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Although he had turned into a card, Aleister was actually just forced to enter the card to rest because he had suffered too great an impact in Hayato's Dark Game.
After all, he was a Card Spirit, not a normal human who would die if they lost a Dark Game. Becoming a card was just gaining a vessel, and even in his current state, having just been defeated, Aleister could still communicate with Hayato through the card.
Hayato couldn't help but rant that it was just like Pokémon; even if they were beaten to near death, putting them back in the ball could extend their life.
Although Aleister had wanted to attack Hayato when they first met, after becoming a card, he became unusually obedient. He told Hayato all the information he knew, answering every question, which allowed Hayato to finally understand where he was.
His initial conjecture was indeed correct. This World was the World where Card Spirits resided, the "Spirit World." It was a World closely connected to the Real World, the "Human World," where he had been before. This could be seen from the fact that most Card Spirits residing in Duel Monsters cards in the Real World came from the Spirit World.
Of course, not all Card Spirits existed in the Spirit World. For example, Yugi's **Dark Magician** and Kaiba's **Blue-Eyes White Dragon** were Card Spirits born locally in the "Human World," and the **Crystal Beast** that had not yet been born was also like this.
However, these matters didn't have much to do with Hayato. If Hayato had no hope of leaving the Spirit World and returning to the Real World, he would need to understand the World he was about to stay in. But Aleister told Hayato that he knew of a place that might possibly lead to the Real World.
According to him, about a few days ago, he detected a very strong power fluctuation entering the Spirit World from the Real World, which should not have been connected.
Although he wasn't very interested in going to the Real World, Aleister felt that the fluctuation might be related to "Space," and his own **Invocation** was also "Space"-related. Furthermore, that fluctuation seemed to have awakened something that he thought might be used as a Tribute for **Invocation**, so he was actually on his way there.
Comparing the time, Hayato guessed that the fluctuation might have come from the Ener-D in an active state, brought from the future to the past by the **Red Dragon Archfiend Ultimaya Tzolkin**. For a Red Dragon capable of time travel, transmitting Ener-D from one World to another adjacent World didn't seem like an exaggeration.
According to Aleister's theory, although the probability wasn't 100%, the transmission of the Ener-D fluctuation required the existence of a Passage. Based on the strength of the fluctuation he felt before, the Passage wouldn't be too small and would last for a certain period. If Hayato was lucky, he might be able to use that Passage to return to the Real World.
However, just now, due to Anubis, Hayato was transferred to the Spirit World, and the spatial fluctuation he caused dispersed the **Invocation** Aleister had randomly cast using a Tribute. This not only interrupted Aleister's journey but also successfully confused his perception of the previous fluctuation, causing him to lose his direction.
Aleister himself didn't have a great need for the Ener-D fluctuation; it was even dispensable. He was just looking for a way to improve his **Invocation**. So, since he couldn't sense the Ener-D fluctuation, he simply gave up on the distant goal and sought the nearby one, finding Hayato.
Of course, he had absolutely no idea at first that he would be turned into a card.
However, during their information exchange, ever since that scumbag learned that Hayato actually possessed the **Sage's Stone**, **Anubis's Crimson Jewel** (the finished product of the **Sage's Stone**), and **Super Polymerization**, a miracle that surpassed the **Sage's Stone**, he shamelessly insisted on staying by Hayato's side, claiming he could definitely find the ultimate **Invocation** he craved from Hayato.
Regarding the situation in the Spirit World that Hayato needed to understand, Aleister told him everything he knew. However, when Hayato asked why his **Invocation** had progressed to the level of the ultimate Fusion Summoned Monster, **Invoked Purgatrio**, yet he could still remain conscious, Aleister evaded the question and couldn't give Hayato an answer.
Hayato didn't force him and skipped the question without dwelling on it.
Due to the impact of Hayato's transfer, Aleister was temporarily unable to continue tracking the Ener-D fluctuation. However, he said that if certain beings who were startled by the Ener-D particles before were still around, they might have the ability to find that fluctuation.
However, whether that being was truly awakened, and whether they were willing and able to help Hayato, was hard to say. But this was the only path Hayato could currently choose.
Before setting off, however, Hayato checked his system. Since being transferred to the Spirit World after defeating Anubis, Hayato had actually seen new system message prompts. However, at the time, he needed to prioritize dealing with Aleister, who was approaching him, so he only had the leisure to open and check the messages now.
As soon as he opened the system, Hayato saw no less than four dialogue boxes pop up in front of him in one go.
[Respected Duelist, you have new achievement rewards to claim.]
[Achievement: [Passing Duelist] Completed]
[Condition: Open Dimensional Gate (1/1)]
[Reward: 1000 DP, Random Fiend-Type Preconstructed Deck]
[Achievement: [Fusion is Not So Inconvenient] Completed]
[Condition: Abnormal Fusion 1/1 time]
[Reward: 1000 DP, Limited UR Exchange Ticket]
[Achievement: [Thanks Brothers, It's Already 1000%] Completed]
[Condition: Collect Card Quantity 1000/1000]
[Reward: 1000 DP, Most Held Card Type (Trap) UR Card Pack]
The completion of the three achievements came with a guaranteed 3000 DP points income, which helped Hayato recover some of the loss after having just paid 500 DP for the Dark Game against Aleister but only recycled 300 DP during the settlement. Then he began to check the other three extra incomes.
First to be opened was the Trap UR Card Pack. It was only after the system's statistics that Hayato realized that since coming to the World of Duel Monsters, although he had collected various cards, the majority were not Spell Cards or Monster Cards, but Trap Cards. This was despite feeling that his duels were usually quite bright and cheerful.
He felt somewhat unworthy of the original name of Duel Monsters, "Monsters and Magic," but Hayato wasn't someone who cared about such things. He casually opened the card pack.
The so-called UR Card Pack didn't mean it would yield a pile of UR Cards. Like a normal Card Pack, a UR Card Pack contained five cards, but one of them was guaranteed to be UR. Also, because it was Trap Limited, all the cards drawn were Trap Cards.
Hayato, who opened the card pack, helplessly threw the first three filler **Sakuretsu Armor** cards into the System Shop for immediate recycle. The fourth card, **Torrential Tribute**, made him quite satisfied. But when he saw the fifth card, Hayato couldn't help but curse, "Holy crap, Evenly Matched!"
"...Wait, is that how you pronounce it?"
Okay, actually the card Hayato got was called **Evenly Matched**. It was a Normal Trap Card. The card art story belonged to the famous Warrior Type Deck, **Six Samurai**. It told the story of **Great Shogun Shien** clashing and fighting with his brothers, **Shadow of the Six Samurai - Shien**. The ending of the story was that **Great Shogun Shien** was replaced by the Shadow Warrior, with only his lingering spirit remaining on his armor.
However, the card art story wasn't very important. **Evenly Matched** was most famous in Hayato's previous life not for its powerful field clearing effect that targeted the Player instead of Monsters, but for its name, which tested a person's literacy level.
Many people who drew this card would deliberately omit the two rare characters "these characters" and just say "Activate [Victory or Defeat]" when using it in a duel to avoid exposing their insufficient literacy. But this would only make others feel even more that they were illiterate, winning the duel but gaining the identity of "illiterate."
Therefore, the card **Evenly Matched** acquired the nickname "Illiterate Match."
After putting away **Evenly Matched**, Hayato's second use was the UR Exchange Ticket. This wasn't the first time Hayato had used a series of Exchange Ticket Rewards. After using the illusory item, a dazzling array of cards appeared before Hayato.
However, the value of the so-called "Limited UR" was actually much higher than the Exchange Tickets Hayato had used before. This was because Ordinary UR Exchange Tickets could only exchange for "Card Pool Cards" that could be obtained through Draw a Card. A large portion of cards could only be obtained by spending DP points in the Shop. In short, it was very much like a cunning merchant.
But "Limited UR" removed this restriction. Hayato immediately spotted cards like **Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon** and **Phoenix Enforcer**, and even **Super Polymerization**. These cards were very expensive in the Shop and couldn't be obtained through Normal Draw a Card.
Given the rare opportunity of a limited removal, Hayato wouldn't possibly use this precious chance to exchange for Ordinary URs that could be drawn normally. His gaze quickly locked onto a Field Spell Card with an extremely powerful effect.
Finally, he opened the Random Fiend-Type Deck. To be honest, among the cards Hayato held so far, he had collected quite a few cards of Dragon Type, Beast-Type, Warrior Type, Spellcaster Type, and Machine Type. However, Fiend-Type was very few, although his most commonly used **Rainbow Kuriboh** was Fiend-Type.
With the mindset that it was free and it didn't matter what he got, Hayato opened the Preconstructed Deck Card Pack, and then was startled by several fiercely intimidating names that jumped out at him.
He wasn't about to release some world-destroying big boss, was he?
Even with Aleister leading the way, Hayato traveled for a full day, but this sense of palpitation still lingered in his heart. It wasn't until Aleister's reminder that he saw his destination in the distance that his attention was slightly diverted.
Hayato dismounted from **Gaia the Fierce Knight's** War Horse, letting **Gaia** return to the card to rest for a bit. He walked a few steps forward, stopping at the edge of a cliff, casting his gaze into the distance.
Although covered by dense vines and quite a distance away, Hayato could immediately notice a bulging "large lump" in the Jungle in the distance, like a pimple on the face of a green-skinned giant.
Moreover, without Aleister's guidance, as Hayato approached that "large lump," he could also feel an imposing aura constantly enveloping the surrounding Forest, completely impossible to ignore.
It wasn't the sense of crisis where the Forest was filled with the aura of death, but rather the feeling of being overlooked and observed by some lofty existence.
Enduring that aura, Hayato walked through the Jungle while conversing with Aleister, who had recovered much of his vitality and was floating beside him in the form of a phantom.
"What an incredible aura. I can feel that the true existence is absolutely not fully awakened yet. This current feeling is merely the unconscious breathing of a slumbering giant in a semi-awake state. It's hard to imagine what kind of existence that truly is."
"Calling it a deity wouldn't be an exaggeration, right?"
Hayato didn't deny Aleister's opinion: "Although I had the experience of commanding spirits with the title of 'God' before coming to this time, and I have faced divine power more than once, I have to admit you are right. This kind of aura has truly reached the level of a deity."
In the Card Box at Hayato's waist, **The Winged Dragon of Ra - Sphere Mode** placed there, and **The Winged Dragon of Ra - Immortal Phoenix**, which had specifically split off to be able to speak, heard Hayato's words and let out two slightly weak calls to express their dissatisfaction.
"However, the closer we get, the more I realize it's indeed just slightly awakened by the previous Ener-D fluctuation, not fully awakened. Do you really think I can find help here, Aleister?"
"It's Aleister, not Aleister, or you can call me Crowley, Master." Aleister first seriously corrected Hayato, then said casually, "It's better to try than to talk about it. If you don't come here and try your luck, how will you know if there's a chance?"
"That's true, but we still need to find it quickly before the Passage opened by the Ener-D particles disappears." As Hayato spoke, his pace through the Jungle slowed down slightly. After taking a step and crossing the last clump of weeds, he arrived at an Open Space in the woods not far from the "large lump."
And at the same time Hayato stopped, but saw several figures emerge from various directions ahead, using the bushes behind Hayato as a wall to directly surround Hayato in a semicircle.
An upright, green-skinned lizard warrior wearing metal armor on its arms;
A female warrior whose armor was tattered, looking more like a wanderer than a Soldier;
A barefoot warrior with wings on its back and wearing a helmet;
And the apparent leader of the four who blocked the way, a guy who completely covered his body with a cloak.
"Looks like we can't simply arrive at our destination."
After all, he was a Card Spirit, not a normal human who would die if they lost a Dark Game. Becoming a card was just gaining a vessel, and even in his current state, having just been defeated, Aleister could still communicate with Hayato through the card.
Hayato couldn't help but rant that it was just like Pokémon; even if they were beaten to near death, putting them back in the ball could extend their life.
Although Aleister had wanted to attack Hayato when they first met, after becoming a card, he became unusually obedient. He told Hayato all the information he knew, answering every question, which allowed Hayato to finally understand where he was.
His initial conjecture was indeed correct. This World was the World where Card Spirits resided, the "Spirit World." It was a World closely connected to the Real World, the "Human World," where he had been before. This could be seen from the fact that most Card Spirits residing in Duel Monsters cards in the Real World came from the Spirit World.
Of course, not all Card Spirits existed in the Spirit World. For example, Yugi's **Dark Magician** and Kaiba's **Blue-Eyes White Dragon** were Card Spirits born locally in the "Human World," and the **Crystal Beast** that had not yet been born was also like this.
However, these matters didn't have much to do with Hayato. If Hayato had no hope of leaving the Spirit World and returning to the Real World, he would need to understand the World he was about to stay in. But Aleister told Hayato that he knew of a place that might possibly lead to the Real World.
According to him, about a few days ago, he detected a very strong power fluctuation entering the Spirit World from the Real World, which should not have been connected.
Although he wasn't very interested in going to the Real World, Aleister felt that the fluctuation might be related to "Space," and his own **Invocation** was also "Space"-related. Furthermore, that fluctuation seemed to have awakened something that he thought might be used as a Tribute for **Invocation**, so he was actually on his way there.
Comparing the time, Hayato guessed that the fluctuation might have come from the Ener-D in an active state, brought from the future to the past by the **Red Dragon Archfiend Ultimaya Tzolkin**. For a Red Dragon capable of time travel, transmitting Ener-D from one World to another adjacent World didn't seem like an exaggeration.
According to Aleister's theory, although the probability wasn't 100%, the transmission of the Ener-D fluctuation required the existence of a Passage. Based on the strength of the fluctuation he felt before, the Passage wouldn't be too small and would last for a certain period. If Hayato was lucky, he might be able to use that Passage to return to the Real World.
However, just now, due to Anubis, Hayato was transferred to the Spirit World, and the spatial fluctuation he caused dispersed the **Invocation** Aleister had randomly cast using a Tribute. This not only interrupted Aleister's journey but also successfully confused his perception of the previous fluctuation, causing him to lose his direction.
Aleister himself didn't have a great need for the Ener-D fluctuation; it was even dispensable. He was just looking for a way to improve his **Invocation**. So, since he couldn't sense the Ener-D fluctuation, he simply gave up on the distant goal and sought the nearby one, finding Hayato.
Of course, he had absolutely no idea at first that he would be turned into a card.
However, during their information exchange, ever since that scumbag learned that Hayato actually possessed the **Sage's Stone**, **Anubis's Crimson Jewel** (the finished product of the **Sage's Stone**), and **Super Polymerization**, a miracle that surpassed the **Sage's Stone**, he shamelessly insisted on staying by Hayato's side, claiming he could definitely find the ultimate **Invocation** he craved from Hayato.
Regarding the situation in the Spirit World that Hayato needed to understand, Aleister told him everything he knew. However, when Hayato asked why his **Invocation** had progressed to the level of the ultimate Fusion Summoned Monster, **Invoked Purgatrio**, yet he could still remain conscious, Aleister evaded the question and couldn't give Hayato an answer.
Hayato didn't force him and skipped the question without dwelling on it.
Due to the impact of Hayato's transfer, Aleister was temporarily unable to continue tracking the Ener-D fluctuation. However, he said that if certain beings who were startled by the Ener-D particles before were still around, they might have the ability to find that fluctuation.
However, whether that being was truly awakened, and whether they were willing and able to help Hayato, was hard to say. But this was the only path Hayato could currently choose.
Before setting off, however, Hayato checked his system. Since being transferred to the Spirit World after defeating Anubis, Hayato had actually seen new system message prompts. However, at the time, he needed to prioritize dealing with Aleister, who was approaching him, so he only had the leisure to open and check the messages now.
As soon as he opened the system, Hayato saw no less than four dialogue boxes pop up in front of him in one go.
[Respected Duelist, you have new achievement rewards to claim.]
[Achievement: [Passing Duelist] Completed]
[Condition: Open Dimensional Gate (1/1)]
[Reward: 1000 DP, Random Fiend-Type Preconstructed Deck]
[Achievement: [Fusion is Not So Inconvenient] Completed]
[Condition: Abnormal Fusion 1/1 time]
[Reward: 1000 DP, Limited UR Exchange Ticket]
[Achievement: [Thanks Brothers, It's Already 1000%] Completed]
[Condition: Collect Card Quantity 1000/1000]
[Reward: 1000 DP, Most Held Card Type (Trap) UR Card Pack]
The completion of the three achievements came with a guaranteed 3000 DP points income, which helped Hayato recover some of the loss after having just paid 500 DP for the Dark Game against Aleister but only recycled 300 DP during the settlement. Then he began to check the other three extra incomes.
First to be opened was the Trap UR Card Pack. It was only after the system's statistics that Hayato realized that since coming to the World of Duel Monsters, although he had collected various cards, the majority were not Spell Cards or Monster Cards, but Trap Cards. This was despite feeling that his duels were usually quite bright and cheerful.
He felt somewhat unworthy of the original name of Duel Monsters, "Monsters and Magic," but Hayato wasn't someone who cared about such things. He casually opened the card pack.
The so-called UR Card Pack didn't mean it would yield a pile of UR Cards. Like a normal Card Pack, a UR Card Pack contained five cards, but one of them was guaranteed to be UR. Also, because it was Trap Limited, all the cards drawn were Trap Cards.
Hayato, who opened the card pack, helplessly threw the first three filler **Sakuretsu Armor** cards into the System Shop for immediate recycle. The fourth card, **Torrential Tribute**, made him quite satisfied. But when he saw the fifth card, Hayato couldn't help but curse, "Holy crap, Evenly Matched!"
"...Wait, is that how you pronounce it?"
Okay, actually the card Hayato got was called **Evenly Matched**. It was a Normal Trap Card. The card art story belonged to the famous Warrior Type Deck, **Six Samurai**. It told the story of **Great Shogun Shien** clashing and fighting with his brothers, **Shadow of the Six Samurai - Shien**. The ending of the story was that **Great Shogun Shien** was replaced by the Shadow Warrior, with only his lingering spirit remaining on his armor.
However, the card art story wasn't very important. **Evenly Matched** was most famous in Hayato's previous life not for its powerful field clearing effect that targeted the Player instead of Monsters, but for its name, which tested a person's literacy level.
Many people who drew this card would deliberately omit the two rare characters "these characters" and just say "Activate [Victory or Defeat]" when using it in a duel to avoid exposing their insufficient literacy. But this would only make others feel even more that they were illiterate, winning the duel but gaining the identity of "illiterate."
Therefore, the card **Evenly Matched** acquired the nickname "Illiterate Match."
After putting away **Evenly Matched**, Hayato's second use was the UR Exchange Ticket. This wasn't the first time Hayato had used a series of Exchange Ticket Rewards. After using the illusory item, a dazzling array of cards appeared before Hayato.
However, the value of the so-called "Limited UR" was actually much higher than the Exchange Tickets Hayato had used before. This was because Ordinary UR Exchange Tickets could only exchange for "Card Pool Cards" that could be obtained through Draw a Card. A large portion of cards could only be obtained by spending DP points in the Shop. In short, it was very much like a cunning merchant.
But "Limited UR" removed this restriction. Hayato immediately spotted cards like **Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon** and **Phoenix Enforcer**, and even **Super Polymerization**. These cards were very expensive in the Shop and couldn't be obtained through Normal Draw a Card.
Given the rare opportunity of a limited removal, Hayato wouldn't possibly use this precious chance to exchange for Ordinary URs that could be drawn normally. His gaze quickly locked onto a Field Spell Card with an extremely powerful effect.
Finally, he opened the Random Fiend-Type Deck. To be honest, among the cards Hayato held so far, he had collected quite a few cards of Dragon Type, Beast-Type, Warrior Type, Spellcaster Type, and Machine Type. However, Fiend-Type was very few, although his most commonly used **Rainbow Kuriboh** was Fiend-Type.
With the mindset that it was free and it didn't matter what he got, Hayato opened the Preconstructed Deck Card Pack, and then was startled by several fiercely intimidating names that jumped out at him.
He wasn't about to release some world-destroying big boss, was he?
Even with Aleister leading the way, Hayato traveled for a full day, but this sense of palpitation still lingered in his heart. It wasn't until Aleister's reminder that he saw his destination in the distance that his attention was slightly diverted.
Hayato dismounted from **Gaia the Fierce Knight's** War Horse, letting **Gaia** return to the card to rest for a bit. He walked a few steps forward, stopping at the edge of a cliff, casting his gaze into the distance.
Although covered by dense vines and quite a distance away, Hayato could immediately notice a bulging "large lump" in the Jungle in the distance, like a pimple on the face of a green-skinned giant.
Moreover, without Aleister's guidance, as Hayato approached that "large lump," he could also feel an imposing aura constantly enveloping the surrounding Forest, completely impossible to ignore.
It wasn't the sense of crisis where the Forest was filled with the aura of death, but rather the feeling of being overlooked and observed by some lofty existence.
Enduring that aura, Hayato walked through the Jungle while conversing with Aleister, who had recovered much of his vitality and was floating beside him in the form of a phantom.
"What an incredible aura. I can feel that the true existence is absolutely not fully awakened yet. This current feeling is merely the unconscious breathing of a slumbering giant in a semi-awake state. It's hard to imagine what kind of existence that truly is."
"Calling it a deity wouldn't be an exaggeration, right?"
Hayato didn't deny Aleister's opinion: "Although I had the experience of commanding spirits with the title of 'God' before coming to this time, and I have faced divine power more than once, I have to admit you are right. This kind of aura has truly reached the level of a deity."
In the Card Box at Hayato's waist, **The Winged Dragon of Ra - Sphere Mode** placed there, and **The Winged Dragon of Ra - Immortal Phoenix**, which had specifically split off to be able to speak, heard Hayato's words and let out two slightly weak calls to express their dissatisfaction.
"However, the closer we get, the more I realize it's indeed just slightly awakened by the previous Ener-D fluctuation, not fully awakened. Do you really think I can find help here, Aleister?"
"It's Aleister, not Aleister, or you can call me Crowley, Master." Aleister first seriously corrected Hayato, then said casually, "It's better to try than to talk about it. If you don't come here and try your luck, how will you know if there's a chance?"
"That's true, but we still need to find it quickly before the Passage opened by the Ener-D particles disappears." As Hayato spoke, his pace through the Jungle slowed down slightly. After taking a step and crossing the last clump of weeds, he arrived at an Open Space in the woods not far from the "large lump."
And at the same time Hayato stopped, but saw several figures emerge from various directions ahead, using the bushes behind Hayato as a wall to directly surround Hayato in a semicircle.
An upright, green-skinned lizard warrior wearing metal armor on its arms;
A female warrior whose armor was tattered, looking more like a wanderer than a Soldier;
A barefoot warrior with wings on its back and wearing a helmet;
And the apparent leader of the four who blocked the way, a guy who completely covered his body with a cloak.
"Looks like we can't simply arrive at our destination."
