All The Skills - A Deckbuilding LitRPG

“Kane, look out!” Penn yelled.

Arthur ignored him. He set his feet, every muscle clenched, and concentrated with all his might on his Master of Body Enhancement card.

Brixaby the dragon fell on him, little pinprick claws digging into Arthur’s shirt. Invisible hands grabbed his Master of Skills card and tugged.

The ripping sensation in his heart was excruciating. It was as if invisible strings attached to his heart were snapping one by one.

But Arthur didn’t just have his Master of Skills card in his heart deck. It was paired with another in the same set. Perhaps if Brixaby had been anticipating it, he could have tugged out both. But he was a tiny dragon and these were a pair of Legendary cards, anchored by the weight of their connected power.

The card came out halfway and stopped.

Brixaby flailed for a moment, taken by surprise. He had ripped out the other cards in a flash, leaving his victims too stunned to react.

Arthur grabbed the little dragon.

“How?!” Brixaby roared.

“Come with me and see,” Arthur said, shoving the Master of Skills back where it belonged. The feeling of it slipping back into his heart was one of absolute relief. The invisible strings reconnected, and he was again whole.

He didn’t know how this would work. But for some reason, Brixaby must have given him permission. Arthur threw him into his Personal Space.

In the next second, he followed.

Time stopped for every item, animal, or person he placed into his Personal Space. But Brixaby had absorbed a Legendary-level time-based card and a nullify-magic card.

The little dragon buzzed his wings, seemed to freeze in place in mid-air for a moment, jerk back into motion, then rapidly freeze again.

He was fighting the effects of the Personal Space. Arthur could feel the room around him groaning like a wooden ship that had taken on too much weight. It was, after all, only a Rare card.

Arthur hadn’t fully uncovered the rules governing time and space here, but he had been able to affect objects before. He had manipulated fabric when he’d practiced his Snipping skill.

Maybe he had to touch something in order to unfreeze it?

For the second time, he reached out and grabbed the little dragon. This time he was much gentler. Abruptly, Brixaby’s stopped stuttering in and out of time and moved smoothly.

He bit down on the webbing between Arthur’s thumb and first finger.

His two long fangs actually managed to penetrate Arthur’s toughened skin.

“Ow!” Switching the dragon to his other hand, Arthur shook it out. “Don’t do that.”

“Release me!” Brixaby boomed, his dark head sticking up over Arthur’s fist. He added, “Then you may feed me your most delicious card.” He eyed Arthur’s chest hungrily as if he could see straight into Arthur’s heart deck and wanted to swallow it whole. “We are in your heart deck now, aren’t we?”

Arthur suspected this little menace would appreciate an argument coming from a position of strength. “You couldn’t pull my card outside my heart. I’m too strong for you.”

“Yes, how did you do that?” the dragon demanded. “Show me.”

With a flick of his free hand, Arthur projected an image of both Legendary cards. “I have two in the same set. A pair.”

Brixaby wiggled angrily against his fingers. “Then I shall have both!”

“Only if you link with me.”

Brixaby was less than impressed with this offer. “Let me out of this prison. I will rip the cards out of every one of the fools outside. Then, when I am strong, when I am whole, I will come and finish you last as dessert.”

Arthur ignored the threat. “Whole?”

The dragon fell silent, eyes narrowing. “My card is… not right. It’s none of your business!” he added quickly.

Arthur tried another track. “The other recruits are already turning on you. If you attack them again, they’ll put you down like a rabid beast.”

“I’d like to see them try!”

“They’re already trying. Did you not notice the sword?”

“That weakling,” Brixaby scoffed. “Though his cards smell like yours. How about I steal his card, then you give me your two cards, and then–”

“That’s not happening. Hey, why aren’t you using those cards you stole against me?”

“None of your business!” Brixaby roared and thrashed again against Arthur’s grip. Arthur just held him steady. Waiting.

In here, he had all the time in the world.

At least Brixaby wasn’t trying to bite him again.

Finally, panting, the little dragon stopped. He muttered something under his breath, which was by far the quietest from him Arthur had heard so far.

He brought the little dragon up to his ear. “What?”

“I said!” the dragon boomed, “I don’t know! I feel their weight, their power, but I cannot fully access them and I don’t know why!”

How could he not know? Unless…

A suspicion grew in Arthur’s mind, but he kept it to himself for now. If he was right, Brixaby was certain to be prickly about it.

“One thing I’ve learned about cards is that while the descriptions might be clear, it still takes time to understand them. I had my Dad help me out with my skills at first, but I’m still learning things. Especially with my newest card. It’s useful to have a friend help you work out the nuances.”

Saying this made him feel like a hypocrite. He had kept the details of his cards from Horatio, Kenzie, and Cressida for his and their safety. They couldn’t be questioned about what they didn’t know.

Of course he couldn’t tell Penn, and Echo was too young even though she was mature for her age.

He might be able to trust Marion, if he wasn’t a prince and subject to the King’s whims.

Brixaby was silent, staring up at Arthur as if measuring him for something. Arthur shrugged and indicated the projection of his two cards which he hadn’t dismissed.

“What do you think about my cards?”

“They smell deliciously powerful and the… the images are pleasing, I suppose,” he said grudgingly.

Why Arthur had expected a baby dragon to know how to read, he didn’t know. He supposed other dragons felt their way to a perfect match. Brixaby wasn’t that type of dragon.

So Arthur read him both descriptions. Brixaby listened, carefully.

“There’s potential for growth,” the dragon said at the end, “though it would take time.”

Arthur chuckled. “You’re telling me. I found my Master of Skills card when I was twelve and I still feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface of what it can do. Now I have the Master of Body Enhancement, too. It feels like there’s not enough hours in the day to do everything. That’s why I come to this place. It’s outside of time so I can… practice…” he trailed off, realizing he was talking to the dragon like an old friend. And the dragon was listening.

Arthur cleared his throat. “Anyway, that’s what this place is: My own Personal Space.”

“Is that why it’s filled with junk?” Brixaby asked.

“Those are tools. Mostly. And a lot of food. Look, how about I open up my hand and let you go, but I still think we need to be in contact here or else you’ll slip back into frozen-time.”

“Release me!” Brixaby announced.

That wasn’t quite a yes, but Arthur opened up his hand anyway. To his relief, the dragon didn’t immediately dive for his heart. He just stood on the flat of Arthur’s palm, stretching out all four wings in relief.

Now he wasn’t darting around, Arthur took a second look at him. Even now, he couldn’t tell if he was true black or so deeply purple he looked dark. Though there was no one visible light source in the room, his hide gleamed at the edges.

“You’re a shimmer.” Arthur turned his hand back and forth, watching the play of light against Brixaby’s miniscule scales. At certain angles he caught flashes of purple, especially through the wing membrane. “But I don’t know what grade of shimmer.”

“The best, obviously.” Brixaby flexed his wings again proudly, then flinched.

Arthur’s gaze sharpened. He stopped looking at the color of the scales and closer at his overall conformation.

Not only was he ridiculously tiny, his dark color made it harder to see fine details. But now Arthur was looking, he noticed swelling at his joints. His stomach was round and tight, too. Too tight.

His Nursecraft and first aid class skills pinged at him. “Are you okay?”

“How dare you! I am fine! I am perfect–ow!” He hissed as Arthur poked at his ankle joint on his hind leg. In retaliation, Brixaby swatted at the finger, leaving three miniature bloody tracks.

“You’re not well,” Arthur said, noticing that the brightness in the dragon’s eyes had dimmed, too, though he still thought he spotted lurking madness in there.

Prickly or not, he had to voice his concerns. “Your card is incomplete, isn’t it?

Brixaby swelled in indignation. “It is perfect! You are incomplete in the head! When I am freed, I will tear out your cards and use them as my own and–”

“I’ve seen this before,” Arthur said, “with a Rare that hatched–”

“I am no mere Rare!”

He continued, “Hers presented as breathing problems. But she hatched out too early, and you… well, your egg was alone for a long time.”

Brixaby snorted. “What happened to the Rare? Did it live?”

“Yes, she did,” he smiled at the memory, “Her card was completed when she found someone to link with.”

Brixaby went quiet again. He weaved his head back and forth as if having an internal debate with himself.

Then, with a flick, he showed Arthur a projection of his card.

Call of The Void

Legendary

Nullify

The wielder of this card has the ability to take another card of the same rank or lower from any deck. Once placed in a temporary deck, the new card’s aspects are slowly consumed and ___ to a _____ to grow the wielder’s strength.

This _____ is not transferable and will dissolve upon the wielder’s death or removal from core.

This card is part of the Call set. Search out other cards in this set to add to your power.

Arthur’s heart pounded. “So, you have a card that takes powers from others, and I have two cards that use skills to grow. I’d like to see what that combination could do.”

Brixaby’s red eyes gleamed. “Or you can release me and then I take the rest of the cards from those too weak to oppose me!”

“Can you?” Arthur asked. “I don’t think you're digesting those other cards too well. It might be because they’re Legendary or because your card’s incomplete.” He poked at the tight, round stomach. “Or you’ve just taken in too much, too fast.”

Brixaby squawked. “How dare you!”

“Meanwhile,” Arthur continued, “With my skills and body enhancements I’m becoming stronger every day.” He paused. “Maybe you could too.”

“I admit your cards are… useful,” Brixaby allowed, “But there is a distinct lack of combat skills.”

That was almost a yes, but Arthur knew Brixaby wasn’t going to like this next bit.

“And if we do link, you’re going to have to give back those cards you just stole.”

“What?! Why?”

“Because they come from important people, and you aren’t absorbing them like you should. They’re not just any old cards. They’re Legendaries so that has to be uncomfortable and getting worse. Tell me I’m wrong.”

Brixaby growled. He turned and stomped in place, tail lashing back and forth. Arthur had the feeling if he were a red dragon, he’d be snorting fire.

“I’m the one who found you as an egg,” Arthur said, “You know that, don’t you? Every time I saw the egg, I felt pulled in.”

“I suppose our cards are compatible,” Brixaby said, though grudgingly as if Arthur had just convinced him to try broccoli. He turned back to Arthur and looked him up and down. “And I suppose you are… acceptable. No major flaws. That nose is a touch pointy for my taste, though.”

“If it helps,” Arthur said, “I was hoping for a dragon big enough to ride.”

“You are my steed. Not the other way around.”

Arthur smiled. “So, you want to link cards?”

“We can’t do that here.” Brixaby raised his head proudly. “Transmit me back to the real world.”

Arthur hesitated, well aware that Brixaby could very well just try to steal his cards again. But… if they were going to link, be partners, they would have to trust one another.

“Which one do you want to link with?” Arthur asked. “Master of Skills or Master of Body Enhancement?”

“I’m linking to both, of course.”

“You can do that?”

“I am Brixaby! Of course I can.”

Penn is going to hate this, Arthur thought.