"Here I come, Jonouchi, my final move!" Youyu played another card, "Activate Equip Magic - Mage Power!"
A green Magic Card appeared on the field, depicting three green-robed mages raising their arms, as if chanting a spell.
"Equip Mage Power to the 'Dark Magic Priest.' For every Magic or Trap Card on my field, the equipped monster's attack power increases by 500 points! I place two cards face down, so with the Mage Power itself, there are a total of three Magic Traps on my field.
Therefore, the Dark Magic Priest's attack power increases by 1500 points!"
[Dark Magic Priest, Attack Power 3200 → Attack Power 4700]
"Attack power... 4700!?" Jonouchi was stunned, "Gearfried's attack power after Release Restraint is 3400. If it's attacked, my LP will drop to... uh... um... how much again?"
Jonouchi fell into a math dilemma.
Indeed, you need to study hard, even playing cards becomes difficult for those who are bad at math...
"Don't worry about the math!" Youyu "thoughtfully" helped him with the problem, "I banish 'Galaxy Cyclone' from the graveyard, activating its effect!"
A black vortex opened up on the ground, and the green Magic Card spun upward, causing a transparent whirlwind on the field.
"Galaxy... Cyclone?" Jonouchi tried to recall, "Have I seen this card before?"
"You discarded two cards with the effect of Graceful Charity, one being the defensive 'Electromagnetic Turtle,' and the other this one." Youyu recalled.
"Ah!" Jonouchi was shocked, "Could it be that you planned all this from then...?"
Astounded, just how far ahead had Youyu calculated? Were all the moves leading up to this point part of his plan?
Youyu: "Uh..."
What divine calculation? This isn't a chess game. He can't know what card Jonouchi will draw or what tactic he'll use next turn. Claiming it's all calculation would be like cheating.
The reason for discarding Galaxy Cyclone in previous turns was simply that it was like a buried bomb in the graveyard, able to activate its effect from there...
"Galaxy Cyclone, when banished from the graveyard, can destroy a face-up Magic Trap Card on the field! And of course, I'm targeting... 'Lightning Blade'!"
The transparent whirlwind, under Youyu's command, targeted the opponent's half of the field. The Lightning Blade card was lifted high into the air, torn to pieces by the strong wind pressure.
Gearfried the Swordmaster's sword vanished along with the card, disappearing after sparking one last electric flash.
[Gearfried the Swordmaster, Attack Power 3400 → Attack Power 2600]
[Dark Magic Priest, Attack Power 4700]
"Battle, the final attack!" Youyu waved his hand, "Dark Magic Priest, attack Gearfried the Swordmaster!"
The black-robed mage flew out, surrounding magic power converging from all sides, like swirling clouds gathering at the tip of the Magic Staff. The dense, dark energy turned into a tangible magic orb, seemingly pronouncing the curtain call of this fierce battle.
"It's not over yet!" Jonouchi shouted, "My progress isn't just that! Activate the set card, Trap Card, Kunai with Chain! Use the effect to switch the attacking Dark Magic Priest to Defense Position!"
"Muda!"
As Youyu's words fell, Jonouchi's Trap Card on the field shattered into countless light particles, disappearing completely.
"Nani? My Trap... How?"
"The moment you activated the Trap, the special ability of Dark Magic Priest activated." Youyu said, "As long as Dark Magic Priest is face-up on the field, it can negate and destroy any Trap Card activation!"
Jonouchi: "It has an effect similar to Jinzo!?"
"Dark Magic Priest, attack continues!"
The magic storm swept forward, the dark orb striking the Sword Saint's body. Gearfried struggled to defend, but even a tempered Sword Saint could not withstand such a formidable magic storm.
His body was torn apart instantly, and the vast, powerful magic roared toward Jonouchi, the black image transforming into a storm that swallowed the entire field.
[Jonouchi, LP 2000 → LP 0]
Taking the virtual impact, Jonouchi's knees slightly bent, his body swayed, but he managed to stand firm without falling. He lowered his head, half of his face hidden in shadow, expression unseen.
He seemed somewhat impacted.
Anzu, standing aside, was a bit worried, wanting to step forward: "Jonouchi..."
"Don't worry." Grandpa Sugoroku waved his hand with a smile, "That boy Jonouchi isn't so easily discouraged."
Indeed, soon enough Jonouchi raised his head, giving a relaxed yet helpless smile.
"Ah, in the end, I still couldn't beat you." He sighed, "Yugi was right, you really are strong."
"You've improved a lot too." This was not just a courteous exchange, but something Youyu genuinely meant.
He guessed that before Duel City, Jonouchi might have been rated at level 5 or 6 as a duelist according to the system, but now Jonouchi might have reached level 7.
Fortunately, Youyu had earned a lot of Crystal Stones recently and opened many card packs, so his duelist level had also improved. Otherwise, if he had met the current Jonouchi back when he just crossed over, he might not have been able to win.
Of course, another key factor might have been that Jonouchi rolled a lot of dice this time. Youyu felt that even the duel with Kaiba wasn't as troublesome as this one, maybe he and Jonouchi just had incompatible styles, clashing attributes...
"Here you go, the promised Puzzle Cards." Jonouchi was a man of his word, without saying much he handed over the two promised Puzzle Cards.
Youyu accepted them: "Alright. Looking forward to seeing you in the finals."
"Sure! With your skills, you'll definitely advance, and I have to give my best as well." Jonouchi said, suddenly feeling troubled, "Oh~ I was already about to advance, but now I have to find the remaining two Puzzle Cards again..."
Anzu narrowed her eyes from the side: "It's not like you got carried away, you already had it in the bag but insisted on challenging someone..."
"Right, the Rare Card." Jonouchi remembered something.
Although he'd feel reluctant no matter which card was taken, he still took out his card deck and handed it to Youyu.
"Pick one, it's the rule."
Youyu took Jonouchi's card deck, glanced through it, thought for a moment...
...Is there really a question?
Of course, it's "Roll of Fate"!
Even though Youyu had enough filter draw cards himself, and Roll of Fate might be a bit of a waste for someone with a luck stat of 20...
...But it doesn't matter! Even if he doesn't plan to use it himself, he can sell it to players!
Pot of Greed only draws two cards at a time, while this thing with good luck can draw up to six! (Though it comes with a cost)
So I'll price it at... three times that of Pot of Greed? That shouldn't be a problem, right?
Even feels a bit low.
...Of course, at this stage, players couldn't afford to buy that kind of card even if they sold their pots and pans. Youyu didn't plan to actually sell to players either. The biggest function of these top-notch Divine Cards for now was to give players something to aspire to, hanging them on the shelf to pique their interest.
After all, players are currently low-level with limited productive capacity, each having only a limited amount of Crystal Stone. If he sold these top-tier cards to them cheaply for short-term profit, what would he use to harvest in the future?
However, when Jonouchi saw him choose this card, he looked puzzled: "You want this card?"
Youyu could pretty much guess Jonouchi's thoughts from his expression.
Jonouchi probably thought Youyu was one of those super considerate guys who deliberately picked a useless card to spare his feelings...
But that's not it!
Jonouchi felt that Youyu was taking a huge loss here, and he would feel bad accepting the kindness like this.
"Think it over!" Jonouchi enthusiastically insisted, "I still have a lot of good cards!
Right! My 'Jinzo' was banished during the duel so it's not in my deck, it's a super rare card I won from Esper Roba, 6 stars but with 2400 attack power and a super strong effect of negating Traps!
And this too, won from Insector Haga, 'Insect Queen,' also a super rare card! He said it's like the pinnacle of Insect monsters in Duel Monsters!"
Youyu: "..."
No, why does this feel like Jonouchi is trying to sell him something?
Bro, you're offering rare cards for losing a duel, not pushing sales at the end of the month!