Chapter 51: Masked Sorcerer

Having discovered the correct way to access the Spirit World, You Xuan felt somewhat less tense. He pondered; he had entered through a stone slab in the ruins, yet after arriving, he saw nothing resembling such a slab nearby, nor anything like a door.

So how was he supposed to return?

He thought for a moment and looked at his monster: "Silence, what do you think?"

Silent Magician shook her head, seemingly having no clues either. After all, the Spirit World was vast, and although collectively called the Spirit World, it was actually divided into many different dimensions; this did not seem to be a dimension familiar to her. However, she tilted her head in thought, then reached out and pointed toward a spot not far below the small hill.

You Xuan followed the direction of her finger and discovered that the place looked surprisingly like a town.

"I see, so we should inquire with the local spirits?"

Indeed, there was temporarily no better method. In anime, the general populace of the Spirit World was quite friendly; the locals might know some path to get out.

You Xuan circled down the slope and arrived at the town. The streets were paved with bluestone, and the stones along the road bore mottled marks left by the passage of time. The buildings were constructed of white brick and stone, with windows inlaid with colored glass, walls carved with complex totems and patterns, and certain characters and symbols he could not recognize.

Strangely, not a single soul could be seen in the city.

Lonely shops stood with doors and windows tightly shut. Hanging signs swayed gently in the wind, while a breeze rolled up fallen leaves, producing a rustling sound.

"Is this normal in the Spirit World?" You Xuan asked.

Silent Magician shook her head, gripping her staff tightly with a vigilant expression. Judging by this, it was clearly not normal.

She guarded at You Xuan's side as the two continued forward. After advancing for about a few minutes, they seemed to hear some strange noises coming from behind a row of buildings.

You Xuan remained outwardly calm, followed the sound down an alley, and for the time being hid in the shadows to observe the situation. He saw several tiny spirits fleeing in panic; he recognized only one of them—a small figure carrying a huge key on its shoulder, which was quite distinctive. That was Key Mender in the Duel Monsters card game, a Normal Monster with one star and 400 attack points.

Chasing after these spirits were, unmistakably, black goblins similar to those he had just seen. The goblins charged forward with strange cries, constantly drawing their bows and releasing arrows.

The arrows seemed to be imbued with some kind of magic; any spirit struck immediately let out a cry of pain and fell to the ground, then transformed on the spot into a heavy stone slab, crashing down with a loud rumble.

You Xuan was shocked. Good heavens, getting hit by these arrows actually turned one directly into a card?

It was just unknown whether this effect worked only on spirits.

Thinking of his experience in the forest just now, he suddenly felt a bit of lingering fear. That was close, that was close; fortunately, I was one step ahead and activated Holy Barrier quickly enough.

It seemed that the spirits originally living in this town had been attacked by an invasive race, possibly all turned into stone slabs, which was why the place appeared completely empty.

Silence suddenly became alert, flashing forward to guard behind him. You Xuan turned around and saw that a team of those black goblins had appeared at the mouth of the alley behind them at some unknown point.

"Boss, it's him!" a goblin shrieked loudly, "It's a Duelist! A Duelist has broken into our territory!"

The goblin squad parted to both sides, clearing a path. A monster spirit wearing a mask and exuding a sinister aura slowly walked out.

You Xuan recalled seeming to have seen this monster before.

Masked Sorcerer - Cursed Throat.

A monster card used by the Light and Dark Masked Brothers under Ma Like in DM, a Normal Monster with four stars and 1500 attack points.

However, the combat power of the spirit was clearly not the important factor right now. Because at a glance, he discovered that this spirit was different from the others.

On its arm, it wore equipment resembling a Duel Disk.

"So there are outside Duelists as well," the Sorcerer snorted. "But since you dare to intrude into the domain belonging to my god, you must have already prepared yourself to become a sacrifice."

He waved his hand, dismissing his underlings, and snapped open his Duel Disk.

Or rather, although it was similarly equipment resembling a Duel Disk, compared to the obviously technological equipment in reality, this one possessed more of a biological feel, as if shaped from flesh and blood, growing directly out of his arm.

"Victory between Duelists can only be decided through the ritual of battle. You minions all withdraw; this fellow is mine."

"Tch, as expected, we have to play cards again."

You Xuan knew in his heart that duels in the Spirit World were similar to Dark Duels, battle rituals that decided life and death. It seemed this card game had to be played, but there appeared to be only this one spirit here who could play cards; as long as he dealt with this one, the rest were just small fry.

"Duel!" x2

[You Xuan, LP 4000]

[Masked Sorcerer, LP 4000]

"My turn begins first; I draw."

The Sorcerer won the random first turn.

"I will first set one monster to the field, plus one face-down card, ending my turn."

It was a relatively standard opening.

But his goblin underlings behind him had already started banging gongs and beating drums.

"The Sorcerer Master possesses boundless magical power!"

"You dare to challenge our Lord Sorcerer; you are finished."

"."

You Xuan ignored the psychological harassment from the minions: "My turn, I draw."

He sent one card from his hand to the Graveyard, then revealed another.

"The effect of 'Trickster' in my hand. Although this card is a Level 5 monster, it can be Special Summoned directly by discarding one card from my hand.

Therefore, I discard one card from my hand to Special Summon 'Trickster'!"

[Trickster, Attack 2000]

"Furthermore, the card I just discarded to the Graveyard is the Quick-Play Magic Card 'Silent Magi-Blast'."

The card that had just entered the Graveyard immediately exited the Graveyard zone of the Duel Disk automatically amidst a flash of golden light.

"By banishing this card from the Graveyard, I can add one 'Silent Magician' monster from my Deck to my hand.

Therefore, I banish 'Silent Magi-Blast' to add 'True Silent Magician' from my Deck to my hand."

You Xuan completed his search by arranging his Deck, then slapped down the next card.

"Normal Summon 'Spellbreaker of the Ice Barrier'!"

[Spellbreaker of the Ice Barrier, Attack 1600]

"When 'Spellbreaker of the Ice Barrier' is successfully Summoned, place one Spell Counter on itself, increasing its attack by 300 points.

However, I will activate its other effect. By removing the Spell Counter from itself, I will destroy your face-down card in the back row."

Spellbreaker of the Ice Barrier swung his sword, and a blade of magical energy spun toward the Sorcerer's back row.

But the Sorcerer waved his hand: "Then I activate my face-down card, the Quick-Play Magic 'Scapegoat'. Special Summon four 'Sheep Tokens' to my field."

Four lazy sheep of various colors popped out onto the Sorcerer's field.

[Sheep Token, Defense 0] x4

"During the turn 'Scapegoat' is activated, I cannot Normal or Special Summon any other monsters, and these Sheep cannot be used as Tributes for a Tribute Summon." He paused for a moment and chuckled, "Of course, this is not my turn, so I couldn't perform a Summon anyway."

You Xuan thought to himself that indeed, this era was still so simple; one could not Summon during the opponent's turn. If this were modern Yu-Gi-Oh, talking for three to five minutes during the opponent's turn would be the norm.

"Then I will offer 'Spellbreaker of the Ice Barrier', which has already used its Spell Counter, as a Tribute."

The body of Spellbreaker of the Ice Barrier turned into golden light, spiraling down into a magic circle that opened on the ground. A burst of holy, soft white light erupted; the center of the magic circle seemed to gather like stars, and a slender figure stepped out slowly, a white robe swaying gently in the breeze, silver hair flowing under the cold light, shimmering with a faint luster.

"Silent Magician, Summon!"

[True Silent Magician, Attack 1000]

"Silent Magician cannot be Normal Summoned, but can be Special Summoned by tributing any Spellcaster-type monster on my field," You Xuan said. "Furthermore, Silent Magician's attack increases by 500 times the number of cards in my hand.

Currently, the number of cards in my hand is three, so the attack increases by 1500."

[Silent Magician, Attack 1000 → Attack 2500]

The goblins watching from behind immediately became agitated.

"He Summoned two monsters with over 2000 attack in the first turn!"

The Sorcerer remained calm, only saying coldly, "Silence."

The crowd of minions immediately dared not make a sound.

"."

"Enter the Battle Phase," You Xuan ordered. "Silent Magician, Trickster, attack two of the 'Sheep Tokens' respectively."

The little sheep, looking as if they hadn't yet woken up, naturally could not withstand the pincer attack of the two great mages; immediately, two sheep exploded into powder one after another.

"Then I set one card to the back row and end my turn."

[Silent Magician, Attack 2500 → Attack 2000]

(End of Chapter)