At eight o’clock in the evening in Ikerite, the streetlights on both sides of the road twinkled like stars, giving the city a graceful and tranquil atmosphere.
Taking advantage of the fact that the large mall in Hedon Pedestrian Plaza was still open, the three of them first bought some daily necessities.
After putting the things back home, Talia followed Lan Qi and Huperion to the dormitory building of the Sage Institute at Ikerite Academy.
Once Huperion had packed the clothes and essentials she could use for two weeks at Talia’s home and came out carrying her suitcase, Talia then took Huperion with her and left.
Watching the two of them walk away under the quiet campus lights, Lan Qi turned around and headed back toward his own dormitory.
Since he didn’t need to hand the “Great Poet of Love” card to Huperion, having “Radiant Virtue” and “Wondrous Notes” in hand was enough for him to manage alone.
Later tonight, he would go find Frey—Frey must have already prepared the cards for their games. If the guild president wasn’t too busy, he’d probably get dragged into playing too.
With Huperion’s situation perfectly resolved, Lan Qi now felt completely unburdened, with only the joys of campus life ahead!
His mood lightened immensely—even the autumn night air felt fresher.
Often when he was in such a good state, inspiration flowed easily.Lan Qi hadn’t touched his card-making tools for several days, having just returned from the Shadow World this morning.
His hands felt a little rusty, and he even missed the feeling.
“I should practice card-making again—I can’t afford to slack off.”
Walking through his dormitory hallway, Lan Qi stretched hard.
As long as he was still in his dorm with access to his card-making workshop, he couldn’t wait to dive into research again.
Before the winter break, when he’d travel to the northern continent to work on the ‘Quest of Finding Slate Holders’, he needed to create a magic card using “Wolf King Proudheart” as the core material. His goal was to become a Sealer who could bring warmth to others, breaking the cold, rigid stereotype people had of Sealers like the Bishop of Extinction.
That was his responsibility, and his goal.
Thinking this, Lan Qi arrived at dorm room 101.
He unlocked the door, turned on the light, and went straight into the spacious storeroom that had been converted into his card-making workshop.
Ever since Lan Qi had installed a protective and soundproofing barrier identical to the one in Talia’s room, he no longer worried about disturbing other students.
Inside the workshop, bottles and jars of every kind lined the room, filled with herbs and crystal powders.
Ancient blueprints and scrolls were piled high on the long workbench, while tools and instruments were neatly arranged to one side.
After a quick tidy-up, the magic pen, carving knife, tweezers, hammer, and other tools were all laid out before him.
He donned his work clothes, ready to begin research.
First, Lan Qi selected his card materials.
This time, he wasn’t aiming to make advanced magic cards—these would be for practice and experimentation with new ideas.
He pulled out a stack of blank whiteboard magic cards from the drawer, then, after preparing everything, dipped into a bottle of dark-red magic ink and began inscribing runes on the paper.
His strokes were steady and precise. At intervals, he sprinkled a deep-red mineral powder carefully over the card, then used the knife and brush to refine it.
Ten minutes passed, but the card’s structure began to destabilize. Sparks danced and swirled over its surface.
Soon the runes actually ignited, flickering with flames—and then with a thunderous explosion, the card burst apart, shaking the entire workshop!
As always.
His card-exploding technique was as powerful as ever.
And since he was in such a carefree mood tonight, his explosions were even more… enthusiastic.
“Again!”
Lan Qi wasn’t discouraged—in fact, he grinned with relief, rolled up his sleeves, and got right back to it.
Again and again, whenever a magic card in his hands exploded, his shadow would shudder violently in the firelight.
Almost as though his own shadow was afraid of him.
But Lan Qi never noticed the strangeness in his shadow.
He was too absorbed, enjoying himself more and more with each explosion, as though setting off fireworks. The bigger the blast, the better—that was exactly the power he was aiming for!
Until finally, one explosion sent fire sweeping across the entire workshop, nearly breaking through the protective barrier, rattling every jar and bottle on the shelves.
Lan Qi, however, only smiled with satisfaction.
“Perfect!”
He threw up his hands in triumph—his experiments were progressing toward success!
He was just about to keep going when—
His shadow suddenly trembled violently, reacting to his intent.
“Meow meow meow! Who in the world makes cards like this?!”
From within his shadow, as though ink had split off, a black cat sprang out, its fur standing on end, legs stiff with terror, and shouted at him.
It looked absolutely terrified.
After all, there was a terrorist here doing demolition experiments!
“Eh!”
Lan Qi jumped in fright too.
Why did a cat just leap out of his shadow?!
“You are…”
After calming himself, Lan Qi sat in his chair, studying the little black cat on the floor.
He didn’t sense hostility from it.
Its rank must be quite high to have hidden in his shadow all this time without him noticing.
And if Talia had known it was there and hadn’t dragged it out, then it must not be dangerous.
“I’m the Cat Boss—you always come to my restaurant, meow.”
The black cat, still shaken, introduced itself.
“A cat that can cook?!”
Lan Qi was astonished.
If his own cat could cook three dishes and a soup for him, his happiness would be off the charts.
“Watch, meow.”
The black cat smugly flicked its paw, and the items on Lan Qi’s desk floated slightly into the air.
It could use telekinesis magic—that was the only spell it was good at. But it was so weak that it had virtually no offensive power.
Its other ability was sneaking into shadows—that was its innate talent.
Basically, it was the weakest of the seventh-tier beings.
“Do you need something from me?”
Lan Qi naturally scooped up the little black cat, looking at it warmly.
“Uh… I just wanted to wander around Ikerite Academy, meow.”
The Cat Boss avoided his gaze, lying through its teeth.
It hadn’t expected this boy to be so accepting—he didn’t question it, nor did he blame it for tailing him and sneaking into his home without permission.
In truth, the Cat Boss was worried Lan Qi might be some scumbag deceiving Talia, so it had decided to watch him and judge his character.
It adored sweet romances and was basically a matchmaking angel.
No one understood being a matchmaker better than it did!
Unfortunately, it had been discovered too quickly… it was too weak…
“I see. It’s late now. Do you want to stay here tonight? Tomorrow I can take you around campus.”
Lan Qi’s clear green eyes were full of kindness as he spoke to the black cat.
As a model student, he felt it was his duty to showcase the academy’s best side to every visitor.
“I can?”
The Cat Boss was surprised at how agreeable this boy was!
So simple and friendly, like a little angel—it was no wonder Talia had accepted him.
And the closer it got to this human, the more it felt an inexplicable warmth, so much so that it wanted to curl up and sleep right at his side…
“Of course.”
Lan Qi smiled.
Tomorrow, he’d be welcoming the international guest, Adams, helping Dean Loren play matchmaker—yet another good deed. Perfect chance to show the Cat Boss how he worked.
Would the Cat Boss enjoy watching him make matches too?