Chapter 190: Masked Hero Joey Wheeler
Time leaped forward two hours. Keipei, holding a handful of Rock Skin Cakes he had just received as a reward for helping an Old Woman up the Stairs, arrived at their pre-arranged meeting point – the Fountain in the Town Central Plaza. To be honest, Keipei couldn't quite understand what the game designers were thinking; a desert frontier Town actually had a Fountain.
By the Fountain, Hayato had been waiting for a long time, holding a Book and reading. Noticing Keipei's arrival, Hayato welcomed him with a smile, "You worked hard, Keipei."
"Brother Hayato, you haven't been sitting here for two hours, have you?" Keipei placed the pile of Rock Skin Cakes, as hard as their name suggested, by the water pool, looking at Hayato with confusion. It was no wonder he was confused, because when they had agreed to meet and split up from here earlier, Keipei remembered Hayato sitting and reading just like this.
Hayato shook his Finger, "No, no, no. In these two hours, I've been diligently collecting Information."
Just then, Joey Wheeler also arrived at the Fountain, walking with a slight limp. Looking closer, a dog was hanging onto his backside, refusing to let go. Hayato picked up a Rock Skin Cake and made a motion as if throwing it into the distance. The dog biting Joey Wheeler's backside subconsciously loosened its grip and chased after it.
Putting the Rock Skin Cake, which he hadn't actually thrown but had hidden behind his back, back down, Hayato looked at Joey Wheeler and said with a smile, "It seems you had a tough two hours, Joey Wheeler."
"Don't even mention it. Not only did I not get any Information, but I was also chased by that dog for a full half hour. I ran all over the Town, and it still caught up," Joey Wheeler said with a bitter face. He was about to sit down but remembered his backside wasn't healed yet, so he had to remain standing. "And forget about asking where Kaiba is, the people in this Town don't even know how to clear this game."
"Everyone, did you collect any Information?" Yugi arrived late as well, his face full of frustration. Just now, he wanted to go into the Bar to gather news, but the people there kicked him out because he wasn't 20, and even threw him into the Children's Playground across the street. He was already 17, after all.
Keipei spoke up, "I only found out that an Iron Cage was transported to the other side of the Desert this morning, with a person inside. I wonder if that could be Brother?"
"Unless Kaiba has been cross-dressing for seventeen years, I don't think that person would be Kaiba. As far as I know, the person locked in that cage is a Tribute for this game's Final Boss," Hayato said calmly. Noticing the surprised looks from the others, he smiled and pinched two Fingers together, "As for me, I just collected a 'tiny' bit more Information than you."
"First, I didn't find out the true identity of this game's Final Boss, but it's said to be a Giant Dragon taller than a mountain, capable of controlling the Five Attributes of Wind, Fire, Water, Earth, and Darkness simultaneously. However, that Dragon is currently sleeping and needs a Tribute to be Revived."
"The requirements for the Tribute are one male and one female. The male one has already been filled by some unknown Prince, and the female Tribute is the one being transported to the Giant Rock Temple. I think the male Tribute is very likely Kaiba, which means he's already been captured."
"H-How could this happen!" Keipei's face was full of sadness, "Could Brother already be...!"
Hayato comforted him, "Didn't I just say? One male and one female are Tributes for the Final Boss. That means, as long as we go and rescue the female Tribute now, the Final Boss won't be able to Revive due to the missing Tribute, and Kaiba will be temporarily safe."
Joey Wheeler rubbed his backside, it still hurt a bit, but he forced himself to walk ahead, "Then let's hurry up, time waits for no one, right, Keipei?"
"Okay!" Keipei wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes and nodded firmly, "I will definitely rescue Brother!"
Yugi was thinking calmly, "Is that Giant Rock Temple on the other side of the Desert? It won't be easy for just a few of us to cross the Desert."
"Especially since there are Sandstorms raging in the Desert and we can't Summon Card Monsters to travel," Hayato said, taking a folded Poster from the Book in his hand. "Unless we get that Card."
On the Poster in Hayato's hand, a large, plump chicken-like Monster was drawn. Joey Wheeler recognized this Card. The Card's name was Niwatori, a Normal Monster with only Level 3☆, and neither its ATK nor DEF exceeded 1000.
"In this game, Cards can only be used in Battle state, but this Card is the only exception," Hayato read the description on the Poster. "This Card can Summon a Mount for travel outside of Battle, which can not only traverse mountains and valleys but also cross the Desert. This is practically telling us explicitly that to cross the Desert, we must obtain this Card."
"It's just Strange that the name of this Card isn't Niwatori but Niwatori."
"That stuff doesn't matter," Joey Wheeler seemed very excited. "To pass a certain stage, you must obtain a certain Important Item. Isn't this a super classic Hero Story? Heh heh, thinking about it this way, could Sir Joey Wheeler be the Hero who saves the world?"
"Alright, let's go get that Niwatori!"
Saying this, Joey Wheeler strode forward, as if the injury on his backside had completely healed.
"Idiot Joey Wheeler! You're going the wrong way, the Map is over there!" Keipei jogged to catch up with Joey Wheeler, who had completely gone in the wrong Direction.
Hayato and Yugi exchanged glances and followed the two helplessly.
"Speaking of which, Hayato-kun," Yugi remembered something, "Did that Poster say how to obtain the Niwatori Card?"
Hayato Spread Open the folded half of the Poster and handed it to Yugi. Yugi took it and saw written on the Poster: "You cannot survive without Battle! Masquerade and Savage Arena!"
Ten minutes later.
Looking at the Cloak handed to him, which was not much better than a rag, and the Rules Hayato relayed, Joey Wheeler looked bewildered, "Betting my life and stuff, why am I only finding out about this now!"
Seeing Joey Wheeler about to back down, Hayato, who knew exactly what he would encounter in the Arena next, wasn't worried about his safety at all.
Your wife wouldn't kill you, would she?
Putting the Pig Head Mask, which served as the "Mask", onto Joey Wheeler's head, Hayato smiled and pushed him towards the Arena entrance, saying in a Sterius-like tone, "Go for it to save the Princess captured by the Evil Dragon, my Hero~"
The Arena gate slowly opened. From the Spectator Area surrounding it, enthusiastic cheers from the Audience craving Violence and Blood echoed.