Basic dueling rules pt.1

An inquisitive voice cut through the air. "Cards? What are cards, sir?" Nina spoke up first, taking a step behind her friends to get a better look at the stranger who had just opened the store's door.

Alucard noticed her hesitation and thought, Heh, must be the leader of the pack. Closing the door behind him, he walked over and stood beside the kids. "My store, as you can see, is called Milky's Card Shop. Cards are what I'm selling. The best way to describe them is as drawings or pieces of art meant to be collected, traded, sold, or played in card games."

He gestured toward the posters. "You see these people? They play a card game called a Yu-Gi-Oh duel, or duel game for short. It's a game about summoning monsters and using spells and traps to defeat your opponent. These characters below them are their best monsters," he patiently explained.

"But sir, Mr. Starfish hair doesn't have a monster; he has a guy with a pointy hat and a staff. Isn't that person one of those wizards from the Wizard Tower?" Annie pointed out.

"Great catch! Monsters don't necessarily have to be monsters, that's just what we call them as cards, Monster cards. There are monster cards that have people or even objects in them. So, this guy you see here isn't really anything out of the ordinary. Anyway, that's what my store sells—cards for collecting and playing games," Alucard responded.

"How do you play a duel game, sir? Do we throw them up in the air and see who flies the farthest?" Failer asked with curiosity, as he had never heard of cards or card games before.

"Well, first, you need two players. They flip a coin to decide who goes first. Each of them draws 5 cards. The first player gets to summon or set a monster card, use spell cards, and set trap cards, but is unable to attack. The second player draws a card, then is able to do the same as the first player but can also attack on their turn. There are other things to consider, but overall, the main goal is for each player to defeat the opponent with damage done to monsters. Direct attacks of a monster to a player, or direct damage dealt by spell cards or trap cards also contribute to your opponent's defeat, Alucard replied, noticing that the children were confused but interested in the terms he used regarding the game.

He contemplated, While the DM era of Yugioh is quite simple, a demonstration or hands-on approach would be better at showing how the game is played. I've got a bunch of normies here, which is good for an introductory deck. I'll teach them how to play and maybe let them play a few rounds. Maybe they'll help spread the word of this brand-new game to the people that they know.

"How about this? Let's go inside and I'll show you how to play cards." With a friendly grin, he opened the door, motioning for the kids to join him. Though they were hesitant at first, they eventually succumbed to their curiosity and entered the store. The store owner's enthusiastic explanation about the mysterious world of cards and card games intrigued them as their imagination ran wild.

Alucard turned on the lights and the air conditioning. As soon as the kids entered, they marveled at how magical, cool, and luxurious the store actually was. Jiji couldn't help but ask with worry, "Sir, are you a noble? This place is too fancy. My Mama said that we should be careful and not enter places run by nobles, or they will look down on us and even throw us out or bully us." The other kids looked troubled as well.

"Hmmm… I'm not really a noble, so I don't mind. Besides, this is my store, so I have my own rules. As long as you're polite and not a troublemaker, then you're welcome here. You kids can sit at the tables there and just wait for a bit," he lied since he didn't want to explain himself or his origins, he then rummaged through some cards he had in his personal stash below the counter.

The kids sighed with relief, "Don't worry, sir, even if you are not a noble, we will not cause any trouble or break any of your fancy stuff." Jiji patted his chest.

"I wonder how this card game could be played. I hope it's really fun!" Nina said, smiling, with no trace of her wariness from a few minutes ago—now just a kid waiting expectantly for a new toy.

"These tables and chairs are really nice; the lights look really beautiful as well, and it's cool like a breeze here! This really is a fancy store. I'm not sure if we can even buy what the store owner is selling…" Annie said to her friends as she gazed around the store.

"How much money do you guys have? I have 15 copper coins here; it was my allowance last week that I saved up. Maybe this is enough?" Failer whispered to the group.

As Alucard approached the kids' table, he overheard their hushed conversations. "Hey, don't stress about buying anything. These cards can be pricey, and I don't expect you all to jump into buying anything right away. For now, I just want to show you how to play the game. All you need to do is tell me if you enjoy it, alright?".

He then brought up five decks he carefully structured and curated from his personal pile, mostly consisting of 1-4 star normal monsters and a few 5-star monsters. He wanted to showcase the basics of normal summoning, using spells, setting up trap cards, and basic tribute summoning.

"Here, I'll let you borrow and play with these card decks, check them out. To play a game, a player must have a minimum of 40 cards in a deck." He handed the decks to each of the children.

The kids were fascinated as they looked at the cards for the first time. The cards were small but perfectly fit the hand, just like the ones on the posters. They had a glossy finish, felt smooth to the touch, and, most importantly, the illustrations were really impressive. Now, these kids didn't know much about art. In their world, art meant the statues and paintings shown off by the nobles during the city's yearly Carver Festival. The LeFlamme ducal family, who ruled Kalamar, hosted this festival, inviting sculptors, painters, and all sorts of artists to display their work.

The artwork inside the cards was truly captivating. The monster cards had a diverse range, some appearing fierce like Basic Insect, others having a goofy vibe like Skull Servant, and a few even looked adorable, such as Petit Dragon. The spell and trap cards showcased images ranging from scenic field spells to treasure-like equip spells and ominous scenes depicted in trap cards. The kids' eyes sparkled as they carefully examined each card in their deck, and a chorus of wows and gasps echoed throughout the store.

"Sir! So these are cards! They're really beautiful!" Annie said as she held up the monster card Enchanting Mermaid, showing it to her friends as they all collectively marveled at the card's artwork.

"That's a really beautiful card! She's much more beautiful than the mermaid merchants that visit the pier! Is she perhaps a mermaid princess?" Nina wondered to herself.

"Look at this card I've got! He's an elf, and he's called the Green Phantom King!" cried out Jiji in excitement.

"Haha! Look at this rat! It's called Beaver Warrior and has a sword and shield like a knight!" Failer giggled at the funny-looking yet iconic card.

Alucard watched the group of friends as they enthusiastically showed each other the cards that each deck had. He reminisced about his childhood, when he did the same and played cards with his friends and cousins. He shook his head and snapped out of his reverie, took a chair, and set it at the side of the table where the kids sat.

"Okay, you can check out the cards more later on. I'll teach you kids how to play; let's have two of you go first while the other two watch. Don't worry, you'll all play together once we all go through the basics." He reassured the kids.

Nina raised her hand. "Sir! Annie and I can go first, then Jiji and Failer can watch us and go next. Is that okay, guys?"

"Hehe, I'm fine with it, boss. I want to see you and Annie duke it out first!" Failer grinned.

"Mhmm okay then, but I want to learn how to play a bit first..." nodded Annie.

"Then Failer, I'll show you how strong Mister Green Phantom King is once it's our turn!" Jiji harrumphed and knocked on his chest.

Alucard chuckled lightly and took out a manual, referring to the table setup the system gave him a while ago. "Okay, no worries, I'll show you kids the rules in a bit. Let me just activate the duel field here… You two put your decks on the glowing white square, and… Yep, and we're good to go."

He fiddled with the controls of the table; white lines outlined the table. Each player's side had a deck zone, five monster squares, five spell and trap squares, a hole for each graveyard and banished zone, and a field spell square. In between the players were two extra monster zones for the future Link and Pendulum monster cards, which can be drawn from the extra deck zone that also houses Fusion, Synchro, and XYZ monster cards.

"Before we start, I'll explain what Monster, Spell, and Trap cards are and what they do. The cards that I placed on all the decks right now are basic cards for beginners. A Monster card is a card that you can summon to fight for you and defend you from another monster's attacks. They have a yellow colored frame and have stars here which indicate it's level, and the more stars it has the trickier it is to summon. Below shows numbers which indicate its Attack and defense." He held up a card and showed to the children a Silver Fang, a 3-star normal monster with 1200 ATK and 800 DEF.

"Players can summon a monster normally if it is within 1 to 4 star level, monsters with 5 stars or more need to have a tribute in order to summon them, A tribute is a monster that you control on the field. Monsters with 5 to 6 stars require one monster tribute, while monsters with 7 or more require two tributes." he patiently explained.

"Sir, so we need to sacrifice one of our monsters in order to summon a 5 star or more monster? Are they that powerful?" Nina asked expectantly.

"Yes, the more stars a monster usually has, the more powerful it is. Now let's talk about ATK and DEF, every monster has two important numbers: ATK and DEF. ATK stands for Attack Points. This number shows how powerful your monster is when it's attacking an opponent's monster. The higher the ATK, the stronger your monster is in a fight. You can set a monster in ATK mode by putting it facing up on the monster zone." He then placed Silver Fang in the monster zone facing up, a holographic image of a fierce white maned wolf howled.

Silver Fang lvl 3 EARTH Beast/Normal ATK 1200 DEF 800: GAAAOOOOOOH!!

"Woah! that monster looks really cool and fierce!" Failer exclaimed.

"Now let's talk about DEF which stands for Defense Points. This number is about how good your monster is at defending itself when it's being attacked by another monster. If your monster's DEF is higher than the ATK of the attacking monster, your monster stays safe. So, when your monster is attacking, you look at its ATK, and when it's defending, you check its DEF. You can set a monster in DEF mode by summoning it face down, or after the turn that a monster is summoned in ATK mode, you can set it to DEF mode."

He set a monster card in DEF and also turned Silver Fang into DEF mode, prompting the holographic image of the wolf to lower its stance.