Now Lanqi Has the Land of Gentle Slumber Too

"Boss Cat, how are you feeling?" Lanqi looked down at the motionless little black cat and asked. It seemed to be caught in a violent mental tempest. Compared to him and Hyperion, who had just reached Tier 6 and had not yet set foot into the transcendent realm of Tier 7, Boss Cat was the first among them to genuinely touch the heights of Tier 8. "...Meow meow meow? Did I really become a Tier 8 divine beast?" Boss Cat still couldn't believe the changes coursing through its body. Even though its species dictated that it remained just as weak, it was undeniably at Tier 8 right now—a realm comparable to High Priest Loren and the Bishop of Extinction, Askesan! "Indeed. I can tell you've gotten a lot stronger." Lanqi nodded. Back at Tier 7, Boss Cat had possessed combat prowess rivaling Tier 4. Now that it had reached Tier 8, it couldn't be taken lightly even among Tier 5s. One could say it was currently the weakest combatant on their team. At the very least, its mana bar wouldn't be drained completely after a single cast of [Storm Dragon's Roar]. "Meow?" Boss Cat looked up, eyeing Lanqi's deeply pensive expression. It had a distinct feeling Lanqi was thinking something terribly rude! Before it could interrogate him, however, another change caught its attention. [Reward Settlement: Dawn Storm (Tier 8 Epic Equipment Card), Caliera's Shadow-Weaving Record (Tier 1 Epic Material), Demon Fusion (Tier 6 Epic Equipment Card), Her Golden Moment (Tier 1 Epic Artwork), Bonus Gift (Tier 1 Common Item).] Soon, several orbs of light swirling with different colors appeared before them like miniature stars. One drifted toward Boss Cat, while the other four floated toward Lanqi and Hyperion. "Tier 8 Epic...?" Boss Cat's jaw dropped as it stared at its own dazzling orange orb. This was the first time it had ever seen a Tier 8 magic card, and a natural epic at that! A Tier 8 magic card rarely ever appeared in auction houses, even within the Southern Continent Card Makers Association. As for natural magic cards, they often carried magical principles tied to the challenging Shadow World that did not exist in the present era, giving most of them far greater value than artificial cards of the same tier and quality. Of course, this was bound up with the SSS evaluation they had achieved in this Tier 7 Shadow World. Had they received a B-rank or A-rank rating, getting a natural card of even Rare quality would have been fortunate. "Boss Cat, see what its attributes are?" Lanqi and Hyperion also looked at Boss Cat, their eyes fixed on the legendary Tier 8 Epic. Even in its encapsulated state, only the Tier 8 Boss Cat could identify its properties. With trembling paws, Boss Cat reached out and touched the glowing sphere. A necklace crafted mainly from a rare metal with an orange sheen materialized in its paws. [Dawn Storm] [Category: Equipment Card] [Quality: Orange Epic] [Tier: 8] [Effect: Can be triggered upon casting wind magic. Consumes mana to generate an absolute immunity field. Can be triggered up to three times per twenty-four hours.] [Description: The howling gale of dawn shrouded helpless reason across the pitch-black snowfield, sweeping the faith known as light toward every witness.] "This metal... can only be found in specific veins on Neclis Island, and the refining process is exceptionally complicated. The minuscule yield at the end is both incredibly hard and light, though I lack the ability to forge it." Lanqi inspected the necklace and quickly recognized the material. The metal's surface was as delicate as a mirror, reflecting the soft glow of morning's first ray of sunlight. The incantations inscribed upon it seemed to herald dawn and rebirth. Irregularly shaped gemstones set along the chain shifted colors under changing light, shifting from deep orange to a brilliant sky blue, echoing the sky's fickle temperament. "This wind-attribute epic seems a bit like that [Phantom of Wind] Senior Karen made during the academic visit from the Aloran Kingdom?" Hyperion recalled. Back then, after viewing Dean Loren's Original Slate: Wind, Karen, the Gold-rank card maker from the Aloran Kingdom Academy, had crafted a Tier 4 sacred wind spell card. Its effect granted an opportunity for an extreme dodge once every twenty seconds if evasion was physically possible, consuming mana when triggered. Hyperion remembered that card vividly for only one reason—during that very same event, Lanqi had forged the root of all evil: Counterfeit Slate: Wind. "Meow meow meow, is it that good?" As a layman listening to Hyperion and Lanqi discuss the card, Boss Cat felt its little heart race so fast it was practically flying. "I'm afraid even Dean Loren doesn't possess a wind spell or item quite like this," Lanqi remarked thoughtfully, resting his chin on his hand. [Dawn Storm] was also a wind-attribute protective card, but it existed on an entirely different plane from [Phantom of Wind]. "Meow meow meow~ meow meow meow~" Hearing such high praise from a Platinum-rank card maker like Lanqi, Boss Cat began singing and spinning in circles with delight. Unaccustomed to wearing necklaces, it wrapped the chain around its left paw several times, turning it into a handsome cord bracelet. Seeing Boss Cat so thrilled brought a gratified smile to Lanqi's face. Boss Cat was soon going to evolve from imitating Loren to surpassing him. When it used [Dawn Storm] down in the Creti Empire in the future, the Bishop of Destruction, Ivanos, would probably be left stammering, "How could High Priest Loren have hidden a skill like this?" or "I couldn't even breach his immunity field?" or "Loren, just how lightly are you going to take me?!" Dean Loren's deterrent power was bound to rise too. In future battles, when opponents fought with everything they had and still couldn't exhaust his three life-saving defenses, they would feel nothing but bottomless despair. "What about yours?" Boss Cat leapt onto Lanqi's shoulder, peering at the orbs floating before him and Hyperion. The two were sitting on the steps of the Starlit Plaza, calm and unhurried even when confronted with Epic rewards. It was clearly the composure of veterans who had cleared several Shadow Worlds. "Uh, this painting?" Seeing that one of the glowing orbs was shaped like a picture frame, Hyperion knew at once it was the portrait Lanqi had painted for her in the Shadow World. However, ownership of the painting belonged to Lanqi, so it ought to be left for him to handle. "If you'd like, you can hang it in the ducal manor," Lanqi said, smiling at her. "Mm... then I'll accept it," Hyperion murmured after a brief hesitation, nodding firmly. "Thank you, Lanqi. I'll treasure it." Whenever Father returned, he would surely be astonished to find such a treasure in their home. Hyperion glanced upward, her gaze drifting toward the other equipment card. It appeared to be a pair of black metallic earrings, looking as if they had been refined from the ancient infernal abyss of the Demon Realm. They absorbed and reflected the faintest wavelengths of surrounding light, shifting unstably from a deep red to a dark purple under the various stars. A thin layer of shimmering, eerie demonic runes covered the metal. The two earrings were asymmetrical—one primary and one secondary. One featured a sharp, curved metal barb resembling a fang or a demon's horn, while the other was slender with an elegant curve, like a demon's tail. [Demon Fusion] [Category: Equipment Card] [Quality: Orange Epic] [Tier: 6] [Effect: Handing the secondary earring to a demon of the same sex allows the user to act as the primary host and fuse with them, gaining all of their magic. Equipment cooldown: 30 days. Handing it over without wearing it tests mutual compatibility. Fusion rate (0% to 100%) is determined by magic compatibility and bloodline compatibility. Basic post-fusion attributes are the sum of both parties' attributes multiplied by the fusion rate. Minimum duration before separation is 30 days multiplied by the fusion rate.] [Description: Only royalty who have commanded the demon race are worthy of wearing it.] "These earrings..." Hyperion couldn't help finding them rather unsettling. "If I use them, the compatibility probably won't be very high, because I'm a half-demon... My bloodline isn't pure by nature." Hyperion didn't bind the card the moment she touched it. Once an Epic card was bound, there was no undoing it for life. For instance, Lanqi's Demon Seal couldn't turn her into a summoned entity because she wasn't a pure demon; her human bloodline prevented the technique from working properly. "This really is exclusive to demon monarchs," Lanqi said, studying the equipment card. His personal contribution in the Shadow World had maxed out long ago, and grinding further would only hit the ceiling a Tier 7 Shadow World could offer. Thus, he had planned from the start to distribute contribution points to Hyperion and Boss Cat. However, the achievements tied to Hyperion's contributions didn't necessarily align with her own traits, which meant the resulting rewards weren't always a perfect fit for her. For a demon, especially a Demon King, this would be an extraordinarily powerful piece of equipment. Yet Hyperion happened to be a half-demon princess. Lanqi himself was of human bloodline, so his compatibility with any demon would likely be zero. "It's fine. I have plans for this card," Hyperion said after a moment's thought, taking the earrings into her hands. Tata's birthday was coming up, and she had always wanted to give Tata a gift that money couldn't buy to thank her for looking after her all this time. Besides, Tata was a card maker capable of crafting Epic cards herself; perhaps one day she would make an Epic card tailored specifically for Hyperion. Finally, only Lanqi's two glowing orbs remained. Setting aside the white, common-grade orb for a moment, Lanqi had received another material this time. However, the color of its light was far deeper and more unusual than ordinary orange. When Lanqi took hold of the orb and its brilliance dissipated, it transformed into a gemstone. [Caliera's Shadow-Weaving Record] [Category: Magic Item] [Quality: Crimson Epic] [Tier: 1] [Effect: The treasured gemstone journal of the great demon Caliera. Can be used as a top-grade illusion or mental-type material.] [Description: The only regret in the life of the Fall Lord was witnessing her friend, the Child of the Sun, harbor a dream that could not be realized even within the Land of Gentle Slumber. Everything recorded in the 'Shadow-Weaving Record' will never be repeated, from everlasting to everlasting, for a creature destined to bear such loneliness will never walk this earth a second time.] The multifaceted orb felt icy to the touch. Every facet seemed carefully sculpted by Caliera herself. Its pale blue hue carried a subtle gradient, softening toward the edges like sunlit shallows in the ocean. "A Crimson Epic?" Hyperion frowned. Epic cards were generally orange. Only items like the Original Slates bore a hint of crimson, and among the epic cards her father had crafted, only a few masterpieces carried traces of red—and even then, only in small amounts. This was the first time she had ever seen a material explicitly classified as a Crimson Epic. "Way beyond the syllabus," Lanqi said, shaking his head. He had never seen such a material either. Even at Tata's age, she might not have encountered one. Still, considering it was linked to the Tier 9 great demon Caliera, it didn't seem entirely unreasonable. Caliera was a being who had already reached the absolute pinnacle. "If an Epic completely sheds its orange and turns pure crimson, does it become a new quality grade?" Boss Cat asked, staring at the jewel in Lanqi's hand. "I don't know." From what Lanqi knew of the Southern Continent Card Makers Association's records over the past century, while there were a few mentions of crimson light, genuine "Red" remained nothing more than unverified legend. "I can feel quite a bit of barrier magic from the Land of Gentle Slumber inside this jewel of Caliera's," Lanqi murmured, focusing his mind on the gemstone in his hand. Having experienced the Great Demon Trial and the true Fallen Land of Gentle Slumber, he was intimately familiar with Caliera's aura. "But your illusion compatibility isn't very high, is it?" Hyperion asked. "My mental compatibility is decent. Besides, I can't turn this material into a magic card on my own; I'll need a powerhouse card maker to lead the process while I act as an assistant." Lanqi considered the possibilities. Perhaps this material could be forged into the most prestigious of all categories: a spell card. To this day, he had never seen an Epic spell card. Spell cards lacked the long cooldowns of equipment cards and the vulnerability of summonable creatures. Once bound, they simply became your own magic. "A powerhouse card maker..." Hyperion echoed softly. If they wanted to craft something of the mental discipline, not only did the assistant Lanqi need to have mental affinity, but the primary card maker also had to specialize in it. They actually had someone like that right by their side! It was just that Talia probably hadn't collaborated on a card with Lanqi in a long time. From what Hyperion had heard, in the very beginning, Lanqi and Talia had maintained mutual respect. Nowadays, however, Hyperion felt that merely having them chat was enough to start a farce. They felt like bitter rivals with hopelessly clashing horoscopes. Who knew what kind of chaos would erupt if the two of them tried to focus their minds together on crafting a card? "By the way, meow, why is there a Tier 1 common item called [Bonus Gift]?" Boss Cat looked up at the unassuming white orb. If it hadn't remembered there were five rewards, it would have already packed up to head back to the Boss Cat Restaurant. "Good question," Lanqi said, equally puzzled. Ever since he began tackling Shadow Worlds, he had never seen a white, Common-tier reward. He reached out and touched the orb. With a sudden, resounding crash, a sofa dropped onto the steps right in front of them. The two humans and one cat stared blankly at the sofa in stunned silence.