"Frost Lich, freeze the world! Frost Eruption!"
Despite a faint sense of foreboding, there was no way Jeffrey could stop now.
He gripped the Magic Guide Card of the [Frost Scepter] tightly, his gaze cold as he looked down at the arena.
The [Frost Lich], scepter in hand, was ringed by a halo of shards of ice giving off a dim glow. It was the [Underworld Ice Ring] that came with it when it burst out of the [Underworld Ice Coffin].
Boosted by this [Underworld Ice Ring], the [Frost Lich]'s Ice-type and Ghost-type Ultimate Moves would both be greatly amplified.
And the [Frost Scepter] in its hand further amplified Ice-type Ultimate Moves.
Stacked together, they doubled both the strength and the effect of the [Frost Lich]'s Ice-type Ultimate Moves!
At Jeffrey's command, the [Frost Lich] thrust its scepter high. The icy blue ripples instantly swelled into a raging flood and surged forward like a galloping tide.
Ultimate Move: Frost Eruption!
▶
[Card Name: Frost Lich]
[Type: Spirit Card]
[Level: ✪✪✪✪✪✪✪]
[Race: Undead Species]
[Attribute: Ghost-type/Ice-type]
[Mana: 3500]
[Attack: 2500]
[Defense: 2000]
[Ultimate Moves: Frost Eruption, Frost Magic Shield, Sinister Gaze]
▲
Starting from the Frost Lich's toes, everything the "tide" swept over froze in an instant. Layer upon layer of frost spread madly.
Compared with the [Liyuan Ice Sprite]'s [Ice Beam], the [Frost Lich]'s [Frost Eruption] had a wider range and a stronger effect.
Against an Ultimate Move that froze everything in a huge area with no dead angle, even if Persian raised [[Protect]] again, it couldn't hold. Worse, the odds of pulling it off a second time were down to one in nine.
After one failed attempt, Persian knew it couldn't dodge.
It dropped low, wrapped its tail around the Blue-side Magic Sphere and flung it into the sky.
The Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon, weak to Ice-type, snatched the sphere and shot upward.
Honedge hesitated for a moment, then also chose to fly high and evade.
That left only Persian and Umbreon on the ground.
Fierceness flashed through Umbreon's eyes. It threw its jaws wide, and a [Shadow Ball] gathered in its mouth shot out!
But the not-weak [Shadow Ball] was swallowed in an instant by the surging ice flood.
A flicker of reluctance crossed its eyes, yet it could not escape being frozen.
The countdown for the first phase of the round raced past.
When [Frost Eruption] finally subsided, the entire dueling arena was blanketed in a thick layer of frost and frozen earth.
Neither Persian nor Umbreon had withstood the "freeze" effect. They had become two motionless ice sculptures.
And once frozen, both Magic Guide Spirits' mana began to plummet at a rate visible to the naked eye.
It wouldn't take long. Their mana would run dry and their vital signs would vanish.
Even though Dark still had two Magic Guide Spirits that had escaped into the air, the whole situation had turned upside down.
Angus Jeffrey, a fourth-year, had finally clawed back an edge.
The nobles' sons gathered around him all breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
If Jeffrey lost to Dark here, not only would Jeffrey be disgraced, but the "companions" who usually hung around with him would lose face too.
"See? I told you, how could Angus lose to a first-year?"
The young nobles clapped each other on the shoulder, their expressions easing a little.
"Looks like Jeffrey isn't just busy organizing factions at the Academy..."
Felice Laman mused as well.
Jeffrey now had a seven-star Magic Guide Spirit, the [Frost Lich], while Dark was left with a six-star Dragon Breed weak to the element and one four-star Magic Guide Spirit.
However you looked at it, Jeffrey held the advantage.
In a position like this, how could Dark possibly turn it around?
In the hidden private box, Charles was drawn in by the duel itself, but his gaze kept circling back to Honedge.
Dark himself, meanwhile, wasn't the least bit nervous.
The [Frost Lich]'s strength was within expectations.
He had long since steeled himself to make some sacrifices.
The only surprise was how fast Persian's and Umbreon's health bars were dropping.
Once frozen, both Magic Guide Spirits were losing mana at over a hundred points a second.
Persian had a full 2,500 points of mana. Even after what it had spent on its Ultimate Move, it could still last until the next round.
Umbreon, though, very likely couldn't.
Once a Magic Guide Spirit's mana fell below fifty percent, using it as a tribute made Tribute Summon failure all too likely.
Summoning a four-star [Gatomon] with Umbreon as the tribute was already out of the question.
And to use Persian as the tribute...
Dark's only five-star Magic Guide Spirit, [Leomon], hadn't come into his hand yet.
So the best move for now was to leave them be!
…
Dark's eyes flickered. He flicked a finger to send the Blue-side Magic Sphere flying back, then said to the [Sin Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon], "It's time. Take the sword!"
A flash of wildness crossed the [Sin Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon]'s brow, and it reached out and grasped at empty air.
Hearing the command, [Honedge] immediately [Weaponize]d and shot straight toward it.
The dragon closed its five claws and caught [Honedge] by the hilt.
At once a surge of power poured out of [Honedge] and coursed through its limbs and bones.
Then the [Sin Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon]'s displayed attack shot straight into the clouds!
As a six-star Magic Guide Spirit, the [Sin Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon] gained a full 1,800 points of attack.
Its final attack of 4,800 clearly dwarfed the [Frost Lich].
With an attack gap that huge, even the type disadvantage seemed negligible.
Of course, the [Frost Lich] was plainly not a spirit built around attack.
The boosts from the [Underworld Ice Ring] and [Frost Scepter] were spell-based too.
But by ordinary logic, an Ultimate Move as formidable as [Frost Eruption] surely couldn't be fired off twice in a row.
So Dark made his call without hesitation and ordered the [Sin Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon] to seize this gap and charge the [Frost Lich]!
The Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon, born of Pride, had been impatient for ages. Now, empowered by the [Holy Sword], it couldn't hold back any longer and dove at the frost-breathing lich.
The closer it got to the ground, the lower the temperature fell.
The type disadvantage made it quite uncomfortable for the [Sin Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon].
But the lingering [World of Sin] gave it strength.
Riding a violent gale, the [Sin Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon] gripped the sword in its claws and stabbed fiercely at the [Frost Lich].
But facing such an obvious attack, the [Frost Lich] needed no command from its Magic Guide Master. It tilted its scepter and activated its second Ultimate Move, [Frost Magic Shield]!
Mana released from the jewel at the scepter's tip formed eight octagonal ice shields around it.
Then the eight shields rapidly expanded and linked up, forming a complete ring of defense. Even where the shields couldn't reach, defensive force fields appeared.
"Bang!"
The [Sin Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon]'s sword slammed into the ice shield.
But in the face of 4,800 attack, the shield was completely unscathed. It merely trembled slightly and dissolved the impact.
Seeing that, Angus Jeffrey, who had just braced himself, eased at once and sneered, "[Frost Lich], now! [Frost Eruption]!"
In an instant, the gem on the [Frost Scepter] burst out with a terrifying icy blue flood once more.
Nobody would have guessed that the [Frost Lich] could cast [Frost Eruption] a second time with no interval at all—
"Is it the halo effect of bursting out of the coffin, or some special effect of that scepter?"
A guess flashed through Dark's mind, but he stayed calm and rapidly gave an utterly baffling order.
"Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon, protect the sword!"
[Protect] the sword?
[Protect] what sword?
While the onlookers were still puzzled, the [Sin Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon] understood the order perfectly and carried it out at once.
The instant the flood of [Frost Eruption] touched its scales, the [Sin Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon] whirled around and blocked the torrent with its huge body for a moment. Then it hurled the sword, flinging [Honedge] into the sky!
Using that momentum, [Honedge] flashed past the eyes of everyone on the corridor and was already high above.
And this [Frost Eruption], released at an upward slant, froze the [Sin Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon] solid and kept on going, forming a field of crystal like a frozen tidal wave.
The only Blue-side Magic Guide Spirit still able to move was that not-quite-sword, [Honedge]!
"Tick."
In the dead quiet left by the two consecutive [Frost Eruption]s, the thirty-second countdown of round four had just run out.
…
[Battle Phase (5)] [30s]
…
A new countdown appeared on the projection.
Both duelists drew at the same time.
Though Angus Jeffrey believed the outcome was settled, he hadn't forgotten to draw.
Even as he drew, his voice, now completely composed again, didn't pause.
"Frost Lich, use [Frost Bolt] to attack the Blue-side Magic Sphere."
From the [Frost Scepter], bolt after bolt of [Frost Bolt] began to condense.
Each [Frost Bolt] was a full head in size.
And they formed with no gap at all.
It was practically a "normal attack."
The power wasn't high, but the bolts were continuous and cheap to cast.
This was the Ultimate Move that came with the [Frost Scepter]!
The [Frost Lich] flicked a finger, and the [Frost Bolt]s shot toward the Blue-side Magic Sphere in the air at tremendous speed.
Having wrested back the momentum, Jeffrey went from defense to offense.
The [Frost Magic Shield] still circled the [Frost Lich], and its bolts came in an unbroken stream like machine-gun fire.
Surprised, Dark nevertheless poured his mental strength into controlling the Magic Sphere without hesitation.
On his finger was still the [Magic Guide Ring] Professor Kazel had given him at Christmas, a handy tool that helped him master "remote mana conduction."
And that ability now showed its full worth.
Though it was a little risky, under his control the Blue-side Magic Sphere dodged the [Frost Bolt] fire perfectly!
He looked unhurried. His fingertips tapped out in quick succession, and the sphere slid sideways again and again.
Seeing this, Angus Jeffrey only sneered inwardly.
"Putting on a show!"
With a low murmur, he suddenly raised a hand. Without summoning any further Magic Guide Spirit, he released mana of his own and sent it across the distance into the Blue-side Magic Sphere. It pulled at the sphere like a long rope and made Dark's control extremely difficult.
A Magic Guide Master's remote control of a Magic Sphere was affected, on the one hand, by the quality and quantity of their mana, and on the other, by distance.
In other words, the closer the sphere, the stronger the control.
Dark had long since pulled the Blue-side Magic Sphere into the blue half of the arena, so naturally his control was stronger than Jeffrey's.
But Jeffrey's meddling still made the sphere feel as if it were smeared with a layer of revolting snot, and its speed dropped sharply.
That left Dark with even less attention to spare for summoning new Magic Guide Cards.
One slip from him, and Jeffrey could seize the duel.
To outside eyes, Dark's only way out now was that [Honedge].
But the [Sin Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon] holding [Honedge] hadn't been able to break through the [Frost Magic Shield]. How could the sword alone manage it?
And once it got close and was frozen, the sword probably couldn't escape that fate either.
Did victory in this duel already seem to lie in the palm of Jeffrey's hand?
…
"In the end, it's a fourth-year versus a first-year."
"For a first-year to get this far against a fourth-year is already excellent."
"I never expected the Valkyrie's son to turn out this good after entering St. Marian's Academy. I thought he'd be a wastrel…"
"Shh, careful, walls have ears!"
Just when everyone was sure Dark was bound to lose,
Umbreon, which had lasted longer than expected, finally burned through its last drop of mana inside the ice.
And then.
Where its body dissolved into mana and scattered, pink breath lingered and spilled out, condensing into a palm-sized vortex.
From its first unremarkable flicker to a huge whirl took only three seconds.
A brand-new Magic Guide Spirit materialized out of it!
…
"What is that?"
Angus Jeffrey's eyes went wide, and even his mana transmission faltered.
Dark hadn't made any "summoning" motion, and the Magic Guide Card in his hand hadn't stirred. As Jeffrey stared in shock, he suddenly noticed a Magic Guide Card drifting out of the deck slot all on its own. This was clearly a mechanism that summoned a Magic Guide Spirit straight from the deck!
"Could it be…"
Jeffrey's gaze finally landed on the dark-gold glow he had nearly ignored.
The [Mausoleum of Light] and [World of Sin] that the blue-eyed baby dragon had unfurled one after the other had shown none of the effects a field technique should have, apart from being used to dispel his [Liyuan Tundra].
If he had to find a reasonable explanation, the only option was to put it down to this field technique's effect.
Jeffrey's mind raced as he quickly searched his memory for field techniques or Field Cards with a similar effect.
Generally speaking, unless they were veteran duelists who forged exclusive Magic Guide Cards for dueling tournaments, Magic Guide Masters didn't deliberately forge cards that searched the deck or summoned Magic Guide Spirits directly from it.
Jeffrey's own [Underworld Ice Coffin], for instance, had been forged from a monster of the same name. Its core idea was to summon high-star Magic Guide Spirits directly and to grant them a powerful buff halo by "bursting out of the coffin."
As for "summoning straight from the deck," that was merely a bonus tacked onto the ability.
The [Sin Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon]'s [World of Sin] was really much the same.
Their main trait was that they needed no mana poured into the "card to be summoned" and could, through a special mechanism, make that card respond.
So the card never had to be in hand.
Still, field techniques and Field Cards of the [World of Sin] type were extremely rare.
On top of that, Jeffrey couldn't see what [Umbreon] and the newly appeared [Miltank] had in common, so he failed to work out the [World of Sin]'s field effect in time.
And after that, there was no more time!
"Miltank, Rollout!"
Even as he steered the Magic Sphere, Dark gave the order without a flicker of doubt.
Miltank, back on the dueling arena for the first time in ages, used [Defense Curl] of its own accord before it even started rolling.
Curled into a ball, it set off across the frost-covered arena without hesitation.
Watching Miltank's rolling speed climb steadily, Dark couldn't help smiling. He was very curious whether Jeffrey would have the [Frost Lich] switch targets to attack Miltank.
If he switched targets, it would free up three seconds for Dark to use a new Magic Guide Card.
But if he didn't…
As things stood, the [Frost Magic Shield] wasn't very damaging.
That was without a doubt Miltank's favorite kind of target.
"Bang!"
The distance was short, so Miltank soon slammed into the [Frost Magic Shield].
A layer of frost clung to its body, but it took very little recoil.
With the full 3,000 points of defense it gained from [Defense Curl], Miltank came away unharmed.
Even the frost on its surface was rubbed off as it rolled.
And its measly 1,000 points of attack, doubled by Defense Curl, came to a mere 60 points of power. That didn't make a dent in the [Frost Magic Shield] either.
To a seven-star [Frost Lich], that was probably massage-grade.
…
As expected.
Angus Jeffrey did not order the [Frost Lich] to switch targets over a roll with no power behind it.
He put great weight on the strategy of using the [Frost Lich] to pin Dark down.
But he didn't underestimate Miltank too much either.
So he glanced at the Magic Guide Card in his hand and began summoning at once.
The newly drawn cards were two three-star Magic Guide Spirit Cards.
Jeffrey's deck was built mostly on basic three-star Magic Guide Spirit Cards and high-star six-star ones.
It had one-star and two-star Magic Guide Spirit Cards as well, but only a few.
After that came three seven-star Magic Guide Spirit Cards and one eight-star.
For a fourth-year's lineup, that was a fairly basic composition.
Too many high-star Magic Guide Cards that couldn't be special-summoned actually became a hindrance in a Magic Guide Duel.
For top students whose Tribute Summon casting time was short, Tribute Summon wasn't actually slow. But the rule that a tier-N Magic Guide Spirit needed at least one tier N-1 Magic Guide Spirit as tribute made it relatively troublesome to Tribute Summon anything above tier three by that method alone.
So for fourth-years without an especially large stock of tier-three Magic Guide Spirit Cards, the six-star Magic Guide Spirits that could be Tribute Summoned in a single go were still the backbone.
Jeffrey quickly summoned one three-star Magic Guide Spirit and prepared to summon a second.
Then he would wait for the next round. If he still couldn't take Dark down, he would summon the six-star Magic Guide Spirit he drew next, if he drew one!
It had to be said, his thinking wasn't wrong.
What's more, the first three-star Magic Guide Spirit he summoned was a flier, the kind that could join the [Frost Lich] in attacking the Blue-side Magic Sphere!
It could be said that this three-star spirit's arrival would multiply the pressure on Dark.
Yet the moment it appeared, Jeffrey suddenly noticed that Dark's other Magic Guide Spirit, Persian, had also run out of mana in the ice and died!
That should have been good news.
But as Jeffrey watched the little pink cow turn its head and roll toward the [Frost Lich] a second time, the vague, ominous feeling in his heart suddenly swelled.
Then, three seconds later.
Where Persian had vanished, no new Magic Guide Spirit appeared!
Dark had a gap in his Greed Magic Guide Spirits. Besides [Meowth], only [Honedge] counted as an embodiment of Greed.
And [Honedge] was hovering in the air, waiting for an opening.
So naturally there was no new "Greed Magic Guide Spirit" to summon.
…
"Fly, Liyuan Ice Vulture!"
Jeffrey's expression regained its "I knew it" composure.
The three-star Magic Guide Spirit, the [Liyuan Ice Vulture], beat its wings and soared after a long cry.
Its beak was like a blade, and it folded its wings into a triangle to cut air resistance to a minimum as it dove at the Blue-side Magic Sphere.
Dark did feel the pressure.
So he flicked a finger and immediately sent the Blue-side Magic Sphere diving downward!
In theory there was more room to maneuver in the air, but the ground had plenty of ice blocks to obstruct the bolts and the [Liyuan Ice Vulture]'s strike.
What's more, the statue of the [Sin Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon] was down there too!
Before being frozen, the [Sin Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon] had taken the [Ice Thorn Spear Array] head-on, so its mana was already low.
So when Dark steered the Blue-side Magic Sphere behind it, Jeffrey summoned his second three-star Magic Guide Spirit, and Miltank slammed into the [Frost Magic Shield] a second time and came away unharmed, the [Sin Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon] finally left the field.
But where it vanished, the aura of Pride lingered and turned into a cyclone.
A Magic Guide Spirit of no higher star level than the [Sin Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon] itself was summoned straight out by the field effect of the [World of Sin]!
▼
[World of Sin: The Sin Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon can call down the arrival of the [Sin World]. When a Magic Guide Spirit that holds the power of an Original Sin dies in the [Sin World], the residual Original Sin power is absorbed by the [Sin World] and can be used as tribute to summon a Magic Guide Spirit of no higher star level than the dead one, holding the same Original Sin power! The [Sin World] lasts three minutes.]
▲
[Leomon], the highest-star Magic Guide Spirit below the [Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon], appeared quietly, kneeling on one knee.
Seeing the [Frost Bolt]s that had been chasing the Blue-side Magic Sphere come at it head-on, Leomon frowned, rose to its full height and swung a huge fist: [Fist of the Beast King]!
"Boom!"
The lion-shaped energy wave unleashed from Leomon's right fist blasted every one of the incoming [Frost Bolt]s to pieces.
Then it flung up a hand, eyes narrowing, and sensed a connection with [Honedge], still hovering in the air.
"Clang!"
Though the bond was not as deep as with Gatomon, [Honedge] shared one with Leomon as well.
The blade quivered and came whistling down from above, dropping straight into Leomon's palm.
Leomon suddenly drew the sword!
…
"Here it comes!"
In the hidden private box, Charles focused sharply and fixed his full attention on Leomon down on the field.
Though Charles knew quite a few of the core secrets surrounding the Hero, he had met Hero Bright only once, when he was young, so he had no clear picture of the Hero's power.
So, strictly speaking, the most direct look he'd ever had at the Hero's power was through Leomon and Gatomon.
Toward the Hero, a "savior" bearing a heavy destiny, Charles felt an awe and longing that had followed him since childhood.
It had nothing to do with birth or standing. It was rooted deep in his heart.
He had Jeffrey duel Dark to draw out the Hero's power from Gatomon or Leomon. The core purpose was "to observe and confirm," but there was also a personal wish to see it once more.
Humans are the most contradictory creatures of all.
…
When Leomon drew the sword, the boost to its attack was smaller than the [Sin Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon]'s, but the two were utterly at one in presence, and the impression was completely different from when the [Sin Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon] held it.
That was a difference surface numbers could never show.
Angus Jeffrey, who had witnessed this very scene at the Easter Dueling Festival, could no longer hold to his earlier strategy.
He hurriedly called off the [Liyuan Ice Vulture]'s reckless dive and ordered the [Frost Lich] to abandon the Magic Sphere for now and concentrate on killing [Leomon]!
The [Frost Lich], with its striking face and blank expression, turned its [Frost Scepter] without a flicker of emotion and unleashed its Ultimate Move on the sword-bearing Leomon charging at it: [Sinister Gaze]!
A cold, malevolent glow flared in its eyes.
Two faint beams shot out and struck the charging Leomon head-on!
Leomon's whole body locked up. It was pinned in place, and no matter how it tried, its feet wouldn't move.
Then it felt a pull. Its mana was being drained away without end!
The [Frost Lich] greedily drank in Leomon's mana, steadily refilling its own considerably depleted reserves.
"Bang!"
A sudden loud crash came. The [Frost Lich] shuddered all over, its expression shifting slightly.
The third [Rollout] was finally starting to look like something.
The [Frost Magic Shield] was still completely unharmed, but Jeffrey and all the other onlookers sensed that something was wrong.
But [Sinister Gaze] was a single-target Ultimate Move.
While staring down Leomon, the [Frost Lich] itself couldn't move.
The moment it broke its gaze, Leomon would shake off the hold and pounce for the kill.
Jeffrey, who knew exactly how astonishing Leomon's burst could be, chose to keep the gaze going.
Then he ordered his other two three-star Magic Guide Spirits to attack Miltank!
But Miltank, having already landed three hits, was beginning to show its might.
As it rolled, raging currents of air wound around its body.
The [Liyuan Ice Vulture]'s Ultimate Move, [Ice Arrow], was shredded by the airflow just before it hit.
The other three-star Magic Guide Spirit, the [Liyuan Ice Statue], also tried a "Rollout" of its own and charged head-on at Miltank to force it to a halt.
But Miltank swerved nimbly to the right, dodged the [Liyuan Ice Statue] altogether and kept rolling in an arc toward the [Frost Lich].
Clearly, its piloting skill was far beyond the [Liyuan Ice Statue]'s.
Then the fourth [Rollout] smashed fiercely into the [Frost Magic Shield].
The roar that followed drowned out the sound of the round changing over.
The [Frost Magic Shield] still stood, but this time the [Rollout] left it quivering without pause.
And after that, Miltank's [Rollout] was unstoppable.
The raging airflow wrapped around it alone was enough to drain the color from Jeffrey's face, and he hurriedly ordered the two three-star Magic Guide Spirits still giving chase to avoid its edge.
Only then, as he finally grasped what the "mockery" in Dark's eyes had meant all along, did Jeffrey draw two new Magic Guide Cards from his deck with trembling fingers.
…
[Battle Phase (6)] [30]
…
But when Jeffrey looked up slightly after drawing, he suddenly found four Magic Guide Cards lying quietly face-down on Dark's table.
For two rounds running, he hadn't even looked at his cards!
Jeffrey's brow twitched, and a surge of anger welled up in him.
He quickly pressed a hand to his chest and forced himself to calm down.
The duel was still going.
If he won, he could make Dark pay for his arrogance!
The fury sharpened him, and he was more focused than ever before.
Of the two newly drawn cards, one was plainly a six-star Magic Guide Spirit Card, and the other was a Secret Ritual Card—
"Die!"
Jeffrey set the six-star Magic Guide Spirit Card aside and picked up the Secret Ritual Card.
He swiftly unfolded it, and a faint, barely noticeable ripple rose across the [Frost Lich].
Only then did he pick the six-star Magic Guide Spirit Card back up, waiting out the cooldown for a Tribute Summon.
And out on the field, Miltank was already launching its fifth Rollout at the [Frost Lich]!
…
…
____
Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 10 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on (P). with 50 advanced chapters available on (P)
👻 Join the crew by searching Leanzin on (P). You know the spot! 😉