After summoning [Slower Swallow], Yuui said directly, "Then I activate the other effect of Slower Swallow. By tributing this card, I can activate it—during my next Draw Phase, I get to draw 2 cards instead of 1."
As he finished speaking, Slower Swallow turned into a trail of light particles and flew back into Yuui's Deck.
At the same time, the spirit of Slower Swallow landed on Yuui's shoulder. After Yuui gave it a small nod, he revealed a Spell Card.
"Next, I activate the Spell Card Downbeat!"
Seeing this card, those who knew its effect all froze for a moment.
"Tribute 1 face-up monster you control; Special Summon from your Deck 1 monster with the same original Type and Attribute, but 1 Level lower than the Tributed monster."
Yuui drew out his Deck from his Duel Disk, found the card he needed, and said, "I tribute the Level 3 EARTH Warrior Marauding Captain to Special Summon from my Deck a Level 2 monster with the same Type and Attribute—Hero Kid!"
The dual-sword-wielding captain dissolved into particles of light, and then a masked young hero wearing a red and white battle suit appeared on the field.
[Hero Kid, DEF 600]
"Hero Kid? So it's a HERO Deck, huh?"
Kexi raised an eyebrow, but Yuui then drew two more cards from his Deck and said, "Then, Hero Kid's effect—when this card is Special Summoned, I can Special Summon any number of Hero Kids from my Deck. I choose to Special Summon two more from my Deck!"
As the cards hit the Duel Disk, two more young heroes appeared side by side.
[Hero Kid, DEF 600] x3
"Hahaha! Three copies of a loser like Hero Kid? That Nameless One's Deck must be full of trash cards!"
"Yeah, who would ever run three of that card?!"
"Still, using Downbeat to summon a Hero Kid… that's a first!"
"No one ever uses Downbeat anyway. Sacrificing a higher-Level monster just to summon a lower-Level one—it's pointless!"
As Yuui finished his series of moves, laughter and murmurs spread among the onlookers around the Duel Plaza, which made Alicia beside him furious.
"Hmph! They have no idea how strong you really are, Yuui-san!"
"It's fine. They'll see soon enough," Yuui said calmly in his mind.
On the other side, Kexi frowned at the three Hero Kid on Yuui's field.
"Three copies of such weak monsters? Don't tell me your Deck doesn't have any rare cards!"
"They're not weak. Hero Kids are young heroes who yearn to become true heroes. Inside them burns the hope to carve out the future!" Saying this, Yuui drew two more cards and inserted them into his Duel Disk. "I Set two cards and end my turn! Also, now, Card Trooper's Attack returns to normal!"
[Card Trooper, DEF 400, ATK 1900 → ATK 400]
"Four Defense Position monsters in your first turn, two Set cards in the back row, and three cards in your Graveyard." Kexi examined Yuui's field. "Even if they're all weaklings, you don't look like an ordinary freshman.
"Regardless, no matter what tricks or schemes you've prepared, they'll all be crushed beneath the might of my 'Dinosaur' Deck!"
He placed a hand on his card and shouted, "My turn! Draw!"
A surge of magic power burst from Kexi. From Yuui's perspective, this boy—just one year older than Alicia—had a magical presence no weaker than hers.
"So this is a student of Saint Fusion Academy... as expected, none of them are ordinary."
Kexi glanced at his drawn card and smirked.
"I activate the Spell Card Fusion Deployment! I reveal 1 Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck, then Special Summon from my hand or Deck 1 of its listed Fusion Materials. I reveal Horned Saurus from my Extra Deck, and Special Summon from my Deck one of its Fusion Materials—Kaitoptera!"
"Gyaaaah!!"
A sharp screech echoed from above as a gray-brown ferocious pterosaur descended from the sky, landing on Kexi's field.
[Kaitoptera, ATK 1400]
"Fusion Deployment, huh... that's an expensive card." Yuui didn't pay much mind to Kexi's Kaitoptera—though it was a Duel Monster Spirit, what caught Yuui's attention was the Fusion Deployment Spell now resting in Kexi's Graveyard. That card's effect was very powerful.
Just yesterday, he and Alicia had seen it in the Academy's Card Shop, but the 300-credit price tag scared them off, forcing them to choose cheaper cards instead.
As for Kaitoptera—its effect wasn't bad, but Yuui didn't seem concerned.
"I activate Kaitoptera's effect! During my Main Phase, I can add 1 'Polymerization' from my Deck to my hand."
As Kexi spoke, he drew his Deck and added the Spell Polymerization to his hand.
"Then I Normal Summon Miracle Jurassic Egg in Defense Position!"
A massive gray-white boulder appeared on Kexi's field, shaped roughly like an egg.
[Miracle Jurassic Egg, DEF 2000]
"Miracle Jurassic Egg's effect—each time a Dinosaur monster is sent to my Graveyard, place 2 counters on this card. Then, by tributing this card, I can Special Summon 1 Dinosaur monster from my Deck whose Level is equal to or lower than the number of counters on this card." Kexi looked up at Yuui. "So, how many stars do you think I can summon?"
Yuui simply stared coldly back, ignoring him completely.
Kexi's lips curled in irritation. He pulled out the Polymerization he'd just added to his hand. "Fine then! I activate the Spell Card Polymerization!
"I fuse monsters from my hand or field to Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster! I fuse the Kaitoptera on my field with Black Brachios in my hand!"
A massive fusion vortex formed in the sky, drawing the attention of every examinee in the Duel Plaza.
Many whispered to themselves—this was a Fusion Summon, the summoning method that defined the Bredt Kingdom itself.
The gray-brown Kaitoptera and the dark-purple Black Brachios were pulled into the vortex, and a storm of darkness burst forth.
"Fusion materials: Kaitoptera plus a Dinosaur or Dragon monster!" Kexi shouted. "Emerge from hell and bring endless nightmares to my enemies! Fusion Summon—roar forth, Horned Saurus!!"
"ROAR!!"
A piercing cry erupted from the black storm, wings tearing the darkness apart.
A pitch-black winged dinosaur, its wingspan stretching over seven meters, appeared high in the sky.
[Horned Saurus, ATK 2000]
"This monster... it looks familiar." Yuui's brow furrowed slightly, staring up at the great winged dinosaur. Somehow, he felt like he'd seen it before… though he couldn't recall where.
Kexi continued, "I activate Horned Saurus's effect! When this card is Fusion Summoned, I can place 1 Field Spell from my Deck or Graveyard face-up in my Field Zone! I choose to place the Field Spell Jurassic World from my Deck! Return now, paradise of the ancient era—descend!"
Drawing another card from his Deck, Kexi slapped it onto his Duel Disk's Field Zone. A surge of power exploded from his bronze Duel Disk as the light around them shifted—the once-barren ground transformed, covered in ancient flora.
"What is this?!"
"Whoa… so a Duel can even do something like that?!"
"It's a Field Spell… a magic that changes the environment itself! Different Field Spells have different effects. Looks like this one's for Dinosaur monsters!"
The crowd marveled at the change, while Yuui remained unmoved.
After all, this Field Spell's effect was nothing impressive.
"Jurassic World's effect: all face-up Dinosaur monsters on the field gain 300 Attack and Defense."
[Horned Saurus, ATK: 2000 → 2300, DEF: 1800 → 2100]
[Miracle Jurassic Egg, DEF: 2000 → 2300, ATK: 0 → 300]
"Then, Miracle Jurassic Egg's effect! Each time a Dinosaur monster is sent to my Graveyard, it gains 2 counters. I sent two Dinosaurs to the Graveyard just now, so I place 4 counters on Miracle Jurassic Egg!"
[Miracle Jurassic Egg, DEF 2300, Counters: 0 → 4]
"Now, I tribute the Miracle Jurassic Egg with four counters!" Kexi shouted. "From my Deck, I Special Summon the Level 3 Black Ptera!"
Crack… crack!
The gray-white egg shattered apart, and a fierce, dark-purple pterosaur burst forth.
[Black Ptera, ATK 1000]
"It's not over yet!" Kexi revealed another card. "Next, I activate Horned Saurus's other effect. Once per turn, during my Main Phase, I can conduct a Normal Summon of a Dinosaur or Dragon monster.
"I choose to Tribute the Black Ptera on my field to Tribute Summon the flesh-eating monstrous bird dragon—Dark Driceratops!!"
Boom!!
The ground suddenly smashed apart. A beak full of jagged fangs shot up from beneath the earth, devouring the freshly summoned Black Ptera.
Watching this scene, many turned pale with fright, and several girl examinees even screamed. After the beak swallowed the Black Ptera, a massive shadow rose from underground.
[Dark Driceratops, ATK: 2400 → 2700]
"2700 Attack Points… so strong! He actually summoned two high-level monsters with over 2000 Attack in a single turn. So this is the strength of a Saint Fusion Academy student!"
"That 'Nameless One' is definitely going to lose now!"
"Heh, someone who only uses trash monsters doesn't deserve to study with us!"
Hearing those sneers and jeers from the examinees, Kexi's brows creased. Then he turned toward them, his magical aura flaring once again as he shouted furiously, "You noisy brats are seriously getting on my nerves! If you're gonna watch a Duel, then shut up and watch! My Duel isn't something for you to comment on!"
The surge of magical power, far greater than any of the examinees present, instantly silenced many. Those who had mocked Yuui earlier quickly shut their mouths.
Alicia: "Yuui-san, that scary-looking guy... might actually be a good person!"
"Whether he's a good person or not, I'm not sure. Nonetheless, one thing's certain… he really loves Dueling. That's why he can't stand those people running their mouths."
Alicia: "Eh? Really!?"
"Yeah, maybe..."
"Don't lose focus, freshman!" Suddenly, Kexi turned his glare toward Yuui, who was chatting with Alicia. The fact that Yuui seemed distracted clearly annoyed him.
He continued, "The effect of the Black Ptera I just sent to the Graveyard—when this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard by a means other than being destroyed by battle, it returns to my hand."
After retrieving the card, Kexi glanced at Yuui's back row.
"Freshman, as your senior, I'll let you know what my monsters can do. Dark Driceratops can inflict piercing damage when it attacks a Defense Position monster.
"And Kaitoptera, when Special Summoned, can attack directly this turn. So even though you've got a wall full of weaklings, in front of my Dinosaurs, they're nothing but dirt waiting to be trampled!"
Hearing those effects, Yuui raised an eyebrow, while Kexi immediately declared, "Battle Phase! First up—Dark Driceratops, attack the Hero Kid in the center of Yuui's field!"
Roar!!
The monstrous dragon-bird let out a guttural roar, then charged forward on its thick, powerful limbs, aiming straight at the Hero Kid in the center.
"Trash like you doesn't even deserve to be called a wall before my Dinosaurs! Shatter them!!"
The creature roared again, its razor-sharp beak thrusting toward Hero Kid.
"I told you—they're not trash!"
Even as the attack came crashing down, Yuui's expression stayed calm. "I activate my face-down card—Trap Card, Three of a Kind! This card can only be activated if I control three or more monsters with the same name other than Tokens. I can target three cards on your field and destroy them." [Yuui, Hand: 1 | Set Cards: 2 → 1]
"What!?" Kexi seized up as the Trap Card flipped open. He had never expected that Yuui's Set card would be something like that.
Would anyone even bring a card with such harsh activation conditions!?
Off the field, Instructor White Evans adjusted his glasses and smiled. "Trap Card—Three of a Kind. It's difficult to meet its activation requirements; however, once it's successfully activated, it has the power to instantly turn the tide of a Duel.
"And with Hero Kid's effect—when one is Special Summoned, the other two can be Special Summoned from the Deck as well—that's how he fulfilled the conditions to activate Three of a Kind.
"Quite the clever chain of plays."
In the crowd, Autrys Bredt nodded lightly. "A fine combo."
"With three Hero Kids on my field, I meet the conditions for Three of a Kind's activation. I choose your two monsters and your Field Spell, Jurassic World—those three cards are destroyed!" Yuui raised his hand. "Go, you boys who dream of becoming heroes! Show these prehistoric beasts the power of your courage—Hero Burst!!"
As the Trap Card's effect activated, the three young heroes combined their power, releasing an unimaginable surge of energy between them.
Light flared—so bright that many had to squint their eyes.
Within the blinding darkness, everyone heard the death cries of two Dinosaurs… their final roars.
When the light faded, all eyes turned to Kexi's field. It was completely covered in white smoke… his monsters were gone, and even his Field Spell had vanished.
With just one card, Yuui had completely overturned the entire battle.
At that moment, every examinee and instructor present looked toward the girl before them… cute in appearance, yet with a cold, unyielding expression.
…This not-yet-enrolled girl had just shattered their understanding of what was possible.
...
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