Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 2608: The Beautiful North

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Northern Region, Northern Capital

All five regions were protected by their own greater array formations, thin veils designed to detect Card Emperors and trespassers of higher realms. Each city also possessed its own major array formation. These arrays did far more than simple detection; they protected and defended the cities and their citizens against any threats. This was especially true for the formations covering the capital cities.

They had been erected to defend against the monsters that emerged from the dungeons, but now they were being turned against card apprentices themselves.

Under normal circumstances, Card Emperors and Demigods could not simply walk into another region or city without being detected, unless they were equipped with black cards. These cards were used primarily by operatives of the four royal families and the central government when executing operations across regional boundaries.

These blank cards were symbols of alliance between the central government and its affiliated regions, silent warnings that discouraged either of them from harboring reckless intentions having grown comfortable in their array formations.

I believed Anna was also equipping a black card, given that the Northern Royal family had yet to locate her. Instead of finding her trail, they were forced into a state of high alert, scrutinizing everyone who entered the city. They had no idea where she was or when she would arrive.

What surprised me most was how Anna had managed to avoid being found or spotted even once by the Northerners so far. It was truly beyond me.

If I had to guess, I would say it was not merely luck. More likely, she simply had not yet crossed paths with anyone strong enough to detect her. After all, she was a demigod who had forged Extreme Divinity. Regular demigods never stood a chance against her when she was only a Card Emperor, let alone now.

In the meantime, I had been calling her through the Grimoire, hoping we would meet up and plan how she could hunt her prey, which had fortified itself within a city protected by an SSS-rank array formation and hundreds of demigods. However, my calls to her either went unanswered or were abruptly cut, but never blocked. I did not know what to make of it.

Perhaps it was only in my head, but I could not shake the nagging feeling that she was deliberately avoiding me. The only way to be certain was to get her to meet me.

If she truly was avoiding me, then how would I ever get her to meet me? As that question crossed my mind, an idea took shape. Deciding to act on it, I chose to enter the city instead of waiting for Anna outside. Not to mention it was reckless. The city had multiple entrances, and I had no idea which one Anna might use to break in, assuming she was even planning to do so.

Soon, I entered the Northern Capital without any hiccups. The Sinners Squad had been meticulous when creating documents for our aliases.

The moment I stepped inside the city, a wave of warmth washed over me as the cold embrace of the Northern wilds finally released its cold grip on my body.

Heading in, I found myself intrigued by the city’s architecture, streets, and overall layout. Everything was designed to withstand the Northern Region’s brutal winter that lasted year round, while still functioning as a proper metropolis. To my surprise, the entire ground beneath the city was heated through a separate array system. They had given new meaning to heated floors.

Now I truly felt as though I had entered a fantasy city. I had never experienced a similar sensation in any other city across the Five Regions. The Morningstar Campus came close, but it was not a city. All I could say was that whoever had built this place had put immense care and thought into it. They had to, if they wanted it to endure such brutal weather and last for millennia to come.

As I walked the streets of the Northern Capital, I wondered how labels like brutes and savages had ever come to be associated with its people as the city painted a totally different picture.

Beneath the night sky, the streets were breathtaking. If not for the snow clouds obscuring the stars, the view would have been even more spectacular. I had heard that auroras appeared in the sky during dusk and dawn, a phenomenon said to be truly mesmerizing. It made me reconsider everything I had heard about the Northern Region and its people.

I would not have minded retiring in a place like this. Far from dense human habitation, it seemed perfect for the quiet, unhurried life I had been envisioning for two lifetimes now.

As I walked through the streets, the Hive Spirit worked in the background, determining my exact location within the Northern Capital and calculating the shortest route to the demigod Gainover’s domicile. It was then that I spotted a small corner café, ivy hanging from its roof and a chalkboard menu standing by the door.

Its aesthetic and ambience drew me in instantly. It looked as though it had been lifted straight out of an anime, with woodwork reminiscent of a nineteenth-century French or British parlor, the sort of place where a hero and heroine would have their first, fateful meeting. I could not help but feel drawn to it. Deciding to indulge the impulse, I put my plans on hold and stepped inside.

As I entered, the bell above the door chimed, and I was immediately greeted by a maid who reached for my coat. When my coat dissipated instead, she smoothly adjusted and led me to a table.

The café’s interior did not disappoint. Dark, polished wood dominated the space, complemented by brass and gold accents that glowed warmly under amber lighting. The atmosphere was further enriched by the gentle soundscape around me: the soft clink of a ceramic spoon stirring a cup, the delicate tink of a saucer being set down.

Yes, I was in a proper café after a long time.