"Awesome!"
"That guy's monsters are all low-Level and weak… how the hell can he keep blocking those powerful monsters' attacks!? And not just once, but again and again!"
"She's so beautiful, that girl!"
"It's fine, the upperclassman still has one monster that hasn't attacked yet. That Nameless One can't possibly beat him!"
"It's just dumb luck! How could a Nameless One ever beat the upperclassman!?"
As Yuui once again fended off Kexi's monsters' assault, those who had originally looked down on Alicia began to view her with newfound respect.
That was the truth of this world, where duels decide victory and defeat—if you have strength, you earn respect; if you're weak, you're scorned.
Many had assumed Alicia was frail and powerless simply because she was a Nameless One. However, now that she—no, Yuui—had displayed such power, their opinions shifted.
Still, there were others who reacted with even more hostility, their resentment of Alicia growing the stronger Yuui's performance became.
Regardless, their opinions meant nothing to the battle unfolding before them.
"Goddammit!"
Kexi glared at his Overtex Qoatlus, grinding his teeth. He hadn't expected Yuui to have yet another Trap that could block his attack.
And that Elemental HERO Stratos card Yuui drew… he'd never even heard of it before.
Not that it mattered. Right now, his only thought was crushing Yuui completely.
"I don't believe you have any defenses left!" Kexi yelled, sweeping his arm. "Battle continues! I attack your last Hero Kid with Black Veloci! And since you only have one Hero Kid remaining, your Continuous Trap Aqua Chorus no longer applies—your Hero Kid's Attack and Defense return to normal!"
[Hero Kid, ATK: 800 → 300 | DEF: 1100 → 600]
"Ha!!"
The savage raptor lunged at the final Hero Kid. "Now, Black Veloci's effect activates! When this card attacks an opponent's monster, during the Damage Step, it gains 400 Attack!"
[Black Veloci, ATK: 1800 → 2200]
"Disappear, you trash!!"
Its sharp fangs tore into Hero Kid, shattering him amid a cry of pain. A powerful shockwave rippled through Alicia's body, sending her skidding back more than a meter before she managed to steady herself.
[Yuui, LP: 4000 → 2100]
Alicia: "Yuui-san, are you okay!?"
"I'm fine, but…"
Yuui looked down at his clothes—brand-new for the exam, now covered in dust and dirt. His gaze hardened.
"Sorry, Alicia. I got your new outfit dirty."
"It's okay, Yuui-san! I'm used to it!" Alicia smiled brightly, as if neither the pain nor the ruined clothes mattered at all.
Yuui met her smile with an increasingly cold stare.
"I'll end this quickly," he said, brushing off the dust from his clothes. His voice grew icy. "And I'll make him pay for it."
"I activate my Set card—Trap Card, Hero Signal! When a monster I control is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Elemental HERO monster from my hand or Deck!
"I Special Summon Elemental HERO Burstinatrix!"
Whoosh!!
Flames erupted from the ground as one of the original five Elemental HEROES appeared—the crimson Flame Hero herself, Elemental HERO Burstinatrix!
Alicia glanced down at her own modest chest and couldn't help feeling a little envious…
[Elemental HERO Burstinatrix, DEF: 800]
"Hmph, as expected from a HERO Deck—still just trash!" Kexi sneered at the arrival of Burstinatrix. "I Set one card and end my turn! At this moment, Black Veloci's Attack returns to normal."
[Black Veloci, ATK: 2200 → 1800]
"My turn!" Yuui placed his hand on his Deck, and at that instant, a surge of magical power erupted from Alicia's petite frame. The spectators gasped.
Outside the field, Instructor White's eyes widened. "This level of magic… she's already at the stage of Grand Magic! So she really was holding back during the Summoning Test!"
Meanwhile, on the field, Kexi's arrogance vanished at once as he felt the power radiating from Alicia—power greater than his own. A duelist who could wield such energy was no weakling.
And when a duelist's magic power surged like this, it could mean only one thing… they were going all in to end the duel.
"Draw!!"
With a sweep of his arm, Yuui drew, a burst of wind following in his wake. He glanced at the card and his eyes gleamed with cold determination.
Alicia: "Yuui-san, that card is…"
"Ah, looks like that new card we bought was the right choice after all."
He flicked his wrist. "I Normal Summon Elemental HERO Stratos!"
A breeze swept across the field, followed by the roar of turbines. The spectators looked up as a hero clad in sleek blue-and-white armor with twin jet wings on his back soared onto the field.
Alicia: "So cool… Stratos!!"
Stratos: "Thank you for your kind words, Miss Alicia!"
[Elemental HERO Stratos, ATK: 1800]
"Elemental HERO Stratos… never seen that one before. Pretty stylish," Kexi muttered with an involuntary nod.
In the crowd, other HERO users stared in awe… they'd never even heard of such a card.
Then Yuui's next words made their hearts race.
"Stratos's effect activates! When this card is Summoned, I can add one HERO monster from my Deck to my hand. I add Elemental HERO Avian!"
After adding the card to his hand, Yuui continued, "I switch Burstinatrix to Attack Position, and once again, I activate Card Trooper's effect—sending three cards from the top of my Deck to the Graveyard to boost its Attack by 1500!"
Burstinatrix shifted into Attack Position, and Yuui sent three cards from his Deck to the Graveyard.
[Elemental HERO Burstinatrix, DEF: 800 → ATK: 1200]
[Card Trooper, ATK: 400 → 1900]
"All his monsters are in Attack Position… that means that Nameless One plans to go for another all-out attack!"
"No way! The upperclassman still has a monster with 3700 Attack! Those weaklings don't stand a chance!"
"Look—she's actually attacking!"
Gasps erupted across the crowd as Yuui gave his order.
"Battle Phase! Stratos, attack Black Veloci—Turbine Storm!!"
At Yuui's command, Stratos soared skyward, twin green cyclones spinning from his jet wings as they tore toward Black Veloci.
Kexi gritted his teeth. "So… you do know Black Veloci's effect!"
The raptor faltered before Stratos's assault, its ferocity fading as the twin winds engulfed it and tore it apart.
[Kexi, LP: 4000 → 3600]
Outside the field, many spectators were confused by what they had just witnessed…
Obviously, both Black Veloci and Elemental HERO Stratos had the same Attack Points, so why was Black Veloci destroyed while Stratos stayed unharmed?
At that moment, a knowledgeable examinee spoke up. "Black Veloci has two effects. Besides gaining 400 Attack when it attacks, its Attack decreases by 400 when it's attacked! I bet that Nameless One must've known about this, which is why they dared to attack with a monster of equal strength!"
Hearing this explanation, the crowd finally understood.
Then someone else asked, "Though wait, why didn't that senior just attack Card Trooper directly? Its effect can raise its Attack to 1900—it's a real threat!"
"Well... probably because that senior didn't want Nameless One to draw more cards! After all, when Card Trooper is destroyed, it lets you draw one card!"
"What!? That monster has that effect too!?"
Instructor White Evans watched the scene and nodded slightly, "A Duel between Duelists isn't just about the strength of their cards—it's also a battle of information. If a Duelist knows every card their opponent might use, then no matter how powerful the opponent's cards are, a well-prepared Duelist still has a chance to win!"
As if to prove White Evans' point, Yuui played a card and declared, "Now, I activate the Quick-Play Spell, 'Order to Charge'! I target one Normal Monster I control, except Tokens—it's Tributed, and then I destroy one monster on your field.
"I Tribute my Elemental HERO Burstinatrix to destroy your Overtex Qoatlus!"
"The hell, that card!?" Hearing this, Kexi's expression immediately darkened.
Quick-Play Spell Order to Charge was a very common card—most first-year students carried it. First, because it was cheap; second, because it fit the decks of beginners who mainly used Normal Monsters. For a relatively poor Duelist like Alicia, whose Deck mostly consisted of Normal Monsters, this card was a perfect fit.
Nonetheless, for Kexi, its appearance now was a nightmare.
Although Overtex Qoatlus could negate a Spell or Trap activation once per turn, the condition for that effect was Tributing one Dinosaur monster. Since Qoatlus was the only monster he had left on the field, he couldn't activate its effect to stop the attack.
Yuui then swung his arm and shouted, "Burstinatrix! Show that oversized bald bird your power—Flame Storm!!"
Alicia cheered, "Go for it, Burstinatrix-oneechan!!"
Burstinatrix glanced toward Yuui and Alicia and gave a small nod. Then, empowered by the magic of Order to Charge, she unleashed her full potential.
Crimson flames erupted from every part of her body, forming a blazing suit of armor. With a forceful stomp, she transformed into a swirling vortex of fire and charged straight toward Qoatlus.
Seeing this, Qoatlus opened its mouth and unleashed a searing beam, yet under the effect of Order to Charge, even though Burstinatrix's base Attack was far lower, the dragon couldn't resist.
The beam and the flame vortex collided, and then Burstinatrix, engulfed in fire, pushed her power to the extreme. The vortex burst into a fire dragon that tore through Qoatlus's attack and lunged forward, biting into it.
Boom!!
A thunderous explosion echoed through the arena. The searing flames forced many spectators to take several steps back from the heat.
When the light of the explosion finally faded, Kexi's field was empty. His expression was grim as he said, "Overtex Qoatlus's final effect activates! When this card is sent to the Graveyard by an effect, I can add one 'Evolution Pill' Spell from my Deck to my hand. I choose to add Big Evolution Pill!"
After recalling the effect of the Big Evolution Pill in his mind and confirming it posed no immediate threat, Yuui waved his hand again. "Card Trooper, it's your turn! Direct attack—Card Cannon!!"
Card Trooper's mechanical eyes gleamed, twin lights focusing on Kexi like spotlights. Its arms shifted into cannons, firing two steel shells straight ahead.
KA-Boom!!
The shells exploded in front of Kexi, and the shockwave sent him staggering backward several steps before he managed to stop.
[Kexi, LP: 3600 → LP: 1700]
...
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