The magic cards I made are absolutely flawless!

This is the most widely accepted hypothesis among historians and magical engineers in the modern world.

Magic cards and their crafting originated in the Shadow World.

Although many theories initially suggested that magic cards and the shadow world existed simultaneously from the very beginning, and that the "chicken or the egg" question did not apply.

However, the more profound the understanding of magic cards becomes among magic engineers, the more they realize that magic cards are not a technology that could be normally created in this world.

It is more than just a miracle.

Even the most basic means of obtaining materials, apart from those accumulated and passed down from previous generations, require the decomposition of products from lower-level shadow worlds to obtain new products.

Therefore, with the advancement and clash of theories, more people began to agree that the world originally did not have a shadow world. It was not until the shadow world appeared that humanity gradually began to master magic card technology.

Dekan had agreed with this theory when he was at the academy, because according to his research, the craftsmanship of the earliest human magic cards may have originated from the decomposition and reverse analysis of magic cards naturally produced in the Shadow World.

However, the lack of historical evidence and the inability to find conclusive proof have prevented this theory from being proven.

To this day, Dekan is finally convinced of what happened before that blank period in the world's history.

When did the Shadow World first appear?

Dekan didn't think for long before continuing to ask questions.

"It was twenty-four years ago."

"?"

Dekan rubbed his chin in confusion. Twenty-four years ago, wasn't that the year they had just ended the war between the Demon Realm and the Holy Kingdom and reclaimed the Holy Capital?

In other words, right after the last Shadow World ended, the Shadow World began to appear in the world where Doloice and Lenn were on that timeline?

"Master, this era is really exciting. It's either a holy war or the birth of a shadow world. A human's life is full of twists and turns in just a few decades."

At this moment, the only person Dekan could exchange this information with was his master.

"The Chaos Gods... just how powerful are they... and how much information have they concealed from this world..."

The master's tone was full of resentment, as if he hated that he couldn't bring back more information.

But this experimental forbidden magic is like that; it's already a miracle that it was able to leave the tenth-tier shadow world as a wisp of a soul, and it could hardly bring back any memories.

Dekan didn't try to talk to his master again; he knew what his master meant.

The Chaos Gods seem to face many limitations in the mortal world, but their powers are greater than Dekan and Master had originally imagined.

It's not just the tenth-order shadow world that might be related to the Chaos God.

Rather, the birth and existence of the entire Shadow World are inextricably linked to the Chaos God!

Without a doubt, this Shadow World is now Dekan and his team's only and last chance to uncover crucial information about the Chaos God.

"Eve, tell me what you know about the Shadow World, and the Holy Kingdom's and Demon Realm's countermeasures against it, etc."

Dekan decided to learn more about the nascent world of film in this era.

Eve nodded:

"Twenty-four years ago, when 'doors' suddenly started appearing in this world, besides the fear caused by the unknown, everyone initially just thought they were strange. Even Lord Len and you, Teacher, investigated those void doors, but couldn't figure out their existence or principles at all..."

It wasn't until a later investigation team went to challenge and probe the enemy, and after being wiped out, some teams finally survived, that the intelligence was gradually revealed.

The Shadow World is a dangerous place, but it is also a double-edged sword.

Failure to conquer will trigger a natural disaster somewhere in the world, and the higher the world's social class, the more terrible the disaster.

If left unattended, the Shadow World will automatically shut down after a certain time limit, which will also trigger natural disasters.

However, if you successfully complete the Shadow World, you will receive a large number of unimaginable rewards.

The shadow worlds that periodically descend upon the world await people's participation seem to be endless in number, and their worldviews seem to be composed of world history or other world history, each different and their patterns completely unpredictable.

This has led to most of the shadow worlds becoming unpredictable and extremely dangerous without any preparation, experience, or intelligence.

The most critical issue is that no weapons, clothing, or ordinary magical items can be brought into the Shadow World.

Aside from—magical cards that can be bound to a soul.

Therefore, whether in the Holy Kingdom or the Demon Realm, researching magic cards has gradually become a mainstream trend.

Not only does it play a crucial role in conquering the Shadow World, but people have gradually discovered that magic cards can also greatly enhance their combat capabilities in battles in the real world.

Warriors can easily master magic, while mages can save a lot of time learning magic and have the flexibility to allocate the magic they add through magic cards.

The world of film, which initially evoked despair and fear, is gradually moving in a positive direction as people come to understand it.

Therefore, both the Holy Kingdom and the Demon Realm are now making every effort to research and share information to increase their chances of successfully conquering the Shadow World.

Such a collaboration between the Holy Kingdom and the Demon Realm is extremely absurd in the eyes of most humans and demons.

After all, the idea of ​​demons and humans cooperating has been a fantasy since the birth of this world.

But it has indeed become a reality in this era.

It was Lenn and Delois who drove all of this.

"Of course, you're still the most amazing teacher. You figured out this amazing technique in no time. In terms of card making, I'm afraid only the Dark Saintess in the Holy Kingdom can rival you!"

Eve was still chattering away, and Dekan didn't tell her to stop; it was as if she had endless things to say.

In recent years, Delois has focused mainly on the construction of the Demon King's Tomb and has not spent much time making magic cards.

He only occasionally gives Eve guidance.

Whether in the Holy Kingdom or the Demon Realm, there are not many people or demons who can create purple-grade magic cards.

Eve had never even heard of an orange-grade card.

Seeing Eve's adoring attitude towards the purple cards, Dekan decided to temporarily refrain from showing off his orange cards and Crimson Light Epic cards to Eve.

After all, it seems a bit odd for someone like him, a "graduated veteran" who might be many versions ahead of him, to go and show off his gear to "launch players".

Dekan couldn't help but worry about how long it would take for people in this era to create epic cards.

Fortunately, the people of the Holy Kingdom are fierce enough that even without magic cards, they possess highly refined skills. This is the kind of arduous training that people are forced to undergo when they want to become stronger, especially when there is war and it is not convenient to master magic.

Otherwise, going to explore the Shadow World without a single card would be too hellish.

Finally, after asking a series of questions, Decan let Eve go.

He himself felt tired of asking questions.

Eve still looked full of energy.

It can only be said that the biological gap between sixth-order humans and eighth-order demons is still too great.

"Teacher, may I ask my question now?"

Seeing that Dekan had finally finished asking his questions, Eve, as if she had been holding back, tentatively asked him a question as well.

Eve honestly answered Dekan's questions for several tens of minutes.

However, she didn't dislike communicating with her teacher this way; it was just that Dekan initially prevented her from asking questions and interrupting the conversation, which made her feel a bit stifled.

"Um, sorry Eve, go ahead and ask."

Dekan was still lost in thought when he heard Eve's words and nodded slightly apologetically.

In order to efficiently gather potentially crucial intelligence from the past 24 years, Dekan's order forbidding Eve from asking questions clearly fueled her growing curiosity and doubts.

"Although I know a teacher is still a teacher, why do you seem to have forgotten so many things from the past twenty years when you woke up..."

Eve finally asked the question that had been puzzling her.

"..."

"It is a blessing from the gods that allows me to see a tiny glimpse of the future. But the price is that the more important information I steal that could affect the timeline, the more memories I will have temporarily sealed away."

That's all Dekan explained it to be.

It was a lie to Eve, but in some ways, it was also the truth.

He simply explained to Eve how he was a challenger in the Shadow World and how the complexities and principles of the current Shadow World were presented in a simpler way.

"Wow! Teacher, after decades of praying day and night, has the goddess finally answered your prayers? Wait, does the goddess really exist?!"

Eve was almost overjoyed that her teacher had received the goddess's blessing, but then she suddenly looked at Dekan with confusion and shock and asked.

Eve knew her teacher's faith all too well, and the deity who would bless her teacher must be the goddess of reincarnation and fate.

But even Eve didn't know that she actually existed.

After all, this deity, known as the Goddess of Creation, has always been just an ancient legend of the Holy Rite Church.

Perhaps someone really did see the goddess many, many years ago.

But in the world today, even demons with lifespans of two or three thousand years, or elves who live even longer, have never actually seen the goddess.

Eve knew that her teacher was more devout than anyone else, and prayed to the goddess every day.

Eve only learned later why her teacher had decided to remain unmarried for life so early on.

She heard the story from Taromati.

It all stemmed from the girl who changed the teacher's life—a former devotee of the goddess.

During the two years the teacher stayed in the Holy Kingdom's territory, posing as a butler, he was always puzzled by the girl's daily devout prayers, and sometimes even made sarcastic remarks about her.

But the girl was never angry; she simply told the teacher the story of the goddess in a gentle manner.

When Eve first heard this story, her immediate reaction was, "It sounds stupid to both a girl and a teacher."

A human was earnestly trying to persuade a demon to worship a god of good.

The demon actually took this seriously, discussing the reality of the gods with humans from the perspectives of history, philosophy, and theology, attempting to shatter the girl's illusions.

One dared to advise, and the other dared to listen.

During those two years, no matter how weak the girl became due to illness, she never stopped praying every day.

The teacher, however, never believed in or respected any deity.

Until one day later.

A teacher who never believed in God was like a slap in the face to every word he had ever said.

Silently, as if taking over from the young girl, she began to pray every day.