“How is that possible?!”

Sivir looked like a demon straight out of hell, his eyes bloodshot.

“[Shroud of the Dead] can create a follower with a resurrection effect?!”

Even the one who had assigned them this mission couldn’t have known that. Otherwise, they never would’ve sent the two of them, who were already on another task, to casually gather materials on the side.

So who the hell was the real Demonology Sect member here?!

“Well, what can I say? You were sitting on a treasure mountain and didn’t know how to use it.” Simon placed his right hand on the graveyard.

Back then, he’d only tried it on a whim.

He hadn’t expected it to actually work.

What he also hadn’t expected was that the first opponent to witness this card wouldn’t be the Luminous Order, but the Demonology Sect.

Honestly, he didn’t know whether to blame rigid thinking, like assuming resurrection-type cards could only be printed with angel materials, or just admit the Demonology Sect was plain bad at this.

“Alright. You interrupted me, and I still haven’t finished resolving the effect.”

That one sentence pulled everyone’s eyes back to the hand resting on the graveyard.

Just as everyone was wondering what kind of follower was about to be revived, Simon didn’t pull it out right away.

Instead, he seemed to start wrestling with something.

“Come... out for me...”

Simon used both hands now, but it still wasn’t enough to yank the card free.

Crack. Crack.

As he strained harder and harder, even the ground under his feet seemed unable to bear the force. Fractures began spreading across it.

“Bro... don’t tell me you printed a Grade S card?”

Carn was the first to lose it.

Even with the power boost of a Grade B card, he still couldn’t pull it out. What kind of god-tier card had he even made?

“Are you fighting the Demonology Sect or joining them? The cards you print for them keep getting more brutal!”

“Cut the crap. Talent like mine can’t be hidden.”

Drops of cold sweat rolled down Simon’s face, but he still found time to mouth off.

Damn it, it really won’t come out!

Simon had considered that all kinds of problems might happen when he made this card.

But he never expected the printing process to go smoothly, only for it to get stuck during the duel.

The moment that thought hit him, he called for backup.

“Tidris, help!”

“Ah? O-Okay!”

Tidris jogged over and grabbed onto Simon’s arm with both hands, pulling together with him.

Inside their bodies, the Spark Core spun wildly, pushing out the maximum output for this follower’s manifestation.

“[Calamity Vampire], [Eternal Vampire], attack now!”

Even Anya didn’t dare underestimate Simon anymore at this point.

Sure, she was grateful this man had shown them that necromancy materials could be used like this.

But then she suddenly remembered something.

They were still in a Dark Duel!

If he really managed to summon this follower, one that already felt overwhelming before even appearing, then they’d be the ones looking pathetic!

The two vampires charged again with swords in hand. Sivir’s dragon skeleton soldier was also almost upon Simon.

“Mr. Shopkeeper, hurry...” Tidris urged anxiously.

Just when everyone thought Simon was about to lose in the most ridiculous way possible, his arms finally jerked upward with a whoosh.

“[Ghoul Colossus]! Come out!”

Crack crack—

“Ow!”

“What’s going on? An earthquake?!”

The earth shook and the mountains trembled. Everyone stumbled and fell, except Simon, the summoner, who still stood firm on the ground.

Boom!

A gigantic hand suddenly blasted through the earth’s crust and reached out from the rupture.

That massive palm smashed the ground apart, using the force to drag the rest of its body up from underground.

“What... is that thing?”

The tall masked man stared up at the rising follower and swore he had never seen such an enormous follower in his life.

At that moment, it wasn’t just the people on the mountaintop.

Even people farther away noticed something was wrong.

Commercial District.

Pedestrians on the road suddenly stopped and pointed toward the back mountain.

“Look, doesn’t the back mountain seem taller now?”

“Holy crap, that’s a follower! Someone’s dueling on the back mountain!”

“What level of duel summons something that huge?!”

The Academy District.

“Hm?”

Atris, who was on night duty, suddenly looked up toward the window. A trace of confusion flashed through her brows.

“The duel rules... changed?”

...

[Ghoul Colossus ★★★★★★★★★★ (Ten Stars) Grade B]

[Undead 10/10]

A gray giant over ten meters tall slowly rose from the fissure. The air current alone sent the two diving vampires flying back.

“You’re telling me this thing is a ghoul?!”

Sivir was starting to question reality.

Even if this card were just a vanilla with no effect, that size alone would let it slaughter everything in a Dark Duel.

Take [Calamity Vampire] for example. It was also a Grade B card, with stats of 7/7.

But in a Dark Duel, it was only a little taller than a normal person.

That was why [Ghoul Colossus] could swat it away so easily.

Damn it, why didn’t the organization issue one of these to everyone? Were the people in R&D just too useless to print it?

On the other side, Simon watched his own follower rise like a small mountain and nodded in satisfaction before stating its effect.

“[Giant Ghoul] effect. Banish all follower cards from every duelist’s graveyard. For each one banished, it gains +1/+1!”

Wait, what the hell was banish supposed to be?!

Had they been playing fake duels this whole time?

As that question rose in everyone’s mind, a bolt of inspiration struck like the creation of heaven and earth, blasting apart a patch of fog in their minds.

Boom!

“Y-You felt that too?”

The tall masked man suddenly turned to his companion in wild joy, while the other grabbed his outstretched hand in disbelief.

“This is a miracle!”

“M-M-M-Mr. Shopkeeper, what exactly did you do?!”

Tidris shook Simon’s hand back and forth, both flustered and thrilled.

Banish. And the banishment zone.

A brand-new rule, created by her shopkeeper.

Every Duelist and Cardmaker would receive this rule, along with the name of its creator!

“Mr. Shopkeeper, you’re going down in history!”

Swept up by the joy of pushing history forward, and infected by the emotions of everyone around him, Simon grew excited too.

He crossed his legs, bent forward at the waist, spread his arms, and burst into manic laughter.

“Hahahaha! Can any other Grade C Cardmaker do something like this?!”

Just as he thought, duel rules could be expanded.

Otherwise, that’d be way too boring!

Even though Simon had expected this result, he still couldn’t help sighing in amazement.

These people from another world had really gone down the wrong path. Otherwise, a duel system with only a graveyard and no banishment zone would’ve been broken to hell long ago.

Having unintentionally become background scenery for a new era, Sivir’s hand had already started trembling.

“N-No... don’t panic. We can still deal with it!”

As he said that, something seemed to occur to him, and his eyes lit up.

“Right! The duel only just started. The only card he can banish is my—”

“No. Not just one!”

Anya’s face turned pale. No matter how proud she had been before, even her bright lips had lost their color now.

“We... continued from your duel.”

“The vampire lady is right.”

Simon snapped his fingers, and every graveyard began to change.

“Five dead followers, plus one more follower card I discarded to the graveyard with [Radical Pursuit]. That makes six in total.”

“[Ghoul Colossus]’s stats rise to 16/16!”

The already massive [Ghoul Colossus] swelled even further, now reaching sixteen meters in height.

“Quick, get rid of it!”

Seeing the giant’s fist slowly rise, Anya cried out in panic.

But they themselves were Duelists who toyed with undead creatures.

How could they possibly have thought to bring cards specifically meant to counter undead?

Simon took a deep breath, then swung his arm forward to signal [Ghoul Colossus] to attack.

“Have a taste of being trapped by your own cocoon! God Fist Smash: Shockwave!”