Master Lu

Cardmaster Twister, Ultimate, Data-type. An independent, unconventional Digimon who did whatever he pleased. His favorite game was poker, and the playing cards in his hands were his weapons.

"Izzy Izumi, thank goodness! We finally found someone!" A childish voice came from behind Cardmaster Twister. T.K. Takaishi happily dashed out of the Barrier, his rosy cheeks looking downright adorable. Patamon flapped his wings in greeting to Tentomon.

"That's great! T.K. Takaishi, is everyone here?" Izzy Izumi stepped forward as he spoke. This was Digimon World, after all. Things like Barriers were perfectly normal.

"Izzy Izumi, the others aren't here. It's just us and some Digimon. Mr. Trist has been protecting us," T.K. Takaishi answered.

With a thud, Izzy Izumi walked straight into the Barrier. Beside him, Cardmaster Twister said, "Dear little Chosen Child, you want to enter my home, but you haven't obtained the owner's permission yet."

"Mr. Trist, Izzy Izumi is our friend, not an evil Digimon," T.K. Takaishi argued on Izzy Izumi's behalf, though he had no idea what was really going on.

"I'm sorry. Mr. Trist, may I visit your home?" Izzy Izumi was an innocent little boy, after all. Had those words been directed at Zheng Fan, he would most likely have fought his way inside. Tai might have simply turned around and left. But Izzy Izumi's humble attitude worked quite well on Cardmaster Twister. Once he had asked permission, he could pass freely through the Barrier.

"Mr. Trist, huh? How come I've never heard of you?" Tentomon was as familiar as ever, speaking up the moment he entered the Barrier. "There's no Digimon on File Island I don't know. And you're an Ultimate, at that."

"Of course I'm not a Digimon from File Island." Cardmaster Twister made no attempt to hide it. "Before this, I was Magician FluMon, traveling far and wide in pursuit of the truth behind playing-card magic. I heard that File Island was the birthplace of Digimon, so I came here specifically to seek the true essence of ancient magic. I never imagined File Island would end up like this."

"That day, Patamon and I met FluMon while we were fleeing an attack by the Black Gears," T.K. Takaishi said. "Then my Digivice started glowing, but Patamon didn't digivolve. Instead, FluMon digivolved into Cardmaster Twister."

"Then we all came to this town, and lots of Black Gears were attacking it, so we had to stay here to protect everyone," Patamon said.

"Izzy Izumi, let's go. Everyone's waiting for you two." T.K. Takaishi could hardly wait.

At the center of the Barrier stood a truly bustling settlement. Digimon did not need to eat, so although they were trapped, there was no air of misery.

"Come take a look! Pick one! Not a single empty one!" A vendor's cries rang out, and Izzy Izumi looked toward their source. It was a barrel-shaped Digimon—or rather, the barrel itself was his body. A pile of cans rested on his head, apparently the goods he was selling.

"Izzy Izumi, don't go over there. That's Claypotmon. His pots are all empty," T.K. Takaishi warned.

Izzy Izumi looked around Claypotmon's stall and asked in puzzlement, "Mr. Trist, did you establish this market? Tentomon told me there wasn't any currency in Digimon World. What do you use to trade?"

"Ah, you really have been cut off from the rest of the world for far too long here on File Island." Cardmaster Twister sighed and tossed Izzy Izumi a coin. "This is Bitcoin, the universal currency of Digimon World. Well, not quite universal—at least it hasn't circulated on File Island. Still, a place like File Island, without even a complete trading system, is truly rare."

Izzy Izumi examined the coin in his hand. The Bitcoin was much larger than coins in the real world, almost as big as his palm. It bore a capital B, with two dots above it and two below.

"Mr. Trist, where does Bitcoin come from? Who makes it?" That question was terribly important. A Digimon capable of unifying the trading system across Digimon World had to surpass everyone else in both strength and intelligence.

Only then did Cardmaster Twister begin to take Izzy Izumi seriously. Until that moment, he had seen Izzy Izumi as nothing more than a Chosen Child. "No one makes Bitcoin. Judging by when it appeared in the world, it emerged precisely when Ancestor Angemon died." Cardmaster Twister paused, then added, "During my travels through Digimon World, I found that Bitcoin had been discovered in different places at roughly the same time."

"Was it because of that war again?" Izzy Izumi's voice was solemn, gloomy, and tinged with sorrow. His face crumpled. T.K. Takaishi was already crying, sobbing as he said, "Ancestor Angemon died." Patamon and Tentomon scrambled about in an anxious fluster.

Cardmaster Twister, however, knew that Ancestor Angemon, who stood at the head of Digimon World's sacred hierarchy, could inspire affection through his name alone. T.K. Takaishi and Izzy Izumi's abilities were weaker than even those of In-Training Digimon, and they were holding Bitcoin, which might be fragments of Ancestor Angemon's body. That was why the influence was so strong.

Once everyone finally recovered their composure, T.K. Takaishi skipped along, introducing Izzy Izumi to the Digimon he had met over the past few days.

"Izzy Izumi, this is Claypotmon."

"Hey, pick one and take a look! Not a single empty one. One Bitcoin per try!" Claypotmon immediately bombarded Izzy Izumi with his sales pitch. Patamon fluttered over, clasped a little pot in his two small hands, and yanked it open. Izzy Izumi glanced inside and discovered that it really was empty.

"An occasional empty one is perfectly understandable." Even after Patamon exposed him on the spot, Claypotmon showed no embarrassment. T.K. Takaishi and Patamon already knew that while there might be something inside Claypotmon's pots, that had nothing to do with Claypotmon himself. These pots were actually his special attack. When they smashed onto an enemy's head, not a single one was ever empty. That was why the two felt free to fool around.

The next was Butterflymon. Butterflymon was an enormous butterfly. Fortunately, Izzy Izumi's hobby was not collecting butterfly specimens.

"Boy, buy some of my befuddling incense. Just a light dab, and no Digimon at Champion level or below can withstand it. Even an Ultimate Digimon will be paralyzed for a full minute. It's an essential product for home, travel, murder, and arson!" Honestly, Butterflymon had no idea how to sell befuddling incense to a little boy. Fighting for your life with real weapons certainly got the blood pumping, but another sort of blood-pumping activity was rather more popular.

"Izzy Izumi, Butterflymon's befuddling incense is just his special move, Illusion Dust. But Illusion Dust only works if you use it within three minutes." T.K. Takaishi was causing trouble on the sidelines again.

"T.K. Takaishi, don't come sabotaging my business." The next stallholder had already spoken up.

Oraclemon was a humanoid Digimon, but his blue-green face and protruding fangs were frightening to look at. His long beard and white hair, however, gave him a kindly appearance. He wore black armor. A Digimon that looked like either a wolf or a tiger lay beside him. Only after Patamon's introduction did they learn that this was Oraclemon's companion, Tundra Wolfmon.

"Oraclemon's eyes can see places really, really far away. He's the one who told us you'd arrived, Izzy Izumi."

Hearing that, Izzy Izumi asked eagerly, "Oraclemon, can you help me find my friends? How are they doing?"

Oraclemon-honestly, what sort of oracle wore armor?-narrowed his eyes and said, "Mist blocks my vision. I can only vaguely catch the brilliant light of the Digivices. Their glow is truly enchanting. I can confirm that your friends are all safe, but that is all I know."

Knowing that everyone was safe was enough to make Izzy Izumi happy. He bowed to Oraclemon and said, "Thank you, Grandpa." Oraclemon froze. T.K. Takaishi froze. Tentomon froze. Every onlooker froze. Patamon smacked both hands over his eyes. Only Izzy Izumi had no idea what was wrong.

Only after they had walked some distance away did T.K. Takaishi tell him, "Izzy Izumi, Oraclemon is a young Digimon. A genuinely young Digimon. Apparently, he was only born a few years ago."

Tentomon added, "Izzy Izumi, I told you Digimon don't age. From birth until they die in battle, they never grow old. Besides, Oraclemon is a Champion Digimon. By the human method of judging strength by age, he'd only be a teenager."

Only then did Izzy Izumi understand the indescribable expression on Oraclemon's face when he had said, "Thank you, Grandpa."

T.K. Takaishi went on to introduce Izzy Izumi to many more Digimon, including Rookie Digimon such as Bitmon, Oremon, Mung Beanmon, SpriteMon, and Gearmon. Rookie Digimon had not yet reached the stage where they were classified. Of course, irrational Rookie Digimon were generally treated as Virus-types.

At the Champion level, they were divided into humanoid and beast forms, as well as Data, Vaccine, and Virus types. Among the humanoids was Ryeonmon, looking imposing with a machine gun slung over his shoulder; Venamon, a Digimon with only one arm; and Flamemon, whom Izzy Izumi recognized. Last time, Biyomon had digivolved into Birdramon and destroyed the Black Gear inside Flamemon.

The nonhumanoid Digimon included Codomon, Tundra Wolfmon, Man-Eating Plantmon, Guardromon, Flying Bearmon, Blade Sheepmon, and others. Everyone greeted Izzy Izumi warmly. This time, Izzy Izumi did not embarrass himself again. It seemed his emotional growth was already yielding results.

Most Rookie Digimon gathered in groups, while there was only one of each Champion Digimon. Several of the Champion Digimon had only digivolved in the past few days. Master Lu-mon, for example, had just digivolved from Gearmon.

As a Digimon devoted to maintenance work for the Metal Empire, Master Lu-mon's skill at repairs and modifications was far beyond that of a combat-oriented Digimon like Andromon. After Master Lu-mon casually demonstrated a little of his ability, Izzy Izumi willingly handed over his laptop for him to upgrade.