Rowe suddenly drew a card. After being provoked by Morgan, she had already tossed aside the club's orders.
Now, the only thing on her mind was to defeat Morgan.
Adding the drawn card to her hand, Rowe glanced at her hand and immediately determined her chain sequence. She was already very familiar with this deck, given to her by the club.
"I activate the Continuous Spell Card [Aroma Gardening] from my hand!"
"Can only be activated when you successfully Normal or Special Summon an 'Aroma' monster. Recover 1000 Life Points."
The moment Rowe used this card, the nature of her deck became evident—It was a deck focused on Life Point recovery.
Upon seeing this card, the commentator's voice rang out with admiration.
"As expected, Rowe reveals her powerful Life Point recovery tactics right from the first turn!"
"As long as she summons an 'Aroma' monster, she can recover 1000 LP. That's insane."
"In almost every duel, Rowe's Life Points reach absurd levels!"
"Many duelists crumble and surrender as they face an opponent whose LP keeps skyrocketing. I wonder how the Witch Morgan will respond."
Hearing the commentary, Jade looked confused and asked as she watched Rowe on the field:
"Is this deck really that terrifying?"
Isla sighed and said:
"Most duelists' monsters have less than 3000 Attack, so even facing someone with 8000 LP takes several attacks to deplete."
"Yet, Rowe's deck can raise her LP to tens of thousands. That means even if she doesn't summon monsters and just stands there, her opponent would still need several turns to bring her LP to zero."
"That's why many people surrender when facing such a ridiculous amount of LP."
Isla frowned slightly. Clearly, she also viewed Rowe as a formidable opponent for Morgan.
"So that's how it is. But Morgan's Eldlich tops out at 3500 Attack. How is she going to win this one?"
Jade sounded worried, though her concern quickly faded. She believed Morgan would figure something out, as always.
Meanwhile, Morgan was also surprised at Rowe's deck.
Her own deck was built around reducing her own LP, while her opponent's deck was all about increasing LP. Total opposites.
Anyhow, for Morgan, it didn't matter how much LP the opponent had. As long as the LP difference between the two exceeded 7000, the duel might be over.
"Next! I Special Summon [Aromage Jasmine] from my deck!"
A young girl with snow-white hair and a flower staff appeared on the field. Her amethyst-like eyes sparkled.
[Aromage Jasmine] Level 2│LIGHT│Plant│100 ATK / 1900 DEF
"Then I activate Jasmine's effect: Once per turn, if I gain LP, I draw 1 card."
Rowe drew another card, and her LP increased by 1000 due to [Aroma Gardening], rising to 9000 LP.
"I use Jasmine's second effect!"
"If my LP is higher than my opponent's and this card is on the field, I gain an additional Normal Summon of a Plant monster during my Main Phase."
In other words, Rowe could Normal Summon once more.
"I Normal Summon [Spore] in Attack Position!"
A round green fluffball popped onto the field.
[Spore] Level 1│WIND│Plant│400 ATK / 800 DEF
"I use these two monsters to set the Link Arrows!"
Rowe announced loudly. The two monsters turned into red streaks of light and slotted into two Link Arrows. A girl emerged from the circuit.
"Link Summon! [Aromaseraphy Jasmine]!"
Jasmine returned to the field, now adorned with more ornate decorations and bearing a pair of hollow wings. She looked just like a real angel.
[Aromaseraphy Jasmine] Link-2 │LIGHT│Link / Plant│1800 ATK
Upon seeing this monster, the commentator exclaimed:
"Rowe has already summoned her main engine monster this early—it looks like she's in top form today!"
"This seraph can Special Summon monsters from the deck, and once 'Aroma' monsters appear, her LP recovery methods multiply!"
"Many opponents fall into a loop and lose. How will the Witch Morgan deal with this?"
As the commentator pointed out, Rowe had no more Normal Summons left—but her [Spore] in the Graveyard was key.
"I activate [Spore]'s effect from the Graveyard!"
"If this card is in the Graveyard, I can banish one other Plant monster from the Graveyard to Special Summon it."
"I banish [Aromage Jasmine] from my Graveyard to Special Summon [Spore]!"
The round [Spore] reappeared on the field, Special Summoned into [Aromaseraphy Jasmine]'s Link Zone.
"I activate [Aromaseraphy Jasmine]'s effect!"
"I Tribute the linked [Spore] to Special Summon [Aromage Marjoram] from my deck!"
[Spore] turned into golden particles and vanished. A sultry, warm-looking woman emerged, wearing a black lace dress that highlighted her healthy legs.
[Aromage Marjoram] Level 5│DARK│Plant│2000 ATK / 1600 DEF
"I Set three cards and end my turn!"
Rowe set all remaining cards in her hand. With a smile, she awaited her next turn to continue unfolding her plays.
With 9000 LP, there was no way Morgan could defeat her in a single turn.
In the audience, Jade and Isla looked worried. As duelists themselves, they could see that Rowe wasn't as simple as she appeared.
In a single turn, she'd summoned a high-level monster, recovered LP, and set her backrow. It was comprehensive.
There was a reason she made it to the semifinals.
The two girls glanced at Morgan in unison.
"My turn. Draw!"
Even facing Rowe's nearly perfect setup, Morgan remained composed.
She looked at her hand, thought for a moment, and immediately began chaining.
"I Normal Summon [Dinomorphia Therizia] in Attack Position!"
A girl clad in an armored bodysuit appeared. Her arms were replaced with mechanical claws, giving her a fearsome look.
The audience froze, never having seen this monster before. Then came a wave of chatter, and many pulled out their phones to take pictures and upload them online.
This was Morgan's first time switching decks since the preliminaries—a big deal!
Of course, this wasn't surprising. Every pro duelist prepares two to three decks.
"What a twist! The Witch Morgan has finally changed her deck for the semifinals!"
"Looks like a Dinosaur-type deck?"
"But I've never seen this monster before. Undoubtedly, Morgan's using a very rare deck!"
"Let's see what kind of chain she can pull off!"
All eyes turned to Morgan, which left Rowe frustrated. Why is everyone so obsessed with that unlovable girl?
Regardless, Morgan paid no attention to them and continued her chain.
"I activate [Dinomorphia Therizia]'s effect!"
"When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, I can Set 1 'Dinomorphia' Trap directly from my Deck to my Spell/Trap Zone."
Morgan searched her Deck, revealed the card, and declared:
"I Set [Dinomorphia Frenzy] face-down."
Rowe widened her eyes at the card Morgan set. She had never seen it before, so naturally, she had no idea what it did, which made her anxious.
But she soon realized her anxiety was unnecessary—Morgan proceeded to set her entire hand, leaving only one card remaining.
'...How did she out-set me?'
Rowe was dumbfounded, staring at the five Set cards. Everyone else was briefly silent, too.
Meanwhile, Morgan was suffering inside. What else could she do? Her whole hand was Trap Cards!
At least the Eldlich deck had some Spell support. Dinomorphia 2.0 was a full red Trap deck—setting was her only option.
In fact, the Dinomorphia Deck mainly activates during the opponent's turn. Morgan's own turn rarely involves much.
"That ends my turn."
After a long pause, the commentator finally said:
"This is certainly a mysterious deck… What we know so far is that its monsters are related to Trap Cards."
"Trap Cards seem to be its core engine."
"That means Morgan's Set cards are likely all Traps. As for the rest, we'll have to see how the duel unfolds."
The audience collectively sweatdropped. Even the commentator couldn't figure out Morgan's strategy. They'd just have to wait until she flips her cards.
After Morgan's turn ended, Rowe hesitated for a bit before beginning her turn.
"My turn. Draw!"
As her Standby Phase ended and she entered her Main Phase, she saw Morgan flip one of her face-down cards.
"I activate the Trap Card [Dinomorphia Frenzy]!"
"I halve my LP!"
...
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