The moment the familiar pattern reached his fingertips, Luke knew it was finally time to bring this age of mahjong chaos to an end.
His usually lazy eyes sharpened in an instant, and the whole air around him changed.
At once, it was as if the table itself had frozen.
All three girls sitting there immediately sensed that something was wrong.
Their expressions turned tense at the same time.
"Self-draw! Big Three Dragons! Eighty-eight fan!"
Light flashed in Luke's eyes as he slapped a self-drawn Four Bamboo onto the table with a crack.
That heavenly hand seemed to burst with brilliance, so dazzling the three girls could barely keep their eyes open.
Big Three Dragons.
Three Red Dragons, three Green Dragons, three White Dragons.
To gather all nine of those dragon tiles in a single hand was no easier than Thirteen Orphans.
And when they saw that max-value hand in front of them, the three girls at the table were all a little dumbfounded.
Kahina collapsed back with a face on the verge of tears. "My allowance..."
Fiora shoved her tiles forward, paid up, and could not even be bothered to look at Luke's smug expression. She got up and headed straight for the back yard.
Only Lux felt relatively fine about it. She casually took out the money.
After all, she had gotten a max-value hand before too.
Back in that glorious era of hers.
Even if that glory was gone for now, she believed it was only because her touch was off today. Tomorrow, she would definitely make a comeback.
"Now this... this is Big Three Dragons."
Luke was not even focused on bragging yet. His eyes were full of pure admiration as he stared at the fourteen tiles in front of him.
Some hands were the kind of thing people could go a lifetime without ever seeing, and Big Three Dragons was one of them.
Right now, he wished he could magically produce a phone, take a screenshot, and dump it straight into a group chat to show off.
"Big deal."
Lux curled her lip dismissively, but when she looked at that neat, striking Big Three Dragons hand, a trace of envy still flashed in her eyes.
She especially loved that feeling of recognizing the familiar texture under her fingers and then slamming the tile onto the table.
The bigger the hand, the better it felt.
And a self-drawn Big Three Dragons really was a little...
She stood up, deciding not to look any longer. Carrying with her the firm resolve that tomorrow she would win with a huge hand too, she left as well.
Only after admiring it for a few more moments did Luke finally rise and head into the front yard.
By then, the sky had already darkened. Looking at the moon that had quietly risen overhead, Luke tilted his head up at a dramatic forty-five-degree angle and admired it from the lofty loneliness of a man at the peak.
Just then, Quinn walked in from outside the yard. Seeing Luke standing there striking an overdramatic pose, she could not help asking curiously, "What are you doing, Your Highness?"
"Oh, Big Three Dragons. Just hit one."
Luke turned and gave her a brilliant smile.
The completely unrelated answer left Quinn momentarily dazed. She blinked, a hint of confusion in her eyes.
But she caught on quickly enough and cooperatively clapped. "That's amazing, Your Highness."
"Oh, it was nothing special."
Luke waved a vain hand, the corners of his mouth lifting. "I just got a little lucky and hit a hand most people never see in their lives."
Quinn said with admiration, "I hope I can win a huge hand like that someday."
Luke immediately flashed the grin of a triumphant king.
Lux walked out of the house just in time to see it, rolled her eyes, and said to Quinn with exasperation, "You really do spoil him."
At this rate, the guy would probably be showing off about it for the next four or five days.
At eight that evening, when it was time for dinner, everyone discovered that the meal was especially lavish today.
Luke had even gone down to the cellar and hauled up a barrel of beer, with another same-sized barrel set beside it.
Those who could drink each got a cup.
Then Lux came up holding her cup with a face full of expectation, and Luke pointed to the other barrel. "You're drinking this."
Lux looked deeply aggrieved and protested, "I'm an adult now! I'm legally allowed to drink!"
"Do you seriously not know your own tolerance?"
Luke chuckled. "The one next to it is something you haven't had before."
Hearing that, Lux became interested at once. "What is it?"
"Drink it and find out. It's kind of like beer."
Luke took the cup from her hand and turned the tap. At once, a stream of golden liquid poured from the spout.
Foam rose along with it, and a rich brewed aroma drifted out.
At a glance, it really did look almost exactly like beer.
Once the cup was full, Lux took it from Luke's hand and, driven by curiosity, immediately took a sip.
It carried the aroma of brewed fruit, and the texture was fizzy like cola, but softer too, clean and refreshing, with a faint beer-like fragrance still lingering underneath.
But it did not hit nearly as hard as the beer Lux had tasted last time.
That mouthfeel instantly satisfied her taste buds from every angle, and her eyes lit up.
"This is good. What is it?"
"Fruit beer."
Luke smiled. "Good, right?"
"Mhm!"
Lux nodded and walked off with complete satisfaction.
The next one to come up was Poppy, holding out a cup with the same hopeful look.
She knew perfectly well that she should not be drinking alcohol. Ever since the time she had passed out after that alcohol bath, she had fully accepted that she needed to stay away from strong drinks.
But just like Lux, after watching everyone else drink day after day, she could not help feeling a little jealous.
Poppy took her own full cup of fruit beer and immediately tried a sip out of curiosity. Her big eyes lit up too, clearly loving it.
Fruit beer tasted somewhat like regular beer, but the alcohol content was much lower.
It was perfect for people like Lux and Poppy, whose tolerance was not exactly impressive.
Then Luke raised his cup with a big smile. "To celebrate today's Big Three Dragons, let's drink!"
The moment he said it, no one there found it surprising in the slightest.
One look at the setup had already told them everything they needed to know.
"Cheers!"
Lux was the first to raise her cup in response. The thing she was happiest about was that her cup finally did not contain cola for once.
Cola tasted great, sure, but nobody wanted to drink it every single day.
"Cheers!"
Poppy followed after her, simply because she liked the feel of celebrating with everyone.
"Cheers!"
Then Fiora, Quinn, Kahina, and Yurna all raised their cups too, humoring Luke without hesitation.
After that little celebration, the rest of the evening was spent eating and drinking freely. The dishes were especially abundant tonight, and everyone ended up thoroughly satisfied.
Kahina switched to fruit beer after one cup of regular beer.
And after a few glasses of beer, Fiora's cheeks carried a few traces of color one would not normally ever see.
Quinn's tolerance turned out to be unexpectedly good. Even after a few drinks, she showed no sign of being drunk.
If anyone truly had the best tolerance, though, it had to be Yurna.
Every time there was drinking, her presence might not have been especially noticeable, but in terms of how much she drank, she never drank any less than anyone else.
And yet Luke had never once seen her drunk.
He had seen even the Swordmaster lady a little tipsy before.
But Yurna, let alone tipsy, looked like she could drink the strongest liquor Luke brewed with a completely blank face and not even blink.
After dinner, everyone moved to the front yard, chatting while the cool night breeze blew over them.
The wind at night carried a bit more chill, but it also blew away much of the alcohol haze.
After that came the daily essential ritual.
The moment they eased into the hot spring, every last one of them felt as though their bodies were melting.
That kind of comfort was pure bliss.
The next morning, Luke woke naturally in bed.
He had drunk quite a bit the night before, but he had slept wonderfully, and when he woke up, his whole body felt great.
After heading into the front yard, Luke started his usual morning routine of washing up and brushing his teeth.
During that time, Lux, Kahina, Fiora, Quinn, and Poppy all entered the yard one after another.
Luke went into the kitchen, busied himself for a while, set a few pots of porridge to simmer, and then returned to the front yard.
He lay down in the rocking chair and waited for the porridge to finish cooking.
With nothing better to do, he thought to himself, "Check in."
Several system notifications rang out one after another.
[Congratulations, host. You have obtained a Random Secondary Profession Draw Card.]
[Congratulations, host. You have obtained a Basic Skill Upgrade Card.]
[The rewards have been placed in your inventory. Please check them yourself.]
That series of system prompts immediately caught Luke's attention.
He opened his inventory and turned his attention to today's check-in rewards.
Seeing the new Random Secondary Profession Draw Card in the inventory, interest rose in his eyes.
At once, he thought again, "System, use the profession card."
[Random Secondary Profession Draw Card used successfully.]
[Congratulations, host. You have obtained Artist, LV6 (Exceptional).]
The instant the system responded, a flood of information poured into Luke's mind like a roaring current.
The amount of information was anything but small.
He closed his eyes and immersed himself in countless painting techniques, as if he had spent many years honing each and every one of them.
Only after quite a long while did he finally open his eyes again.
His new secondary profession was Artist, and he was not about to complain, since it had been free anyway.
Because of his Craftsman LV8 class, he had already known a fair amount about sketching and drafting.
So his drawing ability had never been bad.
Now, with Artist LV6 layered on top of that, it was fair to say Luke's drawing skill had advanced to an entirely new level.
At this point, he had mastered every style he could think of.
That made him genuinely curious about just how good he was now.
"Yurna, bring me some clean paper and a pencil."
He gave the order immediately.
"Yes."
Yurna answered and went to get them.
Beside him, Lux, who was lying back in a chair as well, asked curiously, "What do you need paper and a pencil for?"
"You'll see in a minute."
Luke smiled.
Before long, Yurna returned to Luke with several clean sheets of paper and a pencil.
At that same moment, Fiora, Quinn, and Kahina, who had been training in the back yard, paused their morning exercise and came over to the front yard to take a break.
That was when they saw Luke sitting there with paper and pencil, apparently about to do something.
"Well? Start already."
Seeing Luke sit there without moving for half a day, Lux urged him on.
Luke, who had been thinking about what to draw, looked at her, instantly got an idea, and started sketching across the page with quick strokes.
His hand moved fast and smoothly, almost without the slightest hesitation.
Several pairs of eyes focused on the paper. By the time Luke was halfway done, they had all already guessed what he was drawing.
Big round eyes. A smaller body. A mischievous little grin. In her hand was a strawberry cake.
There were even a few crumbs left near the corner of her mouth, and her belly looked round enough at a glance that anyone could tell she had already eaten quite a bit.
When Luke finally lifted his pencil away from the paper, what appeared there was unmistakably a chibi Lux.
The whole thing was drawn only in black pencil, and in a small, cute style at that, but at first glance it somehow still felt vividly real.
Lux's eyes lit up at once when she saw herself on the page.
She did not care in the slightest that Luke had drawn her as such a little glutton. She snatched up the picture with one hand and held it up to admire it.
After a long look, she gave a smug little laugh. "As expected of me. I look great."
The other eyes on the drawing all silently agreed.
Miss Crownguard was already cute in everyday life, but once rendered in chibi form, she became even more adorable.
More importantly, Luke had simply drawn it incredibly well. He had used nothing but black pencil, yet everyone looking at it could automatically imagine the full colors and scene in their heads.
Luke smiled. "Who's next?"
"Me, me, me!"
Poppy immediately shot her hand into the air with tremendous enthusiasm.
"Alright, you're next."
Luke pulled over another blank sheet and quickly started sketching again.
A few minutes later, he lifted his hand.
Several pairs of eyes immediately landed on the page and saw a chibi Poppy sleeping soundly with her head resting on her hammer, arms spread out, wearing a blissful smile even in her dreams.
There were even little ZZZ marks above her head, making it instantly obvious she was asleep.
"Happy with it?"
Luke asked like a massage therapist checking in with a client.
"Very happy!"
Poppy took the picture and looked at her drawn self, then broke into a goofy grin.
"Next."
Luke said it with complete composure.
"My turn!"
Kahina raised her hand, her face full of expectation.
She had already noticed that although His Highness was drawing everyone in chibi form, those drawings also reflected how he saw them in his heart.
So she was very curious what kind of image of her existed there.
Luke glanced at her and soon his pencil moved again.
Scratch scratch scratch. A few minutes later, it was done.
On the page was a chibi Kahina running with all her might, a track drawn around her.
Kahina's eyes lit up, and her heart instantly filled with delight.
So this was how cute she looked in His Highness's eyes.
That made her happy.
After that, Luke did not bother asking again. His momentum was hot now, so he moved on directly to the next person.
First he drew a fallen broken tree, and sitting on it was a person.
Quinn noticed at once that it was her, and her anticipation grew even stronger.
Very soon, Luke finished.
Not far from the fallen tree lay a boar sprawled on its back with its belly up, dizzy swirls drawn over its eyes.
And on the fallen tree sat Quinn, dirty and clearly marked by a hard fight. Beside her was Valor, who had clearly gone through the same battle, his body carrying visible wounds.
The girl and eagle leaned against one another, and in the drawing, the scene felt warm and harmonious.
The moment Quinn saw it, she immediately thought of the first time she had met Valor, and a beautiful light stirred in her eyes.
"His Highness really draws well."
Even Kahina could not help saying it sincerely.
Despite using only one color, the drawing still made it incredibly easy to imagine the full scene.
"It's nothing."
Luke answered modestly, then glanced at Fiora before taking another sheet of paper.
Soon enough, he began drawing again.
Fiora's face remained cool and composed, but the expectation and interest in her eyes were not hidden in the slightest.
Her gaze rested on the page.
A few minutes later, her brows lifted.
On the paper appeared a chibi version of herself, looking thoroughly annoyed, with little anger marks around her.
She was furiously stab-stab-stabbing at a practice dummy across from her, to the point that there were even faint afterimages showing how fast she was going.
It looked exactly like she was venting.
Kahina could not help bursting out with a laugh. "That actually fits pretty well."
In her memory, whenever Luke got Fiora mad, she really did look just like that on the page.
Taking all that irritation out on that poor practice dummy.
"Does it fit well?"
Fiora's face turned frosty as she picked up the page and looked at it. But the next second, the corners of her lips still could not help curving into a smile.
The guy really had drawn it well.
Though the fact that this was apparently her image in his mind was deeply irritating.
At that point, Luke still had not stopped drawing. Before long, he moved on again.
Next was Yurna.
As the others watched, they saw a garden on the page. On a stone bench sat Yurna in an adorable maid outfit, quietly reading a book.
At once, everyone felt it was unbelievably fitting.
In their memories, whenever Yurna had nothing to do, she would sit on the stone bench in the garden to the right and read, quietly and without ever disturbing anyone.
She was like an observer.
Then Luke drew Sona in the middle of a performance.
She sat on stage before a full concert hall, her expression soft and gentle as she played, with several musical notes added around her.
After that, he drew Vayne and Frey.
Master and student appeared together in the same picture, embracing each other almost like mother and daughter, their close bond visible at a glance.
Then Luke drew Cithria too, standing heroically with her longsword raised before a monster.
By the time the porridge in the kitchen was ready, Luke had drawn quite a lot of people.
Navis, endlessly tinkering with inventions amid a pile of machines.
Tianna, casually drinking tea with the silhouette of a tigress behind her.
Garen, holding a giant sword and spinning in circles, looking like he was about to make himself dizzy.
And Jarvan IV, wiping away cold sweat, as if he were afraid of something.
Before the morning porridge finished cooking, Luke had drawn many of the people he knew, capturing them on paper in a completely different style.
The girls absolutely loved this chibi style too.
Holding Garen's drawing in her hand, Lux laughed out loud. "I'm definitely showing this to Garen! He looks so dumb. It's perfect."
And while the girls were busy discussing Luke's drawings—
Luke silently took Tianna's drawing, put it away, and destroyed it.
Evidence that could ruin his entire life was better left nonexistent.
Chibi style was only one of the many things in Luke's skill set.
He knew plenty of others too.
Abstract styles, realism, ink work, comics, practically everything.
From now on, whenever he had spare time, he could always draw in different styles just for fun.
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