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Season 0: Theme Keycard #1 C4: The Broke, but Debt-Free Mimic

Added 2025-01-07 13:06:24 +0000 UTC

“Mimicking Man-Eater Bug! Attack his LP directly!”

The giant, humanoid bug burrowed into the ground, then erupted beneath Lenix's opponent. Its glinting claws tore into the panicking Duelist, who cried out in dramatic agony.

Lenix Owens: 2000 LP

Nameless Fodder: 0 LP

“Well, that's that, I guess."

Why a Control Duelist would challenge a Floodgate player who's well known for packing two copies of “Solemn Judgment” like him, Lenix couldn't fathom. He had to give the guy credit, though.

His "Command Knights" and that "Valkyrian Knight," with their ability to lock down his attack-boosted "Mimicking Man-Eater Bug," had been a real thorn in his side. Alas, the moment he drew "Book of Moon," the duel was over.

With the Knights flipped into Defense Position after his "Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning" became fodder for his new favorite monster, Lenix systematically dismantled the rest of the board through targeted removal—destruction by card effects, to be exact.

Without the nasty, but incredibly effective Level 4 Insect, the inferior variant "Man-Eater Bug" and "Exiled Force" would have been the MVPs of the duel. Stripped of the protection the Knights offered each other, Lenix's "Mimicking Man-Eater Bug," now boasting a respectable 3450 ATK, complete indestructibility by battle and immunity to Warrior-Type monster effects, swiftly decimated the opponent's monsters.

It wasn't even a contest.

It was more a massacre. "You know, for what it's worth, you put up a good fight."

The defeated duelist, spirit unbroken, stuttered out a reply, "Y-Yeah! I'll train some more, rebuild my Deck from the ground up, and challenge you again!"

After offering a few hollow words of encouragement, because the more duelists there were, the more scrubs he'd get to crush and feel better about himself, Lenix waved dismissively at the dispersing crowd.

A week had passed since their fateful encounter, a week spent dueling their way across Domino City.

For Akane, it meant gaining a dedicated mentor who, despite being rather thoughtless and generally scatterbrained, was extremely passionate about his 'subject.'

For Lenix, it meant acquiring a… Useful acquaintance. An acquaintance intimately familiar with the city's layout and, conveniently, had a strong connection to the local gangs thanks to her older brother's status as one of their "Pillars."

They'd even tag-dueled twice!

The first time, Akane's hard bricked, forcing Lenix to swoop in and save the day.

The second, she practically dismantled their opponents single-handedly before his setup could even go off thanks to “Solar Recharge.“

“How's that? Feel yourself falling in love with my dashing figure yet?” Lenix preened, striking a dramatic pose, chest puffed proudly.

“In your dreams!” Akane giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. “That was your 50th duel, wasn't it?”

“Ah, ah!” Lenix hushed playfully, winking. “It was my 50th win. Get it right.”

“Yeah, yeah. I ought to bow when I see the mighty 'Man-Eater.' Forgive me!” Akane teased, unfortunately, her friend did not seem nearly as amused.

“… Enough with that damn nickname.”

“Why? Personally, I think it has a catchy ring to it. Plus, it is your Ace.”

“How many times do I have to tell you! My Ace is a Phoenix! A cool-ass Golden Phoenix I'm pretty sure is related to the Egyptian God Cards themselves!”

“Hmmm.”

Feigning disbelief, Akane poked him in the stomach. “I dunno, you keep saying that, but I haven't seen your Phoenix in, like, 50 Duels.“

“She's just being a pain, that's all!”

Something screeched behind Lenix, the faint silhouette of the offended Sacred Phoenix flickering into existence for but a second to properly display her displeasure. Meanwhile, her Handmaiden simply observed the scene with what Lenix perceived as a wry smile. “Are you going to get in another duel?”

“Nah. I've had enough for now.”

“You?” Akane echoed, her brows furrowing in disbelief. “YOU have had enough of dueling? Is the Sun rising in the West?”

“I meant I have enough to pay back my debt.“ Lenix rolled his eyes.

Him, having enough of Duel Monsters?

Preposterous! Blasphemous!!!

“I owe the local card shop owner. My original deck was garbage. He let me trade those cards in for my current one.”

Which, in the grand scheme of things, still wasn't all that impressive.

But, against the average Duelist in Domino City, in a world devoid of readily accessible Yu-Gi-Oh! databases and where powerful cards weren't lying around waiting to be picked up, outmaneuvering these opponents was child's play.

Frankly, Lenix would be ashamed of himself if he couldn't manage that much. Against the "Destiny Draw" shenanigans that Jonouchi, Yugi, and Judai spammed like a bot account advertising a scam, however, his current Deck wouldn't stand a chance, which was why Lenix had gone on a nonstop dueling-spree to begin with.

He needed DP, not only to repay Grandpa Muto, but to fuel his insatiable hunger for booster packs which Kaiba, the vampire that he was, had hiked the prices from 2500 to 3500 DP per pack just three days ago.

Structure Decks were even worse, bleeding Duelists dry for 6000 DP per deck…

Lenix hadn't witnessed this level of financial bloodletting since… Well, since Ea.

'Speaking of which, where's the third installment of “Black & White,” you capitalist pigs?!!'

The only difference was, Kaiba's game was actually good, not just a reskinned relic from a decade past. And at least the exorbitant prices were somewhat justified by the literal Magic the cards (The Duel Spirits) could provide.

If he recalled correctly, GX was the black sheep of the franchise.

Magic had always existed in the Yu-Gi-Oh! universe, but never quite like it did in GX. Things escalated dramatically from an old guy wanting his muscles back, to a band of KKK members that brainwashed half the cast, to Yubel's obsessive love, and finally, the literal Embodiment of Darkness itself, the so-called "Gentle Darkness.“

It was somehow even wilder than the Millennium Item nonsense of Duel Monsters. But that just added to its appeal.

That, and the fact magic was tossed around more casually than candy in GX, a fact that could work heavily in his favor. Duel Academy housed several relics that Lenix could exploit to great advantage.

First and foremost among them being "Sabatiel – The Philosopher's Stone."

Unlike its TCG counterpart, which only interacted with "Polymerization," the anime version allowed the user to search their deck for any three cards for the meager price of half their LP for each card.

For context, "Graceful Charity" had been banned into oblivion for nearly two decades back in his own time, and it basically did the same thing, but much less efficient.

The ability to search and draw the exact three cards needed for any given situation, from either the Deck or Graveyard, was about as potent as a card effect could get. To make matters worse, it could be activated repeatedly, and even after being used up and destroyed, it still offered a final “fuck-you” in the form of an ATK boost that multiply one monster's ATK up to the number of monsters your opponent control… There's no clause after.

No added cost; no upper-limits.

Splash this shit in with “Megamorph,” “United We Stand,” and maybe a few Spell or Trap cards that could fill up the opponent's field and you'd get certified cancer in the form of a Deck.

Such a card would be instantly banned in any format, but since banlists seemed to be a foreign concept in this world…

"He… Hehehehe."

A villainous chuckle escaped Lenix's lips as the humanity in his face drained away in the face of such power.

The mere thought of wielding such an artifact sent a thrill of anticipation through him. 'Oh, and there are the Sacred Beasts, too. Yay?'

The 'Egyptian God Cards-at-home' were pretty pitiful as far as actual cards went. But, the ability to absorbed his opponents' Souls upon their defeat to increase his own power, coupled with eternal youth… Those… Those sounded a lot more promising.

The thought caused a smug grin to spread across Lenix's face, followed by a self-satisfied chuckle.

They earned him a sharp poke in the ribs.

“What was that for?” He asked, indignant.

“You were being creepy. I didn't like it.“

"You don't like a lot of things..."

"Mostly stupid things," She stated flatly. "So, we're going to the card shop then?"

"Don't you have school, or college or something?"

"My school's closed. Turns out the headmaster embezzled millions from the budget. Half the staff were in on it for their cut of the cake."

"You're shitting me."

"Nope," She replied with a pop. "We were supposed to go back last week, but, well..."

"Man, your life's even more exciting than mine."

"Exciting, sure? Exhausting? Definitely."

"Hey, worst case scenario, if you flunk, you can always play the children's card game. It pays, you know? I dueled fifty times this week and already paid off my debt."

He'd not only gotten the DP to pay back Grandpa Muto, but he'd also climbed from Level 1 to Level 4.

2400 XP in a week, and he still felt like a scrub. It was a grind, though. Level 1 to 2 had only taken 100 XP, 2 to 3 300 XP, but from there onward, it's all quadruple digits.

Reaching Level 4 had taken Lenix 1200 XP, or 25 duels, since normal duelists only gave him around 48 XP on average.

Level 4 to 5 would take 6000 XP, or another 125 duels.

It was worth the effort though, since each Level Up doubled his DE and Regeneration Rate. At Level 4, he had 4800 DE to spare, with a Regeneration Rate of 8 Units per sec. If he took into account her Bonded Discount, Lenix could Install “Hand of Nephthys” for almost 11 seconds now.

It didn't seem like much, because it wasn't, but it was enough for Lenix to experiment with her Magic and learn some Pyromancy.

With his newly acquired [Pyromancy • (1/10)], Lenix could now conjure small, palm-sized fireballs. Granted, he hadn't practiced much, preoccupied as he was with deciphering "Mimicking Man-Eater Bug's" [Mimicry] and [Insta-Death] effects which, when translated to the real world, manifested as magical claws and fangs capable of ripping through creatures vastly larger and stronger than the bug itself—ten, twenty, even a million times—with the ease of a hot knife through butter, completely ignoring convential durability.

The only exception were Duel Spirits 'Unaffected by card/monster effects.' Frustratingly, unlike Spells like [Pyromancy] which could be learned, these effects seemed inherent, an innate ability to the “Man-Eater” Archetype rather than acquired knowledge put into practice through Duel Energy.

Still, the effects of the “Mimicking Man-Eater Bug” were just too powerful to overlook.

Lenix would find a way, and by that, he meant that one of the Spellcaster Duel Spirits he planned to bond with would. His role was to kick ass, take names, and look cool while doing it; theirs involved the mundane, tedious tasks, including—but not limited to—research.

"Not everyone wants their life to revolve around—what did you call Duel Monsters again? Oh, right—a children's card game, Lenix. I want another option, in case this does not work out.“

“Can't you just ask your brother to pull some strings?“

"My brother's a Yakuza member... It's not like he and school headmasters usually rub elbows. Plus, school has already begun; I can't just join a class mid-semester, right?"

"Can't you?"

Anime characters did it all the time. With the frequency of transfer students, it was a wonder how they managed to fit so many students into one classroom.

'And doesn't Japan have a law against that? There's got to be a maximum limit, right?'

"I can't," Akane replied as they steadily descended the slope back to the Kame Game.

"Shouldn't someone handle this?"

"Who? The imprisoned headmaster? The government?" She muttered sarcastically.

“Fair enough.“

In the distance, Kame Game stood in all its glory. “There it is.“

"You mean the building with the green tiles and the giant bolts sticking out above the door?"

"The one and only."

“Interesting choice of architecture.“

“It's the protagonist's house, what did you expect?“

Glaring at her companion, Akane laughed. “You baffled me sometimes, Lenix. Sometimes it's like you don't see people as people, but props and extras in a movie.“

Sweating profusely, the man could only cough to mask his nervousness. "That card shop? That's Yugi Mutou's house."

"The King of Game?!"

"Yep. Everyone's the protagonist of their own story, but if anyone could be called the central, defining figure of history, it's him." Or Yami Yugi, but tomato-tomahto.

For all Kaiba's disdain, Yugi Mutou was no slouch when it came to Destiny Draw–ehem, dueling either.

The only thing he lacked compared to the Pharaoh was conviction and a smidgen of brutality, which was understandable, given his peaceful upbringing in modern day Japan. Meanwhile, Atem probably had slaves for days. Even the Millennium Items didn't just spawn out of thin air either. All Manga readers would know they were forged from blood sacrifices sprinkled with a generous dose of Dark Magic. Created by Atem's father after he ordered for the murder of a village under his rule no less.

The detail's later retconned in the anime, because children's show and all, but the Pharaoh's family and upbringing were straight gangster compared to Yugi Mutou's. “Gramp, you home?“

"Lenix!" With one glance at the boy he had helped and then at the girl beside him, Sugoroku Mutou couldn't help but smile proudly. "You work fast! Unlike that grandson of mine. I don't get how he still can't seal the deal with that Mazaki girl. She's practically throwing herself at him every chance she gets.“

“Don't be too hard on him, gramp. He probably suffered from the good ol' 'OPS.' People like him tend to.“

“”OPS?“” Both echoed, one out of confusion, the other worry.

"Oblivious Protagonist Syndrome… It is a deadly condition that affects both the person and the viewers.“ Mustering the strength to keep a straight face, Lenix whispered. “Not only can it make someone oblivious to romantic advances, it can cause viewers to become irrationally angry as well.“

“Is there a cure?“ Grandpa Mutou asked, equal part amused and curious.

“I suggest a dose of 'slap them in the face with the facts,' but it's only effective when administered by the romantic partner.”

“The Mazaki girl is already throwing herself at him. They're even childhood sweethearts, what more can she do?”

“Has she tried talking to him about it?”

Lenix suspected that Yugi knew too, but out of fear or insecurity, he had refrained from acting on such scant information. Even from Lenix's perspective, Anzu's advances could easily have been mistaken for familial affection or even a more platonic love.

“Huh… Maybe I'll tell her to do that instead. She's a good one, that girl. He'd regret it if she married someone else.“

Lenix could hardly believe his ears. Anzu Mazaki (Tea Gardner) and "good" in the same sentence? Personally, he didn't have any strong, negative feelings toward her. Young Lenix had even had a bit of a crush on her, until he found his new waifu in Asuka Tenjoin, but apparently quite a few fans had found the girl to be an annoying opener for exposition dump. “You do that.“

"So, what brings you two to my shop today?"

"To pay back my debt. What else?"

"I told you it's not necessary."

"I insist. I hate owing people money. Plus I need a few cards to upgrade my Deck. Mind if I take a look?“

“Go ahead.“

Like every other card shop, Grandpa Mutou's was divided into three categories: The Booster Pack, the most affordable option; the Structure Deck, more expensive but still within reach for the average Duelist's earnings; and finally, the individual cards, which often cost an exorbitant amount, especially the Boss monsters, which typically sold for tens of thousands of DP each.

And that was just for the Vanilla cards with decent attack points for the time (2000 and above).

Effect Boss monsters could reach prices in the six to seven-figure range on the market.

Some people could duel day and night, save up for weeks, and still couldn't afford the card they needed, especially since the DP earned was directly tied to the DE generated. Not to mention the scarcity of the cards themselves.

Even if one Duel Spirit could manage between 10, 20, or even 50 Duelists simultaneously, there were billions of Duelists worldwide.

Since the cards themselves were considered mystical artifacts, only a limited number of the same monster could exist at any given time.

It's said that Kaiba's Blue-Eyes had only up to 15 copies distributed. Dark Magician had 50 copies, and so forth, meaning that the moment one of these rare monsters went up for sale, they would immediately get snatched up by wealthier clients, leaving the more common, pathetic cards like "Fusionist,” and "Insect Queen" for the average Duelists.

Generic Bosses that could be mass-produced, essentially. This scarcity had also fueled the popularity of new courses on "Duel Spirit and Energy,” since with the right technology and techniques, any Duelist with sufficient DE could do as Pegasus did and form their new Ace by substituting precious materials and artifacts.

A classic example of an artificially created Duel Spirit would be Judai's Neo-Spacian Archetype, born from a child mind and formed by Cosmic Energy, or the Crystal Beasts Pegasus gifted to Johan Anderson, but that's a topic for another day. “Here's the 13,000 DP I owe you.“

“You're quite stubborn…”

"You know it, gramp. Now take the damn DP, or else."

"Or else what?" Akane chimed in, making her presence known.

"Or I'll convert it to cash, tie it to a brick, and toss it through his window tonight."

““…””

"Lenix, know when to accept help. There are things even you can't do on your own.“

"If I didn't do it by myself, I didn't do it at all." He replied matter-of-factly, his eyes still fixed on the glass display and the cards inside.

"That kind of philosophy will hurt you in the long run, young man. Everybody needs help every once in a while."

"Maybe. But until then, it's all about me, myself, and I." And his Duel Spirits too. Can't forget about them. Now, if Nephthys would just stop being unreasonable... "Oh, and while we are here, can you grab her two copies of “Magical Merchant” and a “Card Trooper?“"

Both were monsters designed for milling with additional effects that'd would allow Akane to play even more aggressively.

They would fit perfectly among the Lightsworn.

"And for yourself?"

"I'm thinking I'll build a second Insect-Type Deck..."

"Oh? Were you dissatisfied with the Deck you made?"

"No... It's just that my ace monster has decided to be difficult for some reason."

The Sacred Phoenix roared behind him, but Lenix didn't care.

It was true, after all.

As true as the sky was blue.

He couldn't be certain, but Lenix was 90% sure his Phoenix was jealous of Akane.

If it were for any other reason, he might indulge her, but Lenix couldn't spend his life running, hiding, and cowering away from the opposite sex. Nor did he want his life dictated by a Duel Spirit.

Imagine if Dark Magician Girl suddenly refused to help Yugi because he's friends with Anzu and then sulked for weeks, with the King of Games actually bending over backward for her tantrum. He doubted Yu-Gi-Oh would've been such an iconic franchise then.

Regardless of his personal feelings, Lenix knew he had to hold firm and establish the dynamic of their relationship from the get-go, because if he gave an inch, the Sacred Phoenix would no doubt take a mile—Bonded or not.

It's why he needed more than one deck.

This way, even if one of his Duel Spirits ever decided to pull a Nephthys, Lenix could still rely on other Decks. Unfortunately, the Insect Deck he wanted could potentially cost him millions in DP or hundreds of thousands in dollars. This was chump change for Kaiba, and just a few weeks’ allowance for most Obelisk Blue students.

But for Lenix? He had never even seen that much money in his life, and the chances of him ever securing such a loan were so minuscule he might as well not try.

And even if he had the money, Grandpa Mutou did not have those kinds of cards for sale.

The man ran a dilapidated card shop in the middle of nowhere. His Exodia and that one Blue-Eyes copy were about the most valuable cards he owned until Kaiba and Weevil.

The cards on display were all Level 4 and lower—important, sure, but not nearly powerful enough to turn the tables. Not like "Mimicking Man-Eater," at least.

Luckily, Lenix had thought ahead.

Within Domino City alone, there were hundreds of card shops scattered about. Each of these was bound to have at least one or two of the cards he needed in their Booster Packs. Lenix had even trained his Mimic solely for this purpose. The language barrier between him and the literal humanoid bug did cause some friction, but they had worked it out beautifully through their telepathic link, bringing his Bond Progress with the bug to 9%, even higher than Nephthys' and her Handmaiden's combined.

"Find these cards for me.“

Lenix ordered, and the humanoid bug beside him immediately sprang into action.

It floated over, under, and through the entire building before screeching excitedly and waving him over. Most of the Level 4 and under, plus the Spell and Trap cards he needed were already present in the shop, along with a copy of "Ultimate Insect Level 7."

Forget Destiny Drawing Booster Packs.

This method was far more reliable.

Sure, some might argue he was cheating, but everyone was doing it anyway. Hell, Judai himself had a 60+ Extra Deck that nobody ever commented on, while some of the Fusion monsters shown in the anime were so specific and tailored to the situation, they might as well have been made up on the spot. Even Joey's absurd "Time Wizard + Baby Dragon" combo wasn't convincing at all.

What were the odds that "Time Wizard" would destroy or weaken all other monsters on the field except "Baby Dragon"? Not very likely, he reckoned.

"Neat."

Making a beeline for these Booster Packs, Lenix swiftly grabbed them and slammed them onto the counter.

Unlike their OCG counterparts, these packs had no colorful monsters printed on them; they resembled plain, unassuming biscuit packs sold cheaply in the street corner, although they did have distinct differences based on the type of Booster Packs they were sorted into—a FIRE Attribute Deck was red, a DARK Deck black.

Meanwhile, Booster Packs sold by Type bore miniature icons of said Type, but were all silver-colored, just like the coat on Kaiba's Blue-Eyes.

"… That was fast. Are you sure you don't want to think it through a bit more?"

"No point wasting time," Lenix shrugged. "Now tell me the damages, Gramps."

"You only spent 4000 DP this time, congrats.“ Grandpa Mutou chuckled.

Four hundred dollars gone in a puff.

If Lenix were capable of crying tears of blood, he would.

Checking his pitiful balance, Lenix sighed. 'Oh well, I can just farm the scrubs later.'

With his growing strength and a more aggressive, more dedicated deck, Lenix figured he could recoup the loss in two or three days at most. "Will you pay for your girlfriend—"

"Friend," Lenix corrected.

With a sly smirk, Sugoroku Mutou grinned. "Will you pay for your 'friend' who's also a girl? I didn't have all the cards you asked for, but I do have two copies of 'Card Trooper.'"

“Urgh… How much?“

"Cheer up, Mimic. I'm sure you'll make the money back in no time. And since I have a soft spot for you, how about a discount? I'll let you have both for 600 DP."

“You've heard?“

“Who hasn't? The Boy-Wonder who has not lost once since his debute.“

"Heh. Rumors travel fast around here, it looks like…"

Clicking his tongue, Lenix glanced at the "Card Trooper" and asked.

"Just out of curiosity, how much would they cost without the discount?"

"700 for both."

"Damn, that's it?!"

"Not many people find discarding their own deck appealing, so the little guy's been left to gather dust for a while.“

That was the most stupidest thing Lenix had ever heard, but the game was still evolving. Compared to the meta he was used to, people here hadn't started thinking of their GY as a second Deck just yet. Give them a bit more time and a few more “Special Summon-via GY banishment” like Dark Armed Dragon, Dark Nepthys, Chaos Sorcerer,…etc, and Lenix was sure they would understand how powerful card-milling could be.

“I hope he'll find a place in your girlfriend's Deck."

"Friend," Lenix corrected again.

"Girl. Friend. Is that better?“ Gleefully, the tiny old man put his Booster Packs in a plastic bag, then the “Card Trooper” in his hand.

Lenix did just that, only to be met with a burst of laughter from the girl herself. "What, is this your love confession?"

"No, this is me being a good friend. Now put 'Card Trooper' in your deck so we can head out. I want to see how well it'll perform."

"Yeah, yeah. You only have eyes for dueling. It's pretty upsetting, to be honest."

"Hey, I flirted with you all the time! You didn't reciprocate!"

"I'm not naive enough to mistake your thoughtless jokes for genuine flirting."

"But you are naive enough not to realize 80% of romantic relationships begin with a joke." Flicking her forehead, Lenix placed the copies in her waiting hand, and headed for the exit.

"Come on. We still have another two hours before nightfall. We might be able to squeeze in a duel or two." Vanishing through the door, Lenix never caught Akane's mumbled, “Idiot,” while she trailed behind him.

Nephthys did though, and the Sacred Birb was not happy.