Era of Spirits and Shadows Chapter 14 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Era of Spirits and Shadows! The ‘Queen’ of Obelisk Blue enters the Dueling Arena! Who will Alexis’s opponent be and what Deck are they bringing to the Duel? Will she win or lose? The Promotion Exams are wrapping up, with only a few more Duels left to go for the students. Let’s see who gets promoted and who’s rank is further solidified!

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 14 – Breaking Tropes

Alexis walked over to the Dueling Arena with confidence in her Deck and in her skills as a Duelist. The crowd of students (mostly the boys) roared at her entrance. She blocked out several of the things they said, having heard it all before. ‘If they were even half as enthusiastic about challenging me to Duels, I’d appreciate that a lot more.’ She got to her position on the field and looked over at her opponent.

“Hey, Alexis.” The teen across from her was a brunette with shaggy hair, two of the long side bangs styled to nearly rest on his cheeks for some reason. His eyes were dark brown and sharp, his mouth in a small grin as he looked at Alexis. “Ready to face my horde?”

“Hello, Riker; I’m ready to win.” Alexis replied to the young man, trying not to roll her eyes as she saw him eyeing her up. “You can have first turn, if you want.”

“How kind of you, I’ll take first turn then.” Riker gave what he probably thought was a charming smile.

The two activated their blue-trimmed Duel Disks at the same time.

“DUEL!”

Alexis – 4,000

Riker – 4,000

“Let’s see…” Riker looked over his starting hand. “I think I’ll just set everything.” He placed all five cards into his Disk, the facedown holograms appearing on the field one by one as he did so until five were present. “Then I’ll end my turn.”

‘That’s unsettling.’ Alexis saw the full backrow and tried to puzzle out Riker’s strategy. “I draw.” She drew for turn and looked over her hand to decide how best to respond to five facedown cards. “I summon Cyber Valkyrie!” Alexis placed the female Monster onto the field.

In a flash of yellow light a woman appeared in front of Alexis. The woman was tall, with blonde hair, and a black visor over her eyes. Attached to the visor was a large blue ornament at the side of the woman’s head. She wore a skintight outfit of blue and white, with metal armor over her shoulders and around her hips, the hip armor held a skirt made of blue material that ended in wide, flat metal blades. On her legs were thigh-high white boots and her arms had matching white gloves.

Cyber Valkyrie – Level 4 – EARTH – Warrior/Effect – 1300 ATK/1500 DEF

“Let’s see that backrow.” Alexis decided to test what Riker had set up. “Cyber Valkyrie attacks you directly!”

Cyber Valkyrie rushed forward and slugged Riker in the face, the teen flinching backwards at the exceedingly realistic hologram. He was only thankful that the holograms couldn’t do any actual damage.

Alexis – 4,000

Riker – 2,700

“Any response?” Alexis questioned, not seeing Riker moving to activate any of his facedown cards.

“Nope.” Riker grinned back, seemingly not perturbed by the loss of Life Points.

Alexis looked over her hand warily, she had a few Spells and a Trap, but if Riker wasn’t activating anything in response from his backrow, then perhaps they only targeted her backrow. ‘I’ll wait before I commit anything to the field.’ Alexis decided after a short moment to consider her options. “I’ll end my turn.”

“I draw for turn.” Riker drew from his Deck and looked at his new card for a second. “I activate my Trap Card,” He pressed the button on his Dule Disk and one of his facedown cards rose upward. “Good Goblin Housekeeping!” The card depicted a large goblin wearing a red and yellow hat, with a red vest, sitting at a table with a ledger in front of it while it counted out some baubles next to the book. “When this card is activated, I draw one card, plus one more for each copy of Good Goblin Housekeeping that is in my graveyard.” Riker hit another button on his Disk. “I chain a second Good Goblin Housekeeping!” The facedown hologram next to the first Trap card rose up to reveal a second copy. “And then I chain another Good Goblin Housekeeping.” He made the third Trap card rise up from his backrow with a grin. “But I’m not done just yet! I activate the Quickplay Spell, Emergency Provisions!” The fourth facedown rose up to reveal the green card depicting field rations. “I can send any number of Spell or Trap cards that I control to the graveyard, and for each one I gain 1,000 Life Points! So, I’ll send all three of my Good Goblin Housekeeping Traps to the graveyard!” All three of the activated Trap cards exploded into pixels while the Emergency Rations card glowed golden.

Alexis – 4,000

Riker – 5,700

“He just destroyed his Traps. I thought he wanted to draw cards?” Jaden cocked his head at the chain that Riker had made.

“It’s the wording.” Jasmine pointed out as they watched Riker’s Life Points increase. “Emergency Provisions doesn’t say anything about negating the effects of the cards that it sends to the graveyard.”

“Plus the effect of Good Goblin Housekeeping is to draw an extra card for each copy of the card that’s in the graveyard.” Mindy realized how the chain would resolve now. “But since the chain isn’t interrupted, each of the Traps activates with three copies in the graveyard!”

“Damn…” Drake let out a low whistle. “That guy is about to draw four cards per Trap card.” That meant that Riker was going to draw TWELVE cards from this chain.

Riker only chuckled as his chain resolved. “I draw four cards from my first Good Goblin Housekeeping.” He drew four cards. “But as cost, I have to place one card from my hand on the bottom of my Deck after drawing from Good Goblin Housekeeping’s effect.” He placed one card on the bottom of his Deck. “Now I draw four more from the effect of my second Trap card.” He drew four more cards, then placed one from his hand to the bottom of his Deck. “Then four more!” Riker was clearly enjoying his massive amount of card advantage.

‘Now he has ten cards in hand. That gives him a lot of options, so I can’t predict what’s coming.’ Alexis barely hid a grimace at the sudden advantage that Riker had gotten. Her Duelist spirit flared at the challenge though! A fire was in her golden eyes as she waited for whatever Riker would do next.

“I activate the Spell card, Peeking Goblin.” Riker placed the card on the field and the hologram appeared, showing a goblin peeking through a vault-like door at what were clearly silhouettes of Pot of Greed. “This card forces you to reveal the top three cards of your Deck, and then I get to put one of them on the bottom of your Deck and the other two back on top in whichever order that I choose.” He sounded so pleased by his ability to control the order that Alexis would draw in.

“Sure.” Alexis pulled the top three cards from her Deck and showed them to Riker.

Riker looked over the three cards. “Let’s send Prima Light to the bottom of your Deck, then we’ll put Command Knight second and Fusion Reserve on top.” He made his decision to try and put Alexis in the worst position possible.

Alexis placed her Prima Light Spell card on the bottom of her Deck, then Command Knight and Fusion Reserve on top in the order that Riker specified. “Anything else?”

“Of course.” Riker grinned as he played another card. “I play the Spell card, Goblin Thief!” The green card appeared on the field, showing the same large goblin in a red and yellow hat with a red vest, stealing a Jar of Greed from a wagon that was being pulled down a dirt road by a knight in armor. “This card deals you 500 points of burn damage, while increasing my Life Points by 500!”

Alexis – 3,500

Riker – 6,200

“And since that was so fun, how about we do it again?” Riker smirked. “I play another Goblin Thief!” The same Spell card appeared on the field again, glowing as it activated its effect.

Alexis – 3,000

Riker – 6,700

“A Goblin Deck.” Drake realized after seeing enough of Riker’s cards. “That’s a pretty niche Archetype.”

“It fits him.” Jasmine grimaced at the state of the board. “Riker is a bit of a creep sometimes.”

Mindy cocked an eyebrow. “Sometimes?” Her tone was disbelieving.

“Most of the time.” Jasmine amended with a shrug. “He certainly likes to leer at the girls whenever he’s around.”

“Alexis has got this. He might have gained a lot of advantage, but he still hasn’t summoned a single Monster.” Jaden spoke without taking his eyes off the field. It seemed like Riker’s Deck focused more on Traps and Spells than anything else. “Let’s see what Monsters he has.”

“Now, I’ll summon Goblindbergh!” Riker summoned his first Monster of the Duel.

A red, old, propeller plane appeared on the field, a small goblin in an aviator suit, complete with goggles and a leather cap with two horns poking out appeared. Just barely heard over the plane’s propeller was the snickering of the goblin pilot.

Goblindbergh – Level 4 – EARTH – Warrior/Effect – 1400 ATK/0 DEF

“Goblindbergh’s effect activates!” Riker declared as the red propeller plane circled his side of the field once. “When it’s normal summoned, I can special summon another Level Four or lower Monster from my hand!” He picked the Monster that he wanted and set the card on the field. “I special summon, Goblin Attack Force!”

A group of goblins wearing helmets, breastplates, and all of them carrying clubs appeared in a flash of green light. The group of goblins cried out and raised their clubs into the air after being summoned.

Goblin Attack Force – Level 4 – EARTH – Warrior/Effect – 2300 ATK/0 DEF

“Because I used Goblindbergh’s effect, it now goes into Defense Position.” Riker switched the card to horizontal on his Duel Disk and the red plane hovered in the air unmoving. “I enter Battle Phase and activate my Trap card!” He activated the final facedown card he’d placed on the field on his first turn. “Final Attack Orders!” The Trap card depicted two groups of warriors charging at each other. “When this Continuous Trap is activated, all face-up Monsters on the field are switched to Attack Position and their battle positions cannot be changed!” He switched his Goblindbergh back into Attack Position.

“Gehehehe!” The goblin pilot cackled as it flew around the field again before stopping back in its starting position.

‘He’s certainly setting up his board well.’ Alexis noticed the strategy that Riker was implementing to negate the negative effects of his Goblin cards. ‘This Duel might actually be a challenge.’ That thought made her grin slightly.

“I’m sure you know what happens in stories to female warriors when they encounter goblins.” Riker smirked at Alexis while pointing at her Cyber Valkyrie.

“Ew…” Alexis’s disgust was clear on her face as soon as she realized what Riker was implying. ‘I didn’t need to know what he was into…at all.’

“Goblindbergh, attack her Cyber Valkyrie!” Riker declared his attack. The red propeller plan zoomed towards the female warrior, two small guns on the front firing at her.

“Cyber Valkyrie’s effect activates!” Alexis declared as her Monster glowed white and then the attacking Goblindbergh glowed the same color. “When my opponent’s Monster attacks Cyber Valkyrie, that Monster loses 300 ATK until the end of the Damage Step!”

Goblindbergh – Level 4 – EARTH – Warrior/Effect – 1100 ATK/0 DEF

“What?!” Riker hadn’t known about Cyber Valkyrie’s effect.

“Cyber Valkyrie counterattacks!” Alexis pointed at the approaching Goblindbergh.

Cyber Valkyrie leapt upwards, dodging the gunfire and landing on the propeller plane with a devastating kick that shattered it into pixels. The nimble female warrior landed on the ground easily and then leapt back to her starting position in front of Alexis.

Alexis – 3,000

Riker – 6,500

“That won’t save your Monster!” Riker moved Goblindbergh from the field and put it into his graveyard. “Goblin Attack Force, attack Cyber Valkyrie!”

The group of goblins rushed forward, charging at the Cyber Valkyrie with shrieks and growls.

“Cyber Valkyrie’s effect activates again!” Alexis revealed that her Monster’s effect wasn’t once per turn. “Your Goblin Attack Force loses 300 ATK until the end of the Damage Step!”

Goblin Attack Force – Level 4 – EARTH – Warrior/Effect – 2000 ATK/0 DEF

The loss of ATK didn’t stop the charging goblins as they quickly overwhelmed Cyber Valkyrie, knocking her to the ground and then bashing her with their clubs until the Monster exploded into pixels.

Alexis – 2,300

Riker – 6,500

“My Goblin Attack Force goes into Defense Position form its effect.” Riker turned the card horizontal on his Disk. The Goblin Attack Force all went slack, lazing about on the field. “But then my Final Attack Orders Trap card activates and changes it to Attack Position again!” The Trap card glowed and the lazy goblins quickly took up their clubs again and stood ready to attack. “Now I’ll set three facedowns and then end my turn.”

Three facedown holograms appeared in Riker’s backrow as he smirked. He had the ‘Queen’ of Obelisk Blue on the backfoot! He could win! And since Dueling was everything at Duel Academy, he could use this win as a boost to his status within the Obelisk Dorm!

‘Damn, I should’ve wagered a date or something on this Duel like Slate did with Mindy!’ Riker thought to himself, giving Alexis another look over. His eyes trailed up her long legs, to her wide hips, her thin waist, her large tits, up to her beautiful face…and then back down to her tits as he stared at them a bit.

Alexis noticed the looks, but chose to ignore it and focus on the Duel. “I draw!” She drew for her turn, already knowing what it would be because of Riker’s previous Spell card messing with her Deck.

“I activate my Trap card!” Riker declared as soon as Alexis drew her card. “Minor Goblin Official!” The Trap card rose up to reveal a Goblin in bronze armor with a matching helmet. “This Continuous Trap can only be activated when my opponent has less than 3,000 Life Points. Now during each of your Standby Phases, you take 500 Life Points of burn damage!” He explained with a confident grin.

Sure enough, as soon as Alexis entered her Standby Phase, the Trap card glowed and Alexis lost Life Points.

Alexis – 1,800

Riker – 6,500

“Shit… There’s no way he actually beats Alexis, right?” Jasmine couldn’t believe the state of the Duel right now.

“Anybody can lose to another Duelist, Jasmine.” Drake spoke up, though he didn’t move his gaze off the field. “No one is unbeatable.”

“That’s true.” Jaden agreed with a nod, his eyes looking at Alexis. “But she’s not beaten yet.” The grin on his face spoke of the confidence he had in Alexis as a Duelist.

“Yeah! Lexi is still going to win this!” Mindy cheered, pumping her fist in the air.

“Kick his ass, Alexis!” Jasmine joined in on the cheering, showing her friend that she believed in her.

“I activate the Spell card, Fusion Conscription!” Alexis put the card onto the field, already thinking of a way to turn this Duel around. The hologram appeared, showing the image of the Monster called Goddess with the Third Eye and the Monster known as The Light Hex-Sealed Fusion, both glowing with yellow light. “This card allows me to reveal one Fusion Monster,” She showed Riker her Cyber Blader. “And then I can add one of the Fusion Materials, whose name is specifically listed on the card, from my Deck or graveyard to my hand.” Alexis searched her Deck and easily found the card that she wanted. “I choose my Etoile Cyber!” She showed the card to Riker before adding it to her hand. “Now I activate Polymerization!” Alexis placed the Spell card on the field, the hologram appeared a second later. “I fuse the Blade Skater and the Etoile Cyber in my hand to fusion summon my Cyber Blader!”

Both Etoile Cyber and Blader Skater appeared for a moment as Alexis swiped the two over her Duel Disk to recognize the Fusion Summon as a legitimate play. The two Monsters leapt into the shining Polymerization card before a new Monster appeared on the field from the light.

Cyber Blader’s long, blue hair flowed in a nonexistent breeze, the red visor over her eyes kept them from being seen, and her rather skimpy outfit got quite a few cheers from the students watching. The ice skates on her feet touched the ground and the red spikes emerging from each shoulder as part of the figure skater costume caught the light with a shine.

Cyber Blader – Earth – Level 6 – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 2100 ATK/800 DEF

“I’ll set one card facedown and then end my turn.” Alexis slid the card into her Duel Disk, the hologram appearing behind her Cyber Blader.

“I draw!” Riker drew his next card and looked at his hand for a moment. He knew a bit about Cyber Blader and its multiple effects that were based on how many Monsters he had on the field. “I activate my Trap card, Call of the Haunted!” He hit the button on his Duel Disk and the facedown hologram rose up to show the well-known card. “Then I’ll chain my other facedown Trap card!’ Riker activated his last facedown. “Robbin’ Goblin!” The card depicted a Goblin in ragged clothing with a sword in one hand and a sack filled with valuables slung over its opposite shoulder. “Now each time one of my Monsters inflicts battle damage, you have to discard a random card from your hand!”

‘That’s not good.’ Alexis was very much aware of how crippling hand destruction effects could be to a Duelist’s ability to even play the game.

“Now, off my Call of the Haunted, I’ll special summon my Goblindbergh!” Riker moved the card from the graveyard to the field.

“Gehehehe!” The red propeller plane flew through the air with the goblin pilot cackling again.

Goblindbergh – Level 4 – EARTH – Warrior/Effect – 1100 ATK/0 DEF

“When you have two Monsters on the field, my Cyber Blader’s ATK doubles!” Alexis informed Riker as her Monster’s ATK shot up.

Cyber Blader – Earth – Level 6 – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 4200 ATK/800 DEF

“I summon Goblin Recon Squad!” Riker ignored the increase and used his normal summon to put another Monster on the field.

In a cloud of smoke a small group of goblins in camo fatigues with night vision goggles appeared on the field. The goggles glowed red as the goblins zeroed in on Cyber Blader.

Goblin Recon Squad – Level 4 – WIND – Warrior/Effect – 1700 ATK/0 DEF

Cyber Blader’s ATK returned to normal as the third Monster appeared on the field.

Cyber Blader – Earth – Level 6 – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 2100 ATK/800 DEF

“I enter Battle Phase!” Riker declared and gave Alexis a few seconds to respond. When she shook her head, he continued with his play. “Goblin Attack Force attacks Cyber Blader!”

The group of armored goblins charged at Cyber Blader with their clubs raised in the air.

“I activate my Trap card!” Alexis pressed the button on her Duel Disk and the facedown hologram on the field stood up. “Half Counter!”

The purple card showed three Monsters from the Amazoness Archetype: Amazoness Paladin, Amazoness Archer, and Amazoness Swordswoman, all blocking a bright blue light attack.

“What does that do?” Riker didn’t know this card at all, but he was certain it was bad for him.

“During damage calculation, if one of my Monsters is being attacked, I target that Monster and then it gains half of the original ATK of the Monster attacking it until the End Phase!” Alexis explained as the Trap card glowed a blue color and then Cyber Blader was surrounded in an aura of the same color.

Cyber Blader – Earth – Level 6 – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 3250 ATK/800 DEF

Cyber Blader rocketed forward on her skates, meeting the charging Goblin Attack Force head on. She spun into a kick and the blades of her ice skates shredded the goblins rapidly, making each goblin shatter into pixels and vanish. With a graceful twirl, Cyber Blader slid back to Alexis and took up her position in front of her owner.

Alexis – 1,800

Riker – 5,550

“And now that your back down to two Monsters, Cyber Blader’s ATK doubles.” Alexis watched as her Monster’s ATK rose to crazy heights.

Cyber Blader – Earth – Level 6 – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 6500 ATK/800 DEF

Sure, it was only until the End Phase that it would be this high, but it was an excellent deterrent to keep Riker from trying to attack again.

“I’ll…just end my turn.” Riker saw that he could do nothing to the Cyber Blader and passed the turn over. ‘As long as she doesn’t remove my Minor Goblin Official card from the field, she’ll lose the rest of her Life Points in four turns. I just need to hold out until then.’ He had plenty of Life Points, so that shouldn’t be a problem.

Cyber Blader – Earth – Level 6 – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 4200 ATK/800 DEF

“I draw!” Alexis drew for her turn, once more knowing what it would be because of Riker’s previous Spell card. She actually grinned as the Minor Goblin Official glowed, the Continuous Trap taking another 500 Life Points from her.

Alexis – 1,300

Riker – 5,550

“This has certainly been an interesting Duel, Riker.” Alexis placed her next card onto the field. “I summon Command Knight!”

In a glow of light the regal-looking woman appeared wearing red and white armor. Her red helmet had four golden wing motifs, there was a black cape over her shoulders, and she had her hands on the sheathed sword at her waist.

Command Knight – FIRE – Level 4 – Warrior/Effect – 1200 ATK/1900 DEF

“While Command Knight is face up on the field, all Warrior Type Monsters that I control gain 400 ATK. Also, Command Knight can’t be targeted for attacks so long as there’s another Monster on my side of the field.” Alexis informed Riker of her Monster’s effect.

Cyber Blader – Earth – Level 6 – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 5000 ATK/800 DEF

Command Knight – FIRE – Level 4 – Warrior/Effect – 1600 ATK/1900 DEF

“Wait a minute!” Riker pointed at Cyber Blader accusingly. “You said that Command Knight’s effect increased your other Warrior Type Monsters’ ATK by 400! But your Cyber Blader increased by 800 ATK!”

“Cyber Blader’s second effect is a little different than what you’re thinking.” Alexis had run into this misunderstanding before. “Her original ATK is 2100, and when it doubles under her effect it becomes 4200.” Riker nodded in agreement to the simple math. “But when an outside effect like Command Knight’s is used, Cyber Blader’s 2100 ATK becomes 2500 ATK and then it’s doubled to 5000 ATK.”

“Oh…” Riker blinked at the new information. “Thanks for the explanation.”

“No problem.” Alexis waved it off as the Duel resumed. “I equip my Cyber Blader with White Veil!” She placed the Equip Spell on the field right behind her Cyber Blader. The Spell card depicted a woman in a red dress with her back turned to the observer, a sheer, sparkling, white veil surrounded the woman. The card glowed and turned into the mystical veil, which quickly wrapped loosely around Cyber Blader.

“Nothing happened?” Riker questioned, noticing no change to Cyber Blader.

Alexis grinned, actually having fun with this Duel. “It doesn’t change her stats. White Veil is a very rare card that gives a few powerful effects to the Monster it’s equipped to. For starters, while the equipped Monster battles, my opponent can’t activate any Spell or Trap cards until the end of the Damage Step. Secondly, when an attack is declared involving the equipped Monster, all face-up Spell and Trap cards that my opponent controls have their effects negated until the end of the Damage Step. And thirdly, when the equipped monster destroys one of my opponent’s Monsters by battle: I can destroy all Spell and Trap cards that my opponent controls.”

“Th-That’s insane…” Riker felt a pit form in his stomach.

“It’s pretty powerful.” Alexis chose not to mention the downside of White Veil, unless it became relevant to the Duel. “I enter Battle Phase!” Seeing no response from Riker, she continued. “I attack Goblin Recon Squad with Cyber Blader!”

The sparkling white veil around Cyber Blader glowed with a mystical light. All four of Riker’s continuous Trap cards turned grey, signaling that their effects had been negated. Cyber Blader skated forward at speed and leapt into the air, she spun midair and landed amongst the Goblin Recon Squad, slashing them all to pieces. The goblins all burst into pixels and Riker took the 3300 battle damage.

Alexis – 1,300

Riker – 2,250

The White Veil equipped to Cyber Blader glowed again with the same mystical shine. All of the greyed out Trap cards exploded into fragments before disappearing from the field. The third effect of the White Veil having destroyed them after the condition of ‘destroying an opponent’s Monster by battle’ had been fulfilled.

Cyber Blader – Earth – Level 6 – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 2500 ATK/800 DEF

With only one Monster remaining on Riker’s field, Cyber Blader’s doubled ATK went away.

“Command Knight attacks Goblindbergh!” Alexis declared and the female warrior attacked with her sword, splitting the red propeller plane (and the goblin pilot) in half. The Monster exploded into pixels while Command Knight landed safely on the ground and returned to her starting position.

Alexis – 1,300

Riker – 2,050

“I’ll set one facedown in my Main Phase 2, and then I’ll end my turn.” Alexis finished her turn with an amazing comeback, leaving Riker’s field bare and reducing his life points by a massive amount.

The crowd of students were cheering loudly at the amazing play, but none louder than her friends.

“Hell yeah, Lexi!” Mindy and Jasmine cheered, jumping up and down while hugging each other.

“That was awesome, Alexis!” Jaden yelled out with a bright smile on his face.

“Victory is yours next turn!” Drake laughed as he saw the turnaround. Sure, there were ways that Riker could probably get out of this situation, if he had the appropriate cards. But given the look on the Obelisk Blue’s face…he didn’t seem to have them.

“I draw!” Riker drew his next card and looked over his hand of three cards. ‘Damn it… I almost had her! My status in the Obelisk Dorm would’ve shot through the roof after I won!’ He lamented to himself in the privacy of his mind. “I’ll Set a Monster and then set one facedown.” He made the best play that he could, a hologram of a horizontal facedown card appearing in the Monster Zone, while a facedown card appeared behind it in the Spell/Trap Zone. “I end my turn.”

“I activate my Trap card in your End Phase!” Alexis declared and her facedown card flipped upwards. “Fusion Reserve!” The card showed the orange monster from the Polymerization spell emerging from a Fusion Monster while in the background a card was pulled from a deck. I reveal one Fusion Monster,” She revealed a second Cyber Blader to Riker. “Then I can add one of the Fusion Materials, whose name is specifically listed on the card, from my Deck to my hand.” Alexis searched her Deck and after a few seconds she found the card that she wanted. “I choose my second Etoile Cyber!” She showed the card to Riker before adding it to her hand. “Then I can add one Polymerization from my graveyard to my hand!” She pulled the Spell card from the graveyard with a grin.

The turn changed over and now it was Alexis’s turn. Her Trap card had allowed her to gain some extra advantage right at the end of Riker’s turn, but her next draw would determine if she could use it to finish this Duel.

“I draw!” Alexis took her next card and looked at it carefully, considering her options. “I’ll summon Etoile Cyber!” She placed the Monster card onto her Duel Disk. The Monster spun into existence from the summoning before slowing to a stop to face Riker. The woman tossed her long orange-hair over her shoulder and down her back. Her skintight dancer’s outfit with some frills around the hips drew quite some appreciation from many of the students. Over one of her eyes was a red eyepatch that matched her red and white outfit. And there was a swirling cloth around each of her forearms as she stood ready for battle.

Etoile Cyber – EARTH – Level 4 – Warrior/Effect – 1200 ATK/1600 DEF

“Command Knight’s effect activates!” Alexis pointed to her other Monster. “Etoile Cyber’s ATK increases by 400!”

Etoile Cyber – EARTH – Level 4 – Warrior/Effect – 1600 ATK/1600 DEF

“Now I enter Battle Phase!” Alexis gave Riker a second to activate his Trap card if he was going to, but when he shook his head the ‘Queen’ continued. “I attack your Set Monster with Cyber Blader!”

Cyber Blader blitzed forward and the sharp blade of her ice skate slashed the facedown hologram in two.

What briefly appeared was the same goblin from the Spell and Trap cards that Riker had used earlier in the Duel. The red and yellow hat, red vest, and this version was holding a Pot of Generosity. Of course the goblin and his pot were both split in half vertically from Cyber Blader’s attack.

Scrounging Goblin – EARTH – Level 4 – Fiend/Effect – 1000 ATK/2000 DEF

The goblin shattered into pixels, leaving Riker’s field with only his facedown card left.

“White Veil’s effect activates!” Alexis declared and the veil around Cyber Blader shone with the mystical light again. “Your facedown card is destroyed!”

Not having any way to protect his card from the destruction effect, Riker just moved it into the graveyard. The facedown hologram shattered into pixels; revealing it to be another Final Attack Orders. Now his field was completely empty. But Alexis still had two more Monsters to attack with.

She only needed one, however.

“Etoile Cyber attacks you directly!” Alexis pointed at Riker and the dancer Monster spun across the field. “When Etoile Cyber attacks directly, she gains 500 ATK during the Damage Step!”

Etoile Cyber – EARTH – Level 4 – Warrior/Effect – 2100 ATK/1600 DEF

Etoile Cyber landed a devastating kick to Riker’s face, the young man flinched as the hologram passed through him.

Alexis – 1,300

Riker – 0

“Damn it…” Riker looked down at the ground at his loss.

“Alexis Rhodes wins the Duel!” Chancellor Sheppard’s voice announced over the speakers.

The students (especially the males) roared in praise and cheer for Alexis’s victory as the holograms faded away.

“That was a fun Duel, Riker.” Alexis gave the boy a small smile. Her Duelist Spirit was riding high after the victory and pulling off a come from behind win.

“Thanks.” Riker sighed and rubbed the back of his head. “I really thought I had you there.” He chuckled and Alexis raised an eyebrow. “I had almost considered betting a date on this match, like Slate did with Mindy. Now I’m kinda glad I didn’t. It’s a little less embarrassing this way.”

“I wouldn’t have accepted the bet.” Alexis shook her head. “I’d prefer guys to ask me to Duel, rather than on a date.” Was it so hard for others to understand that she wanted to be taken seriously as a Duelist and not seen as just a girl? ‘It seems Riker can actually be a decent person when he wants to be.’ She thought to herself as they separated to clear the field.

The sudden feeling of being stared at changed her mind, especially when she felt the person’s gaze locked firmly on her ass. She just continued to walk away, more than familiar with guys trying to undress her with their eyes, no matter how annoying it was.

‘If he stares any harder, I’d practically be able to feel it.’ Alexis sighed, knowing that Riker was probably just eye-humping her at this point. She left the floor through a corridor and rolled her eyes when the staring only stopped after the other Obelisk Blue couldn’t see her anymore. “Just let it go. Not all guys are like that.” Alexis shook her head, sending her blonde hair swaying behind her. She took the first set of stairs upwards and stopped in the landing between the floor and the seating in the stands. She interlocked her fingers and stretched them above her head, leaning forward to stretch and pop her back as well. “Don’t need an audience for that.” The ‘Queen’ of Obelisk Blue lightly chuckled to herself, knowing that just her stretching would be considered a show to a lot of the guys in the stands.

“Great Duel, Alexis!” Jaden smiled at her, congratulating her for her victory the moment that she crested the top of the stairs and returned to the stands near her friends.

“Thanks, Jaden.” Alexis smiled warmly at him. She liked that his first thought was to congratulate her on her victory; rather than to eye her up like she saw a few of the other students doing already. “It was a good Duel.”

“Lexi!” Mindy nearly tackled Alexis into a hug.

“That was awesome!” Jasmine joined the hug too.

“Thank you.” Alexis laughed, returning the hugs and enjoying her friends’ congratulations.

“You really flipped it around on him, Alexis.” Drake complimented her with a grin. “When he managed to draw twelve cards in one turn, I thought he might have you for a second. I guess I shouldn’t doubt the ‘Queen’ of Obelisk Blue, huh?” He joked with her.

“Even I was surprised by that, Drake.” Alexis admitted, enjoying the mini celebration with her close friends. The playful joking and honest congratulations and praise were what she enjoyed the most after a good Duel.

“Never doubt, Lexi!” Jasmine declared as she and Mindy released Alexis from their arms.

“Not one bit!” Mindy nodded; a bubbly giggle followed her words.

Jaden was all smiles as he locked eyes with Alexis. “We should definitely have another Duel soon, Alexis! Maybe I could be the first to Duel against your new Deck?”

“I’d like that, Jaden.” Alexis nearly beamed at him, her smile was bright and her golden-hazel gaze was filled with challenge. ‘Jaden understands my love of Dueling! Why can’t more people be like him?’ It wasn’t like she was unaware of the times that Jaden would look at her as a woman, but it was never the first thing that he did, and she truly appreciated that. Nowadays Alexis didn’t even mind the fact that her heart beat a little faster when she held Jaden’s gaze.

Mindy and Jasmine both had cat-like little grins on their faces as they saw that Alexis and Jaden were practically ignoring everyone else for a moment.

‘Her Ba has grown a bit more from this Duel.’ Drake looked at Alexis with a hint of a glow in his eyes, too small for most anyone to notice unless they were face to face. Alexis’s Ba had indeed gotten bigger from her last Duel, further progress on her path to learning Shadow Magic. ‘But that’s the same for all of them.’ He looked over his friends, having checked each of them after their own Duels. Mindy and Jaden had both grown a little bit more than Jasmine, but both had slightly harder Duels against their opponents, so that was to be expected. Especially Jaden pulling off a victory against Chazz’s Deck that had been stacked with new and rare cards. ‘It might be time for the girls a bit sooner than I thought.’

“Drake Roth to Dueling field two.” One of the faculty called over the speakers.

“You’re up, Drake!” Jaden fist-bumped his best friend.

“I hope I get a good opponent too.” Drake chuckled, having enjoyed watching his friends’ Duels so far.

“You’ll win, Drake, I’m sure.” Alexis encouraged him with a smile and a nod of confidence.

Mindy winked at him with a flirty grin. “Drake will win…he has incentive.”

“Plenty of it too.” Jasmine teased, a saucy little grin on her lips.

“I’ll hold you both to that.” Drake laughed and headed down the stairs towards his own promotion Duel.

“Don’t forget! If you lose, we all get to laugh at you!” Mindy called down the stairs to him with a giggle.

“And we won’t let you live it down until the next Promotion Exams!” Jasmine added on, laughing along with Mindy.

“You just wait.” Drake smirked at both of them over his shoulder. “I’ll be back to claim my ‘rewards’ soon enough!” He threw a wave over his shoulder as he turned the corner.

“Shhhrrrrr.” Red-Eyes’ low, rumbling hiss resounded his Ba.

“Yeah, let’s go have some fun, partner.” Drake responded to his Ka with a little chuckle.

-End Chapter-

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Alexis smashes through her Duel even when put on the back foot from a strategy that gave her opponent TWELVE in card advantage!

No one stands in the Queen’s path! Kek!

You can only imagine how much more powerful she’ll be when her Cyber Angel Deck is up and running!

And what’s this? Is Alexis starting to come around to the idea of maybe, possibly, sort of having some feelings for Jaden?! Oh my, oh my!

Now Drake is up! What kind of opponent will be standing between him and his promotion to Ra Yellow?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!