Monster Academy: Rise of the Card Master

Leo blinked his eyes as he stared up at a very familiar ceiling. His eyes wandered back and forth for a second before he suddenly shot up. “The test!”

“Big Brother!” Alice dived into Leo’s embrace and hugged him. When she saw her brother being carried home by two old men, she thought he had messed up during his test and pushed himself too hard. Even though the two old men said he was fine and had just used up too much energy, she still couldn’t help but worry.

“Alice…” Leo’s mind cleared up as he looked down at his little sister. He had no idea what happened, but it seemed he must have failed his test. “Sorry… I wasn’t able to pass the test. I will do my best to find something that will enable me to give you the life of a princess that you wish for.”

“Brother, what do you mean? You passed!” Alice raised her head and wiped her tears. “You passed the test. You will be leaving for the capital tomorrow. You have been asleep for two days!”

“What!?” Leo's eyes widened. ‘I passed the test? I really passed?’

‘Of course you did, Master. I made a vow with you, which in your human terms means you captured me.’ A voice filled Leo’s head, causing him to look around in confusion. ‘You can’t see me unless you summon me. I am Liana. Don’t tell me you already forgot about me!?’

“Brother? Are you okay?” Alice suddenly stood up. Her face filled with worry. She did not even give Leo time to respond before she suddenly shouted. “Mother! Something is wrong with Brother!”

“Hey wait! Alice!” Leo shouted, but his words fell on deaf ears. Alice had already run out of the room.

‘Now she is quite interesting. I expect nothing less from my Master’s sister.’

‘So that wasn’t a dream?’ Leo asked in his mind he did not dare ask out loud. He did not want to give people the idea that he had become crazy.

‘Far from it. I know I am weak now, Master, but I promise with the right evolution path, I will become the strongest card you will ever own. My vow to make you the strongest Card Master was no lie.’

‘I see… I see… and the… umm… ki-kiss?’ Leo couldn’t help but blush since that was his first kiss. And if everything was true, as Liana said, then the girl who kissed him was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

‘It was a vow sealed with a kiss.’ Liana did not think much of it at the time, but now that she could sense Leo’s embarrassment, she also suddenly felt embarrassed. Of course, she did not let on to this.

‘I see…’ Leo felt slightly disappointed that it did not seem to have much meaning. He let out a sigh, only to hear a giggle fill his mind.

‘Master, did you perhaps hope it had more meaning than that? Hehe.’ Liana actually felt quite happy at this thought. ‘If you work hard and allow me to evolve into my true form, then I wouldn’t mind becoming Master’s wife.’

‘You shouldn’t tease me like that, Liana.’ Leo was slightly flustered when he remembered Liana’s true form he had seen in the Chaotic Realm. He couldn’t deny that he was attracted to her. That much was true, but he did not know if she was teasing him or not.

‘Teasing? Hmmm… Who knows.’ Liana was being very ambiguous. She found her new Master’s reactions quite amusing. Although her words just now were not a lie.

‘Anyway…’ Leo decided to change the subject. ‘I would prefer it if you would call me Leo. Calling me Master feels strange to me.’

‘Then, Leo. Can you summon me? It’s a bit stuffy in your chaotic space.’ A chaotic space is what forms when you conquer a card. It is the place where all cards a Card Master conquers reside. But the space is not unlimited and only so many cards can fit in the space at a time. Like currently Leo’s Chaotic space could only fit two cards at most. And even if you did summon a card, this did not free up any space. Unless the card is destroyed or is released it will always take up a portion of the chaotic space.

‘How do I summon a ca…’ Before Leo could finish his sentence, the door to his room swung open. His mother ran into the room with a flushed face, breathing heavily. She seemed to have run over from outside.

“Leo! How are you feeling?” Leo watched as his mother caught her breath before walking over to him and hugging him. “Thank the goddess you’re awake.”

“I’m fine. I consumed too much energy.” Leo patted his mother on the back, trying to reassure her that everything was perfectly fine. He felt bad for worrying her. “Mother I will be leaving tomorrow morning, early. I want to see smiles on yours and Alice’s faces.”

“You! When is seeing my son leave a happy occasion!?” Although she said this, she still forced a smile as she stood up and took a good long look at her son. “No matter what happens. Just don’t die. I know this is the path you have chosen... it's just that I still can’t help but feel scared. Your father…”

“I know. I promise I will not be doing any dungeons over F rank until I am absolutely sure I can survive in an E rank dungeon.” Leo had made this a mental promise for himself as well. He, by no means, wanted to die early. He did not want to put his mother and sister through losing a family member again. Although this was his dream and the best path for him to make enough money to allow his family to live good lives, he knew the dangers that were involved, but now he felt reassured since he had Liana by his side. However, one thing did come to mind that was strange to him.

‘Liana, how are you able to speak to me?’

‘My linage. I am of the dragon race. Only a few races have a bloodline that is able to evolve into a EX rank monster and take on human form. The dragon race is one of them.’

‘I see… so you really are of the dragon race. I thought I was hearing things.’

‘Of course! How do you feel now? I might start off weak but I will soon become what you humans consider a legendary EX rank monster!’ Leo could tell from her tone of voice that Liana was very proud of this fact.

‘I feel quite lucky. After all you could have chosen Jasmine over me.’

‘Humph! That girl will not make it past D rank. She might seem talented but she is far from it. You on the other hand have what it takes to become the Master of multiple EX cards. I promise you this. So do not feel discouraged. When you finally get to enter a dungeon you will be able to grab another temporary card for battle. Until then trust my [Harden Skin] skill. I promise you it will get you far.’

Leo chuckled inwardly. He had picked the weakest of cards. A card even the elders tried to get him to rethink but ended up getting the rarest of the rarest. ‘I leave my life in your hands.’