Chumley felt like he had some impression of the name "Espa Roba," but before he could say a couple of sentences, the two boys lying on the ground excitedly exclaimed:
"W-Wasn't that the strongest psychic, 'Espa' Roba?!"
"I heard you're a super Duelist who has mastered all the psychic power in the World!"
"We're so sorry for bumping into you!"
"Please be magnanimous and spare us!"
Hearing the flattery, "Espa" Roba nodded smugly. With a casual wave of his hand, the two little boys on the ground suddenly began to move their limbs.
"We can move again?"
"Hmph hmph, seeing your excellent quality of correcting mistakes, I'll release my 'Petrification Technique' and let you off this time." Espa Roba struck the pose of an otherworldly master, his face full of arrogance.
Upon hearing Espa Roba's words, the two boys immediately scrambled to their feet. After bowing, they swiftly darted past Chumley, who was standing in the center of the clearing, and vanished into the crowd, appearing quite afraid of "Espa" Roba.
Chumley noticed that after the two boys claimed Espa Roba was a "psychic," everyone else surprisingly and tacitly retreated a few steps, making the clearing larger. They seemed reluctant to get close to Espa Roba, even though Chumley, the Duel King whose defeat would bring them immense fame, stood not far from Espa Roba.
A corner of his mouth twitched, and Chumley's face was filled with helplessness. "Are these people idiots?"
He had now fully recalled who this psychic in front of him was. Wasn't this the fake psychic who defeated Rex and won his newly acquired `[Evil Knight Dragon]`, then lost his own `[Jinzo]` to Joey?!
He claimed to be able to see through the opponent's cards using cosmic energy, but in reality, he was just exchanging signals with his brothers hiding behind the opposing Duelist, getting Hand information from them after they peeked at the cards. Even the antagonists in gambling movies were better than him, as they at least used high-tech gadgets like cameras and X-ray glasses.
As for the two kids who just claimed to be "paralyzed," they were, of course, his two younger brothers. Now that they had run off, they were probably hiding in the crowd, waiting to provide card information to their older brother, right?
While it was a rare thought to cheat using such methods, even if Chumley hadn't remembered who Espa Roba was, the flaws in that performance were quite obvious. Not to mention how stiff their lines were, as if reciting from a textbook, the two kids' hair color was identical to Espa Roba's, both being a rather rare shade of green.
Only these mooks would believe everything without thinking, taking Espa Roba for a true psychic, right?
"H-how incredible, it's the 'Petrification Technique'!" Mai Valentine took a step back in fright. "Could this guy have troublesome moves like Mind Reading, just like Pegasus?!"
"Chumley, should I take over?" Ishizu also looked serious. "If the opponent has Mind Reading or Future Sight, perhaps I would be better suited."
Do you two really have to be like this? Can you please give me some face? I was just about to say, "Who would believe you're a psychic," good thing I didn't.
Chumley, somewhat helplessly, pushed his Deck, which had almost entered the card slot, ensuring it fully engaged the Duel Disk's card slot and triggered the sensor. This activated the Duel Disk's transformation function, and two small virtual projection devices flew out from the Duel Disk.
"I don't care if you're a psychic or not. If you want to challenge me, hurry up and get on with it, I'm in a rush."
"Hmph hmph, a Duel King, are we?" Espa Roba didn't activate his Duel Disk immediately. Instead, he pressed his index and middle fingers together, touching both temples simultaneously, while making "beep, beep, beep" sounds with his mouth. Only then did he calmly activate his Duel Disk. "I have already seen the future. I've seen the future where you are defeated by me."
"Duel!"
[Espa Roba: 4000 LP, Hand 5]
[Chumley: 4000 LP, Hand 5]
"I'll take the First Turn!" Espa Roba was the first to Draw a card from his Duel Disk. "I Set two cards, and Summon `[Psychic Protector]` in Attack Position!"
Under the seven-colored glow of the Solid Vision, a somewhat small-looking machine monster appeared on Espa Roba's Field. However, just like many monsters that strongly resemble Dragon-Type but aren't, this "Machine" monster Espa Roba Summoned was actually Psychic-Type.
`[Psychic Protector]` [Level 3 / LIGHT]
`[Psychic-Type / Effect]`
`[0 / 2200]`
"He actually Summoned a Monster with 0 Attack in Attack Position?"
"Even though his opponent is the Duel King, he's so arrogant."
The surrounding people buzzed with discussion, while Espa Roba remained calm. "Because of my powerful psychic power, my Psychic-Type monsters will resonate, and even you, Duel King, cannot defeat it!"
"I end my Turn."
[Espa Roba: 4000 LP, Hand 3]
`[Psychic Protector]` [ATK 0]
`[Set Cards]` x2
"So you've merely Summoned a monster with an attack restriction ability. Do you really need to be so smug?" Chumley remembered the effect of `[Psychic Protector]`: it could only restrict the attack of non-Psychic-Type monsters with 2000 ATK or less.
This effect only *looked* somewhat useful, but there were countless ways to bypass it. Not to mention a simple and crude effect destruction of the opponent's monster to deal with it once and for all, one could also use `[DNA Surgery]` and declare Psychic-Type to avoid the effect.
Chumley, however, used a third method.
"My Turn!" Drawing a card and adding it to his Hand, Chumley played a card from his Hand. "I Normal Summon `[Noble Knight Artorigus]`!"
A noble knight wielding a sharp sword appeared on Chumley's Field, but barely a few seconds after appearing, he was suddenly suppressed by a pale green film.
`[Noble Knight Artorigus]` [ATK 1800/DEF 1800]
"As long as `[Psychic Protector]` remains on the Field, no non-Psychic-Type monster with 2000 ATK or less can attack." Along with Espa Roba's smug voice, the `[Psychic Protector]` on his Field raised its arms, revealing two purple gems in its palms. The pale film from before was released by it.
"Wow, that's really impressive. But aren't you getting a little too smug too soon?" Chumley helplessly played another card. "I activate the Equip Spell Card `[Sword of Dragon's Soul]`, targeting `[Noble Knight Artorigus]`! This card increases the equipped Warrior-Type monster's ATK by 700!"
`[Noble Knight Artorigus]` [ATK 1800 → 2500]
"The knight destined to become the King of Britannia has acquired the divine sword that slays the white dragon Vortigern!" Chumley commanded with a wave of his hand. "Let's begin the Battle! `[Noble Knight Artorigus]`, attack `[Psychic Protector]`!"
"Not the Extra Deck's Excaliburn!"
(Tomorrow onwards, I'll resume 6k character updates. Please consider this the end of my two-day break.)
(end of chapter)