Sailors and Flames
Swords and spells, shields and arrows, roars and cries of pain filled the simulated battlefield, as if it were a real ocean, noisy and chaotic, a different world in an instant.
Moze manipulated the golden compass with all his might, shouting at the top of his lungs, as if he were a real sailor, a real captain. The once calm ground seemed to surge with waves, and the shadowy figures of masts and decks gradually appeared.
"Guys! Fire!!!"
At Moze's command, his ranged attackers located the cannon and frantically activated their spell cards. Once the spells were complete, they didn't fire immediately, but instead continued to build up inside the cannon barrel. A few seconds later, what erupted from the cannon was an attack several times more powerful than expected.
It wasn't that no one tried to interrupt the cannon's reloading, but their actions were intercepted by the team's genius melee fighters.
Nariren.
She wore golden armor and held a flaming spear, which gleamed under the lights, making her look like a war goddess.
...
The "Credit First" team watched this short video, which was once the most exciting competition record of the "Golden Compass".
Ning Xi watched intently, her heart pounding with excitement.
The feeling that Moze's main battle card, [Golden Compass], gave her was different from any other low-level card she had ever seen. This card no longer felt like an arrangement of materials and card patterns, or a stacking of graphic arrays; it felt like something else entirely.
It was as if the soul of a pirate captain had truly been resurrected within it.
The Naliren in the video gave her a very different feeling. Ning Xi felt that if the Naliren in the video were to compete with her in hunting D-level alien beasts, she would definitely lose miserably.
Although it seems she didn't win in the first place...
“These are C-grade cards,” Nariren said. “Unlike the D and E grades, which are considered low-tier cards, C-grade cards are sentient. They know the purpose of their creation, they know how they should be used, and they secretly hope that a suitable card master will use them.”
Therefore, rank C is the dividing line for card masters. Most people—even those with naturally low mental strength—can master the construction and use of rank D cards through training, but very few can become rank C card masters.
Even at Mingxin Academy, a large number of students graduate each year who are unable to master C-level cards, and some even go on to pursue graduate studies in the academy's theoretical department.
In other words, the cards seen by the card master are not the same as the cards seen by the card maker.
The former sees energy, characteristics, and design; while the latter sees spirituality, features, and compatibility.
She felt as if she had caught something, but it vanished in an instant.
Yu Xiangyin's concerns differed from hers. He hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to ask Naliren, "Have you... become weaker?"
“Yes.” Nariren admitted it very readily, her expression indifferent. “I told you about this beforehand. If you regret it, you can ask me to withdraw.”
"Sorry, I never thought of that." Yu Xiangyin quickly shook his head, and the metal badge pinned to his chest flashed wildly. "I was just thinking, since the gap between us is so big, is it even necessary to fight them? Why don't we just withdraw and prepare for the community points competition in advance?"
Nariren lowered her head: "Of course..."
"Of course we have to fight!" Ning Xi suddenly stood up and slammed her hand on the table. "I want to see the [Golden Compass] for myself."
The other four people all turned their heads and stared at her.
Was she getting a little too excited...? Ning Xi quickly tried to smooth things over: "Don't you want to see it? That's a C-level card. Apart from the time I was rescued from the domain by the military, I've never seen a card above D level."
"Don't you want to see the C-grade cards?"
Nariren: "I've seen it."
Yu Xiangyin: "Actually..."
Wang Rengui: "Actually, we often see C-level cards at home, it's not like they're anything rare..."
Zhang Min then stood up and said, "Can't you guys give me some face? I've never seen a C-level before! I just want to see it for myself. Ning Xi, I support you!"
After thinking it over, the others agreed to Ning Xi's request. After all, regardless of whether they competed with the "Golden Compass," they still had to undergo the necessary training.
Ning Xi said, "Then I'll go prepare the healing cards. But... Naliren, could you tell me a little bit about the specifics of you and your cards?"
...
"Actually, this is not a secret."
In the standard training room for the Yuka melee class, Nariren started the treadmill and began today's warm-up training while explaining the procedure.
Ning Xi looked around and felt that these training facilities looked very familiar.
She picked up a knife and slashed at an adaptive humanoid target.
With a swift motion, the knife fell, cleaving the human-shaped target in two, startling Nariren.
Ning Xi quickly stood aside, waiting for Naliren to come and inspect the facilities.
“It’s not a big problem, the target will repair itself.” Nariren placed the upper half of the target on her lower body. “The intensity is also at its lowest setting, so even an ordinary person could cut it… But you have a really strong grip, have you trained?”
Ning Xi shook her head: "I don't remember."
“I really wish I could forget about it too,” Nariren said. “There’s a concept called compatibility for C-rank cards. You can only understand, control, and use a card in battle if you’re compatible with it. The higher your compatibility with the card, the more powerful it will be.”
"Generally speaking, the compatibility between cards and users will steadily improve over time until a bottleneck is reached, but there are always exceptions."
"For example?"
"For example, Riyao Jing, the most dazzling genius in the Vast Ocean Starfield, who comes from a noble family, had a very high compatibility when he first came into contact with [Xihe], and he was therefore considered to be the incarnation of the sun god."
"I don't like this name."
“I don’t like it either,” Nariren chuckled softly. “For a long time, I was afraid to hear about the deeds of these geniuses. Ningxi, my compatibility with the cards has regressed. Those are the most precious things left by my people, cards that I have studied, trained, and prepared for since I was a child. I practiced and practiced, and finally I was able to unleash a part of its power. As a result, I became one of the best melee fighters of my year. But suddenly one day, I was no longer compatible with it.”
"Thirty percent, just thirty percent compatibility is needed for me to unleash the power of a C-rank card. But I didn't. I can reach that boundary, but I can never touch it again."
Ning Xi chose to remain silent.
Faced with the facts, all words of comfort seemed pale. For a moment, Ning Xi wanted to give up the battle against the "Golden Compass," because abandoning her teammate because of Naliren's weakened state was something she certainly didn't want to face. But Naliren had promised her, and she was clearly a person of her word.
Finally, Nariren broke the silence: "Would you like to see [Crimson Flame]? You said you rarely see C-rank cards."
She added, "Zhang Min has also looked at it, and she said she can't repair this kind of card for the time being. But she will try her best."
Ning Xi nodded, and a card with a red border, as warm as a flame, was handed to her.
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