"Eh?" John didn't expect the topic to suddenly be shifted to him by Raphael, stunning him for a moment.
"This child? I heard Mr. Raphael say he has the power to see card spirits. While this doesn't necessarily make one an excellent Duelist, it can allow him to go further when he embarks on the path of a Duelist. This is proof of potential." Pegasus said, looking at John, then changed his tone. "However, while the potential to unleash a card's power is important to me, the most important thing is still the heart."
"If I were to use the power of the Millennium Eye to peer into this child's mind and see his true feelings for Duel Monsters and card spirits, then I could completely entrust the cards to John-boy with peace of mind."
However, no sooner had Pegasus finished speaking than Raphael immediately refused without hesitation. "Let's just pretend that never happened, Pegasus. I've experienced your mind-reading ability once, and that's enough. If you were to read John's mind, I can't guarantee what I might do to you."
Hearing this, Atem looked at Raphael somewhat curiously and asked, "If I'm not mistaken, Raphael, didn't you just say you were teaching John Duel Monsters? Though I don't know how long you've been teaching him, even a beginner should have their own Deck, right? Why would you think it's better for John to use Pegasus's cards?"
As a Collectible Card Game, the fun of Duel Monsters isn't just in the Duel itself; collecting and trading cards outside of a Duel is also a source of enjoyment. While Dueling is a very enjoyable thing, getting a powerful card with extremely high rarity when opening booster packs can also make one incredibly excited.
Furthermore, beyond Duelists like Hayato and Yugi who collect cards to form Decks for Dueling, there are also Duel Monster card collectors who have little interest in Dueling and simply enjoy collecting cards.
Although I don't know what John's future will hold, if he wants to go further on the path of Duel Monsters, a Deck he builds from scratch, collecting, integrating, and nurturing its bonds, would be more suitable for his own use compared to cards inherited from others.
"John does have his own Deck now, but Atem, if it were you, you would understand the fated attraction that exists between a card and a Duelist. It's not just during a Duel that cards respond to a Duelist and appear in their hand at the right moment; even during the process of collecting cards, they will appear at the destined time due to this attraction."
Raphael spread his hands, a look of helplessness on his face. "John only started getting into Duel Monsters recently after I adopted him. The time has been too short; he simply hasn't been able to collect suitable cards for himself. So, all he has right now is a transitional Deck cobbled together from leftover card packs that the card shop was selling cheaply."
Generally, when talking about buying Duel Monster cards, people usually say "buy singles" or "opening packs." The former refers to buying powerful cards that have already been opened from card packs, which usually cost much more than the card packs themselves. The latter refers to buying sealed card packs, where no one knows what cards are inside until they're opened.
However, despite saying "opening packs," most people buying card packs don't buy them by the "pack" but by the "box" or even "case." The reason is that the despicable card printing merchant Pegasus's Industrial Illusions, when packaging cards, set it up so that rare cards would be distributed as evenly as possible, guaranteeing at least one rare card in each twenty-pack card box.
Not everyone has Joey's strange luck. If they only bought single card packs, most people probably wouldn't be able to collect any powerful cards. Since it's the same price anyway, buying singles is not as good as opening a box directly. And although they say one is guaranteed per box, in reality, Duel Monsters has been out for so many years, and many people have discovered that the number of rare cards in a box fluctuates between one and three, and only in very rare cases does a fourth or even fifth rare card appear.
Because of this, many people, after opening the usual maximum of three rare cards from a box, will sell the remaining unopened card packs to card shops at a discount for them to repurchase. After all, even the discounted price is much more expensive than opening a stack of common cards. These repurchased cards are then sold by card shops to Duel Monsters enthusiasts who can't afford a whole box of cards.
This isn't anything to be ashamed of. Even Hayato and Yugi often open such card packs and occasionally manage to find some good cards. Joey, who barely has any pocket money, only opens these kinds of card packs, but even so, he still managed to build a decent Deck.
But Raphael should know that opening card boxes is more likely to yield rare cards than opening booster packs. Even for what he said about "Duelists collecting cards themselves," why wouldn't he let John buy card boxes? Joey asked Raphael this question again, puzzled.
Raphael glanced at Joey, a helpless expression on his face, and said, "Because, I'm poor."
"Hm?" Joey blinked, wondering if he had misheard. Shouldn't a line like that only come from him, the poorest among everyone present? How could Raphael say it?
"Although I came from a very wealthy family, the family's assets were divided up by relatives under various pretexts when I was young. After that, I joined Doma as one of Dartz's Three Knights, and I never did any other work until Doma disbanded. And Dartz never paid me, so I have no savings."
"As for the inheritance after Doma disbanded, although I thought it would be better for me to take a portion rather than letting others snatch it up, still..." Raphael paused, then looked at Hayato, who had suddenly started gazing at the white clouds in the sky, and sighed. "While it wasn't a complete loss, it was only enough to get by."
Tristan frowned and said, "That's not right either. Even if you say that, Raphael, if you have no money, why are you here? We heard the admission fee here is two thousand dollars per person, regardless of age."
"Can't you come in without a ticket? Are tickets truly such an inconvenient thing?" Hayato pushed up his non-existent glasses on his nose and said, "There is only one truth: you snuck in with John, didn't you, Raphael!"
"Absolutely correct, Mr. Hayato!" John, from the side, mercilessly exposed him. "Not only that, my teacher also spends a huge amount of money on card maintenance! He's completely extravagant with money and has no concept of saving!"
Raphael was completely unable to refute. Having grown up in a wealthy family and then, after returning to the human world, always having Dartz's Paradox Group for reimbursement, Raphael had indeed grown accustomed to spending lavishly without any thought of saving. He could only argue, "But Guardian Eatos and the others are my important family! This is a necessary sacrifice!"
"That phrase isn't meant to be used in a situation like this," Marik retorted.
Pegasus also spread his hands helplessly. "In that case, perhaps it's not yet time for me to complete this card and find someone suitable to entrust it to. It's a pity, I finally found a Duelist like Mr. Raphael. But if I cannot use the power of the Millennium Eye, I still cannot feel at ease entrusting the card to a child."
Hayato glanced at John beside him and said to Pegasus, "No, it's not a pity yet. I told you long ago not to rely too much on the residual power of that Millennium Eye that could disappear at any time. There are other ways to discern a person, besides something like the Millennium Eye."
As he spoke, Hayato raised the Duel Disk strapped to his wrist.
"You mean?" Pegasus looked at Hayato and said, "Through Duel Monsters? How embarrassing. I am the creator of Duel Monsters, yet I completely overlooked this point. To see a person's attitude towards Duel Monsters, there's no better way than a straightforward Duel."
Raphael frowned, "A Duel would indeed reveal a Duelist's will and heart completely. It's certainly a good method, and one I can accept. However, the opponent just happens to be Hayato..."
After thinking for a moment, Raphael still nodded. "No problem. Let John prove himself through a Duel."
Hearing Raphael's words, John's expression, however, seemed very unconfident. "Eh, me? You want me to Duel Mr. Hayato? But I feel like I..."
Although John didn't finish his sentence, his meaning was clear. Even as a child, he wasn't so deluded as to have such an outlandish fantasy. How could he, who hadn't been playing Duel Monsters for very long, possibly win against Hayato, who was a Duel King?
Raphael immediately guessed John's thoughts and said, "Are you worried you'll lose to Hayato quickly, John? Do you think you can win against anyone else here through a Duel? Don't overthink it. The result will be a loss anyway, and losing to a Duel King isn't much different from losing to a third-rate Duelist."
While saying this out loud, Raphael thought to himself: 'That's hardly the case. Hayato's inhuman Dueling style leaves an indelible impression on anyone who Duels him. Experience the hell-like Dueling at the pinnacle of Duel Monsters in advance, kid...'
Since Raphael had said so, John glanced at Hayato, took several deep breaths, and mustered his courage. Wearing a small Duel Disk, he stood face to face with Hayato in an open space. He took out his cards, placed them into the card slot, and activated his Duel Disk.
However, before Hayato inserted his Deck into the Duel Disk, John didn't Draw; he just stood there. This wasn't John waiting for Hayato. On the contrary, Raphael saw the hesitation in John's mind.
Seeing John still had an indecisive, irresolute expression, Raphael continued, "I know you're feeling a bit lost right now, John. This isn't how a Duelist should act. A true Duelist, even when despair is right before them, will resolutely pour hope into their Deck. Even if they've lost confidence in themselves, they will still have absolute faith in their cards."
"If your mind is filled with doubt, don't Draw. This is the second lesson I will teach you, Lesson 2: — Don't let your cards sense your doubt. As a Duelist, you must give your cards an unparalleled sense of security and trust them." Raphael paused, then added the last sentence, "Take the first step towards realizing your dream, John!"
(end of chapter)I've finished my website and it's now launched, which means 10+ chapter uploads every day instead of 5. There are also 80+ new chapters already available on the website. Thanks for your patience, and enjoy!
👉 soollhooaf.com/novels here is my website name