After Youmi used [Self-Destruct Button] to successfully ruin Seto Kaiba's plan to face Joey Wheeler in the first round, Joey's own performance evaluation duel finally arrived.
Standing on the Duel Platform, Joey steadied his breathing, handing his Deck to Youmi for a shuffle while also taking hers in return.
"Ara Joey, you'd be better off if you weren't so tense" Youmi deftly shuffled Joey's Deck.
From its thickness, she could tell—given that it only had one sleeve layer—this wasn't a strict 40-card build. It seemed Joey had slipped in a few extras. "See? Your hands are shaking."
"Well, since my opponent's you, Youmi, I really want to show you how far I've come. Maybe I've put a bit too much pressure on myself without realizing it." Called out by Youmi, Joey looked down and saw his hands trembling slightly—gripping the cards too tightly.
Thankfully, the sleeves and the sturdy cardstock kept them safe. "No, actually…"
After finishing the shuffle, Joey took a deep breath, visibly regaining composure. He raised his head with burning determination. "Maybe it's not nerves—it's excitement. Because my opponent's you. If I can win, it'll prove everything I've worked for!
"And more than that, I want to keep winning. Luck's part of dueling too, but I don't want to win just because I drew the perfect hand or because you bricked. What I really want, Youmi, is to show you the best version of myself!"
Returning Joey's Deck to him, Youmi accepted her own back from him, smiling softly as she met his gaze. A deep sense of satisfaction welled up in her chest.
"That won't be easy, you know. I'm pretty strong, Hyperfect Joey" Youmi smiled warmly, like an older sister proud of her little brother's growth. "You'd better not let that [The Winged Dragon of Ra] you won from Marik slip through your fingers before I take it from you"
Her expression sharpened—the thrill of the duel already building.
This might be even more exciting than facing Yugi or Kaiba later.
"DUEL!"
"DUEL~"
Turn 1
Perhaps to gauge Joey's growth, Youmi didn't insist on taking the first turn, leisurely drawing five cards instead.
Joey caught on to her intention and accepted the first turn with a grin.
"Since you're giving it up, Youmi, I'll gladly take it." Joey began by activating a Normal Spell. "I activate [Graceful Charity]! I draw three cards, then discard two."
He revealed the cards he sent to the Graveyard—[Blue Flame Swordsman] and [Gearfried the Iron Knight].
"Two Warriors with different Attributes, huh…" Youmi mused to herself, recalling Joey's early deck in the spinoff manga Yu-Gi-Oh! R. "Could it be… [Gilti-Gearfried the Magical Steel Knight]? Oh wait, I'm doing it again—this world's packs aren't a perfect match."
If her guess was right, Joey's goal was indeed [Gilti-Gearfried the Magical Steel Knight].
"Next, I activate [Reinforcement of the Army] to add [Marauding Captain] from my Deck to my hand! Then I Normal Summon him—lead the charge, [Marauding Captain]!"
Joey's card art burst to life as the captain drew his sword and charged forward, summoning a comrade beside him. "Thanks to his effect, I can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower monster from my hand in Defense Position—come on out, [Ipiria]! When it's Summoned, I draw one card!"
Right from the start, Joey was cycling through cards aggressively. As a duelist who'd grown from his earlier duels with Youmi, he clearly understood the power of consistency spells like [Graceful Charity] and [Pot of Greed].
"Now I activate the Normal Spell [The Ties of the Brethren]! By paying 2000 LP, I target [Marauding Captain] and Special Summon two monsters from my Deck with the same Type, Attribute, and Level but different names. I can't Special Summon for the rest of the turn."
[Joey Wheeler, LP: 4000 → 2000]
"In Defense Position, I Special Summon [Comrade Swordsman of Landstar] and [Rookie Warrior Lady]! Thanks to [Comrade Swordsman of Landstar], all my Warrior monsters gain 400 Attack.
"Then I equip [United We Stand] to [Marauding Captain]! The equipped monster gains 800 ATK and DEF for each monster I control—four in total, so +3200!
"Combined with the 400 boost, that's +3600 total, making his Attack 4800! With that kind of power, no [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] or [Dark Magician] can stand against him!"
"Finally, I Set two cards and end my turn!"
Turn 2
"Not bad, Joey. Compared to your early Deck, you've definitely come a long way. But I want to see more than that—can you understand what I mean?"
Watching his impressive setup, Youmi felt proud, yet unsatisfied. There was still untapped potential; more brilliance to see. And for that, she was willing to push him harder.
Glancing over her six cards, including her new draw, Youmi began to plan.
"Then let's make you go all out~"
She discarded a green card from her hand to the Graveyard and activated a Spell. "Normal Spell [Double Spell]!
"By discarding one card, I can target one Spell in my opponent's Graveyard and use it as my own. I could pick [Graceful Charity]... but instead, I'll choose [Reinforcement of the Army] to add [Ha-Re the Sword Mikanko] from my Deck to my hand.
"Next, I activate [Hidden Armory]—I send the top card of my Deck to the Graveyard, then add one Equip Spell from my Deck or Graveyard to my hand. I'll take [Mikanko Water Arabesque] from my Deck!"
Youmi grinned, pointing toward Joey's [Marauding Captain]. "And now, I equip [Mikanko Water Arabesque] to [Marauding Captain]~"
...
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