“Sometimes, a particular Summon used at the right time can be the strongest move one can make, while at other times, that same Summon can be worse than worthless. It can be a ball chained around a drowning man's ankle.”

- Alyster Oble

As it turned out, Percy was up against another person he’d never met. Mrs. Balligan introduced the two. His opponent’s name was Reina. She was the same height as Percy, with long blue hair that couldn’t have been natural, hanging past her shoulders. She had a dignified look in her eyes, but wasn’t looking at him with disrespect. Rather, she seemed to be appraising him.

Apparently she was another scholarship student, like him, though Percy suspected his was just a cover for his sudden appearance. He wondered how many of the faculty knew about his situation, but just blindly asking them would be a bad decision, so he made a mental note to ask Headmaster Blask the next time he saw him.

The two of them nodded at each other from across the field, then drew their cards. From what Percy knew, each duelist could only draw six cards at the start of the battle. They could then each draw one per turn, but it wasn’t required. Mako’d been scolded by his friends for forgetting to draw, so Percy knew he wouldn’t be making that mistake.

The duels following lunch had passed by agonizingly slowly. Nobody Percy knew had dueled yet after Mako. And to make it worse, it seemed as though each student in the selected group had gotten a powerful Monarch, which meant they had a higher starting value for how much damage they could take before they lost. Silvaroth’s health was 10,000, so Percy imagined it would take even longer for him to be defeated than others.

Unless Reina had some powerful creatures, of course. But til now, none of the other students had yet shown themselves to have captured any truly powerful creatures. If that trend was indicative of this match, Percy’s first duel was going to be a slogfest. His flipped open his deck box, drawing cards until he held six in his metal grip.

And then the rush of power flooded into him. A force swirled out of his deck box and into his body, the magic coursing through every vein, dancing across his skin, supercharging him. Percy’s eyes opened wider; he stood a bit taller. It felt great.

Yes! Silvaroth’s voice shouted, seeming to move around Percy with the sudden magical cyclone. At last! I can finally… stretch!

The turbulent energy yanked Percy, spinning him around and forcing him to look at the monster which had materialized behind him.

“Silvaroth?” he asked incredulously. “Is that you?”

The giant pile of treasure shifted, a wave of golden coins and precious gemstones pouring down the side and spilling out onto the grass by Percy’s feet. He reached down with his free hand, grasping a jewel-incrusted goblet and picking it up. Carved lions decorated the cup, roaring at him from the intricate artwork. He shook his head and dropped the cup back to the ground and kicking it toward the other treasure.

He looked up. A large yellow eye was examining him from an opening within the pile.

Why don’t you use your tome, Percy? the dragon asked.

That was a fair point. He’d forgotten about the alternate usage of the item Mako had informed him about. Detaching the book from the belt at his waist, he pointed the spine of it toward his Monarch.

Idle Form

Silvaroth, Slumbering Avarice

Monarch

Tribute

Summoner gains 1 Mana per turn, increased by 1 each time the Summoner successfully destroys an opposing monster without Silvaroth’s ability.

Affinities: Fire, Wind, Shadow

Aversions: Light, Earth, Water

Cost: 50 Loyalty

Health: 10,000

So this was the Slumbering Avarice form of Silvaroth. Percy knew what the card did, as he’d read its description before, but the art on the card hadn’t prepared him for the sudden appearance of a literal mountain of treasure. He turned the book toward his opponent, targeting the lionlike creature that stood behind her, feathered wings tucked flat against its back.

Idle Form

Ventus, Perceptive Observer

Monarch

Vanity

If the opponent controls a stronger monster, receive 2 Mana per turn. Otherwise, receive 1 Mana per turn.

Affinities: Wind, Light

Aversions: Fire, Shadow

Cost: 22 Loyalty

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Health: 5,000

Percy would have to be careful about what he summoned. He didn’t want Reina collecting Mana at an increased rate and summoning something huge, if she had it. He reconsidered. Actually, what were the odds? None of the other students had summoned anything far too large during their duels. Percy only really had one strong creature—his wyvern. Maybe his Basalt Golems counted, but he couldn’t imagine many other students had encountered anything particularly powerful. Especially since he’d seen that Carnivorous Rose card used in almost every duel. It seemed to be a popular card.

The other duels, while agonizingly slow, were also extremely repetitive. Percy hadn’t yet seen too many unique cards, though there were some. It was time to introduce some new creatures to the mix. He took a look at his hand. Rabid Wyvern, Rafael, Servant of Silvaroth, two Kobold Caretakers, Dragonfire, and a Night Light Crystal.

Some powerful options, Silvaroth murmured sleepily.

Apparently, according to Mako, when it was his turn to go, not only could he feel the mana coursing through him, but the knuckle of his gauntlet’s pointer finger glowed green. Percy’s was doing so now.

Guess I won the coin flip.

To his knowledge, unless the duelist could summon an exception to the rule, monsters couldn’t attack on the first turn, so Percy decided to take advantage of that. First, he drew a card—another Kobold Caretaker. Then, with the single mana provided by Silvaroth this turn, Percy summoned Rafael.

His hand shook, indigo light coursing around his silver gauntlet and forming a portal between his fingers. He pointed it toward the ground before him. A shape shot forth, molding itself into a familiar sight. The aged kobold stood before Percy, a smile on his face.

Rafael, Servant of Silvaroth

Cost: 1 Mana

Summon - Kobold

This Summon counts as a Dragon.

At the end of your turn, draw a card.

Generates 5 Fire, 5 Wind, 5 Shadow RPT.

200 / 1,000

True to the headmaster’s words, Percy could see that the card he’d placed against his gauntlet had transformed into a glowing orb orbiting his armored forearm.

“What the heck is that?!” Reina shouted, throwing her hands at the creature after putting her tome back on her waist.

“A kobold,” Percy replied casually. “His name’s Rafael.”

“Not that!” she said. “I mean, what the heck kind of ridiculously powerful card is that?! It’s one mana!”

“Yes,” Percy agreed. “Yes it is.” He waved his hand, passing the turn. A card floated out of his deck box, adding itself to his hand—a Hatchling. Percy had forgotten about Rafael’s effect. The rush of magic he’d been feeling abandoned his body immediately as though it’d been sucked out of him. It felt much like getting out of the shower in the winter.

Pleasure to see you again, Rafael, Silvaroth mumbled. Rafael didn’t respond, but Percy could’ve sworn he saw the kobold’s fingers twitch.

“Fine. You might be able to play some strong creatures, but so can I!” Reina called, drawing a card and examining her hand. Her face betrayed her, her right eye twitching. She clearly didn’t have any good options. “For now,” she said, pressing a card to her gauntlet, “I’ll just play this.”

The Summon formed on the grass. Yet another Carnivorous Rose. Percy didn’t even need to open his tome. He already knew the plant wasn’t all that powerful. Rafael could destroy it in two hits. Though it could also destroy the kobold in the same number of strikes. Percy wondered what she would’ve done if her Monarch hadn’t given her two mana.

She passed the turn and he drew a card, then collected the Res from Rafael. Five of each of Fire, Wind, and Shadow Res for a total of 15 loyalty to Silvaroth. If Rafael stuck around, he’d end the match before it even began.

He’d drawn a Shadowbolt. With only one mana this turn, there was nothing he could play from his hand this turn. Well, unless he felt like casting one of the spells, but he felt like that might be a waste.

“Rafael,” he instead ordered, pointing at the flower. “Attack.”

The kobold ran forward, an impressive feat considering the first impression he’d given Percy. The boy looked at the Summon and saw an old man who enjoyed conversating about the dragon he served, a helpful creature. But when Rafael was snarling as he sliced at the plant, Percy saw none of that. It frightened him a bit.

Don’t worry too much… Silvaroth said slowly, still fighting the sleep that was apparently forced on him in this form. He’s always… been that way.

Percy nodded, waving his hand and passing the turn. Once again, a card floated out of his deck box and added itself to his hand. An Explosive Egg. Rafael was seriously proving his worth.

Reina drew her card and collected her Res. She only had one mana since her Carnivorous Rose was technically stronger than Rafael, which her Monarch’s condition cared about.

“Attack,” she said boredly. The plant burrowed into the ground, exploding out from inside and snapping at Rafael. With his tome, Percy could see the Summon’s health had dropped to half. But her rose was almost dead, as well. Another strike from the kobold would do the trick.

“Pass.”

Percy drew. Another Hatchling—he didn’t think he needed to play it yet. He had two mana and five of each—no, ten of each Fire, Wind, and Shadow Res. He was at thirty loyalty. Another two turns like this, and he was pretty sure Silvaroth would end the game. He just needed to keep Rafael alive.

“Attack the plant, Rafael,” Percy ordered. The kobold did as instructed, sending the rose shattering into fragments of light that were absorbed by the other girl’s deck box. He tried to pass the turn, an Explosive Egg adding itself to his hand, but then, two of the cards in his hand vanished in a pulse of light. His Hatchling and the newly drawn egg were gone, sucked back into his deck box. Percy was left with nine cards in his hand, the apparent maximum.

Reina grimaced and drew a card, either not noticing the boy’s dilemma, or not caring. She didn’t bother announcing the creature she summoned, and Percy had to open his tome as the dark blue wolf covered in bony spikes spawned on the grass before her, growling at Rafael.

Aggressive Spike Hound

Cost: 3 Mana

Summon - Dog

This Summon can attack immediately.

Generates 2 Earth RPT.

600 / 600

Dang. He’d really been hoping to be able to keep Rafael around for another few turns, using spells to keep him alive, but unfortunately, it looked like the loyal kobold was going to die now.

“Kill that thing!” Reina shouted, her eye twitching again as she pointed with her gauntleted hand at Percy’s lone monster. The dog dashed forward, faster than it seemed capable of, cutting off to the side and sprinting sideways in front of Rafael. As it passed, bone spikes fired out of its side, crashing into Rafael and dropping him to his knees before he vanished in a burst of light.

“Sorry, Raf,” Percy muttered as he watched the kobold’s energy rejoin the rest of his cards in his deck box, the light orbiting his forearm blinking out of existence. “I didn’t anticipate that.”

It was Percy’s turn now. He drew, putting him at ten cards. Now he knew he would have to play a card before the end of his turn or he’d lose one. But that was okay, he needed to play something anyway. With 4 mana available, thanks to the increase from Silvaroth’s mana contract after destroying the rose, he examined his options.