Tomorrow and tomorrow, there are so many tomorrows.
But then he thought about it.
If he weren't threatened by the Demon God Bloodline, perhaps he'd be the one saying, "I'll work hard tomorrow."
He might even have become a little more depraved!
"Sure enough, everything has its pros and cons."
Dark took a sip of milk. It was sweet.
Professor Kazel, who taught Magic Theory, was a very kind old man.
They said he had been around since Merlin's time and was one of the few remaining master alchemists.
With his vast knowledge and eloquence, Professor Kazel's classes were fascinating—far better than those of the two Pixie professors.
Because of his Goblin blood, Professor Kazel stood only 1.43 meters tall—taller than a pure-blood Goblin, but shorter than an ordinary person.
But no one discriminated against him for it.
In fact, he was the most popular of all the professors—if only Magic Theory were a little easier!
When Dark found Professor Kazel, he was tinkering with some incomprehensible things in the laboratory.
"Dimon? What brings you here?" Kazel noticed him first.
Curious, Dark asked, "Professor, what experiment are you working on?"
Professor Kazel grinned proudly as he stirred a huge bucket of pumpkin purée in front of him. "I'm getting ready to make a 'Jack-o'-Lantern'!"
Dark thought for a moment, then suddenly understood. He exclaimed, "No way, Professor! Halloween is still a whole month away!"
"Always be prepared—that's my life motto," Professor Kazel replied with a smile.
Dark easily got the key to the neighboring laboratory from Professor Kazel.
It was probably because he usually behaved so well—he'd practically become an even more exemplary student than Emma, and all the professors liked him.
This time, when he said he wanted to "practice making Emotion Cards," Professor Kazel lent him the key without a hint of suspicion. He even offered to personally coach him!
Dark, of course, couldn't let him do that, so he declined, saying, "You're busy, Professor."
He went to the neighboring laboratory.
Dark locked the door and opened the experiment cabinet.
As expected, it was full of all kinds of materials.
They were all basic materials, but making Emotion Cards didn't require anything particularly advanced.
He counted them carefully and found that he had everything he needed. Then he took a divided tray and gathered the required materials from the cabinet, placing each one in its own compartment.
Next, he would follow the textbook and try making a Refined Emotion Card for the first time!
Dark opened the textbook to the page explaining the process and laid it on the table, weighing it down with a small object.
Then he began brewing the Magic Potion!
The "Voice of Joy" potion made anyone who drank it burst into laughter.
It couldn't truly make someone happy, but it could stand in for "happy emotions" and be used as a kind of "ink."
Thinking about pleasant things while using it to make an Emotion Card would enhance its effect.
Magicians had long believed that emotions could be transmitted through magic power.
In other words, rather than using a Magic Brain Dropper to extract and infuse emotions, they could simply use the "Voice of Joy" potion as a substitute. They would spread it over a blank Magitech Card and then perform transmutation to create a Magitech Card imbued with happiness!
The original, simplified method for making Emotion Cards used the "Voice of Joy" potion.
Dark had simply skipped the potion and used "Pride" instead.
But since he was first conducting a proper experiment with a Refined Emotion Card, he needed to start by brewing the potion.
He had already learned and practiced all this in Magic Potion Class!
After spending a little over half an hour brewing a pale green potion that looked exactly like the one in the textbook, Dark poured it into an "ink bottle."
Then he used a Magic Pen to draw up the "ink" and coat the entire face of a blank Magitech Card in pale green.
Green was a pleasant color, and Dark was in a fairly good mood.
Next, he boiled various materials into a paste and spread it over the Magitech Card. Once it had dried naturally or been dried with Heat Wave, it would form a transparent film.
Only then could he proceed in order: first, he drew Transmutation Circle No. 7 on the film and performed the initial transmutation, allowing the "Voice of Joy" potion and the Magitech Card to fuse.
Then he drew Transmutation Circle No. 18 on the back to form a frame and lock the energy inside the Magitech Card.
Next, he transmuted Circles No. 21, No. 33, and No. 34 at the same time, forming an energy loop that would allow the Magitech Card to restore itself after losing magic power.
Finally came Refinement No. 13 and Amplification No. 9!
The whole process was quite complicated, and every transmutation circle had to overlap with the others to some extent.
Each circle had to function correctly when activated, without interfering with the effects of the others.
Although Dark had practiced many times in the library the night before, he still failed on his first attempt at making one!
He wasn't discouraged, and succeeded on his second try!
"Oh my. I thought you were making a Simple Emotion Card!"
Professor Kazel pushed open the door, looking astonished. The lock seemed to mean nothing in his hands.
There was pumpkin purée smeared across his face.
Dark wasn't too surprised by Professor Kazel's sudden intrusion.
He showed the professor what he'd made and took the opportunity to ask about the problems he'd run into during the process.
Professor Kazel was astonished that Dark had managed to make a Refined Emotion Card all by himself.
As he casually answered Dark's questions, he examined the Emotion Card. At last, he exclaimed, "Dimon, your understanding of emotions is unexpectedly profound."
"Is it?"
Dark looked utterly bewildered.
He genuinely had no idea when he'd ever studied emotions...
"Sometimes, being too modest isn't a good thing." Professor Kazel winked. "You should be proud of yourself. At your age, I was still playing in the dirt underground."
Then he turned and said, "If you want to continue, remember to return the key to my office before five this afternoon."
"All right, Professor!" said Dark.
"Two blank Magitech Cards left."
Dark's gaze swept over the final two blank Magitech Cards, then he summoned DemiDevimon.
"Magic Guidance Summon!"
Before DemiDevimon could react, a ball of light shot out of the "Happiness Card" and struck it in the back of the head.
Its naturally fierce expression instantly turned light and carefree.
"Are you happy?" Dark asked.
DemiDevimon nodded blankly. "Happy."
"Good."
With a beaming smile, Dark put the "Happiness Card" into his Card Case. He finally had his first self-made Magitech Card!
After telling DemiDevimon to keep watch, Dark grew serious.
The "Happiness Card" had just been a trial run. The real experiment came next.
He skipped the "Voice of Joy" potion and went straight to the second step, boiling those materials into a paste and setting it aside.
This "paste" served as Sealant Liquid, like a washer between a screw and its hole.
With this layer of "paste," the "emotions" sealed inside wouldn't leak out. It also reduced the conflict between the transmutation circles, the materials, and the Magitech Card, while helping preserve the nature of the emotions infused within.
Once transmuted, it could also serve as a "protective film."
Dark sat down in a chair and took out the Magic Brain Dropper. He warmed it slightly over an alcohol lamp to activate it.
Then he used the Dragonfly Skimming Method again, placing the dropper's pointed tip against his temple and gently squeezing the "magic brain" before releasing it, repeating the process several times.
He didn't need to control it precisely, because the only thing spilling out of his mind at that moment was "Pride."
As fine black threads were drawn into the Magic Brain Dropper, his "Pride" finally dropped from 111 to 110!
"Eee—"
The Magic Brain Dropper suddenly let out a shriek!
Dark immediately stopped squeezing and submerged its pointed tip in water.
As soon as the Magic Brain Dropper touched water, it quieted down on its own.
Dark took it out again and shook off the water. The dropper stopped shrieking.
Then he placed the dropper's pointed tip against a blank Magitech Card and squeezed the magic brain hard!
The little bit of "Pride" stored inside the magic brain spurted out completely!
Soon, this blank Magitech Card had turned a rich, dark gold as well.
When the dark gold on the Magitech Card had spread evenly and settled, Dark coated its surface with the paste he'd prepared earlier.
The steps that followed were the same as before.
After one successful attempt, Dark's technique had become much more practiced.
He quickly finished making this "Pride 1"!
In appearance, this "Pride 1" differed from the previous one only by having an extra protective film.
But its actual effect still needed to be tested.
And he wasn't going to experiment here.
"It's about time to return the key to Professor Kazel."
Dark cleaned up the traces of his experiment and left the laboratory.
Five o'clock in the afternoon.
He returned to his bedroom and summoned DemiDevimon to begin the experiment.
He'd done everything he could. This was practically an experiment that would decide success or failure!
DemiDevimon was a clever little thing. It immediately realized what it was about to suffer, folded its wings over its head, and protested, "I object! I object! A Familiar's life matters too!"
Dark gave it a kindly smile. "Don't be scared. It won't hurt."
"No! No! I don't wanna! o(>﹏<)o"
"Magic Guidance Summon!"
Dark pinched the "Pride" Magitech Card between his index and middle fingers and activated the "Summoning Technique"!
In an instant.
Before you continue