Yugen stepped onto the dueling field, facing his first-round opponent, Chazz Princeton, as they stood opposite each other.
"Duel!" x2
[Yugen, LP 4000]
[Chazz, LP 4000]
The two were unfamiliar with each other, and there wasn't much to say before the match. To Chazz, Yugen was just a stepping stone to advance, while Yugen saw this as an opportunity to test the practical abilities of a plot character.
In the card circle, everyone knows that, from a deck-building perspective, most character decks in the animation are for entertainment purposes. Back in the day, many who tried to imitate the animated characters' deck setups often found themselves in unplayable situations with completely stuck hands.
However, the actual combat ability of animated characters is entirely different from the real world. They possess the skill of "deck bonding" usually referred to as "purely divine draws." The key combo cards always stick together like glue, consistently appearing together no matter how much they're shuffled, and no matter how bizarre the deck construction is, it could still battle effectively.
This ability becomes even more pronounced in the hands of more powerful duelists. For example, GX's protagonist Yuki Judai, known for his divine draws, or Ousama, who in the DM ending could draw whatever he wanted.
But in the original work, most of Chazz's ace decks are obtained through later story arcs. The VWXYZ five-headed fusion was provided by Professor Chronos as a means to teach Yuki Judai a lesson, and Armed Dragon was something he got at the Northern Academy. At this point, he hadn't even met the Three J's.
So, his strength should be considerably weaker than in the anime.
"I will go first then."
Yugen decisively gained the first move as per the Duel Disc system's random selection.
"I'll set one monster facedown on the field, and place one covering card in the back row."
He drew two cards, placing one facedown on the front field of the Duel Disc, and inserting another into the back row's Magic Trap slot. The images of two black card backs were instantly projected onto the field.
"Turn ends."
"Hah, a defensive formation it seems... But against the No.1 of the Middle School Department, such caution is warranted,"
Chazz grandiosely boasted.
Clearly, Chazz, at this point before meeting Judai, had yet to face any significant defeat and still felt incredibly confident.
"But it's useless! It's my turn, I draw!"
His eyes glanced over his hand, immediately selecting two cards from them.
"I'll set a card on the field. Then activate Magic Card - Handwriting Erasure! Both players discard all cards in their hands, then draw the same number of cards from their decks as the discarded ones!"
Following the instruction, Yugen discarded his entire hand and, together with Chazz, drew new cards.
With the new hand, Chazz immediately pressed the button to activate his Cover Card: "Flip the set card, Magic Card - Silent Dead! This can resurrect a Normal Monster from the graveyard in Defense Position.
I will revive the recently discarded, [Female Swordsman - Canaan]!"
A black vortex opened on the field, and a strikingly beautiful red-haired female warrior, wielding both a sword and shield, emerged. She knelt slightly, the card image appearing horizontally beneath her feet, with her shield posed protectively in front.
[Female Swordsman - Canaan, Defense Power 1400]
"Then, activate the Equipment Magic 'Great Sword' from my hand, equipping it to the Female Swordsman! The equipped monster's attack power increases by 300!" (Animation Card)
[Female Swordsman - Canaan, Attack Power 1400→Attack Power 1700]
"Haha, you must be wondering, what use is it to increase the attack power of a defense position monster?" Chazz chuckled.
Yugen remained expressionless, thinking he wasn't exactly not thinking that...
"Let me show you, an elite duel far beyond your imagination!" Chazz proclaimed, "The Equipment Magic 'Great Sword' has another effect! When the equipped monster is used as a summoning tribute for a Warrior Race monster, it can be used as two tributes.
Therefore, I will use [Female Swordsman - Canaan] equipped with the 'Great Sword', treating it as two tributes...
A white tornado whipped up, engulfing the swordsman. Golden light wrapped her and her sword, transforming them into scattered points of light.
"Dawn's light, illuminate the path to victory, and slice through obstacles with the legendary sword!"
Chazz raised a card high, the summoning storm behind him lifting his coat.
"Appear now! Level eight, Legendary Sword Saint!!!"
A masked Sword Saint clad in black armor stepped out from the storm, carrying a long Great Sword on his back. His red hair flowed, exuding an extraordinary presence.
[Legendary Sword Saint, Attack Power 2600]
Yugen nodded slightly. Hmm, indeed, the duelists in this world have dramatic movements and lines when summoning massive monsters...
The audience watching the match couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
"Summoning such a powerful monster in the first turn!" a red-haired girl exclaimed, "That boy seems to be no ordinary person..."
"Haha, of course!"
One of Chazz's flunkies in the back row replied proudly, "That's the No.1 in the Duel Academy Middle School Department's Elite Class! Brother Chazz!"
"Brother Chazz has already been recommended for the Academy's upper department, dealing with small fries like these is nothing..." another flunky echoed boastfully.
"Middle School Department's Elite Class...Number one!?"
The two girls were immediately filled with admiration, looking at Chazz on the screen now with eyes of reverence.
They've all heard that although the Middle School Department wasn't as challenging to get into as the upper department, there were plenty of skilled duelists there. And within its Elite Class, all are young prodigies.
The No.1 of the Elite Class...that is a true big shot.
They suddenly began to feel a bit sorry for his opponent...
The two girls wore looks of pity.
What a shame, that boy named Fujiki Yugen is quite handsome. After this round, they probably won't see him again...
"It's not over yet!"
Chazz continued with his move.
"Legendary Sword Saint, activate effect! When this card is successfully summoned, equip as many Equipment Cards from your graveyard to Warrior Race monsters on your field as possible!"
He paused, retrieving two cards ejected from his Duel Disc's graveyard, and sneered.
"Of course, the Sword Saint himself is a Warrior Race. Therefore, I designate the Sword Saint himself as the object for equipping. I equip the Equipment Magic 'Great Sword' and Equipment Magic 'Jade Sword' from the graveyard simultaneously to 'Legendary Sword Saint'!" (Animation Card)
Two Equipment Magics were stacked onto the Sword Saint. With a roar filled with energy, he unsheathed the Great Sword from his back, the blade continuing to extend as if it were about to transform into a forty-meter long cleaver.
"The 'Great Sword' and 'Jade Sword' each enhance the Sword Saint's attack power by 300 points, totaling a 600-point increase!"
[Legendary Sword Saint, Attack Power 2600→Attack Power 3200]
"..."
"An attack power of 3200!" the red-haired girl remarked in shock, "And it's only the first turn! It's already higher than the legendary 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon's' attack power!"
Chazz's flunkies, feeling even more accomplished, saw Little Brother B's grin stretch high, feigning a dismissive smile: "Take a seat, take a seat, small matter. For Brother Chazz, this is basic operation..."
However, Yugen, amidst the battlefield, wasn't intimidated by this display, or rather quite the opposite.
He fixed his gaze on the remaining two cards in Chazz's hand.
The duel had just begun, and Chazz's starting hand of six was now down to four cards used, which was a trade-off painfully visible even to him.
A little more and he'd almost reach the legendary anime scene of turning five cards into whiteboards...
"Hahaha, have you been impressed by this overwhelming power?" Chazz laughed heartily, "Don't worry, it'll be over quickly.
Battle phase. Legendary Sword Saint, defeat that covered-up miscellaneous monster!"
The Sword Saint unsheathed his sword and dashed forward. The forty-meter cleaver swung out with an astonishing air blast, and the covered monster on Yugen's field couldn't resist, revealing its true form under the wind pressure.
It was a female warrior.
A blonde female warrior in black combat attire and thigh-high boots, crouched to protect herself with her sword, appeared so fragile in front of such a massive weapon.
[Interdimensional Female Warrior, Defense Power 1600]
"Interdimensional Female Warrior, activate effect," Yugen calmly stated, "When this card battles an opponent's monster, after damage calculation, this card, along with the opponent's monster it battled, will all be banished from the game."
Just like that, I'm sending your eight-star monster off to the Other Dimension!
Chazz: "What!?"