Card Duel Ch. 02-03

Chapter 2

Over the following weeks, Minh forgot about the card game. Despite its novelty, a strip game did not promise the technical depth she hoped to exploit for research papers when she set out to study forbidden artifacts with Dakota. But the game state conferred by the pink potion, that she couldn't forget.

Later the same evening she'd played the game with Dakota, at soccer practice, she had to stop and wheeze after spending her breath, rest her hands on her knees on the side line. She could not help but compare the discomfort and the aches in her joints with the pleasurable feeling of total health and bottomless endurance she'd tasted in the game state. The game state outshined even what she remembered of youth. As far back as elementary, she could recall running too much and suffering sharp pains in her hip. Even that minimal vulnerability was out of the question in the game state. Dakota's testing over the following weeks proved that.

In the evenings, Dakota came to the common area of the underclassmen girls' residential tower, where Minh was still stuck living in spite of having aged out of it (space constraints in the upperclassmen's tower), and showed off his handstand pushups, which he seemed to never tire from, and invited girls to look closely at his nose and find "even one pore". Invariably they wanted to know his secret, so he would pull out the pink vial and offer them a droplet. No matter how many girls took the potion, the vial never fell below the marked fill line. It multiplied inside to make up for what was taken and would never run out.

None of the girls knew the potions belonged to a strip game, only that the effects felt incredible and made them beautiful in just the way they wished they were. That wasn't unfair deceit on his part. The game was irrelevant as long as one chose not play. Time did not dull the effects of the game state. Three weeks in, Dakota felt as good or even better than he had on his first day. He hadn't needed to drink or eat anything, or visit the restroom, since entering it. Still, Minh suspected his motives, given that he only ever distributed to the freshman and sophomore girls.

Minh had formed the habit of sitting and watching during the evenings, posted up at the desk in the corner nook with her textbooks, ostensibly studying, but spending more time looking up distracted by the show Dakota was putting on and the crowd of girls surrounding him.

In addition to the physical effects of the game state, there was a different effect Minh had noticed but been unable to explain until after a few weeks of reflection. Not because the effect was a subtle, but because it altered perception itself. Under normal conditions, Minh was basically fearful. Her fear of showing up late impelled her to leap out of her seat at the ring of every class bell and hurry across campus to the next lecture avoiding eye contact with anyone, lest they strike a conversation and delay her. If she sat down to study with four hours ahead of her and only an hour of work to do, she nevertheless worked under a perceived time pressure, her body tense and heart beating audibly. At night before falling asleep she calmed herself with fantasies of being in multiple places at once, being able to do everything at the same time, as that seemed the only way to shed her worries.

But in the game state, all sense of urgency had evaporated. It became as obvious as it always should have been that she had plenty of time to achieve what she needed to. There was no reason to stress.

One evening in at the desk in the corner, watching Dakota pitch the potions, Minh lost track of her study completely, did not even open her potions book.

All of these girls who had not played the card game could take the pink potion at no cost. Though they surely undressed each day, nothing prevented them from dressing again. That effect, apparently, was specific to suffering penalties in the game.

She stood up to walk over to Dakota, not sure what she'd even say or do once she got near, just surrendering to the pull of envy. But she froze after walking halfway because someone descended the spiral stair case and crossed her path. Walking directly toward Dakota in bare feet, underdressed in short, stiff pajama shorts that exposed half her cheeks and a form-hugging tank top which her nipples pressed through, was Eva.

"Oh," Eva said, noticing Minh. Because Eva was almost a foot taller than her, she had to look down to make eye contact. "Do you still live here? I thought you passed your exams."

"I did pass my exams. There's no space in the upperclassmen tower this year."

"Are you sure you passed? Because I've never heard of a case like that. Are you the only one staying behind?" She brought her finger innocently to her lips, which were so balmed in pink they reflected the light of the fireplace.

"I'm sure."

"Well, if you're sure," Eva said, and smiled.

Eva had been wearing that same outfit the night before exams last semester, when Minh walked into her then-boyfriend's dorm room without knocking. Her then-boyfriend said nothing, leaned against the headboard shirtless with the covers up to his waist. He looked at Minh, then looked down in silent shame. But Eva, who sat at the edge of the bed with her legs crossed checking her eyes at different angles in a little pocket mirror, said, "Oh, Minh, he didn't break up with you yet?" Eva was a freshman at the time, but preternaturally skilled at identifying the most irritating thing to say.

The other girls hovering around Dakota stepped back to make room when Eva approached him. All of them, Minh noticed, dressed properly in a school robe when in the common area, and Minh concluded this was why they'd stepped back: if Eva came at him in her pajamas, they assumed she had some history with him, that a lover's dispute was about to unfold. And Minh couldn't rule out that it was true.

What Minh didn't know was that the other girls in the tower made space for Eva wherever she went, no matter how she was dressed. Her father was a significant donor to the school, and had paid to have this tower refurnished. Plus, when Eva faced an expulsion order because she arranged two mirror portals vertically and shoved another freshman girl between them, trapping her in a terminal-velocity fall loop for five hours, her dad had a meeting with someone on the board, and suddenly that girl and all the teachers who had taken issue with Eva had no place in the school anymore. This was known by all status-sensitive students.

Dakota was upside down by the fireplace, balancing statue-still on just one palm, his other hand casually resting behind his head. When he saw Eva, he pushed off and landed on his feet.

Minh watched in tension. She'd told Dakota once, when they were drunk, about what happened between her and Eva. And she believed she and Dakota were friends, but to what degree? Could she expect him to adopt her enemies as his own? Any affection he showed her would feel like a betrayal.

He smiled at Eva, took her hand, and bowed. "My lady," he said. He was mocking her.

Minh relaxed.

Eva yanked her hand back, but otherwise maintained her dignified facade. "I hear you're passing out a serum."

"It's no serum," Dakota said. "It's a potion from the future that kicks off a strip game."

This caught the attention of the others around the common area, seated by the couch and fire. They set down their books and papers and wandered over to listen. Dakota explained for everyone what he and Minh had discovered: the decks, the card game, the blue potion, and the article penalties that never go away. Everyone who had taken the potion held out their palms to summon their deck, and then a murmur arose as people realized they could not read the Vietnamese on their cards.

"But can you gain anything by playing?" Eva said.

"The humiliation of your enemies," Dakota said, and fanned out his deck, revealing 5 cards, one more than Minh knew about. "And I'm sure you've heard, and seen, what the game state is worth. Durable health, perfect beauty, endurance and strength beyond that of ten athletes. That tempts you. I can see it in your face. But the era of giving it out for free is over. If you want it, you have to play for it."

"At any time I can just take the blue potion and return to normal?"

"Any time between matches. You can hold the blue potion in your hands while we play, if that reassures you." He went to his bag he'd set against the wall and pulled out the blue vial, which he handed to her.

Eva assented to play, shook his hand. She and Dakota sat across from each other at the table in the center of the common area, under the flame chandelier. He handed her a card, told her to hold it. From over Eva's shoulder, Minh read it silently. In English it would have said:

Ward (người bị tạm giữ)

type: coercion

tier: winstreakdebuff-1

Give this card to a new player.

If a player enters the game after touching this card, even if years later, they automatically enter a match with the player who gave them the card, and may neither fold nor exit the game before that match completes.

"Eva," Minh said quietly behind her, "do you want me to translate for you? This card has important information you should know." With Eva only wearing shorts and a tank top, she would be in a vulnerable position.

"I don't need your help," she said. "Give me the potion."

After sucking a dab of the pink potion off her index finger, Eva's hair, which had a few strands poking out, became softer and heavier, fell into place. Other than that, she didn't change at all. She summoned her deck, and glared at Minh again. None of the cards made sense to her.

Dakota vs Eva

at stake: 1

Dakota

articles: boxers, pants, robe, scarf, accessory x7, sock x2

article rights: 13

deck: Fold (bỏ), Raise (tố), Say the truth (nói sự thật), Article Choice (quyền lựa chọn mảnh), Ward (người bị tạm giữ)

in matches with: Eva

Eva

articles: shorts, shirt

article rights: 2

states: ward of Dakota

deck: Fold (bỏ), Raise (tố), Say the truth (nói sự thật)

in matches with: Dakota

"Eva, you should let me translate."

"Oh my god, fine. Fine!"

"Because you took the ward card," Minh said, "you can't use your fold card in this match against Dakota, and you can't exit the game while in a match. The only way the match ends is if he folds."

"What a pervert," Eva said to Dakota. "You did all this just to see me strip?"

"You can go first," he said. "Why don't you play that card by your thumb and ask again?"

When Minh explained Eva's three cards were fold, say the truth, and raise, and that only two of those were in play, Eva nodded along, then grinned. Instead of say the truth, she played raise.

Dakota vs Eva

at stake: 2

Chapter 3

Dakota snorted, then said, "sorry, sorry," but didn't seem sorry. He played say the truth, then stared directly at Eva. A real question was coming, everyone could tell, a question he'd prepared in advance. The flame chandelier lit Eva brightly but left Dakota's face ominously shaded outside the light cone. He rolled his sleeves up to reveal his muscular forearms, which flexed when he clasped his hands calmly in front of him on the table. His beard concealed any expression that might have leaked around his mouth and his eyes showed no sign of mercy. "Last semester," he said, "before you slept with Minh's boyfriend, did you dose his beer with a love potion?"

Silence spread through the room. Everyone wanted to hear the answer. The scandal was known to everyone, but under the narrative that Minh could not keep her man, that Eva had tempted him.

Eva turned to Minh. "If I don't answer then what?"

Minh smiled at her, infusing in her expression the same hint of poison Eva's smiles always had. "If you answer dishonestly, or refuse to answer, two articles of clothing will disappear off of you, and anything else you try to wear will teleport back to where you picked it up."

"And even then, I couldn't exit the game?"

"Not until Dakota folds."

Eva closed her eyes, thinking.

"I recommend honesty," Dakota said.

"Okay," Eva said, and stood up, set the blue vial on the table, slid it over to Dakota. "I will answer your question. But not at this time. Thank you for the serum, and I'll be on my way."

Minh and Dakota looked at each other, confused. Nothing happened to Eva as she walked away. Her clothes remained.

"So, what does that mean?" Dakota asked.

"Based on my understanding," Minh said, "she's still in the turn. She didn't refuse to answer, or lie. But if she ever does refuse to answer or lie about the issue in question, to anyone, I expect that would trigger the penalty."

After the scene in the girl's tower, Minh went with Dakota back to his dorm. She sat at the desk to look at the notebook and potions, and Dakota lay back on the bed.

He still hadn't told her about the new pages in the notebook. After she left for soccer practice a few weeks ago, he turned the page, and more writing appeared. He would have asked her to translate, but he'd seen her studying so much, he assumed she was busy. So he found a Vietnamese-English dictionary and translated himself word by word.

Rule #8

Pages of the notebook will reveal themselves as any player in the playerbase earns a win streak. For example, to reveal the first additional page, any player must earn a single win. The winstreak intervals which reveal new pages are a secret to the players.

By winning against Minh, Dakota revealed the hidden ink on the first additional page.

Rule #9

Any player may accept the following debuff in exchange for the ward card: any time you incur penalties, your opponent(s) in the match are forgiven the same number of penalties.

Dakota explained all of this to Minh while looking at the ceiling, then rolled over and searched her face for any sign of relief that his new card hadn't come from playing with someone else. Strands of her black hair fell untucked from behind her ears and framed her face at the sides. She was so cute it hurt him. Her intense focus on reading the notebook now made him want to distract her.

But she was not thinking about where he'd gotten the card. She was looking at the original text, considering the debuff. It might solve her problem with the game state. Dakota wore several rings on his left hand.

"Hey, Dakota, do you think you could suffer leaving your rings at home from now on?"

He sat upright and smiled at her. He understood her plan. All he had to do was offer her softball questions and lose a turn or two, and she'd regain her clothing in game mode.

Once they sat down at the desk, Minh drank a droplet of the pink potion, and her clothes vanished except for her briefs and bra. Dakota looked at her chest. This bra, low-cut gray cotton, revealed the top of her breasts. They would be just big enough to fill his hands. The top edge of her bra had no elastic, so there was a small gap between it and her skin. If he learned forward, he would see her nipples.

Dakota vs Minh

at stake: 1

Dakota

articles: boxers, pants, robe, scarf, accessory x7, sock x2

article rights: 13

deck: Fold (bỏ), Raise (tố), Say the truth (nói sự thật), Article Choice (quyền lựa chọn mảnh), Ward (người bị tạm giữ)

in matches with: Eva, Minh

Minh

articles: panties, bra

article rights: 2

deck: Fold (bỏ), Raise (tố), Say the truth (nói sự thật)

in matches with: Dakota

"Hello, Dakota," Minh said, and snapped.

"Right, sorry." He played say the truth. "Here's an easy one. Do you like Eva?"

"No," she said, believing it to obviously true. But then the cold wood of the chair pressed against her ass. Quickly she crossed her legs to conceal herself from Dakota. "That's not right. I answered honestly."

Minh

articles: bra

article rights: 1

deck: Fold (bỏ), Raise (tố), Say the truth (nói sự thật)

in matches with: Dakota

Dakota stroked his jaw. "Hmm. Do you think it can read our unconscious? Like, we may answer what we consciously think to be true, but the spell knows something deeper about us than we're aware of?"

"I don't know what to make of that right now. Just give me easy, simple questions from now on. Nothing with the possibility of an unconscious contradiction." She played raise.

Dakota vs Minh

at stake: 2

A loud banging on the door interrupted them. From the other side, the headmaster shouted, "Dakota, get decent, we're coming into the room in thirty seconds."

"Quick!" Minh said, grabbing Dakota by the shoulders. "Ask me something simple!"

"Uh, uh, what's your favorite color?" He set down say the truth again.

"God damn it Dakota I don't know how to answer that. I'm not sure if I have one. Let me answer later." She dove under his bed, and pulled her school sack under with her.

The headmaster forced the door open. Eva followed in behind him, and from her hiding place Minh heard her voice near Dakota's desk. The headmaster, in his hoarse old voice, wanted to know where it was, the potion that prevented Eva from donning more clothes. "We won't discuss the consequences right now," he said. "My first concern is Eva, and any other girls you've given this to. Hand me the potions."

"There's someone else here," Eva said. "Under the bed."

Without hesitation, the headmaster knelt and raised the little curtain that hung below the mattress, saw Minh, and heaved her out by her forearm. He threw her onto the edge of the bed next to Dakota. The desk behind him was empty. Dakota had stashed the potions and notebook.

Minh crossed her legs and turned to her side for any degree of privacy. Behind the headmaster, Eva stared between her thighs unselfconsciously, unblinking. Minh's cheeks tingled and went numb like they always did when she was too embarrassed, and the gazes of Eva and the headmaster felt like heat rays on her skin.

The headmaster looked between the two of them, Minh all but nude, Dakota fully dressed and adorned in jewelry. "Minh," he said. "Until recently I have known you to be a disciplined and well-behaved. Can I trust you to explain this situation to me?"

Behind the headmaster, unnoticed by anyone, Eva kicked open Dakota's desk drawer and dropped a folding portal mirror into it, then picked it up, folded it, and tucked it back in her pocket.

Everyone was still waiting on Minh's answer.

She knew she had to lie. If she didn't lie, they would take the potions away. Neither her ambition to publish nor even her academic curiosity felt relevant. All that mattered was keeping the game state's vitality, getting enough clothing in the game state to live in it forever. The game state was everything.

"We got the potion from Eva, or at least droplets of it. We don't have the vials," Minh said timidly. "She gave me a droplet to apologize for dosing my boyfriend Henry with a love potion last semester, but I didn't know I would end up like--" Minh found tears, squeezed her face as if fighting them back, then cried.

The headmaster, still stern, waved his hand over Minh and conjured in the air a geometric representation of the potion's spell, lines of light crossing this way and that in the air. It was so complicated and tangled there was no identifying a top or bottom. "Oh my, this is unlike... This is..." He turned to Eva, asked whether she really had dosed Minh's boyfriend with a love potion.

Eva said, "I can answer that question for you at a later time."

"Well, that's a suspicious answer." The headmaster bowed in apology to Dakota and Minh. "It seems there's more I need to understand. I'll share this schematic with some professors and be in touch. Eva, come with me."

With that, they left the room. Dakota rushed over the to desk and searched his drawers. "She took potions and notebook. But how? It's not like the sack would fit in her shorts."

Minh crawled under the covers on the bed, but the covers teleported beneath her. She hit the pillow limply. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask, how did you find out Eva dosed Henry?"

"He told me."

"He told you? Why wouldn't he tell me?"

"According to him, because he was afraid that you wouldn't believe him, that you'd think he was trying to get away with cheating on you. Would you have believed, if he told you?"

"Of course I would believe him. And there's ways to verify that too."

"Well, too bad for him." Dakota moved his chair over to the bedside, took Minh's hand in his. "Look, I know you're in a difficult spot right now. It would be hard for you to leave the room. I want to help you. But you would need to answer the color question, and like we said earlier, we don't know what penalties mean if you're out of articles. Whatever does happen, if you answer wrong, I want you to know that I won't take advantage of you. I'll only do what's necessary to help you."

Minh took Dakota's head in her hands. She didn't have words to reply, but a budding trust in him warmed her chest. "Green," she said.

Her briefs and one sock returned to her body. It was simple after that. By the time he folded, she was wearing everything she'd lost, plus possessed the article choice card, and all it cost Dakota was the rings on his hand, which teleported back into the drawers where he kept them at night.

Dakota

articles: boxers, pants, robe, scarf, sock x2

article rights: 6

deck: Fold (bỏ), Raise (tố), Say the truth (nói sự thật), Article Choice (quyền lựa chọn mảnh), Ward (người bị tạm giữ)

in matches with: Eva

Minh

articles: panties, bra, robe, scarf, accessory x2, sock x2

article rights: 8

deck: Fold (bỏ), Raise (tố), Say the truth (nói sự thật), Article Choice (quyền lựa chọn mảnh)