Chapter 2: Pure Hero Deck

All players accessed the game through their registered accounts, and upon generating their in-game characters, they were automatically equipped with a duel plate provided by the system, essentially receiving a novice gift pack.

The Link World game's timeline was set during the duel city chapter of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! anime. At this point in time, Haima Company had just developed the duel plate—an extraordinary card game artifact capable of projecting three-dimensional monster images at any given moment. The prosperous Haima Company generously offered this new generation of duel plates as a complimentary gift to all "recognized" duelists.

You Yu confirmed that he seemed to have been reborn and arrived earlier than the server's official opening.

The billboards lining the streets of the commercial district indicated that it was more than a month before the duel city tournament hosted by Haima Company. Consequently, this implied that the game launch was also a month away, with anticipation building among real-card players eagerly awaiting their immersion into the virtual world.

Hmm...

...One month seems a bit too short, doesn't it? Shouldn't there be a longer period for development and for players to join and test the waters?

According to the typical rebirth scenario, shouldn't there be three years given for growth and for players to harvest their gains? Just saying.

In just one month, within the challenging and demanding game of Link World, it's uncertain if I'll be able to assemble a decent deck without suffering major setbacks...

It's worth noting that many cards that are easily attainable in the physical card game may be extremely rare in the Link World. Even with considerable effort, resources, and dedication, acquiring certain cards can be a daunting task.

Take the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, for example. This card never seems to appear in the system's card pool, and no player has reported obtaining it through missions, at least not to the knowledge of You Yu after crossing over.

Although there's no definitive evidence, some players even suspect that there are only three Blue-Eyes White Dragons in this game world, and all of them are in the possession of the NPC Seahorse...

There are other rare cards, like the Black Magician. While it may not reach the level of being scarce to the extent of only having a handful in existence, it remains incredibly difficult to obtain. Opening it in the system's card pool is simply out of the question.

In essence, these rare cards and decks in the Link World resemble unrivaled martial arts skills in traditional gaming terms. Whether one can acquire them depends not only on their gaming prowess but also on sheer luck.

As we all know, the deck is the most potent weapon in the Yu-Gi-Oh! world. Therefore, it was only natural for You Yu to immediately inspect his starting deck upon entering this world...

... And unsurprisingly, it turned out to be a set of Elemental Heroes.

Wow! A starting deck with Elemental Heroes! The protagonist's deck must be incredibly powerful, right?

...Well, not quite.

Regardless of which heroes are included, without any Mask Changes, it's as if Zhang Tiantian forgot to include them.

Who would want to be a hero without Sky Brother?

(Note: Elemental Hero Sky Man, 4 stars, attack power 1800, defense power 300.

Effect: When this card is successfully summoned or Special Summoned, you can choose to activate one of the following effects:

1) Destroy the magic or trap card on the field, other than this card, that has the most "hero" monsters on the field.

2) Add one "hero" monster from the deck to your hand.)

But aside from this powerful card, the initial deck provided by the system lacks even a single fusion card. Not to mention the powerful monsters that were later released for the Elemental Heroes. It appears that there are no effect monsters in the entire deck.

In other words, it seems like I'll have to start from scratch, relying on the infamous "Four Souls (Waste) Heroes" of the Elemental Heroes to conquer the world...

The Four Great Souls (Waste) refers to the Elemental Heroes used in the first ten generations of Yucheng Ten, the protagonist of the game king GX: Winged Man, Hot Girl, Nendoroid, and Dancing Man. Due to being normal monsters with no effects and low attack power, they were given this glorious title by card enthusiasts...

Of course, there's really nothing to complain about because this initial deck was also chosen by You Yu when he created the secondary account.

When players create a character, the system provides various sets of initial decks with different themes to choose from. However, after analyzing the data, they discovered that it doesn't matter which one you choose. In the end, the initial decks only consist of a bunch of mundane monsters.

These types of monsters are often referred to by card enthusiasts as "mortal bones"...

So why did this secondary account choose to start with Elemental Heroes?

That's because You Yu made a promise to his viewers in the last video he posted. He had planned to showcase a "pure" hero deck in the next video. However, who would have guessed that the hero wouldn't be seen as a hero and somehow ended up using this account...

But You Yu has another advantage.

He possesses the knowledge of various anecdotes since the game's launch as a rebirth. This includes information about player-triggered branching paths and hidden plots.

In his previous life, he remembers a player triggering a rare hidden plot that only occurred once and receiving a remarkably generous reward. Ever since then, that player became a renowned figure in the arena, achieving great success across multiple versions of the game.

You Yu meticulously recalls and organizes the various hidden plots and missions that offer substantial rewards. However, most of them either have extremely demanding conditions, rely on extraordinary luck, or involve intricate processes that require exceptional skill—

—Often, you need to possess a deck powerful enough to meet the mission requirements.

There are also missions and plots that can be highly dangerous, even posing life-threatening situations.

What? Are you saying that playing cards can be lethal?

Indeed.

According to the Yu-Gi-Oh world view, there exist extraordinary powers that have been present throughout its history, with the most renowned being the "dark game."

The dark game is said to be an ancient Egyptian ritual, a magical practice accessible to individuals with supernatural abilities. This power can be applied to any game with rules and constraints, whether it be card games, mahjong, chess, or even a simple coin toss.

Among all the rituals, dueling monsters is the game with the strongest magical effects. Dark games based on the rules of duel monsters often involve the souls of the participants, transcending the boundaries of life and death, and are considered taboo games.

In the Yu-Gi-Oh worldview, there are actually quite a few individuals who have mastered the power of darkness. The complexity and impact of these rituals extend far beyond what is depicted in the original anime series.

Each generation of Yu-Gi-Oh animation revolves around the protagonist, limiting the audience's perspective to what they have experienced through the eyes of past protagonists.

However, this worldview is merely scratching the surface. The Yu-Gi-Oh story encompasses gods and demons, the realms of both the living and the underworld, time travel, dimensional barriers, and much more.

People with varying levels of dark abilities are scattered across the world, and the ancient magic ritual has been passed down uninterrupted for thousands of years.

The gameplay in Linking the World is also incredibly diverse. Players don't necessarily have to follow the protagonist's team to participate in the main storyline. Other regions may trigger unique plot tasks not found in the anime.

Of course, these abilities come in varying strengths. The strongest individuals can traverse the underworld and manipulate time and space, much like the holders of thousand-year artifacts. On the other hand, the weaker ones...

...may possess abilities that force defeated opponents to learn how to bark, metaphorically speaking.

For ordinary players, the consequences of participating in the dark game may lead to the death of their in-game characters, but they can still be resurrected. The true setback lies in failing the corresponding mission.

However, the situation is different for You Yu now.

Although he still retains his game panel, he has become an NPC. It's uncertain whether he can be resurrected if he were to perish in the dark game.

Considering the worst-case scenario, he has decided to avoid undertaking these perilous tasks for the time being.