"What an incredible combo." After two of his monsters were sent from the Field to the Graveyard, Hayato's cards ultimately failed to withstand the serious Gorō the Pig-Head's offensive, and his Life Points plummeted significantly.
[Hayato: 3000LP→1350LP]
"My Turn ends." With an empty Hand, Gorō the Pig-Head couldn't perform any actions, ending his Turn. "Come, Hayato, let me witness your limits as a Duelist!"
[Goro: Hand 6→7→0]
"My Turn..." Placing his Hand on top of his Deck, Hayato paused slightly. He felt a familiar sensation he hadn't noticed in a long time, as if the card about to be Drawn was calling to him.
Looking at Gorō the Pig-Head opposite him, Hayato responded with a smile, "If that's the case, then I'll show you."
"Draw! Then Summon!"
Without even looking, Hayato Drew the Monster from the top of his Deck and immediately placed it on the Field. Sure enough, it was (Gaia The Fierce Knight)!
[(Gaia The Fierce Knight)][ATK2300]
"Then I activate my Set Card, (Sword of Dragon's Soul)! It increases (Gaia)'s ATK by 700 points!"
[(Gaia The Fierce Knight)][ATK2300→3000]
The onlookers, seeing Hayato push his Monster's Attack to such a degree, all gasped in astonishment:
"He actually reached the Attack of the legendary phantom Card, (Blue-Eyes White Dragon)!"
"At this level, no matter which Monster he Attacks, Gorō the Pig-Head's Life Points will be wiped out!"
"So strong!"
Hayato subtly pinched the mouths of (Ojama Black) and (Ojama Green) who were peeking out from the card and flattering him, and said, "(Gaia The Fierce Knight)'s attack, crush (Hungry Burger)!"
"Hmph, you've got some skills."
[Goro: 600LP→0]
The System's Reward promptly appeared:
[Congratulations on winning the Duel. Initiating settlement:
Duel Victory: 2000 DP
Used 3 Spell Cards: 100 DP
Helpless Resistance (Dealt over 1000 Damage with one Attack Declaration): 300 DP
Total: 2400 DP
Do you want to use Novice Reward - Score Doubler? (Remaining uses: 9)]
After some thought, Hayato decided there was no reason not to use it. 4800 DP flowed into his Balance, and he watched with satisfaction as his Balance increased to 9300 DP, a pleased smile spreading across his face.
Gorō the Pig-Head tidied his Deck and walked up to Hayato. However, before he could say anything, Joey and Tristan surrounded him, standing guard in front of Hayato.
"You scoundrel, are you planning to renege on your loss!?" Joey raised a hand to block Gorō the Pig-Head, who was trying to approach. "I won't let you get a step closer to Hayato."
But Gorō the Pig-Head merely glanced at Joey and walked around him. "Hmph, though I, Gorō the Pig-Head, am a delinquent, I also have the dignity of a Duelist."
With that, he walked up to Hayato and pulled out his Deck. "I lost this Duel. According to Mr. Pegasus's Card Gambling Rules, take your Prize Card from my Deck, Hayato."
Hayato was a little puzzled. "I recall that this wasn't part of our initial wager, was it?"
"I don't care about your Rules. Just as fish live in water and birds fly in the sky, the Game of Duel Monsters, for me, is a game where I stake my most precious cards." Although Gorō the Pig-Head was somewhat reluctant about Hayato taking his cards, he still firmly fanned out his Deck. "Alright, Hayato, make your choice quickly, unless you don't want the guys from our Class to take the iron plate."
"Just as choosing a Prize Card is the privilege of the victor, refusing a Prize Card is also the magnanimity of the victor. I choose to refu—" Hayato had no intention of gambling for cards, largely because he didn't find any of the cards Gorō the Pig-Head had just used appealing, and taking them wouldn't be meaningful.
But just as he was about to utter the word 'refuse', Hayato saw a card in Gorō the Pig-Head's Deck. "—Refusing you would seem rather impolite, so I'll take this card then."
Seeing Hayato take a card from his Deck, Gorō the Pig-Head couldn't help but sigh in relief, both at Hayato accepting a card and at the card Hayato took not being one of his most cherished ones. "He only took such a useless card? What a gentle guy."
"Being called that by a big guy is really unbearable." Hayato put the chosen card into his card case and stored it away, and glanced at the iron plate beside them that had just been used as a Duel Stage. "So now, you can fulfill your promise, right?"
"Since you lost, hurry up and leave!" Tristan added, but Joey corrected him, "That's not it. The guys from D Class still need to redecorate all the damaged parts for us."
"Fodder Monsters should just shut up quietly. The only strong individual I acknowledge is Hayato; you are not qualified to order me around." When facing Hayato, Gorō the Pig-Head's attitude was significantly better than before the Duel began, but when he turned to face Joey, he reverted to his school bully demeanor.
"Speaking of which, I recall that D Class's Field should be right next to B Class's, shouldn't it?" Hayato looked towards the adjacent area from their Class's Field entrance. Although B Class's Field had been destroyed by Gorō the Pig-Head and his gang, since the main events at the Game Carnival were focused on games, a simple repair to the decorations wouldn't cause any problems.
As for D Class's Field, even though almost a day had passed, it was still completely barren. Tomorrow was the Culture Festival; weren't they worried about running out of time?
Gorō the Pig-Head saw the doubt in Hayato's mind and replied, "Our D Class's project is a super-sized Okonomiyaki stand, so there's no need for any decoration, because for us, the Field's biggest use is as a warehouse for ingredients and consumables."
Okonomiyaki is a Japanese snack. It involves adding ingredients like ham, corn, chicken, shrimp, and bacon to a batter made of flour and eggs, then pouring the batter onto an iron plate to fry into palm-sized pancakes, and finally topping them with sauces like bonito flakes and mayonnaise before serving. It's a convenient snack for eating on the go.
D Class also simultaneously operated stalls selling Takoyaki, skewers, stir-fried noodles, and fried rice, which could be prepared alongside the Okonomiyaki—all of which were take-out items. In that case, they indeed wouldn't need to decorate their 'warehouse' much.
"Your D Class doesn't need an indoor shop, just a display window, while our Class doesn't need a display window, just an indoor play space." Watching the D Class members being directed by Gorō the Pig-Head, apologizing to the B Class members while renovating the shop interior, Hayato thought of an idea he considered pretty good. "I have a plan!"
(end of chapter)