Chapter 03: RULES

“HUUUUHHH? What the heck is this, Sebastian?”

I was still reeling from the nausea I had, now things got even more confusing. Yet somehow, Sebastian just darted a smile, like nothing was wrong.

"That thing is your vessel," he pointed at it. "The source of the invisible barrier that protects you from the arrows before. You could say that this little creature is the Anchor that connects you and this world. And since you have successfully given birth to it, in a few seconds, you will gain the special perspective that only Challengers have."

I pondered his words and tried to focus, but the soft, furry creature that looked like a flying hamster wouldn't stop hugging my face. 

It is suffocating.

“Stop it, you damn hamster!” I tried to pull it off and put it on the floor, but it quickly returned to my head. Nothing I could this little plankton will back, attaching itself to my head.

“Mom! Mom! Mom! I miss you!”

“I'm not your mother!”

“Mom!”

“No!”

Urgh! Damn it. I'm still a real man inside. Even my banana can still stand tall like a flagpole. And somehow, for such a grand reason, I gave birth to a child.

Even worse, it was an animal.

I was ashamed. It was like the worst insult to my cheap pride.

“You shouldn’t panic,” Sebastian interrupted my thoughts. “You didn’t give birth like a normal living creature. The furball is part of your existence not your child. It was born as both an Anchor and a vessel unit to help you live in AVALON. You could treat it as your Spirit, some of challenger in the past treated it that way. You might be more familiar with it. And you don't have to worry about it too much, you are still a real man as a whole."

My legs felt weak for a moment. He understood that much in such narrow time. What a guy!

“I see. Thank goodness.” I let out a long breath. “I thought my gender had changed.”

He grinned a bit. “So, are there any changes?” he asked.

Clearly, he didn’t ask about my breasts or cheeks. Or my reproduction organ.

I ignored all the actions of this small, furry creature called my Vessel Unit and focused on Sebastian's question. I checked my entire body and found nothing. There was absolutely no alteration.

“Nothing—” As I replied, instantly, my vision went dark, like a television being turned off. Vacuum. Then it turned back on.

Now I saw Sebastian. Sebastian Nevarna. 54 years old. Widower and his status. Civilian. All the little bits of information floated in the air.

“Sebastian... your name is Sebastian Nevarna.”

Sebastian pulled his face back, his eyes widening for a moment. His tense face relaxed and revealed a gentleness I had never seen before. That might be the face you show to the person who saves your life from the storm. 

The thing is, I am a stranger to him.

"That's right," he said. "That's my full name. Which means, your special perspective, or what I call it Duelist Point of View, has been successfully used by you."

Duelist PoV? What a strange name.

While it had odd name, this ability was pretty amazing. I could see hidden information without even having to ask for it. It was like a screen when you play a game. The system made it easy to get information without having to do anything redundant.

As a stranger stranded in a fantasy world like this, this Duelist PoV stuff was like an irreplaceable blessing you could get. 

Ah, right. I finally understood. That was why the existence of Challenger was such a threat to political stability in any country in this world. You basically could expose any hidden plan easily. Just look at them, and boom! All free informations would show up!

However, I still had no idea the reason behind the change on Sebastian's face, he looked almost crying for no reason. I meant, I was still a stranger here, knowing nothing about the problems that befell him or the royal family or the people in this kingdom. I thought with this ability, I could understand the whole thing in a second. 

It seems there’s a limitation with it. I'll try to experiment this stuff later.

Now, I need to understand something else first.

“Sebastian, thank you so much for everything you did. But I have something to ask. Why are you willing to help me this far? Isn’t your loyalty to King Gobshill?”

He took a breath. Glanced at the door for a moment. Like worrying someone would come inside. 

“I don’t think I can lie to you, Rayleigh. But promise me. Promise me to win the duel later.”

I nodded. 

In dueling world, I was the man who successfully won the Grand Monarchy seven times in a row. The undefeated. I couldn't say it directly to his face because actions speak louder than words, you know. That's what a champ should do.

Sebastian showed a worry face before making it look tense. Then he started speaking.

"... I am part of the Princess's faction, The Freedom Wing.  Founded by Cynthia, daughter of the previous king. All of the members want Gobshill to step down from the throne because of the arbitrary actions he has taken so far. We want to fight back, but unfortunately we can't. No duelist is willing to risk everything or has enough resources to defeat King Gobshill alone. That's why your arrival now is a golden opportunity, no, perhaps our last chance.

“The Princess strongly opposes Gobshill and she is the anchor of our hope. However, because the main principle on this planet was successfully changed by the Capitolan State during the Supreme Duel 14 years ago, the Princess can only wait and gather strength. Waiting for years. Winter to winter. And now, finally our sun has come.”

"Sun?"

"Yes. It is you."

Ah ... finally I could see the reason behind his contradictory actions. The same went for his reasons for being willing to help me this far. I think he really is risking everything for this moment.

But who is this Princess Cynthia he talks about?

Before Sebastian could speak again, the door was roughly kicked open. Five or six soldiers came in, stomping their spears on the floor.

“Challenger, King Gobshill is waiting. Stop being insolent and hurry up and follow us!” said the squad leader, immediately dragging me out without caring about anything else.

Unfortunately, I still didn't understand much. The thing was, I didn't have enough free time to understand everything or to accept the whole explanation.

“Catch this!” shouted Sebas, throwing me a blue-covered book. “ Learn it before the duel starts.”

I caught it. The blue book was titled “Rule of Dueling.”

Ah, that’s right. I still didn’t know the rules of the duel. If I was too unfamiliar with how to play, the chances of me losing would be high. Well, that was the fact. No beginner could defeat experienced players except by some crazy luck.

I'm not a lucky person; my seven wins at WCS were the result of seven consecutive losses the year before.

“Thanks, Sebas!” I said, waving my hand as best I could.

He bowed his head slightly and my body was dragged out into the corridor.

Along the way, I tried to read it while keeping my pace steady. Otherwise, the soldiers behind me would push me hard and almost knock me over.

But when I thought about it, it turned out that I could still be touched as long as it wasn't intended as an attack. It was quite complicated and seemed full of loopholes.

But that was a thought for later. Right now, I have to read this book.

[Rule of Dueling.]

[Win Condition: Destroy all your opponent's Resources to win.]

Eh, it's that simple?

I looked down again. Studying the principles of deck-building in the game.

The name of this game is Supreme Holder. It used to be called King Clash. However, due to major changes in the rules and gameplay, the name was changed to reflect the new concept.

Supreme Holder is played without using a Deck... HUH???

Wait, what? Without a Deck? So how do you play it?

Decks are no longer used, and Supreme Holder now only uses residents or allies who have a contract bond or were born in that area as units.

My head was throbbing.

What the heck is this? Even in anime like Yugioh, when the characters summon gods, they still use DECKS!

Argh! I don't have time for this. I have to focus on the card types and how to play them.

Cards consist of: Units, Commands, Protocols, Resources, and Signature Skills (Supreme Skills).

Units are creatures played on the field.

Command is a spell-like card divided into Action, Reaction, and Battle.

Protocol is a policy that can affect Units, Resources, and Commands. Functionally, it is similar to Continuous Spells/Field Spells from YGO.

Resources are energy used as COST to summon units, to declare battle or to use Commands.

Signature Skill is a unique ability possessed by Duelists. Each skill can only be used once per duel.

The concept wasn't too different from Grand Monarchy, except that there was no Deck to use.

The phases in the game were divided into: Draw Phase, Standby Phase, Main Phase, Battle Phase, End Phase.

Wait a minute... What's the point of the Draw Phase if there is no Deck to begin with?

My feet stopped moving, but the soldier behind me immediately hit me in the back. “Hurry up!” his shout filled my head. It was annoying.

Well, I didn't have time to question anything. It was better to just memorize and understand the crucial parts.

Field:

Five Front Row : [O] [I] {C} [I] [O]

[I]: Inner Field, can attack and defend.

[O] = Outer Field. Units here can attack, but cannot be used for defense/blocking.

[C]: Central Field. Units here can block 100% of enemy attacks even if there is a significant difference in POWER.

Oh, it's similar to Perfect Guard from Cardfight Vanguard! The difference is that here you only need to place units in the center field.

Five Back Row: [P] [P] {V} [P] [P]

[P]: Place to put Protocols.

[V]: Vessel Unit.

I see. so players don't attack their opponents directly, but attack the Vessel Unit instead.

No wonder Sebastian mentioned that the Vessel Unit is important. It turns out that it really is played in a duel.

And then Crown—before I had a chance to read further, my face slammed into the back of the soldier in front of me.

“Eh, why did you stop all of a sudden?”

“Silence, commoners! You have arrived at the Sanctuary of Higher Ground. The place where the Supreme Duel will be held!”

I stepped forward and saw a place as large as Stamford Stadium with magnificent decorations here and there. Statues stood as if guarding the event that was about to take place. Under the majestic sky, it seemed that this duel was indeed a highly sacred event.

In the opposite direction, a man who called himself the King of Indarian stood on a gold-plated podium and flashed his widest evil smile. The man had not lost any of his arrogance.

And--I want to beat the shit out of him.