Compared to the popular 1800 attack beaters on the market, those extra 50 points felt like pure mockery. It was the strongest low level monster in his deck. His deck had answered his feelings.
Just as the corner of Koji's mouth lifted and the horn of counterattack seemed ready to sound, his smile froze. One of the face down cards on the other side flipped open.
Trap Card, Drop Off, version two.
Activated during the opponent's draw phase, the drawn card is sent directly to the graveyard.
Koji Sato said nothing.
"According to the effect of Drop Off," Yugen said politely, "please discard that card as well."
Koji bit his lip until it almost bled. With a twisted expression, he sent the key comeback card, Magma Lizard Hero, to the graveyard. Looking down, he saw that the only card left in his hand was still that lonely equip spell.
"End… end my turn," Koji said in frustration.
"Then it's my turn. Draw."
Yugen glanced at the card he drew, another trap. His hand was overflowing with traps, but the opponent clearly had no cards left to be trapped. He added it to his hand and waved casually. "Headman Don Zaloog, direct attack."
"Koji, LP 2600 to 1200."
"Headman Don Zaloog's effect activates again. Of course, the first effect."
Yugen pointed at the last card in Koji's hand. "Throw that away too."
Watching his final card hit the graveyard, Koji suddenly realized that maybe he should have set it last turn. Even if it meant nothing, at least it would have stayed on the field. His mindset had completely collapsed, and he had forgotten something that basic.
"End my turn," Yugen said.
"Then my turn, draw."
This time Koji did not even look at the card he drew. He stared straight at Yugen's back row, as if asking whether there were still traps waiting. After a moment, Yugen smiled and gestured for him to proceed.
Barely making it past the draw phase and into standby, Koji Sato felt like crying. He had never imagined that simply drawing a card could feel like such a luxury. When he finally looked at the card in his hand, his spirits lifted again.
Vengeful Killer Doll, level four, attack 1600.
Normally it was an unremarkable monster, but right now that 1600 attack was life saving. Headman Don Zaloog was disgusting, but its attack was only 1400. At last, he could get rid of that sword wielding grave robber that kept stripping his hand every turn.
"I summon 'Vengeful Killer Doll' in attack position," Koji Sato shouted. "Attack 'Headman Don Zaloog'! Kill it, kill it!"
"Easy, easy, my friend," Yugen said with a smile. "Calm down. Duels are meant to be played with a smile."
"And before that, it's not the battle phase yet. I activate a trap."
He pointed to a face down card that flipped up. "Trap Card, Compulsory Evacuation Device. Return one monster on the field to its owner's hand. I return 'Vengeful Killer Doll' to your hand."
The trap took effect, and the cursed doll, axe still raised, turned into a flash of light and flew back into Koji Sato's hand. That card was now his only card. Worse still, he had already used his normal summon for the turn.
There was nothing left he could do.
What would happen next was obvious. He would end his turn, then that damned Don Zaloog would attack again and force him to discard his last card. No, it would not even get that far. With only 1200 LP left, one more hit would finish him.
In the end, however, Yugen never got the chance to reduce Koji Sato's LP to zero. Before the next turn could begin, Koji Sato attempted to physically attack his opponent during the duel. He was quickly restrained by the surrounding students and immediately disqualified, losing the duel on the spot.
Yugen gradually discovered the fun of dueling in this other world. However, he soon realized that happiness in the world really did balance itself out. As he became happier, the fellow apprentices at Duel Dojo seemed to lose interest in dueling.
In just three short days, no one was willing to schedule a match with him anymore. Yugen could only tilt his head up toward the sky and let out a quiet sigh.
He now started to understand why Yugi Muto once said that before meeting Pharaoh Atem, he could not make any friends at all. Apparently, people like this really were not meant to have friends.
Eventually, the situation even caught the attention of the hall master. The head of Duel Dojo was called Kageru Takeuchi, and it was said that in his youth he had once reached the top thirty-two of the Town Duel Tournament.
Master Takeuchi heard that one apprentice had recently improved at an explosive pace, defeating the senior disciple he favored most. In just three days, he had beaten the other apprentices into complete silence, to the point that no one was willing to duel anymore.
After hearing this, Master Takeuchi immediately felt that he had to step in personally. He gathered all the apprentices together, first praising Yugen for his diligence and rapid progress, then criticizing the others for their passive attitude.
He lectured them, saying that arranging practice duels was meant to improve together, and having a strong opponent was clearly a good thing. Otherwise, spending all day bullying weak players would not lead to anything meaningful.
The apprentices lowered their heads and stayed silent, not daring to respond. The hall grew very quiet.
"That is enough," the master said. He waved his hand and smiled as he beckoned Yugen over.
"If they are unwilling, then I will personally test how much you have improved. It will also be a good chance to give you some guidance on your deck."
Finally finding someone willing to duel him again, Yugen was more than happy to accept. He had several deck adjustments he wanted to test anyway.
So today's duel was against his master. The master looked confident and stylish, and he even handed the first turn to Yugen to show his composure.
Yugen did not stand on ceremony and took the opening move. Right away, he paid 1000 Life Points and revealed the spell card "Confiscation."
This familiar opening made the apprentices who had suffered through it for three days shiver all over. Several of them nearly relived the experience on the spot.
The effect of Confiscation activated. Yugen glanced at the hand, immediately picked out "Monster Reborn," and sent it away.
He then Normal Summoned "Green Gadget," and upon its successful summon, activated its effect to search "Red Gadget" from the deck. After that, he set three cards face down and cleanly ended his turn.
Now it was the master's turn. He slapped down "Gearfried the Iron Knight," a Level 4 monster with 1800 attack that looked very impressive.
Unfortunately, it had no chance to do anything. Before it could even settle, it fell straight into a "Trap Hole" and was sent off the field.
The master, however, was still the master. Even though he had used up his normal summon, he activated the effect of "Rock Spirit Titan" from his hand, banishing the Iron Knight from the graveyard to special summon it.
Master Takeuchi waved his hand and had Titan attack "Green Gadget." With a sharp snap of his fingers, Yugen flipped over a bright red trap card.
"I activate Mirror Force."
All of the master's attack position monsters were destroyed at once. Master Takeuchi fell silent.
Stepping on two traps in a row, he could only helplessly end his turn with an empty field. There was nothing else he could do.
Then it was Yugen's turn again. He glanced at the card he drew and immediately played "Card Destruction."
He paid 1000 Life Points, and the opponent discarded two more cards. Master Takeuchi looked down at his hand, now reduced to a single card, and sank into deep contemplation about life.
Yugen continued by summoning the "Red Gadget" he had searched earlier. Upon its successful summon, its effect allowed him to search another Gadget from the deck.
Entering the Battle Phase, "Red Gadget" and "Green Gadget" both attacked directly. The double direct attack wiped out 2700 of the master's Life Points.