Yuichi glanced at his back row again. Eight hundred attack still could not trigger Bottomless Trap Hole. "Hah, what's the point of summoning trash like that?" he scoffed, not yet realizing how serious the situation was.
"Battle. Submarine Mech attacks," Yugen ordered. Yuichi's eyes widened. "A direct attack?"
"Submarine Mech can attack directly, ignoring monsters on the field!" Yuichi clicked his tongue. "Cheap tricks. Even so, it's only eight hundred damage."
"At this moment, the effect of the field spell Giant Mech City activates," Yugen said. "When a 'Mech' monster calculates battle damage, I can send one 'Mech' monster from my Deck to the Graveyard. During damage calculation only, that monster's original ATK and DEF are swapped."
"Nani?!?!" Yuichi's expression changed. Attack and defense swapped meant he understood instantly. "I send Swift Scarecrow from my Deck to the Graveyard and swap Submarine Mech's ATK and DEF!"
Submarine Mech, ATK 800 to ATK 1800
"Ugh, eighteen hundred attack." The small submarine leapt into the air and fired a torpedo that exploded against Yuichi with a loud blast. He staggered back under the simulated impact, baring his teeth.
Yuichi, LP 4000 to LP 2200
"Damn it," Yuichi wiped his mouth and snorted. "You've got some skill." Yugen replied calmly, "Submarine Mech's other effect. After it battles, it can change to defense position."
"And with Giant Mech City's effect ending, its DEF returns to normal." The submarine pulled back after the hit, turning around to brace itself in defense. Submarine Mech, DEF 1800
"I set three cards and end my turn," Yugen said, closing out the round.
The surrounding students were starting to see the tactic Yugen was using.
Invincible Submarine had the ability to attack directly, and the field spell "Machina City" could switch the submarine's attack and defense at the moment of battle. That turned what should have been only 800 ATK damage into a full 1800 on a direct hit.
After attacking, the submarine could also switch itself into defense, and its back side was just as solid at 1800 defense. It was a unit that handled both offense and defense without trouble.
Once they understood the idea, several students wore strange expressions.
No one thought this kind of strategy that avoided direct monster clashes was especially powerful, but it was undeniably annoying. Still, although Yuichi had been slapped once and it had hurt more than expected, most people felt the advantage was still on his side, including Yuichi himself.
"Tch, just some petty tricks," Yuichi curled his lip. "But this kind of small scheme ends here."
"My Turn!, Card Draw!"
Yuichi Yamamoto had entered Duel Academy with big ambitions. From the time he learned how to duel, people around him had called him elite, and his life had gone smoothly right up until he passed the entrance exam. His written scores were a little weaker, but he was confident that in real duels at Duel Academy he would not lose to anyone.
He had set himself a clear goal, to rise into Obelisk Blue Dorm within the first semester and take first place among the freshmen before finals. That ranking even included top students promoted straight from Middle Division into Obelisk Blue Dorm.
If he could not even beat the number one of Yellow Dormitory, then there was nothing else to talk about. In his eyes, Yugen was just a stepping stone for his next level.
Today, he would establish his authority in Yellow Dormitory.
"I activate a Quick-Play Spell from my hand, Mystical Space Typhoon! Destroy one Spell or Trap Card on the field," Yuichi declared. "I destroy your left set card!"
Black Whirlwind whipped up, lifting one of Yugen's back row cards into the air before lightning shattered it. The destroyed card was a Trap Hole.
"Hah, it was a Trap Hole. That was close," Yuichi said with satisfaction. "If I had summoned a monster with over 1000 ATK without checking, it would have been wiped out."
"Then I normal summon Warrior Ape!"
Warrior Ape, ATK 1900
With 1900 attack as a Level 4 monster, and the ability to gain 300 ATK after destroying another monster in battle, Warrior Ape easily broke past 2000. It was one of Yuichi's favorite low-level attackers.
Yugen remained expressionless. "I flip my set card, the Trap Card Trap Hole. When a monster with over 1000 ATK is summoned, it is destroyed."
Trap Hole opened wide, and Warrior Ape fell in before it could even steady itself, exploding into fragments in the endless pit.
Yuichi stared in silence.
So there was a second one too. Fine.
He forced himself to accept it and continued, "Then I activate the Spell Card Monster Reborn. I special summon one monster destroyed this turn in attack position."
The card that had just entered the Graveyard jumped back out.
"I special summon Warrior Ape again!"
Warrior Ape, ATK 1900
"Now I'll show you that this crooked kind of Duel means nothing!" Yuichi shouted. "Go, Warrior Ape, attack the submarine!"
"Flip my set card," Yugen said calmly, revealing another back row card. "The Trap Card that removes the attacking monster from play when it declares an attack."
Yuichi's eyes went wide.
The unlucky ape never reached Invincible Submarine. Just as its massive hand was about to strike, space tore open into a Rift, and a powerful pull dragged it inside, erasing it in an instant.
"My Warrior Ape…" Yuichi muttered, his eyes bloodshot.
He never imagined it would leave the underworld for less than a second before vanishing into another dimension like it was changing trains. It was gone without accomplishing anything.
"Damn it. But now all your set cards are used up," Yuichi said through clenched teeth. "Next, Hell Dragon attacks! Attack the submarine!"
This time nothing stopped it. Hell Dragon's claws tore through the submarine in defense position, ripping it apart into scattered parts.
At least this meant he would not get slapped by Invincible Submarine again next turn.
"Heh, you probably think you've blocked all my attacks this turn," Yuichi sneered. "But I'm not done yet. I activate my set card."
"Trap Card Mirror Marsh Being!"
Dark energy gathered as the trap activated, and from the murky swamp a monster shape slowly formed.
"When this trap is activated, I can declare any attribute and type and special summon it as a monster," Yuichi explained. "I declare it as an Earth Dragon-type monster!"
Mirror Marsh Being, ATK 1800
"The battle phase continues," Yuichi said. "Mirror Marsh Being, direct attack!"
The trap monster leapt forward, passing straight over Yugen's empty field.
Yuichi held his breath, eyes wide, waiting for the strike to land.
At the very last moment, the blade hit something with a sharp clang, stopped by a transparent barrier.
Swift Scarecrow!
"The effect of Swift Scarecrow in the Graveyard," Yugen said. "While this card is there, it can reduce battle damage to zero once."
A guaranteed hit being blocked at the final second made Yuichi feel like a loading bar had frozen right when he was about to finish.
"Scarecrow… when did that get there?" he muttered, then froze.
"When the submarine attacked, the field spell Machina City sent a card from the Deck to the Graveyard…"