Chapter 191: Sage's Stone
Watching Joey walk onto the field, Chumley also left the rear of the field. As he walked, he opened his [Inventory] and took out a white Card.
Because he was currently in the Virtual World, Chumley's methods for acquiring cards were restricted. He couldn't open the "Specified-Tribe Construction Pack" he had obtained earlier; his Card acquisitions were limited to what he could get within the Game. However, the Card he held in his hand was the sole exception.
This Card was the Mysterious Reward he had received for completing the "Ruler Breaker" Quest. But compared to previous Rewards that laid all the information bare, this "Mysterious Reward" was a bit too mysterious.
Forget any instructions or descriptive text; the Card didn't even have any Card Art—it was completely blank. Chumley held it in his hand, studying it, but he couldn't figure out how to use it.
"Compared to a reward that looks impressive but is so baffling it doesn't even have instructions, I'd rather this card just turn into a Pot of Greed."
As he casually voiced his complaint, Chumley looked down at the Card in his hand again, and an expression of shock appeared on his face.
On the previously blank Card, it was as if someone was painting with a brush. A sleazy yet beloved smile, recognizable to any duelist, was gradually sketched out. It was none other than the Pot of Greed that Chumley had just mentioned offhandedly.
Staring at the Pot of Greed in his hand, Chumley was dumbfounded.
Are you serious? It changes just because I said so?! Don't just change back, what the hell am I supposed to do with a Pot of Greed? It's something you can buy three of for 50 yen at the Kame Game Shop. If you're going to change, at least turn into Dragun of Red-Eyes or Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer!
The Card in Chumley's hand changed again. It transformed from a Spell Card into a Monster Card, and the word "Wyrm" began to appear. But then, as if bugging out, the text turned into garbled code before gradually re-forming into a Fusion Monster.
However, neither the "Sleeping Dragon," Dragun of Red-Eyes, nor the "Fledgling Phoenix," Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer, that Chumley had hoped for appeared. Instead, what materialized in the Card Art was a bizarre amalgamation of the two—it had a large pair of wings on its back and a dragon's tail, resembling neither a Spellcaster nor a Warrior-Type. In the end, a sea turtle suddenly appeared and devoured everything, and the Card went blank once more.
The sudden appearance of the turtle was enough to get his blood pumping. Chumley felt a strange sense of familiarity with the transformations he had just witnessed. He couldn't help but ask the System, "System, is this card legit... wait, is this card's name, by any chance, Sage's Stone?"
Chumley wasn't talking about the Sage's Stone from Yugi's Deck that Special Summons Dark Magician when Dark Magician Girl is on the field. The full name of the Sage's Stone Chumley was referring to was Philosopher's Stone - Sabathiel. It wasn't a card from the Duel Monsters era, but one that appeared ten years later, used—or rather, once used—by the protagonist of GX, Jaden Yuki.
That card possessed the ability to "create miracles" during a Duel, which was, simply put, genuine Card Creation. When Jaden Yuki drew that card, he activated its effect three times in a row, transforming it into three different Fusion cards and turning the tide of the duel. After its third use, the card even activated an effect from the Graveyard to increase a monster's attack power, cementing his victory.
Of course, after that Duel, Jaden Yuki's Philosopher's Stone - Sabathiel vanished completely. After all, a cheat like blatantly printing cards would get you banned in a heartbeat. That's why Jaden Yuki had only "once used" it.
Chumley couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. It seemed he had just made it change four times in one go. Did that mean his card was now spent? Damn it all.
But the System replied: [Scan complete. Similarity between the duelist's card and the card in the duelist's memory: 50%. They are not the same card. Spend 1000 DP for in-depth analysis?]
You're just after my money, aren't you? Chumley looked at the DP Points he had accumulated over this period and painfully confirmed the purchase. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Rather than fumbling in the dark with this card, Chumley would rather spend some DP. Besides, there were plenty of suckers... I mean, duelists, knocking on the door of the Kame Game Shop every day.
After spending the DP, the System quickly provided the instructions, making Chumley suspect that it had learned the scummy tactic of "cutting out core content to sell as DLC" from certain game companies. The instructions were probably there all along, just held back.
[This card can be used to temporarily substitute for a card specified by the duelist by consuming charges. The higher the Rarity of the target card, the higher the charge cost. The card gains one charge per day, with a maximum capacity of 4.]
With this explanation, Chumley understood. The Card in his hand was indeed similar to Philosopher's Stone - Sabathiel in some ways; it could be used for Card Printing.
The difference was that Jaden Yuki's card had a higher burst potential, allowing it to print three cards at will. Chumley's card required charges to be used: one charge for an N-Rank, two for a Rare, three for an SR-Rank, and all four charges for a UR Card.
On the other hand, Jaden's card was gone after three uses, while Chumley's could be reused indefinitely. It traded short-term burst power for more uses over time. It was hard to say which was definitively better.
Thinking about it this way, calling his card Sabathiel seemed inappropriate. The two cards only had partially similar effects; they weren't the same.
It was like how both Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon and Man-Eater Bug could target and destroy a monster. But Chumley was certain that if he ever called the Alternative White Dragon that Kaiba might print in the future a Man-Eater Bug, the look on Kaiba's face would be anything but pleasant.
"Philosopher's Stone - Sabathiel... I remember 'Sabathiel' is another name for the Archangel Michael." Chumley clapped his hands, having thought of a name he quite liked. "Then from now on, this card will be called 'Hellel.' (Philosopher's Stone - Hellel)."
Hellel means "morning star" in Hebrew and is another name for a famous angel from the Bible. This angel was Michael's brother, who was renamed Satan after his fall. His Latin name was erroneously transliterated into a rather famous name—Lucifer.
Just as Chumley finalized the name for the Blank Card, white flames erupted from its surface, yet he felt no heat. When the flames subsided, the newly christened Philosopher's Stone - Hellel appeared in his hand, its appearance completely refreshed.
It seemed that naming the card had reset its charges and permanently bound it to Chumley. With a single thought, Philosopher's Stone - Hellel transformed into an Equip Spell Card.
He walked up a flight of stairs to a window in a loft at the edge of the Arena. Chumley looked down at the Duel Field, where the two combatants had summoned their respective monsters and were battling, though they had yet to realize each other's identity. He slapped the card onto himself and took a running leap out of the window.
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Author's Notes:
This is a cheat I gave the protagonist, with the goal of letting him occasionally print some awesome cards in future duels. But it can't be used as freely as Jaden's, so I added restrictions.
School is starting again tomorrow, right? Considering some of you readers won't have your phones to use, I'll post a few extra chapters today.
But it won't be too many, because Warframe is pretty fun... never mind.
(end of chapter)