Chapter 10: The Strong N card!

When You Yu regained his focus, he found himself fixated on the new batch of card packages displayed in the store for a solid few seconds. And what brought him back to reality was a subtle hint that appeared in his peripheral vision, stating "favorability +1."

Speechless, You Yu turned his gaze in that direction, confirming the presence of the expressionless maid. As soon as she noticed his glance, she hastily averted her eyes and busied herself with something, appearing absorbed in studying a supplementary exercise book.

Wait a moment, he thought, is her book reversed?…Nevertheless, You Yu decided to pretend not to notice.

Suddenly, China looked up and asked, "Do you want to buy a card?"

This caught You Yu off guard. "Because you've been staring at the card packs over there for quite some time," she pointed out with a ballpoint pen, indicating the batch of card packs he had been fixated on.

You Yu glanced in the direction she pointed, allowing her to discreetly adjust the fallen book in front of her. "...Yes, I really wanted it," he replied, helplessly shrugging his shoulders.

He didn't seem to have noticed China's small movements, or so China thought. Of course, it was understandable that he desired it, given that he had come across a spell card called "Pot of Desires" in the corresponding card box's description. This card allowed the player to draw two cards from the deck when activated—a simple yet effective effect that bordered on being unreasonable. It provided an effortless means of acquiring cards, akin to a basic necessity. In the world of dueling monsters, it could be hailed as an invaluable artifact.

However, the duelists in the DM world failed to realize its significance. The pitiful "N" rarity mark on the card box clearly indicated that no one took this card seriously. Nevertheless, even in the Linked World, the Pot of Desires remained an exclusive NPC patent, unattainable to players. It couldn't be obtained from the system's card pool or special missions. Consequently, players could only watch NPCs use the pot of desire whenever they faced them.

Once upon a time, You Yu had also been one of those jealous and infuriated players every time he witnessed an NPC brazenly utilizing the pot of desire. But things have changed. He was now a denizen of the world governed by its rules, and he believed he deserved the power to fill his deck with three pots of desires.

"Well, let's discuss it when I receive my salary," You Yu said helplessly.

Indeed, this presented a very real problem—he had no money.

"That's settled," China tilted her head, contemplating for a moment before saying, "Then... I can lend you some money, and you can return it to me after you receive your salary."

"Huh?" You Yu was taken aback, quickly waving his hand. "Thank you very much, but let's forget about that."

After all, they hadn't known each other for long, and it felt inappropriate to casually borrow money from a girl he had just met.

"It's fine," she replied blankly. "Rather than that, if you wait until your salary is paid, and someone else buys the desired card before you, wouldn't that be a shame?"

He couldn't argue with that logic.

Although the pot of desire was only an N rarity card, there might be people who buy it. Who could guarantee no one would?

"Well... alright, let me borrow a little then," You Yu finally agreed, realizing it was just a matter of opening an N card pack. It shouldn't cost much.

And so, You Yu fulfilled his wish and purchased his first pack of cards since embarking on his journey. "Well, I'm going to open it now," he declared.

China crossed her arms and rested her chin on them, leaning over the counter to observe the scene.

You Yu opened the first pack, extracting five cards from it.

"Ah," China exclaimed upon seeing the "Celtic Guardian" in his hand. "Incredible! The first pack actually contained a rare card."

You Yu's expression turned pained. Are you kidding me? Is this low-attack mortal bone considered a rare card?

(Celtic Guardian, 4 stars, Attack Power: 1400, Defense Power: 1200, No Effect)

Undeterred, he continued opening the packs.

After three consecutive packs yielded useless cards, China once again expressed surprise when You Yu unveiled the contents of his fifth pack. "Huh? Light-Force Sword? Another rare card... You're really lucky."

"...I suppose so," You Yu said with a wincing face.

(Lightforce Sword, Trap Card: Randomly select one card from the opponent's hand and remove it from the game. After activation, during the opponent's fourth turn's preparation phase, the card returns to the opponent's hand.)

Upon reaching the tenth pack, China's eyes revealed a different expression as she witnessed You Yu's draw.

"Cow Demon! Another rare card!"

(Cow Demon, 5 star, Attack Power: 1800, Defense Power: 1300, No Effect)

You Yu knew that, in China's eyes, he might appear to be the kind of extraordinary player with luck, who opens ten consecutive packs with three high ranking cards. But his face turned pale, reflecting the truth of his situation, I need Pot of Desire, this is gacha all over again.

"I'll continue opening.."

He could always sell these so-called "rare cards" to recoup his expenses.

After twenty packs, the coveted N card, the "Pot of Strong Desire," was nowhere to be found. I get rare cards, but not a N card.

After thirty packs, still no sign of the pot of desire.

You Yu began to feel more and more invested in this session of opening, like a addict. He had to see how many packs it would take to obtain the desired Pot of Desire, no pun intended.

The only downside was that he was spending all of the girl's money, which saddened him a little.

However, China didn't seem to mind. She silently lay on the counter, watching him open packs after packs, repeating the process tirelessly, resembling an unyielding card-opening machine.

Finally, after the fiftieth pack of card packages, the coveted pot of desire he had been longing for appeared.

As You Yu gazed at the emerald magic card with a big green pot, yellow teeth, and a wretched smile, he felt an overwhelming urge to burst into tears.

Perhaps, for the first time in his life, he found joy in drawing an N card more than the bunch of rare cards he had acquired before.

Curious, China looked at him and asked, "Is this the one you were after?"

"Yes," he replied.

Puzzled, China queried further, "But you obtained so many rare cards earlier. Why do you insist on... this kind of useless thing?"

Useless? Heh, the girl was still young and had never experienced the frustration of lacking this card.

Though to be fair, the locals in this world had a completely different perspective on duel cards compared to players. It would be challenging to introduce the concepts of "bad cards" and "earning cards" in such an environment.

You Yu pondered how to explain this to the girl when a customer entered the shop.

"Hello, is anyone here?" a young blond man in a white T-shirt with blue stripes and a blue long-sleeved jacket called out.

"I'd like to inquire if you have the latest duel plate released by Haima Company."

Both individuals in the shop turned their attention to the newcomer.

You Yu raised an eyebrow. Katsuya Jonouchi?