Chapter 4

I feel my senses return to me as the color of the world becomes saturated again. I find myself standing in the middle of what is a surprisingly featureless wood shack. I look down and see what appears to be a magic circle of some kind and directly in front of me is a wooden door. I step through the door outside and suddenly my senses are assaulted with a myriad of sights, sounds, and smells. I am in what looks like a forward operating base. I can only assume such because the camp appears to have just been set up. A metal wall surrounds the entire encampment and I see a massive tent in the middle of everything. The kitchen is near it with the sounds of knives chopping and chefs yelling at the the line cooks, permeating from within the tent. I see many soldiers are still putting up their tents and stowing their gear inside.

Many of the soldiers are yelling and arguing with each other as they do so. The ringing of metal on metal sounds over the entire camp as the smiths work to repair the armor and weapons of the soldiers. The most pervasive of all was the rancid smell of sweat, blood and feces. I start dry heaving from the smell because it is so rank. I wonder if my senses are sharper because of my elf blood.

A guard walking by, who is equipped in light leather armor and a sword, notices me as I’m bent over and yells towards me. “HALT! Show your identification or be run through.” I hold up one finger, while trying to breathe, and pull out the card from my bag. I hand it to the guard who reads it and hands it back to me. “Follow me Recruit Will, I’ll deliver you to the commander. Make sure you only speak when spoken to. Any insolence on your part will be swiftly punished.” I nod my assent and we start walking towards a gigantic, I would assume command tent, in the middle of the camp.

We stop right outside the open flap of the tent and the guard announces me. “General Crow sir, the recruit that you sent for has arrived. Permission to enter the command tent sir?”

I hear a quiet male voice come from inside the tent, “Granted.”

The guard shoves me inside which makes me stumble and fall face first on the ground. I totally love unintentionally eating a dirt sandwich. The guard proceeds to kick me and the ribs while yelling, “ON YOUR FEET RECRUIT!” It seems like all the guards from this kingdom are pricks no matter which world you’re on.

I pick myself up off the ground and dust myself off while looking around. In front of me is a large round wooden table stained black. On top of it is a massive map of a planet with small cubes placed all over the single continent, which reminds me of Pangea. The majority of the cubes seem to be red while only a small amount are blue. Seated all around the table are eleven men dressed in full battle regalia which are discussing tactics and logistics. Only one of the men is completely silent which is at the head of the table.

The man at the head of the table is seated in a massive chair made of black stone. He’s dressed in black flowing robes covered in feathers as dark as the night. Embroidered across the front robes is the likeness of a carrion crow picking the eye out of a skull. On his head rests a headdress made of black feathers, which covers the whole face except his eyes. His eyes are crimson and a crow sits on his shoulder. His obsidian colored deck box hangs on a necklace made of onyx with the lid of the box in the shape of a crow’s feather. This guy is completely on point with his brand. This man, who I assume is General Crow, probably has the hardest time using the restroom with how tight his butt hole must be. What a freaking chuuni.

General Edge-lord raises his hand and everyone becomes silent. He leans forward with his elbows on the table with clasps his hands. I guess his mother never taught him not to lean on the table. He softly address the guard who brought me to the tent.

“Thank you for bringing me this untested chick Corporal. Inform the cooks I said you may have another portion of meat. You are dismissed.” The guard salutes smartly, does a turnabout and leaves. General Edge-lord then addresses me, “Welcome Recruit William. I have been informed of your quest from the king. You are to see the officer at the requisition tent, which is behind this command tent, and grab your gear. Then you are to set up your tent at the outermost edge on the north side of camp to help defend the walls.”

“I know you are a duelist so you will not be required to train in weapons and armor however, you are to help with curbing the local monster population. You are to acquire combat experience and XP so you aren’t completely useless. If you have any questions, ask them. If I assume they are worthy of an answer, I will do so.” He nods at me for permission to speak and realize that my mouth unable to move before. I am really getting tired of being treated as property without any rights whatsoever.

“The king said some things that confused me. How does one capture a planet? Also, if the Elves take control of this planet, we won’t be able to invade it for a decade. Why is that?” I ask curiously.

“Hmm, I suppose that’s a pertinent question. This planet is able to be captured by taking control of nodes around the continent. There are a certain number in total, the total amount which hasn’t been discovered yet. The only way to fully control a planet is to hold them all. However, you don’t need to know where they are or how to do that. As to your second question, the magic in the world recognizes when all the nodes are conquered. The parties which were unable to conquer it are then given one local day to evacuate the planet. Anyone left afterwards becomes the property of the victor.”

Yeesh. So if we lose, if I am stuck here, I’ll still be a slave. This worlds sucks.

“General Crow, uh sir, is there anyway I can test out my deck? I would like to learn how this magic works and would like to become stronger as well. With your permission, I would ask if it’s possible to duel any other low level duelists in the camp.” I ask as politely as possible.

He narrows his eyes at me then glances around the table. His gaze lands on the most rotund of all the present soldiers in the company which he speaks to. “Lieutenant Walthar, do you have any fledglings this chick can duel? Maybe someone who’s level is lower than 5. That way we can guarantee neither have any feats.”

The portly Lieutenant Walthar leans his head down in thought and then responds with an annoying high pitched voice. “I believe Recruit Kath’æren would suffice General. She’s only level 2, so she won’t have too much of an advantages over Recruit William. Furthermore her affinity, which is a sight to behold for all the soldiers, is highly entertaining to watch in a formal duel. I would like to recommend her General Crow.”

“An apt choice, Lieutenant Walther. Send a runner to collect the recruit and order her to head to the north gate of the camp. We can raise morale and have a nice show for all the soldiers.” He then addresses another man at the table who is dressed in lightly brown colored armor. His skin is black as night and his eyes are bright as the sky. The sweat on his bald head glistens in the hot sun while his teeth shine like platinum.

General Edgelord continues, “Lieutenant Gar, I order you to summon a sand pit outside the north gate of the camp. Our recruits will duel there. Have it ready before the recruits get there.” Lieutenant Gar stands up, salutes and then leaves then command tent.

As I see him leave General Edge-lord addresses me again. “When you arrive at the pit, hand your ID card to Lieutenant Gar. It is needed to initiate a formal duel. You will be informed of the rules there. Any questions? No? You are dismissed.” He waves at me and the crow on his shoulder flies at me. It then grabs me by my hair and flings me out of the tent onto my back. Ouch. This whole empire must suck. It’s no wonder why they are losing this conflict.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

For the second time today, I get up from the ground and wipe black clothes off again. I look around to get my baring and notice all the soldiers heading, in what I hope is north, towards the wall. I follow them and they make a space for me to pass through. I hear some of the soldiers say, “Look, it’s the newb.”, “I hope Kath’æren beats him to a pulp.”, “I can’t wait to see her in that armor.” and “I wonder what we’re having for dinner.” I guess no matter where in the universe you are, men are always thinking about women and food.

I pass through the north gate and I see a massive sand pit in the middle of what looks like a forest you would see in the Midwest of the United States. Around the pit are hundreds of duelists and soldiers jeering and throwing insults at me. On the rim of the pit facing the north gate, stands Lieutenant Gar, who from now on I will be referring to as Mister Sandman.

He reaches out his hand and says, “Give me your ID card recruit. Your opponent will be here shortly. If possible, try not to stare at her to much. If you do, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He pulls out a small device that looks like a smart phone and slides my card through a slit on the top. Mister Sandman then hands it back to me and points into the pit. “Jump in and stand at the far side. I’ll explain the rules when you and Kath’æren are both inside.”

I contemplate the depth of the pit for just a moment, looking around it for the safest way down, when I suddenly get kicked into the pit from behind. As I fly into the pit, I wonder, is this just how people greet each other in this culture? Pushing or kicking someone to the ground doesn’t seem like the best way of making friends. As I belly flop onto the ground and receive a sand burger for a prize, I hear the sound of laughing all around the pit. I roll onto my back and jump up, ninja style, expecting another attack. How I managed that, I have no idea, but what I saw was unusual.

In front of me was a woman covered from her shoulder to toe in a long pink and black cloak with a red hood covering her head. The colors of her clothes aren’t really good for camouflage and don’t really match the current environment but, I digress.

“I’m really getting tired of everyone kicking or knocking me down. I don’t care if you are a higher level than me, you really need to learn respect.” I tell the woman across the pit from me. I receive no response from her, which is irksome but, Sandman addresses me.

“Listen up recruits, I am only going to explain the rules once, so pay attention. When the duel starts there will be a heads up display in your vision, which is produced by the magic of your deck. It will show your life bar and your mana bar to you along with that of your opponent. Whoever takes the first turn can’t attack unless you have a unit that says otherwise. You take your turn and then pass it to your opponent. Any unspent mana remains until the beginning of you next turn, then it’s refilled back to full.”

“You may play any cards on your turn, as long as you still have mana however, you can play fast spells on your opponent’s turn but not slow spells. There are units that can be played as well nonetheless, they are all higher rarity, so there’s no chance you have one. When you summon most units they must wait a turn to attack though there are some who can. If you had a feat, you could activate it at any time but that doesn’t apply in this duel. If your opponent asks about the card you just played, you must tell them what it does. Since you are not even Level 1 yet, you will go first. Any questions?” Sandman gestures for me to speak.

I think for a second and come up with an idea. Everyone expects me to lose. If I can force them to bet some shards against me, I might be able to make some more cards for my deck. If I yell loud enough for everyone to hear me… I just might be able to do it.

“Can we make this duel more interesting?” I yell.

The entire crowd of of soldiers and support staff around the pit become silent and look at the Lieutenant. Sandman narrows his eyes for a moment. “In what manner could this become more interesting?” he asks.

I speak loud enough for everyone to be able to hear. “I’m willing to bet my entire deck, which is worth a minimum of 270 shards, that I will win. If I win, I only ask for 10 shards from everyone who bet against me. If I lose, I give every card I have to you, Lieutenant, and receive nothing. That has to be decent odds against me right?”

The Lieutenant scowls while contemplating it for a moment before responding. “I suppose that would provide some more entertainment for the soldiers. OK, I’ll allow it. Though I will addendum the bet. If you lose, you also will have to be my slave for 2 years as well.” He then addresses the woman in the pit. “Kath’æren if you win, I will remove one year from your sentence as a reward.”

The woman in the pit across from me quickly looks the Lieutenant and audibly gasps.

“WHAT?!” I yell. “Why would I become your slave? Furthermore, isn’t she part of this army as well? What kind of sentence would she need to reduce? One last thing, if I will have to become your slave, I want another 20 shards per person plus 100 shards from you. There is only downside for me to that change.”

Sandman smirks at me. “The length of her indentured service to me. I willing to reduce it for her but only if she wins. I’m also willing to allow the extra shards that you will receive, because there is a zero percent chance that you actually win. She’s two levels higher than you. She has a starting hand size of 4 cards along with 20 cards in her deck. You will most likely draw” Do we have an accord?”

“Yes!” I yell loudly.

Lieutenant Sandman guffaws. “For a dirty elf, at least you have some balls.” He then yells, “EVERYONE PLACE YOUR BETS! 100 shards per bet and no refunds.”

I hear a gong as a scoreboard manifests above the sandpit. On the board are the amount of people who have bet for or against me. One hundred people have bet against me. The odd thing is one person bet for me, though I don’t know who. I’m not surprised most everyone bet against me, though I do wonder, if I might have just made a colossal mistake. My only chance to win is to use my feats gifted to me. That and the curse that lets me cast spells with health instead of man.

Lieutenant Sandman yells, “NO MORE BETS! Okay recruit, if you win the amount of shards you will receive is 3,100. If you lose, you belong to me.” He then touches my ID card to another in his hand and I receive an alert.

-Quest Accepted-

It’s a dog eat dog world!

You have bet Lieutenant Gar everthing that you will win. If you don’t well I guess your are a mangy mutt like he thinks.

Due to the difference in levels and your odds in winning, you will gain enough XP to reach Level 2 if you win.

Rewards: 3,100 Card Shards, 263 XP

Failure: Loss of all cards, Indentured servitude to Lieutenant Gar for a period of 2 years

Quest automatically accepted due to your bet.

I guess even the system doesn’t expect me to win. At least the system is being generous with the XP reward. I understand why it auto accepted the quest however, it seems like I do have an almost zero percent chance. Though I’m not one to back down from a challenge. Trading card games and deck building games are one of the few things that I am actually good at.

“Recruit Will, you have the honors. Recruit Kath’æren, you have permission to speak. You better not dissapoint me.” Lieutenant Sandman says.

The woman named Kath’æren speaks for the first time. “Yes Lieutenant Gar.” I hear her say softly in what sounds like a Spanish accent.

“One last thing of note. During a formal duel, if your life hits zero, you wont die. However you will feel every bit of pain inflicted to you, as much as possible. I find pain to be a very helpful teacher. Let the duel commence!” Sandman yells.

The entire crowd erupts in cheers and jeers as the score board changes to our life and mana totals, then I see a countdown appear below it.

3, 2, 1, DUEL START!