Chapter 93: Lances Magic Affinity

Chapter 93: Lance's Magic Affinity

Lance followed Talia into what turned out to be her bedroom. She switched on a floor lamp standing on the plush rug beside the bed. The white walls reflected a soft glow, instantly making the space feel airy and bright.

Standing by the doorway, he could see that an oak cabinet nearby was filled with sealed food containers. Through their transparent lids, he spotted various treats: cream puffs, cheese puff pastries, mango crepes, and the like. These were her desserts for her breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even late-night snacks.

He had barely glanced at them when he felt Talia's murderous gaze on him. "Don't look around."

She had never intended for Lance to see these sweets, which contrasted so sharply with her outward image. She then pulled a small carrying case out from under the bed. With the click of metal latches, she opened it to reveal a high-end portable card making kit. Following that, she retrieved some crafting materials from the cabinet.

She pointed to the desk on one side of the room. "Sit down."

Meanwhile, she sat on the edge of her bed on the opposite side of the long table, picking up some of the tools and beginning to work. "I'm going to craft various basic Tier 1 card prototypes. I'll teach you the principle of a universal spell formula. You'll just need to complete one very simple step, and I'll finish the rest. The deviation in the final results will show how well-suited you are to which type of magic."

"Um... what if I accidentally blow these up?" Lance was already scanning the room for fire-safety equipment. He didn't know what the consequences would be if he wrecked Talia's bedroom. Plus, there was a restaurant running downstairs, so he had to consider the others.

Talia looked up and fixed Lance with a stare. Her eyes shone with a cold brilliance. "Do so and find out."[1]

A chill ran down Lance's spine. She was clearly serious this time. "...I won't blow up the cards."

His grip tightened slightly on the tools. Although Talia appeared sterner than ever, Lance always upheld the traditional virtue of respecting his elders. He would treat an old lady who had lived for centuries with nothing but courtesy.

Talia then turned her attention away from him for the moment, focusing instead on the preparations at hand. This was simply how demons treated their apprentices. If she was going to teach, she would do so earnestly.

While she lacked extensive teaching experience, she felt that this approach was appropriate for Lance, given his status as a "demon" of the human race. Having watched him craft cards from his very first attempt, she was well aware of his shortcomings. Therefore, she knew exactly how to mold someone with his talents into an outstanding card maker.

Aside from his innate, peculiar talent for detonating enchanted cards, the biggest issue with this wealthy young master was that his mindset during the card making process was far too lax. His attitude was simply abnormal.

While the ability to remain completely relaxed during the process was something ordinary card makers envied, maintaining that state indefinitely could lead Lance into a trap: becoming too nonchalant, resulting in a persistently low success rate.

From Talia's perspective, the level of difficulty and the person's own skill at crafting were the primary factors influencing their card making state. If the difficulty was too high, the person would lose a sense of control over themselves and the enchanted card, leading to anxiety or frustration. Conversely, if the difficulty was too low, the person would grow bored and lose interest, causing their approach to become overly lax.

The optimal card making state was total immersion, and it tended to occur when there was a balance between the difficulty level and the creator's skill. Because Lance preferred staying in a low-pressure state where his skills and talent far exceeded the difficulty at hand, he had developed a very casual attitude toward blowing up his cards.

Thus, Talia decided to train Lance using the demon race's methods, which was basically a "do it right or die" approach. This was designed to force his card making mindset into a state of balanced tension.

Talia showed Lance the first semi-finished Mental type card she had prepared. "I've already inscribed the fundamental mana structure for Mental influence. You need to embed an additional spell formula into the array. Think of it as a supplement or a mana-verification mechanism, to enhance targeting precision or distinguish between friend and foe."

As she instructed him, Talia personally demonstrated the completion process right before his eyes. "This card is just for demonstration purposes. From now on, you'll be handling every single one yourself."

Lance nodded solemnly. Talia's gentle, patient explanation was predicated on the assumption that he would absolutely follow her instructions and orders. If he made even the slightest mistake, he was sure he'd truly be done for.

At the same time, Lance began to grasp the true essence of the demon race's teaching methods, and it was something he hadn't fully understood back at Purgatory Corridor Academy. They believed in unleashing a student's potential by placing them under extreme pressure, teetering on the edge of life and death.

If he ever needed to guide other students, whether at his own school or elsewhere, he could surely put this experience to good use. Lance was certain that his capabilities as a headmaster or principal had been further refined.

Following that, a profound silence settled over the room. There was no conversation. Each was focusing entirely on the tasks at hand, yet whenever they passed cards to one another, they did so with a seamless, intuitive rapport.

The outside world and the passage of time faded away, giving rise to a deep sense of satisfaction, enjoyment, and fulfillment. Talia glanced at Lance from time to time, noting that his state of mind while making cards had shifted compared to before. She would have to keep a close eye on his efforts in the future.

***

The light outside the room was undergoing a subtle transformation. The bright morning sky had somehow become suffused with a soft orange-red hue, and the clouds glowed like lit torches in the light of the setting sun. The colors at the horizon shifted gradually from azure to violet, and finally into a deep, profound indigo. The sun sank slowly toward the skyline, eventually vanishing beneath the horizon and leaving a veil of twilight in its wake.

Both of them had spent the entire day making cards, and it was now evening. Inside Talia's room, amid the sound of soft, steady breathing, Lance lay slumped over the desk, fast asleep. His face had an unguarded, almost baby-like expression.

Whether due to intense concentration or the pressure Talia exerted, leaving him no room to slack off, he hadn't even realized he had reached his limit. After finishing the final details on the last card and handing it to Talia, his head had simply drooped until he slumped onto the desk and drifted into a deep slumber.

Talia gazed at the stack of enchanted cards on the table, which also served as her student's test results. Aside from Mental magic, his aptitude for Healing magic was also quite good. Among the elemental magics, his Light affinity was passable, though not particularly outstanding.

As for the other categories of magic, his compatibility was largely poor, much like the Curse and Poison types Talia had identified at a glance. Yet, one specific card that bore a colorless rune shimmered with a brilliant, distinctive radiance. That was a sign of exceptional compatibility.

After Talia had tested every categorizable type of magic, she had indeed found the one area where Lance's aptitude was truly outstanding. She picked up the card, her expression complex.

"To think that Sealing magic is the best fit for someone like him..."

She glanced at Lance's innocent, sleeping face, feeling that his level of "newborn-like naivety" was destined to skyrocket even further after the card maker's registration exam.

1. I was tempted to have this part as "F*** around and find out." But that didn’t sound like Talia. ☜