NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 7: Chapter 5: First Customer
After changing the sign to reflect the name of my card shop, Aknadin's House Of Dueling, I looked outside and realized that it was already dark and that I needed to go to bed. After putting the sign up, I went to bed and woke up at sunrise. A quick breakfast later and a check of the Financial Overview tab of the Shop Management window, I decide to price the card packs at 300 ryo (100 ryo = $1) and a starter deck at 1500 ryo with a Grand Opening discount of 33% discount leaving them at 200 ryo and 1000 ryo respectively.
.
After one final check of the shop, I officially put up the Grand Opening sign and waited, and waited, and waited. I very quickly realized that most people were not interested in going into a random shop on a side street and I had no idea how to attract them in, so I continued waiting. Some of the spirits evidently got bored of being wherever they were and started hanging around the shop opening, which would have added to the mystery if it wasn't so bright out. After a bit more waiting, I decide to write the day off as a bust and start practicing my chakra control on the floor behind the counter.
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A child is walking home from his carpentry apprenticeship in the dying light of the afternoon. This young man of only ten decides to take a more scenic route home then he usually does, taking one of the many off-shoots of main street into a poorer part of town. A small shop sits on a small intersection of winding streets, shadowed by the lowering sun and yet small lights seem to flit through the doorway.
.
Aknadin's House Of Dueling, Grand Opening Today, the sign says. He scratches the back of his head, a blue light passing through a window catching his attention and illuminating his youthful face and spiky purple hair, laden with streaks of tarnished gold. Intrigued, he slowly opens the shop door, ringing a bell hung up in the doorway and causing a man to pop up from behind the counter.
.
He looks old, his white mustache and goatee giving him a stern visage when paired with the way his face crinkles, contrasted by the leaf falling off his forehead. He seems surprised at someone coming in, probably hasn't had someone come in yet today. I look at the little lights floating in the air, the blue one that I saw earlier getting closer to reveal it to be a small red reptile thing. A snap gets my attention.
.
Seeing Yugi Motou in the world of Naruto, much less as my first customer, is certainly kind off trippy but I shake it off as he seems to be entranced by the Y-Dragon Head spirit. I snap my fingers to get his attention and start my improvised introduction, "Have you ever heard of the term gravity?" He seems a bit confused so I continue. "It is the principle of attraction, objects with enough weight start attracting other objects," I pick up a leaf off the table and let it fall from my hands, "Like our planet attracting us to it's surface, gravity effects everything equal to its weight, with bigger objects attracting each other more easily than the smaller ones that dragged around by one weight or another."
"What does that half to do with those floating lights or this shop," He asks.
"Simple, just like physical weight, I believe spiritually weight has it's own form of gravity that most would call destiny. Tell me, what are the chances that I have never seen you in this area a single time until the day I opened my store? 1 in 10? 1 in a 100? 1 in a 1000? I say that the chance of this happening is as simple as one in one. Destiny, fate, gravity, whatever you call it, I believe that is the reason you are here today."
He seems somewhat amazed at what I am saying although I think he's more amazed about how I said it. I walk around the counter and grab one of each starter deck before sitting at one of the two dueling tables. "Come sit down with me," I say as I set down the two starter decks and pull out a 10 ryo coin. from my pocket. "Heads or Tails," I ask.
He responds near instantly, "Heads."
"Heads you get Blue Eyes of the Dragon and Tails you get Scepter of the Dark Mage," I flip the coin and it lands squarely on Tails. I pass him the deck as I open up the Blue Eyes of The Dragon.
"You seem quite fond of games, Yugi. This one is called Duel Monsters or, in it's original tongue, Yu-Gi-Oh."
"H-how-"
I interrupt him, "Gravity. I know your name is Yugi for the same reason I knew it would land on Tails and the same reason this game's original name so closely matches your own." I quietly shuffle the deck as he slowly pulls out his own and shuffles his. I wait until he is done shuffling to place my deck in the deck zone and draw my five cards.
{Rogue Doll}
{Mystic Horseman}
{Swordstalker}
{Trap Master}
{Remove Trap}
"Each person starts with drawing five cards. I'll go first to demonstrate the rules," Yugi nods in response, clearly interested in the beautifully inked cards in his hands.
"The turn starts with Main Step 1. During Main Steps, you can use cards in your hand or card effects on the field that do not activate in response to another effect. Each turn, you can normal or tribute summon once per turn during one of your two main steps. Levels are denoted by the amount of stars below the name of a monster. Levels 4 or lower, " I normal summon Rogue Doll, "are normal summoned while higher levels require tributes, one for levels 5 and 6, two for levels 7 and above." I pause for a second to let him think. "The next step would usually be the Battle Step but there are no battle steps for the first turn of a game so I will end my turn. Usually, if you had a trap card Main Step 2 would be the best time to set it. Draw a card from your deck to start your turn," Yugi follows my instructions, "What does ATK mean on the monster cards," he asks. "That is the number used when a monster attacks another monster or another player directly. Monsters automatically block attacks from hitting players directly and if the ATK of the attacker is equal to or higher than the ATK of an attack position defender, than the defender is destroyed and the difference between the two values deals damage to my lifepoints. Otherwise, the attacker is destroyed and the difference is dealt to your lifepoints. If both ATKs are equal, both monsters are destroyed. All destroyed cards go to the graveyard along with used spell and trap cards"
"Spells can be used during the main step, right?" I nod yes and he uses Fissure to destroy Rogue doll before summoning Sorcerer of the Doomed and starting his Battle Step and attacking me directly.
{Fissure}
{Sorcerer of the Doomed}
"You're a quick learner," I say, "Since both players life points start at 8,000 and you attacked me directly for 1,450, I am left at 6,550 LP. Do you have any traps you want to set during Main Step 2?" He nods before setting two cards and ending his turn, a bit cheerier from my praise. I draw Ookazi.
{Ookazi}
"For my turn, I use Ookazi to deal 800 points of damage to your lifepoints leaving you at 7,200 before setting a monster in defense position and ending my turn," I say as I set Trap Master onto the field. Yugi draws a card and summons Claw Reacher before switching to the Battle Step and attacking my defense position monster with it. "Trap Master has 1,100 defense to your 1,000 attack so it is not destroyed and you are down another 100 lifepoints."
{Claw Reacher}
"Not so fast," Yugi says, "I use the trap card Reinforcements to boost Claw Reacher's attack to 1,500 until the end of the turn, destroying your monster!"
{Reinforcements}
"Luckily for me, defense position monsters stop any surplus damage from reaching me and your attack activated my monsters flip effect. Flip effects are notated by FLIP: followed by the effect and they activate whenever a monster is flipped face up. In this case, I get to look at your set card and if it is a trap card, it gets destroyed." Yugi's set card turns out to be Two-Pronged Attack.
{Two-Pronged Attack}
"Well I attack with Sorcerer of the Doomed and you take 1,450 points of damage bringing you down to..."
"5,100 lifepoints"
"5,100 lifepoints! And I end my turn"
I draw Ancient Telescope and frown at my bad luck.
{Ancient Telescope}
"I use Ancient Telescope to see the top five cards of your deck before returning them to the same order," Yugi's next five cards are Winged Dragon: Guardian of the Fortress #1, Witty Phantom, Neo the Magic Swordsman, Wall of Illusion, and Man-Eating Treasure Chest.
{Winged Dragon: Guardian of the Fortress #1}
{Witty Phantom}
{Neo the Magic Swordsman}
{Wall of Illusion}
{Man-Eating Treasure Chest}
"Honestly that tells me nothing useful other than that I may be fucked if you have the right card in hand." Yugi chuckles in response as I dryly set Mystic Horseman in defense position before ending my turn. Yugi draws his Winged Dragon: Guardian of the Fortress #1 and summons it before starting his Battle Step and attacking my facedown Mystic Horseman with Claw Reacher. "Ha, you fool! Never trust the mind games of an opponent," I exclaim, playing up the ham a bit, "You are now down to 6,650 lifepoints. Yugi giggles at my antics as he ends his turn and I draw Trap Hole.
{Trap Hole}
"Using my Mystic Horseman as tribute I summon Swordstalker in attack position before moving to my Battle Step. I attack your Claw Reacher for 1,000 damage to your lifepoints and a final total of 5,650." Yugi looks surprised at the sudden turn around as I set Trap Hole and end my turn. "I draw. I use Change of Heart to take control of your Swordstalker until the end of this turn before summoning Witty Phantom in Attack Position."
{Change of Heart}
"Not so fast! You activated my trap card, Trap Hole, and I get to destroy your Witty Phantom!"
"Still, I move on to the Battle Step and attack you with all of my monsters! Go, Winged Guardian, Sorcerer of the Doomed, and Swordstalker!"
"Hmph," I snort dismissively, "You accidentally left me alive at 250 lifepoints. End your turn so I can demolish you!"
"I end my turn and Swordstalker returns to your field"
"I draw! I summon Destroyer Golem and continue to my Battle Step!"
{Destroyer Golem}
"I attack your Winged Guardian with Destroyer Golem, destroying it and leaving you at 5,550 lifepoints. Next, I attack your Sorcerer of the Doomed with Swordstalker leaving you at 5,000 lifepoints. I end my turn."
"Draw! I set a monster and end my turn," Yugi trails off, looking uncertain at the state of the board.
"I draw! Lifepoints are merely another resource to be utilized, the amount means nothing as long as it is more than zero. I summon La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp! I start my Battle Step and attack your defense position monster with Destroyer Golem!"
"Dammit," Yugi mutters. I continue my attack, "La jinn and Swordstalker attack you directly, leaving you at 1,200 lifepoints as I end my turn."
"Do you have to extend my suffering?" Yugi asks as he draws and sets a monster before ending the turn. "I'll make it short. I draw and skip to the Battle Step before attacking with Destroyer Golem." Yugi smirks as I attack directly into the 1,850 DEF set monster, Wall of Illusion, with 1,500 ATK and lose the last of my lifepoints.
___________________________________________________________________________A/n: Hoping I did pretty good with that but I want you guys to understand that all of that was an actual unscripted duel using the YGOmaster mod for Yugioh Master Duel to fight against a CPU. None of that, including the charge into death, was fake. That was all me writing down what was happening in real time as I came to the realization after starting the attack that I would lose. The ancient telescope foreshadowing it was genuinely amazing and I wish I could write a convincing scripted duel as amazing as this. Also it will take a second for pictures to be posted as I need to do like twenty of them.