Carl woke up and let out a long yawn after his rest. Yeah, he’d dozed off after giving the order to summon undead fire dragons and leaving Roy some mana potions, just in case. Keeping the dragons in their undead state ate up way too much of Roy’s remaining mana.
Since the undead dragon had been used Car’s fire like a kind of weapon, it meant that whenever they killed a monster, Carl could count part of that kill as his own.
[System]: You have slain a Goblin.
[System]: You have received 1 Monster Card.
[System]: You have slain a Goblin.
[System]: You have received 1 Monster Card.
[System]: You have slain an Orc.
[System]: You have received 20 Monster Cards.
"G-Good." Carl snapped out of his dreamy state the moment he saw how fast his progress was climbing.
[System notice]: You did it again.
Carl smirked and gave a light shrug.
"Just, your man’s too smart."
Grinning, he looked at the burning forest, still spitting out waves of hot air even from where he stood. From time to time, the screams of monsters echoed from inside.
"Well, what a view." Carl clicked his tongue, ignoring the system’s endless announcements in his ears, and glanced at Roy, who was sulking.
His mood was very bad—he looked downright disappointed in his dragons.
"Kicked it off, boy. No more time for useless thoughts. Instead, why don’t you think about how to get stronger—like me?
Change the way you think, and the light will find you."
Roy paused for a moment before he scoffed.
"Easier said than done. You and I are nothing alike. Someone at the top of society like you could never understand what I’ve been through."
Carl smiled, hardly showing any anger at Roy’s words.
"What are you blaming, then?
No money? No support? A weak soul?"
Roy stayed quiet. He seemed to admit it—he was blaming what he lacked. Shame pricked at him for revealing even a glimpse of his cowardice.
Carl stood and stepped forward, eyes on the burning forest.
"Listen, boy. No need to feel ashamed. I’m the same as you. I once hit rock bottom too—my mana core shattered to pieces."
He turned back with a grin.
"Just don’t give up. Luck will come to you, like the gift I’ve given you."
Carl’s smile deepened as he glanced at the system screen.
"My luck is my wife."
[System]: You have received 1473x Monster Cards.
[System]: You have received +20 Available Stat Points!
– Clear the abandoned dungeon (Accomplished)
You’ve received your rewards: Cinder Cloak
Short Description: [A thin cloak of gray ash, its surface dusted with mana soot, flickering with sparks when exposed to heat].
. Fire Resistance +80% against targets below C rank
. Heat Resistance +80% against targets below C rank
[Rank]: F [2343/5000] (Requires Monster Card)
After clearing the abandoned dungeon, Carl and Roy stepped out through the gate.
Carl set up a meeting with Roy for tomorrow to clear another dungeon. With Roy’s support, the runs went much smoother, and Carl wasn’t about to waste this precious chance to rack up monster cards as fast as possible.
Still, it was a shame—the boy’s level was too low. Once Carl hit Rank-E, Roy wouldn’t have gone with Carl inside the same Rank dungeons anymore. From then on, Roy’d have to stick to places that matched his rank.
He... too bad he only had a one-star dragon soul. If he didn’t strengthen it, he wouldn’t be able to keep up with Carl. For now, Carl figured he’d be stuck babysitting until Roy could actually do something with that cube.
On top of that, Carl probably had to toss him some spare coins—Roy really did look like a miserable slave. And what would people think, seeing him walking around with Carl? Probably that Carl was some inhuman slave driver.
Carl hated that thought.
"What a day." He sighed, strolling from the dorms to the academy’s arena.
By now it was afternoon—the time for the duel between siblings. The news had spread across the academy for two days, and nobody wanted to miss it. This was big news for everyone.
"Well then, I hope my sister treats me gently." Carl muttered, blinking nonstop as he scanned the rows of the audience.
"Tsk. The more people here, the more rumors spread. Definitely, Hanley won’t try any trick with my sister anymore."
Carl looked upward, just glancing at his little sister.
"Sigh... She’s prepared really well. Guess I don’t even have a chance in this duel."
Carl stepped into the arena and moved toward the center, where his sister was waiting.
"You’re not wearing any armor?" Ceillia grimaced. She felt Carl was underestimating this duel.
Meanwhile, she equipped her armor from head to toe—everything from weapons to shoes. Even the earrings she wore radiated and filtered mana. Everything seemed crafted by a master.
"I’d like to, but... I’m too poor to buy anything like that. I just have my sword." ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ NoveI-Fire.ɴet
Carl forced a smile and drew his black sword, taking his stance.
Ceillia said nothing. She wouldn’t underestimate Carl once more.
Her entire body was quickly blanketed in mana, and the ground around her seemed ready to shatter under her suppression. Her scales and wings began to emerge from beneath her skin. But there was one difference from the last time Carl faced her.
A vague dragon soul formed from mana behind Ceillia. In an instant, it shrank and merged into her.
Of course, he knew what it was—Ceillia had used this skill before to shatter his mana core.
A unique skill, available only to someone with an eight-star dragon. The technique let the user manifest traits of an actual dragon. Beyond that, and what Carl feared most, Ceillia could use a part of a true dragon to attack him—a claw, wings, even a tail of a mature dragon. Not turning herself fully into a dragon, but vague parts would appear out of nowhere, strike, and vanish.
Of course, the technique had a fatal weakness: it consumed an enormous amount of mana.
Yeah... unfortunately, if he was hit by even a single strike, Carl would certainly die.
"M-My little sister... you don’t need a cannon for a rabbit like me."