Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 2546: Not Lack Opportunities, Just Impossible Standards

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Central Region, Central Academic City, Morningstar University District, Morningstar University Campus, Garden of Beginning, Time Vestige, Morningstar University 2nd Campus

Soon, two calamity clones stepped out of me and effortlessly lifted the four massive stone-carved pots, one in each hand, waiting for Lucine to guide us to the Time Expansion Chamber.

"I can never get used to your ability—it’s so creepy. Aren’t you worried you’ll scare little girls away and you will remain single?" Lucine joked lightly as she opened the lab door and headed out.

Still, her eyes lingered on the stone pots, clearly surprised by the strong temporal energy radiating from them. That was thanks to the temporal ingredients I had mixed into the dark spring dew and used as fertilizer for the clay. They should help the Triunion Four-Petal Viltronian Vine’s nearly indestructible Viltronian physique endure the raw time rule power inside the chamber during the treatment.

As for Lucine herself, she would be sitting in the fourth stone pot. The clay, pulsing with temporal nutrients, should keep her body stable long enough for the entire treatment to be completed. I wasn’t worried about the death of her incarnation or her real body after the treatment. By then, both would have become dead weight. It’s best if they died saving Lucine the trouble of making the hard choice of ending its suffering.

"Look who’s talking," ’I shot back. I wonder if you’re the oldest virgin card apprentice alive in the card world,’ I said the last part in my mind, not daring to speak to them aloud. I wasn’t afraid of Lucine, but I also didn’t want to spark her ire. People say provoking a woman’s ire is deadlier than drinking poison every day.

"What’s that supposed to mean? I’ve had my fair share of boyfriends," Lucine argued, her tone defensive. "It’s just that I get too caught up in experiments and forget about them... or the experiments last so long that they forget about me and move on. My first love is my research. I just haven’t found a man who can accept that, so I’m single. Don’t mistake my being single as a lack of opportunity—I just haven’t met the right one."

She spoke with a seriousness that made me pause. And for a moment, I saw a glimpse of my own future in her—if I didn’t find the time to straighten things out with Susan and Anna.

I nodded, mentally reminding myself to make time for Susan and Anna. Lucine, however, misunderstood the gesture as me agreeing with her ridiculous logic. She lifted her head proudly, like a peacock showing off its feathers.

If research truly was her first love, she wouldn’t bother wasting centuries searching for the "right one." The truth was obvious—her standards were impossibly high, and she had spent ages rejecting every poor soul who for some reason managed to catch her interest.

"Here we are. Just a reminder—we can only spare so much refined time rule energy for you," Lucine warned as we approached the Time Expansion Chambers. She was clearly worried I might burn through the stockpile they had set aside for several promising research projects. If that happened, it would damage their chances of winning the Grand Academician Bowl.

"Don’t worry, I won’t be needing any refined time rule energy," I assured her. "And you do know that this is for you and not me,"

Lucine froze mid-step, turned sharply, and stared at me with a grim expression.

"Then why are we going to the Time Expansion Chamber?" she demanded, ignoring my last comment. "Without refined time rule power, it’s no different from a regular chamber with exceptional insulation."

"I plan to use the raw time rule energy to power the Time Expansion Chamber," I answered honestly, though a part of me worried she might not actually agree as channeling raw time rule energy through the Time Expansion Chamber’s arrays would put their durability under extreme strain.

Lucine’s eyes widened and tears welled up as she cried, "I knew it! You were planning to kill me. I knew it was all a ruse. And I’m such a fool—I trusted you even when my instincts told me otherwise!"

Her outburst immediately stirred the demigods who had been "stealthily" tailing us. Their hostility locked onto me at once, but not one of them dared step forward. Lucine had warned them often enough about my strength.

Most of them hadn’t left the Card World in years. Inside the time vestige, they couldn’t access the Grimoire Network and had to rely solely on Morningstar University’s internal system. In other words, about ninety percent of the card apprentices stationed here had no clue who I was—just like Lucine.

"Enough. Get inside," I said, grabbing her wrist before she could spiral any further. "I know what I’m doing. Just keep trusting me foolishly for another hour or so."

I pulled her into the Time Expansion Chamber and shut the door behind us. Ignoring her cries and complaints, I guided her to the far corner of the chamber and made her settle there. Then I turned my attention to the time expansion array carved into the walls and floor.

I and a handful of calamity clones began adjusting its structure, modifying it to suit my purposes and reinforcing its stability to make sure it could withstand the surge of raw time rule energy through it long enough for the treatment to finish. Using raw time rule energy made the entire process far more dangerous, but I trusted the preparations and adjustments I had made. It would be enough.

Lucine finally stopped crying and stared at me—and at my calamity clones—as we continued adjusting the Time Expansion Array. Her expression was full of silent criticism, as if accusing me of vandalizing her precious equipment. In her mind, she was probably wondering what I could possibly know about the array to think I had any right to modify it for my use.

At this rate, she was convinced she wouldn’t die from the raw time rule power—I’d end up killing her first when the array exploded.