A Pack of Life (APoL)

Chapter 3: LIES ~Lecture of the Perfect World~

They say the victim is always kept in the dark, huh. Ignorance is bliss, isnt it?
The voice echoes upon Myousukes chest again. As the sun continues to set, the shadow Myousuke sees gets
longer, but not by much. He then admires at the sunset view from the street off his home, ignoring the person standing in
front of him.
Hey! Im here!
Myousuke looks down to see a small figure standing in front of him. The height of this mysterious person does
not even reach his chest.
Who are you, little boy? Are you lost?
Myousuke laughs while patting his head.
IM NOT LOST YOU IDIOT!
This time, the dwarf-like figure pushes Myousuke off.
And Im NOT an elementary school student. Im a senior in the high school opposite to yours. I just happen to
have Growth Disorder as a kid.
As the guy continues to explain his height problem, Myousuke opens his eyes wide to notice something about his
name. Jin gives a quick stare at his junior.
What are you laughing at?
Myousuke blurts a giggle.
How do you spell your name?
He writes frustratingly on a piece of paper his name, and shows him the paper.
This is my name. Its written simple as my parents think that Im a little boy, and need a name simple enough
to write
Before Jin who is proud of his name can carry on, Myousuke is at his limit holding his laugh, and bursts with
unstoppable laughter.
Li- Little boy Haha
Jins eyebrows twitch in anger and takes on a karate position, ready to take down his opponent in front of him.
Myousuke leans down with the intention to pacify the kid; he grabs Myousukes shoulders and kicks down his groin but
missed. Then, as Myousuke continues his laugh, Jin takes out a Card from his pocket, written Painfiller.
Ill see you laugh after you feel this!
He twists the Card between his fingers and points to his target. And then, Myousuke notices his pain in his groin
increasing in magnitude. He kneels on the ground, groaning in pain profusely. Jin then takes out another Card and
activates, this time it speeds up his nerves to how Myousuke receives the pain, until he was unable to react.
The pain now had already started to ache all over his pelvis, creating unbearable pain for the new Card Guardian.
Myousuke knows if this carries on, he can get paralysed for good.
Argh What are you doing?
Ha! That will teach you to respect your senior! I see how youll react to that.
Instantaneously, Jouhou appears from the corner alley and pulls out a Card from her deck.
On The Same Soup!

13

With a stern look, the short teenager notices it is too late and also kneels on the ground as if he is also kicked in
his groin, which he inflicted on Myousuke.
Damn you, Chiba Card Guardian Pain Sample!!
He activates the Card on his hand, barely manages to stand up, and limps away into the disappearing sunset,
down a narrow alley.
Jouhou squats down to Myousuke, who was fanning his crotch, relieving himself from the pain.
Are you okay?
Where the hell did you go? And who is that brat? Ouch
You can stop pretending now. The effect shouldve gone by now.
You dont know how pain that was, dont you?
Jouhou lifts him up to his house as they see someone appear from behind the front door.
Oh! What are you doing out there, Myou-chan?
A motherly voice lightens the atmosphere as Myousuke and Jouhou turn around to look at her. The woman
stares in surprise.
Its your girlfriend?
NO!
The couple shout out almost simultaneously.
Im just passing by, after seeing Kawazoe-kun in that position.
Jouhou smiles back with formality.

As the two enter the living room, Jouhou sees a wonderful scene of neat furniture with decorated paintings.
Jouhou places Myousuke to sit, and she sits on the couch opposite. The mother sits in an armchair between them.
Thanks Miss-
Its Mimanoe.
Ah, Mimanoe-chan.
As you see, Myou-chan just has a bad habit of playing around outside himself
As she addresses his son, Jouhou giggles uncontrollably.
You call him Myou-chan? Haha that sure is-
bolster.

Myousuke rises immediately and drags her towards the corridor into his room like how a kid would drag his
Dont worry, Mum! Leave it to me!
He shuts the door behind him. His mother smiles with a wide grin.
My son has grown up already

In Myousukes bedroom, he gets pissed off and asks why Jouhou just came in without a thought. Jouhou sits
down on the bed she sees in front of her.

14

Well your mother was so kind to let anyone in to interact with her son
And why are you on my bed?
He drags her up pushes her to his desk chair. He then brings back the main subject.
What is the meaning of this now? Why-
Have you ever heard of fortune-telling?
Myousuke nods his head.
Sounds very shady, uncertain and inaccurate, isnt it? But recently this idea has proven to bringing stability to
countries that require some form of help. Society assistance, that is.
Myousuke pulls out his drawer and points to it.
What has that got to do with these Cards?
A Pack of Life utilises the theory of fortune-telling to take charge of ones life, so that our lives can improve. We
who possess these decks of Cards the Card Users possess such Will to help make this world a much better place.
Myousuke listens, but he still looks confused, indicating that he needs clarification.
We can do that by improving things that are happening in this world, making it achieve perfection, even though
we know it is unattainable. And when we manage to do this enough to improve the societal state of Japan, APoL will
cease operations here and move on to another country to help more people around the world.
But who is the person who decides on all the details? Why cant it help the poor in Africa? Or the politically
instable like Korea? And who decides who to give these decks of Cards to anyway?
Myousukes plenitude of questions throws Jouhou by surprise.
About that, we do not know. What we do know is that we have the power. The power to make Japan a better
place. Wouldnt you want to do that?
Myousuke recalls what happened to his previous home before his family moved to this traditional-modern abode,
and the many inevitable things that happened before his high school days.
Yes.
That is why people know do know that with APoL many things can be achieved to improve relations and keep
the country in a more positive light.
me off.

Then who is that brat from just now? I dont see him trying to improve relations with me. He is more like pissing
Haha that is because we have different views of the system.
Huh?
Jouhou looks at the hopeless to-be-Card User and takes a sigh.

For us, our duty is to make this world perfect, even if perfection is unattainable. However, people like Kodama
are Card Abusers. Though possessing a deck of Cards, they have conflicting motives.
How different can it go? Were all pursuing to improve the society of Japan, right?
Wow, you get what I say.

Even though Im not a good teacher myself.

She then takes a cough and continues.

15

The duty of Card Abusers is to help improve the world by achieving balance, meaning that they do not only
improve their own lives and others, but also have to create balance by causing trouble or even damage on other peoples
lives. Kodamas attack upon seeing you is a way of exhibiting balance.
That is called balance? Thats more like evil
mother.

Before Jouhou could carry on, there was a knock on the door, and his room door creaks to reveal Myousukes
Sorry, but our family insists on early lights off on weekday nights, so if you could
Myousuke immediately stands up in attention and taps on Jouhou.
Yes! Its time for you to go anyway, Mimanoe-san. Thanks you very much for saving me
As he speaks, she lifts Jouhou off her seat, with Jouhou resisting to leave.
Dont be too long~

Myousukes mother happily closes the door. As the wooden door shuts behind them, an awkward silence fills the
room. Myousuke pauses his actions. As Jouhou stands and looks back at Myousuke, he contemplates his situation as a
Card Yielder and him being responsible to save the world.
Do you want to help Japan or not?
Ah. If you ask it like that
Myousuke looks at Jouhou in hesitation as she brings out another Card and flips it behind her back. As the Card
activates, he intuitively replies with a salute.
Yes! No problem!
Good.
Jouhou smiles as she flips the Card back in the opposite direction.
It is an hour to midnight, and as the cuckoo clock chirps in the Kawazoe family, Myousuke quickly shoves Jouhou
out of the main door, and shuts the door behind him. Lights were then seen closed throughout the house.
As she looks back and walks away, she looks at the house and looks again at her deck.
Perfection, huh.
She skips a step on the dark night while looking at a Card. Upon reaching the nearest lamppost, she looks up at
the lamppost and with a flicker she fades away into the darkness.

Myousuke exits the main door of the traditional-modern abode and walks out in worry, to Shinjis surprise.
What has gotten into you? Its rare to see you down on a Friday. Did you have a good time last night?

Well I wouldnt even call it a good time

Yeah, Ive been having a good time playing computer games.
Man you should go out more often, you know. At least I take a jog every few days when school ends early and I
do not have club activities
Myousuke sub-consciously listens to his friend while recalling about the unexpected truth about the visit of
Jouhou the night before:
Great, now youre on our side

16

You have no choice but to anyway.

Jouhou takes out a notepad from one of the other pockets in the pair of jeans she wears.
Here. This is a list of the rules of APoL in general, but itll take time for you to understand all of them. Any
religious book would be easier than this anyway.
How do you know about these rules? They are not given in my Pack, besides this instruction card. Or is this
some defect batch?
Myousuke shows his deck to Jouhou, with him the instruction card.
There is no defect for deck production, you idiot. They are called rules because we have to find them out by
ourselves, but since it has started these have been passed down for years.
Jouhou snatches the notepad from Myousuke as he attempts to read it.
Hey-
Ill get another copy for you; you have to pay me though.
She smirks at Myousuke and takes notes on the back piece of paper on the notepad, before passing it to
Myousuke.
I still have to pay for this?
Jouhou takes out a Card and Myousuke keeps quiet, shrinking himself into a ball.
You know how long it takes for an inexperienced Card User to learn it by himself?
Jouhou gives a sigh and keeps her composure.
Ill teach you one of the most basic rule of APoL, and most important of defending against Card Abusers. Its
called The Compensation Rule.
What does this do?
It doesnt do anything; its a rule of the game. Jin will have a chance to strike tomorrow, and since he is likely to
target you, you have to be wary of changes to the predicted Cards you have drawn.
How?
By bringing the deck of Cards with you and drawing the three Cards out again, at regular intervals.
When? I cant possibly do it all the time, or I may get caught by the teachers.
It doesnt really matter when, but you have to do it often, so youll know the change and react to avoid it
physically? Like, without the Cards?
Then since it is that simple, what has it got to do with the Rule?
Myousuke lies down on his bed to listen to Jouhous explanation.
Jouhou uses her middle finger and flicks it on Myousukes forehead, making Myousuke sit up on his bed to listen.
If it really is true that Jin wants to deal with you, he will attempt to strike thrice on the course of your school
day, according to his style. This makes the slots of your drawn Cards predictable, which will be shown if you check
throughout the day. On the other hand, Jins slots will be unpredictable, which means he cannot use Cards on himself,
which also means he is prone to anyone to use Cards on.
Then if he
Jouhou holds out her hand like a traffic conductor.

17

No you dont have to. Since he becomes unpredictable, I will be able to predict his downfall tomorrow. You just
need to get to the concrete court on the north of the City Park which is behind your school and pretend to wait for
someone. If he still has the Will to strike after all he did to you tomorrow, then Ill-
Wait. What is this Will thing?
Ah youre such a pain. Ill deal with him for the time being. Just watch the Duel between him and me tomorrow
and youll understand. For now, you just have to do your nightly drawing of Cards, and pray your day tomorrow will be
smooth-sailing.
Oh, and keep the drawn Cards faced down.

Myousuke breaks out of his recall, as he hears the school bell ring. The first lesson of the day is about to start in
the classroom. He also remembers what Cards he picked for yesterday night, and they were mostly positive ones, after he
spent a long time flipping through the dictionary. He looks to his right, and Himiko is seen rushing in through the
classroom door as if she was being chased by a dog. She pants in profusion, looks up and stares at Myousuke.
Ah. Good *pant* morning Kawazoe-*pant* kun.
Myousuke smiles with pleasure upon seeing Himiko, but quickly notices about APoL.

That has got nothing to do with that Card Abuser, right?

Himiko settles down on his left as a teacher walks in. They were given practise papers to do as their Math
teacher is absent.
Myousuke bends forth and searches his Black-Hole-of-a school bag. His eyes open wide as he recalls seeing his
calculator at a corner of his desk before he leaves the house this morning.
Damn. Myousuke knows he had placed that in his bag last night and now has to worry about the teacher
spotting him without one. He then feels a tap from his left shoulder.
Kawazoe-kun, whats the matter?
Himiko looks at his table and immediately notices a missing calculator.
now.

You did not bring your calculator? Here, I have a spare one I have to return later to a senior. You can use it for

Himiko smiles so wonderfully with the morning sun shining behind her, like she was some angel. Well, that is at
least in Myousukes opinion. He takes Himikos offer rather reluctantly with an embarrassed look on his face.
The next period is Physical Education, as the students head to the field for some hurdles training. Shinji, who
seems unbelievably confident, faces Myousuke on the starting line and asks, Are you worried that youll lose to me?
Hmm?
You? Ive not lost in hurdles to you before, so watch me.
Myousuke smiles, brimming with confidence. He then wonders if anything here is doing to be one of the
changes to his deck. Before he places his stuff in the locker, he draws three Cards again and notices only the first Card is
still the same from when he saw it last night.

What would I lose and find here

The teacher fires the airgun, and the boys are off. Himiko and Sacchi are cheering loudly (for Sacchi, reluctantly)
for the only boys they know in the class.
You seem real enthusiastic, Himi-chan.
Sacchi yawns after seeing Himikos cheering.

18

On the track, Myousuke and Shinji are hopping over the hurdles, with Shinji lagging behind Myousuke.
Fortunately, their skills are high above the others since most of the boys in class are weak in physique, and either of them
would be the winner for every lesson.
Myousuke stares at the front, making sure he does not trip on any of the hurdles in front of him. Suddenly,
beyond the open field fence, in front of him, stood a short figure.

It is that Card Abuser from yesterday!

Before Myousuke can finish the last hurdle, Jin flips his Card on his hand and Myousuke, even though he was
paying more attention on the hurdles than the Card that the kid flipped, trips over the last hurdle and fell head first on the
synthetic track.
Shinji runs across the finishing line and looks back, panting in slight joy.
Ah. Are you alright?
As Myousuke lifts his head up in pain, he loses sight of Jin. The classmates crowd around, awaiting assistance
from the teacher.
It is the girls turn, and as the girls were seen running to the first hurdle, Myousuke slowly sits himself by the
benches nearby the track. He suffered from hooking onto the hurdle during the fall and a headache which almost sent
him into a coma. Shinji was instructed to stay beside him to monitor his situation.
You alright? I think you should-
Ha, if I wasnt unlucky enough I wouldnt have fell on that last hurdle.
He lifts his shorts to examine his injury.
Today sure isnt your lucky day, really.
The bell rings again, signalling the last period of the day. Myousuke is unhappy since the last lesson is his much
hatred English lesson.
The teacher takes out a stack of test papers and looks sternly at the class.
Did anyone attempt to cheat again? The results are as astonishing as the last time you all had a quiz.
Shinji gives a quick glance at Myousuke, who is not absorbing any of the teachers words. The teacher looks
towards Myousuke, and then Shinji, who is glancing at him.
Hope it isnt the same guys again. Oh well, your results arent very surprising anyway.
Shinji sighs in relief, and wonders what his friend is doing looking under the desk.
On Myousukes table, he is staring at a book which he borrowed from the library during lunchtime. Since he is
not in the state again to play basketball with his classmates, he decides to divert his frustration by immersing in the world
of reading. Himiko, who was sitting beside him, sees his concentrated face and decides not to bother him.
Ahem, and for the test results
The teacher prepares to announce as he takes a page off the stack of test papers. Shinji sits straight with
confidence that his results would make him pass, while Himiko is seen praying to God for her paper to pass. Sacchi, on
the other hand, is sitting in a relaxed manner, knowing full well that hers will be one of them who is going to pass. The
teacher continues his low-pitch speech.
Lets first congratulate Andou and Kawazoe, who can happily leave the school on time for the weekend.
Everyone else, stay back now for a re-test.
The class, upon hearing the teachers words, hurl into a rage of conversations. They receive back their test
papers one by one, and when it was Shinjis turn the stark expression on his face still does not believe he has failed,
despite the many corrections he has done. Himiko dejectedly receives her papers, while Sacchi, upon receiving her test
papers, keeps it quickly in her bag in order not to let others copy it. Himiko, who sees Sacchi keep her papers, keeps quiet

19

about asking her for answers. She then looks to Myousuke, who just received his papers. He places the book under the
desk and takes the paper placed on his desk. From a glance he thought he has failed, but then:
Wohoo!! Yes! I passed! Oh yeah!
He stands up and knocks over his chair. His cheer shocks the classroom.
Is Kawazoe-kun trying to be sarcastic?
Does he even know that almost everyone has failed in the quiz?
Myousuke ignores the discussions about his attitude towards the class.
So I can go now?
Yes I just said that. Werent you-
The teacher witnesses as Myousuke ignores the teacher, quickly packs his bag, places the chair back in place
and runs down the aisle like a hyena. Himiko sees Myousukes estatic mood and wonders.

Was he even listening to the teacher just now? Not even a word?
As Myousuke walks out of the school gate, he continues his yell of excitement, as the classmates stare out of the
window. He then slowly hears his yells and the surroundings, which make him immediately realise he is making too much
of a fuss, and keeps his swinging arms to himself. But he is still glad he does not need to take extra lessons.

It must be due to this deck of Cards.

He whistles a happy tune on his way home via the usual route. When he whistles on every four bars and stops,
he hears the brushing of bushes behind him. He then stops his whistling and stands on the spot, and suddenly he trips on
his foot and lands on the concrete pathway. He frantically looks around to see who is behind this, and his face turns into
worry. He tries to get up, but again trips on the ground. He tries again slowly but lands with an impact harder than the
previous two times. He then remembers about the message he received from Jouhou on his phone during lunch:

Meet me in the City Park up north after your school, and make it quick; you still dont know how to fight him
with those Cards.
Behind some bushes outside the school compound hides Jin, who is spying on him and being ready to flip the
Card he is holding between his fingers. He smiles widely with an evil giggle.
Haha, I see how you escape this! Now that youve angered me, youll have to pay the price!
And as he was ready to flip the Card in his hand another time, he looks in front of him and sees an empty street.
Eh? Where did he go?
On the other end of the street, Myousuke is dashing anxiously towards the rendezvous with Jouhou, in fear that
Jin would strike at any time.
Where the hell have you been? Its about time you are dismissed from college!
He hangs up the phone upon recognising the lively yet angry voice in the distance. He makes another turn on
the alley in front of him. With another right turn, the casually-dressed girl with her hand on her pocket is already standing
by the concrete court by the park, leaning on the elephant slide beside a sandbox.
What took you? You think I dont know youre strolling out of school!
Can you not *pant* sound like a stalker?
Myousuke sighs and pants irregularly.
How would you know what happened to me?
There are Cards that can locate you.

20

That Abuser! Hes behind me!

I know that. How dare you take your time! I told you to get here as soon as possible, right?
I know but I didnt know-
As he argues his way out, Jouhou notices a shadow far behind Myousuke outside the park gate.
Kodama, come out!
Myousuke turns around as Jin dashes from a few feet behind them by the park gate. Jouhou jumps in to stand
between the two guys on time, hands stretched out as if to defend Myousuke. The Abuser stares up at Jouhou.
Can I help you, Chiba Card Guardian?

Card Guardian?
Myousuke then looks towards Jouhou.
Ive came to Tokyo in orders of HQ to stop you, you shorty.
Very funny, Mimanoe Jouhou. Ive been insulted more times by the likes of you.
Jin gives an evil smile, and Jouhou steps back a few steps, pushing Myousuke into a corner.
You should know that Im not someone to offend over here. Ive been renowned as The Tokyo Post for these
few months APoL has started. Im just here to eliminate the new Guardian in accordance with the orders from my boss.

Boss?
Its not going to happen, Im afraid.
Jouhou shows a snobbish face.
The new Tokyo Card Guardian is not supposed to battle the likes of you.
Oh really?
Jin looks at Myousuke crouching behind Jouhou.
Hah! What can a Card Guardian like you do to me? I defeated the previous few Card Guardians before! And Im
not gonna stop until-
I think youll have to stop here, shorty.
Can you stop with the discrimination?
As my name suggests I understand APoL much more than you do. For a newbie who got his motive and
defeated the previous Card Guardians of Tokyo without a fight, you are actually an easy opponent.
Jouhou reaches for her pocket, takes out her pick-colour coated deck.
For sneaky people like you the easiest way is to finish you with a Duel right here.
Ah, may I ask what is happening-
Jouhou lands her other hands palm at Myousukes face, pushing him a few steps back. Jin stands in his Karate
stance, flashing out his gold-coloured deck.
Itll be over soon. Step back.

21

Jouhou and Jin both move from the playground to the empty court beside them. They keep their distance
between them to each end of the court. They then hold their decks to their left, right, in front of their chests and above
them.
I
WILL
BE
FREE
The surroundings suddenly show a fading grey, and a quick surge of wind throws Myousuke away from his
position. Both of the Card Users show a sudden glow and vanish out of sight. He lands in the nearby sand pitch in the
playground, shocked by the phenomenon. He tries to rub his eyes but sees no one in the empty court.
In the Abstract World that conceals within the real world, a grey shade illuminates the surroundings, making
everything outside the area in one dull colour. Everything is still seen moving as usual, but in a much slower pace. The
Card Users are still seen standing on their position, only a transparent case with a marked boundary on the ground covers
their activity during the duel. They both show a bright glow, colours with respect to their deck colour. The decks on their
palms instantly condense into a single Card.
Moments later, their glows disappear, indicating the beginning of the Duel.
Jin lands a side chop to a lamppost beside him hard enough for the lamppost head to drop. As it passes his chest
he takes a jump and gives it a kick right up into the sky. As Jin lands on the ground, he immediately activates a Card on
his hand as he lands on his karate stance.
Newton Emphasis!
A bunch of abstract lines fly past her diagonally to the ground, and before Jouhou could react the lamppost head
almost instantly speeds towards her direction. She tries to step back, only to see it strike a dent on the concrete court,
also her ankle.
Tch.
Looking down at her injury, she then looks up to see Jin only inches in front of her, with his leg above her
shoulder.
Hmph!
Jin lands a hit on Jouhous shoulder with his leg, making her kneel to the ground. He withdraws and prepares for
another strike. As soon as his leg lands on the ground, he steps forward with a chop directed at her other shoulder.
IMB! Defend me!
He strikes, only to see a whole web of Abstract Lines fly upwards, covering his hand. What appears before his
eyes immediately after the lines vanish is his chop landing on an unknown figure in front of Jouhou. She smiles as she
activates another Card.
Bender Defender!
Jin gives an evil grin.
You think that will stop me? Ha!
Jin lands a few more strikes on the figure in front of him. Refusing to budge or give way after a few more solid
chops and punches, the figure suddenly flies forward, carrying Jin with it. He lands with his feet on the border of the
battle area. He looks back in disbelief, and in front of him to see Jouhou in her last position, both palms ahead of her,
back to her standing position.
Im so sorry.
You

22

Rage rides on Jins face. He stands up on his feet after wiping the blood from his lips. He gives a direct punch on
the head of Jouhous stunt double, disintegrating it into a bunch of abstract lines. He takes his Card which is on the
ground and gives a pinch with two fingers.
Screech Break.
He takes a deep breath. As he stands open and opens his mouth a sonic wave echoes around the area in front of
him. Abstract lines fly throughout the battle area continuously in a never-ending manner, dissipating upon reaching the
borders.
EEEK~~~
The sonic boom penetrates the ground and air, as if from an explosion, slowly reaching his opponent.
Senseless!
Moments before reaching Jouhou, she stands straight and like a gust of wind the boom passes by her. Abstract
lines which are heading towards her also pass her by.
That would be more than enough. Now to end this.
As Jin stops from his sonic boom seeing Jouhou take no damage, Jouhou puts on a frowning face and raises her
held Card above her. The glow on her body relights like from the start of the fight. Jin, upon seeing the incoming
phenomenon, also raises his Card above his head, exuding a seemingly dimmer glow compared to his opponent.
Kodama-kun, why do you not seek perfection?
Jouhou raises her voice to Jin as she charges her Card to a bright glow. On the other hand, the glow in Jins Card
is lighting and fading unstably despite his effort to charge it.
I want to become strong and be the talk of all Card Users! To do that perfection is impossible! Ill defeat anyone
who gets in my way, so that I earn the respect of others! I dont want to be that weakling back then when I was Card
Yielder!!
Oh, is that it? You may have turned to that side for the wrong reason, Abuser.
Jouhou flips her Card, and Jin slowly turns from a face of confidence to a face of shock as he sees the Card in
name that is activated. He takes a sigh as he knows he has lost.
Yet again
Time suddenly stops within the battlefield, and the glow on both of them starts to fade off. The surroundings
then slowly return its original colour; the pace of the Real World starts to pick up until the inner world aligns with the real
world. The transparent area shatters and Myousuke appears within sight.
Jin stands up from his kneeling position and keeps his deck. He then recalls about a black silhouette in a grey
background which looks like Myousuke. He then starts to look around him, looks at Jouhou and Myousuke, and walks off
in disappointment.
Who are those people looking at me anyway? I thought I saw that new Card Guardian here just now. Guess Ill
search somewhere else
Jouhou sees Myousuke and walks to him, but to his surprise her ankle is bleeding and stops walking. Myousuke
continues to stay still by the sand playground. Jouhou looks at him in bewilderment.
Arent you going to help me?
Well you told me to step back and it looks dangerous, so
Myousuke hesitates as he rushes to her in worry.
Are you alright? That looks real serious there.

23

Jouhou sees Myousukes caring expression on his face, and smiles back.
Im fine. This is the least I took from the many Duels I fought anyway.
She then sees Myousukes all-so-familiar confused face again.
I think I need to explain more to you, huh.
Myousuke supports Jouhou to sit on a bench, and he sits beside her. Jouhou places her deck on the bench
between them.
What you likely cannot see just now is a Duel, a proper way of settling any conflicts using the Cards to reach
a final motive. We all have Will, which motivates us to live and move on with life, so we have to use a lot of Will to trigger
the torrent of Cards we need to use in this battle. Abuser find this a waste of their energy, thus rather sneak in on others,
like what Jin did to you.
Okay
Myousuke nods his head up and down somehow indicating that he somewhat understands what she says.
When we both activate our decks, Will will be drawn to create a spatial space which you cannot see, for Users
to battle within the area. We both then display our deck while inflicting damage, decreasing each others Will. We then
end the battle by the use of a Final Card to charge up Will for one final use in the battle, achieving whatever purpose we
want without a struggle.
She draws a Card from her deck to show Myousuke.
For the battle just now my purpose was to make him treat us like strangers. So I used this, and I made sure he
does not pester you for the time being, so that we can focus on training you up for battle against the many Card Abusers
lurking in this city.
But then why cant you just you know. Eliminate them?
The Rule of Retribution states that any direct murder on a user of APoL using APoL Cards will result in the
immediate death of the executor. I have seen this case happening many times, and it is not the outcome we want to
achieve anyway. Perfection does not mean death, you know. Besides, it will end up creating a bigger social hole, which
will defeat our purpose.
I see.
Myousuke finally understands by nodding his head firmly, making her smile in relief after all the explanations to
him.
She stands up to make a move after taking the deck on her hand, and Myousuke immediately stands up with her.
But how do you have-
Such a nice deck cover?
Myousuke pauses his actions. Jouhou takes a laugh.
Haha its like I can read your mind.
Myousuke looks down in embarrassment.
Youll have to train for it. And then you can customise your deck and really help others by doing things like this.
She holds the deck firmly to her chest.
Leech Heal.
Within the next few seconds, Myousuke feels an updraft with Jouhou coming from her toes to her head. As
Myousuke sees her feet, her ankle miraculously stops bleeding leaving a clean bruise, as if she did not sustain any
damage at all. Myousuke drops his jaw upon seeing the powers take effect.

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As Myousuke continues to stare in awe, she walks out of the park. As he lifts his head up to look at her, she
looks back at him with confidence.
Ill see you soon about your training. Please stay resilient for the time being. You look like a dork when you do
not notice the effects of the Cards even though you saw them.
The newbie stands in the middle of the concrete court in the City Park.
Oh I forgot about dinner!
He then notices he waited for Jouhou for quite some time and has to go home for dinner. He leaves the
compound and walks the longer way home.
Okay I know! Sorry Mom! Im coming back already!
He hangs up his phone as he passes by the now empty playground where he sees the kids quarrelling this
morning. He wonders if he focusing at the kids was some sort of Card effect too. He changes his pose from swinging his
bag to and fro to placing it on his shoulder, and carries on.
Suddenly, he notices something amiss. He takes a few steps back to the playground. He looks left and saw
someone sitting alone on a bench under an unlit lamppost. The face becomes clearer with every step he takes towards
the bench.
It is the girl with short hair and thick glasses who appears in front of Myousukes very eyes.
It is Sacchi, his classmate. She weeps alone in the late evening. As she hears footsteps, she looks up and meets
Myousuke to eye with a face in tears.
Kawazoe-san?

Chapter 3 Extra: LAZE ~Consultation of the Perfect World~

Jouhou is leaving Myousukes house after visiting him about his duties as a Card Guardian.
Anyway, start memorising your deck by next week. And remember the three Cards you draw every night
throughout the day.
All of them? But my English is not good, and I still have to finish revising for my test next week too
Jouhou suddenly has an idea, and brings up a proposal.
You know that by remembering your deck, you can find Cards that can help memorise study content?
Myousuke stares at Jouhou again, this time in surprise. With a firm catch of the deck with his hand, he spreads it
out on his bed and starts memorising his deck. Before Jouhou closes the door and leaves, he glances at Myousuke who is
actually memorising Cards as if there is an exam for it tomorrow.
As she waves happily to Myousukes mother, she exits the main door and closes it. Lights were then seen closed
throughout the house. She looks in silence and walks away.
Necessary motivation is his perfection, huh.

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