Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

He used illusions to deceive Thor, causing the thunderous Mjolnir to fail three times; he connected the bottom of the Horn Cup to the sea so that it could never be emptied; he transformed the world python Jormungandr, whose body was large enough to encircle the world, into an inconspicuous little gray cat; he transformed the concept of "old age" into an old woman who could be touched, interacted with, and even wrestled with.

Such exaggerated illusions would be so powerful that even a cultivator of the Dao would likely have their Dao heart shattered, let alone a brute like Thor who made a bet with them in mythology.

However, judging from the fact that [Shadow of Kings - Lopte] was praising how powerful his opponent was while maintaining a calm expression, it was clear that this fellow illusionist definitely had the means to counter the opponent's illusions. He was currently praising his opponent to further highlight his own abilities later.

As expected, after talking about how powerful [Void Realm King War - Utgard] was, [King War Shadow - Lopt] changed the subject and began to talk about his own abilities: "However, I do have a way to deal with illusions, which is to use runes to add a spell to my eyes that can see through illusions."

"This is a unique ability I gained as an illusionist, combined with runes. So if you don't want to encounter danger in this [Virtual Realm], you can only rely on me as your guide."

As he spoke, [Shadow of the King - Lopto] deliberately made eye contact with Hayato, and after blinking his left eye, he revealed the pinkish-purple rune covering his pupil.

Hayato frowned: "This is... the Eye of Runes?"

As a series, Yu-Gi-Oh! has similarities between each installment, not just in the card game aspect. The first three installments, in particular, share a special commonality because they all have settings created by the original author, Takahashi.

That is, despite being a card game anime, the first part, Yu-Gi-Oh! DM, the second part, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, and the third part, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, all of them, like the neighboring "Ninja Gaiden" before the tattoo version, like to play with eyes, and each of them has at least one special eye.

The eyes in Yu-Gi-Oh! DM need no further explanation; they are Pegasus's "Millennium Eyes." If we're going to count, we can also include the "expression" eyes of six-year-old Dark Marik from another timeline, who can make facial expressions even with just his eyes.

The eye in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX is Jim Crocodile Cook from the Duel Academy South Campus, who was unable to participate in the Duel Academy Exchange Tournament because he went to Niger to participate in fossil excavation work. He lost an eye while saving his partner, the crocodile "Kallen". He was rescued by a kind passerby, Mr. Daitokuji Hugo, who wished to remain anonymous, and was given the unfinished Philosopher's Stone "Orichalcos", which was embedded in his right eye and became the "Eye of Orichalcos".

In Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, the "eyes" are the Ragnarok team, who are the main characters' opponents in the competition. Each of them has a genuine "God Card". Their left eyes are covered with runes, which make them "rune eyes" that can protect them from the effects of the Dark Duel and even give them X-ray vision.

At this moment, the runes displayed in the left eye of [King of War - Lopt] are almost identical to the "Runes Eye" of [Supreme God Emperor - Loki], who holds a card of the same Astral Triad based on the evil god Loki.

Previously in Niflheim, [King's Shadow - Lopt] had attempted to negotiate with Hayato to reach a renewed cooperation agreement. As expected of [King's Shadow - Lopt], ​​after realizing that Hayato genuinely needed the "Rune Eye" he had created, he immediately began to raise his price and try to negotiate with Hayato.

"That's a good name, let's call it 'Eye of Runes'. But let's make this clear first, miracles and magic don't come for free. You can imagine how important my guidance is in this illusory world, so if you want my help, you'll at least have to offer something commensurate with what I've given you, like me delivering the final blow to the [Void Realm King War - Utgard] that you defeated."

"The reason is, of course, because he shares the same name as me, yeah, that's it."

The confident tone of [King of War - Lopto] made it seem as if Hayato was the one hanging upside down, not him, "Human, you don't want to get lost in this world and miss the chance to pursue [Flame King of War - Nagilfa] and [Ice King of War - Nidhogg], do you?"

He was quite certain that he had Hayato under his control, and no matter how unwilling Hayato was, he had no choice but to seek help from him, the only one with effective means, and agree to his conditions.

Until he saw Hayato take out the [Divine Stele of the Earl] and, imitating him, casually draw a line in the air in front of his left eye. The rune "?" representing "sun" and "light" was separated from the line he drew and actively approached Hayato's eye!

The "Runic Eyes" that I painstakingly tested and refined myself were casually created by this guy. Not only did the runic characters just spring out of his haphazardly drawn scribbles and even try to attach themselves to him!

Am I even allowed to trade here? I'm so angry I could faint.jpg

Chapter 1358 Battle of the Void Realm King

With this "Runic Eye," how did Hayato's world change?

To be honest, not much has changed. Hayato found that the rocks he saw were still rocks, the distant barren mountains were still barren mountains, [King's Shadow - Lopto] was still in his true form and hadn't used illusion magic to escape, and Mimir was still as stupid as ever.

"I have a feeling you're thinking something that's really unpleasant." Mimir looked at Hayato with some suspicion, feeling that Hayato's gaze had been quite rude earlier.

Or perhaps he finally realized the astonishing wisdom possessed by this giant of wisdom, and was secretly admiring himself just now?

Ignoring Mimir's silly grin, Hayato glanced at a nearby desolate forest and said to [Shadow of the King's War - Lopt] with a strange expression, "No wonder I didn't find anything special nearby at first. It seems you're not entirely useless after all; at least this 'Eye of Runes' is somewhat useful."

"You have beautiful eyes, but they're mine now."

Those are my eyes! How dare you look at them and then just copy them! They're mine!

There are cows!

Roaring inwardly, [Shadow of Kings - Lopt] voiced his dissatisfaction: "What kind of talk is that? How am I completely useless? But it's not just the appearance, you've even completed the core of the 'Eye of Runes'?"

"Runic Eyes" looks like simply adding a layer of runic text to the surface of the eyes, but doing so would have no effect whatsoever and would only obstruct the view, even though the runic text itself possesses special magical power.

Because the true essence of "Runic Eyes" is to use runic characters to communicate with specific gods and obtain special power from the gods corresponding to the characters. Just like the runic characters in the "Runic Eyes" of each person in the Ragnarok team who possesses "Runic Eyes" are different.

The reason why the text in Lopt's "Runic Eyes" is the same as that in Brab's "Runic Eyes" is simple: their source of power is "Loki"—Lopt is borrowing his own power.

It sounds strange, but it's quite common in Norse mythology. At least Lopte, the Shadow of War, simply used it to extract and concentrate his own power as "Loki." Just like Odin, who offered himself upside down as a sacrifice, created runes out of nothing.

The question mark on Hayato's left eye, when transliterated into Old English, is roughly pronounced "sigel," meaning sun.

The biggest difference between Norse mythology and other mythologies is that it places great emphasis on the inevitability of "fate" and the fact that the power of the gods is not eternal. Although Greek mythology also has prophecies that "the king of the gods will be overthrown by his youngest child" and these prophecies have been fulfilled for several generations, and Egyptian mythology is full of gods who have been killed, Norse mythology especially emphasizes these two points.

This difference led to a situation where the sun goddess, who in other mythologies, was ranked among the chief gods even if she wasn't the king of gods, didn't have much prestige. The sun goddess was the daughter of a giant, and because her father boasted about the beauty and handsomeness of his children every day, the impatient gods banished her to the heavens to drive his chariot. Her origins as a god were already quite pathetic, but what was even more pathetic was that she was chased by a wolf named Skul every day.

Such a sun god has virtually no power that could be transmitted to Hayato through runes to allow him to complete the "Sight of Runes." But, no one stipulates that Norse runes must use Norse gods, right?

"Waaaaah!" The Winged Ra, who had shrunk to the size of a sparrow, eagerly leaped onto Hayato's shoulder. She was the source of the "Runic Eye" that had lent Hayato her power. In Egyptian mythology, the power of Ra, which was considered second to first in strength, was more than enough to lend her the power of one of her eyes. Moreover, the one who lent her power was Hayato, which made her even more willing to do so, even if it meant giving up all her power.

"Otherworldly god, can't you speak human language?"

[King's Shadow - Lopto] has finally reached the ground. Hayato, who obtained the "Rune's Eye" from him, has no other needs for him for the time being, so he naturally asked [Predatory Herbivore - Rhinoceros] to release him and let him roam freely - at least for now, he is free.

Stretching his neck and clearing his head, which was a little dizzy from being upside down for too long, [Shadow of the King - Lopte] looked at [Ra's Winged Dragon] on Hayato's shoulder and complained, "Although I can communicate with animals, your accent is too heavy, I can't understand you at all."

"[La] What she just said is that I am the man who can become her father, and it is your honor to be able to use the spell you created."

Upon hearing Hayato's translation, [Shadow of the King - Lopte] retorted, "No, although it has an accent, at least I can understand that it didn't say such a long sentence. Even if the first part of the translation is correct, you definitely added the second half yourself, didn't you?"

"You two are really free. Weren't you just looking for that guy, Utgard, the [King's War] of this world?" Mimir asked, somewhat puzzled, looking at Hayato and [King's War Shadow - Lopt] who were chatting. "But now you're all so leisurely?"

“What’s more urgent than a stomachache is not being able to find a place to relieve yourself when you have a stomachache.” With a rather subtle analogy, [Shadow of the King of War - Lopte] smiled smugly, “But when you find the place you’ve been longing for, that urgency will be greatly relieved, and that’s pretty much the situation now.”

"No, I think there's another possibility: you've already run away, so it doesn't matter whether you can find a toilet or not."

Hearing Hayato's sarcastic remark, Mimir suddenly realized what was going on, then looked at [Shadow of the King's War - Lopte] with a mixture of pity and disdain: "So you mean, you just popped out like that?"

"No, we've already found the location of the [War of the Void Realms]!" [Shadow of the War of Kings - Lopte] said through gritted teeth, glaring fiercely at Mimir. "That's why I think your self-proclaimed title of wise giant is a joke. Don't even mention among giants, even if you include the beasts on the ground, your intelligence isn't higher than many beings, you dull giant Mimir!"

"Hey, that's a personal attack! Bro, keep this bastard hanging up there, I can't stand anyone insulting my intelligence." Mimir glared at his only remaining left eye, annoyed. However, he then realized what [Shadow of the King - Lopt] had just said, "Huh?"

"Wait a minute, you just said you've found that old bastard, Utgard Loki, who's always shrouded in layers of illusions? Just because of the runes you drew on his left eye?"

Hayato nodded, then corrected, "To be precise, it's called 'Rune's Eye.' I have to admit, the thing that [King's Shadow - Lopt] researched is really useful. Just one glance was enough for me to find where [Virtual World King's War] is now."

"Really? Bro, your 'Rune Eye' is really amazing! I want one too!"

No sooner had Mimir finished speaking than [Shadow of the King - Lopt] angrily exclaimed, "That's my 'Runic Eye'! Mine! I was the first to research it!"

It's like the Second Hokage getting furious watching Uzumaki O-man keep saying "My Shadow Technique," "Dad's Thunder God Technique," and "Orochimaru's Impure Reincarnation Technique."

"Heh, who cares about you? Now that my brother has used it, even if Ymir were reincarnated, this 'Eye of Runes' would already belong to my brother." Mimir ignored [Shadow of the King - Lopt] and said ingratiatingly to Hayato, "Teach me quickly, brother, how do you use this thing?"

"It's very simple. Just take anything and draw some lines in front of you, and the runes will automatically extract from the lines to complete the rune for you. However, remember to think about where the divine power you want to choose comes from while you are drawing."

Hayato, completely oblivious, shared his method with Mimir, who genuinely believed his absurd construction method and patted Hayato on the shoulder: "You truly are the good brother I took a liking to at first sight. I'll borrow your strength from you later and help you carry the brothers."

"Let me look for something to draw on. There isn't even a decent rock in this desolate place..." As he spoke, Mimir began to look around for something he could use to draw runes.

"You can write runes, right?"

"Hey, I've been squatting by the Fountain of Wisdom studying the alphabet of runes for who knows how many years, how could I not know how to write it?"

Without turning his head, Mimir said confidently.

[Shadow of the King - Lopte] watched Hayato and Mimir, one daring to teach and the other daring to learn, and also complained: "That old bastard Mimir, isn't he afraid of blinding his only remaining eye?"

“Anyway, that eye wasn’t his; it was Odin’s right eye,” Hayato said casually. “The first step in Odin’s quest for wisdom was that the mead he drank gave him the sharp eyes to see all things. That was the right eye he gave up in the second step of his quest for wisdom, when he traded with Mimir for the Fountain of Wisdom.”

[Shadow of Kings - Lopte] was also somewhat puzzled: "If it's the right eye, why is it embedded in the position of the left eye?"

"Nonsense, when Odin gouged out his right eye, it was right next to Mimir's left eye, which was right across from him."

As they were talking, Mimir, having somehow found a perfectly straight tree branch that boys would snatch from the school gates to the school gates, excitedly called out to Hayato, "Hey, bro, look over here! This tree branch of mine is super straight and super long, it's so cool!"

"I have several more here, do you want them?" As he spoke, he broke off another long branch from the dead tree from which he had just broken off a branch.

Playing with twigs wouldn't interest even a seven or eight-year-old, as it's too childish for elementary school students. But it's just right for Hayato, who is already twenty-three years old. He turned around and said, "Pick the best one for me!"

However, upon turning around, he gasped in shock, realizing he was contributing to global warming in this virtual world.

[King's Shadow - Lopte] almost couldn't hold back his laughter after seeing this. Looking at Mimir standing in the withered forest, he whispered to Hayato, "Did you see that?"

Hayato nodded: "On the bright side, it seems I've saved myself the trouble of coming up with a legitimate reason to fight the [King of the Hollows]?"

"Are reasons even necessary?"

"Of course there is. After all, my persona is that of the gentlest duelist in the world. How could I possibly do something like attacking someone's door without any reason?"

"Then what were your reasons for fighting [Ice King Battle - Nidhogg] and [Flame King Battle - Nagilfa] before?"

"The name 'Ice Realm' sounds cold and makes me uncomfortable; this child must not be allowed to live. The name 'Flame Realm' sounds hot and made me almost catch a cold from the alternating hot and cold in the Ice Realm; this child must not be allowed to live."

Mimir had no idea what Hayato and [King's Shadow - Lopt] saw through their "Runic Eyes". He only knew that the branches of the few dead trees beside him were straight and long, but not quite the best. However, there was a thick dead tree branch not far away that looked quite good. It was the best branch he could find to give to Hayato.

But as soon as he took a step forward, the ground beneath his feet suddenly "earthquakeed." The earth, covered with dry soil and gravel, cracked, and huge fissures appeared instantly and spread rapidly, creating a huge rift valley that stretched across Mimir, leaving him unsure of which way to go.

The tremors did not subside with the appearance of the cracks; instead, they intensified. Then, even without the "Eye of Runes," Mimir could clearly see the withered forest around him begin to shake. The surface disguise, along with the illusion spells applied to it, shattered, revealing the gold beneath.

The earth began to rise, and the "trees" that broke through the ground transformed into countless "golden spears" pointing towards the sky. The main body of the continuous "dead forest" was actually the exposed part of the tower of a castle buried underground. After the castle rose to a certain height and revealed its white walls, it did not stop at all and continued to rise.

The rising castle revealed its inverted triangular base and a magical golden ring encircling it, imbued with a solidifying levitation spell—it was indeed a floating castle.

And atop the rising castle, Mimir saw the finest branch he had tried to break begin to move. A head, seemingly attached directly to the floating city as if the entire castle below his neck were his body, rose up, its golden helmet concealing a pair of crimson eyes staring directly at him: "I... have been exiled to the Outer Realms for ten thousand years..."

"And yet, the arrogant god has taken away all the people of his kingdom..."

"Miracle of wisdom, Mimir? Now even a tiny being like you dares to harm my proud castle and invade my great territory—"

"You're courting death!"

The floating city, soaring high into the sky and overlooking this desolate kingdom like a lord, is none other than the [Virtual Realm King War - Utgard], who hides himself with illusion magic and whom both Hayato and [King of War Shadow - Lopt] want to defeat!

The trembling castle beneath their feet seemed to represent the still unquenched rage of [Void King War - Utgard]. Mimir promptly backed down and said kindly, "Aha, Utgard, your illusion magic is really something, it completely scared me. So, in that sense, we're even, aren't we? I forgive you, so calm down. My brother is still down there and hasn't come up yet."

"To be honest, the scenery in your country is actually quite nice, but I think I'm a bit afraid of heights. After you vent your morning grumpiness, shouldn't we go back down? I'm not kidding, my brother has a really bad temper, it's scary."

However, [Void King War - Utgard] seemed not to hear him and flew high in the sky on its own. At the same time, Mimir saw a tall tower in the distance that had detached from the castle and was floating slowly tilting, pointing its tip at him and suddenly thrusting it forward!

"Crack—!"

Mimir was unable to dodge the fierce attack in time, but Hayato arrived just in time. Bringing him up into the sky by [Dragon Magic Knight - Gaia], he took Gaia's place and personally threw his spear, piercing through the tower that was trying to kill Mimir and pinning it to the wall of the floating city.

"We're saved! Well done, brother!" Mimir cheered excitedly as he saw Hayato chasing after them.

However, Hayato's casual remark made Mimir break out in a cold sweat: "No, my temper is not good at all, it's quite frightening."

Clearly, Hayato had overheard Mimir speaking ill of him, which reminded Mimir of the time in Hayato's warehouse when Mimir, who considered himself a mentor to newcomers, had told him, "You absolutely mustn't offend Anig, he's petty," only to be dragged out by Hayato and slapped across the face until it was covered in blood.

'Damn it, Hayato is really petty, and he's my brother too. I'm so unlucky!'

Chapter 1359 Forbidden Cards (Confirmed)

The floating tower destroyed by the lance of [Dragon Knight Gaia] collapsed, leaving the lance nailed to the castle wall, while the tower, which had turned into bricks, reassembled in the same spot and returned to its undamaged state, as if time had been reversed.