The following day.
A gentle breeze blew beneath the vast, clear blue skies of Ikerite.
The sun was dazzling, the clouds stark white, carrying the refreshing essence of midsummer.
The wooded path leading from the School of Sages to the School of Magic Engineering's district was exceptionally tranquil this weekend.
It was Sunday, and compared to weekdays, far fewer students were up taking early morning strolls around campus.
Except for Lanqi and Hyperion.
Whenever they had free time, the two of them would often take this path to the student council room in the School of Magic Engineering's Old Liberal Arts Building.
"Lanqi, whatever you do, don't bring that out!"
Hyperion warned him in a cautious whisper.
She wore her usual pure white summer dress. Perhaps because it was already growing a bit sultry, beads of sweat glistened at her neck.
"Got it, got it. I hid it in my dorm; there's no way she'll find it,"
Lanqi replied with a confident nod.
The botanical garden belonging to the School of Alchemy beside the path teemed with life. Birds hopped between the treetops, chirping from time to time, as though welcoming these two humans who frequently passed by.
Here was what had happened.
Hyperion had gone downstairs for breakfast that morning, and just as she reached the bottom of the stairs, she discovered Lanqi standing outside Boss Cat Restaurant chatting with Pranay—carrying a box stamped with a flammable hazard symbol.
Pranay had looked like he was about to polish a hole right through his glass.
Hyperion had instantly guessed what was inside. Turning around, she shoved Tata back upstairs, then dashed down to intercept Lanqi just in the nick of time, saving his life.
"Seriously, does anyone actually buy eight hundred candles to celebrate a girl's birthday?"
Even now, Hyperion looked at Lanqi with utter bafflement.
"But eight hundred candles lit up together would look so cool."
Lanqi had no good comeback. What else was one supposed to do with birthday candles other than be strictly accurate? Could you really give discounts on the numbers?
"...Lanqi, it might be cool, but Tata's hands move faster than her thoughts. Before you even strike a spark, she might already be pinning you down and adjusting your spine. I really can't promise I'll be able to save you every time,"
Hyperion sighed and shook her head, even gesturing with her hands in the twisting motion of a bone-setter snapping a neck: *crack*.
"!"
A chill instantly ran down Lanqi's spine. He hurriedly squeaked out,
"No, no, no, no. I wouldn't dare do it again."
The large box of premium candles bought from the Church of the Goddess of Fate had been stashed away by Lanqi into the storage room of his dorm workshop.
They were enough candles for him to celebrate dozens of birthdays; throwing them out would be a total waste.
"Next week when you and Tata head to the Kingdom of Posen, whatever you do, don't tease her too badly. Otherwise, you could scream until your throat gave out and no one would be able to save you,"
Hyperion was still somewhat worried and kept nagging him.
"You can rest assured on that. I've never been any kind of comedian,"
Lanqi gave a confident guarantee.
"..."
Hyperion thought about it and decided that Lanqi surviving to this day was already a miracle in itself.
In that case, she might as well trust him.
Their pace was leisurely and unhurried. Passing a lively beverage shop, they paused for a moment to buy two drinks.
This was a cold-pressed juice shop they frequented, as it happened to be right on the way to the student council room.
Between the pure fruit juices, blends, and fruit-and-vegetable juices, the two of them had tried all thirty-plus varieties.
Yet in midsummer, that icy sweetness never seemed to grow old. To leisurely enjoy life in Ikerite without cares or pressure really was pure bliss.
Question Tata, understand Tata, become Tata.
These were the three unavoidable stages of living in Ikerite.
"By the way, did you give Tata your gift?"
Lanqi asked, holding his juice cup and looking over at Hyperion beside him.
He remembered that Hyperion had decided on Tata's gift a long time ago.
The two continued toward the Old Liberal Arts Building. The quiet wooded path was like a glistening emerald, shafts of sunlight crisscrossing beneath the canopy to sketch picturesque, dappled patterns across the bluestone paving.
"Yeah."
Hyperion nodded, taking small sips of her juice.
To Talia, birthdays weren't something that warranted special celebrations—or rather, the demon race was already so accustomed to birthdays.
Having to celebrate every single one would turn into a burden instead.
"Though as for that piece of equipment, even though Tata can use it, it doesn't seem very useful to her,"
she added.
That morning, Talia had received Hyperion's gift. Although she was quite touched when accepting it, when she actually gave it a brief try, it turned out not to be as practical as anticipated.
This Epic-grade equipment named [Demon Fusion] allowed the user, if the other half of the earring pair was given to a demon of the same sex, to fuse with them using oneself as the host, gaining all of their magic, with a cooldown of thirty days.
And if it was simply handed over without being worn, one could test their compatibility—or fusion rate—beforehand.
Both magical compatibility and bloodline compatibility affected the fusion rate.
The base attributes after fusion were the sum of both parties' attributes multiplied by the fusion rate.
"If she fuses with me, because our bloodline compatibility is so low, she'd drop straight below Tier 7,"
Hyperion said with a shake of her head.
Because she was a half-demon, her fusion rate with Talia was only around ten percent. Using [Demon Fusion] meant adding Talia's Tier 8 attributes to Hyperion's comparatively negligible Tier 6 attributes, and then multiplying the total by ten percent. Talia would instantly plummet by more than a full major realm.
Beyond that, she had also brought Antanas and Sinora over for a quick test.
Talia and Sinora's compatibility was mediocre, hovering right around fifty percent. After fusion, her attributes could remain at the Tier 8 level, but would become much more skewed toward Magic and Strength. Combined with Sinora's spell-breaking and severance magic, Talia's offensive power would become formidable.
The highest compatibility so far was with Antanas, close to seventy percent. If they fused, Talia's attributes would even see a notable boost, especially in Spirit and Stamina. However, because Antanas's talent and magic were defensive, it would result in a Talia who specialized in defense.
"So that means Talia now has three extra forms: Attack Form, Defense Form, and Escape Form,"
Lanqi mused after hearing Hyperion's explanation, resting his chin on his hand.
"Right... Wait, what in the world is Escape Form?"
Hyperion had barely nodded before realizing a bizarre form had slipped into the list.
"Haha."
Lanqi took a sip of his juice and quickened his pace.
"Lanqi, wait! Explain yourself—what do you mean by Escape Form?!"
Hyperion scampered beside him with light, fluttering steps like a small bird, furrowing her brows in aggrieved insistence.
"Your innate magic is the most useful of all. Truly invincible within your tier, honestly,"
Lanqi finally couldn't hold back his laughter and told her.
Back during that period on the Northern Continent, Hyperion had stayed in the temple of the Church of the Goddess of Fate in the Kingdom of Asethelan for nearly two months. After special training from the Ice Snow Witch, even as a Tier 5, Hyperion could mask her presence before a Tier 8. As long as Hyperion wanted to conceal herself, not even Talia could detect her approach.
Later on, Caliera of the Fall had even given Hyperion a supplementary round of intensive training.
By the time Hyperion reached Tier 8, no one would truly be able to threaten her.
"Lanqi, you've gone bad! You never used to tease me like this!"
Hyperion put on an angry face, though it lacked any real venom.
Laughing and bantering, the two made their way all the way to the foot of the Old Liberal Arts Building.
Chapter 639