Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 2277 Refining Unranked Grade Ingredients

Date: 22 April 2321Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Time: 03:07

Location: Card World, Southern Region, Blossom District, Sky Blossom City, Dungeon Highway, Blood Rock Dungeon Seal, Seed World

Having arranged matters with Lois, Wyatt turned his attention to the floating island, protected by an SSS-rank trap array formation. At the center of the island lay an altar, on which rested a storage card containing the Heathen Stone box-within which was the daughter gem imprisoning Demigod Redfall's soul.

Approaching the altar, Wyatt used his Hive Spirit to gain an understanding of Redfall's soul's current status. According to the Hive Spirit, Redfall's soul had entered a state of hibernation to conserve as much energy as possible, prolonging its existence in the physical plane.

Recognizing that Redfall's soul was forced into slumber to survive its numbered days, Wyatt confidently equipped the storage card. Though he did not fear Redfall with his current strength, he did take caution with the "Breath of Erosion" tainting Redfall's soul-an energy potent enough to force even ruler-class beings to take caution. After all, everyone was equal before death.

Wyatt cautiously removed the Heathen Stone box from the storage card and used the Hive Spirit to reach out to the slumbering soul.

'Redfall, wake up!" Wyatt commanded in an authoritative tone. Seconds passed with no response. However, with the Hive Al monitoring the soul imprisoned within the daughter gem, Wyatt knew Redfall had awakened but was pretending to be asleep.

Realizing this, Wyatt instructed the Hive Spirit to be merciless. A jolt shook Redfall's soul, almost destroying it, prompting Redfall to respond in alarm, "I'm up! I'm up!" Fearing that continued feigned slumber might lead to the destruction of his soul, Redfall quickly complied.

Having spent some time in the physical plane, Redfall's soul had finally adjusted to life after the afterlife, even if it lacked a proper vessel. The daughter gem, his prison, served as a makeshift vessel, which was the only reason his soul had been able to survive in the physical plane for this long.

'Don't even think about using the 'Breath of Erosion' against me. I'll extinguish your soul before you have a chance to react, Wyatt warned. He easily deduced why Redfall had feigned sleep: he hoped his captor would check on him in person, giving him an opportunity to unleash the "Breath of Erosion" tainting his soul onto his captor. Wyatt inwardly commended Redfall's nerve, considering the slim chance of success, as well as his patience in resisting isolation and his impending death-something Lois Forger had failed to do.

'Please, don't misunderstand; I had no such intentions. It's just that my soul is very weak right now," Redfall explained politely, denying any nefarious intentions his captor had warned him of. When no response came, he hesitantly asked, 'Forgive my insolence, but may I know your identity, Senior?" Redfall mistakenly assumed his captor to be a powerful demigod. He believed that, once his soul appeared in the physical plane, his mother-who held his soul candle card-would come to his rescue. Since it had been so long without any word from her, he presumed his captor must be stronger than his mother.

The possibility that his mother had abandoned him or died trying to rescue him never crossed his mind. He trusted deeply in his mother's love and resilience, viewing her as tenacious as himself. Even if she couldn't defeat his captor, he was confident she would have escaped and would be planning a way to retrieve his soul.

This trust in his mother and the invaluable "Breath of Erosion" tainting his soul served as an anchor for Redfall, bolstering his mental fortitude and helping him withstand the isolation and his looming fate. However, nobody knew if Redfall could maintain the same mental fortitude if he learned his mother had been killed before she could locate his soul-or that his captor was far more terrifying existence than a mere demigod.

"Sure. I am your new master. Surrender your freedom to me and join my quest for a freedom that no one can threaten or take," Wyatt declared grandly. Instead of giving Redfall a straight answer, he invited him to join in his ambition to pursue true freedom by truly surrendering to him. "Uh-Senior, I don't understand," Redfall replied, feigning ignorance. Knowing his soul couldn't withstand another one of those jolts from earlier, he dared not show any sign of disobedience nor attempt to test his captor. His only goal was to prolong his existence until his mother could rescue him. From their conversation so far, he gathered that his captor was even more of a wacko than he had been when alive.

'Fine, if you don't want to join me, then I'll simply sell your soul to the highest bidder. At least that way, you'll contribute to my conquest. After all, a soul tainted with the 'Breath of Erosion' would fetch enough to feed an entire region for a year," Wyatt threatened, making it clear to Redfall that stalling would not work.

Hearing this, Redfall, already anxious about his limited days, began to panic, realizing he might not even live out the short time he had left. Anyone purchasing a soul tainted with the "Breath of Erosion' would use it as a sacrificial ingredient to upgrade their grimoire's card creation page, regardless of the grimoire's grade.

The "Breath of Erosion, which could refine the souls of ruler-class beings, was a prized substance for refining the soul pathways of ingredients in card creation. Cards created with it as a refining agent would either gain permanent durability enhancements or, at minimum, higher durability than would have.

Thus, it was considered a miraculous mythical ingredient, highly sought after by diamond-grade card creators and array masters. It was first recorded by the demigod Michelangelo in his journals. However, even he had never had the fortune of using it in card creation. According to records maintained in the empire, one of his trusted comrades would use the "Breath of Erosion" enabling him to refine the unranked ingredients gained from the unranked dungeons.