Malkator came to an abrupt halt. A woman had just walked into his field of vision. She looked at Malktor, then entered a fighting stance as she turned on her duel disk. She had on a determined expression, but her hands were shaking.
"What's she doing?" Hiroshi asked.
"I think she's challenging us," Malkator said.
"Then let's accept," Hiroshi said. "You go first."
"She's scared," Malktor said.
"No I'm not!" She snapped. "I'm going to bring you two down! At once if I have to! Whatever it takes!"
"Two on one?" Hiroshi asked.
"Alright," Malkator said. "What are your conditions?"
"You both start off with half life points," She said nervously. "And I'll get a turn for each of you. I'll go, then one of you will go, then me again, then the other of you, then me again."
"Sounds fair," Malkator said. "Let's go."
"Me first," The woman said. "I'll start with the field spell card Magical Citidel Of Endymion!"
They were all instantly surrounded by a new field. It was a palace brimming with magical energy.
"Each time a spell card is activated, I can place a spell counter on this card," she said. "Next, I summon Crusader Of Endymion!"
A spellcaster type monster appeared on her field. He wore blue plated armor. He was level 4 with 1900 attack points.
"Next, I use Spell Power Grasp!" She said. "This card lets me place a spell counter on my field, then add another Spell Power Grasp from my deck to my hand. But I can't activate it this turn. And since I activated a spell, I can place another counter on my field, adding up to 2 so far."
Her field now had two floating ruins in the sky above it.
"Then I play the spell card Ookazi, which deals 800 damage to one of you," She said, pointing at Malkator. "I choose you!"
Malkator was hit by a blast of fire, and his life dropped from 4000 to 3200. Another counter appeared on her field.
"I set one card and end my turn," She said.
"Okay," Malkator said. "I'll go next."
Malktor drew his card and looked at it. He thought back to his last duel, and how he had performed an xyz summon. He'd need multiple monsters with the same level for it to work. And if he couldn't get the same level monsters out, he'd need to change their levels with a card effect. Looking at his cards, he saw exactly how he could do that.
"I'll start by summoning Scion Youth in attack mode!" Malkator said.
A young child wearing cultist robes appeared on his field. He was level 1 with 600 attack.
"Next, I play the spell card Scion Appearance!" Malktor said. "This card lets me summon a Scion card by taking damage damage equal to its attack points!"
"Are you crazy!" Hiroshi said. "She's already brought your life down! You can't just spend life points carelessly!"
"Shut up," Malkator said. "I special summon Scion Cheapshot to the field!"
A man in a dusty western outfit, complete with a bandana, appeared on Malkator's field. He was level 4, with 500 attack points, and he had as cigar in his mouth and his thumbs in his pockets.
"Oh, I get it," Hiroshi said. "You summoned a monster with low attack power so you wouldn't take too much damage."
"Pretty much," Malkator said, as his life dropped to 2700.
"Since you used a spell card, my field gets another counter," the woman said, as a fourth floating ruin appeared.
"Okay," Malkator said. "I activate Scion Youth's effect. Now, his level becomes equal to Scion Cheapshot's level."
Scion Youth suddenly grew older, taking the appearance of a young man, in his early twenties.
"Now, I build the overlay network with these two level 4 monsters!" Malkator said. "I use them to xyz summon Scion Stratosphere!"
Malktor's monsters were pulled into a vortex, from which a new monsters emerged. He was dressed in dark clothing with an elegant, deep blue cloak. He was rank 4 with 2100 attack points and 1800 defense points.
"Now I use his effect," Malkator said. "By detaching an overlay unit, I can target one monster my opponent controls and deal you damage equal to its level times 300."
Scion Stratosphere drew a pistol from beneath his cloak and took aim.
"Your monster is level 4, so you take 1200 damage," Malkator said.
Stratosphere pulled the trigger, and a barrage of star-shaped bullets pelted the woman. her life dropped to 6800.
"Now, since I used my monster's effect, I'll take half the damage you took," Malkator said.
"What!?" Hiroshi snapped.
Stratosphere turned around and blasted Mlkator with another shot of stars, reducing Malkator to 2100.
"Stop wasting your life!" Hiroshi said angrily.
"Shut up," Malkator said. "I'll now have Stratosphere attack!"
"I use the trap card Barrier Of Endymion!" The woman said. "This card lets me negate an attack directed at a light spellcaster I control!"
Stratosphere's attack was cut short.
"Now, I can add a spell counter to one card I control," She said. "I choose my field spell card."
"Damn it," Hiroshi said.
"I set one card face down and end my turn," Malkator said. "You're turn, ma'am."
"My name is Cassandra," she said.
Meanwhile, Daniel wandered the Board, trying to decide what to do next. As he walked, a young girl bumped into him, almost knocking him over. She was frantic. For a moment, Daniel wondered why, but then he heard a voice.
"Come out, girly!" the voice called from a distance away. "I won't bite!"
"What's going on?" Daniel asked.
"He's trying to duel me," she said. "I don't want to risk it."
Daniel caught a glimpse of her chest. Only two glowing marks. She had been defeated once already. No wonder she was scared.
"Find a place to hide," Daniel said. "I'll handle this."
She fled around the corner of a building as a man came into view. He had dark black hair and was dressed in a beige coat. His dueldisk was shaped like a shield with a sword attached to it.
"Lookin' for someone?" Daniel asked casually.
"Yeah the man said. "Some little bitch."
"Well, why don't I fill her shoes?" Daniel said, switching his duel disk on.
"You wanna duel, huh?" the man asked. "Okay. Let's go!"
"I'll go first!" Daniel said, drawing.
He had switched to his fiend deck earlier. He didn't like using a single deck too often.
"I set on monster in defense mode, and one other card face down," Daniel said. "Your move."
"I draw!" the man said. "Then, I use Black Luster Ritual! With it, I tribute level 4 Dark Blade and Disciple Of The Forbidden Spell from my hand to ritual summon my level 8 Black Luster Soldier!"
A knight dressed in blue armor with a buster sword appeared. He had 3000 attack points.
"Next, I banish my dark attribute Dark Blade and my light attribute Disciple Of The Forbidden Spell to special summon Black Luster Soldier, Envoy Of The Beginning!" The man said.
Another warrior appeared. He looked like Black Luster Soldier, but with gold added to his armor. He also had 3000 attack.
"So, he's using a warrior type chaos deck," Daniel thought to himself.
"Next, I summon Gaia The White Knight!" the man said.
Another warrior showed up on his field. This one was level 4 with 1600 attack.
"Alright," Daniel said. "I can handle this."
"We'll see about that!" the man said. "It attack with Envoy Of The Beginning!"
"I activate the continuous trap Astral Barrier!" Daniel said. "Now, I can make any attack directed at one of my monsters into a direct attack!"
The attack went straight past his face down monster and hit him directly, dropping his life to 5000.
"I attack again with Black Luster Soldier!" the man said.
"I use Astral Barrier's effect!" Daniel said.
The attack hit Daniel directly, reducing him to 2000.
"I attack with Gaia this time!" the man said.
"I'll use Astral Barrier one last time!" Daniel said.
The attack reduced Daniel to 400 life points. But his monster was safe. That's what he was aiming for.
"Wasting all that life, huh?" the man said. "Pathetic."
"You can call it pathetic once I've made my move," Daniel said.
"Then go!" the man encouraged.
"I use the Board's effect!" Daniel said. "By paying 300 life points, I can guess what kind of card I'll draw. I guess monster!"
Daniel's life dropped to 100. He drew, revealing his Summoned Skull. Perfect.
"Now, I can draw one more time," Daniel said. "Then, I flip summon Skull Knight #2!"
A sword wielding skeletal warrior appeared. It was level 3 with 1000 attack.
"Now, I activate double summon!" Daniel said. "Now I can summon twice this turn! And I'll start by tributing Skull Knight to bring out my Summoned Skull!"
Daniel's Skull Knight was replaced by a hulking, winged skeleton. It was level 6 with 2500 attack points.
"And since Skull Knight #2 was tributed to bring out a fiend type monster, I can summon another Skull Knight #2 from my deck," Daniel said. "Then I'll tribute that one to bring out Dark Ruler Ha Des!"
A wicked demon appeared on Daniel's field. It held a goblet in its hand. It was level 6 with 2450 attack.
"And now Skull Knight's effect activates again," Daniel said. "Now I can bring out one more!"
Another Skull Knight appeared.
"What good will those do you?" the man asked.
"You're about to find out," Daniel said. "But first, who are you?"
"My name is Xander," the man said.
"I'm Daniel," Daniel said. "Now, prepare to see what happens when you harras girls. I play the spell card Lightning Vortex!"
"Shit!" Xander said.
"I discard Gren Maju Da Eiza to destroy every monster you control!" Daniel said.
The field erupted with lightning, obliterating every monster Xander had out.
"Damn it!" Xander exclaimed.
"I'm not finished yet!" Daniel said. "Next, I banish my two Skull Knights and the Gren Maju Da Eiza in my graveyard. By banishing these three fiend type monsters, I can special summon Dark Necrofear!"
An alien creature showed up on Daniel's field, with 2200 attack points.
"Now, let's end this!" Daniel said. "I attack directly with all four of my monsters!"
Skull Knight #2, Summoned Skull, Dark Ruler Ha Des, and Dark Necrofear all attacked. Their combined attack power was 8150, which brought Xander down to 0. One of his scars glowed brightly, and he shouted a few choice swear words before vanishing.
Back at the threeway duel, Cassandra took a deep breath.
"My turn," she said, drawing. "I use Spell Power Grasp to place a sixth counter on my field, then add a third Spell Power Grasp to my hand."
She added her card to her hand.
"And since I used a spell, my card gets yet another counter," she said. "Then, I play the continuous spell card Shard OF Greed."
A new spell appeared on her field, and an 8th counter was placed on her field spell.
"Next, since Crusader Of Endymion is a gemini monster, I can use my normal summon this turn to convert him into an effect monster," she said. "And using his effect, I place another counter on my field, and increase his attack by 600 until the end phase!"
Crusader's attack rose to 2500, and her field gained its 9th counter.
"Now, by removing 7 counters from my field, I can special summon Endymion, The Master Magician!"
A sorcerer with 2700 attack appeared on her field, with its staff held high.
"Since he was special summoned, I can return a spell card from my graveyard to my hand," she said. "I choose Ookazi. Then I use Ookazi to deal 800 damage to you!"
She pointed at Hiroshi this time, and as another counter appeared on her field, Hiroshi's life dropped to 3200.
"Now, I attack Scion Stratosphere with my Master Magician!" she declared.
"I play the trap card Vision Shield," Malkator said. "Now, Scion cards I control can't be destroyed this turn."
"You'll still take damage," she said.
The attack hit, reducing Malkator's life points to 1500.
"Then, I attack it again with Crusader!" she said.
Malaktor lost another 400 life points, bringing him down to 1100.
"I end my turn," Cassandra said.
"Good," Malkator chuckled. "Which means my monster's effect kicks in."
"What?" She asked.
"During my opponent's end phase, if Scion Stratosphere is face up on the field, I can inflict damage to my opponent's life points equal to the battle damage I've received this turn," Malkator said. "That adds up to 1000."
Cassandra's life dropped to 5800.
"Fine," she said. "I end my turn."
"Now I'll go," Hiroshi said, drawing. "I summon Matador Of The Wooden Girl!"
A man dressed in a matador costume appeared on Hiroshi's field. His body was pierced by multiple strings, which suspended him in the air. He was level 4 with 1000 attack points.
"When this card is summoned, I can reveal cards from the top of my deck until I reveal a monster with Wooden Girl in its name," Hiroshi said.
The first card he revealed was Stage Of The Wooden Girl. It was a spell card. The next card he revealed was Samurai Of The Wooden Girl.
"Now, I can special summon this monster in defense mode, and send every other card I revealed to the graveyard," Hiroshi said. "I summon Samurai Of The Wooden Girl!"
The monster he summoned looked exactly like Hiroshi, and wielded a 5 foot long samurai sword. He was level 6, with 2000 defense.
"Did you just summon yourself?" Malkator asked.
"I guess so," Hiroshi said. "Next, I discard Phantom Of The Wooden Girl from my hand, and with his effect, I can reduce my Samurai's level by 2."
The monster Hiroshi discarded resembled a cloaked man with a broken masquerade ball mask. Samurai's level dropped from 6 to 4. The same as Matador.
"Now, I overlay my two level 4 monsters to xyz summon Katana Master Of The Wooden Girl!" Hiroshi said.
His new monster had 2200 attack points, and held numerous blades.
"Now, I activate the effect of Malkator's Scion Stratosphere!" Hiroshi said. "I detach and overlay unit from it, then target your Master Magician and dish out damage equal to its level times 300."
Endymion was level 7, so Cassandra took 2100 damage. She was now at 3700.
"Now, I take half that damage," Hiroshi said.
Stratosphere turned his gun on Hiroshi, and his life dropped to 2150 when he was shot.
"You okay?" Malkator asked.
"Better than you," Hiroshi said. "Next, I use the effect of Katana Master. by using one of his overlay units, he gains 200 attack for each monster in my grave with Wooden Girl in its name!"
Hiroshi now had 2 Wooden Girl monsters in his graveyard, so his monster rose to 2600 attack.
"Now, attack her crusader!" he ordered.
His Katana Master cut down her Crusader.
"Katana Master can't deal any damage this turn, so I'll just set two cards and end my turn," Hiroshi said. "Your move."
"I'm getting real sick of you two," Cassandra said, drawing. "When I draw a card during the draw phase, I can place a Greed counter on shard Of Greed. Then I use my final Spell Power Grasp."
Due to Power Grasp's effect, a fourth counter was placed on her field, and since she had activated a spell card, a fifth counter was added.
"Next, I play the spell card Cup Of Ace," she said. "I toss a coin, and if it's heads, I draw two cards. If it's tails, one of you draws two cards."
She held her breath as she toss a coin, then let out a sigh of relief when it landed on heads. She drew two cards, and a sixth counter was placed on her field.
"Next, I activate One Day Of Peace!" she declared. "Now, each of us draws a card, and no one takes damage until my opponent's next end phase."
Everyone drew a card, and a seventh counter was placed on her Magical Citadel.
"Perfect," she said. "I remove seven counters from my field to summon another Endymion, The Master Magician!"
A second copy of her Magician appeared beside the first.
"Now, thanks to his effect, I can reuse my Ookazi yet again, but I'll save it for later. Time for you guys to see my ultimate monster!"
"You mean Endymion isn't your best card?" Hiroshi asked.
"Of course not!" she said. "By tributing my two level 6 or higher spellcasters, I special summon my ace card! come forth, Sorcerer Of Dark Magic!"
A sorcerer clad in dark black robes appeared on her field, twirling its staff skillfully. It was level 9, with 3200 attack and 2800 defense.
"Um, Hiroshi?" Malkator asked. "Are we screwed?"
"That is a distinct possibility," Hiroshi replied nervously.
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Saturday, January 18, 2014
4 Fear
"Damn it," Daniel said. "And I just got rid of that thing!"
"I activate the effect of Wild Retribution!" Briant announced. "By paying 800 life points, I can increase my monster's attack power by 1500 until the end phase!"Briant's life points were reduced to 2250, and the Rake's power increased to 4000.
"Now, finish off his Giant Soldier Of Stone!" Briant demanded.
The Rake crawled forward and attacked Daniel's monster.
"I activate the trap card Negate Attack!" Daniel said. "Now, I can negate your attack and end the battle phase!"
"Damn it!" Briant said. "I should have seen that one coming. I end my turn."
"I draw!" Daniel said. "Then I summon Shining Abyss!"
A strange looking fairy appeared on Daniel's field. It was level 4 with 1600 attack points.
"Then, I use Buten's effect!" Daniel continued. "By banishing it from my graveyard, Shining Abyss becomes a tuner monster! Now, I tune level 4 Shining Abyss to level 3 Giant Soldier Of Stone!"
Both of Daniel's monsters dissappeared and were replaced by a large mechanical dragon with tools attached to its arms.
"I summon Power Tool Dragon!" Daniel said.
His new monster was level 7, with 2300 attack and 2500 defense.
"Now, I use Power Tool's effect" Daniel said. "I choose 3 equip spells from my deck, and you pick one at random."
Daniel selected three cards from his deck and held them up.
"I pick the one on the left," Briant said.
"Okay," Daniel said. "Now, I add it to my hand, and the other two return to my deck. Then I activate Malevolent Nuzzler!"
The equip card Daniel played increased Power Tool Dragon's attack points to 3000.
"Then I use my face down card, Scroll Of Bewitchment!" Daniel said. "This card will now equip to Power Tool Dragon and change its attribute to dark."
"Not too useful in this situation," Briant said. "Although, since Power Tool Dragon can survive battle by sacrificing equip spells, it may help you a bit after all."
"That's the plan!" Daniel said. "Now, attack!"
Power Tool Dragon drew back one its arms and rammed one of its tools into the Rake, reducing Briant's life points to 1750. The Rake managed to survive, thank's to its nature as a Fear.
"And with that, I end my turn," Daniel said.
Meanwhile, Hiroshi continued to follow Malkator as he walked through the Board.
"Why are you following me?" Malkator said.
"I was hoping we could team up?" Hiroshi replied.
"Why?" Malkator replied. "There can only be one winner, so any alliances will eventually fall apart. Besides, I'm no good at this game."
"You managed to ass the prelim, didn't you?" Hiroshi asked.
"I only managed to do that by copying that xyz thing that I saw the girl do earlier," Malkator said. "I know next to nothing about this game."
"All the more reason for you to team up with someone," Hiroshi said. "You might be able to learn a thing or two."
"And what happens when we have to face each other later?" Malkator asked.
"We can cross that bridge when we come to it," Hiroshi said.
Malkator set out a sighe. "Fine, have it your way."
Back where Daniel was dueling, a man appeared at the top of the bishop building and looked down at the duel. He was dressed in a long coat and a fedora, which was pulled down so that it cast a shadow over his features.
"I use the Board's effect!" Briant said, as his life points dropped to 1450. "I guess monster!"
He drew, revealing a monster card.
"I use the effect again!" he said, dropping down to 1150. "I guess spell card this time!"
He drew a spell card.
"Again!" he said, going down to 850. "I guess monster!"
The card he drew was another spell.
"Oh well, can't guess them all right," he saighed. "I summon Bad Rabbit!"
A level 4 black rabbit appeared on his field, with 1400 attack points.
"Now, by tributing him, I can allow an earth monster I control to attack an additional time this turn!" he said.
"Crap," Daniel said.
"But that's not all!" Briant said. "I use another effect of Wild Retribution! By sending the top 5 cards on my deck to the graveyard, the Rake gains yt another attack!"
"But that means he can attack three times this turn!" Daniel said.
"That's right," Briant said. "Next, I play the spell card Wild Doom! Since I control a beast-type monster, all cards sent to the grave this turn will be removed from play instead!"
"Shit!" Daniel said. "But that means-"
"That you can't use Malevolent Nuzzler's effect," he said. "Normally, you'd be able to pay 500 life points to return it to the top of your deck when it's destroyed, then you could use it with the Board's effect to help you draw. But if it's removed from the game instead of going to the graveyard, that won't work."
"Damn it all to hell!" Daniel said.
"Next I play the spell card Feast Of Souls, and equip it to the Rake!"
"What does that do?" Daniel asked.
"Once per turn, I can banish a monster from your graveyard and add attack power to the Rake equal to its level times 100 until the end phase," Briant said. "I think I'll chose that pesky Dark End Dragon!"
Dark End Dragon was banished from Daniel's graveyard. The Rake devoured its soul, increasing its power.
"Dark End Dragon was evel 8, so the Rake gains 800 attack," Briant said. "Now, attack Power Tool Dragon!"
"I sacrifice Scroll Of Bewitchment to protect my monster!" Daniel said.
Scroll Of Bewitchment was banished, and Power Tool Dragon survived. Daniel's life points were reduced to 1850.
"I'll have Rake attack again!" Briant declared.
"I sacrifice Malevolent Nuzzler!" Daniel said.
Daniel's life dropped to 1550, and Malevolent Nuzzler was banished. Power Tool Dragon's attack power was reduced to 2300.
"One more time!" Briant said.
The Rake attacked a third time, this time destroying Power Tool Dragon and reducing Daniel to 550 life points. Daniel fell over onto his back. His body ached from the damage he had taken.
"And with that, I'll end my turn," Briant said. "What's the matter? To close to death to do anything?"
Daniel raised himself up onto his elbows.
"You're about to lose your first life," Briant taunted. "Then you'll be that much closer to dying in this tournament."
Daniel heave himself up so that he was sitting.
"You scared?" Briant mocked.
The image of the Archangel popped up again in Daniel's head. The image of the afterlife itself. Daniel angrily got back to his feet, facing Briant.
"I'm not afraid to die," Daniel said. "What I'm afraid of is what comes next!"
Daniel was suddenly immersed in an aura of blackness, and Briant took a step back, frightened.
"So it's finally awakened, has it?" the man on the roof of the building said. "Good. Let's see how this plans out.
"I activate the Board's effect!" Daniel said, as his life dropped to 250. "I guess monster!"
Daniel drew, and glanced at his card. It was a new one. A card he had never had in his deck before. The card he was now holding was the Archangel.
"Very good," the man watching them said softly. The duelists had still not noticed his presence. "But you still need the means to summon it. I suppose I can lend a hand."
The man snapped his fingers.
"Since I guessed right, I can draw again!" Daniel said.
Daniel drew another card. It was new, just like the Archangel, but it was exactly what he needed.
"I play the spell card Revive Shift!" Daniel said. "This card allows me to revive a monster from either graveyard, as long as there's an attribute mentioned in its effect!"
"What?" Briant asked.
"Since Trojan Horse has the earth attribute in its effect, I'll bring it back to my field!" Daniel said.
The Trojan Horse in Briant's graveyard was special summoned to Daniel's field.
"What the hell?" Briant asked
"That was the revive part!" Daniel said. "Now comes the shift! Do to Revive Shift's effect, I can change any attribute in Trojan Horse's card text to a different attribute! I'll change the earth attribute in its effect to dark!"
"But that means...," Briant said.
"That if I summon a dark attribute monster, Trojan Horse will be used as two tributes instead of one," Daniel finished for him. "Now, I tribute Trojan Horse to summon Archangel! Lord Of The Fallen!"
A new being appeared on Daniel's field. It resembled a tall man, with dark clothing and a gas mask concealing his face. A pair of deep black angel winds sprouted from his back. He was level 8 with 2500 attack points, the same as the Rake.
"I activate the Archangel's effect!" Daniel said. "When it's summoned to the field, I can equip it with a monster from my graveyard! I choose Light End Dragon!"
An aura of light surrounded the Archangel as Daniel equipped his dragon to it.
"Now, attack!" Daniel ordered.
"But their attack points are the same!"Briant said.
"For now," Daniel said. "But Archangel gains the effects of the monster equipped to him. So by reducing his attack power by 500, I can reduce the Rake's attack power by 1500!"
The Archangel's attack power became 2000, and the Rake was reduced to 1000. The Archangel conjured a black scythe from nothingness, and cleaved the Rake in to. The scythe continued moving, hitting Briant and reducing his life points to 0. Suddenly, on of the wounds on his chest vanished.
"You son of a itch!" Briant said, as his body began fading. "I'll get you for this! This isn't over!"
He disappeared, leaving Daniel alone. He glanced at the Archangel's card.
"Where the hell did you come from?" he asked.
"I activate the effect of Wild Retribution!" Briant announced. "By paying 800 life points, I can increase my monster's attack power by 1500 until the end phase!"Briant's life points were reduced to 2250, and the Rake's power increased to 4000.
"Now, finish off his Giant Soldier Of Stone!" Briant demanded.
The Rake crawled forward and attacked Daniel's monster.
"I activate the trap card Negate Attack!" Daniel said. "Now, I can negate your attack and end the battle phase!"
"Damn it!" Briant said. "I should have seen that one coming. I end my turn."
"I draw!" Daniel said. "Then I summon Shining Abyss!"
A strange looking fairy appeared on Daniel's field. It was level 4 with 1600 attack points.
"Then, I use Buten's effect!" Daniel continued. "By banishing it from my graveyard, Shining Abyss becomes a tuner monster! Now, I tune level 4 Shining Abyss to level 3 Giant Soldier Of Stone!"
Both of Daniel's monsters dissappeared and were replaced by a large mechanical dragon with tools attached to its arms.
"I summon Power Tool Dragon!" Daniel said.
His new monster was level 7, with 2300 attack and 2500 defense.
"Now, I use Power Tool's effect" Daniel said. "I choose 3 equip spells from my deck, and you pick one at random."
Daniel selected three cards from his deck and held them up.
"I pick the one on the left," Briant said.
"Okay," Daniel said. "Now, I add it to my hand, and the other two return to my deck. Then I activate Malevolent Nuzzler!"
The equip card Daniel played increased Power Tool Dragon's attack points to 3000.
"Then I use my face down card, Scroll Of Bewitchment!" Daniel said. "This card will now equip to Power Tool Dragon and change its attribute to dark."
"Not too useful in this situation," Briant said. "Although, since Power Tool Dragon can survive battle by sacrificing equip spells, it may help you a bit after all."
"That's the plan!" Daniel said. "Now, attack!"
Power Tool Dragon drew back one its arms and rammed one of its tools into the Rake, reducing Briant's life points to 1750. The Rake managed to survive, thank's to its nature as a Fear.
"And with that, I end my turn," Daniel said.
Meanwhile, Hiroshi continued to follow Malkator as he walked through the Board.
"Why are you following me?" Malkator said.
"I was hoping we could team up?" Hiroshi replied.
"Why?" Malkator replied. "There can only be one winner, so any alliances will eventually fall apart. Besides, I'm no good at this game."
"You managed to ass the prelim, didn't you?" Hiroshi asked.
"I only managed to do that by copying that xyz thing that I saw the girl do earlier," Malkator said. "I know next to nothing about this game."
"All the more reason for you to team up with someone," Hiroshi said. "You might be able to learn a thing or two."
"And what happens when we have to face each other later?" Malkator asked.
"We can cross that bridge when we come to it," Hiroshi said.
Malkator set out a sighe. "Fine, have it your way."
Back where Daniel was dueling, a man appeared at the top of the bishop building and looked down at the duel. He was dressed in a long coat and a fedora, which was pulled down so that it cast a shadow over his features.
"I use the Board's effect!" Briant said, as his life points dropped to 1450. "I guess monster!"
He drew, revealing a monster card.
"I use the effect again!" he said, dropping down to 1150. "I guess spell card this time!"
He drew a spell card.
"Again!" he said, going down to 850. "I guess monster!"
The card he drew was another spell.
"Oh well, can't guess them all right," he saighed. "I summon Bad Rabbit!"
A level 4 black rabbit appeared on his field, with 1400 attack points.
"Now, by tributing him, I can allow an earth monster I control to attack an additional time this turn!" he said.
"Crap," Daniel said.
"But that's not all!" Briant said. "I use another effect of Wild Retribution! By sending the top 5 cards on my deck to the graveyard, the Rake gains yt another attack!"
"But that means he can attack three times this turn!" Daniel said.
"That's right," Briant said. "Next, I play the spell card Wild Doom! Since I control a beast-type monster, all cards sent to the grave this turn will be removed from play instead!"
"Shit!" Daniel said. "But that means-"
"That you can't use Malevolent Nuzzler's effect," he said. "Normally, you'd be able to pay 500 life points to return it to the top of your deck when it's destroyed, then you could use it with the Board's effect to help you draw. But if it's removed from the game instead of going to the graveyard, that won't work."
"Damn it all to hell!" Daniel said.
"Next I play the spell card Feast Of Souls, and equip it to the Rake!"
"What does that do?" Daniel asked.
"Once per turn, I can banish a monster from your graveyard and add attack power to the Rake equal to its level times 100 until the end phase," Briant said. "I think I'll chose that pesky Dark End Dragon!"
Dark End Dragon was banished from Daniel's graveyard. The Rake devoured its soul, increasing its power.
"Dark End Dragon was evel 8, so the Rake gains 800 attack," Briant said. "Now, attack Power Tool Dragon!"
"I sacrifice Scroll Of Bewitchment to protect my monster!" Daniel said.
Scroll Of Bewitchment was banished, and Power Tool Dragon survived. Daniel's life points were reduced to 1850.
"I'll have Rake attack again!" Briant declared.
"I sacrifice Malevolent Nuzzler!" Daniel said.
Daniel's life dropped to 1550, and Malevolent Nuzzler was banished. Power Tool Dragon's attack power was reduced to 2300.
"One more time!" Briant said.
The Rake attacked a third time, this time destroying Power Tool Dragon and reducing Daniel to 550 life points. Daniel fell over onto his back. His body ached from the damage he had taken.
"And with that, I'll end my turn," Briant said. "What's the matter? To close to death to do anything?"
Daniel raised himself up onto his elbows.
"You're about to lose your first life," Briant taunted. "Then you'll be that much closer to dying in this tournament."
Daniel heave himself up so that he was sitting.
"You scared?" Briant mocked.
The image of the Archangel popped up again in Daniel's head. The image of the afterlife itself. Daniel angrily got back to his feet, facing Briant.
"I'm not afraid to die," Daniel said. "What I'm afraid of is what comes next!"
Daniel was suddenly immersed in an aura of blackness, and Briant took a step back, frightened.
"So it's finally awakened, has it?" the man on the roof of the building said. "Good. Let's see how this plans out.
"I activate the Board's effect!" Daniel said, as his life dropped to 250. "I guess monster!"
Daniel drew, and glanced at his card. It was a new one. A card he had never had in his deck before. The card he was now holding was the Archangel.
"Very good," the man watching them said softly. The duelists had still not noticed his presence. "But you still need the means to summon it. I suppose I can lend a hand."
The man snapped his fingers.
"Since I guessed right, I can draw again!" Daniel said.
Daniel drew another card. It was new, just like the Archangel, but it was exactly what he needed.
"I play the spell card Revive Shift!" Daniel said. "This card allows me to revive a monster from either graveyard, as long as there's an attribute mentioned in its effect!"
"What?" Briant asked.
"Since Trojan Horse has the earth attribute in its effect, I'll bring it back to my field!" Daniel said.
The Trojan Horse in Briant's graveyard was special summoned to Daniel's field.
"What the hell?" Briant asked
"That was the revive part!" Daniel said. "Now comes the shift! Do to Revive Shift's effect, I can change any attribute in Trojan Horse's card text to a different attribute! I'll change the earth attribute in its effect to dark!"
"But that means...," Briant said.
"That if I summon a dark attribute monster, Trojan Horse will be used as two tributes instead of one," Daniel finished for him. "Now, I tribute Trojan Horse to summon Archangel! Lord Of The Fallen!"
A new being appeared on Daniel's field. It resembled a tall man, with dark clothing and a gas mask concealing his face. A pair of deep black angel winds sprouted from his back. He was level 8 with 2500 attack points, the same as the Rake.
"I activate the Archangel's effect!" Daniel said. "When it's summoned to the field, I can equip it with a monster from my graveyard! I choose Light End Dragon!"
An aura of light surrounded the Archangel as Daniel equipped his dragon to it.
"Now, attack!" Daniel ordered.
"But their attack points are the same!"Briant said.
"For now," Daniel said. "But Archangel gains the effects of the monster equipped to him. So by reducing his attack power by 500, I can reduce the Rake's attack power by 1500!"
The Archangel's attack power became 2000, and the Rake was reduced to 1000. The Archangel conjured a black scythe from nothingness, and cleaved the Rake in to. The scythe continued moving, hitting Briant and reducing his life points to 0. Suddenly, on of the wounds on his chest vanished.
"You son of a itch!" Briant said, as his body began fading. "I'll get you for this! This isn't over!"
He disappeared, leaving Daniel alone. He glanced at the Archangel's card.
"Where the hell did you come from?" he asked.
Friday, January 10, 2014
3 Animals
Malkator stopped and leaned against a nearby building.
"So, is that all?" he asked the talking bat, while rubbing the new, glowing wounds on his chest.
"Yes, pretty much," the bat said.
"God, next to France, this is probably the most bizarre thing that's ever happened to me," he said.
"I believe it," the bat said. "I'll be going now."
The bat flew off, leaving Malkator alone. He stayed leaning against the building for a while, trying to piece together everything that had just happened.
"Hey, Malkator!" a voice called, breaking him away from his thoughts.
He turned his head to see a man approaching him. He was a Japanese man in his late twenties, and was carrying a long samurai sword.
"Oh, great," Malkator said. "What do you want, Hiroshi?"
"I want to know what in hell is going on here," the man replied.
"Same here," Malkator said. "But I doubt I'll figure it out sticking around here."
Malkator got up, and began walking.
Meanwhile, on a different part of the Board, Daniel stood across from the bearded man, watching the Rake card.
"Well, this sucks," Daniel said, looking back at his dueldisk and the enlarged image of the card. In addition to its invulnerability, the Rake could also deal piercing damage. And if it went a turn without attacking, it could destroy a non-Fear monster easily.
"So are you gonna do anything else, or can I take my turn now?" the man asked.
"Hold on," Daniel said, setting a card on his field. "I set one card and end my turn."
As Daniel's turn ended, Light End Dragon's attack became 2100 and Rake's attack returned to 2500.
"Great!" the man said. "Time to teach you a lesson! I summon Beast King Barbaros!"
A large centaur like creature, with the head of a lion, and wielding a lance and a buckler. It was level 8.
"I can summon this monster without tributes, but if I do, its attack power becomes 1900," the man said. "Next, I activate the trap card Metalmorph! This card will now become an equip card for the Rake, increasing its attack power by 300!"
The Rake was coated in a layer of steel, and its attack power rose to 2800.
"Now, I attack Light End Dragon with the Rake!" the man said. "And do to Metalmorph's effect, the Rake will gain half of Light End Dragon's attack during damage calculation!"
The Rake's attack power rose to 3550, and it savagely ripped apart Daniel's Dragon. Daniel's life points were reduced to 6050.
"Now, I attack directly with Barbaros!" the man said. His beast prepared to strike Daniel with its spear.
"Not so fast!" Daniel said. "I activate the trap card A Rival Appears! Now, I can target one monster you control, then bring out a monster from my hand with the same level. Rake is a level 7, so I can bring out my level 7 Dark Magician!"
Daniel's Dark Magician appeared on the field.
"Since a new monster was brought out, I can cancel my attack," the man said. "Then I set a card face down and end my turn!"
"Alright," Daniel said, drawing. "So who are you, anyway?"
"My name is Briant," the man said. "Why do you care?"
"Because I'd like to know who's ass I'm kicking before I stomp them in to the ground," Daniel said, grinning.
"Ha!" the man laughed. "You think you have a chance against my Fear card?"
"Let me let you in on a little something," Daniel said. "This deck I'm using? It was customized to hold its own against a Five Headed Dragon."
"What!?" Briant exclaimed.
"You're Fear card was a bit intimidating at first, but I've gotten over it," Daniel said. "I can beat that thing. No sweat."
"Oh yeah," Briant growled. "Prove it!"
"I will!" Daniel said. "I summon Buten!"
A small, pig like fairy creature appeared on Daniel's field. It was level 1 with 200 attack points.
"Now, I tune my level 1 Buten to my level 7 Dark Magician!" Daniel said. "Come forth, Dark End Dragon!"
Daniel's monsters were replaced by a terrifying black dragon, with an extra face on its torso. It was level 8, with 2600 attack points.
"I attack Beast King Barbaros with Dark End Dragon!" Daniel said.
"I activate the trap card Half Unbreak!" Briant said. "This card prevents Barbaros from being destroyed in battle, and halves any damage I take."
Briant's life points were reduced to 6050, the same as Daniel.
"Oh well," Daniel said. "I activate Dark End Dragon's effect. Now, by permanently reducing its attack power by 500, I can destroy any monster you control. I'll chose Night Whisperer, Rake!"
Dark End Dragon opened its second mouth, and fired a bolt of energy that destroyed the Rake.
"Damn it!" Briant exclaimed.
"I end my turn with that," Daniel said.
"I draw!" Briant said. "Then, I activate the trap card Wild Return! This card revives a level 4 beast-type monster from my graveyard! I bring back Trojan Horse!"
The Trojan Horse reappeared on Briant's field.
"Now, I tribute my Beast King Barbaros, and my Trojan Horse treated as 2 tributes!" Briant said.
"Three tributes?" Daniel said. "Uh-oh..."
"I tribute summon another Beast King Barbaros!" Briant said. "And since he was summoned with three tributes, I can destroy every card you control!"
A second Barbaros appeared, with 3000 attack points. It swung its lance, destroying Daniel's Dark End Dragon.
"Now, attack him directly!" Briant demanded.
Beast King Barbaros stabbed forward with its lance, hitting Daniel. Daniel collapsed, clutching the area where it had hit. The was no wound, but the pain was still there. His life points dropped to 3050.
"I end my turn," Briant said.
Daniel looked at his hand. All he had was a Giant Soldier Of Stone. He could go on the defensive, but Briant's power deck could just break through it. He needed another plan. Some kind of Deus Ex Machina that could save him. He looked at the screen of his duel disk, trying to figure something out. That's when it occurred to him. He tapped the screen, and an image of a spell card appeared. He read its effect, and began chuckling.
"What's so funny?" Briant Demanded.
"Nothing much," Daniel said. "Just that I figured out how I might be able to make a comeback.
"What?" Briant asked.
"I activate the effect of The Board!" Daniel said.
The checkered tiles surrounding them began glowing.
"I pay 300 life points to guess what type of card I'm gonna draw!" Daniel said. "Then, if I guess right, I can draw again!"
Daniel's life dropped to 2750.
"I guess my next card will be a spell card!" Daniel said. He drew. "Looks like I lucked out and drew a spell! Which means I can draw again! And I think I'll use the Board's effect another time!"
Daniel's life was reduced to 2450.
"I guess trap card!" Daniel said, drawing again. "And it looks like that's exactly what I got! I use the Board's effect one more time!"
Daniel's life went down to 2150.
"This time, I guess monster!" He said. He drew another card, and looked at it. "Damn. Got a spell this time. Oh well. I summon Giant Soldier Of Stone!"
A warrior made of stone appeared on Daniel's field. It was level 3 with 1300 attack points.
"Next, I play the spell card Riryoku!" Daniel said. "Now, I can cut your monster's attack in half, and add it to my Soldier!"
Barbaros's attack was reduced to 1500, while Giant Soldier Of Stone rose to 2800.
"Now, I'll have my monster attack!" Daniel said.
Giant Soldier Of Stone attacked, destroying Beast King Barbaros and reducing Briant's life points to 4550.
"I set 2 cards face down and end my turn," Daniel said. "Looks like those dumb beast cards of yours aren't paying off too well, are they?"
Briant burst into laughter.
"You think they're dumb?" he chuckled. "Animals are far smarter than human's give them credit for. They are absolutely brilliant. A fact that scares the hell out of me."
Something wasn't right. There was a dark aura surrounding Briant now. Something Daniel had felt before, when in the presence of the Archangel. He gulped and tried to shove that memory to the back of his head while Briant drew his next card.
"I pay 1500 life points to activate the equip spell Wild Retribution!" Briant said. "This card allows me to revive a beast-type monster and equip it with this card! Return, Night Whisperer! Rake!"
The Rake reappeared on Briant's field. But it wasn't the same as before. It was more feral, and destructive looking. Daniel took a step back. For the first time since this duel had started, Daniel was legitimately terrified.
"So, is that all?" he asked the talking bat, while rubbing the new, glowing wounds on his chest.
"Yes, pretty much," the bat said.
"God, next to France, this is probably the most bizarre thing that's ever happened to me," he said.
"I believe it," the bat said. "I'll be going now."
The bat flew off, leaving Malkator alone. He stayed leaning against the building for a while, trying to piece together everything that had just happened.
"Hey, Malkator!" a voice called, breaking him away from his thoughts.
He turned his head to see a man approaching him. He was a Japanese man in his late twenties, and was carrying a long samurai sword.
"Oh, great," Malkator said. "What do you want, Hiroshi?"
"I want to know what in hell is going on here," the man replied.
"Same here," Malkator said. "But I doubt I'll figure it out sticking around here."
Malkator got up, and began walking.
Meanwhile, on a different part of the Board, Daniel stood across from the bearded man, watching the Rake card.
"Well, this sucks," Daniel said, looking back at his dueldisk and the enlarged image of the card. In addition to its invulnerability, the Rake could also deal piercing damage. And if it went a turn without attacking, it could destroy a non-Fear monster easily.
"So are you gonna do anything else, or can I take my turn now?" the man asked.
"Hold on," Daniel said, setting a card on his field. "I set one card and end my turn."
As Daniel's turn ended, Light End Dragon's attack became 2100 and Rake's attack returned to 2500.
"Great!" the man said. "Time to teach you a lesson! I summon Beast King Barbaros!"
A large centaur like creature, with the head of a lion, and wielding a lance and a buckler. It was level 8.
"I can summon this monster without tributes, but if I do, its attack power becomes 1900," the man said. "Next, I activate the trap card Metalmorph! This card will now become an equip card for the Rake, increasing its attack power by 300!"
The Rake was coated in a layer of steel, and its attack power rose to 2800.
"Now, I attack Light End Dragon with the Rake!" the man said. "And do to Metalmorph's effect, the Rake will gain half of Light End Dragon's attack during damage calculation!"
The Rake's attack power rose to 3550, and it savagely ripped apart Daniel's Dragon. Daniel's life points were reduced to 6050.
"Now, I attack directly with Barbaros!" the man said. His beast prepared to strike Daniel with its spear.
"Not so fast!" Daniel said. "I activate the trap card A Rival Appears! Now, I can target one monster you control, then bring out a monster from my hand with the same level. Rake is a level 7, so I can bring out my level 7 Dark Magician!"
Daniel's Dark Magician appeared on the field.
"Since a new monster was brought out, I can cancel my attack," the man said. "Then I set a card face down and end my turn!"
"Alright," Daniel said, drawing. "So who are you, anyway?"
"My name is Briant," the man said. "Why do you care?"
"Because I'd like to know who's ass I'm kicking before I stomp them in to the ground," Daniel said, grinning.
"Ha!" the man laughed. "You think you have a chance against my Fear card?"
"Let me let you in on a little something," Daniel said. "This deck I'm using? It was customized to hold its own against a Five Headed Dragon."
"What!?" Briant exclaimed.
"You're Fear card was a bit intimidating at first, but I've gotten over it," Daniel said. "I can beat that thing. No sweat."
"Oh yeah," Briant growled. "Prove it!"
"I will!" Daniel said. "I summon Buten!"
A small, pig like fairy creature appeared on Daniel's field. It was level 1 with 200 attack points.
"Now, I tune my level 1 Buten to my level 7 Dark Magician!" Daniel said. "Come forth, Dark End Dragon!"
Daniel's monsters were replaced by a terrifying black dragon, with an extra face on its torso. It was level 8, with 2600 attack points.
"I attack Beast King Barbaros with Dark End Dragon!" Daniel said.
"I activate the trap card Half Unbreak!" Briant said. "This card prevents Barbaros from being destroyed in battle, and halves any damage I take."
Briant's life points were reduced to 6050, the same as Daniel.
"Oh well," Daniel said. "I activate Dark End Dragon's effect. Now, by permanently reducing its attack power by 500, I can destroy any monster you control. I'll chose Night Whisperer, Rake!"
Dark End Dragon opened its second mouth, and fired a bolt of energy that destroyed the Rake.
"Damn it!" Briant exclaimed.
"I end my turn with that," Daniel said.
"I draw!" Briant said. "Then, I activate the trap card Wild Return! This card revives a level 4 beast-type monster from my graveyard! I bring back Trojan Horse!"
The Trojan Horse reappeared on Briant's field.
"Now, I tribute my Beast King Barbaros, and my Trojan Horse treated as 2 tributes!" Briant said.
"Three tributes?" Daniel said. "Uh-oh..."
"I tribute summon another Beast King Barbaros!" Briant said. "And since he was summoned with three tributes, I can destroy every card you control!"
A second Barbaros appeared, with 3000 attack points. It swung its lance, destroying Daniel's Dark End Dragon.
"Now, attack him directly!" Briant demanded.
Beast King Barbaros stabbed forward with its lance, hitting Daniel. Daniel collapsed, clutching the area where it had hit. The was no wound, but the pain was still there. His life points dropped to 3050.
"I end my turn," Briant said.
Daniel looked at his hand. All he had was a Giant Soldier Of Stone. He could go on the defensive, but Briant's power deck could just break through it. He needed another plan. Some kind of Deus Ex Machina that could save him. He looked at the screen of his duel disk, trying to figure something out. That's when it occurred to him. He tapped the screen, and an image of a spell card appeared. He read its effect, and began chuckling.
"What's so funny?" Briant Demanded.
"Nothing much," Daniel said. "Just that I figured out how I might be able to make a comeback.
"What?" Briant asked.
"I activate the effect of The Board!" Daniel said.
The checkered tiles surrounding them began glowing.
"I pay 300 life points to guess what type of card I'm gonna draw!" Daniel said. "Then, if I guess right, I can draw again!"
Daniel's life dropped to 2750.
"I guess my next card will be a spell card!" Daniel said. He drew. "Looks like I lucked out and drew a spell! Which means I can draw again! And I think I'll use the Board's effect another time!"
Daniel's life was reduced to 2450.
"I guess trap card!" Daniel said, drawing again. "And it looks like that's exactly what I got! I use the Board's effect one more time!"
Daniel's life went down to 2150.
"This time, I guess monster!" He said. He drew another card, and looked at it. "Damn. Got a spell this time. Oh well. I summon Giant Soldier Of Stone!"
A warrior made of stone appeared on Daniel's field. It was level 3 with 1300 attack points.
"Next, I play the spell card Riryoku!" Daniel said. "Now, I can cut your monster's attack in half, and add it to my Soldier!"
Barbaros's attack was reduced to 1500, while Giant Soldier Of Stone rose to 2800.
"Now, I'll have my monster attack!" Daniel said.
Giant Soldier Of Stone attacked, destroying Beast King Barbaros and reducing Briant's life points to 4550.
"I set 2 cards face down and end my turn," Daniel said. "Looks like those dumb beast cards of yours aren't paying off too well, are they?"
Briant burst into laughter.
"You think they're dumb?" he chuckled. "Animals are far smarter than human's give them credit for. They are absolutely brilliant. A fact that scares the hell out of me."
Something wasn't right. There was a dark aura surrounding Briant now. Something Daniel had felt before, when in the presence of the Archangel. He gulped and tried to shove that memory to the back of his head while Briant drew his next card.
"I pay 1500 life points to activate the equip spell Wild Retribution!" Briant said. "This card allows me to revive a beast-type monster and equip it with this card! Return, Night Whisperer! Rake!"
The Rake reappeared on Briant's field. But it wasn't the same as before. It was more feral, and destructive looking. Daniel took a step back. For the first time since this duel had started, Daniel was legitimately terrified.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
2 The Rules
"Hey, are you listening to me?" the bat demanded.
"I'm sorry," Daniel said, sitting down with his back against the building. "It's hard to focus on what someone is saying when that someone happens to be a talking crack bat."
"A talking- Oh, you did not just call me that!" the bat snapped menacingly.
"Okay, why don't you just start over or what ever?" Daniel said.
"Ugh, fine," the bat said. "But you had better pay attention!"
"Okay, I'll try," Daniel said.
"Okay," the bat said. "First of all, winning a duel will earn you points."
"Points," Daniel said. "Got it."
"You can spend these points at shops," the bat said. "Different shops sell different things. Some have groceries, some have clothes, and some sell cards."
"Not sure how many more of those I'll need," Daniel said, clutching his bag of decks, most of which he probably wouldn't even use.
"Well, they're there if you need them," the bat said. "But you'll have to find them first."
"Okay, I think I've got all that down," Daniel said.
"Now, on to the fields," the bat said. "There's various arenas here on the Board. Each arena has its own field spell in effect. Even the Board itself is treated as a field spell."
"Neat," Daniel said. "So what's its effect?"
"You'll have to figure that one out on your own," the bat said. "Occasionally, the field will change in the middle of a duel, and activating a new field spell will void the effect of whichever field you're dueling on."
"Okay," Daniel said, getting back to his feet. "So what happens if a field spell me or my opponent activates leaves play? Will the original field come back into effect?"
"Yes, it will," the bat said.
"Great," Daniel said. "That means there's always a field spell active no matter what, right?"
"Pretty much," the bat said.
"In that case, I'd better look out for Earthbound and Malefic decks," Daniel said.
"Oh, yes you should," the bat said. "Also, there's a feature on your duel disk that transforms it into a dDuel Runner."
"You mean the bike things from 5Ds?" Daniel asked.
"Yes," the bat said. "If you duel using it, the Speed World Board spell will take effect."
"Speed World Board?" Daniel asked. "s that like, a modified Speed World or Speed World 2?"
"Pretty much," the bat said.
"So that means I need Speed Spells to duel there," Daniel said.
"You can buy those in shops," the bat said. "Also, there's one last thing..."
The bat spread its wings wide, and three glowing swords appeared. They shot forward, piercing into Daniel's chest.
Meanwhile, on a different part of the Board, two other people were having their preliminary match. One of them was a woman with blonde hair and a black duel disk. The other was a 20 year old British man, with shoulder length brown hair, and a crimson duel disk. The woman was clearly winning. She had out a Gem Knight Pearl equipped with Axe Of Despair, bringing it up to 3600 attack points, and the guy only had out a Scion Strife, with only 2000 attack points. The woman had 2200 life points, and the guy had 1900.
"I activate the equip spell Demon Shell!" the girl said. "This card prevents my monster from being destroyed by card effects! Now, attack hs monster!"
Her Gem Knight raised its axe, and struck Scion Strife. The man's life points dropped to 300.
"Looks like you'll be finished soon!" the girl said. "I set one card face down and end my turn."
"Shit," the man said, getting back to his feet. He drew a card. "How the hell am I supposed to deal with that thing!?"
"Try xyz summoning," said another man.
The man dueling turned sharply to see a man in a hooded robe leaning against a rook building nearby. His arms were folded across his chest.
"Who are you?" the british man demanded.
"That's not important, Malkator," the man said.
"How do you know my name?" the demanded.
"Like I said, it's not important," the hooded man said. "I finished my preliminary duel and then came across you. You seemed to be having trouble."
"Well, it's none of your business," Malkator said.
"Um, excuse me?" the girl said. "Are we dueling or not?"
"Just hold on a second!" Malkator snapped, looking at the cards in his hand. "Wait a mintue..."
He turned to see the hooded man walking away from them.
"Where the hell are you going!?" Malkator demanded.
"Elsewhere," the man said. "There's someone I need to find."
"Don't leave yet," Malkator said. "Once I finish off this girl, I'm taking you down."
"There's onlyone duelist in this tournament I'm interested in facing," the man said. "And you're not him."
"Why you little-," Malkator said.
"Hey! Brit! What are you waiting for?" the girl asid.
"Ugh, fine," Malkator said. "When I control no monsters, I can bring out Scion Noble Blade!"
A swordsman with a long black cloak appeared on Malkator's field. It was level 4 with 1800 attack points.
"Next, I activate Scion Shroud!" he said. "Since my life points are less that 1000, I can transform this card into a level 7 monster!"
A cloak appeared on Malkator's field, hovering as if it were being worn by an invisible man. It had 1500 attack points.
"Next, I play Scion Initiation!" Malkator said. "Now, Noble Blade's attack power and level become the same as Scion Shrouds. And then I overlay these two level 7 monsters to xyz summon!"
Malkator reached into his pocket to view his extra deck. He had two monsters he could summon. One of them wouldn't work with her Demon Shell in play, but the other one...
"I xyz summon Scion Sky Heart!" Malkator said.
A cloaked man with a lance and 2800 attack points appeared on his field.
"Now, I have him activate his effect!" Malkator said. "By detaching an overlay unit, I can switch your monster to defense position."
Gem Knight Pearl only had 1900 defense points.
"During my battle phase, Noble Blade's effect allows my xyz monster to gain 300 attack points," Malkator said, as his monster rose to 3100 attack. "Now, attack!"
"I activate the trap card Magic Cylanders!" the girl said. "Now, your attack is negated, and you take damage equal to your monster's attack!"
"I use Noble Blade's effect!" Malkator said. "Your trap card is negated and destroyed. Then I play the quicklplay spell card Ego Boost, which raises my monsters attack power by 1000!"
Malkator's Sky Heart destroyed Gem Knight Pearl easily.
"Sky Heart deals piercing damage," Malkator informed her. "Meaning you lose!"
Sky Heart struck her with a flash of light, and her life points were reduced to nothing.
Meanwhile, Daniel was lying on the ground, with the three swords sticking out of his chest.
"What the hell is this!" Daniel demanded.
"Just give it a minute," the bat said.
Slowly, the swords faded away. However, the wounds they left continued to glow a bright blue.
"What the hell?" Daniel asked.
"Those wounds are your lives," the bat said. "Each duelist gets three. When you lose a duel, you'll lose one life, and will be teleported to a random part of the Board."
"And what happens when I run out?" Daniel asked.
The bat gave a weird looking smile before saying, simply, "You die."
The bat vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving Daniel alone.
"Shit," Daniel said. "This just got a lot more serious."
"Hey, you!" a voice called.
Daniel turned. There was a man running toward him. He was older than Daniel, and had a beard.
"Um, hey," Daniel said.
"I'm challenging you to a duel!" the man said.
"I can't," Daniel said. "Didn't the bat thing tell you? If we run out of lives, we die."
"I have no intention of losing," the man said. "Now duel!"
The man clicked a button on his duel disk, and Daniel's duel disk turned on.
"What the hell is this?" Daniel asked.
"You can't get out of this," the man said. "You're going to duel me."
Daniel couldn't move his feet. He was stuck there.
"Fine," Daniel said. "I'll take you on."
"I'll go first!" the man said. "I activate Double Summon! Now, I can normal summon twice this turn. I'll start with Trojan Horse!"
A horse constructed from wood appeared. It was level 4 with 1600 attack points.
"Next, I use Trojan Horses effect!" the man said. "When I bring out an Earth monster, I can use it as 2 tributes. So I'll tribute my Trojan Horse to summon Night Whisperer Rake!"
A humanoid creature appeared on the man's field. It was level 7, with 2500 attack points. It resembled a naked man, hunched over like an animal, with no hair, big, black eyes, and long claws.
"I set two cards and end my turn," the man said.
"Okay," Daniel said. "I activate Ancient Rules. This card lets me special summon a level 5 or higher normal monster, so I'll bring out Dark Witch!"
A woman with angel wings and a staff appeared. She was level 5 with 1800 attack points.
"Next, I normal summon Counselor Lily!" Daniel said.
A fairy appeared on his field. It was level 3 with 400 attack points.
"I tune level 3 Counselor Lily to my level 5 Dark Witch!" Daniel said. "With these monsters, I synchro summon level 8, Light End Dragon!"
A radiant white dragon appeared on Daniel's field, with 2600 attack points.
"Now, I use Lily' effect," Daniel said. "I pay 500 life points to increase Light End Dragon's attack power by 1000 until the end phase. Now, attack!"
Daniel's dragon, now with 3600 attack points, attacked the Rake.
"I now activate my monster's effect!" Daniel said. "By permanently reducing its attack power by 500, your monster loses 1000 attack until the end phase."
Light End Dragon's attack became 3100, and the Rake was reduced to 1500. The attack hit, and the field was enveloped in light. The light soon faded, to reveal that the man was reduced to 6400 life points. However, his Rake was still standing.
"Wait a minute," Daniel said. "Why is your monster still there?"
"You don't get it," the man said. "The Rake is a special type of card, called a Fear. And do you know what the fun thing about Fears is?"
Daniel looked at the screen on his duel disk and enlarged the picture of the Rake card. He read the first line of its effect and realized exactly what had happened.
"Figured it out?" the man said. "As a Fear card, the Rake can only be destroyed in battle by another of it's kind!"
To be continued.
"I'm sorry," Daniel said, sitting down with his back against the building. "It's hard to focus on what someone is saying when that someone happens to be a talking crack bat."
"A talking- Oh, you did not just call me that!" the bat snapped menacingly.
"Okay, why don't you just start over or what ever?" Daniel said.
"Ugh, fine," the bat said. "But you had better pay attention!"
"Okay, I'll try," Daniel said.
"Okay," the bat said. "First of all, winning a duel will earn you points."
"Points," Daniel said. "Got it."
"You can spend these points at shops," the bat said. "Different shops sell different things. Some have groceries, some have clothes, and some sell cards."
"Not sure how many more of those I'll need," Daniel said, clutching his bag of decks, most of which he probably wouldn't even use.
"Well, they're there if you need them," the bat said. "But you'll have to find them first."
"Okay, I think I've got all that down," Daniel said.
"Now, on to the fields," the bat said. "There's various arenas here on the Board. Each arena has its own field spell in effect. Even the Board itself is treated as a field spell."
"Neat," Daniel said. "So what's its effect?"
"You'll have to figure that one out on your own," the bat said. "Occasionally, the field will change in the middle of a duel, and activating a new field spell will void the effect of whichever field you're dueling on."
"Okay," Daniel said, getting back to his feet. "So what happens if a field spell me or my opponent activates leaves play? Will the original field come back into effect?"
"Yes, it will," the bat said.
"Great," Daniel said. "That means there's always a field spell active no matter what, right?"
"Pretty much," the bat said.
"In that case, I'd better look out for Earthbound and Malefic decks," Daniel said.
"Oh, yes you should," the bat said. "Also, there's a feature on your duel disk that transforms it into a dDuel Runner."
"You mean the bike things from 5Ds?" Daniel asked.
"Yes," the bat said. "If you duel using it, the Speed World Board spell will take effect."
"Speed World Board?" Daniel asked. "s that like, a modified Speed World or Speed World 2?"
"Pretty much," the bat said.
"So that means I need Speed Spells to duel there," Daniel said.
"You can buy those in shops," the bat said. "Also, there's one last thing..."
The bat spread its wings wide, and three glowing swords appeared. They shot forward, piercing into Daniel's chest.
Meanwhile, on a different part of the Board, two other people were having their preliminary match. One of them was a woman with blonde hair and a black duel disk. The other was a 20 year old British man, with shoulder length brown hair, and a crimson duel disk. The woman was clearly winning. She had out a Gem Knight Pearl equipped with Axe Of Despair, bringing it up to 3600 attack points, and the guy only had out a Scion Strife, with only 2000 attack points. The woman had 2200 life points, and the guy had 1900.
"I activate the equip spell Demon Shell!" the girl said. "This card prevents my monster from being destroyed by card effects! Now, attack hs monster!"
Her Gem Knight raised its axe, and struck Scion Strife. The man's life points dropped to 300.
"Looks like you'll be finished soon!" the girl said. "I set one card face down and end my turn."
"Shit," the man said, getting back to his feet. He drew a card. "How the hell am I supposed to deal with that thing!?"
"Try xyz summoning," said another man.
The man dueling turned sharply to see a man in a hooded robe leaning against a rook building nearby. His arms were folded across his chest.
"Who are you?" the british man demanded.
"That's not important, Malkator," the man said.
"How do you know my name?" the demanded.
"Like I said, it's not important," the hooded man said. "I finished my preliminary duel and then came across you. You seemed to be having trouble."
"Well, it's none of your business," Malkator said.
"Um, excuse me?" the girl said. "Are we dueling or not?"
"Just hold on a second!" Malkator snapped, looking at the cards in his hand. "Wait a mintue..."
He turned to see the hooded man walking away from them.
"Where the hell are you going!?" Malkator demanded.
"Elsewhere," the man said. "There's someone I need to find."
"Don't leave yet," Malkator said. "Once I finish off this girl, I'm taking you down."
"There's onlyone duelist in this tournament I'm interested in facing," the man said. "And you're not him."
"Why you little-," Malkator said.
"Hey! Brit! What are you waiting for?" the girl asid.
"Ugh, fine," Malkator said. "When I control no monsters, I can bring out Scion Noble Blade!"
A swordsman with a long black cloak appeared on Malkator's field. It was level 4 with 1800 attack points.
"Next, I activate Scion Shroud!" he said. "Since my life points are less that 1000, I can transform this card into a level 7 monster!"
A cloak appeared on Malkator's field, hovering as if it were being worn by an invisible man. It had 1500 attack points.
"Next, I play Scion Initiation!" Malkator said. "Now, Noble Blade's attack power and level become the same as Scion Shrouds. And then I overlay these two level 7 monsters to xyz summon!"
Malkator reached into his pocket to view his extra deck. He had two monsters he could summon. One of them wouldn't work with her Demon Shell in play, but the other one...
"I xyz summon Scion Sky Heart!" Malkator said.
A cloaked man with a lance and 2800 attack points appeared on his field.
"Now, I have him activate his effect!" Malkator said. "By detaching an overlay unit, I can switch your monster to defense position."
Gem Knight Pearl only had 1900 defense points.
"During my battle phase, Noble Blade's effect allows my xyz monster to gain 300 attack points," Malkator said, as his monster rose to 3100 attack. "Now, attack!"
"I activate the trap card Magic Cylanders!" the girl said. "Now, your attack is negated, and you take damage equal to your monster's attack!"
"I use Noble Blade's effect!" Malkator said. "Your trap card is negated and destroyed. Then I play the quicklplay spell card Ego Boost, which raises my monsters attack power by 1000!"
Malkator's Sky Heart destroyed Gem Knight Pearl easily.
"Sky Heart deals piercing damage," Malkator informed her. "Meaning you lose!"
Sky Heart struck her with a flash of light, and her life points were reduced to nothing.
Meanwhile, Daniel was lying on the ground, with the three swords sticking out of his chest.
"What the hell is this!" Daniel demanded.
"Just give it a minute," the bat said.
Slowly, the swords faded away. However, the wounds they left continued to glow a bright blue.
"What the hell?" Daniel asked.
"Those wounds are your lives," the bat said. "Each duelist gets three. When you lose a duel, you'll lose one life, and will be teleported to a random part of the Board."
"And what happens when I run out?" Daniel asked.
The bat gave a weird looking smile before saying, simply, "You die."
The bat vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving Daniel alone.
"Shit," Daniel said. "This just got a lot more serious."
"Hey, you!" a voice called.
Daniel turned. There was a man running toward him. He was older than Daniel, and had a beard.
"Um, hey," Daniel said.
"I'm challenging you to a duel!" the man said.
"I can't," Daniel said. "Didn't the bat thing tell you? If we run out of lives, we die."
"I have no intention of losing," the man said. "Now duel!"
The man clicked a button on his duel disk, and Daniel's duel disk turned on.
"What the hell is this?" Daniel asked.
"You can't get out of this," the man said. "You're going to duel me."
Daniel couldn't move his feet. He was stuck there.
"Fine," Daniel said. "I'll take you on."
"I'll go first!" the man said. "I activate Double Summon! Now, I can normal summon twice this turn. I'll start with Trojan Horse!"
A horse constructed from wood appeared. It was level 4 with 1600 attack points.
"Next, I use Trojan Horses effect!" the man said. "When I bring out an Earth monster, I can use it as 2 tributes. So I'll tribute my Trojan Horse to summon Night Whisperer Rake!"
A humanoid creature appeared on the man's field. It was level 7, with 2500 attack points. It resembled a naked man, hunched over like an animal, with no hair, big, black eyes, and long claws.
"I set two cards and end my turn," the man said.
"Okay," Daniel said. "I activate Ancient Rules. This card lets me special summon a level 5 or higher normal monster, so I'll bring out Dark Witch!"
A woman with angel wings and a staff appeared. She was level 5 with 1800 attack points.
"Next, I normal summon Counselor Lily!" Daniel said.
A fairy appeared on his field. It was level 3 with 400 attack points.
"I tune level 3 Counselor Lily to my level 5 Dark Witch!" Daniel said. "With these monsters, I synchro summon level 8, Light End Dragon!"
A radiant white dragon appeared on Daniel's field, with 2600 attack points.
"Now, I use Lily' effect," Daniel said. "I pay 500 life points to increase Light End Dragon's attack power by 1000 until the end phase. Now, attack!"
Daniel's dragon, now with 3600 attack points, attacked the Rake.
"I now activate my monster's effect!" Daniel said. "By permanently reducing its attack power by 500, your monster loses 1000 attack until the end phase."
Light End Dragon's attack became 3100, and the Rake was reduced to 1500. The attack hit, and the field was enveloped in light. The light soon faded, to reveal that the man was reduced to 6400 life points. However, his Rake was still standing.
"Wait a minute," Daniel said. "Why is your monster still there?"
"You don't get it," the man said. "The Rake is a special type of card, called a Fear. And do you know what the fun thing about Fears is?"
Daniel looked at the screen on his duel disk and enlarged the picture of the Rake card. He read the first line of its effect and realized exactly what had happened.
"Figured it out?" the man said. "As a Fear card, the Rake can only be destroyed in battle by another of it's kind!"
To be continued.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
1 The Tournament
"Ugh," Daniel moaned, opening his eyes. "The fuck am I?"
He sat up and looked around. He appeared to be in another universe or something. The skies shifted between various shades of orange, and violet clouds floated above him. He was sitting on the ground, next to a large building shaped like a bishop. The ground was divided into countless black and white squares, like a chess board.
"This is weird," he thought to himself, getting to his feet.
"Welcome!" said a booming voice next to him. Daniel turned sharply and found himself face to face with a bat, fluttering at head height above the ground.
"The hell?" Daniel said.
"Welcome to the Game Master's Tournament," it said. "You have been selected to participate, but first you must win a preliminary duel."
"What?" Daniel asked, dumbfounded. Talking bats? A tournament? Game Master? Duel? Just what the hell was going on?
Without warning, the bat disappeared. In its place was a tall man with blond hair, and a duel disk strapped to his wrist.
"So, you're my opponent for the prelim?" the man asked.
"Um, I guess so," Daniel said. He couldn't take his eyes off the duel disk. Where the hell did he get one of those?
"Well, what are you waiting for?" the man asked. "Put yours on!"
"Mine?" Daniel asked, still not sure what was going on.
"Oh for the love of... over there!" the man said, pointing.
Daniel looked to see a duel disk and a back pack lying by the building. Daniel approached it awkwardly and picked up the duel disk. It was silver with red trim, and had a small screen on it which allowed him to view his life points and the cards he had in play. He strapped it to his wrist and examined the back pack. Inside of it were his decks. Some of them, anyway. Daniel had more decks than he cared to keep track of, and he was pretty sure they couldn't all fit in one back pack. He began digging through it, and noticed that there were decks there that weren't his. Why did he have them?
He kept digging around until he found his main deck. That's the one he planned to use. It was flawed, yes, but it was adaptable. He placed it into his duel disk and turned to the man.
"What's your name?" Daniel asked.
"Micheal," he replied.
"Alright," Daniel said. "What happens if one of us loses?"
"Loser is banished from the tournament, and returned to the human world," Micheal said. "Although, that might not be such a bad thing. The bat didn't tell me much about the tournament."
"Me neither," Daniel said. "So I'm guessing the tournament could be bad?"
"Likely," Micheal said. "Winning might submit one of us to being trapped in a life threatening situation."
"So what's to stop one of us from just surrendering to the other?" Daniel said.
"Pride," Micheal said. "I don't know about you, but I don't like to lose."
"Not a big fan of that either," Daniel said.
"Then let's go," Micheal said.
"Fine," Daniel replied.
"You first," Micheal said.
"I draw!" Daniel said. "I activate Polymerization! With it, I fuse Marie The Fallen One and The Forgiving Maiden from my hand!"
Daniel sent his two monsters from his hand to the graveyard, and took a new monster from his extra deck.
"I fusion summon Saint Joan!" Daniel said.
A woman with short blond hair appeared on Daniel's field. She was clad in silver armor and carried a long sword. She was level 7 with 2800 attack points.
"Next, I set one monster face down," Daniel said. "Then I end my turn."
"My move!" Micheal said. "I set one trap card face down!"
Weird, Daniel thought. Normally, someone would wait til main phase 2 to set spell or trap cards. And normally, they wouldn't say whether it was a spell or trap card.
"Next, I play the continuous spell card Charybdis Vein!" Micheal said.
A large mass of swirling water appeared on Micheal's field.
"After activation, I can turn this card into a level 4 monster!" Micheal said.
His spell card moved into his monster card zone. IT was level 4, with 0 attack and defense.
"A spell monster," Daniel said. "Don't see those much."
"You haven't seen anything," Micheal said. "You see, since you have a level 7 monster out, I can target one set trap card on my field, and activate it, even if it was set this turn! I activate Embodiment Of Apophis!"
The trap card on Micheal's field morphed into a sinister creature, half man and half snake. It was level 4 with 1600 attack points.
"A trap monster," Daniel said. "Shit."
"I build the overlay network with these two level 4 monsters!" Micheal said. "With them, I xyz summon Liquid Soul Morphius!"
A creature made out of a weird gray liquid appeared. It shifted into a demonic form with large, razor edged wings and huge talons. It was rank 4 with 1800 attack and 2200 defense.
"That's weird looking," Daniel pointed out.
"Thank you, captain obvious," Micheal said. "I activate it's effect! Since It's the only monster I control, I can detach an xyz material to cut your monster's attack power in half!"
Micheal's monster shifted its form, expanding rapidly and engulfing Saint Joan. Her power dropped to 1400. Morphius split in two, with part of it remaining around Saint Joan, and the rest of it returned to its normal form, and expanded to its normal size.
"Damn," Daniel said. "Not good!"
"Oh, I'm not finished yet," Micheal said. "Since the overlay I detached was a spell or trap card, I can dish out damage equal to the attack power your monster lost!"
Morphius stretched out one of its liquid arms, striking Daniel so hard he hit the ground.
"Ouch!" Daniel exclaimed. "The damage is freaking real!"
Not good. If he entered the tournament, he'd be subjecting himself to even more of that pain. Maybe forfeiting would be a better option.
"Are you calling it quits?" Micheal asked.
Daniel got back to his feet. He was determined to keep going.
"Like hell!" Daniel said. "I don't back down from a fight, even if I know I'll get hurt."
"Heh, that's the spirit!" Micheal said.
"Give me everything you've got!" Daniel said.
"You asked for it!" Micheal said. "Morphius, attack his Saint Joan!"
Micheal's monster charged, striking Saint Joan. She vanished from Daniel's field, and he lost another 400 life points. He was down to 6200.
"I set a card and end my turn," Micheal said. "You're up."
Daniel hesitated for a moment before drawing. Liquid Soul Morphius was a Water attribute monster. The monster Daniel had set face down could only effect dark monsters. He'd need to draw something good to beat it.
"I draw!" Daniel exclaimed.
He glanced quickly at his new card and grinned. Exactly what he needed.
"First, I activate the effect of Marie The Fallen One from my graveyard!" Daniel said. "During each of my standby phases, I gain 200 life points!"
Daniel's life rose to 6400.
"Then I equip your monster with the spell card Scroll Of Bewitchment!" Daniel said. "With this card, I can change your monster's attribute to Dark!"
"Wha- why?" Micheal said.
"So that I can do this!" Daniel said. "I flip summon Dharc, The Dark Charmer!"
A woman in brown robes with a staff appeared. She was level 3 with 500 attack points.
"Thanks to her flip effect, I can gain control of one of your Dark monsters!" Daniel said. "So I'll be taking your Liquid Soul!"
Morphius moved to Daniel's field, under Dharc's control.
"Next, by tributing Dharc The Dark Charmer and another Dark monster, I can special summon Familiar possessed Dharc from my deck!"
Dharc and Morphius disappeared, and an advanced version of Dharc appeared on Daniel's field, with 1850 attack points.
"Damn it!" Micheal said. "Should've known you were planning to use a Charmer card."
"She's not the only card I'm using!" Daniel said. "Since I summoned Dharc in this way, I can add a level 4 Light spellcaster from my deck to my hand. I chose Neo The Magic Swordsman, and then I'll summon him to the field!"
A swordsman with shoulder length blond hair appeared on Daniel's field. He had 1700 attack points.
"Battle time!" Daniel said. "I'll have Neo attack you directly!"
Neo rushed forward, slicing Micheal with his sword. Micheal dropped down to his knees as his life points dropped to 6300.
"You okay?" Daniel asked.
"I'm fine," Micheal said, getting back to his feet. "Keep going."
"Okay," Daniel said. "I attack you directly with Familiar Possessed Dharc!"
"I activate the trap card Athens Pillar!" Micheal said. "This card card be activated if my opponent attacks while their life points are lower than mine!"
Shit. If Daniel hadn't used Marie's effect earlier, that card wouldn't be able to work.
"Now, I can summon Athens Pillar in defense position!" Micheal said.
A large pillar ppeared on his field, with 800 defense points.
"I continue my attack!" Daniel said. "Dharc can deal piercing damage, so you'll still lose life points!"
"I know," Micheal said. "But Athens Pillar can't be destroyed this turn!"
Micheal took 1050 points of damage, bringing him down to 5250.
"Now I'll move to main phase 2!" Daniel said. "I build the overlay network with these 2 level 4 monsters to xyz summon Number 39 Utopia!"
A large golden soldier with 2500 attack points appeared on Daniel's field.
"Now I end my turn," Daniel said.
"You're good," Micheal said, drawing. "Now let's find out how good. I activate the effect of Scylla Screech!"
A ghostly dragon with six heads appeared, screeching oudly.
"Since I control a trap card treated as a monster, I can special summon this card as a monster!" Micheal said. "However, I can't activate any more spell or trap cards this turn."
Scylla Screech was level 4 with 1000 attack and 0 defense.
"Now, I overlay my level 4 Athens Pillar and level 4 Scylla Screech to xyz summon another Liquid Soul Morphius!"
A familiar sight unfolded as a second copy of Morphius appeared on Micheal's field.
"Now, I use my monster's effect!" Micheal said. "By using an overlay unit, your monster's attack points are cut in half!"
Utopia's power dropped to 1250 as it was engulfed in a piece of Morphius.
"And next, you receive the same amount of damage!" Micheal exclaimed.
Morphius struck out, reducing Daniel's life points to 5150.
"Now, I attack with Morphius!" Micheal said.
"I use Utopia's effect!" Daniel said. "By detaching an overlay unit, your attack is negated!"
"Yes, it is," Micheal said. "But now Utopia only has one overlay unit left. That won't last you very long."
"I'm aware of that," Daniel said.
"I set a card and end my turn," Micheal said.
"I draw!" Daniel said. "And then I'll use Marie's effect to gain 200 life points."
Daniel's life rose to 5350.
"Next, I activate the spell card Hand Destruction!" Daniel said. "Now we both discard 2 cards and draw 2 cards!"
Daniel and Micheal both discarded 2 cards from their hands and drew two more cards.
"Got it!" Daniel said, looking at the cards he had drawn. "I activate Rank-Up Magic Barian's Force!"
"Shit!" Micheal said. "Now, I can rank up Utopia to summon Chaos Number 39 Utopia Ray V!"
Utopi transformed, developing a black and red color scheme. Its attack power increased to 2600.
"Now, I get to take one of your monster's overlay units and attach it to Utopia Ray V!" Daniel said.
The last overlay unit attached to Morphius was absorbed by Utopia Ray V.
"Now, I detach an overlay unit from Utopia Ray V to destroy your monster and deal you damage equal to its attack power!" Daniel said.
There was a flash of red light as Utopia swung its sword, and Morphius was consumed in a raging inferno. Micheal's monster was destroyed, and his life points dropped to 3450.
"I activate the trap card Ammit Flare!" Micheal said. "When I take effect damage, I can special summon this card as a monster with attack power equal to the damage I took!"
A flaming creature with the head of an alligator, the frontside of a lion, and the backside of a hippo appeared. It was level 4 with 1800 attack points.
"In that case, I'll have Utopia attack him!" Daniel said.
Utopia charged at Ammit Flare, dealing 800 damage to Micheal, reducing him to 2650.
"Ammit Flare can't be destroyed in battle this turn," Micheal said.
"In that case, I set a card and end my turn," Daniel said.
"My move," Micheal said. "I activate the spell card Continuous Double! Since I control a trap monster, this card lets me add a continuous trap card from my graveyard to my hand. Not only that, but I get to activate it this turn without having to set it."
"OH crap," Daniel said. "I already know where this is going."
"I chose Embodiment Of Apophis!" Micheal said. "And then I summon it to the field!"
The snake man reappeared on Micheal's field. He now had out 2 level 4 trap monsters.
"Now, I activate the spell card Ultimate Overlay!" Micheal said. "Now, if I xyz summon with these 2 monsters this turn, I can attach this card to my new monster as an xyz material and increase its attack points by 200 times its rank. Now, I build the overlay network with Apophis and Ammit in order to xyz summon my thrd and final Liquid Soul Morphius!"
Morphius appeared yet again, only this time, Ultimate Overlay attached to it as a third overlay unit. Not only that, but as a rank 4 monster, Morphius gained 800 attack points, bringing it up to 2600.
"Now, I use Morphius's special ability!" Micheal said. "By detaching an overlay unit, Utopia Ray V loses half of his attack power, and you take the same amount as damage!"
Utopia Ray V's attack power was reduced to 1300, and Daniel's life points dropped to 4050.
"Now, attack his monster and destroy it!" Micheal said.
Morphius destroyed Utopia, dealing Daniel another 1300 damage. Daniel's life points were now at 2750.
"I use Utopia Ray V's effect," Daniel said. "Now, I can return Utopia to my extra deck."
"I have to say, you're holding up pretty well," Micheal said. "I have to respect a man who takes a beating as well as you do."
"Thanks," Daniel said. "I respect you too."
"Is that so?" Micheal said.
"Yeah," Daniel replied. "And that's exactly why I have to beat you."
"Excuse me?" Micheal asked.
"You've noticed it, right?" Daniel asked. "The damage is real here. If I let you win, you'll have to go through these painful duels over and over again. I'm not gonna let that be on my conscious."
"So, you wanna win so that you can suffer in my place without having to feel guilty, huh?" Micheal said. "Funny. That's the same reason I wanna beat you."
"Is that so?" Daniel said.
"Yeah," Micheal said. "Now, if you're really serious about that, then make your next turn count! Because if you don't, I'll crush you on mine!"
"Sure thing!" Daniel said.
"I end my turn!" Micheal said.
"I draw!" Daniel said. "Then Marie's effect kicks in, increasing my life points by 200!"
Daniel's life rose to 2950.
"Now, I use my face down card, Pot Of Avarice!" Daniel said. "Now, I return Neo The Magic Swordsman, The Forgiving Maiden, Dharc The Dark Charmer, Familiar Possessed Dharc, and Saint Joan to my deck and extra deck. Then, I can draw 2 cards!"
Everything was ready. He had all the cards he needed.
"I play the spell card Dark Magic Curtain!" Daniel said. "At the cost of half my life points, I can special summon Dark Magician straight from my deck!"
Daniel's life points dropped to 1475, and a spellcaster appeared before him. It was level 7 with 2500 attack and 2100 defense.
"Next, I activate the spell card Malevolent Nuzzler!" Daniel said. "This equip spell increases Dark Magician's attack power by 700!"
"I see," Micheal said. "Your monster has 3200 attack points now. Strong enough to take Morphius down."
"I know," Daniel said. "But I still have one more card to play. I use Riryoku!"
A smile spread across Micheal's face.
"So that's it, huh?" he asked. "You really are gonna beat me."
"Due to Riryoku's effect, Liquid Soul Morphius will lose half of its attack points, and Dark Magician will gain the same amount!"
Liquid Soul Morphius had its attack points reduced to 1300, while Dark Magician rose to 4500.
"Now this is what I call a duel!" Micheal said excitedly. "Bring it on!"
"Dark Magician!" Daniel ordered. "Attack Liquid Soul Morphius!"
Dark Magician raised his scepter, and dark purple light shot through Morphius, destroying it and reducing Micheal's life points to zero.
"Not half bad," Micheal said. "Hey, if you live through ths tournament, we should do this again."
"Sure thing," Daniel said.
"Good luck," Micheal said, just before fading away.
"Looks like I'm finished with the prelims," Daniel said. "Now, what's next?"
"The rest of the tournament, of course," said the bat, flying down in front of Daniel.
"Oh great, you're back," Daniel said. "The fuck do you want?"
"I won't take too much of your time," the bat said. "I just need to explain a few quick rules."
He sat up and looked around. He appeared to be in another universe or something. The skies shifted between various shades of orange, and violet clouds floated above him. He was sitting on the ground, next to a large building shaped like a bishop. The ground was divided into countless black and white squares, like a chess board.
"This is weird," he thought to himself, getting to his feet.
"Welcome!" said a booming voice next to him. Daniel turned sharply and found himself face to face with a bat, fluttering at head height above the ground.
"The hell?" Daniel said.
"Welcome to the Game Master's Tournament," it said. "You have been selected to participate, but first you must win a preliminary duel."
"What?" Daniel asked, dumbfounded. Talking bats? A tournament? Game Master? Duel? Just what the hell was going on?
Without warning, the bat disappeared. In its place was a tall man with blond hair, and a duel disk strapped to his wrist.
"So, you're my opponent for the prelim?" the man asked.
"Um, I guess so," Daniel said. He couldn't take his eyes off the duel disk. Where the hell did he get one of those?
"Well, what are you waiting for?" the man asked. "Put yours on!"
"Mine?" Daniel asked, still not sure what was going on.
"Oh for the love of... over there!" the man said, pointing.
Daniel looked to see a duel disk and a back pack lying by the building. Daniel approached it awkwardly and picked up the duel disk. It was silver with red trim, and had a small screen on it which allowed him to view his life points and the cards he had in play. He strapped it to his wrist and examined the back pack. Inside of it were his decks. Some of them, anyway. Daniel had more decks than he cared to keep track of, and he was pretty sure they couldn't all fit in one back pack. He began digging through it, and noticed that there were decks there that weren't his. Why did he have them?
He kept digging around until he found his main deck. That's the one he planned to use. It was flawed, yes, but it was adaptable. He placed it into his duel disk and turned to the man.
"What's your name?" Daniel asked.
"Micheal," he replied.
"Alright," Daniel said. "What happens if one of us loses?"
"Loser is banished from the tournament, and returned to the human world," Micheal said. "Although, that might not be such a bad thing. The bat didn't tell me much about the tournament."
"Me neither," Daniel said. "So I'm guessing the tournament could be bad?"
"Likely," Micheal said. "Winning might submit one of us to being trapped in a life threatening situation."
"So what's to stop one of us from just surrendering to the other?" Daniel said.
"Pride," Micheal said. "I don't know about you, but I don't like to lose."
"Not a big fan of that either," Daniel said.
"Then let's go," Micheal said.
"Fine," Daniel replied.
"You first," Micheal said.
"I draw!" Daniel said. "I activate Polymerization! With it, I fuse Marie The Fallen One and The Forgiving Maiden from my hand!"
Daniel sent his two monsters from his hand to the graveyard, and took a new monster from his extra deck.
"I fusion summon Saint Joan!" Daniel said.
A woman with short blond hair appeared on Daniel's field. She was clad in silver armor and carried a long sword. She was level 7 with 2800 attack points.
"Next, I set one monster face down," Daniel said. "Then I end my turn."
"My move!" Micheal said. "I set one trap card face down!"
Weird, Daniel thought. Normally, someone would wait til main phase 2 to set spell or trap cards. And normally, they wouldn't say whether it was a spell or trap card.
"Next, I play the continuous spell card Charybdis Vein!" Micheal said.
A large mass of swirling water appeared on Micheal's field.
"After activation, I can turn this card into a level 4 monster!" Micheal said.
His spell card moved into his monster card zone. IT was level 4, with 0 attack and defense.
"A spell monster," Daniel said. "Don't see those much."
"You haven't seen anything," Micheal said. "You see, since you have a level 7 monster out, I can target one set trap card on my field, and activate it, even if it was set this turn! I activate Embodiment Of Apophis!"
The trap card on Micheal's field morphed into a sinister creature, half man and half snake. It was level 4 with 1600 attack points.
"A trap monster," Daniel said. "Shit."
"I build the overlay network with these two level 4 monsters!" Micheal said. "With them, I xyz summon Liquid Soul Morphius!"
A creature made out of a weird gray liquid appeared. It shifted into a demonic form with large, razor edged wings and huge talons. It was rank 4 with 1800 attack and 2200 defense.
"That's weird looking," Daniel pointed out.
"Thank you, captain obvious," Micheal said. "I activate it's effect! Since It's the only monster I control, I can detach an xyz material to cut your monster's attack power in half!"
Micheal's monster shifted its form, expanding rapidly and engulfing Saint Joan. Her power dropped to 1400. Morphius split in two, with part of it remaining around Saint Joan, and the rest of it returned to its normal form, and expanded to its normal size.
"Damn," Daniel said. "Not good!"
"Oh, I'm not finished yet," Micheal said. "Since the overlay I detached was a spell or trap card, I can dish out damage equal to the attack power your monster lost!"
Morphius stretched out one of its liquid arms, striking Daniel so hard he hit the ground.
"Ouch!" Daniel exclaimed. "The damage is freaking real!"
Not good. If he entered the tournament, he'd be subjecting himself to even more of that pain. Maybe forfeiting would be a better option.
"Are you calling it quits?" Micheal asked.
Daniel got back to his feet. He was determined to keep going.
"Like hell!" Daniel said. "I don't back down from a fight, even if I know I'll get hurt."
"Heh, that's the spirit!" Micheal said.
"Give me everything you've got!" Daniel said.
"You asked for it!" Micheal said. "Morphius, attack his Saint Joan!"
Micheal's monster charged, striking Saint Joan. She vanished from Daniel's field, and he lost another 400 life points. He was down to 6200.
"I set a card and end my turn," Micheal said. "You're up."
Daniel hesitated for a moment before drawing. Liquid Soul Morphius was a Water attribute monster. The monster Daniel had set face down could only effect dark monsters. He'd need to draw something good to beat it.
"I draw!" Daniel exclaimed.
He glanced quickly at his new card and grinned. Exactly what he needed.
"First, I activate the effect of Marie The Fallen One from my graveyard!" Daniel said. "During each of my standby phases, I gain 200 life points!"
Daniel's life rose to 6400.
"Then I equip your monster with the spell card Scroll Of Bewitchment!" Daniel said. "With this card, I can change your monster's attribute to Dark!"
"Wha- why?" Micheal said.
"So that I can do this!" Daniel said. "I flip summon Dharc, The Dark Charmer!"
A woman in brown robes with a staff appeared. She was level 3 with 500 attack points.
"Thanks to her flip effect, I can gain control of one of your Dark monsters!" Daniel said. "So I'll be taking your Liquid Soul!"
Morphius moved to Daniel's field, under Dharc's control.
"Next, by tributing Dharc The Dark Charmer and another Dark monster, I can special summon Familiar possessed Dharc from my deck!"
Dharc and Morphius disappeared, and an advanced version of Dharc appeared on Daniel's field, with 1850 attack points.
"Damn it!" Micheal said. "Should've known you were planning to use a Charmer card."
"She's not the only card I'm using!" Daniel said. "Since I summoned Dharc in this way, I can add a level 4 Light spellcaster from my deck to my hand. I chose Neo The Magic Swordsman, and then I'll summon him to the field!"
A swordsman with shoulder length blond hair appeared on Daniel's field. He had 1700 attack points.
"Battle time!" Daniel said. "I'll have Neo attack you directly!"
Neo rushed forward, slicing Micheal with his sword. Micheal dropped down to his knees as his life points dropped to 6300.
"You okay?" Daniel asked.
"I'm fine," Micheal said, getting back to his feet. "Keep going."
"Okay," Daniel said. "I attack you directly with Familiar Possessed Dharc!"
"I activate the trap card Athens Pillar!" Micheal said. "This card card be activated if my opponent attacks while their life points are lower than mine!"
Shit. If Daniel hadn't used Marie's effect earlier, that card wouldn't be able to work.
"Now, I can summon Athens Pillar in defense position!" Micheal said.
A large pillar ppeared on his field, with 800 defense points.
"I continue my attack!" Daniel said. "Dharc can deal piercing damage, so you'll still lose life points!"
"I know," Micheal said. "But Athens Pillar can't be destroyed this turn!"
Micheal took 1050 points of damage, bringing him down to 5250.
"Now I'll move to main phase 2!" Daniel said. "I build the overlay network with these 2 level 4 monsters to xyz summon Number 39 Utopia!"
A large golden soldier with 2500 attack points appeared on Daniel's field.
"Now I end my turn," Daniel said.
"You're good," Micheal said, drawing. "Now let's find out how good. I activate the effect of Scylla Screech!"
A ghostly dragon with six heads appeared, screeching oudly.
"Since I control a trap card treated as a monster, I can special summon this card as a monster!" Micheal said. "However, I can't activate any more spell or trap cards this turn."
Scylla Screech was level 4 with 1000 attack and 0 defense.
"Now, I overlay my level 4 Athens Pillar and level 4 Scylla Screech to xyz summon another Liquid Soul Morphius!"
A familiar sight unfolded as a second copy of Morphius appeared on Micheal's field.
"Now, I use my monster's effect!" Micheal said. "By using an overlay unit, your monster's attack points are cut in half!"
Utopia's power dropped to 1250 as it was engulfed in a piece of Morphius.
"And next, you receive the same amount of damage!" Micheal exclaimed.
Morphius struck out, reducing Daniel's life points to 5150.
"Now, I attack with Morphius!" Micheal said.
"I use Utopia's effect!" Daniel said. "By detaching an overlay unit, your attack is negated!"
"Yes, it is," Micheal said. "But now Utopia only has one overlay unit left. That won't last you very long."
"I'm aware of that," Daniel said.
"I set a card and end my turn," Micheal said.
"I draw!" Daniel said. "And then I'll use Marie's effect to gain 200 life points."
Daniel's life rose to 5350.
"Next, I activate the spell card Hand Destruction!" Daniel said. "Now we both discard 2 cards and draw 2 cards!"
Daniel and Micheal both discarded 2 cards from their hands and drew two more cards.
"Got it!" Daniel said, looking at the cards he had drawn. "I activate Rank-Up Magic Barian's Force!"
"Shit!" Micheal said. "Now, I can rank up Utopia to summon Chaos Number 39 Utopia Ray V!"
Utopi transformed, developing a black and red color scheme. Its attack power increased to 2600.
"Now, I get to take one of your monster's overlay units and attach it to Utopia Ray V!" Daniel said.
The last overlay unit attached to Morphius was absorbed by Utopia Ray V.
"Now, I detach an overlay unit from Utopia Ray V to destroy your monster and deal you damage equal to its attack power!" Daniel said.
There was a flash of red light as Utopia swung its sword, and Morphius was consumed in a raging inferno. Micheal's monster was destroyed, and his life points dropped to 3450.
"I activate the trap card Ammit Flare!" Micheal said. "When I take effect damage, I can special summon this card as a monster with attack power equal to the damage I took!"
A flaming creature with the head of an alligator, the frontside of a lion, and the backside of a hippo appeared. It was level 4 with 1800 attack points.
"In that case, I'll have Utopia attack him!" Daniel said.
Utopia charged at Ammit Flare, dealing 800 damage to Micheal, reducing him to 2650.
"Ammit Flare can't be destroyed in battle this turn," Micheal said.
"In that case, I set a card and end my turn," Daniel said.
"My move," Micheal said. "I activate the spell card Continuous Double! Since I control a trap monster, this card lets me add a continuous trap card from my graveyard to my hand. Not only that, but I get to activate it this turn without having to set it."
"OH crap," Daniel said. "I already know where this is going."
"I chose Embodiment Of Apophis!" Micheal said. "And then I summon it to the field!"
The snake man reappeared on Micheal's field. He now had out 2 level 4 trap monsters.
"Now, I activate the spell card Ultimate Overlay!" Micheal said. "Now, if I xyz summon with these 2 monsters this turn, I can attach this card to my new monster as an xyz material and increase its attack points by 200 times its rank. Now, I build the overlay network with Apophis and Ammit in order to xyz summon my thrd and final Liquid Soul Morphius!"
Morphius appeared yet again, only this time, Ultimate Overlay attached to it as a third overlay unit. Not only that, but as a rank 4 monster, Morphius gained 800 attack points, bringing it up to 2600.
"Now, I use Morphius's special ability!" Micheal said. "By detaching an overlay unit, Utopia Ray V loses half of his attack power, and you take the same amount as damage!"
Utopia Ray V's attack power was reduced to 1300, and Daniel's life points dropped to 4050.
"Now, attack his monster and destroy it!" Micheal said.
Morphius destroyed Utopia, dealing Daniel another 1300 damage. Daniel's life points were now at 2750.
"I use Utopia Ray V's effect," Daniel said. "Now, I can return Utopia to my extra deck."
"I have to say, you're holding up pretty well," Micheal said. "I have to respect a man who takes a beating as well as you do."
"Thanks," Daniel said. "I respect you too."
"Is that so?" Micheal said.
"Yeah," Daniel replied. "And that's exactly why I have to beat you."
"Excuse me?" Micheal asked.
"You've noticed it, right?" Daniel asked. "The damage is real here. If I let you win, you'll have to go through these painful duels over and over again. I'm not gonna let that be on my conscious."
"So, you wanna win so that you can suffer in my place without having to feel guilty, huh?" Micheal said. "Funny. That's the same reason I wanna beat you."
"Is that so?" Daniel said.
"Yeah," Micheal said. "Now, if you're really serious about that, then make your next turn count! Because if you don't, I'll crush you on mine!"
"Sure thing!" Daniel said.
"I end my turn!" Micheal said.
"I draw!" Daniel said. "Then Marie's effect kicks in, increasing my life points by 200!"
Daniel's life rose to 2950.
"Now, I use my face down card, Pot Of Avarice!" Daniel said. "Now, I return Neo The Magic Swordsman, The Forgiving Maiden, Dharc The Dark Charmer, Familiar Possessed Dharc, and Saint Joan to my deck and extra deck. Then, I can draw 2 cards!"
Everything was ready. He had all the cards he needed.
"I play the spell card Dark Magic Curtain!" Daniel said. "At the cost of half my life points, I can special summon Dark Magician straight from my deck!"
Daniel's life points dropped to 1475, and a spellcaster appeared before him. It was level 7 with 2500 attack and 2100 defense.
"Next, I activate the spell card Malevolent Nuzzler!" Daniel said. "This equip spell increases Dark Magician's attack power by 700!"
"I see," Micheal said. "Your monster has 3200 attack points now. Strong enough to take Morphius down."
"I know," Daniel said. "But I still have one more card to play. I use Riryoku!"
A smile spread across Micheal's face.
"So that's it, huh?" he asked. "You really are gonna beat me."
"Due to Riryoku's effect, Liquid Soul Morphius will lose half of its attack points, and Dark Magician will gain the same amount!"
Liquid Soul Morphius had its attack points reduced to 1300, while Dark Magician rose to 4500.
"Now this is what I call a duel!" Micheal said excitedly. "Bring it on!"
"Dark Magician!" Daniel ordered. "Attack Liquid Soul Morphius!"
Dark Magician raised his scepter, and dark purple light shot through Morphius, destroying it and reducing Micheal's life points to zero.
"Not half bad," Micheal said. "Hey, if you live through ths tournament, we should do this again."
"Sure thing," Daniel said.
"Good luck," Micheal said, just before fading away.
"Looks like I'm finished with the prelims," Daniel said. "Now, what's next?"
"The rest of the tournament, of course," said the bat, flying down in front of Daniel.
"Oh great, you're back," Daniel said. "The fuck do you want?"
"I won't take too much of your time," the bat said. "I just need to explain a few quick rules."
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