I started reading the book on Egypt. It mainly details basic geography, but as it progresses, I finally started finding the information I sought. Most of it was similar to the manga, where the dual spirit is related to a person's BA (soul) and KA (spirit). BA is the culmination of their being, and if emptied, it could result in death. BA influences their KA. KA is their monster or spirit based on their personality and feelings, with those of bad/evil personalities. The emotions create monsters, and good/positive emotions create a spirit. If a person's BA is strong enough, they can manifest the monster like the old shadow games, but it's challenging to do so. This is possible because of what happened when Mohad fused with his KA, creating the Dark Magician.
I continue reading. All references to magic are related to whether the millennium items allow the wielders to use it or with special rituals from the millennium tome. Neither of which I have access to after finishing that book. I set it aside and studied the book on Scandinavia, which shares a layout similar to Egypt, albeit with different terminology. However, there is one major difference I noticed. They use staffs carved with runes to wield magic. The ability allows them to summon their monsters and use some weaker magic. From what I saw, there are no hints as to where the tablets of the soul's gods are located. To even get a hint at their location, I will need to conduct extensive research.
I set that book aside and decided to try and decipher the runes later. Finally, I got to the book on Japanese mythology. It's a lot more detailed compared to the rest of the books so far. I guess this kind of shows that Pegasus is a weeaboo, just like so many people. The general concepts of soul and spirit are the same here, almost like it's a universal truth. However, their magic is more similar to Scandinavian traditions, utilizing seals and rituals rather than runes and other symbols.
I finally explored all the country-based books and moved on to the books on card design. The beginning of the book divulges what type of card it should be. The second The third chapter discusses various types of trap cards. The process involves crafting traps, creating their names and artwork, and achieving the desired effect. At the end of the chapter, I notice a small note from Pegues. He writes that through the process, the employees unknowingly infuse some of their KA's energy into the card, affecting the art and its effect, before it's finished with a layer of clear paint he made with the help of the millennium eye, sealing the energy into the card.
The fourth and fifth chapters discuss the different types of spell cards. They go through a similar process, but Pegasus uses people who have stronger emotions and creativity. He makes them undergo the same process as the trap cards, but the spells are usually a lot easier to make because they are almost entirely made with energy. Finally, the last few chapters are on monster cards. Due to the variety of monsters and spirits, these cards are said to be harder to make than the other two types. These are the cards that Pegasus himself personally works on the most.
There are a lot more personal notes in these chapters compared to the others. For example, one of the personal notes discusses how to call out to monsters. It discusses being specific about the monster or spirit's type and attribute while infusing your KA and BA into the card to attract them. The cards that are part of an archetype are easier to make because they attract each other.
Looking further, the last section is all about fusion monsters and how they are formed. Normally, they are made by having two monsters that resonate with each other close by. Then, a designer can create the fusion monster by allowing the two spirits to subconsciously influence each other. If you have a strong and large amount of BA, you could create your own fusion monsters like Atem and Jaden.
After finishing the book and typing out all the key points, I learned that this method helps me remember the material better. So, putting everything together, dual spirit is a person's BA. You can strengthen it by experiencing strong emotions, both positive and negative. One of the quickest ways is through dueling. Winning shadow games makes the process even faster. That explains why Atem could constantly use the power of the Millennium Puzzle to get the cards he needed, or Jaden constantly making new fusions because he inherited the BA of the supreme king and his own from his current life.
To use magic, I will need some type of magic focus or powerful artifact to properly use it. Still, I was able to use some of the runes of Scandinavia with that thought in mind. I pull up as much information as I can on the computer about the different runes from Scandinavia. I tried to start drawing the runes one at a time and memorize what each one represents. Once I finish drawing them to the point of being almost perfectly like the originals, I start to put them together. First, it is a simple rune sentence to activate a spell card. Once I finish, I grab the spell card Emergency Provisions. I lay the card over the runic sentence, and I try to fill it with my BA. I felt some resistance at first, but then a lot flowed like a dam bursting. I can see the runes light up in a purple light and then flow into the card when I feel a small headache start. I take that as a sign to stop. Out of the corner of my eye, on top of the card, are two cans of beef stew and some crackers, like those shown on the card.
Moving the cans and crackers over a little bit, I see nothing different about the card. When I pick it up, the paper and the runes I had written on it have turned to ash. I don't know if it's because the paper wasn't durable enough to withstand the strength of my BA or if the card was destroyed due to the cost of activating it. Kind of like when you play it in the duel. I'll have to run some more tests.
I start by going to the kitchen and grabbing a spoon to see if I can eat the stew. I pulled the lid off one of the cans, and as I did, a bit of steam came out. Almost as if it were cooked as soon as I removed the lid. Taking a bite of it, it tasted like the cans of Deny More beef stew back in America. It is not the best tasting, but it is not bad. After eating it, I feel the headache caused by activating the ruins disappear.
Next, I want to test how long it will last after using the card. I wrote down the date and time and put the second can of stew on top so I can see if it ever goes bad. The final test is to activate the card again with a piece of paper and with something more durable. Going to the garage, I find a small board about the size of a small book. "This will do," I said out loud to myself with a little bit of satisfaction.
Walking back to my room, I sit down in my chair and write the runes onto pieces of paper and on the board. I set the card on one of the papers and activated the runes. It's a lot easier this time and took less than I was expecting. As it activates, I see the paper turn to ash and the cans appear again. Looking over to the original, I can see it starting to disappear in a flicker of light. That must mean I can only have one version of the provisions at a time? I then move the card to the board and activate the runes again. I see half the board disappear before stopping, and a new set appears again, and the other set disappears as well. This proves that I can only have one set at a time.
Going over to the box of cards I got earlier today, I looked through them to find a good card to test, but I couldn't find a single one that should be safe. That is, until I get to the bottom of the box and find my one copy of the pot of duality. This one should be safe to test. I sit at the desk and lay it across the last piece of paper. I start to power the ruins and see the pot appear. One side has a green pot with a big red smile, and the other is a baby blue pot with a small contented smile. Suddenly, I heard a voice, and a greedy old shopkeeper appeared, saying, "Look what we have here…a new person looking to satisfy their greed." I see the mouth of the blue pot open and say, "That is our purpose: to help satisfy their greed, to help them reach prosperity." The pot speaks like a wise old lady who has dealt with her greedy husband for decades.
After listening to them go back and forth for a few minutes, I finally spoke up. "Hello there. Sorry to interrupt your conversation, but I don't know how long you'll stay around. I didn't put much energy into the runes earlier." They're both finally paying attention to me again. The blue face finally said, "No worries, dear. We know why we were at the end. Go ahead and choose one of the three papers inside of us, and we will be on our way. However, remember that you can only pull out one paper. Next thing I know, three pieces of paper about the size of note cards came out of the pot and floated above it.
I can only see the back of the papers, no matter what angle I approach them from. The only hint I see is a single symbol on each one. The one on the left had a picture of gold coins, most likely representing that I would get some wealth tips. The one in the middle has a picture of a lovely path heading towards the sun. From my best guess Drawing from similar imagery from my past life, I can illustrate a clear and easy path. I am working toward achieving my goal of enjoying a good journey. The last item on the right featured the Millennium Puzzle. It probably didn't mean the real thing, but maybe something similar.
Looking them over one last time, I start to eliminate them from my choices one by one. The first to go is the one on the left because I will eventually stop aging. I can effortlessly accumulate wealth without the card. The second one to go is the middle one. An effortless path is something that will help me grow not only my BA but also my skills as a dualist. Finally, I made my choice and grabbed the last one. As I do, I see the other two cards spin around to show me what I could have gotten instead. On the left was a set of constantly changing coordinates, and the middle one was a blurred map of Denmark, more than likely showing the location of where the gods were sealed.
After that, they fell back into the pot, and it started to disappear. I didn't even leave the original card behind. All that I have is the card I picked. Flipping it over, it said, To obtain the item you seek, you must beat the flying horse who speaks. So I will have to face Pegasus himself to get an item similar to the ?
After going through this for half the day, stand up and stretch. Then they hear the sound of my KC communicator go off. Walking to the bookshelf I pick it up and look to see who the message is from and see that dad sent it ~picking your mom up from the airport will be home in a hour~ I respond by sending a message that I would make dinner tonight with a surprised emoticon back ~ O_o` ~ I told him not to worry; I know what I'm doing.
I head to the kitchen and pull all the things I need for chicken Alfredo and start cooking. As I cook, I can't help but think about learning to cook in my past life from my grandma and my aunt. Standing in the kitchen laughing over small mistakes and celebrating every time I learned how to make a complicated dish or dessert made me fall in love with cooking to the point I planned on going to culinary school one day.
Alongside my two favorite hobbies, Yu-Gi-Oh and Magic: The Gathering, I focused on being the best player I could be, even though I didn't always play Meta; nonetheless, I still kept up with the games. I eventually started to get really into the competitive scene for Yu-Gi-Oh, but I only ever made it to regionals. The only time I advanced to Worlds was when my friend unexpectedly killed me. Breaking me out of that thought was the smell of the chicken starting to burn.
As I finish cooking, I hear the sound of a truck pulling up. No less than a minute later, the door opens, and my mom walks in with her suitcase right behind her. As she sees me, she drops the suitcase, running up and hugging me. Her long black hair and big green eyes match her 5'3 stature. She appears diminutive in comparison to my 6'0 height. She looks like a kid compared to me or my dad. Then she said, "I missed you so much while I was in Norway," she said with a hint of relief. Then my dad came in. He's a tall, middle-aged Italian man of American descent. He's about 6'5" with blue eyes and black hair, slightly tan. Then he said with an upbeat tone, "Hey, boy, you said that you would cook dinner. Is it ready? I'm starving." His stomach grumbled loudly, eliciting a small chuckle from us. "Yes, it's ready. Go ahead and sit. I will bring the plates over." We ate dinner for a few minutes. My mom finally said, "You know, Mister Pegasus invited us to dinner alongside some other members of the archeology team. Do you both want to go?"
Then my dad responded in a shocked voice, "Are you serious? It's not that often that he invites people to see him like this. Your team must have found something important, right?" She responded with a little excitement in her voice. "We did. We found an amphora filled with a bunch of old tablets depicting a bunch of duel monsters on them, just like what he found in Egypt when he started making duel monsters."
'This could be my chance to duel him and get that item,' so I said, "Yes, Mom, I would love to go. It would be amazing to meet him. I wonder if he would let me duel him?" "I don't know, dear, but he might if you ask," she says. After finishing dinner and doing the dishes, we all went back to our rooms. As I approached the computer, I noticed that the last set of predictions had disappeared. I guess that they expire an hour or two after summoning them. " I go to the dresser, pull out a wrinkled suit, and iron it in preparation for dinner tomorrow.
In my dreams that night, I saw a fountain with a winged statue, with the water coming out of the wall on each side. I see two small children, both blonde, with black wings on their backs and runes as well. One girl and one boy. Neither seems to notice me at first, and when they finally do, they wave at me. Suddenly, I wake up to the sun coming through my window and my communicator beeping with a message telling me my new dual disk is ready.
I hop out of bed and get dressed for the day. I make my way down to the kitchen. I see my parents finishing breakfast and waving me over to sit down. My mom said, "Good morning, dear, how did you sleep?" she said in a cheerful tone. I responded, "I slept alright," still in a somewhat tired tone. Then my dad brought over the pancakes and sausage and asked, "Do you have any plans for the day before we go to dinner with Mister Pegasus?" In an inquisitive tone, I responded while pouring some apple juice, "Yes, actually I'm going to see Mister Moto. Then I have to pick up my new duel disk at the Kaiba Corp store." He responds, "Oh, that's excellent. Do you want to come with me and your mother to watch a movie after you are done?" he said with a hint of hope that I would say yes. I agreed to meet them at the theater and head out for the day.