Want to play cards? I'll use my King's Deck!

Perhaps it's because this is his first 3D video duel. He seemed to have had similar feelings when he first encountered dueling.

Then, when the deck you trust truly responds at the most crucial moment, that excitement is etched in your heart and you'll never forget it.

And this feeling has been awakened at this very moment.

"—They're here."

With a gentle rub of his index finger and thumb, cards of different colors appeared before Youxi's eyes.

The moment I saw those cards, it felt like a bolt of lightning flashed through my mind.

The lines between the cards were connected into a single unit, and the door to victory had been opened to him.

It works.

This approach will work.

"It's about to start, Miss Hoshino!"

Youxi looked up and called out to the girl.

"sure."

Xingyewu responded with a smile, "I'm ready anytime, bring it on, Yuxi-kun."

"I activate the Spell Card 'Monster Resurrection', Special Summon 1 monster from both players' Graveyards. Revive 'The Witch of the Dark Forest'."

A verdant cross rose from the center of Yuxi's position. The three-eyed witch crossed her arms in front of her chest, her eyes closed as if she were praying to the gods.

"Next up is a quick-attack spell: 'Dimensional Magic'!"

Following "Monster Resurrection", Yuki immediately took out another card from his hand and put it into the Duel Disk.

"If you control a Spellcaster monster, you can target 1 monster you control; Tribute that monster, and Special Summon 1 Spellcaster monster from your hand. I Tribute 'The Witch of the Dark Forest,' come forth—"

"The Dark Magician!!"

"Dark Magician, Level 7/Dark/Mage" "ATK: 2500/DEF: 2100"

The figure of "The Witch of the Black Forest" disappeared from the field, transformed by the power of the magic card into a deep stream of magic. Using her soul and flesh as a medium, it unfolded a mysterious, pitch-black magic circle on the earth.

At the center of the magic circle, a purple-robed mage, arms crossed and clutching an emerald magic staff, slowly rose to the surface. His expression was icy, and the surging magic around him commanded respect.

"The 'Black Magician'?"

Seemingly sensing something from this seemingly ordinary monster, Xing Yewu's expression became much more serious: "Is this your trump card, You Xijun?"

"Yes, that's the ace of this deck."

This is also the key to breaking through this adversity.

"The effect of 'Dimensional Spell' has a follow-up: after successfully Special Summoning a monster, you can target and destroy 1 monster on the field. This effect does not target; destroy 'Harpie's Pet Phantom Dragon'!"

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Xingye Wu looked at her Xyz Monster and saw that at the same moment Yu Xi's voice fell, a huge coffin locked "Pet Phantom Dragon" inside.

The explosion, accompanied by a deafening roar, shot into the sky and blasted the "Harpie's Pet Dragon" into pieces.

"Because the 'Pet Dragon' was destroyed, my monster can now attack the 'Harpie'."

"That's amazing... I never thought you could actually bring him back to life, Yu Xijun."

Xingye Wu was slightly surprised that "Pet Phantom Dragon" couldn't even last a single round, but then she smiled and said, "It seems that this duel is indeed not yet over."

"No, it's over, Miss Hoshino."

However, Youxi gave the opposite opinion to Xingyewu's words.

Another card popped out of the deck, which he held between two fingers and showed to the girl.

"Next, activate the effect of 'The Witch of the Dark Forest' to add 'Cursed Dragon' (with 1500 DEF) from your Deck to your hand. Then, activate the Spell Card 'Fusion'! Send monsters from your hand or field as materials to the Graveyard to perform a Fusion Summon."

"What?! It's actually 'fusion'?!"

Xingye Wu opened her eyes wide and looked at the materialized card in front of Youxi.

She was not stunned into silence because she saw "fusion," but because Yuki used the fact that "fusion" had been used.

Clearly, I didn't feel anything from You Xijun...

"I will fuse two monsters from my hand, 'Cursed Dragon' and 'Dark Knight Gaia,' to summon them!"

"Gaia, the Dragon Knight!!"

"Dragon Knight Gaia, Level 7/Wind/Dragon/Fusion" "ATK: 2600/DEF: 2100"

A spiral fusion effect, distinct from that of Xyz Summon, explodes and bursts forth in Yuuki's front field.

The two monsters whose names he called first materialized from the card, and then, under the power and witness of the "Fusion" spell card, they merged into one. What reappeared before everyone was the Dual-Gun Knight, who had abandoned his original mount and was now sitting on the "Cursed Dragon".

And so, the last piece of the puzzle is complete.

"Entering the combat stage."

Without pausing, a clear and uplifting declaration burst from You Xi's mouth, pulling Xing Yewu's momentarily distracted attention back.

"Oh dear, it seems like things have gone too far this time..."

But it was too late for her to change anything.

"I'm attacking Harpy 1 with Gaia Dragon Knight!"

Responding to Yuxi's will and command, the "Cursed Dragon" flapped its wings and swiftly attacked the only prey in the enemy ranks.

"Harpie 1" attempted to take flight to dodge, but before she could, the knight riding on the dragon's back thrust out his lance, piercing through the banshee's body and causing her to explode into pieces with a scream.

— "Harpie Girl 1" destruction.

【Star Leaf Dance LP: 3500→2500】

Towards the end of the previous round, Xingyewu summoned "Harpie's Pet Dragon" and "Harpie 1". Now, "Pet Dragon" has been dealt with by "Dimensional Magic", and "Harpie 1" has also perished at the hands of "Dragon Knight Gaia". In other words, Xingyewu's field is now empty.

At this point, only one last thing remained for Youxi to do—

"Go, Dark Magician! Attack Miss Hoshino directly!"

The cold-faced magician brandished his jade magic wand, aiming it at the unobstructed path ahead.

Dark magical lightning erupted from the staff's head, engulfing the blonde girl like a torrent.

"—Dark Magician!!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"

【Star Leaf Dance LP: 2500→0】

The attack power and the base score cancel each other out perfectly.

As the afternoon sun shone down, and under the watchful eyes of many, Youxi's first match came to a successful close.

The card holder in his jacket pocket emitted a faint, flickering light.

Chapter 8 Loot Inspection

"Here you go, Yu Xijun, this is the Atum X3000 Duel Disk. It includes the instruction manual and all the necessary accessories, plus a three-year warranty and a one-year replacement guarantee. As long as there is no intentional damage caused by human error, you can report any malfunction to the Haima Company branch at any time."

"Ah, thanks."

Beneath the statue of the "Glorious Goddess of Reversal," on a high platform where a fierce battle had just taken place, Xingye Wu held a beautifully packaged square box in both hands and handed it to the black-haired boy who had just defeated her.

You Xi politely accepted it, her gaze falling on the cover of the box.

The image on it depicts the Duel Disk that Yu Xi had just used once. Unlike the sample used for demonstration and for challengers to experience, this is a brand new, unopened product.

"Don't mention it, this is a prize you deserve." Xingye Wu's smile was sunny and generous, showing no sign of dissatisfaction or resentment at being defeated by Youxi. Her words were full of praise and compliments for Youxi. "Youxi-kun's performance was outstanding. Perhaps you could say he was the best of all the challengers today."

"No, it's all thanks to Miss Xingye for showing mercy, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to do it," You Xi said somewhat embarrassedly.

He was well aware that he had gained some advantage in this duel.

If it weren't for the restrictions of the event, and if Xingyewu had chosen to go all out from the beginning, he might not have been able to hold out until the "Sealed Golden Chest" was unsealed. His victory was quite lucky.

"But you also need the ability to seize the opportunity."

However, Xingye Wu showed a slight disapproval of You Xi's words.

"I don't think I revealed any weaknesses that you could exploit, but you still delivered an excellent performance. In that case, you don't need to feel ashamed."

"Is that right?"

"That's it."

Xing Yewu affirmed again, then, as if remembering something, she laughed and said, "On another note, I really didn't expect to be turned around like that by You Xijun."

"Well, in this respect, I was really lucky. I didn't expect it to go so smoothly."

"Doesn't that mean you have a strong bond with the deck, and the deck is very interesting?"

This goes beyond just being interesting.

While every duelist in the world has a unique deck construction, each with its own intricacies and secrets, Yuuki's deck is undoubtedly one of the strangest among all the opponents Hoshino has encountered so far.

Poker Knight, Dark Magician, and Gaia Dragon Knight... In just two rounds of battles, Yuki's deck featured several monsters with completely different systems and no apparent synergy.

Even more incredible is that... after investing so many ordinary bones and systems that were mutually hindering each other, Yu Xi was still able to make them run smoothly and unleash their full power.

And no matter how you look at it, You Xi really is just an ordinary person. This makes the whole thing even stranger.

It has to be said that the boy she met by chance was even more interesting than she had imagined.

If possible, Xingye Wu would like to chat with Youxi a little longer.

But time and circumstances no longer allowed her to delay any longer.

"Well then, see you later, Yuki-kun. I hope we can have another duel like this next time."