9:30 PM.
Dark left the library and sat for a while in the common room.
Then he returned to his dormitory, took a bath, and closed his eyes for a moment.
Afterward, he drank a glass of milk and went to sleep.
There's no helping it; the life of an exemplary student is just that simple and regular.
Before this, Dark never thought he could develop such a good habit—indeed, people grow step by step under pressure!
To ensure healthy physical development, Dark tried to get eight hours of sleep a day.
This is commonly known as "early to bed, early to rise."
Recently, he often wondered if he would return to his original routine if he successfully removed the Demon God's bloodline.
The answer is uncertain.
But it probably wouldn't change much.
The formation of habits involves many factors, but once successfully formed, maintaining them becomes relatively easy.
Dark gradually felt that such a life was not bad, though the constraints felt like shackles, causing some psychological pressure.
What he wanted to do now was to remove that pressure.
...
6:00 AM.
Dark went to the common room, picked up a copy of the "Great Sage Daily" published by the kingdom, and was about to enjoy the breakfast brought by the little demon beast while reading the newspaper when he heard footsteps at the stairway.
Usually, he wouldn't encounter anyone at this time while reading.
Enjoying the vast common room alone had gradually become a pleasure.
Unexpectedly, today was different.
Two first-year students, still squinting, emerged from the stairs. Seeing them change out of their uniforms and into new clothes—it was clear they were eager to head to Traveler's Street early!
After all, it was the first weekend that Traveler's Street was open, and Dark understood.
He didn't look at the two students again but returned his gaze to the newspaper, stirring his milk with a spoon.
"Morning, Dark."
"Morning, Dark."
"Morning, Lunqin, Hewitt."
They exchanged morning greetings and continued with their activities.
Lunqin and Hewitt left the tower, then looked at each other and whispered.
Lunqin sighed, "I didn't know Dark got up so early."
Hewitt: "No wonder he's always ahead of us in studies. Hard work pays off, indeed."
Lunqin: "Maybe we should be more diligent too?"
Hewitt: "Yeah."
Lunqin: "I never thought that Dark Demon would be like this in person... I feel like I could be friends with him."
Hewitt: "Might be tough? He seems friendly but doesn't really interact with people much?"
Lunqin: "Ah! Never mind! Let's enjoy ourselves these two days! We'll work hard starting Monday!"
Hewitt: "Let's do it!"
...
Their figures gradually faded away.
...
The little demon beast flapped its wings and flew back, giggling as it recounted Lunqin and Hewitt's conversation.
Dark shook his head with a wry smile. Another classic "I'll work hard tomorrow," huh?
Aren't they afraid they'll never take that step if they keep postponing difficult things to tomorrow?
Tomorrow and tomorrow, how many tomorrows are there?
But then he thought.
If it weren't for the threat of the Demon God's bloodline, perhaps he would be the one saying "I'll work hard tomorrow."
He might even become more indulgent!
"Indeed, everything has its pros and cons."
Dark took a sip of milk, which was very sweet.
...
Professor Kazel of Magic Theory was a very kind old man.
It was said that he was one of the last remaining alchemy masters from Merlin's era.
With his vast knowledge and eloquence, Professor Kazel's classes were very interesting, easily surpassing those of the two little fairy professors.
Due to his goblin heritage, Professor Kazel stood at only 1.43 meters tall, taller than a pure-blood goblin but shorter than a normal person.
But no one discriminated against him for that.
In fact, among all the professors, he was the most popular—if only Magic Theory were a bit simpler!
When Dark found Professor Kazel, he was tinkering with something incomprehensible in the lab.
"Demon? What brings you here?" Kazel noticed him first.
Dark curiously asked, "Professor, what experiment are you conducting?"
Professor Kazel smiled proudly, vigorously stirring a large vat of pumpkin paste in front of him, "I'm preparing to make [Jack-o'-Lantern]!"
Dark thought for a moment and then exclaimed in surprise, "No way, Professor, there's still a whole month until Halloween!"
"Preparation is key, that's my life motto," Professor Kazel laughed.
...
Dark easily obtained the key to the adjacent lab from Professor Kazel.
It was no wonder, given his exemplary behavior, he had become an even more model student than Emma, and all the professors had a good impression of him.
When he proposed "practicing the crafting of emotion cards," Professor Kazel lent him the key without any suspicion and even offered to guide him personally!
Of course, Dark couldn't let him guide, so he declined, citing the professor's busyness.
Arriving at the adjacent lab.
Dark locked the door and opened the experiment cabinet.
Sure enough, it was filled with various materials.
Although they were basic materials, crafting emotion cards didn't require anything too advanced.
He counted carefully and found everything he needed, then took a compartment tray, retrieved some materials from the experiment cabinet, and placed them in the tray's compartments.
Next, he would attempt the first crafting of a [Precision Emotion Card] according to the textbook!
Dark opened the textbook to the page describing the crafting method, placed it on the table, and weighed it down with a small object.
Then he began preparing the potion!
The [Voice of Joy] potion could make people laugh joyfully after drinking it.
This potion couldn't truly make people happy, but it could substitute for "happy emotions" and be used as "ink."
If one thought of happy things while using it to craft emotion cards, the effect would increase.
Magicians have always believed that emotions can be transmitted through magic.
That is, without using the magic brain dropper to extract and inject emotions, simply using the [Voice of Joy] potion as a substitute, applying it to a semi-finished blank Magic Card, and then refining it could create a Magic Card with joyful emotions!
Originally, the simple method for crafting emotion cards used the [Voice of Joy] potion.
Dark merely omitted the potion, directly using [Pride] instead.
But since this was a real experiment for crafting [Precision Emotion Cards], it was necessary to start with potion preparation.
This was all learned and practiced in potion class!
Dark spent half an hour brewing a light green potion identical to the textbook, then poured it into an "ink bottle."
Afterward, he used a magic pen to absorb the "ink" and completely coated the surface of a blank Magic Card with a light green color.
Green is pleasing, and Dark felt quite good.
Next, he boiled various materials into a paste, applied it to the surface of the Magic Card, and let it dry naturally or with hot air to form a transparent film.
Then, in order, he drew the No. 7 Refining Array on the transparent film for initial refining, allowing the [Voice of Joy] potion to initially fuse with the Magic Card.
Next, he drew the No. 8 Refining Array on the back to form a framework, locking the energy within the Magic Card.
Then, the No. 2, No. 33, and No. 34 Refining Arrays were simultaneously refined to create an energy loop, allowing the Magic Card to recover on its own after magic depletion.
Finally, the No. 3 refinement and No. 9 amplification!
The entire process was quite complex, with partial overlaps required between each refining array.
Each refining array had to operate correctly upon activation without interfering with the effects of the others.
Despite practicing many times in the library last night, Dark still failed on his first official attempt!
He wasn't discouraged and succeeded on his second attempt!
...
"Oh, my. I thought you were making a simple emotion card!"
Professor Kazel entered with a surprised look, the door lock in his hand as if it were nothing.
His face was still smeared with pumpkin paste.