Chimera Summoner: A Deckbuilding LitRPG, page 25
Thanks to his recently gained skill points Gareth had eight cards in his opening hand. A Puny Goblin, a Chain Lightning, a Helm of Leadership, a Goblin Spellforger, two Goblin Soldiers, a Goblin Catapult and finally an Open the Warrens. It was a good hand, one with a solid plan. Gareth was glad to see that the changes to his deck had paid off, he would be in for a decent shot at putting his plan into action.
He considered for a moment which cards he did or didn’t need. If his plan worked, he would need to keep as many goblin monsters in his hand as possible to capitalise on it, but Gareth would need to give up a card now to improve his shield and to discard one soon for the Spell-forger. In theory, reinforcing his shield was optional but giving up the extra layer of protection didn’t seem wise when he had no idea what his opponent could do. He selected Open the Warrens, the card shifting into golden power and settling amongst the shields floating before him. It was expensive to cast, too much so to slot into Gareth’s current plans, but at least if he took a hit there was a chance Gareth could get it back.
“Another shield. Interesting,” Babu said. The Golden was standing perfectly still both his hands outstretched, mana and cards floating above the right and left respectively. He had ten cards in his opening hand and twelve mana orbs to spend, confirmation that he was likely a higher level than Gareth was. “Not that it will help you at all.”
“Oh, I don’t know, still better than your three, right?” Gareth was in no mood to be talked down to. The constant comments and looks he had endured since arriving in the Golden Lands had been quite enough. Now it was time to show the living statues just what a fleshy could do. “I think my entire deck is going to be a surprise to you.”
“The very fact that a filthy fleshy like yourself even has a deck is surprising. What a waste of power. Are you going to stop flapping your disgusting lips and do something? The quicker I can win this duel and be done with you the better.”
“Fine,” Gareth snarled. “If that’s the way you want it.” He chose his Goblin Spell Forger, the card turning into glowing light that swirled before him. It took the shape of the goblin illustrated on the card, a short thing with red eyes and needle-like teeth, its green skin covered by a tattered robe. On its head was a large floppy pointed hat with a wide brim, the most stereotypical wizard hat Gareth could imagine. There were even large white stars stitched haphazardly across its blue fabric.
“What are we looking for, boss?” The goblin said, reaching into the oversized sleeve of its robe and pulling out a wand that had seen better days.
“Did…did that monster just talk?” Babu said. If his face could have contorted with shock, it would have. He stumbled backwards, his hands bracing him against the wall. “That’s impossible.”
“And yet there he is. My monsters talk sometimes. Don’t really know why or how, but they just do.” Gareth was beginning to suspect that he knew the answer. Other duellists didn’t have talking monsters, but other duellists weren’t running around the world with the goddess who created everything. That included the first decks and cards and Gareth thought that it was too coincidental not to be linked. “Grab me a chimera creation, please?” Gareth said, grabbing one of his shield cards from the air and handing it over to the waiting goblin. Talking was one thing but directly interacting with one of his summoned monsters was new.
“Coming right up boss,” the goblin said, waving his wand at the card in his hand. The card vanished in a puff of smoke, the goblin taking a moment to show that his hands were empty. With the flourish of a stage magician, a copy of Chimera Creation appeared in his hand, the goblin bowing slightly as he offered the card to Gareth. It floated from the goblin’s physical hand into Gareth’s mote metaphorical one, joining his other cards in the line-up before him.
“Very elaborate, but what did that even do?” Babu said, pointing an accusing finger at Gareth. “I don’t know what it’s like where you’re from, but you’re expected to actually explain your moves during a duel here. I guess I shouldn’t expect someone like you to understand manners.”
“I was getting to it,” Gareth said, trying his best not to rise to Babu’s insults. His opponent was trying to provoke a reaction and throw Gareth off. It was a trick Gareth had seen used before, not strictly against the rules, but it wasn’t exactly good sportsmanship. “This monster, the Goblin Spell Forger, lets me discard a shield card to search my deck for a spell and add it to my hand. I wouldn’t exactly call this forging, but who am I to question the goblins?”
“And what exactly does this spell do?”
“Let’s me summon a chimera monster,” Gareth said. He didn’t mention the extra deck, not yet. If Babu was going to play mind games, then so was he.
“So, you used a monster, to find a spell, that then finds a monster. A very elaborate play, and one that just devours your actions. Not very effective, is it?” Babu sneered. “I’ll show you how a real duellist fights.”
With a simple flick of his fingers, Babu chose a card, six of his twelve mana winking out at he did. It was a considerable amount to spend in one go, a sure-fire sign that whatever he had chosen to summon was powerful.
The ground shook as an enormous creature burst from the ground, sand spilling out around it and spreading across the floor. It filled the room, its long segmented body curving around on itself as the beast opened its maw. There were only teeth within, thousands of serrated blades that glinted in the light. The creature looked to Gareth like a colossal worm, a beast straight out of science fiction bearing down on him.
Where it emerged from the floor a great rune had appeared, one that showed the monster’s statistics. Six hundred attack and four hundred defence were reasonable numbers, but the beast only had three hit points, a low number for a monster so expensive.
“Behold!” Babu shouted, the worm shifting its body so that its summoner was visible. “The mighty Sandwurm, king of the desert. With its burrow ability, it can attack you directly, provided that you have no monsters with burrow yourself. Somehow, I very much doubt you do.”
“So, it’s got flying. Kind of,” Gareth said, thoroughly unimpressed. He had seen this kind of monster before, big and expensive with impressive-sounding numbers, but there was always a fatal flaw to them. They often lacked an impactful ability or any kind of way of protecting themselves. It was the exact kind of card a young kid might throw in their deck assuming that being expensive to cast had to make the card good. “Pretty common ability.”
“Flying maybe, but burrow, no, not common at all. You won’t stop this beast. Your shields are forfeit.”
“I pass,” Gareth said.
“You pass? Pass? Resigned to your fate already, are you?”
“Something like that.”
“Do you think I’m stupid?” Babu said. “You’ve added another card to your shield. If I strike you now, I’m just giving you access to more power without actually making any progress. No, no I capitalise on my advantage.” Babu was intensely proud of his reasoning. The foolish creature of skin and bone before him was made of meat, after all. That rotted with time, his opponent’s mind a slowly dying lump and no match for his superior arcane intellect. “No. No, let us see yet more creatures of the desert.”
More light filled the chamber as another creature took form, a second Sandwurm snaking its way through the first. As the creatures shifted the sand on the floor moved with them, the tiny patch of desert they were emerging from part of the magic that had summoned them.
“Two Sandwurms! Haha! This duel is over. I can defeat you in just a few actions.”
“I mean, yes, in theory,” Gareth said with a smile. “Don’t think I’m going to make it easy though.”
“You couldn’t have made it easier! You’ve done what, summon one tiny creature with pathetic stats? Searched for a spell you so clearly can’t use? Pathetic.”
“I pass,” Gareth said.
“See, nothing! You can do nothing to me! Let me put you out of your misery then. Attack!”
One of the wurms slammed its head into the ground, sand spraying into the air rather than the stone floor shattering beneath the force. It emerged behind Gareth’s Goblin Spellforger, bypassing his defender and looming above him. It tried to snap its jaws on him, goblin light flaring at his shield protected him. A Lightning Blast added itself to his hand, golden energy outlining it to remind him it was a shield card.
“I pass,” Gareth said. In theory, it was a gamble, Babu could easily call his bluff and pass as well, triggering a new turn. Babu would have the first action and a new set of cards to use, even if he had no mana to spend. Giving your opponent more options was never wise. The truth was that Gareth knew what his opponent would do. It was only a gamble when you didn’t know the outcome. Babu was so sure of his superiority—both as a duellist and as a being—that he would attack again. That would leave him with no actions and the battlefield and no mana with which to add more. Then Gareth would strike.
“Hit him again!” the Golden shouted, his second wurm copying the first. Another brilliant blaze of gold filled the chamber as the second layer of Gareth’s shield broke.
Glancing at his cards Gareth could see that a Goblin Battlemaster had joined his hand. That would be useful, shield cards were free after all, and Gareth was going to need every attack he could get if he was going to tear down the wurms before him.
“Right then,” he said as he flexed his fingers. “It’s time to show you a thing or two, Babu. Show you some duelling that’s a bit more interesting than just summoning two pretty boring wurms.”
Babu couldn’t scowl, his face wouldn’t allow it. Instead, his anger crept out in other ways, his hands clenching into fists as he shifted his feet into a wider stance.
“So, I have seven mana remaining. I think that should be enough, just. I’ll start by spending four of it to cast this…”
Gareth’s fingers settled on Chimera Creation, the card twisting into a swirling vortex, his entire deck unspooling from the deck box and settling before him. A sigh of relief left Gareth’s lips as he saw Zollof amongst them, there was a small chance that his legendary could have been in the two remaining shield cards, foiling his plan at the first step. He chose the goblin king, two Overconfident Goblins and two Puny Goblins, the weakest of his cards fuelling his stronger.
From within the portal, the Goblin Royal Procession burst forth. Zollof was there on his plinth as usual but around him was a small army of goblins carrying tatty pennants and blowing bent trumpets. It was a little strange to see an entire horde of goblins only count as a single monster, though Gareth supposed that was true of the Zollof card itself.
“What is this? What’s going on?” Babu said, confusion filling his mind. The spell had summoned a monster, but at least five cards had flown into the vortex. There was more going on than a simple summoning.
“This,” Gareth said, gesturing to his freshly made army, “is a Chimera monster. A fusion of several other monsters from my deck. They’re stored in here, my extra deck.” He tapped at the small box on his belt. “And brought out with the Chimera Creation spell. The components form part of the monster, some expending their components to trigger powerful abilities. Not this one though, no, it does something when it’s summoned.”
“Extra deck? What is this nonsense? Judge! This can’t be allowed.”
“Just because your opponent has abilities you don’t understand, doesn’t mean they are disallowed. You should expect duellists from another region to have powers you haven’t seen before. It’s clear that this summoning is the result of a spell, and therefore part of your opponent’s deck rather than the result of an outside item. It is allowed,” the judge said, staring at Babu. “You would do well to remember that the Pharaoh allowed their entry into this tournament. As our most radiant sun is all-knowing she would have been aware of this power they fleshy possesses.”
“This is total rubble! I’ll complain to the guild when I’m done!” Babu screamed, pointing a rocky finger at the judge as he did.
“And you are free to do so, but whilst this match continues my ruling stands.”
“You heard the man,” Gareth said, his smirk hidden by his enchanted mask. “Now, let’s resolve this monster’s ability, shall we?” He tapped at three cards in quick succession, bolts of light shooting out by the procession and taking form. A Goblin Catapult, and both Goblin Soldiers appeared before Gareth. Both soldiers were wearing tabards that matched the banners of the procession, an addition that made Gareth smile. It made sense. “When I summon my Goblin Royal Procession I can immediately summon up to three goblins from my hand. For free. That’s not all though, when I draw cards at the start of each turn I can reveal one of them, if it’s a goblin, and immediately summon that for free as well.” Gareth lifted his mask to the top of his head. It had already served its purpose, reducing the cost of the spell-forger by one. The rough wood had the unfortunate side effect of making his face itch.
“That’s insane! You’ve just gotten four actions worth of summons at once and saved massive amounts of mana at the same time.” Babu couldn’t believe what was happening. He had been so certain of victory, but his opponent had gone from one monster to five instantly. “It doesn’t matter, even with all your monsters you can’t kill my wurms. Next turn they’ll simply end you.” Babu’s stone eyes rolled downwards to look at the procession’s statistics. “Even if you’ve got a monster with a thousand one two hundred and thirty-two all round.”
“Ah, you see, now we’re going to play a fun game of finding out what’s in your shield and if it’s going to save you.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“Well, then pass and find out,” Gareth said, pointing the tip of his staff at Babu. Five orange orbs were swirling about it. Each had appeared as he had summoned a goblin and Gareth was glad to have seen that both the chimera monster and the goblins it had brought with it had counted. “Or well, first of all.” Three of the orbs vanished, a new card flying out of his deck box and adding itself to his hand. “Every three goblins I summon draws me a card. Pretty handy when I can throw out so many at once, right?”
“I pass,” Babu said, the words spat out like venom. He didn’t bother to answer Gareth’s question.
“Thanks. I’ll go ahead and summon this, I think.” Gareth chose the Goblin Battlemaster that had come from his shield. The monster was free, and it would draw him another card from his staff. He had already gotten a Goblin Tinkerer from the last activation, though Gareth would rather something stronger. As the Goblin Soldier took shape he couldn’t help feeling disappointed as his second copy of Open the Warrens appeared in his hand.
“I pass,” Babu muttered, the bile worked out by his last outburst.
“Ok, so, I have three mana left. What to do with it…”
“Hurry up. I don’t have time for your smugness.”
“Funny,” Gareth said. “We did have time for your smugness about how you were so much better than a fleshy duellist. You know we outnumber you, right? There are millions of fleshy creatures across this planet, maybe even billions, and that’s just talking about sentient species. Humans, wyrmkin, goblins and groblins, mustelings, the list goes on. If being made of stone was better you would think that it wouldn’t be the case, right?”
“My people were made by the hand of a god. Yours raised itself out of the muck. You tell me which when is better?” There was a snarl to Babu’s voice, anger at what Gareth had said. The Golden had started out the duel trying to get into his opponent’s head, but the fleshy creature had turned the tables on him.
“Well, and trust me on this one, being made by a god isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. They aren’t exactly on our side. Personally, I’d rather have crawled out of the mud. At least then you did it on your own. I reckon that makes you stronger than if you had divine help. Anyway, we can talk philosophy later, right now it’s time for me to kill all your monsters.”
“I don’t see how.”
“Well, first I’ll use this card, one you gave me, actually. Thanks for that, otherwise I wouldn’t have quite been able to beat you in a single turn. Wow, that’s got to be embarrassing, doesn’t it? Knocked out of the tournament by a fleshy not just in the first round, but in a single turn as well. Not going to be a story worth telling the guildhall afterwards, is it?”
“Just get on with it.”
Gareth nodded at his opponent. “Fair enough.” His fingers tapped the Lightning Blast that had been in his shield, a bolt of electricity arcing across the battlefield and slamming into the left-hand wurm. It writhed as its flesh burned, a black smear staining its sand-coloured hide.
“A direct damage spell. Cute. Doesn’t do enough to kill my wurm though, does it?”
“I mean, you can see I have enough power on the battlefield to finish the job. Not sure this false bravado gets you anywhere. Want to see what I do next?” Gareth had to admit that he was having fun. Babu had become a figurehead in his mind for the attitude the Golden as a whole had towards him and getting even a small measure of revenge was exhilarating.
“Fine. I pass.”
Gareth simply nodded towards the goblins manning the catapult, or at least what they called a catapult. It looked more like a trebuchet to Gareth, but he wasn’t going to argue with the results. With a few muttered groans the crew pulled the arm into place, heaving a heavy rock onto it as the counterweight swung gently. With the pull of a lever, they launched the stone directly upwards, the rock bouncing off the roof and rocketing towards the undamaged wurm. It was an impressive shot and Gareth wasn’t certain if it showed the goblins whether the goblins were smarter than they looked or just lucky.
“So even your monsters pack direct damage effects,” Babu muttered. “Interesting. I pass.”
