Chapter 204

“If you win, I will wager a legendary card that only the strongest alchemist can wield as the stake of our Shadow Duel.”

Banner continued, addressing Jaden.

“It is a card you need badly, since you excel at Fusion, a kind of alchemy in its own right, and carry a slumbering power of the same origin as mine. With it, you might even be able to defeat Rowan. Even so, you still have no intention of accepting this Shadow Duel?”

If it were not for wanting that double insurance, and for the fact that Rowan could not use the card anyway, Banner would have been ready to give up…

“You mean that Spell Card with the alchemist’s special power, Sabatiel – The Philosopher’s Stone?”

Rowan guessed at once what the squinty-eyed professor was talking about.

It was a card in the same vein as the broken Spell Card Camula had used, Illusion Gate. The difference was that it lacked the massive drawback of Camula’s card, where the user had to hand their soul over to the Sacred Beasts after losing. Its only restriction was that the user needed an extremely powerful alchemist’s power.

In other words, someone like that hot-blooded idiot Jaden, who was skilled at Fusion and had some kind of power slumbering in his own blood.

The Spell Card’s effect was seriously strong, though. Each time it was used, the player paid half their Life Points to pick any card from their Deck and add it to their hand, up to three times.

After the third use, Sabatiel gained a second effect and turned into an Equip Spell, raising the equipped monster’s ATK by a multiple based on the number of monsters on the opponent’s field!

The only downside was that, being a Spell Card, it could be negated easily.

Which was why Rowan’s assessment was that, for him, it would not be nearly as handy as his Superior Still Water Clarity.

“Then I accept this Shadow Duel!”

Jaden clenched his fist and answered Banner, his focus locked in completely.

With the Shadow Duel starting over there, Rowan, who already knew how it would end, did not bother watching it the whole way through.

Instead, he leaned against a big tree nearby with a toothpick in his mouth, half-lidded eyes turned toward his own system panel.

All the Spirit Keys were now in Banner’s hands, so the breaking of the Sacred Beasts’ seal had become a matter of course.

After that, the mastermind behind the Seven Stars dark faction, that old chairman of Duel Academy, would surely show up here before long.

Which gave him just enough time to see whether there was some new nightmare deck he could send along as a warm welcome for the Sacred Beasts the old chairman was certain to use!

[Name: Rowan]

[Skills: Duel Spirit Vision, Superior Still Water Clarity, Mark of the Crimson Dragon — Dragon’s Head / Dragon’s Heart / Dragon’s Tail / Dragon’s Hand (the Crimson Dragon’s true sight, which sees through a target’s good and evil nature)]

[Current Decks: Dark Magician OTK Deck, Lava Golem Deck, Shadow HERO Deck, Gravekeeper’s Deck, Quick-Draw Deck, Amazoness / Melodious Deck, Timelord Deck]

[Emotion Points: 6000]

“Already 6000 Emotion Points…?”

After he had exchanged for the Mark of the Crimson Dragon — Dragon’s Hand and the Timelord Deck, Rowan remembered having only 2500 points left.

Yet now he had a full 6000. Clearly, last night’s Shadow Duel against that poor unlucky old geezer Titan had earned him a whole 3500 more!

The thought put a satisfied grin on Rowan’s face.

His big-spender swagger was back.

He turned to the System Shop, which had just refreshed today.

[System Shop (refreshes every two days)]

Today’s offerings:

[Deck: Alchemy Beast Deck (Banner Edition)] 500 points.

[Deck: Phantasm Spiral Dragon Deck (Underworld Double-Prison build)] 1000 points.

[Deck: Tribute Fiend Deck (Underworld NTR build)] 1500 points.

[Skill: Balance (once per Duel, of your starting five cards plus the card drawn on the first turn, six in total, you are guaranteed two monsters, two Traps, and two Spells)] 2000 points.

“Tch, another skill that’s no use to me.”

Rowan clicked his tongue in mild disappointment and curled his lip.

After all, he already had Duel Spirit Vision. He could call on the Duel Spirits in his deck and get his draws arranged close to the best possible order. He had no need for a skill built for beginners who constantly draw badly and brick.

In fact, in this Duel Monsters world, any duelist with a bit of skill and a real bond with their deck could barely make use of it either.

Rowan skipped right past it and looked at the three deck options above.

When he saw the Alchemy Beast Deck, the corner of his mouth twitched, and he felt an urge to complain.

Good grief. The squinty-eyed professor was standing right over there, and the shop had rolled his deck…

Too bad. Without a strong enough bond, the Alchemy Beast Deck would be practically useless.

Rowan certainly had no time to go build a bond with it.

He decisively turned to the other two, both genuine Underworld decks.

The Phantasm Spiral Dragon Deck clearly locked the user in prison alongside their opponent. It relied on a dedicated Field Spell combined with the effects of various Traps to grind the opponent down slowly, the double-prison type of nightmare.

The Tribute Fiend Deck, on the other hand, was obviously built to steal the opponent’s monsters and put them to use for itself…

The moment he saw what kind of deck it was, Rowan knew he had to pick this one.

Rowan would like it noted that it was not because a kind-hearted soul like him enjoyed playing the NTR villain. He simply wanted to experience what it felt like to use the opponent’s monsters.