Mythical Card Maker: Starting with the Mountain Spirit

Chapter 13 [The Gatekeeper] Plan

The registration area next to the platform has a total of four windows.

There were queues of twenty or thirty people in front of each window.

The registration was handled by staff from the card-making association and administrative teachers from the college.

About fifteen minutes later, it was Lin Mo's turn.

Behind the registration window sat a middle-aged man wearing glasses, with a silver badge of the Card Making Association pinned to his chest. He was about forty years old and rarely smiled.

Beside them was a pretty young female teacher in a college uniform, who was responsible for verifying the information.

"Card-making qualification certificate!"

The middle-aged man asked without looking up.

Upon hearing this, the group immediately handed over the qualification certificates they had prepared in advance.

The young female teacher reached out and took the card-making qualification certificates handed over by the four people, and placed them on the spiritual power verification device to test their authenticity.

A pale blue light screen swept across the document, and the anti-counterfeiting patterns on all four documents lit up, confirming that the verification was correct.

"Let's reveal our cards!"

The middle-aged man entered the information of the four people into the register, and then said...

All four of them simultaneously revealed their cards.

Bright green, dark blue, dark blue, bright purple...

A dazzling array of lights intertwined, and in the next instant, four cards of different designs appeared in the hands of the four people.

The middle-aged man glanced at it, his pupils slightly contracting when he saw Lin Mo's card, but he quickly returned to normal.

He scribbled a few lines on the registration form, then took out four black cards from the side and handed them over one by one.

The card is about the size of a palm, with a relief of Yinluo Mountain engraved on its surface. It feels cool to the touch and emits a faint spiritual energy fluctuation.

"Each person will receive one teleportation card, which is the only proof of entry into the Yinluo Mountain Secret Realm. Please be careful not to lose or damage it."

The middle-aged man's tone was very serious. "The secret realm will officially open at 2 PM three days from now. The entrance is at the foot of Yinluo Mountain. Entry is by teleportation card. Failure to arrive by the deadline will be considered as automatic forfeiture of qualification."

He paused, then added:

"As an extra reminder, the teleportation card has a built-in emergency teleportation array. In case of a life-or-death crisis, simply crush the card to instantly teleport out."

However, once teleported, one cannot re-enter.

Similarly, to leave the secret realm, simply crush the card in your hand.

Furthermore, malicious fighting between teams is strictly prohibited. Anyone found doing so will have their winnings confiscated and will be blacklisted by the Card Making Association, permanently barred from entering the relevant dungeon.

"clear."

Lin Mo reached out and took the card, played with it for a while, and then casually tossed it into his shirt pocket.

Su Xiaoran and the other two put away their teleportation cards one by one, thanked the staff, and then turned and left the registration area.

After walking only a few steps, Zhang Chi suddenly said somewhat dejectedly:

"I thought I could get in today! Turns out I have to wait three more days!"

Li Wei thought for a moment and then replied, "It might be to give us time to prepare. After all, the secret realm is different from the outside world; it's much more dangerous. The more preparation we have, the more secure we are!"

"That's true!"

Zhang Chi nodded, then turned his gaze to the three of them. "Next, shall we go and collect the access tokens for the resource library?"

"The card-making association is being unusually generous, so naturally the sooner the better."

Su Xiaoran glanced at the west side of the square and nodded: "Three high-quality materials are a considerable asset for newlyweds..."

Lin Mo's lips curled up slightly, a hint of anticipation in his eyes.

The four immediately turned around and walked towards the association's office on the west side of the square.

The association's office on the west side of the square is a row of temporary white tents with a prominent sign at the entrance.

Students are already lining up here to receive their access passes to the resource library.

The line was longer than the registration desk.

However, the process of obtaining the pass is simple: show your card-making qualification certificate, verify your identity, and then receive a pass with a number printed on it.

After queuing for about twenty minutes, the four of them finally received their passes.

"The material storage is located on the third basement floor of the Card Making Association. There are guards at the entrance, and you can enter with a pass card."

The staff explained to the four people, "Each person is limited to three materials, with a maximum of one being of purple quality."

Once materials are selected, they cannot be returned or exchanged.

Please collect your gift by 6 PM today; otherwise, it will be forfeited.

"Finally got it, let's go!"

Zhang Chi was filled with excitement, constantly examining the pass in his hand as if it were some rare treasure.

Li Wei was even more impatient, "A level three material library, I've been dreaming of going in and seeing it."

Without delay, the four of them left the south gate of the academy and headed straight for the Card Making Association.

Soon, the four of them arrived at a building that looked somewhat like a butterfly with outstretched wings.

This is the location of the Wushan City Card Making Association.

Two guards dressed in black standard combat uniforms stood at the entrance of the association. Their calm demeanor revealed them to be [High-Rank Black Iron Battle Card Masters].

After showing the pass, the guard made way.

One of them led the four people into the elevator and down to the third basement level.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, a rich aura of spiritual energy rushed out.

Lin Mo felt as if every pore on his body had opened up.

The three underground levels are much larger than I imagined, about the size of two stadiums.

The first thing you see is a row of neat transparent display cases.

The area was divided into three zones based on quality.

The outermost zone is the green quality zone, the middle zone is the blue quality zone, and the deepest zone is the purple quality zone.

Each display case has a label indicating the name, quality, and attributes of the materials.

It also has a protective barrier that can only be unlocked with an access pass.

"Four students, you have one hour to choose."

After the guard who was leading the way finished speaking, he stepped back and stood still at the entrance.

Zhang Chi and Li Wei couldn't wait any longer and went off to choose their own items.

Su Xiaoran also headed towards the purple material area. Before leaving, she said to Lin Mo, "You should hurry up too. The quantity of purple quality materials is limited, so it's first come, first served."

Lin Mo nodded, but did not move immediately. Instead, he stood there and considered the materials he currently had.

[The spiritual essence of the flying cranny] (Green)

[Decomposed uterine tissue section] (white), [Maternal lacrimal gland] (white), [Maternal umbilical cord] (white)

[Remnant Soul of the Three-Eyed Black-Scaled Demon Tiger] (White), [Tentacle Muscles] (White), [Milk Tooth Needle] (White), [Crying Sac] (White)

Currently, he has a total of eight pieces of material.

These were respectively from the [Flying Skull Moth], [Rotten Infant Mother], [Three-Eyed Black Scale Demon Tiger], [Tentacle Monster], and [Evil Infant] killed in the previous two days.

These aberrations have low bloodline levels (equivalent to card quality); they are only the lowest-level [Primordial Species].

Therefore, only one out of the eight samples was of green quality.

If it weren't for the rarity and uniqueness of the [Flying Skull Moon], Lin Mo estimated that he wouldn't have even gotten a single green-quality one.

However, while there are many of these materials, they all fall into the category of auxiliary materials and lack the main materials that can truly serve as the core support for the second card.

And it's not easy to match with other items.

Because these materials all have some evil, chaotic, and eerie attributes, which conflict with the second card he wanted to create.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Mo decided to first go and browse the purple material area.

He plans to first find a suitable main material card; once the main material is finalized, the remaining problems will be easily solved.

If all else fails, sell all the excess materials you have to exchange for resources.

If the purple material area still yields nothing, then we need to revise the card production plan.

Fortunately, he has plenty of time right now and can make adjustments.

Lin Mo already had a general idea in mind regarding the choice of the second card.

【Mountain Spirit】is a spiritual card that combines summoning and mage abilities, and its output is quite impressive.

Therefore, he doesn't need to continue making an offensive card for his second card; he can consider making a defensive card to enhance his survivability.

Furthermore, the [Yinluo Mountain Secret Realm] we are about to enter is full of undead and wandering spirits—aberrant variant.

He must create a counter card against the Ghost-type Aberration, and this card must also have some defensive capabilities.

As his thoughts gradually became clearer, countless mythological figures flashed through Lin Mo's mind like a silent film, finally settling on the four characters: [Shen Tu and Yu Lei].

This is a tradition of door gods passed down from ancient times, mainly used to ward off evil spirits, protect the home, and bring peace to the spirits.

It has a natural advantage against wandering spirits and undead aberrations.

Having set his goal, Lin Mo no longer hesitated and headed straight for the deepest purple-quality area.

Although there are fewer display cases in the purple quality zone than in other quality zones, there are still over a thousand.

Each one exudes a rich spiritual energy fluctuation.

Lin Mo's gaze swept over them one by one.

【Crimson Flame Iron Essence】, while an excellent material for crafting equipment cards, is unsuitable for the life-giving cards he's currently forging…

The heartwood struck by lightning a thousand years ago is usable as a secondary material, but what he urgently needs right now is the core main material...

【Ice Dragon's Reverse Scale】 is not a humanoid material card, so pass...

……

Lin Mo continued reading, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

Although there are quite a few purple-quality living creature materials, most of them are beasts or mutated creatures, and humanoid materials are very rare.

He couldn't help but feel a little worried. If he couldn't find a suitable humanoid figure here, he would have to settle for a lower-grade blue humanoid figure instead.

However, this kind of compromise will inevitably lower the quality of the final product card.

Just as Lin Mo was filled with anxiety, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

In the display case in front of them, there was a card surrounded by a faint purple glow.

The front of the card depicts two young men clad in armor, only their upper bodies visible. They are pressed together, back to back, sharing a deformed and bizarre lower body.

The lower body has two legs, but each leg is twice as thick as a normal human's, with the knees bent in the opposite direction and the feet shaped like hooves.

【Twin Horned Demons】, a purple-quality humanoid material card, whose role is exactly guard type.

Lin Mo's heart skipped a beat.

This material is practically tailor-made for the door god cards he's going to create.

He immediately took out his access pass and affixed it to the protective barrier.

A pale golden light flashed, and the barrier slowly opened.

He reached out and took out the material card; it felt warm to the touch and exuded a powerful spiritual energy.

Having obtained the core main material, Lin Mo felt much more relaxed. He turned around and walked towards the blue material area to start selecting the remaining two auxiliary materials.

Based on previous experience, since the Gatekeeper Card is a deity card, it will definitely require a lot of materials for fusion.

But for now, he can only select two more sources of material.

Therefore, how to choose is crucial.

After much deliberation, Lin Mo finally decided to use it on the divine medium and the protective foundation.

After all, one endows the card with divinity, determining the original status of the deity card, while the other strengthens the overall defensive framework, supporting the exclusive role of Shen Tu and Yu Lei in guarding against evil spirits and exorcising ghosts. Both are indispensable.

Having made up his mind, Lin Mo immediately headed towards the blue material area.

Compared to the purple area, the blue material area has a significantly larger number of display cases, showcasing a wide variety of materials.

Lin Mo proceeded slowly and methodically, examining each display case one by one. When he encountered materials that matched his needs, he would stop to carefully examine their attributes and characteristics.

About ten minutes later, his gaze fell on a piece of material.

The front of the card features a palm-sized piece of peach wood, dark brown in color with fine grain.

The label above reads: "【Centennial Lightning-Struck Peach Wood Heart】, Blue Quality, an excellent auxiliary material for exorcism cards, which can enhance the card's restraining effect on undead and evil spirits."

It is widely known that peach wood has been believed since ancient times to have the miraculous effects of warding off evil spirits, dispelling malevolent influences, and calming the spirits.

This lightning-struck peach wood heart is the perfect choice for creating the defensive cornerstone of the gatekeeper card.

It can both solidify the overall defensive structure of the cards and endow them with pure warding and purifying power, complementing each other and achieving two goals at once.

Without further hesitation, Lin Mo reached out and took the material card, then continued walking, searching for the last piece of material.

Because the cards need to be imbued with divine symbolism, there aren't actually many options to choose from.

Most of them fall into the category of sexual characteristics.

After careful selection and deliberation, Lin Mo finally chose a blue material card of [Clay Sculpture Deity Fragment] as the key medium to carry the divinity of the door god after more than ten minutes.

After selecting the materials, Lin Mo went to the registration desk at the exit and handed over the three materials and the pass to the staff for verification.

After carefully checking the quality and quantity of the materials and confirming that everything was correct, the staff collected the access cards.

Then, the material card was sealed in a specially made portable sealed bag and handed to Lin Mo.

"One purple copy, two blue copies, verification complete. Please keep the materials safe; no returns or exchanges will be accepted after you leave."

Lin Mo took the sealed bag, casually weighed it in his hand, and nodded in satisfaction.

The four met outside the association, showed each other what they had gained, and were all quite satisfied.

Zhang Chi had even started fantasizing about wreaking havoc in the secret realm, when Li Wei gave him a hard knock on the head.

After agreeing on a meeting time, the four parted ways at the entrance of the association.

Zhang Chi and Li Wei went back together, Su Xiaoran headed towards the east of the city, and Lin Mo walked towards the south side of the academy.

He did not return to the original owner's residence, which was near the suburbs. After the aberration invasion last night, the buildings in that area were severely damaged and unsuitable for habitation for a short period of time.

Moreover, he now needs a safe and undisturbed environment to craft cards.

He recalled that there were many hotels around the college that provided short-term accommodation for card makers. Although they were expensive, they were safe and convenient.

Lin Mo wandered around for a while and finally found a hotel called "Jingxinju" outside the South Gate to check in.

The owner was a woman in her forties surnamed Zhou. She spoke kindly and, seeing that Lin Mo was a student at the Wushan City Card Making Academy, she even gave him a 10% discount.