The morning sunlight of the royal capital snted down, casting its golden glow over the magnificent campus of Icerite Magic Academy.

  Today was yet another day filled with hope.

  On the first-floor balcony garden of the Sage Academy dormitory, lush green vines climbed along the wooden railings, their vibrant leaves glistening with life. Below the railings, an array of elegant potted pnts were neatly arranged.

  The air was filled with the fragrance of flowers and the fresh scent of soil. A group of small birds chirped energetically on the wooden open-air balcony, occasionally hopping onto the stone tiles nearby, singing lively tunes as if celebrating the start of a new day.

  Two weeks of vacation had flown by in the blink of an eye.

  Today, Lanqi was finally returning to the Sage Academy's cssrooms to resume his regur studies.

  Even getting out of bed this morning had been a challenge.

  During these two weeks, Lanqi had spent most of his time shuttling between his dormitory and Talia's home. Nearly every morning, he was under Talia's strict supervision, undergoing high-intensity training in card-making.

  When staying at Talia's house, his card explosions significantly decreased.

  It was only ter, during one of his failed attempts where he assumed all was lost, that he realized Talia had already set up protective barriers in advance. The earlier fright she gave him was merely to push him into a state of complete focus.

  Talia had also instructed Lanqi to prioritize his studies on Seal-type magic after returning to the academy. She suggested he choose Seal-type Magic Cards as his project for the registered Card Maker exam.

  Although Seal magic wasn’t her area of expertise, many aspects of Seal-type magic required Lanqi to conduct his own research.

  As for the "Hairstyle Transformation Magic," Talia had begun analyzing the principles of the original "Magical Beast Fur Treatment Spell" and promised to share updates with Lanqi once she made progress. However, since this magic originated from a Tier-4 Shadow World, even if they managed to create it, the resulting card would also be Tier-4. For now, it was beyond Lanqi’s ability to participate in its crafting.

  Thus, Lanqi purchased his own set of protective barriers and installed them in his dormitory's storage room, which he had converted into a card-making b.

  Every afternoon, he worked overtime to delve into Seal magic, even developing a new type of Magic Card in the process. In the evenings, he took brief breaks to practice running—both sprinting and endurance.

  This was under Talia's advice: "You’d better excel at both short sprints and long-distance running, or you’ll easily get caught and beaten."

  Lanqi couldn’t understand why such a kind and gentle person like himself would ever be chased down.

  But he trusted Talia’s teachings.

  After all, he had come to fully believe in the "Demon-style teaching method."

  Through his research and consultations at the academy, Lanqi discovered that very few people specialized in Seal-type magic. Its principles were extremely complex, and its applications were highly limited.

  Typically, Seal magic could only be used effectively by high-level casters against lower-level enemies. Against foes of the same level, it would only produce weak or temporary effects.

  To break this limitation, Seal magic would require an exorbitant cost to activate—sometimes even the caster’s life.

  "A Seal spell that ignores levels... I’ll have to start with small-scale sealing functions first," Lanqi muttered to himself as he fed the birds on the balcony in the early morning.

  Although he was now fully awake, his mind was still preoccupied with the Seal magic he had been immersed in for the past two weeks.

  Nearby, the Great Poetess, who was quietly watering the pnts, gnced at him.

  Occasionally, Lanqi would summon her to serve as his assistant in card-making, so she had a basic understanding of Seal magic.

  Sealing enemies of a lower level wasn’t very meaningful. And creating a Magic Card capable of sealing enemies stronger than oneself—let alone sealing an entire person—would likely require an epic-grade card. That was far beyond what Lanqi could achieve in the short term.

  Still, the thought of Lanqi mastering Seal magic in the future, being able to banish an opponent’s critical Magic Card mid-battle, brought a smile to her face. It would certainly be a way to rob his enemies of their joy.

  "Keep it up, Lanqi. You’re destined to become a legendary card exorcist," the Great Poetess encouraged him, patting his shoulder after finishing her gardening.

  "...?"

  Lanqi stared at her bnkly, confused.

  The Great Poetess chuckled, shook her head, and dissolved into orange light, returning to his body.

  On the balcony filled with the fragrance of flowers and the chirping of birds, Lanqi tilted his head in puzzlement for quite a while.

  ...

  After tidying himself up, Lanqi left the dormitory and headed to the long-missed cssrooms.

  A true model student never skips a single css without reason. It’s a sign of respect for one’s teachers and serves as an example of diligence for others.

  At the heart of the Sage Academy area stood a three-story stone teaching building. Its dark exterior walls bore the cssical limestone tones of Victorian architecture. Stone columns, arched windows, intricate carvings, and meticulously polished iron railings all exuded an air of elegance.

  The corridors were steeped in an academic atmosphere, as if the whispers of ancient schors could still be heard.

  Following the familiar path, Lanqi entered the cssroom, immediately hearing the chatter of his cssmates.

  "Someone’s been doing renovations in our dormitory building. Every afternoon, there’s this explosion sound."

  "Isn’t it strange? Contraband items aren’t allowed in the dorms."

  "The dormitory manager seems a bit scared. I heard they’ve applied for additional fire safety equipment recently."

  Noticing Lanqi’s arrival, the students quickly turned their gazes toward him.

  Their expressions weren’t exactly of admiration or fear. It was more like they had discovered a rare, exotic species named "Lanqi."

  Lanqi ignored their stares and walked naturally to his usual spot in the back row of the cssroom.

  Just sitting down and taking in the familiar view, he couldn’t help but sigh. Two weeks ago, in that dreamlike academy, he had also woken up in a simir seat.

  Back then, no student attempting to cheat in the front rows could escape his righteous eagle eyes.

  But shaking his head, Lanqi reminded himself that he was now back in the inferno known as Icerite Magic Academy.

  "Good morning, Huberrian," Lanqi turned to greet Huberrian with a smile.

  "Good morning," Huberrian replied calmly this time.

  During the days they hadn’t seen each other, Huberrian had diligently attended every css, sitting alone as usual.

  Now that Lanqi was here, she finally had some company.

  "How have you been these past few days?" she asked, looking at him.

  She had sensed that Lanqi was busy and hadn’t disturbed him.

  "Fulfilling and real," Lanqi replied cheerfully.

  Every day was filled with card-making practice, and occasionally, cssmates would knock on his door to visit. It felt like a lively campus life.

  "Lanqi, have you turned down a lot of team invitations?" Huberrian asked, a hint of guilt in her voice.

  She had heard the rumors.

  Several teams had approached Lanqi, offering generous terms in hopes of recruiting him. Yet, Lanqi had declined every single one.

  She knew it must have been because of her.

  (End of Chapter)

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