Jewels didn’t know what to make of the duel. He’d lost, that was probably a good place to start. What did that mean though? Was he just weak? Was his opponent strong? Obviously, his opponent was way stronger than he was but… Was that even saying much? Jewels was pretty sure this Aniki guy would stomp Shark just as hard.
But why wasn’t he saying anything? When you won a duel like this, where you stomped your opponent this hard, there was usually something that came with it. A declaration of your skill, ridiculing your opponent, something. But all the older duelist did was just sit there, seemingly thinking something over.
Eventually, the older duelist extended his hand… like he was helping someone up. Wait, was Jewels on the ground? When did that happen? During… oh. He must have fallen when that Megarock Dragon attacked. But why was this Aniki guy trying to help him up? He lost! He was weak!
“That felt a little mean, I’m gonna be honest. Want a hand?” The older duelist said, and with each word, it felt like Jewels’ brain was hurting more. “Mean? That was mean? Why? He was stronger, so he won? Isn’t that just how dueling works? Am I wrong…?”
“Uh, thanks, I guess…” Was all Jewels could get out before the well-muscled duelist hauled the younger boy to his feet. Jewels couldn’t shake his confusion though. All his life, he’d been bullied for using weak monsters, so he just started using the strongest ones he could find. This guy used weak monsters though, so was he weak? What did the word weak even mean?
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Aniki wasn’t sure what to think when the kid kinda just started muttering to himself, and he was even less sure he liked what Jewels was saying. He just kept murmuring about how he was weak, and that he needed to be strong. Aniki was pretty sure that wasn’t exactly a healthy mindset to be in, and was also the kind of mindset he remembered Cyrus from GX having. Something about getting bullied for being bad at Duel Monsters? Was that something that actually happened here?
Eh, if Duel Monsters was popular enough to get an academy for it in GX, Aniki could see it being popular enough to get bullies who think they’re the hottest shit. Still, thinking you sucked at life because you were bad at a card game was a little…
Well, whatever. If Jewels thought he was bad, he would just have to be good! Besides, Aniki was planning on training a few duelists in not sucking, this would be a great start! It was totally because it was convenient timing and not because he felt bad. Or because Gem-Knights was a really cool archetype and seeing “play garnet pass” physically pained him. Or because he really didn’t have all that much to do besides just wandering around looking for duels…
Ok, it was totally because he felt bad. But he was still gonna teach the kid, and Jewels was gonna like it!
“Hey. Wanna know what you did wrong in the duel?” Right, maybe that came out a bit mean. It wasn’t his fault he was crap at social interaction! He was a nerd! One who actually collected cards for a children’s card game, some of which were worth over a hundred dollars a piece! (Looking at you, GX Beginner’s Pack Exodia head.)
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Jewels wasn’t sure if this guy was joking or being serious. If he wasn’t just messing with him… this could be his chance. But why would Aniki help him? He was another duelist, surely he didn’t just wanna spill all his secrets like that! But he did look sincere, even if the way he said it was a bit mean…
“You’re willing to teach me? Why?” Jewels wasn’t seeing the motive. No one is just gonna willingly train another duelist out of the blue. Not without something to gain.
Aniki held up a hand with two fingers outstretched. “Two reasons. The first is because you’re basically playing Gem-Knights without the good parts of Gem-Knights, which makes me sad on a level you can never understand, and the second is because I see a rookie duelist in need of a little help. I got help from a pretty cool teacher dude when I was starting out. I don’t see why you can’t have a cool teacher dude to help you out.” he finished with a small smile, which Jewels thought looked both unsettling and friendly at the same time. Like a gang boss calling you “chum”, it felt off. He chalked that up to the man’s honestly gang leader-like look, and just thought for a moment.
Did he really want to teach him? Even with the reasoning laid out like that, it didn’t make any sense! But he did seem genuine, so…
“Alright. When do I learn?” This was it. He could actually feel the weight of taking a step into something bigger. He didn’t know how, or why, but accepting this guy, Aniki’s mentorship was going to be a decision he wouldn’t soon forget. For better or for worse.
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Aniki was stoked. His first protege seemed reasonably eager to learn, which was good! Still gotta actually teach the kid, but hey, baby steps.
“For now, it’s a little late for that. Come on back here tomorrow afternoon, and I’ll get everything set up for a proper lesson in Duel Monster basics. I’m not explaining to you what a field spell is, I’m just gonna assume you already know the most basic of basic things.” Aniki nodded. He’d set a time, and now it was on his student. Of course, what was “basic” in his book might as well be forbidden knowledge here, but… eh, it couldn’t hurt.
Jewels looked like he was considering something for a moment, but eventually nodded. “I suppose I’ll be here tomorrow then. It’s a promise!” He quickly ran off to who-knows-where, probably to tell his buds he got his butt kicked by a pro. Kids were like that.
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A new day dawns on Heartland City, and Aniki… was not happy to get out of bed. It was far, far too early for the sun to be up, and he didn’t even have a coffee machine anymore. Truly, a travesty worthy of the greatest of epics. Still, he had work to do today, so he hauled himself out of bed.
“Alright, number one on the list of things I have to do today is clean up the shop. Duder here apparently just never did, and that just creates a bad atmosphere.” Nodding resolutely at his statement, Aniki splashed some water on his face and noted that the dark circles under his eyes actually looked pretty good on him. Like some kinda Yakuza. He chuckled. If he was gonna be a Yakuza boss, he was gonna have to use dragons.
Stretching as he went to the small storage closet, he grabbed a few washcloths, a mop, bucket, and cleaner, and quickly got to work dusting and clearing off the countertops for the main room. Before long, they were shining like justice, and it was time to get the floors mopped. That took a bit longer since there were random displays set up between the shelves for some reason, and not anywhere actually visible. Still, it wasn’t long before the shop was sparkly clean, and it was time to move on to the sitting room, which was a small room off the main shop floor with a few tables and chairs, clearly meant for trading, discussion, and even a few non-AR duels.
Looking at the room, it really did feel like a small, corner store game shop. Soon, it would be a fancy corner store game shop, if the obscene amount of cleaner in Aniki’s hands had anything to say about it, and it did. Besides, this was the room he’d settled on teaching Jewels in, and he wanted to get it looking nice if he was gonna have guests over. Maybe he’d even actually open the shop. Maybe.
With the tables looking fresh and new, and the shop now clean, it was time to brainstorm. How was Aniki gonna drill some basic knowledge about Duel Monsters into Jewels’ head? He wanted to go over two basic concepts, plus a little deckbuilding. First, the issue with card advantage. It was why Aniki did so well in their duel, and it was a reasonable concept both on paper and in practice. The second, he was not sure would go over so well. Life points, while an important resource, were still a resource, and as such didn’t really matter until you were losing.
Well, whatever. He was gonna beef up Jewels’ deck while he was at it, and he had the perfect cards to do it. A little bit of XYZ here, a splash of fusion there, and a beautiful low-power Gem-Knight deck would be formed.
Oh yeah, it was all coming together.