6: Contract Assessment

"Curator?"

Hearing this address, Shi Li, who hadn't been informed in advance, was momentarily stunned.

Immediately, he checked the ranks of the two people opposite him.

"Platinum**" "Emerald**"

Due to the significant difference in their ranks, he couldn't see the exact details.

But just the brilliant emerald icon was enough to move Shi Li.

Although the principal of their Twenty-sixth High School was also an Emerald Card User, this was his first time interacting with one so closely.

However, what Shi Li was more concerned about was that, from their posture, Xiu Qingshan, who had a lower rank, actually looked more like the Curator.

"This is the person in charge of our city's Show Card Hall, Curator Xiu."

Sure enough, Old He, standing by the table, introduced Xiu Qingshan's identity.

"Shi Li, right?"

Xiu Qingshan intertwined his fingers, resting his elbows on the table: "My name is Xiu Qingshan."

"Curator Xiu."

Shi Li nodded, not knowing why he had been called up.

"I'd like to invite you to join our Card Hall."

Xiu Qingshan went straight to the point: "I can offer you a D-level cultivation contract."

"?"

Old He was the first to react to these words.

In his eyes, Shi Li, who hadn't even achieved Card Resonance, was barely qualified for an E-level contract.

Now he was offering a D-level contract right off the bat?

Is he your illegitimate son, or your father's illegitimate son?

It seemed he had inadvertently discovered the true reason why the young master had come to this third-tier city to oversee the Card Hall.

However, Old He still suppressed his thoughts, instantly calmed down, and began to explain the specific benefits of the contract.

"A D-level contract provides 6,000 cubic coins per month.

Three one-star material cards are issued every month.

Three one-star token cards are issued every three months.

In addition, there are various Card Hall benefits such as 50% off at the Monster Training Ground, 2% off when purchasing material cards, and reduced commission when selling material cards."

The benefits of a D-level contract were almost double those of an E-level contract.

"This…"

Shi Li's first reaction to these terms was not joy, but confusion.

He didn't know Curator Xiu, so why was he being so kind to him for no reason?

He had, of course, heard about and understood the high threshold for Card Hall cultivation contracts.

"Curator Xiu, but I haven't even achieved Card Resonance."

So Shi Li didn't agree immediately; instead, he brought up the point that Old He was also confused about.

His reaction brought a slight smile to Xiu Qingshan's face.

It seemed his character was decent; he wasn't swayed by the temptation before him.

"You currently possess three one-star cards and three hand cards, which means you've gained a hand card from every simulation mission.

This situation isn't actually very rare; it can be achieved with a slightly increased investment of resources during the novice period."

Xiu Qingshan looked directly into Shi Li's eyes: "But as far as I know, your family's financial situation doesn't seem to support such an investment."

He deeply understood the difficulty of obtaining hand cards in simulation missions.

For a novice Card User who was only Silver 3.

To possess one hand card could be attributed to luck.

To possess two hand cards, that was immense luck.

To possess three hand cards, that could no longer be explained by luck.

However, Xiu Qingshan also knew that individual Card Users might have their own unique opportunities and encounters.

So, regarding this point, he merely touched upon it.

"The three main factors that determine a Card User's combat power are nothing more than:

Personal card skills, hand card foundation, and character deck.

In terms of hand cards, I have high hopes for you.

This is why I chose to give you a D-level contract."

Xiu Qingshan smiled and added: "But let me be clear upfront, the Card Hall will regularly assess the talents under cultivation contracts. If you fail to pass the assessment, the contract will be downgraded at best, or terminated at worst.

In this regard, we treat everyone equally."

"The new contract has a 15-day probation period. If you sign the contract now, your first contract assessment will take place one month later."

Old He added.

He actually wasn't optimistic about Shi Li's contract assessment.

Because the difficulty of a D-level contract assessment was naturally higher than that of an E-level contract.

Taking monster hunting as an example, an E-level contract only required hunting a few one-star targets.

A D-level contract, however, required hunting two-star monsters.

The Void Rend Wolf Shi Li had just defeated was only a one-star LV4; it still had a clear difference in strength compared to a true two-star monster.

If the assessment results were poor, this D-level contract would most likely be downgraded to E+ or E-level.

If he performed poorly twice in a row, the contract might even be terminated.

Of course, if the results were good, then the contract would naturally be upgraded.

If it was upgraded from a D-level contract to D+, or even C-level, he could also receive benefits such as two-star materials corresponding to Gold Card Users.

"Curator Xiu, I agree to sign the contract."

After a brief consideration, Shi Li agreed.

Because he knew very well that given his situation, he didn't have the luxury of shopping around.

Even if the contract was eventually terminated, he would at least have earned the Monster Training Ground admission fees for the duration.

"I'd like to ask if I can get an advance of one token card."

However, he made a request.

This was what he needed most at the moment.

Token cards were items consumed to initiate simulation missions in the Card User system.

With a token card, he could obtain a new one-star character card before the grade-level card competition began.

"No need for an advance, I'll give you one directly under my personal name."

As Xiu Qingshan finished speaking, he sent a card glowing with white light flying over.

"Thank you, Curator Xiu!"

Shi Li's eyes lit up as he caught the card.

Out of politeness, he didn't immediately check it but put it away first.

After some minor instructions, the staff led Shi Li to handle the contract signing matters.

"Young Master, isn't a D-level contract too high for him?"

Only when there were just the two of them left in the office did Old He voice his doubts.

In fact, for a mature Card User, who doesn't have an overflowing number of basic hand cards?

A 9+1 PVP card game only lasts about ten to twenty rounds; having more than this number of the same hand card is basically considered excessive.

To give a concrete example, don't naively think that if you have 10 more "Healing" cards than your opponent, you can always win by constantly Healing.

In card games among Platinum-ranked Card Users, because there are many character cards that can be deployed, being instantly killed at full health is a fairly common occurrence.

Sometimes you won't even have a chance to heal.

What's more, if you only use "Healing" continuously, it's equivalent to losing the opportunity to use other hand cards like "Defense."

This leads to extremely monotonous tactics, making it easy for others to seize opportunities and beat you badly.

Even in the endgame of Platinum rank, or single-column card games in Silver or Gold, a constant Healing strategy might not even work.

Because the opponent can completely pull out hand cards such as "Isolation," or character card entries specifically designed to curb the effectiveness of "Healing."

Therefore, having many basic hand cards merely gives the Card User more choices and a slight advantage at lower ranks.

In high-rank card games, often only powerful and rare hand cards can become key factors influencing the battle.

From this perspective, Shi Li truly wasn't worth a D-level contract just for that.

Cultivation contracts, in the end, still depend on potential, not combat power at lower ranks.

"Indeed, in PVP card games, having many basic hand cards doesn't constitute a combat power indicator.

But in PVE card games, this is very important.

If we can cultivate a 'Silver 100' or 'Gold 100,' perhaps that wouldn't be bad either."

Xiu Qingshan understood Old He's meaning and provided clarification.

The Card Hall was a core force fighting on the front lines. Compared to high schools that imparted knowledge, they valued immediate combat power more.

Even if Shi Li truly couldn't achieve resonance, Xiu Qingshan still saw value in him.

Pathways to other realms often had energy barriers that restricted high-ranked Card Users from entering.

So, even without room for upward development, expanding horizontally within the Silver and Gold ranks was still a viable option.

After all, lower-ranked other realms also needed manpower.

However, whether Shi Li truly deserved a D-level contract still remained doubtful in Old He's mind.

He had already made up his mind that during the assessment, he would have the supervisor keep a close eye on Shi Li, making sure there was no favoritism just because he was personally chosen by the Curator.

"But the token card you just gave..."

Then Old He raised another question.

...

...