Chapter 9: It makes sense, I'm speechless

One week later, in Tono City, a bustling dueling venue was filled with excitement.

"My turn!" You Yu exclaimed, drawing a card from his deck and sweeping his arm across the table.

"I offer 2 of my Elemental Heroes as sacrifices... Come forth, Elemental Hero Bladedge!"

From the card's three-dimensional projection, a soldier made entirely of pure gold alloy emerged. With blue eyes and a body resembling steel muscle tissue, the hero exuded a unique metallic luster under the stadium lights.

[Elemental Hero Bladedge, Attack Power: 2600]

A passerby standing nearby gasped in surprise, "What!? A card with 2600 attack power?"

The onlookers joined in the commotion, one exclaiming, "It even has higher attack power than the legendary rare cards, Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Dark Magician!"

You Yu sighed internally, realizing how differently the local duelists in this world assessed card strength. To them, the most crucial aspect of a monster card was its attack power, while effects and magic traps held little importance.

Their focus was solely on attack power.

In truth, the card pool during the era of Yu-Gi-Oh DM wasn't very extensive. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Dark Magician, both with very high attack powers , were already highly anticipated by many duelists.

However, from the perspective of a player, attack power was merely a drizzle. Is nothing more than numbers in the eyes of players. At least for players who have a brain and can actually play.

Of course, You Yu, who still lacked a significant number of cards, couldn't claim such thoughts just yet. Where he was doomed if he went against very high ranking cards, such as the Five-Headed Dragon.

Nevertheless, defeating these passerby's NPCs proved to be no challenge for him.

"Let the battle begin!" You Yu declared, entering the battle stage directly. "Elemental Hero Bladedge, attack the Marauding Captain!"

[Marauding Captain, Attack Power: 1200]

The golden metallic hero emitted flames from its back, transforming into a golden blur that swiftly descended upon the warrior brandishing a long sword.

The captain struggled, attempting to defend with his sword, but his feeble efforts were no match for the superior Golden Blademan.

With ease, the golden blade sliced the silver sword in the captain's hand into two pieces. The captain groaned and collapsed on the spot.

Passerby: "Uh ah ah!!!"

[Passerby, LP: 1400 → LP: 0]

The surrounding crowd erupted into cheers.

"An Elemental Hero deck I've never heard of, and it's so powerful!"

"What's the name of this new duelist?"

"He just defeated twenty opponents in one go, right?"

"So strong, he must be a professional..."

Indeed, You Yu had spent all his free time outside of work in the dueling venue this week, engaging in various duels. Tono City was well-known as a city built around dueling, thanks to President Haima's vigorous promotion that had imbued half the city's residents with a "dueling brain."

As a result, numerous dueling venues had been established throughout the city, allowing duelists to challenge others within the same city. Occasionally, small private tournaments would take place in these venues, offering participants a chance to earn some extra money if they emerged victorious.

However, those were secondary concerns for You Yu.

He frequented the venues to duel unhindered, primarily for the sake of gaining experience points to level up quickly. This way, he could earn more spars and exchange them for the cards he desired from the system card pool.

The early stages were the easiest to level up, even though the spars obtained at this point paled in comparison to the later stages. Nevertheless, they accumulated quickly.

Over the past week, You Yu had achieved an uninterrupted streak of 20 victories. The reason for stopping at 20 was—he had limited free time due to work, and his physical stamina restricted the number of consecutive duels he could participate in.

In the dueling venue, defeating NPCs was one of the most common methods players used to level up during the early stages. The local duelists' decks primarily consisted of average cards, and their inclusion of obscure yet aesthetically pleasing cards, most of which were useless piles of cards, didn't help much.

For players, even if they used a purely casual deck for entertainment purposes, defeating these NPCs was a walk in the park.

Although You Yu's reputation among passersby had skyrocketed, he didn't feel much sense of accomplishment.

Where was the satisfaction in bullying these guys?

Based on the Yu-Gi-Oh! DM anime, Mr. Seahorse Seto could never engage in dark games with cards. Hence, he developed artificial intelligence to simulate dark games, earning him the esteemed title of the "King of Humans and Machines"...

Having spent the past week playing duels, You Yu had emptied his spar reserves on the system card pool. However, most of the cards he obtained from the card packs either had unknown effects or looked impressive but proved useless in practical combat.

Only the Elemental Hero Golden Blademan, boasting an attack power of 2600, could barely hold its own in this era. It seemed that other cards could only gather dust, unable to see any action.

After this duel, You Yu felt thoroughly exhausted.

He packed up his duel plate, left the arena, and began making his way back to his current home.

By now, the sky had darkened, and the chilly air enveloped the streets. Pedestrians strolled in groups of two or three, while vehicles rushed by, leaving behind luminous trails from their taillights.

Upon reaching the door of the store, You Yu noticed China standing there, trying to hang up a poster. Standing on her tiptoes, she struggled to reach the desired height without a stool.

You Yu approached her from behind and said, "Let me help."

China finally noticed him, and a slight blush tinged her cheeks as she stepped aside with a hum.

[Friendship level +2]

You Yu had long grown accustomed to these prompts.

Taking the poster, he skillfully affixed it to the door, stepping back a couple of paces to assess the result.

The poster showcased various newly released cards, prominently featuring a Dark Magician in a black robe as the background.

You Yu found it peculiar and asked, "There is Dark Magicians for sell?"

After all the Dark Magician card was not only highly sought-after by players but also considered a top-tier rare card by the local residents.

"Of course not," China replied nonchalantly.

"In that case, what's with the picture on this poster?"

"By that logic, do the beef and vegetables on instant noodle packaging truly exist inside the noodle cup?"

You Yu was left speechless, realizing her analogy.

Damn, she's got a point.