Flowers and Steel #2

The Battle Table erupted from the ground, slicing through the earth. It was an irregular 2 vs 4 game, but the card slots themselves showed no major changes. Still eight Creature slots. Guess we'd just have to divvy them up smartly among teammates.

The big difference from solo play was the two deck slots: main and latency.

With teammates alternating turns, the deck slots were structured to automatically store away once a player's turn ended.

"Alright! Let's decide first attack!"

The leader barked it out. He slammed the button on the Battle Table, and numbers flashed on the display.

We got 9. They got 11.

Their first turn.

"Perfect…!"

The leader clenched his fist with a low growl. A bead of sweat trickled down his sharp cheekbone.

"Aw~ Too bad~." "Heh, heh heh heh…! Hand over your Rank Chips and BP nice and quiet now, and maybe we'll go easy!" "Oing?"

Adella Rain Belluna blinked her eyes wide and tilted her head. Then she leaned close to my ear and whispered.

"Hey, Ricardo~ That guy's acting like grabbing first turn means he's already won~."

Of course, her "whisper" was loud enough for everyone. She wasn't even trying to hide it!

The leader's face flushed tomato-red. Well, yeah—in some TCGs from my past life, first-turn builds could dominate, but Magic & Creature wasn't there yet. First attack gave an edge, sure, but it didn't seal the win.

"Ugh, my turn!"

No retort apparently, so the leader roughly drew his card. Probably wanted to chat up the elf, Adella.

Made him look kinda pitiful, thinking about it!

"W-what?! Don't you pity me, dragon user!" "Oh."

Quicker on the uptake than expected.

"From my hand, I summon Praying Mantis ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Warrior! This insect-type Creature, right here in the forest environment, gets a 30% stat boost!"

He slotted the card, and a massive mantis demon materialized. The name [Mantis Warrior] wasn't for show—its ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠compound eyes gleamed with caution, scanning our side more than raw instinct.

"Eek~."

Caution or not, it was still a bug. Adella, who hated insects with a passion, edged back with a disgusted face.

My expression wasn't great either. Fresh off dealing with Glontes' fly spawn, I wasn't in the mood for bugs anytime soon. Not full-blown trauma, but still.

More than that, insect-type.

Ever since Isabella mentioned their backers, I'd suspected it. Probably all their decks were built around Creatures that thrived in the 'forest' environment for the advantage. Easy to assemble a pickup team on the spot—forest was the most common terrain.

No matter how much they saw these guys as disposable cannon fodder to wear me down, basic card power had to hold up or it was useless.

"I set one magic circle and end my turn!"

Hand was individual, but Soul Points and Mana Crystals were team-shared? Might be something to exploit there.

"Okay~ My turn then~."

Adella drew from her deck with a beaming smile.

The all-guy enemy team flushed faintly, hanging on her every word. Kinda creepy, honestly.

"Oh my~?"

Right after her draw, another card popped extra from her deck for some reason.

"Ooh~ So this is the synergy between terrain and Zone cards the professor mentioned~."

She checked it and smirked triumphantly, like an excited puppy.

"This card~ World Tree - Yggdrasil~! Pulled straight from the deck by the forest terrain~!"

She placed it in the Zone slot. A colossal tree wreathed in golden light towered over our field. Faint glowing motes drifted around it like fireflies.

[World Tree - Yggdrasil]. One reason the elf empire Yggdrasil stood as the continent's strongest. Born from the World Tree, most elves awakened the same Zone from birth. Unlike other races where it depended on personal conditions, elves started ahead. And teaming up, they all shared the benefits—weaknesses too, but elves weren't dumb; ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they'd cover that.

"First~ With Yggdrasil's effect, I can summon up to two Plant-type Creatures this turn~."

Puppy-eyed and confident, Adella pulled a card from her hand.

"First~ I'll summon Dandelion~."

Yggdrasil's glow seeped into the earth, and a lion made of bright yellow petals appeared.

"And~ Return Dandelion to the earth~ And summon Marijuana Knight from hand~."

'Return to earth'—elves' polite way of saying 'tribute.'

True enough, Dandelion's petals wilted into the soil, replaced by fluffy white seeds. Then emerged a knight in a cloak of sharp leaves, armor of woven stems instead of leather or chain, helmet hiding sleepy eyes. Not frontline sturdy, nor fairy-tale friendly—subtly dangerous.

Marijuana Knight also got forest bonus as Plant-type. Yggdrasil and forest didn't stack, but still plenty strong.

"And at this moment~ Dandelion's special ability and World ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Tree - Yggdrasil trigger~! First, Dandelion!"

A cool breeze scattered Dandelion's seeds. They landed and sprouted into fluffy little lion Creatures.

"When Dandelion leaves the field to the graveyard~ Summon two Vision Creatures, Fluffy Lions~ Next, Yggdrasil's effect!"

Golden leaves rustled from Yggdrasil, golden light spreading like a dance. The motes poured blessing-like over Dandelion's burial soil.

"When a Plant-type Creature on my field goes to the graveyard~ Recover Soul Points equal to its stats~."

"In tag matches, no attacks till everyone plays once, right~? I'll end my turn here~."

Adella stuck out her tongue playfully and giggled.

Zone deploy, high-tier summon, tribute setup for another high-tier. Perfect first turn.

"Ugh, 2,990 stats on turn one…?"

The next guy, sweating bullets—the one who'd called me out for 'hanging with girls'—muttered as he took his turn.

"Hey, summon a high-tier too!" "Yeah, we still got Praying Mantis Warrior!" "If high-tiers were that easy, I'd be glued to Costanzo, you idiots!" "It's my Mantis Warrior to begin with! Who said you could tribute it?!" "How else we beat that thing?!"

Oh, team cracks already? Kinda disappointing. I'd prepped like ten lines to sow discord.

"Damn, my turn!"

The guy who'd yelled at his teammate drew roughly.

"G-good… First, I summon Raging Boar of Fierce Advance!"

A wild boar lumbered onto the field with grunts. Heat haze shimmered off its coarse fur, drool dripping from tusked jaws.

"Plus this card! Deploy Net of Sacrifice! Tribute one Creature on my field to equip to an enemy Creature! Equipped Creature can't declare attacks!" "Hey, wait, you don't mean…" "I tribute Praying Mantis Warrior to equip Net of Sacrifice on Marijuana Knight!" "You bastard! Who said you could touch my Mantis?!" "Shut it! Locking down a 2,990 with one bug is a steal!" "What?!"

Whatever their bickering, the declaration stood. Mantis crumbled, its remains spawning a net that entangled Marijuana Knight.

"Ahh~."

"I end my turn!"

Adella pouted in disappointment as my turn finally arrived.

"My turn now!"

I checked my draw and glanced at Adella.

"Adella."

"Anytime~ Ricardo~."

She got it without words, waving happily with a grin. I smirked and proceeded.

"I tribute two Fluffy Lions to summon Machinery Foothold - C-17 Quetzalcoatlus!"

A cool southeast wind blew, scattering the Fluffy Lion seeds like travelers. Then, from underground, a massive pterosaur unfurled mechanical wings and soared.

Kuoooooo…

Even on the Battle Table, its bulk cast huge shadows over both sides. Those wings sustaining the hefty frame looked more like massive structures than biology.

"C-17 Quetzalcoatlus' special ability activates! On successful summon, call up to two Machinery Gaze - OH-58 Hawkeyes from the deck!"

Its belly opened, releasing two mechanical birds with prominent camera eyes.

"Wh-what…?" "Hey, that Marijuana Knight wasn't the issue!" "How was I supposed to know?!" "Give back my Mantis, you jerk!"

Whether from the Quetzalcoatlus' size or the three Creatures at once, they started bickering again. Awkward.

"Now, activate special ability on Machinery Gaze - OH-58 Hawkeye!"

My turn wasn't over yet.