The entrance to the Yu-Gi-Oh! Tournament.
The venue was a colossal dueling arena. A massive crowd watched from all sides—at least twenty to thirty thousand people. Ryunosuke raised his Duel Disk and made a vow in front of Ai!
"I will definitely win your cards back from Natsukawa Masuzu."
Immediately after, he turned and entered the match arena. Ai waved goodbye; she believed her man would surely win. She then headed toward the spectator seats to watch the match. Chizuru and Megumi came with her. As for Yuki, she didn't attend as she was currently undergoing treatment at the hospital.
However, Yuki was watching the match via a tablet in the hospital, praying in her heart: "Good luck!"
Yuki would no longer waver; she liked Ryunosuke!
She liked him from the deepest depths of her heart. Even though the man had other girlfriends, Yuki no longer minded. This man before her had worked so hard for her sake; what else could she possibly find fault with?
Yuki's lips slowly curved into a smile—an incredibly sweet smile. Ryunosuke was entering this tournament for her, so she had to cheer him on with all her might!
Yuki clenched her small fists. "Go for it!"
Yuki's mother and older sister, seeing her spirited behavior in the hospital bed, could only shake their heads in resignation. Regarding Ryunosuke's statement that he would take responsibility for their Yuki, what else could they say? They could only agree. After all, they were already too deeply indebted. Even if she had to be the "nth" one...
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On the other side.
Ryunosuke walked into the dueling arena. Many people cheered wildly, as if they were seeing the original Yugi himself. Because currently, he wasn't just wearing a Duel Disk on his right arm, but also an indigo combat costume identical to Yugi's, complete with a replica of the Millennium Puzzle around his neck.
He was clearly cosplaying as Mutou Yugi. As for the reason why he was dressed like this? It was because Ryunosuke realized that ever since the blood clot in his brain vanished, his chuunibyou mode seemed to have undergone a certain change. He wanted to test what that change actually was, which is why he reproduced Yugi's appearance with a high degree of accuracy, even down to the starfish hairstyle.
Ryunosuke activated his Duel Disk and began the duel.
"Duel! X2"
LP Akasaka Ryunosuke: 4000.
LP Opponent: 4000.
"My turn, Draw!"
"I summon Balloon Lizard in attack position!"
A yellow lizard with a bloated belly floated in the air. Balloon Lizard, ATK 500, Level 4.
"Next, I combine it with the spell card Ultra Evolution Pill!"
"By tributing one Reptile-type monster on the field, I can special summon one Dinosaur-type monster from my hand, ignoring its Level."
"I summon Dark Driceratops! Come forth, my ace monster!"
The opponent slotted the card into the Duel Disk. Instantly, a jet-black Tyrannosaurus Rex appeared. Dark Driceratops, ATK 2400, Level 7.
"Since this is the first turn, I cannot attack. I set two cards face-down and end my turn."
His turn ended. Now it was Ryunosuke's turn, "Draw!"
In truth, these high-attack monsters were rare cards. Being able to summon a monster with 2400–2600 ATK was already a major achievement. A single monster card with an ATK above 2500 could cost millions of Yen.
Ryunosuke began his move.
"I summon Mystical Elf in defense position." DEF 2000, Level 4.
"Then, I activate the Quick-Play spell, Dimension Magic!"
"The effect of this card: if there is a Spellcaster-type monster on my field, I can tribute one monster to special summon a Spellcaster-type monster from my hand, ignoring its Level."
"I tribute Mystical Elf to special summon Dark Magician from my hand!"
Dark Magician, ATK 2500, Level 7.
"This card also has a special effect. When special summoned, I can choose and destroy one monster on the field. I choose your Dark Driceratops!"
Ryunosuke pointed at the opponent's ace monster, and it instantly shattered into pieces. Ryunosuke then commanded Dark Magician to attack the player directly.
LP Opponent: 4000 – 2500 = 1500.
Ryunosuke set two cards face-down and ended his turn.
Opponent's turn, "Draw!"
The opponent began to sweat from the tension, but he had to keep fighting.
"I discard Thunder Dragon from my hand to add two more Thunder Dragons from my deck to my hand."
"Next, I activate the spell card Polymerization to fuse two Thunder Dragons into Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon!"
Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon, ATK 2800!
"Because I used the support of a certain spell card, my fusion monster can attack this turn! With this, my monster's ATK exceeds your Dark Magician's!!!"
The opponent swung his arm, commanding an attack toward Ryunosuke's Dark Magician. The two-headed dragon unleashed its dragon breath. Ryunosuke refused to be outdone and flipped his face-down card.
"I activate the trap card, Magic Cylinder!"
Through the effect of Magic Cylinder, Ryunosuke redirected the opponent's attack back at its owner and destroyed the monster. Now it was Ryunosuke's turn again; he summoned Celtic Guardian in attack position (ATK 1400). Since the opponent had no monsters left, Ryunosuke attacked directly and won the match easily.
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In another arena.
Masuzu was also competing. Her opponent was an insect-deck expert.
"I summon Pinch Hopper in attack position (ATK 1000)."
"Next, I activate the spell card Insecticide to destroy my own Pinch Hopper to trigger its monster effect."
"Special summoning one Insect-type monster from my hand regardless of tribute requirements. Appear, my ace monster, Insect Queen!" ATK 2200, Level 7.
"Since I'm going first, I cannot attack. I set one card and end my turn."
Now it was Masuzu's turn, "Draw!"
"I activate the spell card Photon Veil from my hand! This card lets me return three Light-attribute monsters from my hand to the deck, then add three other Light-attribute monsters from the deck to my hand."
Masuzu performed the card swap, discarding unfavorable cards and replacing them with three useful chosen monster cards.
"Next, I activate the Quick-Play spell, Photon Lead."
"This card special summons one Level 4 or lower Light-attribute monster from the hand in attack position. I summon Daybreaker!" ATK 1700, Level 4, Light Attribute.
"When this card is successfully special summoned, I can special summon one monster with the same name from my hand."
Instantly, a second Daybreaker appeared.
"The newly summoned Daybreaker triggers its effect again to special summon another Daybreaker."
Until finally, four Daybreakers were gathered on the field.
After Masuzu gathered four Level 4 Light-attribute monsters, she swung her hand to perform an Overlay.
"I stack two Level 4 Daybreakers!"
"Building the Overlay Network with two monsters!"
"XYZ SUMMON!!!"
"Descend! Number 39: Utopia!!!!"
Number 39: Utopia, ATK 2500, Rank 4.
Because Masuzu had previously taken almost all of her cousin's card collection, she had the complete set of the Utopia deck belonging to the fourth-generation protagonist, Yuma.
Masuzu flicked her beautiful white hair casually, unable to suppress a confident smile.