Overwhelming Firepower

Chapter 372: The Mock Duel

Lucen had found his protagonist, but to make sure that he was truly the one, he asked him to say a few more lines.

After all, one good line did not make someone a good actor.

A person could accidentally match a scene once. They could stumble into the right feeling by luck. They could say one line well because that line happened to fit them.

Lucen needed to know if Taren Bell could become Eren Holt, not only during a desperate comeback, but in other moments as well.

Lucen leaned back in his chair and looked at the script in his hand. "Read the scene where Eren wins his first duel."

Taren, who was acting Eren, did not break character as the words flowed out of his mouth.

He was no longer standing in front of Lucen Thornehart, Harry Nidhouni, Mireya, and the other applicants.

In his mind, he was standing in the center of a village square, surrounded by people looking at him with worry as he was about to be defeated.

The person who was looking down on him, sure of victory now, had a look of shock on his face.

Taren looked at the empty space in front of him, as if he could truly see the noble rival standing there. For a moment, he did not speak.

His breathing was uneven. His fingers were still gripping the imaginary card tightly, as if letting go of it would make the victory disappear. Then his lips slowly parted as he pointed at the imaginary rival.

"You looked only at power, so you never saw the path to victory."

Taren’s voice was not loud, but it carried clearly through the theater. He lowered his gaze to the imaginary card in his hand and smiled.

"This card was never useless. You simply did not understand what it could do."

He slowly raised the card close to his chest. "That is why you lost."

Seeing the sight before him was making Lucen’s otaku blood boil as he was getting excited. He could not hold it in and took out the decks of the protagonist and his rival character.

Lucen got on stage and handed Taren the protagonist’s deck. Taren, who was startled by Lucen’s sudden actions, looked at the deck in his hand.

"Someone bring a table and two chairs to the stage. Taren, you, and I are going to have a mock duel. Since you read the script, you should know the rules of the game. Of course, we’ll be playing not as ourselves, but as the protagonist, Eren, and his rival, Kael Veyr. We won’t be following the script, simply playing with the characters in mind, so don’t be bothered about winning or losing, just keep your character as Eren. Now get yourself ready."

The moment Lucen said those words, the theater became noisy. The other applicants looked at one another in surprise. Harry Nidhouni looked pleased, nodding his head, excited to see what kind of scene the two would produce.

Mireya looked at the stage, feeling a little jealous as she wanted to play as well.

Taren looked down at the deck in his hand. The cards were real. They had weight. They had texture. They were no longer just words written on a page or imaginary tools in his mind.

’Okay, I can do this.’

Taren knew the basic rules of the game, and since this was the protagonist’s deck, he knew a lot more. But knowing the rules and playing while acting were two completely different things.

Taren realized that the moment he sat across from Lucen. The table was placed between them. The two decks were set down. The applicants, Harry and Mireya, watched from below the stage with clear interest.

Lucen sat across from him with a calm smile, but the moment he picked up the rival’s deck, something about him changed.

His posture became straighter. His chin lifted slightly. His ruby eyes looked down at Taren with cold confidence.

The person sitting across from him was no longer Lucen Thornehart. He was Kael Veyr, the noble rival who believed victory belonged only to those born with power.

Taren swallowed. ’He changed so quickly.’

Lucen placed one hand on top of his deck and spoke in a smooth, arrogant voice.

"Eren Holt. A village boy with a deck of scraps. I must admit, your courage is impressive. Unfortunately, courage does not change the quality of your cards."

’That’s right, I’m not facing Sir Lucen as Taren. Right now he’s Kael, and I’m Eren.’ Taren closed his eyes, although not a complete transformation like Lucen, one could feel the change in atmosphere.

When he opened his eyes again, the nervous woodsman was gone. The boy sitting across from Kael Veyr was Eren Holt.

Taren placed one hand over his deck. His fingers were still rough, his movements still lacked polish, but his eyes no longer wandered around the stage.

"If courage is all I have, then I will use it and seize victory!" Taren said.

Lucen’s smile became sharper. For a brief moment, Taren felt as if he had truly annoyed the noble rival sitting across from him.

"How amusing." Lucen drew five cards from the deck with elegant movements. "Then show me how far courage can take you before reality crushes it."

The two looked at each other’s eyes, one with arrogance, not even thinking of losing, the other burning with the passion of wanting to win.

The two of them drew five cards. "Heh, I will show you mercy as a noble and allow you first turn."

Taren, no, Eren made the first move. "Draw!" Eren drew a card from the deck.

He looked at the cards in his hand. For a moment, Taren almost returned. The cards were real, and unlike the script, there was no line telling him what to do next.

But then he remembered who he was supposed to be. Eren Holt was not someone who froze just because the path was unclear. He was someone who found the path, no matter how thorny it seemed.

"I gain one Battle Pulse," Eren said. He took one card from his hand and placed it on the field. "I summon Frosthorn Hare."

Lucen, who was acting as Kael Veyr, smiled with clear disdain. "A fitting creature for a fitting summoner."

Eren did not flinch. "A card does not need to be strong to have value."

"How quaint."

"I set one ambush card, and I end my turn."

Kael drew a card with elegant movements. Even the way Lucen held the cards made him look like someone born to own expensive things.

"My turn. Draw." He glanced at his cards once, then placed one card on the field.

"I summon Ironmane Hound."

The card he placed had higher attack and guard than Frosthorn Hare. It was not a rare card, but compared to Eren’s weak summon, it looked like a beast standing before prey.

"Battle," Kael said calmly. "Ironmane Hound attacks Frosthorn Hare."

Eren immediately raised one hand. "I activate my Ambush Card, Snowblind Step. When a beast-type Summon Card I control is attacked, I can move it away from battle and lower the attacking Summon Card’s attack value by one until the next turn."

Kael’s eyes gleamed faintly. "So your little rabbit knows how to run. Hmph, very well, I place one ambush card down and end my turn."

Eren drew his next card. For a moment, his eyes moved across the cards in his hand. The protagonist’s deck was not powerful. Most of the Summon Cards had low attack and guard values, and the Art Cards were meant to support, delay, or create openings.

If this were only a battle of strength, he would lose. But Eren Holt was not a character who won through strength. He was someone who found meaning in weak cards.

"I gain one Battle Pulse," Eren said. "I summon Snowfield Scout."

Kael glanced at the card and smiled faintly. "Another weak creature."

"Maybe," Eren replied. "But Snowfield Scout allows me to draw one card if I control another beast-type, Summon Card."

Eren smiled. "I use the Art Card, Pack Formation. If I control two beast-type Summon Cards, both gain one attack until the end of the turn."

Eren pointed forward. "Frosthorn Hare attacks Ironmane Hound."

Kael looked at Eren, amused. "Hmph, I guess, a cornered beast, no matter how weak, can still bite back."

The attack went through. Because of the earlier reduction from Snowblind Step and the boost from Pack Formation, Ironmane Hound was destroyed.

For the first time, Kael’s field was empty.

Eren followed immediately. "Snowfield Scout attacks directly."

Kael’s Life Crest dropped. Mireya’s eyes brightened faintly; she wanted to start playing as well. It wasn’t just her, but even the other applicants, who only knew the basic rules of the game, were getting excited and wanted to play as well.

Harry Nidhouni stared at the table with interest. What surprised him was not only the move itself, but how naturally Taren spoke while playing.

Even when the duel was not following the script, Eren still felt like Eren.

He hesitated sometimes. His hands were rough. His movements were not as elegant as Kael’s. Yet every action carried the feeling of someone searching for victory with everything he had.

Kael, on the other hand, was completely different. Even after taking damage, his expression did not break. If anything, the faint smile on his face only became colder.

"My turn," Kael said.

He drew a card. From there, the duel became more intense. Eren continued using weak Summon Cards and small effects to create openings, while Kael calmly crushed each one with precise timing.

Every time Eren found a path forward, Kael blocked it. Every time Kael seemed to take control, Eren found another way to survive.

The applicants watching slowly forgot that this was an audition. They were now focused not on the acting but on the game itself. Mireya’s fingers twitched as if she wanted to take the cards herself.

At last, Eren’s Life Crest was down to one point. Kael’s was not much higher. It was at this point that Eren drew his final card and smiled.

"I activate Last Snowfall. If I have only one Life Crest remaining, all beast-type Summon Cards in my necropolis return their effects for one turn."

Kael’s eyes narrowed. Eren used every remaining effect, chaining one weak card into another until Kael’s field was almost destroyed, well, almost.

Kael slowly revealed the Ambush Card he had set several turns ago. "Royal Command. Once per duel, negate the final effect used against me."

Eren froze when he heard those words.

Kael smiled faintly. "You fought well, Eren Holt. But victory still belongs to me."

With one final attack, Eren’s Life Crest fell to zero. For a moment, the theater was silent. Then Lucen leaned back with a satisfied smile. He had enjoyed playing Kael far more than expected. More than that, he had enjoyed the duel itself.

Seeing the expression on everyone’s faces, seemingly hoping that Eren would win, Lucen knew that Taren was the best person to play Eren.