AN: I'm back this with the next few chapters of Red Hood: Chaos Knight. We'll see how far I get this year. Enjoy.
AN: I have lost my Beta Readers to School, so my writing might take a downturn.
When they arrived at town, they saw a massive home in the center of town.
"'Ey Jay." Joey asked. "Is dat your house?"
"Nope." Jason said. "That's my house." Jason said, pointing to a rundown shack ten feet away.
"Uh, Jay. I tink dat your house needs some work. I'm not sayin' dat it's a bad house or anythin', but..."
"Just get inside." Jason said.
The group walked in and saw a studio apartment, but Jason moved them around to a rug on the floor and pulled it up to show a trap door. He opened the trap door to show a stairwell that led down into a cave. Jason put the rug on the trap door and motioned the others down. The others walked down the stairs and Jason was the last one before he closed the trap door leaving it looking like nothing had been disturbed.
The group walked down the stairs and into a large cave. Jason led them through the cave until they came to another stairway that led up. They walked up the stairs and into the interior of an extravagantly furnished foyer.
"WHOA!" Joey yelled. "WHAT IS THIS PLACE!?"
"I lied." Jason said. "This is my place, but as an assassin no one can know who I am. So as far as anyone knows, I'm just the random guy who lives on the edge of town. They have no idea that I'm actually the town ruler."
"Uh? Don't you have to deal with people?" Kazutaka asked.
"Yes, but watch." Jason said as he donned ceremonial armor with a face mask and a cloak. He pulled the hood over his face and walked to the doors and walked outside. The townspeople ran to meet Jason.
"Whoa." Joey said. "Who knew dat people flocked towards Jason like dat?"
"You just described us." Mokuba said.
"Really?"
"Yes, but what I'm more concerned about is the fact that Jason doesn't have his Millennium Eye in the virtual world. I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that he was wearing his helmet in the pod."
"Why was he wearing a helmet in the pod?" Ryder asked.
"Because it negates the effects of the Millennium Eye. You didn't think that the Eye didn't take a toll on the user, did you?"
"What toll?" Kazutaka asked.
"He's allowed to read people's minds, and he doesn't have the greatest control. So, he wears the helmet to cut off the noise."
"Wait! What! The Millennium Eye allows you to read people's minds!?" The group yelled.
"Yes, but it also enhances one's desires making them willing to go to any lengths to achieve their goals. Why do you think Pegasus was so willing to go to any lengths to get his wife back?"
"Whoa." Joey said. "What's Jay's Desire?"
"To protect his friends no matter the cost." Mokuba shuddered. "You should have seen some of the things he made people see when they tried kidnapping me."
"So, what do we do?" Kazutaka asked.
"We beat the game as fast as possible."
"What're we gonna do?"
"We need to level up." Ryder said. "Let's find out how we level up."
"We need to find the Guilds and Schools." Mokuba said. "We can also accept Oaths and Covenants."
"Covenants?" Kazutaka asked.
"Yeah. You can only get Covenants by finding the hidden areas in a boss's area. If you don't know about it or look around the hidden area, then you won't be able to find it. Also, when you accept a covenant, you can't talk about it except when talking to other members of your covenant."
They all looked at Jason.
"Do ya tink Jason Joined a Covenant?" Joey asked.
They all looked at Joey with a: "Are you serious?" Look.
"Well which Covenant do ya tink he joined?"
"If I had to guess..." Mokuba said. "...I'd say that he joined the Covenant of the Blade of Dark Moon."
"Why do ya tink dat?"
"Because by joining that Covenant you get points that help with the Assassin class."
"And how many levels do you gain by Joining a Covenant?"
"Normally it's four, but Ryder and Joey will get 1.5X for every level. So, by joining a Covenant they would gain 6 levels in total, by taking an Oath they would gain 4.5 levels, by joining a Guild they would gain 3 levels, and by attending a School they would get 1.5 levels."
"What's the point?" Ryder asked. "I mean right there; Joey and I have gained 15 levels. Why did Seto only make 20 levels when 99 levels would be better?"
"This is why we have been having trials. I'll have Seto change the level process in the update."
"Thank you. That way we actually have to work for our level."
"Okay."
"So where do we go for the Guilds, Schools, Covenants, and Oaths." Kazutaka asked.
"Each Guild, School, Covenant, and Oath has different activation methods. I could explain it, but that would take a while, so I'll just tell you to go look at the guild hall. They have a list of all the Guilds, Schools, Covenants, and Oaths."
"Well. Looks like we're heading to the Guild Hall." Ryder said.
"Den let's get goin'." Joey said as they left the temple and headed to the Guild Hall.
They walked into the Guild Hall, and everyone stopped to stare at them.
"He-hello." Kazutaka said.
"Hello." A woman from the front of the Guild Hall asked. "Can I help you?"
"We were looking for the list of all of the Guilds, Schools, Covenants, and Oaths?"
"That would be on our Guild Message Board." She spoke. "Are you new here?"
"Yes. We just got in."
"I see. Then what Guilds are you interested in Joining?"
"What are the Guilds we can join?" Kazutaka asked.
"Well. You can join the Blacksmiths Guild, the Companions, the Dark Brotherhood, the Imperial Army, the Storm Cloaks, the Thieves Guild, the Dawn Guard, or the Vampire Clan."
"What about the Schools?" Yugi asked.
"You can join the College of Winterhold, the Bards College, the School of Conjuration, The School of Necromancy, the School of Evocation, the School of Abjuration, the School of Transmutation, the School of Divination, the School of Enchantment, or the School of Illusion. You can also Join the College of Silverquill, the College of Prismari, the College of Witherbloom, the College of Lorehold, and the College of Quandrix."
"What do each of the schools teach?"
"The College of Winterhold is a college of General Magic college. You will get an education in all uses of magic whereas the others focus on a Particular form of Magic. The Bards College is a General Purpose College where you learn how to be a Bard, Poet, or Public speaker."
"That doesn't sound too bad." Ryder said.
"The School of Conjuration teaches you to produce objects and creatures out of thin air."
"That sounds fun." Yugi said. "But what are the others?"
"The School of Necromancy is exactly what it sounds like. You learn how to raise and control the dead."
"Um..." The group said in unison.
"The School of Evocation teaches you how to cast strong Elemental Magics."
"That sounds interesting." Yugi said.
"The School of Abjuration teaches you how to Block Magic, Banish Creatures, and Protect the Innocent."
"Ooh." Kazutaka said. "That sounds cool."
"The School of Transmutation teaches you how to modify Energy and Matter making the world your plaything."
"Huh." Yugi said. "That sounds interesting."
"The School of Divination will teach you how to understand the Past, Present, and Future."
"That sounds mildly interesting." Ryder said.
"The School of Enchantment teaches you how to Entrance and Beguile Others and Monsters."
"Dat sounds like a school Creepy Kaiba would join." Joey said.
"Excuse you?" Mokuba asked.
"Not you kid." Joey tried explaining. "Yer bruder. Ya gotta admit dat he's a little obsessed wit himself."
"Only because he's trying to do his best!"
"He t'reatened ta jump off o' Pegasus' Castle if Yugi didn't t'row da duel."
"I know that! I was there!"
Den how can ya defend 'im?"
"Because he's, my brother! He's the only family I have left! How would you feel if it was only, you and Serenity, and she did something like that!"
"I wouldn't like dat at all."
"THEN WHY DO YOU KEEP BRINGING IT UP ABOUT SETO!" Mokuba yelled.
"Whoa." Joey said. "Sorry. I didn't mean it like dat."
"Then how did you mean it!" Mokuba demanded.
"Just dat yer bruder has issues."
Mokuba glared at Joey. "I'm leaving." He spoke. "I'll see you guys when I've leveled up."
"Wait! Mokuba!" Ryder yelled.
Mokuba threw a smoke pellet and disappeared.
"Damn it, Joey!" Ryder yelled. "Why did you say that!?"
"What?" Joey asked.
"You antagonized him, and he left!"
"All I did was tell him dat Creepy Kaiba has issues."
"And Seto is the only person Mokuba has!"
"What about Jason?"
"Jason isn't his family!"
"He'd be a better bruder den Creepy Kaiba."
"Joey!" Yugi said stepping in. "You shouldn't say that!"
"And why not Yug? Ya know it's true."
"It's not right."
"But it's da truth!"
"We don't know that, Joey. There could be a reason Kaiba acts the way that he does."
"Or. He could just be a Creepy Kaiba." Joey defended.
"It's not very nice to talk about people like that Joey." Kazutaka said.
"And what would you know about Kaiba!" Joey demanded.
"I know that Mokuba adores his brother, and that even Jason can get over his prejudices for Mokuba!" Kazutaka snapped.
Joey looked Chastised. "Oh boy. I really screwed up, didn't I?"
"Uh yeah! Now go apologize!"
"Fine." Joey sighed, leaving the Guild Hall.
The others watched Joey leave before they turned back to the Guild Receptionist. "I am so sorry about that?" Kazutaka said.
The Guild Receptionist stayed quiet.
"Remember that this is a game." Ryder said. "The NPCs have prerecorded lines."
"Oh. Right. Can you tell us about the other Schools?"
"Of course. The School of Illusions teaches you to dazzle the senses, befuddle the mind, and trick even the wisest folk.
"Hm. That sounds interesting." Ryder said. "But that is WAY too much power."
The College of Silverquill will teach you how to wield your words both through Inspiring Poetry and Arcane Insults.
"That could be fun." Ryder said. "I'm always interested in sharpening my Wit and Diplomacy."
The College of Prismari is the College of the Arts and History. They will teach you the Elemental Arts, how to act, and the History of the world."
"Hm," Kazutaka said. "That seems interesting."
"The College of Witherbloom will teach you how to draw power from the essence of living beings whether that is by Enhancing Nature or Exploiting it."
"That sounds a little dark." Kazutaka said. "Does Jason know about that College? Because if he does, I think that we should be worried."
"Seriously?" Ryder asked. "I mean Jason isn't that bad."
"No, no. He's not, but he's also been here for over a year without physical contact, real food, or any feeling. So, I'm pretty sure that I'm not worried about his willingness to do whatever it takes to get home."
"Oh. I see your point."
"I thought you might. What is the next College?"
"The College of Lorehold will teach you how to do research, and how to become an amazing Archeologist and adventurer."
Ryder's face lit up. "You mean that I could be like Indiana Jones or even... SOLOMON MUTO!"
"You know my grandpa?" Yugi asked.
"Solomon Muto is your grandfather?!" Ryder asked.
"Yes. He went all over the world discovering lost treasures, ancient tombs, gambling, and a bunch of other stuff that he won't tell me about."
"Oh. My. GOSH!" Ryder yelled. "I can't believe that you are Solomon Muto's grandson! I know that this might seem really awkward and everything, but do you think that you could introduce me to your grandfather? I've always wanted to meet him, and now I have an actual chance to meet him. I can't believe it!"
"Uh. Sure."
"But first." Kazutaka said. "We have to get out of here."
"Oh." Ryder said. "Right."
"What's the last College?"
"The College of Quandrix. The College of Quandrix will teach you how to command the fundamental forces of nature through the use of Mathematics."
"Huh." Kazutaka said. "Depending on how complex their math is, that might be fun."
"Can you tell us about the Covenants?"
"Unfortunately, I can only tell you that each Covenant specializes in something. You have to do your own research to decide if there is a covenant that you want to join."
"All right." Ryder said. "I'm off to the College of Lorehold, and I might join other Schools, Colleges, Guilds, or Covenants. See ya guys later."
"Bye." Kazutaka and Yugi said in unison.
"Well." Kazutaka said. "I'm off to check out the College of Quandrix to see if it's something that I would like."
"Okay." Yugi said. "I'm going to find Joey and see if he's apologized to Mokuba yet. Then I'll head over to the School of Conjuration, and Transmutation."
"Cool. See you later."
"Bye Kazutaka." Yugi said before he headed off to find Joey.
Mokuba
Mokuba ran through the town. He ran to the tavern and climbed down the trap hole that led to the Thieves Guild. He entered the Guild and stuck to the shadows until he was right next to the leader of the Thieves Guild. "Excuse me!" He called out. "I wish to join your Guild!"
"You wish to join OUR Guild?!" A man asked from the shadows.
"Yes."
"In order to join our Guild, you must first pass the initiation."
"What is the Initiation?"
"Bring us one hundred gold that you've stolen."
"Is that it?"
"No. That is step one of three. Come back when you have one hundred gold that you've stolen."
"All right. Wish me luck."
"Good luck kid. You're gonna need it."
Joey
Joey ran through town trying to find Mokuba. "Kid! Hey Kid! Where'd ya go!" He kept running until he was barreled into by someone. "Watch where you're going!"
"You watch where you're going!" Mokuba snarled.
"Oh. Hey. I found ya."
"And I'm leaving!"
"No. Look. I'm sorry kid. I didn't mean what I said about Yer Bruder. I know it was messed up."
"Then why did you say it!?"
"Cause Yer Bruder is a sore subject for me. He reminds me of all the reasons why I fight. He reminds me of everyone who ever talked down ta me or belittled me or even hit me. When I remember how small and weak, I was back den I become abrasive because I don't want ta get hurt again."
Mokuba was taken aback by that. "I Didn't know that." He spoke.
"Not many people do. It's not like I wear my heart on my sleeve or somethin'."
"You kind of do."
"I do?"
"Yeah. When you care about something you start wearing your heart on your sleeve."
"Oh."
"It's not a bad thing, except when you get too enthusiastic about it."
"Okay."
"Now." Mokuba said. "How about we level up and get out of here?"
"You got it!" Joey yelled running back to the Guild Hall. While on his way, he ran into Yugi.
"Oof!" Both boys yelled as they fell to the floor.
"Joey?" Yugi asked.
"'Ey Yug." Joey said.
"Did you find Mokuba?"
"Yeah, and Ima get better about what I say about Kaiba."
"That's great!" Yugi smiled. "I'm headed towards the School of Configuration and Transmutation. Do you know which school you want to go to?"
"Nah. Ima go ta da Blacksmiths Guild, an' I'll level up da natural way, an' take a covenant after beatin' a boss."
"Are you sure? You could go to a school and learn something really interesting. Go back and talk to the Guild lady, she can tell you what schools there are and what's available."
"Alrigh' Yug." Joey said. "I'll go see if anythin' looks interestin'."
"There you go Joey. If nothing looks interesting, then you can level up and we can help Jason."
"Right!" Joey Said As he ran towards the Guild Hall.
One year later.
Mokuba walked to the Thieves guild and tossed the gold onto the table. "There." He spoke. "I stole the mayor's purse."
He actually hadn't. He told Jason about the Thieves Guild and Jason tossed him a bag of gold and told him to check his office. Mokuba had and his mouth hit the floor when he saw all the gold Jason had accumulated. He was loaded. Seto wasn't going to be happy when he saw the GP Jason had collected.
"That you did." The guild master said. "Now comes your next quest."
"What is it?"
"Best me in single combat."
"Okay." Mokuba said.
The guild master reached into his bag and pulled out a deck. "We each draw one card from my deck, whoever has the highest monster, wins."
"Understood."
"Good. Now draw."
They both drew a card and revealed them at the same time.
"I drew Gren Maju Da Eiza." The Guild Master said. "So, I suppose that you win no matter what."
Mokuba showed the card he'd drawn. "Dark Magician of Chaos." He spoke.
"Congratulations. You won. You are now the Guild master."
"Thanks." He said as he leveled up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm graduating from Silverquill and the School of illusions."
"Good luck." The former Guild master said.
Mokuba waved and the Guild master stepped from the shadows to show that it was Jason. He faded out and the Thieves Guild fell silent, waiting for its new Guild Master.
Joey hammered out the last of the armor and a new equipment spell formed.
Metalsilver Armor
Appeared on the card.
Joey wiped sweat away and put the hammer down. "Dere." He said showing the Guild master the card. "One full suit a arm'r, just like ya said.
The Guild master took the card and looked at it. "Now for your final test."
"A test! Ah man. I just took a test ta graduate Quandrix."
"Yes, how did that go by the way?"
Joey smiled a cheeky smile. I graduated wit flyin' colors!"
"Huh. Interesting. Maybe now you'll do better in math class."
"Maybe. I... hey! How do ya know about math class!"
"Take This Card and equip it to one of your monsters. Then play two monsters on either side." The Guild master said changing the subject.
Joey played Flame Swordsman, Time Wizard, and Baby Dragon before equipping Metalsilver armor to Flame Swordsman.
"I'll play Dark Valkyrie in attack position and attack your Time Wizard." The Guild master said. "Dark Valkyrie. Rip and Tear."
Dark Valkyrie flew at the Time Wizard to rip it to pieces, but a light flashed in her eyes, causing her to look at Flame Swordsman. She became furious that someone would distract her from a kill and flew at Flame Swordsman only to pixelate when she attacked him.
Thanks to Joey, Flame Swordsman gained a 30 percent attack bonus, making him 2340 attack instead of 1800.
"Good job. You have passed the final test. You are the new Guild master for the Blacksmiths guild. Congratulations."
"Alright!" Joey cheered. "I can't wait ta tell my friends."
"You should take pride in your accomplishment."
"I do! Now. Lemme go tell my friends."
The Blacksmith Guild master took the wrapping off his face to show that it was in fact Jason who gave a sigh of relief that he was no longer the Thief or Blacksmith Guild master. That was a load off his mind. Now he didn't have to focus on keeping his illusions up.
With that the illusion faded out and the Blacksmith shop went dark, waiting for the new Guild master to return.
Kazutaka looked at the Headmistress of the School of Abjuration.
"Well done Miss Nozomu. Not only have you graduated at the top of your class, but you did so in the College of Quandrix, and the College of Prismari as well."
Kazutaka smiled.
"We are proud to announce that you have completed all of the requirements to graduate from the School of Abjuration. There is but one thing you have left to do."
"The final." Kazutaka said.
"Yes. Your final will be to defend the school from the Vampire Genesis: Alucard!" The Headmistress said as a large purple monster came to stand in front of the school.
"All right!" Kazutaka said. I Summon Rabidragon!" A dragon that looked like Pegasus had made it while drunk on schnapps and cheese appeared in the air. It's ears and nose twitching. "And because of my Dragon Monk Status its attack raises thirty percent, raising its attack from 2950 to 3835! Rabidragon! Attack Vampire Genesis: Alucard! Runaway Snowball!"
Rabidragon curled into a ball and rolled towards Vampire Genesis: Alucard and rolled it over, pixelating it.
"Congratulations Miss Nozomu. Now. Please show us your skills with banishing and blocking magic."
Kazutaka played Alexandrite Dragon and Hunter Dragon in face up defense position letting them form on the field before Vampire Genesis: Alucard reformed and attacked them, sending them to the graveyard.
"I remove from the graveyard Hunter Dragon and Alexandrite Dragon to special Summon White Dragon Wyverburster and Black Dragon Collapservant! Then I Tribute them to play Light and Darkness Dragon! Whose attack is increased from 2800 to 3640! Light and Darkness Dragon! Attack Vampire Genesis: Alucard!"
The massive Black and White Dragon opened its maw to reveal black and white energy pulsing in the back of its throat. It blasted spiraling Black and White energy at Vampire Genesis: Alucard pixelating it.
"Next I'll play the field spell Mountain, which will increase all my dragon's attacks by 200!"
The school appeared in The Valley in a mountain, causing the Headmistress to stare in awe at the mountain which hadn't been there a second ago.
"Next I'll play Alexandrite Dragon who gains a thirty percent attack boost, raising its attack from 2000 to 2600 plus the 200 from the mountain field spell makes it 2800, and finally I'll add 300 from dragon treasure making Alexandrite Dragon 3100 ATK! Alexandrite Dragon! Rip Vampire Genesis: Alucard to shreds!"
With a roar, Alexandrite Dragon took off towards Vampire Genesis: Alucard and ripped him to shreds.
"Congratulations." The Headmistress said, "You have graduated from the School of Abjuration."
"Yes!" Kazutaka cheered as she leveled up. Maxing out her level at 20.
A booster pack fell at her feet, and she picked it up.
She opened it and saw armor, a staff, and a card. Her breath hitched in her throat when she saw the card.
Chaos Emperor Dragon
She only knew one person who had this card.
"What are you going to do now?"
"Now. I'm going to hunt down the Five Headed Dragon."
"Good luck. I would say that you are sure to win."
"Thanks." Kazutaka bowed and waved before walking away.
The Headmistress looked at her Assistant Headmaster. "She's good. Almost a protégé."
"I know." Jason said stepping from the shadows. "She'll go far with her abilities."
"Yes, she will. She graduated the top of her class in each of the schools she went to. A feat that not even you managed."
"I was top five in my class."
"Somehow that's not as impressive."
"How about the fact that thanks to my illusions I've taken over every guild, every school, every college, and am the leader of the town?"
"That is somewhat impressive, but how many of those schools and colleges did you score the highest in your class?"
"School of enchantment, school of illusions, the college of Silverquill, and the College of Witherbloom."
"Oh. That is impressive."
"I need to get going."
"Good luck."
Ryder looked down into the ground at the dusty metal. He took a number 3 brush and brushed away some dirt before he blew the dirt away.
He took a trowel and dug more dirt out before brushing it away.
He did this for the better part of the day, carefully removing dirt from the object. When he finished, he was looking at a golden shield with a red center and an eye of Anubis in the center.
"Wow." He said, picking the shield up.
The shield glowed and took the shape of a card.
Millennium Shield
ATK 0 / DEF 3000
He looked at the card. This wasn't his first find at the dig site, but it was just as exciting as the first.
He went back to digging and almost immediately found something else. It was a tomb. Was he a tomb raider now?
"Here!" He called.
The instructor came running over to him. "What did you find for us?" The instructor said with a big smile. "You always find the good finds."
"Just Lucky." Ryder said.
"Well, what did you find?"
"I think I found a tomb."
"Let's See." The instructor said crouching down.
They looked into the hole and indeed saw a tomb.
"My, my, my. It looks like you found a tomb. Why not go investigate?"
Ryder grabbed his flashlight and it almost fell, but he caught the end of it before it fell.
"Lucky catch." The instructor said,
Ryder pulled the flashlight up and turned it on to look inside the cavern.
Both immediately saw something that gave them pause for a moment.
"Snakes." The instructor said,
Ryder pulled himself up and tossed his coin in the air before catching it. He looked at it and hissed. "Ooh. That's not Good."
"What is it?"
"This is going to be hard." he said as he looked back into the cave.
"What are you going to do?"
Ryder tied a rope to himself and handed the end to the instructor. "I'll be right back." He said as he tumbled into the cavern and fell.
A snake wrapped around him squeezing the life out of him.
Ryder could feel his life points dropping until they stopped. He heaved himself up and touched the tomb. The tomb disappeared, leaving a card in its place. He picked it up and the card came to life revealing it to be a large knight with a massive blade.
The knight looked at the snake and pulled it from Ryder's body before crushing it.
Ryder pulled on the rope and was pulled up, but not before the Knight pulled another snake from his back and Ryder nearly passed out.
The instructor watched from the hole as Ryder jumped down and saw him almost immediately become grappled by a snake before he touched the tomb and changed it into a card that turned out to be a knight who pulled the snake off Ryder and killed it.
Ryder pulled on the rope and the instructor pulled him up.
Ryder looked bad and needed healing. He pulled out a few cards and played them.
Dian Keto the Cure Master
Red Medicine
Blue Medicine
Ryder sat up and popped his neck before he rolled his shoulders and popped his back. "Whoa. Lucky you had those healing spells."
"I always keep them with me. You never know when you're going to need them."
"Smart. Thanks for the save."
"Don't mention it, and in grabbing that artifact you have finished the class."
"Wait. I did?"
"Yes. This is one of the longest schools ever. It normally takes the students five years, if not more, to fulfill the artifact requirements. You found the required 30 artifacts, plus 13 clay, terracotta, or similar artifacts, and you found a knight's tomb. You have accomplished more in one year than most archeologists do in their entire career!"
"Wow. I feel honored."
"As you should. Now, take the artifacts you found and make the best use of them."
Ryder nodded and took off back to town.
The instructor watched and disappeared as Jason walked back towards town.
Yugi faced the wizened Headmaster, the Assistant Headmistress, the Headmasters Apprentice.
"Yugi." The Dark Magician said. "You have but one thing left to do before you graduate."
"My final."
"Yes. You have given many hours to your studies, and it is time to show off your skills."
Yugi nodded. "Let's do this." He spoke.
"Your challenge is to best me in a wizard's duel. You may use up to five spells in order to beat me."
"Alright." Yugi said, looking through his deck, looking for the cards that he could use to beat the Dark Magician. The cards that he had in his Main Deck were the Book of Secret Arts and Horn of the unicorn. The spells that he'd made while at the Schools of Conjuration and Transmutation. He cycled through: Black Pendant, Horn of Light, Mage Power, Magical Formula, One Shot Wand, Wonder Wand. How could he make a combo strong enough to beat the Dark Magician?
"This fight will be a one-on-one wizards duel." The Dark Magician said. "We will be allowed to use up to five spells."
"Right." Yugi said.
"The first one to deal 2000 damage to the other, wins."
"Right."
"Go!"
"I activate Black Pendant and One-Shot Wand!" Yugi held up the spells as a pearl necklace with a golden and deep purple pendant appeared on his neck and a staff with a silver base and top with a yellow crescent moon on the top appeared in Front of him. He grabbed it and pointed it at the Dark Magician. "And because of my magical prowess my spells gain an additional 40% making my attack 1820!"
"Very nice." The Dark Magician said. "But how are you going to handle this?" He asked activating three spells.
"First, I'll destroy your spell cards."
"What!" Yugi asked as his spell cards were ripped away from him.
"Next! I'll activate Hinotama and Ookazi!"
"What!"
"And because of MY magical Prowess my spells are 50% more powerful!"
"WHAT!"
A building appeared next to Yugi and exploded, knocking him to the ground. He looked up as a fireball slammed into him.
"Is that all you have?" The Dark Magician asked? "I thought that you were supposed to be graduating from a magical school."
Yugi put his hands on his knees. "I summon the power of the four other sorcerers that helped me make this spell." He gasped. "It will give me 500 attack for each sorcerer who gave me their power to make this spell. Normally it would give me 2500 attack power, but since my magical prowess gives my spells an additional 40% power making my attack 3500!" Next, I'll activate Wonder Wand which adds 700 to my attack making my attack 4200! Now! Attack!"
The Dark Magician was sent flying. "Very good. You were able to turn a loss into. Win."
"Did you only pick three spells?"
"No. I had two more spells that I could have used. Though they wouldn't have done much." He showed the Knights Title, and the Magician Stone.
"What's the Magician Stone?" Yugi asked.
"A spell that allows me to summon my Headmistress or Apprentice to aid me. When you played the Mage Power card, I wasn't going to call one of them to my aid. And picking up a sword wasn't going to help me."
"Oh."
"Yes. You see now. I could have just cast spells to damage you, or I could have just blocked all of your spells, or I could have summoned my Headmistress and Apprentice to attack you, or even picked up a sword. However, I wanted to see how you handled yourself. Now... I have but one question. If you answer it correctly then you will be allowed to pass. If you fail, then you will have to take the course again, and I don't think you have that kind of time."
"I don't. So, ask your question."
"What did you learn from our wizards duel?"
"That there is more than one type of spell that you can use in a duel."
"What else?"
"That I should always be aware of my opponent."
"Good. What else?"
"I should always think ahead of and around my opponent's strategies."
"Good. Good. Anything else."
"I'm still viewing this as a game when we are in very serious trouble."
"Yes. Might want to work on that. Other than that, I say that you can graduate." The Dark Magician said.
"Yes!" Yugi cheered as he reached level 20.
"Congratulations." Dark Magician Girl said. Your spells will be 50% more effective now. Please. Take this." She handed him a booster pack. Two more booster packs, some gold, a staff, and some armor appeared at Yugi's feet.
Yugi opened the booster packs and saw fifteen cards:
Apprentice Illusion Magician
Bond Between Teacher and Student
Dark Eradicator Warlock
Dark Magic Curtain
Dark Magic Expanded
Dark Magic Inheritance
Dark Magic Twin Burst
Dark Magic Circle
Dark Magician Girl
Dark Magician Knight
Knights Title
Magician Stone
Magician's Valkyrie
Sage's Stone
Skilled Dark Magician
"Oh wow!" He spoke. "These cards will help me improve my deck a lot."
"We know. Now. Shouldn't you be getting back to your friends?"
"Oh yeah. That's right. Bye!" He waved as he ran.
The Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, and Apprentice Magician faded away, leaving Chaos Sorcerer in their place. The Sorcerer looked into the shadows and saw Jason who nodded, and Chaos Sorcerer disappeared.
Jason looked around. He'd worked very hard to get his friends to a point where they would stand the best chance against the five headed dragon. Now all that was left was to rescue Kaiba. He wondered how Kaiba would fuck this up.
With that last sobering thought, he left for his house. He needed to get out of this nightmare.
The group met back at the house in the center of town.
"Hey Jay!" Joey yelled. "We leveled up ta level twenty like ya said. Now let's go stomp da Five Headed Dragon!"
Jason walked out of the house in full battle gear and looked out at them. "Good job." He said looking at them. "Now we need to get to the next part of the game."
"What's the next part?" Ryder asked.
"Crossing the desert."
"How are we going to do that."
Jason held up a card. "With this."
"Niwatori?" Kazutaka asked. "How will that help us?"
Jason cast Niwatori and the flightless bird appeared. He handed it to the others who cast the card and the group jumped on before riding into the desert.
In the real world.
Saru Sumibumi was picking up heavy furniture and placing it against the doors while Kaeru was leaning against the doors with his feet planted.
Tristan and TéA on either side of him.
A Woman with fiery red hair, pale complexion, and sitting in a wheelchair was busy typing away at her laptop. "Oh." She spoke.
"What is it?" TéA asked. "What's wrong?"
"I was able to hack into the game." She wheeled over to Jason's pod and opened it before taking his helmet off. She closed the pod and put the helmet beside it. "According to them, they have been in the game for a year, meaning that Jason has been in there for two years and Seto has been in there for going on three."
"What!" The four yelled in unison.
"What can I say. Game mechanics are weird."
"It hasn't even been an hour though." TéA said.
The woman looked at the timer over the pods. "It looks like Jason has been in there for an hour; Joey, Yugi, Mokuba, Kazutaka, and Ryder have been in there for almost half an hour, and Seto has been in there for almost an hour and a half. So, it seems like a half hour in the real world is one year in the game."
"Wow."
"Not really." The woman said. "According to Kazutaka, they can't feel or taste anything. It's a hell of its own making."
"Then can we get them out of there?" Saru asked, leaning a desk next to the door. "Okay. On three, move out of the way and I'll push this into place."
Kaeru grabbed TéA and Tristan and squatted before he nodded at Saru.
"One..." Saru said.
"Two..." Kaeru continued.
"Three..." They finished in unison and Kaeru jumped up and over Saru as Saru pushed the barricade into place as the guards tried getting into the room.
One of the guards screamed out as his hand was caught in the door and broke.
"Maybe that will teach you guys not to try and kill your boss!" Saru yelled at the door.
"That's the thing..." The woman said. "...I can't just pull them out. They need to finish the game first. Either that or quit, but there is an administrator that is keeping them there."
"Can you do anything about it?"
"No. The administrator is good. Really good, but I gave them a Fighting chance."
"How?"
Mokuba said that Jason wasn't able to use his Millennium Eye because he was wearing his helmet." She pointed at the red helmet she'd put next to his pod. "Now he should be able to use it and win the game."
There was a beep from her laptop, and she looked at it. "Looks like Jason just found out he can use his Millennium Eye."
"So, they'll be out of there soon?"
"Yes. They should also find Seto soon."
"What do you mean?"
"Seto is being held cape in the temple that they are fast approaching. Once they get there, they should be able to free him. They will need his help to beat the Five-Headed Dragon."
"What? Why?"
"Jason just said that he'd tried stopping the dragon by himself twice."
"What!" Tristan and TéA yelled. "He failed twice!?"
"Yes. You can see for yourself." She turned her laptop towards them.
In the virtual world.
The group stopped when the ground cracked and a Sand Stone appeared.
"Don't worry guys." Joey said. "I've got this. Red Eyes! Inferno Fire Blast!"
Red Eyes appeared on the field and blasted Sand Stone away with his Inferno.
The group kept riding to the castle and when they arrived Mokuba dismounted his Niwatori and ran for the door.
"Mokuba!" Jason yelled. "Stop!"
"But. We need to save Seto."
"And we will. But we need to be careful. This will be the third time that I've done this. I know what I'm talking about."
"Third time?" Kazutaka asked.
"Yes. You remember when I disappeared for a month?"
"Yeah."
"That wasn't because I was on a mission for the village. I tried saving the last sacrifice from the dragon. They were able to stop me from doing anything and we lost another person. I was recovering and coping. I won't..." Jason was cut off by a flash of light. When the light faded his left eye was no longer the steely blue it normally was. Instead, it was the Millennium Eye. "...Whoa." He swayed. "That was weird." That was when the thoughts started pouring in."
"I can't wait ta get outta here." Joey thought. "First thing I'm gonna do is go get a pizza."
"We need to get to Seto." Mokuba thought.
"I Hope TéA, and Tristan are okay." Yugi thought.
"I can't wait to get out of here. I need to get Jason back to the real world before something bad happens." Kazutaka thought.
"Okay. We've trained for a year. It's been a long way to come, but we are ready for this. It's just like training at the Gym or the pool. We can do this. We can win." Ryder thought.
"Guy! Guys!" Jason yelled. "Please stop thinking so loud!"
The group looked at him. "Sorry Jay." Joey said.
"Let's Just get inside."
The group headed inside the temple and saw a maze.
"Whoa." Joey said. "It's like where we dueled dose weirdo Paradox Bruders, huh Yug."
The doors closed behind them, and Jason jumped onto the top of the maze. "Run!" He yelled. "Before the administrators trap you in the maze!"
"Let's go!" Ryder yelled, running through the maze at his top speed.
The wall exploded and the Labyrinth Tank roared into view.
"Get moving!" Jason yelled.
Mokuba jumped onto the top of the maze and ran after Jason.
"There's two more tanks!" Jason yelled. "They'll try to box you in!"
"Guys!" Kazutaka Yelled. "Divide and Conquer!" She turned around and drew a card. "Axe Dragonute! Executioners Axe Slash!"
A Black and pink dragon with white trim holding a large double headed ax appeared and swung at the Labyrinth tank.
The Tanks drill went into the ground causing the tank to run into it and exploded against the wall creating a hole.
Kazutaka ran for the hole and jumped through.
Ryder ran at the tank on the left and drew a card.
"Millennium Shield Activate!" He shouted.
A large shield appeared in front of him and blocked the Labyrinth Tank.
The Labyrinth Tank tried drilling into the Shield, but all it did was spin its wheels and drill until it ran out of fuel .
Ryder turned to the hole in the wall and ran through.
Joey and Yugi ran at the third Labyrinth tank, and each drew a card.
"I Play the Dark Magician!" Yugi yelled.
"And tanks ta my time in da Blacksmith's Guild!" Joey smiled. "I got sometin' for ya da'k Magician Yug!" He tossed Yugi a card. "Use dat Yug!"
Yugi looked at the card. "I equip my Dark Magician with Metalsilver Armor!"
The Dark Magician was coated in black and silver armor and the Labyrinth Tank shot at him only to have it deflected back at itself.
The Labyrinth Tank burst into sparks and smoke, letting Joey and Yugi run through the hole in the wall.
Jason and Mokuba ran across the top of the maze towards the exit and saw...
"Guys!" Jason yelled. "Gate Guardian up ahead! Take a left, right, left, and then go straight to the exit!"
"Right!"
The group ran left, right, left, and ran out of the maze. Right into the Gate Guardian.
"Let's go Yug!" Joey yelled summoning his Red Eyes.
"Right Joey!" Yugi said summoning his Summoned Skull and fusing it with Joey's Red Eyes.
"Next! I'll add my Dragon Nails ta give our Black Skull Dragon an additional 700 ATK! Molten Fireball Attack!" Joey yelled.
Gate Guardian pixelated and the group ran onward until they ran into a girl.
"Oh. Hello." The girl said.
"Hey, Mokuba?" Joey asked. "When'd ya change clothes?"
"I Didn't." Mokuba said from beside Joey.
"Please." The girl said. "I lost my guide. Will you help me find my way out of this cave?"
A fairy appeared in front of them. "Oh. Earu!" The girl said. "There you are."
Jason took a step back and looked pained at seeing the girl. "No." He shook his head. "No. Not again!" He slumped against the wall and started breathing heavily.
"Jason!" The friends yelled.
"Jason." Kazutaka knelt down. "What's wrong?"
"I can't do this quest again. This will be the third time I've done this. I've failed every other time I've done this."
"But you're not alone this time. And, you have your Millennium Eye now. We can do this. Together."
Jason looked into Kazutaka's eyes, and she could see the pain in his eye. She was going to break that dragon if it was the last thing she ever did.
Jason let her help him stand up and they walked towards the girl.
"Yes." Jason said. "We will help you out of this cave."
"Oh, thank you." She spoke. "You're all so brave, so much like the Heroes of Legend."
"Eh, it was nothin'." Joey said.
"Heroes of Legend?" Yugi, Ryder, and Kazutaka asked in unison.
"Young Lady!" A Voice called out from the darkness.
"Milady!" A maternal voice called out.
"Lady Adana! Is everything all right?" Another voice called out.
"Grandma!" Adena called out.
"Milady! We've been worried sick about you." Adena's Grandmother said. "Oh. I see that you've made some new friends."
"They saved me. They're the bravest warriors I've ever seen!"
Everyone but Jason gave embarrassed laughs. Jason vowed that this time it would be different.
"Oh!" The rescue party exclaimed in unison.
"As thanks..." Adena said. "I'd like to invite them as guests to the palace."
The group were in carriages being pulled by Droll Birds.
"Wow." Kazutaka said. "I've never been in a carriage before."
"This is pretty cool." Ryder said.
"I Wonder what da castle will be like?" Joey asked.
"Kinda like Pegasus castle." Jason said. "They'll feed us a meal of tasteless food, throw a party, we'll don ceremonial outfits to go fight the Dragon, and then we'll be taken up to the Castle of Dark Illusions where we will have to fight our way through with the Sacrifice, and then we will have to fight the Five Headed Dragon."
"What?"
"I've fought the Dragon twice." Jason explained. "I've lost to the Dragon twice."
"What happened after you lost?" Mokuba asked.
"I was thrown back to the starting forest. At first, I just leveled up to level 20 because the sacrifice had just happened, so I trained for a year until the next sacrifice and came here. I ran through the maze, ran into Adena, did the quest, and fought the Dragon only to lose and Adena to be sacrificed to the Dragon. Then the game reset and I was sent back, but I was still level 20, so I just went back through the game and used my illusion magic to visit all the schools, take on as many oaths and covenants as I could, and join as many guilds as I could. At least that way it felt like I was doing something. I was graduating from the School of Abjuration when you guys showed up."
"Oh, so that's why you were fighting Vampire Genesis when we ran into you." Kazutaka said.
"Yeah, but before I could graduate, I came back here hoping I could stop the Dragon, but I couldn't. That's why I was so hard on you guys when I said that we couldn't just walk in and get rid of it."
"Wait." Mokuba said. "Can you show us your stats?"
"When we get to a campfire, sure."
The group looked at Jason. They felt bad for what their friend had gone through.
Kazutaka took Jason's hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. She was going to do whatever she could to help him when they got out of this place.
They arrived at the palace, and they were led to the dining room where they were given a feast, to which Joey almost died while eating too fast and Adena explained the Heroes of Legend and the sacrifice before saying that she would be the sacrifice this year.
Jason clenched his hands into fists and vowed that it would be different this time.
The group was led from the dining room to a dressing room. They were given many chests full of armor and robes.
Yugi donned some leather armor with a cape and took up a staff.
Ryder donned some lightweight leather armor that would make use of his speed.
Mokuba put on some black studded leather armor that would help him stay in the shadows.
Kazutaka donned a robe that left her arms and midriff exposed. She put on a pair of bracers and a pair of bracelets on her upper arms.
Jason donned black leather armor and a black cloak that could be pulled around him if the need should arise. He pulled the hood over his face and a glint of gold escaped from under the hood.
"Where's Joey?" Kazutaka and Yugi asked.
"Right 'ere." Joey said. "And right 'ere's where I'm stayin'."
Jason ripped the curtain open to show Joey wearing fur that covered him to his knees.
"Dis is jus' too embarrassin'." Joey said. "I feel like I'm wearin' a bath rug."
"But Joey." Adena's grandmother said. "This is the traditional garb of our greatest national Hero."
As if on cue, Thunder clapped, and lightning flashed.
"Oh." The group said.
"Let's Go." Jason said.
The group was led outside, and they could see a shape moving towards them.
"It's the Castle of Dark Illusions." Yugi said.
"And look!" Joey said. "They sent out a welcome party!"
"They're not getting Adena!" Jason yelled while drawing a card. "NOT THIS TIME! DARK VALKYRIA! Rip and Tear!"
Dark Valkyria appeared in the sky and flew off to fight the hoard.
"I'll also remove from play Banisher of the Light and Armageddon Knight to play Chaos Emperor Dragon!"
A massive dragon appeared on the field and Jason jumped on and flew into the sky towards the hoard.
"Let's Go!" Ryder yelled. "Barrel Dragon! Triple Barrel Barrage!"
"Look out!" Yugi said. "It's the Armed Ninja.
Mokuba jumped onto the wall and launched himself at the Armed Ninja before he threw something at the Armed Ninja who fell to the floor and pixelated.
"Whoa." Joey said. "What did ya do ta him?"
"Bolo." Mokuba said.
"JASON!" Yugi yelled. "Retreat! I'm going to use the Dark Hole magic card to thin out the ranks!"
Jason and Dark Valkyria landed, and Yugi played the Dark Hole magic card which sucked the hoard into it, never to be seen again."
"Naughty. Naughty." A dark voice said from all around them.
"Who's dere!" Joey demanded.
A Portal opened under the Princess' feet and Mokuba pushed her out of the way and fell through in her place.
"No! Mokuba!" The group yelled. "NNOOO!" Jason yelled as lightning flashed and a beam of red energy shot out of the Millennium eye.
"Whoa! What was that?" Joey asked.
"I'm going after Mokuba!" Jason snarled, jumping on Chaos Emperor Dragon's back.
"Look!" Ryder yelled. "Down there! Ancient ruins!"
The group looked down and saw ancient ruins.
"Let's get down there!" Yugi yelled.
The group ran down to the courtyard and Ryder began examining the ruins. "Okay. If we can get this up and running, we'll have a shot."
"How?"
"With a card I like to call, Time Wizard!" Ryder said, showing them the card.
"'ey! I got dat card too!" Joey exclaimed.
"We've got one shot at this." Ryder said. "If we fail, we could move time forward and we don't want to do that."
"Den let's go!" Joey said.
Ryder flipped his coin and caught it before putting it on his hand. He grimaced at the outcome.
"What's wrong?" Kazutaka asked.
"I got a bad result on my coin toss."
"So, what does dat mean?" Joey asked.
"It means that you're our only hope Joey. Something bad is going to happen as soon as we start this. I'm not sure what, I'm not sure when, but something bad is going to happen."
"What? What do you mean?"
"When I flip my coin, it has the power of probability. I could get a good flip which means that everything will be okay, or I could get a bad flip and something bad will happen."
"You actually believe in dat supastition stuff?"
"No, or not really. Some people just have really bad luck. I have really good luck and so I decided to make a gimmick out of it. I flip the coin, believe in the good luck vs bad luck. That kind of stuff."
"Let's just do this." Jason said.
Joey and Ryder played their Time Wizards.
"Time Wizard! Time Roulette!" The two shouted in unison.
Ryder's Time Wizard's Time Roulette immediately fell on the Skull.
Everyone watched in anticipation as Joey's Time Wizard's Time Roulette slowed.
Skull...
Skull...
Skull...
Joey's Time Wizards Time Roulette landed on the home icon, representing a success.
"Yes!" Joey cheered. "It worked!"
The group watched as time rewound one thousand years, rebuilding the Ruins of Sin Lau.
"Did it work?" Joey asked.
The ground began shaking and the group fell through the ground.
In the real world.
The woman wheeled over to the group's pods and stopped at Jason's.
A beam of red Energy came out of the Millennium Eye and hit her.
"Bar-ba-ra." Jason said.
The door was hit with something heavy and dented.
"Oh hell." Saru said. "We need to do something else, otherwise they'll get in here."
"They need to hurry up and save Kaiba and Jason." TéA said. "Yugi! Please hurry."