NOVEL WEB 5 – The Inheritance
5 – The Inheritance
POV Switch 3rd Person
Toshiaki decided it was best to keep the house and car for now. They were more useful to have and not use than to need and not have. Toshiaki would need to see about renovating the house a bit to get the 3rd room ready. He also needed to do market research and find what an appropriate price to charge for renting was. Having an alibi with them was too good to pass up.
As for what kind of roommates he wanted? Definitely duelists. Easy Duel Points whenever he needed them. He also wanted males if at all possible. He didn't have time to get mixed up with girls right now and living with other dudes would be much easier than with girls mixed in.
With his disguise in hand, he did exactly what he said he would and made 4 different identities with different Duel Point Cards, including Anubis. The entire registration cost him 40 Duel Points (~$400 USD), which was insanely expensive for him to just receive an empty card! Bureaucracy at its finest.
Just to be safe, he loaded each with 10 Duel Points by depositing 10,000 Yen each (~$100 USD). Technically, this could lead to a paper trail as he pulled out 40,000 Yen from his main account before coming, but it was a slim chance that someone could connect those dots and he thought it was worth the small risk.
He didn't want to find out if these new Duel Point Cards being at zero could send him to the Shadow Realm. Even if they didn't this meant that he could split his Duel Points up to several different cards to ensure he always had some saved. Besides, he may need to buy food or stuff with them while acting in that persona. 10 Duel Points wasn't much, but it was respectable.
The looks he got at the registration office when he walked in with his Anubis costume held a mix of emotions. Some felt embarrassed for him, some thought it looked badass, some thought he was overcompensating for something, and some, the worst ones, straight up laughed at him.
'We'll see how long they laugh...' He promised to himself, holding back tears of spite and embarrassment.
The reason he went with 3 other identities different from Anubis was for security, secrecy, and also so he can earn more Duel Points. With these, he is ensuring a constant stream of Duel Points. If people realize one of his personas is unbeatable, they will stop dueling him. Having these other ones ensured he could double or even triple-dip as needed.
He also wanted his Anubis persona to be dark and mysterious. Because of this, he couldn't see Anubis sitting in-game shops or Dueling Centers to wrack up points.
No. His Anubis persona would enter somewhere to accomplish his goal and leave just as suddenly.
Dueling Centers were entire buildings made for the sole purpose of allowing people to duel in a regulated match. As Duel Monsters was the main way people settled disputes, it was necessary for these official buildings to be set up all over the place to ensure fairness and security for both sides. They doubled as entertainment venues with stadium seating and concession stands. Anyone could sign up to duel as long as a dispute wasn't being settled. They were almost like a sports stadium that anyone can use.
Toshiaki spent several hours there, watching the matches as they were worked through the queue. He got a much better understanding of the decks and cards people played.
They were complete dog shit. The rarest card he saw in the 4 hours he watched was Goblin's Secret Remedy.
One of the most notable matches was when a guy had to pay 1000 Duel Points after losing to his ex-girlfriend. Why? Because he got caught cheating and she wanted a compensation match. If she lost, she would have had to pay 1000 Duel Points to him, so, again, it was fair.
Despite the cards being bad, there was a sort of equilibrium to it. If everyone's deck is equally shit, then it makes more sense why this is used in the way it is.
Pfft. 'Nah...This world is still dumb AF.' He thought with a derisive laugh.
After leaving the center, he decided to go to the bank and see what was in that safety deposit box. He discovered that his "Parent's Cards" that he had inherited were nothing more than the deck and packs he had already opened. He was not getting any more free handouts, it would seem.
As far as what they left him in their will, he received the house, the car, whatever was in the safety deposit box, and 500 Duel Points a month paid out over the next 10 years. This was the combination of their life insurance payouts and the money they had in their savings. It was more than enough for him to live off of and go to college with, though college wasn't even worth considering at this point.
'Hell, the main story will be over by the time I am old enough to go to college. Plus, what am I going to major in? The Philosophy of Trap Cards?' He thought and chuckled to himself.
He hoped he would be long gone from this world and back to his own before that point.
Once at the bank, he met with the assistant manager. Apparently, Toshiaki hadn't given the bank his Duel Points Card number yet, so he had the first and second month worth of Duel Points waiting for him, 1000 in total. The woman was very kind and even teared up at how "Mature he was being about all this..."
Toshiaki, on the other hand, was worried this meant he was 2 months behind on car insurance and utility payments. He would have to call them and get it sorted out when he got home.
After acting the part of a sad orphan for a while, the lady took him to the safety deposit box room. He was left alone and the door was sealed. There were cameras in this section, but he was informed they would be turned off while he was in here. The missing red recording light signified this.
'I still don't like being seen under them. I will just take what is here and look at it when I get home.'
Making his decision, he opened the safety deposit box, pulled out a smaller metal box from within, closed the safety deposit box, and knocked on the door to be let out.
He explained that he wanted to take the items home as they were some of the last mementos he had of his parents. She got all teary-eyed again, and let him do that with no fuss at all.
Toshiaki then left and went home, the box feeling heavy in his grip. There was no way he would get mugged and lose it right?
Nope! He got home safe and sound, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he closed and locked his front door. He took the box to his room and, unceremoniously, opened it.
Inside was a note, a card, and something he honestly never expected. Another necklace that looked exactly like the one he had bought through the transmigrator shop, only its golden plate showed an arm instead.
Before he could do anything else, time stopped. Darkness encroached on him from every angle and he could only let out a muffled scream as he found himself in the Shadow Realm.
He then let out an unmuffled scream as he saw a towering shadowy figure chained in front of him. There was no denying it now, these necklaces had to do with Exodia. How did he know?
Because fucking Exodia itself was staring down at him from 50 feet above.
Or...part of him was. The head and chest were in perfect clarity, but the rest of the body was murky and lost in the shadows. This changed, however, as golden light swirled around its left arm. The arm emerged from the shadows, still chained, and clenched and unclenched its hand.
Then something out of a living nightmare happened. Exodia smiled and spoke.
"Good."
The single word from the impossibly deep voice pierced his soul and shook his very being. He felt himself losing consciousness and the shadows overtook him entirely.
* | * | *
Waking with a start, Toshiaki grabbed his chest with a gasp. His heart was beating a mile a minute and he was shaking uncontrollably. He took several deep breaths and calmed down over the next several minutes.
Once calm, Toshiaki looked down at the necklace that had phased through his shirt and was now on top of it. Unsurprisingly, it now had 2 golden metal plates.
'God I hope I leave this place before I get any more of these...'
To put it simply, he didn't want to deal with this. He was here to free his dad and go home. He was not here to become the main protagonist of a new Yu-Gi-Oh! story arc. He wasn't interested in it, dammit!
Taking another deep breath, Toshiaki decided to move on and put the necklace to the back of his mind. He didn't have time to worry about that now.
He picked up the note and unfolded it to read.
'I swear if this is one of those "If you are reading this, I must already be dead" letters...'
|
Toshiaki, If you are reading this, I must already be dead. I am sorry for dropping this on you out of nowhere. Your mother and I are part of a secret order founded over 3000 years ago. We call ourselves "The Guardians of the Forbidden One." This necklace is one of those 5 pieces. It was entrusted to me to protect and is the reason why we moved to Egypt for a year 3 years ago. I know you liked it there, but please do not ever return. This necklace's safety is much too important. There are several groups that are after these pieces, some as ancient as our own order. You must hide this somewhere safe and protect it. Whatever you do, do not put the necklace on! If you do, you will be killed by The Forbidden One's magic! Only the Keeper of the Forbidden One is allowed to wear the necklaces, unite the pieces, and save the world in its darkest moment. The last keeper died over 1500 years ago and we haven't been able to find another one since. Keep this safe and wait for the Keeper. That is all you must do. If someone comes to you looking for the piece and is wearing 2 or more plates of the same type as this necklace, touch the necklace they have. It is said you will feel immeasurable pressure and your hand will pass right through. This is how you can identify the Keeper. Lastly. use this passcode to see if they are one of ours. "When is ultimate power necessary?" The answer is: "When an ultimate sacrifice is needed." Your mother and I love you very much Toshiaki, please be safe. P.S. Sell the card in the box when you are in dire need of Duel Points. It is worthless to us, but incredibly valuable none the less. Be safe, my son. |
"I Fucking called it!" He yells out to the room.
This sounded like the start of a great Anime, but Toshiaki was not having it.
'Sorry. Not interested. Not even remotely.' He thought and sighed as tossed the note on the bed. He reached in and pulled out the card that Toshiaki's father had left for him.
He had to agree, it was a worthless card to him. The copy of Gate Guardian was, indeed, a powerful card, but it wasn't a good card.
This would be great to sell...but do I do it now or do I wait? It might be worth holding onto in case of an emergency...
He quickly did a search and found that the card was worth 22,000 Duel Points. There were currently 3 up for sale so he would probably need to lower the cost to 21,000 Duel Points to ensure the sale.
Hmm...if I wait, the card will lose value as more cards are released. Alternatively, if the others sell I might be able to sell this for higher. Hell, I could buy those ones when I have enough and boost the price through the roof, it is a super rare card, after all.
What to do...