Barat smiled flirtatiously as she walked up and naturally linked her arm with Ian’s. Sheughed, “Lord Ian, if it’s inconvenient to carry the remaining money, you can exchange it for chips! In this Golden City, chips are universally epted. Whether it’s dining, lodging, or shopping, chips can be used instead.”


    Ian nced nonchntly at Barat’s hand, confirming that she was indeed wearing gloves. Only then did he smile and say, “That would be best. Please exchange it all for high-denomination chips. It will be more convenient to carry that way.”


    Barat nodded, pped her hands, and several ck-suited subordinates immediately appeared to help Ianplete the chip exchange.


    In the end, Ian received a suitcase full of chips, ranging from one million to one hundred million in value.


    “Let me show you around Golden City next. You’re our esteemed guest, and I’ll make sure to take good care of you!” Barat smiled and pressed close to him, her ample chest against Ian’s arm.


    “Let’s go then!” Ian nodded, picking up the suitcase with his other hand and followed Barat as she led the way.


    Barat first took Ian to themercial street, persuading him to buy a new set of clothes.


    Ian had always worn a long, sleeveless trench coat. Originally, the coat had sleeves, but due to Ian frequently using the ck Dragon Wave, the sleeves usually didn’tst long. Over time, he simply maintained this sleeveless look.


    However, it was undeniable that long-term sea voyages made it difficult to keep clothes clean. Ian was rtively fortunate, as Baby-5 often helped him withundry. Yet, washing clothes too often naturally caused them to fade and look worn out.    Therefore, Ian didn’t refuse Barat’s suggestion.


    On the way to themercial street, although Barat kept introducing the surrounding scenery to Ian, he seemed somewhat absent-minded. This puzzled Barat, leaving her wondering what she might have done wrong.


    Little did she know, Ian was actually focused on studying the card system in his mind.


    After the battle at Impel Down and the naval battle at Edd War sea, Ian had finally reached level 60. Aside from unlocking thest card slot, Ian’s protagonist card had also unlocked the second exclusive equipment slot.


    Moreover, a new system feature had also been activated—the card sacrifice system!


    The card sacrifice system was quite unique. By collecting all 1- to 4-star cards in a series, one could sacrifice them to unlock the “Inner” state for any 5-star red card from that series.


    What does this mean? Ian figured it out after thoroughly questioning the system. For example, Ian’s current Iori Yagami card has been upgraded from a 4-star card to a 5-star red card. This means that the card now meets the conditions for unlocking the “Inner” state. As long as Ian collects all the cards from the King of Fighters series (except for the native 5-star red cards), he can sacrifice these cards to unlock the “Inner” state for the Iori Yagami card.


    What exactly is the “Inner” state of the Iori Yagami card? It’s simple. The system informed Ian that after the sacrifice, the Iori Yagami card will gain the special “Riot of the Blood” ability.


    This “Riot of the Blood” originally came from the blood contract between Iori Yagami’s family and the Orochi n, causing a negative reaction due to the Heavenly God’s blood in Iori Yagami, resulting in a berserk state. However, within the card system, it is defined as the “Inner” state of the Iori Yagami card.


    ording to the system, each card’s “Inner” state may differ. The “Riot of the Blood” ability for Iori Yagami significantly boosts speed and attack power. In contrast, if it’s the Orochi card from the same King of Fighters series, the “Inner” state obtained after the sacrifice is different—it grants the skills of Orochi clone “Mizuchi” from the original game. The ultimate moves be more extravagant and invincible.


    The “Inner” state of the Hiei card grants the “S-ss Demon” ability, which is based on the setting from the original work where Hiei’s demon energy reaches S-ss during the Demon World Tournament. Activating it greatly enhances mental power/Nen.


    As for the Misaka Mikoto card, its “Inner” state is quite amusing—it grants the “Misaka Sisters” ability. This allows a clone to be summoned when using any of Misaka Mikoto’s card abilities, enabling an identical skill attack without any cost. In other words, if Ian can sacrifice the needed cards for Misaka Mikoto’s card, he will be able to summon a clone that can also fire a Railgun simultaneously when he uses the Railgun ability.


    In summary, the so-called “Inner” state is essentially the hidden effects and abilities of a card, representing an evolution for 5-star cards, which is definitely worth developing.


    Although Ian does not know the principles behind the card system, he understands that the system originates from a card collection and cultivation game. These types of games have amon limitation—the number of cards that can be deployed at one time is restricted. The maximum number of cards that can be used simultaneously is only six. This inherently bes a bottleneck for Ian’s attributes, preventing him from bing a character who can destroys at will.


    However, despite being limited to the attributes of six cards at a time, the system does not restrict card switching duringbat. This allows Ian’s abilities to be versatile and adaptable to various battlefields.


    With the opening of the sacrifice system, the abilities of 5-star red cards will undergo significant evolution,pensating for some of the attribute deficiencies. This means that it is indeed possible for Ian to reach a level that surpasses the Four Emperors.


    While being led by Barat on a shopping trip for clothes, Ian was actually checking his card library, trying to see if he couldplete a card sacrifice at this stage.


    However, as he checked andpared, Ian’s heart gradually sank.


    Since the system opened the illustration function at level 40, it became possible to see what cards were in a particr series. Ian discovered that the series he was most likely toplete was actually the “A Certain Magical Index” series of cards!


    Why? Because this series of cards required basic skills that were mostpatible with Ian’s abilities—most of the cards required mental cultivation skills and physical techniques!


    Perhaps it was because the characters in this series used superpowers and magical abilities…


    This meant that Ian could rtively easily collect those lower-star cards through draws. In contrast, although Ian currently had two cards from the “King of Fighters” series (Iori and Orochi), which was the most he had from any series, it didn’t mean he could easilyplete the “King of Fighters” series deck. This was because some of the other cards required not just physical techniques but alsobat skills!


    As exined before, whether it’s a single draw or a ten-consecutive draw, the cards that appear will correspond to Ian’s current skills. For example, cards from the Warcraft series, such as Sylvanas who uses a bow and arrow, require Ian to have archery skills to have a chance of drawing them. This restriction is beneficial in the early stages as it allows Ian to quickly formbat power through cards he can use. However, now that he wants to collect a full set of cards, it has made things more difficult for him.


    Although there is still a chance to get cards that do not correspond to his basic skills, the probability is significantly lower. This is bad news for Ian because it means that these types of cards have be as rare as SSR cards for him!


    Of course, he could pour arge amount of diamonds into ten-consecutive draws to increase his chances, but this would once again test his luck…


    Just thinking about the system’s consistent money-draining setup gave Ian a headache. As a result, he was distracted the entire way, even when buying clothes. He barely paid attention to what Barat was saying, just responding with vague “uh-huhs.” So, when he finally left the clothing store, he found himselfpletely transformed!


    He was now wearing a pair of red sunsses perched on his nose, an open short-sleeved Hawaiian shirt on his upper body, floral beach shorts on his lower body, and a pair of flip-flops on his feet, looking every bit like a Hawaiian tourist.


    Ian didn’t mind much, as he was there to have fun anyway.


    Barat, holding a white rose, ced it in the left chest pocket of his Hawaiian shirt, pped her hands in satisfaction, and said, “Alright, Lord Ian, where would you like to go next?”