LIGHTNOVELONLINE Companion Cards(1)
'Thoughts'
"Speech"
Since his last class with Romach, Jack's daily routine has changed. Since Crimson and Annie had their match, Crimson has started to spend more time with Jack and Annie. Because of that, Jack decided to work out more, especially his cardio to better keep up with his energetic friends. For example, Jack is currently chasing after the two once they read the email saying that today's Duel Theory class would be special. "WHAT DID-huff- I SAY ABOUT RUSHING!" Jacks burning legs almost gave out, and the only thing preventing him from collapsing was that each of his easily excited friends was holding his arms. Both of them tilted their heads as they slowed down and turned to look at the panting Jack.
"That if it isn't necessary, we shouldn't?" Crimson said with a hopeful look.
"That we should save our energy?" Annie answered with a smug smile.
"Tha-huff- if you're going to rush ahead, don't drag me around. I-huff- can catch up with you two without your help." The girls looked at each other.
"Wanna race?"
"Yea!" Both of them let go of Jack's arms and ran ahead. Leaving him to catch his breath, as he checks his Duel Watch.
"Class doesn't even start until 30 minutes from now." Deciding to take his time Jack walked the rest of the way there. What greeted him when he arrived at class was his classmates discussing what special thing Romach is going to show them.
"I bet he going to introduce the class to his girlfriend." Said, Chandra.
"Nuh Huh, that's stupid and you're stupid." Replied Shelley.
"Maybe it's a new Duel Method." Murmured Kai.
"YEA! LIKE PHYSICALLY FIGHTING OUR OPPONENT'S MONSTERS WITH EQUIPMENT CARDS!" Shouted Leo, who was quickly quieted by Zola. She slap him on the back of his head, as she covered one of her ears.
"Shut up, you're being too loud."
Jack took a seat next to Annie who was chatting with Crimson in front of her. "So what do you two think it is?"
"As long as it's fun, I don't care what it is." Crimson smiled as her legs swing back and forth.
"I bet it has something to do with his project."
"That's a good guess, Annie."
"Project?" Before Annie can explain anything to Crimson, Romach opened the classroom door. A wide smile on his face as he placed a briefcase on his desk.
"GREETINGS STUDENTS! I'm happy to see that you all are as excited as I am about this class. Well, let's get straight to the topic, as you all know this year the Acadamy started to integrate more hard-light tech into more classes. One aspect is duels, with the monsters having a physical form as they clash. Or how the second-year students use them to make their entertainment duels more exciting. Or how the third years use them to make their races more varied, by forming platforms in the middle of the track." With each example, the students got more and more excited.
"These are examples that the Acadamy already implement this year, but what I'm about to show you are all brand new! Meaning you all are going to be the first ones to have access to this!" The class erupted in cheers and applause. Once the classroom quieted down, Romach continued. "Now some of you might be wondering if other classes will find this unfair. Well, don't worry, with the permission of the Headmaster. You all will be taking part in this as test subjects, to see if this is worth implementing in other classes." Jack furrowed his brows at his wording. However, after seeing that no one else cared about it, decided that it doesn't matter that much.
Romach took out a dark-blue card with purple borders out of his lab coat pocket. "This is what you all will be testing, you can call these companion cards. These companion cards use a combination of hard-light tech, realistic imitation AI that is used in Duel Monsters, AI learning and other technologies from SAVA Corp to bring you all something truly unique." As he placed the card on the desk, it started to shine. The light quickly turned into a mini black wolf with sharp teeth and six blue orbs for eyes. The eyes blink before it barked and sat down on the desk as it panted. Romach's smile grew as he looked around at the students, who looked at the sight with awe.
"As you can see, the companion cards will form into a mini pet that you can play with. Great for relieving stress, or if you just want some companionship. Now usually it takes a bit of time for the cards to link to your Duel Watch, so I took the time to link them ahead of time." Romach opened the briefcase and turned it towards the class. "Now come up and grab your companion card, just take the card with the sticky note with your name on it." The students rushed to get their cards, however after the initial rush ended, six students were left standing. "Yes? What's wrong?"
"Uh Romach, it seems like we don't have a card with a name on them," Jack asked. Romach looked inside the briefcase and saw that there were no more silver border cards.
"How odd, I must have not linked enough cards. Well, why don't you six just grab a golden border card each? They function the same as the other, they're just not linked yet. So it will take a couple of hours before they can materialize." The six students grab a golden border card each and returned to their seats. "Now let me explain the companion cards. Once they are linked to your Duel Watch, they will take the form most suitable for you. They don't need to eat, or anything like that, but like any digital pet need interaction. So try not to neglect them. Lastly do not mistreat them, anyone found out to be mistreating them will be punished. Now I know you are all excited to test the cards out, but we are still in class. Now let's get this lesson going." After classes, the students of Romach's Duel Theory class rushed back to their dorms to test out their new cards. Most had typical experiences as their companions materialized, while for six students, things played out a bit differently.
Annie sat in bed as she stared at the white card with golden borders. "Ok, Romach said that the colour will change once the card is linked. I can't wait to see what it will be. Maybe a mini HERO kid? Or maybe a Wroughtweiler? Or ma-" She was interrupted by a knock coming from her door. Placing the card on the nightstand next to her decks, she tried to get up but accidentally bumped into her nightstand. Causing her Kuriboh deck to spill over the nightstand. As she was about to pick the cards up, the knocking got louder. "COMING! HOLD ON!"As she rushed to the door. Her shiny Winged Kuriboh and the companion card started to shine, slowly the two cards started to gravitate toward each other. Once the cards touched, they emitted a bright flash of light. Once the light died down, it revealed the shiny Winged Kuriboh card with slightly gilded borders.
"Sheesh, couldn't she have waited? It's not like it was that important." As Annie entered her room and went to pick up the spilled deck. She noticed something missing. "WHERE IS IT!" She quickly picked up the spilled deck, and frantically looked around for her companion card. As she looked, Annie missed the winged fuzzball forming behind her. The creature tilted its head as they watched Annie panic. Every time Annie would turn her head, the creature would move behind her. "AH, HOW DID I LO-"
"-CHIRP-!"
"AAAHH!" Annie screamed and fell onto her bed. When she turned to look at what made the sound, her eyes widen when she saw a Winged Kuriboh happily flying in front of her. "What?" Seeing the Kuriboh just floating there, she stood up and slowly walked towards it. She slowly extended her hand, but stopped right before reaching it. "Uh hi?"
"-CHIRP!-" Winged Kuriboh chirped and snuggled into Annie's extended hand. Feeling the soft fur, Annie squealed and hugged Winged Kuriboh.
"OH, MIGHTY THREE! YOUR SO FLUFFY!" They spent the next 15 minutes snuggling. Once she calmed down, she looked at Winged Kuriboh in her arms. "Where did you come from?" Kuriboh pointed at her hand which was still clutching her Kuriboh deck. Seeing her shiny Winged Kuriboh card with a slightly gilded border, Annie quickly realized what they were. "You're my duel companion?" They nodded. "THAT'S SO COOL! I didn't even know that companion cards can do that. I can't wait to show Jack!" The duo spent the next hour playing around before Winged Kuriboh returned to their card. Annie fell asleep with a happy smile on her face.