Unlike the morning, the station was nearly silent when Jacob arrived. Everyone was tuned into a European newscast, featuring a reporter talking to a blond haired German man. The man was tall and well built, Jacob would guess 6 foot 5 inches at least, with a physique that demonstrated a significant dedication to time in the gym. He also oozed an awkward, nerdy confidence, wearing a vintage European Space Agency T shirt that looked to be at least 80 years old. He had a thick German accent, though he did the entire newscast in English.
“…once I heard about the challenge, I knew I could track it down. After all, collecting Cards is my specialty.”
“So we can see.” The reporter also spoke with a heavy accent, theirs sounding more Bavarian. They gestured as they spoke to a wall which was completely covered in framed Cards, all carefully sealed in hard plastic cases. “You seem to be a massive fan.”
“I am more than a fan.” The man huffed, seeming offended “I am a collector. And this is the world’s largest collection of pristine, never used, mint condition cards. Some of the cards in my collection are the only examples left that were produced. I’m only about 500 Cards away from owning all the ones that have been made. No one knows more about the cards than me.”
“But how can you know about the cards if you never use them?” The reporter’s voice sounded innocent, but the question was pointed. Jacob noticed the reporter had a Diligence card equipped on his Card equipper. Likely to not forget any important details or questions while on air.
The muscular man scoffed “That is what the sims are for. I’ve done more matches than any competitive caster alive. Knowing cards is far more than just using them willy nilly. It takes study. And serious collection. And no one is more serious about collecting than me.”
“That must be how you knew where to find the invite card then.”
“With how many cards I buy a month, it was inevitable. I buy several cases in search of the truly rare cards; there’s only a few left from the modern sets I haven’t gotten. Most of the European distributors set aside a few for me before they even hit stores. I’m a better customer than most stores. Once I heard about the invite cards I increased my orders, and so it wasn’t a surprise when I eventually found it in my 14th case.”
“What do you do with all those extra cards you’ve already collected?”
“Well a serious collector knows you always have to have a secondary and tertiary collection somewhere, otherwise you risk losing everything. It’s basic security. And you have to maintain a good supply of tradeable cards, you never know what another collector will need. And what they’ll offer in return.”
The reporter chuckled goodheartedly, but Jacob saw lines of frustration forming on his face at the outright display of greed. “Anything you want to say to the viewers, or anyone else looking for an invite card?”
The man leaned forward, placing a hand on the reporters microphone as he looked into the camera “To Wonder Corp.: I hope your tour can teach me something, I don’t already know. I hope that it’s up to the challenge.”
The reporter tried to wrestle away the mic for a moment, and the man gave him a stern look before letting go. The reporter turned to the camera and cleared his throat, continuing in a carefully constrained voice. “Well then, there you have it. The first card was found right here in Germany by Kerl Klein, one of the worlds most prolific collectors. That leaves four more invitate cards around the world. For EuroNews Now I’m-”
The audio on the TVs cut out as one of the officers muted it. The station was silent for a second.
“That news anchor.” Jacob broke the silence “Is going to need a lot more patience cards.”
The Agency exploded as every officer began rushing about and talking at once. Everyone present knew the implication. A card had been found. That meant there was one less opportunity available to get an officer on the inside. Jacob raised an eyebrow as he saw several interns walk into the station carrying cases of Wonder Corp. card packs. He followed them with his gaze as they moved quickly into one of the open workrooms, where he saw half a dozen cadets and interns already opening hundreds of packs. It appeared the Agency had largely bought out the card shop’s supply of Wonder Corp cards, an action Jacob guessed was being mimicked at stations across the city and country. The Agency was truly willing to try anything to get a hold of those invite cards.
Jacob glanced over at the chief’s office, where he caught her staring at him. He nodded, then moved over to one of the few open terminals. He quickly began researching Kerl Klein, following many of the same investigative rabbit holes he was sure at least a dozen officers were already following. There wasn’t a lot of information available. A few collector forum profiles with open requests - One of which he noted was for an unused Major Water Lord Labubuan - and a lengthy history of trades. Unlike most collectors, Kerl didn’t appear to have a specialty in card collecting. He truly sought out everything, from the earliest Card releases to the latest sets. Rather impressively he seemed to have a solid history of getting them, with his publicly listed collection including many of the rarest and most obscure releases. No publicly listed Shadow cards, though Jacob heavily suspected he had many in his collection. No collector seeking completion could resist trying to get their hands on those.
True to what he said, the man also appeared to have a near encyclopedic knowledge of the cards and their uses. He had a nearly flawless record of well over 4,000 simulated matches using all of the most popular SimCard platforms, both against computer players and virtual casters from every continent. He seemed to SimCast at least 3-4 times a day, practicing across a wide spectrum of match variants and platforms. Some of his Battle decks were highly creative, and the more Jacob dug the more he saw a true grasp of the technicalities of the cards. What he didn’t see was any history of actually using them. All of his knowledge had been theoretical, practiced in Sims that factored little real world conditions into their matches.
Jacob frowned, and dug deeper. All of this was information that any Officer could - and would - find. It showed the man was incredibly arrogant and overconfident, but didn’t say much about him. Unfortunately for Jacob, not much more information existed. The man worked as a software engineer for a major automotive company - giving him the money to pursue card collecting - but had no notable projects listed. In university his only listed activities were the Card Collection Club and the weightlifting club, while his final project was on using algorithmic processing to better predict winning Battle Deck combinations. He had no notable hobbies, no loved ones or relationships outside his immediate family, and all of the few friends he had seemed to be related to Card Collecting. He didn’t even have a gym membership, mentioning in a single forum post working out at home.
Jacob found a recording of one of Kerl’s matches online, and pulled it up. The match was quick, over in 3 turns. While he played Kerl was nearly silent, only speaking to notate what he had cast. Kerl’s primary strategy was to overwhelm and overpower his opponents, using clever tactics and spectacle as a tool for accomplishing that goal. His card combinations were unusual, but behind the bravado Jacob sensed an overconfidence in the man. Kerl was an individual with a mastery in a very specific subject, a mastery he knew he had.
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There was a notification ping on the forums, and he saw that Kerl had just gone live. He turned on the terminals Sensor Screen, shrouding him in a wall of shadow. Kerl was just about to start a SimCard battle, facing off against a new computer player.
“…a new strategy today,” Kerl’s voice filtered in on his stream, speaking again in English through a thick accent “In honor of the upcoming Wonder Corp. tour. I’ll be going up against the most recent SimPlayer edition, a recreation of the legendary Nakumori, and using a brand new Battle Deck constructed only out of first release Wonder Corp. cards.”
As Kerl spoke the screen loaded a virtual Card Arena, mimicking the very first international tournament held roughly 35 years ago. The tournament had been held a few years after everything had begun to stabilize around the globe; the major wars were clearing up, the insurrections were being put down, and regulation was slowly catching up to the cards. International treaties were being struck to allow government cards to reach people in almost every nation. The early tournaments were an attempt to bring the world together; to use the cards for something positive, after so much chaos.
“Of course, I will be using the original ruleset from the first four internationals, alongside their ban lists.” The shadowy animatic of a computer opponent appeared on one side of the arena, while Kerl’s appeared on the other. Kerl’s avatar strongly resembled an old art style popular before the portals had opened; Jacob vaguely remembers it being called something like “Anime”. The avatar appeared to be a cartoon version of Kerl, with hair drawn at jagged angles in a semi-elaborate style, and an outfit with far too many straps and buttons to be practical. The computer player however appeared to be a simple shadow silhouette. Very few photos and videos existed of some of the earliest Competitive Casters; the first international champion Nakumori was one of the most prominent examples.
A digital coin flipped on the screen, landing on tails. The computer would go first. The shadow character moved, drawing five virtual cards in a dramatic fashion. It paused briefly, computing its steps, before placing a field equip magic card onto its match terminal. The playing field flickered and was replaced with a massive lava river,. The computer player then placed a creature card onto the terminal, summoning a massive lava monster. On the bottom of the screen a narration listed each action; Nakumori Equips: Molten Field. Nakumori Plays: Exiled Lava Beast of Barak’haar. Underneath the creature stats were printed onto the screen, STRENGTH: 3500, DEFENSE: 2200; +1000 DEF AGAINST WATER AND ICE.
“Molten fields and the Lava Beast, not bad.” Kerl’s voice cut in “It’s using the opening from Nakumori’s second match, nice touch. Very obscure. Of course I have prepared for this however. No one has studied the old matches more than me.”
There was a shuffling sound, and the avatar of Kerl drew his own hand dramatically. Unlike the computer’s hand, the cards Kerl drew had been made available to the viewers. As he had promised, all 5 were from the earliest Wonder Corp. batches. Heart of Stone, Crystallization Ray, The Mute Jester, Broken Soul of the Final Warrior, and Spirit Reaping. A combination of Spirit and stone cards; a type combination Jacob hadn’t seen before. The cards being played on their own weren’t notable; The Mute Jester was relatively rare, but none of the cards had been played in tournament for years. There was a strategy behind it, but what it was was unclear to Jacob.
“This isn’t the greatest hand, but I’m happy with what I’ve got. Of course you should already see my strategy; it’s incredibly obvious. This match should be over fairly quickly.”
Kerl first placed down the spell card Crystallization ray, and the battlefield morphed from a flowing pit of lava to one made of red gemstone. The Lava Beast cried out as it was temporarily caught in the crystalline creation, before it shook itself free. He immediately followed this by summoning The Mute Jester, then cast the snare card Spirit Reaping. The Mute Jester appeared on the field: a lanky medieval court fool wearing a theatrical mask, the sound of bells jingling as he did. The figure stood lightly on the crystallized lava field, striking a pose.
Spirit Reaper took affect next. A specter of doom appeared on the battlefield as the snare activated. It roamed about before attaching itself to The Mute Jester. The Jester jerked about for a moment, before standing completely straight. The ghostly image of the Jester floated out of its body, as the reaper took its spirit. Its Defense stat dropped from 1500 to zero, while it’s strength dropped 500 points to 700. Kerl drew two cards - Lance of a Saint and Thorn Covered Vines - then ended his turn.
“Well chat we’ve set the trap and made the bait, lets see if Nokumori takes it.” Kerl’s voice was smug. He clearly wanted to be seen as skilled and intelligent, but wasn’t naturally a charismatic performer. He was relying on shock value and gimmick to get attention, using an unconventional strategy against a simulation of one of the greatest casters in the history of the game. He was as he was in the interview: someone who knew they were smart and had gotten cocky, who was desperately seeking validation of their own knowledge.
The computer dramatically drew another card, then paused as it computed. It played a spell card first - Rain of Fire - and small embers began to fall onto the battlefield. They sputtered as they hit the crystals, leaving small marks on them. Wherever they touched the two creatures they caught into flame, eating away slowly at the Jester’s strength stats while enhancing the Lava Monster’s. The simulated player issued an instruction to the Lava Monster, and it attacked the Jester with a supercharged stream of magma. It hit the Jester straight on, which didn’t move or flinch as the magma melted it away into nothing. The Lava Monster settled back to its side of the field, and the computer drew another card as its turn ended.
“Nokumori took the bait, chat.” Kerl sounded pleased, gloating almost. “Games over, that’s it. This turn it’s over.”
Kerl drew a card to start their turn - Stone from a Grave - and summoned Broken Soul of the Final Warrior. A battered, beaten soldier appeared on the field, dressed in medieval armor, with arrows sticking out of every gap. Dried blood caked the armor itself, and a broken lance was jammed into the soldiers left side. The Warrior had a weary and exhausted expression, looking at the battlefield like all hope had gone from it. A bent sword was held loosely in its right hand, and it stared at the Lava Monster dejectedly.
Suddenly, the Spirit Reaper appeared again, circling the battlefield. It latched onto the Lava Monster, which cried out desperately. It’s defense and strength stats rapidly drained , dropping them to close to zero. The ghost of The Mute Jester appeared in front of the Lava Monster, staring at it silently. It moved, and before Jacob could process what was happening plunged a hand into the Lava Monster. It yanked fiercely, and Jacob saw the spirit of the Lava Monster get pulled out of its body. A Scythe appeared in the hands of the Spirit Reaper, who brought the blade down onto the soul of the Lava Monster. It cried out, and the monster and its spirit both melted into nothingness as its attack dropped to zero.
“Yes!” Kerl laughed as the creature fell “It worked! I knew it would work, but it never stops being satisfying.”
There was a clicking sound as Jacob heard Kerl typing at his terminal. The Soldier on the field slowly raised its head. A single tear rolled down the soldier’s face as it raised its sword. It threw it dramatically, and the weapon impaled the shadowy figure of the computer player. The word VICTORY! appeared on the screen in massive red letters, as the sound of Kerl laughing happily could be heard.
“Remember chat,” Kerl said “the secondary effects. Many early cards - especially Wonder Corp. cards - have more than one effect, depending on what you have on the field. Spirit Reaper’s main effect is to drain the spirit and hope from a creature, reducing its defense to zero. Its secondary effect, when paired with Broken Soul of the Final Warrior, and when used on your own creatures, allows the Reaper to return with the creature it was used on to seek revenge. This effect isn’t possible unless you have both the Reaper and the Broken Soul, and as I suspected the computer totally missed that. Even computers programmed on the best casters in history can’t beat me in a test of knowledge.”
Kerl went on to ramble a bit about his next stream, deflecting all questions from the chat about Wonder Corp. and the tour, instead stating he would be giving a full breakdown on his next battle stream after it happened. Jacob turned off the stream as Kerl began discussing the latest case of cards he had purchased, not wanting to hear anymore.
The first invite had been found.
That meant four were left.
reading a character I hate. It’s a joy to write someone so detestable, and I hope his arrogance and smug personality is just as fun for you to read as it is for me to write. I’ve got a fun arc for all of the characters in this story, I hope you enjoy Kerl’s.
trust in the cards…
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