Tera

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  Tera awoke in a small clearing. It was covered in bright green vegetation, and trees that she did not recognize; while the bark was the ‘normal’ brown that Tera knew, the tops of the trees surrounding her had dark purple leaves, as if she found herself stuck in a purple sea; however, that seemed surreal; or rather, something straight out of a Frank Baum story.

  “Where the heck am I?” Tera Wondered. The last thing she remembered was the duel. The snake Xander plotted against Cyrus. He better be safe, she thought. While she was friends with Harlow as well, Tera found quickly that she and Cyrus had a special bond—though she wasn’t quite sure of the nature of the relationship; Tera hated having to label and define the nature of things. She also hoped and wished that Harlow was safe, too.

  “The realm is known by many names, and humans dubbed it the Land of Kings for some silly reason,” The polite voice made Tera jump. She didn’t realize that she wasn’t alone; something that made Tera unsettled.

  Tera swiftly turned in the direction of the voice, and to her surprise, she saw an eccentric man who appeared to be dressed like a seventeenth-century magician. However, he sported an out-of-place top hat to go along with his black and red attire. While the tunic and robes were fully black, the inner part of the robe was dark red. An emblem that Tera didn’t recognize was on the hat and along what seemed like random places on the robe. The emblem was a pentagram that looked like it had clock hands on it.

  “Who the heck are you? Don’t step any closer! I swear, I’ll hurt you!” Tera shouted.

  “Milady, you’re the one who took me,” the man laughed.

  “Wait… those markings on your jacket. That’s the insignia of the Time Mage,” Tera noted.

  “Yeah, not truly a fan of what the Order conjured up, but I digress,” the man scoffed in disdain.

  “No, this can’t be,” Tera shook her head in disbelief.

  “Milady, it can be. You swiped me when Xander Spell Locked Cyrus into entering the realm, which by the way, I saw coming a mile away. So predictable, but I digress,” the man waved off his monologue.

  “No, freaking, way… You’re not only telling me that you’re the Time Mage, but also that you protected me when I touched your card during the duel,” Tera questioned.

  “More or less. I might have tipped the scales and used what little powers I have in the human realm to teleport myself into your pocket during the Rite. Thankfully, I could tap into my powers when other Mana users are present. Which, by the way, Xander and his whole deck are. I needed to make sure you were transported to a safe location. The System isn’t the nicest of hosts.”

  “I’m just going to pretend that I understood what you said. So, why help me, though? I don’t understand your reasoning. Certainly not out of the kindness of your heart,” Tera scoffed.

  “You’re right, my intentions are exactly pure. That asshole murderer Bowie kidnapped me from my home to bring his son a trophy. And I lost my powers. The only way for me to get back to full power is to Link with a skilled Duelist. I can offer you protection under my guardianship,” the Time Mage had a hint of desperation.

  “I don’t need your protection!”

  “But you do need to be a Duelist if you want to achieve anything in this world; even to simply get home. Furthermore, Milady, I’ll help you through the System tutorial. Truth be told, I chose you because I believe you are going to do great things and become one of the powerful Duelists in the realm,” the Time Wizard suggested.

  “But that is where you’re wrong, I don’t seek power,” Tera corrected.

  “Not even to save your friends. From ones that they trust.”

  “What are you talking about, Wizard?”

  “For instance, Bowie and Seth are not to be trusted,” the Time Wizard appeared genuine.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “And you’re asking me to trust you blindly,” Tera questioned.

  “Not exactly, a mere leap of faith. Most Duelists don’t know that Guardian Links can be renounced, so if you for any reason don’t like my methods, you can always Unlink, thus making you a User again; however, the Duelist forfeits all powers and abilities.”

  “And why is it that you’re telling me something most Duelists don’t know?” Tera crossed her arms.

  “Well, Milady, for many reasons. I simply like you. You are my best chance to get my full powers back, and that is all I want. I am simpler than most Monsters and Gods. Everyone has a hidden motive and by knowing mine, we can have an understanding, thus becoming more powerful. I don’t want to go back to the Realm of Humans like most. You and I simply want friendship and to be understood. Tell me I’m wrong.”

  “Quite some monologue there, convincing even. You need me more than I need you.”

  “And what if that were true? What’s so bad about that? While my Order doesn’t agree with female Duelists, I’d love to prove my Coven wrong,” the Time Wizard laughed.

  “Shit,” Tera laughed. “You got me there. It’s as if you’ve listened in on all mine and Cyrus’s conversations.”

  “Well, not all, Milady, I assure you that I do have your best interest at heart. That isn’t true for many Duelists and their Guardians.”

  Tera saw words appear in front of her, something that was new for her.

  Tutorial override implemented.

  Does User accept pact with Time Mage?

  [Y] [N]

  Something was intuitive about the words that Tera saw. She simply thought yes in her mind’s eye.

  Pact accepted.

  New Structure Decks unlocked.

  “Let’s get this tutorial done with,” the Wizard exclaimed.

  “Like in a video game?” Tera questioned.

  “Huzzah! Exactly,” the Wizard retorted.

  Guardian tutorial skip override.

  “What the heck, why are we skipping the tutorial?” Tera Questioned.

  “Like I said, I’m helping you. Getting your Structure deck is the most important thing. Especially if something or someone tries to attack us.”

  Please pick a Structure Deck. All inhabitants must have a Structure Deck at the minimum. Any refusal to do so will result in System deactivation.

  [Structure Decks]

  Destiny of the Noob

  Survivalist Strikes

  Overly Complexed Magician

  Time of the Lords

  Rivers Edge

  “You can bring up the deck list by simply thinking of the Structure Decks name,” the Time Wizard waved his hand in an attempt to be theatrical.

  “You’re telling me that people select decks without looking at what’s inside,” Tera scoffed.

  “You’d be surprised.”

  Tera brought up the first deck she thought would have good synergy with the Time Wizards card abilities.

  Overly Complexed Magician

  “Ew, Milady, don’t waste your time with that nonsense,” the Wizard spat in disgust. “My cousin is a good Guardian for that deck, but it’s not one that I would advise.”

  Tera sorted through the deck list with ease. “That’s interesting. This deck would be a great one for you. I remember your card abilities from Emblem Duel,” Tera explained.

  “Ahh, Milady, this isn’t Emblem Duel. Here we duel the true way. Fortunately, none of the Monsters, Gods, and Inhabitants of this Realm have the same powers as that made-up mockery of a game. I simply boost and reduce the Atk and Def of those on the field of play, depending on what level I am.”

  “Wow, that’s way better than flipping a coin,” Tera laughed. “So, we are going to want a control deck that can manipulate the board state at any given time,” Tera jumped in excitement.

  “Precisely!”

  Tera went through meticulously searching every Structure Deck for a good answer to her Guardian's ability. She knew that in Emblem Duel one’s deck was all about synergy to get your deck's engine going. While it appeared the rules of the game here were different, Tera was determined to master it. And hopefully find her friends in the process.

  “Seriously, nothing here looks promising,” Tera growled in frustration.

  “Have you checked every deck?”

  “I have one left. Here goes nothing,” Tera crossed in fingers.

  Time of the Lords

  She smiled at the Time Wizard. “Well, well, well, we have a winner. But you knew that, didn’t you?” Tera questioned.

  “You learned about the UI, didn’t you, Milady?”

  “I suppose,” Tera gave the Wizard a playful punch on the shoulder. She was happy that her ability to traverse through the whole user interface of the System, but was frustrated that the Time Wizard wasn’t willing to help her in a quicker manner.

  “Don’t worry, I wasn’t going to let you pick the wrong deck. Besides, you need to cycle through the System fast anyways, better to have practice than do it in a bind for the first time.”

  “Whatever, Magician,” Tera knew he was right, but she would never admit that to him.

  “Hey, don’t call me that!”

  “Oh, did I finally get to you?” Tera laughed.

  “Pick your deck already.”

  Tera decided not to press the matter.

  Time of the Lords selected.

  “You like Lord of Time better?” Tera jested.

  “Much better,” the Wizard answered.

  “Alright then Lord of Time, let’s go find my friends and kick some ass!”