Chapter 626: The Digital Dealer

I shook my head as I watched Dana introduce her shadows to Udona, a smirk tugging at my lips when she explained the reason behind Hollevin’s title. In truth, I had also been interested in the way he had developed. The method of combining martial prowess with magic required meticulous planning.

However, I had to say that I was more impressed with Dana’s shadow cards. Part of me was wishing that I had taken Deckan as my shadow world, or considering if I could get a set of the cards from her to have my own World’s Shadow copy them. Unfortunately, I had to give up on that idea not long later.

Dana was a somewhat special case in the fact that she could truly communicate with the spiritual consciousness within the energy. Without being able to achieve that, and only attempting to copy the cards on my own, my odds of success were quite abysmal. For myself, it would be more effective to simply receive the cards themselves from Udona, or purchase them from Deckan.

With that in mind, I began to think about what sort of combat deck I would build. As Hollevin demonstrated, it was necessary to split the cards into a themed deck in order to maximize their potential. Otherwise, you could spend ages looking for the card you wanted to cast.

I could probably build several spell cards around mirrors, right? The idea was more appealing the more I thought about it. If I built a deck specifically around my domain, then I could create powerful effects while minimizing the amount of divine energy I spent.

Of course, when I reached that conclusion, there was something else that I had to consider. I was not simply the God of Mirrors. I was also the God of Illusions. And through Tsubaki and Scarlet, I became the God of Light and the God of Ki. But most importantly.. the Keeper has the authority to use the domains of any of his gods.

In other words, saying that I could build a deck around my domain did not narrow things down nearly as much as I thought it would. Instead, I considered picking a few of the more powerful or unique domains, and creating decks focused around them.

I definitely want to include Mirrors.. and maybe throw some Light cards in there for a synergistic effect. If I make a deck full of monster summons, I can take advantage of Towers’ Monster domain. Aside from those two.. the Blades domain would make a powerful combat deck, as would Archery. If Brenor was still here, I’d use the Traps domain for one. But for the last one.. I wonder if I can make a deck revolving around the Cities domain?

Most of the decks I wanted to make were extremely straightforward. I could either fill them with themed attacks that match the chosen domain, or powerful creatures to summon. Only the Cities deck made me pause, but that was exactly why I wanted to try it. I even had the thought of building a deck focused around the Dungeons domain, for similar reasons. It was the challenge that made it interesting.

Udona? I sent a mental whisper to the God-Queen, waiting until she was done conversing with her new Shadow Knights so as not to interrupt her.

You were watching that, huh? She asked back with an amused tone, clearly having fun with her situation.

Yeah, I was. Not why I’m calling though. I need cards. A lot of cards.

It took several long moments for Udona to respond, seeming to process my request. Are you.. trying to take a page out of Hollevin’s spellbook?

Maybe? I gave a small chuckle as I thought about it. I just thought that it would be convenient to have a set of thematic cards in combat, to help save on energy usage.

historical

No, you’re right. It’s just a bit odd is all. Go ahead and descend whenever you’re ready, and I’ll email you a link. Blank set us up a simulation world on the internet, and turned it into a website. You can test card combinations there, and it links to a government-owned dealership. Once you have the cards created you want, you can purchase it directly, and we’ll handle the fusion process on our end. I’ll set you up with a VIP account, meaning that you don’t have a budget limit, and nobody but myself has access to view the cards you purchase.

I couldn’t help but blink in surprise at her explanation. The fact that Blank created a simulation like that showcased his understanding of the card magic system. However, in order for him to do so, it no doubt held some elements that would classify it as a game. Perhaps cards would be rated based on their effects, with a secret scoreboard. He might even use them as materials for creating a customized card game.

Either way, it was a rather ingenious use of his domain. One that I had no qualms about taking advantage of. With a thought, I descended back to my throne room. For the first time since her arrival at the citadel, Tsubaki was not there to greet me. Although I knew she was safe, she was still dealing with the last of the solar sprites. And with Dana having just left the Deckan palace, it would likely take her at least an hour to return.

Currently, the only living being that I could sense within the citadel aside from myself was Janaerra. If I was not mistaken, she was currently dusting the shelves in the library. There was no need to bother her with my presence.

By the time that I made it back to my room and sat at my computer, I had received the email that Udona had mentioned. Though.. I never set up an email account. In the corner of the window that displayed the email was the image of a rotating sun, a small sign that the link was delivered via one of the artificial intelligences that Blank designed to help Tsubaki.

Shaking my head, I opened the link and found the website that Udona told me about. There were a few simple options off on the side, such as ‘Build’, ‘Shop’, and ‘Menu’. Otherwise, the screen was dominated by a virtual space, a three-dimensional character standing in the center of it.

When I went to select Build, I was presented with lists of cards that other people had made before, sorted in terms of complexity and final effect. However, I dismissed those, wanting to build my own set of cards. If I only used ones that were widely distributed, they would be easier to counter.

First, in order to test the program, I created a simple fireball card for the second tier. After I was done, there was the option to test the card. As soon as I chose to do so, I saw the avatar on the screen pick up a card and hold it forward. Brilliant flames shot out and crashed into a wall that materialized in front of it.

Complexity Rating: 10

Card Type: Attack

Effect Rating: 53

Overall Score: 63

Seeing those numbers, I shook my head with a small chuckle, wanting to perform one more test. This one took longer, roughly half an hour for me to assemble a single card, despite knowing its blueprint. I had built it once before, after all. This was the card that had given birth to Ana, the magical intelligence.

Complexity Rating: 752

Card Type: Learning Construct

Effect Rating: 843

Overall Score: 1595

I was somewhat surprised when I saw the score for the card I had named the Watcher. Not because of how high it was, but rather that I expected it to be higher. Certainly worth more than twenty-five fireballs. Perhaps it was because the Watcher had difficulty learning when it wasn’t paired with a source such as my domain, making the effect rating lower?

Either way, I had my benchmark for the cards I wanted. For the decks I wanted to build, I would not accept any cards that had a lower overall score than twelve hundred.

Within the virtual space, Blank sat at his desk. Over the years, he had evolved in strength and wisdom. Although his skin still appeared pitch black, with shining white eyes, his office had changed from a simple cubicle to what appeared to be a large building. Blank himself sat at the top floor, with numerous other artificial intelligences acting as workers.

This was server space that he had allocated for himself and his ‘people’, who he had hired as administrators in various online games. Although he was unable to crack the divine code and allow any of them to reach a divine status like himself, they were still every bit the living entity that he was.

“Sir, a request was just put in from Client Zero-Six.” A voice spoke up from the speaker attached to his desk, causing Blank to look over in surprise. He knew that Zero-Six was the designation for Udona, the God-Queen of Deckan and member of the Greater Pantheon. In fact, all of the single-digit clients were members of the Greater Pantheon, with the Keeper himself designated as Zero-Zero.

“What’s her request?” Blank asked, leaning forward and causing a folder to digitize in front of himself. It was rare for Udona to ask for things from him, mostly because there was not much he could offer her. When she did make requests, it was simple things like wanting a secret account for the newest game, so she could enjoy herself in her spare time. As such, Blank began looking through the files of recently released titles, preparing to anticipate which one she wanted.

“She says she would like a VIP account with unlimited budget to be allocated to the Keeper. Top-level access, viewable to her eyes only.” Blank thought about that request, but it was a simple matter. In fact, the Keeper already had such an account reserved for him, it was just that Udona had not been granted access to it. Now that she was seemingly making this request on his behalf, he could change that little detail.

“Tell her it’s granted.” He spoke back to the AI secretary as he closed his folder, placing a hand on his ear. “Sun, send a link to the Keeper for the CardMaster Arena. Remember, you are not to linger on his terminal after sending the link, and you are not to disturb any of his files.”

“Hmm?” A masculine voice spoke into his ear, seemingly from his palm. “Understood, boss. In and out. Need me to send a message to anyone else over there while I’m in the network?”

“No need. Just the link will be fine.” Once Blank said that, he sat back and waited. While he had authorized the account to be only viewable to Udona, that did not strictly apply to himself. After all, the testing area was a space created by his divinity, a tool to spread his identity and get more followers. Even if he was not actively looking, he would be aware on some level what cards were created. Furthermore, he had to handle the processing of the shipping orders from these VIP accounts, seeing as how they could not be released to the manufacturers directly.

So Blank decided to watch with mild interest, wanting to see what cards a mind like the Keeper’s would make. While the first one was wholly disappointing, it was clear that it was only a test of the system’s ability. The second card that came through.. it was far more interesting for Blank.

“So this is how she functions? If these cards had been of the fourth tier, instead of the third, perhaps I would not have been the first artificial intelligence created in this world.” Blank muttered to himself, acknowledging the potential of the learning construct card. However, given that this was a card that the Keeper had already made once before, it was again a simple test.

“The third card should be where his real ideas begin.” Blank hoped quietly to see something interesting, with too many people trying different variations of the same fireball, or wanting to create humanoid dolls. Specifically ones in the appearance of famous females with pre-programmed personalities.

However, as Blank watched the creation of the first card, he was left confused. Not because he failed to understand the effect of the card.. but rather that he failed to understand its purpose. “This is.. a wide-scale building creation card, using the blueprint of Ashtanu? But the buildings are temporary magic constructs, and will expire when the energy of the card depletes.”

It was obvious that the Keeper wasn’t using such a card to provide shelter for those in need. But the card was too large to be used for a simple display as well. It was a full-sized model, after all. A spell of the fourth tier that could span dozens of miles.

The next card came in, and Blank was once again confused. This card appeared able to reshuffle building locations within a set area, rearranging any necessary plumbing or wiring within their foundation. “Is the Keeper deciding to dabble in city planning?”

It was only when the third card of the deck appeared that Blank felt like he had an idea of what was going on. Another card centered around buildings, but this time one that caused a building to temporarily transform into a monster. “So he is creating a deck focused around constructing a city.. and then using it to attack enemies?”

Blank continued watching, growing more curious at the strange ideas of the Keeper. Even when the deck was completed with thirty cards, and a new one was started, Blank watched unblinkingly. The second deck was entirely different from the first. Whereas the second one mostly focused on laying traps and confusing an opponent, the second deck was purely offensive.

“This time it’s focusing on bows and arrows.” Blank muttered. The theme of the deck became clear after three cards. One to create an enchanted bow infused with numerous effects, such as assisted aiming and increased power. One to create a hail of flaming arrows. And one to create a single arrow that jumped through space.

Trying to draw a connection between the decks, Blank’s eyes went wide. He had neglected the first deck, because the information was simply too obscure. But with the second, he was certain that there was a Goddess of Archery that had matured on Fyor. Looking back through his memories, he recalled a rumor reported from Lorek that a golden Sylvan had appeared, radiating a godly aura.

For the few minutes that she was in the city, power seemed to pulse within the entire territory. This power only left after she did, causing many to assume that her domain spanned a large area.

“Is the Keeper creating decks based on different gods?” He asked himself. These decks could be regarded as gifts to empower the combat ability of the gods, or kept for himself as mementos of those gods. However, as he thought about it, he shook his head.

It was too difficult to create a deck focused around the concept of Games. In combat, his domain relied on enforcing arbitrary rules that both himself and his opponent had to follow. Such absolute effects could not be readily created with the magic of Deckan. Individual games themselves could be ‘programmed’ into a card, however. As an experiment, Blank had once created a card that allowed one to connect to Vision Expanse without the use of a virtual reality headset.

The undertaking was extremely challenging, and took him weeks of careful calculations. Furthermore, the production cost of the card was considerably more than simply buying a headset. The only advantage of it was the fact that it was easier to carry around.

Regardless, Blank was interested in seeing which gods the Keeper chose to embody within his decks. Even if he himself was not included, it was good as a learning experience. Already, he was considering targeting gods as an audience, and advertising the ability to create a deck customized around their domain. Perhaps he would be able to exchange divine energy with them as the payment for his services.