The sound of birds singing slowly wakes me up. As I open my eyes, I find myself in the middle of the Dark Woods again. The light from the day doesn't seem to cut through the trees.
So I look up, how are the birds singing if the sun has set? This forest is so weird. I look down at the ground, which makes me notice there's something next to me.
Two cards. I pick them up and check them, 'One-Eyed Skill Gainer' and 'Solemn Judgment'. I recognize them immediately. The second one is a trap card that the card spirit told me was originally in the Emperor's deck. The first card is the one whose spirit just saved me.
Wait, right. Am I alive? I remember losing to the Emperor and almost dying, but I managed to survive. What happened then?
I try to recall what happened before I lost consciousness again. I remember I fought the Emperor, but I don't remember what happened. My attempts are stopped by a sudden pain in my right eye. It's like I got stung through it. It also burns... Wait, burn?
Right, I remember now. The Emperor tried to implant the eye onto me, but he failed. We managed to melt the eye down. I thought we had gotten rid of it, but... I can now remember it fell on my right eye.
I look down at the trap card I got from the Emperor, checking the name again. I heard about it, apparently it's a strong card. Before I can start reading its effects, I shield my right eye with the back of my right hand.
It stings again. And so does my head, which makes me notice something weird. I know exactly what the 'Solemn Judgment' card does. It's as if all the information regarding the card immediately made its way inside my brain.
Have I absorbed the power of the eye from its melted remains? Just how strong was it before? It must have been stronger since I didn't even get it the 'correct' way.
I sigh, slightly worried about whether I'm going to become like The Emperor. However, I cannot allow myself to lose too much time. I gotta stand up, there's something I need to do.
"First things first, I gotta get outta here."
I start walking around. I don't remember how to get out of here. I knew how to originally, before falling into the temple, turn around and go back the way I came. However, this time I can't do that since I just woke up in the middle of the forest.
I check my terminal to see the hour; it's a bad habit. But just this time, maybe it is actually a good idea.
10:13 pm
Great. I clock out at 6 pm. However, that's kind of a lie. I only have 30 minutes of free time before I need to go back and work for two more hours. Which means that I skipped the last 2 hours of my shift.
When boss finds out, he's gonna be mad. Though he's kinda soft, so I guess at least it won't be as bad as what happened down there. A scolding, maybe my pay will be slightly cut off? Meh, I could live with that.
Okay, let's focus. What direction do I need to follow? I squint my eyes and repeat one sentence to myself, 'Think, Yuta, think.'
"Haah... I have no clue!"
I talk out loud; it's a way I have to relieve my stress. There's no one around here, so it doesn't matter. Well, apparently there is. Somewhat.
I see the 'One-Eyed Skill Gainer' appear in front of me, his arms crossed. He looks at me with a mix of disappointment, regret, and... Perhaps some expectation.
"You'd better not end up like him."
"Oh, that wasn't my plan."
He sighs and points with his finger in a random direction. Maybe it's not random, though. Could that be how to get back?
"City's that way, you say?"
He nods and, with another flash of light, disappears.
Okay, I guess I know how to get back now. Thanks, man! Walking we go, I guess. Hopefully, I'm not too far away.
[One Long Walk Later]
I check the terminal again, 10:49 pm. I'm right on the edge of the slums, next to the incinerators. Essentially, right from where I walked off into my near-death experience.
I'm confident there shouldn't be anyone around, since we clock out at 8:30 pm. However, I'm still careful when approaching, just in case someone's mad enough to stay behind.
After all, I didn't clock out, so maybe a fellow worker has noticed my absence and has been looking for me? I doubt it. It's just the fact that I'm not that well-known, plus I usually prefer to work on my own. Still, you never know.
So, I slowly and silently approach the bushes next to the incinerators. I've mastered the ability of walking without making any noise, so that isn't an issue. Peeking through them, I try to spot anyone who could've been waiting for me.
'Kay, the coast's clear. I walk out from the bushes and sigh in relief. It would've been unideal if I were caught. I look over to the incinerators. Apparently, my water bottle is still there, waiting for me to pick it up.
Heh, it almost looks like a bait. How funny.
"Caught ya'!"
I turn around. No way, it was a bait.
A short man is pointing at me with his finger; he's smiling proudly. Probably because he has caught me with his 'perfect' trap. I would not be so proud of achieving such a thing, but I guess we're different.
He's somewhat old, older than me at least. An adult, I think he was 30-something... 33? I think. Doesn't really matter.
He wears a red fanelled shirt. I guess he's the type of guy to wear those types of shirts. No, I ain't judging. Though I'd never wear such a thing.
His shirt is working extra hard to keep his muscles contained, since, despite his short stature, he has maxed every other physical aspect. He has a long beard as well, which I guess tries to compensate for his eight-ball-shaped bald head.
I'd say I got blinded for a sec there, but I feel like that's being too mean. He's a cool guy anyway.
"Caught me?" He didn't catch me or anything; it's not like I came back for my water bottle.
"Yeah, I knew you forgot your water bottle when you skipped the last two hours, so I waited here patiently after work, expecting you to return eventually. Hahah! Read you like an open book."
I stare at him, blink twice, and sigh. He really is clueless. But, yeah, let's just say I forgot my water bottle and actually skipped work. It'd be meaningless to explain that I almost died fighting an old mummified emperor under the ground in a hidden temple, plus he probably wouldn't believe me.
"Aw, man, it sucks. Yup, you got me."
"Heh! Can't believe Mr. Good-Guy has skipped work."
I gained the nickname of Mr. Good-Guy for a reason, so it kinda sucks that someone ever says 'skipped work' and my nickname in the same sentence.
"Surely you'll let me off, right? Y'know I work hard as hell."
"Hmm... I don't feel like it, not gonna lie."
"Come on! I have a spotless record!"
"Yes, and I have the second-best record in this company."
Ah, I see. Now everything makes sense. The only way he was waiting here for me was because he used to be the Employee of the Month. That is, until I started working here about half a year ago. I guess he's been trying to get his spot back all this time.
"Would've never expected you'd be lame like that, man..."
"Hey, that's mean!"
"That's the truth."
He sighs, as if I was forcing him to do something he didn't want to. Though I can easily see the fact that he can barely hold back his excitement.
"Okay, okay. If you beat me in a Duel, I won't snitch."
"And if you win?"
"Well, I'll snitch."
That's it?
"Sure thing... Bring it on, Lukas."
"I can already see my name on the Employee of the Month board, ho-ho!"
I heard he also made his Deck by finding cards thrown out in the trash. It's just that, unlike me, he's been alive for longer, which means he's had time to get better cards. I'm honestly surprised he's not living in better conditions.
I guess he's just the kind of person who prefers to live a normal life and wishes to be the Employee of the Month. I wish the only thing in my life that was out of the ordinary right now was being Employee of the Month.
"Duel!" We say at the same time, as our Duel Disks open.
[Duel Start!]
[Lukas Edison VS Yoshiro Yuta]