Lanqi's Ties to the School of Magic Engineering

Early Monday morning. As the first rays of sunlight fell across the campus of Ikerite Academy, slanted golden beams climbed the ancient red brick walls of the buildings, making them gleam with faint crystalline sparkles. Native plants of Ikerite swayed in the morning breeze. Trees and lawns were blanketed in fresh morning dew, and a crisp, fragrant scent filled the air. Accompanied by the chirping of warblers and finches, the grand doors of the main library slowly swung open. Students began appearing on campus one after another—some hurrying off to early classes, others leisurely enjoying breakfast, with occasional laughter drifting through the air. Past the green lawn of the Old Liberal Arts Building on the edge of the School of Magic Engineering, and a few minutes' walk further along, stood a tower-like glass curtain building rich with artistic design, tall and radiant under the reflected sunlight. On the fifth floor of this main building of the School of Magic Engineering, inside the dean's office: Professor Borao sat at his desk, surrounded by blueprints, components, and a variety of mechanical tools. He had not been in the office long, but he was already holding a mechanical pencil, sketching briskly across a sheet of translucent blue drafting paper. Every now and then, he paused to inspect a small, delicate component beside the drafting paper through his magic engineering spectacles. His slightly disheveled white hair gleamed under the office lighting. His gaze was rapt, wholly immersed in the work before him. Just then, two hesitant, faint knocks sounded on the door, as though the person outside wished to avoid disturbing Professor Borao as much as possible, yet had something truly important to convey. "Come in." Borao did not look up. His deep voice was calm and steady, clearly accustomed to having all sorts of people ask for his help during pauses in his work. The door pushed open slowly, a sliver of bright light spilling through the gap. A young magic artificer instructor entered, turned to close the door gently behind him, and greeted Borao: "Good morning, Professor Borao. We received a notice from the Card Makers Association. A student was evaluated in Saturday's registered card maker exam as..." The young magic artificer instructor's hesitant voice echoed through the spacious room surrounded by innovative blueprints and magical machinery. He still seemed unsure of the contents of the document in his hands, wanting to take one last glance. "Silver rank?" Professor Borao asked absently, his eyes still fixed on the blueprints on the desk. He clearly preferred to devote his time and energy to his research rather than trivial administrative matters like this. "No... It says Platinum rank." The young instructor's voice was filled with existential doubt. "Oh," Professor Borao answered just as indifferently. "Wait... Platinum?" He abruptly looked up, took off the silver-framed spectacles resting on the bridge of his nose, placed them on the desk, and stared at the young instructor in bewilderment. In all these years, he had never heard of a student being ranked straight into Platinum. Starting from Gold rank, promotion typically required accumulating extensive research accomplishments, patent recognitions, sales of finished goods, industry reputation, and meeting comprehensive standards across multiple areas within the association just to qualify for the advancement assessment. Likewise, possessing an Epic-tier work was the single most difficult prerequisite for attaining Platinum qualification. To bypass all that and reach Platinum rank in a single leap, the only way was to craft an Orange Epic during the registered card maker exam. "Did he craft an Orange Epic during the registered card maker exam?" There was a hint of certainty in Professor Borao's question. His greatest student in the past, Mikhail, had crafted a spell card, a summon card, and an equipment card—three different categories of Pink Sacred—in his registration exam, an absolute pinnacle of consistent performance and all-around coverage, and even then he had only been awarded Gold rank, merely very close to Platinum. "Yes. He made one Orange Epic and three White Commons. Because the individual card score of that Orange Epic was extraordinarily high, he was ultimately awarded Platinum rank." The young instructor nodded, stepping forward to hand all the documents from the Ikerite Card Makers Association to Professor Borao. Among them were many important materials that required approval and signature from Borao as Dean of the School of Magic Engineering, and he would likely also need to communicate with the Dean of the School of Sages. Borao took the thick, tawny kraft paper envelope, flipped straight to the page containing the detailed finished card evaluation sheet, and began reading. Even Borao found it somewhat unbelievable that someone could craft a Tier 3 Epic during the card maker exam. Hardly any card maker had the potential to craft an Orange Epic this early. Even with exceptionally rare materials and flawless execution, a heaven-sent prodigy should only be able to reach the level of a Pink Sacred. "This shouldn't be possible... It makes no sense," Borao muttered to himself, his eyes glued to the crafting process and detailed analysis of that Epic piece, Radiant Virtue. Every Epic card was unique; it anchored itself to the world and pierced through history. Anyone capable of creating such a card possessed a touch of legendary brilliance themselves—something no teenager could possibly hold. "Do we really have a student that remarkable?" Professor Borao simply did not believe such a prodigy existed among the freshmen or upperclassmen of the School of Magic Engineering. He knew down to the ounce what every single student was capable of. Though strictly speaking, being awarded Platinum rank directly meant he was currently still considered Gold rank, once someone acquired this qualification, completing the approval process to become full Platinum was merely a matter of time. A few months at fastest, or a year at slowest, and the student would officially become a Platinum-rank card maker. "...He's from the School of Sages. His name is Lanqi Wilfort," the instructor waiting by the desk like an attendant prompted awkwardly, seeing that Professor Borao was still engrossed in the analysis report of the Epic card. "!" Hearing that name, the veins on Professor Borao's forehead twitched, and he slowly set down the documents in his hand. The name was fresh in his memory. "Truly the rising morning sun..." Looking at the dawn light outside his window, Borao muttered under his breath. Back then, it was that very punk who had broken the artificial Shadow World launch terminal, forcing Borao, under the earnest pleading of Loren, the Dean of the School of Sages, to shelve his current research project and rush over to conduct emergency repairs overnight. Most importantly, the massive sum of research funds fronted by their School of Magic Engineering still hadn't been approved for reimbursement! "Because the liaison work with the Card Makers Association is mostly handled by our School of Magic Engineering, and the School of Sages isn't very familiar with these procedures, Dean Loren scheduled a visit to see you shortly—and he'll be bringing Lanqi Wilfort to meet you." Sensing the ominous turn in the office's atmosphere, the young magic artificer instructor hastily bowed to Professor Borao, preparing to take his leave. He knew that when the Hutton Kingdom suffered financial difficulties last year, Professor Borao had been furious when Magic Engineering's monthly budget was slashed by a mere hundred pounds. How much worse, then, that Lanqi had cost them the astronomical sum of eight thousand pounds before the term even began! "I understand. Send Loren straight in when he arrives," Borao said through gritted teeth, unable to conceal the murderous look in his eyes.