Luya glanced at the people outside. Apart from Zhongli, most were those who bought packs yesterday but went home because there were no Duel Stages, or those who didn't bring enough Mora yesterday and were missing key cards to build their decks.
So early this morning, they couldn't wait to line up outside Luya's shop.
People who knew the situation were worried about something.
Luya addressed the crowd:
"Welcome everyone—"
"Yesterday we added a bunch of duel devices, so don't worry about not finding a spot!"
"And we've got plenty of packs, too."
No sooner had Luya finished that the customers outside all brightened.
"Really?!"
"That's great! I didn't get to play at all before closing yesterday!!!"
"Hahaha, boss, I'll buy another 30 packs!"
"Boss, me too!!!"
"I want to get on the Duel Stage!"
"Who'll duel me?!"
"I built a super-powerful deck—bring it on!"
"Loser pays for the Duel Stage!"
"Fine, fine—you'll lose!"
The customers streamed into the store, arguing and laughing as they went.
…
A man in his thirties holding a purple mage's robe and a staff—the image of a confident young wizard—smiled and said:
"Yesterday I pulled an Epic card: [Dark Magician]! Absolutely deadly handsome!!!"
[Dark Magician] Level 7│DARK│Spellcaster│2500 ATK / 2100 DEF
The appearance of [Dark Magician] drew an envious look from a cute-looking young woman customer…
She hadn't brought much money yesterday, so she missed the first wave of packs. By the time she had enough Mora to buy packs, Childe had already swooped in and cleared out Zhongli's 400-pack purchase.
So she came early this morning to build a deck of her own.
Yesterday, she'd watched other customers summon goblins, skeletons, and lizards—physicalized monsters that she found too ugly.
Regardless, [Dark Magician] was unquestionably way cooler!
"Wow—an Epic card?!"
"Epic! Sounds strong!"
"Sir, can you summon it so I can see?"
The thirty-year-old beamed and said, "Of course—watch this!"
At that moment, a young man in his twenties scoffed, got a card: [Dark Magician of Chaos].
"Pfft… I opened a Legendary pack last night!"
"My legendary pull was [Dark Magician of Chaos]—hahaha!!!"
[Dark Magician of Chaos] Level 8│DARK│Spellcaster│2800 ATK / 2600 DEF
The girl exclaimed, "Wow! Young man, your card's so cool too! Can I see it?"
The young man handed the card to her with a smile, "Take a look, beautiful—feel free to check it out. I've got a few more cool ones at home, want to come and see?"
She blushed and nodded shyly.
The older man snapped, "Hey, you punk, you've got no decency—deserve a Geo-punishment!!! I'll duel you!"
The young man grinned, "Old man—don't try to show off against us young folks at your age! You won't win!"
Their bickering drew everyone's attention. After all, human nature never goes out of fashion—everyone loves some drama.
Seeing the two of them vying for the girl's favor and trying to outdo each other, Luya knew a duel between them was inevitable today.
So Luya reached under the counter and pulled out two Duel Disks. He stepped over to the two customers and handed them each a disk.
"Gentlemen, if you're going to duel, I suggest you go outside. These are Duel Disks—take them out and duel."
Hu Tao and Zhongli watched curiously as Luya showed the Duel Disks.
The two arguing customers looked puzzled.
Everyone present was stunned by the appearance of Duel Disks.
"Shopkeeper… what are those?!"
"We're getting on the Duel Stage for a death match!!! Why give us that weird gadget?!"
Luya took the disk from the older man and held it in his hand. Then he put his left hand into the circular opening and fastened it to his wrist.
"Deploy!"
Luya flipped the switch. The normally folded Duel Disk expanded with a subtle mechanical whirring.
He smiled and said, "This is called a Duel Disk."
As it unfolded, five small rectangular zones appeared atop the disk—very similar to the five Monster Zones on a Duel Stage. Beneath each Monster Zone was a slot—five in total—just like the Spell/Trap Zones.
"Based on general theory, the five upper positions are for summoning monsters, and the lower five are for placing or activating Spell/Trap cards—this item is called a Duel Disk."
Zhongli, looking at the disk, roughly understood its purpose.
Luya continued, "Duel Disks can also summon monsters for duels!"
Everyone gasped.
"What!?"
"Such a small device can summon monsters?!"
"Oh my god, shopkeeper, are you the Demon God of the Dueling Game?!"
"Watch your words! There's only one Geo Archon in Liyue—Morax!"
"I bet the shopkeeper must be some ancient Liyue deity who governs the game of duels!"
"Shopkeeper, you're amazing!!!"
Hu Tao shouted over the crowd's wild speculation:
"No ancient Liyue myths… no 'Duel God'… Don't go worshipping the shopkeeper—show respect for actual deities and immortals! Got it?!"
"If you've got no life—Then go bite the Guizhong Ballista on Mt. Tianheng!!!"
Hu Tao's words stopped the customers from giving Luya ridiculous titles.
She worried that if these nicknames reached the ears of actual gods, they might anger a certain someone—say, the mighty Xiao, the Demon Conqueror—and then Luya would be in trouble.
Luya wasn't too worried, though—he had the system backing him. As long as he ran the Duel Monsters card shop, he felt invincible! Even if some heavenly law or eradication lord or the destructive star god Nanuk appeared.
If the Joyful Star God dared step into the shop… Luya would make them buy tens of thousands of packs and duel him once—no way they'd leave otherwise!
...
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