Ushio lay on his back, staring blankly at the ashen sky, not even reacting to the cheers from the dojo across the way.
He'd lost the duel—or rather, he'd already lost minutes ago, the moment Yusaku put three monsters on the field. He just couldn't accept it, and kept grasping for a window to turn it around…
But he still lost—a match he thought would be over in a blink.
Lost to just three Trap Cards.
[Congratulations to the Host for completing the mission. Rewards have been delivered to the inventory.]
"Rewards delivered, huh? Guess I really did transmigrate… whatever."
Yusaku shook his head to scatter the thoughts, then walked over, crouched down, and offered a hand.
"Good game. That was a fun duel."
Ushio: "…"
He gave a small snort at the offered hand and pushed himself up.
Fun?
He felt nothing of the sort.
"Even though I lost, that doesn't mean I accept your philosophy."
With that, he stepped over to Sato—who'd given the opening remarks—and bowed deeply.
"Sorry, Sato-senpai. I lost…"
"It's fine," Sato adjusted his glasses. "Not your fault. No one could've guessed his face-downs were three 'Cylinders.'"
…
"Takeuchi-kanchō, that student of your dojo," the Aurora Dojo master glanced at Yusaku, "I don't think that duel showed much of his true ability. His take on deck-building intrigued me. If it can be realized and studied, it might even let us launch cross-layer operations someday. Why not have him duel again?"
"I'm curious about that wild idea too. As for another match…" Takeuchi smiled. "Let's leave it to his own wishes. And about your 'cross-layer war'…"
He looked up at the gray sky and, after a moment of silence, sighed.
"We've tried so many times already. You still haven't given up? One more failure and our floor count won't stay at 27."
Hearing that, the Aurora Dojo master fell silent as well.
"Enough—let's not dwell on that…"
Takeuchi turned to Yusaku. "Yusaku, the Aurora Dojo students would like to ask for your guidance. Do you have time?"
Yusaku was sitting amid the crowd.
He'd already accepted the fact he'd crossed worlds and was currently checking his system.
His "system," well… isn't like the usual novel trope. It's more like a built-in game system—Inventory, Attributes, Status—everything basic is there… except a 'quit' button.
Hearing there was already another challenger, he blinked.
Looking up, he saw the earlier spokesperson—Aurora Dojo's so-called big senior, Sato—step forward.
"Junior, your duel philosophy is certainly out there, but in that match I didn't see you demonstrate much of it. Those three monsters you put out were entirely dragged out by Trap Cards…"
He paused, meeting Yusaku's eyes.
"So your so-called hybrid strategy is one that starts via Traps? Or did you never show your real strength? If possible, would you duel me?"
Before Yusaku could answer, the students behind him were already bristling.
"Can't accept losing, huh?"
"Too much! You're challenging him right after he just finished a duel!"
"Yusaku-kun, take a breather. I'll duel in your place!"
At that moment—ding—a crisp chime echoed in Yusaku's mind.
[Hidden Quest triggered. Accept?]
[Timed Quest: Make a Name in Satellite]
[Condition: Defeat the challenger]
[Reward: One full Fusion Deck; x3 Forbidden Card Shards]
A full Fusion Deck right away?
Yusaku arched a brow. Not taking it would be a crime.
He'd just arrived, was still foggy on the lay of the land, and had already played one match. He'd planned to rest and figure out the situation…
But a whole deck as a reward?
It's not that he wants to duel—the system is just paying too well.
"If senpai wants a duel, how could I refuse?" Yusaku stood and unfolded his Duel Disk. "No need to talk—let's start, senpai!"
"Thanks for accepting." Sato raised his arm and opened his Duel Disk. "As thanks, how about you choose first or second?"
"No need. I don't want your juniors saying I only won because of some advantage."
"Let's go, senpai."
Sato didn't waste words. He slotted his Deck.
"Duel!" "Duel!"
[Yusaku, LP: 8000]
[Sato, LP: 8000]
Sato flicked a coin skyward. "Junior, heads—I go first. Tails—you do."
With a light ding, the coin hit the ground.
Sato glanced at it and smiled. "Heads. I'll be taking first turn."
He drew his opening hand, scanned it, and slapped a card down. "First, Normal Spell—[Cup of Ace]. If it's heads, I draw 2; tails, you draw 2."
"[Cup of Ace], huh?" Yusaku's brow lifted, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "Opening on that—you're not afraid it becomes [Card of Sanctity] for me?"
Sato nudged his glasses and smiled with quiet confidence. "If it turns out that way, then so be it. Two cards for you, junior."
Two golden coins fell from above. With a crisp ding, they landed.
"Unfortunate for you," Sato glanced down. "Both are heads. Per [Cup of Ace], I draw 2."
"Now, let me see what you can really do." Sato pinched a card between two fingers. "Field Spell—[Geartown]!"
The card slid into the wide slot on his Disk. The arena warped in an instant—gears meshed by the thousands, archaic engines burst from the ground, and scalding white steam geysered into the air. The duel space seemed to rewind into a steam-choked medieval age.
Ancient Gear, huh?
Watching the arena shift, Yusaku raised an eyebrow.
He remembered this deck. It won't top the absolute meta, but it can hang as a strong tier-two.
Most of its monsters carry a kind of "no backrow during battles" seal, and the poster boy—Ancient Gear Golem—swings at 3000 ATK, a certified chaff-crusher.
People underestimate it, probably because of the anime—where the professor lost to Judai partly because he pulled his punches, opening with only one Ancient Gear Golem, setting zero, not even Summoning other bodies for a couple of turns.
"Junior! Let me tell you—the deck is Ancient Gear. Now you'll see just how powerful it is!"
Sato flashed another card and declared:
"Activate Spell—[Ancient Gear Catapult]! While I control no monsters, I can destroy 1 face-up card I control to Special Summon 1 'Ancient Gear' monster from my Deck, ignoring its Summoning conditions!"
"I'll destroy the Field Spell—[Geartown]!"
He swiftly plucked a card from his Deck and showed it.
"Then, per [Ancient Gear Catapult], I Special Summon [Ancient Gear Tanker] from the Deck!"
[Ancient Gear Tanker]
[Level 4/Machine/Effect]
[ATK: 1300]
"At this moment!" Sato called. "I chain 2 effects: the [Geartown] I just destroyed in the GY, and the effect of the [Ancient Gear Tanker] I just Special Summoned!"
"Effects resolve backward—first, [Ancient Gear Tanker]!"
"When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, I can Special Summon 1 other 'Ancient Gear' monster from my hand, ignoring its Summoning conditions!"
Sato slammed a card from his hand onto the Disk.
"The strongest giant of a bygone age—awaken! Ancient Gear Dark Golem!!!"
Steam thundered out of ancient metalworks. Vast gear-wheels clanked into motion as a giant with a huge cog for a chest rose from the ground.
[Ancient Gear Dark Golem]
[Level 8/Machine/Effect]
[ATK: 3000]
"Then [Geartown] in the GY—when it's destroyed and sent there, I can Special Summon 1 'Ancient Gear' from my hand, Deck, or GY!"
Sato yanked another card from his Deck and slammed it down.
"Come forth, Ancient Gear Commander!"
A gear-wrought soldier surfaced, armor and frame interlocked by cogs and pistons.
[Ancient Gear Commander]
[Level 4/Machine/Effect]
[ATK: 500]
"We're not done!" Sato continued. "Dark Golem's effect—on Summon, I can add up to 2 cards from Deck to hand among 'Ancient Gear' cards and/or [Geartown], except itself—then discard 1."
"I'll add [Ancient Gear Fusion] and [Ancient Gear Advance], then discard a card."
"Two Spells to land three bodies without using my Normal Summon—and picking up the rest of the line along the way." Yusaku nodded. "Nice combo."
"You flatter me, junior, but we're only getting started." Sato's mouth quirked. "Now you'll see this deck at full throttle!"
"Ancient Gear Commander—its effect! I can send 1 'Ancient Gear Golem' from my hand, Deck, or face-up field to the GY to immediately conduct a Normal Summon of an 'Ancient Gear' monster!"
He plucked a card ejected from his Deck and displayed it.
"I'll send 1 [Ancient Gear Golem] from my Deck to the GY, and Normal Summon Ancient Gear Hunting Hound from my hand!"
A hound of iron and gears prowled onto the field, fangs gleaming with a cold, blue sheen.
[Ancient Gear Hunting Hound]
[Level 3/Machine/Effect]
[ATK: 1000]
"Activate Hunting Hound—on Normal Summon, it burns you for 600!"
The metal hound's maw opened wide; a blue sphere of energy blasted out and struck Yusaku squarely, making him shift back a step from the impact.
[Yusaku, LP: 8000 → 7400]
(End of Chapter)
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