Early morning sunlight poured through the glass skylight, lingering across wooden beams and bookshelves. The faint scent of timber mingled with the bedroom diffuser Talia had placed on the chest of drawers, releasing an aroma like vanilla and rum—delicate, fresh, and not overly sweet.
"Uh..."
Lanqi had not seemed to anticipate that Talia's attitude toward him was growing increasingly icy.
Yet he didn't mind in the slightest, because he had once again brought something she was bound to like.
"I've come to pay my tuition."
The corners of Lanqi's mouth curled up into his signature smile, innocent yet carrying a hint of mischief.
He offered a magic card to Talia.
[Shadow World Recording Program]
[Type: Spell Card]
[Rarity: Purple Rare]
[Tier: 1]
[Passive Effect: Records a challenger's progress in a Shadow World; may be toggled on or off at any time.]
[Note: Issued by the Southern Continent Shadow World Management Association. Registered Challenger: Lanqi Wilfort.]
Talia cast a cool glance at it, seemingly completely uninterested.
"What would I want with that?"
The words slipped out, though her heartbeat quickened ever so slightly.
Talia had not yet figured out how to drop hints and coax this very item out of him.
Who would have thought he would deliver this magic card—carrying the complete history and details of the Demon Realm Shadow World—right into her hands so directly?
This also made her wonder—
Why did Lanqi know she wanted this? There was no way he could know she was a demon.
"Tata, the Shadow World I challenged this time was truly extraordinary. Care to guess what I found inside?"
Lanqi spoke with smug confidence, as though certain his next words would intrigue her.
"What?"
Folding her arms, Talia glanced at Lanqi's expression with a sliver of curiosity.
She had watched the latter half of his challenge, and felt that apart from the full historical records of the Demon Realm stored in the recording program, there hadn't been anything particularly valuable.
"Magic that can alter the fur of magical beasts!"
Lanqi snapped his fingers lightly, announcing the answer.
Upon hearing this, Talia's face turned cold, and what little interest she had possessed vanished completely.
She felt Lanqi was crossing the line and messing with her again.
This guy was becoming more obnoxious by the day.
Yet, as if anticipating her reaction, Lanqi leaned in a little closer to her chair and bent down, whispering:
"If you and I team up—a powerhouse collaboration—we could research magic to alter human hair. Just think, if you could style your opponent's hair in the middle of a fight, wouldn't that be the ultimate display of 'friendship first, respect your opponent'?"
"...?!"
Talia snapped her gaze toward Lanqi's smiling face.
She realized this menace was about to pry open another forbidden door!
Fighting someone and making their hair disappear halfway through...
An enemy wouldn't rest until they tore Lanqi to shreds.
Even knowing this spell would be even more insidiously foul and perilous than forced kneeling or muting, Talia, having seen his finished magic cards before, could not help feeling intensely intrigued once again.
"So, Tata,"
Lanqi stared into Talia's golden eyes, knowing he had hooked her.
"While all the information on the beast fur alteration spell is stored safely in my head—I didn't let the [Shadow World Recording Program] record it, so no one else or the Management Association could peek at the prototype of our core technology—this [Shadow World Recording Program] still recorded my entire run through the Shadow World. I think before we develop the new magic, you ought to familiarize yourself with the process and background. Who knows, maybe there's something I overlooked?"
He continued speaking softly by her ear, measured and calm.
Appealing to emotion, reasoning with logic—it sounded nothing like the whisper of a demon.
"..."
Talia lowered her head and pressed her fingers against the bridge of her nose.
She kept wondering whether she had fallen under some mental magic of Lanqi's. Why couldn't she ever turn him down?
The complete historical information of the Demon Realm inside the program was merely a bonus, yet it was precisely what she desired most.
And the centerpiece of the trade, the fur-altering magic, was utterly irresistible to her.
Once again, Lanqi seemed to know her sweet spot, delivering everything that benefited her on a silver platter, perfectly to her liking, without worries or strings attached.
Talia, who had initially planned to ignore Lanqi today, felt once more that she should treat him a little better.
A human lifespan was short, and this young man was packed with immeasurable value.
She might well spend decades at his side, extracting every ounce of his worth.
Therefore, rather than constantly suspecting him, it made more sense to be somewhat nicer, so he would work himself to the bone for her all the more willingly.
"All of this is only enough for me to teach you up to Tier 4."
Talia did not take the magic card from his hand just yet, though her tone softened slightly.
If she taught him anything beyond that, she would have no conventional card-making techniques left to share—unless she went completely wild and taught him authentic demon card-making methods from top to bottom.
And that was completely out of the question.
Teaching Lanqi up to Tier 3 was supposed to be the limit; beyond this, no matter what he said, she would not teach him another thing.
"No problem."
Lanqi agreed without hesitation. At that, Talia plucked the [Shadow World Recording Program] from his hand.
"I'll return it once I'm done watching."
"Sure, no rush."
Lanqi nodded. At least until his next Shadow World challenge, he was in no hurry to take the card back—he had a full two months.
"Tata, before we look into the 'hairstyle makeover' magic, I've run into another problem. If I want to maximize my card-making success rate and pass the registered card maker exam, could you test the magic type affinity you mentioned last time?"
Aside from securing a new deal with Talia, the most critical next step was charting the future path of his card-making career.
"...The card maker exam."
Talia knew Lanqi needed the status of a registered card maker in the Southern Continent to make money quickly, and the higher his starting rank as a card maker, the greater the perks and fee exemptions he would receive.
The money Lanqi earned was essentially hers anyway, so she truly had every reason to help him pass this exam, which was on the harder side for him.
Currently, even if Lanqi—who had just reached Tier 3—were to craft the mental-type magic cards he was best at, his success rate for producing a finished magic card within the limited attempts allowed on-site was not very high. It wouldn't be surprising if it took him a year or two to pass.
They needed to find out if Lanqi had an even higher affinity for another type of magic.
Yet Talia could not guarantee whether a "favorable" affinity for mental magic was already the best Lanqi could hope for across all types.
"Follow me."
With those words, she rose to her feet and led Lanqi into the inner room beside them.
Chapter 90