Warlock Apprentice

Placed in front of Sharley was a thick stack of cards.

Inside the iron box, these cards were meticulously arranged, with stacks positioned at each of the four corners and two cards sitting in the center. Since all the cards faced away from Sharley, she couldn’t immediately see their content, only that the backs of the cards were identical, filled with geometric patterns and intricate lines, resembling the scenes inside a kaleidoscope.

”What is this?” Sharley asked in confusion, looking at Angel. Were these items exclusively for magicians? How come she had no knowledge of them?

Angel didn’t explain but simply gestured for Sharley to pick one up and take a look.

Sharley hesitated for a moment, then reached out and touched one of the cards. The instant she made contact, the cards inside seemed to activate all at once, flying out of the iron box and lining up in an orderly arrangement, spinning around her in orbit.

It was only then that Sharley finally saw the content of the cards.

Four distinct suits: Hearts, Spades, Diamonds, and Clubs. Each suit contained thirteen cards, each card marked with universal numbers and symbols. At that moment, these cards were uniformly spinning around Sharley.

The only exceptions were the two cards remaining stationary in the center of the box. Despite having the same back design as the others, they exuded a solemnity that set them apart from the other suits.

Sharley still didn’t know what these cards were, but they sparked a faint sense of familiarity within her. She couldn’t help but feel that they seemed particularly well-suited to her.

Meanwhile, Greya observed the cards, a flicker of mysterious light flashing in her eyes.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that she had encountered these cards somewhere before.

At this moment, Sharley, finding no clues among the fifty-two spinning cards, shifted her focus to the two cards remaining in the box.

As Sharley picked up one of these cards with her fingertips, a bizarre laugh suddenly rang out.

Sharley’s fingers trembled, causing the card to slip away. In the next moment, a burst of white mist erupted from the center of the card, and a black-and-white Joker dressed in clothes embroidered with the four suits appeared before her in a peculiar posture.

As the Joker emerged, the surroundings immediately plunged into darkness, as though they had entered a night devoid of light.

Nothing was visible; only the Joker’s eerie and piercing laughter echoed.

Before Sharley could process what was happening, a hand abruptly reached out and grabbed the card suspended in front of her.

As the hand touched the card, the Joker that had leaped out of its surface instantly returned to the card, and the surrounding darkness receded, restoring the world to one of light.

Sharley snapped out of her daze and realized that the person holding the card was none other than Greya, who had been silently observing from the sidelines all along.

At this moment, Greya was frowning deeply, scrutinizing the black-and-white Joker card she now held.

”This card seems to have once appeared in... Sleepless City?” Greya murmured softly, her tone carrying rare seriousness.

Sleepless City? Sharley hadn’t quite caught on yet. Was she referring to the Sleepless City that had fallen in Eternal Night Country, or the Sleepless City that had been rebuilt after being expelled from Eternal Night Country?

Sharley remained clueless, but Angel clearly understood what Greya was talking about.

A magical creature from the Nightmare Realm—the Joker Card, or some might call it the Ghost Card.

”You’ve seen this card before?” Angel asked curiously. The Joker Card was inadvertently released by him in the Night Demon City of the Black Demon Country. Later, it was said to have joined the Fox Lute Player and the Frog Chantor and traveled to Eternal Night Country. Yet, Angel had never encountered it in Sleepless City.

Greya shook her head. ”I haven’t seen it, but the Candy House has internal information channels of its own. I know cards like these once appeared in Sleepless City... Card decks, though they seemed to be much larger than this one.”

After scrutinizing the Joker Card more closely and finding little to glean, Greya returned the card to Sharley. Holding the card, Sharley still appeared at a loss, casting a puzzled look toward Angel, searching for answers from him.

Since Angel had refined the deck, he naturally had no reason to keep its functions a secret. Without dragging things out, he explained, ”This is a deck of playing cards.”

Playing cards? This was Sharley’s first time hearing such an odd name. Though she felt an inexplicable affinity toward them, could magicians truly need these objects? Furthermore, what purpose did this deck of cards serve?

Sharley didn’t vocalize these questions, but her eyes revealed her curiosity.

Angel thought for a moment and said, ”In a very distant place, one far removed from the Wizards’ Realm, a profession of magicians emerged there as well. Playing cards are one of their tools—or, let’s call them utility cards.”

”With playing cards, magicians devised a series of tricks collectively known as card magic.”

Sharley, though hearing of card magic for the first time, instinctively felt intrigued as a devoted magician. Watching the playing cards floating around her, adorned with numbers, patterns, and images and seemingly containing a hidden logic, she thought that perhaps they could indeed give rise to an array of fascinating magic tricks.

Angel said, ”I can give you a brief demonstration of card magic.”

Though he said this, Angel had no intention of performing the tricks himself. Instead, he lightly tapped the surface of the table with his fingers, and an illusion unfolded around them—

A magnificent theater radiating an air of aristocratic sophistication appeared. Onstage stood a regal-looking man dressed as a magician, while below the stage sat an audience of exquisitely dressed nobles, the space saturated with the aroma of wine and indulgence.

A bright spotlight illuminated the magician at the center of the stage, drawing the gazes of all present. The man opened with a joke—one crude enough for commoners to fail to understand but subtle enough to make nobles chuckle knowingly. Once the atmosphere became suitably lively, he produced a deck of playing cards. As he continued his banter with technical jargon that only the aristocrats seemed familiar with, he began shuffling and cutting the cards deftly.

To untrained eyes, the process seemed mystifying. However, Sharley watched with growing fascination, particularly captivated by the magician’s intricate yet elegant shuffling technique. She couldn’t help but mimic the movements with her bare hands.

Though this magician’s demeanor, style, and methods were different from Sharley’s own, his charm radiated refinement. His ability to subtly guide actions, his mesmerizing words, and countless implications led Sharley to think if this person existed in reality, he would undoubtedly be recognized as a legendary master magician.

After finishing his shuffle, the magician descended from the stage.

The spotlight faithfully followed him, ensuring all eyes remained fixed on his every step.

The magician approached a particular table in the crowd—the table positioned at the optimal viewing angle. Seated there were individuals adorned in the most opulent attire, ostensibly the most distinguished group in the theater.

Stopping before the table, the magician exchanged a few charming remarks and then transitioned seamlessly into the heart of the performance—his magic show.