Spice: Hello, ladies and gentlemen, Spiceracksargent001 here, bringing you the next chapter of Yu-Gi-Oh Virtual: Enter the Elemental Reavers! In this Chapter, we see Cloud and Diana tackle the Open Market, where Cloud learns about a dangerous Guild and two of its members.

ELFI: Spiceracksargent001 does not claim ownership of the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise, nor of the storyworld that is the setting for this story.

Spice: Right, I'm able to make this story because Phoenix gave me his permission to use the storyworld he made for a story that runs parallel to one of his own, so if you haven't read the sister story to this yet, hop on over to Phoenix's profile and give Yu-Gi-Oh Virtual: Alpha Gear Chronicles a read. I guarantee that you'll enjoy it. Alright, with the plug out of the way, on with the story!

-Cloud's P.o.V.-

I stretched and yawned as I woke up the next morning. After what happened last night and after putting Wynn to bed, I'd spent the upgrade point she earned me powering up my Gust Spell. Ruffling Wynn's hair to wake her up, I then make my way over to my Bracer and slip it on before grabbing the newspaper I say next to my deck holder and opened it up to see what it had to say.

[Sunday is here! Open Market open today!]

"Obviously, but nice to have a weekly reminder like this," I mutter while looking up anything else of interest, and found two things.

[All shops running Discounts for Open Market]

Interesting to note, but it was the second thing that really grabbed my attention.

[Starter's Tournament announced - begins in one week!]

"A tournament, eh? Could be a good place to look for potential allies to form a Guild," I muse. "Probably should participate. It'll help me make a good impression on any participants I decide to try recruiting and get a feel for who all is new to this and might be interested in forming a Guild with fellow beginners so we can all get stronger together…"

With plans now forming and Wynn awake, if still a bit tired from our night run with Diana, the two of us head out to browse the Market.

-The Village of Beginnings Warp Gate-

Stepping out of the Warp Gate, I stretch a bit, basking in the morning sun as I get ready to start a day of shopping for field spells to do some much needed recruiting.

"Alright, ready to hit the market?" I hear Diana ask from behind me, making me turn to see that she had just walked out of the Warp Gate herself.

I smile and nod. "Yep," I reply as Wynn nods. "I hope you don't mind, Diana, but I was hoping to go look around for a bit alone, I wanna see if anyone's selling Field Spells that'll help me hunt down some good Wind monsters."

To my relief, Diana nods. "Sounds fair, I'm probably gonna wander myself, see if I can't find any Medallions of the Ice Barrier."

I'll admit, I was a bit curious. "I'll admit, I hadn't gotten that far in my reading up on how certain cards worked in this world. Care to fill me in on what those do here?" I ask.

"You did get to Dragon Capture Jar, right?" Diana asks, continuing only when I nod. "Medallions of the Ice Barrier work like Dragon Capture Jars, only instead of yielding Dragon-type Monsters, regardless ofAttribute, Archetype, and other special shit like Fusion and XYZ, Medallions of the Ice Barrier only yield Monsters from the Ice Barrier archetype when broken. Usually only one, but there's, like, a 1% chance of getting two Ice Barrier monsters with every Medallion. I want to get more of Dance Princess' people in my roster, and since the Ice Barrier has no Field Spells that I know of, those Medallions are my best bet for recruitment right now."

I nod, understanding now why she was interested in obtaining those Medallions. "Makes sense," I reply as Diana and I make our way to the market. After a couple of minutes of walking, we make it to the Market and look around at the mass of open-air stalls with people and, occasionally, their Monsters, selling cards. "Alright, see ya," I say with a wave that Diana returned as we split up to look for our own things.

Not even three minutes into the Market, I saw a guy wearing Buster Blader Armor with a Black Luster Soldier's helmet talking to someone with grey eyes and cowlicked brown hair in green tinted leather armor with a staff leaning against his side of the counter, the latter indicating that he was possibly a Wind-Spellcaster like myself, and a Milla the Temporal Magician next to him. There was too much background noise to really hear what they were saying as I made my way over, but as the guy in the Buster Blader armor left via teleport, I saw the stall owner turn back and say something, prompting, to my surprise, the same Dragon player I saw at the cafe yesterday to pop out of a chest. I was, thankfully, within hearing range as the Dragon player and the stall owner started talking.

"Who the hell was that, and why did I have to slip into a chest?" The Dragon player asked.

"No one knows his real name, or his face," the stall owner explains as he hands the Dragon player two cards and looks him dead in the eye. "Everyone just knows him by his moniker, The Dragon Hunter of Black Talon."

"What's Black Talon?" the Dragon player asked.

"Black Talon is a Guild," the stall owner's Milla explains. "But it's like a Mafia, minus the Italians."

"A little racist, isn't that?" the Dragon player replied.

"No, it's more accurate than racist," the stall owner replies, "and, unfortunately, they've been playing it safe, so the Admins can't ban their leader."

"But kid, you need to worry about Dragon Hunter," Milla warns.

"She's right," her Duelist adds on, "Dragon Hunter has a vendetta against Dragon Monsters and Dragon players and no one knows why. If he sees you, then pray for mercy."

"Got it," the Dragon player replies as he gets out of the stall. "I'm… gonna go meet up with my friends now." With that, the Dark Dragon player head out towards what I'm pretty sure is the village's Meld Shop.

In the meantime, the stall owner and his Monster look to me and, upon noting my expression of curiosity, sigh. "I'm guessing you heard all of that?" Milla asks.

"Well, I couldn't hear what that Dragon Hunter guy was saying while he was talking with you two, but after he left? Every word once the Dragon player popped out of the chest," I reply.

"Then you now know about the Black Talon Guild," the stall owner says, crossing his arms. "Word of advice, from one Spellcaster to another, be wary around anyone from Black Talon, but be especially on your guard if Lilith is anywhere in your general area."

"Lilith?" I parrot in question.

"Also known as The Demon Queen of Black Talon," Milla replies. "A Fiend-type player who, similar to Dragon Hunter's vendetta against Dragons, has it out for Spellcaster Monsters and Spellcaster players. Unlike the Dragon Hunter, however, who's more of a field agent, Lilith is their chief interrogator and professional spy."

"Lilith may seem warm and inviting at first, seductive and flirtatious, even, but don't let that fool you," the store owner warns gravely. "That's just a ruse the sadistic bitch uses to lure unsuspecting players into her web. I've had my fair share of run-ins with the Demon Queen in the past, and if half of the stuff I hear is true, then her brand of interrogation would be sadism the likes of which only a brilliant, hedonistic maniac could dream up if allowed the freedom to do whatever they pleased without repercussion from the Admins. As is, she walks the razor's edge and gets warnings from the Admins once or twice a month while still managing to satisfy those sick fantasies of hers."

I had to work to suppress a shiver of dread at what I was hearing about this "Lilith" character; even then not fully succeeding, while Wynn was whimpering behind me and clinging to me tightly as tears of fright threatened to spill from her eyes. "Noted," I reply warily as I ruffle Wynn's hair, trying to soothe the frightened Charmer. While doing so, I silently vowed that no matter what happened to me, I was never going to allow Lilith anywhere near the Monster that was quickly becoming my little sister in all but blood.

The man sighs and gives an apologetic smile. "Sorry for scaring you like that, but, well, the Black Talon isn't something a guy can just talk about casually, and a new player warned early is a player with the time and wherewithal to ready themselves for their inevitable run-in with an agent of Black Talon," he says before rapping his knuckles against the counter twice. "Anyhow, the name's Michael Spellman. I make it a habit to go out and find rare monsters to sell to new players to help get them on their feet. Feel free to take a look and see what you like."

Shaking my head to clear away the thoughts of Black Talon's Demon Queen for the moment, I look over what Michael has for sale. Sure enough, there were plenty of Monster Cards, and even some spell and trap cards too, with most of the spells being Field Spells, likely so new players have access to locations where they can find monsters easy.

Browsing his wares for a bit, I eventually picked up a Harpies' Hunting Ground for myself and an Eria the Water Charmer as a gift for Diana. If she wants to recruit Ice Barrier monsters, which are all Water Attribute if memory serves me right, then having Eria in her roster will help her out significantly on that front.

"How much for the Harpies' Hunting Ground and Eria?" I ask, indicating the two cards.

"21 Gold," Spellman replies. "You'll be saving 5 Gold that you would normally have to pay in the shops for Harpie's Hunting Ground, and Charmers helps with Monster Recruitment, so I make them as cheap as possible whenever I obtain copies of them."

"Deal," I reply, putting down the amount requested.

"Thank you for your business," Milla replies with a smile as Michael takes the money while she takes the two cards I'd bought off the table and hand them to me. "Come again next week to see what we'll have in stock by then, and remember our warning about the Black Talon and Lilith."

"I will," I reply, putting the Hunting Ground in my deck holder for now and keeping Eria's card in hand for when I meet up with Diana again. Waving to them, I walk away with Wynn in tow to find my traveling companion.

Sure enough, I found Diana and Dance Princess wandering around, looking lost before Diana smiles and waves to me as Wynn and I walk over. "Find what you're looking for yet?" I ask once our little group is back together.

Dance Princess frowns a little and shakes her head. "Not yet," Diana replies, then notices that I'm holding a card in my hand. "What about you? Find whatever you were looking for?"

I chuckle and nod I hold the card in my hand out to her. "Yep," I reply. "Got a Field Spell for myself, and a gift for you. Since you're likely to try rebuilding your Ice Barrier deck, I figured having this will help you out."

-Diana's P.o.V.-

I couldn't help but raise my eyebrow in confusion at what Cloud had said. Something to help me with rebuilding my Ice Barrier deck? Curious, I took the card and turned it around to see what it was while bringing it to my face, and I nearly dropped the card in shock.

He'd given me an Eria the Water Charmer card.

Ice Barrier Monsters are all Water Attribute.

I wasn't entirely sure what came over me in that instant, but I ended up glomping Cloud with a cry of joy, sending us both to the ground. I think Cloud was able to cast a quick Gust at the last moment so we didn't hit the ground hard enough to potentially cause damage, but I wasn't really paying attention since I was kinda busy thanking him profusely.

-Cloud's P.o.V.-

I let out a cry of surprise as Diana tackled me to the ground in a hug. I'm just thankful for being a Wind/Spellcaster, as a quick burst of wind via Gust kept us from hitting the ground hard when she did that. Unfortunately for me, however, Diana's bust was pressing against my chest, her crotch was rubbing against my thigh with her thigh getting dangerously close to rubbing up against somewhere embarrassing, her cheek was rubbing against mine, and people were starting to stare, so, yeah, getting kind of very awkward here.

"D-Diana…" I urge, putting my hands on her shoulders and start trying to gently pry myself away from the suddenly affectionate Vampiress to no avail. "You're very welcome, Diana, but could you please tone it down a little…? Diana, please, people are starting to stare... Diana? Diana!"

My shouting her name seemed to finally snap my travelling companion out of whatever was going on in her head as she released me from the hug… and lifted herself onto her hands and knees in such a way that our positioning looked even more suggestive to the crowd that was forming around us, the Vampiress' hands to either side of my head and she was straddling my hips, lips parted slightly, giving me a full view of her vampire fangs, and staring into my green eyes with her own hypnotic blue, which accented by the way her hair fell, framing her face just right for her eyes to emit a near ethereal glow in the shadows she cast. 'Thank God I'm already on my back, 'cause I think I might just pass out at this point,' I mentally groan as my blush threatened to completely overtake my face.

-Diana's P.o.V.-

I just stared at Cloud from on top of him as my mind rebooted, albeit a bit slowly from how adorable and strangely… alluring… he looked underneath me, transfixed in place and face flushed as he was. Despite every instinct screaming at me not to, I do eventually bring myself to break eye contact with him and look around at the people staring at us, which was, quite understandably, followed by my own face flushing and me getting off of Cloud as fast as humanly possible while muttering a quick, almost imperceptible "Sorry" to him.

"I-I forgive you," he stutters, shaking his head to clear it as best he can before taking the hand I offered to get him back on his feet. "J-just please be a bit more conscious about where we are when you do that?"

I nodded my acceptance of that, it was a pretty reasonable request, after all. "So, what now?"

"I still want us to find someone selling Ice Barrier Monsters," Dance Princess says as the crowd starts dispersing, to both mine and Cloud's relief. "Eria might be good company, but I miss having my kin nearby."

Cloud nod and closes his eyes. I blink and look to Dance Princess, who looked just as confused as I was. Wynn had a knowing smile on her face, though. "Could this be related to that sixth sense thing his Harpie's Brother mentioned last night?" I whisper to Dance Princess, who shrugs with a whispered "Maybe…?" in response.

I soon saw Cloud smile, which made my blush return a little as he opens his eyes and looks to Dance Princess and I. "There is someone here selling Ice Barrier Monsters," he says.

"Really?!" Dance Princess and I ask hopefully, inadvertently breaking out the puppy-dog eyes as we did so.

Cloud chuckles and nods. "There is, I can feel it on the winds."

I swear, my grin nearly split my face, as I grabbed his hand and started dragging him back among the various stalls. "Let's go, then! I need to know where the guy selling cards from Dance Princess's family is!"

"W-woah!" Cloud cries out in shock. "I can walk just fine on my own, Diana!" I'm amazed he hasn't gotten used to this yet. This is, what, the third time it's happened so far? You'd think he'd have come to expect it by now.

-one shopping trip trip later, Cloud's P.o.V.-

As it turned out, Diana's quest for more Ice Barrier Monsters had led us back to Mr. Spellman's stall. Ice Barrier cards were, evidently, rare enough on this side of the Virtual World for him to be offering them to new players. "It took you three minutes to decide on Secret Guards and Spellbreaker of the Ice Barrier?" I ask as Diana and I sat down to eat some cheese pizza. I'd summoned Harpie's Brother and Diana, after spending a little time getting to know Eria, had returned her so that Dance Princess could be with her kin, who had run Diana a total of 19 coins.

"Actually, Data Life is using the direct translation of the original Japanese name, so he's Inner Guard of the Ice Barrier," Diana replied as the ice-themed, Shinobi-esque swordsman in question nodded as confirmation. "When I looked up his card info, there was a notification from an Admin that this was implemented early on due to confusion on the side of players, as the English name implies a squad, similar to Goblin Attack Force, but only one appears when summoned."

"Huh, I guess that makes sense," I admit while watching Dance Princess chat up Spellbreaker. If I had to describe them, it almost felt like watching a student meeting with their teacher outside of a classroom from the way they were conversing.

"So, that Spellman guy was pretty nice," Diana says as she grabs a slice of pizza. "Even told me you bought Eria and a Field Spell off of him. What was the Field you got?"

"Harpies' Hunting Ground," I reply, deciding to use it now to see what happened since Diana brought it up. I was treated to the sight of my map popping open and a portion of it filling out to indicate where the Hunting Grounds were located, complete with the name of the Field Spell to indicate the area in question. "And based off what just happened when I played it, it would appear that Field Spells fill out the map, unlocking new areas to explore."

"Neat," Diana replies. "Kinda makes me wish there was a Field Spell for Ice Barrier Monsters, then I'd be able to do some recruitment work of my own ASAP."

"Assuming you did not run into conflict with the Great Dragons in doing so," Inner Guard replied, his voice soft, but firm.

"Let's worry about that if/when we happen across an area where Ice Barrier spawns are commonplace," I suggest, Wynn nodding her agreement.

"He's got a point," Harpie's Brother replies. "Without a Field Spell specific to the Ice Barrier, your best hope would be to find an Ice themed Dungeon."

"If such a Dungeon exists, I pray that there are no ice physics," I groan a little as I take a bite of my pizza slice, "or at least something handed out to first timers to counteract it. Don't get me wrong, I love the aesthetic possibilities of ice levels, but outside of Xenoblade Chronicles, Ice Physics can go die in a fire."

Diana and her present Monsters all looked at each other, then at me, then back to each other and collectively rolled their eyes, for they did not understand the average gamer's vendetta against slippery surfaces. "Anyway, did you see that thing in the paper this morning about the tournament?"

"I did," I reply.

"So, what do you think?" my companion asks. "Interested in participating?"

"I'm thinking I will," I admit. "I'm considering the possibility of forming a Guild, and the Beginners' Tournament would be a good way to scout out people interested in helping to form the initial members."

Diana nods thoughtfully as she eats some more of her pizza. "So… what do we do now?"

"Well, I hate to be that guy, but I'm thinking we should split up for a bit," I admit.

"Why?" Diana asks.

"I want to do a bit of Harpie recruiting, and the Harpies' Hunting Grounds are the best place to do that," I explain. "Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure that it's going to be pretty much all Harpies and related Monsters with the odd Ojama trying to not get killed there, so there won't really be anything there for you."

"... He's got a point," Dance Princess acquiesces.

"Indeed," Spellbreaker nods in agreement as she looks to Diana. "I propose that we, instead, look for Eria's Familiar Spirit, ma'am. Each Charmer will have an easier time Merging into their Familiar Possessed form if the Monster they Merge with is their Familiar Spirit."

"Eria-nee's Familiar is Gigobyte," Wynn speaks up, surprising me a little that she used a Japanese honorific with Eria's name.

"Gigobyte's a lvl 1 Monster, so there's a chance he can be found in the Forest of Beginnings, but just in case, it might be a good idea to ask around for where the best place to find one would be," I suggest, getting nods from Diana, Dance Princess, Inner Guard, and Spellbreaker. With our immediate plans established, we went back to our pizza so that we'd have the energy for our first solo runs.

-One hour later, Village of Beginnings Main Road gate-

"Alright, here's the main gate," I muse as Diana and I look out at the road leading away of the Village of Beginnings, our Monsters at our side. I then turn to face Diana. "Harpie's Brother, Wynn, and I will fly to the Harpies' Hunting Ground from here, so I guess this is where we part ways for a time."

Diana and Dance Princess nod as Diana holds out her hand, which I accept for a handshake. "Right, I'm gonna be doing some training in the areas around the Village and hunt for a Gigobyte for Eria," Diana replies, "so I guess I'll be seeing you when you return from the Hunting Grounds."

-Serina's P.o.V.-

"Right, see you then," Cloud says as I watch him and Diana part ways, the Vampiress heading back into the village while Cloud leaves and soon takes off in a swirl of wind, Wynn the Wind Charmer at his side and Harpie's Brother flying ahead of them. I'd watched the entire exchange from the shadows nearby and narrow my eyes as Cloud and his Monsters leave for wherever they were heading.

"So, my prey is taking flight to toughen himself up, it seems," I muse to Command Knight, who was leaning against the wall beside me with her arms crossed.

"Such would indeed be the case, milady," my faithful knight replies. "Shall we pursue, or bide our time and strengthen ourselves in preparation for his return?"

"We won't be able to catch up to them when they're traveling by air," I admit as I turn and start walking further into the alley, Command Knight kicking off from the wall to follow me. "We will train for now; when he returns, we shall ambush him before he enters the Village." I then turn to Command Knight and smirk at her. "Before we do so, however, I am in the mood for some… entertainment."

To her credit and my amusement, Command Knight immediately caught my meaning and blushed, but didn't allow her embarrassment to show beyond that and nods as we walk. "If that is your wish, milady," my darling knight replies, even as she closes her eyes to try and fight the heat rushing to her face, "then I shall do my best to… satisfy your desires."

"I know you will, my darling knight," I purr as my smirk grows into a seductive grin, "just as you know that I shall reward your loyalty and patience with my less than honorable methods for as long as you are my humble retainer."

Spice: Alright that's Chapter. So yeah, Cloud and Diana will be splitting up for a bit of solo training in preparation for the coming Beginners' Tournament, and Serina will be doing the same herself after having a little fun in bed with her Command Knight. Speaking of the tournament- ELFI?

ELFI: The Captain is now accepting OC submissions for participants in the Beginners' Tournament. 5 of the planned 32 participants will be OCs created by the Captain, and two people have already submitted participants for the tournament.

Spice: Honorable mentions to both 13RoniN13 and yukicrewger2 for submitting the first two of 27 OC submissions for the tournament. For anyone else interested, I am using the character creator put together by Phoenix Champion, originally for Alpha Gear Chronicles, so hop on over to his profile to pull up the relevant info, which is has recently been updated a bit so that things are a bit more balanced in terms of overall power climb due to Upgrades and Transformations. As always, constructive criticism is welcomed and highly appreciated, while Flames get the courtesy to helping me test out the Hephaestus' Electronic Warfare Suite. Until next time, this is Spiceracksargent001, signing off.