Chapter 1 The Elegant Parlier string music began, unfolding slowly, as if a deep blue, mysterious night was quietly descending.

The delicate sounds of the glass harmonica intertwined, like mysterious starlight twinkling in the night sky.

Inside the grand hall of the airship, Lan Qi casually chatted with the young lady he'd met upon arriving in Floralia.

"Lord Mi Haiya is truly amazing. He's almost never failed at anything. Card crafting seems to be just a hobby he discovered by chance, yet he passed the platinum-level card crafter exam with overwhelming ease."

Lisanci's heart fluttered just thinking about Mi Haiya's heroic figure.

Becoming a gold-level card crafter and then participating in the platinum-level exam in the same year, passing successfully, such an amazing new star artificer was rare.

To participate in the platinum-level card crafter exam, one must first attain gold-level registered card crafter status with the Southern Continent Card Crafters Association. Secondly, a certain number of years of work experience and contributions are required, including high-quality physical cards, new patents, and academic research, all of which accumulate points. Only then can one apply for promotion to the platinum level exam.

Alternatively, a recommendation from an active platinum-level or magic-crystal-level card crafter can also be used to apply for the exam.

"Mi Haiya's recommendation back then seemed to be obtained by his teacher from a platinum-level card crafter friend in another country. Many people were not optimistic about him. The examiner at the time didn't want the Hutton Kingdom to have a brand new platinum-level card crafter."

Lan Qi had heard Hyperion occasionally tell stories about Mi Haiya before.

"No one expected that a young man would directly command lightning on the field. At that time, no one thought that a seemingly newly debuted rookie would be so terrifying."

That was just the beginning. Later, Mi Haiya became one of the few magic-crystal-level card crafters in the history of the Southern Continent Card Crafters Association, which was something no one truly expected.

But Hyperion's expression and tone always made it seem like Mi Haiya had done something ordinary, casually saying a few words and ending the story.

Platinum and magic-crystal recommendations are limited, only one per session, so they are often difficult to obtain from platinum or magic-crystal-level card crafters.

The Hutton Kingdom didn't seek Lan Qi's recommendation this year either, because there weren't any suitable newly promoted gold-level card crafters who could participate in the platinum-level exam as an exception.

The fact that Karen was able to participate in the platinum-level card crafter exam in the second year after being promoted to gold level was because the platinum-level card crafter from the Yaroran Kingdom gave her a recommendation.

"Yes, yes, at that time there was even a saying, 'No matter how strong you are, Mi Haiya is above you.' Achieving fame at a young age is just too cool."

Lisanci sincerely praised.

"Speaking of which, what was the exam topic that year?"

Lan Qi asked.

As far as he knew, the platinum-level card crafter exam was held every two or three years, and there were often sessions where no one passed.

If he hadn't been able to directly reach platinum level during his grading, he probably would be the one trying his luck now.

Come to think of it, he really had a high upper limit and a low lower limit, making him very suitable for trying his luck.

"That session was Magic Engineering Principles, Attribute Specialization, and Deck Testing."

Lisanci thought for a moment, answering with some uncertainty.

Since the Southern Continent Card Crafters Association's modern new rules of the Solar Calendar were released, the platinum-level card crafter exam has had six dimensions of exam topics. Each session selects three out of six, depending on luck.

Some card crafters rely heavily on luck, while the truly all-around card crafter Mi Haiya will definitely pass any exam topic with ease.

In addition to those three exam topics, there were also Artistry, Theoretical Research, and Type Specialization.

Magic Engineering Principles is basically a required topic. Card crafters who are good at this are also likely to be excellent magitech engineers or artificers.

Artistry and Theoretical Research are indispensable foundations for card crafters.

Attribute Specialization is about maximizing one's most proficient inherent magical attribute, suitable for specialized card crafters; Type Specialization is the same principle, some card crafters are good at making summon cards, some are good at making spell cards.

Deck Testing is more of an imitation of a battlefield card crafter's function. The more comprehensive the attributes and types, the greater the advantage. Under certain conditions, card crafters are asked to create a counter deck. At the same time, an artificial shadow world is opened for practical simulation to determine whether this deck can help the artificial intelligence projection creatures pass the test, or directly conduct a simulated battle.

"I hope there will be some good rookies this year, so it will be much more entertaining, and the audience's ticket money will be worth it."

Lan Qi sighed.

"Of course, the audience hopes to see examinees perform brilliantly. Unfortunately, it's probably difficult for another young genius like Duke Mi Haiya, who was recommended, to appear among the examinees. Old card crafters who have accumulated experience for a long time are more likely to pass. Perhaps we will see many new faces this year."

Lisanci said with great anticipation.

The concept of selecting three out of six exam topics, in addition to saving the valuable manpower of platinum-level card crafter examiners, also allows examinees to have areas they are not good at to a certain extent, but not too many.

The more proficient one is, the easier it is to pass the exam, and the more unskilled one is, the more it depends on luck to see if the exam topics match.

From another perspective, all-around players are certainly powerful, and their high stability makes them the least affected by luck, but the truly strong ones are those specialized players who happen to get all the exam topics right.

This makes the platinum-level card crafter exam full of entertainment value.

"In theory... the difficulty of the exam also depends on the examiners. Sometimes, if you encounter a hellish examiner, no one can pass. There are also good examiners like Mi Haiya, who might make it a little easier while maintaining fairness."

Lisanci added.

Since there are three examiners in total, and there are three rounds of exams, each round has a chief examiner and a deputy examiner, so the three examiners will each serve as chief examiner and deputy examiner once.

The chief examiner of each round of exam topics represents their best area, and the deputy examiner represents their less proficient area. If examinees want to pass, they must at least win against the deputy examiner.

After all, a platinum-level card crafter must at least reach the passing line of a platinum-level card crafter. If they can't even compare to the weak points of other platinum-level card crafters, then they simply don't have the qualifications to be promoted.

"There really are examiners who don't want people to pass?"

Lan Qi asked in surprise.

"There are those, and there are also examiners who deliberately give leeway to let their juniors pass, but don't worry, any violations will be reported. After so many years of development, the platinum-level card crafter exam is still quite standardized."

Lisanci nodded.

Although the eastern region, the western hub area, the central plains countries, and the north shore area are divided into four exam areas, the exam schedule for the Southern Continent Platinum-level Card Crafter Exam is unified, and is monitored by the Southern Continent Card Crafters Association at the Card Crafters Association headquarters in the western hub area.

If an examiner's dereliction of duty or other situations occur in any exam area, it will be investigated and dealt with by the headquarters as soon as possible.

So there are no more bizarre examiners now.

(End of this chapter)