"Sorry, Morg, first turn goes to your big sister!"
Shia smiled and shook the White Dragon coin in her hand. In the toss just now, she won the right to go first. Her opening hand was perfectly suited for it, giving her a considerable advantage at the very start.
Normally, when Shia gained such a lead, she could already declare victory. That said, facing Morgan, she didn't think that way—her heart stayed cautious.
"My turn, draw!"
Shia swiftly drew a card and, after a glance, smiled. It was Pot of Extravagance. She could use it right away to begin her setup. Of course, Altergeist relied on the Extra Deck, so she hoped not to lose too many key cards.
"I activate Pot of Extravagance from my hand!"
A two-faced jar appeared on the field, then shattered. Shia banished six face-down cards from her Extra Deck. Just as she was about to draw two cards, Morgan triggered the effect of a hand trap.
Morgan's favorite timing was when the opponent paid a cost to draw cards—cutting them off there meant they lost both the cost and the advantage. A huge setback.
"At this moment, I activate Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring from my hand!"
"Negate Pot of Extravagance's draw effect!"
Seeing the card, Shia froze. She also had Ash Blossom in her deck—Nerissa had given it to her, saying it was all the rage in modern builds. Abruptly, before she could even use it herself, Morgan showed her how powerful it was.
Her hand that was about to draw stopped, her lips pursed in frustration. Pot of Extravagance failed; her chain was forced to end.
Though this handed the initiative to Morgan, there was no other choice.
Shia checked her banished pile and sighed in relief—thankfully, no vital cards were lost. She could still play.
Although if she used another Pot of Extravagance, it might banish the key Extra Deck cards. That left her down one chance to refill her hand.
"I set two cards and end my turn."
Shia glanced at the two face-downs. One was Personal Spoofing, which could return an Altergeist card from her hand to the Deck and add another Altergeist monster. She had just the right monster in her hand to use it next turn.
The other was a new card Nerissa had given her: Maxx "C". This was her first time using it, but it was undeniably strong—whenever her opponent Special Summoned, she could draw a card.
With it, she could restrain Morgan's Special Summons.
"My turn, draw!"
Morgan pulled her next card. Though she ran Sky Strikers, her hand was clogged with hand traps. Without drawing Raye, Sky Strikers became dead weight. Anyhow, after Shia's Pot was stopped, her Altergeists didn't move further… was she stuck?
As Morgan prepared to Normal Summon Raye and go for a direct hit, Shia shouted loudly:
"I activate Maxx "C" from my hand!"
"By sending it to the Graveyard, every time you Special Summon this turn, I draw one card!"
Without hesitation, Shia threw down Maxx "C". Morgan was speechless. Why did everyone carry hand traps now? Was she even allowed to play Yu-Gi-Oh anymore?
She didn't even realize she'd just used Ash Blossom to stop Shia herself.
The onlookers were shocked. Since the duel began, there had been no flashy combos, only perfectly timed interruptions and locks. The power of hand traps impressed everyone.
"Don't you think duels feel different these days?"
"No need to phrase it nicely, bro. Ever since hand traps came around, I've lost my temper more often."
"Exactly! After struggling to build a field, someone just hand traps you—I feel like summoning my fist instead."
"You're too polite. I've already seen duels turn into brawls."
As the crowd buzzed, Zack walked over curiously. Seeing Morgan dueling, his interest peaked.
After finishing several other duels post his match with Morgan, none had felt as thrilling. He was about to head home, but spotting Morgan's duel—and against Shia's dreaded Altergeists—he decided to stay.
It was worth watching. Zack squeezed up to the front, grinning.
When he saw Shia toss out Maxx "C" right after Morgan's draw, he burst into laughter.
Now, would Morgan push through under Maxx "C", or halt her plays?
Morgan hesitated, then chose to at least poke some damage.
"I Normal Summon Sky Striker Ace - Raye in Attack Position!"
A girl in a white uniform appeared, gripping a black-and-red longsword, her long white hair flowing behind her.
Most present were pro duelists, only a few Duel Academy students. Many had never seen Sky Strikers before, so they immediately began debating its power. Still, they all knew Morgan's reputation and didn't dismiss her monster.
Because Shia had preemptively used Maxx "C", Morgan couldn't extend far this turn. She decided to deal direct damage first, then build further in Main Phase 2.
"Battle! Sky Striker Ace - Raye attacks directly!"
Raye's sword pierced Shia. She grunted yet kept her composure—1500 Life Points were nothing to her. More importantly, Morgan diving straight into battle meant Shia would seize the initiative next turn.
"I use Raye on the field to set up a Link Circuit!"
"Link Summon! Sky Striker Ace - Shizuku!"
Morgan Link Summoned Shizuku, planning to fetch a Sky Striker Spell in the End Phase. However, this gave Shia another draw from Maxx "C".
Shia looked at her drawn card and smiled—it was Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring. Poetic justice.
And now was the perfect time to spring her trap.
"At this moment, I activate the Trap Card on my field, Personal Spoofing!"
"By returning one Altergeist card from my hand or face-up field to the Deck, I can add an Altergeist monster from my Deck to my hand."
She quickly returned Altergeist Silquitous from her hand and declared:
"I return Altergeist Silquitous and add Altergeist Multifaker to my hand!"
Multifaker was the Altergeist starter, able to Special Summon itself to the field.
Its condition? A Trap Card activation—and Personal Spoofing had just done that.
"I Special Summon Altergeist Multifaker from my hand!"
A high-tech, spider-like machine appeared on the field. Its upper body resembled a humanoid with data streams across her face like an android, wires extending from her back like a hacker connecting to unseen systems.
[Altergeist Multifaker] Level 3│DARK│Spellcaster│1200 ATK / 800 DEF
Seeing the monster, Zack already knew what was coming. He had dueled Shia before; nevertheless, never again—her deck was disturbingly smooth and cohesive. Altergeists could not only summon themselves but also move into more summons.
Unpredictable and relentless.
Yet, Morgan showed no panic. Was it because she already knew Shia's playstyle, or because she underestimated Altergeist?
Either way, Zack didn't care—he was here to watch, not win.
At that moment, Shia activated Multifaker's effect; right then. Morgan swiftly chained back.
Her hand, aside from Raye, was full of hand traps—including Maxx "C".
Mutual damage, then. Who's afraid?
"I send Maxx "C" from my hand to the Graveyard!"
Morgan narrowed her eyes.
"This turn, every time you Special Summon, I draw a card."
Shia grimaced. So now it was her turn to be punished. Of course—when both players ran the same hand traps, this was bound to happen. Still, the arrow was nocked; there was no stopping.
She clenched her teeth.
"I activate Altergeist Multifaker's effect!"
"When Special Summoned, it lets me Special Summon an Altergeist monster from my Deck in Defense Position, except another Multifaker!"
"I Special Summon Altergeist Silquitous in Defense Position!"
...
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