Card Apprentice Daily LogCard Apprentice Daily Log
Date- Unspecified
Time- Unspecified
Location- Lil Red Strom Realm, Unspecified
Even for Henricks, an elite card demigod with a powerful inter-realm teleportation origin card, exploring the Myriad Realms without a specific destination or coordinates was perilous. Despite his deep-seated dream of traversing these realms, Henricks dared not use his origin card to fulfill it, instead sticking to realms connected to the Card World through gate dungeons.
The only reason Henricks discovered the "Lil Red Storm" realm was due to his late master, a Master of Card World whom he had killed. His master shared Henricks' dream of exploring the myriad realms, a passion that had seeded this dream within him and ultimately blossomed into his origin card.
Having experienced his master willing to turn him into a mindless slave to monopolize his origin card, Henricks who had to kill his Master kept his origin card a secret from everyone so other masters would not covet his origin card. Though tragic this ultimately resulting in his discovery of the 'Lil Red Storm' realm.
Also, This secrecy allowed him to seamlessly maintain two identities: the central government's corrupt Field Marshal and the mysterious leader of the revolutionary organization Freedom Fighters. Henricks carefully juggled these identities but slipped during a heated battle at the Way Beyond and ended up using his origin card's ability to save Field Marshal Heatsend instinctively. While this helped him gain her favor, it also led to unnecessary complications in his life.
However, it all seemed worthwhile when it all came together to help him steal the D-rank Silver Gate Dungeon from the Southern Region. Now, though, he regretted his actions, as the Freedom Fighters were neither strong nor prepared to handle the consequences of gaining the all world leaders' attention.
Regardless, the only reason he learned about the 'Lil Red Storm' realm was through a series of unfortunate events that he managed to overcome. Asking him to find another similar realm would be akin to asking him to commit suicide, as teleporting without proper coordinates was equivalent to self-destruction. While he didn't want to burn bridges with Wyatt, he would be left with no choice if the situation were to force him.
Therefore, even at the risk of offending Wyatt, he spoke the truth, making it clear that the 'Lil Red Storm' realm was all he could offer. Beyond that, finding another realm that met his requirements was beyond his abilities. He would rather remain a prisoner than use his origin card to aimlessly explore the myriad realms in search of a suitable realm.
"Don't worry, this realm is more than enough," Wyatt replied to Henricks, who was feeling a bit edgy due to the Field Marshal's rough treatment.
"You heard him, let go of me," Henricks immediately demanded of the Field Marshal, who was taking pleasure in his misery. Her grin widened, and the blatant scorn in her eyes intensified when she heard Wyatt say, "Hold on, what's the rush? I need to talk to you."
"Sure, but first ask her to release me," Henricks agreed but demanded to be freed from the Field Marshal's pseudo-celestial space rule domain first. Before Wyatt could speak, the Field Marshal warned him, "Wyatt, he's acting too jumpy. I have a bad feeling about this. Let's keep him restrained a little longer."
Wyatt agreed with the Field Marshal, finding Henricks' actions a bit suspicious and asking, "Do you have something to tell me?"
Henricks sighed and revealed, "Nothing I didn't already warn you about. It's the realm's fragile space, frequent storms, and catastrophic meteor strikes.
The strong wind currents and the dark clouds slowly covering the sky predict that this place is going to be hit by a storm. Don't dismiss it as a regular storm, because of this realm's fragile space even a regular storm will have catastrophic consequences, such as this entire area's space being riddled with tears and collapsing on itself. The same is true in the case of a meteor strike or shower.
If you plan to stay on this realm longer, you'd better get out of this area within the storm's radius as fast as possible. I wanted to warn you about this before taking my leave, but she used that opportunity to trap me again, diverting my attention. Then one thing led to another, and it slipped my mind."
Listening to Henricks' explanation, Wyatt gave the Field Marshal a blank stare. Before he could ask to release Henricks, she immediately recalled her pseudo-celestial rule domain, freeing Henricks, but she still quibbled, "That doesn't explain why you were being so impatient."
"Let me strip you of your bloodline for a few hours, and see how you'll act," Henricks said grudgingly. He was used to depending on the unique connection between his origin card and the space; without it, he was like a fish out of water.
His irritation was relatable. Wyatt nodded in understanding, as he too would react the same way if he were unable to feel the presence of his soul pupils or the calamity soul gem for a few minutes. Especially in a dangerous realm like this one, where everything was designed to prevent life from blossoming.
The Field Marshal wanted to retort to Henricks but stayed quiet when she saw Wyatt glaring at her in warning. He then turned to Henricks and asked, "Have you heard of the realm Red Alps?"
"Red Alps? I don't recall any realm with such a name. I name the realms I visit myself for my convenience, since it's difficult for me to interact with natives to learn the true name of their realm. I might have been there. Can you tell me something else about that realm? It might help me remember."
Unlike the demon codex, Henricks' origin card did not come with a universal translator skill along with its inter-realm teleportation skill. So, Wyatt could relate to Henricks' experience of entering an alien planet and not being able to talk to the natives due to the language barrier. Although higher-level beings could communicate mentally, they would also covet Henricks to learn his secrets. Hence, Henricks stuck to what he knew and could handle.
"Red Alps has many mountain ranges covered in red snow. It is inhabited by red-skinned dwarves with feet that are too big for their body size; they are known as RedFoot in the myriad realms," Wyatt narrated everything distinctive he could think of about the Red Alps realm.
"Ah, I remember now. I have been to that realm; I call it the 'Blood Snow' realm," Henricks exclaimed, but soon he frowned and warned, "If you have any idea of going to that realm, forget it. That realm was invaded by dark races and has successfully been occupied by them. The demons have enslaved all the natives and are using them to mine its resources. Within a few years, there will be nothing left in that realm but mountains of corpses, unless the Dark Races occupying that realm plan to destroy it to tie up loose ends."
Listening to Henricks, both Wyatt and Field Marshal Heatsend's faces turned sullen. They felt bad not only because of the RedFoot tribe's fall but also because they understood the dire consequences of failing to protect Card World in the upcoming demon invasion.
The RedFoot, once a proud and resilient people, had been reduced to mere slaves, their lives devoid of meaning or purpose. Their homeland, once a vibrant and thriving ecosystem, had been ravaged by the dark races, its natural beauty replaced by desolate wastelands. The thought of what might happen to Card World if the demons were to succeed in their invasion was a terrifying prospect.
Henricks' warning served as a stark reminder of the dangers that lurked beyond the familiar realms. It was a sobering realization for Wyatt and Field Marshal Heatsend, who were still hadn't started any preparation for the up coming demon invasion. They knew that they had to do everything in their power to prevent the demons from gaining a foothold in Card World. The fate of not only their own realm but also the countless others in it depended on them.
"Give me that realm's coordinates," Wyatt requested Henricks, planning to visit it after he finished his business in Lil Red Storm realm. He wanted to find the young RedFoot he had encountered in the inter-realm city to learn and understand the downfall of the RedFoot tribe in their own realm.
Wyatt planned to understand the various strategies the demons had at their disposal to take over a realm. After all, taking over a realm was more than just a matter of strength. His victory over the Viltronian on Earth and the ancient Card apprentices' victory over the dark races in the first demon invasion were proof of this.
He was worried that the "Seven Princes of Hell" might choose to recruit outside help if their invasion of Card World were to go south. Wyatt's plan here was simple: he needed to prepare for every possible situation, regardless of how improbable it was, because fate of billions of lives depended on it.