Chapter 10
Chapter 10
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 10: Is There Something Wrong with Lan Qi’s Magic Card?
Bright lights illuminated the card crafting workshop, reflecting off the magical instruments and containers.These tools carried an ancient aura, having witnessed the rise of many Card Crafters.
At this moment, Lan Qi was fully focused on the workbench.
He carefully counted the basic materials, took out a compartmentalized tray, and placed a portion of each necessary ingredient into the individual sections.
Talia frowned slightly as she observed his material selection, almost unconsciously.
Why is this guy grabbing so many materials?
As her doubts lingered, Lan Qi gradually completed his preparations.
Having lived frugally for so long, Talia had almost forgotten that she was once wealthy, too.
Lan Qi rolled up his sleeves, his face brimming with anticipation—he was ready to put his card crafting skills to the test.
Although his movements were a bit clumsy, he began mixing the finely ground, neutral magic crystal powder with magic core liquid, using a measuring device to monitor the magical fluctuations in the mixture.
Since he had yet to master synchronizing his own mana with the ink mixture, he had to rely on magical tools for assistance.
"……"
It actually wasn’t that difficult, but it wasn’t something one could learn just by reading books—it required hands-on instruction.
Talia watched Lan Qi’s rookie-level crafting attempts with an utterly indifferent gaze.
But she had no interest in offering him guidance, nor did she see any reason to do so.
Even without looking any further, Talia already knew what kind of magic card Lan Qi was trying to make.
After all, he had just unrolled the magic scroll he was about to transcribe and engrave.
It was none other than a Tier 1 Mental Spell—[Mental Disruption].
Compared to single-use magic scrolls that became useless after activation, a magic card version could be used repeatedly.
[Mental Disruption]
Category: Spell CardGrade: Blue (Rare)Attribute: MentalTier: 1Effect: Works only on enemies within 3 meters, briefly rendering them unable to move. Mana cost and duration are determined by the difference in mental power between the user and the target. Cooldown: 120 seconds.In most cases, crafting a magic card from a scroll like this resulted in roughly the same effect, with only slight variations in control duration.
If a Card Crafter was highly skilled, they might even manage to produce a Purple (Epic) quality card, which would enhance the effect or add extra abilities.
Of course, even as a Tier 1 spell, a Blue (Rare) quality card was already a significant challenge for a novice Card Crafter.
Simply avoiding a failed attempt—or at best, creating a White (Common) downgraded version—would be an accomplishment.
Talia wasn’t yet sure about Lan Qi’s potential, nor could she predict what kind of card he would produce.
But generally speaking, anyone with true talent in crafting would’ve started learning much earlier.
Lan Qi’s family was clearly well-off.
If he had real talent, he should have received top-tier training from an early age—not just be fumbling around out of sudden interest now.
"Talia, do you know how to craft cards?"
Lan Qi, still studying the scroll in his hands, suddenly asked, as if sensing her gaze.
To him, having someone to chat with in the workshop wasn’t such a bad thing.
"……"
Talia ignored him, coldly shifting her gaze away.
She had no interest in lying over something so trivial, nor did she want this human to know anything he didn’t need to.
Lan Qi, reading the mood, smiled slightly and didn’t push the conversation further.
Just like how the Card Crafters’ Association viewed him—if he approached them as a merchant, he had some value in trade.
But if he approached them as a Card Crafter, they saw no value in him whatsoever.
Come to think of it, the only people who still had faith in him were his family’s butler, Hans, and the maid, Francine.
With that thought, Lan Qi returned his focus to pouring the prepared magic ink into his engraving pen.
This next step required his undivided attention—
He was about to enter the most critical phase of magic card crafting: Modifying and Stabilizing the Magic Structure and Circuitry.
Tier 1 mental spells generally only caused minor disruptions, and strong control-type mental magic usually required close proximity to activate.
To alter an existing spell’s effect, one needed both exceptional magical creativity and extensive experimentation, making it far more difficult than standard crafting.
Lan Qi focused all his attention, immersing himself completely in the task.
With the engraving pen moving slightly in his hand, he carefully infused his mana into each magic circuit.
Creating the structure of a magic card wasn’t something just any mage or Arcane Engineer could do.
It was a process that required understanding, creativity, and spellcasting ability—all at once.
Without exceptional talent and deep comprehension, even if someone could draw the circuits correctly, they still wouldn’t be able to imbue them with true power.
Holding his breath, Lan Qi braced himself for the biggest challenge yet.
The hardest part of the engraving process was inscribing the intricate arcane glyphs along the edge of the card.
These twisted, ant-like characters were impossible to decipher without exceptional eyesight, let alone engrave accurately.
Frowning deeply, Lan Qi continued his painstaking work.
It was as if he were a renowned painter, meticulously creating a masterpiece.
Each stroke was both delicate and precise, yet exuded an air of absolute confidence.
For the first time, Talia found herself watching him with slightly more focus.
Never mind the fact that he was crafting a low-tier card with zero experience—
At this moment, Lan Qi didn’t look like an amateur Card Crafter at all.
Instead, he carried the aura of a true master artist!
Seconds passed.
Then—
BOOM!
An explosion erupted in the workshop.
…It blew up.
Talia: "……"
As faint smoke drifted through the air, she shook her head ever so slightly.
What a waste of money.
Even though she wasn’t fluent in human magic inscriptions, she could still tell that Lan Qi had been doing something rather bizarre—
He hadn’t been satisfied with simply crafting [Mental Disruption].
Instead, he had tried to rewrite it into a more complex spell while engraving—and then immediately seal it into a card.
It was like trying to fly before even learning how to walk or run.
Only two kinds of people would do something this reckless:
A supremely arrogant genius.
Or…
A hopeless idiot.
“Why Did It Blow Up…?”Lan Qi stared blankly at the remnants of his magic card, which had exploded in his hands like a firecracker.
It all happened too suddenly, shattering his dreams of becoming a Card Crafter.
Fortunately, the lightweight barrier in the workshop had protected him from any real harm.
The next second, as if suddenly remembering something, Lan Qi rushed out of the workshop.
“This guy…”
Talia frowned, murmuring to herself.
Even if he was upset by the failure, as an employer, he shouldn’t just storm off and leave her behind like this.
If there was one thing she hated most, it was being abandoned—by anyone, for any reason.
Just as she was about to leave the workshop in annoyance, Lan Qi suddenly ran back in, hurrying to the workbench and quickly jotting something down.
“You’re not leaving?” Talia asked.
“Of course not! This is just the beginning. I just went to ask the steward to bring me a few more things.”
Lan Qi responded matter-of-factly, as if the previous explosion hadn’t fazed him in the slightest. His eyes still burned with excitement, filled with an insatiable curiosity for card crafting.
Talia said nothing more and simply returned to her seat.
She had plenty of patience—sitting here all day and earning £3 for doing nothing wasn’t exactly unpleasant.
She was just wondering how long it would take for this human to give up after failing repeatedly.
Soon, the steward returned with a few books and some materials Lan Qi hadn’t used in his previous attempts.
Lan Qi took the books and immediately began devouring them, flipping through the pages at an astonishing speed.
That entire afternoon, he spent his time blowing up magic cards, recording failure data, and studying nonstop.
And so, two weeks passed.
Every day, Lan Qi and Talia would come to this workshop—
One would craft (and explode) magic cards.The other would sit and watch.
They would stay almost the entire day like this.
Yet, despite half a month of effort, Lan Qi still hadn’t successfully crafted a single working [Mental Disruption] card.
Meanwhile, Talia remained in her seat, her hands lightly holding a book, flipping through the pages at a steady pace.
She had long since stopped paying attention to Lan Qi’s crafting process.
Instead, she spent her time reading human literature to pass the time.
In her eyes, Lan Qi’s failures were completely normal.
Even for an apprentice training as intensely as he was, making a Blue (Rare) quality card would require countless failures.
Lan Qi, it seemed, had no talent at all.
If he did, he should’ve already crafted a few functional Tier 1 magic cards by now.
There were even geniuses who could craft a Blue (Rare) card on their first try.
Lan Qi, on the other hand… had been producing nothing but garbage for two weeks straight.
A faint light flickered in the corner of Talia’s vision.
Even without looking up from her book, she already knew what would happen next—
Another magic card was about to explode.
Lan Qi had failed this step so many times, she could already predict the outcome.
But—
As the light intensified and then gradually dimmed—
This time, there was no explosion.
“……”
For the first time in a long while, Talia’s eyes shifted away from her book.
What she saw was Lan Qi, his face full of concentration, like a craftsman completing a masterpiece.
And in his hands—
A magic card was glowing with a soft, misty aura.
It looked like… he had finally succeeded.
Lan Qi let out a deep breath, relief washing over his face.
A genuine smile spread across his lips as he gazed at the card.
He seemed deeply satisfied with its quality, even pausing to admire it for a moment longer than necessary.
Talia’s gaze flickered toward him for a brief second.
A self-taught beginner… and his first successful card was Purple (Epic) quality?
Most Card Crafters only managed to create Epic-grade cards once they reached Tier 4 or Tier 5, and even then, only when crafting lower-tier cards.
Sure, Lan Qi had spent an absurd amount of time and resources, and the Demon Clan had seen even more outrageous prodigies.
But what surprised Talia wasn’t the result—
It was the fact that some random human she had met by chance possessed this level of talent.
Even fate itself seemed to favor humanity.
A strange sense of powerlessness crept into her heart.
At that moment, the dream of restoring the Demon Clan felt more distant than ever—
Like an illusion.
An unreachable mirage.
“Talia! Look at my masterpiece!”
Lan Qi’s cheerful voice snapped Talia out of her thoughts.
She lifted her gaze slightly.
To her, a Tier 1 Epic card wasn’t anything too special.
And considering how much material Lan Qi had wasted, this card’s value didn’t even cover a fraction of his losses.
Even if it was a Purple (Epic) [Mental Disruption], it was still just a low-cost mental spell—
Not exactly a must-have, and not even a widely used card.
Melee fighters would use it far more often than ranged combatants.
But then—
Talia examined the card’s details and finally furrowed her brows.
Because—
This wasn’t [Mental Disruption].
It was an entirely new, modified spell—
[Basic Etiquette]
Category: Spell CardGrade: Purple (Epic)Attribute: MentalTier: 1Effect: Works only on enemies within 3 meters. Forces the target to kneel before you. Mana cost is determined by the difference in mental power between the user and the target. Cooldown: 120 seconds.Note: "Sir, please don’t judge people through a keyhole. And don’t get carried away with yourself."“…?”
Talia blinked.
Wasn’t [Mental Disruption] supposed to immobilize an enemy for half a second or so?
Technically, this card did something similar—and maybe lasted a little longer.
But…
There was something about it that she just didn’t want to say out loud.
After a moment of silence, she finally spoke.
“…Are you selling this card?”
It was the first time she had ever actively started a conversation with Lan Qi.
With the money she had earned from him over the past two weeks, she could easily afford a basic Purple (Epic) spell card.
Of course, this wasn’t just any spell card.
Lan Qi’s unique, self-created spell didn’t exist on the market.
Its price was unquantifiable.
But more importantly—
Its value had nothing to do with whether it was useful or not.
It was a card that absolutely should not fall into the wrong hands.
It was better to keep it under control.
Talia had already made up her mind—
She would buy it, no matter the cost.
“Ah, no can do. I’m keeping this one for myself,” Lan Qi replied, looking slightly surprised by Talia’s sudden interest.
A grin tugged at his lips as he shook his head.
“This is a pretty good lifesaving card, after all.”
Talia: “?”
A lifesaving card?
…Was he sure about that?
Because if he wasn’t going to die in a fight before, using this taunt-infused, ultimate-provocation card would definitely make sure he did.