When Dekan woke up again, although it was still snowing outside, the sky wasn't as gloomy anymore.
"Good, we can go play in the snow later."
Dekan took out a "Holiday Plan Checklist" from the bedside table.
There were still many items on it waiting to be completed.
The joyous moments were too short; he needed to make the most of them!
Dekan quickly joined Cornelia and Teacher Cat for breakfast.
"When Lilith’s group comes later, we can play this 'Dungeons and Dragon' set that I made yesterday."
Since he had a lot of free time during the day yesterday, there were plenty of paper materials in the library and study, so Dekan had created a tabletop role playing game.
Cornelia and the Teacher Cat were looking forward to it.
Of course, it would be even more fun with more people.
Dekan decided that after returning to school, he would create various entertainment equipment and bring them into the Shadow Worlds next time. Of course, he would also bring along Teacher Cat.
Shadow Worlds should be fun and relaxing.
However, after waiting for a long time, Dekan and Cornelia had already built a large snowman in the courtyard, Lilith’s group still hadn't come downstairs.
"It's already ten o'clock."
Cornelia rubbed her hands and exhaled a breath.
She looked at the snowman resembling Captain Durrkan and felt like giving it a punch, but she couldn't bear to do it.
In her eyes, the snowman was strangely cute.
However, Teacher Cat couldn't control its paws and jumped onto the snowman's head, scratching its face.
Dekan took a quick step forward and grabbed Teacher Cat by the nape.
Slightly hesitating, Dekan handed it over to Cornelia.
If it weren't for the fact that the cat was still warm, Dekan would have thrown it into the snow.
"I told them yesterday not to leave their rooms as it might be dangerous. They may not know that the mansion is now safe."
Dekan suddenly remembered what he had said yesterday.
"In that case, we should go and call them."
So, Dekan and Cornelia returned to the mansion and went upstairs, then gently knocked on the door of room 202.
"The vampire has been taken care of; the mansion is safe now!"
Cornelia said from outside the door.
...
No response.
So, she knocked a bit harder this time.
This time, there was finally some movement in the room.
It was the sound of someone shifting in bed.
However, the person in the room seemed a bit flustered.
Then, there were faint footsteps inside the room.
Lilith rushed to the door.
She was wearing a high-collared shirt that covered her neck, and her eyes showed not only tiredness but also a hint of shyness.
She seemed to be in good shape, but she probably needed more water after just waking up.
Lilith: "I'm sorry for keeping you waiting."
Cornelia: "No problem at all."
Lilith: "Please give us a moment!"
Cornelia: "Sure, we'll go downstairs for now. The mansion is completely safe now."
Dekan listened to their conversation on the side, staying silent, pretending not to know anything.
Wow, how late did you girls stay up last night?
He thought to himself.
Luckily, he didn't stay in room 203; otherwise, the noise might have kept him awake.
However, Cornelia genuinely didn't know anything, so her communication with Lilith was quite natural.
But Lilith, witnessing Dekan and Cornelia's expressionless faces, had a thousand thoughts in her mind.
After closing the door, her face gradually turned red.
These two clever individuals must know everything but are deliberately pretending to be ignorant.
...
When Lilith and her guard went downstairs together, they saw that the living room was empty.
They occasionally heard faint sounds from outside the mansion.
It was undoubtedly Dekan and Cornelia.
In the Shadow Worlds, having a peaceful time was a rare occurrence.
In such a terrifying place, it was probably challenging to truly relax.
After all, it was easy to encounter psychological trauma.
They walked out of the mansion.
They only saw Dekan and Cornelia sitting on a sled, with several summoned creatures in front of them, pulling the sled as they sped down.
"Wheee, let's go!"
"Faster, go faster!"
"Meow, slow down a bit! Don't fall off the cliff, meow!"
The laughter of the two humans and one cat was particularly clear outside the mansion.
Lilith and her guard exchanged glances and saw question marks in each other's eyes.
"Did we not wake up properly?"
"...Seems like that's the case."
Just when they were both full of doubts, Dekan and Cornelia waved at them.
"Get on the sled!"
"We can go skiing later! Dekan already made the skis!"
Lilith pinched her own face.
She had seen them easily conquer the Shadow World.
However, using the Shadow World as an amusement park was a first for them.
Eventually, with Dekan and Cornelia's enthusiastic invitation, they joined the tour.
Nevertheless, it took them quite some time to shake off the strong sense of unreality.
And so, they happily spent their last day in the Shadow World.
After a restful third night, they gathered in the living room at six in the morning to bid farewell.
Since the Shadow World's starting time was 6:30 AM on the first day and they couldn't exit prematurely, they had to survive for a full 72 hours before they could be transported out by the Shadow World at 6:30 AM on the fourth day.
"Lilith, if you ever get the chance to visit our country, we'll play together again."
Cornelia bid farewell to Lilith with a hint of reluctance.
Due to her lack of verbal skills at school, she was mostly close to Dekan and Croix.
These newfound friends were hard to come by, and they had to say goodbye almost immediately.
"Sure, take care!"
Lilith also felt a sense of nostalgia.
As she noticed how easy it was to get along with Cornelia and Dekan, who were close in age, she quickly became familiar with them.
Lilith was no longer as arrogant as she was when she first entered the Shadow World. To her, Cornelia, who was both clever and strong, exuded a perfect young lady aura. She decided to model herself after Cornelia.
"By the way, Dekan and Cornelia, the next year's Kingdoms Federation Heroes Festival will be held in our country. If you come for a visit, I'll be sure to host you properly!"
It was currently the end of the year.
The Heroes Festival was a grand event organized by the Kingdoms Federation every five years. The next one would take place during the summer vacation immediately following Dekan and Cornelia's first year.
At that time, the member nations of the Kingdoms Federation would make significant efforts.
In addition to most kings attending, some prominent figures and powerful individuals would also participate in the most critical events.
"Oh, we'll definitely come! Thanks in advance!"
Dekan thought for a moment and quickly responded.
After exchanging a few more words with Lilith’s group, it was finally time for the settlement of the Shadow World.
Dekan, Cornelia, and the cat were transported to a small transitional space between the Shadow World and the real world.
"Dekan, have we already planned our summer vacation activities?"
Although summer vacation was still half a year away, Cornelia felt that traveling abroad during the Heroes Festival could be expensive.
After all, traveling in the real world was not as cost-effective as in the Shadow World.
Or maybe it was.
Dekan seemed to understand Cornelia's thoughts and asked with a smile, "Ah, did you forget my identity?"
Cornelia lightly slapped her palm. "Right!"
As a special class card maker, there was no doubt that he would be invited to attend some critical events. Bringing along one or two friends was also not a problem!
This was too good a chance for a fully-funded trip to pass up.
Of course, there was one possibility: his special class card maker certification might not be approved in time.
But if the Card Maker’s Association really dared to pull such a stunt with Dekan, he would attend the event as a Resurgence Cultist.
Let's hope the Card Maker’s Association had some sense.
Just as they were chatting with anticipation, the Shadow World finally began its settlement.
[“Shadow World - Desolate Mountain Blizzard Cineaste” has been cleared.]
[Calculation in progress.]
[Due to the different camp affiliations of team members, separate calculations will be used.]
[Challenger Dekan has achieved the following achievements.]
[Despicable Deceiver E—You deceived the Shadow World through vile and shameless means. The Shadow Worlds will adjust their mechanisms due to your actions.]
[Blood Feast A—Successfully achieved additional goals in this combat-oriented Shadow World by summoning Viscount Augustine.]
[Civil War King A—Successfully deceived the werewolf, your fellow rebel challenger.]
[Desecrator of Morals E—You spared no piano.]
...
[Vampire Hunter SS—Caused Viscount Augustine, who should have brought despair to all challengers, to die in utter desperation.]
[Achievement summary complete, evaluation generated.]
[You are a kind witch, tormenting both werewolf and vampire, fulfilling the witch's original desire. However, your behavior is becoming increasingly inhuman.]
[Overall Personal Evaluation: SS]
Dekan furrowed his brow.
He felt that this evaluation by the Shadow World was mixed with some private judgments.
Was the Shadow World scolding him?
Especially the first achievement, it was so blatant.
And that was a series of actions that secured their victory, yet it was only rated as E?
While Dekan was feeling a bit puzzled, Cornelia's achievements also began to update.
[Challenger Cornelia achieved the following achievements:]
[Great Detective SSS—On the first day, she saw through the witch's identity but chose to cooperate perfectly with the witch. Saw through the werewolf's identity on the second day and defeated the werewolf with her own hands.]
[Wrecker of Antique Building C—As a detective, you shouldn't have caused so much damage to the mansion.]
"When did you two exchange information..."
Teacher Cat couldn't help but ask as it looked at Cornelia's achievements.
It had been hiding in Dekan's shadow since it arrived in the Shadow World. But on the first day, it had never heard Dekan tell Cornelia about his identity in person.
It thought Cornelia only found out the truth on the second day when Dekan revealed it himself.
Cornelia: "Stare into his eyes for a few seconds and you'll quickly know what Dekan is thinking."
Teacher Cat: "???"
...
[Vampire's Nightmare SS—Inflicted cruel torment on Viscount Augustine that it could not bear and should not bear.]
[You are a miraculous detective. Under your power, any puzzle seems particularly fragile.]
[Achievement summary complete, evaluation generated.]
[Overall Personal Evaluation: SSS]
After the evaluation appeared, Cornelia looked at Dekan with surprise.
She didn't understand why her evaluation was higher than Dekan's.
"Oh, I see."
Dekan shook his head helplessly.
"What's the matter?"
Cornelia asked.
"Our combined contributions cannot be changed. The Shadow World seems to dislike me, but it can't withhold our rewards, so it's attributing the main credit to you."
"So, should I share some of the rewards with you?"
"No need, we're both the same. If you become stronger, I become stronger."
Dekan realized that this distribution mechanism might actually be a good thing. If the Shadow World judged them to have contributed equally, both of them might not get epic grade rewards.
But if they mainly concentrated contributions on Cornelia, at least, they would obtain one particularly good reward.
"Hmm."
Cornelia nodded.
They were linked physically and mentally. Strengthening one would make them both stronger.
While they were chatting, the Shadow World's notifications ceased.
Teacher Cat exclaimed, "Why don't I have an evaluation, meow!"
"...What did you even do in the Shadow World?"
Teacher Cat fell silent.
It seemed that it had done nothing but play.
It didn't even give Dekan and Cornelia a buff.
It was completely slacking off.
Being a slacker who made it to the end of the Shadow World without receiving an evaluation was rare, Teacher Cat’s situation was an unusual case.
"Never mind, meow. It's good to have a share of the profits."
Teacher Cat indeed had a fun three days. Traveling and earning money was already good.
[Reward Settlement: Rank Increase (Dekan tier 3 → tier 3, Cornelia tier 3 → tier 4)]
[Dekan received [Witch's Requital] (tier 4 rare spell card)]
[Cornelia received [Blood Detective's Book] (tier 4 epic equipment card)]
"Really, not even a single crafting material!"
Dekan looked at the card that floated into his hand, emitting a purple crystalline glow, and his expression was somewhat helpless.
[Witch's Requital]
[Category: Spell Card]
[Rarity: Purple Rare]
[Tier: 4]
[Effect: Can dispel barriers up to tier 6, cooldown time 720 hours.]
[Note: Holding this card, you are also an excellent witch.]
At first, Dekan was a bit displeased when he saw the grade of the reward, but after seeing the effect, his mood improved significantly.
In theory, to dispel a tier 6 barrier, the card should also be of tier 6 at least. However, this tier 4 card could still remove tier 6 barriers, even with a much longer cooldown than typical dispel cards. It could still be incredibly effective.
For instance, if a tier 4 challenger brought this card into a tier 4 Shadow World, they might be able to unlock map restrictions that couldn't be undone according to the rules.
These naturally occurring cards in the Shadow World were made up of otherworldly spell principles, and their materials might not even exist in the real world. They were almost impossible to crack or replicate.
So, it would surely fetch a good price.
However, for now, Dekan decided to keep it. The next time they entered the Shadow World, Cornelia could temporarily carry [Witch's Requital], thus giving her lock-picking abilities a qualitative leap.
When Croix could team up with them, Dekan would then sell this card.
Even if he couldn't exchange it for a tier 6 epic material, it would still be worth a good portion of the cost.
Dekan looked at the epic card in Cornelia's hand with some curiosity.
"Your epic equipment card must be quite powerful, but why is it a book..."
Cornelia had already summoned the book, which looked like a small A5-sized notebook.
This [Blood Detective's Book] didn't look as terrifying as its name.
The book had an antique and exquisite brown cover with some engravings, even exuding a hint of luxury and artistic flair.
However, upon closer inspection of the book's spine, you'd find it had crimson marks, and who knows how many pages had been soaked through with eerie bloodstains.
Generally, only cultists or support mages had a chance of using a book as a weapon, replacing their staves. It belonged to the extremely niche category of magical equipment. This kind of sinister-looking book was clearly meant for cultists like Dekan.
Dekan was curious and decided to identify it.
[Blood Detective's Book]
[Category: Equipment Card]
[Grade: Orange Epic]
[Tier: 4]
[Effect: You can place an equipment card inside the book, giving the book the effect of that equipment card. This equipment has extremely high durability, and each time it's used for a kill, it will permanently increase its attack power.]
[Note: This is a weapon that shouldn't exist in the world.]
"My goodness! It truly lives up to its SSS rating reward!"
Even the otherworldly card making master Dekan couldn't help but praise this equipment.
"How is it supposed to be used?"
Cornelia felt a headache coming on just looking at the book, especially because it was a spellbook. She flipped through the Blood Detective's Book and couldn't make heads or tails of its content. She even considered throwing it away.
"It's similar to how you'd use a hammer, we colloquially call this type of weapon a brick," Dekan explained.
"Oh, I get it now!" Cornelia instantly understood how to use the book. She picked it up and gave it a swing.
Light and easy to handle!
With the spine of the book, she was sure to crack open an opponent's head.
Instantly, she couldn't bear to part with this book.
"I never thought I'd find a book I liked so much."
"A good book can change a person's destiny, there's a reason why that saying exists."
Teacher Cat fell silent. In its impression, books weren't typically used in this way. Even when Dekan used an evil book to curse others, it seemed more normal than Cornelia's usage.
"Now you're starting to look more and more like a detective." Dekan admired Cornelia's rare smile and exclaimed.
"Right!"
Cornelia hugged the Blood Detective's Book to her chest, looking quite satisfied as she let Dekan see her.
Dekan gave her a thumbs up, saying, "Elegant and dignified!"
Cornelia had obtained a weapon that was very suitable for a girl, and Dekan was genuinely happy for her.
"Let's head back to school, meow! A celebration is in order, a celebration!"
The Teacher Cat was bouncing up and down between the two. It was impatient to receive its share of the rewards.
The thought of facing reality made Dekan sigh involuntarily.
One of the loneliest times each week was Sunday afternoon.
And what made Dekan and Cornelia even lonelier was the moment they had to leave the Shadow World.
"Let's come back next month."
"Yeah, ever since we started experiencing the Shadow World, I look forward to it every day."
"You guys really need to... consider the feelings of normal students a bit."
The two chatted with the cat as they stepped through the Void Gate and returned to the Hevenlit Magic Academy.
