Chapaholic

     Almost half an hour later, Avian returned and pointed in the direction he'd located the bandits.

     "Excellent! Lead the way, Avian!" Jaden commanded, as he set off after his green feathered friend.

     About a half hour later and they could just barely make out the barriers forming a perimeter around the bandit encampment in the distance. Stopping for a moment, Jaden recalled Avian and deactivated his IB.

     Continuing on towards the encampment, he eventually arrived within the camp guards' field of vision.

     Upon witnessing this stranger approaching their camp, they immediately became alerted and yelled to their companions inside.

     "Joco! Toren! Trist! We got company! Only see one so far and he doesn't look armed. Might be a mage of some sort." One of the guards reported.

     "Got it, Hader! I'll go inform the boss. Toren and Trist are headed out to meet you."

     Shortly after these words were yelled from inside the camp, a surprisingly sophisticated wooden gate opened up slightly to reveal two more heavily armed bandits.

     "Halt, there stranger! Turn back now or else your life may be forfeit!"

     Jaden didn't respond in any noticeable way. It seemed that this encounter was playing out much more in line with his expectations and he wanted to make the most of it. He had been strolling along steadily and calmly appearing for all the world to have not even noticed the bandit camp in front of him.

     He continued pressing forward completely ignoring both the sight and sound of the bandits as if he were completely oblivious.

     "Hey! Did you not hear what I just said? Get your sorry ass on somewhere, unless you wanna end up in a custom made hole!" The guard angrily reiterated.

     However, Jaden maintained his state of presumed oblivion. As he drew even closer, his eyes suddenly went really wide and he began shifting his inspection of his environment towards the barricades surrounding the encampment. Looking straight past the guards as if they weren't even there, he continued moving towards the gate while inspecting the barricades.

     "Listen, dammit! If this is some kind of act or something you're going to regret it real soon! You've got to the count of ten to turn around and fuck off… or else!" The guard said, threateningly pulling his finger across his throat.

     Again, absolutely no response from Jaden. He seemingly had eyes only for those sexy fucking barricades! Goddamn those things were hot… you know… if you're into that kinda thing.

     Once the guard had counted down from ten, Jaden was only a few steps away and he could tell that all of the people present were clearly pissed off at his behavior, even without looking at them.

     "That's it, Fucker! I don't know, if you're just some stray dunce or the most arrogant fucker in the world, but you're fucking dead, mate!"

     Although everyone present looked like they were ready to snap Jaden's neck at a moment's notice, they all held back and allowed the guard who was speaking to deal with the situation. Immediately after those words had left his mouth, he reared back with the mace he held and prepared to attack.

     "Hold, Hader! Let him be!" A voice from atop one of the barricades rang out.

     The guard who was prepared to send a killing blow towards Jaden stopped almost immediately.

     'Goddamnit! What fresh hell is this! I was this fucking close and Rando McFuckme comes along and ruins it. No, no, no Jaden. Don't break now! Maintain the facade, until they take the bait!' Although it took everything he had not to glance at the man who had yelled from atop the barricades, he barely managed to keep his attention on the still partially open gate.

     Moving towards the gate and still seemingly oblivious to everything happening around him, he began inspecting the various details of the door and running his hands over it, while discerning from his periphery that there were a few spectating bandits sticking their heads through the small opening preventing his entry.

     "You lot! Clear away from the gate! Don't hinder his path! My Inspect skill has already revealed that he's merely a D-Ranked! We can easily kill him anytime we wish. First, I want to see what he does, when left alone."

     Unlike in a lot of stories Jaden had read, it seemed that the Inspect skill in this world was not as all-seeing as some of those others. It clearly had limitations that, at very least, couldn't discern his class.

     Many of the bandits began grinning wickedly at this revelation. It seemed that their boss was hankering for a bit of entertainment and they were all invited to watch. Very quickly many of their attitudes changed to one of an amused spectator, with jests and peels of laughter at who they were calling the 'Doomed Dunce.'

     Jaden, while walking through the gate and beginning to inspect the various possessions of the bandits as if he were in a shop, realized that this might take longer than he expected. However, he was also in the mood for a bit of fun and so he decided to play along.

     As he continued walking through the camp inspecting the various 'wares' while making approving or disapproving faces towards each one, he finally came across a large sack and began retracing his steps placing all of the things he had approved inside it. The bandits, meanwhile, continued watching, mocking, and laughing as they eventually formed a sizable crowd of bandit spectators that would follow him around the camp at a distance.

     Dragging the now much heavier bag behind him, he began walking towards a tent that was noticeably and even impressively larger than the other tents. This, he presumed, was the bandit leader's tent and most likely had the juiciest loot.

     Even when he entered the bandit leader's tent and began filling the bag with his possessions, the bandits continued to simply congregate outside trying to get a peek at what the 'Doomed Dunce' was doing now.

     Jaden eventually ended up with his entire bag filled with goodies and turned to make his way back to the gate, dragging the bag along behind him.

     "Alright, men! Everyone, move back to the gate and form up to block the entrance." The bandit leader commanded.

     Just as Jaden finally reached the bandit leader's location near the gate and bumped into him, his eyes shot wide open and he seemed confused as he stared at the location in front of him. Inching forward slowly, he placed his hands in front of him until they came into contact with the bandit leader's chest. He then began patting his chest while moving his hands further to the right side.

     The bandit leader narrowed his eyes at this, as he tried his best to suss out the true nature of this bizarre intruder.

     Whenever his hands finally began patting air he then waved his hands around to make sure there were no further obstructions. Whenever it seemed his waving had given him a proper orientation, he once again began moving towards the entrance.

     Upon encountering the formation of bandits, he began repeating the same process, as he began patting the chests of the bandits while moving across the front of their formation.

     "Alright, that's enough! You no longer amuse me!" The leader declared, grabbing Jaden by the back of his tattered red shirt and throwing him backwards, away from the gate.

     The leader had been watching Jaden closely this entire time and as he threw him, he couldn't help but notice a wicked grin spreading across the man's face as he flew through the air.

     Without being able to determine why, the leader couldn't  help but feel as though he had just walked into a trap. Despite outnumbering and overpowering this intruder by a wide margin, his instincts were roaring at him, telling him that he had fucked up royally and to keep his guard up.

     Those roaring instincts were soon validated, by a startling voice echoing in his mind.

[Unauthorized Attack Detected]

[Modifying Opponent's Life Points]

[LP: 2960 >>> LP: 2985]

     'What the fuck?!'

     Less than a second later, a deluge of information began entering his brain as it was explained to him precisely what the fuck.

     'Goddamnit! This isn't good! I know what this is now! Why didn't I see it sooner?! This… this is…'

     The leader looked towards Jaden with shock plain on his face. "You… you're a Contract Mage aren't you?"

     Jaden moved his right hand over to his left and began slowly clapping it against the other. "Brah-vo, Mr. Bandit Man! Brah-vo! You figured it out! Entirely too late mind you but congratulations on your little achievement nonetheless."

     At this moment, the bandit realized that Jaden had some type of device on his left arm where his bracelet had been previously. Much to his surprise, he apparently had one on his arm as well!

     Noticing the deck of cards that had appeared, he remembered the information given to him by the system and drew one of the cards dreading what he would see on the other side.

     The card had a solid black interior, with an Eye of Horus symbol emblazoned in gold in the dead center. Around the black interior was a white rectangular stripe that framed the black rectangular area and the outer edges of the card looked deceptively as if they were made of pure gold.

     Flipping the card over, his eyes went wide as he could clearly see the face of one of his men, specifically his second in command. Quickly looking behind him, he noticed that none of his men were there. There wasn't a single trace of them left. 

     He then noticed a number of holographic projections had appeared as some sort of oddly configured grid on the ground along with a holographic countdown timer flashing red numbers. Recalling that he was actually under a time limit, his mind felt like breaking.

     'What is all of this? Why is there a Contract Mage out here in the middle of nowhere?! This... is too much! There's too many things happening at once. I can't keep up with it all! NO! I can't falter here! He's a Contract Mage, meaning the only way out of this situation is to beat this guy at his own game. The odds aren't in my favor but it's the only way. I have to ignore everything that isn't this game, focus on the rules, and make sure to play by them. The only other option is soul destroying defeat! I have to try!'

     The leader's fear of Jaden wasn't unfounded. Contract Mages, especially those in the lower ranks, were widely known for being able to defeat enemies a rank above them and sometimes even multiple ranks above them. Depending on how clever or dastardly a Contract Mage was, they might even excel at defeating those of a higher rank.

     Finally regaining his senses and resolve he quickly glanced at the timer that had started at :100, which was now at :48, and began reviewing all of the information he had been given. As the timer reached :32, he then began reviewing all of his cards and their effects. At :15, he began to quickly formulate the best strategy he could in that short time, before drawing his allotted cards and summoning his men to the field.

-----

     Jaden quite enjoyed watching the bandit leader struggle with his predicament. He still had to make his own moves though, so he decided to show the bandit leader how it was done.

     With an unnecessarily dramatic flair to his movements, he drew his seven cards and then announced his first play.

     "I summon [Elemental HERO Neos Alius], [Elemental HERO Sparkman] and [Elemental HERO Avian] in Attack Mode. I then activate a Field Spell [Luminous Spark.]"

     As soon as the Field Spell was played, in the center of the field a Lumos looking ball of white light floated up from the ground and hung in the air over a dozen meters off of the ground. The ball cast a bright and penetrating light over the entire area, causing the bandit leader to open again his recently closed eyes.

     It took everything he had not to lose focus, whenever he saw those strange creatures his opponent called Heroes. Ultimately, he stayed focused on his task only taking a brief moment to make a note of these observations before closing his eyes again.

     Seeing that the leader had more or less regained his composure, Jaden quickly lost interest in him and began finishing up his Start Phase.

     "Next, I play the Spell Card [The A-Forces] and, while I'm at it, I'll go ahead and play another one just for fun. And with that, I end my Start Phase."

     Jaden then stood there silently, waiting for his opponent to finish.

     With only a few seconds remaining, the leader finally drew his five cards and quickly summoned four of his men to the field and played a Spell Card.

     The leader, taking his cue from Jaden, yelled out. "I activate the Spell Card [Honor Among Thieves.]"

     'Ohh, and already we have a new card. Now, let's see. Hmmm, so it raises the AP of all Bandit Monsters on his side by 24 points for each Bandit Monster in his Graveyard, so long as [Mr. Bandit Man] is on the field. Seems like a pretty decent card.

     'Although, that brings up a few questions but, ignoring why there's a monster called Mr. Bandit Man, why would he play this card now he doesn't have a Mr. Bandit Man on the field. No, wait. If his Attack Mode Tracker Bandit gets sent to the Graveyard by battle, he can summon one Mr. Bandit Man to his field without Tributing.

     'Well, well, it seems my little king of the hill here has adapted quite well in such a short time. Perhaps this Shadow Duel will be a bit fun after all.'

     Jaden began clapping once again. "I have to congratulate you, Mr. Bandit Man! Not only did you get a card named after you, you've also managed to come up with a relatively decent strategy in a very short time. I look forward to seeing what you can do. Try not to disappoint me."

     Mr. Bandit Man merely gritted his teeth at this remark, knowing that this whole Mr. Bandit Man nonsense was almost certainly the intruder's doing, and tried to stay focused on the duel. With three [Tracker Bandit]s (AP:112 DP: 88 SPD: 128) in play and a [Bandit Brakk] (AP: 88 DP: 152 SPD: 80) in Defense Mode, hopefully Brakk would be able to intercept an attack or two and start getting his opponent's LPs down. At the very least, no matter which moster he lost he would either lose no LP or he would be able to summon Mr. Bandit Man.

     "Now! Sparkman, Alius, attack those two Trackers! Avian, take out his Bandit Brakk!"

     Needing far less of his attention to keep his monsters on track, he focused on Mr. Bandit Man, waiting for him to summon himself to the field.

     After killing his tracker target, Sparkman had to cut off the attempted dodge of Neos Alius' Tracker target. Alius' speed apparently wasn't a match for the tracker thus missing his first attack, giving Mr. Bandit Man an extra BP and DP.

     With their AP being raised by several steps of power, none of Mr. Bandit Man's monsters were a match for Jaden's boosted Heroes. In only a few seconds, [Bandit Brakk] and two [Tracker Bandit]s were destroyed.

     Once the three monsters were down, however, two things happened almost simultaneously. Mr. Bandit Man's LP dropped from 4040 to 3808 and two Mr. Bandit Men appeared on the field looking exactly like the bandit leader… Mr. Bandit Man. 

      This was one of the dangers of facing a higher ranked opponent. Having larger resource pools meant he had more LP at the start of the game.

     Having quickly drawn his four cards, he immediately summoned one Mr. Bandit Man for each Tracker sent to the Graveyard and then normal summoned [Bandit Man Zack] (AP: 152 DP: 130 SPD: 114.) Activating its special effect because of Mr. Bandit Man being on the field, he then was able to special summon one Bandit Monster not named [Mr. Bandit Man] (AP: 200 DP: 160 SPD: 152) or [Bandit Man Zack] from his Hand or Deck.

     Bringing out another [Bandit Brakk], he now had five monsters on the field and had five BP. Holding on to one more [Mr. Bandit Man] just in case his other Tracker was destroyed, a slight smile began forming on his face as he sent his men out to crush those so called Heroes.