Taki's frustration boiled over as he stomped his feet and exclaimed, "I won't accept another loss next time!"
Taki sat alone in the corner of the room, feeling saddened and defeated. He spread out his deck of cards on the floor and looked over them, feeling disheartened by what he saw. "Well, look at that," Taki muttered sarcastically. "Only one red card in my deck, how unfortunate."
Suddenly, Sophia appeared beside him. She had been staying as a computer, but now she gave Taki a tap on the shoulder. "Who made this card deck?" Taki asked, looking up at her and seeing her face for the first time. "I want to give that person a piece of my mind."
"It was you, Taki," Sophia replied. "You made that card deck. I don't have the power to change it to make you an auto-win. You have to do that for yourself by becoming a better card fighter."
Taki scoffed and turned his back on Sophia. "You make it sound so easy," he muttered.
Sophia walked around to face him and took his hand. "Times are hard," she said sympathetically. "If I could cheat your way to have infinite card points, I would. But there's a no-cheating system, you know."
Taki chuckled. "Yeah, I know. You win some and you lose some."
Sophia held out her hand for him to hold onto, and he grabbed it to lift himself up. "Are we okay now?" she asked.
Taki nodded. "Yeah, we're okay. I'll practice against the normal card fighters."
Sophia gave him a thumbs up. "You do that, Taki. You'll get there." And with that, Taki went on his merry way, determined to improve his skills and become a better card fighter.
"Hey Taki, you're here!" Nana greeted him enthusiastically.
Taki smiled in response. "Yes, I'm here."
"If you're a real card fighter, you'd better be prepared," Nana warned as she got out her card deck and set it on the table. "Un-grade bonehead!"
Taki grinned back at her. "You're just the opponent I need to test my card abilities with," he declared, raising his fist to his face. "It's card battle time, Nana!"
Taki felt the smooth jingle of the dice as they rolled through his fingers. The sound of Nana's dice colliding with his own filled the air as they landed on the table with a smack. Taki's dice showed a six, while Nana's showed a one, securing Taki's first-place position and Nana's second. Seven cards drifted onto both of their tables.
Taki discarded a card an adds one card to the fort, have ended his turn.
Nana adds three cards to the fort, have ended her turn.
Taki adds one card to the fort. Have discarded a card, has folded.
Ending his turn.
Nana adds no new cards to the fort, have folded. Ended her turn.
Taki adds one new card to the fort, had folded. Ending his turn.
Nana adds no new cards to the fort, had folded.
Ending her turn.
Taki adds two new cards to the fort, have folded. Ending his turn.
Nana discarded one card an adds two new cards to the fort, activated her special ability card, "Coup Detat General Morden."
Increased her action an counter cards to be more powerful.
Nana demanded one of her two of her cards to attack Taki.
The attack succeeded, doing 600 dmg to Taki's main hp.
Nana had ended her turn.
Taki adds one card to the fort, dud the special ability on his card to just stay in the ring. Taki commanded all his cards to attack Nana.
The attack succeeded, doing 1500 dmg to Nana's main hp.
Taki had ended his turn.
Nana adds one new card to the fort, have demanded one of her cards to attack Taki.
The attack succeeded, done 300 dmg to Taki's main hp.
Nana had ended her turn.
Taki adds two cards to the fort, have full house of all cards in his ring.
Taki folded, ending his turn.
Nana adds no new cards to the fort, have demanded one of her cards to attack Taki.
The attack failed, Taki's fighter card, ko'd Nana's SwordsMan woman card, into the discarded pile, heavily injured.
Nana had ended her turn.
Taki can't add any more cards, because his full house. He announced his cards to fusion attack, Nana.
The attack was not entirely successful as it only caused 800 points of damage to Nana's single card, while Taki's fusion attack cards dealt a total of two attacks. As a result, the damage inflicted on Nana's main health points was reduced to 500 dmg.
Taki had ended his turn.
Nana adds one new card to the fort, had folded.
Nana ended her turn.
Taki's ring is at full capacity, so he is unable to add any more cards to it. Despite this, he orders his cards to execute a fusion attack against Nana.
The attack was partially successful, dealing 800 points of damage to Nana's individual card. The damage was ultimately reduced to 500 points when it was applied to Nana's main health points.
Nana was knocked out, resulting in a clear victory for Taki.
"Great work, Taki!" Sophia applauded as she congratulated him on his ninth card battle win. "You now have 300 card points to look forward to."
"Nice job, Taki!" Nana said as she gave him a high five. Taki responded with a laugh and asked, "Do you want to play again?"
"Absolutely," Nana replied, smiling.
Taki and Nana both rolled their dice, which spun around the table like a whirlpool. Taki's dice landed on 5, while Nana's landed on 4. As a result, Taki won the roll and earned the right to go first, while Nana would take the second turn.
"Both players had seven cards in common on their tables," Nana observed, waiting for Taki's decision.
"Does it bother you that we're the cheapest to win on practice for card packs?
Shouldn't you Taki, try to negotiate a deal to win against the bosses of the card fighters you already won against and earn alot Card Tower points for free, in order to save the state of the rescue card tower?"
Taki shook his head. "No, it's fine," he replied, picking up a card from his table.
"Something is better than nothing, and I'll eventually catch up to buy a card pack."
"Alright then," Nana smiled.
Taki added one card to the fort, discarded one card.
Havd added another new card to the fort, have ended his turn.
Nana discarded two cards an added three cards to the fort, have ended her turn.
Taki adds a new card to the fort, dud the special ability on his new card to just stay in the ring.
Taki adds another card to the fort, and demanded his cards to attack Nana. The attack succeeded, done 600 dmg to Nana's main hp.
Taki ended his turn.
Nana adds no new cards to the fort, have folded.
Ended her turn.
Taki adds a new card to the fort, dud the special ability of his new card.
Taki adds another card to the fort, had folded.
Ending his turn.
Nana adds three new cards to the fort, had folded.
Ending her turn.
Taki places a card on the fort, disengaged the special ability of his newly added card. Taki adds another card to the fort.
With a full house already in his ring, he is unable to add any more cards to his collection.
Taki had folded, ended his turn.
Nana adds one new card to the fort, had demanded one of her cards to attack Taki.
The attack succeeded, done 500 dmg to Taki's main hp.
As Taki's ring already boasts a full house, he cannot add any more cards to it. Instead, he opts to fuse two cards together to launch a powerful attack against Nana.
The attack was partially successful, dealing 800 points of damage to Nana's single card, despite Taki only using two cards. As a result, Nana's main HP received a hit of 500 damage points.
Taki had ended his turn.
Nana had not added no new cards into the ring, had folded.
Nana has ended her turn.
Taki's ring is already at full capacity, so he cannot add any more cards to it.
Instead, he decides to fuse two cards together and launch a powerful attack against Nana.
The attack succeeded, done 800 dmg to Nana's main hp.
Taki had ended his turn.
Nana placed a new card on the fort and activated its special ability, "Coup Detat General Morden," which increased the power of her counter cards against action cards. She then used a chain special ability, "Sober As A Judge Vanessa," to roll a dice.
If the number was high, the power of a card in her ring would weaken, but if it was low, the power of a card she chose in her ring would double.
Her luck faltered as one of her cards weakened, forcing her to use two cards to launch an attack against Taki.
The attack succeeded, doing 600 dmg to Taki's main hp.
Taki's hand was already a full house, so he couldn't add any more cards to the ring. Nevertheless, he proceeded to launch a fusion attack using two of his cards against Nana.
"Although the attack was somewhat successful and dealt 800 damage to Nana's card, the damage was reduced to 500 points against Nana's main hit points, resulting in an instant knockout. With that, Taki emerged as the winner.
"Great job, Taki!" Sophia exclaimed.
"That was your tenth card battle victory, and you only need 400 more card points to reach the buy a card pack."
Nana gave Taki a high five and leaned over the table, her hand hovering over the button. "No time to waste," Taki said as he took out his card deck. They both rolled the dice, which bounced like a basketball before landing flat on the table, revealing Taki's score of 4 and Nana's score of 3.
Taki was able to go first, with Nana taking the second turn. The number seven appeared in the ring on each player's table.
Taki adds three cards to the fort, have ended his turn.
Nana discarded two cards an adds three cards to the fort, ended her turn.
Taki adds one new card, with an special power ability, he had declined to just stay in the ring.
Had demanded three of his cards to attack Nana.
The attack succeeded, done 1000 dmg to Nana's main hp.
Nana adds one new card to the fort, have folded.
Nana had ended her turn.
Taki discarded a card to add an powerful tanky card to the fort, have folded. Ending his turn.
Nana adds three cards to the fort, have demanded one of her cards to attack Taki.
The attack succeeded, done 200 dmg to Taki's main hp.
Nana had ended her turn.
Taki adds a powerful tanky card into the ring, an added a normal card into the fort, of his second. Have folded, ending his turn.
Nana adds no new cards to the fort, had demanded three cards to attack Taki.
The attack failed, all of Nana's cards got ko'd by Taki's cards, that all had survived.
Nana ended her turn.
Taki adds no new cards to the fort, have demanded a over powered move for two his strong cards to fusion together an attack at Nana.
The attack sort of failed, it done 1300 dmg to Nana's card, it reduced to 1000 dmg hit points to her main hp. It ko'd Nana, to being defeated by Taki.
"Congratulations on you're 11th win, Taki! Says Sophia, clapping her hands. You have 500 card points, for the time being.
"You on a role Taki," said Nana. Thanks, you know a cheat build lf cards to win up many card points to get actually cards you really want?" Taki asked Del, scratched his head.
It's better to stick to one deck od cards strategy, when you're on mission to save Card Tower an it's abnormal power from being abused into the only existence of our world," Nana laughed.
Sorry, Taki nervously chuckled looking around him.
"It's okay Taki, said Nana, held his hand up for him to see it.
You've beaten me faster, with a lucky shuffle, let's keep it going, rematch."
You've got it," Taki agreed.
Taki and Nana rolled the dice, causing it to jiggle and spin on the table until it eventually landed on their chosen numbers.
Taki rolled a three and Nana rolled a two, giving Taki the first turn and making Nana go second.
On each table for two players, seven cards were dealt and appeared on both the right and left sides.
Taki adds three cards to the fort, have ended his turn.
Nana adds three cards to the fort, had discarded a card.
Nana ended her turn.
Taki adds two cards to the fort, had demanded his three cards to attack Nana.
The attack was successful, it did 1100 dmg to Nana's main hp.
Nana adds no new cards to the fort, have folded.
Nana ended her turn.
Taki has added a new card to the ring and activated its special power, which enhances the strength of one of his cards, making its hits more powerful.
Taki had folded, ended his turn.
Nana discarded three cards an added two new card to the fort, had folded.
Nana ended her turn.
Taki adds a adds two card to the ring, have full house, an had folded.
Taki ended his turn.
Nana adds no new cards to the ring, have folded.
Nana ended her turn.
Since Taki's ring is at full capacity, he is unable to add any more cards to it. Instead, he calls for a fusion attack using two of his cards to strike Nana.
While not entirely successful, the attack dealt a significant blow, causing Nana's card to sustain 800 points of damage. However, the attack was partially mitigated, and Nana's main hit points were only reduced by 300 points of damage.
Taki had ended his turn.
By activating his passive card, "Revolutionary Etude Rose," Taki was able to gain additional force icons in the ring. This gave him a strategic advantage over his enemy, enabling him to strike with even greater force.
Nana adds no new cards to the ring, have demanded one of her cards to attack Taki.
Despite the attempt, the attack ultimately failed as Nana's card was knocked out by Taki's card. Taki's card managed to survive the encounter, albeit heavily injured.
Nana ended her turn.
Taki's ring is already full, so he cannot add any more cards to it. Therefore, he decided to use his four existing cards to perform two fusion attacks on Nana.
The attack was partially successful as it caused 800 damage to Nana.
The damage was reduced to 500 when it hit Nana's main HP.
Although the attack dealt 700 damage to Nana's card, it was only able to cause 500 damage to her main HP. Nonetheless, this was enough to knock out Nana and secure Taki's victory.
Sophia congratulated Taki with a laugh on his 12th card battle win, which earned him 600 card points. Nana suggested that Taki should scratch a card, as it is the cheapest option, before battling Card Hermit, the boss fighter who gives out good card points if defeated. Taki responded with a dismissive gesture, walking towards the elevator doors, and agreed to Nana's suggestion. Kido welcomed Taki back to his shop with a smile as he returned from the elevator. Meanwhile, Sophia observed as Taki selected a random card from the scratch card aisle and used his nails to scratch it and reveal its contents.
Taki expressed frustration by rolling his eyes at the card on the counter, realizing it was of no use to his card deck. He did not bother inquiring about its contents and instead proceeded to scratch another card.
Taki's eyes widened as he stared intently, the white pupils within his line of sight not once blinking. "I'm not wasting my time on a simp, I'm here to save Card Tower," he bellowed, brandishing his cards aggressively at Sophia.
Sophia couldn't help but chuckle, covering her mouth with her hand. "It's called randomization for a reason, Taki," she teased.
With a pained groan, Taki stormed out of the card shop. "Feel free to come back anytime, Taki!" Sophia called after him. "We always appreciate your business."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Taki muttered, waving his hand dismissively without much care. Kido watched as Taki left, his hand resting on his chin as he tapped his foot impatiently. "Seems like he's not having a good day," Kido thought to himself, noting Taki's lack of response to his farewell.
Card Hermit was floating peacefully, focusing on his magic-bending when a sudden yell jolted him out of his reverie. "Hey, you!?" he heard.
Startled, he looked down and saw a determined Taki, who had slammed his card deck on the table. "I'm ready for battle," Taki declared. "I'll keep fighting you no matter how many times I lose, because eventually, I'll beat you!"
"Sure thing, Taki," Card Hermit replied, walking up to Taki until they were face-to-face. "I won't hold back," he warned.
Taki and Card Hermit both rolled the dice, feeling it jiggle between their fingers before it landed on the table with a smack. Card Hermit got a six, while Taki only got a three. Card Hermit generously offered to let Taki go first, taking the second turn himself to give Taki a better chance at gaining an upper hand.
Seven cards were laid out on the table between the two players, and Taki was starting to sweat as he tried to decide which card to play first in the match.
Taki adds three cards in the ring, had ended his turn.
Card Hermit adds two cards into the fort, have ended his turn.
Taki discarded one card an added two cards into the ring.
Taki declared three of his cards to attack Card Hermit.
The attack was successful, it done 700 dmg to Card Hermit's main hp.
Taki ended his turn.
Card Hermit discarded four cards in order to add a new card to the ring, and then ordered his two remaining cards to attack Taki.
The attack was successful, it done 900 dmg to Taki's main hp.
Card Hermit ended his turn.
Taki opted not to add any new cards to the ring, instead choosing to command his five existing cards to attack Card Hermit. The attack was successful, dealing a whopping 1300 damage to Card Hermit's main HP and knocking him out. Taki emerged victorious from the battle.
Sophia applauded Taki with a smile on her face. "Congratulations, Taki! You've won your twelfth battle against Card Hermit, earning 700 card points," she announced.
"Good job, my boy," praised Card Hermit. "Thank you, Card Hermit," replied Taki, relieved after the intense battle. "Where are you headed?" Card Hermit asked, noticing Taki walking up to Nana for a hug.
"I'm going to have a card battle against my companion Nana," Taki replied. "If I win one more battle, I'll have enough points to buy a new card pack."
"Keep up the good work," Card Hermit waved Taki off, returning to his peaceful hovering mid-air.
"Okay, cut it out!" Nana pushed Taki away from their embrace. "You have a mission to complete, so let's get to it. No commentary, let's just battle," she urged.
Taki nodded in agreement. "You're right, my bad. Let's do this."
They both rolled the dice, feeling it jiggling in their hands before it came to a stop on the table. Taki got a 3 and Nana got a 1, so Taki was granted the first turn while Nana followed with the second.
Seven cards were then placed on both players' tables, signaling the start of their battle.
Taki adds one card deck in the fort, have ended his turn.
Nana adds three cards into the ring, have ended her turn.
Taki adds a new card into the ring, have demanded his card to attack Nana. The attack was successful, it done 400dmg to Nana's main hp.
Nana adds no new cards into the ring, have folded. Nana ending her turn.
Taki got rid of a regular card so that they could meet the required force icons to play a new card that had a special ability.
He set it to just stay in the ring, and folded.
Taki ended his turn.
Nana played three cards into the ring, discarded four cards into the discard pile, and then folded.
Nana ended her turn.
Taki adds one new card into the ring, have folded.
Taki ended his turn.
Nana adds a card into the ring, have demanded one of her czefs to attack Taki.
Nana's attack was unsuccessful, as Taki's card knocked out Nana's card.
However, Taki's card remained in play and was not defeated.
Nana ended her turn.
Taki played a new card into the ring that had a powerful special ability, but ultimately decided not to use it and instead kept the card in play. Taki couldn't activate the ability because they didn't have enough force icons, so they folded and ended their turn.
Nana adds one new card into the ring, have demanded her tanky card to attack Taki.
The attack was successful, it done 300 dmg to Taki's main hp.
Taki adds one new card to the fort, with an special ability.
Taki introduces a new card to the fort, which possesses a unique ability. However, due to insufficient force icons, he is unable to activate the special power and simply leaves the card in the ring.
Taki has achieved a full house by adding another card to his hand, have folded.
After this, he ended his turn.
Nana discards one card an declared her card to attack Taki.
Despite the attack, it was unsuccessful in knocking out Nana's card. Instead, Taki's surviving cards managed to KO Nana's card, leaving it heavily injured but still in the ring.
Nana ended her turn.
Taki is unable to add any additional cards to his ring as it already has a full house. However, he decided to employ a fusion attack strategy, combining his tanky hero and an anime girl ice fighter, to launch an attack on Nana.
Unfortunately, the attack was not successful and only inflicted 700 damage to Nana's card, which was subsequently reduced to 400 damage to Nana's main hp.
Taki had ended his turn.
Nana added one new card into the ring, have folded.
Nana had ended her turn.
Taki's ring is already full as he has a full house, so he cannot add any more cards to it. However, he opted for a fusion attack using two cards to attack Nana.
Despite the attack, it was not very successful as it only dealt 700 points of damage to Nana's current card, which was then reduced to 400 points of damage to Nana's main health points. After the attack, Taki ended his turn.
Nana folded, had added no new cards into the ring, have ended her turn.
Taki introduces a new card to the ring and considers initiating a fusion attack, taking into account the two cards already present. He proceeds to activate the special ability of the newly added card, called "Round Trip Trish." Fortunately, luck is on his side as this ability is similar to one used by Nana in a previous match. By rolling the dice and obtaining higher numbers, Taki is able to gradually increase the hit power of his cards.
The attack was partially successful, dealing 800 damage to Nana's sturdy card, but only managing to reduce her main health points by 100 dmg.
Taki had ended his turn.
Nana chose not to introduce any new cards to the ring and instead ordered one of her existing cards to attack Taki. However, the attack was unsuccessful and her card was knocked out by one of Taki's cards, though Taki's card remained in the ring, albeit injured.
Nana ended her turn.
Taki introduces a new card to the ring and decides to initiate a fusion attack, combining two of his cards to attack Nana. He chooses not to activate the special ability of the newly added card, as it would not provide any advantage in this situation.
The attack was partially successful, dealing 1100 damage to Nana's card and reducing her main health points by 900. Ultimately, Nana was knocked out, making Taki the winner of the match.
"Congratulations on you're 14th win, Taki, says Sophia smiling.
You have 800 card points now, to buy a card pack. "
Nana gave Taki a thumbs up and a smile, to which Taki responded with a smile and a wave before heading towards the elevator doors.
"You're back, Taki!" exclaims Kido, clapping his hands. "Yeah, yeah," Taki replies, slightly out of breath. He briefly leans on his knees to catch his breath before standing up again and approaching Kido's table. As he reaches the edge, he glances over at the card decks on display. "I sure am, I'm here to get a card pack."
Sophia rotated her neck in a circular motion as she stretched her arms, watching as Taki returned. He immediately grabbed a card pack and tore open its packaging.
Taki stood motionless, not taking a single breath.
"Well, Taki, that isn't bad. You could try using the cheap double dutch-man card deck until you get the cards you need," suggested Sophia as she stretched. Taki took a deep breath and turned towards her.
"What do you mean?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The deck consists of force icon cards that could overwhelm your enemies for easy wins or deal a lot of damage with more cards in the ring, before they even have enough force icons to beat you," explained Sophia.
"That could work," Taki nodded his head in agreement. He retrieved his card deck and switched out some of the cards for better ones that fit his strategy.
"Well, keep on winning, Taki," Sophia said, shrugging and placing a hand over her chest. "I'll be waiting." Taki put his card deck away and headed towards the elevator to go up to the second floor.
Card Hermit chuckled as he smoothed the bread crumbs off his hands, saying, "Well, well, if it isn't Taki. Are you here for a rematch?"
Taki replied eagerly, clenching his fist and exclaiming, "You bet I am! It's card battle time!"
Taki and Card Hermit shook the dice, feeling the jiggling sensation between their hands, and let it go. The dice landed on the table, revealing a 6 for Taki and a 3 for Card Hermit. As a result, Taki got to play first, while Card Hermit would go second. Seven cards appeared on each player's table, ready to be used in the upcoming game.
Taki added one new card into the ring, have ended his turn.
Card Hermit adds two cards into the ring, have ended his turn.
Taki adds one new card into the ring, have demanded one of his cards to attack Card Hermit. The attack was successful, it done 400dmg to Card Hermit's main hp.
Card Hermit adds no new cards into the ring, have folded.
Card Hermit ended his turn.
Taki added one new card into the ring, have folded.
Taki ended his turn.
Card Hermit placed two cards into the ring after discarding half of his deck. With only one card left in his hand, he ordered the two cards to attack Taki.
The attack was successful, it done 800 dmg to Taki's main hp.
Card Hermit ended his turn.
The fighter's passive ability, "Star of the Ring R.Mika," enhances the power of their hits when activated.
Two cards have been added to the ring by Taki and subsequently folded. Taki has now concluded their turn.
Hermit played an additional card into the ring and then commanded their heavy hitter card to attack Taki.
Although Card Hermit's attack knocked out Taki's card, it still remains in the ring, albeit significantly injured. Thus, the attack ultimately failed to hit Taki main hp.
Taki was unable to activate the special powerup as they did not have enough force icons to do so, causing it to fail. In response, they added a resilient and potent card to the ring and subsequently ended their turn by folding.
Card Hermit activates a special ability "Requesting Backup Lien Neville" that'll benefit his opponent Taki, granting him card power, as Card Hermitnhas to discard a card.
Card Hermit utilized their special ability, "Requesting Backup Lien Neville," which granted Taki additional card power at the cost of Card Hermit discarding a card.
Taki expressed appreciation for the unexpected benefit, but their smile disappeared as one of their cards was significantly weakened.
Card Hermit smirked in response, causing frustration for Taki. Before ending their turn, Card Hermit commanded one of their cards to attack Taki.
"Have fun, kiddo," said Card Hermit, as they pointed their finger and initiated the attack.
Card Hermit's attack failed as Taki's card successfully defeated it, leaving Taki's card still in the ring but heavily damaged. Despite the intense battle, Taki's card remained in the game.
Taki played a powerful card in the ring and a resilient card in the fort. After making these moves, Taki ended their turn by folding.
Card Hermit utilized a counter action card called "Lord Final Slash," which dealt 100 damage directly to Taki's main HP.
During Card Hermit's turn, Taki's cards in the ring activated a cool ability that did not align with Taki's playstyle. While Taki was preoccupied with deciding which cards to play next, they were caught off guard as Card Hermit continued their turn and commanded four of their cards to attack Taki.
All of the cards belonging to both Taki and Card Hermit were knocked out as the attack failed, with the exception of Taki's powerful card and Card Hermit's robot fighter, which remained in the game but were both severely injured.
Card Hermit ended his turn.
Taki played two cards in the ring and commanded their resilient card to attack Card Hermit.
Although Card Hermit's card was knocked out, Taki's card remained standing as the attack ultimately failed.
Taki wondered why they hadn't lost yet, given their deck of cards. Despite their concerns, they almost forgot to end their turn.
Card Hermit had added a new cars into the ring, have folded.
Card Hermit ended his turn.
Taki did not play any new cards in the ring, but instead attempted to overdrive their opponent, Card Hermit, by commanding all of their cards to attack in anticipation of Card Hermit's next move.
The diversion tactic to Card Hermit trying to defend, proved successful as the rest of Taki's heavy-hitting cards dealt over 1500 damage to Card Hermit's main HP, knocking them out instantly and making Taki the victor.
"Good job Taki! Said Sophia, clapping her hands. You won you're 15th win, an has 700 card points as you're reward!"
Card Hermit wiped the sweat off their forehead, visibly relieved after a tough match. "That was quite the challenge, sonny. You're certainly getting stronger," they remarked.
Taki smiled and chuckled, shaking Card Hermit's hand in appreciation. "Thanks, Card Hermit. You're no slouch yourself. I always try to do my best," Taki replied.
Sophia was sitting in the corner of the room, shuffling her deck of cards when Taki approached her. She greeted him with a smile and performed a sleight of hand, making the deck disappear up her sleeves.
"What is it, dear?" she asked.
Taki looked worried and asked, "Did you help me win against Card Hermit?"
Sophia let out a sigh of relief and answered, "Yes, I did."
Taki was taken aback. "Isn't that cheating?" he asked, standing up. "You told me you couldn't bypass the anti-cheat system to help me save Card Tower."
Sophia tried to reassure him. "I didn't use any obvious hacks or give you unlimited card points, Taki. Doing that would increase the risk of getting caught, which could jeopardize our world's survival. But I did unlock your third eye to the World of Card Fighters," she explained.
Sophia then handed Taki her database cell phone, which contained crucial information about Kaito's unresponsive status and Rena's rogue situation. "Kaito isn't responding, and I don't know if Rena is alive or okay. Time is running out, and I had to think of something. You're the only one I knew I could count on to listen," she said, shrugging her shoulders.
Taki looked at her and asked, "Why me? Why not someone more capable than a book like me?"
"Because I trust you, Taki. You're the only one I know who won't let me down," she whined.
Taki bobbed his head in a steady nod, understanding the gravity of the situation. He handed the phone back to Sophia and cautioned her, "Just don't make it too obvious, Sophia."
Taki suggested having another card battle with Card Hermit and asking for help only if necessary, to avoid arousing suspicion. Sophia agreed, and Taki walked over to Card Hermit for another battle.