Miles only truly understood the rules of the Field Spell Card [Speed World 2] after the Turbo Duel began.
Speed Counters start increasing from the second turn onward.
And the higher the number of Speed Counters, the stronger the Speed Spells a Duelist can activate become.
Additionally, Speed Counters can also be removed to activate the Field Spell [Speed World 2]'s own effect.
[If a player activates a non-"Speed Spell" Spell Card, they take 2000 damage. Except during the first turn of the Duel, during each player's Standby Phases, each player places 1 Speed Counter on their copy of this card (max. 12 each). You can remove any number of your Speed Counters from this card to activate an appropriate effect:
● 4: Reveal any number of "Speed Spell" Spell Cards in your hand, and inflict 800 damage to your opponent for each card revealed.
● 7: Draw 1 card.
● 10: Destroy 1 card on the field.]
Regardless, for Ren, whose Deck had yet to include any Speed Spells, the Speed Counters themselves—including the Field Spell's effect of removing four Speed Counters to inflict damage—were practically meaningless.
Instead, it was the rule that inflicted 2000 damage upon activating a Normal Spell that severely limited the HERO Deck's performance.
The Turbo Duel Miles had long been looking forward to turned out to be nothing but a complete backstab for the first round.
This was far removed from the Turbo Duel of his dreams.
Gritting his teeth, Miles said, "Damn it, destroying a man's dreams is a serious offense!"
Ren muttered: "Exactly the same... as before..."
Within the Soul Room of the Millennium Puzzle, Ren, who had remained silent ever since the Shadow Game began, suddenly spoke—her voice trembling slightly.
"What is it, Ren?"
"This Shadow Game... these burning purple walls... they're just like back then."
"Back then? You mean..."
The only Shadow Game Miles didn't know about was the one Ren and Aisha had experienced together when they were children.
In that Shadow Game, Ren's brother, Edigo Austin, had sacrificed his own dueling career to ensure the two little girls' safety.
"Why... why has it appeared again? This burning geoglyph..."
"Geoglyph? Ren, are you talking about this fiery racetrack? I see!"
Once Ren mentioned the keyword 'geoglyph,' Miles finally recalled it.
This blazing racetrack must have been modeled after the Nazca Lines—the divine patterns used by the Dark Signers who worshiped the Earthbound Immortals in 5D's.
So... when Ren and Aisha were little, were they attacked by an Earthbound Immortal?
That said, if the Earthbound Immortals resided far away in Axet, why would they attack two children in Livorden? What could the purpose possibly be?
It seemed that what Ren and Aisha had experienced in their childhood was not merely the work of ordinary Shadow Duelists driven by greed or malice.
Between the two of them, at least one might share a connection with the Earthbound Immortals.
"Miles, I..."
"Don't worry too much, Ren. Leave this Turbo Duel to me!"
Even though she tried to keep calm, Miles could still hear the fear buried deep within Ren's voice.
After all, having endured such a cruel Shadow Game in childhood, it would take tremendous courage to face those nightmares again once they were awakened.
"Until you're truly ready to face it, let me take your place, Ren!"
"Miles... I'm troubling you again."
"Troubling me? Come on, why so polite? You know what kind of bond we have!"
"Mm... our bond, huh... Miles, you always say things that make me expect... and misunderstand."
As they spoke, the first turn of the fiery racetrack had come into view.
According to Turbo Duel rules, the first to take the corner would gain the right to go first.
At this point, both of their D-Wheels were still neck and neck.
"You can keep up with my speed?"
Even the gray-robed Shadow Duelist was surprised by the performance of Miles's flashy D-Wheel.
Half of its body seemed to be made of glass, yet it could accelerate to such an insane degree—it was beyond reason.
"Excellent. A D-Wheel like this, a Turbo Duel like this... only such things are worthy of destruction."
Accelerating further, the jet-black D-Wheel traced the inner edge of the fiery wall, widening the gap at the last moment before the corner.
'That should be enough,' Miles thought.
In truth, the custom D-Wheel built by Viel still had room for more acceleration, but Miles deliberately chose not to push it.
The reason was simple: the Speed Counters in this Turbo Duel were practically useless to his HERO Deck.
Rather than struggle for a meager Speed Counter advantage, he might as well bet on the HERO Deck's strength going second.
"Then the first move goes to me!"
The Turbo Duel officially began, and both Duelists drew their starting five cards from Spirit Eyes's Decks.
Since it was inconvenient to hold cards while riding, the D-Wheels had special transparent card slots for storing the hand.
Embedding all five cards into the glass slots, Miles waited to see how his opponent would open the first turn of the Turbo Duel.
He figured there wouldn't be much they could do anyway, since both Duelists started with zero Speed Counters in the first turn.
"My turn, draw!"
After drawing, the Shadow Duelist pulled two cards from their D-Wheel's slots and slapped them onto the side lane.
"I set two cards. Turn end."
Just as Miles expected, the first turn of any Turbo Duel was usually about setting up.
However, the fact that the Shadow Duelist had only set cards and summoned no monsters made Miles a bit wary.
"My turn, draw!"
As the turn switched, the Field Spell [Speed World 2] activated its effect during the Standby Phase.
From the second turn onward, each Standby Phase adds one Speed Counter (SPC).
[Miles, SPC: 0 → 1]
[Shadow Duelist, SPC: 0 → 1]
Even though the player going second would gain Speed Counters first, most Turbo Duelists still fought for the first turn advantage.
After all, with only one Speed Counter on the following turn, there were hardly any Speed Spells worth activating.
Albeit once it reached two Speed Counters next turn, the Shadow Duelist would have plenty of Speed Spells available.
"Anyway, since the opponent doesn't have any monsters, I might as well launch a probing attack!"
Miles drew from his D-Wheel's slot and hurled the card onto the racetrack mid-rush.
"I Normal Summon in Attack Position—[Elemental HERO Blazeman]!"
[Elemental HERO Blazeman] Level 4│FIRE│Warrior│1200 ATK / 1800 DEF
The materialized [Elemental HERO Blazeman] was wreathed in flames as it sped onto the racetrack, the burning aura around its body tracing twin trails of fire alongside the purple-red walls of flame.
"When Blazeman is Normal or Special Summoned, I can add 1 [Polymerization] from my Deck to my hand!"
The simplest of Spell Cards, [Polymerization], was added through the blazing trail of a draw.
However, in a Turbo Duel, activating such an ordinary [Polymerization] required paying a full 2000 Life Points.
'Not the right time yet.'
After weighing his options, Miles signaled to Blazeman racing alongside his D-Wheel, skipping further plays and heading straight into the Battle Phase.
"Direct attack, Blazeman! Use Flame Fist—Hero Flame!"
A crimson fire-wreathed punch burst forth, forming a fiery tornado wave along the track that surged toward the Shadow Duelist's empty field.
"Heh, so easy to lure you in."
The Shadow Duelist raised a hand toward his D-Wheel's side slot, flipping one of the face-down Trap Cards from the previous turn.
"Trap Card—[Offering to the Immortals]!"
[If you control no monsters, when an opponent's monster declares an attack, you can activate this card. Negate that monster's attack, then Special Summon 2 'Ceremonial Tokens' (Rock / EARTH / Level 1 / ATK 0 / DEF 0).]
"The attack is negated! Now appear on my field, Ceremonial Tokens!"
[Ceremonial Token, DEF: 0] ×2
Two stone slabs appeared along the Shadow Duelist's lane, each seemingly channeling some kind of energy into the blackened sky above.
And suspended high above the racetrack was a dark, mechanical heart that pulsed rhythmically.
"When did that thing appear?"
Miles hadn't even noticed the black heart hanging in the sky until now.
"Be careful, Miles. That... that is..."
"Don't force yourself to remember, Ren. Whatever that thing is—god or demon—we'll find out in this Duel!"
With his attack negated, Miles ended the Battle Phase and flung a card into the burning track.
"I set 1 card. Turn end!"
"My turn, draw!"
[Shadow Duelist, SPC: 1 → 2]
[Miles, SPC: 1 → 2]
As their Speed Counters increased, both D-Wheels accelerated even further down the track.
"The condition for activation is met! I activate [Speed Spell - Angel Baton]!"
With his Speed Counters now at two, the Shadow Duelist cast a Speed Spell without a second thought.
[Activate only if you have 2 or more Speed Counters. Draw 2 cards, then send 1 card from your hand to the Graveyard.]
Draw 2, discard 1—essentially a Turbo version of [Graceful Charity], trading two Speed Counters for filtering and Graveyard setup.
"I draw 2 cards, then discard the monster [Earthbound Greater Linewalker]!"
"Earthbound Greater Linewalker?" Miles raised an eyebrow.
"No need to wonder—you'll see soon enough!"
After discarding the monster, the Shadow Duelist flipped his other set Trap Card from the first turn.
"Continuous Trap—[Call of the Haunted]! I revive the [Earthbound Greater Linewalker] I just sent to the Graveyard—in Attack Position!"
A dark wail echoed through the Turbo Duel track as a towering, roaring Greater Linewalker took form beside the Shadow Duelist's D-Wheel.
[Earthbound Greater Linewalker] Level 8│DARK│Fiend│2900 ATK / 2900 DEF
"A monster with almost the same power as [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] right off the bat, huh? Also, that [Speed Spell - Angel Baton] sure is handy—I should really get one later," Miles muttered.
"Save that thought until you survive this burning Nazca Line!"
The Shadow Duelist raised his hand, declaring [Earthbound Greater Linewalker]'s effect.
"In the name of the Greater Linewalker, I call forth the slumbering deity of the earth! This is the effect of [Earthbound Greater Linewalker]!"
[During your Main Phase: Add 1 'Earthbound Immortal' monster from your Deck or Graveyard to your hand.]
Miles & Ren exclaimed in unison: "Earthbound Immortal!"
"I add [Earthbound Immortal Aslla piscu] from my Deck to my hand!"
The moment the dark god of the earth was added to his hand, the card resonated with the surrounding fiery walls, channeling the cursed power buried deep within the earth straight into the black, pulsing heart above.
"Bear witness to the moment when the god slumbering beneath the earth awakens completely! The deity worshiped by the Nazca faith shall bring both destruction and victory! I Tribute my 2 [Ceremonial Tokens] to Summon!"
The two eerie stone slabs turned into dark beams, shooting into the mechanical heart—the final key to the god's manifestation.
"When its massive wings beat, the dark gales of annihilation sweep all away! Descend, Earthbound Immortal Aslla piscu!"
In that instant, the bird-shaped Nazca geoglyph ignited completely, and the violet flames of the track surged skyward, coalescing into the gigantic form of the Earthbound Immortal.
[Earthbound Immortal Aslla piscu] Level 10│DARK│Winged Beast│2500 ATK / 2500 DEF
The enormous, jet-black divine bird bore strange markings across its body—identical to those etched across half of the Shadow Duelist's face.
As it spread its wings and shrieked, the Earthbound Immortal seemed to merge with the burning land itself, completely bonded with the Field Spell [Speed World].
"When a Field Spell exists, the Earthbound Immortals reveal their true power!"
[If there is no face-up Field Spell Card on the field, destroy this card. While a Field Spell Card is face-up on the field, this card gains the following effects:]
[● This card can attack your opponent directly.
● Your opponent's monsters cannot select this card as an attack target.
● This card is unaffected by your opponent's Spell and Trap effects.
● When this card leaves the field by a method other than its own effect, destroy all face-up monsters your opponent controls, and inflict 800 damage to your opponent for each destroyed monster.]
As its name implied, the Earthbound Immortal was a divinity bound to the field itself.
When a Field Spell was present, not only was it immune to Spells and Traps, but it couldn't even be targeted for attacks.
In a normal Duel, simply removing the Field Spell would automatically destroy the Earthbound Immortal.
But in a Turbo Duel...
The Field Spell [Speed World] was part of the rules themselves—it couldn't leave the field.
"Get off your D-Wheel and fight me on foot, why don't you!"
Miles could only think that his very first Turbo Duel experience was going horribly, horribly wrong…
...
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