Luya looked at the six cards in his hand and examined them briefly.
A wave of nostalgia surged up within him.
[Gaia The Fierce Knight] EARTH│Level 7│Warrior│2300 ATK / 2100 DEF
[Witch of the Black Forest] DARK│Level 3│Spellcaster│1100 ATK / 1200 DEF
[Obnoxious Celtic Guardian] EARTH│Level 4│Warrior│1400 ATK / 600 DEF
[Mystical Space Typhoon] (Spell Card)
[Negate Attack] (Trap Card)
[Spellbinding Circle] (Trap Card)
The cards in Luya's hand were mostly from the early arcs of Yu-Gi-Oh!
Back on Blue Star, whether dueling online against strangers or offline at card shops, it wasn't just him—everyone basically used whatever Decks were strongest, shoving in whatever broken single cards they could.
One-turn kills, Kaijus, Nibiru, Ash Blossom, Raigeki, Maxx "C"—they were everywhere…
But this time, Luya's Deck was a simple one focused on trading resources on the Field, with control cards, board presence cards, and a few tricks.
He just hadn't drawn them yet.
Since this was a match meant to demonstrate the rules, Luya decided to hold back a little, giving Hu Tao a sense of accomplishment.
Give her some confidence… And at the same time, showcase more of the game's mechanics.
That was the real goal of this duel.
So, Luya already had a plan forming in his mind.
"I'll Set one monster in Defense Position!"
As soon as he said it, Hu Tao and the spectators all wondered what that meant.
However, Luya quickly showed them.
It simply meant placing the monster face-down in the Monster Zone, in Defense Position.
Visually, it looked like laying the card sideways, face-down. That way, the opponent wouldn't know what the monster was—only he would know.
Luya Set [Witch of the Black Forest] this way.
[Witch of the Black Forest] DARK│Level 3│Spellcaster│1100 ATK / 1200 DEF
This Witch of the Black Forest had the power to fetch resources. Even if destroyed, it wouldn't be a loss.
Though it used up his Summon for the turn, in exchange, he gained a powerful search effect!
With this Witch, Luya would be able to pull out a card from his Deck that would shock Hu Tao.
Hu Tao, watching him Set the Witch face-down as though laying a trap, immediately asked:
"Shopkeeper, what kind of monster are you hiding?!"
Luya chuckled:
"Haha!"
"You'll know when you attack."
"This card only has 1200 Defense—go ahead and strike!"
Then, Luya continued with his turn.
"I'll Set two cards!"
"And end my turn!"
He placed [Negate Attack] and [Spellbinding Circle] face-down.
The Duel Field displayed [End Phase], then shifted the indicator to Hu Tao's side for [Standby Phase].
Seeing this, Hu Tao laughed:
"This Hall Master knows this rule. You're setting traps, waiting for me to trigger them!"
"You can Set up to five Spell or Trap cards in that Zone."
"Such devious tricks!!!"
"Looks like you're planning to play dirty, Shopkeeper?"
Hu Tao grew wary, seeing Luya had Set two cards. Her Deck barely had any Spells or Traps.
Why?
Because Hu Tao couldn't understand what most of them did!
So, aside from high-ATK or high-DEF monsters, she had just tossed in a few Spell and Trap cards that looked interesting.
She remembered adding [Terraforming].
Effect: Add 1 Field Spell from your Deck to your hand!
With only one Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, the odds of drawing it were low.
Albeit with Terraforming, Hu Tao figured she could boost the chances!
So she threw three copies into her Deck…
But since she had already drawn Wangsheng Funeral Parlor in her opening hand, those three Terraformings were now useless.
If she drew them later, she'd just have to shrug it off…
In other words, Hu Tao hadn't built her Deck with any cards to counter her opponent.
She only thought about making herself stronger…
Completely ignoring the opponent.
Which was perfect for Luya's lesson!
With Hu Tao's Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and King of the Skull Servants combo…
During her Battle Phase, Luya would be staring down two 4500-Attack Kings of the Skull Servants!
Anyhow, Luya had already Set two Trap Cards.
[Negate Attack] could nullify an enemy's attack and end the Battle Phase.
Its artwork looked like a pink-and-blue spiraling Rasengan—an extremely reliable card…
[Spellbinding Circle]
Its artwork featured a green circle with a golden hexagram at the center.
With these two Trap Cards, Luya had nothing to fear from Hu Tao wiping him out in one go.
If Hu Tao… had actually put some board-wiping cards in her Deck, Luya's lesson might have gone very wrong.
Without those Set cards, two 4500-Attack Kings of the Skull Servants would crush him in an instant—one smashing Witch of the Black Forest, the other striking directly…
The Duel would end right there.
"Alright!"
"It's this Hall Master's turn again!"
As Hu Tao's turn began, the spectators started worrying for Luya.
"The shopkeeper isn't really going to lose, is he?!"
"Yeah! If Hall Master Hu repeats last turn's play…"
"Activating Wangsheng Funeral Parlor again, sending King of the Skull Servants and Skull Servant to the Graveyard."
"She'll have two Kings with 4500 Attack each!"
"Right… how's the shopkeeper supposed to deal with that?!"
"Hall Master Hu's luck is off the charts!!!"
"Right from the start, Wangsheng Funeral Parlor plus King of the Skull Servants—out of forty cards, she actually drew the combo!"
Hearing their chatter, Zhongli also marveled at Hu Tao's fortune.
"Yes, the Hall Master's luck is truly remarkable."
Then, a thought struck Zhongli like a jolt of memory…
"I seem to have forgotten to tell Hall Master Hu to shuffle her Deck."
"And she didn't know she needed to shuffle, so she just used it as-is. That's why her draws have been so perfect…"
The onlookers all froze, petrified, "Huh?!"
...
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