Official English card names are used here where applicable, including The A. Forces, Marauding Captain, Warrior Dai Grepher, Super-Nimble Mega Hamster, and Nimble Momonga.
As an old-school player who loved Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfiction and often revisited the various "power of cards" anime series, Dio knew this world's peculiar rules like the back of his hand.
Here, the player going first could still draw!
So naturally, taking the first turn was the unquestionable choice.
"My turn—draw!"
Dio made his declaration in crisp, standard Chinese. Strictly speaking, there was no rule saying you had to announce your plays out loud, but in the world of Yu-Gi-Oh!, if you didn't shout your moves, then what was even the point? Where was the soul in that?
To Dole, however, it looked very different.
As far as he was concerned, Dio was chanting some kind of strange incantation, so he could only shake his head regretfully.
What a pity.
Even in a situation like that, this guy had still voluntarily accepted the duel. If anything, he had indirectly helped him out of a tight spot with Boss Crow. No matter how you looked at it, he seemed like a good person.
Too bad there was clearly something wrong with his head. Even now, all he could do was mutter in some incomprehensible gibberish.
Those bastards from the city really ruin lives...
Dole sighed inwardly and made up his mind.
No matter what happened in this duel, he was not going to take the other guy's card.
Dio, meanwhile, had no time to guess at Dole's inner drama.
His gaze swept across the six cards in his hand.
Not an amazing opening hand, but in this relatively straightforward era of dueling, it should be enough.
"I set one monster face-down in Defense Position."
Calmly, Dio placed a card onto his Monster Zone.
"Then I set two cards."
With that, two more cards slid into his Spell and Trap Zone.
"I end my turn."
A standard opening.
Dole's spirits immediately rose.
Time to show him what a real duelist looked like!
Who knew—if he dueled more often, maybe his brain would eventually get fixed too.
"My turn—draw!"
Dole yanked out a card with force. The moment he saw what he had drawn, his eyes lit up.
It was here.
The key card his deck needed to get rolling!
"I activate the Continuous Spell Card—The A. Forces!"
He shouted loudly as a card depicting a gathered host of warriors rose above his field.
"This card's effect is simple! All Warrior monsters on my field gain 200 ATK for each Warrior or Spellcaster monster I control!"
"Then I Normal Summon Marauding Captain!"
With great momentum, Dole slapped the card onto his Duel Disk. In a flash of light, a stern-faced warrior wielding twin blades appeared on his field.
Marauding Captain / Warrior / EARTH / Level 3 / ATK 1200
The moment Dio saw that familiar figure, a strange sense of nostalgia welled up inside him.
It was the infamous overworked Captain!
Back in the world he came from, this card had remained active through multiple eras of the game—a true laborer among laborers. It had spawned numerous variants, and even in some modern decks, you could still catch glimpses of its descendants. It was an old friend he knew all too well.
Seeing a familiar card in another world...
That felt really good.
"When this card is successfully summoned, I can activate its effect!" Dole continued. "I can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower monster from my hand! I Special Summon this one—Warrior Dai Grepher!"
He slapped down another card, and a second warrior appeared on the field.
Unlike the Captain with his twin swords, this one wielded an enormous one-handed greatsword. He was thick with muscle, with a pointed head that made him look every bit as fierce as his reputation suggested.
Warrior Dai Grepher / Warrior / EARTH / Level 4 / ATK 1700
"Now I've got two Warrior monsters on my field!" Dole pointed at his Continuous Spell. "So thanks to The A. Forces, both the Captain and Grepher gain 400 ATK!"
Marauding Captain / ATK 1200 → 1600
Warrior Dai Grepher / ATK 1700 → 2100
"Whoa, going all out right from the start, huh?" Crow muttered from the sidelines.
"Then I set one card!"
Dole placed another card in his back row. Looking at his current field—two powerful Warrior monsters with boosted attack, The A. Forces supporting them, one facedown Trap, plus Command Knight and Comrade Swordsman of Landstar still in hand—he felt confidence swell in his chest.
This field is ridiculous. I'm basically unstoppable already!
With a smug grin in his heart, Dole pointed at Dio's face-down monster.
"Battle Phase! Go, Warrior Dai Grepher! Attack that face-down Defense Position monster!"
Grepher moved at once, swinging his massive blade down at Dio's set card.
The card flipped, revealing an absurdly gigantic hamster—so huge it looked even bulkier than Grepher himself.
Super-Nimble Mega Hamster / Beast / EARTH / Level 4 / DEF 1800
"Defense 1800?"
Dole looked mildly surprised, then laughed.
"Looks like you got lucky and picked up a card with decent defense! Too bad—I'm still stronger!"
"When Super-Nimble Mega Hamster is flipped face-up, its effect activates," Dio explained evenly. "I can Special Summon one Level 3 or lower Beast monster from my Deck in face-down Defense Position."
As he spoke, the giant hamster seemed to yelp in pain from the blow, then frantically burrowed underground and vanished into the Graveyard. At the same time, a fresh card seemed to tumble out of the fur it had shed, landing face-down on Dio's field.
Crow's eyes widened slightly as he watched.
"What a vivid hologram effect. Is that Super-Nimble Mega Hamster some kind of pretty rare card? Even its built-in visuals are this polished."
"Oh? So it's got a summoning effect."
Dole stroked his chin. He had never cared much for this kind of defensive strategy. In his mind, duels were supposed to be all about pressing forward and attacking without hesitation.
"No wonder someone threw this card away. Though I've gotta admit, the big rat on the artwork is kinda cute... whatever!"
"Then Marauding Captain—attack that newly summoned face-down monster!"
At his command, the twin-bladed Captain charged like the wind toward Dio's second set monster.
His swords came down.
The card flipped.
What appeared was a tiny little squirrel with a measly 100 DEF.
Nimble Momonga / Beast / EARTH / Level 2 / DEF 100
"Nimble Momonga's effect," Dio said, still perfectly calm. "When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, I gain 1000 Life Points. Then I can Special Summon any number of Nimble Momonga from my Deck in face-down Defense Position."
Dio LP: 4000 → 5000
Seeing Dio's Life Points rise, Dole frowned.
Dio, however, calmly pulled two cards from his Deck with perfect accuracy and set them onto his Monster Zone.
On the field, the Nimble Momonga that had been struck let out a short squeak before dissolving into a streak of white light. Its fading afterimage then split into two new face-down Defense Position monsters on Dio's side of the field.
"Tch. That's one seriously annoying defense you've got there."
Dole could not help grumbling, but after glancing at the cards still in his hand, he quickly relaxed.
"Still, no matter how solid your ironclad defense is, it won't stop me!"
Dio could not care less about any of that. Seeing that Dole had no more moves to make, he moved directly into his own turn.
"My turn—draw!"
He drew a card.
The moment his eyes landed on it, they lit up.
It's here.
This is the one!
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