-Author notes: I quit playing the actual card game around the time GX was ending on Cartoon Network (around 10 years ago), so most of what I know is from that time frame. I have picked up Link Evolution and have been playing Duel Links in an effort to relearn everything from new rules and mechanics to new cards and archetypes. Starting LP in these duels will be 4000 unless a skill is used (skills will be implemented in a future chapter), field size however is set to 5 monsters and 5 Spells/Traps, and deck size is 40 minimum and 60 maximum. Finally, since I'm still relearning rulings, cards, etc, any input would very much be appreciated even if it is to correct a mistake I may have made. Also just noticed FF Net doesn't like the at symbol for when a character gets censored. If I have missed this elsewhere please let me know so I can fix it asap.-
Corrupted Links rules:
* If a player loses a duel, whether by life point depletion, deck out, card effect, or surrender, that player is deleted and is committed to death. However, Towns are considered Safe Zones where players will not be deleted if they lose a duel within the boundaries.
* If a duel between players is conducted in town that is not currently invaded by a Husk the losing player forfeits half of their Virtual Coins (known as VCoins or VC), but if that is not possible then that player shall forfeit their rarest card from their entire inventory.
* If a Husk manages to touch a player a duel is automatically engaged with the loser being deleted.
* A town that has been Invaded by a Husk automatically has its safe duel protections removed until the Husk has been defeated or removed. As with cities or larger towns that have at least two or more districts, the same rule applies but only the individual district is affected.
* Every "floor/level" has a boss that must be defeated in order to advance. The only way to end the game is for a single player to defeat the final boss on the 100th floor.
* Finally, all cards on the Banned list are now Limited to 1 copy each.
"One hundred floors? Are you kidding me?! One week in and nobody has even found the first floor boss."
Closing her digital menu Wyo slumped forward defeated. Most players hadn't even dared leave the starting city of Premier, and Wyo couldn't blame them. The threat of death if they lost outside of a Safe Zone froze even the most elite duelist in their spot. A few had dared to journey out, some of which returned from time to time with stories of powerful cards as treasure or large sums of VCoins in pocket. Some, however, hadn't returned at all.
"Still mourning?" Hela asked as she flopped into the chair opposite of Wyo, kicking her feet up and leaning back precariously. "I told you, it wasn't your fault. You had no choice; it was either you or her and to be honest, I'm glad it was you who won."
"You don't think I know that?" Wyo groaned as she let the cool surface of the table top seep into her skull. Without looking up she pointed a thumb behind her at a small group of chatting players, all of which were glancing over at her and Hela. "Everyone knows I was well within my right to defend myself, but that hasn't stopped them from calling me a Player Killer. They even gave me a nickname, you know. Deleter."
"Who's calling you this?" Hela asked glaring over at the group which quickly scuttled away out of sight. "Bunch of #%$&ing wusses. Too scared to even risk leaving town to help anybody escape."
"You do know that I haven't left either, right?"
"You get a pass. What you went through I wouldn't wish on anyone." The two sat in silence for a while, Hela browsing through her recent haul from her last excursion outside of town and Wyo looking on as players dueled safely within the confines of the town limits. "You know what might get you feeling better? Try getting out of town. Make a name for yourself as one of the few trying to help us get out of this prison."
Wyo didn't respond, but the thought stuck with her. She excused herself and left Hela to her deck tinkering before making her way towards the edge of town. Just before she reached the edge of town however, a voice caught her attention.
"Where do you think you're going, Deleter? Out looking for your next victim?"
Wyo let out a sigh and turned to face the individual. A tall, rather bulky male stood in front of a group of players, all of them grinning and encouraging their leader.
"Why, are you volunteering as tribute?" Wyo asked, fed up with staying silent to the harassment.
"You see?! She doesn't deny it! She's a cold blooded killer," the man exclaimed to the group. "I say we show her how we treat player killers... h-hey! Where are you going, Deleter?"
"I thought you wanted to show me what you do to player killers. I just assumed you meant you wanted to put your deck where you mouth is by dueling outside of town."
The group murmured to themselves as their leader physically recoiled slightly away from the safety barrier.
"I thought so," Wyo frowned as she turned back towards the vast open prairie. "Well, of you change your mind, I'm going to go look for the level one boss. Figured I'd help you pathetic lot get out of here since you won't do it yourselves."
As she continued on the dirt path out of town she heard the would-be leader curse her out before yelling, "Nothing will change the fact that you're a killer, Deleter. You're better off getting deleted out there!"
—
Hours had ticked by as Wyo trudged along the path, following signs here and there that indicated nearby towns or potential dungeons or locations that she could visit and possibly gather rare cards if the areas hadn't been pilfered yet. Wyo had made notes in her digital map as it slowly revealed the area to her with each step taken. Other players had been courteous enough to leave messages behind saying if a location was worth investigating or if all of the treasure had been looted.
Approaching the umpteenth sign that day, however, she noticed no notes from other players, no advice or warnings.
"Am I... am I the first one here?" She asked herself as she inspected the sign.
- Duos City
Steel Overhang -
Curious, Wyo took the path on the right, keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of treasure or potential threats. Reaching the end of the path, she sighed in defeat at having found nothing other than a rock formation that hung over a subdued area almost like a shallow cave. Climbing up and in she glanced around, still not finding anything of interest.
"Seriously?! Nothing? I thought marked locations like this would at least have something. VCoins, maybe a card or two, even-." Her voice trailed off as a scream and an inhuman screech sounded outside the cave. "...trouble."
Wyo rushed to the edge of the overhang, scanning the area for the source of the noise. Rustling bushes alerted her to the threat just before the bully from before came crashing through, tripping over his own feet before slamming face first into the ground. Twisting around quickly he glanced behind him and Wyo followed his gaze. A strange black creature stepped from the foliage, its ink-black eyes focused solely on the scared man on the ground before it. Reaching forward with its clawed hands, it moved in for the kill.
"Run you idiot!" Wyo howled as she threw herself forward, slamming into the creature before it could grab its intended prey.
"Initiating duel," a computerized voice announced over the area from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.
Wyo and the creature slammed into the dirt before an invisible force threw them apart. Wyo slowly rose to her feet, brushing dirt and leaves from her face before realizing what she'd just gotten herself into.
"I hope you're happy," Wyo growled at the bully who sat nearby, his whole body shaking as color slowly returned to his panic-pale face. "Why'd you even come out? To take me out yourself? To make me hate myself more? Tell me you sorry sack of $#%+."
"I... I just wanted to apologize," he admitted, his lower lip trembling almost as bad as the rest of him. "I was being a jerk. I just wanted to look cool in front of my friends."
"Mission accomplished I suppose." Wyo watched at the creature activated a duel disk and drew its starting hand, quietly awaiting its opponent to do the same. "Fine, if it's a duel you want it's an #$$ whooping you'll get... God, Hela was right, that censor is VERY annoying."
Wyo took a deep breath before activating her own duel disk and sliding her deck into place.
Wyo - 4000
Drone - 4000
"I'll start," Wyo exclaimed as she drew her first five cards, "by discarding a card from my hand in order to special summon The Tricky in attack position and end my turn."
"My... turn...," the drone clicked as it drew its card and studied Wyo with its oily black eyes. "I summon... Steelswarm Genome... in attack position. Next, I play... Card Advance... which allows me to look at the top five cards of my deck... and rearrange them as I please. With its second ability... I can perform one tribute summon even if I've already summoned this turn. I sacrifice Steelswarm Genome in order to summon Steelswarm Caucastag."
Wyo cursed as the beefy, insect-like monster invaded the playing field. Without warning it reached forward and gripped The Tricky in its claws and crushed the spellcaster into pixelated dust.
"Wait, what gives?! Wyo panicked at being left wide open for an attack.
"Caucastag's ability activates... upon summoning... when two Steelswarm monsters are used for tribute," the drone informed. "Steelswarm Genome's ability allows it... to act as two tributes... for a Steelswarm tribute summon. When two tributes are used... Caucastag can either destroy all monsters on the field other than itself... or destroy all spells and traps. Now, Steelswarm Caucastag... attack her directly."
Wyo braces herself as the creature's claws slammed down on her, knocking the wind from her digital lungs.
Wyo - 1200
Drone - 4000
"You okay, Deleter?" The hapless bully called out as he waved dust away from his face. Seeing Wyo grimacing as she stood back to her feet he let out a sigh of relief. "You've got to win. You're the strongest duelist I've ever seen duel. If you can't beat this... thing... then what hope do any of us have at escaping this hell?"
"Would you shut up?" Wyo scowled. "I saved your #$$ by jumping into this mess. Why aren't you getting out of here anyway? If I lose this thing will turn to you again."
"I-I know," he stammered as he eyed the drone. "But it's my fault you're in this duel anyway. The least I can do is stay here with you until the end, regardless of the outcome. Nobody deserves to be alone, after all."
Wyo found herself at a loss for words, a small ounce of respect slowly growing within her for him.
"What's your name?" Wyo asked as she drew her next card.
"Why does it matter?"
"I'd like to know the name of the guy who dared to stand with a Deleter like me until the end."
"In the real world my name is Sean, but on here my name is BigPapa87."
Wyo just stared at him, unsure if she'd heard his username correctly or not. Shrugging her shoulders she turned back to the drone.
"Well, BigPapa87, you better keep your eyes peeled. Magicians tend to keep their best tricks for last." Wyo drew her next card and smiled. "I play the spell card Black Magic Ritual. By discarding one level eight monster I can ritual summon a powerful friend. Come forth, Magician of Black Chaos!"
The eerie black spellcaster rose from a purple glyph that had appeared on the ground in front of Wyo, arms crossed menacingly and eyes serious and focused on its foe. BigPapa87 gawked at the monster, shaking his disbelief from his mind as he checked its stats against the Steelswarm Caucastag.
"Uh, Wyo? I hope you have something up your sleeve. They both have the same attack."
"Of course I do. All magicians have aces up their sleeves. I now activate the spell card Riryoku. With it, I can cut your monster's attack in half and add that to my monster's attack. Now, Magician of Black Chaos, attack its monster and make it feel our wrath!"
Wyo's magician aimed its staff at Caucastag, blasting the enfeebled monster with dark energy. The resulting shockwave pummeled the drone, knocking its life points down even with Wyo's.
Wyo - 1200
Drone - 1200
The drone stared blankly as its life points dwindled down. Unfazed, it drew a card to begin its turn.
"I set... one card facedown... and one monster face down in defense position and end... my turn."
"You've got it on the ropes!" Cheered BigPapa87 as he practically jumped up and down. "Now you just gotta finish it off. C'mon baby, momma needs a monster card!"
"Don't jinx me," Wyo scolded as she drew her card. "No monster, you see! But it'll help. I activate Pot of Greed. I get to draw two cards and hopefully one of them's a monster."
She looked at her two new cards and cursed her luck.
"You got lucky, bug. No monster. But I'll set one card face down before I attack your monster with my magician!"
Wyo and BigPapa87 watched as the magician's attack shot forth from its scepter only to swirl into nothingness mere inches from the drone's facedown monster. Confused, the two looked further back and found a trap card standing upright, revealed and activated.
"Negate Attack? I should've expected something like that. Fine, I end my turn."
"I draw... and activate Premature Burial. By paying 800 life points... I can return one monster from my graveyard to the field... and I choose Steelswarm Genome."
Wyo - 1200
Drone - 400
"Not Caucastag?" Wyo mused, worried about what the drone was planning.
"Correct... I sacrifice my Genome... using it as two sacrifices for a Steelswarm tribute... as well as sacrifice my facedown Steelswarm Cell... in order to summon Steelswarm Hercules. And by paying half of my remaining life points... I can destroy all other cards on the field."
Wyo - 1200
Drone - 200
"That's gonna leave you wide open for an attack, you've gotta do something!" BigPapa87 screeched.
"Shut up already, I've got it handled. I activate my facedown card, Waboku. My monster will still be destroyed by your effect but you can't harm my life points this turn, meaning I get one more turn."
"End... my turn."
Wyo let out a sigh of relief. Looking at her final card in her hand she scolded herself for not using it the turn before. 'Not good, I need a spellcaster or its game over for good.'
"I draw!" Holding her breath, Wyo slowly turned her card over and grinned. "Your luck just ran out, maggot. I summon The Unhappy Maiden in attack position!"
"Wha-... why that card?! It has zero attack! Its ability won't help you either! What the hell are you doing?!"
"Has anyone ever told you how annoying you can be? Even the weakest cards can be game winners if you combine it with other cards. Like this spell for example. I activate Magical Blast. For every spellcaster on my side of the field I get to inflict 200 points of damage to you, and luckily for me that's all you have left. Game over!"
The frail female monster held up her hands, forming a tiny ball of magical energy between them before hurling it directly at the drone. Wyo and BigPapa87 watched as it barely sputtered over to the drone before zapping its remaining life points to zero. Silently, the drone fizzled from existence, leaving a single card as a reward. The two walked over and inspected the prize.
"Gearfried the Iron Knight?" Wyo pouted. "I was hoping for something better, like a spellcaster or some support for them."
"He has his uses. But for now let's get back to town. I've had enough adventure for one day."
Wyo nodded in agreement as she added the new card to her digital storage case. The walk back was quiet, yet the time flew by much quicker than the trip out. The sun was just starting to set as they reached the town's safety border.
"Hey, Wyo? I'm sorry."
"You already said that," Wyo reminded, but a slight smile of appreciation couldn't help but appear at the edge of her lips.
"I know, but I want you to know that it's sincere. You're a great duelist and this whole situation has everyone on edge. We all just needed an outlet and unfortunately we all targeted you. I'll make sure to tell everyone to lay off and if they don't then they'll have me to deal with."
"I appreciate that. But you know, there is one more thing you could do for me."
"Name it."
"Change your username. I'm sorry but 'BigPapa87' is just... blah."
She hadn't expected him to, but he immediately opened his menu and began deleting his username, replacing it with something new.
"'Beast'?"
"I specialize in beasts, beast-warriors, and winged beasts. Figured I'd use a name that fit my style perfectly."
"Well, Beast, it fits nicely. Good luck out there. And don't be afraid to unleash your inner beast on the ones outside the safety boundaries. I'm certain you'll be able to kick plenty of #$$."