Source & Soul: A Deckbuilding LitRPG

A Source Explosion was when a Summoner chose to sacrifice whatever undrawn Source remained in their heart, destroying it for a time. Just as all Source Powers were unique, each had a different effect when spent in a singular burst. None were weak – far from it, in fact – but since the tactic lost you the cards for the rest of the match, some duelists like myself shied away from their use, while others often waited until a point near the end when it could secure a win. I wasn’t as well versed with Source Explosions as I was Powers, because not every duel featured them. However, I still had a finger in the Compendium in the right section, and I quickly flipped the book back open to see how Esmi planned to end this match.

Glancing up at the pillar of energy that swirled around Esmi, I saw shafts of yellow-white light windmill around and leaping reddish-orange flame dance up the length of the column. The mixed presence meant she’d had some of both Order and Fire Source within her when she triggered the Explosion, and the size of it indicated that at least four or five Sources had gone into its making. She’d receive the effect of whichever one there had been more of, and to me it seemed that there was a greater presence of light, thus Order, than there was Fire.

Sure enough, when the pillar dissipated, three additional cards appeared in her hand. They would be exclusively Summon cards since her Source Deck had just been destroyed, and she only had a single Fire Source ready to fuel them. What in the Twelve had she been digging for?

“Esmi is down to her last card in her Mind Home, folks!” the announcer called out. “Was getting six cards in hand worth it?”

Whatever she had been searching for, we all watched a triumphant look appear on her face as she played the very spell I had speculated about previously.

With its activation, her three raised kobolds were surrounded by a flickering glow – not true fire but a ghostly approximation of it. With a command from her, one kobold went all the way to the ground, its forehead bent over the muck, the soft flame around it vanishing.

“She devotes one of her kobolds to gain two Fire Source, getting a quick return on the two she spent to cast Convocation,” the announcer explained.

The building excitement of the crowd dulled somewhat, as the power was used to bring a familiar Soul onto the field.

Another of her glowing kobolds went to one knee, dimming, which I assumed equated to it being focused. That likely meant she was planning to summon a two cost kobold, but would that help her when she could only attack with one at a time? Her Convocation Spell didn’t affect new Souls she summoned, and she only had one kobold-Fire Source left to use after whatever this was.

“She combines the Kobold Fighter’s ability with another Fire Source to bring out…”

“A Kobold Treasure Hunter!”

The new arrival appeared next to Haze instead of Esmi, clawed fingers wrapping around the white stone gauntlet. Haze registered its presence a beat after us onlookers and yanked his hand with the Relic away, but that only seemed to help the kobold slip the gauntlet off of his hand. The Treasure Hunter then scurried off through the mud with it, seeming untroubled by the mire, while Haze was too slow to follow, his feet pulled by the muck.

The Treasure Hunter bounded to a stop beside Esmi, presenting its prize to her, and she accepted the gift, slipping the gauntlet on. It had been stolen after being used, so she couldn’t move her fingers within it – the Relic frozen until it refreshed the following turn – but still, she looked quite pleased to have it in her possession.

“I don’t believe it!” the announcer cried. “She just took his Epic! We haven’t seen her use that kobold in either of her two previous matches. Did she recruit it just for her fight against him?!”

I was equally impressed. Now, even if Haze did get his other gauntlet, he wouldn’t be able to use its game-ending devote ability.

Pointing with her free hand, Esmi sent the Kobold Treasure Hunter back at Haze, the diminutive creature unslinging a long-bladed spear from its back and stabbing the bruiser from Darlish. The blow did 2 damage, thanks to Esmi’s aura, and Haze took it on the chin, shedding cards. The Kobold Treasure Hunter was destroyed on his return swing, but it had already done its job and then some.

“Only three cards left in Haze’s Mind Home!” the announcer shouted. “And she’s not done yet, folks! She devotes the last of her kobolds turned Source to make a Source Powered fireball, and like the damage he took from Esmi’s Fire Skin, he can’t use his Earth Source to block it after attacking himself! Only two cards left for him now! What a turn! What a play!”

The announcer was getting into it, so close to the end, a nonstop font of information.

“Haze draws two cards but only one of them Summon, leaving a single card in his Mind Home. He devotes an Earth and his Order Source…and it’s for another Epic!”

There it was, a gleaming, black stone gauntlet that he shoved over his left hand. Haze looked furious, and I could understand why: if he had drawn it only a single turn earlier or if Esmi hadn’t used her Source Explosion to dig for her Treasure Hunter, he would have already won the match.

“A powerful Relic, no doubt,” the announcer said,” but he only has two cards left in hand now, and one in his Mind Home. Will it be enough to get the job done?”

A column of dirt and mud shot up around Haze, obscuring the bruiser briefly and extending just as high as Esmi’s had.

“Of course!” the announcer shouted. “Haze tells us all he’s got more up his sleeve by using his own Source Explosion to devote her only ready defender, the Kobold Warrior, as well as put her focused kobold into the mud! The way is clear now!”

The pillar of Earth disintegrated, and Haze dashed forward, running past the kobolds that were either parallel to the ground from being devoted for Fire Source or were sucked waist deep into the mud from his Source Explosion. He roared as he neared Esmi, putting his own strength behind the punch, likely hoping to strip her of her three cards in hand and one in her Mind Home so she’d be powerless except for her Source, and he could finish her off the following turn.

His fist connected, and Esmi was forced to use cards from hand to block the damage, lest she lose.

“He hits for four, but Esmi manages to stop it with only two cards!”

Like before, my grandfather’s monocle let me catch sight of the cards right before they shattered, the second of the two making my eye widen.

“The brunt of the damage, three points, was taken by an Epic Albino Kobold!” the announcer explained for those who couldn’t see the card like I had. “It’s obvious why she’s been holding onto it until now. What a blocker! For his trouble, Haze takes one damage in return, which he uses an Earth Source from hand to stop! He’s only got one card left in hand, and only one in his Mind Home!”

I was sure Esmi would have liked to hit him with the gauntlet she had taken, too, but it still wasn’t ready to be used yet. The spray of cards shards she had employed to defend herself pushed the two combatants back from each other, and I used the moment to do some quick math. I was fairly certain I knew how the end of the match would turn out, but it was a near thing – a single point of damage tipping the scale.

“Esmi draws her last summon card, folks, leaving her with nothing in her Mind Home. If Haze gets past her hand, she’s out!”

Like I expected her to, instead of using one of the two cards she held, Esmi devoted her two Fire Source that were back to ready to send a slightly larger Source Powered fireball streaking toward Haze.

“He can’t take two points of damage to his Mind Home and he can’t defend with his Earth Source. He has to block with his last card from hand, and it's…”

“Another Iron Troll! That’s what he’s been saving all this time, and no wonder, considering how much it can absorb. Haze is still standing, and Esmi doesn’t have any Souls ready to finish the job, but she does have…”

Esmi sprinted forward and punched the bruiser with his own Howlite Gauntlet, the Relic guiding the blow so it slammed solidly into his stomach. He returned the favor with a right hook from his bare fist, his Onyx Gauntlet heavy and dull, unable to be used again so soon.

“Is this going to be a double knock out?!” the announcer crowed.

Esmi, however, released her last two cards from hand.

Together, they blocked for a combined total of two damage, letting Esmi take the hit, while Haze went down, his back slapping into the mud.

“And that’s why they’re the ones dueling, and we’re not, folks!” the announcer shouted. “Esmi Fireheart is your victor, advancing to the top eight and tomorrow’s matches! What a last series of plays! What a match!!”

The crowd screamed in approval, leaping to their feet, and I didn’t hesitate to join in. To see a duel that close, that near to either side winning, a single misplay affecting the outcome, was an exhilarating rush, just as strong as if I had been the one on the dueling field. As I shouted along with rest, I decided it was even better, actually, because I could tell that Esmi shared our exuberance, raising one hand and her face to the sky, while the Relic she had used to secure the match hung at her side.

Trying to beat the rush, I used my position by the aisle to head down to the arena floor. I had hopes that people would keep cheering long enough for me to descend all the way to the bottom, but halfway there, I encountered a crowd of others who had similar plans, which slowed my going to a crawl. By the time I reached the platform for the match and was allowed past the guards due to my status as a competitor, Esmi had already received her ante win, the Dueling Dome had dissipated, and Haze was gone.

“You saw?” Esmi asked when she spotted me, eyes sparkling.

“Of course,” I told her, covering the remaining distance between us. Her warm greeting was a balm to the knot of tension that roiled in my stomach. With how she had left last night, I hadn’t been sure in what manner she would receive me today; it seemed approaching her immediately after her win had been a good choice. “You were magnificent.”

She beamed, patting herself dry with a pastel pink handkerchief. “I probably could have ended the match sooner if I had played my Giant Kobold before his Rockslide. I was just so worried he had a Sinkhole and didn’t want to risk it.”

My Soul ability flashed both those cards in my mind’s eye, letting me see them perfectly.

“It makes sense you were worried about Sinkhole,” I agreed, “since the Albino’s Resist wouldn’t have stopped it. That Epic of yours is incredible though, on the field or in hand, what with its three Fire icons. That’s rare for Fire Source, isn’t it?”

“It is,” she said, smiling appreciatively – I liked to think in part because of how quickly I was following along. “I leveled it myself to have extra defense.”

I’d personally never gotten to level a card, not with how focused I had been on cobbling together a working twenty cards. “You did? What was that li –” I stopped myself. I loved that we could talk card theory so effortlessly, but that wasn’t the most important thing for us to discuss right now. “Esmi,” I said, straightening and squaring my shoulders.

She noticed the change and raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”

“I’m sorry that I didn’t defend you when the prince treated you so horribly last night. You must think me a coward for just standing by when it happened and then not being the one to face him in the Flinch Test. I promise that I will make it up to you.” So saying, I bowed deeply at the waist, putting my upper body perpendicular with my legs. I stayed there for a beat, expecting a response from her, and then held the pose another beat, growing worried when none came. Eventually, I lifted my head enough to look her in the face. “Esmi? Can you forgive me?”

She was looking down at me oddly, an expression that the old me would have tried to find words to dispel. I didn’t wish to be that way anymore, dancing nervously from one failing to the next, so I breathed, and did my best to wait calmly.

“Why do you think you need to be forgiven?” she eventually said. “It was the prince who acted awfully.”

I straightened, somewhat unsure of where the conversation had taken us. “Because I did not intervene, nor did I take up your cause like Hull did. You seemed so disappointed when you left –”

“I was disappointed in myself,” Esmi said, frowning now. “Not you.”

“You were?” I asked, still not quite understanding.

Esmi went back to wiping her neck with the cloth, the act seeming to calm her. “I just haven’t been back in Treledyne long enough, and I am out of step with the players here. If I had known what an utter toad the prince had become, I would have burned his hands off when he touched me.” The vehemence with which she said the comment surprised me. “And if there was to be a Flinch Test, I should have been the one to face him, no one else.”

I went to argue the point but my eyes caught on the dueling platform behind her and my tongue stilled. I had just watched her defeat Darlish’s top rising star with a deck and Soul abilities that were objectively stronger than either myself or Hull possessed. Of course she could defend herself if she wished.

Esmi was looking at me intently now, the golden flakes in her eyes flickering. “I expect you to support me in the troubles that come my way, not take them up for me. And I will do the same for you. Does that make sense?”

I nodded slowly. “It… does.” And though I wasn’t entirely sure if what I was about to say next qualified as what she was speaking of, it felt correct to say nonetheless. “Plutar told me that you were spying on my deck for him. Giving him information so that he could beat me in the tournament and you two could be married.”

Her skin flared orange, the neckline of her battered leather tunic starting to smoke from the sudden heat. “He said what?”

“It was last night, during the party,” I confirmed, both happy to see her anger and somewhat intimidated by it. “He dragged me to a table to talk for a few minutes, and it was a thoroughly unpleasant experience.”

Esmi turned to the side, shaking her head. “He’s almost as bad as the prince, that fire asp. When I finally get to duel him, I’ll –” She stopped, spinning to face me. “Did you believe him?”

I should have seen that question coming, but I was only half prepared for it. Even so, I did my best to reply honestly. “Not really, no…” and when she looked at me doubtfully, I added. “But it was an unpleasant thing to consider.”

Esmi crossed her arms, the glow from her skin fading. “I can’t believe you would think that of me at all. Especially not after I took the time to bring you the water fabricator.”

“That was part of the reason…” the Air in me let out before I knew it.

“What?” she snapped, arms down by her sides now. “Why in the Twins would that be?”

Some heat entered my voice as I let loose what had been on my mind since it had happened. “Changing my deck the night before could have been disastrous for me. You’re a skilled duelist, you must have considered that possibility, but you didn’t mention it at all. It was odd…”

“I wasn’t suggesting that you alter your whole deck,” she said. “And if you thought it was so strange, why didn’t you say something then?”

“Immediately after you had given me a gift? And be so rude?”

“You mean like you’re being right now?”

“I’m –” I stopped. Was I being rude? I had raised my voice at her shortly after apologizing. That certainly hadn’t been my intent when I had come to see her. Should I apologize again?

She broke into a laugh.

“What?” I asked, decidedly off balance.

Esmi stopped her giggling and gave me a wide smile. “You should see your face right now. I wish I could capture it on a card.”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,” I said, but the look she was giving me was infectious, and I felt the corners of my own mouth turning up in a smile.

“You know what?” she said, stepping up to me. “I like this.”

“What?” I asked again, but this time I had an inkling of what she would say.

“Us speaking openly to each other.”

“You’re quite right,” I agreed and then dared to add, “Let’s always be like this.”

Until those words, I hadn’t realized that a separation had existed between us, a wall of sorts, the brick and mortar of which stemmed from propriety, my insecurities, and perhaps something deeper. Whatever it had been, with its absence I could tell the difference, like there was nothing impeding whatever might flow from one of us to the other. She was so close now, I could lean forward and kiss her, and feel that delightful heat on my lips.

A roar of excitement to the side drew our attention, and I realized how much the time had gotten away from me. That sound marked either the beginning of Hull’s match or an important play in it, and either way, it meant I wasn’t where I needed to be.

“I want to help Hull win,” I told her as honestly as I could.

“Then let’s go,” Esmi said. And without any further discussion, she sprinted off toward the other side of the arena.

Making haste after her, it came to me that I seemed to be running a great deal in public these days. Despite my initial misgivings about such behavior, I was discovering that I quite enjoyed it, and, as my footfalls landed in time with my fiancee’s, I wondered who I might become if I never stopped pursuing what I desired in exactly this way.