NOVEL WEB Chapter 18: TST [18]
Isla had also come to buy cards to reinforce her Deck. After all, she'd lost her ace card to Morgan, and if she wanted to maintain her ranking in the midterm exams, she had to strengthen her deck.
"Huh? You want to pay for me?"
Morgan looked at Isla in surprise. She hadn't expected this… she'd just taken Isla's rare card in a Duel, and now Isla was offering her money?
What was going on?
Morgan was growing increasingly baffled by the minds of teenage girls.
But since Isla was offering, she wasn't going to turn her down. Free money? Why not?
"Mm-hmm. Just tell me what you want and swipe this card."
Isla pulled out a very high-end credit card—black with gold lettering and a crest on the front that looked like a club emblem.
Morgan recognized the insignia. It belonged to the Blackstone Club, a privilege card of theirs; moreover, the credit limit was massive.
She suddenly remembered—Isla's parents were both duelists. Her family was wealthy, and she spent lavishly.
Seeing Morgan's stunned expression, Isla felt a surge of satisfaction and realization. She had discovered a new way to make friends.
And this method satisfied both her obsession with status and her deep need for control.
As long as Morgan became hers...
Friendship would be within reach.
Looking at Morgan—who was a full head shorter and clearly conflicted—Isla felt her heart skip a beat, her cheeks flushed with excitement.
Just then, Jade suddenly burst onto the scene, placing herself between Morgan and Isla. From afar, she had already sensed this witch's presence.
"Back off! Don't think you can buy off my Morgan!"
"So what if it's money? You think you're the only one with it?!"
With that, Jade pulled out a white credit card and dramatically crossed it against Isla's black card like a sword.
In that moment, the two of them looked like knights about to Duel—eyes sharp, aura fierce.
Morgan stared blankly at the spectacle.
Jade's parents weren't powerful duelists, but they were well-known entrepreneurs. Nearly half of Solmere City's real estate developments had their investment.
No wonder Jade had never seemed concerned about money; She must've been secretly covering Morgan's expenses this whole time.
So...
Had she been sponsored all along?
Honestly? It didn't feel bad!
In her past life, she worked like a dog. Now reborn as a girl, getting pampered seemed only natural.
Morgan quickly convinced herself, wearing a contented smile.
At that moment, Jade and Isla locked eyes, realizing neither of them was going to back down easily.
After a brief pause, they both turned toward the card shelf and shouted:
"I want both those rows of booster packs! Wrap them all up!"
"Bring out the entire stock—I'm buying out the boxes!"
"Don't touch anything on that side. I want everything in the display case, too!"
The other students in the shop looked on in astonishment. Under the girls' rapid-fire commands, the shop clerks scrambled back and forth, emptying shelves and stockrooms. In no time, the entire shop was picked clean.
"Holy crap! We're screwed! These two whales just wiped out the store!"
"They bought everything! What are we gonna do? Midterms are almost here!"
"Wait, I don't think they're buying for themselves. Who's that in the middle? She's tiny... kinda cute."
"You don't know her? That's Morgan—the bottom-ranked girl who wiped out on her skateboard last time!"
Everyone stared at Morgan, who stood between the two duel-spending giants, all wearing expressions of utter disbelief.
The reason for this arms race... was her?
At that moment, only one booster pack remained—the one in Morgan's hand.
Both girls instantly shifted their target to that last pack, and a bidding war erupted.
"I want that pack. 500 bucks!"
"500? Please. 5000!"
"You witch! Always trying to steal from me! 50,000!"
As the situation escalated into an all-out war, Morgan hastily stepped in.
"Okay, okay! Just pay the regular price! You're scaring the staff!"
Morgan sighed and slowly tore open the booster pack. The store was already empty anyway, so what was one more pack?
She glanced at the five cards inside—and her eyes lit up.
Good luck today! She had pulled exactly what she needed.
Seeing her smile, both girls leaned in curiously.
When they saw the card, their expressions instantly turned sour.
It was a Trap Card:
[Skill Drain]
Though it required a 1000 LP cost, it could shut down all monster effects on the field—It was a must-have in Morgan's old Eldlich deck from her past life!
...
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