Where I fell in The Nothing and then fall out of The Nothing. Somewhere else from where I was before.
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- Thread starter Yuki no Yue
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Chapter 1: Beginning Phase
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Betaed with the help of people on Discord. Thank you a lot.
Chapter 1: Beginning Phase
There is a difference between being a Magic player and being a Magic Player. As well as there are differences between being a Magic Player and a Magic Player.
All of this is clearly my own opinion, of course, nothing more than simple personal thought, but I think it has some merit.
The first is the one that is a casual gamer. One that plays mostly for fun, don't care about the meta or the fluff, maybe buy a pack here and there.
The second is the one that is a bit more involved. Go to the various events, take part in pre-release and drafts, know a bit of the story behind the planeswalker, own more than a single deck - or Grimoire, if you want to get technical - and so on.
The third is, of course, the one that is an hardcore fan. Go to all the events, even in the neighbouring town, hold a lot of cards and several decks for every format, go to tournaments, etc.
There is overlap and several degree of distance between the three categories, of course. These were the - I felt - various points of Player-ness. The minimum, the medium, the maximum.
In this scale, I was firmly in the medium. A bit lower than the medium, actually, but still around that. A solid thirty-thirty five on a hundred sliding scale, I think.
Of course it's not like I didn't have daydreams of being a planeswalker or something like that. Everyone had them at least once, who wouldn't? Being basically a god that even other gods had to obey was…
Well, it's a kind of power that not many cold resist. Even if you didn't want to actually DO anything with that power, just having it would be a headrush.
Still, even with how much I talked about it and even dreamt about it - a strange thing that had half of the plot taken from a strange version of Prototype or something like that. Maybe InFamous? - I didn't really expected to get my hands on that power.
And, well, in a certain sense I was right. I didn't.
But I did get my hands on something else, even if a lot similar than I thought. understand, I said that I got my hands on it. That doesn't mean that I managed to get it by any virtue of my own. It was just a… a fluke. A random chance, someone could say. I simply fell on it. Or in it.
Whatever the right conjugation is, I fell in the Fourth category of Magic players: the Magic Players.
Yup. I was one of those people were the cards came alive in my hands: Sorcery, Instant, Creature, it was printed on a card, I could summon it.
As long as I played it like in the game.
It's not like I had the unlimited cosmic power that a True Planeswalker would have. Furthermore, I was absolutely sure that if I ever met one of them and they took offense to my imitation, I would be very very dead in a very very short timeframe.
Still, I still had the power to call and bind to my will the real and true force of natures, didn't I? Just that - hehe, just… - should make me pretty happy, shouldn't it?
Well, yes. It did. Then I realized that my fall was a bit more literal than what I thought.
For a moment, I simply thought that I had let myself fall backwards on my bed or I had fell asleep, something like that. Then, when I didn't stop falling, the wrongness of the situation occurred to me.
I was floating downwards - I couldn't call it falling anymore mostly because I, first, didn't have anywhere to fall to and, second, I was moving slowly. So, I was, for all that matters, floating.
I was floating in a pure white space. No angles, no shadows - even mine - no perspective, no nothing. White.
I felt a bit like a fly on a white sheet of paper. Like I was the only 3-D thing in a 2-D world.
And then… nothing. I mean, that a R.O.B. didn't appear, some mind bending monstrosity didn't manifest in front of me, no God excused themselves to be the cause of my death(?), nothing.
It was me and… as strange as it sounds, the White. I almost expected Truth from FMA to appear any moment now.
It didn't, but I expected him to.
Instead, in the purest Kingdom Hearts way possible, three objects appeared in front of me.
One on my left was a shard of a mirror, with the reflection in negative. The colors I mean. It was a bit like that scene in the Lord of the Rings when Galadriel goes all evil side.
The one on my right was a Boxing Glove on an arrow. Something that came from a cartoon, I swear. It was colored as a cartoon or a comic book illustrations, too.
And the last, straight up in front of me, was a Magic card. Brown background, five colored dots, a normal card.
Nothing more. No explanation, no voice from God, no text, no window popping open, nothing. It seemed to be a current theme, actually. Still, ok.
I would like to say that I stood there for several minutes, carefully weighing my options, thinking of what it could mean… but I really didn't. I was falling/floating for how long, I was in the White and I wanted out, in a way or another.
So I debated maybe two minutes what to do, before grabbing the card. A dumb choice? Maybe. As of now, I am still wondering what the other two choices were, but I made my bed and now I have to lie in it, as the saying goes.
So, I grabbed the card and what happened next… well, I'm not even sure. I transitioned, somewhat, in another place. I was on a circular platform, made of stone, with a series of… parts floating in front of me. Body parts, I mean.
That part looked a lot like the avatar creation of a videogame. Also, I was disembodied. But I could see things and move things and…
Let's just say that it was trippy. A lot.
So, seeing as I didn't have my body anymore, I started building a new one. Luckily, I didn't have to build it from the ground up, I just had to put the various parts together. As for the end result, I like to think it ended fairly well, no?
Just take a look.
The clothes came later, but yes, I took them from another series of premade parts. After…
Well, things changed once again. I didn't fall again, but found myself in a library, more or less. Five reading desks, the one in thin metal, that could keep only a single book on them, stood in front of me, each one with a different work on it.
Young Justice - the 2011 one -, then My Hero Academia, Worm, Dragon Age: Inquisition and Highschool of the Dead.
Keep in mind that I still had no idea of what the hell was happening. Of the five, HotD was out. Zombie Apocalypse? No, thank you.
Worm was out for the same reason, actually. It was the most depression-inducing of the five AND I really don't like grimdark.
Dragon Age was interesting, but without power was a suicide waiting to happen. Too risky for me, especially because I really didn't know what the hell was happening and it was placed in a medieval-like time period. Nope.
The last two were, more or less, safe. Safer. Still, Young Justice was DC and they did love their end of the world event. That only left me with a real choice, really.
A place, where 80% of the population had superpowers, true, but still mostly safe. So I touched the My Hero Academia manga.
Yeah, that was the moment when I started falling once again. This time it was like Alice in Wonderland, slow and sweet, swaying back and forth like being in a hammock. All around me, books, games, anime, cartoons, films and more moved like being caught in a tornado.
While I fell, I looked down and saw three stars shining in between the mess, their light attracting my attention unnaturally.
The first was a light grey and almost jumped in my hands once I was near enough it. The second was blue and I had to grab it, the whole thing still. The third was a subdued red and it actively tried to escape me.
I don't know how exactly I managed to grab it, but I did. Good for me.
The three stars twisted on themselves, before turning into deck-holders. My deck-holders, to be specific.
My first three Commander decks. Opening, they seemed to be complete. All cards accounted. Good.
I mean, I still didn't know what this whole thing was, but I liked my decks and were a familiar thing to look at, so…
I kept it tight to myself. The end of the fall was coming in and I was going faster and faster, the end looking like a wall painted completely black, without any hint of light or seams to indicate that it was an opening or a door. Only a very solid and very hard full stop.
I think that I passed out when I hit, because the next thing I remember is waking up on a bed. I was convinced that everything I had experimented was a dream, but I opened my eyes and…
I wasn't in my room. I was in a bunk bed, in a room with three more kids. We were all around the same age, more or less 13-14 age range. Sparse furnishing, but apparently of low quality.
Japanese. I blearily looked out of the window - absentmindedly noticing that I didn't need my glasses anymore, which was nice - and saw the sign that was on the grass outside.
Musutafu Orphanage.
So this wasn't a dream, then. Ok.
My mind felt fuzzy and I was pretty sure that I would get a panic attack soon, when a voice cut through my panic and attracted my attention. A woman, around late thirties, was calling from the door, her voice firm and gentle.
"Well? Alex" My name felt strange on her lips, something like a mix of the correct pronunciation and the accent from another language. Then I remembered that Japanese had problem with certain letters "It's a school day. It's your last year, you can't be late."
In a daze, I got up and moved. While I ate breakfast, dressed in my uniform, took the train, entered the school, slowly my memories filled in.
I was an orphan, I wasn't Japanese by birth, but I had been abandoned in Japan by my birth parents because I was quirkless.
Pretty clichè as far as stories goes, but whatever, I didn't really care. Thanks to the various strange looks that people had I didn't get singled out for the white hair and red eyes. No, I got singled out for being a Gaijin and Quirkless. Mostly for the second thing.
And, while all of this would help me, it didn't really revealed why I was here. Or…
If this body was quirkless, who were those three ghosts that floated near me.
One was a black kid, female, dressed in a white top and rough-looking skirt, with a net veil on her hair and down her back. Several moths flew around her and she had a strange white marking on her forehead.
The second was a statuesque woman, finely dressed in bronze-black armor, a blue cape on her shoulders and golden jewels adorning her body.
The last was a man, only a dark grey toga covering his grey skin, an elaborate golden mask with an downturned mouth covering his face.
I remained still in surprise or a few seconds, before my memory worked out who I was looking.
Aminatou. Inalla. Daxos.
My commander's decks commanders.
...That sounded like a tongue twister.
Still, they were here and they were looking at me. I wasn't sure what they wanted from me, but the three ghosts were looking at me, floating at my side.
A thump on my shoulder shock me out of my distraction and I hurried inside the school, moving towards my classroom. I was in the same middle school as Izuku - because of course I was - but I wasn't, as far as I could see, in the same class.
And, even if I was, what would I do?
At that thought, the three ghost shone a bit, moving forward and putting themselves in front of me, almost like they were trying to make me choose one. I blinked.
Choose? But… I didn't even…
"Class start. Up!"
Oh. Class is starting. I'll think about this later.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
In the end I didn't manage to pay any kind of attention towards the professor, my mind fixed on the situation and on the choice I had to make.
Which one of the three? I knew my decks and all three were slow to ramp, best in mid-late game, if they managed to reach it. Absolute best in multiplayer, actually.
Still, I had literally no idea what kind of situation I was in, so… Which one would give me the most benefits? Mmhhh….
The ring of the bell of the lunch hour was enough to distract me and turn towards the window. Did I pack lunch? Apparently no. I let my body move on autopilot as I moved towards the shop. A quick check showed that I had enough money to buy.
Well, I was getting hungry. I usually loved trying new flavors of food, but I didn't have the right mentality to focus on that.
"Inalla."
Nothing.
"Right. Inalla, Archmage Ritualist."
Yeah, that worked. Daxos and Aminatou vanished in the background, while Inalla moved forward, floating right at my back, assuming a more… I would like to say solid, but it wasn't really one. It was more present, more vibrant.
GAME START!
The sound of cards shuffling echoed in my ears and, after a moment, seven glowing cards appeared in front of me. When I looked at them, it was… well a good hand, after all.
Island, Swamp, Swamp, Vivid Creek, Azami, Lady of Scrolls, Arcanis the Omnipotent and Kess, Dissident Mage.
Not a fast one in any kind of way, but a pretty good one, if with a bit of setup. the only problem was… what the hell should I do with it? I had seven glowing gold cards floating around my head like a halo and I had literally zero idea of what to do.
Well, for now it seems that it's working like a normal game, so… what would I do? Well, play Vivid Creek and then pass the turn.
When I thought that, the card moved in my direct field of vision and a superimposed image of the Creek appeared where I was looking. It was showing me where it would appear in the world.
Well then.
With a thought the whole thing receded back and I kept my halo of glowing cards around my head, trying to ignore it. This warranted some investigation.
*********************************
The end of the schoolday was unremarkable. There was something that I was trying to remember, but the whole situation was still strange for me, so I simply moved away and took the first train that brought me away from the city, in a place where no one had the chance to see me.
The woods around the city were perfect.
So, I called upon the Vivid Creek once again and the superimposed image appeared in front of me. Trying to put in a way that didn't intersect anything, I let it go and confirmed my choice, in a way to speak.
The glowing card flew forward, until it reached the right place and turned into a shower of gold dust.
Nothing happened.
"I… end my turn?"
Nothing again.
"Ok. Maybe it's because Vivid Creek enter in the field tapped?"
So I sat down and waited. And, after five minutes, more or less, another card joined my mental hand.
Darksteel Ingot.
Good, more sources of mana were always good. Getting up, I almost fell down when the earth trembled and quaked a bit under my feet, the Vivid Creek sprouting from nowhere, pushing the trees and the dirt away, a rainbow shimmering above it. No, wait. Two rainbows.
The token, I guess.
Ok, so. Lands appear in reality. Not in the turn they enter if tapped, but when they untap. Now, what happen if I tap them? I don't have anything play right now, but I can if I wait a couple of turns.
So, let's play another land. Island.
The card glew and I superimposed is with the creek, to see what would happen. In this case, the small waterfall and rocks appeared without any problem, inserting themselves with the previous land.
So, similar lands fuse together. Good to know.
"Pass my turn."
I wasn't sure if it was necessary to say it, but it was an habit and I didn't see any reason to stop, so.
Five minutes later, another card joined my mental hand.
Another Island.
What would happen if I dropped it under my feet? Let's try.
The image was a bit harder to put, as I needed to look where I wanted it to appear, but I managed. The rock grew from under my feet, the creek and the river joining it, forming a very small lake in the middle of the forest and an island at the center. A quick check showed that anything else was simply pushed away from me: trees, rocks, animals, dirt.
So, I didn't take over the space, I literally brought a little bit of space here.
Now, try number three. What happens if I tap them to draw mana?
I mentally tapped the Creek and the two Islands. Three blue sphere of energy appeared from nowhere and twisted and turned around me, filling me with energy. It was potential, ideas, innovation, pure logic…
It was Blue Mana.
I shunted it in the Darksteel Ingot literally instantly. Then passed my turn, this time mentally, to see what would happen.
First, a fist sized ingot of dark materials appeared in my hand. It was spherical, shining like glass and reflective. Three sparks of light seemed to be circling it, but it was mostly a trick of the light.
Right after that, the creek, the river and the island lost color. They turned grey and lifeless, but still there. When I tried to touch the water, it still behaved like water, so I was good on that part.
Still, that was enough for now. I let my turn refresh, adding another card to my hand (Nivix Guildmage) and returned towards the orphanage. I wondered if the game would remain or it would stop at midnight or something.
***************************
It didn't stop. That was both good - 'cause I could stockpile power - and bad - because of the whole reality editing I would make - and unknown - because I had no idea what would happen if I summoned a creature - so I had to do more experimenting.
School was boring, but it was abuzz with rumors and gossips. Apparently Bakugou had been caught hostage by a villain and had been saved by Midoriya.
Right, that had happened. Did that meant that he was now on track to become the next One for All holder? Mmhhh…
Yeah, a meeting was in order.
Chapter 1: Beginning Phase
There is a difference between being a Magic player and being a Magic Player. As well as there are differences between being a Magic Player and a Magic Player.
All of this is clearly my own opinion, of course, nothing more than simple personal thought, but I think it has some merit.
The first is the one that is a casual gamer. One that plays mostly for fun, don't care about the meta or the fluff, maybe buy a pack here and there.
The second is the one that is a bit more involved. Go to the various events, take part in pre-release and drafts, know a bit of the story behind the planeswalker, own more than a single deck - or Grimoire, if you want to get technical - and so on.
The third is, of course, the one that is an hardcore fan. Go to all the events, even in the neighbouring town, hold a lot of cards and several decks for every format, go to tournaments, etc.
There is overlap and several degree of distance between the three categories, of course. These were the - I felt - various points of Player-ness. The minimum, the medium, the maximum.
In this scale, I was firmly in the medium. A bit lower than the medium, actually, but still around that. A solid thirty-thirty five on a hundred sliding scale, I think.
Of course it's not like I didn't have daydreams of being a planeswalker or something like that. Everyone had them at least once, who wouldn't? Being basically a god that even other gods had to obey was…
Well, it's a kind of power that not many cold resist. Even if you didn't want to actually DO anything with that power, just having it would be a headrush.
Still, even with how much I talked about it and even dreamt about it - a strange thing that had half of the plot taken from a strange version of Prototype or something like that. Maybe InFamous? - I didn't really expected to get my hands on that power.
And, well, in a certain sense I was right. I didn't.
But I did get my hands on something else, even if a lot similar than I thought. understand, I said that I got my hands on it. That doesn't mean that I managed to get it by any virtue of my own. It was just a… a fluke. A random chance, someone could say. I simply fell on it. Or in it.
Whatever the right conjugation is, I fell in the Fourth category of Magic players: the Magic Players.
Yup. I was one of those people were the cards came alive in my hands: Sorcery, Instant, Creature, it was printed on a card, I could summon it.
As long as I played it like in the game.
It's not like I had the unlimited cosmic power that a True Planeswalker would have. Furthermore, I was absolutely sure that if I ever met one of them and they took offense to my imitation, I would be very very dead in a very very short timeframe.
Still, I still had the power to call and bind to my will the real and true force of natures, didn't I? Just that - hehe, just… - should make me pretty happy, shouldn't it?
Well, yes. It did. Then I realized that my fall was a bit more literal than what I thought.
For a moment, I simply thought that I had let myself fall backwards on my bed or I had fell asleep, something like that. Then, when I didn't stop falling, the wrongness of the situation occurred to me.
I was floating downwards - I couldn't call it falling anymore mostly because I, first, didn't have anywhere to fall to and, second, I was moving slowly. So, I was, for all that matters, floating.
I was floating in a pure white space. No angles, no shadows - even mine - no perspective, no nothing. White.
I felt a bit like a fly on a white sheet of paper. Like I was the only 3-D thing in a 2-D world.
And then… nothing. I mean, that a R.O.B. didn't appear, some mind bending monstrosity didn't manifest in front of me, no God excused themselves to be the cause of my death(?), nothing.
It was me and… as strange as it sounds, the White. I almost expected Truth from FMA to appear any moment now.
It didn't, but I expected him to.
Instead, in the purest Kingdom Hearts way possible, three objects appeared in front of me.
One on my left was a shard of a mirror, with the reflection in negative. The colors I mean. It was a bit like that scene in the Lord of the Rings when Galadriel goes all evil side.
The one on my right was a Boxing Glove on an arrow. Something that came from a cartoon, I swear. It was colored as a cartoon or a comic book illustrations, too.
And the last, straight up in front of me, was a Magic card. Brown background, five colored dots, a normal card.
Nothing more. No explanation, no voice from God, no text, no window popping open, nothing. It seemed to be a current theme, actually. Still, ok.
I would like to say that I stood there for several minutes, carefully weighing my options, thinking of what it could mean… but I really didn't. I was falling/floating for how long, I was in the White and I wanted out, in a way or another.
So I debated maybe two minutes what to do, before grabbing the card. A dumb choice? Maybe. As of now, I am still wondering what the other two choices were, but I made my bed and now I have to lie in it, as the saying goes.
So, I grabbed the card and what happened next… well, I'm not even sure. I transitioned, somewhat, in another place. I was on a circular platform, made of stone, with a series of… parts floating in front of me. Body parts, I mean.
That part looked a lot like the avatar creation of a videogame. Also, I was disembodied. But I could see things and move things and…
Let's just say that it was trippy. A lot.
So, seeing as I didn't have my body anymore, I started building a new one. Luckily, I didn't have to build it from the ground up, I just had to put the various parts together. As for the end result, I like to think it ended fairly well, no?
Just take a look.
The clothes came later, but yes, I took them from another series of premade parts. After…
Well, things changed once again. I didn't fall again, but found myself in a library, more or less. Five reading desks, the one in thin metal, that could keep only a single book on them, stood in front of me, each one with a different work on it.
Young Justice - the 2011 one -, then My Hero Academia, Worm, Dragon Age: Inquisition and Highschool of the Dead.
Keep in mind that I still had no idea of what the hell was happening. Of the five, HotD was out. Zombie Apocalypse? No, thank you.
Worm was out for the same reason, actually. It was the most depression-inducing of the five AND I really don't like grimdark.
Dragon Age was interesting, but without power was a suicide waiting to happen. Too risky for me, especially because I really didn't know what the hell was happening and it was placed in a medieval-like time period. Nope.
The last two were, more or less, safe. Safer. Still, Young Justice was DC and they did love their end of the world event. That only left me with a real choice, really.
A place, where 80% of the population had superpowers, true, but still mostly safe. So I touched the My Hero Academia manga.
Yeah, that was the moment when I started falling once again. This time it was like Alice in Wonderland, slow and sweet, swaying back and forth like being in a hammock. All around me, books, games, anime, cartoons, films and more moved like being caught in a tornado.
While I fell, I looked down and saw three stars shining in between the mess, their light attracting my attention unnaturally.
The first was a light grey and almost jumped in my hands once I was near enough it. The second was blue and I had to grab it, the whole thing still. The third was a subdued red and it actively tried to escape me.
I don't know how exactly I managed to grab it, but I did. Good for me.
The three stars twisted on themselves, before turning into deck-holders. My deck-holders, to be specific.
My first three Commander decks. Opening, they seemed to be complete. All cards accounted. Good.
I mean, I still didn't know what this whole thing was, but I liked my decks and were a familiar thing to look at, so…
I kept it tight to myself. The end of the fall was coming in and I was going faster and faster, the end looking like a wall painted completely black, without any hint of light or seams to indicate that it was an opening or a door. Only a very solid and very hard full stop.
I think that I passed out when I hit, because the next thing I remember is waking up on a bed. I was convinced that everything I had experimented was a dream, but I opened my eyes and…
I wasn't in my room. I was in a bunk bed, in a room with three more kids. We were all around the same age, more or less 13-14 age range. Sparse furnishing, but apparently of low quality.
Japanese. I blearily looked out of the window - absentmindedly noticing that I didn't need my glasses anymore, which was nice - and saw the sign that was on the grass outside.
Musutafu Orphanage.
So this wasn't a dream, then. Ok.
My mind felt fuzzy and I was pretty sure that I would get a panic attack soon, when a voice cut through my panic and attracted my attention. A woman, around late thirties, was calling from the door, her voice firm and gentle.
"Well? Alex" My name felt strange on her lips, something like a mix of the correct pronunciation and the accent from another language. Then I remembered that Japanese had problem with certain letters "It's a school day. It's your last year, you can't be late."
In a daze, I got up and moved. While I ate breakfast, dressed in my uniform, took the train, entered the school, slowly my memories filled in.
I was an orphan, I wasn't Japanese by birth, but I had been abandoned in Japan by my birth parents because I was quirkless.
Pretty clichè as far as stories goes, but whatever, I didn't really care. Thanks to the various strange looks that people had I didn't get singled out for the white hair and red eyes. No, I got singled out for being a Gaijin and Quirkless. Mostly for the second thing.
And, while all of this would help me, it didn't really revealed why I was here. Or…
If this body was quirkless, who were those three ghosts that floated near me.
One was a black kid, female, dressed in a white top and rough-looking skirt, with a net veil on her hair and down her back. Several moths flew around her and she had a strange white marking on her forehead.
The second was a statuesque woman, finely dressed in bronze-black armor, a blue cape on her shoulders and golden jewels adorning her body.
The last was a man, only a dark grey toga covering his grey skin, an elaborate golden mask with an downturned mouth covering his face.
I remained still in surprise or a few seconds, before my memory worked out who I was looking.
Aminatou. Inalla. Daxos.
My commander's decks commanders.
...That sounded like a tongue twister.
Still, they were here and they were looking at me. I wasn't sure what they wanted from me, but the three ghosts were looking at me, floating at my side.
A thump on my shoulder shock me out of my distraction and I hurried inside the school, moving towards my classroom. I was in the same middle school as Izuku - because of course I was - but I wasn't, as far as I could see, in the same class.
And, even if I was, what would I do?
At that thought, the three ghost shone a bit, moving forward and putting themselves in front of me, almost like they were trying to make me choose one. I blinked.
Choose? But… I didn't even…
"Class start. Up!"
Oh. Class is starting. I'll think about this later.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
In the end I didn't manage to pay any kind of attention towards the professor, my mind fixed on the situation and on the choice I had to make.
Which one of the three? I knew my decks and all three were slow to ramp, best in mid-late game, if they managed to reach it. Absolute best in multiplayer, actually.
Still, I had literally no idea what kind of situation I was in, so… Which one would give me the most benefits? Mmhhh….
The ring of the bell of the lunch hour was enough to distract me and turn towards the window. Did I pack lunch? Apparently no. I let my body move on autopilot as I moved towards the shop. A quick check showed that I had enough money to buy.
Well, I was getting hungry. I usually loved trying new flavors of food, but I didn't have the right mentality to focus on that.
"Inalla."
Nothing.
"Right. Inalla, Archmage Ritualist."
Yeah, that worked. Daxos and Aminatou vanished in the background, while Inalla moved forward, floating right at my back, assuming a more… I would like to say solid, but it wasn't really one. It was more present, more vibrant.
GAME START!
The sound of cards shuffling echoed in my ears and, after a moment, seven glowing cards appeared in front of me. When I looked at them, it was… well a good hand, after all.
Island, Swamp, Swamp, Vivid Creek, Azami, Lady of Scrolls, Arcanis the Omnipotent and Kess, Dissident Mage.
Not a fast one in any kind of way, but a pretty good one, if with a bit of setup. the only problem was… what the hell should I do with it? I had seven glowing gold cards floating around my head like a halo and I had literally zero idea of what to do.
Well, for now it seems that it's working like a normal game, so… what would I do? Well, play Vivid Creek and then pass the turn.
When I thought that, the card moved in my direct field of vision and a superimposed image of the Creek appeared where I was looking. It was showing me where it would appear in the world.
Well then.
With a thought the whole thing receded back and I kept my halo of glowing cards around my head, trying to ignore it. This warranted some investigation.
*********************************
The end of the schoolday was unremarkable. There was something that I was trying to remember, but the whole situation was still strange for me, so I simply moved away and took the first train that brought me away from the city, in a place where no one had the chance to see me.
The woods around the city were perfect.
So, I called upon the Vivid Creek once again and the superimposed image appeared in front of me. Trying to put in a way that didn't intersect anything, I let it go and confirmed my choice, in a way to speak.
The glowing card flew forward, until it reached the right place and turned into a shower of gold dust.
Nothing happened.
"I… end my turn?"
Nothing again.
"Ok. Maybe it's because Vivid Creek enter in the field tapped?"
So I sat down and waited. And, after five minutes, more or less, another card joined my mental hand.
Darksteel Ingot.
Good, more sources of mana were always good. Getting up, I almost fell down when the earth trembled and quaked a bit under my feet, the Vivid Creek sprouting from nowhere, pushing the trees and the dirt away, a rainbow shimmering above it. No, wait. Two rainbows.
The token, I guess.
Ok, so. Lands appear in reality. Not in the turn they enter if tapped, but when they untap. Now, what happen if I tap them? I don't have anything play right now, but I can if I wait a couple of turns.
So, let's play another land. Island.
The card glew and I superimposed is with the creek, to see what would happen. In this case, the small waterfall and rocks appeared without any problem, inserting themselves with the previous land.
So, similar lands fuse together. Good to know.
"Pass my turn."
I wasn't sure if it was necessary to say it, but it was an habit and I didn't see any reason to stop, so.
Five minutes later, another card joined my mental hand.
Another Island.
What would happen if I dropped it under my feet? Let's try.
The image was a bit harder to put, as I needed to look where I wanted it to appear, but I managed. The rock grew from under my feet, the creek and the river joining it, forming a very small lake in the middle of the forest and an island at the center. A quick check showed that anything else was simply pushed away from me: trees, rocks, animals, dirt.
So, I didn't take over the space, I literally brought a little bit of space here.
Now, try number three. What happens if I tap them to draw mana?
I mentally tapped the Creek and the two Islands. Three blue sphere of energy appeared from nowhere and twisted and turned around me, filling me with energy. It was potential, ideas, innovation, pure logic…
It was Blue Mana.
I shunted it in the Darksteel Ingot literally instantly. Then passed my turn, this time mentally, to see what would happen.
First, a fist sized ingot of dark materials appeared in my hand. It was spherical, shining like glass and reflective. Three sparks of light seemed to be circling it, but it was mostly a trick of the light.
Right after that, the creek, the river and the island lost color. They turned grey and lifeless, but still there. When I tried to touch the water, it still behaved like water, so I was good on that part.
Still, that was enough for now. I let my turn refresh, adding another card to my hand (Nivix Guildmage) and returned towards the orphanage. I wondered if the game would remain or it would stop at midnight or something.
***************************
It didn't stop. That was both good - 'cause I could stockpile power - and bad - because of the whole reality editing I would make - and unknown - because I had no idea what would happen if I summoned a creature - so I had to do more experimenting.
School was boring, but it was abuzz with rumors and gossips. Apparently Bakugou had been caught hostage by a villain and had been saved by Midoriya.
Right, that had happened. Did that meant that he was now on track to become the next One for All holder? Mmhhh…
Yeah, a meeting was in order.
- Location
- Italy
You'll have to see for yourself. It's gonna be a plot point later on.
- Location
- Italy
That was mostly on purpose. I was trying to convey the disjointed, not completely there feeling of a dream.
- Location
- Scotland
What I want to know is when a creature is summoned will it be a person or a robot with the face of that creature
looking forward to more because there are not enough MTG fics.
looking forward to more because there are not enough MTG fics.
RinKaihou
AllSeeingEye
- Location
- Behind You
If he keeps using Inalla, it's possible that his deck has Black lifegain cards that might translate to bullshit healing but most. Black lifegain cards "drain" life instead of outright healing so he may need an enemy or a volunteer to heal All Might.
Unless he has Blue spell's that can rewind All Might to his prime, like Clockspinning
But, and this is the funniest thing I can think of right now, if Quirks are enough for the Game to consider those people "Wizards", Inalla can literally make doppelgangers of anyone with a Quirk. If we take the card text literally, those doppelgangers are faster than their originals but are temporary.
SI can literally throw faster-than-normal kamikaze All Mights at people.
Last edited:
Chapter 2: Untap
- Location
- Italy
As before, thanks to the beat group on Discord.
Chapter 2: Untap
After school I laid in wait, until I saw the dark green curls of the boy move away from the school. He was going towards the train station, so I followed, trying to appear like a normal guy going home. Only, I took his train instead of mine, choosing a train car behind him.
On another note, these trains were really clean and fast. Nice.
After three stops, he got out of the train and I followed. I managed to not being spotted by him for three streets, two turns and one cross.
Then a hand grabbed my arm and I got dragged into a dark alley by a blonde firecracker, red eyes glaring into me.
"Well, fucker, what do you think you are doing following Deku, uh?!"
Bakugou Katsuki. Of course. Narrative causality wouldn't have it any other way.
"Why do you care?" My deadpan answer was enough to make him blink and I used that short moment to take a step back, my Swamp flying forward and ready to be deployed.
...did this still counted as my turn? I wasn't sure.
"I don't!" Typical teenage. Accuse one of having something as banal as emotion and they all go defensive.
"Then why did you ask?" Another deadpan answer. He was clearly surprised that I hadn't fall on my knees worshipping him, so he was slowly turning to anger.
A lot of fanfic were right about that, it seemed. To be honest, it was canon, too.
"Just answer the… wait. You are the other quirkless fucker that goes to my school." Apparently he knew me? That was new. A cruel smile started to spread across his face.
"So, that's what it is. Ah! Two useless, quirkless nobodies put together won't amount to nothing more than what they already are: Nothing!"
Hurtful.
If, you know, I gave literally anything about his opinion. Also, I couldn't physically resist. I had to.
"Well..." I superimposed the swamp under his feet "...the rumors of my quirklessness..." and I let it manifest. With a slurping sound, Bakugou found himself away from me. When he took a reflexive step forward, he found himself waist deep in a swamp, while I stood on the surface without any problem whatsoever "...were greatly exaggerated."
I smiled at his enraged and baffled face, before turning and power walking away.
With a bit of luck it would take him a bit to escape. Also, the fact that I could move inside my own terrain without problems was confirmed.
All the same, I was hearing explosions going off, so better walk a bit faster.
*******************************************
Finding the beach wasn't hard, but I had to stop and ask a couple of people before I managed to orient myself. It was really a dump, uh.
Piles and piles of junk and trash all around, completely uncaring of the environment. That was kind of impressive, in the wrong way.
The good news was, while I was searching for the beach, my turn had refreshed, so I had a new card.
Another Swamp. Well, more land was good. Also I was still iffy on summoning a creature. I would have to do that, sooner or later, but I let the whole thing go, for now.
Weaving through the maze created by the trash, I kept my ears well open and tried to listen to anything that sounded like human voices.
It was kinda hard with all the seagulls, but I managed to hear them. Finding my way to them, on the other hand, was a bit harder, but I managed.
Once I reached the small clearing where the two were training, I kept myself hidden for a few moments, simply looking.
All Might - in his skeletal form - was instructing Midoriya Izuku - Quirkless Wonder - on how to do the exercise correctly. Now the only thing I had to do was… what? I had no idea.
I let myself fall on the sand, simply listening, unsure on what to do. Without any kind of direction in my life, I… what…
I had powers. I had a sort of magic. Well, Magic, to be correct. Still. I… had nowhere to go, no one to talk with, no overarching mission, no target, nothing.
I could follow the plot, I could destroy it completely, I could become a hero, a villain, a vigilante, anything. And I… I just wanted to go back home.
Sad, isn't it? How I had in my hand what I wanted for all my life and I would gladly give it all for returning back to my own home. Probably things would be different if I had chosen to be here, but I had no saying in what was happening and…
The hiccups of my crying must have been too loud, because I found myself looking at the skeleton form of All Might and the worried eyes of Izuku Midoriya.
"Is everything alright, young man?" His voice was as warm as his demeanor suggested. I had no idea if he had the same voice in the anime or not. I only knew that hearing that voice made me renew my crying, sending Izuku in a panic attack and Toshinori Yagi in a sigh. After that, he put his hand on my head and rubbed a bit.
"Calm down, calm down. I am here."
I had no frame of reference for those words and yet, I calmed down all the same. They were reassuring and the certainness behind them was, someway, the most impressive thing of all.
I cried for a few minutes later, before finally calming down. Izuku had a handkerchief with him, something I couldn't be grateful enough.
"Thank you. I'll bring it back to you clean, I swear." "Ahah, don't worry. I want to be a hero and this is the minimum."
His smile was really like sunshine, so bright that I found myself smiling back.
"So, young man. Want to tell us why were you crying? Maybe we can help?" Yagi asked, sitting cross legged in front of me, while Izuku hurried and sat down near him, still looking at me with a worried expression.
What to say?
"I'm… well, I'm an orphan. And not from Japan. I got abandoned here when I was little, maybe five or so, from my birth parents. Because I am quirkless. Well, was."
I recounted this without any hint of emotion, but it still sent Izuku reeling and Yagi frowning.
"Was? Are you saying that..."
"Yes. I developed a quirk. Yesterday. As for it's effects..." I looked at a pile of junk and superimposed one of the Swamps I had in my hand. The whole thing got pushed away as the land manifested, between the jump of surprise from both the heroes near me - pro or aspirant.
"Swamp generation? At range? Maybe using geokinesis or hydrokinesis. It could also be induced via rot... Or some sort of illusions?" Izuku was already murmuring, his fingers twitching and clearly wanting to take a notebook and start scribbling. Yagi was just frowning, clearly focusing on something.
"Not exactly. It's a card game." That brought both of them to a hard stop, turning towards me with incredulity written on their faces.
"Pardon?"
"A what?" Well, it did sound a lot like a simple flight of fancy, but it was true, so…
"Let me show you. Azami, Lady of the Scrolls!"
Three blue wysps of energy appeared around me, a halo of energy that were clearly visible to everyone, if their reaction was something to go for. Then, another two black wysps joined the blue ones, one from the swamp that I had just cast, thus completing the mana cost. After that, they all coalesced into a card hovering over my palm.
I grabbed it and threw it in front of me, where it vanished into an explosion of blue energy and reappeared on the beach, wearing the pink-red kimono with gold accents, with the scrolls floating around her and a severe expression on her face.
She didn't say anything, simply stood there, looking at me, while Yagi coughed blood and Izuku was ooohing and aaahing. I wonder what would happen if…
"Use your power on yourself. Then I pass my turn."
She nodded and slowly vanished, turning grey and almost ghostly, only vaguely there. Another card appeared in my hand: Crosis's Charm.
Yeah, that card was kind of worrying. Did it work on humans? Also, even if I discarded the use of destroy a creature, what would happen if I sent someone back to their hand? The implications were…
"Young man! Are you back with us?" Yagi's voice made me blink, before returning my attention towards him. He had a stern expression on his face, while Izuku was worried and twisting his hands. I slowly nodded.
"Sorry, I just got a card that worries me."
Yeah, that didn't explain anything and it was clear on their face. So I explained more.
"It's called Crosis's Charm, it… oh." The card appeared in my hand, visible to everyone. To cut on the problems, I showed it to them and waited.
Their answer was one of confusion. Understandable, I guess "Do any of you have a smartphone with internet?"
"Here." Izuku gave me his own phone without saying anything more and I smiled at him in thanks, before opening the search engine and typing inside it.
I really hope that it would result in something, because I didn't know how to explain it otherwise.
Luckily, it did.
"Here. It's this game here." And I showed him an article to Magic the Gathering. The cards weren't produced anymore, but the game had been famous enough that it had remained on the internet.
After a few minutes of reading, Yagi looked at me with a heavy frown on his face, while Izuku had retrieved one of his notebooks and was copying down everything that was written on the site. I wasn't sure why, the phone was his and I didn't cancel the browser history.
"Young man… excuse me, what is your name?" Right. I knew I had forgotten something.
"Name's Alex. Nice to meet you."
"Very well. I am Toshinori Yagi. As I was saying, young… Alex?" He half asked, looking at me to see if it was right. I nodded. I was fine with them using my name.
"Young Alex. If your quirk really works like the card game..." he had to stop for a moment, the whole thing a bit absurd even for him "...then I can only say that you have a very powerful quirk with what are, undoubtedly, pretty strict limitations. Still, this doesn't limit you from doing whatever you want."
Hearing him talk was relaxing, my stress and anxiety simply melting away. He had that sort of effect on the people.
"The only problem is… I don't know what I want to do. I was quirkless until yesterday, I never… this whole thing is… overwhelming."
"I understand. Your life changed completely in the span of twenty four hours, you are confused and uncertain. I would like to say that this is something that doesn't happen often, but it's not true. Even with all the advancement that we have made, there are some things that we can never truly control or remove. Accidents, illness, cancer… anything at all. Life is chaos."
He stopped for a moment, to take another breath, and I simply remained there, looking at him, waiting for him to continue. His voice had something hypnotic to it, something that commanded attention.
"But it is for this chaos that is worth living. A life without a choice is not life at all. You gained great power, but lost what direction you had before. You are on uncharted path. Explore this new life of yours. You have infinite possibilities in front of you." and he put his hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently.
I was speechless, so I simply nodded and gulped down the breath that it had blocked my throat. Izuku was, more or less, in the same state.
"So? What do you think you could do with your new outlook on life?" I looked at him, before looking at Izuku and smiling.
"I think… I think I'll try to become a hero."
Like it was a sign from the heavens, my turn changed one again and another card appeared in my hand. Exotic Orchard.
...talking about mixed signals.
Azami reappeared in her full color and vibrancy, drawing surprising breath from Izuku and a small cough from Yagi, before he refocused his attention on me.
"If you are sure, I am not going to say no. I'm just gonna ask you to be careful and think about it carefully. Being a hero it's arduous and difficult. You have to put your life on the line for the others and it's not something that is chosen on a whim. So. Are you sure?"
I gulped at the seriousness and nodded "Yes."
He smiled, as sunny as Iuku had before "Then, young Alex, I'm happy to hear that you'll embark on the road to be a hero. Young Midoriya here is doing the same thing."
Izuku smiled bashfully, before extending his hand "Midoriya Izuku. Nice to meet you." I shook his hand back, a smile on my face "Alex. Pleasure is mine. Call me Alex."
I dunno if the familiarity was overwhelming or what, but he nodded, speechless. Then, Yagi clapped his hands and called back Izuku attention.
"Young Midoriya, we need to continue. Meanwhile, Young Alex, why don't you explore your quirk a bit more on that corner of the beach? Away from where people can see you."
Right. Public usage of quirks is forbidden.
And I left a swamp in the middle of an alley. Whoooops.
Oh well, as long as no one saw me, it's all good.
I moved to the side of the beach, Azami following me in silence, before casting the last Swamp in my hand and summoning once again.
"Swamp." another pile of trash got displaced and moved "Come, Arcanis the Omnipotent!"
In a flash of actinic light the six wysps of light turned into a card, that exploded into a robed human, covered from head to toe, with energy crackling and snapping all around him.
"Azami, I use your power. Tap both you and Arcanis." And instantly the two creatures vanished into the grey ghost-like status, significant of their being tapped situation.
The cards that appeared in my hand were interesting. Well, one. One was another Island. But the second…
Well, it was Body Double.
I was a bit worried about it's effects. Would it work only on my Graveyard? Would it work on any single dead that had ever existed? Or maybe only on the most historical ones? I didn't know.
I wanted, no, needed to know. And…
Yeah, the person that I had in mind would make me a very bad person. But if I could recall Nana Shimura or any other Hero - or Villain - from the tomb…
No. Too dangerous and attention catching. I would try this once, then, if it worked, destroy the copied creature with Crosis's Charm and never use it that way again.
I just had to wait five minutes.
********************************************
After Corpse Augur appeared in my hand, I took a deep breath and steeled myself. That was the moment.
I threw the Island I got before on the ground, anywhere that didn't blocked the passage or gave me problem, before focusing. Two swamps and three islands gave me the mana I needed. Everything coalesced into the single card hovering over my palm.
With my eyes closed, I threw it in front of me "Body Double."
An androgynous figure, neither man or woman, face veiled by a nondescript mask, it looked at me. I waited for a moment, expecting to see something, anything: a list, a series of images, even just names…
But nothing. The Body Double stood there for a moment, before vanishing into blue motes. I felt the creature vanish from existence and appear in my graveyard.
So. That didn't work. Good to know. A sigh of relief was almost physically ripped from my body, as I looked around decided what to do. I still had three mana and five cards in my hand…
Let's try attacking. But first…
"Red with Darksteel Ingot, Vivid Creek. I call you, Nivix Guildmage!"
In an explosion that reminded me of a geyser of boiling water, the guy manifested. It was dressed in red and black, looking a lot like a street racer, with a tanic of… something… hanging from his shoulders.
Before he had even manifested fully, I felt that I could do more than just that. Then I remembered Inalla's Eminence.
I tapped my last swamp and a copy of the Nivix Guildmage appeared, this one looking a bit less vibrant, a bit more artificial, but it was there and, in contrast to the original, it was ready.
"Ok, let's see..." In the game I could only target a player or a planeswalker with my attacks. But here, maybe, I could do more?
"Arcanis, hit that pile of trash."
Without a sound, Arcanis pointed towards the pile and a lightning bolt flashed out, hitting the junk and turning it into melted slag in an instant. If… If that had hit a human being…
"Token Nivix Guildmage, attack the pile to my left." The token obeyed, twin fireballs slamming against the pile and sending it flying, only burnt remains falling in the sand.
Well, this was a problem. Apparently, my default setting was Lethal Overkill. I mean, there were some times when you had to kill someone - All for One, Overhaul… - but it wasn't for the most times. Maybe I should become a soldier? But I hate the whole obeying order without discussion…
"Azami, tap yourself and Nivix." With two more cards in my hand - Island and Terramorphic Expanse - I simply stood there. Wondering.
What should I do?
************************************************
I let the turn pass and, after I got a new card, I stopped and sat down, thinking. If my only choice was to be lethal all the time… But, on the other hand, Bakugou had a rather explosive quirk and he managed to be a hero.
But he could control it. I couldn't. The attack power of my creatures was fixed. Or it was?
I sent the Terramorphic Expanse to my left, near the water, before actually looking at what I had in my hand. THe new card was Serendib Sorcerer, a very good card with a very good effect. There was a combo with a triton card that I couldn't remember right now.
I had four blue, three black and one multicolor at my fingertips. I only had to choose how to spend it. Well, first of all, I turned towards the Nivix Guildmage.
"I'm gonna use your first power."
One red wysp from the Darksteel ingot and two islands gave me the three mana that I needed, letting the guildmage do his thing. With a flash of red and blue, a new card appeared in front of me: Silumgar's Command. Nice card, kind of terrifying, but still usable. I think.
For Nivix effect, I sent the Exotic Orchard to the graveyard and focused on my next move.
"Azami, tap yourself and Nivix." The two vanished and two new cards appeared. Another Swamp.
And Izzet Chronarch. Good. Useful. Not as useful right now, but in the future. Maybe.
Eight cards in my hand. Draw from the remaining island and Vivid Creek, draw from one Swamp. Then…
"Come, Serendib Sorcerer." Blue pants, red tunic slit in the middle exposing a nicely muscled chest and arms and a clean face. His eyes were shining blue and sparks of power fell from his hands.
A mind mage.
I could have created a token of him with Inalla, but I didn't have a real target for his ability, so I simply let it go. After that, I pointed at Arcanis.
"Hit that pile of junk, but don't destroy it. Just stun or something at that level of power. Nothing lethal."
The creature looked at me, before turning and sending a vortex of blue energy at the junk pile, turning it into shreds. Well, that cinched it.
My creatures don't have a non-lethal setting.
LETHAL LAST HIT: AUTO->ON REQUEST. SETTING CHANGED.
That… Yeah, that would make things problematic.
There was one last thing I needed to try before going back to the orphanage.
"This game? I kind of want to close it now. It is possible?" I injected all of my will in that command and waited, my breath held in my throat.
Chapter 2: Untap
After school I laid in wait, until I saw the dark green curls of the boy move away from the school. He was going towards the train station, so I followed, trying to appear like a normal guy going home. Only, I took his train instead of mine, choosing a train car behind him.
On another note, these trains were really clean and fast. Nice.
After three stops, he got out of the train and I followed. I managed to not being spotted by him for three streets, two turns and one cross.
Then a hand grabbed my arm and I got dragged into a dark alley by a blonde firecracker, red eyes glaring into me.
"Well, fucker, what do you think you are doing following Deku, uh?!"
Bakugou Katsuki. Of course. Narrative causality wouldn't have it any other way.
"Why do you care?" My deadpan answer was enough to make him blink and I used that short moment to take a step back, my Swamp flying forward and ready to be deployed.
...did this still counted as my turn? I wasn't sure.
"I don't!" Typical teenage. Accuse one of having something as banal as emotion and they all go defensive.
"Then why did you ask?" Another deadpan answer. He was clearly surprised that I hadn't fall on my knees worshipping him, so he was slowly turning to anger.
A lot of fanfic were right about that, it seemed. To be honest, it was canon, too.
"Just answer the… wait. You are the other quirkless fucker that goes to my school." Apparently he knew me? That was new. A cruel smile started to spread across his face.
"So, that's what it is. Ah! Two useless, quirkless nobodies put together won't amount to nothing more than what they already are: Nothing!"
Hurtful.
If, you know, I gave literally anything about his opinion. Also, I couldn't physically resist. I had to.
"Well..." I superimposed the swamp under his feet "...the rumors of my quirklessness..." and I let it manifest. With a slurping sound, Bakugou found himself away from me. When he took a reflexive step forward, he found himself waist deep in a swamp, while I stood on the surface without any problem whatsoever "...were greatly exaggerated."
I smiled at his enraged and baffled face, before turning and power walking away.
With a bit of luck it would take him a bit to escape. Also, the fact that I could move inside my own terrain without problems was confirmed.
All the same, I was hearing explosions going off, so better walk a bit faster.
*******************************************
Finding the beach wasn't hard, but I had to stop and ask a couple of people before I managed to orient myself. It was really a dump, uh.
Piles and piles of junk and trash all around, completely uncaring of the environment. That was kind of impressive, in the wrong way.
The good news was, while I was searching for the beach, my turn had refreshed, so I had a new card.
Another Swamp. Well, more land was good. Also I was still iffy on summoning a creature. I would have to do that, sooner or later, but I let the whole thing go, for now.
Weaving through the maze created by the trash, I kept my ears well open and tried to listen to anything that sounded like human voices.
It was kinda hard with all the seagulls, but I managed to hear them. Finding my way to them, on the other hand, was a bit harder, but I managed.
Once I reached the small clearing where the two were training, I kept myself hidden for a few moments, simply looking.
All Might - in his skeletal form - was instructing Midoriya Izuku - Quirkless Wonder - on how to do the exercise correctly. Now the only thing I had to do was… what? I had no idea.
I let myself fall on the sand, simply listening, unsure on what to do. Without any kind of direction in my life, I… what…
I had powers. I had a sort of magic. Well, Magic, to be correct. Still. I… had nowhere to go, no one to talk with, no overarching mission, no target, nothing.
I could follow the plot, I could destroy it completely, I could become a hero, a villain, a vigilante, anything. And I… I just wanted to go back home.
Sad, isn't it? How I had in my hand what I wanted for all my life and I would gladly give it all for returning back to my own home. Probably things would be different if I had chosen to be here, but I had no saying in what was happening and…
The hiccups of my crying must have been too loud, because I found myself looking at the skeleton form of All Might and the worried eyes of Izuku Midoriya.
"Is everything alright, young man?" His voice was as warm as his demeanor suggested. I had no idea if he had the same voice in the anime or not. I only knew that hearing that voice made me renew my crying, sending Izuku in a panic attack and Toshinori Yagi in a sigh. After that, he put his hand on my head and rubbed a bit.
"Calm down, calm down. I am here."
I had no frame of reference for those words and yet, I calmed down all the same. They were reassuring and the certainness behind them was, someway, the most impressive thing of all.
I cried for a few minutes later, before finally calming down. Izuku had a handkerchief with him, something I couldn't be grateful enough.
"Thank you. I'll bring it back to you clean, I swear." "Ahah, don't worry. I want to be a hero and this is the minimum."
His smile was really like sunshine, so bright that I found myself smiling back.
"So, young man. Want to tell us why were you crying? Maybe we can help?" Yagi asked, sitting cross legged in front of me, while Izuku hurried and sat down near him, still looking at me with a worried expression.
What to say?
"I'm… well, I'm an orphan. And not from Japan. I got abandoned here when I was little, maybe five or so, from my birth parents. Because I am quirkless. Well, was."
I recounted this without any hint of emotion, but it still sent Izuku reeling and Yagi frowning.
"Was? Are you saying that..."
"Yes. I developed a quirk. Yesterday. As for it's effects..." I looked at a pile of junk and superimposed one of the Swamps I had in my hand. The whole thing got pushed away as the land manifested, between the jump of surprise from both the heroes near me - pro or aspirant.
"Swamp generation? At range? Maybe using geokinesis or hydrokinesis. It could also be induced via rot... Or some sort of illusions?" Izuku was already murmuring, his fingers twitching and clearly wanting to take a notebook and start scribbling. Yagi was just frowning, clearly focusing on something.
"Not exactly. It's a card game." That brought both of them to a hard stop, turning towards me with incredulity written on their faces.
"Pardon?"
"A what?" Well, it did sound a lot like a simple flight of fancy, but it was true, so…
"Let me show you. Azami, Lady of the Scrolls!"
Three blue wysps of energy appeared around me, a halo of energy that were clearly visible to everyone, if their reaction was something to go for. Then, another two black wysps joined the blue ones, one from the swamp that I had just cast, thus completing the mana cost. After that, they all coalesced into a card hovering over my palm.
I grabbed it and threw it in front of me, where it vanished into an explosion of blue energy and reappeared on the beach, wearing the pink-red kimono with gold accents, with the scrolls floating around her and a severe expression on her face.
She didn't say anything, simply stood there, looking at me, while Yagi coughed blood and Izuku was ooohing and aaahing. I wonder what would happen if…
"Use your power on yourself. Then I pass my turn."
She nodded and slowly vanished, turning grey and almost ghostly, only vaguely there. Another card appeared in my hand: Crosis's Charm.
Yeah, that card was kind of worrying. Did it work on humans? Also, even if I discarded the use of destroy a creature, what would happen if I sent someone back to their hand? The implications were…
"Young man! Are you back with us?" Yagi's voice made me blink, before returning my attention towards him. He had a stern expression on his face, while Izuku was worried and twisting his hands. I slowly nodded.
"Sorry, I just got a card that worries me."
Yeah, that didn't explain anything and it was clear on their face. So I explained more.
"It's called Crosis's Charm, it… oh." The card appeared in my hand, visible to everyone. To cut on the problems, I showed it to them and waited.
Their answer was one of confusion. Understandable, I guess "Do any of you have a smartphone with internet?"
"Here." Izuku gave me his own phone without saying anything more and I smiled at him in thanks, before opening the search engine and typing inside it.
I really hope that it would result in something, because I didn't know how to explain it otherwise.
Luckily, it did.
"Here. It's this game here." And I showed him an article to Magic the Gathering. The cards weren't produced anymore, but the game had been famous enough that it had remained on the internet.
After a few minutes of reading, Yagi looked at me with a heavy frown on his face, while Izuku had retrieved one of his notebooks and was copying down everything that was written on the site. I wasn't sure why, the phone was his and I didn't cancel the browser history.
"Young man… excuse me, what is your name?" Right. I knew I had forgotten something.
"Name's Alex. Nice to meet you."
"Very well. I am Toshinori Yagi. As I was saying, young… Alex?" He half asked, looking at me to see if it was right. I nodded. I was fine with them using my name.
"Young Alex. If your quirk really works like the card game..." he had to stop for a moment, the whole thing a bit absurd even for him "...then I can only say that you have a very powerful quirk with what are, undoubtedly, pretty strict limitations. Still, this doesn't limit you from doing whatever you want."
Hearing him talk was relaxing, my stress and anxiety simply melting away. He had that sort of effect on the people.
"The only problem is… I don't know what I want to do. I was quirkless until yesterday, I never… this whole thing is… overwhelming."
"I understand. Your life changed completely in the span of twenty four hours, you are confused and uncertain. I would like to say that this is something that doesn't happen often, but it's not true. Even with all the advancement that we have made, there are some things that we can never truly control or remove. Accidents, illness, cancer… anything at all. Life is chaos."
He stopped for a moment, to take another breath, and I simply remained there, looking at him, waiting for him to continue. His voice had something hypnotic to it, something that commanded attention.
"But it is for this chaos that is worth living. A life without a choice is not life at all. You gained great power, but lost what direction you had before. You are on uncharted path. Explore this new life of yours. You have infinite possibilities in front of you." and he put his hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently.
I was speechless, so I simply nodded and gulped down the breath that it had blocked my throat. Izuku was, more or less, in the same state.
"So? What do you think you could do with your new outlook on life?" I looked at him, before looking at Izuku and smiling.
"I think… I think I'll try to become a hero."
Like it was a sign from the heavens, my turn changed one again and another card appeared in my hand. Exotic Orchard.
...talking about mixed signals.
Azami reappeared in her full color and vibrancy, drawing surprising breath from Izuku and a small cough from Yagi, before he refocused his attention on me.
"If you are sure, I am not going to say no. I'm just gonna ask you to be careful and think about it carefully. Being a hero it's arduous and difficult. You have to put your life on the line for the others and it's not something that is chosen on a whim. So. Are you sure?"
I gulped at the seriousness and nodded "Yes."
He smiled, as sunny as Iuku had before "Then, young Alex, I'm happy to hear that you'll embark on the road to be a hero. Young Midoriya here is doing the same thing."
Izuku smiled bashfully, before extending his hand "Midoriya Izuku. Nice to meet you." I shook his hand back, a smile on my face "Alex. Pleasure is mine. Call me Alex."
I dunno if the familiarity was overwhelming or what, but he nodded, speechless. Then, Yagi clapped his hands and called back Izuku attention.
"Young Midoriya, we need to continue. Meanwhile, Young Alex, why don't you explore your quirk a bit more on that corner of the beach? Away from where people can see you."
Right. Public usage of quirks is forbidden.
And I left a swamp in the middle of an alley. Whoooops.
Oh well, as long as no one saw me, it's all good.
I moved to the side of the beach, Azami following me in silence, before casting the last Swamp in my hand and summoning once again.
"Swamp." another pile of trash got displaced and moved "Come, Arcanis the Omnipotent!"
In a flash of actinic light the six wysps of light turned into a card, that exploded into a robed human, covered from head to toe, with energy crackling and snapping all around him.
"Azami, I use your power. Tap both you and Arcanis." And instantly the two creatures vanished into the grey ghost-like status, significant of their being tapped situation.
The cards that appeared in my hand were interesting. Well, one. One was another Island. But the second…
Well, it was Body Double.
I was a bit worried about it's effects. Would it work only on my Graveyard? Would it work on any single dead that had ever existed? Or maybe only on the most historical ones? I didn't know.
I wanted, no, needed to know. And…
Yeah, the person that I had in mind would make me a very bad person. But if I could recall Nana Shimura or any other Hero - or Villain - from the tomb…
No. Too dangerous and attention catching. I would try this once, then, if it worked, destroy the copied creature with Crosis's Charm and never use it that way again.
I just had to wait five minutes.
********************************************
After Corpse Augur appeared in my hand, I took a deep breath and steeled myself. That was the moment.
I threw the Island I got before on the ground, anywhere that didn't blocked the passage or gave me problem, before focusing. Two swamps and three islands gave me the mana I needed. Everything coalesced into the single card hovering over my palm.
With my eyes closed, I threw it in front of me "Body Double."
An androgynous figure, neither man or woman, face veiled by a nondescript mask, it looked at me. I waited for a moment, expecting to see something, anything: a list, a series of images, even just names…
But nothing. The Body Double stood there for a moment, before vanishing into blue motes. I felt the creature vanish from existence and appear in my graveyard.
So. That didn't work. Good to know. A sigh of relief was almost physically ripped from my body, as I looked around decided what to do. I still had three mana and five cards in my hand…
Let's try attacking. But first…
"Red with Darksteel Ingot, Vivid Creek. I call you, Nivix Guildmage!"
In an explosion that reminded me of a geyser of boiling water, the guy manifested. It was dressed in red and black, looking a lot like a street racer, with a tanic of… something… hanging from his shoulders.
Before he had even manifested fully, I felt that I could do more than just that. Then I remembered Inalla's Eminence.
I tapped my last swamp and a copy of the Nivix Guildmage appeared, this one looking a bit less vibrant, a bit more artificial, but it was there and, in contrast to the original, it was ready.
"Ok, let's see..." In the game I could only target a player or a planeswalker with my attacks. But here, maybe, I could do more?
"Arcanis, hit that pile of trash."
Without a sound, Arcanis pointed towards the pile and a lightning bolt flashed out, hitting the junk and turning it into melted slag in an instant. If… If that had hit a human being…
"Token Nivix Guildmage, attack the pile to my left." The token obeyed, twin fireballs slamming against the pile and sending it flying, only burnt remains falling in the sand.
Well, this was a problem. Apparently, my default setting was Lethal Overkill. I mean, there were some times when you had to kill someone - All for One, Overhaul… - but it wasn't for the most times. Maybe I should become a soldier? But I hate the whole obeying order without discussion…
"Azami, tap yourself and Nivix." With two more cards in my hand - Island and Terramorphic Expanse - I simply stood there. Wondering.
What should I do?
************************************************
I let the turn pass and, after I got a new card, I stopped and sat down, thinking. If my only choice was to be lethal all the time… But, on the other hand, Bakugou had a rather explosive quirk and he managed to be a hero.
But he could control it. I couldn't. The attack power of my creatures was fixed. Or it was?
I sent the Terramorphic Expanse to my left, near the water, before actually looking at what I had in my hand. THe new card was Serendib Sorcerer, a very good card with a very good effect. There was a combo with a triton card that I couldn't remember right now.
I had four blue, three black and one multicolor at my fingertips. I only had to choose how to spend it. Well, first of all, I turned towards the Nivix Guildmage.
"I'm gonna use your first power."
One red wysp from the Darksteel ingot and two islands gave me the three mana that I needed, letting the guildmage do his thing. With a flash of red and blue, a new card appeared in front of me: Silumgar's Command. Nice card, kind of terrifying, but still usable. I think.
For Nivix effect, I sent the Exotic Orchard to the graveyard and focused on my next move.
"Azami, tap yourself and Nivix." The two vanished and two new cards appeared. Another Swamp.
And Izzet Chronarch. Good. Useful. Not as useful right now, but in the future. Maybe.
Eight cards in my hand. Draw from the remaining island and Vivid Creek, draw from one Swamp. Then…
"Come, Serendib Sorcerer." Blue pants, red tunic slit in the middle exposing a nicely muscled chest and arms and a clean face. His eyes were shining blue and sparks of power fell from his hands.
A mind mage.
I could have created a token of him with Inalla, but I didn't have a real target for his ability, so I simply let it go. After that, I pointed at Arcanis.
"Hit that pile of junk, but don't destroy it. Just stun or something at that level of power. Nothing lethal."
The creature looked at me, before turning and sending a vortex of blue energy at the junk pile, turning it into shreds. Well, that cinched it.
My creatures don't have a non-lethal setting.
LETHAL LAST HIT: AUTO->ON REQUEST. SETTING CHANGED.
That… Yeah, that would make things problematic.
There was one last thing I needed to try before going back to the orphanage.
"This game? I kind of want to close it now. It is possible?" I injected all of my will in that command and waited, my breath held in my throat.
- Location
- Italy
Next chapter.
- Location
- Swirling alway swirling
Clearly the answer to the lethality issue is Abyssal Persecutor....
- Location
- Washington, USA
If it's anything as ruthless as actual MtG, I'mma lean towards INSTANT DEATH, assuming him losing all 20 life is death too.
- Location
- The Middle of the Howling Wilderness
Makes sense. He'd better hope there's an easy way to end a game once it's started. Surprised he doesn't need a specific opponent to start a game in the first place though.
The other thing I want to know is what happens if he manages to activate an alternate wincon. Inalla is a Grixis commander, so he could easily run Nicol Bolas, Dragon God, for example.
Chapter 3: Upkeep
- Location
- Italy
As before, thanks to the people on the Discord channel for betaing this. Hope you like it.
Chapter 3: Upkeep
It was possible. Inalla nodded deeply, her stern face morphing slowly in a smile, before snapping her fingers. Everything vanished into a flutter of flying cards, everything returning towards me. The various lands vanishing into motes of appropriately colored light, before I felt the deck back in full, slotting itself in my mind.
GAME END! NO WIN, NO LOSSES, NO DRAW!
And the three commanders reappeared in my field of vision, ghostly and transparent.
So I could quit a game when I wanted. Or so it seemed. That was good to know. I hoped that it was that way, cause just once didn't felt very safe to me. All the same, it was better to wait before trying again. Maybe there was some sort of limitation, like being able to stop a game only once a day or something arbitrary like that.
I wouldn't be surprised.
"How are you, Young Alex?" Yagi's voice came from behind me and made me turn sharply, a bit surprised.
"Oh, yes. I'm done for now." I nodded to reinforce my own words. I was done for now, but I had so much more to experiment. I had some Scry card in my Aminatou deck. If I could use them for really seeing in the future or something…
"Then I will accompany you back to the orphanage. It is late and the streets aren't as safe as they were previously." Yagi's voice didn't broker any questions. He said he would do that, so he would do that.
That was the Number 1 Hero for you, I guess. I simply shrugged and nodded, letting the sunset wash over me with its golden-orange light. Izuku looked exhausted, but still smiled..
"Want to exchange numbers?" I asked him, taking out my own phone, a strange sort of mix between a flip phone and a smartphone. I wasn't sure what to call it, but apparently it was a cheaper model of phone than a straight up smartphone. Somewhat.
"W-With me?" Izuku's voice was trembling. I smiled. It was time to be supportive.
"You are an inspiration. You are quirkless and yet you are here, training, to attend the school of your dreams. You are awesome in my books and anyone would be lucky to have you as a friend." My smile was a bit crooked, but sincere.
Izuku started to cry.
I kind of knew that he was easy to bring to tears, but I didn't expect this easy.
************************************
"Young Alex. There is a thing that I need to tell you." I stopped right in front of the gate to the orphanage and turned towards the blond, curious at what he wanted to tell me.
"I want to offer to enter with you and talk with your guardians. You development of a quirk is by no means unique, but certainly is pretty rare. I want to smooth things over with them."
That… made a certain kind of sense. This wasn't a classical super hero manga, here superpowers were a thing of every day. Almost mundane. So I simply nodded and opened the way.
"Oh, Alex. Finally you're here! I was going to… who is this?" "Ma'am , I am Yagi Toshinori. Pleasure meeting you." "Watanabe Keiko. Are you here for adoption?"
Welp, this was getting embarrassing. I simply entered and moved towards the kitchen. Dinner had ended, but I was hungry and, usually, the leftovers were left in the fridge.
Tonight was steamed fish with greens. Simple, but good. I prepared myself a plate, after which I put the water on the stove to prepare some tea.
"...uirk you say? At his age?" "I know. And yet I saw with my own eyes that he..."
It would be a long night.
******************************************************
The following morning I didn't go to school. I had an urgent appointment with a doctor that specializes in quirks to show them my own Quirk and get registered. Like a respectable, law-abiding citizen.
After that, I had to go to talk with my homeroom teacher and tell them that I had to change my application for high school because of new and unforeseen circumstances. So basically, a lot of paperwork.
The drive was boring and, Miss Watanabe was focused on driving the old car that we were using. Simply for convenience's sake, of course.
She was a very prudent driver.
I took out my cell phone and sent a message to Izuku, before remembering that he would be on the train towards school. Still, I hoped that he managed to see it before entering his classroom.
After waiting for a moment or two, no answer was forthcoming, so I simply shrugged and closed my phone, putting it back in my pocket and looking outside the windows, in the streets.
I waited.
And, in the eternal moment between this second right now and the second when I would reach the clinic, I looked at my three options.
Inalla was tried and true. I was sure that she would work. If I wanted something more subtle, Aminatou was the right choice. Lastly, Daxos was the one that would ramp more and more the more time I kept him on the ground.
Still, downplaying things would be better in the long run, soooo… Aminatou was it.
"Aminatou, the Fateshifter"
GAME START!
The black-skinned child moved behind me, floating with eyes filled with the future of the people and everything else, before the sound of shuffling card echoed in my ears.
Then, an opening hand moved into my field of sight.
Swamp. Tranquil Cove. Meandering River. Loyal Subordinate. Treasure Hunt. Aethermage's Touch. Entreat the Dead.
Of the seven, only three were suitable to be shown right away and, of those threes, two took five minutes or so to manifest. Which, granted, it wasn't all that long, but it still was a bit of a delay. On the other other hand, giving misleading information to people that could or could not be in contact with All for One…
I was starting to develop a headache.
"We're here."
Oh.
Well, show time, I guess.
******************************************
"So you are saying that you developed a quirk two days ago, right? Can you show me?"
I admit that the whole thing was way more relaxed than I thought, but I simply went along with it. The doctor, Hiranoe Kuuni, simply introduced himself and started to ask me questions about myself. Lucky me that I had all the memories I needed.
"Sure. But it would be better if..." "Right, wait a sec, I need you to sign this." And gave me an official looking sheet of paper with what was basically a disclaimer, saying that I understood the consequences of lying, etc etc.
I signed it.
"Very well. Now that you have signed, can you tell me, in your words, what your quirk is like? There is no hurry, take the time you need."
"Time-delayed multi-form construct summoning."
My answer was, apparently, a surprise to both the doctor and the guardian, as both of them looked at me with stunned expressions.
"...right. And the size of these constructs is..." "Variable. But fixed." "WIth that you mean…?" "That I don't actually choose the construct on the moment. I have a list from which I can choose."
After a moment of silence the doctor looked at me from over his glasses, a skeptical look on his face "A list."
I rolled my eyes, before extending a hand "Meandering River."
The glowing card appeared in the air, slowly hovering and turning above my palm.
"I have a deck of cards. I can use those cards to create things in reality. I need to respect the rules of the game or it won't work. If you want a demonstration, I need an open space that nobody uses and five minutes."
I got my open space and my five minutes.
*************************************************
I summoned the meandering river, aiming it away from the rest of the city, before passing my turn.
"So you're saying that most things appear after only a moment or two, but that others can take up to five minutes to manifest? And that the difference in time is based on how your 'cards' are positioned when appearing?"
"Yes." Time always moves more slowly when you are waiting for something, but five minutes were five minutes and, soon, another card appeared in my hand.
Akroma's Vengeance.
An awesome card. If I wanted to destroy all the machines in the city, kill everyone in it and stop any kind of ongoing effect of a quirk.
This said, it had the cycling ability, so I would discard it as soon as I could. More importantly, the river had finally appeared, cutting the open field almost in two, before meandering away in the distance, both ways.
The doctor and Miss Watanabe were open mouthed and completely surprised, while I simply stood there, smug. I think I had gained at least that much.
"...how long does the constructs last? "Until I dismiss it. I don't know if there is a time limit or not, but I only discovered this three days ago, so."
The doctor hhmmed and hhaaa'd for a couple of moments more, before nodding and bringing out the paperwork necessary to the change of status in the quirk registry.
"Now, the only thing that you need is a name for it."
A name for my power. I had literally no idea.
In the end, I went with something simple and misleading: 'Card Game'.
"Then, it is done. Congratulations on your quirk."
"Thank you for your help."
After that, we removed ourselves from the doctor's office and went back to the car, Miss Watanabe already talking to me about being careful with my quirk, to not use it in public, to not hurt anyone…
I admit that I zoned out a bit, only nodding and making the right sounds in the right places, before the car lurched to a stop. The traffic was jammed.
Apparently a river had appeared in the middle of the road and the whole thing had cut out several streets, two train tracks and several houses. Nothing was actually damaged, it just had been displaced on one of the sides of the river.
"Alex? Did you know of this?" Miss Watanabe's voice was extremely controlled, while she gripped the wheel tighter. I shook my head in denial.
"No idea, I swear."
"Remove your quirk. Now."
"Yes." I didn't even try to discuss, it was obvious that I needed to resolve the whole situation.I turned my attention to Aminatou, before trying to talk to her mentally "I would like to close this game, please."
She looked at me, before nodding nodding and raising her hands to the skies. A swarm of moths rose from her form, the cloud obscuring her, before moving forward like a wave.
The river disappeared and everything returned to normal.
GAME END! NO WIN, NO LOSSES, NO DRAW!
"Thank you. Now we're going to school, I will give this paperwork to your teachers and you'll discuss with them what you are going to do in regards of high school."
I nodded.
*********************************
My homeroom teacher was… a typical teacher for the school and the setting. Basically, completely disinterested in what I was doing because I didn't have a quirk. Until now.
"So, Tarou-kun" Tarou was the surname that the orphanage gave me, as I couldn't remember my own "now that your quirk has emerged, where do you want to go? I have your previous application right here..." and a sheet of paper was collected from a pile of others, my name on top of it.
I had chosen a non-problematic school, something that I could enter without making too much effort. Now…
"Yes, I would like to change my preference. I want to go to Yuuei."
The teacher stopped and looked at me, his eyes hard "Are you sure you aren't overreaching? I admit that, on paper, your quirk seems strong, but just a strong quirk isn't enough. You don't have the control or the experience that other applicants have and trying to carelessly bridge that gap like that could be dangerous. Maybe you should try some other school? Yuuei isn't the only hero school of the country."
Unspoken: You are gonna fail and make me look bad.
I simply smiled, sunnily, and confirmed my choice in the most oblivious way possible. Too late to play the part of the concerned teacher.
*******************************************
I managed to reach Izuku for lunch, out in the garden. He seemed to be alone, no blond Pomeranian around to bother him or me with his angry yapping.
"Hullo. How is the day treating you? Did you see the message I sent?"
"H-hello. Yeah, I saw the messages, but only when I was in class, so I couldn't answer. Sorry." always polite, the greenette bowed to me a little. I waved my hand.
"Don't worry, it happens. So, it's okay if I join you in your training today? I kind of want to experiment with my power and the beach is isolated enough that I don't have to worry about strangers."
He seemed to dither for a moment, before nodding and opening his bento to eat. Apparently, he had already started his special diet. I poked my own belly and arms, before resolving to ask Yagi for help in the diet and exercise department.
I couldn't be a hero while looking like a stick.
The sound of fireworks popping from the building attracted both mine and Izuku attention. Bakugou was shouting something to his accolades, sparks and smoke going out in his palms. I ignored him.
He was, after all, inconsequential.
**********************************************
Several months later and I had managed to gain some muscles, but mostly I toned myself. Living at the orphanage wasn't a walk in the park and food and money were strict. There were a lot of things to take into consideration: clothing, textbooks, insurance, toys, food….
Still, I was in the best shape of my life. New life and old together. So, while I was humming to myself while moving towards the beach for the training, I felt myself dragged into another alley by the explosive Pomeranian.
"Finally got you, asshole." his grin was savage and filled with anger. I blinked at him.
"Do I know you?" I did, of course. Still, his baffled expression was hilarious.
"Wha… I'm Bakugou Katsuki!" I mentally added a 'Motherfucking'in the middle of his name, just for fun.
"Doesn't ring any bell, sorry. Also, you have something on your hand." I pointed at the hand that was holding my arm. He looked at it and I used the distraction to take a step back and free myself.
He looked like he had been slapped like a fish. Then his rage started mounting.
"Look, will you tell me why you acted like a total hooligan and dragged me in an alley? If this is your tsundere way to confess to me, I am sad to say that you are not my type and I am not interested."
With people with his character, behaving like you were completely oblivious or simply casual was the equivalent of playing with a live bomb. Also a very good tactic to keep them out of balance.
I didn't have the time for the bullshit that he would have spewed if he started talking. Mainly because I risked being late and Izuku would be worried and would come to search me and so he would find that Bakugou was threatening me.
I really didn't want that.
"You… you…!"
I managed to render Bakugou Katsuki speechless in my second meeting with him. I was honestly impressed with myself.
Also, I was unsure of what to do right now. If I moved back, he would probably attack. If I tried to talk to him, he would - literally - explode. So The only thing that I could realistically do was…
"Daxos, the Returned."
I chose the commander, his form becoming more real and positioning behind me. After that, the seven cards of my starter hands appeared in my hand.
"What did you say?" Bakugou bellowed, smoke and sparks coming from his hands, enraged. He thought I was making fun of him. Which, yeah, I was. But not in the way he thought.
"I said: Daxos, the Returned." I had absolutely no compunction in letting him know the name. It's not like it would have helped him, after all.
On the contrary, it was helping me, as he wasn't sure what to do about what I said. That gave me time to glance at the cards that I had drawn.
And, man, was it a bad hand. Like the situation wasn't already bad enough.
Deathbringer Regent, Orzhov Signet, Sanguine Bond - which was part of the combo I had in this specific deck-, Black Market, Evolving Wilds, Shielded by Faith and Underworld Connection.
If this was a game, I would mulligan it straight away. I blinked at that thought. Could I mulligan them away?
With a gesture from Daxos, the seven cards twisted around me and disappeared, before the sound of cards shuffling greeted my ears once again.
Seven cards appeared once again, but this time I knew that I had to choose one to send to the bottom of my Grimoire. Apparently, it worked on the new rules. Let's see…
Shielded by Faith again. Swamp, Plains, Karlov of the Ghost Council, Orzhov Basilica, Phyrexian Arena and Silent Sentinel.
Only vaguely better. I sent Silent Sentinel to the bottom and finally returned my attention to Bakugou, who was watching me completely incredulous that I had the gall to be distracted when he was talking with me.
GAME START!
"LISTEN TO ME WHEN I TALK TO YOU!!!" His voice exploded in my ears, before I looked at him, my eyes turning steely.
"I don't talk with would-be killers. Also, Swamp."
"Wha..?" His expression of bafflement gave me enough time to land another swamp between me and him, before turning tail and running… again.
"SON OF A BIIII….!!!" And, boy, did he took it bad at being tricked the same way twice.
I ran down the street, before turning at the intersection and stopped, grabbing the wall to avoid slipping. Because the explosive pomeranian was in front of me, breath short and eyes blazing.
"Do you think that I am so stupid to get tricked by the same thing twice? Whatever you create doesn't replace the space, just push it away. That means that the streets are still connected to the back alleys, you fucker."
He was so smug. I had to pleasantly smile to avoid grinding my teeth to nothing "Well, congratulations. So?" and I waited. The more I drew it out, the more time I had to think of a way out that didn't involve violence. Mainly because I wasn't sure that I would either come out winning or killing.
"So? SO?! SO, WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" Aaaand he started shouting. Awesome.
"An orphan." I cut him out before he had the time to gather another breath and continue his tirade. Also, he didn't, apparently, expect my answer.
"An orphan that had been abandoned in another country entirely - right I'm a gaijin, too - just because I was quirkless. I lived my life dismissed, belittled and put aside because I didn't have a power, because I wasn't born here, because I didn't have parents. Because people like you take great pleasure of lording their power over people like me."
My voice was calm. Icy. Completely polite. And my eyes were blazing with fury, locking him in place.
"And you know what it's worse? It's that you don't care. I wonder what will happen if you become a hero and then, if you fight a criminal, bring a house down. But as long as the villain is stopped, there is no problem if someone die, right? After all, you need to win." The last word came out as a hiss, filled with venom.
It was enough to leave him speechless and wide eyed, watching me like I was something that he had never seen before.
"You need to grow up. Oh, and Plains." Well, look at that. Apparently I had talked enough that my turn had come up again.
"Plains?" He was so confused, but before he could say anything else he got pushed back by the rolling plains of pale white grass.
I took the chance and ran, again.
Chapter 3: Upkeep
It was possible. Inalla nodded deeply, her stern face morphing slowly in a smile, before snapping her fingers. Everything vanished into a flutter of flying cards, everything returning towards me. The various lands vanishing into motes of appropriately colored light, before I felt the deck back in full, slotting itself in my mind.
GAME END! NO WIN, NO LOSSES, NO DRAW!
And the three commanders reappeared in my field of vision, ghostly and transparent.
So I could quit a game when I wanted. Or so it seemed. That was good to know. I hoped that it was that way, cause just once didn't felt very safe to me. All the same, it was better to wait before trying again. Maybe there was some sort of limitation, like being able to stop a game only once a day or something arbitrary like that.
I wouldn't be surprised.
"How are you, Young Alex?" Yagi's voice came from behind me and made me turn sharply, a bit surprised.
"Oh, yes. I'm done for now." I nodded to reinforce my own words. I was done for now, but I had so much more to experiment. I had some Scry card in my Aminatou deck. If I could use them for really seeing in the future or something…
"Then I will accompany you back to the orphanage. It is late and the streets aren't as safe as they were previously." Yagi's voice didn't broker any questions. He said he would do that, so he would do that.
That was the Number 1 Hero for you, I guess. I simply shrugged and nodded, letting the sunset wash over me with its golden-orange light. Izuku looked exhausted, but still smiled..
"Want to exchange numbers?" I asked him, taking out my own phone, a strange sort of mix between a flip phone and a smartphone. I wasn't sure what to call it, but apparently it was a cheaper model of phone than a straight up smartphone. Somewhat.
"W-With me?" Izuku's voice was trembling. I smiled. It was time to be supportive.
"You are an inspiration. You are quirkless and yet you are here, training, to attend the school of your dreams. You are awesome in my books and anyone would be lucky to have you as a friend." My smile was a bit crooked, but sincere.
Izuku started to cry.
I kind of knew that he was easy to bring to tears, but I didn't expect this easy.
************************************
"Young Alex. There is a thing that I need to tell you." I stopped right in front of the gate to the orphanage and turned towards the blond, curious at what he wanted to tell me.
"I want to offer to enter with you and talk with your guardians. You development of a quirk is by no means unique, but certainly is pretty rare. I want to smooth things over with them."
That… made a certain kind of sense. This wasn't a classical super hero manga, here superpowers were a thing of every day. Almost mundane. So I simply nodded and opened the way.
"Oh, Alex. Finally you're here! I was going to… who is this?" "Ma'am , I am Yagi Toshinori. Pleasure meeting you." "Watanabe Keiko. Are you here for adoption?"
Welp, this was getting embarrassing. I simply entered and moved towards the kitchen. Dinner had ended, but I was hungry and, usually, the leftovers were left in the fridge.
Tonight was steamed fish with greens. Simple, but good. I prepared myself a plate, after which I put the water on the stove to prepare some tea.
"...uirk you say? At his age?" "I know. And yet I saw with my own eyes that he..."
It would be a long night.
******************************************************
The following morning I didn't go to school. I had an urgent appointment with a doctor that specializes in quirks to show them my own Quirk and get registered. Like a respectable, law-abiding citizen.
After that, I had to go to talk with my homeroom teacher and tell them that I had to change my application for high school because of new and unforeseen circumstances. So basically, a lot of paperwork.
The drive was boring and, Miss Watanabe was focused on driving the old car that we were using. Simply for convenience's sake, of course.
She was a very prudent driver.
I took out my cell phone and sent a message to Izuku, before remembering that he would be on the train towards school. Still, I hoped that he managed to see it before entering his classroom.
You:
Good luck in class! Hope everything goes well.
If I don't meet any problem, I should right before lunch.
Want to eat together?
Good luck in class! Hope everything goes well.
If I don't meet any problem, I should right before lunch.
Want to eat together?
After waiting for a moment or two, no answer was forthcoming, so I simply shrugged and closed my phone, putting it back in my pocket and looking outside the windows, in the streets.
I waited.
And, in the eternal moment between this second right now and the second when I would reach the clinic, I looked at my three options.
Inalla was tried and true. I was sure that she would work. If I wanted something more subtle, Aminatou was the right choice. Lastly, Daxos was the one that would ramp more and more the more time I kept him on the ground.
Still, downplaying things would be better in the long run, soooo… Aminatou was it.
"Aminatou, the Fateshifter"
GAME START!
The black-skinned child moved behind me, floating with eyes filled with the future of the people and everything else, before the sound of shuffling card echoed in my ears.
Then, an opening hand moved into my field of sight.
Swamp. Tranquil Cove. Meandering River. Loyal Subordinate. Treasure Hunt. Aethermage's Touch. Entreat the Dead.
Of the seven, only three were suitable to be shown right away and, of those threes, two took five minutes or so to manifest. Which, granted, it wasn't all that long, but it still was a bit of a delay. On the other other hand, giving misleading information to people that could or could not be in contact with All for One…
I was starting to develop a headache.
"We're here."
Oh.
Well, show time, I guess.
******************************************
"So you are saying that you developed a quirk two days ago, right? Can you show me?"
I admit that the whole thing was way more relaxed than I thought, but I simply went along with it. The doctor, Hiranoe Kuuni, simply introduced himself and started to ask me questions about myself. Lucky me that I had all the memories I needed.
"Sure. But it would be better if..." "Right, wait a sec, I need you to sign this." And gave me an official looking sheet of paper with what was basically a disclaimer, saying that I understood the consequences of lying, etc etc.
I signed it.
"Very well. Now that you have signed, can you tell me, in your words, what your quirk is like? There is no hurry, take the time you need."
"Time-delayed multi-form construct summoning."
My answer was, apparently, a surprise to both the doctor and the guardian, as both of them looked at me with stunned expressions.
"...right. And the size of these constructs is..." "Variable. But fixed." "WIth that you mean…?" "That I don't actually choose the construct on the moment. I have a list from which I can choose."
After a moment of silence the doctor looked at me from over his glasses, a skeptical look on his face "A list."
I rolled my eyes, before extending a hand "Meandering River."
The glowing card appeared in the air, slowly hovering and turning above my palm.
"I have a deck of cards. I can use those cards to create things in reality. I need to respect the rules of the game or it won't work. If you want a demonstration, I need an open space that nobody uses and five minutes."
I got my open space and my five minutes.
*************************************************
I summoned the meandering river, aiming it away from the rest of the city, before passing my turn.
"So you're saying that most things appear after only a moment or two, but that others can take up to five minutes to manifest? And that the difference in time is based on how your 'cards' are positioned when appearing?"
"Yes." Time always moves more slowly when you are waiting for something, but five minutes were five minutes and, soon, another card appeared in my hand.
Akroma's Vengeance.
An awesome card. If I wanted to destroy all the machines in the city, kill everyone in it and stop any kind of ongoing effect of a quirk.
This said, it had the cycling ability, so I would discard it as soon as I could. More importantly, the river had finally appeared, cutting the open field almost in two, before meandering away in the distance, both ways.
The doctor and Miss Watanabe were open mouthed and completely surprised, while I simply stood there, smug. I think I had gained at least that much.
"...how long does the constructs last? "Until I dismiss it. I don't know if there is a time limit or not, but I only discovered this three days ago, so."
The doctor hhmmed and hhaaa'd for a couple of moments more, before nodding and bringing out the paperwork necessary to the change of status in the quirk registry.
"Now, the only thing that you need is a name for it."
A name for my power. I had literally no idea.
In the end, I went with something simple and misleading: 'Card Game'.
"Then, it is done. Congratulations on your quirk."
"Thank you for your help."
After that, we removed ourselves from the doctor's office and went back to the car, Miss Watanabe already talking to me about being careful with my quirk, to not use it in public, to not hurt anyone…
I admit that I zoned out a bit, only nodding and making the right sounds in the right places, before the car lurched to a stop. The traffic was jammed.
Apparently a river had appeared in the middle of the road and the whole thing had cut out several streets, two train tracks and several houses. Nothing was actually damaged, it just had been displaced on one of the sides of the river.
"Alex? Did you know of this?" Miss Watanabe's voice was extremely controlled, while she gripped the wheel tighter. I shook my head in denial.
"No idea, I swear."
"Remove your quirk. Now."
"Yes." I didn't even try to discuss, it was obvious that I needed to resolve the whole situation.I turned my attention to Aminatou, before trying to talk to her mentally "I would like to close this game, please."
She looked at me, before nodding nodding and raising her hands to the skies. A swarm of moths rose from her form, the cloud obscuring her, before moving forward like a wave.
The river disappeared and everything returned to normal.
GAME END! NO WIN, NO LOSSES, NO DRAW!
"Thank you. Now we're going to school, I will give this paperwork to your teachers and you'll discuss with them what you are going to do in regards of high school."
I nodded.
*********************************
My homeroom teacher was… a typical teacher for the school and the setting. Basically, completely disinterested in what I was doing because I didn't have a quirk. Until now.
"So, Tarou-kun" Tarou was the surname that the orphanage gave me, as I couldn't remember my own "now that your quirk has emerged, where do you want to go? I have your previous application right here..." and a sheet of paper was collected from a pile of others, my name on top of it.
I had chosen a non-problematic school, something that I could enter without making too much effort. Now…
"Yes, I would like to change my preference. I want to go to Yuuei."
The teacher stopped and looked at me, his eyes hard "Are you sure you aren't overreaching? I admit that, on paper, your quirk seems strong, but just a strong quirk isn't enough. You don't have the control or the experience that other applicants have and trying to carelessly bridge that gap like that could be dangerous. Maybe you should try some other school? Yuuei isn't the only hero school of the country."
Unspoken: You are gonna fail and make me look bad.
I simply smiled, sunnily, and confirmed my choice in the most oblivious way possible. Too late to play the part of the concerned teacher.
*******************************************
I managed to reach Izuku for lunch, out in the garden. He seemed to be alone, no blond Pomeranian around to bother him or me with his angry yapping.
"Hullo. How is the day treating you? Did you see the message I sent?"
"H-hello. Yeah, I saw the messages, but only when I was in class, so I couldn't answer. Sorry." always polite, the greenette bowed to me a little. I waved my hand.
"Don't worry, it happens. So, it's okay if I join you in your training today? I kind of want to experiment with my power and the beach is isolated enough that I don't have to worry about strangers."
He seemed to dither for a moment, before nodding and opening his bento to eat. Apparently, he had already started his special diet. I poked my own belly and arms, before resolving to ask Yagi for help in the diet and exercise department.
I couldn't be a hero while looking like a stick.
The sound of fireworks popping from the building attracted both mine and Izuku attention. Bakugou was shouting something to his accolades, sparks and smoke going out in his palms. I ignored him.
He was, after all, inconsequential.
**********************************************
Several months later and I had managed to gain some muscles, but mostly I toned myself. Living at the orphanage wasn't a walk in the park and food and money were strict. There were a lot of things to take into consideration: clothing, textbooks, insurance, toys, food….
Still, I was in the best shape of my life. New life and old together. So, while I was humming to myself while moving towards the beach for the training, I felt myself dragged into another alley by the explosive Pomeranian.
"Finally got you, asshole." his grin was savage and filled with anger. I blinked at him.
"Do I know you?" I did, of course. Still, his baffled expression was hilarious.
"Wha… I'm Bakugou Katsuki!" I mentally added a 'Motherfucking'in the middle of his name, just for fun.
"Doesn't ring any bell, sorry. Also, you have something on your hand." I pointed at the hand that was holding my arm. He looked at it and I used the distraction to take a step back and free myself.
He looked like he had been slapped like a fish. Then his rage started mounting.
"Look, will you tell me why you acted like a total hooligan and dragged me in an alley? If this is your tsundere way to confess to me, I am sad to say that you are not my type and I am not interested."
With people with his character, behaving like you were completely oblivious or simply casual was the equivalent of playing with a live bomb. Also a very good tactic to keep them out of balance.
I didn't have the time for the bullshit that he would have spewed if he started talking. Mainly because I risked being late and Izuku would be worried and would come to search me and so he would find that Bakugou was threatening me.
I really didn't want that.
"You… you…!"
I managed to render Bakugou Katsuki speechless in my second meeting with him. I was honestly impressed with myself.
Also, I was unsure of what to do right now. If I moved back, he would probably attack. If I tried to talk to him, he would - literally - explode. So The only thing that I could realistically do was…
"Daxos, the Returned."
I chose the commander, his form becoming more real and positioning behind me. After that, the seven cards of my starter hands appeared in my hand.
"What did you say?" Bakugou bellowed, smoke and sparks coming from his hands, enraged. He thought I was making fun of him. Which, yeah, I was. But not in the way he thought.
"I said: Daxos, the Returned." I had absolutely no compunction in letting him know the name. It's not like it would have helped him, after all.
On the contrary, it was helping me, as he wasn't sure what to do about what I said. That gave me time to glance at the cards that I had drawn.
And, man, was it a bad hand. Like the situation wasn't already bad enough.
Deathbringer Regent, Orzhov Signet, Sanguine Bond - which was part of the combo I had in this specific deck-, Black Market, Evolving Wilds, Shielded by Faith and Underworld Connection.
If this was a game, I would mulligan it straight away. I blinked at that thought. Could I mulligan them away?
With a gesture from Daxos, the seven cards twisted around me and disappeared, before the sound of cards shuffling greeted my ears once again.
Seven cards appeared once again, but this time I knew that I had to choose one to send to the bottom of my Grimoire. Apparently, it worked on the new rules. Let's see…
Shielded by Faith again. Swamp, Plains, Karlov of the Ghost Council, Orzhov Basilica, Phyrexian Arena and Silent Sentinel.
Only vaguely better. I sent Silent Sentinel to the bottom and finally returned my attention to Bakugou, who was watching me completely incredulous that I had the gall to be distracted when he was talking with me.
GAME START!
"LISTEN TO ME WHEN I TALK TO YOU!!!" His voice exploded in my ears, before I looked at him, my eyes turning steely.
"I don't talk with would-be killers. Also, Swamp."
"Wha..?" His expression of bafflement gave me enough time to land another swamp between me and him, before turning tail and running… again.
"SON OF A BIIII….!!!" And, boy, did he took it bad at being tricked the same way twice.
I ran down the street, before turning at the intersection and stopped, grabbing the wall to avoid slipping. Because the explosive pomeranian was in front of me, breath short and eyes blazing.
"Do you think that I am so stupid to get tricked by the same thing twice? Whatever you create doesn't replace the space, just push it away. That means that the streets are still connected to the back alleys, you fucker."
He was so smug. I had to pleasantly smile to avoid grinding my teeth to nothing "Well, congratulations. So?" and I waited. The more I drew it out, the more time I had to think of a way out that didn't involve violence. Mainly because I wasn't sure that I would either come out winning or killing.
"So? SO?! SO, WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" Aaaand he started shouting. Awesome.
"An orphan." I cut him out before he had the time to gather another breath and continue his tirade. Also, he didn't, apparently, expect my answer.
"An orphan that had been abandoned in another country entirely - right I'm a gaijin, too - just because I was quirkless. I lived my life dismissed, belittled and put aside because I didn't have a power, because I wasn't born here, because I didn't have parents. Because people like you take great pleasure of lording their power over people like me."
My voice was calm. Icy. Completely polite. And my eyes were blazing with fury, locking him in place.
"And you know what it's worse? It's that you don't care. I wonder what will happen if you become a hero and then, if you fight a criminal, bring a house down. But as long as the villain is stopped, there is no problem if someone die, right? After all, you need to win." The last word came out as a hiss, filled with venom.
It was enough to leave him speechless and wide eyed, watching me like I was something that he had never seen before.
"You need to grow up. Oh, and Plains." Well, look at that. Apparently I had talked enough that my turn had come up again.
"Plains?" He was so confused, but before he could say anything else he got pushed back by the rolling plains of pale white grass.
I took the chance and ran, again.
- Location
- Pale Blue Dot
Thing is, the quirk is fantastic if you have time to prepare - but horribly bad on the defence when someone attacks you out of the blue. Five seconds in a fight is a long time. Five minutes... few actual fights between two people last that long. Skirmishes, yes. Fights, no. And as such, the skills needed are: Running, Dodge, Parkour, Stealth, Tactics, Climbing. Probably in that order, as a start. Hand to hand or grapple would be 'maybes'? Some option if stuck is kind of important.
Last edited:
- Location
- Italy
Yeeeep. There are a couple of mechanics more that balance the whole thing for fights, but in the end Alex is still constrained by the rules of the game. What his training will focus on will be exactly on what you said. Cause he wants to live!
And it's not granted that he will, considering BNHA.
Chapter 4: Draw
- Location
- Italy
Thanks to the people on Discord for beating!
Chapter 4: Draw
While running towards the beach, I checked the new card.
Phyrexian Reclamation. A nice enchantment, even if I seldom used it. It was simply more useful because it triggered Daxos' power when it entered.
Also, I was way too rash with Bakugou. I should have tried to simply avoid him instead of exploding. All the same, it was a reality check that he should get before some other events happened.
Cough, Kamino Ward, cough.
The beach appeared in front of me with all its trash filled glory. I weaved between the piles of junk until I found Izuku in a clearing near the beach, raising old camion tires over his head before sending them flying towards the part of the beach where the camion that Yagi was using to bring away the trash was stationed.
"Izuku!" After three months of knowledge, I managed to get the permission of calling him with his name without honorifics. I had insisted that he called me with mine that he felt he had to reciprocate.
"Alex! You are late?" He said it like a question, cause I tried to be as punctual as possible. When I wasn't for any reason, I sent a text to him.
"Yeah, sorry, I met someone on the road and I didn't manage to remove myself from their presence after we exchanged a few words."
All true, technically. I superimposed the Orzhov Basilica on the waterfront, right near the sea, let the plain bounce back in my hand and looked at the new card that I had just got.
Commander's Sphere. Nice one. Also, I realized that I could have summoned Karlov before bouncing back the plain.
Well, live and learn.
"Ah. Someone I know?" If there was one thing that could be said about Izuku, it's that when he was training he would forget to be a nervous mess.
"Someone from school." Well it was true.
"Ah." Squat down to take the tire, rise with it until it reach above his head, then throw it. Repeat until the thing he was using as a weight was finally on the camion.
It was hypnotic, really.
"Who is helping you today?" He had also taken the habit of calling the commanders of my decks my helpers. Which was true, in a fashion. Still, it was probably from the way I referenced to them.
"Daxos." "Ah." Right at that moment, the Basilica appeared on the beach, the imposing construction shining in the sun, with it's stained glass windows and pure white stone.
I also drew Terramorphic Expanse. When I summoned it, together with Evolving Wilds, it was always a show when it changed. Still, for right now, I preferred throwing the plain around the Basilica. Mostly for aesthetic sake.
After that, a filigree sphere appeared near me when I played Commander's Sphere, a globe of light inside it. It was pretty light, as far as weight goes.
"So, any change in your quirk?" Lift, throw, bend, lift, throw "Nothing on my part. How's the training?"
Izuku stopped, turned towards me smiling and flexed his arms, showing the muscles that were growing on them. I smiled back and nodded. After that, he started moving the tire once again.
My own training was way less intensive than his own. While he focused on building strength, endurance, speed and everything else - making him a well rounded individual with more focus on strength - my own was more focused on speed and endurance. My aim wasn't to be a one hit K.O.
It was to outlast my opponents and give me the chance to ramp up my field, until I was all but unstoppable.
Not that it would always happen. Due to the inherently chaotic nature of my power, there was always the chance that I would get a bad hand and keep getting a bad hand. Still, the chance that I wouldn't get anything usable were very very small.
"Ah, you are both here. Excellent." Yagi's voice shook me out of my thoughts, making me turn towards him. He was drawing a circle in the sand with a stick, before gesturing at us to come towards him.
"We have spent enough time in training one on one. Now, I think it's time that you two get some fighting experience. A sparring match to see where you are in terms of technical skills is warranted, I think."
And, without giving us the chance to refuse, he started guiding us to stretch "While fighting it's important to remember that..." while giving us several hints on how to fight more efficiently.
***********************************
"Ready?" Me and Izuku were on the two sides of the makeshift ring, ready to throw down when called. Quirk usage was prohibited, mainly because he wanted to see where we were in fighting skill. Adding the quirk would be inserted later, when he was sure that I wouldn't kill Izuku by mistake.
Which was a very real possibility. I put the new card I had drawn out of my mind (Burnished Hart) and focused on the fight.
"No hit under the belt, if I say stop you stop and the first one to land three hits win. Stepping out of the circle means one point to the opponent." Very clear and simple. I could do this.
"GO!" Yagi's hand fell and Izuku put up a guard, looking at me. I did the same.
Silence.
We stood there, studying each other for a moment, before I started moving to the side, shuffling slightly and trying to circle him. He did the same, only in the opposite direction.
So we ended up circling each other for a solid minute, under the fond and exasperated gaze of Yagi.
Yeah, in hindsight it was a bit funny.
Then, Izuku decided to take the first action. He moved forward slowly, prompting me to take two steps back, before stopping. I was already at the border of the circle. I had to move to the side, so to not get completely closed off, but he didn't relent in his advance.
Only one thing to do, now.
I advanced too, guard up. We met a little off center, thanks to his early start, and we started exchanging a couple of cautious blows. Parry, parry, dodge, dodge, dodge, try to strike…
Then I made a mistake, I lowered my guard by a fraction and then I fell to the ground, wheezing and trying not to puke.
Izuku had managed to capitalize on my moment of weakness and had delivered a punch to my flank. It felt like being hit by a sack of bricks.
"Alex! Are you ok?!" His worried expression was on the verge of tears, so I just nodded and raised a thumb with the hand that wasn't busy covering my mouth.
"Point to Izuku!"
And that set the pace for the rest of the match, really.
********************************************
Of three sparring matches at five points each, I managed to score the overall number of six points. An average of two points per fight.
It was honestly pathetic, but I was really not a fighter. I was more of the planner type.
Also, I thank whatever out there that my powers didn't require me to fight directly. Still, ouch.
I would have serious bruises later on. Lucky me that I had started to keep a bruise cream near my bed, thanks to previous training accidents. I would have to apply it later tonight.
"Well, that could have gone better for you, Young Alex. Young Midoriya, excellent! Just remember to look out for the overextending you do when you hit with your fist." Yagi had kept a constant stream of suggestions and corrections throughout the matches.
"You can take ten minutes of rest, then start again with the tires. Young Alex, I think that it's the time to try to see how long you can keep your quirk activated before it becomes too much."
"Really?" He nodded. I smiled and shot him a thumbs up. And I turned towards the Basilica. I still hadn't played anything from before the sparring, so I still had the same hand. Mmhh…
Terramorphic Expanse was good. I threw it out on the side of the plain, watching with a smile how the chaos simply manifested: a land covered in fire, water, plains, swamps and forests, storms overhead and heavy rain. It was awesome to see.
"Ok. Burnished Hart, appear."
The bronze hart manifested in a ray of divine light while my Basilica and the swamp turned grey. After that, I drew from the plains and the Commander's Sphere to summon Karlov too. The ghostly, portly man appeared with a sort of quiet dignity, looking at the place with a faint air of disgust.
After that, I passed my turn and instantly tapped the Expanse to call another swamp under my command.
"It's always interesting to see it happen." Yagi's voice came unexpectedly from my side, making me turn. He was looking at the Expanse, that was slowly changing and turning in the swamp.
"Yeah." Also, I discovered a good reason to not go and explore that place. When in its flavor text said things about past, future and present… it wasn't just words on a card.
Bastion Protector was a really good card to draw, especially in a commander. And with Shielded by Faith I could all but guarantee that both my commander and the one that kept it alive and indestructible would stay alive.
A really nice combo, especially if we counted on Daxos' power when Enchantments were used…
Summoning her on the ground manifested the armor-clad woman with the shield and sword. At the moment it wasn't really needed, but better being prepared.
Passing the turn and using my last three mana to sacrifice the Burnished Hart and to turn the surrounding sand into plains, I idly waited for Izuku to finish his training, using this time to study. I had to be prepared for the written test beyond the practical one.
And Izuku helped me with some subjects when I didn't understand something. Honestly, it made me feel a bit guilty when I couldn't do anything for him back.
After the turn was returned to me, I observed the new card (Underworld Connection), before sighing and stopping playing anything. The main problem with my power - beyond the extensive modification that it made to the surroundings, temporary as they may be - was that my creatures could only stay in two places: either near me or on one of the lands that I had summoned.
And, while they were on one of the lands, they couldn't simply reappear to my side, they had to pass the distance between their starting point and me. Like anyone else.
It was a thing that I had to keep in mind.
***************************************
GAME END! NO WIN, NO LOSSES, NO DRAW!
So, a couple of interesting tidbits.
First, I discovered that I could keep a game running for three days before it closed by itself. After that, independently from when I played my last turn, the whole thing would shut down.
Second, Bakugou either didn't listen to me, decided to not care or ignored what I said, because he kept trying to corner me.
It made miracles for my evasion training, that was for sure But I was still human and sooner or later, I wouldn't manage to lose him and I would have to treat with what would happen.
Eh. What happens will happen.
And happen it did. One and a half months before the entrance exam the blond managed to corner me after school. Damn.
"Finally got you." At least he wasn't spewing profanities? It's something.
"Do I..." "Drop the act. I know you are hanging around that useless Deku." Well, that game was over, it seemed. Oh well. I have other cards in my sleeve.
Pun fully intended.
"You. Me. If you win, I'll let you go."
He was almost monosyllabic, but I understood what he meant fairly well and the way his hands were smoking didn't fill me with confidence. Still, with people like him you can't let him see that you aren't always sure of yourself.
"First of all, remove your hands from my person, then we talk like civilized people." And I stared at him. He stared back.
A long minute ticked by, neither one of us willing to back down, but in the end he removed his hand from my shoulder.
"Second. If I accept to duel with you, what guarantee do I have that you won't go back on your word?"
THAT sent him into a rage, his palm sparking and popping in his anger. Apparently he took offense to his honor quite seriously.
After he had spewed several curses, I managed to sigh and nod.
"Very well, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt." That almost sent him in another profanity-laced situation, but I managed to stop him before he started.
"Then we fight on one of my lands. Less worry of damaging something."
That brought him to a full stop, eyeing me with suspicion. He was probably thinking that I was trying to trick him in some way. He was absolutely correct. I wouldn't cheat in the game, but in real life? If you aren't stacking the deck in your favor, then you aren't even trying.
And yes, that pun was also intended.
"Fine!" He threw his hands in the air, exasperated "But you get Deku to see me punch you in the dirt! So that nobody can say anything when I win! Understood?"
I nodded at that, placid as always.
So, he wanted Izuku to see, mh? Probably some way to reinforce the fact that he wouldn't be able to become a hero even if he developed a quirk, seeing that it was my situation as well.
Well, then. IF that was the case I absolutely have to win. Now, what deck to use? I needed something with a good opening…
Inalla. It was the only one that could actually perform satisfactorily in early game. Aminatou could as well, but it was a bit harder to do, mainly to the fact that it based her playstyle to delay the opponent and advantage me.
Daxos was.. mmhh.
No. Too risky. I didn't want to kill him.
Inalla was it.
"We'll fight in the weekend, when school's out. So that we can fight fresh. One round, the first to faint, tap out or surrender lose. Are these terms okay with you?" I raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to talk.
Bakugou didn't even say anything, he just extended his hand for a handshake. I gladly extended mine and we shook on it.
Now, how to defeat him?
********************************************
The first thing I did that night was to call Izuku, of course. Beyond needing his presence to the fight, I wanted to brainstorm possible tactics to employ against him and he was a genius in strategy.
"Izuku? Hello, am I disturbing you?" I had to keep my voice low because of all the other kids at the orphanage, but I could still talk to the phone.
Mmhh… how do I put this? Better use the band aid approach and remove the whole thing in one go.
"So, this is gonna sound strange, buuut… Bakugou managed to corner me earlier today and kinda-sorta forced me into agreeing to duel him. This weekend."
For the record, it was a Thursday evening.
"No, no. You heard correctly. And he wants you there."
Silence. I could hear breathing on the line, slowly starting to pick up in pace and shortness.
"Yeah, a duel. Because he wants to show me that even with a quirk I am still a nobody in front of his power, I think. As for when and where, this Saturday morning - or mid morning, we never said the specific hour - and on one of my lands to keep the damage to a minimum."
Izuku was starting to hyperventilate, I could hear his breath getting shorter and shorter on the phone.
"Izuku? Hey, Izuku, calm down, ok? I can defeat him. If I get the upper hand fast, I can defeat him. You don't have to worry too much, okay?"
He was starting to go into hysterics and I had literally zero idea on how to stop him. Mmhh…. Maybe…
"Well, true. Still, I have a couple of aces in my sleeve that will give him a nasty surprise. Plus I have the advantage, technically, as he doesn't know my quirk."
Oohhh, boy. This will take a while.
******************************************
Friday, I hunted down Bakugou at school and clarified with him the exact hour of our duel. I didn't want him to appear at the decided place at seven in the morning and claim that I had cheated when I appeared at eleven.
I like to sleep in when I can, sue me.
For the rest of the afternoon I trained with Izuku, mostly on what to do and what to avoid.
He had half a notebook filled with observations on Bakugou and I couldn't wait to read it. True, a lot of early things were from when they were children, but it was still a lot of information.
Bakugou's quirk was based on sweat. That meant that he had to sweat a lot to create his explosion. As this was still before U.A., he didn't have his gauntlet, so that was something.
I had to worry only about what he was able to produce on the moment. Beyond that, there was the option of either tiring him out or drying him. As I didn't have any desert on hand, salt water and mountains would have to do.
Plus the water would make harder for him to create his explosion, as it would dilute the nitroglycerine.
He was fast and agile, so that was something I had to look out for: I still wasn't the best at quick reaction. As I said, I am a planner.
The only thing I was regretting right now was that I couldn't stack my own deck. It would be so easy to defeat him, then…
Not matter, I had to focus.
Saturday morning came and I moved towards a spot in the woods slightly outside the city, where no one that wasn't actively searching for us would find us. I hope.
I met with Izuku halfway, before calling on Inalla, choosing my deck on the way. I wanted to have the chance to think about my strategy before starting.
Ouch.
Darksteel Ingot, one Mountain, one Evolving Wilds, three swamps and Command Tower.
This wasn't a good thing. Sure I could throw Evolving Wilds out there and turn it into another land, maybe an Island, before throwing out the mountain as another choice, but it could backfire on me. On the other hand, I could Mulligan right here and now.
Was I going to risk it?
Looking at Izuku, I revealed to him what I had drawn and trusted in his decision.
After a moment, he nodded "It could work. If you use the evolving wilds to gain a bit of time, then you can use the mountain to create some space. After that, if he manages to reach you before you get anything good, just use Command Tower either as a decoy or to create more space."
I looked at him and decided to trust his thinking. Let's hope it will work.
In what looked like minutes, we were at the place. Bakugou was already there and pacing like an animal in a cage, so wired up that when he saw us he almost snarled with impatience.
"It was time, you assholes! You are almost late!" "Almost it's not late. So, are you ready? I fear that it will take me a couple of minutes to prepare the place." Before he could do anything more than open his mouth, I simply cut him out "It was rhetorical. Either wait or the whole thing is off."
He didn't have much more to say than that, beyond glaring at me. I shrugged and went to work. Firstly, tossing the Evolving wilds to the side. Then, passing the turn, sacrificing it and turning it into an island.
The rock at the center of the lake wasn't exactly well accepted, especially because it was a bit out of our way to reach it - well his way to reach it - so I waved him out and nodded.
"Yeah, yeah, give me a minute, ok? Every now and then my quirk does things like this." Which, again, it was technically true.
Next card: another island. That wasn't good.
I kept to my word, however, and looked at Bakugou "Ready?" "I was born ready! Now hurry the fuck up!"
I shrugged and threw a mountain between me and him.
Chapter 4: Draw
While running towards the beach, I checked the new card.
Phyrexian Reclamation. A nice enchantment, even if I seldom used it. It was simply more useful because it triggered Daxos' power when it entered.
Also, I was way too rash with Bakugou. I should have tried to simply avoid him instead of exploding. All the same, it was a reality check that he should get before some other events happened.
Cough, Kamino Ward, cough.
The beach appeared in front of me with all its trash filled glory. I weaved between the piles of junk until I found Izuku in a clearing near the beach, raising old camion tires over his head before sending them flying towards the part of the beach where the camion that Yagi was using to bring away the trash was stationed.
"Izuku!" After three months of knowledge, I managed to get the permission of calling him with his name without honorifics. I had insisted that he called me with mine that he felt he had to reciprocate.
"Alex! You are late?" He said it like a question, cause I tried to be as punctual as possible. When I wasn't for any reason, I sent a text to him.
"Yeah, sorry, I met someone on the road and I didn't manage to remove myself from their presence after we exchanged a few words."
All true, technically. I superimposed the Orzhov Basilica on the waterfront, right near the sea, let the plain bounce back in my hand and looked at the new card that I had just got.
Commander's Sphere. Nice one. Also, I realized that I could have summoned Karlov before bouncing back the plain.
Well, live and learn.
"Ah. Someone I know?" If there was one thing that could be said about Izuku, it's that when he was training he would forget to be a nervous mess.
"Someone from school." Well it was true.
"Ah." Squat down to take the tire, rise with it until it reach above his head, then throw it. Repeat until the thing he was using as a weight was finally on the camion.
It was hypnotic, really.
"Who is helping you today?" He had also taken the habit of calling the commanders of my decks my helpers. Which was true, in a fashion. Still, it was probably from the way I referenced to them.
"Daxos." "Ah." Right at that moment, the Basilica appeared on the beach, the imposing construction shining in the sun, with it's stained glass windows and pure white stone.
I also drew Terramorphic Expanse. When I summoned it, together with Evolving Wilds, it was always a show when it changed. Still, for right now, I preferred throwing the plain around the Basilica. Mostly for aesthetic sake.
After that, a filigree sphere appeared near me when I played Commander's Sphere, a globe of light inside it. It was pretty light, as far as weight goes.
"So, any change in your quirk?" Lift, throw, bend, lift, throw "Nothing on my part. How's the training?"
Izuku stopped, turned towards me smiling and flexed his arms, showing the muscles that were growing on them. I smiled back and nodded. After that, he started moving the tire once again.
My own training was way less intensive than his own. While he focused on building strength, endurance, speed and everything else - making him a well rounded individual with more focus on strength - my own was more focused on speed and endurance. My aim wasn't to be a one hit K.O.
It was to outlast my opponents and give me the chance to ramp up my field, until I was all but unstoppable.
Not that it would always happen. Due to the inherently chaotic nature of my power, there was always the chance that I would get a bad hand and keep getting a bad hand. Still, the chance that I wouldn't get anything usable were very very small.
"Ah, you are both here. Excellent." Yagi's voice shook me out of my thoughts, making me turn towards him. He was drawing a circle in the sand with a stick, before gesturing at us to come towards him.
"We have spent enough time in training one on one. Now, I think it's time that you two get some fighting experience. A sparring match to see where you are in terms of technical skills is warranted, I think."
And, without giving us the chance to refuse, he started guiding us to stretch "While fighting it's important to remember that..." while giving us several hints on how to fight more efficiently.
***********************************
"Ready?" Me and Izuku were on the two sides of the makeshift ring, ready to throw down when called. Quirk usage was prohibited, mainly because he wanted to see where we were in fighting skill. Adding the quirk would be inserted later, when he was sure that I wouldn't kill Izuku by mistake.
Which was a very real possibility. I put the new card I had drawn out of my mind (Burnished Hart) and focused on the fight.
"No hit under the belt, if I say stop you stop and the first one to land three hits win. Stepping out of the circle means one point to the opponent." Very clear and simple. I could do this.
"GO!" Yagi's hand fell and Izuku put up a guard, looking at me. I did the same.
Silence.
We stood there, studying each other for a moment, before I started moving to the side, shuffling slightly and trying to circle him. He did the same, only in the opposite direction.
So we ended up circling each other for a solid minute, under the fond and exasperated gaze of Yagi.
Yeah, in hindsight it was a bit funny.
Then, Izuku decided to take the first action. He moved forward slowly, prompting me to take two steps back, before stopping. I was already at the border of the circle. I had to move to the side, so to not get completely closed off, but he didn't relent in his advance.
Only one thing to do, now.
I advanced too, guard up. We met a little off center, thanks to his early start, and we started exchanging a couple of cautious blows. Parry, parry, dodge, dodge, dodge, try to strike…
Then I made a mistake, I lowered my guard by a fraction and then I fell to the ground, wheezing and trying not to puke.
Izuku had managed to capitalize on my moment of weakness and had delivered a punch to my flank. It felt like being hit by a sack of bricks.
"Alex! Are you ok?!" His worried expression was on the verge of tears, so I just nodded and raised a thumb with the hand that wasn't busy covering my mouth.
"Point to Izuku!"
And that set the pace for the rest of the match, really.
********************************************
Of three sparring matches at five points each, I managed to score the overall number of six points. An average of two points per fight.
It was honestly pathetic, but I was really not a fighter. I was more of the planner type.
Also, I thank whatever out there that my powers didn't require me to fight directly. Still, ouch.
I would have serious bruises later on. Lucky me that I had started to keep a bruise cream near my bed, thanks to previous training accidents. I would have to apply it later tonight.
"Well, that could have gone better for you, Young Alex. Young Midoriya, excellent! Just remember to look out for the overextending you do when you hit with your fist." Yagi had kept a constant stream of suggestions and corrections throughout the matches.
"You can take ten minutes of rest, then start again with the tires. Young Alex, I think that it's the time to try to see how long you can keep your quirk activated before it becomes too much."
"Really?" He nodded. I smiled and shot him a thumbs up. And I turned towards the Basilica. I still hadn't played anything from before the sparring, so I still had the same hand. Mmhh…
Terramorphic Expanse was good. I threw it out on the side of the plain, watching with a smile how the chaos simply manifested: a land covered in fire, water, plains, swamps and forests, storms overhead and heavy rain. It was awesome to see.
"Ok. Burnished Hart, appear."
The bronze hart manifested in a ray of divine light while my Basilica and the swamp turned grey. After that, I drew from the plains and the Commander's Sphere to summon Karlov too. The ghostly, portly man appeared with a sort of quiet dignity, looking at the place with a faint air of disgust.
After that, I passed my turn and instantly tapped the Expanse to call another swamp under my command.
"It's always interesting to see it happen." Yagi's voice came unexpectedly from my side, making me turn. He was looking at the Expanse, that was slowly changing and turning in the swamp.
"Yeah." Also, I discovered a good reason to not go and explore that place. When in its flavor text said things about past, future and present… it wasn't just words on a card.
Bastion Protector was a really good card to draw, especially in a commander. And with Shielded by Faith I could all but guarantee that both my commander and the one that kept it alive and indestructible would stay alive.
A really nice combo, especially if we counted on Daxos' power when Enchantments were used…
Summoning her on the ground manifested the armor-clad woman with the shield and sword. At the moment it wasn't really needed, but better being prepared.
Passing the turn and using my last three mana to sacrifice the Burnished Hart and to turn the surrounding sand into plains, I idly waited for Izuku to finish his training, using this time to study. I had to be prepared for the written test beyond the practical one.
And Izuku helped me with some subjects when I didn't understand something. Honestly, it made me feel a bit guilty when I couldn't do anything for him back.
After the turn was returned to me, I observed the new card (Underworld Connection), before sighing and stopping playing anything. The main problem with my power - beyond the extensive modification that it made to the surroundings, temporary as they may be - was that my creatures could only stay in two places: either near me or on one of the lands that I had summoned.
And, while they were on one of the lands, they couldn't simply reappear to my side, they had to pass the distance between their starting point and me. Like anyone else.
It was a thing that I had to keep in mind.
***************************************
GAME END! NO WIN, NO LOSSES, NO DRAW!
So, a couple of interesting tidbits.
First, I discovered that I could keep a game running for three days before it closed by itself. After that, independently from when I played my last turn, the whole thing would shut down.
Second, Bakugou either didn't listen to me, decided to not care or ignored what I said, because he kept trying to corner me.
It made miracles for my evasion training, that was for sure But I was still human and sooner or later, I wouldn't manage to lose him and I would have to treat with what would happen.
Eh. What happens will happen.
And happen it did. One and a half months before the entrance exam the blond managed to corner me after school. Damn.
"Finally got you." At least he wasn't spewing profanities? It's something.
"Do I..." "Drop the act. I know you are hanging around that useless Deku." Well, that game was over, it seemed. Oh well. I have other cards in my sleeve.
Pun fully intended.
"You. Me. If you win, I'll let you go."
He was almost monosyllabic, but I understood what he meant fairly well and the way his hands were smoking didn't fill me with confidence. Still, with people like him you can't let him see that you aren't always sure of yourself.
"First of all, remove your hands from my person, then we talk like civilized people." And I stared at him. He stared back.
A long minute ticked by, neither one of us willing to back down, but in the end he removed his hand from my shoulder.
"Second. If I accept to duel with you, what guarantee do I have that you won't go back on your word?"
THAT sent him into a rage, his palm sparking and popping in his anger. Apparently he took offense to his honor quite seriously.
After he had spewed several curses, I managed to sigh and nod.
"Very well, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt." That almost sent him in another profanity-laced situation, but I managed to stop him before he started.
"Then we fight on one of my lands. Less worry of damaging something."
That brought him to a full stop, eyeing me with suspicion. He was probably thinking that I was trying to trick him in some way. He was absolutely correct. I wouldn't cheat in the game, but in real life? If you aren't stacking the deck in your favor, then you aren't even trying.
And yes, that pun was also intended.
"Fine!" He threw his hands in the air, exasperated "But you get Deku to see me punch you in the dirt! So that nobody can say anything when I win! Understood?"
I nodded at that, placid as always.
So, he wanted Izuku to see, mh? Probably some way to reinforce the fact that he wouldn't be able to become a hero even if he developed a quirk, seeing that it was my situation as well.
Well, then. IF that was the case I absolutely have to win. Now, what deck to use? I needed something with a good opening…
Inalla. It was the only one that could actually perform satisfactorily in early game. Aminatou could as well, but it was a bit harder to do, mainly to the fact that it based her playstyle to delay the opponent and advantage me.
Daxos was.. mmhh.
No. Too risky. I didn't want to kill him.
Inalla was it.
"We'll fight in the weekend, when school's out. So that we can fight fresh. One round, the first to faint, tap out or surrender lose. Are these terms okay with you?" I raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to talk.
Bakugou didn't even say anything, he just extended his hand for a handshake. I gladly extended mine and we shook on it.
Now, how to defeat him?
********************************************
The first thing I did that night was to call Izuku, of course. Beyond needing his presence to the fight, I wanted to brainstorm possible tactics to employ against him and he was a genius in strategy.
"Izuku? Hello, am I disturbing you?" I had to keep my voice low because of all the other kids at the orphanage, but I could still talk to the phone.
"No, I was just rewriting a couple of notebooks. What's the problem?"
Mmhh… how do I put this? Better use the band aid approach and remove the whole thing in one go.
"So, this is gonna sound strange, buuut… Bakugou managed to corner me earlier today and kinda-sorta forced me into agreeing to duel him. This weekend."
For the record, it was a Thursday evening.
"You… what? I'm sorry, there must have been a connection problem.
I could swear that you said that Kacchan had challenged you to a duel."
I could swear that you said that Kacchan had challenged you to a duel."
"No, no. You heard correctly. And he wants you there."
Silence. I could hear breathing on the line, slowly starting to pick up in pace and shortness.
"What? Why? When? Where?"
Mmhhh… I'm starting to think that he is going into panic. Well, let's reveal everything now and then see if I can calm him later."Yeah, a duel. Because he wants to show me that even with a quirk I am still a nobody in front of his power, I think. As for when and where, this Saturday morning - or mid morning, we never said the specific hour - and on one of my lands to keep the damage to a minimum."
Izuku was starting to hyperventilate, I could hear his breath getting shorter and shorter on the phone.
"Izuku? Hey, Izuku, calm down, ok? I can defeat him. If I get the upper hand fast, I can defeat him. You don't have to worry too much, okay?"
"IF you get the upper hand! Your quirk is very powerful, but it's also really random!
You cannot be sure that he won't manage to knock you out before you can knock him out!
And aren't all of your attacks still lethal?!"
You cannot be sure that he won't manage to knock you out before you can knock him out!
And aren't all of your attacks still lethal?!"
He was starting to go into hysterics and I had literally zero idea on how to stop him. Mmhh…. Maybe…
"Well, true. Still, I have a couple of aces in my sleeve that will give him a nasty surprise. Plus I have the advantage, technically, as he doesn't know my quirk."
"He doesn't need to know your quirk to knock you out!!"
Oohhh, boy. This will take a while.
******************************************
Friday, I hunted down Bakugou at school and clarified with him the exact hour of our duel. I didn't want him to appear at the decided place at seven in the morning and claim that I had cheated when I appeared at eleven.
I like to sleep in when I can, sue me.
For the rest of the afternoon I trained with Izuku, mostly on what to do and what to avoid.
He had half a notebook filled with observations on Bakugou and I couldn't wait to read it. True, a lot of early things were from when they were children, but it was still a lot of information.
Bakugou's quirk was based on sweat. That meant that he had to sweat a lot to create his explosion. As this was still before U.A., he didn't have his gauntlet, so that was something.
I had to worry only about what he was able to produce on the moment. Beyond that, there was the option of either tiring him out or drying him. As I didn't have any desert on hand, salt water and mountains would have to do.
Plus the water would make harder for him to create his explosion, as it would dilute the nitroglycerine.
He was fast and agile, so that was something I had to look out for: I still wasn't the best at quick reaction. As I said, I am a planner.
The only thing I was regretting right now was that I couldn't stack my own deck. It would be so easy to defeat him, then…
Not matter, I had to focus.
Saturday morning came and I moved towards a spot in the woods slightly outside the city, where no one that wasn't actively searching for us would find us. I hope.
I met with Izuku halfway, before calling on Inalla, choosing my deck on the way. I wanted to have the chance to think about my strategy before starting.
Ouch.
Darksteel Ingot, one Mountain, one Evolving Wilds, three swamps and Command Tower.
This wasn't a good thing. Sure I could throw Evolving Wilds out there and turn it into another land, maybe an Island, before throwing out the mountain as another choice, but it could backfire on me. On the other hand, I could Mulligan right here and now.
Was I going to risk it?
Looking at Izuku, I revealed to him what I had drawn and trusted in his decision.
After a moment, he nodded "It could work. If you use the evolving wilds to gain a bit of time, then you can use the mountain to create some space. After that, if he manages to reach you before you get anything good, just use Command Tower either as a decoy or to create more space."
I looked at him and decided to trust his thinking. Let's hope it will work.
In what looked like minutes, we were at the place. Bakugou was already there and pacing like an animal in a cage, so wired up that when he saw us he almost snarled with impatience.
"It was time, you assholes! You are almost late!" "Almost it's not late. So, are you ready? I fear that it will take me a couple of minutes to prepare the place." Before he could do anything more than open his mouth, I simply cut him out "It was rhetorical. Either wait or the whole thing is off."
He didn't have much more to say than that, beyond glaring at me. I shrugged and went to work. Firstly, tossing the Evolving wilds to the side. Then, passing the turn, sacrificing it and turning it into an island.
The rock at the center of the lake wasn't exactly well accepted, especially because it was a bit out of our way to reach it - well his way to reach it - so I waved him out and nodded.
"Yeah, yeah, give me a minute, ok? Every now and then my quirk does things like this." Which, again, it was technically true.
Next card: another island. That wasn't good.
I kept to my word, however, and looked at Bakugou "Ready?" "I was born ready! Now hurry the fuck up!"
I shrugged and threw a mountain between me and him.
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Joebob323
Golden-Eyed Great Sage
- Location
- Maryland
I believe it should be after three months of knowledge.
Playing keep away from Bakugou that's sure to infuriate him. All the better.
- Location
- Italy
Dude is fast, but there is a mountain between me and him.