Chapter 5

Kath’æren throws off her cloak and I finally get the chance to look at my opponent. The first and most obvious thing I notice about her is her outfit. Around her neck is a leather choker with small spiked studs all around it. She has a black leather corset which covers her from below the neck, past her small bust, down to her midriff. She has a black leather mini skirt that just barely passes her mid thigh with her deck box on a red belt right about it.. On her feet are black leather boots, which are laced up to her mid calf, with 8 inch stiletto heels.

The entire leather out is completely contrasted by her even platinum skin. She has white hair in a pixie cut, which accentuates her long pointed ears. All of this is complemented by her cute round face, small nose, pouty lips and alluring eyes. One eye has a white sclera with a black iris and the other has a black sclera with a white iris.

A surprising cute growl escapes from her mouth. “It seems that all men are the same no matter the world they come from. You see a woman and you ogle her. You may have the body of an elf but you weren’t born as one. From what I hear, you are a “Resurrected”. You were allowed to choose your race and what you look like. However, you know nothing of our species customs and subcultures. I was going to be polite and not humiliate you but, it seems you need to learn how to respect your elders.”

CRAP! I should have listened to the lieutenant. “I wasn’t trying to stare, I was just surprised by the outfit that you are wearing” I try to explain. “Doesn’t that make you a little chilly here in the woods?” I ask pointedly.

“You think I chose to wear this?!” She yells. “This entire outfit is magical equipment that helps my deck out, so I have no choice but to wear it. Each piece of this outfit gives a different effect. You’ll find out what they do shortly.” I hear her hiss at me.

Kath’æren touches her deck box on her waist then 4 cards fly out in front of her. I respond by touching my deck box and 3 cards fly out in front of me. I then see a life and mana bar pop in my vision along with a similar one above Kath’æren which also shows her level. I contemplate the cards in front of me and try to decide my first move.

In my opening hand I have Zombie Stalker, Sanguine Witch, and my only rare card Blood Bank. I’m at such a disadvantage having half the amount of cards as my opponent so I need to be efficient with which cards I play. Thankfully, A couple of my cards are reusable, like the Zombie Stalker. However since everything has to wait a turn to attack, I think I should just set up Blood Bank. Each unit of mine that dies adds a counter to Blood Bank. I can do direct damage to Kath’æren if I focus on stalling.

“Ok, so if I understand this correctly. I just touch the card and it will manifest.” I mutter to myself.

I touch Blood Bank which drains my mana and summons a small stand up desk with a very attractive Elf in a nurse outfit behind it. On the left had side of the desk is a plaque that says deposit and on the right it says withdrawal.

“What does that relic do?” She asks.

“It costs 3 mana. Every time a unit I or a party member controls dies, it gets a blood counter up to a maximum of five. If I remove all the counters from the card I can deal that much damage to anything.” I say quickly to her. “Since I am out of mana, I pass my turn.”

“That took you long enough. I play Little Lilith, which is a Succubi unit, for 1 mana and it has 1 damage and 1 health. It makes the next Succubi card I play cost 1 less mana.” As she says this, A chibi little succubus the size of a small dog is summoned with 1/1 floating beside it.

“With my remaining 2 mana, I play Mistress Twins. It normally costs 3 mana but my Little Lilith made it one cheaper. When it enters the battlefield it summons a copy of itself,” She explains. I see 2 succubi dressed in dominatrix gear with a whip in one hand step out of a red portal beside the chibi unit. They both have 2/1 floating besides them. “Since I am out of mana and I can’t attack I will pass the turn back to you.” She says.

After she says that, two more cards fly from my deck box in front of me. I notice that I drew Jagged Syringe spell card and my Ball of Flesh. Since I can cast spell cards for health instead of mana, I can Jagged Syringe every turn if I really need to. I’ll save the Ball of Flesh , which has a stat line of 1/7, to block flying units or to sacrifice it for one of my feats.

“I use 3 mana to summon my 2/1 Zombie Stalker.” I say. I see a tall, arm-less zombie shuffle up beside my blood bank. Two grotesque hands fall from the zombies back which proceed to walk using their fingers. “When it enters the battlefield it summons two 1/1 Undead hand units. Plus if it’s in my graveyard at the end of the turn, I may return it to my hand.” I tell her as I examine my unit.

“Are you finished yet? You are out of mana, so just pass your turn already. Nothing you do is going to matter anyway.” Kath’æren says boredly.

“No I’m not finished. I activate my feat Bloody Bomb.” I tell her.

“WHAT! How do you have a feat? You can’t get one until level 5!” She screams.

“I have it because I was resurrected with a curse that was unable to be removed.” I say smugly. “Bloody bomb has 2 different options. I have to sacrifice a unit and choose attack or health. If I choose attack, once per turn, I can deal damage equal to the sacrificed unit’s attack to any target. If I choose health, once per duel/fight, I can kill all enemy units with health less than or equal to the sacrificed unit’s life.” I tell her and her mouth drops.

“I’ll choose to sacrifice my Zombie Stalker and choose the attack option. I’ll deal one damage to one of your Mistress Twins. Since one of my units will have died, I get to add 1 Blood counter to my Blood Bank.” As I finish explaining, I choose my Zombie Stalker for my feat. It transforms into a small rocket and rockets at a Mistress Twin, which screams then explodes in a spray of viscera. I hear a ding come from my Blood Bank with the Blood count floating above the desk.

Kath’æren screams, “How is that even fair? You can just kill my stuff every time you kill your own units!”

“Don’t blame me, I already had almost no chance in winning. You can’t complain if you’re on the back foot.” I tell her calmly. “I end my turn, and since Zombie Stalker is in my graveyard, I’ll add it back to my hand.” The card floats back into my hand, from wherever the graveyard is located, putting the total cards in my hand back to 3.

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“Well that feat won’t work on my again. I’ll make sure of that.” Kath’æren tells me as 2 cards fly into her hand. “I’ll summon my Moon Man which costs 2 mana. Its a 1/3 unit with the Fly keyword which says, units with Fly can’t be blocked accept by other units with Fly.” A small green gremlin with a space helmet floats to the ground from the sky holding a piece of cheddar in its hand. “I also will summon another Little Lilith.”

“I guess I should remove some of your units. I’ll attack one of your Undead Hand’s with my last Mistress Twin. Go ahead and whip that hand into shape.” As Kath’æren orders her unit to attack mine, I see the succubus attack the Undead hand with its whip.

I yell excitedly, “I’ll use Bloody bomb again! I sacrifice the Undead hand being attacked, choosing the attack option again, targeting the Little Lilith.” The hand transforms into small rocket shooting towards the chibi succubus.

“I told you that wouldn’t work again!” Kath’æren exclaims. “I activate my choker around my neck targeting the Little Lilith to give it +1/+2 until the end of turn.” She gasps in pain as the choker tightens around her neck as her life goes down from 10 to 9. The chibi succubus then grows just a little bit in size. I hear the sound of a cash register again as my Blood Bank goes from 1 counter to 2.

“I guess a surprise only works once.” I laugh. “It also seems that I somehow stopped your attack from the twin by getting rid of it’s target. Furthermore, it seems the feat isn’t as strong without higher health units huh, Kathy?” I say with a smirk.

“How dare you call me Kathy! We aren’t friends, we’re not even comrades. Just because you are an elf in body, that doesn’t mean you’re allowed to speak to me in such a casual manner!” screams at me while her cheeks flush.

“Okay, fine, you got me. I’m sorry for being overly friendly. Can we get back to the duel now?” I ask playfully.

She huffs, “Fine. My Little Lilith will attack your last Undead Hand.” The tiny succubus runs up, blows a kiss at the hand which kills it. “I’m out of mana so I’ll pass my turn,” She says.

“Hold on,” I say. “Before the end of your turn, I’ll cast my Jagged Syringe fast spell, paying 2 health instead of mana because of my curse. Jagged Syringe lets me deal 2 damage to anything. It also has Lifesteal which let me heal the me for the damage I deal. One last thing, once per turn, I can pay 1 life to add it back to my hand.”

I finish explaining and the touch the card to cast the spell. I drop to my knees and scream as I feel the deck box on my wrist stab me. It then proceeds to suck the lifeblood from my body, my flesh heals somehow, and my life goes from 10 to 8. However, I had no idea that using my health to pay for the spell, how much pain would be inflicted on me for doing so. It’s no wonder why I was warned, by that so called “goddess”, about using my health in front of others.

The Jagged Syringe flies at Kath’æren, stabs her in the wrist and draws blood in the tube. She screams in pain as her life goes from 9 to 7. The syringe then flies back at me, stabs me with the jagged tip of the needle, which drops my life to 7. It injects me with her blood which heals me for 2 life points and puts me back at 9 life. After that entire bloody exchange, the Jagged Syringe finally adds itself back to my hand, and I stand up.

Kath’æren looks at me with disgust. “How can anyone use their own health to cast spells in a duel or fight? Do you not realize how blasphemous that is? Mana should be the only thing you use, especially as an elf, we are a magical species by nature.”

I grimace from the phantom pain. “Well, sometimes in life, you have to work with what you have.” I say sardonically.

Kath’æren scowls at me. “Whatever you heathen. I pass my turn.”

Hopefully I can draw my Sanguine Witch along with, Feral Bite, which is my last spell. As my deck draws two more cards for me, I can only hope and pray, that I can with this turn. Eureka, I drew my Sanguine Witch, along with my Painful Roulette. If I play my cards in the right order, I can kill her this turn, albeit metaphorically.

“Okay, I pretty sure I can beat you this turn.” I say cautiously optimistic.

“There is no way you can win this turn,” Kath’æren hisses at me. “You can at most, cast that abominable card twice, which will only deal 4 damage to me. You don’t have any units on the field so you can’t attack at all.” She says with a smug smile.

“Well here’s the thing about being a cursed heathen, I don’t care what you or anyone else thinks about me. Do you, ‘Kathy’, honestly think that is the only card that I have that can deal direct damage to you? I’ll play my Sanguine Witch. It’s a 1/1 unit with Lifesteal, that says whenever I cast a spell, I can deal 1 damage to any target.” A door appears as decrepit looking hag walks out carrying a stool with a small handful of needles in her hand.

“I will then cast my Jagged Syringe, adding it back to my hand for 1 life, and cast it again. I will have to pay 4 life to cast it twice, dealing 4 damage to you, plus the extra 1 life to add it back to my hand. However, since the Sanguine Witch deals 1 damage with Lifesteal each time I cast a spell, I can deal a total of 6 damage to you. I can then sacrifice my Sanguine Witch using my Bloody Bomb feat, choosing the attack option, to deal 1 more damage to you which will take your life to 0.” I calmly explain to Kath’æren and to the entire crowd around the pit, all of which look stunned.

Kath’æren looks at me horrified. “You would intentionally endure that much pain, along with making me endure it as well, just to win this duel?” She whispers.

I look at her apologetically. “Where I am from, the card games that I played let you use your life as a resource, just like mana. Somehow that affected the curse inflicted on me, along with the cards that I create. If I have to endure some pain just to stay alive, isn’t that better than dying?” I say quietly. “I will do what I need to survive, even if it means people shun me, which I am used to anyway.” I look at Lieutenant Sandman, who growls at me, as I finish speaking.

I put forth my suggestion to her. “Here are your choice’s Kathy. Option one: you can watch as I, make you and I bleed multiple times, while enduring massive pain as you watch me win. Option two: you can concede, which will keep me from inflicting more pain on you and myself. Which would you prefer?”

Kath’æren scowls at me with a pointed expression I can’t quite identify. “I suppose I can save myself a lot of pain by conceding. However, I don’t particularly like the idea of my sentence not being reduced by me losing.” She says contemplatively. “All right, I’ll concede, if only just to get away from you and your wicked deck promptly.” She closes her deck box which causes a gong to sound and the scoreboard to fade.

-Quest Completed-

It’s a dog eat dog world!

You bet Lieutenant Gar everything that you would win. You showed him, along with everyone else, that you’re the most purebred pup around.

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

Rewards: 3,100 Card Shards, 263 XP

Level Up!

Level Up!

10 Skill Points gained!