Buzz!

As it opened, a portal unlike the usual instance gate burst forth from the crystal.

Its shape was square just like the shape of the cube cards, only magnified several times over.

"Do we just go in like this?"

Li Pu looked at the portal, half curious and half doubtful.

He had only heard about the cube card instance from Ah Yajun and had never ventured inside.

"Don't worry, Sister Zhi has done the cube card instance multiple times before."

"She can guide us."

Ah Yajun noticed Li Pu's hesitation.

This team formation was actually initiated by Xiu Cangjia.

Although Li Pu has been exceptionally elevated to the diamond rank, for now, he can only be considered as having gotten a platinum slot.

According to the previous requirements of Li Pu and Ah Yajun, the two were merged into a shared slot.

This means that for the upcoming instances distributed by the association, they will advance and retreat together.

Many card players who receive slots would choose to bind together like this, because going into instances with familiar people makes for good mutual support.

So the team-up between the two was not entirely because Ah Yajun sought out Li Pu.

As for Zhi Liao, she was a strategic allocation by the association based on the circumstances of Li Pu and Ah Yajun.

Her card play style complements the duo well, and she has experience that can guide two instance novices.

"The basic information about this instance has already been communicated to me by the association."

"So what we need to do now is distribute our formation."

At this moment, Zhi Liao naturally took over the command.

"Formation?"

Hearing her words, Li Pu expressed his confusion.

"That's right, the formation."

Subsequently, Zhi Liao meticulously began explaining to them.

It turns out that although every cube card instance involves playing cards, some rules may differ from those on the table.

For example, the cube card instance they were about to enter implements the 6+3 mode.

6+3 means that each person needs to cast a deck of 3+1 cards to form a game of 6 regular cards with 3 trump cards.

This kind of match, on a personal level, can actually be seen as playing 3+1, then coordinating in a 6+1 mode.

If the three's trump cards are all defeated, they would be judged as losing on the table.

"So our 3+1 deck not only needs to be strong but also requires impeccable coordination."

"Good synergy can enhance the deck's effectiveness significantly."

This is what Zhi Liao conveyed.

Since coordination is the game, it's imperative to determine each of the three's position, which is called formation.

"I've also reviewed both of your profiles previously."

"Yajun, your specialty is defense style and card play, correct?"

"Hmm!"

Her words made Ah Yajun clutch his chest.

Clearly, she's calling him Junior Brother Ah—what's with this world, and why the full malicious intent.

"And I've heard you have a bit of a summoned beast lineage, so you retain the card handler [Shield]."

"Middle-row cards are often more likely to become the focus of magical creatures."

"Therefore, I suggest you take the center row while Li and I take the sides."

Zhi Liao herself specializes in healing cards, following a sustained path.

As for Li Pu, she's heard his styles are odd and varied, encompassing all sorts of card play.

"Li, it's best for the team if you use an attack-oriented deck this time."

"Don't worry, even if you opt for a berserk assault style, I'll keep healing you well."

This is how she arranged Li Pu.

"Alright."

Li Pu nodded in acknowledgment.

"Additionally, there's one more point that requires attention, which is the match mechanics inside the instance."

"The instance contains a mechanism absent from our card table."

"That is the explosive skill mode."

Subsequently, Zhi Liao introduced them to new knowledge.

The so-called explosive skill mode means that after allies' cards have accumulated enough skill uses, they will enter a brief burst period the next round.

This concept reminded Li Pu of the [Dragon Mushroom]'s [Rising Dragon Mode].

Besides differing in values, the mechanism is quite similar.

[Rising Dragon Mode] is achieved after ally dragon cards have used skills 10 times, granting attack +30, health 30%, for 1 turn.

Explosive skill mode grants one round of attack/health +50% after each of the 6 regular cards executes a skill at least once.

Balance-based cards, which essentially have no active skills, are considered successfully triggered on the second round after flipping a card.

"Sister, are the card monsters strong inside the instance?"

After understanding this mechanism, Li Pu posed a question.

"Yes, although we know cube cards are highly balanced on the table,"

"inside the instance, that's completely another story."

"Because on the monsters' side, there's no limit cap on points."

"This means our 6+3, totaling 90-point decks, might encounter card monster decks exceeding 90 points."

"I've even heard of instances with 150 points or even 200 points."

This is how Zhi Liao explained it.

Without the explosive skill mode, card players basically stand no chance against card monsters.

Besides being low in production, the reason for cube card instance restriction is the overwhelming strength of card monsters.

If not an elite among the ranks but an average card player, there's no way of beating them.

After all, the threshold for using explosive skill mode is set at B-tier cards.

C-tier and D-tier cards don't even have active skills to utilize for an explosion.