The Reliquary pulsed just before dawn, subtle and wordless.
Rai sat cross-legged on the balcony outside the Academy dorms, eyes closed, hand outstretched.
Card Drawn: Rush Recklessly
Spell Card
Target 1 monster on the field; it gains 700 ATK until the end of this turn.
His brow lifted. It wasn't a monster or trap. This was different—temporary, specific. A boost.
"Until the end of this turn," he repeated aloud. That wasn't a literal 'turn' like a game—it was time. Flow. A ten-second window, as the Reliquary had recently confirmed with Shrink.
Which meant…
Rai narrowed his eyes in thought. Timing would be everything.
He stored the card in the field of chakra hovering near his palm and stood, stretching slowly as the sky turned pale.
Kaida-sensei had planned another team sparring day. Reina and Daiki were improving, slowly but surely. Today, though, Rai had something new to test.
---
The training field was more open than usual, sectioned with waist-high cover logs and flag poles, paper targets, and half-buried dummies. Kaida waited near the edge of the field as the three students assembled.
"Standard pairs again," she said. "But I'll be watching closer today. Use everything you've got—but keep it under control."
Daiki groaned but didn't argue. Reina just nodded and stepped to her starting position.
As they began, Rai kept his chakra low, not summoning anything yet. He waited, letting Reina and Daiki engage the clones scattered around the field. When a clone broke formation and charged Reina's exposed side—electricity crackling from its palm—he acted.
"Kuriboh."
The familiar puffball shimmered into place, floating between Reina and the incoming clone. But Rai knew it wouldn't hold.
"Rush Recklessly."
The card flashed into the field, glowing red.
Kuriboh's small body surged with chakra. A red aura burned around its form. In a blur, it launched forward—faster, stronger, heavier than before—and struck the clone square in the chest.
The clone's lightning jutsu fired reflexively on impact.
Boom.
A pulse of chakra burst outward—and both Kuriboh and the clone vanished in a scattered haze of smoke and fizzing chakra threads.
Rai blinked.
That was... effective.
One-for-one.
He'd spent chakra, cast a spell, and burned a summon to neutralize a threat. Efficient, if not overwhelming.
Kaida's voice called from the field's edge.
"Interesting. So, it doesn't just boost power. It gives them enough force to overcome their own limits—but fragility still applies."
Rai nodded to himself.
Kuriboh had landed the hit, but he was still Kuriboh. Even with power, one strike was all he had in him.
The red haze where the spell had manifested flickered once more before fading completely.
"Ten seconds," Rai muttered. "But if it had been La Jinn..."
He imagined it: a monster already stronger than most Genin, boosted with Rush Recklessly for a full ten seconds of attack pressure.
That wasn't just a buff. That was a potential finishing move.
Kaida crossed her arms.
"Even burst-type spells can change a fight," she said, her tone more thoughtful now. "If you learn when to use them—and what to pair them with."
Rai filed the insight away.
His monsters were improving. He'd felt it—Kuriboh was easier to summon now, more stable. He wouldn't need as much chakra next time.
And now, with spells added to his deck, he had another angle.
A sharper edge.