"Dixon, I have one order for you. Hand over Dragun0va or die."

The cloaked man in front of Rei wore a strange mask, wielded a long sword that emerged out of nowhere, and threatened him with a death sentence.

His heartbeat nearly stopped. Not from the threat nor the sword, but at what he just said.

How could other people know about the Dragun0va Deck? The deck's existence should only be known to him, Apollo, and Akane. Even the little robot didn't know about it at all.

Could it be because he used the Cardification feature and his position was exposed in an instant?

No, it wasn't.

If it was the case, then they should have sent someone else to retrieve it before he went out. That meant, the person in front of him was neither from the building owner's group nor the people controlling the little robot.

Then who is this exotic guy?

The seller? No, it couldn't be. They wouldn't sell things if they didn't want others to have it. It would be impossible for other buyers to know about it unless they had the code.

Rei could do nothing but force his brain to work harder.

"Are you deaf, Dixon?"

The masked man's words stopped him from thinking.

"No, you are. I asked first. Who are you?" Rei stood in place, and moved slightly to set up a stance, trembling. "Who sent you?"

"I am AO2. Now, hand over Dragun0va. I know you have it. That deck serves no purpose for you."

AO2? What kind of name was that?

As if it was responding to his question, a sudden screen displayed the masked man's appearance like a character status. The name section said the same. AO2. A level 8 duelist. Other than that, everything was filled with question marks. As if the masked guy's information wasn't even registered in the system. Or perhaps Rei had no authority to know about it?

Wait! How could a high-level duelist come here in the first place?

Another question came to his mind. It was eventually answered by his surfaced knowledge. The Grand Elevator–the thing he couldn’t use before for unknown reasons.

Shit!

Should I run away? If I duel here, I'll lose by a mile. A starter deck player vs an experienced duelist. Any sane person would know the answer.

Rei persuaded himself to stay his shit down.

The duel option was out of the question, Fighting head on? Rei couldn't possibly win. Hand-to-hand, there might be a chance, but … how could anyone want to eliminate the advantage they hold? Obviously, longsword vs knife was the ultimate showdown. Again. Any sane person would know how imbalanced the battle would be.

The most rational choice for him was to blast away. Running by creating a small chance to escape.

He had caught his breath enough, gripping the knife tightly, taking aim.

"You should have bought it before me!" he shouted, as the knife shot from his right hand towards the target, Rei twisted his body and dashed.

3 seconds is enough, he thought.

Less than a meter away however, his head hit the ground and created a loud noise. He groaned in pain, but the pain came not from his chin hitting the rock, but his leg. It was cut and gushing blood.

Rei was stunned in confusion. There was no way that long sword was long enough to reach his feet when they were more than two meters apart. Moreover, it cut right through his ankle and split his foot in two.

Fear manifested, taking root in his cell, commanding him to flee. He struggled, crawling, as far as he possibly could. Before he gained a distance, his left arm flew off, followed by red splotches like paint thrown onto a sky-blue canvas.

As his flown arm rested beside him, his world swayed sideways.

“AARRRGHHH!” His own fear finally took shape into an orchestra of despair.

"Stop yelling,” The masked man said, “no one will come to help you here." He swung his sword, a segment or two of his blade flew out and returned to form a whole sword.

"What the hell are you!" Rei shouted.

"I told you already. AO2. That was my name. Now, give me that deck or this will be your last breath." The man raised his sword once more.

Shit!

Why aren't my hands and feet regenerating? Didn't they still work during the trial? What is the meaning of this!

No, I have to buy more time! I should–

"It's useless for you to stall time," The masked man had seen through Rei's intentions. "Regeneration doesn't work in the Outer Plane."

Those words hit him like a boulder in the chest. Suffocating him, dying. His brain could no longer think rationally.

Am I going to die?

Here?

Without seeing Akane, Apollo, and Mom?

Without keeping my promise to that poor man?

Shit! No! I can't die yet!

Rei continued to ignite the courage in his body, but the fear of losing his life was far greater than he expected.

Led him to wail.

"Crying won't get you out of this situation. Hand over the deck. Now."

He couldn't stop it even if he wanted to. His tears continued to flow regardless of time. Many things flashed through his mind: his pain, his family, his potential future, all of those making his cries louder.

Yet, the masked man still hadn't beheaded him. Even though Rei’s tears had dried up and the crying had ended.

"Are you done? Now hand over the deck. I'm still giving you a chance. If you still have a brain to use, accept my offer."

The man's behavior seemed odd to his eyes. Their positions were unequal. Like a hunter and prey. If he really wanted the deck that badly, why not kill Rei right away? Wouldn't that be a faster method than waiting for his crying to end?

Perhaps because the cries had washed away some of his fear, his brain began to function properly. In the next five seconds, he made a simple, rushed conclusion.

“If I die … you can’t get what you want, correct?” His lips trembled, he gambled his life with half baked theory.

There was a pause, but the man swung his sword and cut Rei’s left foot without a cue.

He screamed, almost breaking his vocal cords. He gripped his left leg tightly, trying to stop the bleeding.

“Did the little dwarf tell you? Whatever. But, you are correct. If I kill you, I can’t obtain your deck. By that means, others also can’t get it from you. It would be a less advantageous situation, but still worked for me the most.”

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

So killing me or not, it doesn't matter to him! Damn it!

I have to get out of this situation!

Or, should I just give up? Surrender that deck to save my life?

No matter how much his head spun, the conclusion to get out of this encounter alive remained the same.

He bit his lip, his regret clearly chiseled.

However, as Rei cast his gaze again at the man who slashed his leg and finally paid close attention, a different impression of him emerged.

The man’s robe looked majestic, full of grace. The mask also had intricately carved patterns, more than concealing his identity, it felt more like a show of his strength. The way he spoke, not to mention his patience, all of them served as evidence that he was a person of high self-esteem and did not act recklessly.

Somehow, none of those clicked in Rei’s head. Like pieces of a puzzle that didn't fit together. Or perhaps it was a delusion created by his brain to die in peace?

"What if we duel?” Rei spoke out of nowhere. “If I lose, I'll gladly give it to you."

"You're not in a position to bargain, Dixon. You have nothing to offer other than that deck."

"I do!" he asserted. Biting his lips before forcing his last straw out. "I offer you your honor."

The masked man didn’t flinch. "My honor? What kind of honor do I have?"

The response was beyond him. In the first place, he hadn’t expected that this monstrous man would offer any dialog other than coercion. Regardless, this could be called an opportunity.

He wasn't really sure if that was the case. But, here, he had one. He had to craft the words carefully. Whatever bullshit came out of his throat should be able to convince the man.

The masked man was a level eight duelist. His dedication to playing cards couldn’t possibly be tainted by something as immoral as killing an innocent person. That could tarnish his image.

With those clues he had, Rei shot his bet.

"The honor of a true duelist."

A silence spread across the meadow. The man didn't answer and Rei didn't add anything more to his line. Everything in his life was riding on that single cringe-worthy statement.

And then, he laughed–the masked man.

"I see. Sometimes there are things that never change even if they are completely obliterated by the system. Perhaps it's a failure?" he said, sheathed his sword to a void. "Whatever. You did great as a comedian. To show my gratitude for your humor, I agree to duel with you."

Rei gasped, barely able to believe it. His bet had paid off unexpectedly. Even though he couldn’t understand the real idea why he would accept that.

It was a great maneuver by him nevertheless. Still, he couldn't be happy just yet. If the duel was just an ordinary one, he would definitely had no chance to win. Rei had an idea: to make additional rule for their duel.

Before he could deliver his thoughts into words, the man stole the first move.

"However, I don't accept this duel if you are using the Dragun0va deck."

“That’s–”

"No need to worry. I dislike one-sided duels myself. I'll be using the Starter Deck-Bombast Archetype with a slight upgrade."

–Unfair.

That word blossomed inside his head. His deck was also a starter, but unpolished one; there were only basic cards and not a single Engage Unit. Since he had no desire to return, this matter never even crossed his mind before.

If he traced back from the beginning, it was indeed true that his margin of winning increased. But, it was still not a fair deal for him.

They weren't on equal footing, there was a significant difference in experience, their level statuses were miles apart, and the deck conditions were certainly one-sided. If Rei used Dragun0va, he could mitigate one of his major weaknesses in the duel.

Yet, he lost that advantage in a flash.

"Please, don't assume anything yet," The man clapped his hands once and a screen blossomed in front of Rei. "I like fair play, so I lend you some cards to make you stronger. They are a balanced complement against the Bombast Deck I will be using."

[3 Twin Unit Cards detected]

[3 New Unit Cards detected]

[5 New Spell Cards detected]

[Do you want to receive it?]

[Y/N]

"What is this?" he asked.

"Some new cards for your Nighty Deck."

He knows my deck? How?

Rei gulped. He didn't dare to ask about it. Instead, he chose to observe the new cards displayed on the screen. He could see the name of the cards, class, level, but not their effects.

So, I need to receive them first to know their effects?

The new cards certainly tempted him. The curiosity of how the new cards would work in his deck was overwhelming to ignore. It almost made him forget that he was almost killed by the same man who offered him these cards.

However, the problem he faced was still the same. Their imbalanced circumstances with each other.

"How do I know that these cards will make my deck equal in power with the Bombast Deck you're going to use? Without a third party to guarantee it, our duel should be postponed–"

His complaint was cut off by a new screen that rushed to override the previous one.

[Hey! For those of you who want to play with friends fairly, please purchase this type of double deck pack! It's cheap! Only 3999 Orbi$! Limited Edition!]

[The deck composition has been arranged by the Principal of the Academy on the 2nd Floor! Guaranteed strong!]

A brochure, or you could say a promotional advertisement. Under the cringe-worthy headline, two types of decks that Rei was familiar with were displayed: Nighty and Bombast.

When he highlighted one of the decks, the composition opened up to reveal a row of cards.

"Would you like to compare the Deck you have with the one in the brochure?" the system asked.

His bracelet received the approval signal, and scanned instantly. Two seconds later, a comparison appears and shows an analysis.

[11 cards missing]

That number matched the cards he was going to receive. Coincidence? For him, it wasn't. The masked man had probably planned it well. However, he wasn’t convinced yet.

"I'll check your deck too," Rei said.

The masked man gestured his index finger in the air once more and a new screen appeared. A deck view. He quickly did a scan and got identical results; the deck in the brochure was exactly the same as his deck.

"Are you satisfied?" the man asked.

With this, Rei could no longer argue. All opportunities for procrastination had been snuffed out. He had no choice but to accept the card and immediately assemble his deck.

[Do you want to use our recommended build?]

[Y/N]

A new offer appeared and he quickly agreed. His deck menu opened and the new cards were included in it. Some of the cards he used before were removed and stored in the Library.

Rei went back to check his cards one by one, but suddenly his vision wavered, his body went limp, and his breathing slowed down. Blood deficiency. He was losing too much blood.

"That's why you shouldn't ask so many questions." The masked man approached and touched his bracelet with Rei's. Bringing a new screen to appear.

[Do you accept the Duel?]

[Stakes: Dragun0va Deck]

He couldn't see anything clearly, everything felt like fog, but his fingers went to the brightest button. As the word 'accepted' buzzed, gradually his sight became clear as day. His body perked up, and most importantly, his severed hands and feet grew back.

He unclasped his renewed hand, stomping his feet here and there. His old smile came back into his face.

"Regeneration doesn't work here, you say?" Rei got up and faced the man levelly. "Apparently it still works."

A snort was heard.

“Dueling is a privilege. Like a blessing or an absolution. By dueling, anyone can violate the rules of nature. Of course, not in everything. That's how great the capability of the duel itself is,” he sighed. “Either the little robot didn't explain at length or you fell asleep in the middle of its boring lecture."

Definitely the latter, Rei thought in shame.

However, the idea of being able to violate nature's rules bothered him a little. From his unfluctuating tone, Rei couldn't tell if he told the truth or joke.

He sidestepped the question for now and put his full attention on the matter in front of him. He had to duel against the masked man. A win was a must if he didn't want to lose his only clue to his family and his friend.

Rei was waiting for something. But it never happened.

"The system's broken … somehow?" He asked out of nowhere, his eyes wildly darting back and forth.

"What do you mean?"

"You know... duel field transformations?"

"Such things do not take place in Outer Plane." The man spread his hands. "This entire region is the duel arena itself."

He didn't understand, until a new window appeared and gave him a new insight.

[Extreme Duel Format approved]

[Basic Rules:]

[-All available regions are Duel Zones.]

[-Duels can move from place to place following each other.]

[-The damage from the duel can affect the environment and anyone in the vicinity.]

[-Damage received by duelists will be healed overtime.]

[-Duelists cannot be killed by any outside assaults during the match.]

[-Overkill Damage is able to kill the duelist during the match.]