NOVEL WEB Chapter 30: DSMW [30]
"Ai-chan, have you heard the rumor about the Egyptian God Cards?"
Irene had been crashing at Aisha's dorm more often lately—supposedly to keep an eye on Miles.
One evening after dinner, they were silently reading novels. After about fifteen quiet minutes, Irene suddenly brought it up without warning.
"Egyptian God Cards? What's that?"
Miles said, "Aisha… You seriously don't know the Egyptian Gods?"
"Not at all."
"Have you ever even played Duel Monsters?"
Even Miles, who hadn't officially entered the TCG world before transmigrating, had heard of the Egyptian Gods. They were practically synonymous with the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise—three cards known worldwide.
And yet, in this Duel Monster-centric world called the Continent of Elves, his host, Aisha Carlos, had never heard of them.
Miles began to wonder what the heck Aisha had been reading in the library all day.
"It's actually normal that you don't know," Irene said. "There's no official written record of the Egyptian Gods—just a few scattered rumors across the continent."
She cleared her throat, clearly gearing up to show off.
"The Egyptian Gods… are the supreme beings above all monsters. Divine Cards of ultimate power. No one's ever seen them directly. Almost no one even knows their names. But I do! They are—"
"Slifer the Sky Dragon, The Winged Dragon of Ra, and Obelisk the Tormentor."
Irene froze mid-incantation. Aisha had answered first.
Shocked, Irene's lips parted slightly before closing again—unsure what to say.
"W-Why?! You just said you didn't know about the Gods. How do you know their names?!"
"Ehehe." Aisha stuck out her tongue. "Mr. Miles just told me."
"Ugh, him again…"
Irene puffed out her cheeks—her mysterious jealousy toward Miles bubbling up once more.
"So what if you know their names? What I'm about to say—he definitely doesn't know!"
It wasn't clear what she was competing for; regardless, Irene always wanted to prove she had the edge over Miles.
"So what's this about, Ren-chan? Why'd you bring up the Egyptian Gods?"
"Brace yourself. I've got reliable info—someone saw the God Cards behind the academy."
"..."
Not quite the reaction Irene had expected. Aisha just blinked her big, jade-colored eyes.
"Fake, right?"
"Real. I've got chat logs as proof!"
"That's not evidence."
Miles thought, 'Wait—bigger question. How are there chat logs in a swords-and-magic world?'
Actually, there was. The continent had a communication tool called "Beaconbugs," which uses bioluminescent secretions to record and relay messages.
"I didn't believe it at first either. Gods appearing behind the school seemed way too ridiculous. But then…"
With a catlike smirk, Irene leaned in close to Aisha and whispered into her ear.
"There's a confirmed eyewitness—first-year student Ron."
"Ron? I think we have someone by that name in our class."
The name sounded familiar, yet Aisha couldn't recall the face. Pure background character energy.
"So, Ron saw the God Cards?"
"No. He was the first to go investigate the rumor."
Miles said, "A total background extra went in alone? That's… bold. Let me guess—didn't end well."
"Apparently, Ron was found and carried out from the forest, completely mentally broken. He's been sent home to recover."
Miles snapped his fingers, "Called it."
Aisha asked, "How does that even count as a witness?!"
"That's the point—his breakdown!"
Irene's red eyes turned serious.
"When they found him, he was muttering nonstop: 'It's a god… a God… kami da…' Like he'd been brainwashed."
"...Okay, that's creepy."
It felt like a horror story. Aisha shivered and pulled her head into her shirt like a turtle.
"Anyway—let's go!"
"G-Go? Go where?! Ren-chan, don't scare me!"
"Where else? The back hills, of course."
"No, no, no—I'd rather die than go there. Besides, it's already super late!"
Miles said, "Actually, I'm kind of interested."
"Uh…Then I'll go!"
Swallowing her fear and tears, Aisha pushed herself forward—for Miles's sake.
…
Fusion Academy, Back Hills.
The sky had gone fully dark, though it wasn't as late as Aisha claimed. It was just an hour or two after dinner—some couples were still out on evening walks.
Despite the name, the "Back Hills" weren't truly part of the Academy, just adjacent to it.
A wall separated them, putting the area outside the academy's jurisdiction.
To get there, one had to climb over the wall—technically a rule violation that could cost credits if caught.
"Still time to turn back, Ren-chan."
"We've come this far. No way I'm stopping now. And look—someone beat us to it."
She pointed to footprints on the other side of the wall. Evidently, someone else had heard the rumor and already gone to investigate.
"We've gotta hurry, Ai-chan. These things are first come, first served!"
With decent athletic skill, Irene leapt up the wall in two steps, then helped lift the light-bodied Aisha up and over.
"Aaaaaaah, my first time… breaking school rules… sob!"
The moment her feet hit forbidden ground, Aisha was flooded with guilt.
Miles said, "Say what you will… but something about this hill feels off."
The second Aisha set foot on the soil, Miles sensed it too. He'd only given the God Card rumor a 20% chance of being real—likely just a prank.
Anyhow, now, the Millennium Puzzle was reacting wildly—Even in spirit form, Miles could feel a massive, unidentified pressure.
"Is this… the pressure of a god?"
...
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