Lia’s home was just one street behind the restaurant. And, just as Lia had said, it was an old house bearing unmistakable marks of age.

Su Hong sat in the room assigned to him, leaning against the headboard as he stared blankly into space.

For a Spirit Glyphsmith, creating a Spirit Card required more than skill and card-making techniques. Luck was undoubtedly another crucial factor.

Moreover, whenever a card reached the final moment before completion, Su Hong could vaguely sense something vast and incomprehensible. It seemed to fill the entire world, yet also seemed to be hidden deep within his heart.

Su Hong was certain that the thing was none other than that damned luck. An ordinary Spirit Glyphsmith might have no way to control it, but top-tier Spirit Glyphsmiths surely did, just as Lia had said.

If he followed that line of thought…

Su Hong’s vacant, unfocused gaze gradually sharpened. A glimmer of light appeared in his eyes, along with the faintest smile.

That was right. Anyone who could become immune to his luck must have a way to control luck!

Perhaps he should travel around, find out where the powerful people were, and challenge them one by one?

Just as Su Hong reached that point in his thoughts, Lia lightly knocked twice on the door.

“Dinner’s ready.”

Su Hong immediately answered. He went to the living room and sat in the empty seat at the table.

Lia’s grandfather sat across from him. The hostility had vanished from his gaze, but he was still watching Su Hong with intense scrutiny.

Su Hong pretended not to notice. There was no need to guess. Lia had obviously told her grandfather the same story she’d come up with.

But what surprised Su Hong most was the food on the dinner table.

Lia ran a small restaurant and had that sort of personality, so he’d assumed she would be a good cook.

But in reality…

Su Hong stared at the pool of strange purplish-black matter on his plate. It even seemed to bear traces of charring.

If he hadn’t personally seen Lia carry an eggplant into the kitchen, Su Hong might have suspected it was some local specialty from another world.

The strangest part was that the liquid actually looked like jelly. When he gave it a light tap with his spoon, it even bounced!

Su Hong couldn’t imagine how this thing had been made. He was practically wondering whether he’d be poisoned when he ate it.

Fortunately, it wasn’t poisonous. It couldn’t exactly be called unpleasant, either.

It simply had no flavor at all.

Su Hong couldn’t help rubbing his forehead. No wonder the customers only ordered drinks and snacks instead of food. This stuff was simply too bizarre…

“Su Hong, can you get used to this? It’s the dish I put the most effort into, and the one I’m best at!”

“It’s… it’s delicious.” o(TヘTo)

Su Hong wasn’t good at telling such an obvious lie, so he hurriedly changed the subject.

“Lia, I still don’t really know how to use Spirit Cards. If you have time, could you teach me?”

“Mhm, of course! You have such powerful magic power, and you used to be an amazing Spirit Cardmaster. You’ll definitely get the hang of it very quickly!”

Lia agreed at once, without the slightest hesitation.

Su Hong truly did intend to try fighting with Spirit Cards. If he’d had Spirit Cards during the incident at the restaurant that afternoon, he could’ve subdued the restaurant owner first.

Then he wouldn’t have needed to rely on that damned luck.

After all, luck was such an elusive and bizarre thing. Even if the house had suddenly collapsed and crushed everyone except him, that wouldn’t have been impossible.

If he prevented luck from running wild, he could lower the chances of Lia and her grandfather encountering danger.

Su Hong secretly drew a deep breath. He clenched his fists with determination.

He had to work hard and break free from that irritating luck!

The dinner table was somewhat quiet.

By contrast, the Chris Guild was filled with celebration and raucous noise.

“Well done! You actually managed to buy two Spirit Cards like these! Have every Spirit Glyphsmith in the guild start working immediately. Within a week, they must reproduce at least three thousand copies of these two Spirit Cards! Then send them to the other cities and recommend them for sale!”

Guildmaster Chris paced back and forth in excitement. Every so often, he clenched a fist and smacked it against his palm.

“Excellent! With Spirit Cards like these, the Chris Guild is sure to make a fortune! Then we can use this opportunity to completely monopolize trade in Azara Town! We’ll drive every other merchant out!”

The steward stood beside Guildmaster Chris with a proud smile. However, he still lowered his voice and asked, “What if that kid finds out we cracked and copied his Spirit Cards? What should we do if he comes looking for us?”

Guildmaster Chris slowly turned his head. He gave a low grunt from deep in his nose, then pointed at the floor with his index finger.

“In Azara Town, no one can cause trouble for me and live to tell the tale.”

After speaking, Guildmaster Chris glanced at the floor from the corner of his eye. Only after a moment did he turn back toward the steward.

“That kid is still very young. At most, he’s a novice Spirit Glyphsmith. Now that we have the value of his two Spirit Cards, he’s of no further use to us. Keeping him around will only damage our guild’s reputation.”

“Have someone take 3,000 gold coins from the Spirit Cards and put them in a chest. Make sure they’re arranged neatly. Tomorrow, I’ll personally visit the city watch and pay them off in advance.”

“After that, you know what kind of people to send and what to do, don’t you?”