Chapter Eleven: Lancy's New Abacus

d significantly better terms than the Annihilation branch - even if he had asked to view the stone tablets, she likely wouldn't have made things difficult for him.But the problem is, he doesn't want t...Chapter 11: Lan Qi's New Abacus

Talya shifted her gaze from the card, which pulsed with an aura of purple light. A hint of resignation flitted across her eyes, accompanied by a barely perceptible sigh.

She hadn't crafted a card in so long, she had almost forgotten the feeling of magic flowing from the cards and illuminating them.

Especially the colors are extremely vibrant when it is being made and started.

This grade largely reflects the strength, value, and rarity of a card.

The most common white common cards are everywhere and the most widely circulated magic cards on the market.

Most of them are just life spells, with few additional effects from equipment or summoned creatures.

"Cards of the rare and precious blue rarity will have complete and practical effects, belonging to exquisitely flawless works. They require stable and highly skilled craftsmanship to produce."

A new card maker who can produce cards of this quality often possesses exceptional talent.

And more advanced [Purple Rare] grade magic cards, both in value and strength, begin to undergo a qualitative change. The general public simply can't afford their prices.

For wealthy nobles and most powerful individuals, purple-ranked magic cards are often crucial cards that fit combat professions and form their own system.

A magic card of this rank, even with low stats, could still be surprisingly effective if it had some practical additional effects.

Higher grades than that are generally unknown even to most people.

After all, a magic card of the 【Pink Sacred】 grade is more like a distant symbol and emblem for most humans.

In a city on the border of this kingdom, it is probably difficult to see the traces of those who possess sacred cards year-round.

It is rare not only because of its inherent rarity, but also because binding its soul beforehand requires careful consideration.

Under normal circumstances, magic cards are not bound to the user after use.

The higher the grade, the greater the price to pay for breaking the soul bond.

However, once it is a [Pink Sacred] grade magic card, it cannot be unbound and re-bound like the first three types of cards at will when out of combat. It requires a cumbersome repackaging process, and it will also cause prolonged damage to the binder themselves.

As for the 【Orange Epic】, it is the highest level of magic card that can be seen and perceived in the concepts of all living beings in the world.

Each epic card is unique, grounding itself in the world and spanning history.

Once bound to one's soul, it is difficult to sever the connection even at a great cost.

Forcing a cancellation will cause irreversible damage and harm to both the user and the card.

Therefore, blue, white, and purple possess high mobility and can be switched at any time according to tactical needs. While pink and orange have greater strength, in the long run, even with a binding opportunity, one must carefully consider whether it aligns with their own system.

In ancient lore of the Demon World, there existed a tier above epic cards, one that had not appeared for millennia. With the fall of the demon race, any trace of these cards became increasingly difficult to find...

For the well-traveled Talia, even rare and noble purple held little value.

She has made countless things herself.

But compared to the quality of cards made by Lanci, Talia was more surprised by the strange effects of the cards.

Generally speaking.

The early works of a card maker can reflect the style of their career.

Natalie, it's hard to say what more outrageous things this thing might come up with in the future.

Taliya, lost in thought for a moment, caused the crafting workshop to fall silent once more.

"

“……”

" Please note that I removed the tags as instructed. The remaining content is a paragraph with quotation marks, which in English would typically be enclosed in double quotes like this:

"…”

Seeing that she wasn't speaking, Lance left her alone.

The gentle afternoon sunlight streamed through the clouds, and the windowpane's silhouette flickered on the brown floor, sometimes bright, sometimes dim.

After two weeks of working day and night, Lan Qi finally relaxed. Leaning back on his chair during this rare moment of afternoon nap, he felt the drowsiness creep in.

However, just as Lanche was perhaps about to sink into slumber, like a string's resonance in the wind, Tallia's question once again awakened his mind.

How old are you

Her voice was still as cold and indifferent as water, devoid of any emotional color.

> I will be 17 years old next year.

Lanche looked up and gazed at Talia.

Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!

He responded with a more formal tone.

After all, he didn't know if telling Talia directly that he was 16 would be judged as a lie.

My physical age is definitely 16, while my soul's age should probably be calculated based on what it was before I crossed over.

It's not too late for you to learn now.

Taliya took another look at the young man before her.

These days, she's watched Lance transition from being completely unfamiliar with the practice to gradually becoming somewhat proficient. Therefore, she's very certain that Lance didn't have much card-making experience before.

According to her, through the years, this boy named Lanchi traveled from the northernmost tip of the mainland all the way south, passing through many human nations. In the ranks of human card makers, despite starting his studies later and having a lower position, he could already be called a natural master artisan.

"Tata, how do you like my magic cards

"

A natural smile still graced Lanchi's face.

His words carried no hint of boasting; he simply seemed very confident that Talya had extraordinary experiences, and so he earnestly sought her guidance.

"If it were mass-produced, once it entered the market, it could become a new universal card."

After a brief silence, Talia replied.

This card is widely used for a simple reason.

Because everyone wants to buy it.

Once this card is in circulation, the nature of combat may have changed.

Making the enemy kneel might be more important than winning or losing.

And in a fair contest, this is also a deterrent— "If you dare to make me kneel, I'll make you kneel too." It can be forgone, but it cannot be absent.

Although Talia thought Lanci deserved to die for making her have to worry about enemy sword tomb magic from now on,

But in the long run, if the atmosphere of war among humans is kept rife, it would also be beneficial to her cause for national restoration.

Therefore, she would not actively prevent Lance from abusing the card and polluting the magical card system and environment.

“Oh, is that so.”

Lance picked up the card in his hand, [Basic Etiquette], and glanced at it. A rather friendly smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he turned to look at Talia.

"I can't give you this one, but I'm willing to sell you the next one. Based on the success rate, it will probably take a few more days of work. I'm busy preparing for exams right now, so I can only make it for you after the exams are over."

How much

Although Talia was slightly surprised, she asked without hesitation. Her words lacked a question mark, and any interrogative sentences that came out of her mouth became declarative statements.

She knew that before this general-purpose card was officially circulated, its scarcity undoubtedly gave it the highest value.

Even as a first version, it contains the value known as "recipe".

Since Lan Chi is willing to give her the second deal, the price must be substantial.

(The End)irst, he didn't say anything. He just played a video.As dusk deepened, the vibrant hues of the sunset were obscured by heavy clouds, casting an ominous shadow over the entire sky.In the distance, some...