"The challenger may choose to go first." Watanabe Shuichi-senpai was quite magnanimous, seemingly wanting to display the composure of a senior and an expert.
"Come on, do you want to go first or second?"
You Xuan, of course, didn't stand on ceremony. "Then I'll go first. Draw!" He drew three cards in one go.
"Set one monster face-down on the field, then set two cards face-down in the back row. End turn."
"A starting move focused on consolidating defense, huh?" Shuichi-senpai nodded slightly, commenting. "But can you withstand the assault of my insect offensive? My turn, draw!"
Correct. According to the information You Xuan had looked up, Watanabe Shuichi used a deck primarily focused on Insect-Type monsters. The most famous user of an Insect theme was naturally the former national champion, the legendary duelist Weevil Underwood. However, rumor had it that Weevil had been mentally crushed years ago by the original King of Games, Yugi Muto, and had since washed his hands of dueling, never to be seen again. But when he won the championship, he had indeed sparked an insect craze and spurred the development of many new Insect series cards. Now, the old acquaintance was long gone, but duelists using Insect-Type monsters were still not uncommon.
Watanabe Shuichi: "Activate Continuous Spell 'Forest'!"
Although it was a Continuous Spell, its activation effect was similar to a Field Spell. A sea of green swept across the field, creating a vibrant, spring-like environment. Vines and trees sprouted from the ground, forming a breeding ground for insects.
"Then, summon 'Pinch Hopper'!"
[Pinch Hopper, ATK 1000]
"Pay attention, junior. I won't go easy on you just because it's a recruitment assessment!" Shuichi declared. "Activate Spell Card 'Dark Hole'! All monsters on both sides of the field are destroyed!"
The celestial body of destruction, the power of the black hole, unfurled on the field, its tyrannical gravity annihilating all. Shuichi's own Pinch Hopper and You Xuan's face-down monster were both pulverized.
"My face-down monster was 'Sangan'," You Xuan stated. "When this card is sent to the Graveyard, add 1 monster with 1500 or less ATK from your Deck to your hand. I add this card from my Deck..." He revealed the searched monster card. "...'Magical Beast Cerberus' with 1400 ATK to my hand."
"Then I'll also use the effect of 'Pinch Hopper' on my side," Shuichi-senpai added. "When Pinch Hopper is sent from my field to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon 1 Insect-Type monster from my hand! Therefore, I Special Summon this guy! From the depths of the dark forest, the reaper of death, now appear here—Summon 'Doom Dozer'!"
The six-legged insect assassin, wielding a scythe like the Grim Reaper, descended majestically into the forest.
[Doom Dozer, ATK 2300]
A newcomer outside couldn't help but exclaim, "He summoned an ace-level monster right off the bat!"
"Using 'Dark Hole' to simultaneously clear the opponent's field and trigger 'Pinch Hopper's' effect... truly worthy of being a Dueling Club mainstay..."
Watanabe Shuichi: "It's not over yet! The effect of the Continuous Spell 'Forest'! When an Insect-Type monster on my field is sent to the Graveyard, add 1 Insect-Type monster with the same Level from my Deck to my hand. I add another 'Pinch Hopper' from my Deck to my hand." He drew from his deck, fanned out the cards, picked out the second "Pinch Hopper," shuffled, and reinserted the deck into his Duel Disk.
"Go, 'Doom Dozer' direct attack!" The insect assassin charged, its deadly scythe about to fall. You Xuan calmly flipped one of his face-down cards.
"Activate Trap Card 'Raigeki Break'! Discard 1 card to destroy 1 card on the field. Destroy 'Doom Dozer'!"
Watanabe Shuichi: "!"
Dark clouds churned above the field. A demonic hand reached out, lightning crashing from its fingertip. With a single strike, the green insect was blasted to ashes before that peerless power.
"Tch, setting such a trap..."
"And the card I just discarded from my hand was 'Witch of the Black Forest'. When this card is sent to the Graveyard, I can search for a monster with 1500 or less DEF from my Deck." Both Witch and Sangan had undergone two "nerfs." The most recent one added the restriction "the searched card cannot be activated this turn," while an earlier one changed "can activate its effect as long as it's sent to the Graveyard" to "needs to be sent from the field to the Graveyard to activate." The anime version of this duo was naturally consistent with the now out-of-print early real card versions, possessing a Forbidden-level universal search function. Their effects could be triggered whether sent from the hand or even the Deck to the Graveyard.
"I add 'Warrior Dai Grepher' with 1500 DEF from my Deck to my hand."
"Then, end of Battle Phase."
Watanabe Shuichi huffed. "If you think I'd leave my field open with just this level of play, you underestimate me too much! Activate Spell Card 'Monster Reborn'! Revive a monster from the Graveyard. Return to my field, Doom Dozer!"
[Doom Dozer, ATK 2300]
"Then, set one card face-down. End turn."
"My turn, draw." You Xuan declared. "Activate Spell Card 'Graceful Charity'. Draw 3 cards from the Deck, then discard 2 cards from my hand." Two cards were sent to the Graveyard, but the image of one of them quickly materialized. "One of the discarded cards was 'Jar of Greed'. When this card is sent from the hand to the Graveyard, draw 2 cards from the Deck." (Anime card)
After frantically cycling through his deck with the help of a forbidden card and an anime-exclusive draw engine, he couldn't help but frown slightly when the new cards came into his hand. Actually, when he exchanged credits for cards yesterday, he happened to find a certain legendary combo from the early days in the academy shop and had intended to test it today. But it seemed his 'Heart of the Cards' ability still needed improvement; despite continuously drawing cards like this, the combo pieces still hadn't assembled immediately.
So, he had no choice but to first play a Spell Card to calm his nerves.
"Spell Card 'Eradicating Aerosol'," You Xuan announced. "All face-up Insect-Type monsters on the field are destroyed!"
Watanabe Shuichi: "???"
You activated... what the heck!?
A giant hand emerged from a black vortex, clutching an insecticide spray can. The spray was released, sweeping across the entire field. Doom Dozer instantly cracked apart, and Shuichi-senpai almost cracked apart along with it.
Hold on a minute... Why would you even run that thing!?
His expression turned ugly, and he held back for a long moment before finally unable to resist asking, "Um... junior, do you normally carry this thing in your deck?"
You Xuan answered decisively, "Of course not." Why would I be bored enough to carry this thing? Insect-Type is so niche; I wouldn't encounter it even once in ten duels. Wouldn't I just brick my hand by including this?
"Then you..."
"Of course, I put it in temporarily to counter you, Senpai," You Xuan said without hesitation. A gentleman is open and straightforward, daring to act and daring to take responsibility.
However, hearing these words felt like a dull hammer blow to Shuichi-senpai, making his vision go dark. For a moment, all he wanted to say was, You little brat, you're damn honest...
The surrounding students were momentarily struck silent, somewhat unsure what to say. Only Manjome showed that long-lost smile again. He knew it, he just knew it! He had seen that bastard looking through the gatekeeping members' information before the match and knew something was off. His choice of this member named Shuichi was definitely not random; there was definitely a scheme!
Although on the surface this senior had the most impressive resume and seemed to be the strongest among the gatekeeping members, You Xuan, after analyzing, found that only this senior's deck was the purest. After all, in this day and age, everyone played pile decks; it was common for a deck to have a mix of races, attributes, and series. Not everyone's deck was easy to counter. So, You Xuan scanned through and found only this person's deck was the purest, entirely composed of Insects, which immediately made him think of the things he carried in his hundred-plus card side deck. Thus, he decisively chose this lucky senior as his assessment opponent.
Lackey B beside Manjome couldn't help but speak up again, "Big Bro, your smile is getting a bit creepy again..."
Manjome: "...Urusai."
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