Chapter 9: Sent to a Different Dimension
Yugen walked onto the dueling arena, facing his first-round opponent, Manjome Jun. They both took their positions.
"Duel!" x2
[Yugen, LP 4000]
[Manjome, LP 4000]
Both sides were unfamiliar with each other, and there wasn't much pre-match banter. In Manjome's eyes, Yugen was merely a stepping stone for his advancement, while Yugen was eager to seize this opportunity to gauge the real-world combat abilities of a canonical character.
Everyone in the card-playing community knows that, from a deck construction perspective alone, most anime characters' decks are purely for entertainment. I remember back in the day, most people, being naive, would try to imitate anime characters' deck configurations, only to find themselves constantly bricking during duels, making them question life. Six cards in hand, and not a single one could be played.
However, anime characters' real-world combat is an entirely different matter. They possess the ability to create "deck bonds," which can be read as "idealistic god draws." Key combo pieces always stick together like superglue, always appearing in their starting hand no matter how many times they shuffle, allowing them to play even with abstract, "pile-of-cards" deck constructions.
Moreover, this ability is more apparent in stronger duelists, such as Jaden Yuki, the GX protagonist known for his god draws, or Dark Yugi, who evolved to a state where he could draw whatever he wanted in the later stages of DM.
However, Manjome's signature ace monsters in the original work were acquired in later arcs. The VWXYZ five-star fusion was something Professor Chronos helped him obtain to teach Jaden Yuki a lesson, and Armed Dragon was something he got at the Northern Academy. At this point, he didn't even have Ojama Trio yet.
His strength should be significantly weaker than in the Anime.
"I'll go first."
Yugen decisively took the first turn granted by the duel disk system.
"I'll Set one monster, then set one card in my backrow."
He drew two cards from his hand. One he placed in the front zone of his duel disk, and the other he inserted into the backrow Spell/Trap slot. The images of two dark cards were immediately projected onto the field.
"Turn end."
"Ha, a defensive opening, huh? But against me, the NO. 1 of the Junior High, this kind of caution is necessary."
Manjome declared with an air of self-importance.
Clearly, at this point before entering the academy, Manjome hadn't yet been humbled by Jaden, and his self-esteem was very high.
"But it's useless! It's my turn, Draw!"
He scanned his hand, immediately pulling out two cards.
"I'll Set one card. Then, I activate the Spell Card - Card Destruction! Both players discard all cards from their hands, then draw the same number of cards they discarded!"
Yugen, as instructed, discarded all cards from his hand, replacing them with Manjome.
After replacing his hand, Manjome suddenly pressed the set card's activation button: "Flip my set card, the Spell Card - Silent Doom! This allows me to Special Summon a Normal Monster from my Graveyard in Defense Position.
I Special Summon [Kanan the Swordmistress], which I just discarded to the Graveyard!"
A black vortex opened on the field, and a beautiful red-haired female warrior, wielding a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, emerged from within. She knelt on the ground, a horizontal card image appearing beneath her feet, with her shield raised in a defensive posture in front.
[Kanan the Swordmistress, DEF 1400]
"Then, from my hand, I activate the Equip Spell 'Great Sword' and equip it to the Swordmistress! The equipped monster gains 300 ATK!" (Anime card)
[Kanan the Swordmistress, ATK 1400 → ATK 1700]
"Hahaha, you must be thinking, what's the use of a monster in Defense Position gaining ATK?" Manjome snorted with a laugh.
Yugen remained expressionless, thinking to himself, Well, I wasn't entirely not thinking that...
"Let me tell you, elite dueling is beyond your imagination!" Manjome declared, "The Equip Spell 'Great Sword' has another effect! When the equipped monster is Tributed for a Warrior-Type monster's summon, it can be treated as two Tributes.
Therefore, I Tribute [Kanan the Swordmistress] equipped with 'Great Sword' as two Tributes."
A white whirlwind swept up, engulfing the swordswoman on the field. Golden light enveloped her and her sword, turning into motes of light that dissipated.
"Light of dawn, illuminate the path to victory! With the legendary blade, cut through all obstacles!"
Manjome held a card high, the summoning storm behind him flapping his coat.
"Appear! Level 8, Gilford the Legend!!!"
A masked sword saint in black armor stepped out of the whirlwind, a long greatsword strapped to his back. His red hair billowed, and he possessed an extraordinary demeanor.
[Gilford the Legend, ATK 2600]
Yugen nodded slightly. Indeed, duelists in this world have much more flamboyant movements and lines when summoning powerful monsters.
At this moment, the spectators watching the duel couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
"He summoned such a powerful monster on Turn 1!" a red-haired girl exclaimed, "That boy doesn't seem like an ordinary person!"
"Hahaha, of course!"
Manjome's two lackeys happened to be sitting in the row behind, and upon hearing this, they immediately bragged: "That's our Duel Academy Junior High elite class's number one! Brother Manjome!"
"Brother Manjome has already been promoted to the Senior High this year; playing against such minor characters is just overkill," Junior B smugly echoed.
"Junior High elite class... number one!?"
The two girls immediately held him in reverence, and their gaze towards Manjome on the screen completely turned into admiration for a master.
They had heard that while Duel Academy's Junior High wasn't as difficult to enter as the Senior High, it still had many skilled players. And among them, the elite class students were all young prodigies.
Elite class number one. That's a true master.
They suddenly began to feel a little sympathy for his opponent.
Both girls instantly wore regretful expressions.
What a pity. That boy named Fujiki Yugen is quite handsome. It seems after this round, they won't see him again.
"It's not over yet!"
Manjome continued his play.
"Gilford the Legend's effect activates! When this card is successfully summoned, equip as many Equip Spell Cards as possible from your Graveyard to Warrior-Type monsters you control!"
He paused, taking two cards that shot out from the duel disk's Graveyard zone, and sneered.
"Of course, the Sword Saint himself is a Warrior-Type. Therefore, I will designate the Sword Saint himself as the equip target. I will equip both 'Great Sword' and the Equip Spell 'Jeweled Sword' from my Graveyard to 'Gilford the Legend'!" (Anime card)
Two Equip Spells simultaneously stacked onto the Sword Saint. The swordsman let out a roar of power, drawing the greatsword from his back. The blade continuously extended, looking as if it would soon become a 40-meter giant saber.
"'Great Sword' and 'Jeweled Sword' each increase the Sword Saint's ATK by 300 points. Therefore, the total ATK increases by 600!"
[Gilford the Legend, ATK 2600 → ATK 3200]
"..."
"3000 ATK!?" The red-haired girl was even more surprised, "This is Turn 1! It already surpasses the legendary 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon's' ATK!"
His two lackeys felt even more proud. Junior B's mouth stretched into a wide smirk, feigning disdain: "Sit down, sit down. Small potatoes. This is basic procedure for Brother Manjome."
Yet, Yugen, who was in the midst of the duel, was not intimidated by this display. In fact, it was quite the opposite.
He was focused on the two cards remaining in Manjome's hand.
It had just begun, and Manjome's starting six cards were already down by four. Rounding it off, that was roughly a 4-for-1. Yugen felt a pang of heartache just looking at this hand.
With a little more effort, it might even catch up to the legendary "5-for-1" famous scene in the Anime, where five cards in hand turn into a blank slate.
"Hahaha, have you already been convinced by this overwhelming power?" Manjome laughed heartily, "Don't worry, it'll be over very quickly.
Battle Phase. Gilford the Legend, destroy that set fodder monster!"
The Sword Saint drew his sword, leaping forward. The 40-meter great saber swung out with astonishing force. Yugen's set monster on the field was completely defenseless, helplessly flipping over in the wind pressure, revealing its true form.
It was a female warrior.
A blonde female warrior in black combat attire and high boots, kneeling and holding a sword to shield herself. She appeared so petite and powerless in front of the colossal blade.
[D.D. Warrior Lady, DEF 1600]
"D.D. Warrior Lady's effect activates," Yugen said calmly, "When this card battles an opponent's monster, after damage calculation, banish both this card and the opponent's monster it battled from the game."
"I'll directly send your Level 8 ace monster to a different dimension!"
Manjome: "!?"