Albion was back in the Human World.
He stood inside the card shop, looking through the many different cards and Decks displayed across the shelves.
Yugi was nearby, sorting through his own cards, while Kaiba was examining the more expensive cards with his usual serious expression.
Somehow, over the past few months, Albion had accidentally managed to turn the two boys into friends.
Well...
Friends who constantly challenged each other.
Yugi and Kaiba were already becoming rivals.
Albion wasn't sure whether he should be proud of that or concerned.
'How did I even manage that?'
He looked back at the cards in front of him.
There was something else that still amazed him.
Duel Monsters in this world was far more advanced than the game he remembered from his previous life.
Back then, the game had already been complicated enough.
Normal Summons.
Special Summons.
Tribute Summons.
Fusion Summons.
Ritual Summons.
But this version of Duel Monsters had gone much further.
Xyz Summons.
Synchro Summons.
Pendulum Summons.
Link Summons.
Tuners.
Entirely new mechanics that Albion had never seen before in his previous life.
He picked up a card and stared at it.
'This isn't even the same game anymore.'
The funny part was that the Monster World made all of these concepts even stranger.
To Albion, Fusion wasn't just a mechanic.
Fusion could mean two species producing a hybrid.
A monster borrowing another monster's power.
A monster wearing another monster's equipment.
A scientific creation.
An ancient guardian.
Or a genetic anomaly.
And now he was supposed to build a Deck around them.
Grandpa looked over at Albion.
"So, you use Dragonmaids?"
Albion nodded.
"Yeah."
He looked down at the cards he had collected.
"But I'm thinking about making a second Dragon Deck."
Yugi looked over.
"A second Deck?"
Albion nodded.
"Yeah. Just Dragons."
Kaiba finally turned his attention toward him.
"Just Dragons?"
Albion started counting on his fingers.
"I want it to be able to summon Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Black Skull Dragon, and Red Nova Dragon."
Kaiba's expression immediately changed.
"You want to use Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon?"
Albion looked at him.
"Yeah."
Kaiba narrowed his eyes.
"Why?"
Albion shrugged.
"Because it's cool."
Kaiba stared at him.
Yugi laughed.
"That's actually a pretty good reason."
Kaiba looked offended.
"No. It isn't."
Albion picked up another Dragon card.
"Besides, I'm not trying to make the strongest Deck in the world."
He looked through the cards again.
"I just want a Deck where the Dragons feel like Dragons."
Yugi nodded.
"I get it."
Kaiba crossed his arms.
"If you're going to use Blue-Eyes, then you need three Blue-Eyes White Dragons."
Albion slowly looked at him.
"Three?"
"Obviously."
Albion blinked.
'This kid really likes Blue-Eyes.'
Kaiba continued.
"And if you're serious about summoning Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, you need to build the Deck around it."
Albion smiled.
"Maybe."
Kaiba frowned.
"What do you mean, maybe?"
Albion placed another card onto the table.
"I'm still experimenting."
Yugi leaned over to see the cards.
"So what other Dragons are you thinking about using?"
Albion smiled.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out."
He looked at the pile of cards in front of him.
'Dragonmaids for one Deck.'
'Pure Dragons for the second.'
He smiled.
'This might actually be fun.'
Albion took a few more packs from the shelf.
"Let's see what else we got."
He opened another pack.
Card after card landed on the counter.
Albion sorted through them until one card caught his attention.
He pulled it out.
"Now this is a card."
Everyone looked over.
Grandpa leaned forward and adjusted his glasses.
"Ah, Dragon Ritual."
Albion looked at him.
"You know this card?"
Grandpa nodded.
"Of course. It's an unusual card. While you control a Dragon, you can activate it to Special Summon up to three Dragon monsters from your hand or Deck, as long as they're Level 8 or lower."
[Author Note: Yes this card is made up]
Albion's eyes widened.
"Three?"
Grandpa nodded.
"Three."
Kaiba immediately looked over.
"I have that card."
Albion looked at him.
"You do?"
Kaiba pulled the card from his Deck and placed it on the counter.
"Of course."
Albion stared at the card.
Then he looked at his own cards.
Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
Red-Eyes.
Summoned Skull.
A few other Dragons he'd collected.
His mind immediately started putting everything together.
'Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon needs three Blue-Eyes.'
'And this card can Special Summon three Level 8 or lower Dragons.'
Albion slowly smiled.
'That solved that problem.'
Yugi looked at him.
"You figured something out?"
Albion put the card into his growing Deck.
"Yeah."
He grinned.
"I think I know how I'm building my Dragon Deck."
After a while, the three kids left the card shop to play with their new cards.
Yugi held his Deck tightly.
Kaiba had his own Deck ready.
Albion carried his newly assembled Dragon Deck.
They found an open area where they could play without getting in anyone's way.
Albion looked at the cards in his hand.
'This feels weird.'
From what he remembers about the anime, Duel Monsters becomes a far more advanced.
Duel Disks could project monsters onto the field, and holographic technology made the battles look almost real.
But this was different.
Industrial Illusions hadn't developed holographic technology yet.
There were no holograms.
No giant monsters appearing on the field.
No massive projections of Blue-Eyes roaring across the sky.
Just cards.
Paper cards.
A monster was summoned by placing the card onto the field.
Yugi looked at Albion.
"So, which Deck are you using?"
Albion smiled.
"My new Dragon Deck."
Kaiba immediately looked at him.
"Good."
Albion raised an eyebrow.
"Why do you sound happy about that?"
Kaiba held up his own Deck.
"Because I want to see whether your Dragons are actually worth using."
Yugi sighed.
"You two are already competing again."
Albion shuffled his Deck.
"Hey, I'm fine with that."
He looked at Kaiba.
"Just don't cry when my Dragons beat yours."
Kaiba's eyes narrowed.
"Don't get ahead of yourself."
Yugi smiled.
"Okay, let's play."
The three kids placed their Decks down.
No holograms.
No advanced technology.
Just three kids, three Decks, and a card game.
Albion looked at his hand.
'Honestly...'
He smiled.
'This might be even more fun.'
Yugi tossed the coin into the air.
It spun several times before landing on the ground.
Tails.
Yugi looked at it and pointed toward Albion.
"Thomas, you're first."
Albion gave him a thumbs-up.
"Got it."
He took a breath.
'Remember. Human world name.'
It was something Albion had to remind himself of every time someone called him Thomas.
'I'm Thomas here.'
He looked at his hand.
'Albion is my real name.'
Albion placed his first card onto the field.
"I'll start by activating my Field Spell, Dragon Field."
He placed the card down.
The field around them changed as the spell took effect.
"Dragon Field increases the ATK of Dragon-Type monsters by 700. It also lowers the ATK of non-Dragon monsters by 800."
Kaiba looked at the Field Spell.
"Interesting."
Albion smiled.
"Yeah."
He placed another card onto the field.
"Next, I Normal Summon Lava Dragon in Defense Position."
A small Dragon appeared on his side of the field.
Albion continued.
"Lava Dragon's effect lets me Tribute it to Special Summon two Level 3 or lower Dragon-Type monsters, one from my hand and one from my Graveyard."
He picked up Lava Dragon.
"Sorry, little guy."
He sent it to the Graveyard.
"Now I Special Summon Black Dragon Collapserpent!"
A dark Dragon appeared on the field.
"And from my Graveyard, I Special Summon White Dragon Wyverburster!"
A white Dragon appeared beside it.
The two Dragons let out a roar.
Yugi's eyes widened.
"Already two monsters?"
Albion nodded.
"That's the idea."
He looked at his field.
Dragon Field was active.
Black Dragon Collapserpent stood beside White Dragon Wyverburster.
Albion smiled.
"Not bad for my first turn."
Kaiba looked at the two Dragons.
"You're building your entire Deck around getting Dragons onto the field quickly."
Albion looked at him.
"Pretty much."
Kaiba smirked.
"Then I'll see how long that strategy lasts."
Albion grinned.
"Guess we'll find out."
He placed his hand on his Deck.
"I end my turn."
Albion looked at his field one more time.
'Okay.'
'This Deck is starting to work.'
Kaiba looked at Albion's field.
Black Dragon Collapserpent.
White Dragon Wyverburster.
Both were sitting comfortably under the effect of Dragon Field.
Kaiba's eyes narrowed.
"Not bad."
Albion smiled.
"Was that a compliment?"
"Don't get used to it."
Yugi laughed.
Kaiba drew his next card.
"My turn."
He looked at his hand.
Then at Albion's two Dragons.
'Two monsters already.'
'He's trying to fill his field before bringing out his stronger Dragons.'
Kaiba placed a card onto the field.
"I summon Saggi the Dark Clown."
A small dark clown appeared on Kaiba's side of the field.
Albion looked at it.
"Saggi?"
Kaiba nodded.
"Yes."
Albion stared at the monster.
'That thing looks harmless.'
Kaiba placed another card face down.
"Then I set one card."
Albion looked at the face-down card.
'Probably a Trap.'
Kaiba smiled.
"And now I'll activate my Trap Card."
He flipped it face up.
"Crush Card Virus."
Albion's expression changed.
Yugi's eyes widened.
Kaiba continued.
"Saggi the Dark Clown will be used as the Tribute."
Saggi disappeared from the field.
A dark energy spread across the battlefield.
Albion felt something change.
His eyes widened.
'That's not good.'
Kaiba pointed toward Albion.
"Crush Card Virus destroys your monsters with 1500 ATK or more."
Albion looked at Black Dragon Collapserpent.
Then White Dragon Wyverburster.
Both were above the limit because of Dragon Field.
Kaiba smiled.
"Your strategy ends here."
Albion stared at his field.
Then smiled.
Kaiba blinked.
"Why are you smiling?"
Albion pointed toward his monsters.
"You forgot something."
Kaiba frowned.
"What?"
Albion pointed toward Black Dragon Collapserpent.
"It's an effect monster."
Kaiba narrowed his eyes.
"So?"
Albion grinned.
"When Collapserpent is sent from the field to the Graveyard, I can banish a LIGHT monster from my Graveyard to Special Summon it back."
Kaiba's expression changed.
Albion pointed toward White Dragon Wyverburster.
"And Wyverburster does the same thing with a DARK monster."
Yugi's eyes widened.
"So even if Crush Card destroys them..."
"They come back."
Albion smiled.
"Exactly."
The dark energy from Crush Card swept across the field.
Black Dragon Collapserpent disappeared.
White Dragon Wyverburster disappeared.
Kaiba waited.
"Now."
Albion reached toward his Graveyard.
"I banish White Dragon Wyverburster."
A flash of light appeared.
Black Dragon Collapserpent returned to the field.
Kaiba's eyes narrowed.
Albion continued.
"Then I banish Black Dragon Collapserpent."
A dark flash appeared.
White Dragon Wyverburster returned.
Yugi stared.
"That's a really good combo."
Albion smiled.
"Thanks."
Kaiba didn't look impressed.
Instead, he looked at the two Dragons.
"Interesting."
Albion tilted his head.
"You're not angry?"
Kaiba smirked.
"No."
He drew another card.
"Now I know exactly what kind of Deck I'm dealing with."
Albion's smile faded slightly.
Kaiba pointed at him.
"Your Deck isn't built around individual Dragons."
He pointed toward Collapserpent.
"It's built around replacing them."
Then he pointed toward Wyverburster.
"Destroy one, and another takes its place."
Albion nodded.
"Pretty much."
Kaiba smiled.
"Then I'll simply destroy the cards you need."
Albion frowned.
Kaiba raised his hand.
"I activate Monster Reborn!"
A card appeared in his Graveyard.
Then a dark glow spread across the field.
Kaiba pointed toward Albion's Graveyard.
"Come back."
A monster began rising from the Graveyard.
Albion's eyes widened.
"Wait."
Kaiba smiled.
"Your Lava Dragon."
The Lava Dragon returned to Kaiba's side of the field.
Yugi blinked.
"You can use his monster?"
Kaiba gave him a cold look.
"Monster Reborn doesn't care who owned it."
Albion stared at Lava Dragon.
'Oh.'
Kaiba had taken his own monster.
Kaiba looked at Albion.
"Now I'll use Lava Dragon as a Tribute."
Albion's eyes widened.
"What?"
Kaiba raised his hand.
"Saggi was only the beginning."
He pointed toward the sky.
"I Tribute Lava Dragon to Summon..."
A massive shadow appeared behind him.
The air became heavy.
Kaiba smiled.
"Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
A roar shook the field.
A giant white dragon appeared above Kaiba.
Albion stared upward.
Even though he'd seen Blue-Eyes before, seeing the actual monster appear in front of him still felt different.
'Okay.'
'That is one hell of a Dragon.'
Kaiba pointed toward Albion.
"Blue-Eyes!"
The dragon opened its mouth.
A blast of white energy gathered inside it.
"Attack!"
The Blue-Eyes fired.
"White Lightning!"
The attack slammed into Albion's field.
Albion raised his arm.
"Black Dragon Collapserpent!"
The Dragon was destroyed.
Albion's Life Points dropped.
He stumbled backward.
"Albion!"
Yugi looked worried.
Albion steadied himself.
"I'm fine."
Kaiba smiled.
"One Dragon down."
Albion looked at Blue-Eyes.
Then at Kaiba.
A grin slowly appeared on his face.
Kaiba noticed.
"What?"
Albion laughed.
"Nothing."
He looked at his hand.
'I wanted a Dragon Deck.'
He looked back at Blue-Eyes.
'And now I'm fighting Kaiba's Blue-Eyes with it.'
Albion smiled.
'This is going to be fun.'
Kaiba crossed his arms.
"Your move."
Albion drew his next card.
He looked at it.
His eyes widened.
"Oh."
Yugi leaned forward.
"What did you draw?"
Albion slowly smiled.
"I think you're going to like this."
Kaiba narrowed his eyes.
"What card?"
Albion held it up.
"Dragon Ritual."
Kaiba's expression immediately changed.
"You can't."
Albion grinned.
"Why not?"
Kaiba pointed toward his Blue-Eyes.
"You need a Dragon on the field."
Albion pointed toward White Dragon Wyverburster.
"Got one."
Kaiba's eyes narrowed.
Albion continued.
"And Dragon Ritual lets me Special Summon up to three Level 8 or lower Dragons from my hand or Deck."
Yugi's eyes widened.
"Three?"
Albion nodded.
"Three."
Kaiba stared at him.
Albion smiled.
"Looks like it's my turn to bring out some Dragons."
Albion looked at his field.
His eyes moved between his cards.
Then he smiled.
"Okay."
He picked up the Dragon he had already sent to the Graveyard.
"Now, I Normal Summon my Level 3 Dragon."
Kaiba raised an eyebrow.
"You're Summoning a monster you already sent to the Graveyard?"
Albion shook his head.
"No."
He held up the card.
"I'm using its effect."
Albion placed the card into the Graveyard.
"I send my Level 3 Dragon to the Graveyard so I can Summon my Level 5 Dragon."
Yugi leaned closer.
"Level 5?"
Albion nodded.
"Thanks to Dragon Field, its ATK gets boosted by 700."
He placed the card onto his field.
"I summon Armored Dragon LV5!"
Albion imagined the Dragon appearing above the field.
Its armor gleamed under the sunlight.
It spread its wings and roared.
Yugi's eyes widened.
"Whoa!"
Kaiba stared at the imaginary Dragon.
"3100 ATK?"
Albion grinned.
"Exactly."
Kaiba frowned.
"My Blue-Eyes only has 3000."
Albion pointed at Armored Dragon LV5.
"Which means mine is stronger."
Kaiba's eyes narrowed.
"Don't celebrate yet."
Albion smiled.
"That's not all."
He looked at the card in his hand.
"Armored Dragon LV5 lets me send one card from my hand to the Graveyard."
He placed another card into the Graveyard.
"Now its effect activates."
Albion took a breath.
"And since I haven't used Dragon Ritual yet..."
He held up the Spell Card.
"I activate Dragon Ritual!"
Yugi's eyes widened.
"You're using it already?"
"Yep."
Albion placed the card down.
"Dragon Ritual lets me Special Summon up to three Level 8 or lower Dragon monsters from my Deck."
Kaiba's eyes widened.
"Three?"
Albion nodded.
"Three."
He reached toward his Deck.
"And I'm choosing..."
He pulled out the first card.
"Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"
In Albion's imagination, a massive black dragon spread its wings behind him.
It roared loudly enough that the imaginary ground shook.
Yugi grinned.
"Red-Eyes!"
Albion pulled out another card.
"And..."
He held up the next card.
"Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
A gigantic white dragon appeared beside Red-Eyes in Albion's imagination.
Kaiba's eyes widened.
"My Blue-Eyes!"
Albion reached into his Deck again.
"And another one!"
A second Blue-Eyes appeared.
Now three massive Dragons stood behind Albion.
Red-Eyes Black Dragon.
Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
Yugi stared at the imaginary field.
"That's a lot of Dragons."
Albion grinned.
"That's the point."
Kaiba clenched his fists.
"You can't just put three Dragons on the field like that!"
Albion pointed toward his Spell Card.
"Actually, I can."
Kaiba looked at Dragon Ritual.
His expression became annoyed.
"...I hate that card."
Yugi laughed.
Albion looked at Armored Dragon LV5.
"Now..."
He pointed toward Kaiba's Blue-Eyes.
"Battle!"
Armored Dragon LV5 spread its wings.
Albion raised his hand.
"Armored Dragon LV5!"
The imaginary Dragon roared.
"Attack Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
Kaiba immediately stepped forward.
"Not so fast!"
Albion blinked.
Kaiba pointed dramatically at the field.
"Blue-Eyes won't lose to some Level 5 Dragon!"
Albion grinned.
"Mine has 3100 ATK."
Kaiba's eyes narrowed.
"So?"
"Blue-Eyes has 3000."
Kaiba paused.
Yugi looked between them.
Albion smiled.
"That means my Dragon wins."
Kaiba clenched his fists.
"Then let's see it!"
Albion swung his arm forward.
"Armored Dragon!"
In the children's imagination, the armored Dragon charged through the air.
Blue-Eyes opened its jaws.
White energy gathered inside its mouth.
Both Dragons attacked at the same time.
"Attack!"
"White Lightning!"
The two attacks collided.
For a moment, neither side moved.
Then Armored Dragon LV5 pushed forward.
The white beam shattered.
The Dragon slammed into Blue-Eyes.
Kaiba stared.
His imaginary Blue-Eyes fell backward.
"NO!"
Yugi burst out laughing.
"Kaiba lost his Blue-Eyes!"
Kaiba immediately pointed at Albion.
"That doesn't count!"
Albion blinked.
"Why?"
"Because!"
Kaiba crossed his arms.
"Blue-Eyes wouldn't lose to that!"
Albion pointed toward his card.
"It has 3000 ATK."
Kaiba looked away.
"Blue-Eyes was distracted."
Yugi laughed harder.
"That's not how the game works!"
Kaiba glared at him.
"It is now."
Albion started laughing.
"You just made that up!"
Kaiba pointed at him.
"You're making up rules too!"
Albion paused.
He looked at Dragon Ritual.
Then at his imaginary field.
Then at Kaiba.
"...Fair."
Yugi shook his head.
"You two are impossible."
Kaiba looked back at Albion's field.
His expression became serious again.
But there was a small smile on his face.
"Still..."
He looked at the three Dragons Albion had imagined onto the field.
"That's a pretty good Dragon Deck."
Albion smiled.
"Thanks."
Kaiba looked away.
"I didn't say it was better than mine."
"I know."
Albion grinned.
"That's why we're going to have another Duel."
Kaiba immediately smiled.
"Anytime."
Yugi sighed.
"We've been playing for five minutes."
Albion looked at him.
"And?"
Yugi looked at the two of them.
"You're both already acting like you're rivals."
Kaiba and Albion looked at each other.
Neither answered.
Then Albion smiled.
"Maybe we are."
Kaiba nodded.
"Definitely."
Yugi sighed.
"Great."
He looked at his own Deck.
"Now I have to beat both of you."
Albion laughed.
"Good luck."
Kaiba smirked.
"You'll need it."
The three boys looked down at their cards.
For them, the battlefield wasn't a holographic arena.
There were no giant monsters standing in front of them.
No machines projected images into the sky.
Just cards.
Paper.
Imagination.
And three six-year-old boys who were already taking their game far too seriously.
To be continue
Hope people like this Ch and Give me power stones and enjoy