https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-119-Lanchi-s-Talent-for-Tea-Ceremony/12584057/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-121-Lanchi-s-Filial-Piety-Knows-No-Bounds/12584059/
Chapter 120: Lanchi and the Bonds of the Magecraft Institute
Chapter 120: Lanchi and the Bonds of the Magecraft Institute
On a Monday morning, the first rays of sunlight bathed the campus of the Ikelite Academy in a golden glow, illuminating the ancient red-brick walls and causing them to shimmer with a subtle radiance. The native plants of Ikelite rustled in the morning breeze, and the trees and grass sparkled with dewdrops, filling the air with a fresh fragrance.
As the songbirds chirped, the grand doors of the Main Library slowly opened, and students began to appear on the campus. Some hurried to their early classes, while others leisurely enjoyed their breakfast, their laughter ringing out from time to time.
Beyond the green lawn in front of the old humanities building, which marked the boundary of the Magecraft Institute, stood a glass tower with an artistic iron framework, just a few minutes' walk away. The morning sun reflected off its surface, making it appear tall and gleaming.
On the fifth floor of this Magecraft Institute's main building...
In the Dean's office...
Professor Bolao sat at his work desk, surrounded by blueprints, components, and various mechanical tools.
He had just arrived at his office and was already hard at work, holding a mechanical pencil and swiftly drawing on a semi-transparent blue blueprint. Occasionally, he would pause to inspect the small, intricate parts placed next to the blueprint with his magecraft glasses.
His slightly tousled pale hair shimmered under the office lights, and his eyes were focused intently on his task, completely immersed in his work.
Just then, there came a cautious and gentle knock on the door, as if the knocker was trying to be as unobtrusive as possible but had something important to discuss.
"Come in."
Without lifting his head, Professor Bolao replied in a calm and powerful voice, clearly accustomed to being interrupted during his work by various people seeking his assistance.
The door slowly opened, letting in a beam of bright light from the hallway. Soon, a young magecraft teacher stepped inside, gently closing the door behind him before greeting Professor Bolao.
"Good morning, Professor Bolao. We've received word from the Card Maker's Association. There's a student who achieved an extraordinary result in Saturday's Card Maker Registration Exam..."
The young teacher's hesitant voice echoed in the spacious room, surrounded by innovative blueprints and magical machinery. He still seemed unsure of the content of the document he held, wanting to double-check one last time.
"Silver-rank?" Professor Bolao asked absentmindedly, his eyes fixed on the blueprint in front of him. Clearly, he would rather spend his time and energy on his research than on such trivial matters.
"No... it says here that it's Platinum-rank." The young teacher's voice was filled with disbelief.
"Oh." Professor Bolao replied with the same lack of interest.
"Platinum?" He suddenly lifted his head, removing the silver-framed glasses from the bridge of his nose and placing them on the desk as he looked at the young teacher with a puzzled expression.
In all his years, he had never heard of a student achieving a direct Platinum-rank assessment.
Advancing from Gold-rank often required accumulating a large number of research achievements, patent recognitions, sales of finished products, and industry reputation within the Association, among other things, in order to qualify for the promotion evaluation.
Similarly, possessing an epic-level creation was, without a doubt, one of the most challenging prerequisites for attaining Platinum-rank status.
To bypass all these requirements and reach Platinum-rank in one go, one would have to create an orange-level epic card during the Card Maker Registration Exam.
"Did he create an orange-level epic card during the Registration Exam?" Professor Bolao asked, his voice now carrying a hint of certainty.
His most outstanding student, Mike Maya, had once created a spell card, a summon card, and an equipment card, all of which were pink-level sacred cards. It was an exceptional display of stability and versatility, and yet he had only been assessed at the Gold-rank, very close to Platinum.
"Yes, he made an orange epic card and three white commons. Due to the extremely high score of that single orange epic card, he was ultimately ranked Platinum."
The young Magecraft teacher nodded and stepped forward, handing over all the documents from the Ikelite Card Maker's Association to Professor Bolao.
There was a lot of important information that required the Dean of the Magecraft Institute, Professor Bolao, to review, sign, and possibly communicate with the Dean of the Sage's College.
Professor Bolao took the thick, brown leather document folder and immediately located the detailed finished card evaluation form. He began to study it intently.
It was indeed unusual to create a Tier 3 Epic card during the Card Maker exam, and Professor Bolao found it somewhat unbelievable.
Almost no Card Maker would possess the ability to create an orange epic card at such an early stage.
Even with extremely rare materials and a perfect performance, a prodigy should, at best, be able to create a pink sacred card.
"This shouldn't be possible," Professor Bolao muttered, staring at the production process and detailed analysis of the epic card, [Radiant Virtue].
Each epic card was unique, anchored to the world, and woven into history. The creators of such cards would invariably possess a hint of legendary fame, which was certainly not something a teenager in their teens should be capable of.
"Do we really have such an exceptional student?"
Professor Bolao didn't believe for a second that there was such a genius among the freshmen or seniors at the Magecraft Institute.
He knew each student's capabilities like the back of his hand.
Technically speaking, a direct Platinum ranking was still considered Gold for the time being, but once the necessary approvals were obtained, it was only a matter of time before the student became an official Platinum-ranked Card Maker—it could take anywhere from a few months to a year.
"...He's from the Sage's College. His name is Lanchi Wilford."
The Magecraft teacher, who had been standing by the desk like an attendant, saw that Professor Bolao was still focused on the analysis report of the epic card, and awkwardly prompted, "Uh..."
"!"
Upon hearing this name, Professor Bolao's veins visibly popped on his forehead, and he slowly lowered the document in his hand.
The name was all too familiar to him.
"Truly a rising eastern sun..."
Professor Bolao gazed out the window at the morning sun and murmured to himself.
He recalled how this very person had messed up the activation terminal of the artificial shadow world, forcing him to put his research projects on hold and rush to perform emergency repairs at the request of Dean Loren from the Sage's College.
What irritated him the most was that the enormous research funding advanced by the Magecraft Institute had yet to be reimbursed!
"Since the Card Maker's Association mainly handles the handover process with our Magecraft Institute, and the Sage's College is not very familiar with these matters, Dean Loren has made an appointment to visit you later, and he will be bringing Lanchi Wilford to meet you."
Sensing the tense atmosphere in the Dean's office, the young Magecraft teacher quickly bid Professor Bolao farewell and prepared to leave.
He knew that Professor Bolao had been upset about the hundred pounds deducted from the Magecraft Institute's monthly budget due to the poor financial situation in the Kingdom of Herton last year. This time, Lanchi had caused a staggering loss of eight thousand pounds even before the start of the school year, and he could only imagine the extent of the professor's fury.
"Very well, tell Dean Loren to come directly," Professor Bolao said through gritted teeth, his murderous gaze unmistakable.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
