"Battle Phase!"
Tomoki waved his hand and barked, "Summoned Skull, attack the face-down monster!"
The demon spread its wings, releasing endless thunder. Lightning within the black clouds churned and roared like a furious golden dragon, descending upon the monster set in You Xuan's front row with the force of the heavens.
Boom!
The set card flipped over. The monster's image appeared only for an instant before being incinerated into ash by the lightning.
"At this moment, the effect of the face-down Magical Merchant activates," You Xuan said. "When Magical Merchant is flipped, I excavate cards from the top of my deck until a Spell or Trap card appears. I add the first Spell or Trap found to my hand, and send the rest to the Graveyard."
"Hmph, an effect to search for Spells and Traps?" Tomoki didn't seem concerned.
You Xuan revealed seven cards from his deck in succession before showing the seventh. "I add the Spell card Reasoning to my hand, and send the remaining six cards to the Graveyard."
The six cards slid into the Graveyard slot with a clatter.
Tomoki frowned slightly.
Reasoning was also a Spell card that involved excavating from the top of the deck until a summonable monster appeared. It was somewhat similar to Magical Merchant.
Is this guy looking for a specific combo?
"But this leaves you with no wall of monsters on the field," Tomoki said. "Skull Archfiend of Lightning, direct attack!"
The thunderclouds churned again. Lightning gathered in the hands of the skeletal demon, released like a hurled javelin. The tyrannical electricity swept toward You Xuan's face with a high-pitched roar.
"I activate my face-down card," You Xuan countered. "The Trap card Dimensional Prison. When an opponent's monster declares an attack, that attacking monster is banished from the game."
A rift in dimensions manifested, blocking the path in front of You Xuan and intercepting the aggressive thunderbolt hurled by the Skull Archfiend.
"Heh, you're right. Dimensional Prison is a targeting effect. Because of the effect of Raregold Armor, you can only target Skull Archfiend of Lightning," Tomoki smirked. "However, when Skull Archfiend becomes the target of an effect, its own ability triggers. Archfiend's Wheel!"
Six spheres, each printed with numbers one through six, materialized above Tomoki's palm. A flame ignited on the sphere marked '1' and began to rotate clockwise.
"These spheres act as dice. Whichever number the flame stops on randomly represents the result. If a 1, 3, or 6 appears, the activation of Dimensional Prison is negated."
The flame spun rapidly, looking like a whirling fire wheel for a moment. Then, the flame began to slow down until it came to a halt on the sphere marked '3'.
"Ha, it's a three!" Tomoki's lips curled upward. "Therefore, the effect of Dimensional Prison is negated and destroyed!"
The Skull Archfiend let out a roar, and a burst of electricity pierced through the dimensional rift. It seemed the barrier could not withstand the demon's power and shattered into pieces.
"The attack continues!"
Boom!
The lightning struck, making the entire virtual arena tremble under the impact. Deafening thunder echoed through the air as the electricity exploded outward from the demon, its skeletal form looking even more twisted and hideous in the reflection of the lightning fire.
A stream of data rolled over You Xuan, causing his virtual body to distort for a moment while his virtual LP dropped by an amount equal to the demon's attack power.
[You Xuan, LP 4000 → LP 1500]
You Xuan stood his ground firmly and took the damage calmly, chuckling softly. "As expected of a senior in the league. That's quite an effective combination."
Saito Tomoki seemed quite pleased by the praise, puffing out his chest. "Of course. There's no need to be discouraged; after all, I am a professional. It's only natural for you to feel the pressure. Don't be nervous, just play to your usual standard."
As he spoke, he drew another card.
"I set one card and end my turn."
"Thank you, senior. Then I suppose I shall 'play to my usual standard' now."
You Xuan spoke gently.
"My turn, draw! I activate the Spell card Card of Adversity. If my opponent controls a Special Summoned monster and I control no monsters, I draw two cards from my deck."
Tomoki nodded in approval like a patient mentor. "Good. Don't worry about winning or losing for now. Just focus on the duel and show your style."
"Understood, senior," You Xuan replied. "Next, I activate the Spell card Reasoning I retrieved last turn. My opponent declares a Level. I then excavate cards from the top of my deck until I reveal a monster that can be Normal Summoned. If that monster is of the Level you declared, it is sent to the Graveyard. If it is a different Level, that monster is Special Summoned."
Tomoki thought it over.
So far, You Xuan had only used Magical Merchant, so it was impossible to tell what kind of deck he was running. However, statistically speaking, Level 4 monsters had the highest probability.
"I declare Level 4," Tomoki said.
"Alright, senior. Then I'll begin excavating."
You Xuan flipped over three cards in one go, and the third was a monster.
"What a shame, senior. I revealed the Level 1 monster, Mystic Piper."
Tomoki nodded. "Summon it."
At the same time, his confusion deepened. What kind of deck is this?
"According to the effect of Reasoning, I Special Summon Mystic Piper."
[Mystic Piper, ATK 0]
"Then, the remaining excavated cards are sent to the Graveyard."
You Xuan placed the other two cards into the Graveyard slot of his Duel Disk.
"Now, Mystic Piper's effect activates," You Xuan said. "By Tributing this card, I draw one card. If I draw a Level 1 monster, I can reveal it to draw another card."
As he spoke, the piper on the field blew a melodious tune before its body dissolved into faint points of light and vanished.
"By the Piper's effect, I draw."
You Xuan drew a card, glanced at it, and then revealed it.
"The card I drew is the Level 1 monster Jester Confit. Therefore, I draw once more."
You Xuan drew again.
Only then did Tomoki realize that even the previous Magical Merchant was a Level 1 monster. If he had known, he should have declared Level 1 for Reasoning.
But who would have expected someone to fill their deck with Level 1 monsters?
Unable to figure out the strategy, Tomoki couldn't help but ask, "Is your deck really nothing but Level 1 monsters?"
"Not quite, there are some high-level ones," You Xuan smiled, then paused before adding, "though about 90% of them are."
Tomoki was bewildered.
Then how are you going to win?
Are you planning to headbutt me to death with a Kuriboh?
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