I Refused To Be Reincarnated

"An elf?"

He muttered, gazing at the lady's verdant attire. Her neatly tied green hair looked like life-filled blades of grass as her cute face tickled his protector's instinct.

Her pointed ears burned as her eyes met his.

"Hello. Aunt Elysia told me to pass her greetings to you if we met."

He noticed her fidgety fingers and slipping eyes, a bad feeling encroaching on his soul.

'I hope she didn't recount my story like an epic as she did with Selene's.'

Yet, he knew she probably had, making him curse the unneeded attention.

As his face darkened at the idea of having the Sunfire kingdom gossip about him, the teenager's hesitant voice resounded from her desk.

"I'm Lena Sunfire. I enrolled in the Academy of Transformation this year."

Her earth brown student's robes fluttered as she offered an elegant curtsied.

"Well, you already know me. Let's have a nice duel, and may the better player win," he answered, retrieving his deck from his card holder.

She nodded, her eyes glistening with awe and joy as she shuffled her deck and placed it on the desk. Then, she retrieved a polished gold coin and tossed it.

"Heads or tails?"

She caught it, hiding the result.

Yet, he had seen it all. His sight was too sharp for him to lose.

"Tails."

She revealed the coin, raising her hand in joy.

"It's heads! I'll start!"

A gentle smile curled his lips. Why would he abuse his advantages?

'I'm confident, anyway.'

They both drew three cards. Then, Lena started.

"Appear Nectar Knight!"

Full of gentleness, she placed the card in the monster slot, making a strange knight appear before her first castle.

Wearing a yellow exoskeleton covered in black stripes as armor, it swirled in the sky with a cheerful smile. Loud buzzing echoed with its blurring thin wings for a moment before it landed on the ground.

"I use my field spell next."

Lena continued, her voice taking a deep tone. Ancient Elven words suffused the place as the terrain changed. From a vast plain, it turned into a lush flowery field, vibrant with life force and a myriad of colors.

"Ally nature-attuned monsters gain 200 attack points!"

Her cheeks reddened in excitement as the knight's attack value appeared.

ATK 1700->1900

"I activate my knight's ability next. When it stands on a flowery field, he can collect its nectar to give birth to a larva."

The knight blurred into motion, its delighted face making the spectating students smile at the cute creature as it flew above the flowers. Then, a colorful larva suddenly appeared before her second castle.

"I end my turn."

She offered a satisfied smile as she gazed at her monsters.

'I'll try not to... make her sad.'

With this thought, he drew a card, an invisible pressure weighing on his shoulders. How could he let his monsters end hers in barbaric ways after seeing her gentle expression?

A sentiment of despair struck his soul as he gazed at his cards. Between the ghosts and the insect lord, they all seemed like nightmarish creatures capable of making the bravest man cry in fear.

With a defeated voice and slumped shoulders, he placed the insect lord in the slot without much conviction.

The third trial's boss manifested in its hideous glory. An insect chimaera mixed with a human, a creature covered in dark chitin absorbing lights like a living nightmare. Its sharp, human-like hands glinted death as its mandibles clicked in glee.

"Activate your effect."

He sighed, closing his eyes.

Upon hearing the order, the insect lord's red eyes glinted in fury, and a loud shriek escaped its parted mandibles.

Without warning, its deceptively thin arm blurred as it struck the ground.

RUMBLE

Soil flew in the air in a cascade of brown as the flowery field shattered and dissipated in a spectacle of glistening sparks.

"Once summoned, it can destroy a field spell."

He noticed Lena's eyes trembling at the devastation. Yet, he hardened his resolve. He was here to win the tournament.

'I'll apologise later, though.'

"Attack the Nectar Knight."

The insect lord shrieked again, joyful savagery dancing in its intelligent eyes.

Simultaneously, the monsters' attack points appeared above their heads.

ATK 2000

ATK 1900-> 1700

Without surprise, his monster's fingers, ending in sharp, chitinous nails, eviscerated the cute nectar knight in a second.

The spectators gawked at the spectacle, whispering among themselves.

They had only seen a black blur before Lena's monster exploded into a rain of sparkling shards.

However, his voice broke their whispers, shocking everyone.

"I use my field spell."

For the first time in years, he chanted while channelling his mana. A moment later, the vast plain rumbled, transforming into a damp cave filled with soul-chilling fog.

"Unnatural creatures get a three hundred attack points boost in the cave. I end my turn."

As his voice lingered, the insect lord's attack shot up to a staggering 2300 points, almost rivalling the simian knight's.

Yet, when he raised his head to see if Lena held one, an icy shiver ran down his spine. Instead of watering eyes, he noticed a calculative glint as her lips rose into a grin.

She reached for her deck, drawing a card before her voice cut through the dreary silence engulfing the field.

"I sacrifice the larva to summon my ace monster! The tier-four Carnivorous Carnation!"

The larva's figure waved and dissipated, leaving its place to something terrifying.

Scarlet petals, turning black at the edges, unfurled as the cave's ground became grey, then turned into sand particles. Hidden beneath the petal, he noticed rows of sharp, glistening teeth waiting to sink into its prey's soft skin.

A sweet fragrance saturated the air next, giving the rooted plant an irresistible allure.

Without wasting time, Lena continued, her tone solemn and her earlier gentleness gone.

"I use a boosting spell!"

After a short chant, the plant grew, casting an ominous shadow on the field with its three-meter body.

Its attack points flashed above its head, making him bite his lips.

ATK 2500->2800

'Not good.' Discover exclusive content at empire

As he lamented at his soon-to-be-dead monster, Lena's voice pierced his through like a spire.

"Attack the vile creature!"

-----

AN: I'm competing in this month's WPC. I won't drop this book or lower its release rate, so be at ease.

Please check the new one if you enjoy fantasy and kingdom-building stories :):

https://www.webnovel.com/book/imp-to-demon-king-a-journey-of-conquest_30240178806625805###