Hello, everybody! Well I am glad to say that quite a few things have happened to me just a few days ago. First, I turned 20 years old. Yeah, a really big surprise for a lot of you, I'll bet. It's also around this time that I would change my username to something like "DuelMaster20", "Arcane Writer 20", really anything that ended in 20 (what, you guys thought Fossilman17, Mega-Gamer 18, and TheFallenAuthor19 were just coincidentally in order?)
Anyways, another big LIFE update, I just graduated college and I now have an Associate's Degree in Graphic Design. And now that college is over, I'm looking back on the last 20 years of my life and I'm like..."What the heck?" Literally, everything prior to age 18 has been forgotten, and past that my life has been...empty, really. I feel like after I got my degree I didn't really do anything worth mentioning. I got some good pieces in, sure, and I was able to create a cover for SABL, but other than that it feels like nothing really mattered. I have no access to Illustrator, Photoshop, Flash, or anything! How am I supposed to make good use of my degree if I don't have the tools to use it!?
*sigh* Getting away from the depressing, harsh realities, I was able to finish not only this chapter, but also Chapters 17 and 18. Triple update, just for you! 17 and 18 (ha ha, DragonBall reference) are more or less filler, but it does feature an OC by "xider" (thanks for that by the way, very interesting character) and also a few other characters that may or may appear later on.
Other than that, read on and Enjoy!
Chapter 16
Jacob's alarm clock began to ring the next morning and the now half-awake duelist slammed a hand onto the off switch. He opened one sleepy eye to see light streaming out of the window. He noticed the clock read 8 in the morning, and sat up in his bed. He stretched a little, the numb feeling from being in Duel Net still lingering, and Jacob tried standing up. His legs felt like jelly surrounding his bones and he gripped the edge of his desk to keep his balance. He shook his legs one at a time until the feeling came back and tried standing up on his own. He was standing, but it still felt like his legs were a bit unstable.
Jacob tried walking over to the door but his ankle twisted underneath him. Jacob loudly cursed as he fell and hit his head on the door. He groaned in pain and held his head, trying not to swear out loud again. Jacob tried standing up again and grabbed the handle of the door, which turned causing the door to open. Jacob looked up to see his father, who also looked down and asked, "You alright?"
"More or less," Jacob replied, attempting to get back up again. He was able to stand up this time, with some help from his father, and soon regained his balance. Blake told Jacob that breakfast was almost ready and to come down once he was ready. After leaving, Jacob stretched a little, removing what numbness remained in his body and went to his dresser.
He began searching through his clothes until he found an outfit to wear: a red T-shirt with a superhero logo that was designed to look worn out, tan cargo pants, and from his closet a blue jacket vest. He looked to his laptop after getting dressed and noticed there was a message. He got on and opened his inbox, and noticed the sender. It was from Skyler Beaufort, and Jacob opened it without hesitation. It was a friend request for Duel Net, with a side message that read "Hope to duel you again sometime."
Jacob accepted the friend request and sent a reply message to Skyler, "Same here, and I'll be sure to use my tournament deck next time." After sending it, Jacob went downstairs to eat breakfast. Breakfast consisted of ham and cheese omelet, hash browns, and sausage. It was mostly quiet, as usual, but the silence was interrupted by Blake, who would ask about recent events.
When Blake asked Jacob how Duel Net looked, Jacob replied, "It's amazing in there. The world is really expansive and I've even dueled one of the tournament winners."
"Oh really?" Blake asked. "And who was it?"
Jacob was silent for a moment, shoveling food into his mouth to avoid speaking. He couldn't avoid it forever, however, and replied, "It was the girl, Skyler Beaufort."
Blake nodded, and said, "You know Jacob, registrations for Duel Academy are today. I hope you'll join me, that way you'll be able to check out the school for yourself."
Jacob finished eating and asked, "What time does it start?"
"Registrations are from 1-5 in the afternoon."
Jacob smiled, "Perfect, I can make the Duel Net international launch event, and after that we can head out."
"Sounds like a plan." Jacob took his plate to the sink and rinsed it off a little before heading back up to his room. "We leave in four hours!" Blake called out. Jacob, after entering his room, put on the Duel Net visor and sat back down in his bed.
He laid back down and said, "Begin Network Link." His eyes automatically shut and the feeling of being sucked through a tube returned once again. By the third time, he had gotten used to the feeling and when he opened his eyes he found himself back in the City Zone. He was sitting in the same chair as before, and he looked around to see that no one else was here.
Jacob decided to do a little exploring until the launch began. He found shops just like in the desert zone, as well as some that weren't. There were card shops that sold digital packs and structure decks, as well as individual cards. There were also a variety of restaurants and cafes like the one he and Skyler went to, which sold food and drinks that restored Life Points. Jacob also came across a very large skyscraper that had a sign next to the door.
It read "Take on the Dueling Gauntlet. Battle through one opponent after the other to reach the Gauntlet Master." Jacob thought it looked pretty interesting and decided to check it out later. As he continued through the city, he eventually found one person wandering the streets. The person looked just a little bit shorter than him and had a mess of blonde hair that reached down to his shoulders. He wore a blue jacket over a cyan shirt, and also had blue jeans and hiking boots. Jacob already recognized him, there was no mistaking that kind of hair.
"Hey Luke!" The person looked up at him and smiled.
The two ran over to each other, and Luke said, "Good to see you again."
"Same here, Luke. You go through a growth spurt?" Luke laughed at that. "One of the things I like about Duel Net is that you can cutsomize just about anything you want, even height. I see you went through some changes as well." Jacob smiled and before he could say anything, a tone began to ring. It sounded like a digital school bell, and both Luke and Jacob's menus opened to show the face of Kaiba.
"Welcome to Duel Net, duelists."
"He must be talking to the others. Duelists who purchased Duel Net," Luke said.
"Which means that the game's officially been launched."
"As President of Kaiba Corporation, I welcome you to the next generation of Duel Monsters. Before I let everyone go, I want to inform you of how things work here. First of all, Duel Net contains a variety of terrain types including deserts, cities, mountains, jungles, oceans, and so on. Duelists have the option to activate the Field Power Bonus option, which will give an ATK and DEF bonus to certain monsters, depending on the terrain.
"Secondly, as a word of caution, there are Duel Monsters that roam the landscape. They'll be weak to start off with, but they will get tougher as you explore. Defeating these monsters in a duel will yield rewards: Duel Points to spend on new cards, as well as a chance to obtain them as cards.
"Next, I have also added in some very special cards. A few years ago, there was an incident in Heartland City during a tournament called the World Duel Carnival, which involved these special cards, called Number monsters. As a special event, I have scattered these cards across the world of Duel Net for you to obtain and use in your duels. This won't be a race to see who can collect the most, but more of a race to see who can collect them all first, and as such when someone obtains a Number card it will respawn in a new location.
"And lastly, a leader board has been added to your menus. After a duel, whether it was against an opponent or a Duel Monster, you will recieve a certain amount of Duel Points. The total will be added to your balance, as well as to your current ranking position. Currently, our winners from the tournament are in the lead."
The screen switched to show what appeared to be the leader board. On each line there was a picture of a duelist, along with name, ranking position and their points. Jacob was first with 5,120 DP, followed by Skyler who had 5,070 DP, and then Luke who still had 5,000. Everyone else had no points.
"I hope that you enjoy yourselves, duelists, because right now Duel Net is officially open!"
The menu closed and Jacob began to leave. "Hey, where are you going?"
"Duh, did you not hear what he said?" Jacob said, turning around and walking backwards. "I'm gonna go and find some of those Number cards. I'll catch you later!" Jacob turned once again and ran down a different street, looking around. He stopped at a lamp post and looked up. At the very top was a glowing card, and Jacob figured it was one of those cards. He began climbing up, using maintenance footholds to climb up and eventually reached the top.
Unfortunately, it was on top of the lamp itself, so Jacob tried going around the pole and reached out for the card. He began stretching for it and was able to grasp it, but he lost his grip and fell off the pole. He screamed in fear and landed hard on the pavement. He groaned in pain and held up his arm, which held the glowing card. The card lost its glow and the identity of the card was revealed: Number 10: Illuminight.
Jacob smiled and said, "That's one." Jacob decided to continue his search.
"Almost got it."
"I see you hiding there."
"Yeah, another one!"
After finding his fourth Number, Jacob decided that was enough and looked at his collection. Other than Number 10, he had also found Number 30: Acid Golem of Destruction, which he found under a sewer grate; Number 50: Blackship of Corn, hiding between a stack of newspapers; and Number 74: Master of Blades, which was floating in the wind.
He decided to stop with these and opened his menu. He selected his deck list and added in the new Xyz monsters. He also added in Scrap Dragon and Hieratic Sun Dragon for good measure.
After finishing, he heard someone shout, "Hey you!" Jacob turned to see who had called his name and saw it was another duelist. He had very dark brown hair and had green eyes. He was wearing a black long-sleeve shirt with blue jeans.
"You're the number one duelist here, right? Jacob Yudara?"
"Yeah, that's me."
"Let's have a duel. I want to test out a new Number that I got."
Jacob smiled and said, "Alright but I've gotta warn you, I've got four Numbers of my own." The challenger didn't seem too phased, and held up his right arm. His duel disk began to take shape, a classic duel disk, and Jacob did the same.
Before they began, a notice came up in front of Jacob which read: "Opponent has activated the Field Power Bonus option. Is this okay?" Jacob decided to pick yes and they both shouted, "Let's duel!"
Jacob: 8000
Mark: 8000
"Field Power Bonus active," a woman's voice said. "All Warrior and Machine-type monsters gain a 10% ATK and DEF bonus. All EARTH monsters gain a 10% ATK bonus. All DARK monsters lose 10% of their ATK."
'I can work with this.'
"All right, I guess I'm starting this duel!" Jacob shouted, drawing a card. "I'll start things off with this: Charge of the Light Brigade! By sending the top 3 cards of my deck to the Graveyard, I can add a level 4 or lower Lightsworn monster from my deck to my hand." Jacob's deck glowed as the top 3 cards disappeared, and a new card slid out of his deck. "I choose Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn!" He took the card and his deck shuffled. "Next, I'll set one card face-down, Set a monster, and end my turn.
Jacob: 8000
Mark: 8000
Mark drew his next card and smiled. "Okay, since you control a monster, I'm allowed to Special Summon my Earth Armor Ninja from my hand."
An explosion of dust and rocks shot up from the ground, and a man jumped out. He landed and Jacob saw he was wearing brown clothes with metal armor. Half of his face was silhouetted under a mask, and his ATK suddenly spiked (ATK/1600-1936).
"Since my Earth Armor Ninja is both a Warrior and an EARTH monster, he gains the Warrior bonus first and then the EARTH bonus. Now I summon my Flame Armor Ninja (ATK/1700-1870)."
This time a pillar of fire shot up, and a ninja wearing red clothes and metal armor jumped out of the side of the flames. "My Flame Armor Ninja has a very special ability, which allows me to increase the level of one of my Ninja monsters. So I'll increase Flame Armor Ninja's Level from 4 to 5." Four glowing orbs appeared behind the Ninja and one of them split in two, creating a fifth orb.
"Now, I overlay my Level 5 Earth Armor Ninja and Flame Armor Ninja to build the Overlay Network!" The two monsters turned into streams of brown and red light and disappeared into a galaxy-like vortex. "I Xyz summon Number 12: Crimson Shadow Armor Ninja (ATK/2400-2904)!"
The vortex exploded and something came out. It was like a giant steel pillar, with a number 12 written on it. It began to open, revealing a humanoid form in red and black armor. It unsheathed a sword and released a shock wave of energy.
"Now get this, by removing an Overlay unit, every Ninja monster on my side of the field cannot be destroyed by battle or by card effects until the end of this turn. So now I'll attack your face-down monster!" A sudden explosion sounded and a cloud of smoke engulfed Number 12. Once the smoke was gone, NUmber 12 had disappeared. Another explosion and Number 12 reappeared behind Jacob's face-down, slashing it and destroying the card.
"You destroyed Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter. Normally, it destroys a monster on the field, but because of your monster's effect all I can do is send the top 3 cards of my deck to the Graveyard." His deck glowed again as more cards disappeared and Mark ended his turn.
Jacob: 8000
Mark: 8000
Jacob drew his next card and said, "Okay, I activate the spell Foolish Burial, which sends one monster from my Deck to my Graveyard." Another card disappeared from his deck and into the Graveyard, "And since I now have at least four LIGHT attribute monsters in my Grave, I can Special Summon Lightray Daedalus (ATK/2600)."
A portal of light appeared and the Sea Serpent slithered out. "Now I activate Lightsworn Barrier and summon Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn (ATK/1700-1870)." A man with black hair and olive skin appeared on the field. He had no shirt, revealing his torso, but he had a purple silk scarf wrapped around his neck. He also wore black trousers with white and gold armor, and wielded a large sword as well as a dagger.
"Now let me tell you something. With Lightsworn Barrier now active on my field, if any Lightsworn is attacked, including Raiden, I can negate the attack by sending the top 2 cards of my deck to the Graveyard."
"Yeah, yeah," Mark called out. "I also know that if you send the top 2 cards of your Deck and manage to send a Lightsworn to the grave, Raiden gains 200 ATK until the end of my turn. I know how a Lightsworn deck works, and I also know that Number 12 will still have more ATK if you manage to pull one." Jacob grunted, this guy already picking at his deck.
"Then you should know what I'm about to do." Raiden lifted up his sword and the top two cards disappeared from Jacob's deck. Translucent cards appeared in front of Jacob, but neither of them was a Lightsworn. The two cards disappeared and Raiden lowered his sword.
"I guess you had no such luck?" Mark asked, a smile on his face. Jacob growled in disappointment and ended his turn. "And don't forget," Mark added, "Raiden also forces you to send the next 2 cards to the Graveyard."
Raiden lifted up his dagger this time and more cards disappeared from Jacob's deck. "You must be new to the archetype so let me tell you how it works. The Lightsworns are a gamble due to the fact that they cause self-milling. Although some cards benefit from this, such as your Lightray monster, if you don't get out the right cards, they'll end up in your Graveyard."
"Just go! It's you're move!"
Jacob: 8000
Mark: 8000
"Touchy," Mark said to himself, drawing a card. "Alright, I summon my Air Armor Ninja (ATK/1400-1540)." A tornado appeared on the field and a green robed ninja vaulted out.
"Next, I discard one card from my hand in order to summon The Tricky (ATK/2000)!" The familiar question mark-faced jester appeared on the field, reminding Jacob of his duel with Rain. "Next, I activate a Spell card, Flint!" The card appeared on the field, and a chain weapon with three long chains that had a spike at the end of each one was thrown at Jacob's monsters. It attached itself to Lightray Daedalus, who growled in pain.
"Flint is a very special Spell card," Mark said, smirking. "When it equips onto a monster, it loses 300 ATK and cannot change its battle position (ATK/2600-2300). Now, Number 12 attack his Lightray monster!" The ninja monster leaped into the air and stabbed Lightray Daedalus, making it roar in pain before it was destroyed. The Spell card survived though, and the chain reattached itself onto Raiden (ATK/1870-1570).
"Oh, did I mention that the Spell card reattaches itself to a new monster when the old one is destroyed? No? Well now Raiden is going to be destroyed as well. Tricky, attack with Dark Orb!"
The Tricky held out his hands and formed an orb of dark magic, just as it shot the orb, Jacob shouted, "Then allow me to remind you about my Lightsworn Barrier. I can send the top 2 cards of my deck to the grave in order to negate your attack!" More cards disappeared and Raiden was surrounded by a barrier of light, which deflected the orb and sent it flying into a building. Part of the building shattered, but it repaired itself in no time.
"Well, I guess that ends my turn."
Jacob: 7396
Mark: 8000
Jacob drew his next card and looked at it. He smiled and played it. "I summon Jain, Lightsworn Paladin (ATK/1800)!" Jain appeared on the field, and Jacob continued, "Now I tune level 4 Raiden with level 4 Jain, in order to Synchro Summon Scrap Dragon (ATK/2800-3080)!"
As Scrap Dragon appeared, the Flint spell began to fly up to the dragon's neck. "Have you forgotten about my Flint spell? It'll sap your dragon's ATK."
"I don't think so. By destroying one card on my side of the field, I can destroy one of yours. So destroy Lightsworn Barrier and Flint! Scrap Fireball!" The trap card flew up to Scrap Dragon and shattered as it reared its head and formed a fireball. It shot the fireball at the spell card and destroyed it, shattering the chain around its neck as well.
"Not bad, huh?" Mark groaned this time, and Jacob shouted, "Alright, now my Scrap Dragon will attack your Air Armor Ninja!" Scrap Dragon reared its head once again and shot another fireball at the green cloaked Ninja. The fireball exploded, and Mark groaned as the flames spread around him. "That ends my turn."
Jacob: 7396
Mark: 6460
Mark drew and said, "I set one monster and then switch The Tricky (DEF/1200) and Crimson Shadow Armor Ninja (DEF/1700-1870) into defense mode. Your move I guess."
Jacob drew his next card and looked at it. 'Shire, Lightsworn Spirit. This card gains 300 ATK for every "Lightsworn" monster with a different name in your Graveyard. How many do I have?'
Jacob opened his menu to show his Graveyard and looked through it. He counted each unique Lightsworn there and smiled once he had finished. "Alright I summon Shire, Lightsworn Spirit!" A mist began to spread around Jacob's feet and eventually a form began to rise out of the smoke. It was a woman wearing white and gold clothing and armor. She had blonde hair, silver blue eyes and pale skin. She held a staff in one hand and two blue wings grew out of her back. Her ATK flashed a measley 400.
"Seriously? If you haven't noticed, my monsters have a lot more points than her."
"Wait for it," Jacob replied, holding up a hand. Jacob looked to his Graveyard as it began to glow a golden color and seven small orbs flew out.
The orbs flew over to Shire and Mark called out, "What are those?"
"They're the Lightsworns that were sent to the grave earlier. I should thank you for telling me about this deck, because now Shire will gain 300 ATK for each one." The orbs floated into Shire and her ATK suddenly spiked to 2500.
"Now Scrap Dragon will take down your Ninja." As Scrap Dragon prepared a fireball Mark shouted, "Don't forget, I still have an Overlay unit! So by removing it, all of my Ninja monsters aren't destroyed!" Another Overlay unit was absorbed into Number 12 as Scrap Dragon fired its attack, and it exploded before reaching it.
"Fine, then Shire will take care of your Tricky! Spirit Staff!" Shire held out her staff and a beam of light shot at and destroyed The Tricky. "That ends my turn, and now Shire takes another 2 cards from my deck." Two more cards disappeared, and another orb flew out from Jacob's grave.
"Looks like another Lightsworn has been sent to the grave, which means Shire gains another 300 ATK (ATK/2500-2800)."
Mark drew and he set another card down before ending his turn.
Jacob drew again and said, "Okay, I summon Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress (ATK/1700)." Lyra appeared on the field and Mark didn't seem too happy to see her. "Now I activate Lyla's ability. By switching her into defense mode, I can destroy a Spell or Trap card on your side of the field." Lyla kneeled and her staff began to glow with a soft light. The card Mark set glowed with the same light and shattered. "Okay, now since you have no more Overlay units, Scrap Dragon will attack your Number." Scrap Dragon shot another fireball and this time the monster shattered.
"Now Shire attacks your face-down monster!" Shire's staff began to glow and the monster flipped over to reveal another Air Armor Ninja before it was destroyed. "I end my turn, so Lyla and Shire's effects activate which send a total of five cards to the Graveyard." More of his cards disappeared, and two more orbs floated out of the Graveyard. One was absorbed into Shire, but the other floated next to her and began to grow.
The light died down to reveal a humanoid wolf creature. It had white fur and wore white and gold armor on its legs, arms, and shoulders. On its right arm it had a gauntlet with three claws and in its left hand it held a pole-ax. It growled and Mark was surprised to see it. Jacob was equally surprised and Mark asked, "Where did that thing come from?"
Jacob examined the card and read aloud, "Wulf, Lightsworn Beast. Cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. Must be Special Summoned by a card effect and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. If this card is sent from your Deck to the Graveyard, Special Summon it. Looks like it was one of the cards that got milled, so it was Special Summoned. And it looks like another Lightsworn was sent to the Graveyard, meaning Shire's ATK are now at 3100." Shire began to glow brighter and Jacob's turn ended.
Jacob: 7396
Mark: 6460
Mark drew and smiled. "Okay, I summon Masked Ninja Ebisu." There was a flash of green smoke on the field and a small, fat ninja appeared on the field. He was completely cloaked in green, with black gloves and chest packs. On his head was a mask that was too small for him to even wear and he had a green cowl that covered everything except for his eyes.
"I'll also place one card face-down and end my turn."
Jacob: 7396
Mark: 6460
As Jacob drew he looked to Mark. He had a smile on his face, and Jacob didn't like it at all. 'He's got to be planning something. Guess it's time to spring a trap.'
"I summon Minerva, Lightsworn Maiden (ATK/800)!" A small yellow orb descended from the sky. It began to grow and soon the light died down to reveal a teenage girl. She wore white robes that went down to her knees with a hood that was down. She had blue eyes and red hair that was tied in three ponytails: one on each side of her face and another at the back. On her left hand was a white and gold glove, and when she held it up a snow white owl flew down onto it. Just barely noticeable on her back were a small pair of wings.
Minerva looked back at Jacob, to his surprise, and nodded.
Jacob understood and said, "Now I'll tune Minerva with Lyla in order to Synchro Summon a new monster." Minerva closed her eyes and lifted her head. Her body was replaced by three rings which flew up and around Lyla. Her body was outlined in orange and four orbs of light appeared inside. A pillar of light shone through the rings and Jacob shouted, "I call thee from the heavens, Michael, the Arch-Lightsworn (ATK/2600)!"
The light died down to reveal a man riding a large, feathery white dragon. The man was clad in golden armor, and also had wings made of gold. He wielded a large broadsword in one hand that glowed with a blue light. "Okay, Scrap Dragon attack Masked Ninja Ebisu!"
Scrap Dragon began to form a fireball, but Mark shouted, "I activate Armor Ninjitsu Art of Freezing!" His face-down flipped up and a blast of freezing wind blew out to the field. Scrap Dragon's attack was stopped and ice began to form on its body. The same thing began to happen to Michael and Shire, and Mark said, "This trap negates your attack and ends the Battle Phase."
Jacob groaned and ended his turn, more cards sent to the grave by Michael and Shire's effects. Two more orbs floated out from the grave, giving Shire another 600 ATK (ATK/3100-3700).
Jacob: 7396
Mark: 6460
Mark set another card and switched his Masked Ninja into defense mode. That ended his turn and Jacob drew, "Hey!" Jacob looked up as Mark shouted, "I thought you said you had four Numbers, but this entire duel I haven't seen one." Jacob growled as he looked at his next card.
"You want a Number? I'll give you a Number. I summon Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner (ATK/1000)!" Lumina appeared on the field, and Jacob noted Lumina and Shire's levels, both at 3. "I Overlay Level 3 Lumina and Shire, in order to build the Overlay Network!" Just like with Number 12, a galaxy vortex formed on the ground and Lumina and Shire turned into yellow streams of light which flew into the vortex. "I Xyz Summon Number 30: Acid Golem of Destruction (ATK/3000)!"
The vortex exploded and a pillar of purple metal and sludge came out. It unlocked and opened to reveal a large golem creature with holes that had purple smoke pouring out. It's torso was made of black metal, one side melted away to reveal a ribcage. A large number 30 flashed on its leg and it roared, spewing out purple slime that melted everything it touched.
"Not bad," Mark said. Jacob smiled, but Mark continued, "Too bad I have to do this." His face down flipped up to reveal another trap, Trap Hole. The ground opened up around Acid Golem and it fell through, roaring as it fell down and exploded into golden dust. "It was a pretty good monster, I might even go looking for it."
"Yeah, but I'm going to finish this first," Jacob shouted back. "You remember Michael, right? Well he's got a very special ability: by paying 1000 of my Life Points, I can bainsh any one card on the field."
Mark's eyes widened as Michael lifted his sword and Michael himself shouted with a booming voice, "Begone, I command you!" Ebisu looked up at Michael as his sword began to glow brighter and brighter, until Jacob and Mark were almost blinded by the light. It soon died down and when they looked back up Mark's only creature was gone. Jacob also noticed that there were others watching the duel, and Jacob decided to finish it.
"Alright, Scrap Dragon, Michael, and Wulf, attack him directly!" Wulf attacked first, striking Mark with his claws. Scrap Dragon followed, shooting a fireball at Mark. Finally, Mark looked up after Scrap Dragon's attack finished and saw Michael standing in front of him.
He was a giant compared to Mark, and he fell back in surprise. Michael held up his sword and it began to glow with a blue light. Mark cried out as the light blinded him and the last of his Life Points disappeared.
Jacob: 6396
Mark: 0
Win: Jacob
Jacob's monsters disappeared as did his duel disk, and a notice popped up. Jacob saw his DP increase by a few hundred, and he walked over to Mark. "That was a great game, man," Jacob said.
Mark smiled back at him and replied, "Thanks for the duel. It's not every day someone gets to face a tournament winner. Although I expected you to use the deck from the tournament."
Jacob shrugged, "Well I wanted to try something new, and the Lightsworns delivered." Mark nodded and left, and Jacob turned to see Luke running over to him.
"That was an amazing duel, Jacob," Luke said.
Jacob smiled again and said, "No sweat." Luke seemed to remember something and pulled up his menu.
"Hey, did you get your items yet?" Jacob was confused for a moment when he remembered that his early copy came with a digital card and some avatar gear. "My card's pretty cool, but what about you?"
"To be honest, I haven't gotten anything except for my DP," Jacob said scratching his head nervously.
"Then what are you waiting for!?" Luke shouted, surprising Jacob for a moment. "Let's see what it is."
Jacob opened his menu and saw a notification, and opened it. A new message opened up that showed three icons: the back of a Duel Monsters card, a shirt icon, and a vehicle icon. He first clicked on the vehicle and it showed an image of a Duel Runner. It looked like a motorcycle with four wheels, two in the front and two in the back.
The message read, "Claim this item: X-1 Duel Racer?" Jacob clicked yes and it went back to the previous screen. The vehicle icon was no longer there, and Jacob clicked on the shirt. Another image showed an outfit for his avatar. It looked like a Duel Academy uniform; a black long-sleeve shirt, black trousers, and a blue and white jacket that was worn over the shoulders.
"Claim this item: Duel Academy set?" Jacob clicked yes, thinking that the prizes were random, and the screen returned once again. The last icon was left and Jacob clicked it. A card appeared and Jacob was surprised by its stats. It was a Synchro monster that was a level 11, with 3200 ATK. The card's name read "Star Eater".
"Claim this item?" Jacob clicked yes and the card was added to his deck list.
Jacob turned to Luke and said, "Well, I'd better be going."
"What? No, come on, I want to see that new card in action."
"Sorry, Luke. I want to test it out too, but its already," he looked at the clock on his menu. "Wow, that duel took longer than expected, it's already half past eleven. I have to go with my dad to get registered for Duel Academy, but I promise I'll be back after that."
Luke gave a smile and nodded, prompting Jacob to log out of Duel Net. He woke up back in his room, feeling a little light-headed as he came back to reality. He sat up, slowly, and removed the helmet from his head. He was glad to have met Luke again, and hoped that he would see him again. The door to his room opened, and Jacob's father asked if he was ready.
"Just give me a second," Jacob said as he put the helmet aside. He nodded in response and left his son, who sat there for a few more moments before he began to get ready.
Chapter 16, everybody! Okay, so a lot of you-at this point-might be preparing to go down to the review box and type in:
"Wut iz this crap!? Y u getz Star Eater? Why we no getz Star Eater? Ur story is bogus!"
Did I say I couldn't have it? It's not on the ban list for this story, which means everything not on that list is fair game. And allow me to restate what I said near the start of this: "I suggest you make a deck for your character with cards that you have ad submit that deck". This same rule applies to Jacob. Any card that I have (other than what is on the story ban list) is also accessible to him.
And yes, I have a Star Eater card.
My point is this: if you have a card, your OC has it at his/her disposal as well (as long as it's-you get the point, okay?) So if any of you that have already submitted OCs want to make a quick change, you can do it now, just send me a PM and I'll get to approving it. With that in mind, R&R, PM, and I'll see you in the next chapter.