NOVPUBIn the distance, the morning sun rose higher and higher, the sunlight seeped through the slits of the wooden balcony railings, falling on Lanci, casting a long shadow on him.
A comfortable rattan chair was placed on the balcony, with a half-read book on the glass tea table next to it. A breeze, full of floral scents drifted by, caressing Lanci’s cheeks, as if trying to blow away his drowsiness.
"Lanci, it’s time to go to the card-making exam, stop lingering on your animal friends."
The great love poet, holding a watering can, glanced at the clock indoors, then looked at Lanci who was leisurely feeding the birds sitting next to her, she couldn’t help but give him a couple of kicks on his back.
"I know, it’s still early, we won’t be late."
Lanci, with sleepy eyes, rubbed his eyes.
Although he often brings out the Great Love Poet, and has gotten closer to her, her attitude towards him is becoming increasingly casual.
Sometimes he had difficulty sensing that she was a girl; in reality, the nature of the Great Love Poet’s actions were very boyish.
"Off you go, Lanci, show off your Sealing Skill to the people of the Royal Capital. The representative person for Sealing Skill is Bishop of Nirvana, it’s reasonable!"
The great love poet was grinning in the morning sun.
"That’s right, the Sealing Skill should also be warm and sunny, not a gloomy spell like Asksan."
Lanci adopted an understanding smile, stood up, and stretched himself fully.
Soon, the Great Love Poet relieved her summoned state by herself, and Lanci also prepared to set off.
Crossing the dewy dawn at the Sage Academy Dormitory entrance, Lanci, his face beaming with a faint smile, walked slowly on the campus road.
Bathed in the pale golden morning sun, his temperament seemed increasingly radiant.
Today is the day of the Registered Cardmaker exam, and it’s also the weekend, with no classes or student union activities.
A month had passed in a blink, and the days in between had been plain and unremarkable.
Besides heading to the student union and handling minor disputes on campus smoothly, Lanci spent most of his time visiting Talia or staying in his dormitory to make cards.
Even though he wasn’t entirely confident he’d pass the exam, but after training with Talia’s teaching methods of the Demon Clan, and after finding and honing his best compatibility magic types, Lanci believed he was better than before when he was only proficient in making Spiritual Magic Cards.
Early this morning, Lanci was already up and on his way to the Cardmaker’s Association branch in Capital City Ekrite to sit for the registration test.
Achieving a higher Registered Card Maker status would lead to greater discounts on purchasing various standard and rare materials from the Cardmaker’s Association.
They could even transport materials from other countries of the Southern Continent.
Furthermore, the rate of commission for selling cards and accepting nominated commissions would also be relatively low.
Besides, the Cardmaker’s Association was also a good place to buy scarce high-end materials.
If Lanci had been trading as a businessman before, some advanced materials could only be sold to the association, but not bought from the association.
The association had always been committed to cracking down on resellers and their horses.
Not far from leaving Sage Academy Dormitory building, Lanci saw Hyperion quietly sitting and waiting for him on a circular wooden bench under a big tree.
"Good morning, Hyperion!"
Lanci waved and shouted to him.
Hyperion quickly noticed him and turned his head.
"Hm, good morning."
The two met at the agreed rendezvous point, then headed toward the direction of the Cardmaker’s Association.
Hyperion had promised Lanci early on that he would go to the Cardmaker’s Association with him today.
He was one of only a few in the school who knew Lanci was a card maker, and had always wanted to see Lanci’s card-creation process.
Out of the school’s area.
They ambled through the quiet morning streets, strolling along the stone path next to the Ichrite Grand Theatre, crossing the canal over a stone bridge, and saw the Yala Moat shimmering under the morning light, its waters glittering with a rough golden shine.
"Lanci, do you know that you’ve recently gained some fame in the Royal Capital?"
The two, as usual, walked and chatted.
"Really?"
Lanci was utterly unaware that his feats had spread from Ichrite Academy.`,
During this time, he had been engrossed in studying card making and had spent most of his time at the school.
The only time he left the school area was when he went to the nearby Cat Boss Restaurant to meet Talia.
"Even though we didn’t publicly release our Demon Shadow World video, the more it spreads, the more exaggerated it gets..."
Hyperion sighed.
She reckon it’d been fine if they had a video.
Exactly because there were no recordings, this incident was mostly left to people’s imagination and conveyed through rumors. With every transmission, the story would morph into a different version. Eventually, every version became incredibly abstract.
"How are they spinning it now?"
Lanci asked curiously.
"The most absurd version has it that even while facing purgatory, Principal Lan single-handedly held up Corridor Academy and confronted the Blood Clan Prince, thus making him invincible."
Lanci almost choked on his saliva when he heard this.
He coughed repeatedly, "Surely no one believes that?"
Hyperion shook his head:
"Regardless, quite a few residents in the Royal Capital are thoroughly enjoying spreading such rumors. Some young parents even use this tale to frighten their naughty kids: If you don’t behave, Principal Lan will send you to the Demon Academy for reformation."
"I..."
Lanci was at a loss for words.
In this Shadow World, he had been promoting positivity such as love, peace, and moral order. How did it end up as a dark fairy tale?
The spread of misinformation was genuinely horrifying.
"Alright, don’t take it to heart. Everyone knows these stories hold a half-jocular nature."
Hyperion smiled helplessly.
Although she knew the rumors were more fiction than fact, she still noticed Lanci’s stunned expression.
Upon her words, Lanci nodded slowly.
Then he said determinedly:
"That’s right, as long as I work harder next time, I can let everyone understand the positivity I’m trying to promote."
"..."
Hyperion was lost for words.
She felt that maybe she shouldn’t have said what she did.
...
About half an hour later.
The pair arrived at the Southern Continent Card Maker Association, which was located near Erica Tower and Hutton Pedestrian Squares in the eastern part of the Royal Capital, Ichrite.
Unlike the antiquated-style Cardmaker’s Association branch that Lanci had seen at the Nanwantian Border
This post-modernist Ichrite branch in the capital, grandly constructed ten years ago, was overseen by the Ichrite City Government. It contrasted sharply with the neoclassical building of the South Continent Shadow World Management Association nearby. The Hutton Pedestrian Squares separated the two buildings, which were aligned on the same axis.
The Capital City Ekrite branch of the Cardmaker’s Association building had glass walls echoing the city grid of Ichrite and reflecting the landscapes of Hutton Pedestrian Squares.
As they walked through the automatically opening Waterfall Illusion Gate, they saw the streamlined walkway and forest-themed Art Gallery inside. From the design style alone, one could tell that it had incorporated elements from Ichrite’s culture, geography, historical research, paleontology, magical engineering, and sociology.
"When does your exam start?"
Walking along the clearly marked paths inside the building, Hyperion turned her head and asked.
"Nine o’clock. We still have plenty of time. Let’s take a look around first."
Lanci estimated that it was just after eight o’clock.
"Now that we’ve both leveled up, we can see if there are any new cards we can buy before the next Shadow World encounter."
"Okay, sounds good."
Hyperion nodded.
She knew that Lanci’s entire set of Error Healing magic cards was purchased from the Cardmaker’s Association.
These discarded cards that ordinary people wouldn’t use didn’t cost a lot to obtain.
Browsing around when there’s nothing to do, you might just stumble upon a more effective Error Healing spell card.
However, it seems that the price of Error Healing series magic cards throughout the Hutton Kingdom has started to rise modestly recently.
People gradually discovered that this originally worthless card could be used to annoy opponents.
Though it had no substantial effect, it could truly mess with the opponent’s mind.
Hyperion knew; inevitably, it was the teachers at Sage Academy who understood this use and started to follow Lanci’s method, gradually giving rise to this trend.
Though they couldn’t share this due to Dean Loren’s prohibition, the teachers knew these cards would surge in price in the future, and the smart ones started to stock up.
