Night fell, stars dotted the night sky, casting a faint light over the tranquil town of Magnolia.
Inside the small detached building beside the town river, Ches, who had returned home, comfortably took a cool bath.
Although Fairy Tail had dedicated member dormitories, he did not reside there, but instead used the money earned from doing requests to buy a building in the town.
It wasn't that Ches liked living alone; the word quiet didn't suit him at all.
He was kicked out of the public dormitory by Makarov, the reason being that constantly rebuilding the demolished dormitory was a heavy expense...
"It's really more comfortable at home, after all, I haven't been back for over a year."
Ches was bare-chested, wearing only a pair of light blue leggings, his well-defined chest and back marked with scars of various sizes.
Among them, a claw mark that ran through his shoulder and abdomen was the most gruesome.
That was proof that he had fought against Ignia the Flame God Dragon!
Ches walked out of the bathroom, came to the fairly spacious living room, plopped down on the soft sofa, and skillfully took out a can of black tea from the coffee table.
As the sound of boiling water came out, light steam rose, and the faint aroma of tea filled the air.
"Magic really is a useful thing."
Ches picked up the hot tea and took a small sip, looking at the special kettle on the coffee table that could be used by simply injecting Magic Power, and felt a surge of emotion.
In this world, magic is the primary productive force!
The rich aroma of tea was released in his mouth, flowing down his throat and throughout his body.
Ches closed his eyes in enjoyment, leaning casually on the sofa, letting the air conditioning blow cool air, and enjoying the long-awaited relaxation and comfort.
Drinking tea was one of his ways to relieve stress.
Of course, causing destruction barely counted too, although it wasn't intentional...
After a long time, Ches, fully recovered, slowly opened his eyes and sat up slightly.
Raising his right palm slightly, a bright light flickered, converging into a small, cool Magic formation on the coffee table.
A stack of Cards that wasn't particularly thick emerged from it.
"Although encountering Ignia was completely unexpected, it can be considered a blessing in disguise..."
Ches murmured softly, his fingers shuffling, and drew a Card radiating golden light from the deck.
Turning the Card face over, the appearance and information of the monster came into view.
【Osiris the Sky Dragon】: A ten-star monster, one of the legendary three phantom gods, possessing terrifying power capable of destroying the world, requiring a specific incantation to summon.
The Yugi Mutou deck given to Ches by "Duelist Soul" was not complete; aside from the initial guaranteed Cards, related Cards would drop randomly when fighting strong enemies.
The higher the intensity of the battle, the rarer and more powerful the dropped Cards.
At the same time, the total number of Cards in the deck would also directly affect his own Magic Power limit, which was his greatest reliance as an ordinary person to be able to quickly join the ranks of Fairy Tail S-Class Mages.
— Relying on normal training and cultivation, the growth speed was simply too slow!
In summary, if Ches wanted to become stronger, the simplest and most direct way was to constantly fight against powerful individuals and collect more and stronger Cards!
The name of the cheat "Duelist Soul" came from this.
There are three types of Cards in the deck: Monster Cards, Trap Cards, and Magic Cards.
The summoning of Monster Cards was closely related to Ches's own Magic Power; the higher the star level of the monster, the greater the difficulty of summoning.
Besides the Sky Dragon he had just acquired, the highest star level Card in Ches's deck was the eight-star 【Chaos Black Magician】, which required him to exert his full strength to make it appear.
Trap Cards, on the other hand, required chanting time; to achieve an "instant activation" effect, they needed to be set up in advance before or during a battle.
For example, 【Hexagram Curse】 which previously restricted Natsu's movements, was Ches predicting Natsu's actions, completing the chant in advance, and then waiting for him to run over and get caught.
This was very consistent with the definition of "trap".
As for Magic Cards, they didn't have as many prerequisites, but compared to Trap Cards, they required more Magic Power to use.
"With my current Magic Power, summoning the Sky Dragon is probably going to be tough."
Ches held 【Osiris the Sky Dragon】 in his hand, his brow furrowed slightly, contemplating whether or not to give it a try.
Although the addition of the new Card Sky Dragon increased his Magic Power limit slightly, jumping two stars at once, and a monster with the "god" title at that, he really wasn't sure.
To be safe, Ches drew a Card with his backhand, and Magic Power was injected into his body accordingly.
Buzz!
The wooden floor in the hall immediately revealed the pattern of a Magic formation, pink light bloomed, and deep within it, the figure of a lively and cute girl was faintly visible.
When the light of the formation dissipated, the girl's appearance was revealed.
Light yellow long hair, slender bangs, and large emerald green eyes full of vitality;
The girl wore a blue conical hat with pink stripes on her head, and a yellow collar around her neck with a red gem embedded in the center;
A blue off-the-shoulder tube top connected to a pink short cape and a pink short skirt, with wristbands and boots also in blue and pink tones, perfectly accentuating the girl's tall and well-proportioned figure, a coexistence of cuteness and sexiness.
【Black Magician Girl】: A six-star monster Card, a genius girl skilled in using dark magic.
Black Magician Girl seemed to inherently possess clumsy and awkward traits; as soon as she was summoned, she missed a step, stumbling and almost performing a Wendy-style fall for Ches.
However, thankfully, with her exceptional waist strength, she managed to forcefully straighten her body that had lost balance.
"Ta-da! Black Magician Girl makes her dazzling appearance!"
"Long time no see, Master!"
Black Magician Girl held a blue and pink Magic staff in her right hand, made a peace sign with her left hand, and struck a cute pose.
Similar to Lucy's Celestial Spirit Magic, Ches's Card monsters also had their own personalities, consciousnesses, and souls, and were truly existing in the world.
When not summoned, they would be slacking off in the deck.
"What do you mean 'long time no see'? If I remember correctly, we just met two days ago, right?"
Ches looked up at the clumsy girl, shook his head helplessly, and sighed, "Also, can you save that entrance pose every time you come out? Have you forgotten the lesson from stepping in cow dung last time?"
"What?! That was clearly because Master placed the Magic formation haphazardly!"
Black Magician Girl puffed out her cheeks angrily; bringing up this matter made her furious.
"Constantly perceiving the surrounding environment and making timely judgments is a necessary skill for a Magister."
"If you accidentally bump into an enemy's arms, it won't be as simple as stepping in cow dung and getting your boots dirty!"
Ches straightened his face, pretending to be serious.
"Oh, Master definitely wouldn't summon us to a dangerous place." Black Magician Girl rolled her eyes and said evasively.
Truth be told, the incident of stepping in cow dung upon entering was indeed caused by her carelessness.
What was even more frightening was that if her Master Black Magician knew about such an embarrassing incident, she would definitely be subjected to a scolding!
Therefore, Black Magician Girl quickly walked to the coffee table, diligently picked up the black tea on the table and handed it to Ches, while also changing the subject: "Master has returned home, I wonder why you summoned me?"
Ches took the teacup and took a sip; before he could say anything, he saw Black Magician Girl poke her head out and glance at the night sky outside the window.
Then, she rested her chin on one hand and muttered to herself in a seemingly serious manner, saying something astonishing: "It seems it's not time to warm Master's bed yet."
"Pfft!!"
The tea Ches had just swallowed was immediately sprayed out.
"...When did I ever ask you to warm my bed?!"
"Huh? Does Master actually have such thoughts?"
Black Magician Girl crossed her arms over her chest, winked playfully, "Hmm... it's not impossible."
Ches's mouth twitched, and he didn't respond, silently drawing a 【Black Magician】 Card from the deck.
"Sumimasen, hondou ni sumimasen!"
Black Magician Girl immediately backed down, sliding on her knees directly to Ches's side, pitifully hugging his thigh and admitting her mistake.