Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 3020: Destined Three Primary Ice Rule Meanings

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Spiritual plane

After rigorously testing all fifty-six possible combinations using the Ruler-class Causality Certainty Curse, I found only one that would allow me to forge an Ice Rule Stream as quickly as possible.

The real shock wasn’t that there was only one viable combination, but what that combination actually was. Had someone asked me to predict it beforehand, I never would have guessed it.

The combination was:

i) Dual Existence.

ii) If You See Me, I See You.

iii) Primordial Resonance.

According to the Causality Certainty Curse, comprehending the Ice Rule meanings resonating with these three abilities would allow me to forge my Ice Rule Stream at the fastest speed humanly possible.

I had a lot of questions swirling in my mind that I wanted to ask, but I didn’t know anyone expert in causality rule. However, the one question that bothered me the most was simple: on what basis did the curse actually deliver this verdict?

When setting up the Ruler-class Causality Curse, I had been incredibly meticulous with my phrasing. I had specifically demanded a combination that would help me forge my Ice Rule Stream at the fastest speed humanly possible.

If you were to pick that sentence apart, you would realize that I didn’t ask which three ice rule meanings possessed the highest possible fusion rate with one another to forge a rule stream. No, I had asked for the combo that would result in me completely forging the rule stream in the shortest absolute timeframe.

There was a massive, critical difference between the two. The latter considered only the Rule meanings and my own talent, whereas the former accounted for both those factors and every relevant external variable, including my current circumstances.

I didn’t just have to factor in how easily the meanings would blend together once I had comprehended and mastered them. I had to factor in the actual, messy circumstances of my reality.

I could choose the three most mathematically perfect and highly compatible Rule meanings in existence, but that would mean nothing if comprehending them required time I simply didn’t have. I still had to deal with the Snow Elven Crown Prince before heading to Peyote’s tribal land by the Shrouded Hills to confront Konjur’s master.

Unlike when I was in the Card Realm, I no longer had the luxury of time dilation. Here, in the Dark Realm, every second I spent comprehending the Ice Rule was a second passing in the outside world, bringing me one step closer to my inevitable confrontation with Konjur’s master.

With Peyote’s appointment with Konjur’s master looming over my head, I didn’t have the luxury of taking my time. I still had to rescue the Half-bloods, along with the Froslings and Snow Elves imprisoned for the breeding experiments. With all that happening, who am I kidding about comprehending the Ice Rule to the point of forging my Ice Rule Stream.

I might possess the necessary talent and even know all the right answers, but what good was that if I couldn’t even sit the exam? Without the time to see the process through, talent and knowledge were meaningless.

It was no different from being trapped at an insurmountable bottleneck.

The Causality Certainty Curse, operating on the absolute laws of cause and effect, had looked at my current situation and calculated the path of least resistance through my actual life.

Since I was already turning to divination to solve my inability to made a decision at the ice rule bifurcation point, I decided to take it a step further and ensure that, for once, the odds were stacked entirely in my favor.

Just once, I wanted to actually make use of my incredible synchronization rate and celestial lineage to comprehend my rules to their absolute peak in peace—without constantly being disturbed, ambushed, or forced to run godforsaken errands.

I had long since figured out that my problem wasn’t a lack of talent. It was that things simply never went according to my plans something or the other popped up or went wrong. I spent ninety percent of my time putting out fires, running from one crisis to the next, instead of dedicating that time to myself, my active soul energy, and the development of my realm. For almost every other being in the Myriad Realms, it was the exact opposite: they got to sit in secluded chambers for centuries while the world rotated without them.

For once, I wanted the entire Myriad Realm to collectively back off. I wanted the universe to align in a way that ensured I could see my practice through to the end, without some urgent, life-threatening catastrophe dragging me out of seclusion.

And according to the feedback of the Ruler-Class Causality Certainty Curse, this bizarre combination of ice rule meanings was the exact key to that peace.

If I chose the meanings resonating with Dual Existence, If you see me I see you, and Primordial Resonance, I wouldn’t just forge my Ice Rule Stream at breakneck speed—I would forge it without a single obstacle.

I honestly had no idea how or why, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted. It was like entering a hurdle race only for the judges to tell you that you could run without the hurdles. Could it still be called a hurdle race?

Even so, one thing kept me from blindly following the Causality Certainty Curse’s verdict.

One of the Rule meanings had resonated with my Soul Pupils. That had never happened before. Well, almost never. Aside from the Calamity Soul Core and Primordial Energy, my Soul Pupils had never shown any sign of further growth. Until now.

I couldn’t help but worry that if I followed the Causality Certainty Curse’s suggested combination and later became stuck at the Rule Stream forging stage of Ice Rule comprehension, I might close off an opportunity to further evolve or unlock a new function of my Soul Pupils for who knows how long.

The choice before me was simple, “Soul Pupils… or an Ice Rule Stream?”