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Lucian frowned slightly as he looked at the freshly drawn talisman on his desk.
Just moments ago, he had followed the methods in the book and tried his hand at crafting a proper talisman. Thanks to his genius-level intellect, he managed to complete it in one go—but he could clearly sense the faint golden glow on the paper slowly fading away.
"It looks right, but the spirit isn't stable. At best, it's a half-finished product. Give it a few days and it'll just turn into scrap."
Shaking his head, he pushed the failed talisman aside.
A true Daoist talisman wasn't just about perfect strokes. It required a delicate balance—one's essence, energy, and spirit, fused with spiritual power and sealed perfectly between cinnabar ink and yellow paper.
He laid out a fresh sheet, took a deep breath, and picked up his brush again.
The first attempt—too much spiritual power.
Poof.
The paper couldn't withstand the domineering heat of the Dragon Talisman's fiery essence and instantly burned to ash.
Second attempt—the turn of the brush lagged just a fraction of a second. The cinnabar bled out of control, and the spiritual energy collapsed completely.
Third attempt…
After two or three consecutive failures, Lucian didn't grow discouraged. If anything, his eyes only grew brighter.
His mind raced, analyzing and correcting every mistake at lightning speed.
By the fourth attempt, his wrist was steady as a mountain. The brush flowed like a dragon in motion—smooth, uninterrupted, flawless.
Weng—!
As the final stroke landed, the entire sheet burst with a restrained yet pure golden glow.
This time, not a single trace of spiritual energy leaked out. It was perfectly sealed into every cinnabar line, radiating a dense, solid protective aura.
[Basic Protection Talisman]—Complete.
"Got it."
A satisfied smile tugged at Lucian's lips. With that breakthrough, everything that followed became almost effortless.
He didn't stop at defensive talismans. Flipping to the next page of The True Illustrated Guide to Daoist Talismans, he began tackling offensive ones.
Drawing on the explosive fire essence of the Dragon Talisman, he smoothly crafted the [Thunderfire Talisman], designed for devastating blasts and burning destruction.
Then came the [Lightning Talisman], specialized in suppressing evil and summoning heavenly thunder.
Finally, in one focused push, he even completed a talisman version of the famous Daoist defensive technique—
[Golden Light Incantation].
Looking at the dozen or so neatly stacked talismans on his desk, each radiating different spiritual fluctuations, Lucian finally set down his brush—crafted from century-old lightning-struck wood.
With these in hand, any sudden danger could be handled by simply throwing out a handful of talismans. Enough to give any ghost or spirit a very bad day.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Just as he was about to stretch and relax, the Myriad Worlds Chat Group in his mind suddenly exploded with notifications.
Surprised, Lucian focused his consciousness into the chat—only to discover that the system had issued a global announcement.
[Ding! To celebrate the Myriad Worlds Marketplace surpassing its initial transaction threshold, the system is granting a weekend surprise benefit: one 'Random Draw Chance' for all members!]
The unexpected reward instantly dragged out all the usual lurkers—even at this late hour.
And the hottest topic in the chat right now?
Rin Tohsaka—the girl infamous for being both unlucky and perpetually broke.
[Elegant Gem Magus]: "HAHAHAHA! Did you see that?! The golden glow in the system prompt! I got it! I actually pulled a GOLDEN LEGEND!!"
[Elegant Gem Magus]: "I knew it! Lady Luck would never abandon the Tohsaka family forever! From now on, call me Rin the Lucky Queen!"
Even through the screen, Lucian could practically feel her excitement—like she might start doing cartwheels in her mansion back in Fuyuki City.
[Half-Elf of the Frozen Forest]: "Wow! Congratulations, Miss Rin! I knew your luck would turn around! What did you get?"
[Smiling Flower Pillar]: "Ara, it seems Miss Rin hasn't had the best luck before. But drawing a top-tier prize from a multiverse pool? That's definitely worth celebrating."
[Dessert-Loving Elf Collector]: "Congrats. Though if it can't make sweets or clean dust, it's not that appealing to me."
Unable to hold back, Rin quickly uploaded a screenshot of her reward.
[Congratulations to member 'Elegant Gem Magus' for obtaining a Golden Legend item: 'Infinite Mana Micro Vein Core'!]
Even Lucian raised an eyebrow.
For a mage who practically burned money—literally burning gemstones—to fight, a core that produced infinite mana was nothing short of a game-changing artifact.
With that, Rin could practically throw mana around like nuclear bombs in the upcoming Fifth Holy Grail War.
While everyone was still marveling at her turnaround, Lucian glanced at the talismans on his desk and suddenly had a thought.
I wonder how these would be rated in the marketplace system…
Without much hesitation, he picked up a [Basic Protection Talisman] and a [Thunderfire Talisman], opened the consignment evaluation interface, and submitted them for appraisal.
[Ding! Group Owner 'Part-Time Ghost-Hunting Genius Teacher' is uploading items for evaluation…]
Item Name: Basic Protection Talisman (Lucian Custom Version)
Description: Wards off evil. Automatically activates a protective aura to block a fatal physical or magical attack.
System Rating: LV.3
Price: 30 points
Item Name: Basic Thunderfire Talisman
Description: Summons heavenly thunder and infernal fire. Contains a trace of destructive demonic flame essence. Can be torn to unleash a devastating area explosion, especially effective against evil entities.
System Rating: LV.4
Price: 70 points
Lucian didn't bother hiding the results. As soon as the items were listed, the system broadcast them in the group chat.
The lively discussion came to a dead stop.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three—
Then the chat exploded.
[Elegant Gem Magus]: "???"
[Elegant Gem Magus]: "W-Wait! That LV.4 rating… am I seeing things? That's just a piece of yellow paper with weird drawings on it, right?! Why is its power rated LV.4?! Doesn't that mean… that flimsy piece of paper is equal to my full-power attack as a top-tier mage?!"
Rin's freshly inflated confidence shattered instantly.
She, the proud head of the Tohsaka family, a LV.4 powerhouse…
…was on par with a piece of paper drawn by the group owner?!
[Half-Elf of the Frozen Forest]: "That LV.3 protection talisman… does that mean wearing it is like having someone as strong as me constantly protecting you? The group owner is incredible…"
Lucian smiled at the stunned reactions.
He had no intention of showing off. He simply replied casually:
[Part-Time Ghost-Hunting Genius Teacher]: "No need to be so surprised. Just doodles I made while passing time tonight. Nothing special. If your missions get dangerous, feel free to buy a couple for self-defense."
The chat fell even quieter.
Nothing special?
A casually drawn piece of paper that could unleash an LV.4-level destructive attack?
In this group, aside from the owner, Esdeath, and Frieren, most members barely reached LV.4 at their peak!
Meanwhile, inside the student council room at Hoshinoumi Academy…
Nao Tomori lay on the sofa, staring blankly at the screen.
Her beautiful eyes had completely lost focus.
She swallowed hard, her mind spinning.
Her worldview had just been shattered.
She glanced at the pitiful [LV.1] next to her name.
In her world, people who could manipulate air or teleport were already considered dangerous.
And yet—even she was only rated LV.1.
But now?
A single talisman rated LV.4—capable of unleashing catastrophic thunderfire—was dismissed as a "small trinket."
If the group owner got serious…
What kind of overwhelming power would that be? The kind that could crush stars like pebbles?
Tomori stared at the screen, awe and shock flooding her heart.
Taking a deep breath, she decisively gathered all her points—every last one she'd earned from red packets and the recent system reward.
Her eyes locked onto the marketplace listing:
[Basic Protection Talisman (LV.3)] — 30 points.
As long as she could afford that "small trinket," she'd be completely safe in her dangerous world of ability hunters.
So this… is what it means to be the group owner?
No hesitation.
She was sticking to him.
"....."