[Mash POV]
RRIIIINNNNGGGGGG!!
The sharp blare of the academy bell echoed through the classroom, signaling the end of the school day as the clock struck 16:00. Professor Banner then stood up and began cleaning his desk, carefully stowing away his chemical vials and whatever unholy concoction he'd been brewing during his Duel Alchemy class. (IG notes: What the fuck is a duel alchemy???)
He adjusted his glasses as he scans the class. "Well, that concludes today's lesson. Also a reminder to you students, the promotion exam is next Monday. And If any of you want to move up to Ra Yellow or Obelisk Blue, I suggest you start studying. Good day."
With that, he left the room. And in a snap, the class exploded into chatter.
"I can't believe the promotion exam is so soon!"
"I'm totally making it into Obelisk Blue! Wait, But then Mash will... NEVERMIND!"
"Please, just let me get into Ra… I'll take anything but staying in Slifer!"
Meanwhile, I glanced toward the seat beside the sleeping Shmaden, where a certain blue-haired boy with glasses sat hunched over his desk, anxiety practically radiating off him.
"Ugh… what if I flunk the written exam…? Will I get expelled?!" Syrus groaned, clutching his head like the world was ending.
"Don't worry, Sy!" A certain black haired boy stood beside Syrus as he put his hand on his shoulder.
"Be confident about it. The written test's gonna be a breeze. The only part you need to stress over is the practical exam." I said with a grin.
Syrus looked up at me with a pitiful pout. "Mash… I'm not as smart as you..."
"Oh don't sell yourself short, Syrus-boy," I said, flashing him a thumbs-up. "The written test will be easy mode."
"But... the questions this time are supposed to be really tough…"
"Hey Sy, here's a question for you," I said, leaning in. "How long have you been playing this little card game?"
He blinked, caught off guard. "I-I don't know… over a decade, I guess?"
"Perfect!" I slapped him on the back.
"OW!"
"You've been playing this children's card game for ten years, right? That means you've built up ten years' worth of knowledge and wisdom. Right?
He rubbed his shoulder, still unsure. "Right...?"
"Right! And because of that, you should be able to do the written exam easily without even cracking open a book!"
[Maybe, But Idk tho.]
"Huh… yeah…" His eyes brightened a little, and he smiled. "You're right! Maybe I don't have to study that hard! I should just focus on the practical part instead! Thanks, Mash, you're a genius!"
"Ho ho~! Of course I am." I grinned and gave a dramatic hair toss for no reason.
Syrus chuckled. "You seem to be in a really good mood today."
"Well, duh!" I struck a proud pose. "I just broke my daily Obelisk hunting record after all. From twelve to twenty!"
"Twenty!?"
I puffed my chest a little. "Yup. After I let my Lovely hang out with Alexis and her circle, word started spread in seconds that my 'ace' monster was gone. Suddenly, Obelisk students started crawling out of the walls (literally), thinking I was vulnerable. Unfortunately for them, I still have one more ace up my sleeve..."
"You mean Lady Labrynth? That card with the same attack as Blue-Eyes White Dragon and with an extremely easy way to be special summoned to the field with zero downsides?"
"Hey now," I defended, holding up a finger. "Technically, she is special summoned in defense position though."
Syrus narrowed his eyes. "Mash. I don't think summoning a 2900 DEF wall from your hand because a 'Labrynth' or a trap card activated it effect on that turn can be called a downside... And also it's a quick effect! So if you want to, you can just summon her on the opponent turn!"
I blinked, pretending to be impressed. "Whoa, Syrus. Didn't realize you were paying that much attention to my cards."
"Well, after we dueled once yesterday, where you summoned Lovely and Lady Labrynth on MY TURN. I got a little... Anyway, Mash, your deck is just too strong... in fact, I could argue you could even stand toe-to-toe with my brother cyber dragon."
"Yeah, well… let's just say that these cards are literally from another world." I gave him a wink.
Syrus tilted his head. "I... don't get it-"
"Good." I cut him off, patting him on the shoulder. "Anyway, Syrus. What did you mean by 'you seem to be in a good mood today'? What's my usual mood?"
Syrus looked off to the side. "Well... unless you're dueling, talking to us, or flirting with Miss Labrynth... you always seems kinda… bored?"
"Bored?" [Damn, Syrus has you been stalking me!?] I blinked. "Hey, what do you mean by bored-"
"DARRRRRLIIIIIIING~!!"
Before I could finish, a familiar voice rang out and then, with all the grace of a freight train, two arms wrapped around me from behind and yanked me straight into something soft.
Lovely Labrynth appeared beside me with the force of a bomb, clutching me into her chest like she hadn't seen me in years. And yes, those were her breasts squishing my face. [Weren't they supposed to be made of silver metal!!?? How the fuck-]
"Ahh~! I missed you sooo much, Darling~!" she cooed, squeezing even tighter.
I was pretty much buried at this point. "Ehehehe… me too, Lovely…" [Nah, I don't give a shit anymore.]
"Tch. Look at this disgusting behavior," a sharp voice cut through the air. "As expected of the Trap Monkey!"
Jasmine's stern voice echoed through the classroom as she strutted up to my desk with Alexis and Mindy trailing behind her. Her eyes narrowed with disdain, clearly unimpressed by the romantic scene unfolding before her.
Alexis sighed, rubbing her temple. "I know you two love each other so much it borders on obsession… but this is too much."
"Yeah!" Mindy chimed in, cheeks slightly red. "Don't you feel even a little embarrassed? Everyone's staring!"
Lovely Labrynth glanced around, noticing a small group of male students glaring daggers at me. Their jealousy was so thick, you could bottle it and sell it as cologne.
"Hmph~! What do I care about them, Min Min~?" Lovely declared with a dramatic hair flip. "The world could burn for all the fuck I care, and I'd still cling to my Darling~! Right, Darling~?" She pulled me even deeper into her cleavage, which might as well have been a silver-lined cloud of heaven.
I let out a blissful chuckle. "Hehehehe…"
Jasmine recoiled like she'd just smelled week-old tuna. "Disgusting!"
Lovely grinned devilishly. "Ho ho~? Is Jassy jealous because she doesn't and can't have anyone to flirt with? Ho ho ho ho~! Maybe if you change your hairstyle so that it doesn't resembles a pacman ghost, boys would start lining up to you~ or not~ "
"Urghhh! That's it!" Jasmine snapped. "Lexy, get her card out of your Duel Disk. Now."
"W-Wait! Jassy!" Lovely's voice wavered.
"Ah—!" Alexis gasped, but it was too late.
Jasmine snatched the card out of Alexis's Duel Disk in one swift motion. Instantly, Lovely burst into a flurry of holographic particles—and with a soft plop, two water balloons tied with a string hit the ground beside me. I collapsed right onto one of them, and it popped, splashing water all over my face and the classroom floor.
"NOOOOOOOO!!!" I screamed. "I WAS JUST IN HEAVEN!!!"[Even if her boobs were just water balloons...]
"Whatever, Here's your girlfriend card." Jasmine huffed, tossing the card at my face. It hit me dead-on with a whap. " Ha ha ha! You look pathetic, you imp!"
I glared up at her. "Why you...!"
"Hey hey, enough!" Alexis raised her voice just enough to restore order. "Jasmine we're just here to return Mash card not make a ruckus, and Mash... you've got so many red flags, it'd take an hour just to list them. Anyway, girls, we should get back to our dorm-."
"Wait—Alexis, one question!" I called after them. "How was Lovely when she hung out with you guys?"
Alexis paused, her expression softening a little. "Hmm... actually, it was kinda fun, right guys?"
Mindy nodded enthusiastically while Jasmine, arms crossed, gave a grumpy little shrug.
"She's surprisingly friendly and easy to talk to, if she likes you," Alexis admitted. "Also? She's amazing at makeup. Just look at Mindy."
She pointed at Mindy, whose face looked noticeably more polished and radiant than before the break.
"She's like a professional makeup artist," Mindy said, practically glowing.
"Yeah, and also..." Alexis stopped mid-sentence, eyeing me. "Mash, why is your face like that?"
I was grinning ear to ear, "There is no shame for a husband to be proud of his own wife."
Alexis sighed again.
"Ugh, I hate this guy," Jasmine muttered, visibly flustered. "And his girlfriend too, she always teases me!"
"Well, you're always fun to tease," Mindy teased, giving her a playful bump.
"Mindy!"
Alexis chuckled. "Well, That was a fun chat but we need to go. Later, Mash."
I gave them a lazy wave as the girls left the classroom, waving to me back before chatting and laughing amongst themselves.
Syrus leaned in from his desk nearby. "You seem kinda close to them, Mash."
I turned toward him slowly with a flat expression. "Kinda close is a stretch, Sy. We're just friends. And the only reason we're friends at all is because of that time you got catfished."
"Hey…!" Syrus snapped, his face turning beet red. "We agreed not to bring that up again!"
I chuckled under my breath. "Well, it was a pretty funny arc, you know."
"Mash!" Syrus snapped, cheeks already puffing with embarrassment.
"Alright, alright," I said, holding up my hands in surrender.
Sliding on my Duel Disk, I secured it to my left arm and powered it up. Then with a press of a button, I activated Projection Mode. After that, I carefully slotted Lovely Labrynth's card into the duel disk slot, and within moments, her holographic form shimmered into existence beside me.
She appeared crouched on the ground, sulking, shoulders slumped, and head lowered like a kicked puppy.
"Lovely…?" I asked softly, leaning toward her. "Are you okay?"
"Huuu… I'm sorry, Darling~" she whimpered, looking up at me with glistening eyes. "I… I used two heated-up water balloons to give the illusion that I have soft boobs…"
I stared at her for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Oh come on, Lovely. That's fine! Actually, it was great!"
Her eyes widened, hopeful. "R-Really…?"
"Of course!" I said, stepping closer with a grin. "Because at the end of the day, it's all about the experience and the effort you put into it. And you, my dear, gave it your all. All your love... for me."
She gasped, placing a hand over her chest. "Darling~!"
"Lovely…"
{Insert overly sappy flirting scene here because author is too cringed to make it. Or TLDR; USE YOUR DAMN IMAGINATION!}
Meanwhile, Syrus and Chumley stood nearby, stationed in front of Jaden's desk where he is as usual, asleep. Both of them wore the expressions of men who had just bitten into lemons.
Chumley sighed. "Here they go again…"
Syrus deadpanned. "You know… I always thought romance was, like, romantic. But this is just…"
Right on cue, Jaden suddenly sat up, stretching and yawning after he just finished a ten-hour nap mid-class.
"Oh hey, Sy. Chum. What's good? Hm? What's with those faces…? Oh." His gaze landed on me and Lovely mid-flirt.
A long pause.
"Yup," Jaden said flatly. "Look at them. Totally normal behavior. Flirting with a hologram of a Duel Monster card in public. Awesome."
Lovely and I turned to face the them, both of us wearing smug grins.
"Aw~ Darling~" Lovely cooed, nuzzling my cheek. "Look at these poor single men, glaring at us with those pitiful expressions~"
I nodded solemnly. "There's only one explanation, Lovely. They're jealous."
"WE ARE NOT!" the three shouted in perfect, furious unison.
"Nope. I'm not dealing with this." Jaden said then hopped over his desk, landing beside Syrus and Chumley. "Let's bounce guys."
"Agreed," Syrus and Chumley echoed without hesitation, already backing away.
The trio started heading toward the door, leaving me and Lovely behind in class.
"Hey! Where are you guys going?" I called after them, raising a brow.
Jaden shot a look over his shoulder. "Away from you two."
"Yeah, I got that," I said, walking after them. "But for real, Jay, where exactly are you going?"
"I think, we're gonna go back to the dorms. Right guys?" Jaden turned to Syrus and chumley and they nodded.
Syrus and Chumley nodded in unison like they'd rehearsed it.
"Aww… really? You guys heading back already?" I asked with a mock pout. "Don't you wanna accompany me to the card shop?"
"Can't, dude," Jaden said, shrugging. "I'm broke. Only got 50 DP left, I can't even buy a single pack."
"I can't even afford one Drawbread…" Chumley muttered, looking utterly defeated.
"Yeah," Syrus added, "and besides, Mash, you still have Miss Labrynth to keep you company."
"Yup," Jaden said, clapping his hands. "Let's go, guys. Maybe we'll duel or play some games in the dorm."
"Wait, hang on," I said quickly, walking up beside them. "How about you guys just hear me out…"
---
Later, at the Duel Academy card shop…
Three very enthusiastic boys lined up at the counter like it was black friday.
Behind the counter stood Ms. Dorothy. A warm, round-faced woman with tiny glasses perched on her nose. She's not only a worker at the card shop but is also the owner of it and is in charge of distributing and managing booster packs of cards.
"Oh! Welcome!" she greeted them cheerfully. "You boys here to buy some cards?"
"Yeah! I'll be buying all of these!" Jaden announced proudly, slapping down a stack of ten booster packs onto the counter.
"Me too!" Syrus said, adding his own ten packs beside Jaden's pile.
"Me three," Chumley chimed in, placing ten more packs and also ten Drawbreads next to the others like it was no big deal.
"Chumley!" I shouted, stepping up behind him. "I said I'd buy you guys ten packs—not ten more random shits! Put those back, or pay for them yourself!"
"Aww…" Chumley groaned, reluctantly sliding the drawbreads aside.
"Oh my," Ms. Dorothy said with a chuckle. "Mash! I didn't expect you to be the type to spoil your friends with free cards."
"Ho ho ho~! That's right~!" Lovely Labrynth chimed in, appearing beside me with her usual flourish. "My Darling is a very generous man~!"
"Ha ha, well, today was the day I broke my hunting record..." I said, scratching the back of my head with a modest grin. "So might as well celebrate it with others."
"Thanks, man! You're the best!" Jaden grinned and gave me a double thumbs-up.
Syrus and Chumley followed suit with matching thumbs-up, smiling wide.
I nodded back, then turned toward Ms. Dorothy. "Anyway, now that it's Friday… may I ask for the usual?"
"Oh, that again?" Ms. Dorothy chuckled, already reaching below the counter. "Mash, you really are a peculiar kid, but lucky for you, I had it prepped ahead of time." She placed a medium-sized cardboard box on the counter with a thud. "Here you go!"
Mash: Nice! Thanks miss dorothy!
"Nice! Thanks, Miss Dorothy!" I said, practically sparkling with anticipation.
Jaden raised a brow as he eyed the box. "Geez, Mash. Another box? You always buy these every single Friday. What's even in them? I'm curious."
Before I could react, he reached over and pulled the box closer to him.
"Hey! Shmaden!" I snapped, trying to stop him.
But Jaden had already opened the box and he immediately reeled back, eyes wide. "What is this!?"
Syrus and Chumley rushed over to peek inside.
"Jay, what's up with y-" Syrus nearly choked as he peeks. "WHAAAT!?"
"What's with you guys reactio-" Chumley leaned in, then instantly confused. "HUUUUUH!?"
Jaden slowly turned to face me, horrified. "Mash… don't tell me… all these boxes you've been buying… they've all been filled with…"
He trailed off, too stunned to finish.
The box was stuffed to the brim with {Foolish Burial} and {Self-Destruct Button}
"Ohohoho," Ms. Dorothy giggled, seeing their faces. "You boys look confused. Let me explain. Mash has actually been helping us solve a long-running storage issue. You see, all the single cards we sell come from either opening old packs ourselves or students trading in their unwanted cards for DP. But after years of this, some cards… well, they pile up. Especially the ones no one wants."
She gestured toward the box.
"Low-level monsters, weak spells, trap cards with bizarre or useless effects—most of them don't sell, even when we lower the price to 5 DP. But Mash here offered to buy them in huge bulk. For 1 DP each."
Syrus blinked. "So... he's just been buying garbage cards every week?"
"For the past few Fridays," Ms. Dorothy confirmed. "He's been clearing out our unpopular cards like a little recycling angel. He's actually been a big help, even if it's just a little."
I gave a modest shrug. "Happy to help."
Syrus squinted at me. "But... what are you doing with all these cards?"
"Well... Something," I replied vaguely. "But I do not need to tell."
Syrus sighed. "Of course…"
"Aw, c'mon, Mash!" Jaden groaned. "You always pull this 'ooo I'm so mysterious' stuff!"
I held up my PDA without looking at them. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, how about you mind your own damn business while I buy you guys your packs. Miss Dorothy, how much for all of this?"
"Ten thousand DP," she said cheerfully.
"TEN THOUSAND DP!?" the three shouted in perfect harmony.
"That's as much DP as that {Gagagigo} card" Syrus pointed at a card in a rack worth twelve thousand DP.
"Done." I casually tapped the transfer button, and the PDA beeped.
"Thank you for your purchase!" Ms. Dorothy said with a smile. "Hope you have a great day, Mash and friends."
I gave her a nod. "Alright. Time to carry the box."
"Want me to do it like usual~?" Lovely Labrynth offered sweetly, already reaching for it.
I puffed out my chest. "No need! I've got this. This time."
I grabbed the box with both hands on top of the counter, turn around and took one single step…
…and collapsed like a dying deer.
"Fuh… fuh… this box is heavy!" I wheezed.
"Oh Darling~" Lovely said with a sigh. "This is what you get for not exercising in the mornings. Let me carry it."
"I'll carry it, Miss Labrynth! Mash bought us some packs so the least we could do is-" Jaden said, stepping up and lifting the box easily. "Huh… this thing isn't even that heavy!"
"Really, Jay? Let me try," Syrus said as Jaden passed it to him. He held it for a second and nodded. "It's not bad at all…"
"That box only weighs around five kilograms," Ms. Dorothy commented.
"Seriously!?" Jaden looked at me, half laughing. "Wow, Mash. You really need to work out. How about hitting the academy gym with me sometime? I could finally have a gym bro!"
"Ughhh… shut up…" I groaned from the floor. [Why am I this weak!? I wasn't this weak before I died!]
---
Back in my lonely little dorm room, I sat on the chair beside my desk, arms crossed, and a grin already forming.
Lovely stood nearby, effortlessly carrying the box like it weighed nothing.
"Alright then, Lovely," I said with a snap of my fingers. "You know the drill."
"Of course, Darling~" she chimed with a playful smile.
I flicked my wrist downward, and in a smooth motion, the square-shaped Master Duel system interface popped into the air in front of me with a soft digital hum. Then Lovely tilted the box and dumped its cards toward the system.
Rather than spilling onto the floor, the cards were sucked into the glowing screen in a brilliant flash of white. The system devoured them like a digital black hole, neatly putting them into my inventory.
And I grinned wide. REALLY wide.
Why?
Because in Master Duel, cards like {Foolish Burial} and {Self-Destruct Button} are UR and SR rarity respectively. Which means...
I can dismantle them and use them crafting materials.
But wait! Mash, where did this all come from!?
Ah, well, my dear imaginary voice of exposition. Because this is one more feature that my system can do!
I am able to upload originals cards from this world into my system! It's very handy, because not only I can use it as storage, but another use for it is also for dismantling materials! And once they're in, they get automatically assigned to its Master Duel rarity counterpart.
So something like {Foolish burial} and {Self-destruct Button} which is strangely common in this world... when put into my system their rarity turns into UR and SR!
It's so fucking broken that the moment Lovely first told me about this feature, I spent the entire next day scavenging the island. Grabbing every discarded and lost card I could find. From the the top of the trees to the bottom of the trash bins, I hunted cards like a raccoon.
It's just like that one quote, another man's trash is another man's treasure!
I also go to that "Well of Rejects" where student toss away their useless cards. Though I need to ask doctor banner for its location and he gives me a strange look. Anyway, what's inside is, you guessed it, filled with weak ahh monster cards that I quickly put to good use.
Shower thought: [But Mash, don't those cards have spirits in them?]
Me: [Yeah, but for some reason, they wont appear to me in their spirit form. So I just take them and put it in my system. And then...]
Shower thought: [So you just committed a mass murder?]
Me: [Oh please, this is a well filled with garbage cards, and is literally called the Well of Rejects. No one will care if these cards disappear from the well and no one will certainly ever use these cards for dueling.]
Anyway, because of this discovery, my card materials which previously looks like this:
{Materials: N: 1030, R: 1000, SR: 220, UR: 70}
Is more like this:
{Materials: N: ∞, R: ∞, SR: ∞, UR: ∞}
[This is so damn broken, oh my god... speaking of god, did GOD forgot to patch this exploit? or is it intentional...]
"Whew~ That's all of them, Darling~" Lovely said sweetly, placing the empty box on the desk.
Snapping out of my daze, I blinked. "Oh yeah-thanks, Lovely. I'll dismantle them later. For now…" I grabbed my books and pencils and made my way to the door. "Let's head to Jaden's room."
"Ho ho ho~ I bet they're standing outside your door right now, Darling~" she teased.
I rolled my eyes. "That's ridiculous, Lovely. I'm sure by the time I get there, they'll all be calmly working on their homework on their—"
I opened the door.
My face went flat.
"—own…"
Right outside my door stood Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley holding their homework like trick-or-treat bags.
"Oh hey, dude." Jaden grinned, "So... can we get the usual, you-helping-your-best-buddies-with-homework, again?"
I stared for a beat, then sighed "…Let's go to your room. We'll finish it there."
---
Inside Jaden's dorm room, Jaden and Lovely Labrynth were dueling on the floor, while Syrus and Chumley sat nearby watching them duel. Meanwhile, I Was the only one sitting properly at the desk… actually doing the goddamn homework.
Jaden raised a card high in the air. "Alright! I fuse my Avian and Burstinatrix to bring out {Elemental HERO Flame Wingman} in attack position!" He slammed the card onto the floor like a dramatic shonen protagonist.
"Ho ho ho~ I anticipated that!" Lovely declared with regal sass, flipping a set card with flair. "I activate {Bottomless Trap Hole}! Your poor little hero is banished for eternity~!"
"Sigh… great," Jaden muttered, dragging Flame Wingman over to the banished pile.
Syrus gave a sympathetic shrug. "Jay, you should've known she'd be playing Mash's deck. It's literally her own cards."
"Like wife, like husband," Chumley added, smirking.
"Man… this sucks," Jaden grumbled.
"You know what else sucks, Shmaden?" I called out from the desk, glaring. "Doing all the homework alone while you clowns are over there playing!"
With a dramatic flick of the wrist, I tossed the completed homework across the room. It landed with a soft whap in front of them.
"There. It's done. Copy everything but change it a little."
"Yay~!" Jaden cheered, completely unbothered as he snatched the notebook. "Welp, guess I surrender, Miss Labrynth."
"Tch. How boring," Lovely huffed, folding her arms as she dismissed her field. "You're such a pussy, Jaden~"
"Yeah," I added with a mocking smirk. "You always chicken out whenever I ask you for a 'friendly duel.' You know I give out a bonus card if you can survive at least three turns-"
"-Or four if I'm going first," Jaden cut in without looking up. "Sorry. Nope. Nu-uh. Not doing it." He pulled over his notebook and pen. "I like living, thanks." then starts writing with Syrus and Chumley.
I sighed, resting my chin on my palm. [Well... at the very least, it wouldn't hurt to know why.. But whatever.]
I glanced over at Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley, all sitting on the floor and completely absorbed in scribbling down the homework I'd just finished. Jaden's deck lay casually beside him. I narrowed my eyes and gave Lovely a subtle nod.
[Time for our little experiment.]
Without saying a word, she strolled casually over to Jaden, then, in one fluid motion, snatched his deck right off the ground with blinding speed and brought it over to me before any of them could notice.
I drew the top card and it was {Elemental HERO Flame Wingman.}
I flicked my wrist downward, and my Master Duel system interface popped up beside me.
Quickly, I crafted my own version of Flame Wingman, pulled it out of the system, and slipped it onto the top of Jaden's deck. Then, I fed the original into the system and dismantled it into materials without hesitation.
Lovely then placed Jaden's deck back where she snatch it. same spot, same angle, and same card on top. (kinda)
[That makes fourteen,] I thought, watching them from across the room.[Fourteen cards in his deck have been swapped out with my system's versions over the past two weeks.]
This was an ongoing experiment. A slow, subtle test to see if Jaden would ever notice his cards were being quietly replaced. Maybe they'd feel different. Maybe they'd duel differently. Maybe they'd carry something the original cards lacked or maybe nothing at all. Who knows?
So far? He hadn't noticed a thing.
Not during duels. Not during draws. Not even during his over-the-top declarations.
[Either there really is no difference... or he's just an idiot. Typical Shmaden.]
I turned toward the still-glowing Master Duel interface beside me.
[Well… I am a little bored. Might as well put 'that' card into my deck.]
I crafted the card with a tap, then dragged and dropped it straight into my deck.
With that done, I leaned back in my chair, letting it creak as I kicked my feet up onto the desk. My gaze drifted upward, locking onto the ceiling.
[Man… I can't wait for the promotion exam.]
---
The next few hours passed in a cozy blur. I took a shower, grabbed dinner with Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley, then crashed back in their dorm to hang out. Just Chatting, playing video games and also having duels where I only watched because no one for some reason wants to duel me.
By 8 PM, I was back in my quiet little room, on top of my bed... and practicing something very important.
"Ah~ Darling~ Keep going~ Harder~!"
"HH… HH… Lovely…! I think it's about to come out!"
"Yes, Darling~! Let it out~! Let it all out~!"
"ARRRGGHHH!"
"AAAHHHHH~!"
Plink, a tiny silver ball that I created rolled from my cupped hands onto the bed.
Lovely scooped it up and examined it closely, eyes sparkling. "Wow, Darling~! It's 1.2 centimeters in diameter, that's 0.1 centimeters more than 3 days ago~! I'm so proud of you~!"
I collapsed backwards with a groan, drenched in sweat. "Two weeks of training… and I can barely squeeze out a damn marble of silver. Fucking awesome."
"Oh, please, Darling~" Lovely said sweetly, beside me in bed. "It's only been two weeks~!"
"Yeah, that's a fair point," I muttered. "Counterpoint: Lovely, make me a silver bar."
"With pleasure~!" she chimed, and effortlessly summoned a polished silver bar into her hands like it was nothing.
I flicked my wrist upward. The bar lifted into the air, hovering in front of me. Another flick and it began to change. The metal rippled as it morphed, twisting and stretching until it formed an intricate and detailed silver Chinese dragon. It fly around me in the air, before finally landing in my palm.
With one last flick, I shaped it into a miniature figure of Lovely Labrynth herself.
Her eyes widened as I handed it to her. "Woooow~! So cool~!"
"Yeah," I said, staring at the tiny sculpture. "And I learned all of that in just two weeks of training. But somehow… I still can't make a silver ball the size of my goddamn finger. Isn't that strange, Lovely?"
She held the figure close, then gave me a knowing look. "Well, Darling… when it comes to control, you're definitely a natural prodigy. Even I can't do the stuff you're doing."
She demonstrated by reshaping her figure into a simple ball. "I can only morph silver into basic shapes. And I can only levitate silver objects no bigger than the palm of my hand. But don't worry, I do have an answer to your question."
I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? What is it?"
"Just work out, Darling."
"The FUCK!?"
She shrugged, totally unfazed. "As much as you hate it, Darling… creating or transforming something from nothing requires stamina."
"Stamina!?" I stared at her like she'd sprouted a second head. "Can't I just use, I don't know… mana, or energy, or chakra, hell, even fucking Ki!? Anything that isn't workout based!"
She giggled behind her hand. "That would be nice~ It's just how the magic of creation works, darling~!"
"Well, if that's the rule, then the rule is fucking bullshit."
"Darling…" She gave me that mock-patient look. "Can't you just exercise a little? Even a short run in the morning would help…"
"No! I'm not doing it! Exercise makes my muscles sore and miserable!"
"But if there's no pain, there's no gain, right?" she said with a teasing wink. "No pain, no gain~!"
"No! I want the gain, without the pain!"
She sighed. "You're impossible, Darling."
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Well, this is an abrupt end.
anyway, that should be all I want to add for this chapter because the next will be episode 4 of GX!
And this took quite a while, sorry about that. I was very busy with IRL stuff.
anyway I hope you enjoy reading it because I also enjoyed writing it. Chiao!
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