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The child who had fainted earlier finally came to his senses. He quickly rushed to the front and shouted at Lu You:
"Big Brother Shopkeeper!!! If I win the championship, can I skip the Blue-Eyes White Dragon and get a Dark Magician Girl instead!?"
The boy's words immediately drew laughter from the crowd.
"Damn, this kid's got taste!"
"What's with kids these days? Isn't the Blue-Eyes White Dragon good enough?"
"Still thinking about the Dark Magician Girl… huh!?"
"At this point, it's become art…"
Listening to the little boy's question, Lu You shook his head.
"The champion gets 80 million Mora. You can draw it yourself then!"
Zhongli coughed softly.
"Ahem… in terms of universality, this child is… a little perverted."
Hu Tao suddenly flashed forward, crouched in front of the child, and made a threatening gesture.
"ROAR!"
Let the master of the Hall see if you're possessed by a perverted ghost!!"
"Begone, evil spirits!!~"
Demons and monsters, depart!!~~"
While everyone was still laughing, Lu You had already stepped down from the dueling platform.
Zhongli turned to him and asked:
"May I ask, Shopkeeper, what are the entry requirements for the dueling tournament?"
That question represented everyone's curiosity. Since the competition offered such a massive prize, there had to be some threshold, right?
Moreover, most people were still half-confused about what "dueling" even was…
But that was fine. Everyone was starting from the same point.
What would matter now was talent and strength.
Facing Zhongli's question, Lu You replied with a smile:
"Mr. Zhongli, I'll explain it in a moment. This one's a bit complicated…"
Then, Lu You walked over to the box he had placed down earlier. With a soft ripping sound, he broke the seal on the box. This was the box of goods generated by the system every day.
It could produce around 1,000 packs per day, each priced at 20,000 Mora. If all of them were sold, Lu You would earn a turnover of 20 million Mora.
The system would then reward him during the daily settlement, based on his total turnover.
But today was the shop's first day of business.
Lu You didn't yet know what kind of rewards the system would grant. Everything would have to wait until that evening.
Lu You picked up one random booster pack from the box and handed it to Hu Tao.
The image on the pack featured Yugi Muto and the Dark Magician.
"Master Hu, please open the first pack of Yu-Gi-Oh cards."
Hu Tao looked at the pack handed to her, her heart pounding with excitement. The moment her fingertips brushed the foil, she could feel her pulse racing.
The texture of the pack was surprisingly firm Hu Tao's palms were already slick with sweat. She turned the pack over several times, unsure how to open it.
Lu You noticed her hesitation and pointed to the jagged tear line on the top.
Hu Tao nodded in understanding.
Tsskkk—
The booster pack was torn open.
Five cards burst out, glowing with an orange vortex, and floated in midair — forming a perfect pentagon.
No one knew what these five cards were.
The bystanders, watching Hu Tao open the first pack in front of everyone, were filled with envy and jealousy.
Even Zhongli looked up at the floating cards, his amber eyes glimmering with curiosity. He was eager to see what kind of luck Hu Tao possessed.
Hu Tao blinked, overwhelmed by the sight.
"Uhh— This… Shopkeeper, what should I do next?!"
Lu You smiled, stepping forward. He gently took Hu Tao's right hand, guiding her index finger toward one of the floating cards.
Her hand was cool to the touch the rings on her fingers glinting faintly in the light.
Dark crystal, silver, skull-shaped… each one said something about her personality:
the crystal for cleansing, the skull for her work with the undead, and the silver for her free spirit.
For a brief moment, Hu Tao's heart skipped not entirely from surprise. Then, from nowhere, a spirited voice rang out:
"Normal!"
A card appeared in front of everyone earthy yellow in color, depicting a skeleton in a blue robe.
[Skull Servant]
[Star: 1]
[Zombie | DARK]
[ATK: 300 | DEF: 200]
[Description: A skeletal ghost that isn't strong, but can mean trouble in large numbers.]
"Huh!?"
"Why does this card only have 300 Attack?"
"Still, that little skeleton's kinda cute…"
"You could use it as a mascot for the Hall of the Dead!"
After witnessing the Blue-Eyes White Dragon with 3000 ATK, everyone instantly understood this was a trash card.
Only 300 ATK… 200 DEF… everything was weak.
But Lu You didn't think so.
Yes, Skull Servant was weak on its own
But there existed another card: [King of the Skull Servants], whose attack increased by 1000 for every Skull Servant and King of the Skull Servants in the graveyard.
The "graveyard," of course, was where monster cards went after being defeated.
So while Skull Servant looked like garbage now… it had the potential to surpass even the Blue-Eyes White Dragon one day.
Forget "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, I become a god" nonsense.
Even a pile of bones could rise above it.
As Hu Tao reached toward another card, Lu You's eyes widened.
"Whoa! A Legend!!"
Lu You was the first to see the card face.
What the-never seen this card before!?"
"Er.... What the heck!?"
"Wangsheng Funeral Parlor-what kind of card is this!?"