“Big sis, are you sure this thing is drawn right?”
Yiweite crouched next to Ye Lian, staring at the talisman freshly drawn on the ground. Sparks were still popping from the edges of the talisman paper.
Ye Lian held the Thunderstrike Wood Brush, her palms sweaty.
‘Ugh, first time drawing, didn’t think it would be this hard!’
The ink made from Crimson Flame Crystal Sand traced complex magical patterns on the talisman paper. When she finished the last stroke, her hand trembled, and the seal rune at the end was slightly crooked.
“Should… be okay… right?”
As soon as she spoke, the talisman suddenly lit up and exploded with a bang.
When the smoke cleared, half of Ye Lian’s face was blackened, her fox ears had burnt talisman scraps hanging from them, and her nine tails were fluffed up like nine disheveled brushes.
Yiweite’s face was red from holding back laughter, but she couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“Pfft hahaha!!”
“What are you laughing at! Stop laughing! It’s my first time, everyone makes mistakes!”
Ye Lian angrily wiped the soot off her face, but it only smeared more, making her look like a cat that crawled out of a chimney.
Anna handed over several wet towels and a large comb, saying calmly:
“Lady Ye Lian, this is your seventh mistake.”
“Who told you to count!”
At the moment, the three were on their way to the Rock Scale Lizard habitat, having set up camp at an abandoned watchtower on the edge of the wasteland south of Antal City. With half a day’s journey still to go, Ye Lian used the rest break to practice talisman crafting. After practicing all afternoon, seven out of ten high-grade talisman papers were wasted, and among the three successful ones, one was drawn crooked, so its effect would probably be halved.
‘Crimson Flame Crystal Sand is five gold coins a portion, high-grade talisman paper three gold each, Thunderstrike Wood Brush two gold…’ Ye Lian counted on her fingers, and the more she calculated, the greener her face became. She had burned through over thirty gold coins in one afternoon.
She sighed, her heart bleeding again. So the hidden class Curse Mage is actually a pay-to-win class. The higher quality the talisman you want, the greater the consumption and loss.
“Don’t worry about the money, it’s just material goods. It’s not having talismans at a critical moment that would be deadly.”
Yiweite gathered the remaining talisman paper and stuffed it back into Ye Lian’s arms.
“Your problem lies in the final sealing stroke—the force is too light, and the mana infusion is uneven, which is why it explodes.”
Ye Liana was stunned: “You big dummy, you understand talismans?”
“I don’t, but I understand sheathing a sword.” Yiweite drew her nodachi and slowly made a sheathing motion. “The last inch of the blade going into the sheath takes the most force. It’s the same for your talisman—don’t loosen your strength on that last stroke.”
Ye Lian mulled over the feel from earlier; indeed, she had lost force at the end.
“I’ll try another one.”
She spread out a new talisman paper, focused her spirit, dipped the Thunderstrike Wood Brush into the Crimson Flame Crystal Sand ink, and began to draw. Next, she kept Yiweite’s words in mind—on the last stroke, she must press down. The brush tip glided across the paper, a warm current flowed through her fingertips, and the rune lit up with a soft orange-red glow. It didn’t explode, didn’t smoke. As the light converged, a Boost Talisman lay quietly on the ground.
[Boost Talisman · Type A, Complete. Effect: Temporarily increases target’s physical defense by 10%.]
“It worked!”
Ye Lian lifted the talisman above her head, her fox tail behind her wagging happily.
Yiweite tilted her head, then casually clapped: “Good thing it didn’t explode.”
“What do you mean ‘didn’t explode’! This is a success, okay! Can’t you use a different word to praise me!”
“Alright, alright, great genius, our Phoenix Rebirth king-rank Curse Mage.”
Although Ye Lian knew Yiweite was just humoring her, she still liked hearing it. She snorted and continued working. While there was still enough talisman paper left, she drew five more in one go. Three Boost Talismans and two Explosion Talismans. The Explosion Talisman was more difficult. The first one almost exploded again, but at the last moment she remembered to press down on the final stroke, forcibly pushing back the mana that was about to escape. The second one went much smoother. When the talisman was completed, dark red explosive patterns appeared on its surface, and a wave of heat rushed toward her face.
[Explosion Talisman · Type B, Complete. Effect: Upon detonation, deals medium-range fire magic damage.]
Ye Lian carefully stored the Explosion Talisman in an explosion-proof leather pouch.
‘Good grief, this thing’s explosion radius must be five or six meters. If I stand too close when attacking, I’ll definitely get caught in it…’
“Anna, during the battle tomorrow, stay far away from me.”
Anna was silent for two seconds: “Lady Ye Lian, it should be you staying far away from us.”
“…You’re right.”
—
The next morning, the three broke camp and continued south. The wasteland’s terrain gradually changed; there were more gravel, and from cracks in the ground, heat could occasionally be seen rising. The area with active underground fire veins was exactly the Rock Scale Lizard’s habitat.
Ye Lian practiced Fox Fire as she walked. Fox Fire is a basic spell of the Fox Tribe—simply put, it condenses a blue-green ghost flame in the palm. The previous Ye Lian had no mana at all, and now Ye Lian was only at beginner level. This thing’s attack power isn’t high, but it’s flexible and can be controlled remotely, making it good for harassing enemies or providing light.
Ye Lian followed behind Yiweite, a flickering Fox Fire hovering over her left hand while she tried to condense a second one with her right hand. The second one dispersed as soon as it formed.
“Huff…”
Again. It dispersed again.
“My mana control is still too rough…”
Ye Lian bit her lip, then compressed the magical essence in her palm again. This time she changed her approach—instead of rushing to form it, she first let the mana slowly spin in her palm. Once the spin was stable, she infused fire-attribute magical essence into it. Blue-green light particles flickered in her right palm, teetering, but after controlling it for a while, she finally stabilized it. Two Fox Fires floated beside her, like two little lanterns.
“Oh! Dual-wielding!”
As Ye Lian got excited, her focus slipped, and the Fox Fire in her right hand flew straight out, brushing past Yiweite’s ear.
“…”
Yiweite tilted her head to evade, but a small tuft of her hair ends was singed off.
“Hehe… slipped?” Ye Lian showed her signature fox-like smile.
“Ye Lian.”
“Here!”
“If you aim any better, I might end up bald.”
“Don’t worry, don’t worry… Absolutely won’t happen again!”
—
Around noon, the scout Anna was the first to spot traces of the Rock Scale Lizard. Large patches of ground were scorched by high heat, and the rock surfaces were covered in a layer of sulfur-colored biological slime. Pungent sulfur odor filled the air, making Ye Lian sneeze repeatedly.
“Achoo! This smell is too intense…”
Yiweite drew her nodachi and moved along the rock face in a low stance. Beside her, Anna quickly patted Ye Lian’s shoulder and silently pointed ahead. In a naturally formed rock hollow, a giant lizard nearly four meters long was basking in the sun next to a scorching lava crack. Their target for today, the Rock Scale Lizard, had appeared.
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