After the dojo master got the fragment and [Super Polymerization] sorted out, and after grabbing some dinner in the cafeteria, Yusaku returned to his dorm room.
Back in his room, he immediately pulled out the deck the system had given him today and started studying it.
For this quest, the deck reward from the system was a Swordsoul deck.
"Swordsoul, huh…"
Looking at the deck in his hand, Yusaku could not help feeling a little emotional.
Before he transmigrated, the very first deck he played was Swordsoul.
When it first came out, he built a full set right away. Back in that meta, while you could not say it completely ruled the format, it was at least strong enough to be ranked as a solid Tier 1 deck.
But as time went on and more and more cards got released, Swordsoul gradually fell behind the times. The in-archetype low-level monsters did not have any 'gyro' pieces, and in the end it could only be counted as a Tier 3 deck.
"This system-built list is way too pure. Three of everything from the main archetype, and literally nothing else as support. That won't do."
After thinking it over, Yusaku took out some UR shards, exchanged for a few cards, and did a light adjustment to the deck.
He had been piloting Branded a lot recently. He planned to switch to another deck for a while.
Once the deck was tuned to his satisfaction, he took out the Millennium Puzzle fragment again and started examining it.
This fragment was the central piece of the Puzzle, the one with the eye.
"Ten banned card shards for a single fragment… If I manage to gather all the pieces of the Millennium Puzzle, does that mean I'll be able to trade for a full Tearlaments deck by then?"
Staring at the fragment on the desk, Yusaku rubbed his chin and muttered.
"Forget it, the characters haven't even shown up in the storyboards yet. Thinking that far ahead now is pointless."
He put the Puzzle away and walked over toward the bed. After three duels today, he honestly was a bit tired.
Just as he reached the bed and was about to sleep, there was a knock at the door.
He had not even gotten up yet when the door was already pushed open.
That striking figure he had seen earlier in the day on the shopping street now appeared at the door, carrying a huge bag of snacks.
"You're still like this. Do you really think there's any point knocking on the door first?"
Looking at the girl in the doorway, Yusaku pressed his fingers to his forehead, helpless.
He had met her during the very first closed beta. For some reason—whether it was a system bug or something else—his spawn point had been different from the other players'.
He had spawned somewhere up in Northern Europe, and when he opened his eyes he saw a towering Silver Castle.
The gate guards, Pinkie (Arianna) and Greenie (Ariane), the Labrynth maids, just happened to spot him.
Thinking he was a hero come to challenge the maze castle, they warmly invited him inside.
He already knew the backstory of the Silver Castle by heart. He knew where all the traps were like the back of his hand, so he did not have to put in much effort to clear the Labrynth and reach Labrynth, who was happily munching shards and drinking soda.
That was how the two of them first met.
After the first closed beta ended, he ran into her again in the second test.
He had thought everything from before would get wiped, but not only did she not lose her memories, she even grabbed his weak spot and pinched, demanding to know where he had been lately, why he suddenly vanished, and ordering him to make up all the "homework" he had not handed in for such a long time.
Yusaku figured this had something to do with the official settings.
After all, before entering the game, a bright red warning had popped up.
It asked players to treat the game as a completely new world, because even the developers could not fully control how the storylines would unfold.
Different choices would send events off in different directions.
He had originally planned to finish dealing with the Satellite area first and then go look for her. He had not expected her to show up at his door first.
"Hee-hee."
Labrynth laced her hands behind her back and rose lightly onto her toes.
Then, with her heel, she hooked the door shut and kicked it closed, then flicked the lock with a twist of her hand.
After dropping the snacks onto the desk, she came over and sat down beside Yusaku. Hugging her knees, she nestled on the bed, her generous chest squeezed against her thighs.
The sight made Yusaku, who happened to glance over unintentionally, blank out for a second before he pulled his gaze back.
Labrynth gave him a foxlike smile. "If you want to look, just look. It's only human."
"Really?"
"No way!" The girl giggled. "Serves you right for disappearing without saying a word again. I don't know what's up with you—always suddenly vanishing and then suddenly popping back up. This time you appeared and still didn't come find me, so of course I had to come to you!"
Hearing that, Yusaku looked at her, a hint of warmth flashing in his eyes.
"This time, I won't."
"Really?" Labrynth eyed him suspiciously. "I seem to remember you said the exact same thing last time."
"I mean it this time."
"Is that so…"
Hearing that, the girl's brows and eyes curved into a smile.
"It's been so long. Did you miss me?"
Seeing this expression, Yusaku knew her too well. She was definitely planning something wicked, so he curled his lip. "Nope."
"Hee-hee, I don't believe you. I know you way too well. After being together this long, you should know, lying through your teeth in front of me is pointless."
"You big airhead, you're still as sick as ever." Yusaku snorted, walked over to the desk, and started getting tomorrow's deck ready.
"Don't call me a big airhead!" Labrynth rolled her eyes at him. Then she let go of her knees, pulled out the ribbon in her hair, and said casually while looking at Yusaku, "You've had a long day. Want to take a bath?"
Yusaku let out a helpless sigh. He knew this girl was starting her antics again.
"If you want to wash up, you can go first."
"I do want a nice hot bath, but I twisted my ankle. There are some places I can't really reach."
"You twisted your ankle?"
Hearing that, Yusaku quickly looked over, and suddenly something clicked in his head.
"You twisted your ankle? You're a spirit, and you're telling me you twisted your ankle!"
"Hee-hee, so I couldn't fool you after all. I'll go wash by myself then."
With that, the girl pulled out a change of clothes from who knows where and headed into the bathroom.
Not long after, a piece of underwear flew out of the bathroom and landed squarely on Yusaku's head.
He casually grabbed it and tossed it back.
The sound of running water spread softly through the dorm room. Labrynth hummed some little tune she had picked up from Yusaku as she washed, and halfway through, she suddenly stopped.
"Yusaku, bring me a bath towel."
"There's one in there. Get it yourself."
…Right, what was I about to do again?
After being messed with by Labrynth like that, Yusaku suddenly forgot what he had been planning.
"Tsk… Whatever, water first. Wait, which cup is this again…"
Just as he raised the glass to his lips, her voice floated out from the bathroom.
"How many cups is that now? What are you thinking about?"
"None of your business!"
"Hee-hee, I don't really recommend it, you know~ Or are you worried this place isn't soundproof?"
Yusaku: "…"
He did not know how much time had passed when the girl's voice rang out again.
"I'm done~"
Labrynth poked her head out, glanced at Yusaku, then looked over at the glass on the desk, giggling.
"You even finished all the water. What were you thinking about just now?"
With that, the girl stepped out.
Although it was not the first time he had seen her like this, every time she appeared that way, his eyes could not help but follow.
Her violet eyes gleamed like gemstones. A white bath towel barely covered her graceful curves, water tracing down her hair and along those breathtaking lines.
Yusaku swallowed, glanced twice, then picked up his clothes and walked into the bathroom.
"I'm going to take a shower."
"Go ahead."
He had barely stepped into the bathroom when her voice came again.
"Yusaku, I need to use the toilet!"
"Use my ass. You're a spirit and you're telling me you need the toilet!"
"I don't care, I'm coming in!"
Yusaku: "…"
"Big airhead, you're a girl."
"Yup. And this girl isn't bothered, so what are you bothered about? Or are you trying to get out of doing your homework? Answer me!"
…
Lights off. In bed.
"You've got another duel tomorrow, so hee-hee, I'll let you off homework this time."
Yusaku shot her a glare in the darkness and finally voiced the doubt in his heart.
"Aren't you supposed to be up in Northern Europe? How'd you end up here? And what about Pinkie and Greenie?"
In the dark, the corners of Labrynth's lips curled into a smile.
"Obviously I sensed you. Just like last time, I felt your presence. I knew you'd come find me, but I wanted to see you a little sooner, so I went looking for you instead.
While I was looking for you, I sensed the aura of the Millennium Items. Those things are useless to us spirits, but I figured they'd be useful to you, so I stopped on this floor. To make it easier to search, I randomly joined a dojo. If I'd known you were at Takeuchi Dojo, I would've come straight to you."
"You mean this thing?"
Yusaku pulled the fragment out from under his pillow. In the darkness, it gave off a faint golden glow.
"Yeah, that's the one."
Labrynth nodded, her expression turning serious.
"I've already collected three pieces of that thing. They're with Arianna and the others right now. They're out gathering intel related to it. When they get back, I'll take them and hand them over to you."
Hearing that, Yusaku could not help reaching out to stroke the girl's hair.
"Thanks."
"There's no need for that between us, and normally your hand isn't on my head anyway." Labrynth caught his hand and pressed it against her chest.
Her skin was as smooth as polished jade, the softness gently brushing along Yusaku's fingers.
In the darkness, the girl's voice softened.
"This time… you really won't disappear again, right?"
"Yeah."
(End of Chapter)
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