LightReader

Chapter 55 - Chapter 55: How Strong is This Card? Its ATK is 0

Not long after Rex Raptor left in a huff, Weevil Underwood felt that he had gotten close enough to Yugi. He departed with a smile, feigning sincerity as he invited Yugi to find him if he was interested in the "New Rules."

Joey, who was eagerly anticipating the luxurious "VIP Suite," was about to follow the staff in black out of the cabin when Hayato stopped him.

"What's wrong, Hayato?"

"Regarding this cabin, have you guys noticed something?" Hayato didn't state his reason directly. Instead, he pointed to the Duelists who had already settled into their respective spots in the cabin behind them.

Joey looked around the cabin, confused. "Notice what? I just see a lot of people chatting? That Rex Raptor wasn't wrong; this place really isn't suitable for resting. Let's hurry up and leave."

Unlike Joey, Yugi had noticed. "I see. In that case, Joey, maybe we can stay here a bit longer. Look over there."

Following Yugi's gaze, Joey then noticed that the Duelists gathered and chatting were holding their respective Decks. As they chatted, they would occasionally draw cards from their Decks and exchange them.

"They're... exchanging cards?" Although Joey was still slow to catch on, Tristan Taylor and Téa Gardner had already realized. "I see. This is a large shared room, not very convenient for resting, but it's also become a very convenient place for card exchanges."

"Exactly. Although exchanging cards right before a Match might make one seem unconfident in their Deck, actually strengthening one's Deck is what truly matters," Hayato said, pulling out a Deck. "I also have quite a few cards I want to trade. Maybe I can find some powerful ones."

Hayato wasn't just talking nonsense. In the original timeline, Joey, using discarded cards from his Gambling Warrior Deck, managed to trade for four cards: *(Kunai with Chain)*, *(Baby Dragon)*, *(Flame Swordsman)*, and *(Swordsman of Landstar)*. Each of them was quite practical.

Although the Duelists gathered here were stronger than amateurs, their focus was mostly on acquiring purely powerful monsters. Many of them didn't recognize true value, not unlike those in the future Duel Academy who would discard *(Relinquished)*, a Monster with 0 Attack Power, as a useless card.

Before Hayato even went to trade cards, Joey, beside him, had already followed suit, pulling out his Deck and moving faster than Hayato to approach the Duelists, starting conversations to exchange cards.

"Hayato, you actually have a Spare Deck?" Yugi looked at the thick stack of cards in Hayato's hand with some surprise.

"No, not really. These are just some discarded cards, and 'some' were obtained by gambling cards from others." Looking at the *(TM-1 Launcher Spider)*, which he had swiped from the escaped convict Lucky, at the top of the card pile in his hand, Hayato recalled the System's reply and felt a bit annoyed.

Although the System's Shop provided Hayato with a Recycle function, it only applied to Rare-Rank cards and above. This left him with a thick stack of N-Rank fodder cards. While many of these N-Rank cards were still quite powerful under the current Rules, Hayato had learned of Pegasus's plans beforehand and intended to trade these away as quickly as possible to avoid being stuck with them.

He could have given them to Tristan Taylor to optimize his seldom-used Deck, but Tristan Taylor was reluctant to accept, feeling that Hayato's cards were "so rare and powerful that he would be too embarrassed to take them."

————Pleasant Trading Time————

That night, after a comfortable hot bath, Hayato left his room, letting the cool sea breeze dry his hair. He saw Yugi and Joey sitting at a round table on the ship's deck outside their room, discussing their gains from the day.

"Ah, Hayato, aren't you going to rest?"

Yugi was the first to notice Hayato's arrival, clearing a spot for him to sit.

"Tomorrow we'll arrive at Duelist Kingdom; how could I possibly sleep under these circumstances?" Hayato chuckled as he sat down, looking at Yugi's and Joey's cards. "So, how were your gains today?"

Because Hayato and Joey's trading had been so lively, Yugi eventually used cards from his Spare Deck to exchange for two: *(Lightning Vortex)*, obtained for an *(Aqua Madoor)*, and *(Absorption Shield)*, obtained for a *(Leo Wizard)*. Joey, on the other hand, had traded for the four cards from the original timeline.

"My haul isn't bad, right?"

Joey boasted, and Hayato had to admit that the four cards he traded for were indeed quite strong.

"Hmm, those are all quite powerful cards," Hayato said, pulling out his own gains from his pocket. "However, my haul is superior to yours. Many people traded powerful cards to me."

Joey leaned in curiously, wanting to see what cards Hayato had traded for. But after seeing a bunch of red and green cards, he recoiled. "What the heck, Hayato, why are you just like Yugi, only trading for Spell Cards and Trap Cards?"

"Of course, it's because those willing to trade cards think just like you, believing that Duel Monsters only needs Monster Cards." Hayato said, pulling out the sole Monster Card from his pile of Spell/Trap Cards. "Also, I traded for quite a good Monster Card too~"

"*(Beautiful Headhuntress)*? This Monster looks frail and weak, not strong at all." Joey couldn't quite understand what use Hayato's Monster, which only had 0 Attack Power, could possibly have.

"You can't just judge Duel Monsters by their appearance; their true abilities are hidden," Yugi said to Joey, having seen the power of Hayato's *(Beautiful Headhuntress)*. Then, as if he suddenly remembered something, he pulled a card from the *(Gold Sarcophagus)* placed before him and handed it to Joey.

"Joey, you should use this card."

"Huh? *(Time Wizard)*? Its Attack Power is so weak," Joey said, looking at the card Yugi gave him with some disdain. He was about to say something when Hayato interrupted him, "Just take it and hold onto it. You'll realize how powerful this card is. Even if you don't trust the card itself, at least trust Yugi and me, right?"

"Since you've put it that way, fine." Joey reluctantly took the *(Time Wizard)* after hearing Hayato speak to this extent. He had just placed the card into his Deck when a familiar voice came from behind them:

"Oh, what a coincidence, Yugi. I didn't expect you guys to still be awake tonight."

Hayato turned his head and saw Weevil Underwood, clad in green, walking onto the third-level deck they were on, a smile on his face. "Yes, what a coincidence, Weevil Underwood."

(end of chapter)

More Chapters