Watching Hu Tao's anxious face, Luya smiled as he explained:
"Hall Master Hu, right now you're in what's called the Main Phase."
"In this phase… normally, you can only Normal Summon one monster per turn!"
"So, you can't Summon a second monster."
"Unless you have some card that lets you Special Summon."
Hearing Luya's explanation, Hu Tao finally realized the truth.
It wasn't that the Duel device was broken… it was her move that didn't follow the rules, so the system rejected it.
Once she understood, Hu Tao took back her second King of the Skull Servants and returned it to her hand.
Then, confusion set in.
"Then after I Summon a monster, what am I supposed to do?!"
"Do I just leave it there?"
In the crowd, the citizens of Liyue were also curious.
They knew both players had 4000 Life Points, and whoever's LP dropped to zero would lose…
Though then…
How exactly were Life Points reduced?!
Seeing everyone puzzled, Zhongli explained:
"According to the rules in the Duel manual:
Your monster can, during the Battle Phase, attack your opponent's monster, provided both are in Attack Position.
The difference in their Attack values will be inflicted as damage to the player whose monster had lower Attack.
And the weaker monster will be defeated and sent to the Graveyard…"
"If the targeted monster is in Defense Position… then you compare the attacker's Attack to the defender's Defense. In most cases, the higher value wins."
Listening to Zhongli's explanation… the spectators felt their brains starting to spin up.
Yet, Zhongli continued.
"If the defending monster's Defense is higher than the attacker's Attack, then no monsters are destroyed.
However, the attacking player will take damage equal to the difference between Defense and Attack.
If Attack and Defense are equal, nothing happens.
Also, if two Attack Position monsters battle with equal Attack, both are destroyed and sent to the Graveyard.
And if the opponent has no monsters, you can declare a direct attack, inflicting damage equal to your monster's full Attack value!"
When Zhongli finished, he found everyone wearing blank, dazed looks.
It looked exactly like a class full of high schoolers trying to follow math lessons… Some were even about to doze off.
Zhongli shook his head:
"Ahem, let me put it another way…"
"Suppose the Hall Master has a Hilichurl with 400 Attack, and the shopkeeper has a Slime with 200 Attack."
"If the Hilichurl attacks the Slime, it has 200 more Attack, so the shopkeeper would take 200 damage to his Life Points."
"And the shopkeeper's Slime would be defeated and sent to the Graveyard."
"If the shopkeeper has no Slime, then Hall Master Hu's 400-Attack Hilichurl could attack the shopkeeper directly, dealing 400 damage."
This time, after Zhongli explained… the crowd, one by one, showed expressions of sudden realization! Finally, they understood the basics.
Even Hu Tao on the Duel Field now had a moment of clarity.
"I get it!"
"Since the shopkeeper has no monsters on the Field right now, I'll use my 2500-Attack King of the Skull Servants!"
"Attack the shopkeeper!!!"
"Go!! King of the Skull Servants!!!"
"Direct attack!!!"
Abruptly, when she finished, King of the Skull Servants crossed its arms and made a 'Dame' gesture at Hu Tao.
"Huh?!"
"Why aren't you going?!"
"Move already! Shopkeeper, say something, look at it!"
Hu Tao complained helplessly at her monster.
Luya hurried to explain:
"Haha, don't worry, Hall Master Hu."
"In Duel Monsters, the player who goes first cannot enter the Battle Phase during the first turn."
"So, you can't attack this turn~"
Only then did Hu Tao understand the rule!
And it really did make sense. Otherwise… on the first turn, the second player would have no monsters on the Field, and whoever went first would basically win right away.
The game would just become a coin flip of who went first!
Hu Tao instantly grasped it.
Looking at her hand, she still had three monster cards, but she couldn't attack.
And she had already used her one Summon for the turn… Hu Tao put away her three cards and said to Luya:
"Then I'll end my turn…"
"Shopkeeper, it's your turn!"
The Duel device registered her end of turn, moving the indicator to Luya's side.
The display read [Standby Phase].
In Duel Monsters, the Draw Phase comes first, followed by the Main Phase for Summoning and setting cards, then the Battle Phase, and after combat, a Main Phase 2…
Luya looked at his hand. Not bad—not broken, but nothing useless either.
He had Spell Cards, Trap Cards, and Monster Cards.
Luya nodded toward Hu Tao.
"My turn. Draw!"
He placed his hand over his Deck, drew one card, and added it to his hand.
Looking at the card, Luya smiled faintly.
"These cards really are perfect for a Duel against Hu Tao…"
Watching him draw, Hu Tao's eyes lit up, her little hands twitching eagerly toward her own Deck as if itching to try it herself.
...
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