The sunglasses examiner was beginning to understand why this examinee had come over before the duel to ask if the examiner's mood would affect his test score.
Because if it did, he now had the urge to draw a huge "X" on this kid's file and tell him to get lost as far as possible.
It was only the first turn, and he'd already lost half his hand with an empty field, not to mention even getting a "Sakuretsu Armor" discarded—without even a chance to set it. A powerful trap that can destroy attacking monsters, gone to the graveyard before it even touched the field.
Of course, the thought only flashed by.
The examiner with sunglasses suppressed that impulse.
Calm. Stay calm. He was an examiner now, a professional one—no matter what happened, he couldn't lose his cool.
Kira, sporting the candidate number 001, entered the arena. His duel had already been the most-watched among all current candidates, and after just this round, even more eyes were drawn here, many growing curious about him.
"That guy, Kira, is this year's number one, huh," Alexis leaned on the railing. "How should I put it, his dueling… feels a bit different from what I imagined for a number one."
"..."
On Chazz's side:
Lackey A: "It's starting! That Kira is going at it again!"
"Exactly! This is it!" Lackey B chimed in. "This crazy plays, this direction… even Cazz-sama got wrecked by him!"
"You guys are exaggerating too much..."
Chazz muttered.
He had at least put up a fight for a few turns before falling into total defeat.
His face turned dark and a little twisted.
"But if anyone thinks that's all he can do, they're way too naive. For that damn dog, this is only the beginning."
The two lackeys looked at him with sympathy.
"Chazz-sama has experience."
"Yeah, makes you feel sorry for him."
Chazz: "Shut up!"
"..."
"My turn. Draw."
Kira calmly inserted another card into his duel disk.
"Spell card, 'Delinquent Duo'—pay 1000 life points, randomly discard one card from your opponent's hand, then your opponent chooses one more card to discard."
[Kira, LP 3000 → LP 2000]
A blue and a red devil appeared and each grabbed a card from the examiner's hand, laughing mockingly as they took away his cards.
Examiner: "..."
Secret technique: Hand Destruction Jutsu.
He pushed up his sunglasses, looking at the one card left in his hand.
[Continuous Spell – Kishido Spirit.
Effect: Monsters on your field with the same ATK as the opponent's in battle are not destroyed.]
Completely useless.
He was, for all intents and purposes, out of plays.
If this were an anime, the examiner's head would be spewing steam like a volcano about to erupt.
The only thing stopping him from smashing his duel disk and rolling up his sleeves was his professionalism and constant self-reminders.
I'm a professional. Don't get angry. Don't...
Kira: "Normal summon 'Witch of the Black Forest'."
[Witch of the Black Forest, ATK 1100]
"Witch of the Black Forest, direct attack."
[Examiner, LP 4000 → LP 2900]
The examiner stood there, expression black, taking the hit without moving, as if he was charging his rage meter.
"End turn."
"..."
From the stands, Lackey A: "It's really like Chazz-sama said."
Lackey B shook his head, even starting to feel a bit sorry for the unlucky examiner.
Chazz said nothing but interlaced his fingers and leaned forward to watch the duel, an unconscious smile forming on his lips.
"Heh heh… heh heh heh…"
He couldn't stop his mouth from curving up.
Honestly, he wasn't even sure why.
But seeing the examiner suffer down there, just like he did in the Moonlight Cup—
He felt a strange sense of satisfaction.
Only then did he realize: when you're not the one being trolled, watching a hellish duel can be so much fun.
Lackey B peeked at Chazz's growing grin and whispered, "Boss, your smile is getting creepy…"
"..."
"My turn. Draw!"
The examiner took a deep breath, forcing himself to focus on the duel.
"I activate the spell 'Silent Doom' from my hand. I can revive a Normal Monster from my graveyard in defense position, but it can't attack this turn.
The card I'm reviving is the one you made me discard last turn."
He retrieved a card from his graveyard slot.
"Millennium Shield!"
A huge shield rose from the underworld, blocking the examiner's field.
[Millennium Shield, DEF 3000]
"It's Millennium Shield!"
A student immediately exclaimed.
Said to be a legendary shield from ancient Egypt's royal line, even the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon's Burst Stream couldn't break it—a truly indestructible monster.
"End turn."
He wished he could do more, but he had no cards left to play. Still, with a shield this tough, he doubted his opponent could break through so easily.
If he could just last another turn, maybe there was hope.
"My turn," Kira said. "I activate the equip spell 'Wonder Wand' from my hand. Only Spellcasters can equip it.
I equip it to 'Witch of the Black Forest'. The equipped monster gains 500 ATK."
[Witch of the Black Forest, ATK 1100 → 1600]
"Wonder Wand's second effect: send both the equipped monster and this card to the graveyard to draw two cards.
I send 'Witch of the Black Forest' and 'Wonder Wand' to the grave to draw two."
He drew two new cards, then straight up searched his deck with his duel disk.
"'Witch of the Black Forest' effect: when sent from the field to the graveyard, add a monster with 1500 or less DEF from deck to hand.
I add this card to my hand."
He displayed the card between two fingers.
"Maha Vailo, DEF 1400, added to hand," Kira said. "Then normal summon 'Maha Vailo' in attack position."
[Maha Vailo, ATK 1550]
Maha Vailo, originally in Yugi's deck, was later given to Tea—an important card in the anime.
"Then I activate the equip spell 'Big Bang Shot' from my hand."
Kira slid another card into his duel disk, its image appearing in the back row.
"'Big Bang Shot' increases the equipped monster's ATK by 400. Also, when it attacks a defense position monster if its ATK exceeds DEF, the excess is inflicted as piercing damage."
The examiner understood: "So you're planning to raise your ATK and pierce through my defense monster for damage?"
But Millennium Shield has 3000 DEF. Breaking through for lethal would require stacking up to 5900 ATK—almost impossible.
"You think I'm equipping it to my monster?"
Kira smiled, pointing at the Millennium Shield.
"I'm equipping 'Big Bang Shot'… to your Millennium Shield!"
[Millennium Shield, ATK 0 → 400]
Examiner: "?"
Equipping to an opponent's monster? What?
Does he think this game is about giving your opponent resources, too?
"Now I activate the quick-play spell 'Mystical Space Typhoon', destroying a spell or trap on the field. I'll destroy my own 'Big Bang Shot'."
Examiner: "??"
Even more bewildered.
Don't tell me he's just giving away cards for fun.
A black tornado lifted Kira's spell card, then a lightning bolt shattered it.
"This is pointless," the examiner couldn't help but say. "Even if you do this, my Millennium Shield—
NANI!?"
He stared, shocked. His field was suddenly empty.
The Millennium Shield was gone.
Wait—
Where's my shield?
Where's my big shield!?
He couldn't help but blurt out, "Where did my shield go?"
Kira smiled. "I sent it to another dimension."
Examiner: "???"
What the hell? Want me to send you to another dimension?
Seeing the examiner on the verge of exploding, Kira patiently explained: "The equip spell 'Big Bang Shot' not only increases ATK and gives piercing effect, it also has a side effect: when it leaves the field, the equipped monster is banished."
The audience erupted in shock.
"Equipping a buff to the opponent's monster, then using the side effect to banish it?" Alexis looked complicated. "That's… really impressive, but also…"
She couldn't find the right words.
But what she thought could only be summed up in one word:
Hellish.
"Yeah, this is the sort of tactic that guy would come up with," Chazz said. At first, he was surprised, but quickly accepted it.
Well, because the guy on the other side is a dog.
Such tactics just seem natural to him.
Kira calmly revealed two more cards.
"Equip spell 'Axe of Despair' and 'Mage Power', both equipping to 'Maha Vailo'."
The black spellcaster opened her eyes, a demon-headed axe floated beside her, and she was bathed in golden light.
"'Axe of Despair' increases ATK by 1000.
'Mage Power' increases ATK by 500 for every spell/trap I control. I have two, so that's +1000.
Total increase: 2000."
[Maha Vailo, ATK 1550 → 3550]
"Now, Maha Vailo's effect! For each equip card attached, she gains 500 ATK.
With two equips, that's +1000."
[Maha Vailo, ATK 3550 → 4550]
The venue was in an uproar.
"4550 ATK!?"
Syrus, not yet on stage, was stunned: "That's higher than Obelisk the Tormentor—no, even higher than Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"
The highest ATK seen today.
"This guy can just casually reach that kind of ATK?"
Lackey B almost fell out of his seat.
Chazz wasn't shocked, but his face only grew darker.
Yes, he'd long realized this dog wasn't just a troll.
He suspected that for this guy, trolling was just for fun.
Or rather, tilting his opponent was part of his tactics.
But even putting that aside, this guy…
He's just strong.
Because it was obvious—the examiner was out of cards and defenses. Kira could have just pierced through Millennium Shield. But he didn't.
He thought banishing Millennium Shield was more fun.
"Maha Vailo," Kira said, "direct attack."
[Examiner, LP 2900 → LP 0]