A melodious Palieu string melody began, slowly unfolding as though a deep blue, enigmatic night were quietly falling.
The chimes of a glass harmonica drifted throughout, like mysterious starlight twinkling in the night sky.
To one side of the airship's grand interior hall, Lanqi casually chatted with the young lady he had met upon heading toward the City of Flowers.
"Lord Mikhail is simply incredible. He's practically never failed. Card making seemed to be just a hobby he stumbled into without any grand ambitions, yet he passed the Platinum-rank card maker exam with overwhelming dominance."
Just thinking of Mikhail's dashing figure made Lisanci's heart flutter.
Rarely did such a dazzling rising-star magic artificer appear, taking and passing the Platinum-rank card maker exam in the very same year they qualified as a Gold-rank card maker.
To sit for the Platinum-rank card maker exam, one first had to attain the qualification of a Gold-rank registered card maker with the Southern Continent Card Makers Association. Next, a candidate needed a requisite number of years in work experience and demonstrable contributions—including high-grade physical cards, original patents, and academic research, all of which accumulated points—before they were eligible to apply for the promotion exam.
Alternatively, securing a guaranteed recommendation from an active Platinum-rank or Magic Crystal-rank card maker also granted eligibility to apply.
"As I recall, Mikhail's recommendation back then was secured by his teacher reaching out to a Platinum-rank card maker friend in another country. Many people didn't think much of his chances, and the examiners at the time didn't want the Hutton Kingdom to gain a brand-new Platinum-rank card maker either."
Lanqi had occasionally heard Hyperion talk about Mikhail before.
"No one expected a young man to take command of thunder and lightning right there in the testing arena. Back then, nobody imagined a seemingly fresh newcomer could be so terrifying."
That had only been the beginning. What truly caught everyone off guard was that Mikhail would later become one of the rare Magic Crystal-rank card makers in the history of the Southern Continent Card Makers Association.
Yet Hyperion's expression and tone had always made it sound like Mikhail had merely done something utterly ordinary, brushing it off in a couple of sentences.
Because recommendations were subject to strict quotas—limited to one per cycle—it was usually exceedingly difficult to obtain one from a Platinum-rank or Magic Crystal-rank card maker.
The Hutton Kingdom hadn't asked Lanqi for a recommendation this year, as there were no suitable newly minted Gold-rank card makers who warranted an exceptional nomination for the Platinum exam.
For someone like Karen to take the Platinum-rank exam in just her second year after advancing to Gold rank, she had relied on a recommendation granted by a Platinum-rank card maker from the Aloran Kingdom.
"Yes, exactly! Back then, there was even a saying going around: 'No matter how strong you are, Mikhail is above you.' Making a name for oneself at such a young age is just so cool."
Lisanci sighed in heartfelt admiration.
"By the way, what were the exam subjects for that session?" Lanqi asked.
As far as he knew, the Platinum-rank card maker exam was held once every two or three years, and it was not uncommon for an entire cycle to pass without a single candidate making the cut.
If he hadn't been directly assessed into Platinum rank last year, he might very well be here today, trying his luck in the lottery.
Then again, with his extraordinarily high ceiling and notoriously low floor, he was indeed quite suited for gambling on luck.
"That year, the subjects were Magic Engineering Principles, Element Specialization, and Deck Testing."
Lisanci pondered for a moment before answering with slight uncertainty.
Ever since the Southern Continent Card Makers Association issued its modern Solar Calendar regulations, the Platinum-rank exam evaluated candidates across six dimensions. Each session randomly selected three of the six, leaving much to fate.
Some card makers relied heavily on luck, whereas a truly all-around card maker like Mikhail would effortlessly pass no matter what subjects were drawn.
Aside from those three, the remaining dimensions were Artistry, Theoretical Research, and Category Specialization.
Magic Engineering Principles was essentially a staple. Card makers adept in this area were almost invariably accomplished magic apparatus artisans or magic artificers in their own right.
Artistry and Theoretical Research were both indispensable foundations for any card maker.
Element Specialization tested pushing one's innate magical affinity to its absolute limit, favoring specialized card makers. Category Specialization operated similarly—some card makers excelled at crafting summon cards, while others specialized in spell cards.
Deck Testing leaned closer to the responsibilities of a battlefield card maker. The broader one's versatility across elements and categories, the greater the advantage. Under specific constraints, candidates were required to build a set of counter-cards. Meanwhile, an artificial Shadow World would initiate combat simulations to determine whether the deck could help AI-projected creatures overcome the trial, or pit them directly into simulated battles.
"Hopefully some promising newcomers will emerge this year. That would make the spectacle far more entertaining and give the audience their money's worth," Lanqi mused.
"Spectators naturally want to see examinees deliver brilliant performances. Unfortunately, it's probably unlikely we'll see another young, recommended genius like Duke Mikhail. Veteran card makers who have spent years honing their craft are far more likely to pass, though perhaps we'll still see plenty of fresh faces this year."
Lisanci spoke with considerable anticipation.
The philosophy of choosing three out of six subjects was intended not only to conserve the valuable manpower of Platinum-rank examiners, but also, to some extent, to accommodate areas where examinees might be less adept—provided they did not have too many shortcomings.
The more subjects one mastered, the easier it was to pass. Conversely, the more weak spots one had, the more one had to depend on luck to draw the right questions.
From another perspective, while all-rounders were certainly formidable, with their consistency keeping them largely immune to the whims of fortune, the ones who were truly terrifying were the specialized contenders who happened to hit their exact strengths across the board.
This imbued the Platinum-rank card maker exam with tremendous entertainment value.
"Naturally... the difficulty of the exam also depends on the examiners. Sometimes you run into nightmare examiners where nobody can pass. Other times, you get wonderful examiners like Mikhail, who might make things slightly easier while remaining fair,"
Lisanci added.
Because there were three examiners in total across three exam rounds, and each round featured a chief examiner and an assistant examiner, every examiner took a turn serving as both chief and assistant.
The chief examiner for a given subject represented the field in which they were most skilled, while the assistant examiner represented an area where they were less adept. If an examinee wished to pass, they had to at least outperform the assistant examiner.
After all, a Platinum-rank card maker had to meet the baseline standards of the rank. If a candidate couldn't even surpass another Platinum-rank card maker at their weakest point, they had no business earning a promotion.
"There really are examiners who don't want people to pass?" Lanqi asked in surprise.
"There are those, just as there are examiners who go easy on purpose to let their juniors through. But don't worry—any violation will be reported. After so many years of development, the Platinum-rank exam is thoroughly standardized."
Lisanci nodded.
Although the Southern Continent's Platinum-rank card maker exam was divided into four test regions—the Eastern Region, the Western Hub Region, the Central Plains Nations, and the North Shore Region—the examination syllabus was completely uniform. It was closely monitored by the Southern Continent Card Makers Association headquarters in the Western Hub Region.
If any testing area saw examiner misconduct or dereliction of duty, headquarters would step in immediately with disciplinary action.
As a result, eccentric examiners were virtually nonexistent nowadays.
Chapter 659