Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

009 Divine Declaration

Jie Ren was speechless; he had never met such a cunning peer. He shook his head, trying to shake off his unease.

Only by trying can we know if the result will work; any further thinking now is just empty talk.

"I activate the Quick-Play Spell [Whirlwind], this card's effect is to destroy one Spell/Trap Card on the opponent's field! I choose..." Yuuto hesitated for a moment and said, "I choose the face-down card on the left, from your perspective!"

As the magic card was activated, a whirlwind appeared from the card, swirling up the face-down card to Yusei's left and shredding it to pieces.

The moment Geka was lifted up by the whirlwind, Yuito clearly saw that it was a [Holy Shield - Reflecting Mirror Force -]. He smiled slightly and adjusted his glasses.

"What?! You actually broke through my sublime power!" Yusei feigned horror, as if his tactics had been seen through by Yuito and he was about to be utterly humiliated...

Yuto watched Yusei and saw the shocked expression on his face, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"He doesn't seem to be lying. Luckily, I made the right choice..."

【Divine Shield - Mirror Force -】(Normal Trap Card)

Also known as: The Sublime Power of Hanno, it comes from the male supporting character in Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: the leader of the Knights of Hanno - Ripper Roadhog (Revolver).

Effect: Can only be activated when the opponent's monster declares an attack; destroy all Attack Position monsters on the opponent's field.

Divine Shield - Mirror Force - can destroy all Attack Position monsters on the opponent's field when the opponent declares an attack. In other words, even if Yuito summons a monster with higher attack power to attack Yusei, it will still be destroyed by the effect of Divine Shield - Mirror Force.

Then, in the next turn, Yusei can directly attack Yuito, who has lost his monster and now has an empty field, and win the duel...

"In the end, I was still one step ahead." Yuuto put aside his anxiety and prepared to start summoning monsters. Since Yusei's face was already showing signs of panic, it meant that the remaining two face-down cards were just a decoy, and he was just bluffing.

If the card doesn't affect your deployment, then there's no need to worry about it.

"I Normal Summon Deepsea Queen (Seadragon Level 2 WATER ATK 200 DEF 400) from my hand, and then activate the effect of Deepsea Queen - When this card is Normal Summoned, you can Special Summon 1 Level 3 or lower Seadragon monster from your Deck."

A woman with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a fish floated onto the field, waving her fish tail in the air and singing a beautiful song.

As the song began, a ball of water appeared in front of her, as if something was about to burst out of it.

Yusei remained unmoved by the summoning and activation effect of the Deep Sea Queen; he simply crossed his arms and looked up at the sky, as if escaping the reality before him.

Seeing Yusei's state, Yuto became even more certain of his thoughts: (My opening hand wasn't disrupted by the back row, so it seems my guess was right. The two cards in the back row were just a decoy. Come to think of it, HERO decks are usually made up of monsters and spell cards, and there are only a few trap cards, and they're not very useful. I don't need to worry too much.)

"Based on the effect of [Deep Sea Queen], I choose to Special Summon [True Sea Emperor Triton] (Sea Dragon Level 3, WATER, 1600 ATK, 800 DEF) from my Deck, and then activate the effect of [True Sea Emperor Triton]—Tribute this card and one of your Sea Dragon monsters on the field, and Special Summon [Sea Dragon Poseidon] from your hand or Deck. After that, all monsters on your opponent's field lose 300 ATK!"

A blue baby dragon emerged from the water sphere in front of the Deep Sea Queen. The baby dragon had three horns on its head, two large and one small, a row of golden barbs on its back, and a conch-shaped tail.

The young dragon wandered in the void for a while, seemingly searching for something. When it saw the Deep Sea Queen, its eyes lit up, as if it had found its target, and it accelerated towards the Deep Sea Queen.

The instant the young dragon and the Deep Sea Queen made contact, a gradually expanding white light appeared centered on their point of contact, engulfing both of them...

"Watch this, Yusei! This is the ace in my deck—[Sea Emperor Dragon Poseidon]!" Yuto shouted to Yusei, who was lost in thought.

It seems that Yuito had been hiding his strength all along.

His smooth operation and seamless special summoning made it impossible to imagine that he had just engaged in a fierce battle with middle school boy B.

"Hey! Hey! You actually fought to a standstill with such a powerful guy just now." Middle school boy A nudged middle school boy B with his elbow.

"This kid was just letting the water out..." Middle school boy B realized this.

"Wow, I didn't expect young people these days to be so creative!" Muto Sugoroku exclaimed.

Just as Yuto's face showed a "plan in motion" expression, he saw Yusei across from him give a strange smile.

"This is the moment I've been waiting for!" Yusei instantly pressed the button on the Duel Disk, opening the face-down cards in the back row.

"I activate the Trap Card [Divine Judgment], paying half of my Life Points to negate the Special Summon of [Sea Dragon Poseidon]!"

The smile on Jie Ren's face froze.

High school boy A: "..."

Middle school boy B: "Holy shit..."

Sugoroku Muto: "Sigh... ╮(╯﹏╰）╭"

To everyone's astonishment, a massive light erupted on the field, instantly engulfing the [Sea Emperor Dragon Poseidon] that was about to appear on Yuito's field. Moments later, the light vanished, leaving Yuito's field empty and everything calm, as if nothing had ever happened…

Only Yusei's LP decreased from 4000 to 2000, proving that he did indeed pay a huge price to activate a powerful trap card, negating the opponent's combo...

A big question mark crossed Jie Ren's face. What just happened?

……

...

"No... your expression just now clearly showed shock that your plan had been exposed..." Yuuto asked, his voice trembling as he pointed at Yusei's face.

"Of course I was faking it! Otherwise, how could I have tricked you into opening it?" Yusei said smugly, finally revealing his true nature after pretending to be stupid for so long.

"You were faking it? Yusei, you old..." Yuto was so angry he almost swore, but after calming himself down, he barely managed to suppress it. He pointed at Yusei, his body trembling slightly with anger, his face showing an expression that seemed to want to say something, but he held back in the end...

“Return…to…end…” After a long while, Jie finally managed to squeeze out the words through clenched teeth, each word deliberate and strained, as if he had used up all his strength.

Just when you think you've figured out your opponent's strategy and are about to show off, you get slapped in the face, and your advantage vanishes in an instant. This feeling of despair from such a sudden rise and fall is something few people could accept...

Perhaps even Yusei himself didn't realize the enormous impact this subconscious action would have on Yuto, a steady and well-behaved boy...

010 Result as expected

After Yusei activated [Divine Declaration], Yuito lost his will to fight. The follow-up tactics he had planned could no longer be implemented. The normal summon opportunity, which was once per turn, had already been used by [Deep Sea Songstress]. Since he could not perform a normal summon again this turn, it was difficult to launch another attack.

Even if Yuito were to use his cheat code to summon a [Deep Sea Diva] card, he still wouldn't be able to bring it to the field for a second round of play...

Being interrupted at a crucial juncture leads to such a tragic outcome. Yuuto is still too young; when it comes to tactics, he's no match for a cunning old fox like Yusei...

Imagine you're playing cards happily, and suddenly you fall into a trap, getting interrupted in various ways. That would be incredibly frustrating and severely impact your gaming experience...

This is also why the Red Pit style is despised. Some aloof duelists disdain using such a "despicable" trick. They believe that true duelists should duel honorably, with both sides exchanging blows and forging bonds in the intense tug-of-war, enjoying the exhilarating feeling of dueling, and then determining the winner. This is the proper way to duel, and using the Red Pit style is simply an insult to duelists!

To this, Yusei can only say, whatever makes you happy.

Some "newspaper decks" start with a first-move hand containing five trap cards, all of which are designed to precisely counter the opponent's opening moves and are specifically designed to annoy them.

Such as the [Magic Cylinder] which reflects damage, the [Forced Escape Device] which bounces monsters back to the hand, the [Torrent Tribute] which destroys all monsters on the field when a monster is summoned, the [Cave of the Abyss] which immediately banishes monsters with 1500 or more ATK when they appear on the field, the [Divine Judgment] which negates the activation of Spell & Trap Cards and allows for Monster Summoning, Special Summoning, and Flip Summoning...

"Report deck" refers to a deck designed to "give back to society." Some players experience negative emotions after being crushed by "super meta decks." To relieve these emotions, regain the gaming experience, and make super meta players feel their pain, as well as to rediscover the original joy of the game, they choose to include a large number of cards in their decks that negatively impact their opponents' gaming experience.

For example, you can play a lot of targeted trap cards, choose monsters that only destroy the opponent's opening moves, and use delaying tactics in the duel. Although you can't deal much damage to your opponent, your opponent can't do anything about it and can only wait and get frustrated.

The pain shouldn't be borne by me alone. Many, after experiencing the impact of the "retribution deck," have also chosen to join the ranks of the "retribution party." They drastically modify their decks, for example, adding "Surf Prosecutor" to limit the activation of effect monsters, adding "Thunder King" to negate the actions of Special Summoned monsters, and adding "Fossil Dinosaur Pachycephalosaurus" to block Special Summoning...

Some mainstream decks will be subject to various restrictions when facing the "Report Deck" deck, and in the worst case, they may even be completely suppressed, without even a chance to fight back... Of course, the "Report Deck" deck will not give you a chance to fight back either.

With Spell Card activation blocked by "Royal Pardon", Monster Effects on the Field negated by "Skill Drain", and Deck destroyed by "Divine Judgment", unless you use cheat codes to specifically print cards or randomly use effects, there's really no way to deal with this deck.

If you do that, the duel loses its fairness, and there's no point in fighting anymore... Is it like one side starts with 100 million LP and the other side only has 1 LP, you can hit me and I won't take any damage, I can draw five cards and summon 10,000 monsters in one turn... Can this kind of duel still be called a duel? It's just a joke, even the villainous BOSS wouldn't dare to do that.

The clash between a super-mainstream deck and a regular deck is like a tiger versus an ordinary person. Under normal circumstances, the tiger would definitely dominate and crush the person without any suspense. However, when facing a super-mainstream deck with a "retribution" deck, it's like a sick cat that has had its teeth and claws pulled out and has been beaten half to death, barely clinging to life, completely lacking the will to fight back...

Because trap cards have a pink background, these types of trap cards, specifically designed to disrupt other players' strategies, are generally called "red trap" cards. There are countless red trap cards, but most decks don't include too many, as too many trap cards can hinder the deck's development. If you're unlucky and most of your starting five cards are trap cards, what kind of deck is that...?

In real-world duels, a "stuck hand" situation often occurs, meaning you're dealt cards you don't want, leaving you helpless during your turn, unable to do anything but watch until the turn ends. In such cases, you can only hope your opponent also has a stuck hand... otherwise, seeing your board empty, they'll likely pounce and finish you off in one fell swoop...

--------------------------------------------------

"My turn, draw a card!"

Yusei didn't stand on ceremony with Yuto. After Yuto announced the end of the turn, he immediately announced that his turn had begun.

"I'm switching Prism Man from defense mode to attack mode."

Monsters can change their stance once per turn, from Attack Position to Defense Position, or vice versa. Only monsters in Attack Position can declare an attack; those in Defense Position cannot. However, monsters in Defense Position do not inflict battle damage, and even if they are destroyed, the player's LP is not reduced. Each stance has its advantages and disadvantages.

Without even glancing at the cards he drew, Yusei immediately declared that the battle phase was about to begin.

There are currently four monsters in attack position on the field. They have three different attributes, and according to Sunrise's second effect, they all receive a 600-point attack bonus.

场上分别是元素英雄日出侠（光属性攻击力3100）、元素英雄绝对零度侠（水属性 攻击力3100）、元素英雄烈焰侠（炎属性 攻击力1800）、元素英雄棱镜侠（光属性 攻击力2300），四位英雄的攻击力加在一起一共是3100+3100+1800+2300=10300点。

With no fighting spirit left, Yuto had no face-down cards in his back row, while Yusei had four attack-position monsters that could deal over 10,000 damage together. The outcome was practically a foregone conclusion.

"Elemental HERO Absolute Zero and Elemental HERO Flame are attacking Yuuto directly. Um... be careful not to go too far." Yusei looked at Yuuto's dejected figure and felt a little embarrassed. He decided to end the duel in a gentle way and not attack all four of them at once. Such a desecration was not in his style.

Yusei is, after all, a duelist using the [Hero Deck]. He is only seventeen years old and has not yet experienced the harsh realities of society. He still harbors the dream of becoming a hero and upholding justice. Even though he sometimes likes to use some tricks and pretend to be weak and cowardly in duels, he is essentially a passionate, chuunibyou, and compassionate teenager.

After hearing Yusei's command, Absolute Zero and Blaze exchanged a glance and then nodded to each other. They simultaneously extended their fingers, and a small ice spike and a small flame appeared at their fingertips, then slowly floated onto the body of the man and disappeared after a moment of contact.

Jie Ren: "..."

(The character receives 3100+1800 damage; LP 4000→0)

With Yuito's LP reduced to 0, Yusei won the final.

"What a fantastic match!" summarized a middle school boy, A.

"Yeah! The timing of that trap card activation was just too clever... it was right at the point of the Special Summon..." said middle school boy B. Compared to middle school boy A, who was a newbie, he was more familiar with duels and could understand some of the tricks of the trade.

"I hereby declare the winner of this match to be: Yusei!" Muto Sugoroku blew his whistle, indicating that the match was over.

Next came the awards ceremony. The winner would receive a prize of 100,000 yen from Muto Sugoroku, roughly equivalent to ten days' income for an average Japanese office worker. It wasn't a huge amount, but it would be enough for Yusei to live on for a long time. After all, in the real world, he was a person who didn't spend much money and had low consumption desires. Apart from the most basic necessities of life, he generally didn't spend much money on other things.

Even after arriving in this world, this hasn't changed.

011 Next steps

If we use a game analogy, Yusei is currently in the beginner village, facing only basic content, and hasn't even taken the first step on his adventure yet.

Since he's currently in the beginner's village, he won't face much of a challenge. Some of Yusei's current duel opponents don't even understand the basic rules of dueling; they do whatever comes to mind, don't even know how to set cards, and just play randomly. Such opponents can be easily dealt with without any difficulty.

In his initial plan, entering the Duel Academy was the real beginning; everything before that was merely preparation for achieving this goal.

With even the most basic survival needs unmet, how could one possibly have the time to carry out their plans? Therefore, before heading to the Duel Academy, the first thing to do is resolve the issue of financial resources. After all, one can forgo putting on airs, but one can't go without food!

Youxing may not be good at much else, but he's an expert at playing cards.

As a seasoned duelist who survived the chaotic realities of the world, Yusei possesses a wealth of dueling skills, enabling him to counter almost any tactic. Therefore, even though his current deck is merely a hastily assembled Elemental HERO deck, it's enough to easily defeat the novice players in the card shop, since they're not on the same level from the start.

Yuito's appearance was somewhat unexpected. According to Yusei's assessment, this composed young man with glasses was no weaker than the main characters from the early episodes. Even disregarding the protagonist's plot armor and lucky draws, Yuki Jaden, the main character, might not be a match for him. Yusei hadn't expected to give such high praise to a "background character" who had never appeared in the anime before.

Yusei couldn't help but start to think. It seemed this world was full of hidden talents; unknown powerhouses would appear from time to time. He had underestimated this place before. Come to think of it, duelists were living humans who would adapt to their opponents' tactics, unlike in the anime where they would just stand there and let you fight them with fixed routines.

In terms of dueling skills and battle strategy, all the middle school students in the shop combined are no match for Yusei; however, in a real-life fight, probably just two physically strong middle school students could take him down... Fortunately, people in the Yu-Gi-Oh! world are all dueling enthusiasts; their first reaction to conflict is to duel to determine the winner, and whoever wins gets to rule, rather than choosing a real-life fight. Might makes right.