Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 2576: Brolock’s Shock

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Central Region, Central Academic City, Morningstar University District, Brothwork Manor

”My work is done. Since the host is too arrogant to show himself, shall we take our leave?” I asked Jill and Drew, seeing no reason to keep lingering at this profane excuse of a party. The host was clearly on a power trip, making his guests wait like obedient pets. Sure, he allowed everyone to sample the pleasure cards, but the bar and buffet were off-limits. To think I had even prepared a gift for him—what a waste of my consideration.

”Sure,” Jill agreed instantly. Drew, however, gave a nervous chuckle and said, ”You guys go ahead. I have to stay.”

”No, you don’t,” Jill shot back without hesitation. ”You’re coming with us.”

”Don’t start that again,” Drew sighed, shaking his head. She did this every single time despite knowing exactly how things were for him. He was a nobody in the Rockin family. Aside from his parents and siblings, no one even knew he existed until he managed to get into the Divine Heirs Club. Back when no one noticed him, he’d wanted to prove himself. But now that his family finally acknowledged him, he wished more than anything that things had stayed the way they were. Sometimes he even regretted ever joining the Divine Heirs Club in the first place.

His parents and siblings were proud of him, but they didn’t know the truth—not even half of it. To the Rockin family, he was nothing more than a well-packaged pawn carrying out their orders. The moment he stepped even slightly out of line, they threatened his family’s safety. His parents still believed they had lost their youngest child to a miscarriage, but in reality, that ”miscarriage” had been the family’s retaliation against him for refusing to betray Jill when he’d been given the chance. He could never bring himself to tell his parents or Jill—his closest friend—because he feared what the family might do to them if he did.

He dreaded the day they would demand he betray Jill again.

And now, with the entire world knowing Jill was dating Southern Hope, his family saw an opportunity. They wanted him close to Southern Hope, and the easiest way was through Jill. That was exactly what he was doing here tonight. In truth, he should have left the party with them to strengthen that connection, but he stayed behind because the pleasure cards he had received from Southern Hope were enough to keep his family satisfied for the moment. He didn’t want this relationship to progress any further because he knew too well what awaited him if it did.

Jill shot Drew a sharp glare, ready to snap at him again, but she held herself back and simply muttered, ”Know your limits, dumbass. Call me if you need help.”

”I know, girl,” Drew said with a gentle nod. ”And you stop being so competitive. You’re not alone anymore—you’re part of a team now. Am I right, brother-in-law?”

I had no idea if they were even talking about the same thing at this point. I just kept a polite smile on my face and nodded at Drew, ready to say goodbye. But before I could, a sudden commotion erupted in the main hall where the party was being held. The noise quickly moved toward us.

Moments later, a man in extravagant attire rushed into the garden, trailed by a swarm of attendants and aides. Even without an introduction from Jill or Drew, I could guess who he was: Brolock Brothwork, our arrogant and shameless host. My assumption was confirmed the moment I heard his entourage address him as Young Master Brolock.

I wondered what had rattled him so badly that he not only disrupted his own party but also abandoned his tradition of making guests wait for his grand entrance—just to come looking for us.

”Jill, is this the Dream Nymph 2.0 card you were bragging about? These are incredible—too good, honestly. They deserve a name of their own. Are you really sticking with Slime Fairy? Don’t get me wrong, it fits their nature, but I’m sure we can come up with something better,” Brolock gushed the moment Jill entered his line of sight, completely ignoring Drew and me as if we weren’t even there.

”You’ve got it wrong,” Jill said, her expression turning cool. ”It’s not the Dream Nymph 2.0 card, and I didn’t create it. It belongs to Wyatt. Your party was so bland he decided to liven things up by sharing one of his new creations. Fun, right? They instantly made the party several times more exciting. You must’ve seen it on your way over.”

She didn’t sugarcoat a thing—she flat-out called his party bland.

The Brothwork family claimed they had little real interest in Jill’s venture, and that Brolock was only investing to show respect to Demigod Norley. But from the way he reacted, it was clear he cared a lot more than he let on. The pleasure-card market was simply too massive for even his family to ignore. Judging by his behavior, the only reason he hadn’t already tried to seize control of Jill’s venture was because she kept insisting that the better pleasure cards were still in development.

Now that he had seen my Slime Fairy card, he finally understood she hadn’t been bluffing. And that realization was a double-edged blade for him—he was both tempted by it and frustrated that it wasn’t his. That was why he broke his own tradition and rushed out to meet her the moment he learned about these new cards.

But the instant Jill told him the Slime Fairy card wasn’t hers but mine, Brolock’s expression froze and hardened. When his gaze shifted to me, I suddenly wasn’t invisible anymore. Even so, the stiffness in his face didn’t fade. He understood perfectly well that unlike Jill, I wasn’t short on investors. All I had to do was utter a single word and world leaders would line up—whether they believed in the venture or not. For the chance to earn my goodwill, they would gladly pay fortunes. Not that I needed it.