CHAPTER 38: CHAPTER 38: MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKERS

Lana pursed her lips and wondered in her heart,

’Did he get offended that I called him a chicken, or did he get offended because I called him ugly?’

Shaking her head, Lana decided to focus on the talisman making and called out.

"Zephyr?"

"Yes?" The familiar mellow voice echoed in Lana’s mind.

"I want to learn how to make a talisman. I am already at Black Rank."

"Alright. Then please close your eyes to absorb the first scroll: The Basics of Talisman." Zephyr ordered gently.

Lana’s heart was pounding with anticipation, while her hands turned clammy.

Just then, an invisible force knocked her brain, and Lana almost collapsed on the ground due to the impact.

She placed her hand on the head and muttered in a raw anguish, "Sh*t... Zephyr, are you sure you weren’t taking revenge on behalf of Mr. Crow...?"

Midway through her sentence, Lana faltered as a wave of new knowledge rushed into her mind.

Lana froze and closed her eyes.

After 10 minutes, when she opened her eyes, a profound glint flashed through them.

"So that’s how to do it..." Lana muttered.

The first step in making the talisman was to grind the ink at a steady speed with the proper water ratio. Once the ink was ready, Lana had to infuse it with a portion of her mystic energy so that it could retain the additional mystic energy she would input during the talisman-making process.

Once that step was over, Lana needed to dip the brush in the ink and start to use the Omamori and write on the talisman paper.

At the same time, while writing, Lana has to steadily input her mystic energy from the brush onto the talisman.

It was a tedious process, and even one wrong step could lead to failure. Hence, many of the talisman practitioners first learn to write Omamori.

Even one wrong stroke could lead to the talisman either getting ruined or turning into something different.

There was also calligraphy and the art of ink grinding, as well as inputting the mystic energy into the inkstone.

Lana wiped away the sweat from her forehead and took a deep breath. From the looks of it... Becoming a talisman practitioner won’t be easy.

The first talisman that was opened was the Basic Exorcism Talisman.

Since it contained only two letters, Lana thought it would be easy.

As she ground the ink with utter seriousness, Lana’s hand started to ache. Concentration was one aspect, but strength was even more important.

Once she was done with the process, Lana looked at the smooth ink with the thickness of a smoothie and asked,

"Zephyr, is it done right?"

"It is." Zephyr’s voice was laced with slight surprise.

"Thank god." Lana sat on the ground and massaged her aching hand. After a minute break, Lana slowly inserted her mystic energy into the ink, while her eyes stayed on the timer.

"Stop," Zephyr ordered, and Lana did so right away. At the same time, her other hand stopped the timer she had started.

43 seconds. Lana recorded. Her next course of action was even more swift; she dipped the brush and started to draw the Omamori characters on the talisman.

Her eyes narrowed during the process, while the stroke reflected her confidence.

In her previous life, Lana also encountered the process of making talismans. When a person is desperate, they try everything.

Lana tried to mimic the Aether barrier, tried to make talismans, and even escorted people from one safe zone to another.

Even though she never succeeded and all of her effort seemed like a waste. The reality was... There is nothing useless in this world.

The Omamori characters she had learned to make in her previous life helped her save a lot of time.

Her hand remained steady, though a bit ugly; her characters looked presentable. Of course, this was how Lana was trying to glorify her talisman.

Once finished, Lana lowered her hand and looked at the yellow talisman on the Lunacite floor. It gave a faint glimmer before turning dull.

"Failed." Zephyr’s calm voice sounded like cold water being poured on her burning heart.

’What were you expecting, huh? That you can make it in just one try?’ Lana mocked herself.

"But it was a good attempt." Zephyr praised, his gentle voice laced with rare tenderness. "90% of talisman practitioners fail at the ink-grinding stage, while the remaining 10% fail during the process of inputting their mystic energy."

Lana pursed her lips before grinning.

"No need to comfort me. I am the same as them. I failed too. And no excuses can justify my failure."

Failure was never something Lana hated. It was a friend she had met at many stages of her life, and she gradually got used to it.

Every time she started something, the result was glaring failure. However... what came after those failures... was a beautiful, sweet fruit of her hard labor.

Not to mention...

’Don’t give up, Lana. Think about the looming danger! If you rest now... no one will help you.’

Her eyes glinted with fierce determination, and she took out another talisman, then another.

Yellow talisman paper was scattered on the floor, marking Lana’s dedication. The strong characters scribbled on talisman papers described the inner determination of its maker.

The orangish glow on the floor pulled Lana out of her frenzied state, and it was then that she realized... evening had arrived.

Feeling hungry, she ordered a takeout before continuing.

On the 826th talisman paper, Lana finished the last stroke and saw the talisman shimmering like a gold bar.

The glow emitted by the talisman was a bit eye-piercing, but Lana’s heart pounded loudly.

’I did it... I did it....’

As if to confirm her words, Zephyr’s gentle voice echoed,

"Succeeded."

Lana straightened up with a jolt, and she cheered in a loud voice.

"Yes! Ah... ouch! Shit! My legs and back are aching! Fuck... everything is alright, but this kind of physical torture... It’s unacceptable... man... why do those motivational speakers speak as if they are superhuman and don’t feel this mortal pain?"