Lanqi's Spoils

Light, like distant stardust, dotted the deep, pitch-black threshold space. For the moment, the two were still waiting for the Shadow World's settlement and clearance rewards. "Speaking of which, Hyperion, since you have this officially certified demon background..." Lanqi murmured thoughtfully. "What do you mean?" Hyperion could tell Lanqi's words about an "officially certified demon" were not meant to mock her; he seemed to have cooked up another idea. "Actually, compared to human magic scripts, I personally prefer delving into Demon Magic Script. I might make some demon-magic-related items in the future, but there's a bit of a hurdle when it comes to selling them." The moment Lanqi reached this point, Hyperion understood. Although the laws of the Hutton Kingdom did not forbid the circulation of magic cards from other races, if one wished to trade such special types of magic cards through official institutions or legitimate shops, the source had to be registered. If every declaration listed the source as "Crafted by Lanqi," regardless of whether people believed it or not, it would easily invite troublesome investigations. They might suspect him of smuggling or dealing in illicit goods—or even assume Lanqi was harboring a demon who was crafting magic tools for him! "In other words, you want me to be your front?" Hyperion asked. Though she believed Lanqi could not possibly be cut from the same cloth as her father—risking his life on something like harboring a demon—too many suspicious points in doing business would inevitably draw inspections from higher authorities at every turn, ultimately tying his hands in sales. Hyperion, on the other hand, was an "officially tolerated" demon half-blood duchess publicly known to the Hutton Kingdom's higher-ups. If she partnered with Lanqi to start a company under the name of House Aransal, even if Lanqi put demon magic cards into circulation later on, the Kingdom authorities would not find it out of place. "Exactly. Start a company, then make it big and strong!" Lanqi nodded, an entrepreneurial fire already blazing in his eyes. With Hyperion acting as the big boss, he might even find a chance to rope Talia in down the line. That old crone probably dreamed of getting a license to do business legitimately. "No problem. Who knew my demon identity could actually serve a positive purpose one day?" Just as they were discussing their grand entrepreneurial plans, the quest information that had materialized in this quiet, wondrous space finally began to flicker. Pure white halos stood in sharp contrast against the dark space as lines of text scrolled past one after another. [Shadow World: Purgatory Corridor Academy has been cleared.] [Accounting complete. Generating rating...] [Due to challengers Lanqi and Hyperion entering as a team, team settlement mode has been applied.] [In this exploration-type Shadow World, a total of 80 Standard Classrooms, 40 Advanced Classrooms, 15 Ultra-Hard Classrooms, 20 Non-Targetable Facilities, and 1 Headmaster's Office have been cleared.] [The team has achieved the following accomplishments:] [Model of Integrity (Rank A)—Resolutely refused to cheat, and actively maintained examination hall order.] [Master of Demon Rites and Music (Rank S)—You are skilled with musical instruments and a master of demon music.] [Frugal and Thrifty (Rank C)—Enjoyed fine food while cherishing every bite.] [God of Art (Rank S)—The professor gained profound artistic enlightenment after finishing a single class.] [Quota Explosion (Rank SSS)—Exceeded routine task quotas by 2,000%.] [Guardian of the Campus (Rank SSS)—Sheltered all demons of the academy from the Blood Clan's wrath.] ... [Headmaster's Office Renovation (Rank S)—Under no circumstances should a swimming pool have been built in the Headmaster's Office, yet the loyal Vice Headmaster has already placed it on the subsequent renovation agenda.] [Achievement compilation complete. Rating generation finished.] [After a day of study, you have become outstanding graduates and a headmaster at this academy. Your achievements have not only deviated from the human path, but have even veered off the demon path...] [Overall Rating: SSS] [Tier Increase: Lanqi Tier 2 → Tier 3; Hyperion Tier 3 → Tier 4.] The moment the rewards were settled, both Lanqi and Hyperion felt a divine blessing wash over them like an epiphany, and both instantly broke through their respective tiers. Lanqi even discovered that despite having just reached Tier 3, he was already not far from Tier 4. "I... I'm Tier 4 already?" Hyperion muttered in disbelief. During the day, she had still been thinking she would waste her entire first year away, unable to challenge the Shadow World. Now, before dawn had even broken on her second day at the academy, she had attained Tier 4, the level of a second-year student. It felt more surreal than a dream. "Aren't we going to be running Shadow Worlds non-stop from now on?" Lanqi said with a grin. After this Demon Realm Shadow World, Hyperion had completely transitioned from a melee mage into a demon rogue who excelled at stealth, corpse-looting, melody magic resistance, and Oscar-worthy acting! "Yeah. Together, two months from now." Hyperion nodded seriously. The cooldown for a Tier 4 Shadow World was two months. Once the cooldown reset, they could dive back in immediately. She now felt that meeting Lanqi was probably the result of her good deeds being noticed by the Goddess. Although, since she was of the demon race, the Goddess had also sent a lucky star far better suited to demon temperaments. [Reward Settlement: Voice of Purgatory (Tier 3 Epic Summon Card), Polymorph: Demon (Tier 2 Rare Spell Card), Polymorph: Human (Tier 2 Rare Spell Card).] Soon, three orbs of light wreathed in different colored glows appeared before their eyes like miniature stars. Two of them drifted toward Lanqi, while one floated toward Hyperion. It seemed the rewards were distributed according to contribution. "Epic...?" Lanqi's brows furrowed slightly as he looked at the orange orb of light. Previously, he had needed the epic-grade material Hymn of Compassion, combined with the craftsmanship of the demon grand card maker Talia and his own final artwork as lead designer, just to create the Tier 1 Epic card Poet of Great Love—all while saddling himself with seventy-five thousand pounds of card debt. Now, after merely enjoying twelve hours of a dreamlike experience, he had obtained another Epic card just like that? And a Tier 3 natural epic card at that. Even Hyperion stared at the orange orb in shock. Natural magic cards often carried magical principles tied to the challenged Shadow World that did not belong to the modern era. Thus, most natural magic cards held far greater value than artificial epic cards of the same tier and quality. Of course, this was likely related to the outrageously high SSS rating Lanqi had achieved. With a B or A rating, walking away with a natural magic card of Rare quality was already quite good. Although Hyperion had seen the Orange Epic card belonging to her father, Duke Micah Aransal, this was the first time she had witnessed with her own eyes a natural epic magic card born from a Shadow World. [Voice of Purgatory] [Category: Summon Card] [Grade: Orange Epic] [Tier: 3] [Effect: Continuously consumes a large amount of mana to summon the demon souls of the Purgatory Theater, unleashing a Purgatory Wail that inflicts mental agony and paralyzes all targets. The effect gradually strengthens in enclosed spaces and gradually weakens in open terrain.] [Remark: The forbidden classroom area of Purgatory Corridor Academy eventually became a terrifying legend that circulated throughout the Demon Realm for over three hundred years.]