《Monster Academy: Rise of the Card Master》


 Chapter 1 Part 1

    In a dark room, a young girl slowly tiptoed her way over toward the window next to the bed. The room did not have much in the way of furnishing. The ceiling alone was made of straw. The walls, made of thick mud and rock, looked as if they would give away at any time.


    On the bed made of tied together thin logs and dried straw used as a mattress lay a young man around fifteen years old who was still sound asleep. He had one leg dangling off the bed, and the thin blanket that was too small to cover his entire body had already long fallen onto the floor.


    He wore a pair of linen shorts and nothing else, but this was only because the summer heat had made the night way too hot to wear much more.


    The young girl gazed at the young man and smiled as she slowly crawled up on the bed and pulled open the wooden shutters that blocked the morning light. The young girl turned and looked at the young man, still sleeping soundly, and sighed softly. She looked to be around thirteen years of age. Her shoulder-length pink hair, the color of cherry blossoms, swayed softly as she stood up all the way on the bed. ¡°Brother, it¡¯s time to get up.¡±


    ¡°Mmm¡­ I will become the strongest¡­¡± The young man mumbled, shifting ever so slightly, but he did not seem to want to wake up at all.


    ¡°Brother¡­ I said¡­ WAKE UP!¡± The young girl raised her foot and kicked the young man off the bed, causing him to fall to the floor.


    ¡°Really, Alice!?¡± The young man cried out as he rubbed his nose that had smashed off the floor and looked up at his younger sister. ¡°Can¡¯t you wake me up more gently?¡±


    ¡°If I could, I wouldn¡¯t need to kick you. Big Brother, did you not forget what day it is?¡± Alice jumped off the bed and stood in front of the young man. Unlike she, who had taken after her mother with her pink hair, the young man had strikingly silver hair, the color of moonlight, which he had gotten from his father.


    ¡°Have you ever tried!?¡± The young man crawled up from the floor before checking to make sure his nose was not broken. ¡°I do not need to be at the village center until noon. It¡¯s still morning.¡±


    ¡°But you still need to finish a few things before you go. Mother asked you yesterday to help chop more wood. If you pass you will be heading to the Academy. Then it will just be Mother and me.¡± Alice¡¯s mood turned gloomy. The idea of her brother leaving for Monster Academy to train to become a Card Master made her feel lonely, but she knew this was her brother''s only chance, and it was a dream he had since he was young.


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    ¡°Hey¡­¡± The young man gently placed his hand on top of his sister''s head. ¡°I will still be coming back for holidays and I will be selling my dungeon loot to send back money so you and Mother can live a better life.¡±


    ¡°I know¡­¡± Alice was still sad, but she forced a smile anyway. She did not want her brother to feel guilty for leaving the two of them if he did pass the test. She pushed his hand away and took a few steps back before turning to toward the door. But instead of leaving the room, she stopped and turned to look at him once more. ¡°I will be counting on you to make me live the life of a princess!¡±


    ¡°Yes. Yes. I will do my best to make sure my little sister has the ability to live a princess lifestyle.¡± The young man chuckled as he followed his sister out of the room. He walked outside to see his mother stoking the fire of the stone oven he had built with his father.


    ¡°Leo, you¡¯re awake. Come eat a bun.¡± The woman in her early thirties with long pink hair turned with a basket of freshly cooked buns in her hands. ¡°Your Uncle gave us some meat. I shredded it and stuffed them into the buns. You will need your energy today. Today is your big day, after all.¡±


    Leo looked at the pink-haired woman in front of him and smiled. He felt warmth in his heart. Ever since his father died when he was seven, his mother had worked hard to take care of both him and his sister. With the help of the villagers and his uncle, they lived a halfway-decent life. They may be poor and had nothing worth mentioning, but they did at least have a roof over their head and never starved.


    ¡°Thanks. When I pass the test and enter the Academy I will be sure to work hard to send as much money as I can back. I will also save up money as well to buy a place in the capital, so you and Alice can move there.¡±


    ¡°Leo, just live your life the way you want to. Your sister and I will be fine.¡± Leo¡¯s mother only wanted him to fulfill his dreams. She did not want him to worry about what was going on at home.


    ¡°This is what I want to do. I want you and Alice to both have a good life as well. If I am successful and become a Card Master, you will never need to lift a finger again. Alice can even marry into a good family as well. She may even be able to pass the test in the future too if she decides to become a Card Master. I will not live a good life while my mother and sister are stuck living in these conditions.¡± Leo took a bite of his bun, which was soft and warm, and felt energized as the meat juices filled his mouth.


    ¡°Then I will wait and see.¡± Leo¡¯s mother did not know what the future held, but if her son had this plan, she knew he would work hard to try to accomplish it. Since he was young, he had always worked hard to help her around the house, never once complaining, even if he had to eat mushrooms for days on end.


    She, too, had dreams of living a better life, but for now, she was content. She felt lucky not to be starving and had a roof over her head and for her children. As long as her children could grow up and live happy lives, that was enough for her.

 Chapter 1 Part 2

    After eating breakfast and finishing his chores, Leo stood at the wooden gate he had had fixed many times before, that was attached to the crumbling rocky wall that fenced in the yard to his house. ¡°Big Brother, don¡¯t be nervous and do your best.¡±


    ¡°I will be sure to come back with good news.¡± Leo smiled and patted his sister¡¯s head. He turned and looked at his mother, who had tears in her eyes and stepped forward, giving her a hug. ¡°Mother, I will be back.¡±


    ¡°Mmm¡­ Good luck!¡± Leaving his mother and sister behind, Leo walked out of the yard and began making his way down the dirt path that led to the heart of the village. His hut was on the back outskirts which allowed them to have plenty of peace and quiet. It also gave him the ability to train these past few years.


    One thing about Card Masters was they were not just about their ability to capture and use monsters in battles, no, they also had to be able to fight and protect themselves. Leo had no formal training, but he had been taught a few things here and there by his uncle, who is one of the village guards. His uncle protected the village from not only boars, wolves, and other wildlife that could threaten the villagers but also bandits. Since these threats hardly ever occurred, his main task was to keep the monster levels in the nearby dungeon low.


    This was one of the reasons this village had even been built up in the first place. It was by no means a wealthy village, far from it. The meager earnings of an F-rank dungeon cleaner were just enough to feed his family most of the time. Not to mention, there were only two card masters in the entire village, including his uncle.


    Although there had been three at one point, his father, too, was a Card Master and was the light that flickered Leo¡¯s longing to become one himself. His father died young due to being called out to a massive dungeon break near the town of Langlid, which was a C-rank dungeon. It was the biggest town close to Leo''s village, Mills Village, about a two days journey by foot or a day by cart. His father was only able to become an F rank. But he spent most of his time diving in dungeons and selling the loot he picked up and what cards he could find. This allowed them to live well until he passed.


    But Leo wished for nothing more than to not only become a Card Master, but also become the strongest. So he could give his Mother and Sister an even better life than his father could. He planned to fill the hole his father had left.


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    The village center had three layers of houses, all built in a circle around the statue of The Goddess Rizie. Each house was made similar to his own but in much better condition. The Goddess Rizie was a real person who had raised the first and last dragon. No one knew which card she started with, but she was able to evolve her monster into a dragon and a rank EX one at that, which allowed her to protect the world from a massive dungeon break of the only known SS-rank dungeon. She single-handedly stopped the entire break and destroyed the dungeon core. No more monsters could ever spawn there again. Her powers were considered divine, and even the kings of each kingdom bowed down in her presence.


    As Leo walked into the village center, he looked up a the statue of the woman who had long hair, was wearing light armor, holding a bow, and next to her was a humanoid dragon girl holding a sword, the final evolution of all monsters allowing them to become EX rank.


    Leo also wished to evolve one of his monsters to the EX rank. To have just one of them take humanoid form would be enough to allow him to die a happy man.


    But the reverence he had for Rizie soon turned to anxiousness as his gaze fell on the platform erected in front of the statue. Upon it were two old men wearing scholarly robes and long white beards. And set on the stage between them was the C.A.R.D., the chaotic abyssal restriction device. It held all the cards that had not been conquered and was part of the test he was about to take.


    ¡°Leo!¡± A young man wearing a coarse linen shirt and pants ran over with a smile on his face. He had short brown hair and hazel eyes. You could tell he worked in the sun a lot with how tanned his skin had become. ¡°I knew you would be here. You just turned fifteen as well.¡±


    ¡°Jack. I thought you mother wasn¡¯t going to let you take the test?¡±


    ¡°Haha, my old man talked to her and finally got her to agree.¡±


    ¡°I wish you luck. But do not push yourself. If you push yourself too hard, you can suffer a major backlash.¡± This was the one thing that was scary about being a Card Master. If you tried to capture a card over your ability, you could end up with the weakest backlash, which was a headache for like a week, or a fever, or the worst backlash, which was either a coma or death.


    There were risks in every aspect of becoming a Card Master, whether it was fighting monsters in dungeons or trying to capture them through the Chaotic Realm, the space where your mind connects with the monsters.


    Everything came at a risk. But by passing these trials and tribulations, you would be able to raise your monsters to evolve and become stronger, allowing you to become well-known, and the rewards from higher-ranked dungeons could make you rich and famous. The fame part was the last thing on Leo¡¯s mind, but the rich part was.

 Chapter 1 Part 3

    ¡°Is everyone here?¡± One of the scholarly old men asked as he looked out over the ten or so teen boys and girls. ¡°If everyone is ready, let¡¯s get started. Form a line, and one after the other, you will come up on stage, choose your first monster card, and try to conquer it. Do not push yourself if you are unable to do so. I am sure most of you know this already, but you must not try to surpass your natural abilities, or else the backlash can kill you.¡±


    Leo couldn¡¯t help but nod his head at this. They hold these tests every year, and every year, he has heard of one or two people doing just that. But even if he knew this, he couldn¡¯t help but think to himself: ¡®Even if you tell me not to, I will have no other choice but to.¡¯


    Leo was not planning to push too hard because he knew he would be jumping to his death, but he did not mind having a headache or fever. While lost in thought, Leo¡¯s gaze fell on the girl wearing a blue dress and orange hair that flowed down her back. Like flames over a campfire, it danced and flickered with each of her steps. She was Jasmine Kinde, and her eyes glimmered like green gems. She was the Village Chiefs daughter an one of the cutest girl in the village. Leo thought she was cute as well, but he knew his limits. He knew he was no match for such a girl. Plus, he knew the true girl behind the fake mask.


    Up on the platform one of the old men greeted Jasmine: ¡°State your name and age.¡±


    ¡°Jasmine Kinde, 15.¡± Jasmine was trying her best to act as if she was unbothered by what was happening, but in truth, she was very nervous. Her hands were clammy, and she knew if she did not start soon, sweat would probably start dripping down her back. But no matter what she had to keep up her image that she had worked so hard to build up. Once she passed the test, she could go to the capital and join Monster Academy.


    The old man marked down Jasmine''s details in a ledger. ¡°Then Jasmine, my name is Elder Hill. Go over to Elder Lancaster and begin your test.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Jasmine did her best to calm her emotions. She did not want to start walking all funny because of how nervous she was.


    Off stage, Jack rubbed his hands together and turned to Leo. ¡°She is as beautiful as ever.¡±


    ¡°You have been infatuated with her since you were five. But you know she has changed since those days. She no longer looks at us with friendly eyes. She sees us as nothing more than pests.¡± Leo knew the girl''s true attitude towards the boys in the village. He had witnessed it by accident one day a few years back. He had been helping out in one of the fields when she walked by complaining.


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    - - -


    Three years ago¡­


    Leo was in the middle of harvesting potatoes. The sun was already high in the sky, making it extremely hot. He just happened to raise his head to see a young man and girl standing on the dirt path, splitting the fields apart.


    ¡°Jasmine, I have always thought that you were the prettiest girl in the village. Will you be willing to date me with marriage in mind?¡± Leo''s eyes widened when he heard these words. He knew the young man standing there. His name was William, and he was one of the more handsome boys in the village. Leo had noticed many girls staring at him. He was not only good-looking but also lived in the center of the village. His family was decently well off for a villager.


    He could see why he would ask Jasmine to be his mate, but¡­ ¡®Do you need to do it out in the open with me here!?¡¯ Leo felt like he should find a hole to hide in. The last thing he wanted was to be caught spying when he was just trying to do his work.


    ¡°Are you serious?¡± A cold, mocking voice filled the air, causing Leo to look at Jasmine in surprise. ¡°You failed to become a Card Master. You took the test twice and failed both times. I am the village chief¡¯s daughter. Once I pass the test I will be heading to the capital. Which noble young master will not fall for me? I will soon marry into a rich noble family. I will not be tied down to this little village.¡±


    Leo was shocked at the words coming out of Jasmine¡¯s mouth. Not more than a year ago, the girl was running around playing in the mud, but now¡­ He wondered why a girl her age was even thinking of such things. ¡®I can¡¯t blame her for wanting a better life, but still¡­ isn¡¯t that a bit too harsh to someone who had just confessed?¡¯


    - - -


    It was since that day that Leo started to notice the difference between the old and new Jasmine. She was still very pretty, and she might be right that she may be able to gain the affection of some noble young master, but she was already acting as if it was already set in stone.


    ¡°I¡¯m not stupid.¡± Jack scratched his head. He might be slow, but he understood he would never have a chance with that girl, and he also knew she had changed a lot. ¡°I just find her pretty.¡±


    ¡°That I can¡¯t deny.¡± Leo readily agreed.


    ¡°Look! The cards are coming out!¡± Jack pointed toward the stage.


    A bluish eerie light began to shine from the C.A.R.D. From it, multiple lights shot into the air, filling up half the stage. Elder Lancaster looked at all the cards to make sure they were all there before turning his attention to Jasmine. ¡°Now select a card. You will only be given one chance. Once you select a card, I will assist you in merging your conscious with the Chaotic Realm. It is there that you will do battle with the monster within the card. If you fail you will be able to try again next year. If you conquer the card, then you past the test and it will be the first card you will use when you enter the Academy. Now go child. Choose your card.¡±

 Chapter 1 Part 4

    Jasmine walked up to the wall of cards floating in the air and looked at each one. Each card had the image of the monster type and its power and defense rating, along with a small description.


    Jasmine completely forgot all about her anxiety and was now seriously studying each card. This was the part of the test that took the longest. With just these many hopefuls, the testing process could take all day. Elder Hill and Elder Lancaster both stood at the side patiently. They were in no hurry and would never rush an aspiring Card Master.


    Card Masters were essential to the survival of humankind. If they did not risk their lives to dive deep into dungeons and kill monsters on a daily basis, humankind would have long been wiped out due to dungeon breaks.


    Thirty minutes passed before Jasmine finally pointed at a single card. ¡°The Lightning Bee.¡±


    ¡°Good choice. It has a high attack but lower defense. However, it is able to stun your opponents. This will help on your path to becoming a Card Master. If you evolve it it will become even stronger as well.¡± Elder Lancaster waved his hand, the the Lightning Bee¡¯s card flew down from the wall of cards, stopping right in front of Jasmine¡¯s face. ¡°Take the card and concentrate on it. Open your mind and connect with the card. Only by doing so will you be brought into the Chaotic Realm. I wish you luck.¡±


    ¡°Hey, Leo, what do you think her chances are?¡± Jack asked. He was curious whether or not Jasmine would be able to pass the test.


    ¡°She will. She has a strong mind and determination. I hate to say it, but she will be going to the capital. Although I kind of wish she would fail and get a dose of reality.¡± ¡®Maybe she will understand the feelings of the boy she turned down in such a brutal way, mocking him for not being able to pass the test.¡¯


    Leo kept his thoughts to himself, but he had a strong feeling that this girl would pass no matter what. She had a dream and it is said dreams will make a person¡¯s mind strong.


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    Jasmine stood stock still for almost ten minutes before finally suddenly taking a deep breath. ¡°I¡­ I did it¡­¡± The card in Jasmine¡¯s hand began to glow a golden light before flying into her chest and disappearing. She had really passed the test and conquered the monster.


    ¡°Well done. You may go home and rest. In three days we will be leaving for the capital.¡± Elder Hill walked over and helped Jasmine off the stage. He knew for a new Card Master their first battle was the hardest mentally.


    After Jasmine left the stage, Elder Hill looked at the next person. ¡°Next!¡±


    One after the other, the Card Master hopefuls continued going up, taking a chance in hopes of changing their lives. But out of all the ones who had gone up so far, only Jasmine had passed the test.


    Elder Hill could only shake his head. He had not expected so many to fail. ¡°Next.¡±


    ¡°I will be going.¡± Jack took a deep breath and walked up onto the stage.


    ¡°Name and age?¡±


    ¡°Jack Stone, 15.¡± Jack replied. He had already spotted which monster he wanted to try his luck against. It was a Water Bull.


    ¡°Go ahead and try your luck.¡± Elder Hill had all but given up. There was only one more person left after this one. He watched as Jack went over to the wall of cards, and without even taking a minute to think about it, the young man pointed at a card. ¡°That one. The Water Bull.¡±


    Leo watched as Jack was given directions on how to enter the Chaotic realm, and in no time, he had become like the rest. Frozen in place. This was because their minds were drawn into the Chaotic Realm and why it was always best to only try to capture a monster when you have someone nearby to protect you.


    Leo did hope that Jack would be successful. Jack had always been kind and hard-working. If anyone deserved a chance, it was him. Leo found himself feeling nervous for his good friend. He hoped he would pass.


    ¡°Oh? It looks like he passed.¡± Elder Lancaster smiled. He was happy another person passed. The card in front of Jack began to glow with a golden light before flying into Jack¡¯s chest, just like it did for Jasmine. ¡°Well done. You should go rest. In three days we will be departing for the capital.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Jack felt like his entire body had been drained of energy. He walked off the stage and placed his hand on Leo¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I will wait here. I want to see you pass as well.¡±


    ¡°I will do my best.¡± Leo smiled and walked up the stage. He was nervous, but he also knew this was his big chance. If he failed this time, he would only get one more chance after this.


    ¡°Name and age?¡± Elder Hill looked at the young man, a bit surprised. The kid''s sky-blue eyes were filled with determination.


    ¡°Leon Tristan, 15.

 Chapter 1 Part 5

    ¡°Go and pick your card. I wish you luck.¡± Elder Hill was glad that Leo was the last one. He really hoped this young man would be able to pass. There had been too few who had passed this year. In the past few years, the number of Card Master¡¯s has reduced by too much. If this trend continued, then in ten years'' time, humanity will end up suffering.


    Leo had no idea what Elder Hill was thinking nor what Elder Lancaster was thinking or saying. He was completely focused on the cards in front of him.


    ¡®If I go with a Fire Sloth, I can have decent offense, but the question is, will I be able to overpower it?¡¯ He made a note of the card position before scanning the others. ¡®Oh? A Wind Snake. From my research that I have done over the past few years a Wind Snake could turn into a flood dragon. But that was during the height of Card Masters.¡¯


    Once more, Leo¡¯s gaze scanned the rest of the cards until his eyes fell on a lone card at the bottom right corner. ¡®A Rock Salamander. Known to be the weakest of all cards. Only giving 10 points of defense and no attack.¡¯


    Leo shook his head and was about to move to the next row of cards, but he felt drawn to the Rock Salamander. He felt it seemed to have a strange glow to it compared to the rest. ¡®I know I should pick something with at least decent attack power but¡­¡¯


    Leo, for some reason, felt he should pick this card. He couldn¡¯t shake this feeling, no matter how much he tried. And every time he tried to look at other cards, he felt as if the glow of this one card grew brighter, catching his attention once more. ¡®Screw it. At least it¡¯s weak¡­ I will at least pass without issue.¡¯


    ¡°I will take the Rock Salamander.¡±


    ¡°Young Man are you sure? Everyone knows the Rock Salamander is basically useless. If you chose this card it will be with you for almost half a year before you will be able to venture into the dungeon for the first time.¡± Elder Lancaster felt the young man could do much better than a useless card like this. He had actually meant to remove it since it was such a useless card.


    ¡°I am sure. This is the card I want.¡± Leo was being stubborn but he just had a strange feeling about this card.


    ¡°If that is the case¡­¡± Elder Lancaster did not try to push the subject anymore. It was the kid''s path to choose for himself. He waved his hand, and the Rock Salamander floated down in front of Leon.


    Leon promptly reached out and held the card in his hand. He did not need any directions. His mind instantly connected with the Chaotic Realm.


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    ¡°This kid¡­¡± Elder Lancaster was surprised to see the young man easily enter the Chaotic Realm without any instructions.


    ¡°He seems to have some talent but to choose a Rock Salamander.¡± Elder Hill sighed. He really wondered what the young man was thinking.


    ¡°Everyone has their own trials. This is his and his alone. Whether he will do great things in the future or not is up to him and how hard he is willing to work with the handicap he has given himself.¡± Elder Hill nodded at Elder Lancaster¡¯s words. Everyone had their own path.


    - - -


    Inside, a fiery landscape filled with large rock formations and pools of magma. Leo stood in front of a rock formation that seemed to be in the shape of a throne. Upon that stone throne was a young woman with a long red scaled tail. A pair of spiky wings and a set of red horns protruded out of her head. This was matched with her fiery red hair and orange eyes.


    The young woman looked no older than Leo, but her eyes seemed filled with the wisdom of the ages. Her long white armored dress went down to her ankles that barely revealed her red-scaled feet with five distinct red claws.


    She looked just like a human girl, with certain parts of her body taking on the image of her actual race. But Leo was confused. He should not be seeing a humanoid figure but a rock salamander.


    He couldn¡¯t help but ask: ¡°Miss, May I ask who you are?¡± Leo watched as the girl, who had no expression on her face, suddenly showed a small smile on her lips. She stood up from her throne that was at least twenty feet off the ground and stepped off the edge, floating gently down. Her armored skirt fluttered ever so slightly.


    When she landed on the desolate ash-covered landscape, she made no noise. Her gaze never left Leo¡¯s for even a second. ¡°I knew you would pick me. What is your name young human?¡±


    ¡°Le-Leon Tristan. But people call me Leo.¡± Leo replied. He was slightly taken aback. ¡®If Jasmine was considered beautiful in this village then the girl in front of me would be a beauty that could cause the downfall of the world. It¡¯s as if she had dropped down from the heavens.¡¯


    ¡°Hehe. The heavens, you say. I see¡­ Leo¡­¡± The girl¡¯s smile turned brighter as she reached out and took Leo¡¯s hand before kneeling on the ground in a knightly manner, giving Leo no time to ask why she knew what he was thinking. ¡°I wish for you to give me a name. I will do everything I can to assist you to become the best Card Master this world has ever seen.¡±


    ¡°A name¡­¡± Leo had thought of man names but he was at a loss as to what to name this girl. All the names he had thought of did not seem to fit her. But now she was kneeling in front of him as a knight would do to their Master, the one they have chosen to protect. ¡°Li-Liana¡­ Liana. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Liana hmm?¡± The girl fell into deep thought for a moment, repeating the name over and over in her mind.


    After about a minute, the girl looked up at Leo. ¡°I like it. Liana. The name my Master has given me. From this day, I swear an oath. I will make you the strongest Card Master and allow my Dragon race to once more appear in this world.¡±


    After saying her vow, Liana stood up, reached up with her hands and cupped both of Leo¡¯s cheeks. ¡°A vow sealed with a kiss.¡± And before Leo could figure out what was going on, Liana kissed his lips and his vision went dark once more. He felt as if all the energy from his body had disappeared instantly. He did not understand what Liana meant by her dragon race. He only remembered picking a rock salamander.

 Chapter 2 Part 1

    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.


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    ¡®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.¡¯

 Chapter 2 Part 2

    Leo spent the rest of the day with his family. Only when night time came did he finally ask Liana how to summon her. ¡®You just need to imagine taking my card out. Once you do, the rest is pretty much automatic. Some Card Masters use the name of their card to summon their monsters. You can try that if you can not picture it well.¡¯


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Then, Liana.¡± Leo spoke Liana¡¯s name out loud while picturing her true form. As he did, the middle of his chest began to light up with a golden light. From it, a card began to emerge and flew out in front of Leo. It shone brightly before turning into a beam of golden light and shooting to the ground. The light began to take shape until a rock salamander the size of a small dog appeared before him.


    ¡®Now this feels much better!¡¯ Liana stretched her limbs. She had been feeling very stuffy, locked inside the card. She preferred to be walking around the real world.


    Leo looked at the Rock Salamander that was looking around with its tail swishing back and forth and really could not picture it turning into the beautiful girl he had seen in the Chaotic Realm. Looking at the figure in front of him who had started to clean herself, he couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°Do you want me to give you a bath?¡±


    ¡®Oh-ho? Did you wish to touch me that badly?¡¯ Liana teased knowing full well she was nothing more than a Rock Salamander at this time. But this still made Leo blush.


    ¡°If you were in your humanoid form I would still ask.¡± Leo put on a strong front. He did not wish to continue being teased by this salamander!


    Liana had not expected the comeback and was glad she was currently in her weakest state, or else she knew she would be completely red. But the idea of having her scales cleaned did not sound too bad. ¡®If you don¡¯t mind, I think I will take you up on that offer.¡¯


    ¡°I will be back with some warm water then. Stay in my room for now. I do not want my mother or sister to freak out.¡±


    ¡®Understood~.¡¯


    The night went by with Leo doing most of the talking. Liana listened to his dreams and the things he wished to accomplish. When she heard he was mainly doing this for his sister and mother, she couldn¡¯t help but feel that she had chosen a good master.


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    - - -


    It was the next morning that the water works began to form. Both his mother and sister were hugging him, crying away at the entrance of the village. They were not the only ones. Jasmine¡¯s mother was crying and shouting something about not wanting to let her precious daughter go. It seemed even the haughty daughter of the village chief had a soft spot when it came to her mother. Seeing how she was smiling helplessly while trying to comfort her.


    ¡°We need to head out. The trip is long and will take a few days.¡± Elder Hill hated to disturb the goodbyes between families, but time was ticking, and they needed to get going if they wished to make any progress.


    ¡°Mother, Alice. I will be sure to write as much as I can. I will send back any money I make as well. Use it to live better lives. When I have made enough, I will buy a small house for you both in the capital.¡±


    ¡°Leo, do not worry so much about us and just stay safe. We only care about your well-being and nothing else.¡± Leo¡¯s mother gave her son one last hug before finally taking a step back. She held Alice¡¯s hand and gripped it tightly, doing her best to send her son off with a smile.


    Leo waved goodbye before turning and walking over to the elders. Once everyone was ready, the Elders, Leo, Jack, and Jasmine began their long journey.


    They had only walked a few steps when Elder Hill looked down at the Rock Salamander that was walking by Leo¡¯s feet. He found it strange that not only did the young man know how to summon his monster, but he even had it out as if it was not draining his energy, especially after he had passed out from battling the thing. ¡°Leo, you should return your monster to its chaotic space. Otherwise, you won¡¯t last more than thirty minutes.¡±


    ¡°Hmm? But I summoned her last night?¡± Leo tilted his head. He had not felt any energy being consumed at all. He felt perfectly fine.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Elder Hill did not understand how a young man who had passed out for two days straight was able to keep a monster in the human world for such a long period of time. He looked over at Elder Lancaster, who just smiled and shook his head. Elder Hill could only sigh. ¡°If you start to feel tired, let us know. Make sure you store your monster before you get too tired.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± Leo nodded his head. He felt perfectly fine, though, so he did not know why they were so concerned.


    ¡®Hehe¡­ the great me strikes again!¡¯ Liana, on the other hand, felt proud. The reason that there was no energy consumption was related to the fact that she did not need to take energy from Leo since she had made a vow and her race could generate their own energy. She did not need to feed off her master.

 Chapter 2 Part 3

    Other monsters could not generate their own energy unless they were an ancient bloodline. This was something unknown to the current generation of Card Masters.


    ¡°Elder Hill, why are we not taking a carriage?¡± Jasmine did not seem too happy about having to walk. Jack and Leo were fine with it since they also considered this as a form of training. Building up your stamina was important as a Card Master since you could be in dungeons for days, if not months, at a time, depending on how deep you planned to go.


    ¡°Jasmine, you are a Card Master now. You will need to go on long journeys where carriages can not go. You will venture deep into forests and even scale mountains to get to the dungeon locations. If you get a monster you can ride at some point, then it makes it easier. Otherwise, you will need to use your two feet in order to reach your destination.¡± Elder Hill did not hold back. He had dealt with many whiny-type newcomers, and he was never kind in his wording since they had to face reality.


    Leo looked at Jasmine, who lowered her head. She had clenched fists and kicked a rock by her foot in frustration. Leo could only shake his head. He wondered just what she had expected. Once she left the village, she was no longer the village chief¡¯s daughter. Her status meant nothing in the world outside their small village.


    ¡®She will be humbled by the time she gets to the capital. Too bad you will not be walking the entire distance.¡¯ Liana felt that people like Jasmine should be forced to walk the entire way to the capital, but that would take her a year.


    The only reason the trip would only take a few days is because they would be going through an ancient transport gate at the closest city, Valesguard. It was far from any other town, which meant they would need to spend the night outside.


    ¡°Leo, what do you think the capital looks like?¡± Jack, who had been silent all this time, couldn¡¯t keep it in anymore. He was too excited. He really couldn¡¯t wait to see the capital.


    ¡°MMm¡­ nicer buildings and a million times more people than our village?¡± Leo was not as excited as Jack, so he only gave a lackluster reply that put a small damper on Jack¡¯s excitement.


    ¡°He¡¯s not wrong.¡± Elder Lancaster chimed in. He seemed to have found Leo¡¯s answer quite amusing. ¡°The capital is filled with stone buildings that range from five to ten floors tall. But nothing is more grand than the royal palace. It is carved out of the mountain and is as ancient as the kingdom itself. The one who carved it was the first king, Herald Von Augustus. It is said that his Ocean Tortoise was an SS-rank and used its water beam attack to carve up the mountain to create the palace. It only took them a day and a night to complete it.¡±


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    ¡°Wow!¡± Jack''s eyes lit up. He had always found stories of the ancient Card Masters to be amazing.


    ¡°If the palace is as big as you say, I do find it hard for a single monster to create the entire thing in such a short time.¡± Leo was more of a realist. He would not believe the old lore completely since it was said that Rock Salamanders were useless. But in truth, they were the earliest forms of true dragons.


    Elder Lancaster nodded his head. ¡°I can see what you are saying. Even I can not believe the tales passed down through the generations since stories will always be changed and embellished here and there. But I do believe the fist king did create the palace. This much I do know is true due to the scarring on the stone.¡±


    ¡°Scarring on the stone?¡± Leo became interested. He knew that any attack used to create anything from a monster would leave some markings, which interested him since this was a fabled SS-rank monster. From what he understood, currently, the highest monster out there to be owned by a Card Master was only S rank.


    ¡°Yes the scarring matches that of a water beam. Even the interior of the palace has such scaring which means the inside was also carved in the same manner.¡±


    ¡°To have such power and precision.¡± Jack was basically a little fanboy at this point.


    Jasmine, on the other hand, tried to ignore what was being talked about but thinking about the palace made her wonder if she could meet a prince and become a princess and live in the very palace they were talking about.


    ¡®Humph! An SS-Rank is only good enough to create mundane things.¡¯ Liana was not impressed at all. ¡°If it was me, I could create an entire palace with a snap of my fingers. Leo, I will create one for you once I reach EX-rank.¡±


    Leo did not know why Liana seemed to be having some strange competition with a dead monster. But he knew one thing was for sure. ¡®Please don¡¯t. If you did the entire kingdom¡¯s army might come and destroy it.¡¯


    ¡®Let them try! Don¡¯t forget I am much stronger than some stupid army. Even if they tossed hundreds of thousands of SS-rank monster at me, they would all perish! Didn¡¯t you promise to make your sister a princess?¡¯


    ¡®I said I would give her a life of a princess, not actually make her one.¡¯


    ¡®Same thing. Same thing. She will just be given the role for real instead of acting like one.¡¯


    ¡®Let¡¯s just wait and see.¡¯ Leo now realized that the Rock Salamander next to him was very stubborn once she had made up her mind about something.

 Chapter 2 Part 4

    As night fell, the group set up camp on the side of the road. The two elders had caught a deer and cut it up before tossing it into a large pot they had carried with them in Elder Lancaster¡¯s Chaotic Pocket. This was a special pocket that a Card Master would get once they evolved a monster to A-rank. It was kind of like a bag but allowed them to store items within themselves.


    Jack had eaten and fallen asleep almost right away. Leo looked at his friend and smiled. ¡®He must have been up all night due to excitement. The only problem is¡­¡¯ Leo turned to his right to see Jasmine''s sleeping face. She had decided that Leo was safe and was now using his shoulder as a pillow.


    ¡®Throw the tramp off!¡¯ and to top it off Liana was raging in his mind. ¡®I will never allow it! Leo you are not allowed to get intimate with her!¡¯


    ¡®I wouldn¡¯t anyway.¡¯ Leo chuckled. ¡®She is not a kind person at all. Even now she probably just sees me as the weakest link and even if I were to try something she could easily deal with me.¡¯


    ¡®Humph! Let¡¯s see her try!¡¯ The Rock Salamander walked over and laid at Leo¡¯s feet. Her tail ever so slightly slipped in between Leo and Jasmine. ¡®You¡¯re too kind!¡¯


    When the Elders saw this they both had confused looks on their faces. This was not just because of the Rock Salamander¡¯s actions but because the kid who should have long passed out still seemed quite lively even with his monster still summoned after such a long time.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Elder Hill asked in a low whisper. He was still trying to comprehend what exactly was going on.


    ¡°It might be a mutated monster. Maybe the reason he had been out for two days was due to the Rock Salamander¡¯s unique trait that took all his energy for two days, and in exchange, the energy consumption thereafter is very low.¡±


    ¡°This could be a possibility. We will just have to keep watch over him.¡± The two elders nodded at each other before talking about something else.


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    Night settled in and Leo had finally closed his eyes. At first glance, you would think Jasmine and Leo were lovers with how their heads were leaning against one another, but that was far from the truth.


    This was clearly known when morning came, and Jasmine woke up first. She blinked her jade-like eyes before turning her head to see Leo¡¯s handsome face up close. She blushed and quickly stood up. She could not say Leo was not handsome, but he was the weakest of the weak, which made her not find him attractive in the slightest. Plus, her goals reached much higher.


    Luckily, Liana was watching over her Master. She used her tail to keep Leo from falling over as she turned and growled at Liana. ¡®Do you really think you are all that!? Just wait! Once I evolve I will make sure to put you in your place!¡¯


    Jasmine backed as far away as possible from Leo and the Rock Salamander when she heard it growling at her. At the same time, Leo slowly opened his eyes and sat up, stretching his body.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get the wrong idea! I only used you as a pillow nothing more!¡± Jasmine suddenly yelled with a beat red face.


    Leo looked at her in confusion and found it best to just ignore her. Instead, he reached down and gently patted Liana¡¯s head. ¡°Good morning.¡±


    ¡°Rawr!¡± Liana rubbed her head on Leo¡¯s hand and licked it gently before looking up at Jasmine smugly. ¡®See that! Leo is mine! Humph!¡¯


    Jasmine had no idea why but she felt the Rock Salamander was trying to challenge her. Of course, she would not lower herself to fight with a monster, a weak one at that, nor did she care. Her goal was to find a high-ranking noble or a prince to become her husband. This way she would never have to return to that backwater village ever again.


    The group continued their travels and finally reached their destination, Valesguard. One of the few cities that had a teleportation point that would take them to the capital. But before they can even reach the city gates, Elder Hill had no choice but to ask Leo to desummon his monster. ¡°Leo, I need you to return your Rock Salamander to your Chaotic Space. From now on, you will not be able to summon it as you wish.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡± Leo felt bad since Liana preferred to be out side the space, but he had no choice at this time but to follow the rules. ¡®Liana I will summon you again when I can.¡¯


    ¡®It¡¯s fine. Do what you need to do. Your journey as a Card Master is just starting so there will be many restrictions. I am just happy I got to walk around as much as I did.¡¯


    ¡®I will work hard so you can reach EX-rank.¡¯ Leo now had two promises he needed to keep. One was giving his sister a life similar to that of a princess, and the other was to make Liana an ex-rank monster.


    ¡®I will be counting on you.¡¯

 Chapter 2 Part 5

    Pale grey stone walls as high as the eye could see. Guard towers taking up positions every few feet. This was the city of Valesguard. A fortress city heavily guarded due to it housing one of the few teleportation gates. This gate took you from the southern region of the kingdom to the capital. What exactly they were guarding against is unknown. The city walls and the teleportation gate had been here since ancient times.


    ¡°There are no records to tell present day humans what happened back then. There are only burnt remnants of the past that tell us nothing. But it is suspected that during the ancient era that EX-rank monsters once roamed the land.¡±


    ¡°Elder Lancaster, I have been wondering this for a while since you have been telling us stories the past few days, but if there are only four kingdoms to speak of within the barrier mountains, what lays beyond it?¡± Leo had been very interested in the stories the elders had been telling them. But he had been confused as to why there were no stories about going beyond the barrier mountains.


    The barrier mountains surrounded all four kingdoms, and all four kingdoms seemed to have the same amount of land. His village was on the edge of the entrance of said barrier mountains. While the deeper parts of the mountains were at least a month''s travel away and filled with tigers, other animals, and the unknown that he would not dare get close to, he had always wondered what lay beyond the mountains themselves.


    ¡°We¡­¡± Elder Lancaster did not expect this question. It was a hard one to answer since no one knew. ¡°We do not know. All of the teams that have gone out to try to reach the barrier edge never returned.¡±


    ¡®Liana, do you know?¡¯ Leo really wanted an answer to his question. He wondered if one day once he became powerful enough, he, too, could investigate it one day.


    ¡®N-No¡­¡¯ Liana did her best not to seem like she was lying, but to her, there were some things her fledgling Master should not know for the time being.


    Leo sighed as he stepped forward with the rest to be inspected by the guards. ¡°State your business.¡±


    ¡°They can pass!¡± Another guard rushed over and stepped in front of the young guard who had questioned Elder Hill. ¡°Elder Hill, Elder Lancaster, the teleportation gate is already ready. I will escort you and the young recruits there.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your kindness, Lieutenant Dan.¡±


    The group was hastily escorted through the grand gates. Leo looked up at the massive metal door that would be dropped down at night and during enemy attacks in awe. The door was huge. The entire gate entrance into the city was big enough to allow even a dragon through. He wondered just what kind of monsters had passed through this gate at one point.


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    As he passed through the gate, he noticed some scratches on the side wall. They looked like massive claw marks that were a hundred times bigger than him. The history of their world was much more interesting than what meets the eye. Leo wondered what he would be learning at the Academy. His excitement began to rise.


    The only one who was not very happy about anything at this point was Jasmine. She had been unable to clean herself for almost a week. They had not stopped in any town or village to rest and spent their entire time out in the wild. She even had to use Leo¡¯s shoulder as a pillow since she did not want to lie on the ground. The entire trip had been the biggest disgrace and humiliation of her life. What made her feel even more frustrated was how, even though Leo, the weakest link, was nice enough to let her use his shoulder to sleep, he seemed to be only acting out of kindness and did not seem interested in her whatsoever.


    She had figured by now he would have been head of heels in love with her. After all, having a beauty use your shoulder as a pillow should have pulled on his heartstrings. She had decided to use him as a slave once they reached the Academy until she found her prince. But he did not even look her way unless she was speaking. He did not show any interest in her at all. This was a huge blow to her confidence!


    She bit her fingernails as she looked at Leo¡¯s back as they walked down the street. She decided she would need to get her revenge. To have the weakest link ignore her was unforgivable! ¡®How dare he ignore me! Treating me as if I was air! Humph! I will get a few followers and have them torment you and then swoop in and save you from your misery. Once you have fallen for me, I will drop you in a cesspool and let you wallow in your own despair.¡¯


    Jack felt a chill rolling down his spine as he nudged Leo. ¡°Leo, she is staring at you and smiling strangely again.¡±


    ¡°Just ignore it. She probably thinks something stupid like I should be madly in love with her or something.¡±


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have let her use your shoulder this trip. You are too kind.¡± Jack knew fully well now that Jasmine was a big bitch. He wanted nothing to do with her. His image of her had been completely shattered during this trip.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t just say no. I was brought up to treat girls kindly. She has yet to do anything to harm me or say anything bad about me. If she keeps the status quo, then I will continue being nice to her. But if she crosses the line¡­¡±


    ¡®Kill her! Rip her face off!¡¯ Liana was raging in Leo¡¯s mind. She hated Jasmine so much she wanted to jump out of Leo¡¯s chest and bite the damn girl¡¯s face off!


    Leo ignored Liana and shook his head. ¡°Only time will tell. Plus I did not lose anything. Even if her personality is bad, she is still beautiful so having her rest on my shoulder was no loss to me.¡±


    ¡°Haha, this is true!¡± Jack grinned and patted Leo¡¯s back. His good friend made a lot of sense! There was no loss to him if the beauty wanted to snuggle up to him! But now Jack felt a little disappointed. ¡°Why didn¡¯t she choose me?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s good she didn¡¯t or else you would have been wrapped around her little finger.¡± Leo gave Jack a teasing grin before laughing. Jack scratched his head. He really couldn¡¯t deny what Leo said. This actually frustrated him and scared him at the same time.


    ¡°Leo, you need to keep an eye on me. Don¡¯t let scary girls like Jasmine rope me in.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Leo burst out laughing before nodding his head. ¡°I will do my best.¡±

 Chapter 3 Part 1

    ¡°Elder Hill, Elder Lancaster, the gate is ready and connected.¡± Leo and his group were quickly ushered into a tower that stood high above the rest of the two to three-floor buildings that were all made of white stone. The cobblestone streets they had walked in on were also now large slabs of stone that were embedded into the ground and circled the tower. The tower, made of the same white stone as the other buildings took up almost three blocks worth of space. This showed just how big the city and the tower really were.


    After they passed through a large iron door, they were brought to the top of the tower where the teleportation gate was located. It was placed high up in order to deter the invaders from using large-scale attacks. If the tower went down, the gate would be destroyed along with it.


    The gate itself was a half-circle-shaped floating stone structure. It was made of a strange black rock with glowing golden runes carved into each, hovering over a similar platform made of the same black stone. The rune carvings on the platform were done in a three-layered circle.


    ¡°Alright everyone stand in the middle.¡± Elder Hill gave his orders while Elder Lancaster led Leo, Jack, and Jasmine to the center of the platform, right in the middle of the circular runes.


    ¡°What ever you do, do not stand on the runes or outside of them. Stay right in the middle. Trust me it is not pretty if you get caught during the teleprotation process.¡± Elder Lancaster¡¯s grim warning made Leo and the others all gulp. They were extra careful not to stand anywhere near the edge.


    ¡°Everything is set. The teleportation will start in a few seconds.¡± Elder Hill hurried over and stood within the runic circle.


    ¡®Nervous?¡¯ Liana asked amusingly. She could sense Leo¡¯s tension as the runes on the ground began to glow and the floating rocks started to rotate around them.


    Leo didn''t answer. He was too busy staring at the floating rocks as they began to speed up. Each rock had a golden rune that shone brightly as they spun around his group in different directions. They began to spin so fast that everything became a golden blur until finally they slowed down revealing the outside world around them where Leo found himself standing in a large courtyard with similar platforms situated at each corner of the yard.


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    ¡°Welcome to the Capital, Falehaven. Home of the one and only Monster Academy of the Kingdom of Augustus.¡± Elder Hill had a broad smile on his lips as he looked at the dazed youths in front of him. This scene never got old for him.


    ¡°We are the last to arrive, which means we need to hurry and get you registered and set you up in the dorms. Also... A fair warning. The dorms are not separated between male and female. There is two people to a room and sometimes, although rare, you will be placed in the same room as a female or male. But be warned, anything with out consent and if found guilty will be punishable by the Academy law. This can result in death depending on the situation.¡± Elder Hill was very firm with his words.


    Leo and the others were blushing but they still nodded their heads just as firmly. Since he had said it was rare, none of them figured they would be placed in the same room as the opposite sex, but even still, since they were sharing the same dorm as the opposite sex, it was best to be safe than sorry.


    The teleportation yard, as it was called, was massive since it was the central hub for all teleportation points around the kingdom. It had a platform for each direction of the kingdom.


    ¡®Liana when we get to the room, I will ask my room mate if it is okay to let you out.¡¯ Leo did not forget about Liana.


    ¡®It¡¯s best to wait. Wait until you get a understanding of who you are sharing a room with. If they are kind at first but later turn against you they can get you in trouble for letting your monster out. You can not afford to be kicked out of the Academy. I hate to say it but the resources and means to becoming a Card Master start here.¡¯ Liana wanted to be let out as well, but she did not wish to cause trouble for Leo. If Leo were to get reported, he would get in serious trouble, and that was the last thing she wanted.


    ¡®Alright. Sorry. Let¡¯s hope there will be a class that lets me released you.¡¯ Leo sighed softly as he followed Elder Hill.


    Behind him, Jack was looking around, seemingly amazed by what he was seeing. As for Jasmine, she had her fists tightened into little balls as she reaffirmed her goal for being here.


    The journey was long, but Leo felt nervous and excited at the same time. He couldn¡¯t wait to write home and tell his mother and sister about his travels. He had already planned to try to write home at least once a week to let his family know how he was doing. He hoped they would write back often as well so he could find out how they were doing. He hoped that while he was away, things would go smoothly for them. His uncle promised to look out for them, so he was not too worried. But he still couldn¡¯t help but worry a little.

 Chapter 3 Part 2

    After exiting the courtyard where the teleportation gates were held, Leo found himself on a stone path that led past a few tall buildings about six floors high. They were all made of large carved white stones. There were many students walking about, all wearing the Academy uniforms.


    The Academy had a uniform that all students had to wear while within the Academy grounds. There was also a band that wrapped around the left upper arm. This band could be seen in different colors and designated your current Card Master rank. Yellow was F-rank, Orange was E-Rank, Red was D-Rank, Green was C-Rank, Blue was B-rank, and Silver was A-Rank.


    The grounds outside the buildings were lightly decorated with grey stone statues of monsters and flower beds with different colored flowers. Even with the chattering of the passing students who took their chances to sneak a peek at the newcomers, the area gave off a peaceful feeling. A good environment for learning.


    Elder Lancaster left to report in while Elder Hill took everyone else to get registered. They soon arrived at a large building with two tall wooden doors. Next to the doors on the right was a sign that read: Administration.


    ¡°We will stop here first to register you. Afterwards I will bring you to your dorms and point out the important areas. You will be going to an assembly in the morning so after you settle in and change, you can explore the campus as you like. Just do not be late in the morning. The assembly will be held in the building next to this one.¡± Elder Hill explained a few more details before bringing the group in to get registered.


    The registration process was quite simple. You were asked your name, age, where you originated from, and your clothing size. For monsters, they asked what kind it was and its name. When Leo mentioned his Rock Salamander, he was given a look of pity before the information was written down. Everyone was given a key to their rooms, and two sets of uniforms and sent on their way.


    After getting registered, Elder Hill brought Leo and the others to their dormitory. Along the way, he made sure to point out the assembly hall so that they would not have an excuse to skip the new student assembly.


    When they arrived at the dormitory, Elder Hill entered and pointed at the two halls on each side of the main hall. ¡°The right hall leads to the cafeteria, which is open until the last bell and opens at the second bell. There is a stairwell that leads directly down to the cafeteria. Make sure you pay attention to the direction your room is located so you can find it easily. Otherwise, you will need to make your way through the training area, which is down the left hall, to get to where you want to be. Of course, each door leading into the stairwell will be marked, so if you can not read, it is your own fault.


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    ¡°You can also take the main staircase if you wish as well.¡± Elder Hill pointed to the spiral staircase in front of them that rose up into the ceiling, surrounded by four pillars. To accommodate many students there was no extravagance. Every bit of space that could be used was being used. Only the front hall was slightly open, with a few benches to sit on.


    ¡°Your key is marked with a floor number and a room number. Something like 4-17. The four being your floor and the seventeen being your room. I wish you luck. I need to go report now as well. I do hope to see you all tomorrow.¡± With that, as if running away, Elder Hill left the dorms, leaving the others standing there.


    ¡°Leo which room number do you have? Mines floor five room twenty one.¡± Jack was hoping to have the same room as Leo.


    ¡°Mine¡¯s floor six, room thirty two. Looks like we are separated by a floor.¡± Leo looked over at Jasmine, who only snorted and ignored the two boys, walking toward the spiral staircase and ascending it.


    Leo realized that Jasmine now wanted nothing to do with them. ¡°Ignore her let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Still, we are from the same village she could at least play along.¡± Jack was kind of depressed. ¡®I would have still liked to have been friendly¡­¡¯


    ¡°Forget it Jack. If you need anything just come find me. We have been friends since we were born. Just because we are in the village won¡¯t change this fact.¡± Leo tried to cheer Jack up, which seemed to work since he put on a bright smile.


    ¡°You¡¯re right! Forget her. Let¡¯s go settle in.¡± Jack was glad Leo also passed the test. This meant they were able to become Card Masters together, and he had at least one person here he could rely on. Of course, this went both ways. Jack was willing to help Leo in any way he could.


    The two climbed the stairs up to the fifth floor, where Leo said goodbye to Jack before continuing up to the sixth floor. ¡°Hmm? So there is a sitting area here to.¡±


    Leo looked at the white stone walls that were bare of any decoration and then at the couches that were placed around the stairwell in between the pillars. At each corner of where the halls were was a potted plant. And above the archway leading down the halls was a sign that said, East Wing or West Wing. Alongside it was the room numbers that could be found there.


    ¡°Alright, so the stairwell that leads directly to the cafeteria is down my hall.¡± Leo made sure to note this as he passed a few male students who had orange bands on their arms sitting on one of the couches talking. They only took a glance at him before ignoring him.


    Leo did not disturb them either. He continued down the hall until he found his room, where he inserted his key and opened the door. He had only just taken a step inside and closed the door before freezing in place. The first thing that came out of his mouth when he saw the scene in front of him was, ¡°Meow¡­¡±


    A pair of pink panties with a cat head shape imprint on the back that were slightly pulled down past the rump of the snow-white skin attached to the thigh and partial cheek of the girl standing there staring back at him.

 Chapter 3 Part 3

    ¡°How long to you plan to keep staring!?¡± The girl with blue hair that rained down to her waist and silver eyes that seemed to glow yelled out with a face so flushed she could be mistaken for an apple.


    ¡°Ah, right, sorry!¡± Leo was actually quite entranced by the girl¡¯s beauty. It was hard for him to look away. He just stood there calmly as if what had just happened did not happen at all.


    ¡°Why are you not leaving!? Get out!¡± The girl yelled. She took the black shirt he had lying on the bed and tossed it at Leo as if it was going to do anything, only for it to land on top of Leo¡¯s head.


    A fruity scent filled Leo¡¯s nose, causing him to blush slightly. He took the shirt off his head and folded it up neatly. ¡°Smells nice¡­¡±


    ¡°GET OUT!!¡±


    ¡°I would, but this is my room¡­¡± Leo turned around and wanted to explain, only to see the red-faced girl in the process of buttoning her skirt. She stood there with no top on, wearing only a pink bra with a matching cat imprint on it.


    ¡°You are still looking!?¡± The girl could not believe this guy. For one he did not look at her lustfully and seemed as calm as can be in such a situation. She wanted him to leave but if what he said was true that meant she was supposed to share a room with a man!


    ¡°Haha. Right¡­ Sorry¡­ Just let me know when you are done.¡± Leo felt awkward as he let out a dry laugh and scratched his head while turning back around. He felt this was one hell of a way to make a first impression. But he was actually confused. Elder Hill said that dorm rooms with a man and woman were very rare, so why did it seem like he pulled the lucky stick? He was not going to complain. He had got to see a beautiful sight, and he did not regret it in the slightest, but he did feel bad since he was sure the girl was embarrassed he could only tell due to her red face.


    ¡°I¡¯m done¡­¡± The girl finally announced.


    Leo turned around to see the girl standing there with her arms crossed across her chest with quite the evil eye that was piercing daggers into Leo on her face. ¡°You said this is your room?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Elder Hill explained that while rare, there are time when the opposite sex will end up sharing a room. I do apologize for barging in on you changing and being too captivated by your beauty to look away, but it is true that it is my room.¡± Leo did his best to explain things while also praising the girl. His father always told him it was best to be honest and praise girls for their looks.


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    ¡°Beauty¡­¡± The girl was slightly taken aback, not expecting to be praised, but that was not the issue here. ¡°How can you spit out such nonsense!?¡±


    ¡°My father always told me to be honest¡­¡±


    The girl gritted her teeth. She really did not know what to say to this boy. She could only stomp in frustration and say: ¡°We need to go to registration and find out why we have the same room. I of all people should not be sharing a room with a man!¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­ Alright¡­¡± Leo saw no other option. It was regretful. He did not mind sharing a room with this girl. He knew better than to try anything anyway. Just now was an accident.


    The girl snorted and walked up to Leo and held out her hand which caused Leo to be confused. ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°My shirt. How long do you plan to hold on to it?¡± The girl''s eyes were filled with anger. It could be seen that she was doing her best to stay calm. She hated how Leo was not flustered in the slightest. She felt like she was the only one overreacting. ¡®Is he really not phased by any of this?¡¯


    ¡°Right, here you go.¡± Leo handed the folded shirt over to the girl, who took it and tossed it on the bed before walking to the door. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    As they walked out of the room, the girl taking the lead and Leo following behind her as if he were a prisoner, Liana was giggling away in Leo¡¯s mind. ¡®Is it really that amusing?¡¯


    ¡®Yep! Your reactions were so off that the girl looks a little upset that you are not as flustered as she is. She is cute though. I give her a pass.¡¯


    ¡®She is cute but I think she is probably a noble. She might not speak like a normal noble but she has an air around her. So I am probably not on her radar.¡¯


    ¡®You think to lowly of yourself my Master. No one in this world is beyond your reach. I promise you this.¡¯


    ¡®We will see when I am strong enough not to care about status.¡¯ Status had a lot of meaning in this world, sadly. Leo knew this well. This was why he would never dream of getting a girl like the one in front of him if she was a noble.


    Fifteen minutes later¡­


    ¡°What do you mean!?¡±


    ¡°Princess Isabella, there is nothing I can do. You have to understand that status means nothing in the Academy. The Academy rules are quite literally set in stone, there is nothing I can do. I wish I could help, but there is an odd number of female and male freshman this year so you are stuck sharing the same dorm. Maybe next year you can change but for now the dorms are full. You will both need to share the room.¡±


    Hearing the elder behind the desk explain things; Princess Isabella could only nod her head. She did not like it, but there was no other choice. At least the boy she was sharing the room with did not seem to be an absolute pervert.

 Chapter 3 Part 4

    Leo once more trailed behind Isabella. The two were very quiet as they made their way back to their dorm room. Leo did notice that there were quite a few people staring at them. But he figured this was due to Isabella being a princess.


    ¡®Looks like you got a new wife and a princess at that. Just remember that I am your first wife.¡¯


    ¡®Liana, where are you even getting the word wife from? First, we just met, and second, I am nothing but a village boy. A princess would marry someone closer to her status.¡¯ Leo ignored the first wife part.


    ¡®Now, now, my little innocent Master. That girl does not seem to hate you in the slightest. She has been quite calm about the situation and is not rejecting you outright. As a princess, no matter what the rules state, she could have opposed it or offered to have someone else room with you instead. But she chose to drop it altogether, which means she is not against sharing a room with you. You may just have a chance to slip it in and do the deed so you can take her as a wife.¡¯


    ¡®Are all dragons this forward!?¡¯ Leo¡¯s cheeks turned slightly red. He really wondered if Liana was listening to her own words!


    ¡®What is wrong with what I said!? I am only telling the truth. And that is you have a chance!¡¯


    Leo ignored the salamander and entered the room. The awkward silence continued until Leo could no longer take it. ¡°Umm¡­ I¡¯m gonna go take a shower.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Isabella, who could not even look at Leo at this time, answered softly but loud enough for him to hear. She was going crazy. She had never even shared a room with a girl before, and now here she was, the princess of the kingdom, sharing a room with a boy her age that she had just met for the first time. What made things worse was how the boy in question did not seem phased by it in the slightest.


    Isabella turned and looked at the bathroom door. Her gaze fell on the small crack she could see between the door and the door jam. ¡®Did he not close it all the way!?¡¯


    Isabella bit her lip and remembered how Leo had seen her in her underwear. She still felt as if she had been taken advantage of. ¡®If I were to take a peek at him wouldn¡¯t it be fair?¡¯


    Clenching her fists, Isabella made up her mind. She mustered up her courage, got up off her bed, and walked to the slightly cracked door. She slowly pulled it open a bit more so she could take a peek inside. In front of the tall mirror that faced the door, she saw Leo standing there with a towel around his waist, leaning over the tub and turning the water on. Her eyes fell on his tanned skin and slightly muscular arms.


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    She couldn''t deny that Leo was good-looking. His Silver hair and blue eyes were quite eye-catching. He had a face that was starting to show masculinity, giving him a more mature look. She found herself unable to look away as she traced her eyes across his body multiple times.


    In the bathroom, Leo was listening to Liana giggling away. ¡®She¡¯s looking! She¡¯s looking! She¡¯s actually peeking at you! See! I was right to tell you to leave the door open a crack!¡¯


    ¡®Just ignore her. I did see her in her underwear earlier. We can just call it even.¡¯


    ¡®No way! You have to do something! I know! Start doing some poses in front of the mirror. Act natural and then pretend to suddenly see her and give her a wink before slowly undoing your towel.¡¯


    ¡®Am I a pervert in your mind!?¡¯


    ¡®Come on, Leo! Just give me this bit of entertainment! I can¡¯t be summoned, so I am stuck in this stuffy place!¡¯


    ¡®Alright fine.¡¯ Leo couldn¡¯t say no when she put it like that.


    With a sigh, he stood up and did his best not to look directly at the peeping tomgirl and began flexing his muscles in front of the mirror.


    When Leo began flexing, Isabella was at a loss as to what he was doing. She didn''t know why he suddenly started doing that. ¡®Do all boys do this when they are in the bathroom?¡¯


    She watched him flex over and over again until¡­ her eyes met his! ¡®He just winked at me! Wait why is he removing his towel!¡¯


    *Crash!*


    ¡°Ouch!¡± Isabella stumbled back and fell to the floor, hitting the back of her head against the wall. However, she did not have time to worry about that. The pain was nothing compared to her embarrassment. She quickly scrambled to her bed and dived under the covers. She did not want to see anyone right now. She had peeked and gotten caught! She wanted to die! Her noble image as a princess had just flown out the window and up into the sky, never to be seen again.


    In the bathroom now slipping into the hot bath. Leo was having a headache. ¡®Hahahahahaha! She fell! Hahahaha!¡¯


    ¡®Liana you are having way too much fun.¡¯


    ¡®Hahaha¡­ I can¡¯t help it! She is too cute. If you don¡¯t win that girls heart in the future I think the world should just end. She is really a cutie.¡¯


    ¡®We do not know what the future holds. And I for one am not going to push the issue with a princess.¡¯


    ¡®You really shouldn¡¯t look down on yourself. Look she was entranced by your body and down there is very much sure to make any girl happy. Anyway, why are you fine with going nude even when you know I can see it all? You also did not react much when you saw the girl in her underwear either.¡¯


    ¡®Hmm? Oh. My family has always taken baths together to save on water and wood. We did our best to stay clean and healthy. So I am pretty used to a womans body I guess?¡¯


    ¡®That makes sense. But still at least tease the girl a bit when you get out of the bath.¡¯


    ¡®Oh I plan to ask if she liked what she saw. I mean, I wouldn¡¯t be me I didn¡¯t at least ask.¡¯


    ¡®Hehe, I knew I liked you for a reason!¡¯

 Chapter 3 Part 5

    After a nice, long, hot bath, Leo got out and changed into the nightwear the Academy provided him. It was just a pair of grey shorts and a T-shirt. He stopped and looked at himself in the mirror and let out a small sigh. ¡°Even if it is only nightwear, I kind of wish I could give this to Alice¡­¡±


    ¡®You really are good to your family. When we have children in the future you will make a very good dad.¡¯


    ¡®Children?¡¯ Leo blushed as an image of Liana floated into his mind. Her slim, slightly tanned body was wearing a white one-piece dress with a baby in her arms that had silver hair and orange eyes. Leo quickly shook his head. ¡®I will need to get strong enough!¡¯


    ¡®You¡¯re blushing!¡¯


    Leo ignored the teasing salamander girl and walked out of the bathroom to see a bump under the blankets on the bed farthest from the door. Leo walked over to his bed and began settling his things in his cabinet. Once he was done, he stole a glance at the other bed, which was only a few feet away from his. He felt slightly awkward since it was as if they were sleeping in the same bed with such little space between them.


    But this still did not stop him from asking: ¡°Did you get a good look?¡±


    The blanket on the other bed flew up into the air, and a white missile filled with feathers flew at his head. Leo was hit square in the face, and a sweet smell entered his nose once more. ¡°Mm¡­ Smells good.¡±


    ¡°Can you stop!?¡± Isabella couldn¡¯t take it anymore. She jumped out of bed, snatched the pillow from Leo, and sat on the edge of her bed, glaring at him.


    ¡°You finally came out.¡± Leo smiled and scratched his head. ¡°I know we have had some strange incidents but I think we are pretty even now right? So let¡¯s start a new. My name is Leon Tristan, I am fifteen and my first card is a Rock Salamander.¡±


    Isabella¡¯s eyes widened for a second before covering her mouth with her pillow. ¡°Isabella Aurelia Von Augustus. I am the Seventh Princess of the Augustus Kingdom. Fifteen and my first card is also a Rock Salamander. But you can call me Bella.¡±


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    ¡°Then Bella, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you. We will be sharing a room for the year so let¡¯s get along.¡± Leo stretched out his hand. He felt a little happy to know that someone else also had a Rock Salamander as well.


    ¡®Her lizard is nothing more than just that. It would be hard to waken its dragon blood line.¡¯


    ¡®Wait, she isn¡¯t like you and I?¡¯


    ¡®No! You were lucky that I had awaken to my bloodline. If not you would be stuck with a lizard.¡¯


    ¡®I see. But you are saying it is not impossible for another Rock Salamander to awaken?¡¯


    ¡®If she is lucky and finds a way to trigger its bloodline before it¡¯s third evolution then yes. If you are able to make her want to keep sharing a room with you, then I might be willing to help.¡¯


    ¡®We will see.¡¯ Leo really wondered just how bored Liana was. She seemed to really want him to make Bella his.


    Bella narrowed her eyes for a second before reaching out her own hand and taking Leo''s hand. ¡°Let¡¯s get along.¡±


    ¡®I guess he is not so bad¡­¡¯ Bella understood one thing. She did not dislike Leo. She hated the fact that she had embarrassed herself more than once in front of this guy, but the thing she liked the most was that even knowing she was a princess, he did not treat her differently. She felt that she could be friends with him at the very least. She also did not wish for any fighting to happen between them since they had to share the room.


    ¡°Shall we go get some food? I have yet to eat since arriving. Way too much has happened and I have only been here a few hours.¡± Leo was famished. He couldn¡¯t help but rub his stomach. He had not had a decent meal in almost a week.


    Bella did not answer right away. She had been staring at Leo rubbing his stomach, and the image of his abs entered her mind. She could feel her cheeks heating up, causing her to shoot up from her bed and toss the pillow down before stomping to the door. She felt like she was getting flustered about everything since meeting this boy! ¡®He¡¯s so annoying!¡¯ This was the conclusion she came to.


    Leo had not expected the girl to suddenly stand up and march off. He wondered if he had made her mad. But after the door opened, he heard her call back to him. ¡°Are we going or not?¡±


    ¡°Right!¡± Leo smiled and got up. He walked to the door to see Bella walking off. ¡°The stairs to the cafeteria is the other way.¡±


    ¡°We can go this way too! Hey, wait!¡± Bella turned and saw Leo walking off. She bit her lip and chased after him. ¡®He is really annoying!¡¯

 Chapter 4 Part 1

    The cafeteria was filled with many students from the Academy, new and old. Each table was rectangular in shape and could fit six people each. The only issue Leo noticed¡ªor rather, felt¡ªwas the piercing gazes burning into him as he walked through the crowd with Bella by his side.


    Of course, he understood that it was due to him walking next to the princess, who was very much a beauty. But what he didn''t seem to understand was that some of those piercing gazes were from girls who were eying him. After all, he was very handsome himself. The two walking side by side was already the equivalent of two movie stars standing next to eachother.


    The two walked up to the counter, which had a line of different foods, and grabbed a tray. It was a buffet-style eatery, and all the food was made fresh by some of the finest chefs within the kingdom.


    ¡°What are you having?¡± Bella asked in a low whisper. She was actually at a loss as to what to do, so she was hoping to have Leo lead.


    ¡°I will probably go for some veggies, meat, and the rice. I don¡¯t recognize the rest.¡± Leo felt slightly embarrassed. He only knew a few types of food due to not having much choice back home.


    ¡°You should try the strawberry cake too.¡± Bella¡¯s eyes glowed when she saw the strawberry cake. It was her favorite! She was not allowed to have too much of it due to always being under the watch of her personal maid, but now that she had escaped the girl''s clutches, she could indulge herself a little.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Leo was a bit interested in what it was after seeing Bella¡¯s reaction to it. He filled his tray and waited for Bella to finish getting her food before the two walked over to a table in the corner of the room and sat down.


    ¡°I wish people would stop staring.¡± Bella hated this the most. She could deal with it at royal events, but right now, she just wanted to eat in peace.


    ¡°It¡¯s because you are very beautiful.¡± Leo thought nothing of his words and only spoke his mind, but the poor girl who was on the receiving end of them lowered her head, blushing away. ¡®This guy has no filter! How can he say such things so openly!?¡¯


    Leo had no idea he had caused the girl to be screaming at him in her head. But Liana was finding it very amusing. ¡®I am sure there will be babies soon.¡¯


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    ¡®I am trying to eat so please stop with your strange delusions.¡¯ Leo just wanted one meal without a dirty remark from the lizard queen.


    ¡°Bella~!¡± A young girl with purple hair and silver eyes ran up and hugged Bella from behind. Along with her was another girl with green hair and black eyes. She wore glasses and seemed to be more of the serious type, while the purple-haired girl had a tomboyish feel to her. Like Leo and Bella they too were wearing their nightwear as well, which consisted of a grey shirt and shorts as well as a pair of slippers.


    ¡°Abby, can you not hang on me when I am trying to eat?¡± Bella pried the girl''s hands off her before going back to digging into her food.


    ¡°Abigail it is not proper to be hanging on the princess, how many times do I have to say it? Even if you are cousins you shouldn¡¯t be over stepping your bounds.¡±


    ¡°Anna, you are too strict! We are no longer at the castle so lighten up a bit!¡± Abby looked at the green-haired girl and sighed. She really wished this girl would lighten up.


    ¡°And I am saying you should learn proper space between two people.¡± Anna rubbed the spot between her nose. To her, the one who needed to learn to restrain themselves was this girl here.


    ¡°No fighting you two.¡± Bella was all smiles as she turned to her two friends. ¡°Sit. Tell me about your roommates.¡±


    ¡°Before that, who is the cutie? Your boyfriend?¡± Abby''s eyes fell on Leo, who nodded back at her as he took another bite. He did not react at all to the whole boyfriend thing, which made her feel a little depressed.


    ¡°You can¡¯t get a reaction out of him, so don¡¯t try.¡± Bella stealthily ignored the boyfriend jab as well since she knew Abby was looking to rile her up. ¡°And this is Leo, my roommate.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ OH! Wait! Really!?¡± Abby cried out; even the stoic Anna''s eyes widened in surprise. ¡°So that means you are already climbing the stairs of adult hood before any of us!¡±


    ¡°I am not!¡± Bella cried out, causing many of the students in the cafeteria to look over at her and her face turning bright red. She turned to Leo, who was still eating, acting as if none of this had anything to do with him, and kicked her foot out, kicking him in the leg under the table. ¡°Can¡¯t you say something!?¡±


    ¡°Ah right. My names Leon Tristan. I will be in your care from now on.¡±


    ¡°Not that! And why are you introducing yourself out of no where!?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you give me the signal? I mean the kick under the table was the signal for introduction right?¡±


    ¡°Since when!?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! I like him.¡± Abby sat down next to Bella, with Anna following and sitting on the other side. She hugged Bella¡¯s arm and bowed her head. ¡°Bella can be a handful so I hope you can see past that and take good care of her.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she is quite cute. I will make sure to make her happy.¡±


    ¡°Why does it sound like you are giving me away for marriage!? And Leo stop playing along!¡±

 Chapter 4 Part 2

    ¡°Hehe, Leo you are pretty good at this. Our little princess is nice and flustered.¡±


    ¡®Liana, I am just going with the flow. Look at Bella. She is complaining and scolding her friends, but the smile on her face has not disappeared. I think she likes this. Being able to relax like this without worrying about her status.¡¯


    Liana took another good look at Bella and what she saw was indeed as Leo had said. The girl in front of her was no princess but just another maiden. One who was taking side glances at the man she had unconsciously acknowledged as part of her circle.


    ¡®You really are exactly how I expected. Leo, never lose this trait of yours. Kindness towards girl can bring about an army of babies. As my husband you will need to have many babies and many wives to show thew world your manliness.¡¯


    ¡®You sure do have quite a few strange ideas.¡¯ Leo had no idea what Liana was talking about. He was simply being himself. However, he could not lie and say he would not be willing to marry someone like Bella, not because of her status but from what he could see of her now, he had a very favorable impression of the girl. He teased her, and she did not hate him. In fact, it seemed to have brought them closer. Even though they had just met, they had already gone through quite a bit of awkward moments, which helped them break the ice.


    For now, he felt that Bella would turn out to be a good roommate and a good friend. ¡®Humph! You say this now but in the future you will be thanking me! You two are a perfect match. Your children will be top of the line. Then there is the two girls next to her. If you can get them as well¡­¡¯


    ¡®Now that is a stretch.¡¯


    ¡®Oh? So you are not denying the princess is reachable?¡¯


    ¡®I am not saying that either! I just¡­ My father always taught me to be a man in front of girls and treat them kindly. The only time I should make one cry is if they had done something that hurt me and my loved ones.¡¯


    ¡®So this is why you put up with that two faced bitch. But that can also make you seem weak and easily manipulated.¡¯


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    ¡®I know. Sadly, my father passed before I could learn the proper way to deal with certain situations. But I feel I have learned enough to get me by. I am not stupid enough not to know when I am being used.¡¯


    ¡®Don¡¯t worry. I will be here to aide you in those situations.¡¯


    ¡®Thanks.¡¯


    ¡®Now you need to focus on the princess. Make her yours!¡¯


    ¡®Yes, yes¡­ we will wait and see what the future holds.¡¯ Leo resigned himself to the salamander''s pushiness. But he was happy as well. Liana was watching out for him. He had ventured out into the unknown with very few allies. Besides Liana and Jack, he had no one else. Maybe now, if he and Bella truly became friends, he would be able to have a third ally.


    While Bella was being teased by her friends and Leo watched on, Jasmine walked into the cafeteria. She could feel the eyes of the boys on her, which made her feel elated. She knew she was beautiful, and she wanted to put it to good use. As long as she could gain a few followers, she would be able to first reach a baron''s son and maybe work her way up from there. As long as she could marry one of them, that was all that mattered.


    She had some time to think while she was in her room. She decided to start off slow since trying to jump too high with her current status was not good.


    With a soft smile on her face and trying to look as delicate as possible, Jasmine made her way over to get some food. She picked up her tray and chose some light foods before turning to look for a place to sit. This was the part she was a little afraid of. She knew no one here yet, so it was not going to be easy to find a place to sit. Her roommate had not even been in her room either when she arrived. Even after so many hours, there was no sign of her.


    Just when she thought she was going to be in trouble, she spotted a familiar silver-haired boy, and in front of him were three beauties. One of which she recognized since her father had told her to be careful of certain people when she entered the academy and showed her pictures of the royal family.


    ¡®The princess? Why is that weakling with her!?¡¯ Jasmine did not understand, but from how they were joking around, it seemed like there was a chance for her to make friends with the princess using the weakling as a stepping stone. ¡®If I befriend the princess, won¡¯t I be able to skip the barons and trash nobles and jump right into a prince? Even if I am to become a concubine, that would work well. I just need a chance to lay with them¡­¡¯


    Jasmine¡¯s cheeks began to heat up. She was still a young maiden, after all. But that did not stop her from thinking of such devious means to climb the social ladder. She was truly willing to give birth to a prince''s child early on if it meant becoming a noble.


    Mustering up her courage, she stepped forward and made her way over to where Leo was sitting. She couldn¡¯t believe the weakling would be so useful so soon.

 Chapter 4 Part 3

    Jasmine walked up to the group of four which stopped the horsing around that was happening. Jasmine gave the three girls a nod before turning to Leo with a bright, friendly, fake smile on her face. ¡°Leo, can I sit with you? I don¡¯t know anyone else here.¡±


    Leo, who was in mid-bite, looked up at Jasmine with a raised eyebrow before turning to look at Bella and her friends. ¡°Not up to me. Ask them.¡±


    ¡®This bitch! She did not even come here for you! She came here because of the princess! You can see it in her eyes!¡¯ Liana was livid. She wanted to jump out of Leo¡¯s chest and claw the bitch to death!


    ¡®Let¡¯s see what antics she will pull off now. If Bella lets her sit, she lets her sit, there is no harm in that.¡¯


    ¡®You are really too kind!¡¯ Liana was a bit angry. While she liked that Leo was kind, she hated it at the same time because it allowed the bitch to walk all over him.


    Bella looked at Leo, who did not seem to like the girl too much with how he had tossed her over, and then back at Jasmine, who was standing there awkwardly. A sly grin formed on her lips when she thought this was a good chance to get back at the boy who played along with her friends! ¡°Sure, you can sit. I wouldn¡¯t want to interfere with your date with your boyfriend.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not my BOYFRIEND!¡± Jasmine practically screamed. She by no means wanted to be seen in such a light it would ruin all her plans. Especially with such a weakling like Leo. The guy who passed out for two days after contracting a Rock Salamander. The weakest monster known to exist!


    Bella''s eyes widened. She had never expected Jasmine to have such a reaction. She was only trying to tease Leo. When she looked at Leo, who was not disturbed at all by the girl¡¯s claim, she couldn¡¯t help but wrinkle her brow. ''Was he used to such treatment?''


    ¡°There is no way I would date such a weakling! He passed out for two days after conquering a Rock Salamander of all monsters. How could I want anything to do with a weakling that that. A village boy who has by no means any chance to pass F-rank.


    ¡°I would never ever date such a man!¡± Jasmine was slightly panicked and was trying to explain herself. She continued to ramble about how weak Leo was, not realizing that the princess¡¯ expression was growing darker by the second.


    ¡°Leo!¡± Jack appeared and sat down next to Leo with a tray of food in his hand and smiled brightly at his good friend.


    ¡°Jack, how is it? Getting along with your roommate?¡± Leo patted Jack¡¯s back and smiled back. He was completely ignoring the girls ranting at his side.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Jack, on the other hand, only now realized Jasmine was here and was talking about Leo in a bad light. He wanted to stand up for his good friend, but Leo pressed on his shoulder and shook his head. ¡°Ignore her and look at the others.¡±


    Jack finally looked at Bella and the other two girls, whose expressions were very dark and understood. He had seen those same expressions on his mother¡¯s face when his dad made her mad. He knew one thing at this moment and time. Sit down, shut up, and act invisible.


    ¡°So please do not associate me with such a weakling.¡± Jasmine finally finished her rant. It was only now that she realized something was off. The once noisy cafeteria had become very quiet.


    ¡°You sure have a lot to say.¡± Bella''s eyes narrowed at the girl. She took a deep breath, not wanting to cause too much more of a scene, before saying: ¡°I suggest you find a new seat. I can not be friends with a person who degrades others.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t! I was just telling the truth! I am telling you that he could only conquer a Rock Salamander and even passed out because of it¡­¡±


    ¡°Enough! I do not know how things work in your village, but here in the capital, we have a thing called common decency. You don¡¯t go around bad-mouthing others and acting all high and mighty. You say he is a village boy and is weak because he has a Rock Salamander? So what? Aren¡¯t you just a village girl? It looks to me like you are trying to climb the social ladder. I bet you would be willing to lay with any of the noble boys here just to achieve your goals.


    ¡°Plus, what¡¯s wrong with a Rock Salamander? The princess¡¯s first card is also a Rock Salamander. What¡¯s wrong with starting with the weakest!? It will allow her to see where she stands in the future and what she needs to work on. The same goes for Leo. He has not said a word to you even though you were bad-mouthing him. If it were me, I would have already cut that slimy tongue out of your mouth!¡± Abby reached to her side where her sword normally would be and tried to grab its hilt. Although she was of royal blood, a duke''s daughter, her father was also the leader of the kingdom''s military and the top-ranking knight. Her entire family lived by the knight''s code. So, for her to reach for her sword was a force of habit even if it was not there.


    ¡°Abby!¡± Bella quickly stopped the girl before she decided to jump the table. She knew now that it was a mistake to try to tease Leo using this girl. She hoped he would not hate her because of this. She looked at Jasmine with hate and disgust in her eyes as she said: ¡°Leave now. Never come near me and my friends again. That includes Leo. It seems we are too weak in the eyes of your greatness.¡±


    ¡°Wha¡­ I¡­ I never¡­¡± Jasmine''s eyes began to water up. She really made a fool out of herself! Her face paled as she backed up and looked around. No matter who her eyes made contact with, they avoided her gaze and looked away.


    Jasmine bit her lip, trying her best to hold her tears back as she walked over to a table with an empty seat. She did not have the courage to sit by herself. She hoped she could sit at a table and try to act as if none of this happened. But no matter which table she went to sit at, they told her the seat was taken. Even the tables with five seats empty!


    It was only then that Jasmine realized she had no choice but to sit by herself. She walked over to a small table that was off to the side, away from everyone, and began eating her food, her tears adding just the right amount of salt.

 Chapter 4 Part 4

    ¡°Leo¡­ Sorry. I didn¡¯t¡­¡± Bella felt horrible. She did not think the girl would start putting Leo down like that. She really did not know how to face him. The girl would not have started putting him down if she had not said something so strange.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I am not concerned with unimportant people. Jasmine has been like that for a long time. When we were younger she was normal but as she grew older she began to change.¡± Leo explained lightly, he really did not care about Jasmine or what she thought or said about him. ¡°More importantly, this here is my best friend Jack.¡±


    ¡®More importantly!?¡¯ Bella, Abby, and Anna all had the same thoughts. The three girls looked at each other and suddenly started laughing.


    ¡°You¡­ You are truly annoying.¡± Bella pouted slightly before looking at Jack and smiling. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you. You can call me Bella.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Abby!¡±


    ¡°Anna¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you all.¡± Jack was shocked at how beautiful the three girls were and wondered just how Leo was able to meet these girls, which made him remember something. ¡°Oh, right! Leo, how is your roommate? Do you think you can get along with them?¡±


    Leo smiled and glanced at Bella who suddenly began blushing as he nodded his head. ¡°Yeah, I think we will get along just fine.¡±


    The group chatted for a bit before Jack got up to leave. He had made plans with his roommate to hang out a bit and get to know one another.


    As for Leo¡­ He now had two girls sitting next to him with Bella sitting across from him. Abby bumped her shoulder into his. ¡°So, Leo, you think you can get along with our Bella?¡±


    ¡°Can you two stop!?¡± Bella was starting to feel as if her friends were born to embarrass her. ¡°Leo, ignore them. I have grown up with both of them so they are like the two sisters I ever wanted.¡±


    ¡°So mean!¡± Abby stuck her tongue out at Bella before holding her hand out to Leo. ¡°My name is Abigail Evelyn Von Hemsworth. I am the daughter of Duck Hemsworth.¡±


    ¡®She bit her tongue! How cute! Leo, it¡¯s decided you will marry her too!¡¯ The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡®How does your brain even work!?¡¯


    ¡®I am your guiding light to make sure you marry many beauties. Of course, they will all fall under my rule since I am the first wife. And must undergo a selection process. I will be sure that each girl is of the finest quality.¡¯


    Leo did his best to forget about what he had just heard and watched Abby get picked on by Bella. ¡°Abby called the Duke a duck. I wonder if he knows his daughter is bad-mouthing him.¡±


    ¡°Bella, I bit my tongue! I didn¡¯t mean to call him a duck!¡± Abby actually looked a bit afraid. She was indeed afraid. Her father would never let her live it down! He was a man who could be on his deathbed, and his last words would be: I will never forget the day you called me a duck. ¡°Anyway¡­ nice to meet you!¡±


    ¡°Since the Duck¡¯s daughter has introduced herself, I will do the same. My name is Rihanna Delia Von Lugastine; I am the daughter of Prime Minster Lugastine. I do hope you will take good care of Bella. She is a bit clumsy and does things in strange ways sometimes, but she is a good girl.¡±


    ¡°Once again, can you please not make this sound like you are marrying me off!¡± Bella really did not know what to do with these two girls.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure. As you all know my name is Leo or Leon Tristan. I am nothing but a villager. I will be in your care from now on.¡± Leo tried his best to give a proper introduction which seemed to make the girls smile. He did not know why they were smiling, but they were.


    ¡®Their smiling because your bashful grin as you introduced yourself was cute.¡¯


    ¡®I highly doubt that.¡¯


    ¡®Leo, you really need to understand you are very good-looking. Do you think these girls would be willing to be this close to you if that was not the case? On top of that, you already gained the princess¡¯ approval, which means they see you as someone they can trust.¡¯ Leo did not know what to say to that. Now, he was actually feeling slightly embarrassed.


    ¡°I was going to suggest we take a tour of the Academy but it is already late. We need to be at the assembly first thing in the morning but I heard we will be free after that, so why don¡¯t we all meet up afterward and tour the Academy together? This means you too, Leo.¡± Abby felt she could really get along with Leo as well. Anna was the same, so she did not object to Leo being invited. As for Bella, she had already planned to stick to Leo like glue at the assembly. She already knew that they had to gather by floor, and she would not know anyone else. And those she did know were people who were trying to suck up to her, so she would rather be with somebody who treated her like a normal girl and did not care about her status.


    ¡°I am all for it. But do you mind if I invite Jack if he is free?¡± Leo did not want to leave out his friend. He would feel bad if Jack was all alone for the whole day.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. He seemed like a good person.¡± Abby quickly agreed. Mainly because if Leo was willing to befriend him, then Jack must be a decent person as well.


    ¡°Then it¡¯s settled. We will meet up at the entrance of the hall.¡± Bella was happy. She really wanted to see the Academy before she had to go to classes, and now that things were set, it was perfect.

 Chapter 4 Part 5

    Leo and Bella returned to their room, where things became very quiet. Bella sat on her bed, poking at her blanket, racking her brain on what she should say while Leo got his uniform ready for the next day.


    ¡°Le-Leo¡­ About earlier¡­¡± Bella was still feeling bad about what happened earlier. She never meant for something like that to happen. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Leo put his uniform on his nightstand and looked over at the girl who had her head down and sighed. He really did not care about such things. He knew Bella meant no harm. ¡°You do not need to apologize for the things that come out of other people¡¯s mouths. I, for one, will never hold it against you. Unlike many, I have long disregarded people like that since it did not help in my day-to-day life. I was only nice to Jasmine because she had never attempted to harm me in any way. This is why, on the trip to the teleportation gate, I had let her use my shoulder as a pillow.


    ¡°I have long known about her personality and her goals. However, I have a feeling her goals will never come to fruition. As you may have guessed, her goal was to climb the social ladder. How she goes about it, or whether or not she succeeds or not has nothing to do with me.


    ¡°So Bella, do not worry over something that is not your fault. I know you were just trying to tease me as I teased you. There is nothing wrong with that. In fact I find it cute. Just like how you peeped on me.¡±


    ¡°Please forget about that!¡± Bella cried out, her cheeks a nice shade of pink. She glared at Leo before finally letting out a relaxed sigh as she fell back onto her bed, looking up at the ceiling. ¡°Leo¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°I am glad you became my roommate.¡±


    ¡°And I am glad you became mine. It would suck now to be stuffed in a room with a guy. Not after being able to share a room with a beauty.¡±


    ¡°Can you be serious!¡± Bella tossed her pillow at Leo once again. But regretted it afterward as she yelled: ¡°No comments on how it smells!¡±


    ¡°Haha!¡± Leo let out a laugh. He then crawled over his bed and handed the pillow back to the angered princess. ¡°So, since we have time before we should sleep, why don¡¯t we get to know one another better? This way, we can understand each other.¡±Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Bella¡¯s eyes lit up as she nodded. She had been wanting to do that but did not know how to ask. ¡°Okay!¡±


    - - -


    In another room on the third floor, Jasmine was not in a good mood. She walked into her room and was going to sit down on her bed when she noticed her clothes had been tossed onto the other bed. Her eyes grew cold as she looked at the girl who was sitting on what should have been her bed, reading a book. ¡°Ummm¡­ I chose that bed.¡±


    ¡°And? I decided I wanted the window, so get over it.¡± The girl whose golden hair rained down to her waist and whose deep green eyes did not even look up at Jasmine as she answered her was as if she was talking to air.


    ¡°You can¡¯t just go moving people¡¯s stuff! I demand you switch beds with me!¡± Jasmine''s anger flared. She could not say anything to the princess, but to this girl who looked like a village girl, she was not going to hold back. Jasmine had long forgotten she was a village girl herself.


    ¡°Look bitch.¡± The girl finally got angry and slammed her book on the bed as she got up and stomped over to Jasmine. ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what happened in the cafeteria. I am sure the entire Academy knows that you are a stuck-up bitch who doesn¡¯t understand where she comes from. I am a village girl, too, but guess what? I don¡¯t act like I am a princess like you. Since you want the bed, fight me for it. Otherwise, shut up and be quiet. I am at a good part in my book, and I hate being disturbed when I am reading.¡±


    ¡°You! Who are you calling a bitch!? Your the bitch!¡± Jasmine wanted to reach out and pull the girl''s hair. She had never fought before, and this was the only thing that came to mind. Little did she know the girl in front of her was not like her in the slightest. She turned and socked Jasmine in the eye before kicking her in the stomach.


    The two girls quickly got into a brawl that spilled out of the room when Jasmine tried to run. She was actually afraid for her life!


    ¡°What¡¯s going on!?¡± The floor manager stomped down the hallway. She was one of the teacher''s assistants, and the thing she hated the most was fighting. She looked at the golden-haired girl who had Jasmine pinned to the floor, punching her in the face, and frowned. ¡°Alright stop! What happened!?¡±


    ¡°Miss, she tried to steal my bed and attacked me, so I put her in her place.¡± The golden-haired girl replied almost instantly without batting an eye at her lie. She quickly stood up and lowered her head in a show of submission.


    ¡°I see. Then go back to your room and don''t fight next time. And you!¡± The teacher''s assistant glared at Jasmine. She was also in the cafeteria and heard what happened. She really disliked this girl. ¡°Come with me!¡±


    ¡°But! I¡­¡± Jasmine''s eyes and mouth were starting to swell up. Her nose was also bleeding. She had really been beaten up but only she was getting in trouble. Tears began to stream down her face, but no one cared. The people who came to watch the show were giggling and pointing at her.


    ¡°Save it! I don¡¯t even want to deal with this right now! It¡¯s your first day here and you are already causing scene after scene. Hurry up!¡±

 Chapter 4 Part 6

    In the teacher assistant¡¯s room she sat down in a chair and crossed her legs while folding her hands over her knees. ¡°So, what happened?¡±


    ¡°She just started hitting me¡­¡± Jasmine was not actually lying. She was just leaving out a few details. But she was already in pain and just wanted to go to the Academy Clinic to be healed.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ So, in other words, you said something that got your roommate mad. You thought too highly of yourself and ended up getting beaten up, right? Not that it matters since I already decided to give you a demerit. Let me tell you now. If you get three demerits, you will be expelled from the Academy, and your card will be ripped out of you. It''s a very painful process.¡± The teacher assistant snorted as she said this. Mainly because the girl in front of her went pale, even with her swollen face, it was easy to tell that the girl was scared. But this did not change the teacher assistant''s attitude towards the girl. She highly disliked people who thought of themselves as better than others. ¡°Go get healed. You now have your first strike.¡±


    - - -


    Back in Leo¡¯s room, Bella was now sitting cross-legged with her feet tucked up under her, and Leo had laid down and propped his head up on his hand. ¡°My village is pretty laid back. Well except those who think they have privilege. My father was a Card Master but never got to rise above F-rank due to being called out to a dungeon break.¡±


    ¡°He passed?¡± Bella¡¯s voice was low. She really did not know what to say in times like these. She hated herself for even asking what she just asked.


    ¡°Mmm¡­ It was hard at first. But we did not have much time to grieve. With my sister and I being so young and my mother working in the fields, I had to take on more work as well. Not only did I help with the fields but I also helped with taking care of my sister. We had to keep living on no matter what. We really did not have a choice.


    ¡°That¡¯s why, even though it is dangerous, I decided to become a Card Master as well. I need to make money in order to give my mother and sister a better life.¡± Leo smiled just thinking about his mother and sister. He couldn¡¯t help but feel kind of homesick.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    ¡°I can see why you are the way you are. You had to grow up quicker, unlike me, who has been pampered since I was young.¡± Bella sighed as she flopped back onto the bed and adjusted herself so she could look at Leo. ¡°Being a princess is no fun. You are bound by rules. You always have to think about your image. Each action you make is always being judged. Luckily, I am the youngest princess. I have no value other than being married off. But this is also the reason why I came here. As a Card Master, my father will need to think before he uses me for political means.


    ¡°This is why I am glad you became my roommate. Even knowing who I am, you still see me for who I am.¡± Bella smiled softly at Leo. She had never been this comfortable around a boy before. Only Abby and Anna could make her feel like her true self. But here she was, feeling just fine with a boy whom she would be sharing a room with.


    ¡®This girl has it rough. She needs to grow stronger, much stronger or she will be used as a political tool.¡¯ Liana chimed in. But unlike her normal cheery self, she seemed to be a bit sorrowful. She felt pity for Bella.


    ¡®Everyone has there good and their bad. Being a princess seems to be Bella¡¯s bad.¡¯


    ¡®This I agree on.¡¯ Liana felt the same way as Leo.


    ¡°You will just need to keep growing stronger. You have Anna and Abby by your side and now me. If we all work hard and continuously enter dungeons we will be able to rank up quickly. Well once they let us that is. For us Rock Salamander Card Masters we will need to prove our selves even more and work twice as hard.¡± Leo sat up and stretched out his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s make a goal for ourselves. By the time our first year is over we should be at least D-rank. We will have to work our butts off but I think it is possible.¡± Of course, Leo was not spouting nonsense; Liana was telling him this would be no issue at all. She could easily make it so Leo, Jack, and the three girls all reached D-rank before their first year ended.


    Bella¡¯s eyes lit up. She quickly sat up and took Leo¡¯s hand, ¡°If we don¡¯t you will owe me big time!¡±


    ¡°Fine, if we do not reach D-rank then I will do my best to grant one of your wishes.¡± Leo knew it was a gamble, but he chose to trust Liana. If she said they would, then they would.


    ¡°And if we do, I will grant one of your wishes.¡± Bella was in a very good mood. If she could reach D-rank in a year, she would not need to worry about being married off. This was the thing she dreaded the most.

 Chapter 4 Part 7

    Moonlight shined through the crack in the curtain hanging above the only window in the room as the two laid their heads down to rest. ¡°We should sleep we have to get up early.¡±


    ¡°Mmm¡­¡± Bella nodded her head and adjusted herself to a more comfortable position. Both of them turned away from one another to try to make their first night together less awkward for them.


    Leo ran through the events of the day and felt it had been a long and interesting day. ¡®Are you going to have a wet dream?¡¯


    ¡®Liana¡­¡¯ Leo sighed. He was not numb to such things since he had had them before himself, but to hear Liana say such things in a teasing manner made me kind of self-conscious.


    ¡®Hehe, I know. I know. I just couldn¡¯t resist. But really, this girl has at least some unconscious interest in you. She seems to already trust you quite a bit. She is not even guarded against you.¡¯


    ¡®I am not sure if I should be happy about that or not. Bella is a good girl and I would date her with the intention to marry if I could but our status is another story. It would never be allowed.¡¯


    ¡®Do not be so sure. And before you go ignoring me with what I am about to say, hear me out. If you two get close enough and progress to a point where your feelings are strong enough to risk it all, to get around the whole status aspect of things, you will just need to do the deed.¡¯


    ¡®That is pushing it quite a bit. For one thing I do not even know what love feels like so it would be a long time before that even happened if we ever reached that height. I mean, we will probably end up splitting up here soon.¡¯


    ¡®Maybe not. From what I can see, you two will be sharing this room the entire time you are here at the academy. In fact, she might just fight for it.¡¯ Leo could feel Liana''s teasing grin at the end. He sighed and opened his eyes, looking at the white walls in front of him. Their room was quite small. It had to be since it fit a decent-sized bathroom along with two large beds, two cubbies, and two nightstands. There was only a few feet in between the beds.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Leo¡­ Are you still awake.¡± A soft voice came from the other side of the room. Leo rolled over to see Bella looking over at him.


    ¡°Mmm¡­ What¡¯s wrong, can¡¯t sleep?¡± Leo kept his voice low for some reason. With how dark the room was, it was hard to see Bella¡¯s face, but he could make out the outline of her body with the bit of moonlight that entered the room.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I have never been good with new places. I end up tossing and turning. My personal maid, Janet, used to hold my hand until I fell asleep, so this is new to me. I will get used to it, I am sure.¡± Bella was blushing. She was glad it was dark. She had no idea why she even said any of that to Leo since it was exposing an embarrassing side of her. A girl her age was basically saying she was afraid of sleeping in new places.


    But to her surprise, in answer to her words, Leo suddenly got out of bed, pushed his bed next to hers, and laid back down, holding his hand out. ¡°Just for tonight. My little sister had trouble sleeping at times as well. I used to hold her hand to help her sleep.¡±


    ¡°Wha¡­ I¡­¡± Bella was stunned. She looked at the eyes in front of her that were filled with pure intent and felt her heart begin to beat faster. She hesitated for a few seconds before slowly reaching out and placing her right hand into Leo¡¯s waiting left hand. Leo then interlocked his fingers with hers, causing her heart to thump harder. She did not know what she would do if he suddenly pulled her into his embrace, but that seemed to be nothing but her own fantasies since Leo slowly closed his eyes and laid still.


    ¡°Hopefully this helps.¡± Leo¡¯s soft, tired voice entered Bella¡¯s ears. She looked at his handsome side profile that was now only inches away from her face and then down at the hands that were clasped together. She, too, at some point, had held his hand tighter. She wondered if Leo would do this for any girl or if he was at all interested in her. Bella¡¯s mind was a mess. But as she listened to the sound of Leo¡¯s slow and steady breathing, she couldn¡¯t help but pace her breathing with his. Before she knew it, she, too, slipped into dreamland.


    The room was soon filled with the sounds of their soft breathing, a beautiful blue-haired girl lying next to a handsome silvered-haired boy. The way they lay there with their hands clasped together looked like a quiet, picturesque scene.


    Within Leo¡¯s body, a fiery red-haired girl sat in her chaotic space, looking out into the room. ¡®And Leo keeps acting as if he doesn¡¯t have a chance. This girl may not have realized it but my future husband has already long won over her heart. Such a cute little sister will be perfect for Leo. I hope she never betrays him or else once I appear, the first thing I will do is destroy this kingdom.¡¯


    With a flick of her tail, the fiery-haired girl curled up on her throne and fell asleep.

 Chapter 4 Part 8

    As the morning light began to stream in through the crack of the curtain, only one person was awake at this time. Liana was sitting on her throne, staring at the scene in front of her with an amused smile on her lips. The reason being was the two people sound asleep in bed.


    Bella had, at some point, crawled into Leo¡¯s bed and was half lying on top of him, using his shoulder as a pillow. Leo had instinctively hugged Bella close to him. The two looked as if the position they were in was the most natural position to be in.


    A few minutes later, Bella stirred, and Lianna adjusted herself in anticipation. She was bored being stuck in her chaotic space, so everything that happened to Leo and those around her was her entertainment.


    As Bella opened her eyes and blinked a few times, her expression froze when she saw the handsome face in front of her. ¡®Why!? Why am I in Leo¡¯s arms!? Why am I using him as a pillow!?¡¯


    Bella had thousands of questions and no answers. She wanted to jump up and make space between them, but she did not dare to move too wildly and wake the sleeping demon. She took a deep breath to calm her racing heart, ignoring the heat rising her in face as she slowly pulled herself from Leo¡¯s arms and stealthily rolled over to her bed and stared at the wall. Her entire face was burning up. She had never expected that she would have cuddled up to Leo like that. This was beyond anything she could have dreamt of. Yes, there was always a chance of that happening when she allowed Leo to push the beds together, but she never thought it would happen with her being the one to move to his side of the bed! Not that the other way around was any better!


    She slowly peaked over her shoulder to see Leo still sound asleep and let out a sigh of relief. She did have to admit that having him hold her hand and hearing the sound of his soft breathing while he slept had allowed her to fall asleep quickly. Even now she felt at peace even with what she woke up to.


    Bella rolled over and gazed up at Leo for a few seconds in a daze before snapping out of it and shaking her head. ¡°Get it together, Bella¡­¡± Bella whispered softly as she slipped out of bed, grabbed her uniform, and headed to the bath as if she had a fire lit under her feet.


    Liana saw the girl scurrying away as quickly as she could and found it really amusing. ¡®She is a keeper. At this rate, Leo will only need to sleep, and she will fall for him.¡¯


    ¡®What are you on about, Liana?¡¯ Leo slowly woke up at the sound of Liana¡¯s voice but did not actually hear what she had just said.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡®Nothing, just talking to myself. But I must say you really listened to me and did as I asked. Are you not embarrassed sleeping with a girl you just met?¡¯


    ¡®Why would I be? Bella is a good girl. Now, if I had slept with someone like Jasmine, I would have cursed myself, but Bella is different. She is a kind girl. In a way, she reminds me of home.¡¯


    ¡®Home?¡¯ Liana was confused. She did not understand what Leo meant.


    ¡®She reminds me of my mother and sister. It¡¯s hard to explain.¡¯ Leo really did not know how to explain it. But he felt close to her. It was a strange feeling.


    ¡®Well, either way, it''s good that you can learn. I will be sure to help you progress quickly.¡¯


    ¡®I think growing stronger comes first.¡¯ Leo sighed. He did not understand Liana¡¯s fascination with love. Strength was what was the most important at this time.


    ¡®Don¡¯t worry. I can help you grow stronger as well. We will be going over it soon enough once I get a better understanding of your body. I am almost done inspecting it. For now, get ready or you will be late.¡¯


    ¡®Right¡­¡¯ Leo was very curious as to what Liana was referring to but understood time was of the essence. He looked over at the empty bed next to him and guessed that Bella was already getting ready. He got out of bed and quickly got dressed and waited for Bella to finish up.


    When the girl came out of the bathroom, Leo couldn¡¯t help but take a good long look at her. Her blue hair bounced with each step. Her flushed cheeks and cherry lips enhanced her already striking beauty. Her silver eyes, as she looked at him, seemed to sparkle. It made him wonder how he was even able to hold hands and sleep with such a beautiful girl on their first meeting.


    ¡°What?¡± Bella began feeling subconscious about how Leo was staring at her. When combined with earlier, it was already too much for her. She stood there fidgeting, unsure of what she should say or do. The only thing she wished she could do was run away but she did not want Leo to think she hated him.


    ¡°Sorry. You looked beautiful in your school uniform.¡± Leo replied with a smile, which caused Bella to turn as red as an apple.


    ¡°Le-let¡¯s go!¡± Bella knew if she stayed here any longer, she would end up dying of embarrassment. Leo smiled and followed after her as he thought, ''She is quite cute.''


    ''I told you!''


    The two left the room and made their way downstairs to grab a quick bite to eat. They had just enough time to grab some toast and head to the assembly hall. As they left the dorm, they ran into not only Jack but also Anna and Abby as well. ¡°You guys waited?¡±


    ¡°We figured you would be out soon so we decided to wait. Sadly we are not able to stand together. We have to stand by floor.¡± Anna explained.


    ¡°We will be meeting up after so its fine.¡± Bella replied as she hooked her arm with Anna¡¯s and Abby¡¯s. She had to do something to keep her mind off what she had woken up to, and her friends were the perfect escape!


    Leo looked at Jack, who was standing there quietly and patted him on the shoulder. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Jack nodded, and the two began walking. Their academy life had just begun.

 Chapter 5 Part 1

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

 Chapter 5 Part 2

    ¡°As you spend the next three years here at the Academy, you will learn everything there is to know about Card Masters. Where you go from there is your choice. But those of the select few may get a chance to work for the Royal Family.


    ¡°But remember one thing.¡± Fenia looked over the crowd with a stern gaze. ¡°As a Card Master, it is your duty to protect this kingdom and its people from dungeon breaks. Never forget this. We would not be alive today if it were not for the Card Masters who had given up their lives to protect all of you. Tens of thousands of Card Masters have died during dungeon breaks, doing their best to protect everyone. If there is ever a day an EX-rank dungeon breaks, we can only band together and hope we are able to deal with the situation. So work hard and always strive for the top! No matter what your reason for being here is, whether it be money, fame, or just for the love of battle, I hope you will never stop striving for strength.


    ¡°I will now pass you, to whom some of you already know, Elder Hill, who has a few things to say.¡± Fenia smiled before turning and walking back to her seat. Elder Hill walked to the crystal and tapped it a few times before starting his speech.


    Leo listened attentively. No matter if what was being said was common sense or not, or something he had long known about he had to make sure he took everything in. His goal was to become strong and give his family a better life. He would never waste the chance he was given in coming here.


    Bella also clenched her fists. She had one goal for coming here, and that was to grow so strong that she would never be used as a political tool. She wanted to live like a normal girl. Live a life where she could fall in love with whom she wanted and never look back. She was born into being a princess, but that did not mean she liked it.


    In all her fifteen years, she tried too hard to live up to her father''s expectations, but in the end, she had no choice but to wager her entire future on this Academy, especially when all she could conquer was a Rock Salamander. But now¡­ Bella looked to her side at the young man sitting next to her and smiled faintly. She had hope.


    The boy next to her said she could reach D-rank in her first year. This was something she had never imagined possible. Frankly, it was insane to say that it was possible. But she felt she could believe Leo¡¯s words. She wanted to put her faith in the fact that he was not lying to her. This was why, if they did reach D-rank by the end of the term she was willing to grant him any wish. No matter what the wish may be.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    After the assembly, Bella and Leo got up to leave their seats. When Bella stood up, the person in front of her also stood up, pushing their seat back hard, hitting her and causing her to lose her balance and begin to fall over. ¡®Leo! Catch her!¡¯


    Leo reacted quickly to Liana¡¯s yell, turned to his side, and grabbed Bella¡¯s hand, pulling her into his embrace. Bella''s eyes were wide in surprise as Leo hugged her. A familiar scent filled her nose. This scent made her feel safe and secure. It was a strange feeling. She did not move at all and just stood there with her forehead pressed against his chest.


    ¡°You okay?¡± Leo asked gently as he turned and glared at the young man who had almost caused Bella to fall, only to be ignored as the young man walked away. Leo did not call out to him but instead turned back and noticed Bella not saying anything. He was confused since he did not think she was hurt at all. ¡°Bella?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Ah! Yes¡­ Yes, I am fine thank you.¡± Bella¡¯s cheeks turned red. She only now realized she had been taken in by Leo¡¯s scent. She hoped he did not realize this.


    ¡°This place is packed.¡± Leo sighed as he saw how hard it was to move. ¡®Be a man and help her out. Hold her hand!¡¯


    Liana¡¯s words rang in his ears, making him chuckle inwardly. ¡®I already planned to.¡¯


    ¡®Humph! You need to always watch out for those you wish to protect. If I had not said anything she would have fallen and really gotten hurt. As our future husband you need to take care of us properly!¡¯


    Leo did not know what to say. Liana kept calling him husband this and husband that and even bringing Bella into it. This was not to say he did not like Bella at all. In fact, he had a very good impression of her. He just did not want to overstep any bounds he should not overstep. The last thing he wanted was to make Bella mad at him. But he knew now was not one of those times where he would be overstepping.


    Leo held out his hand to Bella. ¡°Just until we get out.¡±


    Bella looked at Leo¡¯s outstretched hand and blushed even more before nodding slightly and taking it. She couldn¡¯t help but stare at the hand that held hers as she was led through the crowd. His hand, which was bigger than her own, gripped her hand tightly but not too tightly. He was making sure he would not lose her. Bella¡¯s heart began to flutter. She was having more and more of these types of experiences, and it had only been less than two days! ¡®Get it together Bella! Leo is just kind! He would do this for anyone!¡¯


    Bella did her best to calm down and try not to think about it. But as they reached the front and met up with the others, Anna and Abby were both staring at her with their mouths wide open.


    ¡°Oh my god! Bella has become a woman!¡± Abby screamed out, catching everyone''s attention.

 Chapter 5 Part 3

    ¡°Abby stop!¡± Bella quickly ran to her friend and covered her mouth. ¡°It¡¯s not like that! He was helping me through the crowd!¡±


    ¡°But you were holding his hand so boldly.¡± Abby¡¯s words reminded Bella of how she woke up in the morning and caused her to blush from ear to ear. She knew she was unusually close to Leo when they had just met, but she couldn¡¯t bring herself not refuse his advances even if he was only trying to be kind and help her.


    ¡°Abby!¡± Bella did not know how to refute her friend so she could only yell her name while raising her fist to playfully hit the girl.


    ¡°Oh no! The princess has decided to behead me!¡± Abby took off running, with Bella following after her. The two ran a few circles before Abby got a bright idea and ran to Leo and hid behind him. She then began moving Leo like a shield every time Bella tried to go around him while Leo stood there with a helpless expression on his face.


    ¡°Abby don¡¯t use Leo as a shield! Let me just hit you once, on the neck!¡±


    ¡°Enough you two, Leo doesn¡¯t know what to do.¡± Ann finally stepped in. She felt bad for Leo who was being drawn into the childish antics of her friends.


    ¡°Fine~!¡± Abby let Leo go and patted his back. ¡°I entrust my dear Bella in your care. But I want to see a baby girl first.¡±


    ¡°I will be sure to name her after you.¡± Leo decided to play along, thanks to Liana¡¯s urging.


    ¡°I would expect nothing less.¡± Abby nodded in satisfaction while Bella blushed from head to toe. But what Leo said next made both girls freeze.


    ¡°But Abby, what about our baby?¡± Leo¡¯s sly grin and Abby''s apple-red face made Anna cover her mouth and giggle. She had not seen Abby blush so deeply in a long time.


    Even Jack was taken off guard, and the young man standing next to him also stared at Leo in surprise. Abby finally got her voice after staring at Leo in disbelief for a few minutes and pointed her finger at him. ¡°You! Do-do you even hear what you are saying¡­ I-I am not even cute¡­ how could¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmmm? You are cute though?¡± Leo was confused. He turned to Bella, who was doing her best to hold back her laughter. She knew Leo was a very honest man. He would be a little naughty, but he was very honest in his words. Her smile bloomed softly as she thought of this.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    She walked over and bumped into Leo and whispered: ¡°Abby is not used to being treated as a girl. We tell her all the time that she is cute, but no boy has ever done so. You are the first.¡±


    ¡°Are people blind?¡± Leo asked in confusion. ¡®Hahaha! You are a natural! I did not even need to say anything and you made this girl trip over her words. I can promise you this. This day will always play in the back of her mind.¡¯


    ¡®I was just being honest. Am I wrong to say that she is cute?¡¯


    ¡®No, you are not. In fact I am surprised she does not have many suitors already but I guess her being more of a tomboy is a bit of a turn off for guys. But looking at her I can see that she is very cute. But I suggest not aiming for her just yet. You still have to finish the princess off.¡¯


    ¡®When did I aim for anyone!?¡¯ Leo was answered by a giggle and then silence. He really wanted to know when he was aiming for any of the girls here. As he thought back to all his actions from the time he met Bella until now, he suddenly realized he had actually been quite forward with her. But to him, these were all natural actions one should take to make a girl happy. ''Am I wrong!?''


    Leo scratched his head and looked at Jack, who only grinned and gave him a thumbs up. ¡°Er¡­ shouldn¡¯t we head out?¡± A change of subject! Leo had no other choice.


    ¡°Leo is right. We should get going.¡± Anna decided to help him out a bit, slipped her arm around Abby¡¯s, and pulled her along. Bella did the same while flashing a smile at Leo as she passed by him.


    Jack walked over to Leo and patted his shoulder. ¡°Should I call you my brother or Master from now on?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! Jack you best friend is really something else! I never thought I would see the Duke¡¯s daughter act like that. You put her into a daze.¡±


    ¡°You know Abby?¡± Leo asked out of curiosity.


    ¡°I have seen her quite a few times at palace gatherings. But anyone who dared to talk to her would end up getting punched, but you¡­ you basically just made a claim on her, and she was left speechless. Call me impressed. Oh, right. My name is Billy Von Stilskin. Just call me Billy and treat me as you do Jack. I don¡¯t like all that nobility crap.¡± Billy had short, neatly cut black hair and hazel eyes. He was handsome and looked like a guy many girls would want. With his carefree attitude, it made one feel that it was easy to get close to this young man.


    ¡°And before I forget... I have a fiancee, so don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t steal your girls.¡± Billy gave Leo a knowing wink causing Leo to hold his head. He wondered why everyone around him was actively saying that the other three girls were already his!


    ¡®Hehe, it seems this young man knows what he is talking about.¡¯


    ¡®Why do I feel like I''m the only sane person here?¡¯


    ¡®Because your not?¡¯ Liana¡¯s reply was instant and made Leo want to scream that he was, but he gave up. He looked at Jack, who also had a teasing grin, and let out a long sigh. The misunderstandings were just a bit too much for him. ¡°Let¡¯s go before we are left behind!¡±

 Chapter 5 Part 4

    The girls had slowed down enough to keep a few paces ahead of the boys but also not stray too far away from them. Anna was giving questioning looks to Bella who was just happy she was not the only one who was teased today. Anna finally couldn¡¯t hold back and asked in a low whisper, ¡°Bella tell us the truth. What exactly is going on between you two. As your childhood friends who grew up with you and are as close as sisters I think we deserve to know.¡±


    ¡°Nothing is going on that you think is going on.¡± Bella began, keeping her voice low so only her friends could hear. She knew she could not ignore them. So, since they were not teasing her, she would explain. ¡°Leo is my roommate. But he is very considerate and kind. He¡¯s strange¡­¡± ¡®I really do not know how else to describe him!¡¯ Bella was at a loss. She did not know what it was. But the two of them had started off in such an awkward way that it seemed that the normal time it would take to become close was basically tossed out the window.


    She also knew Leo was used to females being around him which she felt was probably the reason why she was so relaxed around him. He was not acting all weird about the situation which made things feel normal.


    While they were stuck together, she felt she was lucky it was Leo who had become her roommate and not someone else. And his consideration for her even going out of his way to hold her hand while she slept seemed natural to him. It was as if he was taking care of his family instead of a girl he had just met.


    ¡°Strange?¡± Abby was curious. She looked back at the handsome silver-haired by who was talking with the others and tilted her head. She only saw him as abnormally handsome.


    ¡°He is very calm. No matter the situation he just accepts it and is so honest with his words its hard to see him in a bad light. But he also has a naughty side to him¡­¡± Bella realized she was saying things that would lead in a bad way. She looked up at Anna and Abby who both suddenly had strange smirks on their faces.


    ¡°So what situations did you end up in for him to need to act calmly yet naughty?¡± Abby tightened her hold on her friend''s arm, not wanting to let her get away.


    ¡°Yes, please do tell.¡± Anna and Abby would not relent, so Bella had no choice but to tell them about her embarrassing situation.


    ¡°Bella, you are such a pervert!¡± Abby snickered as she bumped her friend slightly.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°To think you would peep on a boy¡­¡± Anna shook her head and sighed. Her friend had fallen onto the path of degeneracy.


    ¡°Would you two be quiet and stop!¡± Bella''s cheeks were flushed as she looked around, making sure no one heard what they had said. The last thing she wanted was rumors spreading about her being some kind of pervert.


    ¡°Alright, we will stop but really... To think he would go so far for you. He really seems like a good guy.¡± Abby had thought Leo was already a decent guy, but now she saw him in an even better light.


    ¡°Yeah, I wouldn¡¯t mind him as my roommate. And you know I would have shown up at one of your doors if I was stuck with a guy.¡± Anna had already mentioned this to her two friends before they entered the academy. That if she had gotten stuck with a guy she would be sharing a bed with them. She did not plan to share a room with any guy.


    ¡°For Anna to say that, I do feel lucky. I feel I can really get along with Leo.¡± Bella admitted. She glanced back, and as she did, Leo just so happened to be turning his head to speak with Jack and matching eyes with her. She blushed and quickly turned away.


    ¡°Well, if anything does happen, let us know. You can come stay with us.¡± Abby did not think anything strange would happen but she did want to make sure Bella knew she had a place to go.


    ¡°Thanks Abby, Anna.¡± Bella smiled, and the girls began talking about this and that.


    They walked around for almost two hours. The boys and the girls had started talking instead of being broken into two groups. They had passed quite a few buildings in the past two hours. Each with its own specialty ranging from Card Master History and Ranking Systems, Monster Evolution, Battle Practicals and Practice, Card Capturing, Monster Raising, and even Dungeon Diving. However, dungeon diving was a class you could not take until your second year. Battle practicals and practice would allow you to enter a dungeon, but only under a teacher''s supervision.


    It was actually here at this building that a young man stopped Leo and the others. ¡°Princess Isabella! I haven¡¯t seen you since the Spring Gala.¡±


    Bella¡¯s expression sank. She looked at the young man in front of her and frowned. From one look at his arm band, you could see that he was a C-rank Card Master, which basically gave him a high status in society. He was handsome and had many girls wishing to be his wife or concubine, but none of that mattered to Bella. She disliked this man from the tips of his flaxen hair to the tips of his toes. She hated every inch of this man¡¯s being. Especially those red eyes that leered at her lustfully. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the next place.¡±


    ¡°Princess Isabella, it is quite rude to suddenly ignore me when I am standing right here!¡± The young man reached out towards Bella and grabbed her wrist.


    ¡°Let go! You are hurting me!¡± Bella cried out as she tried to shake the young man¡¯s hand off.


    ¡°I just want to talk with you, so give me a moment of your¡­ Ahhh!¡± The young man cried out in pain and slowly turned his head to the person who had just grabbed his wrist and squeezed it to the point that it felt like it was breaking.


    Leo glared at the young man as he said: ¡°It¡¯s rude to grab a girl who obviously doesn''t want to be touched by you.¡±

 Chapter 5 Part 5

    ¡°Let me go! Do you even know who I am!? Ahh!¡± The young man yelled, only for Leo to grip his wrist even tighter.


    ¡°Who you are doesn¡¯t mean anything to me. What matters is how you are trying to force my friend to do something she doesn''t want.¡± Leo did not let go. He did not want the young man to have a chance to harm Bella.


    ¡°I am Harry Von Felinistine, Marquis Felinistine¡¯s son and only wanted to give Princess Isabella a tour of the academy.¡± Harry replied while finally shaking Leo off. He glared at him with hatred in his eyes as he continued: ¡°Low born and low ranking nobles can just leave.¡±


    Leo had no idea where Harry got the stick that was stuck up his butt to even think he could order people around in the current situation, nor did her care. He gently took Bella¡¯s hand, pulled her behind him, and raised his chin towards Harry. ¡°I think Bella already made it quite clear that she has nothing to do with you. I do not care if you are a marquis, a prince, or even the king. I will not stand idly by and watch any man trying to force a girl to do something she does not want.¡±


    ¡°Leo¡­¡± It was hard not to be touched by Leo¡¯s words. A sweet smile formed on her lips as she looked at Leo¡¯s strong and sturdy back.


    ¡°Oh? Then let¡¯s see how I deal with you.¡± Thinking Leo was weak, Harry raised his fist and thrust it at Leo¡¯s face. Leo didn''t even try to dodge it as he raised his hand, grabbed hold of it, and pulled hard, causing Harry to fall forward before twisting it up behind Harry¡¯s back and kicking his knees, making him kneel to the ground while pushing his arm at an unnatural angle.


    ¡°Apologize!¡± Leo said coldly while pushing his arm up more, making the pain Harry was feeling right now even worse.


    ¡°Bastard! Let me go! Do you think you can get away with this!? I will have you and your family¡­¡± Harry¡¯s voice was caught in his throat when a sharp gleam entered his eyes, and a cold piece of metal was pressed against his neck.


    ¡°Do you think we are non-existent? Bella said no, but you ignored her and even grabbed her wrist, hurting her. By all rights, even your father would not say a word if I beheaded you now. The only reason I haven¡¯t is because we are in the Academy where rank does not matter. But I will say this now, even if Bella is the seventh princess, if we report this to her father, you will not get off easily. If you dare to even touch a hair on anyone here or their families, I will make sure your Marquis house disappears overnight. You, of all people, know how much my father loves me.¡± Abby''s voice was cold. She exuded a bloody aura that told everyone present she was willing to do what she said.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Leo, let him go. If he dares to do anything, he will be the one who suffers, trust me.¡± Bella gently tugged on Leo¡¯s arm. Leo was quite pissed. Someone dared to threaten his family. If it were not for Abby stepping in when she did, he was afraid he would have done something he shouldn¡¯t have.


    ¡®Kill him! This bastard! How dare he touch my sister and threaten my in-laws!¡¯ Liana was not helping him any either. She was on the verge of forcing herself out of her space and attacking the young man herself. Her fiery rage was also flowing through their connection making Leo have a hard time keeping control.


    Leo closed his eyes before slowly opening and letting the bastard go. ¡®Liana, remind me to keep my eye on this bastard.¡¯


    ¡®I will. I won¡¯t forget his scent. But if we let him go here he will cause trouble in the future. You can tell by the look in his eyes.¡¯


    ¡®Let him. He may be a C-rank but he himself is weak. Only his cards are strong. But I will need to be careful when not in the Academy. Luckily where I live is only known to a few people. I guess Jasmine is the only one I need to worry about about giving up where I live.¡¯


    ¡®I will help you tonight to grow a bit strong although it will not be easy.¡¯ Liana could feel Leo¡¯s worry. She knew just how important his family was to him.


    ¡®I will do anything. No matter what it is.¡¯ Leo did not care if he had to sell his soul. He wanted to get stronger no matter what. He had to protect the people he cared about.


    ¡®I understand. For now deal with the situation in front of you we will talk more later.¡¯


    Leo looked at Harry once more before turning his gaze to Bella who was looking back at him in concern. ¡°Let¡¯s go. We still got places we need to check out.¡±


    Leo took Bella¡¯s hand and pulled her away. He did not realize what he was doing looked like he was rubbing in the fact that Bella did not mind him holding her hand and leading her away. As if he was saying this is my woman.


    Abby snorted and looked at Bella and Leo before smiling faintly and sheathing her sword. ¡°Let¡¯s go. Bastards aren¡¯t worth our time.¡±

 Chapter 5 Part 6

    ¡°Leo¡­¡± Bella pulled lightly on Leo¡¯s hand. He had been marching forward, and Bella could tell he was not very happy.


    At least Bella''s light tug was enough to make Leo snap back to reality and turn to Bella. ¡°Sorry.¡± Leo let go of the girl''s hand and scratched his head. ¡°That guy¡­ someone like him doesn¡¯t deserve to breathe the same air as people. I should have forced him to apologize to you.¡±


    ¡°No, I asked you to let him go because it was not worth it. If he dares to even target you or your family he will be in for it. But I will warn you that he might send some of his lackeys after you.¡± Bella lowered her head and bit her lip. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, because of me¡­¡±


    ¡°You did nothing wrong. We are friends now and roommates. As such, I can¡¯t just sit by while you are being manhandled like that. Even if he were stronger than me physically, I would have still done the same thing. If he dares to come at you again, tell me.¡± Leo reached out and placed his hand on top of Bella¡¯s head and gently ruffled it. It took him a second to realize what he was doing, and quickly pulled his hand back. ¡°Sorry. Force of habit¡­¡±


    Bella chuckled, seeing Leo blush. She actually felt much better. The boy in front of her really made her heart skip a few beats today. ¡°Let me guess, you used to ruffle your sisters hair.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Anytime someone in the village bullied her, I would beat them up and then try to calm my sister down.¡± Leo replied, feeling slightly awkward. He did not mean to treat Bella like his little sister. Nor did he want to remember those days. Sadly for him, someone remembered them very clearly.


    ¡°This guy really did let those bullies have it. I remember there was a big village meeting over it.¡± Jack walked over and said while inwardly sighing in relief. He was glad that Leo seemed fine. He had hurried after Leo to make sure he was okay. The others were also right behind him.


    ¡°No one wants to hear that boring story.¡± Leo did not even want to remember that time. He had really gone a little too far.


    ¡°So dangling three kids by their feet from tree limbs is a boring story?¡± Jack chuckled. ¡°Those kids even peed themselves.¡±


    ¡°Wait, they peed themselves while upside down?¡± Abby asked with wide eyes and a sour expression. Just the thought of it made her stomach turn.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    ¡°Yeah. Leo beat them up, tied them upside down to a tree limb, and in the end, they ended up peeing on themselves in the process.¡± Jack put his arm around Leo¡¯s shoulder and smiled. ¡°He may look like a good person, but once you mess with those he cares about, he is like a dungeon boss.¡±


    ¡°I guess I could see that.¡± Anna nodded. She thought of the expression Leo had when Harry said something about his family. She wondered what would have happened if Bella and Abby had not stopped him. This was just an internal thought, though. She was happy with the current outcome. But she would also make sure that Harry behaved himself.


    Putting the event with Harry behind them, the group continued their tour, which ended at a large arena. ¡°This place is?¡±


    ¡°From what I heard, it''s the battle arena. You can either fight other students or against a monster created from chaos.¡± Billy answered Leo¡¯s question.


    ¡°Let¡¯s check it out!¡± Leo''s eyes were filled with excitement. He had never seen how a Card Master fights, so this was a very good chance for him. Everyone quickly agreed, and the group entered the arena.


    The arena was made of solid stone. It seemed to have been carved from an enormous chunk of rock. The entrance was a long tunnel that came out to stadium seating with three arenas sitting side by side at the bottom. The entire building actually sunk into the ground about one hundred feet, allowing for plenty of space.


    ¡°This place is huge!¡± Abby exclaimed as she looked around. She had heard about this place, but hearing about it and seeing it were two different things.


    ¡°It¡¯s also quite packed.¡± Leo really did not expect to see so many people here. The stands were half-filled, and there did not seem to be any tournaments going on. At least none that they were told about.


    ¡°Over here! There is space here.¡± Bella called out as she pointed at a spot that had six seats open nearby.


    Bella unconsciously grabbed Leo¡¯s hand, pulled him over, and had him sit down in a seat next to another young man before sitting on the other side of him. Anna and Abby looked at each other and smiled before making their way over as well.


    ¡°Looks like it''s just us guys.¡± Jack chuckled as he, too, made his way over. Billy smiled and shook his head, following Jack. They both took a second to pat Leo on the shoulder and give him a knowing wink, which made Leo sigh once more. He had no idea what was going on. Bella took his hand, and he followed.


    Only one of the stages was being used at this time. There was a young man with a Blast Turtle on stage going against a young woman who had a Yellow Lightning Hawk.


    ¡®Hmmm¡­¡¯ Liana looked at the two on stage and narrowed her eyes. ¡®Leo, watch this battle closely. The Blast Turtle should have the advantage with its ability to fight at range but the Yellow Lightning Hawk is mutated.¡¯


    ¡®Mutated?¡¯ Leo raised an eyebrow and looked at the Yellow Lightning Hawk but could not see a difference from the reference book he had read.


    ¡®The tail feathers of the Yellow Lightning Hawk¡¯s have green tips. Those green tips are a small mutation but it is enough to give the Yellow Lightning Hawk an edge. It allows it to use wind to speed itself up.¡¯

 Chapter 5 Part 7

    ¡°So the Yellow Lightning Hawk will win¡­¡± Leo mumbled as he watched the match, not realizing the young man sitting next to him looked over and smirked slightly before shaking his head.


    In the arena, the Card Master of the Blast Turtle was licking his lips. He really wondered if he had gotten lucky or not. ¡°Gi, keep it a ranged battle and fire Cloud Burst Shot.¡±


    The Blast Turtle lowered its head and angled the three protrusions on its back toward the Yellow Lightning Hawk. They began to light up, and seconds later, three pod-looking things fired out. They flew through the air at an incredible speed, making it hard to even see them before suddenly exploding in mid-air, creating a cloud that filled the stage between the two Card Masters.


    ¡°Lilly, show them what it means to underestimate you.¡± The owner of the Yellow Lightning Hawk had a bright smile on her face as her Yellow Lightning Hawk suddenly shimmered with green light and flew forward at ten times the speed it normally would have, shooting through the cloud. Its body began to spark as it turned into a streak of lightning and slammed into the Blast Turtle, causing it to flip over on its back. It quickly turned and dive-bombed the underside of the Blast Turtle, smashing it into the stage once more.


    ¡°Gi!¡± The young my had no idea what was going on. He should have had time to set up his attack, but for some reason, this Yellow Lightning Hawk did not act as normal. Normally, any time there was a cloud in front of it, they would not pass through it. But now¡­ ¡°I give up¡­¡±


    Back in the stands, the young man next to Leo raised an eyebrow in surprise. He looked at Leo, wondering how he knew! He was sure that the Blast Turtle would win due to its ability to make a cloud. Now he had lost all his Academy Points he had put on the match! He could only hope the next match would cover his losses. He leaned forward and bit the tip of his thumb as he waited for the next match to begin.


    This time on stage was a Wood Bear against a Sonic Bat. ¡®Liana what do you think of this match up? I am not noticing any difference in their outward features.¡¯This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡®Normally, in this match the Sonic Bat would win. But I feel something off about this Wood Bear. Sonic Bats use sound to attack their foes, which the Wood Bear is weak against. The person who got this match up would show signs of defeat already-but look. They are calm. So my guess is that there is something very different about this Wood Bear.¡¯ Liana could sense anything strange about it, which meant it was a physical change on the inside. She wondered just what it was. That was until she saw it. The Card Master of the Wood Bear reached out and tapped on the Wood Bear¡¯s butt twice. ¡®I see¡­¡¯


    ¡®You see?¡¯ Leo was curious. It seemed Liana had figured it out.


    ¡®This Wood Bear is deaf. It can''t hear anything meaning the attacks of the Sonic Bat will be useless. Such a condition is rare for monsters so the Sonic Bat Card Master must be thinking this match is easily won.¡¯ Leo would never have thought of such a thing. He stared intently at the stage, wondering if this was true. ¡°I kind of feel bad for the Sonic Bat. It has met its worst enemy.¡±


    The young man sitting next to Leo was very confused as to what Leo meant, but he soon found out.


    ¡°Sonic Wave!¡± The Sonic Bat¡¯s Card Master called out. The Sonic Bat flapped its wings and did a small loop in place before spreading its wings wide and flapping them once hard. A wave of sound that was too high for humans to hear spread out and slammed into the Wood Bear. The Sonic Bat¡¯s Card Master thought he had won and began celebrating, only to hear a familiar screech. He turned to see the Wood Bear perfectly fine, stepping on his Sonic Bat. ¡°I give up!¡± He had no choice. His Sonic Bat was pinned to the ground.


    ¡°How!?¡± The young man next to Leo cried out. He turned to Leo and shook him with tears in his eyes. ¡°How did you know!?¡±


    A few moments later. The young man, who had big, burly muscles, was now slapping Leo¡¯s back with great force. But what made him strange besides his size was the way he dressed. He was currently wearing the girl''s uniform. ¡°Hahahaha! Sorry about that. I lost myself there a bit after losing so many Academy Points. The name''s Gerald, but everyone calls me Marrissa due to the way I dress.¡±


    ¡°Ahah¡­¡± Leo was at a loss for words. He did not know how to answer this man¡­ especially after being slapped so hard on the back. He knew Marrissa as he introduced himself, was not doing it to be mean but seemed to be just who he was. And everyone else in his group seemed to find it amusing.

 Chapter 5 Part 8

    ¡°Hey, why are you dressed as a girl?¡± Abby couldn¡¯t hold back. She was really interested in his reasoning.


    ¡°Real men wear skirts!¡± Marrissa stood up and flexed his muscles, which looked very dangerous with how high skirt skirt rose in the process.


    ¡°Really?¡± Jack asked in confusion. Leo facepalmed and shouted at the same time as the girls. ¡°No!¡±


    ¡°Ah. Oh! Ok...¡± Jack scratched his head and blushed. His friend, Billy, was having a hard time holding back his laughter. His shoulders were shaking, and his face was red.


    ¡°Hahaha! Your friend is an amusing one! Hahaha!¡± Leo was once more suffering from the back slaps Marrissa was giving him. ¡°Anyway, tell me how did you know who would win or loose?¡±


    This was a very important question for Marrissa. He had to know how Leo did it so he could try to win his Academy Points back. He had just lost half of what he had with these two matches.


    ¡®Just tell him you need to pay attention to the small changes in a monsters body and look at how the Card Master interacts with their monsters. These subtle things can be win or lose for the Card Master.¡¯


    ¡®Thanks.¡¯ Leo was glad Liana spoke up, or he would not have been able to explain it since he hardly understood it himself. He quickly explained it to Marrissa, who nodded his head in understanding. ¡°I see! I see! I should have been doing that! I am so stupid! All my Academy Points!¡±


    ¡°Academy Points?¡± Leo asked curiously. He had never heard of such a thing.


    ¡°You all are new, right? Then, as your upperclassman I should do my duty and give you an explanation. Academy Points are gained by turning in dungeon loot. You all should know that Card Masters dive into dungeons and kill other monsters. Sometimes even capturing them. You have two choices when a card appears. You can either enter the Chaotic Realm or store it away to sell later. Other things can be dropped or found as well. This includes items your cards can eat to grow in strength and evolve. Based on the path you have chosen for evolution, your card will need a variety of items.


    ¡°This is where Academy Points come in. Items or cards you do not need can be turned over to the Academy for Academy Points. You can also gain them by fulfilling requests as well from the Academy request board. The points are very important to new Card Masters like us. So get as many as you can.¡± Leo was not so much worried about Academy Points but the need for money. So hearing the Academy only gave you points instead of gold did not sit well with him.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Can you turn these points into money?¡± Leo asked. He felt slightly embarrassed to ask such a question, but he had to know. Or else he would need to figure out where to sell his items outside the Academy.


    ¡°You can! You can sell them to other students. The richer students will be more than happy to buy the points for five silver per point. It¡¯s how some students send money back home since the price for a point is much higher than the amount you would get for selling the items outside the Academy. This is because the items you can buy with points are much higher grade.


    ¡°If you wanted the same rank of an item outside, you would need to search auctions. So don¡¯t be afraid to sell those points if you do not need them right away. But remember to always keep in mind if you wish to rank up quickly you will need many points.¡±


    Leo let out a relaxed sigh. He was glad to know that he would still be able to sell his points. If he can gain enough gold, he might be able to quickly buy a place for his sister and mother here in the capital.


    ¡°Anyway, Good luck to you all. I need to go dive in to the dungeon. I lost quite a bit today.¡± Marrissa stood up and only now did everyone realize the color of his armband. ¡®Blue¡­¡¯ Leo was surprised. He never expected to meet a B-rank Card Master.


    They watched as Marrissa waved at them and walked away, his skirt swaying gently as he did. Until a breeze blew by, causing his skirt to rise up higher than one would want, only to see¡­ ¡°Meow¡­ Ouch!¡±


    Leo turned and looked at Bella, who was ruthlessly pinching his side, with an aggrieved expression. ¡®Why was she being so mean!?¡¯


    Bella¡¯s cheeks were puffed out with a shade of pink to them as she twisted Leo¡¯s skin mercilessly. ¡®How can he say that! I don¡¯t care if Marrissa was wearing the same underwear as me!¡¯


    - - -


    In another part of the Academy, inside a dorm room pillows and other items were being tossed around the room while another young man hid in the bathroom. Harry was seething with anger. The more he thought about how he had been humiliated by a commoner, the angrier he got. ¡®How dare he! How dare he! He humiliated me and even rubbed in the fact that he could easily hold the Princess¡¯s hand!¡¯


    The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to kill the commoner. He had worked so hard to try to win the Princess over and now some commoner ruined it all! ¡®I just needed to get the Princess alone. No one would have made an issue of it if she had slept with a Marquis¡¯s son.¡¯


    He bit the tips of his fingers. He knew right now that the commoner was under the protection of those three. He had no idea how the commoner even got himself ingrained with them. The three beauties of the kingdom, each with their own unique beauty. He, too, wished to covet them all, but he knew it would never work. So he settled for the Princess. The one with the highest status, but now¡­ ¡°I will just need to see which classes he has. Once I figure this out, my people can take care of him. As long as I don¡¯t touch him or his family personally¡­¡±


    A scheming smile formed on Harry¡¯s lips. He would not do anything himself. He never intended to anyway. A commoner was just that, a commoner. They were just tools to be used and tossed aside like garbage. Just like all the girls he has had... ¡°Let¡¯s see how long he can last here at the Academy¡­¡±