Chapter 91
Chapter 91
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 91: Talia’s Shifting Mood
June 15, 2024 — Author: Poor Xixi
Morning light streamed down through the glass skylight, tracing across wooden beams and bookshelves. The faint scent of timber blended with the vanilla-and-rum fragrance of the bedroom incense Talia had placed atop the dresser—refreshing, elegant, never cloying.
“Uh…”
Lan Qi hadn’t expected Talia’s attitude toward him to keep worsening.
But he didn’t really mind—because he’d brought something she was bound to like.
“I came to pay tuition.”
His lips curved into that familiar boyish grin, innocent yet mischievous, as he handed her a magic card.
[Shadow World Recording Program]
Category: Spell Card
Grade: Purple-Rare
Attribute: Link/Recon
Tier: 1
Passive Effect: Records the challenger’s Shadow World experiences. Can be switched on or off at will.
Notes: Issued by the Shadow World Management Association of the Southern Continent. Registered Challenger: Lan Qi Wilfort.
Talia glanced at it coldly, showing no interest at all.
“What would I want that for?”
Her voice was dismissive, but her heartbeat quickened slightly.
She had been planning to find a way to probe Lan Qi, to coax this very card out of him.
And here he was, placing it right in her hands without hesitation—this complete record of the Shadow World’s contents.
Why?
How could he know she wanted it?He had no way of knowing she was a demon.
“Talia, this time the Shadow World I challenged wasn’t ordinary. Guess what I found in there?”
Lan Qi’s tone brimmed with confidence, as though certain she would bite.
“What?”
Arms folded, Talia glanced at him with mild curiosity.
She’d already skimmed part of his later challenge, and aside from the historical data recorded in the card, she hadn’t thought there was anything else worth noting.
“A magic to alter monster fur!”
Lan Qi snapped his fingers dramatically as he revealed the answer.
Talia’s expression cooled instantly. Whatever curiosity she had just felt vanished without a trace.
He was joking again. Overstepping his bounds.
This boy was growing more and more intolerable.
But as if expecting her reaction, he leaned in closer to her chair, bent low, and whispered:
“We could team up—strong meets strong—and research a magic to alter human hair instead. Think about it: in battle, if you could fix your opponent’s hairstyle mid-fight, wouldn’t that be the ultimate sign of friendship first, respect for your foe?”
“…?!!”
Talia snapped her gaze to his grinning face.
This foolish human seemed about to push open yet another forbidden door!
To fight while shaving your enemy bald… such a magic was more dangerous than binding or silence curses. The victim would never rest until Lan Qi was dead.
Yet, despite herself, after seeing the solid results of his previous card-making, she found her interest flaring again.
“So, Talia—”
Lan Qi’s golden eyes gleamed with certainty as he pressed on.
“All the details about the ‘monster fur modification magic’ are in my head. I didn’t record them in the [Shadow World Recording Program], so no one else—or the Association—could steal the core concept. But this card does hold the full record of my Shadow World challenge. Before we begin developing new magic, I thought you should understand the context. In case I overlooked something important.”
His voice was calm, reasoning, persuasive—yet with none of the malicious undertones of a demon’s whisper.
“…”
Talia pressed a hand to her brow.
Why did it always feel like she was under some kind of mental spell with him? Why was it impossible to reject him?
The complete record of demonic history was only a bonus—and it happened to be exactly what she wanted most.
The “monster fur modification magic” he dangled as the main trade stirred her interest even more.
Once again, he was like someone who always knew her favorite dessert—offering it freely, with no worry, no strings attached.
Just when she’d resolved not to deal with him today, she found herself softening.
Human lives were short, and this boy carried immeasurable value.
She might stay by his side for decades, drawing out every ounce of that worth.
So rather than constantly doubting him, it might be better to treat him a little better—to make him all the more willing to work for her.
“These are only enough for me to teach you up to the fourth tier.”
Her voice was calmer now. She still didn’t take the card, but the sharpness had eased.
Beyond that, she had no general card-making techniques left to offer—unless she outright taught him demon craft.
That was impossible.
Teaching him to the third tier had already been her limit. Beyond that, no matter what he said, she would never agree.
“No problem.”
Lan Qi accepted instantly.
Talia finally plucked the card from his hand.
“I’ll return it once I’ve finished reviewing it.”
“Take your time. I won’t need it until my next Shadow World challenge anyway—at least two months.”
He nodded with ease.
“Talia, before we start researching ‘hairstyle modification magic,’ there’s something else. If I want to maximize my card-making success rate and pass the registered Cardmaker’s exam, could you help me test the magic affinity you mentioned last time?”
Beyond striking this new deal with Talia, this was his most pressing concern—finding his true direction for a cardmaker’s career.
“…The Cardmaker exam.”
Talia understood. To earn money quickly, Lan Qi needed official registration. And the higher his starting rank, the more benefits and exemptions he’d receive.
All his earnings, after all, would flow to her.
So yes—she had reason to help him pass.
But even if he specialized in mental magic, with his current third-tier ability, the chances of producing a finished card within the limited trial attempts of the exam were slim. Taking a year or two to pass wouldn’t be unusual.
Unless he had a higher affinity for some other magic.
But she couldn’t guarantee that mental magic wasn’t already his highest.
“Come with me.”
She rose smoothly and led Lan Qi into the adjoining inner room.