After the prompt that my 'System' was activated, I had decided to cut my day short and immediately return home. After becoming registered as a Duelist, I had immediately received my Stipend- meaning I didn't need to work anymore, I already had more money in one day than I would make in an entire month.
I walked into the empty house, making my way towards the worn-down couch and took a seat, staring at the screen in front of my face.
[Яeverse System has been activated.]
[Would you like to begin the tutorial?]
I took a deep breath. I had no idea just what kind of system this 'Яeverse System' was, but there was no such thing as a bad system when it came to being isekai'd- only bad users.
"Begin tutorial," I murmured softly.
The screen changed.
[The Яeverse System draws its power from the Void of Nothingness, where the Seed of Chaos resides. The System's Functions are simple.]
[1 - Whenever you defeat someone in a duel, Void Energy- or VE- will flow from the System into their body, rapidly raising their Affection towards you. When someone hits 100 Affection, they will become Reversed.]
My eyes widened as I read the term 'Reversed,' immediately having a better idea of where this system was going.
In the Cardfight Vanguard anime- the original- the overarching villain of the series until the arrival of the G-Series was, 'The Void.' Also known as Link-Joker. Link-Joker's only desire was to convert everything to the void, to make all things one with The Void. Essentially, to rule all of creation through Brainwashing.
In other words, I had a system that would brainwash people when I beat them in Duels.
If I was truthful... I didn't exactly mind such a thing.
I was no saint. I had lived in poverty with my family for years, and such a thing leaves its marks. As long as it meant my family could get ahead, as long as we could be happy, then I didn't care what I had to do in order to make it happen. Brainwashing people? It was FAR from being my bottom line. In fact, I welcomed it.
Because it meant that they wouldn't be able to backstab me later.
[2 - Once in the Reversed State, people cannot be removed from the state except under special circumstances. People in the Reversed State obtain the ability to forcibly evolve their cards into 'Reversed' Cards using VE.]
In other words. Once I brainwashed someone, they were essentially unable to break out of it except if something amazing happened. Likely something like my death, or perhaps even circumstances like Yugi and the Pharaoh when Yugi took the Pharaoh's place for the Seal of Orichalcos.
[3 - When reaching certain Affection Milestones or achieving certain feats, you will receive rewards such as Cards, Void Energy, or special items.]
That was fairly standard. Void Energy, however? That seemed to be a replacement for System Currency. Which meant...
[4 - Using Void Energy, you may craft Yu-Gi-Oh cards, imbue existing cards with energy to create Duel Spirits, evolve your cards, or convert Cardfight Vanguard units into cards. Currently, conversion options are limited to Star-Vader Link-Joker cards only.]
I swallowed.
Now this was the biggest game changer. Being able to convert Cardfight Vanguard cards or even evolve my existing cards was secondary to two things.
Being able to craft cards was insanely powerful. Sure, more powerful cards would obviously cost more points, but the fact that I could craft any card so long as I had enough Void Energy? That was extremely powerful and would let me make cards not only for myself but also for my siblings. Needless to say- Broken.
However, imbuing existing cards with energy to create Duel Spirits? That wasn't exactly a weak ability either.
Duel Spirits were extremely powerful. As was shown in the GX anime, the Sacred Beasts were capable of even restoring Kagemaru from an old man to his youth- with muscles upon muscles. And while that was an extreme example, Spirits were still capable of granting things like eternal life and an enhanced physique of enough of them were gathered.
If I gathered enough Duel Spirits, I would essentially be immortal and unkillable. It was something obviously tempting, and a goal to strive towards. Hell, with enough spirits I could also make my siblings immortal. Billy's face could be healed, Nicole and Anby would forever be able to retain their youth.
Duel Spirits were definitely a must.
[5 - Using Void Energy, you may also directly subjugate or brainwash existing Duel Spirits and people.]
I gave a nod at the final ability of the System, unsurprised. The first ability of the System was to use Void Energy to brainwash people as I beat them in Duels- likely because people's own 'Dueling Energy' was weakest right after a defeat. But I was also capable of using my own energy to directly brainwash them without duelling, something that seemed extremely reasonable to me.
I wasn't going to be the hero, it seemed. I didn't necessarily have to be a villain either, but with a System like this? Being a Hero simply wasn't in the cards for me. I would need to bury any 'Heroic Instincts' in order to use this system with a clear conscience.
[Beginner Package has been delivered! You obtain 1000 VE, and 1 Duel Spirit Ticket.]
A Beginner Package, also fairly standard as far as System's went... The 1000 VE was a good starting point, though I didn't have a good frame of reference for just what it would get me. I opened up the System interface and decided to check before I looked at the Duel Spirit Ticket.
I raised an eye as I saw the interface was rather similar to Master Duel, with four options.
'Create.' 'Evolve.' 'Imbue.' 'Convert.'
Didn't need to be a genius to see what that meant.
Right... Let's start off with something simple- The Wicked Eraser, one of the three Wicked Gods from the Manga.
The Wicked Eraser
Level 10 | DIVINE | Divine-Beast | Effect | ATK ? | DEF ?
This card cannot be Normal Summoned/Set except by Tributing 3 Monsters. This card cannot targeted by your opponent's Spell and Trap Cards. This card is unaffected by your opponent's monster effects that are Level 9 and below. The ATK and DEF of this card is equal to the number of cards your opponent controls x 1000. When this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, destroy all cards on the field. During your Main Phase: you can destroy this card. If this card is Special Summoned from the Graveyard, send it to the Graveyard during the End Phase (it is not destroyed).
Cost: 100,000 VE
I raised an eye at this clearly buffed version of the Wicked Eraser... Firstly, the inherent protection of the God Cards was written on the card's text clearly- the manga version of protection where only monsters on the same level as the Gods (Level 10) were capable of harming them. It also couldn't be targeted by Spell or Trap Cards, completely unlike the Real-World version of the card. Even the restriction it once had of not being able to be Special Summoning was gone, instead having the usual 'if it's summoned from the GY, return it at the end of turn.'
It was an even more powerful version of the regular Wicked Eraser... Which begged the question, were the other God cards like that too?
Slifer the Sky Dragon
Cost: 100,000 VE
The Winged Dragon of Ra
Cost: 150,000 VE
The Wicked Avatar
Cost: 150,000 VE
All the God cards had their anime effects that made them true 'Gods' from what I was reading, it was no wonder they cost 100,000 Void Energy to create- even an extra 50,000 in the case of the 'God Bosses' in the case of Ra and Avatar.
Now, I needed to check the opposite end of the Spectrum.
Pot of Greed
Cost: 5,000 VE
Polymerisation
Cost: 1,000 VE
Super Polymerisation
Cost: 50,000 VE
...
I checked the cards slowly and finally came to some conclusions.
In the end, obviously, the power of the card in question had a huge influence on how much it cost. However, Spell and Trap cards never seemed to cost more than 50,000 VE- with the most powerful cards like Super Polymerisation reaching the peak of that cost along with the likes of Dark Ruler No More, Forbidden Droplet, and Triple Tactics Talent.
Monsters, on the other hand, seemed to be judged directly based on the power of the card itself rather than its synergy with other cards.
A good example was Tearlaments Merrli- an infamous 'Normal' Rarity card that had ended up banned in Master Duel. In a Tearlaments Deck, Merrli's ability to mill and then fuse if sent to the grave by a card effect were very strong... However, the system didn't account for synergy like that- focusing only on Merrli's own strength.
As a result, the card only cost around 1,000 VE.
Meanwhile, something like El Shaddoll Winda cost 20,000 VE due to its destruction immunity from effects and also its Special Summoning restriction. Even without being in a Shaddoll Deck specifically, Winda was a powerful card- hence its higher price.
Next, I decided to check the price of converting cards.
I decided to start off easily with Dust Tail Unicorn- a classic Star-Vader starter card in Cardfight Vanguard.
Dust Tail Unicorn
Level 2 | DARK | Cyberse | Tuner | Effect | ATK 1000 | DEF 500
If you control a monster with "Lock" in its text, you may Special Summon this card from your hand or GY. If this card was Special Summoned from the GY by its own effects- banish it when it leaves the field. If this card is used as Synchro Material for a monster with "Lock" in its text, you may Lock one of your opponent's zones until the end of your opponent's next turn.
[Locked Zones may contain any card on it. When a zone is locked, it becomes inaccessible. They are considered as having no card present on that zone, and monsters or spell/trap cards present on those zones cannot be removed from the field in any way. They cannot activate effects, cannot attack, cannot be targeted, are unaffected by all card effects, and cannot change their battle position.]
Cost: 1,000 VE
I swallowed...
As expected of the System, even 'Lock' was still present once a card was converted to a Yu-Gi-Oh Card. And it was still just as terrifying to face as it was in the anime- the power of the Void that rendered all things incapable of moving.
Still, I resisted the urge to convert Dust Tail right away since I didn't have any Synchro Monsters- let alone any with 'Lock' in their text. Instead, I finally decided to look at the Duel Spirit Ticket.
Duel Spirit Ticket
Upon use, the user may select one card that either they or someone with 100 Affection towards them own to awaken its Duel Spirit. This Duel Spirit will display absolute loyalty towards the owner, starting at 100 Affection (you will not gain any rewards for affection gained this way.)
Unsurprising, exactly as I expected- minus the absolute loyalty part. I supposed the System really hated the idea of betrayal... Perhaps this 'Void' was the same 'Void' that Kai Toshiki from the CFV anime had double crossed for his own ambitions, and the System despised betrayal as a result?
Who was to say?
Still, with this Ticket... There was only one answer for who to use this ticket on, right?
"Use Duel Spirit Ticket on Silent Magician."
The ticket vanished, and the top card of my deck began to emanate a deep crimson energy.
I quickly drew the card and looked at it, watching as the Silent Magician on the card stopped being static. She began to move, stretching her sensual figure and pushing out her chest. She noticed me staring and smirked before she suddenly crawled out of the card- revealing herself to me in her Duel Spirit form, giving me a proper look at her flawless figure.
Her lips curled in a pleased smirk as she saw me checking her out, taking her hat off of her head and patting it as if to clean off dust. "Well now, it's nice to meet you, my dear Master," she purred out in a deep, sensual voice. "I look forward to working with you intimately in the future~ Please take care of me~"
I swallowed as I stared at the beauty in front of my eyes and nodded, "I look forward to working with you, Silent Magician."
She giggled, her crimson eyes flashing with delight, "Oh, no need to be so formal, Master~ Call me Alice~"