I Refused To Be Reincarnated

Each centimeter between his fingers and the deck seemed to expand several meters in his eyes as an invisible pressure crushed him under its weight.

The pressure of losing and of missing the genius' hands promised for the first place.

'NO! I can't lose!'

With an inner scream that shook his consciousness, he chased his fears away and retrieved the card in a blur of red and black.

His eyelids fluttered as he peeked at the smooth card in his hand, hope shining like a beacon in his heart.

The public cheered, eager to see how he'd defeat the flesh golem, and the arcanists leaned forward.

Despite the desperate situation, they now knew not to underestimate Adam's uncommon strategies and spells.

Yet, the world crumbled in his eyes the next second. He didn't get a chimaera. He didn't get the shadow ghost who would have helped him endure an attack. He didn't even get Virgo's lesser incarnation or any tier-four ghost.

Instead, a formless mass of scarlet smoke almost mocked him on the card.

'I'm doomed...'

What could the doppelgänger change? He had no monster to copy on the plain. It was a dead draw that would sign his defeat in smokey ink.

His teeth cracked as he gripped the desk's edges with all his strength, making it groan.

'I refuse to lose. I didn't reach this far in the competition for a stupid golem to stop me. The hands are mine!'

The shattered pieces of hope ignited in his heart, condensing into a blazing inferno of defiance.

A steely glint illuminated his eyes next as he scrutinised his cards, ignoring the crowd pressing him to play.

'Think well and fast. I have Ignatius and the doppelgänger. I can either summon the bastard to buy a turn. My plan won't work anymore after she boosts the golem again, anyway.'

His heel struck the ground in an anxious beat of cracking slabs as his mind raced in every direction.

After a minute, the crowd grew restless, hurling insults at him for ruining the show with his slow gameplay.

Yet, he ignored them.

They had no clue about the hands' real value, but he did. Losing wasn't an option.

As another minute passed, Arian's amused smile vanished, replaced by an annoyed frown.

"Are we going to wait all day? How ridiculous is that? Make him play or forfeit!"

She crossed her arms over her chest, a confident grin stretching her lips. No matter what Adam did, she had won. No one could beat a flesh golem with an empty field.

"You have a minute to play before we disqualify you."

Elisabeth nodded at the girl from the balcony yet offered Adam one last chance to act.

But he didn't need any more time.

He exhaled a breath of turbid air coming straight from his soul and straightened his posture, eyes ablaze.

"I summon the doppelgänger."

His icy voice echoed, forcing calm to return to the boisterous arena for his last turn.

"I use a boosting spell."

With terrifying focus, he channelled all his mana, uncaring about the toll it would take on his circuits.

Thunder boomed, and lightning danced at his fingertips as he flooded the formless mass of smoke on his field with everything he had.

"Wrath of the Storm!"

His roar rumbled as violet sparks danced on the plain, engulfing the swirling mass in terrifying electricity.

Yet, no one batted an eye. What would that spell change?

"Just give up. It's over."

Arian shook her head, scrutinising the monster's attack jump from zero to seven hundred.

"It's over for you!"

The solution had always been right before his eyes. The complex combo, filled with ifs, he had imagined was a joke compared to this one. And the unlucky card he drew would be the cornerstone that will lead him to victory.

"My spell boosts the doppelgänger's effect, allowing him to ignore any condition or limitations to activate it."

Shadows danced on his face as lightning sparked in his eyes.

"Which means he can copy the flesh Golem!"

A dead silence engulfed the arena.

Dropping jaws, trembling eyes and disbelieving expressions became the norm for ten seconds as the scarlet mist rose and condescended into a fifteen-meter-tall aberration.

Then, mana hovered above its head, showing its terrifying attack.

ATK 700->5700

But he didn't care about their reactions.

Only victory mattered, and only it shone in his eyes.

"Activate your effect!"

Without warning, the doppelgänger plunged a flesh tentacle into the ground and reached for Arian's graveyard.

It pierced through the dead Jianshi and absorbed its essence, flesh, and bones, growing with each second crawling by as threatening lightning pulsed on its body.

ATK 5700->7100

"Shatter her golem and send her back to play with corpses!"

At his command, the now twenty-three-meter tall doppelgänger stepped onward, leaving craters on the ground with each step.

ROAR

An eardrum-shattering roar echoed as its right arm muscles shifted, letting an ebony bone sword replace it.

"You can't! What is this? He is cheating!"

Arian yelped in fright, icy sweat covering her frowning forehead. Yet, no arcanist answered this time.

Simultaneously, the colossal sword cut through the wind, making it part and descend in a raging storm onto the field.

The flesh golem tried to defend himself, raising his solidified arm.

Unfortunately, in vain.

Against a much more powerful version of himself, his arms broke, followed by its hideous head. His collarbone shattered in a cacophony of crunching noises before the sword collapsed with the soil, cleaving it into a twelve-meter-deep chasm.

Finally, the divided golem exploded into a firework of light particles, stunning the crowd into mutism.

Meanwhile, he sighed, relaxing his nerves, burning circuits and mind.

With no cards in hand, Arian had no way to come back. Even if she somehow resurrected the flesh golem, his outclassed any creature he had ever seen in the game so far.

He massaged his eyes, head hurting after the exertion, before forcing a grin.

"Just give up. It's over."

He returned her words right into her face and closed his eyes.

Aurora pushed herself from her seat on the balcony, glaring at him.

"Give up, Arian."

Despite her unwillingness and contained rage, she had no desire to listen to Shepard's taunting for a few more useless turns.

They had failed to take this strategy into account. And that mistake set her disciple's defeat in stone.

"Hehehe. Excellent choice, Aurora. Don't forget to leave my items before leaving."

Shepard burst into relieved laughter.

This entire duel almost gave him a heart attack. Truthfully? When Adam stopped playing, he gave up and steeled himself to part with three tier-six items.

But what a reversal! A true masterstroke.

He retrieved Aurora's items and jumped down from the balcony. Uncaring about his image, he dashed to Adam, gripped him by the shoulder and ruffled his hair, sending his hat flying.

"Well done! One last match and the tournament is in the bag. Keep developing spells and refine your strategies because we never were so close to winning!"

His lips twitched at his energy.

"I'll do my best. I'm too tired, so I'll leave for now."

His mana circuits burned his soul like an intricate network of flowing lava, and he wanted to rest his mind more than anything.

"Sure. See you in two weeks for the last duel!"

Shepard nodded. Lips stretching into a gentle smile, he picked the hat up and placed it back on his disciple's head before watching him take unsteady steps toward the exit under the public's acclamations.