Spoils were an indispensable part of victory.
Jamie was still going through Weevil’s Deck and picking out useful cards that might improve his own builds when the Duel Disk on his arm suddenly reacted again.
Or rather, the System he still barely understood decided to start causing trouble.
The Duel Disk Jamie had only just taken from Weevil vanished before he had even had time to enjoy owning it.
A flash of light passed over it, and Weevil’s Duel Disk disappeared without a trace, apparently swallowed whole by Jamie’s own device.
At the same time, Jamie felt as though something indistinct had been added to his Duel Disk—something he could sense but not clearly identify.
[Achievement Unlocked: A Glorious Victory] [Basic Functions Unlocked] A translucent interface appeared in front of Jamie, using the Duel Disk as its projection medium.
No one else could see it.
The first section contained exactly what Jamie wanted most: an explanation of what this System actually was.
In simple terms, for reasons even it did not explain, the thing calling itself the Duel Chronicle System had attached itself to Jamie.
As he continued through this world, it would issue appropriate missions based on his actions and the events he encountered, then provide rewards for completing them.
Possible rewards included, but were not limited to, unlocking cards and card packs.
“System, when do I get my Drytrons and Dragonmaids?” [Please look forward to future unlocks.] Jamie stared at the message.
“Right.
So basically, you told me nothing.” The card pool available through the System was not limited simply because Jamie happened to be living in the Duel Monsters era.
As something calling itself the Duel Chronicle System, it contained records of cards and Decks from throughout the entire history of Dueling.
As long as Jamie fulfilled the appropriate conditions—or won Duels using the System’s special modes—he could unlock the corresponding cards and Decks.
Completing missions was not the only way to earn rewards, either.
The System contained its own achievements, and meeting their requirements could provide benefits as well.
His recent A Glorious Victory achievement was the first example.
In addition to unlocking the System’s basic functions, it had also awarded several bonus items.
“What kind of ridiculously generous System is this?
Rewards everywhere and absolutely no punishments?” Jamie asked, shamelessly taking advantage of the situation already.
“I fully support continuing in this direction.” Kuribohrn floated beside him and nodded vigorously in agreement.
There was still one thing Jamie had wondered about from the beginning: why had he been able to see a Duel Monster spirit almost immediately after arriving in this world?
When he asked, the System responded.
[Some Duel Monster spirits are born naturally within the Spirit World.
Others are born from the bond between a Duelist and their Deck.] [As long as a Duelist trusts and cherishes their Deck, the bond between them will not disappear simply because they enter another world.] [Your original world lacked the environment necessary for Duel Monster spirits to manifest physically.
After arriving in this world, spirits connected to you were naturally able to appear.] Jamie stared at the explanation.
So if the Duelists from his old world somehow crossed over here, would every hardcore card player suddenly arrive with a Duel Monster spirit following them around?
The more he thought about it, the more Jamie felt as though he had discovered something surprisingly important.
“Okay, I understand the spirit thing.
What I don’t understand is why you just ate Weevil’s Duel Disk.” [A Deck contains traces of its Duelist’s spirit and will.
Duel Disks used repeatedly in Duels are likewise influenced by those qualities.] [Collecting sufficient quantities of Duelists’ will can assist in unlocking additional System functions.] Jamie’s eyes sharpened immediately.
“You should’ve led with that.
Come on, let’s go Duel somebody!” Despite saying that enthusiastically, Jamie did not actually charge off to challenge the first person he saw.
Instead, he looked around the park.
Unlocking the System’s full capabilities was important, but there was still such a thing as choosing the right time and place.
His Duel with Weevil had attracted quite a bit of attention already.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, Jamie dragged the unconscious Weevil over to one of the park benches and left him there before heading away.
The paint on that bench looked suspiciously fresh.
Jamie decided that was no longer his problem.
…
A day or two later, inside a card shop, Jamie leaned against the counter while speaking to the System.
“Come on, System.
I’m already in the DM era.
Can’t you give me something that fits the period a little better?
Everyone here relies on Tribute Summoning, so how about unlocking Floowandereeze for me?” […] The System had been with him for a couple of days now, and with Battle City approaching, more and more Duelists were pouring into Domino City.
Jamie had originally planned to sell some valuable cards from Weevil’s Deck to cover his living expenses.
Before he could actually do it, however, the System intervened.
[A Duelist should not be burdened by mundane concerns.] [Host financial status detected as impoverished(?).
One million yen in activity funds has been issued.] [Additional activity funds will be distributed periodically to ensure that trivial necessities do not interfere with the Host’s Dueling activities.] Jamie physically leaned backward.
What kind of full-service babysitter System was this?
At the same time, receiving a regular allowance from the System felt suspiciously similar to asking his mother for living expenses every month, which made the whole arrangement strangely difficult to process.
The System was so accommodating that Jamie eventually began finding it unsettling.
After considering the matter for quite some time, he finally asked the question that had been bothering him most.
“What do you actually want?” The System had never felt like a completely cold program, but neither did it behave quite like an independent living consciousness.
For a moment, there was only silence.
Jamie was about to ask again when the scenery around him suddenly changed.
In the space of a blink, the card shop disappeared.
Jamie found himself somewhere completely unfamiliar.
It looked like a theater stage, or perhaps an arena.
He stood below it, outside the reach of the spotlights, almost like an irrelevant extra whose role was merely to watch.
Above him, however, countless fiercely colliding souls filled the stage, each impact producing brilliant sparks of light.
“I activate Diffusion Wave-Motion!
Take this, Kaiba!” “Soul Energy MAX!
Crush them, Obelisk the Tormentor!
Fist of Fate!” “This is the struggle I’ve chosen in order to survive!” “When the gathering stars become one, a new bond will illuminate the future!
Become the path its light shines upon!
Evolution Limit Over—Shooting Quasar Dragon!” “The bond that lets us fight together with Utopia, the power of Number 39!
Now is the time to show it!
Ultimate Hope Sword Slash!” “Ride the wind that connects to an unknown world!
LINK-4!
Accesscode Talker!” …
[Do you see them?
Those moments when a Duel burns brighter than anything else?] “Yeah.” Jamie stared at the stage.
“I see them.
More than that, I remember them.
Every one of these moments is engraved in my mind like I watched them yesterday.” Scenes both unfamiliar and deeply familiar unfolded before him one after another.
As Jamie watched from the audience, an emotion he had never experienced quite this strongly began rising inside him.
“I think I understand what you’re trying to do.” [Whether you understand is unimportant.] The System’s voice was no longer quite as cold and mechanical as before.
There was something almost human beneath it now, although if Jamie listened carefully, he could tell it was not truly that simple.
[I merely wish to witness performances capable of setting the soul ablaze.] Jamie looked toward the brilliant stage.
“Then does your stage have room for me?” [Who knows?] A pause followed.
[And it is not my stage.] [It belongs to every Duelist.] Jamie blinked.
Everything vanished.
He was standing in the card shop exactly where he had been before, as though the entire experience had been nothing more than an illusion.
Jamie remained quiet for a few seconds before shrugging.
“So basically, I shouldn’t overthink it.
I should just play cards.” Kuribohrn looked up at him.
Jamie smiled.
“As long as my Duels can bring a smile to my own face, that’s enough.” Two days remained until the opening of Battle City.