The sky was turning pale with dawn as Henny hurried toward the training grounds.
"Professor Viktor! Professor Viktor!"
Viktor, who was practicing swordsmanship, heard her voice and lowered his sword.
With a clang, the longsword pierced into the ground.
"Professor Viktor, the batch of refined steel you ordered has arrived."
Hearing that his order had come in, Viktor nodded to Henny, sheathed his sword, and hung it back on the wall.
"Let's go."
Viktor led Henny toward the mansion gates.
Outside, a cart full of gleaming steel stood waiting. Viktor lifted the tarp for a brief look, then motioned for the servants to take it inside.
"Professor, don't you need to weigh the shipment?"
"There's no need."
This batch of refined steel came from the Delin family, top-quality material that Gwen himself had personally overseen. Naturally, it wouldn't be short on weight.
The payment had already been made in advance.
The driver cracked his whip, and the carriage slowly rolled away.
Viktor turned and walked back toward the mansion with Vega. Henny tilted her head, watching him leave, and muttered under her breath, "Why is the professor always so busy every day?"
She shook her head, then skipped off toward the flowerbeds.
———
With a creak of the door, Vega smelled the damp, metallic scent that filled the air.
This was the basement of Viktor's mansion, also known as his "laboratory."
Vega knew that whenever Viktor came here, it meant he was about to start tinkering with his strange little inventions again.
Viktor spread several bars of refined steel across the worktable, his gaze fixed on the player's crafting compendium.
To keep the magic shop's inventory flowing, he brewed two hundred bottles of magic potions in this basement every day and carried a hundred healing potions on him at all times, just in case.
As a professional grinder-for-hire, the habit of stockpiling potions was already engraved in his soul.
Because of this, his crafting proficiency had already reached level 3.
That meant he could finally start working on level-three items.
Viktor took out a pile of multicolored crystals from his player inventory.
"Oh? These are the leftover ones from Gwen Volcano, right? And this one was collected by that little princess yesterday."
Vega looked curiously at the crystals in Viktor's hand.
But Viktor only rested his chin on one hand, frowning deeply, staring at the empty air before him.
Seeing that expression, Vega knew Viktor wouldn't answer and decided not to ask further.
After searching through the crafting recipes for a while, Viktor finally found something that pleased him.
Following the recipe's material list, he carefully weighed and measured the crystals and refined steel.
The weights matched perfectly, not even a gram off.
Soon, the table was covered with red and green crystals, along with three uneven pieces of refined steel.
Viktor began constructing a formation on the crafting table, a triangular core surrounded by circular runes, each etched with magical symbols.
Suddenly, a burst of blinding light erupted from the table.
Vega squinted against the glare, the light shining so brightly on its feathers that it looked like a white bird.
In truth, Vega never understood Viktor's crafting technique, how he could simply combine materials and produce such items. It could only attribute it to some rare form of creative magic.
As the glow faded, Vega widened its eyes at the final product.
Two small, finely crafted iron cards gleamed with a cold, metallic shine.
Each card bore different patterns, one etched with green lines, the other with red.
Viktor gazed at the pair of cards, knowing he had succeeded, not only had he created a level-three item, but he had also infused it with both wood and fire elements.
"What's this thing supposed to do?" Vega asked curiously.
Looking at the metallic cards, it couldn't comprehend their purpose.
No matter how sharp or fancy they looked, they were still just playing cards.
Even if they could injure someone, such fragile things could easily be dodged. Once thrown, they'd be useless.
Viktor didn't answer. He silently repeated the process again.
Another flash of bright light filled the basement.
Vega's eyes ached from the constant glare, it felt like it was going blind.
At last, Viktor stopped.
Dozens of iron cards now filled the entire crafting table.
"One, two, three… twenty… seventy-three… one hundred and eight."
"You made two full decks of poker cards? Why not draw a few jokers while you're at it?"
This world did have poker, it was one of the few pleasures available to gamblers.
Back when Viktor was still a grinder-for-hire, he loved to spend his free time in gambling halls, challenging player after player to thrilling games, and he usually won more than he lost.
So, how could one tell if an NPC was a gambler in the game?
Simple, just ask if they wanted to play a few hands.
In some ways, NPCs were even more addicted to gambling than players.
Still, Vega couldn't understand, if Viktor wanted to make a weapon, why not craft a wand? Even a dagger would make more sense.
But instead, Viktor had made a pile of these strange things.
Viktor then placed one full deck of same-colored cards inside a magic formation, this one had fifty-four small circles, one for each card, with a larger circle in the center.
Soon, another burst of light filled the room.
Vega was blinded again and felt dizzy.
It could only hear a series of sharp metallic clanks, as if something was being forcefully fused together.
When the light finally faded, only two thicker cards remained on the table.
"How did you do that? They… fused together?"
Viktor ignored the question, picked up one of the cards, and threw it at a wooden training dummy.
The moment the red card flew, it split into a full deck, fifty-two iron cards embedded into the dummy, erupting in blazing flames.
As the fire roared, the cards suddenly flew back, surrounded by a burst of steam-like white mist that instantly cooled them.
They hovered around Viktor, their surfaces glowing faintly red, like loyal sentinels.
Vega blinked, watching the countless flying cards orbit around Viktor.
Viktor calmly explained, "They make up for my weakness in close combat."
Vega tilted its head.
'Weakness in close combat?'
'That's not what you said when you were fighting warriors and knights.'
It suspected Viktor just wanted to look cool, but it had no proof.
After all, it hadn't seen anyone get close enough to threaten Viktor. Not even Calamity could manage that.
"So, what's the name of these flashy poker cards? I've never seen a weapon like this before."
Viktor narrowed his eyes. With a thought, the cards stopped spinning, merged back into a deck, and attached themselves to his waist.
"I call them… Fate."
Vega said admiringly, "What a perfect name."
———
Viktor put Fate away and left the basement.
As soon as he stepped out, the little succubus came running toward him in a hurry.
"Pro–Professor!"
She was panting, holding out a letter to Viktor.
Viktor frowned slightly.
Delivering letters was usually the servants' job.
Henny caught her breath and explained, "Professor, I was on my way to the item shop when this letter flew into the mailbox by the door. It's addressed to you."
"So I brought it right away."
Henny beamed happily, being able to help Viktor always seemed to make her especially cheerful.
Viktor nodded, satisfied, but noticed she was still standing there, fidgeting, her eyes full of expectation.
Viktor, "?"
Just as he was wondering if he had forgotten something, Henny spoke up shyly, "Professor, you… you haven't patted my head today."
"…"
'Alright then, daily head pat.'
He placed his hand gently on her head and rubbed.
The warm feeling of happiness filled her whole being, and Henny looked absolutely delighted.
When Viktor withdrew his hand, she seemed a little reluctant, but suddenly realized how embarrassing her request had been, her cheeks flushed crimson.
"I–I… Professor! I'm going to work now!"
Clutching her burning face, Henny ran off.
Viktor's hand paused midair.
Just now, he had caught sight of Henny's level.
[Level 7.]
'Wasn't this little succubus leveling up… a bit too fast?'
Vega's expression turned thoughtful.
"What are you thinking about?" Viktor asked.
Vega replied slowly, "I just remembered, original demons are clusters of emotional magic. They don't have real bodies or souls."
"I'm guessing… when you blew up Yerm, part of its essence didn't completely leave Henny's body. That means she might have inherited some of its power of Lust."
"In other words, the reason this little succubus keeps growing stronger might be because you're constantly satisfying her lust."
Viktor thought for a moment, it sounded absurd, but Vega wasn't entirely wrong.
It was, after all, the only explanation for how a succubus could increase her magic without engaging in… special acts.
"If that's the case," Viktor said dryly, "then her so-called lust is far too easy to satisfy."
Even Vega didn't quite believe its own theory now.
If all it took was a few pats and hugs each day, could that really count as lust?
Viktor quietly listened, then weighed the letter in his hand.
"In any case, it's not a bad thing."
"You're right," Vega agreed. "So, has the Mage Council sent you another letter?"
The lingering magical aura on the envelope was still strong, but this time, there was no magical riddle.
Viktor returned to his study, opened the envelope with magic, and a holographic image of a mage appeared once again.
"We meet again, Lord Viktor."
Viktor looked at him coldly and said, "If the Council hadn't agreed to my terms, you wouldn't have replied. But if you agreed to all of them, that wouldn't be your style either."
"So tell me, what's so important that you'd go this far to invite me?"
The mage smiled bitterly. "As expected, nothing escapes your eyes, Lord Viktor."
He straightened his posture, his voice growing solemn.
"In truth, the Mage Council does need your help."
"According to prophecy, before long, Endymion will face a great catastrophe."
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