TerrellGarrett
patreon
Psycho Duel Chapter 29: RNGESUS
🕑 Added 2022-11-22 07:43:26 +0000 UTC*on vacation with the fam this week, but using nights to get new chapters out. i'm looking to get the card codex on the discord, but might take me longer than usual*
Walt had felt new and horrific types of pain in the past twelve hours, but having a magical arrow pierce his eye was a type of pain and horror on an entirely different level.
He imagined that if the Bloodseeker Arrow could do over a hundred damage it would not have just skewered his eye and blinded him, but that it would have continued into his brain, killing him.
The resultant throbbing agony and blindness in one eye made him wish that he had been one shot. He had a slow-mo moment where from his remaining eye, he could see the arrow sticking out of his orbital socket. Then it disintegrated into magical molecules and returned to the Bloodhound's gauntlet.
He must have dropped the next card he was going to play, because as he clutched his face with both hands, the Eldritch Death Summoner appeared next to him. The dark apprentice whose death would summon a minion from Walt's hand onto the battleboard.
"I am here, Master," he said. "Remember, the pain is only temp --"
That's when the Bloodhound and his young wyvern, Grimscale, dive-bombed out of the trees and landed on top of Walt, scattering his minions in a flurry of claws, broken tree branches and leaves.
Grimscale bit Walt's shoulder. It was like a bear trap was closing on Walt. More pain shocked his nervous skin and when the wyvern pulled away, Walt saw pieces of his own flesh dangling from the mount's bloodstained teeth.
Voidlock
Health Points: 51
"Savor him, Grim," Jacob said. "I'm afraid he's going to be a quick meal." He glanced at one of the Chronico drone-cams following him and his mount, streaming the action. "I told you, Chat. This Voidlock was gonna be chow for my beasts -- "
And then the Bloodhound was cut off when a heavy black tome hit him in the face, chipping away some of the magical armor his mount granted him. This was followed by the Seven-Fingered Ghoul landing on the back of Grimscale, and he delivered a seven-fingered hand chop into the side of Jacob's neck, depleting his armor.
Jacob opened his mouth to protest but an Eldritch bolt blasted him in the jaw.
Bloodhound
Health Points: 82
"Ye keep you're dirty books away from my boss!" The Goblin Beastmaster said. His bull whip cracked, lashing out. It hit the Levitical Hellfiend and the minion collapsed into his robes.
The pile of robes turned into glowing particles and flew into Walt's gauntlet.
Lil Vernon sprayed its milky corrosive fluid again, this time the droplets hit the Eldritch Death Summoner. There was a hiss as the nacreous acid began burning through the apprentice's robes.
"You are quite the disgusting beast, aren't you?" the Eldritch Death Summoner said.
Grimscale's head whipped around on his neck, trying to bite the Seven-Fingered Ghoul. But his jaws snapped. The drunken minion was just out of reach.
The Bloodhound angrily pointed at one of his cards hovering before him. It shot into the sky and burst into a flash of gunpowder. A form came cannon-balling out of the cloud and into the forest amongst all the fighting minions.
"Hello, lad!" a stout and brawny woman said. She was wearing black leather armor and strangely, she had a beard. In her hands was a huge flintlock gun that looked like some madman blacksmith and psychotic gunsmith fused a rifle and a shotgun together. "You've summoned me to the hunt?"
[Examine]
[Katarina Ragnaress]
Katarina Ragnaress. Minion. Set: The Twelve Lords of the Hunt. Rarity: Legendary. A Dwarven Huntress of ill repute. She hails from Blightforge and knows the Neon Thorn Wastes like the back of her hand.
War Whoop: Summon a random beast from your hand.
Flintlock Blaster: 9 Attack, Cooldown: 10 seconds
Health Points: 15
Cost: 5 Vigor Stones
As she cocked her gun, there was a distant bleating. It grew closer. Then from the brush a ram the size of a small Jeep crashed into the copse of pine trees. Jagged black horns spiraled off its head. It released an evil neigh as it skidded to a stop across the pinestraw.
[Examine]
[King of the Rams]
King of the Rams. Minion. Set: Beasts of Ligeia. Rarity: Rare. The notorious Black Ram of the Shardescent Mountain Range. King of the crags and headbutter off cliffs record-holder.
Headbutt: 10 Attack, Cooldown: 5 seconds
Hoof Kick: 8 Attack, Cooldown: 5 seconds
Health Points: 20
Cost: 7 Vigor Stones
Walt shook off his sense of shock, going into pure survival mode. There were too many minions joining the battle.
Covering his ruined eye with one hand, he took flight, his winged boots carrying him into the sky.
Jacob pointed at him, "Don't let him -- "
And that's when Grimscale curved his head around on his long neck and tried to bite the Seven-Fingered Ghoul on its back. But his jaws were just out of reach. He snapped at the air, missing the ghoul.
The ghoul ignored the wyvern and slapped Jacob across the face with his seven-fingered hand. "Never did like Bloodhounds."
The bull whip cracked again. The Seven-Fingered Ghoul yelped and fell off Grimscale's back, blue blood pouring out of his face from where the tip of the whip connected.
The Goblin Beastmaster chomped on his cigar and said through gritted teeth, "Silence, you undead cur!"
Lil Vernon, plump from his beastmaster buff, mewled in agreement. Milky liquid sprayed across the Seven-Fingered Ghoul.
The corrosive attack began to melt his face. He shrieked. "You sober, nacreous shits are no chill!" Then he died. His essence flew into the sky after the fleeing Walt.
The gong sounded.
Turn 6
Vigor Stones 6/6
03:00
Begin
Draw?
The Blood Mirrors procced, ticking Jacob's health.
Bloodhound
Health Points: 73
Katarina aimed her Flintlock Blaster at Walt, who was airborne, about to break the tree cover. She stared down sights and fired. There was a thunderous boom and a cloud of gunpowder.
Walt weaved through the branches of the trees. The scattershot from the Flintlock Blaster pelted into the branches and tops of the trees, missing him. But he was sprayed with chips of bark and wood shrapnel as the scattershot shredded the trees.
Then he was in the sky above the woods. He could see the rural land above him. Off to the side was the back road that was part of the bridge near the rest area. He flew for the opposite end of the battleboard, the blue lights in the distance a welcome sight.
He had somehow escaped for the time being, surviving to play another turn.
Voidlock
Health Points: 53
He drew his hand.
Blood Mirror
Blood Worm Bomber
Life Leech
Replicate
Crucible Configuration
Priest of the Blazing Shield
Deadwood Witch
The pieces for his plan were coming together, but he already nearly half health. He had wanted to end the duel quickly, but that didn't mean he wanted to be the one that died. Which was how this fight was currently going.
He needed to play the Blood Mirror before any of the other pieces. The Bloodhound still had too much health to risk playing cards like Life Leech or Crucible Configuration. Those were the cards he needed to play once the trigger pieces had been set up.
And Walt realized all his minions were ground minions. He wasn't expecting Jacob to have a winged mount. So now his opponent was going to be airborne again soon, pursuing him. He needed his minions to hurt the Bloodhound more.
The answer of course, was using the ground minions that had ranged attacks. He looked at his HUD and saw that his Eldritch Death Summoner was still alive. When it died, its Death Cry effect would proc, drawing a minion from his hand onto the battleboard.
He saw a potential play but it would require waiting for the Death Summoner to perish and seeing what card from his hand ended up on the board. This play would require another Soultap, putting him below half his health. He could spare a few seconds to see.
Below, he squinted with his remaining good eye and saw a culvert for water drainage. He swooped down and played his third Blood Mirror card. He played the card, using the targeting arrows to place the mirror inside the culvert, far out of sight. Someone searching on the ground might be able to find it, but not if they were up in the air.
The third mirror ticked, dinging Jacob for another point of health.
#
Back in the woods, Jacob cursed, wincing from the sharp stab of pain that seemed to come from his heart. If he wasn't in a duel, he would think it was the beginning of a heart attack or a tinge of heart burn. It was as discomforting as it was painful.
Bloodhound
Health Points: 72
The Voidlock NPC who was going to be his ticket to more followers, something Jacob sorely needed for this tournament because he wanted to land some sponsorship deals, was up to the Voidlock lifedrain fuckery he despised.
If he had known he was going to run into the NPC, he would have rewatched The Slaycast episode to get a peep at his deck. Slaynami had introduced whole new sets of cards for this tournament, so he had no idea what this Voidlock was trying to do other than be annoying.
Perhaps Slaynami had overtuned the Starter Decks this season. That's why the Voidlock had managed to beat Simmons. The fucker had a lucky deck.
Fucking Slaynami.
Every tournament had balance issues, and it was a constant topic of complaint for Psycho Slingers, but this year it was looking particularly bad if this Voidlock was any indication.
Jacob glanced at his Chat.
His audience wasn't big like some of the more popular duelists, but it was modest. Many Psycho Slingers would be satisfied with a modest audience. But not Jacob.
He craved the numbers duelists like NovaStar and WendyGoGo had.
In his mind, Jacob was just a good as duelist as them. So why should they have all the followers and endorsement deals?
But now, fortune was on his side. This Slaycast celebrity had fallen into his lap and he had to take advantage. As he was about to command Grimscale to follow the Voidlock, his vision went dark and his temple was wracked with pain.
The Voidlock's remaining minion, the Eldritch Death Summoner, had cast an Eldritch Bolt at him. How it burned his skin.
Bloodhound
Health Points: 64
"Motherfuck!" Jacob said. "Finish it off!"
Lil Vernon mewled, spraying the air with white acid.
"With fucking pleasure!" the Goblin Beastmaster said.
Katarina, the dwarven huntress, swung her Flintlock Blaster in the direction of the Eldritch Death Summoner, taking aim. "I've got him in my sights!"
But it was the King of Rams who delivered the death blow. The beast neighed and charged the robed minion. It head-butted the dark apprentice so hard he flew several feet and hit a tree. Pine needles rained down. The Voidlock minion didn't get back up.
Jacob was already in the air with Grimscale, flying out of the tree cover and bursting into the sky, when the particles of the Death Summoner flew past him towards his opponent's gauntlet.
Which means he didn't see the Deadwood Witch materializing in the incoming fog that rolled into the forest.
"I've brought some orange rind tea --" the Deadwood Witch began, but then froze, realizing she was in the midst of enemy minions.
She disappeared then, before any of them could attack her, stealthing into the fog.
#
Walt saw the Deadwood Witch card fly out of his hand. His HUD informed him the Eldritch Death Summoner had died.
"RNGesus must be on my side this turn," Walt said. He silently praised the deity.
He was back in the air, flying on his winged boots, when he Soultapped again. Falling below half his health now.
Voidlock
Health Points: 41
And he flicked Replicate behind him, summoning three more copies of the Deadwood Witch.
Comments
Chase kirby
I’m fine with highlights but just want to know some of his story and if he is going to travel with the main character than they should get some background time even if they aren’t going to be in the main crew. It will help build the world ur imaging
Fortunis
Nice.
Yeah, that’s the plan. If there was enough interest in a bonus chapter or something from Richard’s POV filling in the blanks, I’m not opposed to it. But yeah, we’ll be getting to what’s been happening in his duel soon.
BubblyGhost
Entire duel? No. Some highlights with a cutoff before we see the end of the fight? Sure.
We'll get to it in progress. I'm wondering though if that's something everyone would be interested in. Seeing the entire duel between Richard and the Silentblade?
Chase kirby
Are we going to get a post on the other fight too?
