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This chapter was the wrong chapter so i fix it
The first match concluded. In less than ten minutes, You Xuan successfully earned five academic credits.
He was in high spirits. This duel earned him more academic credits than a single game in a friendly match, and it came so easily.
If he could, he'd even ask Senpai for a best-of-five, gambling five academic credits on each round...
But looking at Senpai's distraught expression, she probably didn't want to play again.
After watching the match, the entire arena fell silent for a long while.
After a long pause, the student council member couldn't help but lean forward and ask, "Um... You Xuan-kun, is your Deck's soul... Lava Golem?"
You Xuan raised an eyebrow.
What? Judging by that tone, are you looking down on my great Lava Golem?
Then he felt compelled to elaborate: "What? Is Lava Golem's ATK not high enough?"
"Ah, that's not it..."
Its ATK was the same as the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon; who dared say it wasn't high enough?
"Then do you think its Level is too low?"
"No, no, Level 8 is already very impressive..."
"So you think its effect isn't powerful enough?"
"Its effect... is quite strong."
"Then why can't it be my soul?" You Xuan asked, completely justified.
Nakamura: "..."
He's so right, I'm speechless for a moment.
It was just that his usual way of thinking felt a little awkward. A monster that appeared on the opponent's field from the start as your soul… something still felt off about that.
In a corner of the venue, in the crowd, a student with jellyfish-like hair, who had also been "arrested" by the student council for not voting: "Oh, oh, that You Xuan seems really strong! I wonder when I'll get a chance to duel him…"
"Huh!?" Sho Marufuji, who was like a transparent junior beside him, looked at his big brother Jaden in shock.
He wondered just how obsessed with cards Jaden had to be, to see that kind of duel and still want to try it out…
Shouldn't normal people retreat far away and silently add it to their blacklist?
"But speaking of which, he also used a Machine-Type Deck!" Jaden patted Sho's back, chuckling, "Could it be that Machine-Type monsters are actually very strong?"
Sho Marufuji: "..."
No, I always feel that even though they're both Machine-Type monsters, they look completely different in someone else's hands compared to my own.
Others use Machine-Type monsters to make opponents smash their Duel Disks, but I usually seem to be the one getting beaten until I smash my Duel Disk.
Sho began to reflect on himself.
Is it possible that it's not the Machine-Type monsters' problem, but simply that I'm weak?
"Speaking of which, that Asuka Tenjoin also seems very strong."
Jaden rubbed his nose, his face full of anticipation.
"I feel like there's more to see!"
At this moment, Asuka Tenjoin had already donned her Duel Disk and stood before You Xuan.
"You're very strong," she said seriously. "But I will also go all out."
"Naturally."
You Xuan said, smoothly drawing the Deck from his Duel Disk, inserting it into an empty Deck Box behind him, then drawing another Deck from a different Deck Box and inserting it into his Duel Disk.
The latest model Duel Disk, specially supplied by Kaiba Corporation, executed a shuffling procedure. The newly inserted Deck shuffled briskly.
Asuka frowned slightly.
He changed his Deck?
"I stand here as a duelist, not just a girl. I hope you will also go all out," she said.
"Don't worry, that's a given," You Xuan smiled. "It's just a normal tactical change."
In this world with a "destiny power" attribute, playing the same tactics twice in a row might carry the risk of being countered. Even if the opponent didn't intentionally adjust their Deck, as long as they knew your Deck and strategy, drawing five random cards could very likely give them a counter-measure.
Asuka Tenjoin, as one of the early main characters, her "destiny power" attribute should not be weak. Or rather, if you ranked the classmates around Jaden in the early stages, she should be in the top tier.
"Duel!" x2
[You Xuan, LP 4000]
[Asuka, LP 4000]
"I'll go first, draw!" Asuka said. "I Normal Summon 'Cyber Tutu' in Attack Position!"
[Cyber Tutu, ATK 1000]
"Then I activate Equip Spell 'Angel's Wing' and equip it to Cyber Tutu!" (Anime Card)
The Spell Card materialized in her Spell/Trap Zone, and a pair of pure white wings unfurled behind the graceful Cyber Tutu. A faint white light enveloped its entire body.
"A monster equipped with 'Angel's Wing' increases any battle damage it inflicts to the opponent by 300 points," Asuka stated. "Then I set one card face-down on the field, and end my turn."
"My turn, draw."
You Xuan added the drawn card to his hand, then played a monster card.
"I Summon 'Card Blaster'!"
[Card Blaster, ATK 400]
"The effect of Card Blaster: once per turn, I can send up to three cards from the top of my Deck to the Graveyard. For each card, its ATK increases by five hundred."
You Xuan swiftly drew three cards and sent them to the Graveyard.
"I send three cards to the Graveyard, increasing Card Blaster's ATK by 1500!"
[Card Blaster, ATK 400 → ATK 1900]
You Xuan paused, glancing at Asuka's back row.
He seemed to have a guess as to what the face-down card was.
In the anime, whenever Asuka dueled, that trap card was almost always present, sticking to her hand like glue, just like Zane Truesdale's Cyber Dragon.
[Trap Card - Cyber Tutu Dual Dance
Effect: When an opponent's monster attacks an Attack Position monster you control, change that attack to a direct attack on yourself. As compensation, your monster on the field inflicts battle damage directly to the opponent's player.] (Anime Effect)
Because the effect of "monster inflicting direct battle damage to opponent during opponent's turn" was somewhat unscientific for real cards, the actual card's effect was changed to "as compensation, your monster can make a direct attack during your next turn."
Furthermore, Asuka immediately Normal Summoned Cyber Tutu in Attack Position, despite its ATK of only 1000, and she intentionally equipped it with "Angel's Wing," which further boosted battle damage by 300 points.
Therefore, You Xuan was 90% certain about that face-down card.
Normally, if he attacked with Card Blaster and Asuka activated "Cyber Tutu Dual Dance," Asuka would take 1900 direct attack damage, while You Xuan would only take 1300. The opponent would lose 600 Life Points. Logically, she should very likely not activate it.
However, based on Asuka's tactical performance in the original work, her activation rate was not low. More than once, she didn't hesitate to sacrifice her own Life Points for a forceful exchange.
According to the theories he had learned these past few days, You Xuan speculated that this might be her dueling style: charging forward, never backing down. Maintaining such a style helped stabilize her "momentum" in the duel, and perhaps, in her view, it was more important than a mere few hundred Life Points difference.
Then, he might as well play along.
"Battle." You Xuan waved his hand. "Card Blaster, attack Cyber Tutu!"
The ATK-boosted Card Blaster lowered its arms, firing several shots directly at the slender, long-haired female monster.
Asuka frowned slightly: "Completely ignoring my face-down card... Then I activate my face-down card!
Trap Card - Cyber Tutu Dual Dance!"
You Xuan narrowed his eyes.
As expected.
"This trap, when an opponent declares an attack, changes that attack to a direct attack on me!" Asuka shouted. "Afterward, the monster on my field can directly attack the opponent's player!"
The onlookers were all astonished: "Using herself as a shield for her monster!?"
"Is it going to be such a stimulating exchange of damage right from the start?"
On one hand, it was a trade of Life Points. On the other, it was to preserve her monster on the field for further pursuit next turn.
This was her dueling rhythm and style.
However—
"Then 'Card Blaster' will shift to a direct attack on Asuka," You Xuan stated.
The ammunition fired by Card Blaster shifted course in mid-air, oddly curving around Cyber Tutu from the front and heading straight for Asuka behind it.
"But at this instant, I activate Quick-Play Spell 'Limiter Removal' from my hand!" You Xuan revealed another card from his hand. "Until the End Phase, Card Blaster's ATK doubles!"
[Card Blaster, ATK 1900 → ATK 3800]
Asuka's face drastically changed: "What did you say!?"
ATK of 3800 in an instant!?
She could accept 1900 damage, but that much all at once…
I'm going to break, aren't I?