Total Attack of the Elemental Hero!
The fusion heroes of Wind, Flame, and Earth unleashed a fierce attack, dealing a whopping nine thousand points of damage, instantly evaporating the full health of Uncle Keita, who was acting as a punching bag!
The duel ended, the holographic images disappeared, and the uncle sat on the ground with a dejected look, his limbs weak and exhausted, as if he had been drained after a great battle...
Damn, didn't they say it wouldn't hurt if they went easy?
This wasn't what we agreed on!
With this, Uncle Keita's mission was completely accomplished—Youyu brought him here mainly to act as a background to help show off. Now that the show-off act was complete, there was nothing left for him to do.
Youyu put away his Duel Disc, went over to pull up the fallen Uncle Keita, exchanged a few business-like compliments by habit, and then took his leave.
This is also a custom among duelists. In short, after the fight, the loser must praise the winner a bit, and the winner shouldn't get too smug, responding with something like, "No, no, you're also awesome."
It's similar to how ancient martial artists would clasp their fists and compliment each other after a fight.
After the task was completed, the NPC left, and Youyu stayed behind pretending to enjoy the scenery.
Another female player was entranced—Wow, this NPC brother is amazing; even just standing there with hands on hips looking at the scenery is beyond dashing!
The opportunity is right in front, if not now, then when?
It seemed that way, but a group of players gathered in a circle, pushing and shoving, yet no one took the lead.
Pretending to pose and zone out, Youyu began to wonder if the quality of this batch of players wasn't up to par.
Seeing an NPC as swaggy as me, shouldn't they rush over to flatter me? What's with all the dawdling?
In the end, it was a girl who stepped up.
She was a petite girl, slender both horizontally and vertically—though unfortunately lacking where it mattered.
No exaggeration, with her flat chest, a fly could slip and a mosquito could split its legs landing there.
However, she was quite pretty, with a face resembling a junior high school girl, giving off a cute vibe.
Youyu glanced at her ID out of the corner of his eye... Xi Yan?
Sounds quite artistic.
It is said that "Xi Yan" is a small white flower blooming in corners, and "Xi" implies tolerance and a broad heart.
Whether tolerant or not, her heart certainly seemed broad…
"...Um," Xi Yan's soft voice snapped Youyu out of his reverie, "Are you a Duelist?"
Clearly a pointless question.
Not to mention the Duel Disc still strapped to Youyu's arm, he had just finished a duel in front of them.
However, he knew Xi Yan was just trying to trigger a task, so he didn't mind and just continued, "The weather these days is really something... Just one duel and it's already this hot..."
He shook his collar as he spoke.
Xi Yan tilted her head, starting to zone out too.
Wow, the character design in this game is amazing; whoever the art director is, they managed to create such a cool NPC... even shaking a collar looks so good!
...Ah, wait, this is not the time to be infatuated!
Snapping back to her senses, Xi Yan finally noticed the new task that popped up in her quest list.
"New Task: Give NPC Youyu a shaved ice, maybe there will be a surprise!"
Xi Yan's eyes lit up; a task!
She quickly scanned the surroundings and soon noticed a convenience store a few steps away, rushing over quickly.
Youyu sighed in relief.
She finally went.
After sending her the task, the girl had been staring at Youyu without reacting, making him momentarily think she wanted to jump him.
Seems like it's still necessary to be cautious and well-protected outside.
Being too handsome can indeed bring some unique troubles.
Some beginner tasks offer currency rewards, not much but enough for a shaved ice.
Sending this task wasn't just to freeload a shaved ice. He wanted to give a player a card, but doing so without any reason seemed strange.
Xi Yan returned quickly with a serving of shaved ice: "Here you go!"
Youyu feigned surprise: "This, for me?"
"Yes." The girl nodded vigorously.
"...Okay, then I won't hold back."
Youyu happily took a couple of bites, nodding: "Indeed, summer is best enjoyed with shaved ice."
He smiled as he glanced at the cute and eager girl in front of him, asking, "Are you here to participate in the 'Duel City' tournament?"
Xi Yan nodded enthusiastically.
"Oh, right." Youyu pretended to suddenly remember, "If you're going to compete... this card might help."
He pulled a card from behind.
The nearby players could hardly stay calm.
Amazing! This NPC gives out a card as a beginner task!
Tasks awarding cards directly are quite rare; players usually earn experience, Crystal Stones, and coins from tasks.
Some players leaned in to see what card was being given...
...It turned out to be an "Upstart Goblin"!
Upstart Goblin, a Normal Magic Card, allows you to draw one card from your deck, and your opponent gains 1000 LP.
To the duelists of DM, even the OP "Pot of Greed" is seen as just another N Card, so compared to that, the "Upstart Goblin" that only lets you draw one card and even grants the opponent 1000 LP is considered the ultimate junk fighter.
Thus, even among N Cards, this one is highly unpopular, typically used by card dealers as filler to devalue good card packages.
It's thanks to this that Youyu now has a dozen Upstart Goblins...
But not for the players!
In the physical card game of Yu-Gi-Oh!, anything that speeds up card drawing is inevitably considered a Divine Artifact!
On the surface, Upstart Goblin seems to offer just a one-for-one trade, purely for cycling with no card advantage, but even the card disadvantageous "Dark World Dealings" has a market among players due to its cycling ability.
Deck cycling and compressing deck space are crucial in deck building; any player with a bit of understanding knows this.
On the contrary, what locals see as a fatal flaw, "giving the opponent 1000 LP," is something physical card players virtually ignore.
As long as there's some LP left, 100 and 4000 don't differ much. After all, in the physical card game environment, 8000 LP is like fragile paper, giving someone 1000 extra is just drizzle.
Such a useful reward from a beginner task... This NPC is indeed extraordinary!
Xi Yan accepted the Upstart Goblin with joy, her small mouth curving into a smile.
Other players couldn't stay calm either. A group of them dashed to the nearby shop, each claiming they wanted shaved ice, startling the dozing old shopkeeper.
"Alright, one by one, don't rush..."
The old man sat up, internally mumbling, these kids, are they heat-stroked or what...
Yet, when the players spent their hard-earned coins on shaved ice and rushed back to find Youyu, he just smiled and said, thanks for the kindness but I've had enough...
... Seriously! Eating so much shaved ice, does it hold a grudge against his stomach?
The players beat their chests in frustration. Quickly, they realized the task was likely a one-time thing, only rewarding the first to step forward with the Upstart Goblin.
But soon Youyu changed his tune, giving them hope: "However, I appreciate your goodwill. We're all duelists, let's cheer for the tournament. If you need help, feel free to come to me, I stay at the 'Dream Card Shop'..."
The players' eyes lit up, seemingly seeing new hope.