For her first move, Cleopatra cast a simple creature: Baby Leviathan. The small sea monster appeared near a cotton candy hill on the playing field, looking both adorable and fierce at the same time. It let out a tiny roar, before chomping on the cotton candy next to it. Cleopatra next cast an equip card, and shimmering armor made of light appeared around her. Finally the pharaoh placed 2 Snare cards on the field face down, leaving them as a surprise for later.

  “Pretty simplistic opener.” Jacob ate a handful of his popcorn. It had a light butter flavor, with the perfect amount of salt. He took a sip of the bubbling brown liquid; it was an old school diet soda. There were still a few stores that made it in small batches near the academy, but the drink tasted more uniform than they could ever hope to achieve. It was like taking a taste of the past, when massive corporate entities produced absurd quantities of sweets for a hungry populace. Many wished to return to that level of abundance, but it had been its own prison. Most modern poor were malnourished, not getting enough nutrients to stay healthy. The poor of the past had the opposite issue; they had too many of the wrong nutrients, leaving them just as sickly.

  Kerl drew a card, and Jacob saw him smile. He summoned his own creature, placing a Dormant Sleeper of the Ancient Times onto his casting platform. A large sleeping monstrosity appeared on his side of the field, it’s body covering a large portion of his side of the arena. It was a massive gelatinous thing, made of writhing tentacles and a thousand closed eyes. It was said to open its eyes was to invite death, but in all its appearances Jacob had never heard of the eyes opening. It was one of the the most powerful cards ever made - with a strength of 4500 and a defense of 5000 - though Jacob suspected his Card of the Gods could defeat it. Kerl ordered the sleeping creature to attack the Baby Leviathan, and the massive monstrosity flicked a single tentacle over to it. The small lizard screeched as it was crushed, and the tentacle returned to the Dormant Sleeper.

  Kerl then cast the spell card Snare Stealer, a simple card which stole the opponents snare cards without telling the caster what they were. Cleopatra seemed unfazed. In fact the pharaoh smirked at Kerl, as the German man silently ended his turn. Cleopatra’s turn began, and she drew a card.

  “I thought you said this computer was supposed to be good.” Veronica complained “This is hardly entertaining, Kerl’s wiping the floor with her.”

  “Cleopatra is no computer.” Rama said “and the match has just begun.”

  Cleopatra smiled as she entered the creature phase of her turn. They match was using the standard tournament ruleset, which had a highly structured order. Each player had four main phases of their turn: Creature phase, Casting Phase, Entrapment Phase, and Special Phase. Cleopatra was currently in her Creature Phase, having initiated it by drawing a card from her deck. During this phase the caster could play any creature they wished and attack their opponent; each creature could only attack once per turn, so they had to be careful what they played and when. Immediately after was the Casting phase, where they were allowed to activate spell and equip cards. It was because of this shared phase that the researchers at the CEA believed equips to be a special category of spell cards, but there wasn’t enough evidence to provide proof.

  Following these were the final two phases: The Entrapment Phase, when snare cards could be played and activated, and the Special phase, when card effects were activated. The structure of each turn was fairly rigid, though certain special cards had effects that allowed them to be played at any time. It was a very different format than street matches, and required a different set of strategies. While street matches relied heavily on speed, instinct, and raw strength, organized matches were almost always decided by strategy, skill, and luck.

  Cleopatra looked at the cards that remained in her hand, and selected another creature card. It was another simple card, Cloud of the Eastern Sky. An adorable little storm appeared over the battlefield, occasionally huffing out lightning and rain. The cotton candy below it began to melt away, revealing hills made out of jell-o. Cleopatra exited the creature phase and placed down a spell card, entering the casting phase. A screen popped up in front of the audience and split in half, showing them the casting area of each player.

  “That’s handy” Jacob’s grandfather remarked

  “I programmed the screen to only appear when there’s cards cast the audience couldn’t see.” Rama said “It got annoying otherwise. The casters can’t see the screen, they can only see the arena.”

  The card Cleopatra had put down was also a lower powered spell - Rains of Shimmering Dissolution - which swept the field in a storm of acidic rain. The strength of the Dormant Sleeper from the Ancient Times lightly decreased as the rain hit it, slowly ticking down from 4500 to 4250, while the defense stat trickled from 5000 to 4500. Still more than a match for almost every card available; Dormant Sleeper was known as one of the most overpowered cards to be produced, and was nominated every year for the official tournament ban list. Somehow it had managed to avoid a ban - last year’s went to Arrow of Immeasurable Accuracy - but it was only a matter of time. Its stats were simply too impressive, and it was a massive stroke of luck that Kerl had drawn one this early.

  Cleopatra placed her final card into the snare zone - entering the Entrapment Phase - and drew another card. It was required for casters to have at least one card in their hand at all times; if they played every card they held they were required to draw anoterh, regardless of what phase they were in. A small chime sounded, and Cleopatra entered the Special Phase. The Rains of Shimmering Dissolution appeared again over the battlefield, and the Dormant Sleeper’s stats reduced again; decreasing its strength to 4000, and its defense to 4000.

  “Is that the best your system can do?” Kerl called out to Rama “Summon rainclouds? I thought you said this would be hard.”

  Jacob felt a tap on his back, and looked back to see Stan sitting behind him.

  “Why did the acid cloud appear again?” Stan asked quietly. Jacob pointed to the Cloud of the Eastern Sky.

  “That card has a special effect.” Jacob said “it allows the caster to repeat a spell, if it’s a cloud spell.”

  Stan nodded, then leaned back in his seat. Rama smiled over at Jacob.

  “Seems you know more about the cards then you let on.” Rama said. Jacob shrugged.

  Cleopatra ended her turn, and gestured silently over towards Kerl. The German man drew another card, and started laughing.

  “This is too easy!” The German man ˙summoned another creature, this time summoning an Eldritch Reaper from the Beyond. The shimmering outline of a ghost appeared on the battlefield, holding a scythe in one hand. It reminded Jacob of the reaper Kerl had played a while ago in the sim matches. Kerl ordered it to attack the Cloud, and the ghostly apparition flew forward. There was a screaming sound of death as it moved, racing towards the cloud with an unholy speed. The Eldritch Reaper wrapped the cloud in shadowy tentacles of darkness, before driving the scythe down into it. The cloud crackled out of existence with a slight burst of lightning, and the Eldritch Reaper let out a small cry. The Strength stat of the Elridtch Reaper decreased from 3000 to 2500, but the abomination was otherwise untouched.

  “Where’s the challenge?” Kerl cried down to Rama “Where’s the difficulty? This match is boring, I don’t even have to try.”

  “You remind me of someone.” Cleopatra suddenly spoke, and Jacob jerked his head towards her. Simulated opponents never spoke. They couldn’t. Developers had tried, but it had never been natural. It had always come out distorted and slightly wrong, engaging the uncanny valley effect. Cleopatra however spoke perfectly, with no flaws.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Told you she wasn’t a computer.” Rama said softly.

  “She’s…” Jacob started slowly

  “A card.” Rama said. “Would’ve gotten away with NOT being a card if she hadn’t pulled that nonsense in Athens. I never forget a slight.”

  Jacob looked at Rama with suspicion. He couldn’t tell whether she was joking, speaking in a riddle, or had actually met Cleopatra at some point.

  “What?” Kerl’s called back in surprise, taken aback.

  “A man I once knew.” Cleopatra’s voice was powerful but soft; it was melodic, and immediately grabbed the attention. Jacob could see why the ancients found her so alluring. She was sharp and witty, with the glimmer of cunning hiding underneath her seductive smile. “He relied on power too. It didn’t end well for him.”

  “Dormant Sleeper, attack the computer!” Kerl called out, ignoring Cleopatra’s statement. She had clearly struck a nerve by being able to speak, and Kerl appeared slightly frazzled. There was a rumbling on the field, and the Dormant Sleeper extended a tentacle towards Cleopatra.

  “Looks like it’ll end for you the same way it did for him.” Cleopatra said, flipping over the snare card she had placed. Snare Control. Cleopatra pointed towards a snare on Kerl’s side of the field that he had stolen from Cleopatra. It activated, revealing a Medusa’s Gaze card. A beautiful woman with a shrouded face appeared on the field directly in front of Kerl’s creatures, lifting its veil for both. The Dormant Sleeper continued to reach outwards towards Cleopatra, as it slowly turned to stone. The tentacle froze mere inches away from the pharaoh, who didn’t flinch. The strength stat of Dormant Sleeper dropped to zero, while its defense stat climbed to 6500. Next to it there was a crashing sound as the petrified Eldritch Reaper fell from the air, shattering as it hit a large candy cane. The beautiful woman on the field dropped her veil and turned to look at Cleopatra. She bowed, then disappeared from the arena.

  “Thank you, old friend.” Cleopatra said wistfully.

  Jacob glanced over at Kerl, who stood in shock. He looked at his hand, then quickly ended his turn. He didn’t place any spell or snare cards down, and seemed almost afraid to touch the one that he had stolen from the ancient queen. Despite Cleopatra’s side of the field being empty, Jacob sensed Kerl had never truly had control over the match.

  There was a rumbling sound, and the candy land appearance of the field flickered for moment.

  “This is where the fun begins.” Rama sipped from her beverage, making a slurping sound as she reached the bottom. The cup shimmered for a moment, then automatically refilled.

  CYCLICAL ENVIRONMENT ACTIVATED. SECOND CYCLE ENGAGING.

  The candy land flickered again, before being replaced by a stormy sea. Ocean mist sprayed onto Jacob as waves hit the wall, and he flinched as larger droplets hit his face.

  “Is it normal for the field to suddenly change?” Stan asked

  “Not mid-match” Jacob replied. The sinking feeling in his stomach returned; he was starting to understand why Rama had warned them about the danger of casting in this space. Jacob glanced around and noticed the rest of the room flicker slightly, then settle back into its original configuration. The coral reef had changed into a cotton candy wonderland, but everything was otherwise the same.

  There was a cracking sound, and Jacob looked back at the the field. He saw the defense stat rapidly dropping on the Dormant Sleeper, plummeting as the waves slammed into it. Large cracks formed on the rock, and the tentacle that reached out to Cleopatra broke off to fall into the sea. The main mass of the Dormant Sleeper began to break apart, large pieces of it falling away. There was a great shattering sound as it split apart, its defense stat falling to zero. The remains sunk under the waves, sending the creature to the depths.

  “That’s not possible!” Kerl called out “That’s not in any rulebook! That can’t be legal!”

  “When you play with real cards, you play in the real world.” Rama called back.

  Cleopatra drew a card to start her turn.

  “Just what I needed.” Cleopatra looked towards Kerl, and smiled sweetly “Naval Battles aren’t always my strong suit, but I think I can win this one. It’s been fun sweetheart.”

  Cleopatra placed the card she had drawn onto the field, and the spectral form of a ship appeared. Cleopatra had drawn Ghosts of the Derelict Ship, which appeared in the stormy sea of the arena without fanfare.

  “You got lucky!” Kerl called to Cleopatra.

  “She got lucky a few too many times if you ask me.” Rama said dryly under her breath.

  “Unfortunately for you, your luck is about to run out.” Cleopatra called back to Kerl “Because this ship’s crew is about to get bigger.”

  Cleopatra activated the ship’s effect, and two ghostly figures appeared on the ship’s deck. One of the figures was the apparition of the beautiful girl that had conquered Kerl’s creatures, while the second figure appeared to be a ghostly version of the Baby Leviathan that had started the match.

  “At this point she’s just rubbing it in.” Jacob’s grandfather said wryly “Equipping the card where Kerl called her weak.”

  “Get it queen.” Jacob said back.

  On the field Ghosts of the Derelict Ship‘s stats changed to reflect the equipped cards, increasing in strength to 2900. Kerl’s side of the arena was wide open however, leaving him completely vulnerable to attack.

  “Alright Derelict, end this match.” Cleopatra called out “Fire all cannons, full broadside.”

  The ship turned sideways on the choppy seas, and rolled out a series of cannons.

  “I hope this is something useful.” Kerl said as he flipped over the snare he had stolen from Cleopatra earlier in the match. As he did Shield of Pure Light’s quick effect engaged, surrounding Kerl’s casting platform in golden walls of sunlight. The Derelict Ship fired it’s cannons and the cannon balls bounced harmlessly off the shield, falling back into the sea. The ship finished firing, and the shield faded away.

  “Clever boy.” Cleopatra said “Maybe there’s a little more strategy in there than I anticipated. Pity your shield is gone. It would have saved you from this.”

  Cleopatra moved straight to the special phase, the chime sounding again. Cleopatra discarded one of the equips that was on Ghosts of the Derelict Ship, reducing its strength stat to 2500. The ghostly figure of medusa floated over to Kerl, lifting her veil as it did. Kerl covered his eyes and looked away, but that didn’t stop the spectre. She started to sing; an eerie, haunting melody that floated through the air like the song of a siren. Kerl relaxed a bit and dropped his arms. He turned to look at Medusa, and opened his mouth in fear as the petrifying effect spread over his body. Unfortunately for Kerl, the card’s effect was only half as strong as usual, resulting in a patchwork of stone and non-stone across Kerl’s body. He froze, unable to move, and his statue wobbled a bit on the platform. Suddenly it plummeted forward, and was swallowed by the sea.

  “Men.” Cleopatra said “They have such big words, but can never back them up.”

  MATCH ENDED. SYSTEM VICTORY. POWERING DOWN ARENA.

  “Next time,” Cleopatra looked down at Rama “send me someone worth casting against.”

  The arena system shut down, and Cleopatra disappeared. The stormy ocean disappeared, and the arena grew quiet. The tour group sat silently in shock.

  Kerl Klein was gone.

  “Um.” Stan’s voice broke the silence “Where’s Kerl?”

  Rama stood up, and glanced at the arena apathetically “Somewhere in the depths of the stormy seas, I’d imagine.”

  “BRING HIM BACK!” Kerl’s mother finally spoke, roaring in a heavy German accent “TURN IT ON! BRING BACK MY BOY!”

  “Why my lady, that’s absurd.” Rama answered calmly “I can’t do that.”

  “And why not.” Jacob asked, looking at her “You brought back Cleopatra, just turn the system back on and pull up the ocean.”

  “But if I turn it on, it won’t go to the ocean.” Rama said “Look around the room. Next is the grasslands. Then the Cyber City, then the Dark Forest, then the Magma river, then the Candy Land, and then the Stormy Seas. My dear woman, it is completely impossible to turn on the system and get your son back.”

  “YOU LIE!” The German woman yelled, running up to the arena “YOU HAVE KILLED MY SON!”

  “Now that’s even more ridiculous.” Rama’s tone appeared bemused as she spoke to the distraught woman. It was callous, and left Jacob with a bad taste in his mouth “Kerl is not dead, he’s stuck in the stormy seas. Next time the environment pops up, we can pull him right out. It’ll be a little while, but eventually enough matches will happen to get there. We can mail him to you.”

  “NO.” The mother was sobbing “YOU RETURN HIM NOW, YOU HEARTLESS WOMAN!”

  “How many turns does it take to get to the seas.” Jacob asked, looking down at the arena.

  “I’m sorry, lost some hearing in my right ear.” Rama said playfully, looking away from the sobbing woman “What did you ask?”

  “You said the machine takes a lot of turns to get to the seas.” Jacob responded, looking Rama firmly in the eye “If someone were to engage the system in a match, could they last enough turns to get get Kerl out.”

  “Yes, I suppose it would be possible.” Rama said thoughtfully, lightly smiling as she looked at the arena “If they could get through all the other environments. It would take at least 10, maybe 12 turns but it is possible. No one’s ever really lasted that long but it is possible.”

  “Why has no one lasted that long?” Jacob pressed, looking at Rama

  “Because they would have to go against Cleopatra.” Rama replied “Even I don’t usually win against her.”

  Jacob nodded, looking at the arena.

  “Boot up the system.” Jacob said. “I’ll face her.”

  next duel; I didn’t say we were one chapter away from the epic duel I promised earlier. A little word play on my part, but I wanted the reveal that Jacob would be jumping into a match arena to be more of a surprise. The stakes Jacob are up against are high; Kerl’s match only lasted 3 turns. Jacob has to last ten. He’s going up against a system designed to win at any cost, facing a pharaoh known for her cleverness and strategy. The match should (hopefully) be much more epic, so stay tuned.

  multiple chapters, so buckle up. Luckily for everyone we get to be in the driver’s seat next time, exploring the match from Jacob’s perspective. The next duel is going to have even more of that witty anime banter, and I hope you enjoy it.

  trust in the cards…

  What do you think is going to happen to Jacob?