Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 2893: Nory Bale

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Western Region, Berg District, Scarlet Berg, Guild Association Mall

”Who’s next?”

Jaya’s authoritative voice thundered throughout the mall as she slowly swept her gaze across the crowds gathered along the balcony railings, hovering at the center of the atrium like the eye of a storm wrapped in dead silence.

”You are strong, I’ll give you that.”

A petite young man walked toward Jaya using a Wind Walk card. He looked strikingly similar to the one Jaya had grabbed by the hair and slammed into the wall before throwing him from the fifth floor, though this one appeared far more composed and neatly dressed. There was no doubt the two were related.

”You’ve got guts, standing before me after what I did to the other one. I’ll give you that.”

Jaya smirked as she looked at the chibi-like boy, wondering how she should deal with him. Clearly, what she had done to the last one hadn’t been enough to scare them into submission. She had been aiming for shock and surrender, having seen it work for Aurelia numerous times.

”Hahaha, you really have a knack for getting on people’s nerves. Maybe a five-floor drop will fix that — Silence!”

The petite young man laughed harmlessly as he suddenly activated the Silence Rule, a technique that stripped soul energy from its target. The moment he did, a devilish smile spread across his lips hoping to see Jaya fall to her death or at least break a few bones.

However, his smile vanished seeing that contrary to his expectations, Jaya didn’t plummet to her death after losing access to her soul energy. Instead, he was left stunned when he realized his Silence Rule wasn’t affecting her in the slightest.

”Silence Rule? Is that what gave you the guts to stand before me?”

”You know what? Do your worst.”

Jaya yawned, urging the young man to do his worst with his mastery over the Silence Rule. It had been one of the first rules she used her mutated ego gem to gain immunity against. When she saw the confidence with which he stood before her, she thought he might have an ace up his sleeve, but it turned out to be a dud. Even so, it was impressive that someone his age had mastered the Silence Rule. Unfortunately for him, she was far stronger and far more skilled than he was.

Panic began to creep into the young man’s heart and mind. He stared at Jaya in horror, as if looking at a monster, unable to understand how she was resisting his Silence Rule. The only explanation he could come up with was that she, too, possessed a deep comprehension of the Silence Rule.

”You’ve comprehended the Silence Rule too?”

”Umm... I guess you could say that.”

”What is that supposed to mean? Either you have or you haven’t. Pick one.”

”You know what? Go to sleep.”

Jaya appeared before the young man in the blink of an eye. Before he could react, she grabbed him by the hair and slammed him against the wall in the exact same spot where she had smashed her last victim. Moments later, he was sent into free fall just like the other one.

The instant she let go, Jaya immediately regretted it. She had been planning to make an example out of him to shock the crowd into submission, not toss him away so quickly. In the middle of all their bickering, she had completely forgotten.

Then, deciding he deserved an even worse beating for making her forget, she chased after him and grabbed him mid-fall while punching away the hoverbike rushing in to catch his falling body. The hoverbike slammed into a nearby balcony railing with a violent crash. Fortunately, the crowd reacted quickly and had already cleared the area.

Hovering at the center of the atrium, Jaya lifted the young man by his hair and repeatedly slapped him until he went limp, pretending to be unconscious. Despite the brutal throw earlier, his passive defensive cards had protected him from taking any serious damage. So she didn’t hold back while slapping him.

Then Jaya asked, ”What’s your name?”

The young man’s eyes widened in shame as he muttered, ”You beat me up without even knowing who I am?”

”How am I supposed to know you? Are you someone famous? Besides, what does beating someone have to do with knowing their name? Are you saying I can’t hit you just because I don’t know who you are? Let’s test that theory.”

Jaya deliberately acted unreasonable and began slapping the young man again and again until the orifices on his face started bleeding. Meanwhile, the crowd watched in dead silence.

As for the other leaders, they quietly weighed their options before deciding to stay hidden until their demigod chauffeurs arrived to rescue them.

Jonas and his gang looked at the young man with both anger and pity in their eyes because he had dominated the streets of the Berg District for years with his mastery over the Silence Rule.

They themselves had clashed with him over several petty conflicts in the past, but seeing their deputy leader casually slap him around like this, they could not help but feel a trace of pity for their longtime rival/oppressor.

”I’m Nory Bale, please stop slapping me.”

As soon as Jaya paused her relentless slapping, Nory immediately introduced himself to her without missing a beat. All his previous attitude had vanished. What remained was fear and nothing but fear.

”Good. Now point out a few people you’d like to share your fate with.”

Jaya had had enough of toying with Nory. There was no fight left in him anymore. Having already conquered one, she was ready to move on to the next.

”Those five at the back. They were the ones who pushed me to avenge my brother. The one who crashed a hoverbike into you originally belonged to the gang of that long-haired asshole by the big glass window. Those five, along with me and my brother, run and dominate all the high school gangs in the Berg District.”

Given the opportunity, Nory didn’t hesitate to sell out the other leaders, and whatever fight the crowd had left in them crumbled with his betrayal. Why would they fight a losing battle for such cowardly leaders?