The central hall of the School of Sages' Ancient Tower Library was usually a tranquil, solemn space, but today it was brimming with an uncharacteristic bustle.
Numerous scholars stood upon the intricate, colorful floor tiles and carpets, eagerly conversing with Karen. They busily checked and inquired about every detail they cared about, occasionally turning back to discuss them with nearby friends or colleagues. The air was thick with an atmosphere of tension and excitement.
Even though the Original Slate - Wind had already been thoroughly studied, a Pink Sacred magic card developed and improved from its barrier formula still held tremendous academic value!
At this moment, the ground floor was no longer a quiet temple of knowledge, but a vibrant academic press conference.
Even Lanqi's return failed to attract much attention for the time being.
Only Loren, having retrieved the Original Slate - Wind, noticed Lanqi first.
"..."
He started to say something, but when his eyes fell on the magic card Lanqi held, the words caught in his throat.
"Student Lanqi is back too."
As the Void Gate dispersed, the fluctuation of mana soon caused everyone to turn their heads.
However...
They either flashed momentary looks of surprise before turning their attention right back to Karen, or wore expressions of profound bewilderment.
In Lanqi's hand, people saw a bleak white card.
Its tier even seemed extraordinarily low, with barely any perceptible ripples of mana on its surface.
"Please excuse me for a moment."
Upon spotting Lanqi, Karen immediately apologized to the scholars and trotted over to his side.
"Student Lanqi, it seems you didn't perform very well this time. Hearing Dean Loren praise you so much, I assumed you would at least produce a Tier 4 Purple magic card."
Karen tilted her head up, looking at Lanqi's face as she spoke.
She had more or less confirmed Lanqi's true skill.
He was pretty much a complete rookie.
She could barely suppress the urge to mock him.
*Just this? The School of Sages' genius card maker? And here I thought he was something special.*
If Lanqi had produced even a higher-tier Blue card, it would have been passable. But a low-tier White Common card was something even a freshman card maker from the School of Magic Engineering could make—usually utility cards or tools with feeble magical effects.
The nearby scholars found it awkward to speak up.
In truth, they could tell that this was clearly not just an issue of underperforming.
Underperforming either meant blowing up the card or crafting a defective product that dropped its quality by a single grade. Karen was essentially calling Lanqi incompetent, just without stating it so bluntly.
"Rather than calling it a matter of performing well or poorly, it's more accurate to say that this is simply my true ability," Lanqi said placidly.
"..."
Hearing Lanqi make no excuses, Karen parted her lips slightly in surprise.
She had expected Lanqi to feel some sense of frustration; after all, he had been held in such high regard by others.
"Student Lanqi, don't be discouraged. You're only a first-year, after all. Sometimes card making really comes down to luck, and it's not like I've never made a White Common card myself. But at least you're very honest—if I made a White Common magic card, I might have hidden it away."
Karen continued to smile naively, offering Lanqi words of encouragement.
The strong had every right to thoroughly humiliate the weak.
The mere thought of Lanqi producing such a shabby card made it difficult for her to keep a straight face.
By now, anyone could tell that Karen was rubbing his nose in it.
Relations between the two of them hadn't seemed great to begin with, and now that Karen held the absolute upper hand, she simply stopped pretending.
"Well then, see you if fate allows, Student Lanqi. I hope to see you at the Platinum-rank card maker exam in the future, so I can witness the skill of the 'super amazing card maker' Dean Loren spoke of."
Karen looked aside and waved her hand, walking back toward the scholars and reporters as though she had no more time to spare on Lanqi.
"I'll strive for it," Lanqi replied politely as he watched her leave.
"...?"
Watching Karen mock Lanqi to his face from the side, Loren began to wonder if she had misunderstood something.
*You two really might meet at the Platinum-rank card maker exam.*
Loren hadn't realized Karen resented Lanqi this much; at first, he had assumed they got along quite well!
Wait.
"!"
Loren furrowed his brows tightly.
Only now did he realize a severe problem—
*Good heavens, Karen actually took Lanqi for an amateur and started smurfing on him, didn't she?*
Although Lanqi's status as a semi-Platinum-rank card maker had yet to be made public, Loren had never imagined Karen would misjudge Lanqi's strength to such an extent!
"She's done for..."
After a dazed moment, Loren clutched his forehead. Recalling the words Karen had just said to Lanqi... he felt that all hope was lost.
He didn't dare imagine the scene if Karen ever ran into Lanqi serving as the examiner at a Platinum-rank card maker exam in the future... Her mentality would probably shatter on the spot.
"Dean Loren, what's wrong?" Lanqi asked with concern.
"..."
Loren lowered his hand and looked at Lanqi, a lump catching in his throat.
Lanqi had indeed remembered his request: Karen would return to the Aloran Kingdom healthy, safe, and happy according to schedule, unlike the other three who had to remain in the Hutton Kingdom.
Except this time, Karen had received a suspended sentence of social death.
"Never mind... the girl brought it upon herself..." Loren muttered weakly under his breath.
Sure enough, whenever students from the Aloran Royal Academy came into contact with Lanqi, nothing good ever came of it. In hindsight, ending up hospitalized was practically prime treatment!
Standing on the carpet, Loren thought for a moment and found himself a little concerned about Lanqi's feelings. Objectively speaking, the card he had produced after observing the slate was indeed quite bizarre.
"Did you have an off day?" Loren asked Lanqi.
He was somewhat curious about what kind of card Lanqi had actually made.
As a semi-Platinum-rank card maker, his floor shouldn't be so low that a serious attempt yielded a white card.
Loren had never seen Mikhail make a White Common magic card, after all.
"..."
Lanqi lowered his eyes to look at the card in his hand. Smiling, he didn't care in the slightest about the outcome of this crafting session.
Originally, he had planned to ask Loren for a token of proof, lest he get too deep into his bandit role after heading to the Northern Continent and find it difficult to prove his identity to the authorities at a critical juncture.
Now, however, that seemed unnecessary.
"Actually, I performed quite well," Lanqi said with a soft chuckle. He merely turned his fingertips, letting Loren see the magic card in his hand.
[Counterfeit Slate - Wind]
[Category: Equipment Card]
[Quality: White Common]
[Tier: 1]
[Passive Effect: This card may be treated as the Original Slate - Wind, but possesses no bonus effects. Observing this card may grant a faint comprehension of wind-attribute magic engineering.]
[Remarks: All things in the world shall eventually be reborn; the wind shall forever blow across this land.]
After a simple wave goodbye, Lanqi walked past Loren.
He left Loren standing frozen in place, eyes wide in disbelief.
In the second half of this year, he would carry this Counterfeit Slate - Wind to the Northern Continent to star directly as Loren. Lanqi would use the artistic image of the High Priest to strive to create a positive role model, blossoming in both the Northern and Southern Continents, and promoting Ikerite culture.
Chapter 217