, either Flower Cudgel Leader or Red Blade Maiden was left out, it would severely reduce his output, which would be counterproductive.

In summary, this current setup was his strongest PVE deck; not a single card could be omitted.

At the start of the game, Shi Li first played an LV2 Defense card.

"The biggest advantage of a Card Master fighting monsters is that the Card Master has hand cards while the monsters don't."

"So, if the monsters don't even have an advantage in basic stats, then it's really easy to fight."

Shi Li didn't mention his disadvantage of having 4 fewer cards than the opponent.

Because this disadvantage was too easy for him to compensate for in PVE card games.

His card mechanics were superior; even if it was just 5+1 against a 9+1 starless deck, it was a piece of cake.

Soon, the first card game ended.

The Abyssal Kind flesh mass began to shake violently, undergoing its first evolution.

After it completed its evolution, Shi Li started the battle again.

This time, all 10 monster cards on the opposing side gained a brand new entry.

And the entry on each card was different.

For example, the "Inspiration" for the wise type, "Momentum" for the Balance System type, "Double Strike" for the Momentum type, etc.

It's equivalent to a 9+1 one-star deck.

"These are all basic attributes, completely insufficient."

Shi Li still casually played a few Defense cards and easily won the game.

【Congratulations, you have cleared Stage 1 of Abyss No. 68.】

【You will receive 5000 cubic coins.】

【You will receive 1 one-star random material card.】

【You will receive 1 one-star random material card.】

【You will receive 1 one-star random material card.】

"These rewards are just so-so."

Even mosquito legs are meat, so Shi Li wouldn't genuinely dislike them.

Since this stage had been cleared, there was no point in lingering.

When his figure emerged from the teleportation gate, it once again drew people's attention.

This included Wu Tianjin and his group.

"Haha! 7 minutes and 48 seconds, I won!"

One of the team members had bet on a time within 78 minutes and won the others' bets.

"No, this time is too short. At most, he only challenged it once."

"This little Card Player's mentality isn't good. He didn't last as long as the previous few."

The few who lost money were naturally quite displeased.

"Wait a moment, look over there."

However, a more observant person noticed the change on the leaderboard.

The top spot on the 【1-Evolution Kill List】 had changed hands.

The original first place had dropped to second.

It should be noted that in the case of the same rank, whoever successfully challenged first would have a higher ranking.

And the alias currently in first place was 【Wang Defa】.

This was a very common alias, like a real person's name.

The key was his rank, which was particularly noticeable: 【Platinum 6】.

The reason why this Wang Defa could rank first on the 【1-Evolution Kill List】 was precisely because among all successful challengers, his rank was the lowest!

The group had been resting here for quite some time, and during that period, there was clearly only one Platinum 6 Card Player who had entered the teleportation gate.

"It seems this kid still has some strength."

Wu Tianjin took another sip of goji berry tea and laughed, "A Platinum 6 being able to defeat a 1-evolution Abyssal Kind means his deck strength is higher than that of an average Card Player."

"It might also be good luck."

A team member, however, held a different opinion: "If he happened to encounter a monster deck with many Rage cards, he would only need to use Defense and wait for the opponent to burn health.

I heard that in the east district, Abyss No. 61 had a Platinum 4 Card Player who cleared 2 evolutions this way."

"So there's a luck factor involved. At the 1-evolution level, challenging it multiple times gives you a chance to encounter the situation you mentioned."

However, regardless of their attitudes, Shi Li had already entered the teleportation gate to challenge 2 evolutions.

15 minutes later, he emerged again.

The first place on the 【2-Evolution Kill List】 had once again become Wang Defa.

"He cleared 2 evolutions too?"

"And very quickly, it looks like he did it in one go."

"This little Card Player is somewhat different—"

20 minutes later, the first place on the 【3-Evolution Kill List】 changed hands.

"Wait, what's going on here!"

"Platinum 6 challenging 3 evolutions?"

"The 3-evolution Abyssal Kind's deck strength is no different from that of a Platinum 10 Card Player—"

"Moreover, while the Abyssal Kind's attributes are not fixed, their evolution direction is mostly orderly.

It's not as simple as merely adding basic attributes; there's synergy between attributes and between cards."

Amidst everyone's exclamations, Shi Li walked into the 4-evolution teleportation gate without stopping.

At this point, the card games would start to become different.

A 3-evolution deck was only equivalent to Platinum 10 in terms of strength.

But after all, monsters don't have hand cards to use.

So, for Shi Li, who could already defeat Platinum 9, dealing with a Platinum 10 in pure strength was nothing.

However, the current 4-evolution Abyssal Kind was equivalent to a Jade 10 deck in strength.

"Roar!!!"

When the opposing trump card appeared, its card strength was formidable.

【Abyssal Mimic Bat】

Chasing Wind, ATK 70, 200/200, 0/50

【Leader - Passive】: When Abyssal Mimic Bat is the trump card, Attack Power +10.

【Wind Absorption - Passive】: When there are more than 3 Chasing Wind cards on the field, Abyssal Mimic Bat Recoverys an additional 5 Energy each turn.

【Strong Wind Protection - Passive】: When Abyssal Mimic Bat uses a skill, it gains 10 Shield.

【Dive Strike - 30 Energy】: Abyssal Mimic Bat attacks 1 target, inflicting Stun.

By this 4th evolution, the monsters were no longer just gaining basic attributes.

Some additional mechanisms also began to appear.

For Shi Li, merely having a few more Defense and Healing hand cards was definitely not enough to compensate for the disadvantage of having 4 fewer cards. But he wasn't flustered at all; he was well-prepared.

The situation of the card game here could not be viewed from the outside, so there was no need to consider whether to hold back.

Crimson Liberation: True, Revealing the Talisman of the Dead, and Synchronize: cloud mountain were played consecutively.

Finally, he succeeded in the challenge, albeit under somewhat tight circumstances.

【Congratulations, you have cleared Stage 4 of Abyss No. 68.】

【The number of people who killed 4 evolutions in this stage has increased to 256.】

【You will receive 20000 cubic coins.】

【You will receive 1 three-star character token card.】

【You will receive 1 three-star random material card.】

【You will receive 1 three-star random material card.】

"Oh?"

Shi Li didn't expect the Abyss to be so generous.

If he remembered correctly, the official reward for completing the 4-evolution mission was 10,000 cubic coins, but it gave him 20,000 directly.

Honestly, though, he didn't think this mission was very difficult.

Any Card Player above Platinum 10 who wasn't too terrible should be able to complete it.

What caught his attention more was the three-star character token card.

It should be noted that from the previous stage, the prizes had all changed from two-star material cards to three-star material cards.

He didn't expect his luck to be good this stage, even getting a token card.

He picked it up and looked at it; its projection was a somewhat disgusting piece of Abyssal flesh.

【Token Card (Three-star)】: Consuming this card can activate the corresponding simulated mission.

"What a pity, it's just a common character token card, not a unique series."

Shi Li's idea was to sell it for money.

According to market price, a non-unique three-star character token card should fluctuate between 50,000 and 80,000 in this range.

"This trip should temporarily end here."

Since that was the case, he decided to leave the Abyss.

Because from that last battle, Shi Li had discovered a fact.

That was, the difficulty of 5 evolutions was definitely not something he could challenge at the moment.

After all, the 4-evolution Abyssal Kind in that battle had evolved attributes that were relatively friendly to him.

Aside from the trump card having an annoying hard control, the others weren't very Counter-productive to his deck.

In short, it wasn't an easy fight.

"I've been here for a few days; Brother Hou should have gotten me the Star Ascension token card for Baimo Magician by now."

He checked his balance.

Upgrading Baimo Magician to two-star cost a total of 130,000, leaving him with 220,000 now.

Last time, Flower Cudgel Leader's Star Ascension to three-star cost a whopping 360,000 in refresh fees, so this 220,000 was probably not enough.

Moreover, that didn't even include the money for purchasing the two-to-three Star Ascension token card.

"Money really goes fast—"

Shi Li sighed and used the Abyss's unique function, one-click "Exit."

It should be known that outside the leaderboard stele, everyone was eagerly waiting to see when he would come out to continue challenging 5 evolutions.

But Shi Li left quietly.

As soon as he emerged from the teleportation gate, he received several messages.

The first was that the welfare fund for his B+ level contract had arrived this month, 25,000.

Then, he had been signed with Show Card Hall for three full months and would receive 1 three-star token card.

"I remember the welfare issued every month before also included three-star material cards.

Brother Hou told me to save them if I didn't need them, and with these I got from the Abyss, I wonder how much they'll sell for."

Shi Li wanted to try to clear the 5-evolution stage at least before school started.

As for the second message, it was from Xiu Qingshan.

He was told to go to the Card Hall to find him after coming out.