Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

The duel between the boy named Yusei and the dueling monkey SAL seems to be bringing him satisfactory results.

"Um... um..."

Seeing the old man intently watching the duel between Yusei and the monkey, the burly man hesitated for a moment before reluctantly loosening his clenched fist and abandoning his plan to attack the monkey directly.

And so, under the watchful eyes of everyone, each with their own thoughts, the duel between Yusei and SAL the monkey officially began!

"I'm going in! Duel!"

As the waves crashed against the shore, Yusei raised his Duel Disk.

"……duel!"

As Yusei shouted, the indicator lights on the monkey's equipment flashed, broadcasting the monkey's thoughts through voice.

"Wow! The monkey can actually talk!" Looking at the monkey spirit speaking human language right in front of him, Marufuji Sho's jaw dropped to the ground... He had thought this monkey was nothing special, but he was immediately proven wrong...

"Hehehe... The entire dialogue about the duel has been written into the program!" Seeing the shocked expression on Marufuji Sho's face, the old man couldn't help but let out a smug laugh.

Serves you right for underestimating my research results! Now you know you were wrong, right? Hahahaha...

"Eh? Is that so..." Upon hearing the old man's explanation, Yusei realized that the monkey in front of him seemed to possess a certain level of strength, and an expression of interest appeared on his face.

If what the old man said is true, and the monkey in front of him is equipped with a dueling AI system, then Yusei needs to be careful. Who knows, when he's careless, the monkey might suddenly give him a surprise...

"My turn, draw a card!"

Yusei, who had taken the initiative, looked at the card he had just drawn and a slight smile crept onto his lips.

The native monsters of the [Hero] deck are not suitable for going first, so this is where the auxiliary system comes in!

Seeing the still bewildered monkey, Yusei, with a sinister smile (?), directly slammed a monster from his hand onto the Duel Disk.

"I Normal Summon—[Summoner Aleister] from my hand!"

216 You scumbag, here you come!

"Come out, my good brother—Aleister~~~"

With a drawn-out syllable, Yusei called out the name of the womanizer who could merge with almost anyone.

As Yusei called out, from within the red summoning circle, the Great Sage of the Magic Academy of the Duel Spirit World, Lamaison, clad in white robes, and having forged contracts with summoned beasts from various worlds and dimensions—Aleister—reappeared on the dueling field after a long absence.

The last time Aleister appeared was when Yusei beat Manjoume in their first duel.

In that duel, Yusei directly fused with the light vehicle—[Summoned Beast Merkaba]—and used its immense power to nullify and banish the hand trap [Kite Machine] that Manjoume had used to protect himself, thus securing victory in the duel.

On his journey to find the Great Demon, Yusei unexpectedly duels with a monkey and draws this monster card again.

As long as Aleister has monster cards in his hand, he will never lack fusion materials.

"[Summoner Aleister]'s effect activated! This effect can be activated if this card is Summoned Flip. Add 1 [Summoning Magic] from your Deck to your hand."

Yusei opened his right hand towards the monkey in front of him and then activated Aleister's search effect.

"I know, I know!"

Hearing Yusei's shout, Aleister sighed helplessly, then adjusted his half-circle glasses, closed the Holy Codex of Law in his right hand, turned around and raised his staff in his left hand in Yusei's direction.

With a faint blue light shimmering on the staff, the Fusion Spell Card [Summoning Magic] automatically flew out of the Duel Disk's deck area and into Yusei's hand.

Although there's no protection from the [Rampage Magic Circle] this time, the opponent won't have [Infinite Bubble], [Effect Veiler], or [Ash Blossom] either, so Yusei can confidently proceed with the fusion.

"Huh? Did that monster just speak?"

Scratching his cheek, Jaden Yuki said somewhat uncertainly.

When Aleister was last seen, he was just an ordinary monster. However, this time, he didn't bother to pretend anymore and started speaking human language right away.

"Huh? What are you talking about, brother?"

Hearing Yuki Judai's mutterings to himself, Marufuji Sho couldn't help but look at him with suspicion.

A talking monkey is already outrageous enough... How is it possible for Duel Monsters to have their own consciousness? This isn't a Dark Game.

Marufuji Sho, who said these words, seemed to have forgotten that Hayato's father, Maeda Mozan's monster, had also made drunken-like remarks on several occasions during duels...

"This monkey... seems to be using the Continuous Trap Card [DNA Modification Surgery] and the Spell Card [Wild Release] in combination to achieve a massive increase in attack power... In that case, then I'll..."

Having finished his thought, Yusei immediately activated the spell card he had just drawn: "Spell Card [Summoning Magic] activated. I will use [Summoner Aleister] on the field and [Elemental HERO Liquidman] in my hand as materials to perform a Fusion Summon..."

"--Defense Position Special Summon! [Summoned Beast: Kokutos] (Dragon/Water/6-Star/ATK 1800/DEF 2900)!"

The blue dragon engraved on the [Summoning Magic] card art descended from the ice barrier of another dimension, following the blue magic circle that unfolded behind Aleister.

On the chest of [Summoned Beast Kokutos], you can also see a staff that represents the contract and shines with a dark blue light.

"【Summoned Beast Kokutos】...is a water-attribute summoned beast of a different type from the previous light-attribute 【Summoned Beast Merkaba】!"

Seeing the blue dragon that Yusei summoned from his Extra Deck, Jaden Yuki couldn't help but show an excited expression.

"I activate the second effect of the Spell Card [Summoning Magic] in my Graveyard. If this card is in my Graveyard, you can target 1 of your banished [Summoner Aleister] to activate this effect. Return this card from the Graveyard to the Deck, and add the targeted monster to your hand."

"I'll set up an ambush, end of turn." Having summoned a high-defense Ironclad monster and retrieved Aleister from his banished zone, Yusei turned his gaze to the monkey opposite him and said, "Alright! It's your turn now!"

(Yusei's hand size: 6 → 3)

【Summoned Beast - Kokutos】Cannot be targeted by the opponent's effects, nor can it be destroyed by the opponent's effects. It can also attack in Defense Position. Even heavy fighters would be impressed...

If the monkey on the other side wants to destroy Kokutos, it must summon a monster with an attack power of 2900 or higher.

"Pfft...!"

The monkey, sensing the threat emanating from [Summoned Beast Kokutos], adopted a serious expression.

"Please! Come save me... I feel like I'm going to fall..."

Not far behind it, Junko, seeing the monkey leave her side, once again cried for help to Yusei and the others.

"Don't worry, Junko, Yusei is disciplining that monkey!"

"That's right! Just wait patiently, and once we've defeated this monkey, we'll come to rescue you!"

"If only it could be like this..."

Looking at Junko, who was standing on a tree trunk by the cliff with a worried expression, Yuki Judai and Marufuji Sho each offered words of comfort. Meanwhile, Momoe, Junko's best friend, tilted her head and said something profound.

"My turn, draw a card!"

The monkey, having drawn a card from its deck, turned its attention to its hand.

From his perspective, he could see through the red lenses the attributes of the cards in his hand, as well as the current life points of both sides, represented by banana icons.

"Defense...2900?" With a flash of the red lens on the monkey's head, the monkey, having finished his thought, decisively slammed a monster from his hand onto the Duel Disk: "Attack Position Summon [Angry Ape] (Beast/Earth/Level 4/ATK 2000/DEF 1000)!"

As the monkey's voice faded, a two- or three-meter-tall ape with eyes that seemed to burn with flames appeared in everyone's sight, accompanied by a white light.

The ape thumped its muscular chest as it roared angrily at [Summoned Beast Kokutos].

"Ah... this is a close-kind deck..."

Looking at the [Angry Ape] that appeared before him, Yusei couldn't help but make a comment.

217 Familiar Expansion

"What?! A 4-star monster... with an attack power of 2000 points? Are you kidding me...?"

After seeing the 4-star monster [Dead Knight] summoned by Manjoume with an attack power of 1900, Marufuji Sho once again let out a loud shout of surprise.

"Monsters with low star rating and high attack power like this either have restrictions on their appearance or have certain negative effects..." Asuka took out her device from her pocket and began to check the card effects of [Angry Ape].

"Beast race... 4-star... Earth attribute... Attack power 2000..."

"Ah! Found it!"

Asuka, having found the card information, showed the device in her hand to the people around her.

"【Angry Ape】will be destroyed when in face-up Defense Position, and must attack when in attack position... What the heck... Isn't this just a self-destructing monster?"

Marufuji Sho was taken aback by the 2000-point attack power of the [Angry Ape]. After learning about its various limitations, he couldn't help but sigh in disappointment.

"Attack power 2000... But if it's only this level, it won't be able to break through the defense of [Summoned Beast Kokutos]!"

While watching the game, Jaden Yuki immediately set a goal for Yusei.

The Defense of [Summoned Beast Kokutos] is 2900, while the Attack of [Angry Ape] is 2000. The monkey that summoned this monster must make it attack.

In the current situation, the monkey that launches the attack will only suffer 900 points of counter-damage!

However, a monkey equipped with an AI system would not do such a foolish thing without a reason. It must have its own considerations for doing so.

"Is it coming? That self-destruct magic card!"

He thought of a possible wandering star and murmured to himself.

When talking about cards that allow Beast-type monsters to unleash their power instantly, one cannot ignore the magic card that sacrifices itself and overdraws its potential to achieve an instant burst of power—[Wild Release]!

"At this moment, I will activate the spell card [Wild Release] in my hand!"

Yusei's vague premonition became reality before his eyes. The monkey that summoned the Beast-Type monster immediately activated the magic card in his hand against the "Angry Ape" on the field. It was the same "Wild Release" that Hayato had used against "Lord of OZ" when he was dueling with his father!

"You can activate this effect by targeting 1 Beast-Beast-Warrior monster on the field. The targeted Beast-Beast-Warrior monster gains ATK equal to that monster's DEF. Monsters affected by this effect are destroyed during the End Phase."

"The monster I've chosen... is naturally the [Angry Ape]!"

Just as the card art for "Summoning Magic" features "Summoned Beast Kokutos" emerging from a blue magic circle, the card art for "Wild Release" depicts "Angry Ape" standing on rocks and roaring fiercely.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Yusei and the monkey both summoned monsters from the Magical Kakashi chart during their duel...

As the magic card was activated, the monkey, empowered by great force, began to emanate a red fighting aura resembling burning flames from its body.

His muscles bulged, and the Angry Ape, originally two or three meters tall, suddenly grew to four or five meters, reaching a size that could rival the height of lower-rise buildings...

(Attack power of the Angry Ape: 2000 → 3000)

"Pfft! Battle has begun! [Angry Ape] attacks [Summoned Beast - Kokutos]!"

The monkey, its limbs flailing and head shaking, gave the summoned beasts on the star field an order to attack.

3000 points of attack power is enough to break through Kokutos's 2900 points of defense!