It's been 3 months since I've been residing in the world of GX, and a lot has been going on around here.
When I mean a lot, I'm not exaggerating.
/line/
The first thing Roach told me was that the Inverz (Steelswarm), while they invaded the World of GX, wasn't anywhere near here. Yet.
[The only reason why they were able to invade your world in-masse was that there were no duel monster spirits that could fight against them. Since this world has duel monster spirits freely moving around, they can't risk themselves to invade head-on.]
"So what, they decided to sneak in?"
[Exactly. They started to send in higher-ranked Inverz monsters into this world, either as cards…. Or something else.]
"I take it that this doesn't just apply to the Inverz."
[I'm afraid not. You'll possibly find Gem-Knight monsters as well as….. Shaddolls.]
"... Wait, how can monsters from two different… That only applies to their world, doesn't it?"
Roach simply nodded his head.
[That's why the Inverz still exist even if they were meant to be eradicated in the duel terminal. The Inverz you are dealing with is before the Vylons wiped them out. They're trying to change the future. Every monster in the duel terminal is trying to change the future. A future where they live, where they won, where they rule over the world. And they found out that the way to do this is to enter other worlds and gain powers through their champions.]
"... Wait, then I'm in the red here. I can't duel unless I want to feed them strength."
[You don't have to worry about that. They only gain duel energy when you use their cards.]
"Oh."
[... I'll tell you this now. They gain twice the amount of duel energy they gain from ordinary people using their cards when their champions use their cards. They'll still gain strength, but since their champion is not using their cards… They're going to be a little stumped in the growth department.]
"... I see."
[On that note, they did give you their cards for you to duel with, but given that information is revealed to us all… I decided to get rid of it.]
"... That puts us into our second problem, doesn't it?"
According to Roach, the Inverz would be targeting people and events that can produce mass amounts of duel energies.
The main examples would be big-named duel spirits, or protagonists of the anime.
In other words, they'll be trying to invade and latch onto the canon storyline to feed off of large amounts of duel energies.
And the only way to expel them from the world is to duel the one in charge of invading the world and win.
Cut the head of the snake, and the body will die.
But I had no deck to duel with.
All the cards that I used to own were left behind in my old world, all except for the cards I recently bought.
And those that didn't decide to seal themselves were around quarter of a deck.
I was several cards short….
[Can't you just buy new cards?]
"... My credit card's in the red. I can't buy any more cards."
[... Damn…]
We started to find ways to gain cards.
The best way to get cards was by using DP.
Duelist Points (DP), one of the two main currencies of Domino City. It was the alternative method of paying for cards.
How do you gain them? By duelling people.
Can I duel people?
I don't have enough cards.
…
Shit
Another way of getting cards was by applying for starter decks.
Seto Kaiba, the infamous head of Kaiba Corporation and the loving husband of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, decided to provide starter decks for new-coming duelists.
You can only apply for the starter pack only once, though.
And you can't apply for it if you're already a duelist.
This was excellent news, that means I can take the starter deck, mix in the cards I already have, and start earning DP!
….. But then they told me that I couldn't apply for it.
…. I don't understand, please elaborate.
Apparently I was already recorded to have entered Battle City, and therefore was an official duelist.
What the shit.
I asked them to make sure it was me. Verified three times.
Apparently I was profiled as a 5-star duelist. The minimum threshold to enter Battle city.
…. What the shit?
I apologized for the inconvenience and promptly returned home.
…. So, there were two possible explanations for this.
Either Seto Kaiba decided to be a dick about this, to a random duelist for absolutely no reason.
Or….
Knock Knock
The knock on the door broke my concentration.
"Yes?"
"Hi, I'm supposed to deliver this to…. Kadoya Yurei?"
"... Ah, yeah, that's me."
"Right, just sign here, please."
"..."
"... Right! Have a nice day!"
"... Thank you…"
It was a small parcel, fitting right into hand.
… Almost like a deck.
[I feel like it's a deck]
"... I hope so."
I went back into my room to open it up.
…..
…. It was the starter deck.
There was also a note on top of the deck.
Hey,
I'm sure you tried to get the starter deck but failed. Bloody rank 6.
Don't worry, the rank 6 won't bother you here. I'm sure of it.
This is the starter deck I had when I started out as well. I'll advise you to at least keep the cards, even if you won't use them in your deck.
Well then, good luck.
…. It didn't have any names on the note, and that only made me uneasy about the situation.
"... You think it's fine if we use this deck?"
[We don't have any other options, and it was specifically mailed to you.]
"... Well, here we go."
I started to customize my starting deck to get the edge over the others.
I need to get stronger cards, if I want to stand any sort of chances with these monsters.
And I didn't waste any more time in gaining DP.
"I attack directly with Beast King Barbaros!"
"N-NOOOOOOOO!"
[Krrrrr… KraKANG!]
Random Duelist A: LP 2500 → -500
It was about a week after I got the starter deck. I gained enough DP to start buying packs of cards as well.
Of course, not everything was going upwards.
People around the street started to recognize me and were slowly starting to avoid me.
That was bad news for me since my source of DP was decreasing.
And that was when it caught my eye.
A poster that was announcing a tournament held in a card shop.
The reward was a hefty amount of DP and Money, but it was the reward card that caught my eyes more.
"... Phoenix Gearfried…."
A Gemini Monster with an effect of reviving other Gemini Monsters when the opponent used magic cards.
And an additional effect of ending an equip card from the field to the graveyard to negate an activation of a trap or spell card that targeted a monster on the field.
Was it a good card?
In a meta sense? Not really no.
Don't get me wrong, it's still good. But the way the current duelling playstyle is set up, you got the tribute summon and the special summon, and nearly everyone is in the special summon, and can easily overpower an attack of 2800 with , limited effect immunity, so I don't think it's going to be on the field long enough for its effect to activate.
But here?
There was a reason why it's a reward for a tournament.
I wrote down the location of the tournament and immediately started to prepare for it.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for joining us in our duelling tournament to commemorate our 5th anniversary! Let's introduce our finalists, shall we? On the right, we have the unrelenting wielder of beasts: Hakai Senju!"
"UUUUUUUUUOOOOOOO!"
"Go, Senju!"
"And on the left, we have someone who only started to get himself known just a few weeks ago, it's the super rookie: Kadoya Yurei!"
"UUUUUWAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"Let's go, Yurei!"
"You can do it!"
"Now, both duellists, get ready!"
Hakai, a big burly man with spiky hair and beards, took a glance at me, before smirking.
"Hehehe, you may have enough skills to rise to the finalist, but I'll show you that this is where your skills will fall short! Hahahaha!"
"Let's duel before you shove another foot in your mouth."
"...! Cheh, fine! Let's see how smug you are after I grind you into the floor!"
""DUEL!""
Kadoya Yurei: LP 4000
VS
Hakai Senju: LP 4000
"Hahaha! I'll go first! Draw!"
(Senju's Hand: 5→6)
"First, I summon Mad Dog of Darkness!"
A hound with horns rose from a dark and purple void, letting out a low growl.
{Mad Dog of Darkness} Atk: 1900 Def: 1400
(Dark)
Level: 4
[Beast/Normal]
"Next, I activate Tribute to the Doomed!"
"It's Senju's combo!"
"I discard one card in my hand to destroy one card on the field! I destroy Mad Dog of Darkness!"
A giant coffin started to rise up behind the Mad Dog of Darkness, and slowly started to open. Two bandaged mummified hands shot out from the coffin, only to drag the poor hound in.
(Senju's Hand: 6 → 3)
"I activate Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest's effect from the graveyard! When a beast monster I control gets destroyed and sent to the graveyard, I can pay 1000 life points- hurrrk!"
Hakai Senju: LP 4000 → 3000
"-To special summon it to the field!"
The coffin started open back up, only for the lid to be bashed in by the Green Baboon, jumping out of the coffin.
{Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest} Atk: 2600 Def: 1800
(Earth)
Level: 7
[Beast/Effect]
"I set a card face down, and I end my turn! Hahaha! Try and beat that, brat!"
(Senju's Hand: 3 → 2)
(Field: Green Baboon. Defender of the Forest, 1 set Trap/Spell card)
"It's got more attack points than Red-Eyes Black Dragon, or even Dark Magician!"
"And it only took 1 turn!"
"Do you really think the new guy can do it?"
People were already starting to get worried.
After all, in this world? Attacks that go over 2000 or normally seen in the second or third turn.
[Don't bother listening to the crowd. You've already got the cards you need to win this.]
"I sure do. My turn, I draw."
(Kadoya's Hand: 5 → 6)
"... I'm going with this guy. I summon Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast."
(Kadoya's Hand: 6 → 5)
A machine made to resemble a dragon was summoned to the field, roaring mechanically as it readied it's cannons.
{Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast} Atk: 2800 Def: 2000
(Dark)
Level: 7
[Machine/Effect]
"A 2800 Attack with no tribute!?"
"It's one of the kid's ace cards!"
"He used it during the quarter finals as well!"
"Is he going to use his combo!?"
"Wait a minute, brat! You can't just summon something like that with no cost or tribute!"
"I can, it's Fusilier Dragon's effect. I can normal summon this card without tribute."
"What!?"
"However, as a cost: The original attack and defense of Fusilier dragon is halved if I normal summon without a tribute."
{Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast} Atk: 2800 → 1400 Def: 2000 → 1000
Parts of the Fusilier Dragon started to fall apart, leaving the machine quite… smaller than the illustration.
"Heh, I got worked up for nothing. So what, kid? It's attack is only 1400, what are you going to do with something weak like that against my Green Baboon?"
"... Didn't you watch any of my matches in this tournament?"
"Why should I? I don't need to, I'm going to crush you into the ground anyway! That Mosaic Sphinx is fated to be used in the hands of I, Hakai Senju! The greatest beast monster-user to have ever lived!"
"... Jesus christ, if you're the best beast monster-user, then beast monsters have a very dark future ahead of them."
"Cheh, and who has the monster with the highest attack!"
"Me. I activate Forbidden Chalice from my hand."
(Kadoya's hand: 5 → 4)
"There it is, Kadoya's combo!"
A golden chalice appeared over the Fusilier dragon's head, before tipping its content onto the machine. The machine grew bigger as it took in the glowing liquid.
"Forbidden Chalice increases my Fusilier Dragon's attack point by 400 until the end of this turn.."
{Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast} Atk: 1400 → 1800 Def: 1000
"Heh, so what? It's still 800 attack points lower than my G-"
"- Forbidden Chalice's second effect negates my Fusilier Dragon's effect. And because Fusilier Dragon's attack and defense halving effect is negated, its original attack returns back to 2800 and its original defense returns back to 2000."
"W-What!"
{Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast} Atk: 1800 → 3200 Def: 1000 → 2000
"It's got more attack points than Blue Eyes White Dragon!"
"Battle. I attack Green Baboon with my Fusilier Dragon."
[Observation: You can't possibly think that your ape mind and puny stick can defeat me.]
The two cannons on Fusilier Dragon started to light up and charge their shots, as Green Baboon started to rush at Fusilier Dragon in retaliation.
"Heh, nice try kid, but your attack point's still not enough! I activate my face-down card: Horn of the Phantom Beast! I equip this trap card to Green Baboon, and give it 800 attack! Green Baboon, destroy that scrap lizard! Hammer Club Death!"
{Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest} Atk: 2600 → 3400 Def: 1800
Two pairs of flaming horn materialised in mid air, before sticking on to Green Baboon's head.
"I activate a quick play spell from my hand: Concentrating Current."
(Kadoya's Hand: 4 → 3)
A musical keyboard with two cartoonish hands appeared next to Fusilier Dragon, before plugging its glowing blue cord into the machine dragon's body, and charging himself up, flaring out a bright orange aura. The charges in the Fusilier Dragon's cannon started to brighten up more, before firing it at the Green Baboon.
"Concentrating Current makes my Fusilier Dragon gain attack points equal to its current defense points until the end of this turn. The restraint is that other monsters I control can't attack on the turn I activate this card, but that doesn't matter."
"W-What! NO!"
"Fusilier Dragon currently has 2000 defense points. That's a pretty hefty number, so I'm going to repeat it once more for you to remember. 2000."
{Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast} Atk: 3200 → 5200 Def: 2000
"F-f-f-f-f-f-FIVE THOUSAND!?"
"LOOK AT THAT ATTACK POINT!"
"IT'S EVEN STRONGER THAN FIVE HEADED DRAGON!"
"Let's see if your puny 3500 can handle this."
Two streams of thick light emerged from the barrels of Fusilier Dragon's cannons, piercing through Green Baboon's body and utterly shattering the poor green behemoth.
"NO! HUUURK!"
The two beams of light, piercing through the Green Baboon, immediately homed onto Hakai Senju.
Hakai Senju: LP 3000 → 1300
"I activate Yellow Baboon's effect from my hand! When a beast monster on my field gets destroyed by battle, I can remove from play 2 beast monsters from my graveyard to special summon this card to the field!"
As the light faded, the shattered images of the Green Baboon reformed back into a Yellowish Baboon, holding a bow and arrow.
{Yellow Baboon, Archer of the Forest} Atk: 2600 Def: 1800
{Earth}
Level: 7
[Beast/Effect]
Yellow Baboon was growling angrily at the Fusilier Dragon
[Observation: For an ape-ish buffoon, you act like a puppy.]
"I set 2 cards facedown, and I end my turn. As Forbidden Chalice and Concentrating Current's effect ends, my Fusilier Dragon's attack point returns back to 2800."
{Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast} Atk: 5200 → 2800 Def: 2000
"In one turn, our super-rookie has managed to turn the table! Hakai Senju's in a pinch now!"
(Kadoya's Hand: 3 → 1)
"Hrrr…. My turn! I draw!"
(Hakai's Hand: 2 → 3)
Hakai started to grin at the card he pulled out.
"Haha, guess lady luck doesn't want me to lose yet! I activate pot of greed!"
(Hakai's Hand: 3 → 2 → 4)
"Next, I activate Graceful Charity!"
"Jesus Christ, look at him draw."
[Despite his inflated ego, he's still a very skilled duelist. Be careful.]
"No need to tell me twice."
(Hakai's Hand: 4 → 3 → 6)
"I discard 2 cards to the graveyard due to Graceful Charity's ability. Now, I activate the quick-play spell: Wild Nature's Release! It's the same effect as your concentrating current, brat! Since Yellow Baboon's defense point is 1800, his total attack point becomes 4400!"
Yellow Baboon started to howl, loud enough to cause a shock wave, and was slowly starting to grow bigger.
(Hakai's Hand: 6 → 4 → 3)
"Next, I activate the quick-play spell: Poison of the Old Man! I can either deal 800 effect damage to you, or have myself heal 1200 life points! I activate the latter option!"
Hakai Senju: LP 1300 → 2500
"Now battle! I attack your Fusilier Dragon with my Yellow Baboon! Go, Forest Shot Death!"
The Yellow Baboon started to howl as he pulled the string of his bow back, knocking an arrow the size of a missile, and firing it at Fusilier Dragon.
"I activate a facedown card: Defense Draw. The battle damage I take from this attack becomes 0, and I draw 1 card."
(Kadoya's Hand: 1 → 2)
The Fusilier Dragon was crudely deconstructed by the arrow, but a barrier forming in front of me redirected the arrow to fly elsewhere.
"Cheh… but I still destroyed that wretched scrap lizard! I set a card face down, and I end my turn! Wild Nature's Release's effect activates! It destroys my Yellow Baboon at the end of this phase!"
(Hakai's Hand: 3 → 2 → 1)
The Yellow Baboon, still mad, continued to howl angrily and stomp up and down, causing a tantrum.
Until he just stood still, all of a sudden. The angry frown on his face was quickly replaced by a calm and serene expression.
And then he just fell over, his face hitting the ground.
…..
…..
Did….
…. Did he just die of a heart attack?
….. What was he, a primeape?
"I activate Green Baboon from my graveyard! Since Yellow Baboon was destroyed and sent to the graveyard, I pay 1000 life points- hrrk!"
Hakai Senju: 2500 → 1500
"To special summon it from the graveyard to the field!"
The Green Baboon walked up to the Yellow Baboon's corpse, kneeling down to it and putting his hands on his head.
Tears started to stream down the green behemoth, before he howled in anguish, brandishing his club at me.
"I thought you banished your Green Baboon to….. Oh, Graceful Charity."
"That's right, lady luck really didn't want me to lose! I managed to draw not just 1, but 2 more Green Baboons! I think you're smart enough to know what the other card I discarded was!"
"... Another Green Baboon."
"Hahaha! Try and beat my Green Baboon combo, brat!"
"Now Kadoya's in a pinch!"
"I don't think so, Kadoya still hasn't lost any life points. On the other hand, Senju's life point is only 1500."
"Uuuuugh… I can't believe this kind of duel is happening in my shop! This is accelerating!"
"... My turn. I draw."
(Kadoya's hand: 2 → 3)
"... Senju?"
"What, it's too late to surrender, so don't even think about it!"
"Wasn't planning to. I'm just telling you that you'll probably never see this kind of event for a long time, so get ready."
"...?"
"I activate my face down card: Call of the Haunted. I special summon Fusilier Dragon from my graveyard."
"Cheh, Even after I destroyed it, it still comes back to be a pain in the ass."
"Next, I summon Beast King Barbaros"
{Beast King Barbaros} Atk: 3000 Def: 1200
(Earth)
Level: 8
[Beast-Warrior/ Effect]
"A 3000….!"
"It's got the same attack points as Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
"But remember the last duel? It's got the same effect as Fusilier Dragon"
"I can normal summon this card without tribute. But if I do, it's original Attack becomes 1900."
{Beast King Barbaros} Atk: 3000 → 1900 Def: 1200
"Hehe, you're sure are right, kid. I ain't going to be seeing this kind of thing for a long time. But so what?"
"I tribute all of my monsters on the field to a special summon…. I'm going with this guy."
Fusilier Dragon and Barbaros turned into streams of light, and dug into the ground. The ground then started to crack open, as four white fur-covered arms rose up to drag the rest of the body up.
The giant fiend crossed 2 of his arms, silently looking down at Senju and his Green Baboon.
"Legendary Maju Garzett!"
{Legendary Maju Garzett} Atk: 0 Def:0
"Th-that's a new monster!"
"But his attack is….."
"It's 0?"
"Why did he tribute two of his strongest monsters for something like this?"
"Hehehehe….hahahahaha! What, you went through all that trouble for an attack point of 0!? What are you trying to do!"
"What are you misunderstanding?"
"... Hyo?"
"I never said his attack is 0."
"What are you, dumb!? Look at his attack! His attack is….. Is….. wh-wh-what!?"
{Legendary Maju Garzett} Atk: 0 → 5800 Def: 0
"5-5-5-5800!?"
"5800!?"
"Legendary Maju Garzett's effect: its attack points become equal to the combined original attacks of the monsters tributed to special summon it."
"Wh-what! I activate my face down card! Wild Nature's Release!"
Green Baboon started to howl like Yellow Baboon, creating shockwaves as it grew. But his size only reached upto Legendary Maju Garzett's chest.
{Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest} Atk: 2600 → 4400 Def: 1800
"Thank you, now I can attack without worrying about your face-down card. I activate the final card in my hand: Riryoku."
"W-what!? Wait!"
"I halve Green Baboon's attack, and add the halved attack to Legendary Maju Garzett."
Legendary Maju Garzett stretched his hands out towards Green Baboon. Strange streams of light like aurora borealis started to pour out from Green Baboon, and started to go into Legendary Maju Garzett's hand. Green Baboon dropped his club and fell to his knees.
{Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest} Atk: 4400 → 2200 Def: 1800
{Legendary Maju Garzett} Atk: 5800 → 8000 Def: 0
"8-8-8-8000!"
"AMAZING!"
"Look at him!"
"Quick, where's my phone… where's my phone… Yes! I have to get this on camera!"
I heard the crowd starting to take videos and photos of Maju Garzett. After all, it was rare for monsters to even exceed 3000. Seeing an attack more than double that of Blue-Eyes white dragon was like seeing more than 1 shooting stars fall in the sky.
Some even consider it a lucky sign.
Not to Senju, of course.
But still lucky.
Him?
He was begging at this point.
"W-WAIT! PLEASE, JUST LET ME GO ONE MORE TURN! FORGIVE ME!"
"... All hail the tyrant. Battle. Legendary Maju Garzett. Finish it."
Legendary Maju Garzett pulled back his 2 right arms back, raring to go.
A blazing red ring formed in front of Legendary Maju Garzett.
[BROOOOOOOKEEEEEEN PHAAAAAAANTOOOOOOOM!]
Then, he punched his 2 right arms into the ring,
And out from the other side of the ring came a blast of red light that homed straight into Green Baboon.
The shockwave from the punch swallowed Senju, sending him back into the wall behind him.
Hakai Senju: 1500 → -4300
"And the winner is Kadoya Yurei!"
"UUUUWWWOOOOOOOOOOOH!"
"KADOYA!"
"KADOYA!"
"KADOYA!"
"Now, here is the prize money, and your reward: The Phoenix Gearfried!"
"Thank you. You think Hakai Senju's going to be okay?"
Hakai Senju's unconscious body sprawled on the floor.
A few twitches from his body told us that he was still alive.
"Eeeh, he'll be fine. Speaking of which, mind if I use the video of you and your Legendary Maju Garzett to promote our store."
"... Sure."
"Thanks! Make sure to use our store when you need cards! I'll give you a special discount for your performance and video!"
"Thanks."
I was about to leave, when I saw a box on the counter filled with cards.
"Hey, what are all those cards in those boxes for?"
"Oh, they're cards that people threw away. We sell them cheap, but no one buys them."
"Make that one person. How much for all of them?"
"Hmm? Oh! Well, they're 50 DP each but…. Oh, what the hell, consider it a discount and I'll charge 500 DP for all of them. No one even buys them anyway, and it's best if they find an owner quick. I can certainly trust you to have them, seeing your amazing performance tonight."
"Thanks."
I looked more around the store, checking out some of the booster packs available.
"I'll take these booster packs as well."
"Great! Let me just calculate the discount price and…. Here! 3852 DP Total!"
"Thank you. I'll come again soon."
"Please do!"