NOVPUBAfter a bit of roughhousing, Lanci patted his sleeves and sat down next to Talia once again.
"Sorry, how much mana do you have left?"
Talia realized that she had, albeit reluctantly, entered into a combat state.
Although it was not a state of full combat readiness, her mana consumption must have been much higher than usual.
"I still have more than half left. It’s fine if we’re just chatting. Now, if you have any questions, let’s hurry and get them sorted out."
Lanci shook his head listlessly.
"But why do I feel a little stronger?"
Talia, sensing her own body, asked him in confusion.
Her ultimate attribute should be the addition of the Great Love Poet’s attribute times one hundred percent, but the Great Love Poet’s own attribute was almost negligible.
"Could it be the [Hopeless Mark]? The mark of Sathya of Despair, a Ninth-order Great Demon, can slightly strengthen all one’s summoned creatures."
Lanci mulled over and responded.
If one had to speak of versatility, this was the strongest Mark of Great Demon Clan he had seen so far.
"I’ve always wanted this mark, but the Hopeless Extinction War was too difficult, and I never thought of getting the mark, huh? Wait a minute."
Talia, while speaking, noticed something amiss.
She had assumed that Lanci learned about the effects of the Great Demon Clan marks from Pranay.
She quickly checked her own Soul Space.
The next second, she checked again.
She suspected she had seen wrong.
How come she had nine Great Demon Clan marks?!
"One, two, three, four… eight, nine."
Talia counted each one and sat dazedly on the edge of the bed.
She’s suddenly become a Demon King.
"What’s wrong?"
Lanci opened his palm and waved it in front of Talia’s eyes, gradually bringing her gaze into focus.
"What’s the deal with these several Great Demon Clan marks?"
Talia asked, her voice tinged with suspicion and wonder.
"When I went to the Northern Continent, I had to take six due to circumstances. It seems that, along with the three you originally had, there are now nine."
Lanci replied with a shake of his head.
Actually, Talia was the only one in the Boss Cat Restaurant who didn’t know he had six Great Demon Clan marks. After all, while everyone else was in the Northern Continent discussing the restoration of the kingdom, she was happily oblivious on the Southern Continent.
"How come Great Demon Clan marks are so easy to obtain?"
Talia still couldn’t comprehend and momentarily didn’t consider Lanci’s sudden change of mood.
She could roughly guess that the [Guardian Mark], [Magic-breaking Mark], and [Mark of True] were her old friends’ Great Demon Clan marks. If Lanci, with the body of the Great Love Poet, could indeed obtain a Great Demon Clan mark and store it on the foundation of the Great Love Poet’s soul.
But what’s up with the [Fallen Mark], [Hopeless Mark], and [Inverted Mark]?
"Calila of the Fallen herself recognized me; is it unreasonable for me to get her mark after passing her trial?"
Lanci asked, puzzled.
"That’s true..."
Talia murmured.
According to Hugh Hyperion, Calila got along quite well with both of them, practically taking over her own role.
"Don’t worry, Tata, Miss Calila is different from you, at least she has a clear sense of self."
Lanci said, looking at Talia with a hint of sympathy.
"…"
Talia felt her fists harden again.
Although she didn’t understand what Lanci was thinking at the moment, she knew he must be making insinuations about her!
"The other two marks involved some luck, but you can rest assured, they are genuine demon products obtained from the trials in Herram Prison. After all, as a member of the Demon Race, you should be clearer than anyone about the boost these marks give you."
Lanci quickly interrupted her ponderings and continued speaking.
"…Yes."
Talia confirmed, her expression complex.
Perhaps these six marks did not truly belong to her, but in merging with the Great Love Poet, she had also become a genuine Nine Seals Great Demon, that is, a Demon King.
At this moment, her Demon King lineage was no longer solely inherited from her predecessor; her own body had also activated a Demon King’s constitution that was uniquely hers.
Why were such outrageous things happening?
She had thought that Lanci bringing back her three Great Demon Clan friends was even more unbelievable than a dream.
Now she dared not even dream anymore.
As one sits idle at home, does the body of a Demon King descend from the heavens?
She still felt a bit unable to distinguish between dream and reality, so she reached out and pinched Lanci’s cheek.
"Ouch!"
Lanci cried out indignantly.
"So it wasn’t a dream after all..."
Talia murmured dreamily.
"No, you’ve already bound your fate to me with a contract, are you still afraid of falling under an Illusion Technique? With my resistance, I can wake you up at any time."
Lanci asked her with confusion.
Last time Talia pinched Antanas, he didn’t speak.
This time when it was his turn to be pinched, he still didn’t speak.
What can I say?
"Does that mean I can use all of those summons of yours too?"
Talia suddenly came back to her senses and asked him.
She remembered the Great Love Poet could use Lanci’s Magic Card, even though Lanci couldn’t use the Great Love Poet’s abilities as a summon himself, the Great Love Poet could act as Lanci’s avatar to wield the magic cards at his disposal.
"Should be right, the Great Love Poet has not only low energy consumption, but you’ve also already optimized it."
Lanci nodded.
"This..."
Normally, when encountering someone else’s Soul-Bound Magic Card, apart from trigger-type Magic Cards and self-conscious Magic Cards, it’s almost impossible to activate them according to one’s own will, but now Talia was certain that Lanci’s cards would also be her cards.
With the acquisition of Demon Sound, an immortal body, the Demon King Mark, and the rights to use strange magic, she felt like in an instant she had become much more powerful than before.
If it weren’t for the fact that her mana supplier could only support her in battle for a very short time, she would have suspected she was becoming a little too much like a real Demon King.
"Not too shabby, although I’m unhappy about the restriction on my freedom, for now, I can accept it."
Talia exclaimed.
After merging with the Great Love Poet, the next period of life would be somewhat troublesome and uncomfortable, but now she had to accept it.
If only this guy had an Original Slab, that would be like her getting a bargain as well.
She couldn’t help but think somewhat greedily.
But she was very sober; right now, it was simply impossible for them to get their hands on something like the Original Slabs, which only Eighth Order Supreme Beings possessed.
"So Tata, turn back into the Magic Card quickly, let me recharge some mana."
Lanci had never felt his mana so depleted before.
If they continued chatting his mana would really hit rock bottom.
"Okay, let me leave a note for Hyperion, saying I have to go on a little long journey in the next few days, and ask her to take good care of herself at home."
As Talia spoke, she took a sticky note from the cabinet and began to write.
"Are you planning to take Lan Fu’s place?"
Lanci asked, looking at her back.
"Should I tell them that I’ve become your designated card?"
Talia glanced back at him, rolling her eyes and asked coldly.
She would rather disappear into thin air than let her friends know about this.
Thus, they inadvertently established a soul-binding contract and would need to live together for a while, indeed, it was too awkward for both of them.
"No problem."
Lanci nodded nervously.
It was better to take this issue to the grave.
"Anyway, Lan Fu usually turns into a Magic Card or stays in your dorm, there’s nothing for her to do; pretending to be her is easy."
Talia continued writing the note, speaking with her back turned to Lanci.
"Indeed."
Lanci felt relieved that Talia had taken the initiative to come to terms with it.
The two of them reached an understanding for once.
As Talia continued writing, she couldn’t help but look reluctantly at the sealed food containers on her oak cabinet. Under the transparent lids, there were sea salt cocoa cookies, oat coconut cakes, pineapple pastries, and various other snacks. She would have to have Antanas distribute them to everyone to finish them quickly.
While Talia was still writing,
Lanci suddenly gasped as if he had remembered something.
Professor Bolao had said that the Academic Supervision Committee was conducting strict screenings recently, so he should make sure Lan Fu didn’t skip classes, and that he had to supervise her to punch in and out of the lab every day at work.
Ichrite Academy was not only affiliated with Hutton Kingdom but was also the official certification and top-tier direct institution of both the South Continent Shadow World Management Association and the Southern Continent Kingdom Union Council. With many powers and conveniences, there was also a need to meet certain criteria to ensure they could produce results for the association’s support.
Lanci had also solemnly promised to ensure Lan Fu attended school diligently.
The reason Professor Bolao hesitated to take him as a student was precisely because of the academic review pressure that Ichrite Academy was facing.
This is not good.
If I tell Talia that for the next few days she has to wear a school uniform and come to school with me every day, will she kill me...
