With no time to think further, he quickly drew more than ten cards from the top of the Deck. His eyes swept across them in an instant before he picked one and slapped it onto the Duel Disk. Summoning light flared in front of him as a warrior in red armor and a flowing cloak leapt out, shield in one hand and sword in the other.
The warrior charged straight into the enemy formation, blade flashing as goblins fell one after another. It was the Breaker the Magical Warrior. Just like in the GX Different Dimension Arc, even monsters without a residing Spirit could take physical form.
And it was not limited to monsters alone. Yugen opened the Deck again and inserted another card into the Duel Disk. A goblin archer screamed and fired an arrow at him, the shot whistling through the air.
The arrow stopped abruptly about a meter in front of Yugen, as if it had hit an invisible wall. A transparent, hemispherical barrier appeared where the arrow struck, revealing itself under the impact. It was the Mirror Force.
Yugen realized that within the Spirit World, there were basically no rules outside of duels. Cards in a Duelist's hand were weapons, usable freely like spells with no cost. A magic card produced a spell directly, and Mystical Space Typhoon became a raging storm, with no chants or casting delay, and in theory up to five different effects could be used at once.
Understanding that he could turn the tables, Yugen finally relaxed and felt his mood lift. He waved his hand grandly and shouted, "Feel the supreme power of Hanno, then fall into the endless abyss!" Since there was no one else around in the Spirit World, indulging in a little roleplay hurt no one.
Well, his own Spirit Silent Magician did see it. That was not a big problem, since she was now watching the scene of holy light sweeping the battlefield and looking at her master with clear admiration. The transparent barrier erupted with tremendous force, blue radiance bursting outward and scattering like rain across the forest.
The area attack was devastating to goblins armed with blades and bows. The front ranks were wiped out instantly, shattered by the light with no chance to resist. The goblins behind them panicked and turned to flee.
"A Duelist! There is a Duelist!" someone screamed. "Run, retreat!" In this world, the word Duelist clearly referred to something terrifying.
From a Spirit's perspective, a Duelist was like a walking arsenal, pulling out monsters with thousands of ATK and throwing out wide-range spells without restraint. Only another Duelist could stand against one. The only way for two Duelist to decide life and death was the so-called sacred ritual of battle.
In simpler terms, it meant dueling. With the battlefield cleared in an instant and the danger gone, Yugen finally felt at ease. So it turned out that even in the Spirit World, he was pretty strong after all.
After figuring out the correct way to enter the Spirit World, Yugen felt less tense for the moment. He thought about it and realized he had come in through a stone tablet in the ruins, yet after arriving he had not seen anything similar nearby, nor anything that looked like a door. That left only one question in his mind: how was he supposed to get back?
He considered it and then looked at his Spirit. "Silent, what do you think?"
Silent Magician shook her head, clearly without a good idea either. The Spirit World was vast, and although it was called by one name, it was actually divided into many different dimensions, and this one did not seem familiar to her. After tilting her head to think, she raised her hand and pointed toward the area beyond a small slope nearby.
Yugen followed the direction of her finger and saw something that looked like a town in the distance.
"I see. Ask the local Spirit for information, then?"
For now, there was no better option. In stories, ordinary residents of the Spirit World were usually quite friendly, so the locals might know a path that led out.
Yugen went down the slope and entered the town. The streets were paved with blue stone, marked by age and wear, and the white stone buildings had colored glass set into their windows. Totems, patterns, and unfamiliar symbols were carved into the walls, giving the place an ancient feel.
What felt strange was that there was not a single person in sight. Shops stood alone with doors and windows tightly shut, and hanging signs swayed gently in the wind. Fallen leaves were lifted by the breeze, making soft rustling sounds along the empty street.
"Is this normal for the Spirit World?" Yugen asked.
Silent Magician shook her head while gripping her staff, her expression wary. From her reaction, this was clearly not normal.
She stayed close to Yugen as they continued forward together. After a few minutes of walking, faint noises could be heard from behind a row of buildings.
Yugen showed no change in expression as he followed the sound down a narrow alley, hiding in the shadows to observe first. Several small Spirit were fleeing in panic, and he recognized one of them at a glance. The small body carrying an oversized key was distinctive, a creature known in Duel Monsters cards as Key Mace, a one star normal monster with ATK 400.
Chasing after them were Black Goblin similar to the ones he had just encountered earlier. The goblins shrieked as they charged, drawing their bows and firing arrows nonstop.
Those arrows seemed to carry some kind of magic. Any Spirit struck let out a cry and collapsed, then instantly turned into a heavy stone tablet that slammed onto the ground with a loud crash.
Yugen was shocked. Being hit by those arrows actually turned them directly into cards?
He did not know whether that effect only worked on Spirit. Remembering what had happened in the forest earlier, he felt a chill run through him. Luckily, he had acted fast back then and played Solemn Judgment in time.
From this, it seemed that the Spirit who originally lived in the town had been attacked by outsiders. Most of them were likely turned into stone tablets, which explained why the town now looked completely deserted.
Silent suddenly became alert and moved in a flash to guard his back. Yugen turned around and saw another group of black goblins blocking the alley behind them.
"Boss, it is him!" one goblin shrieked. "A Duelist! A Duelist has invaded our territory!"
The goblins split to either side, opening a path. A masked monster Spirit with an eerie presence slowly stepped forward.
Yugen felt he had seen this monster before. It was Masked Sorcerer, known as Cursed Throat.
It was a monster card once used by the Masked brothers under Marik Ishtar in DM, a four star normal monster with ATK 1500. Right now, though, its combat strength was not what mattered most.
What caught his eye immediately was that this Spirit was different from the others. On its arm was equipment similar to a Duel Disk.
"So there is an outsider Duelist as well," the sorcerer sneered. "Since you dared to enter the domain of our god, you must already be prepared to become a sacrifice."
He waved his hand to dismiss his underlings and unfolded the Duel Disk. Although it resembled a Duel Disk, it did not look like modern technology at all, instead appearing organic, as if made of flesh and grown directly from his arm.
"Victory between Duelist can only be decided through the ritual of battle. All of you, step back. This one is mine."
"Tch, so it really comes down to cards again."
Genshin Yu knew that Duel in the Spirit World were similar to Shadow Duel, rituals that decided life and death. This duel was unavoidable, but only this one Spirit seemed capable of dueling. If he could take care of it, the rest would be insignificant.
"Duel!" both sides declared.
[Yugen, LP 4000]
[Masked Sorcerer, LP 4000]
"I will go first, Card Draw."
The sorcerer took the opening turn. "I set one monster on the field, then set one card face down. Turn ends."